#france is worse than the US in some respects

[redvelvetwishtree]

The way the killing of the French teen is being reported on TV and websites...it is never apparent what his race, ethnicity or religion is.....are they doing that on purpose? I had to open and read several articles to get the full picture.

I know for a fact that this is not how they do their reports when someone with a different profile is the victim, or something that liberals are obsessed with happens.

And the way these reports are written/televised doesn't in any way paint France, their police or their society's attitude towards certain people as a negative thing. I'm especially baffled by how non-chalant everyone sounds about the police person who did that and the police in general.

It's stupid and maddening how differently these so-called modern, champions of human rights, woke, liberal and whatever else the heck these countries call themselves treat certain situations so differently.

Edit: I guess my main question that I wasn't able to make clear in this angry rant is: Is everyone pretending that the killing wasn't motivated at least in part by the profile of the victim? Would the police have done the same with someone who was 'similar' to them? How would the media reports and global outrage look like if the profiles of the victim and killer were switched?

[silawastaken]

do you ever think about the night that dazai and chuuya realised they had been missing each other longer than they'd known each other?

At some point, between the three and four year mark of Dazai leaving the PM, they both had a moment where they realised how long it had actually been. They realised why something in their life wasn't quite right despite the grief having mostly worn off.

For Chuuya, it was in the evening. He's a busy person, when he learned Dazai defected he resolved not to think about it while working. Dazai no longer had a face or a name. The clinical detachment he used to loathe and simultaneously envy Dazai for became the only thing that stopped him from having a breakdown every time something he needed to work on because of the former demon prodigy crossed his desk. It was the only thing he could ever replicate Dazai's carelessness towards.

Then, he gets home from work after a particularly long day and has to resist the urge to crash into his bed fully clothed. He takes his time and goes through the motions, relaxing and getting ready for bed until he crashes onto his couch and can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he doesn't have any more work to do.

Then, he sees something. Maybe he's looking for something to watch and sees a particular movie or show, maybe he's scrolling through social media and sees a brunette with brown eyes, maybe it's a flower or a constellation but he's reminded of Dazai.

Something uncomfortably close to hurt and grief fills his chest, and unwillingly, his eyes flick to the date, and his brain reminds him that Dazai would be 21 for a few months by now. Dazai was 18 when he left. Unbidden, he thinks about his and Dazai's 18th birthdays respectively, and the chaos they cause. He has to force himself to not dream about what they could have done for his 21st. What they could do for his 22nd. He gets up for a bottle of wine and a glass.

For Dazai, it was slightly different. He had more time to process, during his years alone while waiting out the clearing of his criminal record, a few weeks at a time in a foreign country under a fake name, he had all the time to mope around. His daydreaming of what things he could have changed was endless, he spent day after day rebuilding worlds in his head where he returned to Yokohama to break into Chuuya's apartment and drag him to france, or russia or america, anywhere as long as he was there.

So, it was a mistake he hadn't made in a long time, following along behind his chattering coworkers with his hands in his pockets, smiling and joking until he passed something he hadn't seen before in a spot he used to visit, and ran over to check it out, turning back around with an excited "Chuuya, look!" only to be met with empty air and his coworkers slightly further down the street from when he ran away.

For a few moments, he just stares at the empty spot where he expected Chuuya to be, where he should have been, an ache in his chest making itself known again, the hole which had temporarily been filled with new faces and names widening to recreate the gap where Chuuya once was. (That little hole in his heart was much too big, Dazai thought, since Chuuya was so tiny. The joke he attempted to make to himself only made it hurt worse.)

When he returned to his coworkers it wasn't quite with the same enthusiasm before. That night was spent with a bottle of sake and a small collection of old photos, dates all over three years prior.

Neither bring it up, but there's a small sense of relief when they come face to face in a port mafia basement, that they can make up for the fourth year, that they have the chance to know each other longer than they missed each other again.

[bootleg-nessie]

Things that will happen in the future (based on my own experiences with time travel):

***FAQs at the end***

*All of these observations are copied directly from my notes in roughly the order I took them in

*Don’t ask about the interchanging use of past/present/future tense, you know how that stuff is with time travel

Women just started all growing three boobs instead of two. Scientists baffled

Genetically engineered catboys (no literally)

The great pyramid of Giza has been converted into a Bass Pro Shop

The entire state of Rhode Island was bought by some rich tech CEO who promptly dug a 500 foot wide trench around the entire state so that it could in fact be an island. It was soon converted into the world’s largest parking lot

Pollution has gotten so bad that fresh oxygen is now delivered straight to most homes via a subscription service

Basic necessities such as food, water, and housing are now provided for free by the government, but only for the top 1% of wealth holders

Insulin now costs twice as much as rent. “Get fucked,” say pharma companies

92.6% of new electronic appliances now have smartphone integration and require a monthly subscription to use

Most billionaires have real estate on earth’s moon

As an ongoing film experiment, Taika Waititi successfully convinced a Nebraska man that he’s been raptured and is now in heaven. He actually got Truman Show’d and now millions of viewers tune in every week to watch God (played by John DiMaggio) manipulate Robert into confronting his own views, battle cognitive dissonance, and face the realization that he might not have been as good of a person on Earth as he thought he was

Carrots have gone extinct, as have highland cows

Species of extinct animals and plants now are being posthumously renamed after the billionaires and elites most directly responsible for killing then off

Researchers discovered a sentient colony of fungus off the coast of Chile, it prefers to go by Fleebo and appears to have a incredibly complex intelligence far greater than any other observed organic being

Nobody knows where Ireland went. It literally just disappeared off the face of the earth one day and nobody bothered to question it. The story couldn’t compete in the news cycle with the recent news about a company in China that made the first real life pokemon. An entire civilization of people gone and I’m the only one who seems to remember it or even care

Fleebo and its offspring have annexed Madagascar and are threatening any retaliation with nuclear warfare and “making The Last of Us a reality.” Nobody knows if Fleebo actually has the capabilities to do this, but after the Lovecraft incident we’re all TOO goddam scared to fuck around and find out

Large snails have replaced cats and dogs as the most common household pet. Snail culture has largely taken over the world, especially Japan

The president of the United States is now decided with an oiled up twerking competition. Most people were hesitant at first but this has produced vastly more competent leaders so now everyone just kinda goes along with it

With the cost of living crisis only worsening with time, selling tattoo space on your body to advertisers has become common as people struggle to afford rent and pay their bills

North and South Korea have reunited into “Korea 2.0”

Germany has split up into East and West Germany again

Belgium and France have been annexed by West Germany and renamed “Wester Germany” and “Westest Germany” respectively

The entirety of Florida is now underwater. Most of Kansas is too for some reason that scientists refuse to explain because they’ve “sworn an oath to the eldritch gods” and that “much worse things would happen” if they did

The melting ice caps in Antarctica unveiled a lost civilization of intelligent creatures descended from a species of lungfish, predating human civilization by millions of years. They planned on hibernating for another 10-15 million years to observe the course of evolution on Earth and are very very angry at humans for waking them up prematurely and ruining all of that with global warming

The politically correct term for lungfish people is “Dipnoid” but most people refer to them by a variety of slurs, such as “finwalker” and “kelp muncher” (not that they even eat kelp)

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has now increased to nearly half the size of what was formerly known as Canada and has been colonized entirely by pirates (the flag is actually pretty cool). The pirate nation has the 17th largest economy in the world and is projected to surpass the United States in GDP

Africa is about 2% smaller. Nobody knows why. Most people point to Fleebo, who denies having any involvement

All human-Dipnoid interaction was promptly banned by most world governments, except for the GPGPRP (Great Pacific Garbage Patch Republic of Pirates), whom the Dipnoids rely upon extensively for trade

Scientists have used DNA from fossils to recreate other species of humans. We now live alongside them like we did for thousands of years before everyone besides Homo sapiens went extinct. Racism is at an all time high

Class C and above robots are now legally recognized by most progressive countries as people

The United States government has been exposed for secretly funneling billions of dollars into the GPGPRP and using it to fund terrorist operations all over the world.

A new major religion revolving around Dave Grohl has skyrocketed in popularity. Grohilsm is now the world’s largest religion, second only to Fleeboism

Scientists discovered a new continent in the Pacific Ocean, and then promptly lost it again. Most people are convinced this was just an elaborate practical joke, but scientists “swear it definitely happened”

For a brief period of about 30 years, everything in George Orwell’s 1984 happened almost exactly as written in the book. Literally 1984

It was revealed that Jeff Epstein didn’t kill himself. He actually faked his death and spent the next few years in a drug-fueled episode of psychosis making sock puppets in a cave in Italy and then molesting said sock puppets until he died from a sock puppet related illness

Bigfoot was discovered off the coast of Georgia doing cocaine with a congregation of alligators. When questioned, he said he normally lives in Montana and was only there on vacation. He is now a celebrity, and has been featured in a number of tv shows and films, two of which he won an Oscar for. Last I checked, he was a washed up actor living in Hollywood with a reanimated Neanderthal woman

The GPGPRP raided most of England’s museums with the object of “doing exactly what they did for the last few centuries” England was understandably furious, but the rest of the world found it rather amusing

England declared war on the GPGPRP, which it promptly lost after hackers brought down the entire country’s military overnight. Much like in the 21st century, England is the world’s laughing stock

The entirety of Luxembourg relocated itself to the moon

Russia attempted to take over most of Eurasia. In retaliation to the full global effort to stop them, they launched nukes at the world’s 600 most populous cities outside of its current territory. Most of the warheads were stopped in time, but a few major metropolitan areas got hit pretty badly, including Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Mexico City, and Istanbul. Japan was understandably super pissed that Hiroshima and Nagasaki got nuked for a second time

In the wake of the nuclear holocaust, Canada assumed control over what was formerly Russia and assimilated many of its citizens and leaders into its own society and government. Under the new rule of formerly Russian leaders, Canada became a puppet state for the second coming of Russia. It annexed much of the United States, Mongolia, China, and a handful of other countries, becoming “the world’s first megacountry.” Crungolaska now controls a majority of the northern hemisphere

As part of a practical joke by Adam Sandler, Tom Hanks was actually marooned on a desert island like in Castaway. He lasted less than a week before he died. When I left this era of the future, Adam Sandler was serving a lifetime sentence in prison for murder

Fringe groups of crows with above-average intelligence have started popping up around the world. So far they have been observed forming small communities, crafting relatively complex tools, using rudimentary speech, performing rituals, and creating music

Aliens visited earth and had a formal meeting with many of our world leaders, but decided to leave us alone for a few thousand more years because humanity is “not yet mature enough to handle the responsibilities of interstellar travel.” They have incentivized us with a the blueprints for an Alcubierre Drive and a means to produce the exotic matter to fuel it once they deem us as being ready

The original colony of settlers on Mars has declared independence, officially becoming the first country not on Earth

We sent Tom Cruise back to space but this time we just left him there

The tether for the space elevator broke. The town known as Vatorville, famous for being the location of the takeoff point of the elevator shuttle on Earth, was completely decimated as tens of thousands of miles of steel cable came crashing back down. There were no survivors

Most people in first and second world countries have mandatory microchip implants that serve as a personal ID

Last Thursdayism has been largely denounced by quantum physicists. Current theories now revolve around “Next Thursdayism,” the belief that the entire universe was created in the future and that we all exist as a memory in the past

Synthetic organ farms for transplants and research have become a massive industry worth billions of dollars. However, there is still a huge black market for organically grown human organs, as they’re much cheaper to acquire and aren’t taxed at the exorbitant rates that lab-grown organs are

China dug a hole all the way to the center of the Earth. Turns out it’s hollow and there are people living inside. Who knew?

A university reconstructed the entire city of Rome as it was in its early days during the Roman Empire. It’s actually pretty historically accurate, except for the fact that there’s a lot less sex because it’s run by a bunch of sweaty history nerds

After Rome 2 resulted in the creation of a cult revolving around the Roman god of the dead that gained traction as a minor religion, Pluto was officially reinstated as a planet by NASA when cultists picketed their headquarters every day for nearly 3 years straight. “Fine, we’ll give these fucking virgins what they want so they’ll finally shut the hell up,” said NASA’s administrator in chief

In a display of the biotechnical prowess of Disney’s Imagineers, all the animatronics in Disney’s Hall of Presidents were replaced with clones of the originals, which went about exactly as well as you’d expect. After reports of the presidents hurling a series of racial slurs and other obscenities at the first black family to enter surfaced, the project was shut down almost immediately after it had opened. Minority admission to Magic Kingdom plummeted to 2.3% of its numbers from the previous year, making it the second whitest place on earth after a taylor swift concert

Plastic now makes up about 3% of every organism on earth by weight

Public officials are now required by law to take shrooms before running for office

Trees are considered a rare and highly sought after commodity, and are usually only owned by public institutions and the rich (the vast majority of oxygen farms use algae to produce oxygen)

FAQs:

FAQ: What time period(s) did you go to?

A: I have no fucking clue. The world stopped using the Gregorian calendar in 2063 after a gamma ray burst hit the sun. The GRB led to stellar ablation, which changed the length of a year on Earth. The sun would continue to lose mass at an accelerated rate for several more years, with the length of the year changing slightly from year to year. The world adopted a variety of different calendars which kept being updated frequently and were often super confusing and contradictory. I traveled to about a dozen different points in time, which based on my best estimates spanned within a few millennia of the current date.

FAQ: How did you obtain a time machine?

A: I think it was the 17th or 18th of June, 2055? That night, a large sci-fi looking box thingy roughly the size of a VW Bus appeared a few hundred yards away in the open field in front of my house. I tried to take a picture of the box, but for some reason the closer I got, the more the image on my camera started to become fuzzy, and by the time I got close enough to take a decent picture, the camera had stopped working altogether. I pulled open a door to reveal a corpse inside that was charred beyond recognition, who appeared to have suffocated and/or burned to death during a fire that damaged most of the interior. I also noticed a number of strange tumors and growths on the body. I pressed a random button on the remains of what I believed to be a control panel, expecting nothing to happen, but the door closed automatically and I suddenly lost consciousness. When I came to, I exited the box, expecting to still be in the field in front of my house, but instead found myself a ways outside of a small snowy village that based on my best estimates, was somewhere in northern Asia around 2-3 thousand years ago. The villagers started coming after me with spears, so I quickly ran back to the box and pressed another button, hoping it would return me to from whence I came. This time, the people I found (who were thankfully much nicer and spoke a dialect of English that I could mostly understand) told me that it was the year 506 of the PGRB-Δ4 calendar (the calendar that the United Territories was using at the time). I repeated this maybe a dozen more times trying to get home until I landed in 2023, which as far as I could tell, was the closest I had gotten back to my original time so far. It was at this point that I decided to stay and seek medical attention, as I was rather concerned about some nasty new growths on my arms and legs similar to that which I had seen on the corpse.

FAQ: Where is the time machine now?

A: No idea. It disappeared a few days after I landed in 2023. My best guess is that some poor sap found it and ended up sometime else.

(I never ask for likes/reblogs but I literally spent fucking WEEKS on this one so if you liked it pls show me some love <3)

[hedgehog-moss]

Have you seen the video of Macron's speech in Holland (neatly sidestepping the tu-vous trap) ? youtube. com/watch?v=tEY_9JFVVxg "C'est pourquoi je crois en l'importance du dialogue social" I hope he gets heckled every single time he makes a speech abroad fromm now on...

:) I was on the phone with my mum yesterday as she watched the news on TV and when they covered this she went like "oh you're going to like this"

Thanks for the youtube link! Amazed that he actually responded to these people's accusations with "The places that are actually violent, are the places where these kinds of actions would be forbidden", when in France these days peaceful protests are being forbidden so frequently and brazenly that last week our judiciary branch had to tell the Paris Prefecture of Police to at the very least ban protests before they're supposed to happen rather than at the last minute or after they started, as this could be seen as an attempt to dissuade people from protesting for fear of being fined... The Human Rights League was among the organisations that denounced these numerous protest bans (as well as the violent police response when people protest anyway) so the Minister of the Interior denounced the Human Rights League—and today the Prime Minister doubled down on that, by saying she used to respect this organisation but she no longer understands some of their stances. (They used to be great when they criticised infringements on human rights perpetrated by people who aren't us! now they suck.)

It's so pathetic that a President whose government is taking a clear stance against the Human Rights League now that it's criticising them, and who is being accused of violent and anti-democratic practices, has no better defence than, "There are other governments that treat their citizens way worse so stop complaining."

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying we live in a dictatorship, but I hate that he says "This is why I believe it's important to have social debate—democracy is a place where people can demonstrate, there are places in the world where you can't do that, so let's not compare situations." When in France, Macron uses the comparatively small numbers of violent protesters to discredit the whole social movement as the work of a mindless mob with no legitimacy and to justify police repression; when abroad, he uses the large numbers of peaceful protesters who continue to demonstrate despite his repression to portray himself as the President of a healthy democracy where social dialogue exists. While continuing to ignore the protests as much as he possibly can.

[nesiacha]

do you have some good sources about how women during the frev thought about universal male suffrage? (i've been uncomfortable with some claims about how the frev was not feminist enough because women got the rights to vote in the 20th century, but cannot back up this discomfort.)

"I am quite limited on certain subjects and this is one of them (I am currently researching the exact thoughts of women during the French Revolution on universal suffrage).

Unfortunately, it has been a great shame that the French Revolution was misogynistic despite the meager rights that were gradually taken away from them over time. Even the greatest progressives like Sylvain Maréchal, who was an important disciple of Babeuf, had as a project to ensure that women did not have a say in the learning of reading.

The fact that misogyny was already present during the Ancien Régime (Marie Antoinette is blamed for all evils when in reality she did not have much say during her husband's reign, to better absolve Louis XVI and the policy of France under this absolute regime) or that Napoleon made the condition of women worse than that of Italy or Spain (I mentioned this in my post 'Women's Rights Suppressed') while being a great hypocrite does not absolve the revolutionaries for what they did in their misogyny.

There was a habit of attacking the wives of their adversaries to better discredit them (like Manon Roland, Marie Françoise Goupil, wife of Hébert, Lucile Duplessis, wife of Desmoulins), which is an interesting parallel on this point with the attacks against Marie Antoinette.

Olympe de Gouges spoke about the rights of women and citizens. Pauline Léon, Claire Lacombe, who demanded the right to organize in the national army. Théroigne de Méricourt, Louis Reine Audu, and again Claire Lacombe fought in the Tuileries and yet, despite being rewarded with a civic crown, they would not have the right to speak on universal suffrage.

Chaumette was a great misogynist, Robespierre too (one could tell me that he supported Louise de Keralio's candidacy for her entry into the academy, but in political matters, it was another story), Danton, Sylvain Maréchal, Amar, etc. I am not here to blame Robespierre and I deplore that there is a black legend about him, but one can see a certain purely political gesture in my opinion for the action he will take towards Simone Evrard.

As much as Simone Evrard is a very intelligent woman, with an extraordinary destiny very underestimated, capable of making very good political speeches (one of the people of the French Revolution that I admire the most), I wonder if the fact that Robespierre personally introduced her into the Assembly was just an opportunistic gesture because he would have had an additional reason to discredit Jacques Roux and Théophile Leclerc thanks to the speech she made while he was among the revolutionaries who approved the restriction of women's rights. Respect towards Simone Evrard regarding her dignity and intelligence (maybe even surely) opportunism, I would be tempted to answer on this by affirmative.

Risking repeating myself, Napoleon being a greater oppressor towards women by taking away the few rights they had, enacting oppressive and hypocritical laws, and even bloody ones concerning them, does not absolve the other revolutionaries of their sexism.

And there is no excuse that it was of their time (in fact, I noticed that this lie is used in my opinion to absolve Napoleon but not the revolutionaries, but forced to see that it fits into the same idea)... First of all, Charles Gilbert Romme was more progressive in women's rights, Marat and Charlier too, Camille Desmoulins thought that women could have the right to vote, Condorcet demanded gender equality, Carnot worked with him in women education with Pastoret and Guilloud , Guyomar opposed the exclusion of women from universal suffrage. Worse than anything, while the clubs and societies of women ended up being banned, which is a regression.

In 1795, for attempting to revolt against the Assembly which abolished the social policies of the Montagnards, they were prohibited from attending assemblies and even from gathering in the streets in groups of more than 5. Moreover, the term 'tricoteuse' to insult women was not invented during the Napoleonic era or the royalist era but in 1795.

What did women think about this? This is where I am quite limited because besides the answers I have given about these women and their actions, unfortunately, there is not much else I can say due to my limited knowledge.

In any case, I hope I have helped a bit to support the aforementioned statements.

In the meantime, I can provide some of my sources: the historian Mathilde Larrère, Antoine Resche who made very good summarized portraits of some revolutionary women on the website 'veni vidi sensi', I would also recommend reading the book by the writer Claude Guillon on Robespierre, women, and the Revolution (even though I completely disagree with some of his books that have been legally condemned, this one is rather good and he had a quite good blog on the French Revolution that I recommend checking out), and the historian Jean-Clément Martin, 'La révolte brisée'."

Reedit: Thank you to aedesluminis for inform me the role that Carnot Pastoret and Guilloud did with women's education.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I've thinking about this question… and I want to know your perspective:

At first I though British tabloids were kind of invasive and intrusive, I know Diana died in Paris, but somehow I attached it to the British media…

since this year, i´m not sure after what happened with Frederick and that woman, and how some media behave with Catherine (except for TMZ)... I´m not sure which media (Country) is more intrusive.

Given on your experience, which media/tabloide is worse that others?

You can't actually compare the media and tabloid culture that way. Or at least, I'm not comfortable comparing the cultures in that way because it leads to a really flawed analysis.

First, the tabloid culture of the '90s (which affected Diana) was incredibly different from the tabloid culture of the '00s (Kate) and incredibly different from the tabloid culture of today ('20s).

Second, the cultures between the different countries and their media enterprises is also incredibly different. What American media does isn't what British media does, which isn't what Spanish media does, which isn't what Italian or German or French media does.

In both respects, there's no established baseline standard of practice. And you need a baseline in order to set the scale to define what you mean by "worse." Because all of the examples anon cited are from very different times and from different countries, you can't really compare them to each other. So you really can't compare what Frederick went through media-wise with his affair in 2023 in Spain to what Diana went through in 1997 in France to what Kate went through in 2008 in England to what Meghan went through in 2016 in Canada. (And then you have to account for bias and familiarity; most of us only know the tabloid and media culture in the countries that we grew up in or that we're knowledgeable of. For instance, i know a lot about American tabloid culture because I'm an American and because I came of age on Perez Hilton's internet and I know quite a bit about British tabloid culture because of how long I've been a royal watcher. But I know next to nothing about tabloid culture from the '80s - beyond what I've seen in documentaries - or media from other countries.)

What can really only happen is looking within - e.g., if you look at just the tabloid culture of the '90s or of the '10s, or if you look at just the media in England or in Spain. But again, that requires even knowledge of all the countries and all the media/tabloids, rather than just the ones that you know really well.

I know this probably isn't the analysis or the answer that you were looking for, anon.

Focusing specifically on my own personal knowledge of British and American media and tabloid culture, my theory is that British tabloids and media were more viscious in the '90s. They were checked by the public after Diana's death when the backlash against mass consumption reached fever pitch with the likes of George Clooney and Tom Cruise laying the blame for her death specifically on consumers and paparazzi. So while the British tabloids were licking their wounds and trying to find a new star/celebrity to replace Diana (JFK Jr. worked for a bit but then he died), American media and tabloid culture grabbed ahold of the reigns and became the mean, viscious ones in the '00s by turning their coverage on the young female stars of Millennial Hollywood and being more critically- and gossipy-focused in their coverage. American media continued to be the meaner, viscious, "worse" ones until the mid-'10s, when the rise of social media checked them because social media, or Web 2.0 technologies/user-generated content, meant the famous people could control their own image through their own specifically and specially curated content. This is when we started to see the celebrities partnering with tabloids and paparazzi take prevalence (as opposed to the spontaneous stakeouts of known celeb hotspots) and that's where tabloid culture in the US and the UK is today - it's a partnership between the famous person and the publication or photographer.

I can't comment on Spanish media or how the tabloids contributed to Frederick's affair(s) because I know nothing about Spanish media, Danish media, and the Danish royal family.

[lurking-latinist]

When I read enough easily-crossed-over stories, such as for instance all of these boat and boat-adjacent books, what inevitably happens is I end up with a nebulous meta crossover setting where they can all hang out outside of their respective canons, because I have spent far too much time in This Time Round.

Also I was thinking about that post I made about how Aubrey and Laurence are not that similar actually, and speculating that if Aubrey had (in an equivalent situation) taken the cure to France he wouldn't have spent the next however many books regretting everything, he'd come around a lot quicker to just owning it.

That's not what happens in this snippet but I did write a snippet from the nebulous meta crossover setting, see below. I am terribly afraid it is wildly out of character but I actually don't think it is.

Edit: Now on the Archive.

****

“So you are Laurence,” observed the big post-captain, accurately; “the lunatic who gave up the Reliant to go flying about in the air. Aubrey, in Surprise.”

Laurence looked at the other man’s extended hand for a moment as if it were a foreign object. He took it and felt his own hand vigorously shaken. “That’s what you object to?” he said, unforgivably blunt, but he had not expected such a greeting, not now, not from anyone in that uniform. Some of the spacefarers had been kind, but he found the nature of their service still more disconcerting than the Aerial Corps had once been.

“Object? Why, you must do as you see fit,” said Aubrey, puzzled, and then his face cleared. “Oh, that. I own Dr Maturin—my particular friend, a physical gentleman—” (he nodded across the room towards a small dark man in a shocking old wig, deep in conversation with one of the starship physicians, who was distinguished by a sky-blue jumper which evidently passed for a uniform) “I own I did not see just how it was, till he explained it to me. I am only sorry to hear the Government should have behaved like such very mere scrubs.”

“So I thought,” said Laurence, quietly. “And yet I fear there are worse names for my own actions.”

“None to be used in this company. Now come,” said Aubrey, sweeping him along to a table, “tell me how you navigate, seeing there is a vertical component….”

****

[NOTES: a. In fact Jack and Stephen had a massive row which he's not describing; he didn't start out this OK with Laurence's treason but I think he and Stephen together would end up there, especially as it wasn't his England that got invaded as a result. b. I know Laurence comes to terms with it in the end but this is set before that. c. Stephen's new friend is Dr McCoy of Enterprise but neither of them know him yet.]

[oathkeeperoxas]

Today's saintspy May warmup is a bit of a follow up to one that @adiduck posted last week, so check that out for extra fun!

51 Kiss with teeth / biting kiss

Bart isn’t sure this is a good idea.

“He probably won’t know anything,” he says in a low undertone to Ethan, who has an outrageously tourist-themed shirt on proclaiming I went to Provence and got this awesome shirt! in French, which makes Bart embarrassed to be with him. But if it’s cover for the mission…

He’s wearing casual streetwear mostly appropriate to this part of France, meticulously researched before the mission started so that he could effectively blend in where possible. Against the bright colours Ethan is sporting, it’s not doing the job that Bart had hoped it would.

“You never know,” Ethan says. “It’s a small town. Word gets around. And our friend seems to be the type that picks up on useful gossip. He might be able to tell us where to find Gregor. Or who knows him, at least.”

“Our friend,” Bart says, unable to stop his eyebrows lifting. “Firstly, not sure friend is the descriptor I’d go with. Secondly, he’s not my anything. No, that one’s all yours.”

Ethan’s mouth twitches for an instant, amused. “He’s given you a discount or two,” he points out.

“Yeah, after not charging you anything half the time, and after you two are flirting away like our lives depend on it,” Bart says, and which causes a stab of nervousness in his gut. “Uh… it doesn’t, right?”

He’s pretty sure that would have been in the mission briefing, but maybe there was something that Ethan knows as team leader that Bart doesn’t–

“No, he’s not related to the mission,” Ethan says, which somehow makes all of this worse. If Ethan isn’t even doing it because he has to… Well, Bart has come across some strange people in the IMF so far in the year that he’s been here. He can add another one to the list.

They walk inside the bakery, which is humming with a few customers, but not too busy. The perfect time to linger over an order at the counter and ask the shopkeeper some questions. Bart doesn’t realise that he’d been hoping Amiens wouldn’t be working today until he’s disappointed upon seeing him at the counter. Amiens looks up to see the next customer, and his eyes light up upon spotting Ethan, before he relaxes into a self-satisfied posture. Like he knows that Ethan is coming here just for himself.

Bart starts scanning the pastries on offer out of sheer self-defence. If he can get away with something really good, maybe that will make the next five to ten minutes worth it.

“Monsieur Hunt,” Amiens purrs. Purrs! Bart picks out a nice looking jam and cream sponge that might be sweet enough to give him a sugar high and erase this from his memory.

“Bonjour,” Ethan greets. “I’ve told you to call me Ethan.”

Amiens looks far too pleased with himself. “Oh, I respect all customers in this shop. My mother would never let me live it down if I did not.”

“I can’t have that,” Ethan allows. “It would be such a shame to lose your baking skills. Who knows what else you might have to do then to make ends meet.”

“Indeed,” Amiens says, leaning onto the counter. Ethan puts his own hand down, swaying closer. Bart tries to pretend that this is a case study that he’s putting a brief together on. “Who knows what trouble I might get into, forced into… less than polite work.”

This cannot be happening. In the middle of this bakery. They’re so engrossed in each other, Bart truly wonders if Amiens would notice if he slipped around the other side of the counter and started helping himself.

“You never thought of doing anything else?” Ethan asks, in what could almost be a normal question, if he weren’t currently eating Amiens with his eyes. “I think you’d be quite good at it. Anything you set your mind to, I mean.”

“I think I could be,” Amiens says, honest to god fluttering his eyelashes. “If you’d ever care to help me find out, you know where to find me.”

Bart can’t take this anymore. “Can I have one jam sponge please,” he says, desperate to get this conversations somewhat back on track.

Amiens flicks his eyes over like he’s just remembering Bart exists. “Of course, Monsieur. And for you?” he asks Ethan, eyes going all suggestive and dewey again.

“Cafe latte, please,” Ethan says. “And an answer to my question.”

“Hm,” Amiens hums as he moves towards the coffee machine. Bart notes that he makes no move to fetch the jam sponge out of the display. “I suppose it would have to depend on the question.”

“Of course,” Ethan allows. “As you know, we’re new in town. We planned to spend a week or two here over the summer because we’re interested in the local countryside, and the history of the area. I was hoping to talk to Gregor Homme, as I’ve heard through an acquaintance that he lives here. But no one I’ve spoken to seems to know where exactly. I was wondering if you’d heard anything about him. We only want to talk about some of the work he used to do on the restoration of pre-Industrial era sites and artifacts.”

“Really,” Amiens says. “An interesting interest.” He pours Ethan’s coffee smoothly, plating it up tidily and without a movement to spare. He must be well practised in this to be so elegant. Almost like an afterthought, he puts a jam sponge on a plate for Bart. “How about you two sit out the back?” he asks. “I’ll bring these around for you in a minute.”

The front of the shop is far busier than the back – if no one is out there, it will be the perfect place to talk for a moment in private. Maybe Ethan was onto something after all with this one.

Amiens disappears through the staff exit as Ethan and Bart leave the shop and head around to the back. There’s an open patio that is full of potted plants, and two cats napping on one table. No one else is here. Ethan chooses a table with clear sightlines, and Bart watches the back door of the shop. Despite Amiens having less ground to cover, he’s not out here yet.

“He could be tipping someone off,” Bart says in an undertone. “This is an enclosed space.”

“Give him a minute,” Ethan says, incredibly unconcerned. “Patience is everything.”

Bart sits, though Ethan remains standing. It takes another two minutes and forty seconds, but Amiens does come out, easily balancing the coffee and cake to set down on the table between them.

“Monsieur Hunt,” Amiens says. “Perhaps I can help you.”

“Perhaps,” Ethan says, looking up at Amiens. Without the counter between them, somehow they’re standing even closer together than ever. It’s like they’ve forgotten what personal space is. “What might I need to convince you?”

Amiens smirks. “Something that I think is in your capacity to give.”

He reaches down and slips his hand inside Ethan’s. Bart resigns himself to an even more overt flirtation than usual, since they’re alone except for him, and Amiens seems to enjoy forgetting that he’s there. Amiens brings Ethan’s hand up to his mouth and then to the side so he can press his lips to Ethan’s wrist, and–

Bart stands up abruptly, hand reaching for the pistol that he keeps concealed in the small of his back. The only thing that keeps him from pulling it is Ethan’s other hand snapping out to land on his shoulder, pushing him back down into his chair. Bart goes, face flushing with anger, because Amiens had just bit Ethan, what the fuck–

He looks to Ethan to see what cue he’s taking, how they’re dealing with this, and his mouth drops open. Ethan’s cheeks are flushed, his eyes are wide, and despite shoving Bart back into his chair, his entire attention seems fixed on the man in front of him.

For fuck’s sake. Far more information about his boss than he ever needed to know.

Amiens kisses the sharp teeth marks that he’s left in Ethan’s wrist with a smile. “You’re welcome,” he says, and slips away.

“What,” Bart says flatly.

Ethan gives him a look out of the corner of his eye, then opens the hand that Amiens had picked up. Inside is a small piece of paper with an address on it. “See?” Ethan says. “I told you he might be useful.”

“Fine,” Bart says. “Let’s go.”

“After I drink my coffee,” Ethan says. “Need to be sharp for this one.”

“Fine,” Bart says again, staring at his jam and cream sponge. At least it won’t let him down. He’s come to trust that, at least, about Amiens.

Send me a kiss for saintspy May 😘

[lengthofropes]

I hope this question doesn’t come off as insensitive, because I truly don’t mean it that way, but have you/your family ever thought about leaving Ukraine? Like was it ever a discussion when Russia started their attack?

If you don’t want to answer, it’s fine! Also, i know it’s not much of anything, but I do keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you. And its ok, I can answer that.

Yeah, we had a discussion. I’m pretty sure every Ukrainian family had at least one of those. But you gotta understand, it all comes to not what you’re leaving behind, but whom you’re leaving behind. Because no matter what you do your social circle will be torn either way. Every person has a right to make their own decision, and you just have to respect it.

I didn’t want to leave. My truth is I’d rather die here than leave, because my home is here, this is where I belong. And I kinda stick with this statement to this day.

My father didn’t want to leave too, and he also wasn’t allowed because he was 58 when full scale war started. He wanted to join territorial defense troops. Mom didn’t want to leave the country and nothing in this world would’ve make her leave him so… Also she couldn’t leave her mother and brother.

My sister was completely devastated cause her fiancé was in France, but she didn’t want to leave the country and she couldn’t leave us.

That all was so freaking insane when i remember it…

I also remember how our parents tried to persuade us (me and sis) to leave when the situation rapidly got worse. Jfc I even remember we agreed… and packed, and said our goodbyes… and then just… couldn’t do it…

My sister has left Ukraine in April. She was suffering from continuous panic attacks and nightmares, especially after numerous report of war crimes (r*ape and t*orture) russian soldiers commit on occupied territories. So we collectively decided she should just go and be with her loved one. That wasn’t an easy decision. Idk if you can imagine it, but seeing your sister crossing the border and knowing there’s a good chance you’ll never see her again it’s not something you deal with easily.

So uhh, yeah, now we’re like this. She visits once or twice a year, and we visit her. This year our dad turned 60 so he’s allowed to cross the border now, and he and mom went to see her in France ☺️.

Some of my friends who left and lived abroad for some time are now back. Some don’t. Some leave now.

I’m staying home. I can’t imagine starting a whole new LIFE elsewhere. Just… i cannot.

[besiegedhunter]

Provence, Gaul and Mr Grape Speculation.

Aka despite the trickling of Gaulish Operators since Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire, she has not been confirmed as being Gaulish despite her name and as such, I want to talk about things relating to it.

And because I really want an excuse to talk about her. Without further ado though:

So first thing's first: Why theorize that Provence could be Gaulish?

The reason for that lies in her name because Provence is the name of a region in France, known for it's wine and lavender fields.

I'll keep my lips sealed about the wine for now, but in regards to the lavender fields it's what inspired her purple fur. She fits in nicely with Texas and Lappland who themselves are named after places outside of Italy, in their case because of the wolves they're based off.

And just for note: Provence was a Roman province, their first beyond the Alps but since they left in at the end of the fifth century, Provence has not been a part of Italy, instead being a part of France since 1468.

We'll get onto the wolf she's inspired by in a bit but first, while the above can be used to elaborate on her Siracusan roots, how does her inspiration compare to confirmed Gaulish operators?

For instance, these are the Gaulish Operators who were released before Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire (if I'm right):

Aciddrop

Astesia

Mousse

Phantom

Aciddrop and Astesia I am not aware of anything connecting them to Gaul before their module and Astgenne's files dropped respectively.

Mousse and Phantom on the other hand are quite obvious. Mousse is a French dessert and Phantom's whole character references the Phantom of the Opera, a French novel set in Paris. Provence is similar to them in regards to name and inspiration but there is something that separates them and it's the fact that they have voice lines furthering their connection.

From Mousse and Phantom respectively:

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a real avenue in Paris, whereas Gaspard de la Nuit is French, meaning "treasurer of the night" if I'm correct and is also a suite of piano pieces by a French composer.

Provence doesn't make any remarks about her home or anything in French or referencing anything from France, which isn't a huge deal. Aciddrop and Astesia had less (or more subtle) and were confirmed to be Gaulish so Provence's chances don't seem worse for it.

The Fall of Gaul.

This is an interesting part of this and one I can't see being too long.

But a thing of note is that the War of the Four Emperors occurring in 1053 and the Chernobog incident happens at the end of 1096. A lot of characters saw this unfold without being as old as Hellagur. Aciddrop and Astesia's families are mentioned and likely experienced it, whether as a child or an adult.

And on them, a lot of Gallians immigrated to Columbia whereas a lot of others remained where they were and watched as the territory ended up in the hands of Victoria, Leithania or Ursus. The latter two of those btw we do not see btw. We have only seen Gaulish characters from Victoria or Columbia, with only one exception being Clément Dubois from Hortus de Escapismo, as confirmed by the recent Twitter post/Terra Historicus, who is an Iberian that's descended from Gaul.

Which is to say that there's proof that Gallian refugees have gone as far as Iberia, although that's redundant because of the IS2 relic Wrath of Siracusans of all things. The "Super Siracusans" monthly squad expands upon it's lore as such:

So Provence's family immigrating from Gaul to Siracusa is more than plausible because the reverse has happened before and perhaps is emblematic of some sort of relationship the two countries has, this one conundrum aside.

But even if there isn't, Kal'tsit took Crownslayer to Siracusa, seemingly not because she had family there but because she is a Lupo/passes enough for one by Red. Provence's family may have fled to Siracusa simply for that reason.

Wine

Remember how I mentioned Provence was known for it's wine? Well here's that. See, Provence is known specifically for it's rosé wine.

I suggest reading into it yourself because it's genuinely really fascinating. But France is the leading country for rose wines, with Provence being the leading wine region for rose in the world. Around eighty percent of all wines made in Provence are rosé and I saw something that said it was the only wine region in the world who drink pink wine over red or white.

Which makes me think about Mr Grape, the wolf that appears in her E2 and who exists in canon:

And I mention all of this because I do think that wine is synonymous with Gaul because of the significance it holds within Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire. Both because of the Troupe Master, or being known as Tragodia, is so connected to it (such as having two wine relics associated with him) but because the description of Royal Liqueur:

And so with the region of Provence's relationship with on rosé wine, the significance placed on wine by Phantom and the Crimson Solitaire and Mr Grape being named such by Provence, I think her connection to Gaul is pushed even further.

The Beast of Gévaudan

Now, as for what sort of wolf Provence is based on, I believe that there's never been any proof towards it like there is for Texas, Lappland and Quartz. Any guess as to what it may be based on the appearance of her E2 is also very difficult because:

Yeah it's not an ordinary wolf but it's also not one that you could easily distinguish as something else however. It's just a large purple wolf with lighter fur here and there as well as body armour for some reason.

The trail ends there.

Or does it. Because if you take into account the inspiration Provence takes in France and begin your search there you'll quickly learn of a beast that stalked the ancient region of Gévaudan. Described as a wolf but not a wolf, it went on a killing spree and was quite the mythical creature while it existed.

I place quite a lot of stock into this idea of Provence's inspiration and Mr Grape's identity, not only because it's unique and really it looks unlikely they could be mundane but for some aspects of Mr Grape.

The Beast of Gévaudan was described as being larger than an ordinary wolf up to the size of a horse, with a broad chest, a snout like a greyhound, a white underbelly and what I find the most defining: a long thin tail, normally described with a tuft at it's end.

If you look at various depictions of the beast you'll notice a lot of these features between all of them so I think it's fine to use as a baseline.

So how does Mr Grape compare to that description?

Sizewise if you take these as ordinary wolves:

(Lunacub's are but with Emperor are Signore dei Lupi)

Then I think that he would count as larger than ordinary wolves. I also think that Mr Grape is larger than the wolves present in Projekt Red, Penance and Vigil's E2 art and compared to some, by a large margin.

He also has the white underbelly and as I stated to be the most defining: a long thin tail. One noticeably so when compared to Provence, almost purposefully contrasting. Cause you'd imagine, as a reflection of her that his tail would be just as big and fluffy but it's the opposite:

It's thin and long and only tapers out towards the end despite it's already bizarre thinness. Compare that to Provence's in the same image:

You can find more art from her artist Nian that depicts her and other character's tails and Mr Grape's tail is a stark difference.

Here is Provence's Vitafield skin:

And again Mr Grape's tail is depicted the same. I think it's purposeful.

Also as compared to his appearance in her E2, it appears like his snout is more elongated like the description as well as the white underbelly being more visible and how broad his chest is.

One last thing on his appearance is that a lot of stories of the Beast of Gévaudan is how resilient it is, taking musket shots and being stabbed but shrugging it off with being scared off at most. Maybe this is why he's wearing so much body armour, as to hint at how resilient it's inspiration is.

Now onto the last pieces because there's one notable story to come out of the Beast of Gévaudan's various attacks that I want to bring up and that's the story of the Maid of Gévaudan, or of Marie-Jeanne Vallet.

She was one of the several people attacked by the Beast of Gévaudan but at the time she was armed with a makeshift spear so when it attacked her, she was able to stab it in the chest, saving her own life as well as that of anyone with her. For the action she was called the Maid of Gévaudan.

Here's a statue of the event:

Now whether or not Provence would be based off of her or not I can't say. She resembles Mr Grape so much and as he's an extension of her and a reflection if you will, she's sort of the Beast of Gévaudan herself but it may be a combination like Projekt Red being Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

That said, in the voiceline mentioning Mr Grape she implies that they met under curious circumstances, likely unintentional so who knows what the story there is and whether it could mirror this one:

But to wrap this up, Provence is almost definitely Gaulish and maybe it's because most of her oprecs came out prior to Phantom and the Crimson Solitiare, she hasn't been confirmed as such yet. But here's hoping!

Because two skins, two oprecs, a dormitory theme heavily featuring her, a decently large presence in an event and another character being romantically interested in her isn't enough for me. I want more for her and who knows, maybe there's a treasure trove of upcoming reveals for her.

One can only hope.

[thechargrey]

Seen a few posts about how rude Jade is (and I say this as a person who doesn't love where the nate/jade arc seems to be going), but I want to gently nudge people to look at her from a different take.

She's a bit rude by US standards, yes. She doesn't immediately jump to help or get Nate anything he wants...and some people have read that as her being worse than rude. But this is actually not unusual for Europe in general.

Depending on where you are treatment of customers may be more or less different than the US. France is probably the furthest from US customer service, but it's rare for any businesses in Europe to treat the customer as though they are "always right."

And forcing an employee to continuously act kind and helpful is definitely not common practice. Most employees are helpful and polite, but only if you treat them with respect and dignity. No one can be sweet all the time (not even Ted) so it makes no sense to force an employee to do that, and might even be seen as cruel for a business to require their employee to wear a constant smile.

And thinking about it, it IS pretty messed up that US culture requires employees to wear smiles and be pleasant all the time. We all know it's a facade anyway. We just demand that employees do a song and dance for us so we feel better about our consumerist hellscape. Plus this system just gives customers a sense of entitlement to treat employees any way they want to.

*deep breath, moving on, stepping off my soapbox now I promise*

Basically, Jade isn't "bad" at customer service, she's just bored and probably a bit tired. She gets her job done, but she's also not gonna do a bunch of fanfare or wear big smiles while she does it. She's not going to interrupt Nate, but she's also not really interested in what he's saying. She just wants to do her job and go home. It's the exact same as most restaurant workers in the US, the ONLY difference is she's not required to have a big fake smile on her face while she does it.

Also woman not smiling = heinous villain, is maybe not the hot take you think it is?

[dolphin1812]

Hugo’s choice to describe both the woman who fires Fantine and the woman who teaches her how to live in poverty as “spinsters” indicates that there are parallels between them. The former is “full of the charity which consists in giving, but not having in the same degree that charity which consists in understanding and in forgiving”, while the latter, Marguerite, is “pious with a true piety, poor and charitable towards the poor, and even towards the rich.” I think what we’re once again seeing is the debate over the place/value of charity. The woman who fired Fantine is praised for her charity - that is likely what convinced Madeleine to hire her - but as her charity is limited by her idea of who is “deserving,” it can never truly have that great of an impact. In contrast, Marguerite is willing to help everyone. As we know from the latter half of this chapter, Fantine is scorned by the rest of the townspeople, so interacting with her could be risky. Marguerite, however, cares more that there’s someone in need, making her charity more impactful. At the same time, Marguerite is poor herself. While this may be exactly what gives her solidarity with Fantine, it seriously limits her ability to change her situation. It’s true that without her, Fantine wouldn’t have been able to survive after losing her job. But it’s also true that Fantine’s health is constantly deteriorating (her cough is getting worse) and that, even with all of the time she spends working, her payments to the Thénardiers have become irregular. Charity is wonderful, but only social change and a real support system could help Fantine.

This is less direcly related, but I’m fascinated by the number of women in this book who don’t have husbands, given the expectation for women to marry. Some of them, like Mme Victurnien, are widows, but many of them (Baptistine, the two “spinsters” in this chapter) simply never married. To some extent, it’s possible this is simply a realistic representation of France at the time. After years of war, it wouldn’t be surprising if many women lost their husbands either during the Revolution, one of the wars relating to it, or during Napoleon’s campaigns, for instance. These women would also be more directly vulnerable to poverty. We don’t know how much Fantine was paid while she worked at the factory, but afterward, she makes 12 sous a day, which is less than what Valjean made working on his way to Digne (and that’s even after he was paid half as much because he was a convict). Consequently, they’re less likely to be able to support themselves, as their salaries are very low and, if they don’t have a male relative to provide for them in the way that Baptistine does (and that Valjean’s sister did, although poverty still caught up to her), it’s very hard to live off of what they earn alone. Additionally, these women would be more likely to work for that same reason: they need the money if they don’t have a husband who can work. And on top of that, their behavior in relation to men is constantly scrutinized. Even their titles - Madame, Mademoiselle - automatically indicate to us if they have ever been married. Hugo himself pointed out the difference in status accorded to women based on marriage and motherhood while describing Baptistine, and that’s certainly at play here (although without one, the other isn’t given value; otherwise, Fantine would be much more respected as a mother). As an unmarried woman who hasn’t been in town long enough to establish “respectability” in the same way that, say, the woman running the factory, has, Fantine’s behavior in relation to men remains what is used to condemn her (the idea that she had a relationship with a man that left her with a child outside of marriage). For once, this horrible treatment of women is actually not on Hugo, but it’s very frustrating to read about.

[irkimatsu]

Jesus Christ I’m cutting it close. Happy Eurovision Week! Ranking time!

Every year, I use a ranking tool - this year it’s https://songfestival.be/eurovision-song-contest-2024-sorter/ because the one I usually use doesn’t include Azerbaijan or Israel for some reason. Then I talk about how the ranking turned out! Expect ballads/”serious” songs to end up clumped at the bottom because I’m a basic-ass bitch! This is more apparent than ever this year, because the lineup is absolutely insane. I love all the energy, and it just makes the ballads fall even flatter for me, because why would I listen to this when I could be telling a cat to meow back? Don’t expect any well-studied analysis here. What’s been my refrain every year?

(“Irk still listens to Scooch!”)

There ya go, you got it. Categories are:

Dislike: I genuinely hate listening to this. I think this is the first time I’ve put more than one song in this category - I can forgive a lot - but this year has extenuating circumstances and a genuinely annoying song. Goodie!

Indifferent: I have literally nothing to say about this. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s so distant from anything I would listen to on purpose. AKA the “Irk has shit taste” tier.

Okay: It’s fine? Maybe there’s one part I enjoy, or maybe it’s a song I respect more than I like - either way, I feel like it deserves better than “indifferent”, but a better tier than this seems dishonest.

Like: Now we’re getting into the stuff I genuinely enjoy! These are the songs I’d love to see qualify! Always bound to be at least one in here that doesn’t have a chance in hell, but let me dream!

Love: My top 5 for the year! This year’s top 5 is full of nonsense and I am gleeful

Ranking and comments under the cut!

—

Hate:

37. Israel - “Hurricane” by Eden Golan

Ugh… look. When it became clear that Israel weren’t getting the boot this year, I tried, I really tried, to embrace the “music and not politics” angle. The broadcaster and the artist have nothing to do with the government’s sickening choices and shouldn’t be punished just because their higher-ups fucking suck. (I’m an American, I’m not exactly in the best position to blame citizens for their countries’ leaders!) But then all that bullshit with the submission period happened. Three rejected entries on political grounds?! After a certain point the broadcaster had to be playing stupid, and really should have been slapped down after Bullshit #2. I was actually on board with the theory that they were trying to get disqualified on purpose so they could play the victim and not have to withdraw themselves.

But then, somehow, they got accepted, and with what? A sludgy ballad that isn’t even about anything. This wouldn’t be dead last this year if not for the background behind it, but it’d definitely score low, and the background behind its presence just sours any remaining taste I could possibly have for it. I don’t even have much to say about the song compared to all the bullshit behind the scenes. Let this die in the semi where it belongs.

Well, it could be worse. I usually love the Israeli entry. That would have been awkward…

36. Greece - “Zari” by Marina Satti

TA! TA! TA! TA! TA! This song is the audio equivalent of being hit in the head with a sledgehammer and I hate it. The high-pitched singing doesn’t do it for me either. Maybe there’s some impressive technical skill here that I’m too stupid to understand, like Spain last year, but that can’t change the fact that this song is a three-minute headache. Pass.

Indifferent:

35. Portugal - “Grito” by Iolanda

There’s always at least one song that I cannot get to stick in my head no matter how many times I listen to it, and this is one of them. Hard to rank a song when I can never remember what it sounds like. Just not my thing. Portugal and I are so rarely friends in this contest, and I’ve come to make peace with this.

34. France - “Mon Amour” by Slimane

I feel like this is an opinion that will get me slammed with tomatoes. This is another entry that every contest has - the beautiful, heartfelt ballad with impressive vocals… that bores me to death. At least I can usually remember how it goes, I guess? Still not for me. It’ll rank well anyway and my opinion means nothing. Moving on!

33. Azerbaijan - “Özünlə apar” by FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov

Take what I said about France and paste it here; heartfelt ballad, impressive vocals, bores me. Whatever. I actually don’t know the chances of this one qualifying, but personally, I’m not cheering it on.

32. Serbia - “Ramonda” by Teya Dora

Oh, Serbia, what happened? I loved how experimental the past two years were, and now we have “Ramonda”, which I just can’t find any enjoyment in. I’ve seen people call this one experimental as well, but I don’t really get it? The lyrics are certainly artsy, but musically it’s just another sparse ballad. I might be a bit daft.

31. Albania - “TiTAN” by Besa

Get all your decade-old anime jokes out of the way now. Good? Good. As for the song… well, I do like it slightly better than the earlier entries, but it’s also just kind of… here? There’s nothing wrong with it, but nothing all that right with it, either. It’s bound to get drowned out by much more interesting entries.

30. Denmark - “Sand” by Saba

When Sean Fay Wolfe does his 100-song countdowns, he always has long stretches where he doesn’t have much to say beyond “this sure is a song all right”, and I think we’re in that stretch for me. Nothing wrong with it, just not something I ever go out of my way to listen to. I think this is why the ranking took so long this year - there’s so many songs I just don’t have anything to say about!

29. Germany - “Always On The Run” by Isaak

“I am nothing but the average, though I’m special to some” is a good line! Other than that, though, this one took a bit to stick for me. I don’t hate it, I just don’t have anything particularly interesting to say. God, what a boring post. I’ll get more interesting soon, promise.

28. Poland - “The Tower” by Luna

Yeah, I guess it’s cute! There’s just so many other songs I like more. This is a bad year for basic pop songs, they’re getting drowned out by the insanity later on

Okay:

27. Belgium - “Before The Party’s Over” by Mustii

This is a big “I don’t love it as much as a lot of people, but I certainly respect it and want it to do well” song for me this year. It’s just such a grand-sounding song! I wish it luck, even if I don’t have much to say about it!

26. Georgia - “Firefighter” by Nutsa Buzaladze

Oh, I won’t lie, the firefighter imagery is cheesy as fuck - but it’s kind of endearing in a way! I’ve gotta like it at least a little, even if it’s a bit basic!

25. Sweden - “Unforgettable” Marcus & Martinus

Another year, another slickly produced dance-pop song from Sweden. Well, gotta do what you’re known for, I guess! I wouldn’t describe this song as “unforgettable”, there’s no way this is getting them two wins in a row, but it’s fun enough as radio filler.. (Is it just me or does part of this sound like it was ripped right out of a Daft Punk song? To the point where I was sure it was a direct sample, but couldn’t track it down for the life of me. It still drives me nuts every time I listen to it.)

24. Slovenia - “Veronika” by Raiven

I just can’t put my finger on why this song entrances me so much, which keeps it from getting a high ranking - I like understanding what I see in a song - but it’s a nice one. I’m expecting an interesting stage performance! The music video sure is a thing, at any rate!

23. Luxembourg - “Fighter” by Tali

Welcome back, Luxembourg! This is the first time I’ve been here to see you perform - American babies weren’t exactly keeping up with the Contest back in 1993! It’s not the grandest entry to return with, to be sure, but Eurovision always needs its empowerment anthems, and this is a pleasant one.

22. Australia - “One Mikali (One Blood)” by Electric Fields

I love the use of the Yankunytjatjara language here - it’s always so good when countries send something rare in the contest that only they authentically could. The imagery is nice, too! Even if it’s not a favorite by pure subjective standards, this one deserves a good placement.

21. Cyprus - “Liar” by Silia Kapsis

Gotta like a good, catty pop song. It’s not the best catty pop song of the year, but it’s fun!

20. Malta - “Loop” by Sarah Bonnici

Yes, this is just “SloMo” again, but hey, I liked “SloMo”. Looking forward to the staging, which will inevitably be completely horny. (No lines about covering your lover’s face in mango juice, though. The honeypot line isn’t nearly as hilariously brazen. Points deducted.)

19. Norway - “Ulveham” by Gåte

I actually lost my results for my first attempt at the ranking and had to do them again, and in that attempt this ranked even lower. Oops. I really, truly wish I could connect better with this song! I wish I wasn’t the sort of idiot that liked “My AI” and “Damdiggida” better! But here we are! I respect it a lot, fully expect it to rank well, wouldn’t be surprised if it wins. But to say I like it subjectively…? That might be overselling it a little. Well, my opinion doesn’t matter, it’ll win no matter what a silly little Internet blog has to say about it. I’m gonna go listen to “My AI” again, give me a minute

Like:

18. Italy - “La Noia” by Angelina Mango

Ooh, this one’s fun! It’s a nice, unique sounding entry that I’m having fun with! Wish I had more to say! Whoops!

17. Moldova - “In The Middle” by Natalia Barbu

Sometimes, a ballad will strike me just right, and Moldova’s managed to pull it off this year. “I want you to be happy all of my life, my beautiful angel, a work of art…” Twice in a row, the Moldovan entry is so sweetly in love, and even my crunchy shriveled heart can’t resist it.

(...also I might have recently developed a weakness for love songs that make references to flying and wings. Shhhh.)

16. Armenia - “Jako” by Ladaniva

I adore this song’s fun, traditional vibe. I just want to get up and dance to it! This performance is going to be a lot of fun, I can feel it!

15. “Doomsday Blue” by Bambie Thug

They’re coming to take me away, haha-

Come on, I’m not the only one who hears it, right?

This song is… weird. So, so weird. So, so opposed to anything I’d ever expect from Eurovision. And I kind of love it for that. It’s all over the place, but in a way that fits its mood. I know I’ve made “Ow The Edge” jokes about it, but come on, I’ve never been immune to a bit of edge myself. I like it!

Not sure about its chances of qualifying, though. I feel like the jury is going to tear this one to shreds. Ireland hasn’t had much luck recently, this won’t be the song to turn that around…

(So anyway, if you like this song, go listen to Neuroticfish’s cover of “They’re Coming To Take Me Away”. Hell, just go listen to Neuroticfish, period)

14. Latvia - “Hollow” by Dons

Not afraid to tell you all my sins I can’t escape

I won’t change, it’s like a bad disease I cannot shake

Not afraid… to admit that this ranked so damn high because of Husk. Yes, I like the singer’s voice, but it usually takes a lot to get me on-board with ballads - and in this case, bitter lyrics about being a sinner who would rather be authentic than cover up his faults is what clicked here. Thank you, cartoons! This is the third year in a row that you’ve made a ranking decision for me - different show this year, but still!

13. Ukraine - “Teresa & Maria” by alyona alyona & Jerry Heil

I’m not religious in the slightest, but that doesn’t stop me from adoring the grand, gospel vibe of this one. Ukraine’s skill at blending traditional-sounding music with rapping strikes again, and I’m looking for a good result here!

12. San Marino - “11:11” by Megara

For better or for worse, San Marino almost never sends something boring, and they’re knocking it out of the park with this one! I always love a good, high-energy, female-led rock number!

11. Iceland - “Scared Of Heights” by Hera Björk

Remember what I said earlier about a recently-developing soft spot for flying metaphors in love songs? This is where I first noticed it.  This isn’t like “Hollow” where cartoons made it rank much higher than it would authentically - I genuinely find this to be an adorable, hopeful little love song - but I’m sure that aspect didn’t hurt it!

10. Lithuania - “Luktelk” by Silvester Belt

God, I wish I could more properly explain why I like this one. There’s just a certain vibe from it that I’m really into, and it’s a perfect way to start off my top ten.

9. Spain - “Zorra” by Nebulossa

Mmm, a disco number about how some people are going to think you’re a slutty bitch no matter what you do so you may as well do your own thing. Delicious. I was already having fun with it on the first listen, and then I looked up the translation and fell even more in love with it.

8. United Kingdom - “Dizzy” by Olly Alexander

I already knew Olly Alexander before this year, due to a couple of songs he did with Kylie Minogue, the queen of my life. (Oh, yeah, there’s also “Valentino”, that’s an important one of his.) So I went into this with high hopes, and I was not disappointed! What a fun pop song about the joys of being in love! Maybe certain recent events have made me more weak to that topic than usual this year? Whatever the case, I love this, and really need to listen to more from this guy!

7. Estonia - “(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi” by 5Miinust & Puuluup

“The only cool thing here is saying no to drugs!”

This song is. A lot. A song about how lower-class people are unfairly targeted for drug possession even though they’re the least likely to be able to afford it, with some ambiguity about whether the singers actually do have drugs… with goofy vocals, music, and dancing. Fucking love everything about it. I love stuff that’s a joke song on the surface but has so much more to it when you dig deeper, like “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” last year. God, this is going to be a blast. And we’re just at the start of the part of the list where I adore me some goofy bullshit!

6. Czechia - “Pedestal” by Aiko

The pure inspired anger behind this one delights me, I love it so much. And yes, I’ve heard the Eurovision version, I totally understand why some lyrics had to be changed, but “I love me more than your bullshit!” lives forever in my heart. Angel Dust song? Angel Dust song. I’d adore it even without that, though.

Love:

5. Switzerland - “The Code” by Nemo

Another song that’s. A lot. A genre blending circus opera rap type… thing. I love how unique this one is. Eurovision helps me discover so much cool new stuff, it’s my favorite time of the year. I could see this as a winner!

4. Netherlands - “Europapa” by Joost Klein

After several years of sending ballads I don’t give a shit about, The Netherlands finally learn how to win my heart - giant shoulder pads! God, this song’s catchy. I love how it basically turns into a 2 Unlimited song at the end there. A lot of this contest feels like a love letter to the 90’s/early 2000’s, and the dance music is my favorite part of that! Europapa!

3. Austria - “We Will Rave” by Kaleen

Oh, Austria, please never stop winning my heart, you’ve done so good these past few years. When I saw the title “We Will Rave”, I knew I was going to love this, and a minute in I was hooked. A classic sounding dance song about letting go of everything and giving into the music… fuck, this is exactly my style. And it says a lot about the next two entries that this is only third!

2. Croatia - “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” by Baby Lasagna

Can I just have two number 1 placements this year? Putting either of them in second place feels like I’m lying. This is yet another A Lot song, and it’s why I love this year so much. A hard rock song about leaving your country town and going to the big city, full of silly lyrics and dancing. Meow, cat, please meow back! What an utter fever dream of a song. God fucking bless.

Finland - “No Rules!” by Windows95man

Oh, what a perfect whirlwind of insanity. Finland, please never send anything normal again. A catchy song about living how you want! By a guy with the Windows 95 logo on his shirt! (That will probably be blurred on stage! Which is very funny!) This song is so goofy that it should not work, but good news, goofy works on me all too well. I’m still laughing that this got last place from the jury in the national final, but the public vote was enough to help it win anyway. Just seems fitting for a piece of nonsense like this. I cannot wait to see what sort of batshit staging this has. I don’t know if it has any chance of winning, but Windows95man is the winner of my heart this year.

[profanetools]

Tagged by the wonderful @nuwanders and @wispstalk (thank you Frances and Ray) in this tag game. Most writers I know have been tagged, but I'm tagging @ervona @jiubilant @zurin regardless. Enjoy <3

A line from your fic that makes you laugh

She lurched forward, which made the bird – who she discovered was a crow named Gnorgi, could not eat carrots, and had since decided the piping of her external combustion engine was a very comfortable perch – very upset with her.

-- from my Free Day piece for TES summer fest this year. I think there's a few funny lines but I enjoyed balancing out the first section, where Bthemetz receives the most devestating letter of her life, with touches of humour.

A line from your fic that makes you sad

Clinging to that smock... and I think about how it smelled of her, her and fresh soap my omas made, and sometimes soot and hot metal and sometimes a little of the sea, because the soap couldn't always get rid of that smell. I didn't really give a damn. It was my uma. My uma. I'd just hold on to her, my uma, and try to bury myself in her clothes and cling on for dear life.

-- from Vyra: What's your fondest memory?

Think this one is self-explanatory.

A line from your fic you're proud of

The wind begins to roar. The seas surge inwards. The cold is sharp in the air. Kagrenac realises, despite themselves, that they would move the mountains to the stars to close the distance between them at that moment. That they would remake time and the world itself to lessen her pain, if they had such a power. The unspeakable things they would do, yet again, for Bthemetz! Those very same things that had torn them and the world apart. And where does that leave them, now? Here at the end of the world, apart and away from their people? They are only mortal. They cannot do anything. It is bitter, it is such a bitter thing, to reckon with. “I am sorry,” they say softly.

-- also from my Free Day piece for TES summer fest this year.

I edited this last paragraph a bunch as some adjustments got deleted by poor 4G connection on a train ride (fool me for trying to write on British Rail). Still, despite difficulties getting it back into shape, I love the core central irony of this. And it touches at the core of Kagrenac's character -- this is someone who has looked at the limits placed on them by mortality, by that injustice, and said 'no, I refuse that'. This is someone who moves mountains if those mountains inconvenience them.

IMO, there's power in that. TES is a world of petty gods and the dwemer, as I write them, refuse that logic and seek to write their own world, and I very much want to write that as something admirable rather than simply 'hubris'.

For Kagrenac, Chief Tonal Architect of the Dwemer, to say 'They are only mortal', that is such a concession, an admission of defeat. And yet, Kagrenac is so used to dealing with problems in this way that they don't seem to realise apologising is perhaps the most powerful thing they could do in this moment.

A line for your fic you think could have been better

”[...] Don’t you dare push me away because you believe you can think for me.” “I’m not trying to think for you, Bthem – I’m trying to warn you–” “And that’s fine, you can have your opinion – but you don’t get to tell me what is worth my time. That’s not for you to decide. If I end up dead or worse, that was my decision, that was on me. Don’t baby me–” “I’m not babying you.” “Then respect my opinion. [...]”

There's not a specific line but I do think It's the Opposite of A Problem has issues that really frustrate me in retrospect.

I don't think Bthemetz would have dealt with Kasmei self-sabotaging like a teenager (not entirely OOC imo, Kasmei has some immaturity) as gracefully or as leniently as she does here. I think it ought to have blown up into a big fight without a positive resolution. I also think the characters don't communicate in dialogue as much as talk at each other. I'm loathe to delete anything on my blog but I'd be tempted to delete this piece.

A line from your fic that makes you want to punch a character

“Have you lapsed back into an infantile theism, playing the dissident priest in a moment of senility in your old age, or do you simply wish to insult me, Bthemetz?”

-- From A Thesis On Twelve Tones: Chapter 7.

One of the most punchable Kagrenac lines.

A line from your fic that makes you go 'aww'

I love you, you’ll tell her later, after you’ve brewed a pot of her favourite tea. you’ll nip out, when the sun’s still orange and she’s still trying to catch some not-actually-necessary sleep, and pick the dark stemmed leaves you know she likes, from the highest point of the mountain where the air thins, gets herself giddy over. it takes a lot out of you to visit her in person these days - you feel layers of you shedding every time you have to phase somewhere, like the world wants to yoink you back to the void like a naughty child. stay here says the universe. no, you shout back. you suspect there might come a day where you can’t do this, anymore. where you’ll actually be dead. wouldn’t that be funny, you’ve told Bthem, and she always tells you to shut your trap, because it’s better that you’re here. it’s better, so you’ll keep on struggling. you’ll keep on swimming, until they tear you down. “Good,” you say to her. “It’s a good thing, you’re still here. A really good thing.”

-- From The Sky is Full of Smoke.

I need to write a proper Kasmei/Bthem fic at one point because their soft moments are really good, IMO.

A line from your fic that's full of symbolism

When you raise a knife to your scalp, you think better of it. You finish your tea. It's the fourth era of some empire you've never heard of. Dynasties, what are they good for? You sign the guestlist with VYRA. You give no family name.

-- from VYRA.

It's on the nose, but I love the certainty of this. It's characteristic of and yet represents a peaceful coming to terms with herself - she does not need to be either precisely 'dwemer' or 'chimer' by the norms either group demand, nor does she need to hold family ties that hurt her. the shaving metaphor is less subtext and more text: she is no longer almost violently trying to cut off the deeply dwemeri cultural background she has. but she also does not necessarily align herself with 'Kemel-Ze' or 'Demnevanni' or any other clan or house. Despite her abrasiveness, Vyra has actually conformed strictly to dwemeri or chimeri cultural expectations much of the time (with mixed success, she's v autistic-coded), and has found navigating her dual heritage really hard, and I think there's a lot of power in her accepting that as soon as she accepts herself.

I think the next step after this fic would be about her trying to reconnect with other lost Dwemer and trying to build some semblance of community, in ways that don't trap her back in academia.

A line from your fic that contains an Easter egg

They are the stranger of the two: both unfamiliar and bizarre. They are cloaked in a thick mantle, the colour long faded, that trails to the top of their boots, but between the edges of heavy fabric one can glimpse an odd angle, a strange glint, of what looks like a suit of mismatched metal armour, wrong times, wrong periods, wrong histories soldered together, a patchwork of replacements and remnants, walking. The guide had wondered if there was anything but a shadow underneath it. (A shadow, a spectre, a haunting thing that wears a crossbow large enough to spear through a dragon’s heart, steady on their back.)

-- from Where is Shor?

This is actually Bthemetz, but funnily enough I think a lot of people actually missed that because of the deliberate use of they/them pronouns here.

A line from your fic that's shocking

“You would be cut down in less than year,” he says, simply. “You have no credentials, no family, and most Vvardenfell Clans have no great love for anyone in the Western Mountains. What little you would gather would be destroyed in a matter of minutes.” “It would be better,” they snap, “than another year sitting and doing nothing.”

-- Bauble

Not that shocking on the surface, but there's definitely something self-destructive about 19 year old Kagrenac, refugee of Nordic Occupation and Bitter about it, here arguing with 24 year old Dumac, lawyer-in-training and layabout (until they came along), about whether raising an army would be a sensible thing to do.

A line from your fic you want to talk about more

Bthemetz stops. She flings her arms outwards. “You tried to kill me!” “I know.”

-- also from my Free Day piece for TES summer fest this year.

Cheating here because I actually have a half-written fic all about this, actually. Hoping I will finish it before the end of the month.

[wheredreamsareforged]

Aurore fun facts 🥺

☾ ― aurore lavigne - fun facts;;

☆ being from Fontaine, born and raised, they have a very prominent French accent- as Fontaine is mainly drawing inspiration from France. she also knows French, with English being her second language for this same reason ☆ when describing Aurore to others, i state him to be worse than Scaramouche had been when it comes to his treatment of Fatui soldiers. while this was mostly retconned with her current rendition, it is still prevalent in their behavior. they still abuse their power, yes, but they are notably kinder to those who have been through any sexual trauma, or trauma from a stage in which they were abused by an adult- especially men. as such, they are still regarded as such (most overdramatic retellings, or so people assume) ☆ she has killed people in the Fatui and outside of the Fatui. the former typically being from someone being perverted or trying to abuse rankings for those same reasons. the ladder is often because they are a genuine sadist that enjoys torturing their victims ☆ they are short, but also able to use their claymore like a sword! i need to learn how to draw bulkier figures to accurately depict them, but their current ref is close enough ☆ they are a harbinger; most annoyed by Childe, however, they absolutely despise Dottore, and has made threats on his life before. she 100% will sell him out to Diluc for free, no catch ☆ speaking of Diluc, Aurore holds him in high respects. not only for getting banned and a wanted bounty on his head in Snezhnaya both without a Delusion/Vision and with only chains/a claymore, but also how he treats perverted scum! i can genuinely see them working with him very rarely if they're tracking down something involving perverted crimes- like human trafficking ☆ now, fun fact, Aurore has no chest. they were absolutely Tortured in Fontaine before by the legal system as they were caught one day. didn't go out without a fight, and lost their leg and got some electro scars from it- died legally too. the scarring was too much and the potential surgery to get one is too risky. they are too prideful to do anything else like pull a James from Pokemon, so they just...sit their in dysphoria and mental pain. preferring she/her, while still using all pronouns

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

This is the first volume in the “Sorcerer Royal” series.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

This is the first volume in the “Alex Stern” series.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell, whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country.

Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange.

Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very antithesis of Norrel. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms that between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

This is the first volume in the “Strange & Norrell” series.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

“I refuse to be nothing…”

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.

This is the first volume in “The Radiant Emperor” series.