#getting fallen hero vibes from eve

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OSS: Crime; Chapter 2-Project “Ma” -Eve-

Original Sin Story: Crime infomine under the cut

Scene 1

It’s said that the witch of the forest uses a spoon instead of a magic wand.

Eve makes her living selling fruits and mushrooms from the forest. She is the eldest daughter of Nemu’s village chief, but she likes the work—she doesn’t have to stay cooped up in the village all the time, and the Mogura (mogura means mole? Don’t know if it should be left as is or translated) are always looking to buy her wares.

The “Mogura” refers to the people who are excavating Second Period artifacts to the forest’s east, presumably because they have filled what was once an empty plain with holes. The people of Nemu hold little ill will towards them over this, as the money that they spend has made the village prosperous.

Eve bought an “automatic carriage” with this money and is currently driving it, using it to carry her stock. Note—this is not actually a car. It is a horseless carriage that makes the wheels turn through special gears that are powered by magic (Eve’s magic, in this case). If I’m reading correctly, it is controlled by a power crystal ball. This is something the “Mogura” discovered. Her father’s connections allowed her to buy it relatively cheaply, but it was still pretty expensive.

Her father is apparently houseridden, after having injured his lower back/hips/etc two years before (sounds like they give him chronic pain?), so Eve has been doing merchant work in his stead. Eve’s mother is also noted as being deceased.

Eve pulls up to her destination, and the men at work all gather around as it’s close to lunchtime. The most popular item she sells is pfifferling (I believe this is German for “golden chanterelle mushroom”), which the Mogura put in dishes with venison that they buy from hunters. The next most popular is trauben (note that Nemu sells wine made with it too).

Once they’re done with their purchases, almost emptying the cart, the Mogura make soup with it and start to eat. One of them brings Eve a bowl. He goes to get a spoon for her, having forgotten one, and she airheadedly almost admits that she has a spoon of her own (the blue magic spoon that she’s not supposed to show people she has).

While eating, the Mogura talk about the “witch of the forest” using her lightning magic to drive out the “White Army” (白軍) that has been terrorizing the region. They come from the east, all have white hair, and use fire magic. Her father told her they were once nomads, but after some fight with the people of the forest long before, they slowly became a savage tribe. They’ve killed hundreds of people in the forest already, and have also been attacking the excavation site.

Just as Eve is thinking about heading back to the forest, they hear screams coming from the north. They see the “White Army” fighting with a fleeing automated carriage much larger than the kind that Eve is driving. Seeing this, Eve leaps into action, driving her carriage in the direction of the fighting.

Scene 2

There are three carriages being attacked. All of them have the crest of Levianta on their side. One has stopped, smoking. The other two have soldiers firing at the attackers with guns. Unnoticed, Eve goes to check on the downed carriage, and just narrowly avoids getting stabbed by the occupant inside (Adam), who after a moment quickly realizes she’s not one of the White Army.

Seth is also in the carriage, with a minor head wound. Adam helps him get into Eve’s carriage. She introduces herself as Eve Zvezda, which he notes with some surprise. He introduces himself to her, and bids her leave with haste (when she asks about the soldiers—Gammon among them--he shrugs it off as their job, and Seth notes they’re fairly capable).

Some of the White Army are headed their way, so Eve starts up the carriage to take them to Nemu.

Scene 3

Eve is able to outpace their pursuers, and takes them to her house (Nemu has no doctors, and so her father, who has medical knowledge, is their village doctor in addition to being village chief).

Her father quickly goes about tending to Seth’s wound, and then brings up that he’s an old friend of Horus (horusu), the former head of the research facility (based on context then this is Adam’s “father”). Adam has to share the bad news that he died two years ago (chief Zvezda hasn’t been to the 12 capitals much lately) and that Adam has taken his position now.

He notices that Seth is blind in his left eye, and notes offhand that Horus’ left eye was blind too.

After they’re done, Eve and Chief Zvezda encourage them to stay, noting the White Army won’t attack here (this is a village full of sorcerers—evidently this is not common knowledge).

Zvezda asks what they’re there for (no scientist has visited the excavation site itself until now).

As a note, his full name is “Raiou Zvezda”, and he is a sorcerer too (note—the only reference I could find is to a Yu-Gi-Oh card “Thunder King Rai-Oh”. “Rai ou” literally means “thunder king” with certain kanji, as well).

Adam reveals that they came to this forest to meet with Eve. This puts everyone on edge (especially given they were originally accompanied by soldiers). Seth pipes in then, trying to calm things down (though his efforts don’t feel genuine to me, personally), alluding to not wanting things to be like the time of “the Witch of Merrigod” (which leads to Raiou accusing them of being on a witch hunt).

Seth says that Raiou suspected them from the beginning—that he must have also known Horus was dead (which Raiou confirms—he hasn’t been to the capitals, sure, but mages have their own information network using green onions).

Against Adam’s protestations that it should be him telling them, Seth explains what they’re doing there, introducing himself as Horus’ greatest apprentice (Adam says he just calls himself that on his own).

The explanation is as follows (note—this sounds a bit like a PR spiel, so take it with some salt): Despite being called a kingdom, Levianta is little more than people assembled to follow the will of their gods (given that the very nation was founded around worshipping them and what they left behind). Thus, the leader must be someone who can hear the gods speak, a virgin maiden with high magical power.

Levianta is ruled by a queen, and they have several mechanisms from which to pick them; a special orphanage run by the Loop Octopus family, the Lighwatch temple run by the Asayev family, the research institute run by the Vaju family, etc. Whichever institution the next queen comes from, that family’s senate member becomes head of the senate. The current queen Alice is from the orphanage (hence why Miroku is the only one able to interact with her, because he’s head of the senate—also, on that subject, it seems Loop Octopus is the family’s full last name. So, Miroku Loop Octopus).

The research institute is looking into ways to artificially create a new Queen/woman with extreme magical power (and thus guarantee Vaju as next senate head)—this is the “Next Queen Project”, which has involved women from all over participating to be this new queen’s mother (Seth insists these women participated voluntarily and were not kidnapped, despite rumors to the contrary).

So…I suppose based on context (not entirely sure if I’m reading it clearly), the “Witch hunts” aren’t hunting witches to kill, but hunting witches to kidnap (which has happened recently). Seth explains that circumstances dictate they don’t have time to wait for volunteers—not on the Next Queen Project (as Alice is still in her 40s and not close to death), but on the new project. Project “Ma”.

Raiou dismisses “Ma” as just an old legend (the legend says that when disaster approaches the world, the two-headed dragon LeviaBehemo will be reborn as the “Twins of God”, and the woman who births them is the holy mother Mem Aleph, or “Ma”), despite Seth insisting that it’s all actually happening.

So, not only will the person who becomes Ma become queen, but whoever produces Ma will become head of the senate. Raiou asks why Miroku would give the research institute as many permissions as he has (command of their security, information, etc), knowing that if they succeed he’ll lose his seat to Vaju; Seth speculates that he must acknowledge that it’ll be hard to find “Ma” through his orphanage, and so figures that by collaborating with the research institute he’ll still be able to leverage some political influence after stepping down.

They came here searching for the “witch of the forest” rumored to appear in “The Forest of Held” to the south of this village. Supposedly, she does battle against the White Army attacking everyone here by using lightning and a blue spoon, and has green hair. They had the soldiers with them for protection (Eve wonders if they’re alright, but Adam assures her that while they can’t use magic, they’re all very skilled with swords and guns).

Eve already seems to have a crush on Adam.

Raiou tells them that they’re mistaken—that this witch is not Eve. All the people in the village have magical power, and there are a lot of girls with green hair. While the people in the village are immigrants from elsewhere, Eve is actually his adopted daughter. His wife found her in a river, and they raised her as their own. He says that they should head to Held’s Forest for their search.

Seth then brings out a two-pronged iron rod—a Second Period device that can read someone’s magical potential…but he left the data output device in the other carriage. Adam requests usage of their carriage to head back over there and get it (note, Adam has magic too—enough to make the carriage run, at least).

Just then, Gammon arrives. He reports on what happened—they handled the situation quickly enough (it just took a while due to the higher numbers of attackers). He had his people go to the capital for reinforcements to go on the offensive against the White Army. Meanwhile, he’ll be doing the bodyguarding duties for Adam and Seth by himself. He has also brought over what they forgot in the carriage (meaning Seth can test Eve’s magic now).

The rod is connected to a box that beeps when he passes it before Eve, and also provides the readings numbers. Her “M” level is 72. Just a little stronger magically than the average person (not candidate levels). He tests it on Gammon, showing his level is 0. Raiou’s level is 200, and Adam’s is over 300.

Eve is a little disappointed that she’s missed her chance to be a candidate, but then she knows her father (who hates politics and only became chieftain because someone had to do it) would never let her join. She loves her father, but doesn’t mean there aren’t things she’s dissatisfied with about that.

Scene 4

Seth heads to get treatment at a hospital in the 12 capitals just to be safe, while Gammon and Adam stay in Nemu for a while to look for the Witch of the Forest, with Eve acting as their guide and transportation to Held’s forest (they are paying her a lot to do it). She takes them to some of the villages in the forest that she knows, and they also go around places where the witch is rumored to be. No luck.

One day they’re heading along when the weather turns cloudy, and seems likely to rain (so Adam suggests they turn in early).

According to his information, the witch appears to help people attacked by the White Army. Those saved forget what she looks like afterwards, though, save for the green hair, that she’s a woman, and she uses a spoon to fire lightning. Adam speculates that this witch can manipulate people’s minds (Eve brushes it off jokingly, saying if she had that power she’d use it to make herself queen).

Eve is a little over 20 at this point (and Adam appears close in age to her).

Adam doesn’t know much of magic—he only recently learned of his high potential. Also note: while they are chatting, Gammon is just looking at their surroundings quietly. Eve’s internal monologue notes how much easier Adam is to get along with (and that he doesn’t look down on her like some 12 capital people do).

Adam used to live in a place west of the capitals, by the coast, in an orphanage. It was there that Horus Solntse showed up one day and adopted Adam. He says his only mother figure was a whale (a little confused here but I think basically a whale has been watching over him since before he was old enough to remember things). Eve speculates that this was an incarnation of a forest spirit.

Eve recounts a time when the loneliness of not knowing her true parents led to her running out into the forest at night. She got lost, and came to a stop crying. Then, a fearsome bear appeared (note that it starts raining on them now). Eve pulls up her skirt to show Adam a scar on her thigh (which flusters him initially because why wouldn’t it). The bear, probably hungry, attacked her. Just then, all the forest animals attacked the bear at once, driving it off. Since then she hasn’t seen a bear in the forest. She figures the forest spirits are protecting her now. This is something she’s hardly ever told anyone else.

Adam’s about to say something, but they suddenly hear an explosion from the direction of Nemu. And they see smoke rising from it. The White Army comes out from the trees, circling the carriage and trapping them. They are led by a woman. She is the “White Fiend of Jakoku”, Raisa Netsuma. Raisa says this is a test (vague though on what it’s a test for).

Raisa urges her men to be careful, as Gammon is a skilled fighter and they are with the “Witch of the Forest”, meaning Eve. Eve denies this—Raisa doesn’t believe her, and charges with a long and narrow weapon wreathed in pale flame.

Eve coldly takes out her spoon (which she got from her dad). She recites the “Medvedi ubit” spell, which sends lightning at Raisa and all her underlings (leaving the forest and its animals, as well as Adam and Gammon, untouched). Raisa is the only one who survives. Gammon goes to catch her before she can escape.

The village is still burning. Eve starts the carriage to go save them, but Adam thinks it’s too dangerous (as their main forces will be there). Gammon tosses Adam the sword that Raisa was using to defend himself with, as he has to stay with Raisa.

The people of Nemu were once a famous group of sorcerers, so it’s unlikely they’re being killed so easily. Still, they head there as fast as they can.

Scene 5

Eve is the Witch of the Forest after all. She isn’t too burnt up over Adam finding out, given that he’s clearly trustworthy and doesn’t mean her harm. And being queen doesn’t sound like a bad thing (albeit she’d need her father’s permission, and she’s not the kind to go against his wishes).

Nemu is burning, under attack by men in red outfits. Adam realizes, to his horror, that these are the “Witch of Merrigod”’s forces, the “Red Devotees” (might be a better way to translate that, 赤の信徒たち) She was once an “Ma” candidate, but the senate and the institute deemed her too evil to be made queen.

The men circle the carriage as it arrives. Eve demands to know where the villagers are, but they all stare at her blankly. She prepares to strike, but the men part to let a red-garbed woman walk through—the Witch of Merrigod, Meta Salmhofer (she hasn’t been introduced as Meta yet but it’s obviously her). She has a very adult air to her, but in terms of actual age she looks younger than Eve. Meta makes an offhand comment that Raisa (and all of the White Army, I think) is an inheritor of Salem.

She claims she’s not attacking this place because of the White Army, but rather (among other reasons that she doesn’t elaborate) to get revenge on the institute (and Adam) for “making a fool of her” (it’s a little vague on exactly what went down during her “Ma” candidacy at the time).

Eve asks where everyone is, and Meta points to Eve’s house, telling her to go look. Eve heads that way with Adam. They find her father in the garden, naked, covered in wounds, and crucified on a big cross that was erected there, already dead. He’s surrounded by the other men of the village, who are standing lifeless just like the red devotees.

Eve is horrified and confused as to how this happened, given her father’s power. Adam explains that Meta is an inheritor of Gilles, and as such has the power to control men—she probably used the village men to attack Raiou, and he, not wanting to hurt them, couldn’t properly defend himself.

Eve wants to go attack Meta, but Adam points out she’ll use the villagers to get in the way (as human shields, basically). They’re about to head to regroup with Gammon when they hear reinforcements from the capital arrive.

They came to meet up with Gammon, but as they were already there they fought against the red devotees. Meta and her forces withdrew (including, unfortunately, the men of the village). When the fires have been put out, they find the corpses of all the village’s women piled up in a cattle pen.

Eve goes with Adam to the capital. She has nowhere else to go.

Scene 6

Asmouse is one of the 12 cities that makes up the capital (based on this phrasing I’m now more thinking that it’s less “12 distinct royal capitals” and more “12 cities that are collectively the royal capital”). It’s run by senator Ceci (Seshi) Vaju, and it has the strongest historical backdrop to it. Vaju is himself a descendant of those who first started discovering the Second Period stuff. He founded the research institute using permissions from the previous queen. Horus, who became the head, was a friend of his.

In addition to all the technological advancements of researching Second Period technology (and I should probably say this at least once—I am saying Second Period for clarity’s sake. But they don’t say Second Period. They say “legacy”. Legacy items), they are also researching how to create people with magical power—that is to say, the “Next Queen Project”. But Horus died of illness before it could be realized. Hence Adam taking over. Etc.

Eve doesn’t care about any of that. The only thing that matters is that she’s an “Ma” candidate.

Adam gives her some coffee (which isn’t common outside the capital) to try and calm her down—Eve (imo) seems restless and uncomfortable. She’s wearing bands on her arms and legs connected to a big box (the chair she’s sitting in is also part of the machine, I think) that will help them properly quantify her magical ability (like a larger version of the device they used in Nemu). It turns out that her spoon can both seal and amplify a user’s magical ability (apparently it was originally her mother’s), so that’s why the earlier reading was inaccurate.

Adam runs the machine (Eve notes that it makes her feel queasy at first). It takes roughly an hour to run properly—they don’t have to run it nonstop but she can’t leave the chair until it’s over. She decides to pass the time by asking Adam about Meta.

Adam explains that Meta is from Merrigod (far further east than Nemu), which is used as a citadel for the dangerous organization “Apocalypse”, of which the “red devotees” and “the white army” are simply different units of their forces. Some say they’re looking to overthrow the nation, while others say they’re just criminals. They are led by Pale Noel, and Meta is his girlfriend. They know almost nothing about Pale—even him being a man isn’t set in stone.

Adam, Seth, and some other researchers headed to Merrigod, backed by Gammon and his security unit. But things went wrong, and it turned into a battlefield. The researchers hadn’t wanted that, but Apocalypse and the security force (ie, Gammon) did. The battle failed—Meta used her powers to control the security force, and there was infighting. Adam and Seth were the only researchers who survived, which is why even now the institute is short-staffed (Adam doesn’t say how long ago this was).

Eve asks what an inheritor is. Adam says it’s someone with supernatural powers, different from magic. Like Raisa and her clan (they had originally thought that it was magic, but even those in the White Army who had no magical ability can use fire). They don’t know the source of inheritor abilities though (research into it is being undertaken by the Lighwatch temple run by Yegor Asayev). Adam doesn’t know much more than that, other than that they’re divided up into classifications like “Gilles” and “Salem”, named after the god’s kin.

Adam may be getting Eve hooked on coffee, I think. She finds it too bitter but can’t stop drinking it.

Eve asks what the senate will do about Apocalypse—he says that (according to what Gammon told him), they won’t do anything. They view it as little more than a fringe organization (as it hasn’t attacked the capital much), and not worth the manpower it would take to get rid of them. Eve understands why her dad hated politics so much.

Adam says that’s why she should become ruler, going to write something down. The machine is still processing, but already her score is higher than her father’s was. She seems unsure, noting that she’s just a simple girl from a village, but he reassures her. This leads to a sweet moment between them (confirming they don’t dislike each other, etc—I feel this is probably a point where he’s faking his affection to make her easier to manipulate, however as this chapter is from Eve’s perspective there’s no way to tell).

Note, Adam knows enough swordplay to defend himself.

They still have Raisa’s oddly shaped (probably eastern) sword (she is in jail right now). Adam speculates that even if she fully recovers from Eve’s attack, she’ll likely be executed. Eve reflects for a moment on how much evil there is in the world despite her work as Witch of the Forest, and what she’ll need to defeat it.

Several days later, Raisa escapes from prison, likely with the help of a collaborator. Meanwhile, Eve’s M number exceeds 350, which is more than enough for her to be an “Ma” candidate.

Scene 7

Eve has to take a “Queen Test” (probably a better way to word that, phrase is 女王の試練)—basically a formality, a ritual to get her accepted by the current queen as a successor. She and Adam are discussing this as they walk through Asmouse. Only the queen knows what this entails.

Having high magical power, in this country, signifies that one is closely related to the gods. The position of Queen used to be hereditary, but then the fifth queen couldn’t have children. So she declared that all in this land were the children of the gods, and that having strong magic was a sign of the gods’ favor. Conversely, those who don’t have magic were said to be unloved by the gods (there’s no actual persecution for that, but advancement for such people became harder). As such, those with magic became able to vie for the throne. Adam learned all this in school after he was adopted.

There was no school in Nemu, and Eve had no need for an education there (outside of which berries were poisonous and how to use magic and so on), so this is all new information to her. Adam says he’ll tutor her on all this stuff.

He takes her to a red-walled building—it turns out to be a shop for dining utensils for her to use. She notices a red glass, and is told what glass is by the old man running the shop (same as with us, but it can only be made by a legacy piece in Asmouse, and colored glass in particular is a rarity). It’s expensive—Adam says she won’t need it, as it’s a wine glass and she doesn’t drink wine. She says she’ll drink coffee out of it, and so he buys it for her. They buy some other things and then leave.

Eve needs clothes, too—she needs a lot of new things. Adam’s not hurting for money (as the head of the institute), so he buys them for her, saying she can pay him back when she’s queen (very certain she’ll succeed). He says that since the moment they first met, he felt like they already knew each other. She does too.

Scene 8

Not even a month has passed, and they’ve fallen in love. Just because they’re similar in age, get along, and are living together. Adam’s the first attractive (both intellectually and otherwise) guy that Eve’s actually been around. Of course, this gets her worried, because one of the conditions of being queen is to be a virgin maiden.

Adam reassures her that while it might be hard for them to be together publicly, he’ll always be by her side. She wonders how, given only the head of the senate can see her—he stumbles for a moment before saying  he’ll maneuver things so Gammon becomes head of the senate, and he’ll be able to change that law to make things easier on them (I feel like he’s bullshitting just to get her to go along with him at this point).

Adam has her drink more coffee (which, when she drinks it, makes all her worries go away—she’s basically addicted to the coffee, yes), and then promises that they’ll get married in secret when this is all over. Eve suggests Held’s forest—as soon as they’ve gotten rid of all the “evil” that’s made it dangerous right now.

Scene 9

A week later, Eve is called to the round hall in Alicegrad. She is greeted by Miroku—they’re about to set up the trial. They are then greeted by a woman in flimsy white clothes, accompanied by a short middle aged man (who is Hugen/fugen Asayev, Yegor’s older brother). She is another candidate for queen (which shocks Eve, which Fugen mocks her for)—her name is Zelarana Chirclatia (zerarana), a priestess of Lighwatch temple.

Miroku and Hugen bicker a little bit. As a note, Yegor apparently went missing very suddenly before this, abandoning his post and leaving Hugen in charge. Zelarana questions Eve on being from Held’s forest, noting an “evil god” lives there. The people of Nemu saw it (Held) as an evil god, but the people of the forest saw it as a guardian deity. Eve isn’t sure which is true. The area with Held in it is inside the border of another country, and Leviantan citizens aren’t allowed to cross the border without permission, so she’s never seen the giant tree Held resides in herself.

Zelarana is a bit pompous, boasting about the training she’s received as a priestess and that Lighwatch priestesses are able to remove the wickedness from someone’s heart. Eve almost brings up that she has brainwashing powers (I mean, it doesn’t say that outright but it’s strongly implied), but thinks better of it, as she knows it’s a power that frightens people more than the lightning and hasn’t even told Adam of it yet.

Miroku reminds them all that this is serious business and a holy ritual, and they back down.

Scene 10

Eve goes first, heading to the Temple of LeviaBehemo where the queen lives. When she passes through the large door on the “First Wall” that only the senate are allowed to pass through, she sees a field of flowers—a garden in the center of Alicegrad. There’s a white building in the center of that—the temple. It’s small, about the size of the house she lived in in Nemu, which disappoints her. Inside is a dim space with four plain white walls. She walks forward and smacks her forehead into a glass wall.

This is a maze, made of glass walls (we later learn it’s called the “Hall of Glass”). Eve makes her way through carefully, growing more disoriented as she does. She calls out, but there’s no reply—though as she goes deeper inside, she sees a humanoid figure in a white dress sitting in a wheelchair. But the air feels like it’s getting thinner. By the time she reaches the queen, she collapses before she can get a good look at her face.

Scene 11

The first scene is a snapshot of her and Adam as twin Irregulars after the end of the world, looking out over all the souls on the world’s ruined surface from inside the Clocktower.

In the scene, when he tells her the world is ruined, she asks if they can return everything to how it was—he says all they can do is do everything over again, putting his hand in his chest. Everything becomes white and disappears.

The next scene is Eve’s showdown with Elluka at the end of the sloth novel. As Elluka starts the body swap thing, Eve realizes that Elluka is the one who destroyed the world. As the light spreads, Elluka transforms into a large monster—one that appears both like a dragon and like a bear. Somehow.

The next scene is Eve in the cabin with Adam, noting he looks like the boy in the first vision but also someone else. They’re making food. The door opens and a cute boy and girl, her precious children, come home. Before she can greet them, everything goes dark.

Personal opinion: It isn’t clear if these are memories, hallucinations, or future vision (given that prophetic dreams are a thing). It does seem to be indicating that, if it’s not referring to this being a loop (one in which Eve retains some faint memories of the previous iterations), that Eve has some way to perceive the future here, albeit in a fragmented fashion. It’s a little too trippy to interpret at the moment.

Scene 12

Eve wakes up in the middle of a conversation with Miroku in the round hall, with no idea what the heck she was talking about. Miroku confirms that she is indeed the next queen, as she was able to meet with the current one and hear the voice of god—or see, more like. It seems she had related to him her vision (or at least part of it), which he took to be future events.

Hugen is heading back to Lighwatch, with Zelarana’s corpse in tow. Miroku speculates that Eve’s lack of memory is a side-effect from receiving a revelation for the first time. After Eve went, Zelarana also entered the Hall of Glass—then she was found running out of the “First Wall”’s door, screaming like a madwoman. She fell unconscious and then died, evidently unable to handle the ritual. Unworthy candidates face “Divine Punishment”, apparently. Everyone knows this. …Except Eve.

Anyway, now it’s back to the institute to be impregnated with the divine seed. Eve has a ton of questions but she’s too exhausted to ask them. She’s also a little cheesed at Adam for not telling her that the ritual was so dangerous.

Scene 13

Eve is lying on a table in the institute. Adam tells her she has nothing to worry about, but she knows now that he lies sometimes (though she hasn’t pressed him on the ritual business). Still, after some conflict she convinces herself that he wouldn’t have sent her into danger if he’d known how bad it was. She’s afraid that their relationship will be over if she stops believing in him. She knows it’s stupid but she loves him.

Adam explains that the ark Sin is underneath the temple. It’s called the Dark Legacy because supposedly the Sin has the power to both save the world and destroy it—and the gods are trying to descend to the world through Project Ma in order to stop their power from running wild and doing just that.

Adam pulls up a cylinder with a cloudy liquid inside—he says this is the “Divine Seed”, which is taken from Sin, and is part of the gods’ body. He’s going to implant it into her to get her pregnant. Eve is nervous, but excited too—she thinks that the twins that she saw in her vision are the ones she’ll give birth to, and is eager to meet them.

She starts to conk out from the anesthesia. He tells her when she wakes up, she’ll be pregnant, and to “Sleep well, sleep princess/sleeping beauty” (nemurihime). It references the song with the whole “after this is over let’s get married at Held’s forest” bit. End chapter.

[justanoutlawfic]

I Belong With You (You Belong With Me): Us

Summary: James & Belle try to figure out what happened to David & Abigail.

Also on AO3

The Enchanted Forest (One Week & 5 Days Before the Wedding)

 David had been gone for four days and James knew his brother had no plans of coming back. He hadn’t packed much and had originally left a note saying that he and Abigail had decided to go pick up some linens for the wedding. However, James had found the alternative note. The one that they weren’t meant to discover until the eve of the wedding when George would no doubt be tearing the castle apart to find why exactly the younger twin had taken off. James knew his brother well. He also had gotten the vibe that Abigail wasn’t happy with the wedding either. There was no way they would just head off together to pick up linens, and it certainly wouldn’t take more than a couple of days.

 The note had been stuffed in David’s journal. James didn’t read the other pages, he just flipped for the loose one. There it explained everything. David had met a beautiful bandit (former princess) on one of his rides and he had fallen in love with her. Abigail was truly miserable and her former fiancé was in trouble. Together, the two planned to get exactly what they wanted. They wouldn’t be back. George couldn’t force David to be what he wanted anymore. After all, he was never destined to have this life to begin with.

 James felt a mixture of things when he read the note. He was happy for his brother. David always said he wanted to marry for love and as much as he tried to make things work, everyone knew that Abigail wasn’t that. If this bandit would make him happy, then that was okay. Yet, he couldn’t deal with the fact that he would never see him again. He loved his brother. They were close as could be and had been through everything together. It wasn’t like David to do something without James. A part of James wondered why David hadn’t gone to him for help, but then he realized…James had hid the secret of their biological mother for many years.

 George couldn’t find the letter. At least not for the time being. It would put far too many people in danger. Instead, he penned another and forged his brother’s handwriting. Masking himself as David, he said that he and Abigail had decided to stay in the village where they found the linens a bit longer. They promised to be back in time for the wedding, but they just wanted to take a little vacation. George and Midas accepted the note. The latter seemed happy that his daughter was accepting the marriage. George, on the other hand, just seemed happy that Midas was.

 “You do realize that doesn’t give us much time,” Belle said that night when he reported what he had done. “When they don’t come back for the wedding, George and Midas will be furious.”

James ran his fingers through her coarse locks. “I know. I don’t want to drag them back here just to be unhappy, but if I knew where they were, it’d be easier to game plan.”

“The note didn’t say where they were headed?” James shook his head. “That doesn’t give us much to go on.”

“You keep saying us.”

“You’re my fiancé.” Belle laced her smaller fingers through his larger ones. “We’re in this together. No matter what.”

A small smile came over his face. “I’m so used to handling things alone.”

“Well not anymore.”

 James’ heart fluttered. He looked down at her deep blue eyes. God, why did she have to be so damn beautiful? He tried to will himself away, but he couldn’t. It seemed that she couldn’t either. Their fingers stayed interlocked, their faces mere inches away from one another. James knew the rules. Neither were supposed to have romantic contact until their wedding day and yet…

 His lips brushed against hers. It started off as just one, soft kiss, unlike any other he had delivered. Then, she kissed him back. She tasted like the berries she had eaten just moments before this meeting and soon, he could smell her sweet perfume as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, his own arms falling around her waist like pieces of a puzzle. They were meant to be there all along. Her tongue slipped in and wrapped around his own, catching him off guard. The shy, bookish girl he had met wasn’t there in that moment. This was the fierce woman who had threatened to bash his father over the head with “Her Handsome Hero”.

 They had to pull apart for air and James cursed himself for needing oxygen. Her lipstick was smudged, cheeks pink. He could feel his own face warm. God, he hadn’t felt like this since he was a teenage boy. How did she have this spell over him? It was like magic, but the good kind. He had read about it in books. Boy meets girl, girl smiles at boy…and he loses his mind for her.

 Their hands were both enclosed with each other, their bodies still so close together. “You could have your brother tracked,” she suggested. It took James a moment to process her words. It was as if they hadn’t just kissed, as if he couldn’t still feel her tongue on his own. “By one of the knights.”

James slowly took in what she was saying. “They’d just tell my father.”

“There’s one that used to be in King Arthur’s court before he was disgraced.”

His brows furrowed and she giggled, which only made him feel hotter. “W…why?”

“He fell in love with King Arthur’s wife, and she him. Once Arthur found out, he was furious. He kicked him out and it took him ages to find a new court. I think George only took him on because he knows Lancelot is willing to break a few rules.”

“Which you think he’d do for me?”

Belle nodded. “I’ve spoken to him a few times. He’s not fond of your father, but he spoke highly of your brother. For the right price, I think he’d be able to track down David and Abigail. Once he did, we can go to them and see what they’re up to. Then we can plan what to tell your father and the other king.”

James tilted his head, then let out a small laugh. “Perhaps I should kiss you more often, it seems to give you good ideas.”

Belle’s eyes twinkled. “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

 James took that as an offer to lean in and give her another.

[aion-rsa]

The Sister Ending Explained: The Paranormal Thriller’s True Horror

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Warning: contains spoilers for The Sister

What a sweet story. The baddie was dealt with. Poor Holly finally got closure on Elise’s disappearance, and she and loving husband Nathan had the baby they’d been trying so hard for. Yes, granted, he’s now haunted by her dead sister, but what else is new? The important thing is that it all ended well. Togetherness. Baby. Lovely.

Except, hang on, what? Unlovely. There was nothing sweet about The Sister’s ending. It showed a dangerous liar getting away scot-free with – essentially – murder, and his only punishment coming from the ghost of the woman he buried in the woods a decade earlier. Hasn’t dead Elise been through enough? She deserves to spend her afterlife haunting a plush stately home nestled in manicured grounds, not spooking it up in the back of Nathan Redman’s hatchback.

Nathan may wear the extremely likeable face of Russell Tovey, but it’s a disguise. Underneath the kind eyes and everyman vibe, he’s an unhinged liability who only looked sane in comparison to Bob ‘fired from a fairground ghost train for laying it on a bit thick’ Morrow. Bob killed Elise, but Nathan violated her when he inveigled his way into the Fox family.

New Year’s Eve 2009

A quick recap of the facts: on New Year’s Eve 2009, Elise and Nathan met in the woods on the way home from a party, where they were picked up by Bob, who parked the car in a ‘haunted’ hollow, gave them a bag of what they thought was cocaine and left them alone. Elise did a line, and then started to do Nathan, before having a fit, banging her head on the car window, and dying. 

When Bob returned, he convinced Nathan not to call an ambulance, and together, they buried Elise’s body in a shallow woodland grave. We later learn that Bob had deliberately given Elise and Nathan cyanide, intending to kill them in order to prove the existence of spectres once and for all by creating his very own. According to Bob, the circumstances of such a death – young woman, sex, close to running water – were ripe for ghost-making. 

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TV

The Sister Cast: Russell Tovey and Bertie Carvel’s Best-Known Roles

By Louisa Mellor

Bob turned out to be right. He spent the next decade being haunted by the ghost of Elise Fox while Nathan spent them successfully scheming to become her brother-in-law.

That’s right. Driven to the brink of suicide by his guilt, Nathan decided that the best way to make it up to the Fox family wasn’t to, you know, tell them what happened to their loved one but to infiltrate their ranks, marry Holly and make up a four at Pictionary.

To a mind as addled as his, it must have made a certain kind of sense. You’ve destroyed someone’s life? Now fix their life by marrying them and becoming the protector of their happiness! 

“All I care about is you”

Had Nathan and Holly fallen in love by accident, with him unaware that she was Elise’s sister, that would have been another matter. But The Sister was playing a different game. It distracted us with Dickensian cartoon baddy Bob, so we were blinded to a much more plausible villain in Nathan. He’s the nice guy whose lies are only ever to protect his partner. Everything he does is for her sake, because she’s all that matters. 

As obsessions go, it sounds benign, but with every repetition, Nathan’s ‘I only care about your happiness’ line rang less and less kind and more and more like the justification for a whole lot of manipulative, controlling, arse-covering behaviour. His fixation with saving Holly was unhealthy to the point of neurosis. As she joked, “He might seem pretty sane on the outside. Underneath, he’s basically mental.” Insensitive language aside, that’s the real horror of The Sister summed up.

When Bob tried to blackmail Nathan to come clean about what they’d done (hiding Elise’s DNA-covered dress and remains to use as leverage), Nathan refused because – he said – finding out the truth would destroy Holly. 

He was probably right, but by that stage, it was a bit late to start worrying about things that would destroy Holly. If the monstrous Bob’s conscience finally pushed him to do the right thing, what does it say about Nathan that his didn’t do the same, and that he stood in Bob’s way?

To protect Holly (himself), and spurred on by the realisation that Bob had intended to kill him with the cyanide too, Nathan planned and executed Bob’s murder. He went to his house with a bottle of Temazepam-laced whisky, pretended to drink it with him, then donned rubber gloves to pour the rest of the sleeping pills down Bob’s neck. When Bob attempted to call 999, Nathan thought fast, pretended the call was from him, and suffocated Bob with a cushion until the paramedics arrived. 

Bob was left in the kind of coma you don’t wake up from, according to police officer Jacki, who knew exactly what Nathan had done, and helped him to cover it up. What Jacki didn’t know was why Nathan had killed Bob, assuming that he’d done it as an act of heroic revenge on Elise’s murderer and not to ensure that his secret remained under wraps. “I’ll make sure she knows what you did for her,” Jacki told Nathan, and it was surely down to the honey she poured into Holly’s ear that reconciled the now-pregnant couple. 

Justice served?

In the end, the role Nathan played in covering up Elise’s murder stayed hidden, with Holly now falsely believing him to be her sister’s avenging hero. His reputation was only improved by his attempted murder of Bob, his sole punishment coming from his own guilt and Elise’s ghost (which may well be one and the same). Nathan was last seen driving home to prepare the house for the return of Holly and their new baby daughter, with Elise’s staring-eyed corpse riding along in the back of the car. 

Fair play to ghost-Elise for turning up to haunt Nathan. If she does a good enough job, perhaps he’ll do the honourable thing and scarper, leaving Holly and the baby to a life free of him. If this is how far a man like him will go to ensure the ‘happiness’ of his wife, what might he to ‘protect’ his daughter?

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The Sister is available on ITV Hub now.  

The post The Sister Ending Explained: The Paranormal Thriller’s True Horror appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[radiofreejro]

Thanksgiving Eve BYOV @ Tap & Barrel - 11/23/16

Thanksgiving Eve BYOV @ Tap & Barrel - 11/23/16

Meco - Star Wars Disco The Upsetters - Dread Lion Blondie - Heart of Glass The Bee Gees - Night Fever A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour/Can I Kick It Beck - Where It's At MC 900Ft Jesus - I'm Going To Heaven* Beastie Boys - 33% God Armageddon Dildos - Everyday Is Like Sunday Nine Inch Nails - Get Down Make Love (Queen)* Berlin - Sex (I'm a…) Missing Persons - Words The Monroes - What Do All the People Know Josie Cotton - Jimmy Loves Maryann Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy Bouncing Souls - Private Radio The Ramones - Carbona Not Glue* Green Day - Dry Ice* Mr. T Experience - I Wrote a Book About Rock n' Roll Undertones - Teenage Kicks Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love Let's Active - Every Word Means No Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song Wreckless Eric - The Whole Wide World Scandal - Goodbye To You The Knack - Good Girls Don't Modest Mouse - Float On The Jam - Start The Clash - Train In Vain The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like The English Beat - Mirror In the Bathroom Elvis Costello - This Year's Girl Violent Femmes - Add It Up Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Waiting The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again The Motels - Only the Lonely Modern English - I Melt With You Alvvays - Archie, Marry Me Dell Shannon - Hats Off to Larry Fountains of Wayne - Radiation Vibe Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself Thunderclap Newman - Something In the Air The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love The Decemberists - The Sporting Life Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - The Tracks of My Tears The Rolling Stones - Heart of Stone Social Distortion - Ball and Chain Boston - Peace of Mind* The Cars - Just What I Needed Squeeze - Pulling Mussels From a Shell* Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be Kind The Kinks - Everybody's Gonna Be Happy Patti Smith - Gloria (live) Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me (live)* Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town Run DMC - King of Rock Public Enemy - Bring the Noise Grandmaster Belle Mel - White Lines Grandmaster Flash - The Message Fat Boys - Fat Boys Rodney Dangerfield - Rappin' Rodney De La Soul - Me Myself & I Flight of the Concords - Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance Digital Underground - Humpty Dance The Time - Jungle Love RJD2 - Counseling (instr) Meat Beat Manifesto - I Got the Fear Part 4* The Art of Noise - Peter GUnn Primus - To Defy the Laws of Tradition* Tool - Sweat Suicidal Tendencies - Memories of Tomorrow/Possessed Bad Religion - A Walk Alkaline Trio - Queen of Pain Bauhaus - She's In Parties Sisters of Mercy - Gimme Shelter (Rolling Stones) Public Image Ltd (PIL) - Public Image Siousxie & the Banshees - Cities In Dust Iggy Pop - China Girl Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm Pink Floyd - Fletcher Memorial Home/Comfortably Numb Marianne Faithful - Broken English Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink Sugarcubes - Motorcrash Talking Heads - Life During Wartime Prince - Purple Rain Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letter 23 Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacherman Courtney Barnett - Out Of The Woodwork New Order - Weirdo The Ocean Blue - Between Something & Nothing Transvision Vamp - The Only One The Bangles - September Gurls (Big Star) The Hollies - On a Carousel Jackie Wilson - Higher & Higher Squeeze - Up the Junction The Pretenders - 2000 Miles The Pogues - Fairytale of NY Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill Yaz - Nobody's Diary A Flock of Seagulls - Wishing Split Enz - I Got You Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Vibrating INXS - Burn For You Joe Crow - Compulsion Death Cab For Cutie - Your Heart Is An Empty Room Band of Horses - The Funeral Kurt Vile - Pretty Pimpin' Joey Scarbury - Greatest American Hero

[ellajamesblog]

Memorial Day 2018: The Right Ways to Show Gratitude to the Martyrs as A True Patriot

“There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country”

                                                                                                  : Nick Lampson

The Star-Spangled Flag that each one of us holds close to our heart has a great history behind it. From endless wars to even the bloodiest days the ‘braves’ fought, they only had one aim welded deep into their hearts; not to let the flag down! They fought with each and every speck of their bodies to protect what they hold dearest: The country.

Memorial Day or Decoration Day is observed and celebrated to pay gratitude to all the brave souls who gave away their life in service of United States of America. Regardless of the exact date or location of this day’s origin, what we can confirm is that Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War with a pure desire to honor the “heroes”.

The History

As the scrolls in the history rule out every tiny hope of finding the origin of Memorial Day custom and traditions, it is for sure that the Civil War triggered the idea of honoring the martyrs. The spring of 1865 saw the end of the cold and gruesome years of war with the Great Civil War coming to an end. The Civil war claimed more lives than any other conflict recorded in the U.S history. This led to the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

The late 1860s saw the creation of a rare but humane tradition. It was observed that people from various towns and cities began holding springtime tributes to the countless fallen soldiers by placing flags and flowers at their grave.

How to Celebrate Memorial Day in 2018

Celebrating Memorial Day alongside the family with barbecues and outdoor activities might seem fun as you get a whole weekend. But, is that the best each one of us can do as living patriots? We are the ones who need to set an example for the young generations. So, this year let’s celebrate Memorial Day with a determined and compassionate heart for our beloved martyrs.

1. Decorating Graves

Other than enjoying the luxurious feel of your plushy sofa, pay a visit to the nearest national cemetery in your area. Ask your kids to prepare custom-made thank you cards and flower bouquets. There is also a history behind decorating graves. Following the battle of Gettysburg, women from Pennsylvania and Boalsburg began placing flowers on the departed soldiers’ graves. A couple of years later, the same was followed by the women from Mississippi and Columbus.

So, by placing flowers or decorating the graves, you are not only paying your gratitude to the departed brave souls but also respecting the history. This is something your kids must watch and learn from you. So, take the initiative and visit the nearest national cemetery.

2. Share History with Your Kids

Molding up the young generation for a better tomorrow is mandatory. Take time to recite the stories of great wars and the importance of celebrating Memorial Day. Listen to all their questions patiently and make sure all of them get answered. Reading out a few books about the holiday can also help a lot. The Wall by Eve Bunting and Memorial Day Surprise by Theresa Golding can be some of the potential picks to help you out. Make sure you keep the whole session interesting.

3. Decorate Your Home

Decorating your home for the upcoming Memorial Day should be on your priority list. Involve your kids too in decorating your home. Ask them to come up with Memorial Day craft ideas and help them make it. An American Flag wreath is a must for your Memorial Day decorations. Add a few American soldier figurines and American flag ribbons in your living room to bring out the vibe of Memorial Day.

4. Attend the Memorial Day Parade

As a true patriot by heart, you must attend or visit the largest Memorial Day parade in the country. This is a real opportunity to show your support and love towards the brave martyrs and their families. Before hitting the road for heading to the parade make sure you got a few patriotic motorcycle balloons and Memorial Day special ornaments to stand out from the crowd.

5. Thank A Veteran

Do you know the reason behind why each and every one of us can sleep peacefully at nights? It is because your subconscious mind tells you that you are safe and protected. Well, you owe this to the soldiers who’ve been tirelessly protecting you day and night at the country borders. Memorial Day will give you an opportunity to honor the dead while leaving the door open for showing gratitude and appreciation towards the ones who are protecting us now.

Thank every soldier or members of the armed forces you come across on this day for their exemplary services for the country. Try visiting disabled or wounded veterans with flowers and care packages on this day to show your gratitude towards them. Ask your kids to write thank-you letters and pin it along the flowers and care packages.

            “A hearty letter and smile costs nothing but gives much.”

Conclusion

Memorial Day weekend seems like a great time for a barbecue, family gatherings, and camping.  We all feel excited as the arrival of Memorial Day weekend gives the feeling of the start of summer. But as a patriot, we should never forget the true meaning of this day and instill the same in our kids. Hope you enjoy the Memorial Day with the above ideas.

Source: http://blogs.lijodecor.com/special-occasions/memorial-day-2018-the-right-ways-to-show-gratitude-to-the-martyrs-as-a-true-patriot/

[thelowercasegimmick]

Opinion Piece, 9/2/16: Opening Lines in YA (Part 2)

Here’s Part 1, if you haven’t read it already.

Context/Backstory

Tommy was a talker and didn’t much like the other ghosts, so he was forever talking to Kelpie.  That’s how she divided them up: talkers and silent ones.  Most ghosts were silent.  Most ignored the living.  Kelpie thought that was just as well.

- Razorhurst, Justine Larbalestier

This one is pretty self-explanatory - open your novel with information that’s necessary to understand the story that follows.  I feel like this is the most obvious way to open your novel, and if you’re not careful, it can end up being nothing more than a bland infodump.

Addie and I were born into the same body, our souls’ ghostly fingers entwined before we gasped our very first breath.  Our earliest years together were also our happiest.  Then came the worries - the tightness around our parents’ mouths, the frowns lining our kindergarten teacher’s forehead, the question everyone whispered when they thought we couldn’t hear.

- What’s Left of Me, Kat Zhang

This tries to be interesting, but I’m afraid it turns out kind of bland.  This book actually has a really interesting premise, but the turns of phrase here are so cliched that it’s difficult to see its potential.  It doesn’t do much to establish any sort of tone, and it’s not nearly as interesting as it could be.

When these opening lines work, it’s usually for one of three reasons: it either highlights an interesting detail of the story, it sets a mood, or it establishes a character’s voice.  This one is a good example of an interesting detail:

There is one mirror in my house.  It is behind a sliding panel in the hallway upstairs.  Our faction allows me to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month, the day my mother cuts my hair.

- Divergent, Veronica Roth

This is kind of a misleading opening line, because the setting that it’s describing doesn’t really have much impact on the novel as a whole.  But taken on its own, it works really well.  This is an odd detail, and it suggests some very interesting worldbuilding.  Contrast it to this:

When Egypt was young, and the first pyramids were being built with the sweat and blood of slavery, there lived a small civilization on the outskirts of society, led by a coven of thirteen men and women called the Dasi.

- Snakecharm, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

This also describes an aspect of the worldbuilding, but it’s a lot more cliched and less interesting than the one in Divergent.  Which is a shame, because the worldbuilding in this novel is actually very inventive, and there were surely a lot of interesting details that Atwater-Rhodes could’ve opened with.  But she clearly saw the opening lines only as an opportunity to get across information, whereas Roth cared about making that information interesting.

Of course, your focus doesn’t have to be on the information itself.  Here’s an opening line that sets the mood:

Aisling’s mother died at midsummer.  She had fallen sick so suddenly that some of the villagers wondered if the fairies had come and taken her, for she was still young and beautiful.  She was buried three days later beneath the hawthorn tree behind the house, just as twilight was darkening the sky.

- Ash, Malinda Lo

The information itself isn’t particularly interesting, but Lo’s prose is.  Ash is a retelling of Cinderella, and it has a very fairy tale-esque mood.  Lo does a good job of establishing that right off the bat, with her characteristically strong prose.  There are lots of great sensory details that help with this.  I couldn’t find a ton of examples that focus mostly on mood like this one does, which is a shame - it strikes me as a big missed opportunity.

The other type of opening line that doesn’t focus on the information itself is the type of opening line that establishes a character’s voice.  The best example I can think of for this type of opening line is The Catcher in the Rye (1953), but that book opens with a three-page long paragraph that I don’t feel like reprinting here, so here’s a shorter example:

April Fool’s Day.  Totally appropriate for the idiot who turned down a chance to go home to Earth because she thinks she should play hero.  Fortunately, all my contribution to the hero-ing business involves is standing where I’m put, ready to be hauled about by the people whose job it is to save the planet, or the galaxy, or however much of the universe is supposedly at risk.  And what I’ve really signed up for is more labrattery, to figure out what ‘touchstone’ means.

- Lab Rat One, Andrea K. Host

The information that this paragraph conveys doesn’t really matter - it’s essentially just a recap of the previous book in the series.  What matters is the voice.  Cassie - the main character - has a super-distinct voice, and if it’s not established right away, it’s going to throw the reader off.  So Host goes out of her way to establish as many of the quirks of this novel’s prose as she can, right off the bat.  I talked about this a little in Part 1, but backstory tends to be a very good way of establishing character voice, because there’s a lot of potential for a conversational tone.  That conversational tone is perfect for establishing voice quirks, and it can make information interesting that otherwise might’ve been tedious.

Last but not least, I wanted to share my favorite opening line that provides context and backstory.  And yes, I’m aware that this is a huge cliche among YA fans, but I can’t pretend I don’t love it.

Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.

- The Fault In Our Stars, John Green

This is another one that establishes character voice, and in a subtle way, it sets up the mood as well.  (Green doesn’t beat around the bush - he lets you know right away that this novel is gonna be pretty depressing.)  Other than that, I’m not even sure if I can describe why I love this opening line so much, except that there’s something very resonant about the word choice, particularly in the way the sentence resolves itself at the end.  It just works, in a way that’s hard to articulate.

Flashback

The night Sarah and Ben showed up out of the blue.  You should’ve known or suspected something was wrong.  The vibe was weird, but then it had been for a while, and Sarah was… Sarah.  Up in your room eve, when she kissed you and you lost yourself in her.  The moment it all came crashing down.

- She Loves You, She Loves You Not, Julie Anne Peters

I’m not gonna spend a lot of time on this category, because I only found about a dozen opening lines that fit the bill.  This is essentially a more interesting way of providing context or backstory than simply stating what the audience needs to know.  It uses what works about In Media Res (the immediacy of the scene), to accomplish what the context/backstory opening lines want to do.  At least, in theory.  In practice, the flashbacks often turn out to have more narrative summary than real action.  Which can still be interesting - here’s one I liked a lot:

On the day of my mother’s funeral, we all wore white.  My father said that dressing ourselves in the stiff, pale cloth would be a mitzvah.  I ran the word over my tongue as I straightened a starched new shirt against my shoulders.  I was twelve when she died, and Rebbe Davison had told us about mitzvot only a few days before - how every good deed we did for the other citizens of the ship would benefit us, too.  He said that doing well in school was a mitzvah, but also other things.  Like watching babies get born in the hatchery or paying tribute at funerals.  When he said that, he looked across the classroom at me with a watery gleam in his eyes.

- Starglass, Phoebe North

This has just enough detail to feel immediate, but it also keeps the distance that you’d expect from a flashback in a first-person novel.  The scene it describes is also pretty interesting, both because of the emotional aspects of what’s being described, and because of the details of Judaism, which is pretty unusual for a YA novel.  But on the whole, there’s not a lot to say about novels that open with flashbacks, and this post is long enough as it is.

Reflection

My name is Elizabeth but no one’s ever called me that.  My father took one look at me when I was born and must have thought I had the face of someone dignified and sad like an old-fashioned queen or a dead person, but what I turned out like is plain, not much there to notice.  Even my life so far has been plain.  More Daisy than Elizabeth from the go.

- How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff

I’ll admit: this was kind of my ‘miscellaneous’ category.  All I mean by ‘refelction’ is that it opens with either the narrator - be it a character or the omnipotent voice of third person - reflecting on the story in some way, shape, or form.  That’s a very broad category, and I ended up including a variety of styles too wide to generalize about easily.

I like to run at night.  No one watches me.  No one hears my sneakers slipping in the loose gravel at the side of the road.  Gravity doesn’t exist.  My muscles don’t hurt.  I float, drift past churches, stores, and schools, past the locked houses and their flicker-blue windows.  My mind is quiet and clear.

- Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson

This line, for example, almost counts as In Media Res, but the narrator isn’t describing a specific night of running, she’s reflecting on the experience of running in general.  That’s a subtle distinction, but I think it reflects a big difference between reflective opening lines and In Media Res.  The point of this line isn’t to put you into a specific scene, but into a specific mindset.  You kind of feel how the narrator feels while she’s running, without many specific sensory details.  That’s not necessarily better or worse than a specific scene - each of them have their uses.  Here, I think it works really well, because the distance from the scene emphasizes the surreal, almost spiritual nature of running to this narrator.

But anyway, when I said that there was too wide a variety to generalize easily, what I meant was that there are a lot of lines like that one, and also a lot like this:

Gigi said my guardian angel must have been watching over me real good when I was born.  Maybe so, but I wish the angel had watched over me less and seen to Mama more.  I never liked hearing about how I came into this world anyway.  It didn’t seem natural, a live baby coming out of a dead woman.  Gigi said it was the greatest miracle ever to come down the pike.

- Dancing on the Edge, Han Nolan

This doesn’t resemble In Media Res at all - it’s clearly the narrator reflecting on an aspect of her life that will be significant later on in the story.  There’s not much I could say that applies to both this and Catalyst.  But I also like this opening line a lot.  It mostly works because of how well it sets the tone for the book, in really subtle ways that you probably wouldn’t even notice.  This is a somewhat weird and unsettling novel, and that’s established with a somewhat weird and unsettling detail.  But it’s not at all ham-fisted; you’d never guess that Nolan actively set out to do that, unless you’ve already read the novel.

The universal factor among when these opening lines don’t work, though, is a lot easier to identify: whatever the character is reflecting on just isn’t that interesting.

The night is full of mystery.  Even when the moon is brightest, secrets hide everywhere.  Then the sun rises and its rays cast so many shadows that the day creates more illusion than all the veiled truth of the night.

- Demon in my View, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

The best way to describe this is cliched.  I know I keep using Atwater-Rhodes for examples of bad opening lines, which is weird, because I’d actually call myself a fan of her writing.  But she doesn’t really seem to have a knack for opening stories, and this is the worst example of all.  This could be the opening line of any horror novel from the last 40 years - there’s nothing new here at all.  The information is so cliched that it’s essentially meaningless.

The one other consistency I found among these lines is that single-sentence opening lines don’t tend to work very well here.  For example:

I only go out at night.

- In the After, Demitri Lunetta

I think the point of that line was to fill me with questions.  “How creepy,” I’m supposed to say.  “Why does she only go out at night?”  In reality, my eyes start to glaze over.  That’s just not enough information to capture the attention of anyone who’s read more than a few books in their life.  If a single-sentence opener is going to work, the information has to be genuinely weird.

The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say.  About anything.

- Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go

Now this is an opening line that intruiged me when I first read it.  The whole ‘amazing magic thing gets annoying once you’re used to it’ is cliched by this point, but the slang, combined with the circumstance, draws me in.  The spelling of ‘yer’ is something I’ve never seen anywhere else, and the fact that this country-ish slang is combined with a talking dog (in a non-cheesy way) suggests - correctly, I might add - that the novel to follow will be unique.

And, finally, my favorite of these opening lines:

Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious.  Outside our condo window, the sky flames like a bruised mango in vivid orange, red, and purple.  The clouds ignite with sunset colors, and I’m almost scared those of us caught below will catch on fire too.

- Angelfall, Susan Ee

This is kind of a weird way of establishing tension, but it works surprisingly well.  Ee uses a really unlikely symbol - the setting sun - as well as bright imagery, to illustrate what is implied to be a coming apocalypse.  The ‘since the attacks’ is vague, but it’s just enough to suggest the context for these sunsets without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.  And the mention of a condo suggests something about the setting that’s about to light on fire - again, it’s vague, but it’s remarkable that such a small detail is enough to give me the image of an entire town.  It’s the perfect opening for an action novel.

There’s no formula to writing the perfect opening lines.  Ultimately, different things work in different circumstances, and how your novel opens depends on what your novel is about.  But I wanted to make these articles to give an idea of the tools that writers have at their disposal to create opening lines.  Thinking about opening lines leads to discussions about how to grab a reader’s attention, and even how storytelling functions.  Even if the opening lines of a novel won’t make or break a book, these discussions are worth having.