#i drew them a lot together :) i miss those times... their dynamic is so precious

[melonimili]

some old sephiroth + sephzack doodles

[ladyartemesia]

The Secret

◐ PART IV of THE ALPHA ◐

◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Series Masterlist ◐

Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader

Rating: Mature (for this installment)

Warnings: ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming. Violence and discussion of violence relating to ritual combat. Jin’s pheromones need their own warning. Yoonji and Yunli are not the same person.

Word Count: 3600

Author’s Note: This update literally made me sob because I edited it and formatted it and it just disappeared when I posted. I seriously felt my heart drop because it took so long to format... ANYWAYS I wonder if anyone guessed the secret.

”You can’t do this, Luna ... Come back inside.”

Your hand tightened on the doorknob.

“I was just going out for some air-”

Jin shook his head, letting his lanky frame collapse onto the overstuffed chair by the fireplace. 

“And after the air... then what?”

Your terse silence was confirmation enough. 

He sighed heavily, hating himself a little for what he had to do. 

“You cannot go to him. They’ll smell you on his skin and it could cost him... dearly.”

Your eyes fluttered shut.

“I just wanted to see him...,” you whispered. “I wanted to talk to him just once before-”

A sob bubbled up in your throat and your hand flew up to cover it. 

The dawn would come in two hours. 

And then Park Jimin would be gone. 

Jin’s arms wrapped around your shoulders and you fell against him hopelessly. 

“They’re going to make me watch, Jin-ah. I-I have to watch him-”

Bitter tears overtook you, wracking your body with the violence of your despair. 

“I know...,” he murmured softly into your hair, “I know.�� 

“Do you think he’ll really show up?”

The chief elder glared fiercely at the young man who dared voice such a question. 

The entire pack had jammed themselves into the clearing where the challenge was taking place and despite the solemnity of the occasion, the atmosphere buzzed with barely contained speculation. 

“Park Jimin was chosen by the goddess herself to be her champion or to be the divine test of her champion. Have some respect,” he hissed. 

The young pup had the decency to look abashed, but the chief elder was already ignoring him in favor of the newest arrival... 

A Luna wore only three ceremonial colors at any given time. 

Green for celebration and harvest was worn in times of laughter and gaiety. 

Blue for mourning and peaceful resolve was worn in times of trial and hardship. 

Red for passion and vengeance was worn in times of war and signified the sacred bonds that wove the pack together. 

Your mother laid out a blue cloak as it was the color chosen by every Luna who had ever faced down a provocatione ritual.

But you arrived in sumptuous Red. 

It was a stunning act of defiance, a wordless declaration of your fury. You were here to obey the goddess, but in a crimson cloak you would not embrace this challenge with peaceful resolve. 

An attack upon your mate, even under these circumstances, was an attack upon you. 

You had come dressed for war. 

Jimin heard the gasps echo around his meditation cell.  

He and Namjoon arrived at the sacred circle a full hour before dawn and sequestered themselves in the small, free-standing hovels on opposing sides of the the site. 

The tiny pods were spaces for an individual to commune with the goddess and center themselves before engaging in the typically life-altering events that brought them there. 

Sometimes it was marriage or celebration, sometimes it was acceptance to one of the guilds or a promotion to a higher rank within your family’s clan...

Today it was life and death and the future of the pack that weighed upon the combatants’ shoulders. 

The sudden swell of movement and sound pulled Jimin from his meditative state. 

What happened? 

He got his answer soon after an elder came to escort him into the circle. 

It was you. 

Your hands and feet were bound to the ornately carved chair they had seated you in. This was a typical precaution because it was natural for a wolf to defend their mate if they were in danger and the restraints kept the Luna from doing so. 

The pain in your gaze was agonizing, but in red, flowing down from your shoulders with fiery obstinance, you were every inch the warrior queen. 

Yet it was not your rebellious cloak or even your incredible beauty that caused his heart to pound and stutter in glorious shock...

It was the familiar praesidium bracelet wrapped around your wrist; an intimate message of devotion that he and he alone would understand. 

Pride and possessiveness roared to life in Jimin’s chest. 

She’s mine.

“You look... surprisingly calm.”

Taehyung jerked guiltily. 

“What? Me? I don’t know anything - I mean I’m not calm - I’m frantic. I - I don’t even understand the question.”

Yoongi’s eyebrows raised right up into his hairline. 

“Taehyung-ah? Did you put those special mushrooms in your broth this morning? You’re acting a bit strange-”

“No,” Taehyung’s voice cracked. “This is me - this is totally normal me. I’m not - there were no mushrooms-” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “So - uh - how’s Yoonji?”

“Oh my go- really?!” 

The chief elder began to recite his speech, reminding the pack of the profound significance this moment carried...

But Yunli could barely hear his words over the ringing in her ears. Her gaze fixed on Namjoon from the moment the elder brought him forward... yet he had not glanced toward her once. 

He looked so strong and confident. 

So capable of victory. 

A faint whimper of abject sorrow worked its way passed her lips and Namjoon’s eyes flew to her instantly. 

As if he had always known exactly where she was. 

Longing split his features for a fraction of a second. 

Then his gaze shuttered again and Yunli’s wolf howled in silent, mournful agony. 

Anticipation bore down upon the assembly as the chief elder uttered the last few sentences with reluctant finality. 

The moment had come.  

Both alphas stepped into the circle. 

You began to tug frantically - futilely - against the bonds. Jin’s hand gripped yours as a tear slipped heedlessly down his cheek. 

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon whispered - to you - to Yunli - to Jimin -

To himself. 

Then his claws lengthened to a deadly point and he tore forward with a chilling snarl. 

Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent. 

Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and- 

———◐———

Last Night...

———◐———

“Wait - WHAT?!”

“It was... me. I broke the table.”

Taehyung drew back slowly. His eyebrows furrowed in profound confusion. 

“With what? A jackhammer!?”

Jimin tilted his head in amusement. 

“Hammerfist strike... actually.” He shrugged. “I lost my temper.”

“You - You lost your-“ Tae began shaking his head rapidly. “Is it a spell of some sort?! Goddess you know better than to get tangled up with witches! You let them give you a band aid and then they show up ten years later asking for your firstborn!”

Jimin rolled his eyes. 

“Of course not! No... it’s...” he bit his lip. “You remember that time I came to your house a little too early and... Yoonji had you tied to a bed...”

Tae paled. 

“We agreed never to speak of that.”

“And I haven’t - spoken of it - especially since Yoongi still thinks his precious baby cousin is unaware of big bad boy wolves and if he found out you were corrupting her-”

“Wait. You think I was corrupting her?!“

“The point is... it’s a secret. And I know you have your reasons for keeping it that way so... I hope you’ll understand what I’m about to tell you...”

———◐———

Fourteen Years Ago...

———◐———

Jimin’s hands fidgeted nervously over the flyer that the human boy offered him. 

“But I’m only in Seoul for the summer.”

Just long enough to miss Alpha Camp entirely. 

“That’s perfect because it’s only a summer program. Seriously, you were so fast catching that jar I knocked over. Your reflexes are amazing and it looks like you’ve got the perfect build for it too.” He tapped the flyer for emphasis. “Think about it.”

No one had ever told Park Jimin that he would be good at anything like this. In fact most people told him he needed to be better...

Bigger. 

Stronger. 

His eyes traveled over the large letters printed at the top of the brochure. 

“Taekwondo...”

——◐——

“...so thank you all again for signing up and attending the orientation. I will see you tomorrow for our first class.”

A strange sense of anticipation hummed through Jimin as he gathered his coat. He was finally doing something for himself; something that had nothing to do with being an alpha-

“You’re a wolf, aren’t you...”

The young instructor who gave the initial demonstration and spoke for most of the orientation stood behind him with his arms crossed.

Jimin’s eyes widened in shock. 

“How did you know?”

The stranger tapped his nose. 

“My grandfather had a human mate and his pack exiled him for it. I’m mostly human, but this nose can pick up another wolf’s scent just as well as yours.”

Modern packs didn’t exile wolves with human mates anymore, but fifty years ago the practice was still unfortunately common. 

“I’m sorry about your grandfather.”

The young man smiled. 

“He lived a long happy life with his mate and his family. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He stretched out his hand. “Lee Taemin.”

“Park Jimin.”

They shook firmly, and Taemin continued to examine him with unconcealed interest. 

“Tell me, Park Jimin, what’s an alpha wolf doing all the way out in Seoul? The only pack around here married their last child into one of the mountain nations years ago.”

“That was my mother, actually... I’m here visiting my grandmother.”

Taemin tilted his head curiously. 

“I’ve never known wolves to be interested in human martial arts. You lot prefer to fight shifted... In fact, I doubt a mountain wolf could even throw a punch,” he snorted, “not that they’d need to with those fangs.”

Jimin’s shoulders fell a little. 

“So... you don’t think I’ll be good at it.”

“On the contrary, I think you could be incredible.”

The young wolf’s face brightened immediately. 

“Really?! Even if I’m not as strong as other wolves?”

“Taekwondo isn’t about strength. It’s about speed. Master the speed and the strength will follow.”

———◐———

“Relax your body. Focus your energy.”

Jimin drew in a deep breath as he moved  through the pattern Taemin taught him. 

“The power and speed of your wolf is constant, but most wolves do not bother channeling it in human form. Concentrate on your wolf and bring that power into your strike.” 

His hand came down on the thin press wood and-

It hurt. A lot. 

Taemin chuckled as Jimin cussed and swore, cradling his tender fist grouchily. 

“You’ll get it. Just keep practicing.”

“Are you sure I’ll be able to break the boards one day?”

The boy’s face was so round and adorably hopeful. Taemin nodded confidently and offered him some ice. 

“A human with training can break boards, but a wolf who harnessed his natural speed and strength could break much more than that.” 

———◐———

Twelve Years Ago...

———◐———

“You’ve improved a great deal since last summer. Were you finally able to find a teacher near your pack?”

“Yes - but... she’s not as good as you.”

Finding a local Taekwondo teacher had been the easy part. 

Constantly making up excuses to explain his habitual disappearances... 

That was trickier. 

His mother thought he was hunting with Taehyung, Taehyung thought he was sniffing around some human girl and needed a buddy to cover his tracks. 

Sneaking away to practice wasn’t too difficult, but he panicked when Yoongi caught him moving through forms in the woods once and pretended to be doing an interpretive dance. 

With no music.

Yoongi had looked at him a little funny since then. 

Taemin grinned. “Of course she’s not as good as me. I’m the best. Now take position and let’s see if you can finally land this kick.”

———◐———

Ten Years Ago...

———◐———

Jimin glared at the thick oak board Taemin sent him home with this year. 

“It’s a 4x6 solid oak plank. I want you to break it before the winter solstice.”

He snorted, positioning the board between the makeshift vices he fashioned to hold it in place. 

“Sure, I’ll just get right on that.”

“...Who are you talking to?”

Jimin groaned internally.

Of course. 

“Hey guys,” he turned to greet Jungkook and Hoseok brightly (while completely ignoring the question). “Where - where are you two headed today?”

Jungkook’s eyes sparkled with excitement. 

“One of the elders is going to teach us how to build traps! He invited all the unmated alphas to go with him past the boundary lines to test whatever we make!”

A familiar embarrassment settled heavily in Jimin stomach. 

“Oh... I uh... I didn’t hear that.”

“I’m sure it was just a mistake that they didn’t call for you,” Hoseok rushed to reassure him. “You could come with us. I don’t think the elder would mind.”

The older boy’s gaze was filled with discomfort... and pity. 

Jimin cleared his throat and forced up a sunny smile. 

“No that’s fine - I have work to do anyways so...”

Jungkook nodded quickly, desperate to escape the unexpectedly awkward conversation. 

“Have fun!” he shouted, already beginning to jog away. 

Jimin watched quietly as their figures grew smaller, waiting till their clumsy steps no longer disturbed the stillness around him. 

He should be used to it by now... 

The passive rejection. 

It shouldn’t bother him anymore. There was no malicious intent... just casual dismissal again and again and again-

An angry roar tore past his lips as he brought his hand down on the board. 

It cracked in half. 

———◐———

Eight Years Ago...

———◐———

“It’s strange but - I feel like the better I become at this, the stronger my wolf is.”

“That isn’t strange at all. You and your wolf are two halves of a whole. The more you balance your energy, the more your strengths can be shared. Now - stop stalling and get to it.”

Jimin eyed Taemin’s latest idea with a reluctant groan.

“None of the other students have to break cinder block.”

“None of the other students are wolves. Besides, it’s been 6 years, you’ve broken stacks of boards. It’s time for a real challenge.”

“I’m lucky I haven’t broken a bone,” Jimin mumbled irritably. 

He did that day, but it was healed in a week and he broke his first cinderblock a month later.

———◐———

Five Years Ago...

———◐———

“Remember, timing is everything. Never let your opponent see what you’re going to do.”

“How many times do you think I’ve heard that over the last ten years?”

“Not enough, clearly. You’re still telegraphing with that right foot.”

Jimin’s left hand shot out and connected with Taemin’s jaw.

“Am I?”

Taemin blinked up at him from the floor. 

“Ok. I admit. That was pretty impressive.”

———◐———

Three Years Ago...

———◐———

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I was looking for Jin.”

Jimin scrambled to his feet, dumping the pile of pebbles he collected (for his mother’s garden) noisily to the ground.

“Luna...”

He took a discreet step backward as your gaze scanned the area in frustration. 

“You haven’t seen my cousin, have you?”

Jimin gulped. 

He had seen Kim Seokjin - leading a curvy beta girl (nose first no doubt) in the direction of the old wading pool. It took every bit of self-restraint he possessed not to laugh out loud each time Jin bashfully declared that he was a ‘good boy’ and to ‘be gentle with him,’ - after all, he’d given the same speech to two other she-wolves last week. 

Best not to scar her for life. Some things cannot be unseen.

His mind darted briefly to the scene he’d walked into at Taehyung’s house yesterday.

“I have no idea where Seokjin is, Luna.”

You sighed, gnawing absently at your lip while you considered his words, and Jimin felt a familiar hint of futile longing whisper through him. 

He’d never been so close to you, and now that he was, his wolf was making all sorts of insane suggestions to keep you near. 

Do a backflip. Climb a tree. Build her a house. 

Jimin bent quickly to gather his scattered stones, ashamed at the direction of his thoughts. 

You were so incredibly beautiful...

It was almost enough to make him forget that he would only ever be Park Jimin.  

He couldn’t blame the others for fighting and fawning over your attention like they did. You were the moon and every man around you was drawn in like the tide. 

“Today is my seventeenth birthday, you know.”

Jimin looked up to discover that you had moved much closer and were now looking down at him expectantly. 

He blinked. Twice. 

“I - yes. I did know.”

The entire pack was celebrating. He’d have to be comatose not to know.

“Should I save you a dance, Park Jimin?”

Up until that exact second, Jimin would have bet his life savings that you did not know his name. 

Yet here you were - so very close to him - gazing down into his eyes almost shyly.

He nodded because he couldn’t think of a single reason not to give you anything you wanted. And when you smiled so brilliantly -  he almost believed that you truly wanted to dance with him...

Almost. 

He never went to your party. 

He never danced with you.

Not that day. Not ever.

Because deep down he suspected that if he held you in his arms - even once - he would never truly let go. 

He was sure you wouldn’t notice his absence...  You wouldn’t remember talking to him by the time the evening rolled around. 

He never saw you search the crowds for his face right up until the midnight bell. 

He never saw you turn down dance after dance hoping that the beautiful boy from the forest would finally come and take your hand. 

He was your only wish that birthday. 

But he never knew. 

———◐———

One Year Ago...

———◐———

“I’ve never seen anything like your skill. You’ve long since surpassed me. I’m not sure what more I can teach you,” Taemin smiled, bumping Jimin on the shoulder, “Perhaps you should find a woman and spend a little less time practicing.”

An unwelcome flash of silver eyes and a laugh like sunshine danced through his mind. 

“No. I’m... not really the type wolf girls go for.” 

Taemin snorted. 

“I don’t believe that. Aren’t you an alpha?”

“Yes, but it’s... complicated.”

“Isn’t everything?”

Jimin laughed. 

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

Silence settled comfortably between them as they nursed several bottles of soju on his grandmother’s porch. Taemin had charmed the old hellion quite thoroughly and he would often drop by for a visit even when Jimin was back home with his pack.

“So what will you do now?” he asked. “You can’t compete. I can barely withstand sparring with you, and you’d kill a human - even if you landed a blow at half strength.”

Jimin ran his fingers absently through his hair while he pondered his mentor’s words. 

“I learned to fight because I was searching for something that would help me sort out who I was.” He scoffed. “I don’t know that I’m any closer to that goal.”

Taemin shook his head. 

“No. I think you’ve got it all wrong, Park Jimin. No one achieves what you have without knowing who they are. You’ve always been a fighter and some part of you realizes that.” He sighed heavily and finished off the rest of his drink. “Now I think you’re just... waiting.”

“For what?” Jimin chuckled playfully. 

Taemin pulled out another bottle and met his gaze with a knowing grin. 

“Something worth fighting for.”

———◐———

Now...

———◐———

Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent. 

Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and- 

It was fast. 

So fast it almost seemed like magic. 

One moment the Kim alpha was the barest breath away from a swift and decisive victory-

Then he was crashing backwards onto the dirt. 

Those who watched carefully saw Park Jimin spin into a vicious kick, one that connected solidly with the middle of his opponent’s chest. 

Stunned silence pressed in from every side as Namjoon scrambled back to his feet, his expression wavering wildly between excruciating pain and monumental shock. 

Jimin smiled, letting his razor sharp canines lengthen menacingly as he flowed back into a perfect combat stance. 

“You didn’t think I’d just let you have her, did you?”

Please comment if you would like to be added to the taglist! If you have already asked, you will be tagged automatically in every update. 

Please please please let me know what you thought of this chapter! (*insert puppy face here*) I am so excited to hear what you think of everything that went down in this update and I savor each word of feedback like fine wine. Your theories and commentary have been such a gift. It truly keeps me writing. 

[uzuuzuking]

so this started out as just a general post about why i like cinderella adaptations, but slowly spiraled into a ranking/review of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen in my short, young life. so strap in for possibly the longest post i’ve ever made on this blog. (look, i never know how much i have to say about something until i really get going lmao)

idk why i like cinderella adaptations/remakes/spinoffs so much? most of them are garbage (especially the ones within the last 10 years don’t @ me) but fuck it i like this brand of garbage. it’s fun to watch these movies and rework the bad plotlines and dialogue in my head as i go along.

i guess i like the source material and some of the aspects of all the different adaptations, but honestly i just like re-imagining them because there’s only so much cringey script-written-for-teens-but-clearly-written-by-40-year-old-adults-who-have-no-idea-how-teens-or-even-people-for-that-matter-actually-talk-and-interact i can take in one excruciating sitting.

anyway here’s my personal ranking of all the cinderella adaptations i’ve seen that no one asked for. (not including stage productions because i haven’t seen any and have no opinion of them. also not including into the woods because that’s not just cinderella, but a spectacular amalgamation of fairytale mishap and shenanigan.) and reviews because apparently i had more to say than i originally thought when i first started constructing this list:

cinderella (1997) - the absolute best cinderella adaptation of all time, hands down, this is non-negotiable. this movie has it all: an excellent and diverse cast, gorgeous costume design, beautiful sets, some of the most dazzling dance numbers i ever witnessed when i first watched it at the wee age of 4, and a positive, progressive message that was accurate for its time yet also so ahead of its time. i cannot praise this version of cinderella enough, it is my all time favorite and one of my top 3 feel-good movies. if you watched it today, the effects might not be as magical compared to what we have now, but keep in mind it was released in 1997. anyway, the cast is truly amazing and so effortlessly inclusive (and honestly the fact that the prince was asian with a black mother and white father and they literally never addressed it was such a power move). i could go on about this movie forever (i’ll probably make a whole post dedicated to it in the future) and what it meant to me and many others as young, impressionable poc. in conclusion, this movie set an exceedingly high standard for me and destroyed the chances of any other cinderella adaptation even hoping to live up to that. i love it! so! much!

ever after: a cinderella story (1998) - tbh i never saw this until i was in college but i immediately fell in love. i love the flow of the story as a whole - i never felt like anything was missing. i love the costumes and i especially love how danielle and henry’s relationship progressed throughout the film. slow-burn comes to mind when i watch their interactions and we all love a sweet, sweet slow-burn. it’s romance babes! it’s Dramatic in a few scenes and all i can say is that it really works because drew barrymore’s performance is exceptional, fantastic, engaging, more adjectives to describe how enthralled by her i was. above all, her character is compassionate - she uses her voice to speak in support for those who are suppressed by the flawed government systems and law enforcers, and influences the prince to use his status and power to better his people who lack the privileges of the nobility. she’s such a strong female lead (emotionally and physically - she literally fireman carries her love interest, who is taller than her and definitely exceeds her own bodyweight) and truly the mvp of this adaptation. watch it. watch it for Her.

enchanted (2007) - amy adams and idina menzel - ‘nuff said. okay but for real this one is so unique with its transition from classic d*sney 2D animation style to the real three-dimensional world and i adore it to the ends of the earth. the music? slaps! the story? slaps! the development of the main character? slaps!! she’s so princess-y and d*sney cartoon-y and struggles in the real world, but she adapts at a good pace and i love that she learns to be realistic while also keeping hope and love close to her heart. also her mother figure / daughter figure bond with morgan is so so precious. the only constructive criticism i have for this movie is the fact that we were robbed of idina menzel singing!!! did they know all along she was destined to play the frozen queen years in the future and decided against her singing in this one?? is that it? ridiculous. it’s been over a decade and i’m still seething over this. other than that this movie is *chef’s kiss*

ella enchanted (2004) - anne hathaway’s back must still be hurting from carrying this film. (no shade to the other cast members, they’re good, but anne is a queen and i forever love her.) this is another childhood favorite of mine. the story itself is a refreshing take - hats off to gail carson levine for the source material! i’ve talked about the differences between the movie and book before in the midst of my reread of the book a few months ago, but i don’t remember how much i focused on the movie. it’s so different from the book that it might as well be its own thing. on its own, the movie is pretty decent! again, mostly because of anne. it’s funny, it’s sad (especially that scene towards the beginning between ella and areida, i’m in stupid tears every time), and it gets weird but it’s a fun time. the chemistry between char and ella is so zesty i can feel it through the screen, i swoon over both of them. tbh i probably wouldn’t like this movie so much if not for the fact that anne hathaway is truly talented and i spend most of my time watching it just looking at her. 

cinderella 3: a twist in time (2007) - i genuinely enjoyed and appreciated how the characters were written in this one. they all had clear motives and became much more dynamic through their lines and actions (drizella is arguably the most static character here but she still amuses me so it’s fine i guess). cinderella has more agency since the stakes are higher. prince charming actually has a gotdamn personality and has some of the funniest scenes and dialogue. good for him. i was kind of sad that anastasia’s story with the sweet baker boy was thanos snapped by the stepmother, but she and baker boy get a cute credits illustration together so it’s still canon! maybe i’m more biased on this one because i grew up rewatching it A Lot, but i definitely prefer it to the first and second movies.

cinderella (2000) - this one is kind of weird but i like it? the film has a really interesting vibe that i’m still trying to figure out how to describe even after seeing it like 5 times. wikipedia refers to the aesthetic style as “the glamour of the 1950s” which just might be as close as we can get. it follows the general guidelines of the cinderella plot, but the main differences were: zezolla (cinderella) was already helping with the chores before her father remarried, claudette (stepmother) was actively trying to murder zezolla’s father during their marriage, the stepsisters were much more violent and crass (they hunted zezolla’s beloved farm animals for sport and talked about getting “a man in [their] bed”), zezolla’s father was manipulated by everything claudette did and said and treated his own daughter poorly as a result, and prince valiant is honestly kind of a douchebag but seems willing to improve himself after meeting zezolla (basically his vibes are iffy but he’s willing to learn). this whole movie is pretty niche and i have yet to interact with someone who’s also seen it. and the only reason i’ve seen it so many times is because i just like listening to how the dialogue is delivered. (except for prince valiant’s random song at the ball, i kind of hated that and i skip through it every time lol).

a cinderella story (2004) - the classic hilary duff version. very cliche early 2000s high school romance, but it works for the cinderella narrative. not particularly diverse. a classic nonetheless. in my mind this is the pinnacle of the “modern cinderella movie” type. this is one of the most iconic movies for us zillennials and i’d like to think it’s known well enough for me to not go into a lot of detail about it. basically it was fresh and new for its time, had plenty of memorable scenes, and did i mention hilary duff? the film kind of plays into the “not like other girls” trope - as do a couple of the movies i listed above - but i’m just going to acknowledge that the early 2000s were Wack and simply move on. all in all, i like this movie for the nostalgia, iconic scenes, and hilary duff. also jennifer coolidge is pretty funny as the stepmother.

another cinderella story (2008) - again, an early 2000s classic, but this time with selena gomez. i liked the dancing in this one. i like selena’s quiet, somewhat timid characterization of her character, mary. and jane lynch in the stepmother role is perfection. she’s so fun to watch and is always hilarious. the story is nothing remarkable, but it’s okay and i liked it as a kid. after the hilary duff version, this one still managed to feel fresh because, though it was similar in its modern era approach, it focused more on the performing arts and dance. “cinderella” is an aspiring dancer, rather than the 2004 aspiring scholar. the “prince” is a famous popstar, not a football player. the stepmother is an outdated popstar desperate to stay Hip and Relevant with the kids, not a cranky botox lady. honestly i just love watching this one for the dancing, mary’s genuine and innocent love for the “prince”, and literally everything that comes out of jane lynch’s mouth. that woman is a dialogue gold mine.

a cinderella story: once upon a song (2011) - lucy hale is good. missi pyle is good. they play their roles and lines that they’re given fairly well. over all, it’s entertaining. lucy, of course, has them Pipes and i do like the songs in this movie. the only major downside for me was the “token best friend of color” trope. lucy’s best friend is an asian girl who’s good at sports and is there for one liners and support. the prince charming character’s best friend is a black guy who he only knew for probably a month at the most. he can beatbox, sing, and dj. basically he’s also just there as support. they really don’t do much for the plot but they’re there for diversity and whatnot. this movie is.. fine.

cinderella (1950) - the only reason this ranks so low for me is because i watched it a lot as a child when it was on vhs and it always felt like a fever dream to me. i was just really young and didn’t feel invested in any of the characters. it is a classic, though, and i would watch it again and be able to enjoy it.

cinderella 2: dreams come true (2002) - i liked cinderella’s and anastasia’s stories from this one. jaq’s was meh. it was fine.

dj cinderella or cinderella pop (2019) - netflix knows i like cinderella adaptations so, naturally, they shoved this into my recommended and, naturally, i watched it. twice. which is more than i can say for the following review... so this movie is brazillian and is pretty much the cut & mold of modern cinderella movies. but she wants to be a dj. she stars out living a perfect life as a wealthy girl with a loving family, but turns out her dad is cheating on her mom with his secretary. that’s when she “stops believing in love”. which is actually valid bc if i saw one of my parental figures cheating on the other, i honestly wouldn’t know what to believe in anymore. anyway, cíntia dorella (yes. that’s her full name.) and her mom move into her aunt’s place. a year or so passes. stepmother/secretary/cheating lady is throwing an extravagant birthday party for her daughters and hires freddy prince, a popular musician who cíntia doesn’t really like. meanwhile, cíntia gets a dj gig she’s excited for until she finds out she’s the opener for freddy prince at her stepsisters’ party. she ends up disguising herself as “dj cinderella” and freddy is super into her. it’s pretty generic from there but i was entertained enough to watch it twice. take from that what you will.

cinderella (2015) - ok so we been knew that d*sney’s live action remakes ain’t shit, and this one is no exception. d*sney within the last few years has been like 99% aesthetics and marketing. this movie was visually stunning, especially with the settings and costumes. those were the only 2 things i truly liked. everything else was forgettable. in its defense, i did read a post about the “have courage and be kind” message which is something wonderful to hold onto, especially for anyone in an abusive situation like ella. that’s valid and i respect that. i still lowkey hate this movie tho. i started getting a headache about 4 reviews ago, but remembering how much praise this movie got has reignited my fighting spirit. honestly if you like it, that’s good, you like what you like and that’s that. but this is my review and i hated how proper ella’s posture was (she’s been doing physical labor hunched on the floor for years now, how does she not slump around in exhaustion at the end of the day??), i hated how perfectly curated the whole thing was (again, that’s mostly because of d*sney and their aesthetics), and i hated how hollow everything felt. i can’t perfectly describe it, but i never felt emotionally invested in any of the characters. something about their performance was lacking and yet again i blame d*sney. i actually really like lily james, but something about the way she was directed left me devoid of emotional attachment to ella. i remember nothing about ella’s step family or the prince. that’s how much of an impact this adaptation had on me. also i just remembered the fairy godmother as i type this. i ADORE helena bonham carter, but this movie does a horrible disservice to her. if she liked working on this movie, then i’m happy for her, but even she wasn’t strong enough to sell this to me. i saw this movie in theaters and came out of it lamenting my waste of money that i could have spent on something i would have actually enjoyed. but the thing that enraged me the most, the thing i despised, i detested, the thing i seethed over and rant about to this day was the ONE (1) token black character. i don’t even know if he had a name but he was captain of the guard or some shit. if i remember correctly (but probably not tbh this movie was so forgettable), he was the one who heard ella singing and was the whole reason the prince was able to have her try on the glass slipper. this man, who had zero character development, zero relevance to the plot, an insignificant amount of screen time, is suddenly the reason the main character is able to finally connect with her love interest. um. What. i hate how the writers treated him and i will forever be filled with every last grain of salt over this. anyway he’s my favorite character and everyone else is just eh. to conclude this ungodly long review, i don’t like this movie. i tried to watch it again once but got so bored i quit 10 minutes in. do yourself a favor and watch cinderella (1997) instead. (the only reason this movie is ranked above the remaining 5 is the production quality. but i guess that’s unfair bc d*sney has the big bucks. and maybe i wouldn’t be so harsh if i weren’t sleep deprived and grumpy from a sugar-induced headache, but these feelings still come from my Chest so idk.)

a cinderella story: a christmas wish (2019) - i think we all secretly enjoy christmas-themed movies and this has got to be someone’s guilty pleasure. i was mildly entertained (but again with the cringey dialogue written by people clearly not in high school...) and i do like laura marano. but they autotuned her to hell and back - which i loathed - because the woman can actually sing and she has a lovely voice. she got to sing candidly one (1) time and i relished the experience. my ears thank her beautiful, un-autotuned voice. other than that it was.. fine. i didn’t hate it but i didn’t like it either. laura marano deserves better than this. (can’t say the same for the other actors tho because their roles were unmemorable.) also laura marano was super cute in her elf costume!

not cinderella’s type (2018) - i legit forgot about this one until after i compiled the entire list lol. i saw it on youtube and it was decent as far as i remember. it’s another modern day cinderella. i think the “prince” runs over “cinderella’s” cat or something?? i’m pretty sure it was her mom’s cat so now she has nothing left to remember her mom by. prince boy feels awful and tries to befriend her or do something to make it up to her, but she just doesn’t really like him. i think her aunt and uncle are emotionally abusive to her and prince boy does his best to be there for her without making things worse. if i remember correctly, i liked that aspect of the movie because it’s hard to be there for a victim of any kind of abuse if trying to help them could potentially hurt them more, especially minors still under the care of abusive guardians. anyway i think cinderella girl’s best friend is in love with her or something but she ends up not being into him and slowly gets together with prince boy. she eventually moves out of her guardians’ house and into the spare house at prince boy’s home (he’s rich or something). i need to rewatch this movie tbh i could be wrong about everything here lol.

rags (2012) - not amazing, definitely not memorable because i have nothing to say about its plot or writing, but it has keke palmer which is its one redeeming quality. also it’s the only one on this list where the male protagonist is the cinderella. so that’s solid i guess.

a cinderella story: if the shoe fits (2016) - this was a movie. it happened. i vaguely remember how ridiculous it was and sometimes i felt secondhand embarrassment. i don’t remember what about specifically, but i remember the emotion. sofia carson is a talented singer. i think she’s a decent actor but this script was Bad.

elle: a modern cinderella tale (2010) - i only watched this one because i was bored out of my damn mind and saw it on youtube. i felt bad for all the actors because this script was terrible. i don’t recommend this unless you’re about to sit down with your squad and make fun of it.

apparently descendants is on the “cinderella adaptations and references” list on imdb but i refuse to put it on my list because it’s not a cinderella-specific adaptation and i don’t like the descendants franchise. now, if we’re going to discuss a quality series about the children of fairytale characters, that would hands down be ever after high. but that’s a different topic for a different day.

thus concludes the ranking no one asked for but i felt compelled to make. thank you and goodnight

[kim-lexie]

extra-ordinary you.

extra-ordinary you, also known as haru found by chance, is seriously a drama in a league all its own. it follows eun danoh, as our lead; however, she comes to find that she isn’t the lead in the story that she is living in but rather an extra character in the comic ‘secret’. it follows her desiring her own story and the ability to make her own fate which leads her to haru, the boy that can change her day. it has romance, easy-going-light-hearted scenes, as well as heartfelt moments that alter the course of our characters. there were lots and lots of tears, and dynamic character development. 

also i must say do not be deterred by the fact that it takes place in a high school, this is no high school drama (thank you lee jae-wook, my original reason for watching this drama). rather it acknowledges the cringe and nonsense that happens in the typical teenage-high-school drama plot. i would 100 out of 10 recommend. 

*now on to potential spoilers so beware*

the premise. the idea itself is something i have never watched or read before, i seriously loved it. it is nice watching a drama and being able to fall in love with the main storyline as something I’ve seen many times before and then seeing the slight deviations. however, with this drama i never knew what was going to happen. the life in the comic for sure, knowing that nonsense was going to happen such as namjoo’s mother going to be crazy and try to wreck jooda. obvious. but our extra’s storyline was never written, and i liked that aspect staying true to the unknown of an extra’s character. 

our characters. in general i loved how all the characters evolved even the ones that were not self aware of the universe they were in. eun danoh our girl, with the terminal heart condition. she was precious, and incredibly heartwarming character. looking at all her scenes and even behind the scenes cuts she literally embodies her character. the little nuances and slight hand gestures and facial expressions fit her to a T (thank you kim hyeyoon for bringing eun danoh to life). as she becomes self aware her self determination and drive to change her fate increases,  and i enjoyed seeing her create her own tomorrow. as different obstacles presented themselves she had her cry and picked herself back up which i love to see in a female lead. sometimes it’s so easy to just be like where is her boo to come help her out, she determined her own future and relied on herself and her friends to get her through. the freaking writer for some reason wanted to kill off this cute extra and i just don’t understand what it would have done for the storyline, so eun danoh had to fight for her life for the majority of the drama which was sad. and heartbreaking because you can see how badly she wants to live even if it is a broken record playing the stage for someone else. 

baek-hyeong my boo. his character seriously embodied second male lead syndrome throughout the majority of the drama, except for those few episodes where he was completely and utterly lost. i.e. when he was figuring out his feelings and when he deceived eun danoh at the end. but literally he loved her on the stage and off. he was angsty and the typically member of a trio of boys who rule the school. it was his assigned role and he played it well. i seriously loved the moment that eun danoh came to forgive baekhyeong because it is truly what he needed to hear to be able to be at peace with all that had happened. 

“although, i am merely a character made by the writer. however, before everything I’m eun danoh and you’re baek-hyeong. therefore, the eun danoh from “secret” is thankful for you. as for the eun danoh from “chinese trumpet vine”, she forgives you. that’s because it was the writers created baek hyeong to be. thank you. i really hope that you can be more of yourself. just like how i was able to find the true me”

literally weeped the whole freaking scene. they had grown up together in his world, when his character in their past killed her. the writer was so twisted. they just wanted to find themselves and grow into the people they truly wanted to become.

haru (freaking rowoon) seriously swoon. dreamy haru caught our danoh’s attention and together they developed first a friendship then something more. and turns out their fates met long before ‘secret’ but rather in ‘chinese trumpet vine’. 

loved all of their scenes and lines *insert instant gems*

“eun dan oh is my only beginning. so I’m okay if my role ends with her. “

“dan oh…every moment of mine is you”

“since my beginning and ending was you”

“call my name.”

haru is the definition of a precious bean at the start and i love how he gains himself and becomes more vocal with his opinions later on, but still has his moments of cuteness, like when he made them matching necklaces ). his previous life in ‘chinese trumpet vine’ then and now in ‘secret’ guided his every moment. she was literally the center of his world, and i loved his desire to help her and be able to be there for her. some notable moments that led to me weeping were: when he gave her the beautiful night sky in the art room, when he left her the journal after he disappeared of drawings of their moments together. there were too many but those are my two favorites. when eun danoh was in the hospital and they were unable to meet at their tree together was awful and heart-wrenching. their relationship was precious and i loved how it developed and grew. i also appreciated the friendship between dohwa, haru, and danoh because they were the three musketeers and they were adorable. 

the side stories were well done. sometimes i feel like we neglect our extras but i appreciated how we saw the majority of them through. dohwa and jooda, our poor second male lead who almost became first male lead off stage which i would have 11 out of 10 been behind, and still don’t quite understand her reasoning because namjoo would have been just fine okay. i also appreciated soochul and saemi’s (eun danoh’s friends) storyline and how it continued on into the next comic. 

an odd part of this drama was that the main antagonist was an aloof omnipotent writer, who drew out each storyline and was never actually physically present. it was interesting concept to try and wrap my head around. so many insane moments and tragedy that occurred was with the writer just going about the daily and wrecking it for our characters. the writer was seriously twisted, having danoh meant to be paired with baek-hyeong who ended her in the last comic. making haru, baek-hyeong’s side kick once again after their tragedy in the last. seriously twisted. it was interesting how when they were able to change certain aspects everything still fell in line but with other characters in place. i cannot even imagine how our characters felt because it was seriously ridiculous at times, and disappointing to be back at square one so many times. no matter how much time dedication and energy they kept having to go back to try and rewrite the story. 

the ending was unsatisfactory, it had me in a puddle of tears, when everyone started disappearing from the scenes. however i don’t know how it could have ended any other way. we all knew the comic had to end, just as dramas end. it could have ended mid sentence which could have happened knowing how cruel this writer was (serious bone to pick with this one, seriously twisted and they need therapy). but the start of a new drama with them both as extras gives them more freedom than their designated stories gave them previously. however, where was baek-hyeong in the ending or dohwa? that was so sad not seeing them in this world. it is fortunate thought that danoh and haru are self aware because that would have been another mountain to overcome and go through the process all over again. but now i have the opportunity to just hope they can live happily as extras in their later dramas. 

i would love to say, ‘yes please have a spin off in this drama to follow them as free extras, and their adventures’. but no way would i sign up for this torturous world again. my heart would not be able to take it. i was setting myself up for a scarlet heart ryeo ending with how the majority of this drama went with nothing going my way.

side note the music was so great. i loved so many of the ost songs, and just recently have i been able to listen to a few because there were too many sad emotions held with them. my top tracks: 

my beauty by verivery

첫사랑 by sondia

끝나지 않을 이야기 by Stray Kids (mainly the song i couldn’t listen to for two weeks afterward) 

now i know for sure that i am missing some of my thoughts, and i wish i kept a log after each episode, but you never know what dramas are really going to kick you in the gut until you know. i will probably rewatch this eventually once I’ve recovered a little more. maybe watch a few more rowoon dramas, and then i’ll make a log because literally every episode had something and left you with an imprint, and I'm sure i missed a lot the first watch.

i just really loved this drama and needed to process a fraction of my thoughts and feelings. it was just really good and i loved each episode. and i freaking love haru. once again 100 out of 10 recommend.

[gojaimas]

Chapter 36 Comments

MageofDuality: “Ya’ know I’m actually feeling sorry for Gwen. I ship her and Ben don’t get me wrong and Lucy is great both as a test to them and herself but geez the way she is just hammering this whole thing on Gwen subtly like a mastermind in the shadows is a bit much.”

Lucy sort of realized that this chapter. Gwen ended up really hurt by the whole thing, and Lucy felt terrible about it.

csgt: “About Lucy "testing" Ben, I'm still not sure if she was more interested in seeing him passing or failing XD I really enjoyed these scenes”

Haha, the best tests are the ones which will make you happy regardless of the outcome!

csgt: “PS: you have an OC named 'Nathan' who has a crush on Gwen, and I also have an OC named 'Natan' who has a crush on Gwen. I'm pretty sure you didn't read my fics so you didn't know that, it's just a big coincidence, but I was quite surprised to see that name popping up here XD”

Oh wow, that is a coinidence. I named Nathan after a kid I knew in middle school who was particularly bad at talking to girls.

Phildev: “I'll admit, I was thinking that adding Lucy as a legitimate love interest was gonna go poorly. But having Gwen temporarily out of the equation allowed this to flow very well!”

Thanks! I think I write characters best as pairs. Seeing Ben and Lucy having their own dynamic while away from Gwen for a bit definitely showed off their chemistry.

Guest: “Lucy is such a babe. Perfect story. Perfect plot.”

Everyone enjoys the Lucy scenes for the...plot.

Jagcity: “I've also been wanting but forgetting to ask about your thumbnail for the story. It's amazing and seems to reflect a lot of their qualities from your story!”

Thank you! I drew it some time last year without any particular scene in mind. It was part of my practice with drawing characters using poses from a reference photo of different characters. For that one, I used this pic of Oreki and Chitanda from Hyouka:

haha.plogue: “Isn't it supposed to be year 5 of the month of January?”

No, the years are measuring time from their first summer trip. Year 1 began in September after the summer trip ended. The story isn’t currently taking place in the year 4 AD.

Guest: “If this ended benxgwenxlucy it will be creepy” Guest: “AHHH they both go well together with Ben I don’t know who to ship just end it with a threesome lol”

You guys wanna talk?

Guest: “That comparison of similarities between the Ben and Gwen in denial of their feelings was brilliant.”

Haha, and people said the Julie arc would never amount to anything.

Guest: “Also, this is the first time I’ve actually seen Lucy feel a little hurt that Gwen was Ben’s main priority because she was just as much as a shipper as the rest of us. She’s precious. Hope she gets a happy ending.”

Lucy is so great. I feel bad making her feel bad. But at least she's still happy about Ben and Gwen making progress.

Guest: “the way you executed why they started hating each other from the flashbacks was brilliant. It was even never explained in the original series as far as my knowledge.”

Yeah I don’t remember them ever explaining it either, so I made it the way I imagined it. Just some stupid misunderstandings with both of them being too proud to stop fighting back.

Guest: “Lucy is my waifu”

This is the best comment I’ve ever received.

Guest: “Thank you Gojaimas for making Bwency a thing, they had so much potential in the original series, especially during their dance”

Oh I didn’t invent Bwency. It’s been here for years: http://thegreatbentennyson.tumblr.com/post/101398479772/lucyxbenxgwen-is-my-ot3

Guest: “Like Lucy giving Ben the nostalgic feeling of his connection to an alien life of any shape or form, you just made me pick up my DS and play Pokémon.”

Ah, Pokémon. The original nostalgia. I like to imagine Ben, Gwen, and Lucy all play Pokémon too. Ben’s favorite Pokémon is Charizard, Gwen’s is Espeon, and Lucy’s is Pachirisu.

Guest: “Is the title I wanted what I saw that day a reference to Ben seeing Lucy shirtless? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”

I take it back, this is the best comment I’ve ever received.

Car-54: “Regarding Ben, I'm starting to suspect that he has already realized his feelings for Gwen. We just aren't seeing his thought process. He keeps quiet because he assumes that she would be repulsed by the revelation.”

Ben’s basically never been comfortable expressing any emotion other than happiness or anger, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he could hide something like that.

Jagcity: “Not really too important but just curious, is the watch and locket real gold or just gold plated? I'd imagine they both used up a fortune of their allowance on those gifts, especially Gwen.”

The lockets and the watch aren’t really gold. They’re likely not even gold plated. They’re probably brass or something else that just looks like gold.

Fan of you: “Your story has surpassed Little Moments in terms of reviews. Slowly we'll get to the favorites and follows too haha.”

I actually just messaged shadows59 yesterday. Apparently he’s been reading my story, so I had a pretty big ‘senpai noticed me’ moment. So shadows, if you’re reading this, and I know you are, my story has more reviews than yours. I only need 180 more follows and 563 more faves until I’m better than you. Take that!

Guest: “you know that daily struggle meme where there’s two buttons and you’re sweating on contemplating which one to press, that’s how I feel rn except one’s Bwen and the other’s Bency. I don’t know why people are referring their ship name as Bwency. That sounds like all of their names combined.”

It is all of their names combined. People are shipping all three of them together. Here’s Lucy’s daily struggle from last chapter:

Guest: “I can literally Google this story or your name and it shows up on the front page, that’s how much exposure you’ve got. Saves my lazy ass the time to go to fanfiction and search it up.”

Sweet! I wonder if anyone outside of fanfiction.net has heard of my story.

Guest: “this is my favourite K-drama”

Yeah but the manga was better.

Guest: “Gojaimas you’ve got goddamn talent you’d be a worth opponent 1v1 me Rust last kill trick shots noscopes only, let’s have a go inside the boxing ring since that’s the YouTube trend now apparently but more importantly, battle me to the death in Dance Dance Revolution.”

No. We must settle this like men:

Guest: “Gojaimas you didn’t reference “Love Me” by Katy Perry when Gwen wanted to hold Ben’s hand I’ve lost all hope”

FUCK! I missed another one! Guys, nobody tell Katy Perry. She’d be pissed.

Guest: “am the only one who would also smash Lucy in her sludgepuppy form? She’s literally like Mystique (Jennifer Lawfrence’s version) from X-Men.”

I mean, that depends. Are we talkin' this:

Or this:

[comicteaparty]

August 3rd, 2017 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on August 3rd, 2017, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on The Cat, the Vine and the Victory by wnqs.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning. Today we are discussing The Cat, the Vine and the Victory by wnqs~! (https://tapas.io/series/The-Cat-The-Vine-and-The-Victory) For those new to CTP, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer so pay them no mind if you wish~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! Each chat a top comment will be picked and featured on an ad for this chat, so let’s have a great discussion~! With that said, let us begin with this first question~!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

wnqs

Woot!

RebelVampire

lets see lets see thinks cause im never prepared for this question

wnqs

Do I answer it, too? :P

RebelVampire

youre welcome to if you want ;3; i wont stop you. and i know there are people here who enjoy getting the creators perspective too

wnqs

heh...I gotta think about this one, too :-=

RebelVampire

well of more recent scenes i really enjoyed the cat and sugar comforting vine and telling him nah bro, you are a guardian its okay bud. i thought that was really sweet and it was really nice to see vine legitimately upset by something like that.

mathtans

I'm here! Shipping Mysa and Tarow so haaaaaaaaaard.

RebelVampire

yes ;3; i loved Tarow dramatically switching to being like "omg she is my princess" the expressions are priceless ;3;

mathtans

Got through five chapters. I think my fave scene is still when Enne first hears who Victory is from the announcement, and he gets that LOOK, and then you're all OMG what's he gonna do and it's not what I thought.

wnqs

The Mysa/Tarow dynamic is a lot of fun to draw and explore ^_^

RebelVampire

yeah i liked enne's expressions when he first finds out the truth. they were kind of unsettling considering he was so nice

nice boy enne

wnqs

RebelVamp: Vine's probably one of the least developed characters from a reader's viewpoint up until these pages (which is on purpose).

mathtans

I'm so freaking impressed by the output by the way, like, so much comic and relatievely little time.

wnqs

mathtans: Enne had a lot of conflicting thoughts back then.

mathtans

I like how Vine's the Guardian, who in most cases is the old wise mentor type, but he's the comic relief. He's still "Vine The Loon" to me.

True, true. Enne's been through a lot. I wonder, with the chalkboard, was that always planned or just a decision that he needed more of a voice?

wnqs

mathtans: I draw so much because they keep doing stuff in my head and I have to put it on paper...Mysa is especially difficult to rein in....She just does her own thing...

Yeah, Vine's still comedy central for the most part :P

mathtans

That's awesome, that they're so alive in head. I can see that for Mysa. Gotta be careful she doesn't draw her own comic or something.

RebelVampire

if mysa drew her own comic itd probably just be about her and tarow having some princess knight fantasy

and vine will be toad telling tarow her princess is in another castle

wnqs

The chalkboard was planned to give him a voice, but he will never have 'thought' bubbles in the series. So if he can't write something down, he gestures.

ahahaha! Mysa would totally do that...

mathtans

Ooh, that's an interesting choice. I remember thinking about thought bubbles when I saw some for Victory in a scene with them. Yeah, the gesturing and actions with the stars works for me. He still feels dynamic. And tall.

wnqs

Enne is tall, but Tarow is taller than Enne by an inch or two.

mathtans

I liked when Enne was called the "walking undead" or whatever. Hee.

RebelVampire

yeah i really like the gestures cause i think it captures some of his personal struggles with communication even tho he has the chalkboard

mathtans

Actually, I liked all the nickanmes. I'm so bad with names.

wnqs

Ah, yes...Maltor being rude about him and everyone:-=

mathtans

Maltor, yes, that's the guy! ^^ (So bad with names!) Poor guy, he's been through a lot too. Though Mysa fired back.

Rebel: Good point about the communication struggles.

wnqs

Maltor is kind of an ass, don't feel too sorry for him :P

RebelVampire

i actually really like maltor tbh. like i appreciate his gritty realism compared to everyone else cause it brings a lot of balance to the group. since the others didnt even think about setting up a watch. so despite it all maltor is a good guy keeping everyone breathing.

wnqs

RebelVamp: I like him too, since he's based off my brother (shh)....

mathtans

I can't help it, like the bit where he's all 'these idiots have undone years of training', it's just, how the mighty have fallen. He's cool that he keeps going along with it.

Yeah, balance.

Every group needs a sort of jerk character. ^^

wnqs

Maltor knows quite a bit about what's going on because of his relationship with Mysa's dad.

So, he's just rolling with it right now.

mathtans

Cool, cool. (I think I'm not quite there yet, they just met the dad.) Looking forward to it.

RebelVampire

ah youre missing out on a lot still math. although i dont think youll be disappointed

mathtans

I'm a slooow reader. I can't binge, I need processing time between chapters. Are the other elements all revealed already, or is that speculation? (Like, infinity power? I wonder about that one.)

RebelVampire

noelle reveals what her element is and the earth guardian makes an appearance

wnqs

Not everything's revealed, so no worries!

mathtans

Coolness. (What about kitty? Kitty is suspicious. Is kitty fire?)

Pardon me if I speculate on stuff that's already well known.

wnqs

mathtans: Kitty is fire

RebelVampire

how dare you accuse kitty of being suspicious. kitty is precious, kitty is life.

wnqs

Kitty is uber suspicious

mathtans

Pffft. One can be precious and life and still suspicious.

Hee.

RebelVampire

well if the cat is like "lets go take over the world" im joining the cat. just so its out in the open.

mathtans

I'm only doing it if there's Mysa/Tarow ship involved. I know, I know, I'm so one note, but they're cute together, more than my usual yuri amusements.

wnqs

Cats just need thumbs. If they had thumbs, they'd be our overlords

mathtans

Speaking of evolution, basing a society on evolution from dragons, damn, that's so unique.

Is Mysa a Japanese Ryuu?

RebelVampire

i really like the individual details to their horns and tails. like if you look at the tails they have have unique sort of shapes at the end and idk, it just gives them all this unique characteristic.

wnqs

I love dragons and I was always disappointed as a kid when something had "dragon" in the title, but had nothing to do with dragons

RebelVampire

ah man i know those feels. or the other feels when something has the dragons it promised but they appear for 5 seconds and then its like "whoops they are late for the dentist"

QUESTION 2. For some reason, Victory is able to use the power of the guardians to cause both miracles and great destruction. Why do you think she’s able to do this? Is she some chosen one or was it happenstance? Relatedly, what do you think happened in Narrot all those years ago that caused Victory to destroy it?

wnqs

Mysa does have similar characteristics to a Ryuu, but for the most part, the evolution part of their species is similar to ours with apes.

mathtans

So interesting.

I'm having to think about that question. Every time I come up with a theory, I'm like, wait, there's a contradiction.

wnqs

I always thought of Mysa's horns being kinda like a reindeer's since her dad has stag horns

mathtans

Like, if she was related to the dragon, why would it kill her? Hmmmm.

wnqs

mathtans: ....

mathtans

Mysa's a Rein-Dear!

wnqs

ahahaha!

mathtans

I mean the big dragon, not just any dragon, waaaagh, I'm so bad with names.

wnqs

I know you meant the main dragon ^_~

I cannot comment on your theory because spoilers :-=

RebelVampire

of course. you get to listen to me and math speculate and you can mislead if youd like

wnqs

I could, but that seems mean :P

mathtans

Okay, uhm, uhm... Victory is, ahhh, she's the daughter of two Guardians, how 'bout that.

Eh, I'm fine with "no comment" as an answer.

RebelVampire

for me where i get torn on theories is whether its a chosen one thing or happenstance. albeit with the latter i like picturing the cat showing up, dropping the talisman and then victory absorbing it. and then the cat is like "well crap this is my life now."

wnqs

mathtans: no, she isn't the daughter of two Guardians, although that's a cool idea!

mathtans

As to what happened in Narrot, I think she somehow absorbed the fire talisman. Like, saw it on the ground or something. That's why she can belch fire, and why the kitty's stayed with her all this time.

Rebel, so yeah, pretty much on the same wavelength as me.

wnqs

RebelVamp and mathtans: both theories about the first talisman are pretty close

mathtans

You've gotta be careful denying ideas or when we get to one you don't deny I'll think I'm right.

OOH! What if Victory herself is a talisman? Like, that somehow gained sentience, and can absorb the others?

RebelVampire

yeah i think at the end she wouldve had to absorb the fire talisman or something related to it. its just a question if thats what caused the explosion or w/e happened. or if the explosion was a later cause someone freaked victory out. since her fire is triggered by her fear usually.

wnqs

No, Victory isn't a talisman, but it's another fun theory! :D

mathtans

I feel like Victory wasn't solely responsible. Either she was surprised, or attacked or something.

wnqs

Narrot's going to be explained in the next chapter (9), but they need to do some shopping, first, and learn more about the Guardians

mathtans

Actually, the people who end up working for Dragon, from Enne to the others, they all had tradgedy befall them... I think someone maniuplated them to end up working for Dragon. Someone set Victory up the bomb.

Mysa shopping, oh dear.

wnqs

Sir, we get signal

mathtans

That reminds me, the pillowcase aside thing was funny. ^^ There's a reason I never have my characters change clothes.

wnqs

Now I have that song stuck in my head...

RebelVampire

math did it. evil plans completed.

mathtans

Also, seems like a few pages have been randomly coloured? Was there a pattern for it, or just a had the time thing?

wnqs

I've gotten a bit better at drawing clothes :-=

mathtans

Oops, sorry.

Like anything I imagine it comes with time.

RebelVampire

i like you say better but ive always liked their outfit designs. like theyre that right mix of details but not overly complicated

wnqs

Going back to the talismans, there's always been a reaction when Victory touches them, but the water and earth ones aren't destructive powers, so nothing happened

That's because I have trouble drawing clothes with too much detail ^_^'

mathtans

Yeah, no, it works though, I don't tend to notice tons of detail.

Ahh, play with fire, you get burned. Or get everyone else burned.

wnqs

mathtans: randomly coloured pages are due to time restraints. It takes me a long time to colour pages and I've been going back and colourizing some B/W ones

RebelVampire

ooooh. i like color. albeit B/W is goo too and i really like your B/W

mathtans

I hear that. I'm still impressed at how fast you get content out.

wnqs

I pictured the disaster in Narrot similar to Pompeii

mathtans

Yeah, the being inside a forge thing made sense as the only way to make it. (Which makes kitty more suspicious!)

wnqs

I like colouring because I know what they look like in my mind, but that's hard for readers when everything's in black and white

mathtans

I'm usually fine with artists who just do some colour on cover pages, but I've seen it elsewhere too. It's nice, but not necessary by any means.

wnqs

I had a fun discussion with my farrier about if a child could fit into a forge and how well it would protect them

RebelVampire

ooh thats some detailed research then

mathtans

It didn't feel... forged.

wnqs

:P

RebelVampire

hmm well considering the guardians seem to be hiding their talismans maybe the cat was like "ill hide it in this child (ie victory) fool proof plan who would look in a child."

mathtans

"I shall put it in her sandwich."

wnqs

LOL :P

I don't think the cat ever thought about hiding it. He's not afraid of anything.

mathtans

Okay! So, Victory was born under a full moon during the harvest month when the talismen were in alignment in a star pattern around her. Something like that.

wnqs

I love these theories! :D

The cat is rather complacent, though...

mathtans

I'm glad, since I enjoy theorizing. ^^

RebelVampire

XD i should not have rewatched girlchan in paradise the other day cause now i can hear anime like voices explaining that XD

wnqs

:P I love it when animes do that, like how Gunbuster had the chibi forms of the main characters explaining the science behind each episode

mathtans

Speaking of chibis, Tarow seems to have this cute form she morphs into sometimes. Too adorbs.

OH, the Sakura gag in the Q&A was hilarious.

New theory! Victory is actually the essence of the Dragon God. The actual Dragon totes forgot he expunged all his goodness, and left it in a vial somewhere, and it became Victory. So named because she can defeat her evil half, once she levels up.

RebelVampire

i liked the Q&A question about the transformers because of the picture of vine riding on grimlock

wnqs

The questions for the Q&A were a blast to answer :D The Transformers one hit a soft spot in my heart since I grew up watching it ^_^

mathtans: another well thought out idea! Now I'm thinking a Scott Pilgrim kinda Nega-Victory situtation :P

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Something happened in the past that caused the guardians to abandon the Seven-faced god. What do you think happened between everyone back then? Speaking of which, what exactly is Noelle’s goal? Does this have anything to do with the reason everyone abandoned the Seven-faced god?

mathtans

Oooh, I wanna see Tarow defeat Mysa's evil ex-es.

It was probably a family reunion back then. Those never go well.

wnqs

I believe she'd obliterate them :-=

RebelVampire

Tarow could probably defeat the evil ex-es in a day. Unless one of them was Tagh which would be really funny.

mathtans

Hee!

wnqs

How many loonies and twonies would Tagh be worth, I wonder..

mathtans

Noelle's goal just seems to be as mean as possible towards Malt-man. Not sure what the goal was before him... doesn't seem to have abandoned like the others though.

thinks Maybe he wouldn't let them play with their talismans any more.

So they took their toys and went home.

RebelVampire

"Malt-man" OMG

mathtans

Or maybe there was a prophecy... there's often a prophecy...

I am so bad with names.

RebelVampire

no i like it

i accept this name

noelle's goals at the very least i dont think line up with tagh's. since noelle is trying to just get out from tagh's oversight

mathtans

He did have nicknames for the others.

I don't think they line up, but they're not at cross purposes, or at least not yet.

RebelVampire

im going to go with the occam's razor theory that tagh was good, then went power hungry and was like "rawr i am powerful cool dragon." and then most everyone was like "welp see you"

wnqs

Noelle and Malt-man HATE each other :P

More on their relationship is also to come

mathtans

Oh no, I got you doing it.

wnqs

I like Malt-man, it works better than Malt-chan :-=

RebelVampire

but part of me wonders if noelle had something to do with everything. maybe noelle was like "man you know whatd be great? more power. lets corrupt the seven-faced god. thats fun."

well

i now have imagery in my head of maltor in a girl's school uni cause of malt-chan(edited)

cannot unsee that

mathtans

thinks Maybe it was just having all the talismans together in one place for too long was a corrupting influence. Which may bode badly for Victory.

wnqs

RebelVamp: ooooh....some of that's pretty darn close...not power hungry, though,

mathtans

Tarow lends Malt-man her clothes. ^.^

"Disguise!"

wnqs

Noelle is playing a long-term game. She did something to cause all of this, yes.

mathtans

Noelle is Victory's mom!

wnqs

NO! :P

mathtans

....dad?

wnqs

no ^_^'

mathtans

Second cousin once removed?

RebelVampire

long lost cousin twice removed?

wnqs

:P Pet dog in a past life?

mathtans

I'm glad you went with a cat over a dog, I prefer the kittehs.

Actually, is the name Noelle significant? Or Vine?

wnqs

I think only a cat can really embody the kind of aloofness needed for this story

mathtans

Truth.

wnqs

Noelle because she's white....are you disappointed? :--

Vine Garoon means "whip scorpion"

mathtans

Nope! Tough to disappoint me.

Oh wow, that's such a cool name, in what language?

(I still can't unsee 'Vine The Loon' from Mysa though.)

wnqs

http://www.torontozoo.com/ExploretheZoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=452

mathtans

That's legitimately terrifying.

RebelVampire

im glad that vine is more adorable, less scorpion shivers and looks around paranoidly for scorpions on the wall

mathtans

Nodnodnodnodnodnodnodnod.

Also, wow, are you from Toronto?

wnqs

Ahem...at the age of 15 I literally flipped through the dictionary and I stopped on the page that said "Vinegaroon"...and I saw the comedic possibilities for that name

No, Alberta :P, but in BC right now

mathtans

You were writing from a young age, nice.

Okay. Just curious since I grew up in that area. (Elsewhere in Ontario now.)

wnqs

I was born in Ottawa and we moved out west

mathtans

Pfffft, and guess where I am now. Anyhue.

wnqs

Are you in....Florida? :-=

oh, wait, you said Ontario

mathtans

I like to think I'm not a scary person.

Not that eveyrone in Florida is scary, but I hear stories.

wnqs

Florida is scary

RebelVampire

everyone knows the tales of florida man

wnqs

and hot. I would melt.

mathtans

Oh, setting! Setting of the comic. It's sort of medieval.

With the knights and swords and all. Do they have legends like us, of Robin Hood and the like?

wnqs

Yes, pre-industrialized.

RebelVampire

well the seven-faced god stuff in itself is kind of a legend. since i mean theres even text mistranslations. its just a true legend sort of

mathtans

Or the Romans? I dunno, I'm wondering about history now.

Rebel: Truth.

wnqs

The knight/princess stuff is more Tarow's fetish , but there is a hiearchy ^_^'

mathtans

Sudden distraction...

wnqs

The plot's been so complicated that I've only briefly touched on society

mathtans

Actually, Mysa was pretty cavalier about the whole thing. I guess yuri's not a weird element for them.

RebelVampire

hey to be fair, i think the knight/princess stuff is also kind of Mysa's fetish XD

wnqs

They'll have to go into town now, so more of how society actually functions will be explored

mathtans

And I don't think society necessarily needs to be touched on, I haven't noticed the absence or anything, just started musing here.

Oh, neat.

Shipping Mysa/Tarow soooooo haaaaaaaaard.

wnqs

Rebelvamp: heh, this is true! :D

mathtans

I mean, Victory/Enne is nice too.

RebelVampire

yeah i think the story is presented in a way im not dying for world knowledge which is a good thing. i mean id definitely like to know more about the world. im just not distracted by the fact theres lots of mysteries

wnqs

Relationships in this world are more open to being varied, and Mysa knows what she wants...

RebelVampire

i liked that one pose victory did that made enne flustered but idk if you got to that part math O_O

mathtans

whispers ...so hard...

wnqs

ahahahaha!

sexy dragon

mathtans

I don't know either? There was the bit where she thought Mysa was coming up and it was actually Enne, and he's coughing, that was nice.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Enne, though fairly nice and pleasant, is plagued by the events of Narrot. Despite growing attached to Victory, Enne remains a bit torn on what occurred in the past. What do you think will ultimately happen in regards to Enne’s feelings? What will Enne’s role be later on in the story considering he’s been trained as a swordsmith?

wnqs

Super embarassing for them both at that moment...at least he can make some noises..

RebelVampire

ok no the moment of im thinking of is chapter 6

wnqs

Question 4 has some things answered when they get to town in Chap 9! :D

mathtans

ok, I'll see it after then.

RebelVampire

found it way faster than i thought i would

so many answers coming up

wnqs

Chapter 6 got way out of control for page numbers....^_^;

mathtans

(I only just started 6 earlier today)

RebelVampire

https://tapas.io/episode/494287

thats the page in specific its not really spoilery so its safe

wnqs

That's what I call her sexy-velociraptor pose

There's so much stuff coming up @_@

RebelVampire

thats exciting tho >v>

mathtans

Hahhahah, nice.

RebelVampire

my dream is enne forgets all about revenge and they all go live happily ever after. and enne makes the most badass sword in history

mathtans

Yeah, I see Enne having to make a decision about Victory versus maybe killing someone else and having to do the latter. It'll be tragic.

Also, there's that sword they got out of burned town, that's gotta factor in too, if it hasn't already.

wnqs

mathtans: yeah..the god-slayer sword...

mathtans

I wonder how Enne got hooked up with the Dragon crew anyway?

Right, that one. Which can only be wielded by gods and slayers.

wnqs

mathtans: boys gotta eat and earn a living, and his skills were very useful

mathtans

I was still thinking about Victory so my mind went to the wrong places on "his skills". >.<

wnqs

RebelVamp: or he just needs to fix a badass sword...

RebelVampire

yeah i wondered how he wound up with the dragon crew but at the end i assume its just he had nowhere else to go really. needed that roof over his head.

wnqs

mathtans: ahahahaha...he's good with his hands, I'm sure

mathtans

Yeah, does make sense.

RebelVampire

i hope we get to see the badass sword they already have again. cause they really went out of their way to get that thing.

mathtans

Was Enne's scar explained? Like, he didn't get that from the town burning, did he?

wnqs

Enne's scar is from when the town was destroyed. He was injured and couldn't speak afterwards

mathtans

Oh, okay, I was trying to remember if it might have been later. If he had a nemesis or something. rejects theory

RebelVampire

maybe enne does have a nemesis anyway

hunger is his nemesis

mathtans

As to using swords, we've seen a chimera, presumably there's other monsters out there for target practice.

wnqs

Enne's base story is fairly straight forward: Town was destroyed when he was 10, he was injured and can no longer talk, but has his mother's skills as a swordsmith and worked at the mountain after Yababa healed him to make a living. He was repairing swords and metal digging tools

mathtans

Bet Victory can't wait to see his... sword skills.

wnqs

PFFFT!!! RIGHT WHEN I TOOK A SWIG OF WATER!!!

wiping off laptop....again

RebelVampire

rip laptop

i wonder how much hes been able to interact with other ppl. or if ppl were like "hey boy i need this repaired and this" and then enne nodded and nobody spoke ever again

mathtans

Btw, was nice that Maltor didn't try to involve Yababa in things. Helped to show cleverness too.

wnqs

I think his conversations were limited to head nods/shakes.

mathtans

Possible raising of the middle finger?

wnqs

Maltor's got a lot of pride in his line of work, even if he's a merc, and won't involve innocents if possible.

RebelVampire

see good guy maltor

mathtans

There's a whole family pride and history thing there.

wnqs

I'm sure life on the road is so much better than life was at the mountain.

mathtans

What with not getting paid and all.

wnqs

Yet another thing that will be talked about, Maltor and Tarow's family. Guess which town they're from originally? I believe Tarow started to say it in chapter two before being hushed by Maltor

mathtans

The town of Florida?

wnqs

Maltor's not out of money. I won't say where he's been getting funds from if you haven't read past chapter 6

mathtans

Oooh, more to look forward to then, okay.

wnqs

:P yes. The hurricanes took their home away...and the gators ate their family

RebelVampire

thats explains everything

maltor is florida man

mathtans

Heh. Seriously though, it makes some sense that it would be the fire town, only question is why Tarow and Maltor weren't there at the time.

Malt-man.

wnqs

Tarow was there, Maltor was not. Maltor kinda didn't like Tarow back then...

mathtans

Younger siblings can be problematic. (I say as the oldest...)

RebelVampire

speaking of tarow and maltor, i laughed a lot at the fact that after tarow broke her tail, maltor was like "nah itll be fine ill just tie it to your ponytail."

mathtans

Yesssss! Very clever, yet also kinda silly and funny.

There's lots of little "oh, hey, so funny" moments.

wnqs

Solved the problem of it dragging on the ground, so yeah, totally fine!

I'm glad what I think is funny is actually funny ^_^'

RebelVampire

it actually made me want to research bones not healing right cause im really curious if the tail could heal properly if they rebroke it after so many years

not that i think thatd be a pleasant experience for tarow

mathtans

Funny to me anyway. ^^ I'm not too normal.

Hmmm, could they break the tail again, then have Victory heal it? Or would it just heal back to what it looked like last week?

wnqs

Oh...we can't answer that

mathtans

Oooooh.

wnqs

Since the tail is just an extension of the spine, rebreaking it might be dangerous.

mathtans

Mysa wouldn't mean it, it's just, hanging from the chandelier was a thing to experiment with.

wnqs

falling princesses?

RebelVampire

yeah thats a good point about it being an extension

maybe when victory lvls up with powers shell become a super master healer tho

mathtans

Ok, final theory. Victory was genetically engineered using magic, to take down the Dragon, but then her mother died in childbirth and no one knew what had been done.

RebelVampire

haha ppl may not even know tagh is still around being trapped in that mountain and all that

mathtans

Princesses just wanna have fun.

mathtans

Oh, that's a good point too.

wnqs

Ah....you are correct. No one actually knows the dragon's in the mountain.....yet...

RebelVampire

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party is now complete~! Thank you everyone so much for joining this week’s chat~! That being said, if you would like to continue discussing the comic, we encourage you to do so~! We want to give a big thank you to wnqs, as well, for volunteering The Cat, the Vine, and the Victory for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support wnqs’ efforts. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions about CTP, please feel free to PM me, or e-mail me at RebelVampire@startfaire.com.

With that said, next week’s Comic Tea Party will focus on ABDUCTED by Mike Battle. Please use this week to read as much of the comic as you would like. Hope to see you next Thursday (August 10th) from 5PM to 7PM PDT~! Until then~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/abducted