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theglguidetowebcomics · 4 years ago

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Full review: Girly

What’s Pink, insane, NSFW, hilarious, and somehow heartwarming at points? This comic is a ride and a half, and I’m genuinely surprised more people haven’t heard of this one… I’ve been wanting to talk about this one for a WHILE.

So let’s talk about the elephant in this room… Because I think it just ate someone’s couch.

Slightly NSFW review with spoilers below.

Girly, by Jackie Lesnick was a webcomic that ran between 2003 and 2010, (and really has some of those early webcomic hallmarks). Its monochromatic pink, vertical, with a poppy early cartoon feel. It’s also listed as a romantic comedy, which is… correct, but cuts a whole lot of what makes this comic good, short.

This review was always going to be one of the 4 I really struggled with. And not just because I lost it the first time without a back up in a code glitch, got distracted by a pandemic, then procrastinated my way to finally making a second version in my new backup folder… No, well also yes but no. This was a comic I read when I was younger (and should NOT have read when I was younger), and have always had a soft spot for. I’ll admit as much as this comic has its flaws or weird moments or just weirdness in general, its one of the few comics I’ve found myself rereading in its entirety more than once. And no matter how much I know it's coming, find myself sobbing, uncontrollably, at the final panel. There’s surprisingly a lot of heart in this comic, and a whole lot of honesty in just the direction the author took this weird little thing. But, first let me take of those rose tinted glasses as much as I can… (actually that might not work too well with a pink comic seriously whats with all these early 2000s lesbian comics being PINK?). And give this old comic a look and a bit of a dust. but , first...

Sex.

Getting to the point - page 3 of “Girly”

Girly is a NSFW comic. It’s not shy about it either. It hits the audience (and the main character) over the head with it literally in the first pages. It has sex positive characters, a sex positive world, some characters with… sex powers almost, and Dildos, a whole lot of dildos. Some even with smiley faces on them. It’s a pretty unavoidable part of the comic that makes up a large core of it’s humour and is baked into its wacky world. So if that’s not your thing, and it’s not really skippable in this case, you won’t like this comic.

But, if you’re alright with that part of it this might just be a hidden gem. Moving on.

Art

Artwork is always interesting in webcomics. They’re usually one man shows, have a weird niche / strong influences, and or usually go on massive journeys as the art improves. Girly is no different here.

Girly starts out rough. Some poses are wonky and its a bit scratchy. Technically speaking it has a few issues, which is fine. Its a free webcomic, from the 2000s that didn't copy and paste faces. (Won’t name names, you know who you are). You can’t be too harsh on a free comic, though.

However, what the art style does, even early on is set the style and feel of the comic. Anime inspired faces, bold outlines, and blocky silhouettes that were really popular with 90’s and 2000s cartoons. It has a newspaper, manga comedy strip vertical style, too. It fits the style of story well as a poppy wacky story. It's the perfect art style it could take.

Its rough in the beginning, but moves on from its scratchy days, to loose pen brush, to finally a polished free hand poppy style. It gets more technically advanced as it goes along, but it keeps its core style throughout. It’s fun, a little unhinged, and just pares perfectly.

The one issue I have with the art is it comes off as a bit cramped. It certainly matches the energy of the story, but it also feels like it doesn't let the characters have any breathing room in the frame. It comes off as squashed, and can make some character poses hard to read. That’s the only complaint I can find though. The issue even fixes itself later in the story, but just very very close to the end. It looks great there, but the majority of the comic is a little cramped. Still that’s just a small complaint.

Nitpicking here but some panels need a lil more room

This a humour comic foremost. It's the biggest part of what makes Girly specifically Girly.

Humour

The humour is mostly wacky nonsense, playing off its insane characters, physics defying world, everything being dialed up to 11. It also works a lot like satire, poking at what influences it, and playing with cinematic expectations. The first page has Otra shooting someone into space on a rocket because they annoyed them, the first “adventure” the character’s go on is stealing everyone’s pants because they couldn’t find anything else to do. Then there’s the kidnapping adventures, knight trials, and slice of life shenanigans that happen. All of it as wacky as the last. I haven’t really found any other lesbian comics like it. Its not everyone’s tastes, but it is certainly unique.

If you’re into a willy wonka tunnel of over the top characters and plots, you’ll like Girly.

Characters

Girl is a LONG comic, it ran for 7 years. The art evolved, the story writing, jokes, and themes along with it. It was originally meant to run for only 50 strips... and it ended up with 764.

so, there’s a lot to unpack.

Firstly, the premise of the story is somewhat simple. It focuses on Otra. The kinda straight man to the entire universe. She starts out almost depressed, out of place, and bored of the wacky inhabitants of her world. Until one of those wacky residents smacks her over the head with a giant dildo and won’t leave her alone for the next 7 years of run time.

What follows is the sullen Otra being pulled around by the always cheery and zany nonsensical Winter as the sidekick for bizarre adventures. Otra’s depressive grounded view keeps the bizarreness funny, while Winter cuts through her negative attitude and causes a lot of the over the top plot. Leaving Otra to warm up to the world, and Winter to get less reckless as they balance eachother out. It’s a fun dynamic, and works as an emotional core of the story. No matter how weird the plot and rules of the world are, their relationship keeps the story somewhat focused and rewarding to see develop.

An example of bold wacky character designs from even early on

The comic isn’t just about them, though. As an ensemble comic there's plenty of side characters that go through arcs and beats as well. From el chubacabre, the man that woman find so irresistible that they sleep with him as soon as they see him; detective Clapjaw the street wise detective who is very bad at his job; Officer Hipbone and police guy from the cute P D; captain fist the ever popular bad at his job superhero who gets all the credit; the news reporter obsessed with captain fist; the woman with babies; Steak; the elephants that just… appear and eat buildings; among many many others. A lot of whom also have nicely written character arcs and depth in later chapters. Many of the character however are simple and remain simple, which isn’t a bad thing. For such a large cast, having a diverse range of strange characters with strong identities and looks even if a bit simple stops it from getting bogged down. It strikes a good balance. Plus there’s plenty enough of characters with more depth later on.

All the character’s are insane, and over the top in a way that really sets up the world they live in and how it works... as dysfunctional as it is. There’s something very Cartoon Network about all the characters, but with some wider influences. something about dumb characters, with very specific goals and quirks that work on their own physics to feed into the high energy insanity of the world. Its entertaining to read, and leads to a weirdly charming feel of the comic.

Story and plot

For the bit people actually want to know about. What is it about?

Just a little bit of influences...

For the style itself the comic comes off as a mix between early 2000s slice of life-y anime, 2000s cartoon Network, and a dose of 2000s webcomic sarcastic action/adventure flare. It definitely has one of the most pronounced styles that I’ve seen, and even if it's very much a webcomic of it’s time it also goes a bit beyond that into something that feels personal to the author and honest. Its a batshit comic. But, it wears its influences on it’s sleeve and really plays with tropes and ideas the author found engaging at the time. It somehow comes off as refreshing in just how willing it is to go weird or niche for no other reason but because it wants to. It's what I appreciate most about the comic. It’s honest.

The overarching story of the comic is without a doubt about Otra and winter growing together as people. But with a comic that’s run for 7 years a little bit more happens in the journey, at least you hope it would. Girly runs on chapters, 15 in total (with 15 having sub chapters due to being the story’s climax), and each one of those chapters follows a different plot or adventure with Otra’s and Winter’s developing relationship gluing them together.

The plots themselves are wild and vary a bit in quality. But for a long comic that’s understandable and expected. They go from solving elephant problems, super villains, body swapping, fantasy parodies, and all sorts of strange things. Sometimes a few plots drag and a few character arcs feel a bit bland. It still manages to be entertaining all the way through though. The plots themselves work to get the character’s to play off each other and explore the strange world it takes place in. Exploring evil teddy bears, or an entire town devoted to cheap gags. No matter what, all the plots work in fleshing out the world and pushing character’s out of their comfort zone or forcing them to change. There are some that are less fun than others, but none of them manage to be boring or useless. Which for a long comic such as this, is quite an achievement.

Conclusion

Girly is a hidden gem, Its an insane sex positive comic. A loose style and even looser physics. It’s bold and unabashedly itself. But, at its core it's about the love story of Winter, the wacky insane woman needing to slow down and open up, and Otra, a sullen woman who’s deemed herself only worthy of being on the outskirts of society. It’s two people growing together in a world that’s up to its ears in care bears, sentient dildos, earth shattering cloning, and jabs at 2000’s paste it comics. And somehow it all sticks together.

The characters resonated, at least with me, which may be the nostalgia talking. But by the end of the comic I can’t help but think back on how long it took them to get there. The bits that made me laugh (a lot of them), the stupid parts, and the character’s arcs, as over the top they could be at times. It may not everyone’s cup of tea. But it has a lot of heart at its core. (If you get past all the dildos).

For all it’s flaws and weird bits. I still find myself going back to Girly.

Maybe now, some more people will too.

#girly #webcomics #review #comic #lgbt webcomics #queer #lesbian

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deathvsthemaiden · 4 years ago

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ok wait after u sent me that ask i have to know ur top books!!! dw if u don't feel like it but i would love to hear them 🌷

This is so sweet and considerate! Thank you Eva, you gave me 5 so I’ll try to keep it to that # as well 💖🐰 off the top of my head:

🌷 The Stormlight Archive series, especially the second book, Words of Radiance. Stormlight is like 4 books + 2 novellas right now, and is projected to be 10 books and ???novellas eventually. And on top of that each main book is 1000+ pages and while you can read Stormlight on its own, most of the other books by the author, Brandon Sanderson, are part of this larger fictional universe called the cosmere. Each series takes place on a different planet, and if you are invested in the whole cosmere, there’s Easter egg references to other series in other series. So like! While I rec these books often, most people understandably don’t take me up on it wgshshh 🤭 Sanderson’s non-Stormlight books are all MUCH shorter but also much more flawed imo. Like I wouldn’t count him among my favorite authors were it not for Stormlight. anyway I’m a die hard fantasy fan so the length didn’t deter me, and I picked these up because a friend told me the world building in these books was genuinely unique instead of the typical very lazy maps composed of like. Fantasy Russia and its hostile mysterious neighbors Fantasy General East Asia and Fantasy Africa lol. and she was right! The world building is exquisite and refreshing and almost every character is canonically of color. They live in a society with an eye color based caste system and it’s.., so hard to sum up this massive series with four main characters and a ridiculous(ly fun) amount of plot lines, so I’ll cut this short and say 1) the first book, The Way of Kings, is highly expository but the ending is so so worth it, and if you enjoy the ending you’ll find merit in continuing with the series 2) Words of Radiance is my favorite book so far partially because I haven’t read the newest, Rhythm of War, yet, and also because it’s the book with the most scenes that solidified Kaladin Stormblessed (one of the main characters) as one of my favorites of all time. Another one of the best things about this series is how Brandon Sanderson portrays mental health in very natural ways, and it makes Kaladin’s growth so incredibly soothing to follow (I MEAN. He has low points that sometimes hit too close to home, but it makes you root for him harder) he really is just. Truly my definition of a hero, if we wanna get cheesy about it, and I had to pick one solid example. I love him so much this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg as to why 😭!

🌷Jane Eyre. Silly frivolous teenaged girl that I am this book swept me off my feet when I first read it and I condone every problematic aspect of it❤️ (I DONT ofc but like! I love drama and being played like a fiddle by narratives and the book delivered on both fronts! And it couldn’t have without its unsavory plot twist soooo 😙💖) (the hate this book and especially one specific character gets is funny to me just because like. Hate for the former (imo) usually stems from people taking the book too seriously while simultaneously missing the point (JE and du Maurier’s Rebecca (highly influenced by the former) are oft considered loose Bluebeard retellings for a reasonnnn!) and hate for the latter is usually just like. Warranted and then taken over the top like... he’s just a fake funny little man you guys :( and the book would’ve been boring if he wasn’t so twisted and out of touch and passionate ): not to mention I do personally in a mean ish way think it’s funny how for some people this character is one of the worst examples of men they can imagine. Like good for Them! I don’t want them to have lower standards for horribleness in people But also omg 🤭 it just reminds me of how... irony of all ironies, I’m semi frequently told I’m too harsh on real life men and then when I love twisted ones in books (for being funny and entertaining and good solid characters) I like. get the most interesting side eyes (whether figurative or literal) bwjswnhshe anyway I have nothing against Austen, I definitely enjoy her, but from what I’ve read so far, I prefer the Brontës a lot more... I need adventure! Show me horror show me rot etc etc❤️ also I’m. A stupid sucker so the fact that the book was Charlotte Brontë’s attempt to write a plain looking lady protagonist and to make her praiseworthy and virtuous and worthy of spellbinding romance makes me... 💗💓💕

🌷Keturah and Lord Death — Martine Leavitt. I haven’t seen it officially stated anywhere but to me it’s p clear this book is a retelling of/highly inspired by Godfather Death (the Grimm tale) Very simple, predictable but effective plot, and the characters are just. So much fun. From my url you can probably tell I love stories in which women (or anyone but you know. Death and the Maiden is its own trope for a reason) outsmart/face off against death. If they also k*ss, when done right, I think that’s swell as well.

🌷A Thousand Splendid Suns — Khalid Hosseini. By far the heaviest book I will mention in this ask, and I don’t rec it willy nilly for that and a few other reasons. It’s a forever fave to me because I read it at the exact right time in my life, where I was like... noticing a ton of things irl and things at home were tumultuous, and when I saw very similar things unfold in this book while I was being silenced and made to feel crazy by the adults around me, it meant so much to me to see reality as I was experiencing it in real time reflected back at me via this novel. The context of the story is wildly different from my own life and the stakes the characters face are far higher, and it is if I remember right mostly a novel about the horrors of war, which isn’t something I pretend to have any firsthand experience with, but! It was legitimately cathartic to read when I read it, and it especially meant a lot to me at the time that the author was a grown man. Not to mention how my mother is not and never has been a reader, and somehow the one and only book I ever managed to get her to read was this. Hilariously she got mad at me for only (“only”) reading depressing things (there’s... a grain of truth to that but she doesn’t need to know! 🤫) but also... she was hooked I could tell! (I got all tmi explaining this one gag I’m so sorry)

🌷A Slight Trick of the Mind — Mitch Cullin. Retirement-era Holmes! Holmes as an old man! A sad old man who keeps bees!! It’s the novel the movie Mr. Holmes was based off of (haven’t seen it yet) and I was not expecting it to get me all sentimental like it did 🤨😪 but anyway it’s like. A prolonged character study and explores some of the most interesting (to me, anyway) parts of Holmes that are only lightly touched upon in canon, like his occasionally huge follies when navigating his few close relationships and how he copes with them afterwards, his fatigue at the random injustice of the world, how he’s often mistaken both by characters that surround him and people irl as a man without feelings, etc etc. like there’s no Dr. Watson or Mrs. Hudson in this book, and the people he interacts with are almost entirely original characters, but as I listened to the audiobook it barely occurred to me to miss Watson and Hudson (I know! 😦) and the author’s original characters interacted with Holmes so believably that I sometimes forgot they weren’t ever Doyle’s. Def recommend to any flexible Holmes fan that’s not a total stickler for canon (though you don’t actually have to know much about Holmes to read this book and enjoy it! 🐝)

🌷Sleepless — Sarah Vaughn + Leila del Luca. I began with the longest book, so let me end with the shortest. It’s a 2 volume long graphic novel series and that it’s so short is the only long standing, legitimate complaint I have of it! Gorgeous art, really effectively written romance, a dark skinned girl who gets to be the proactive, lively protagonist and stunning, pined after love interest at the same time, a cast of characters that is majority of color, the perfect %-age of drama and angst etc etc. if you can find it via your library or online or smth, you can knock it out in one sitting and leave the experience eternally altered in the funnest way 👁👄👁

Honorable mentions: The Botany of Desire — Michael Pollan, Troubling Love — Elena Ferrante, The Girl from the Garden — Parnaz Foroutan

#asks #book recs #wasn’t sure if you’d read Jane Eyre before so I was vague abt it qgzhshshs #long post

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soradragon · 4 years ago

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Sugary Comfort

Art’s not mine I found it and credit goes to the wonderful owners of this master piece of a drawing!

First Mikey x reader! I am proud and content with this one!

Thank you my sweet new beta reader for helping me edit this fic I love u and your amazing! <3

Warnings: sensory overstimulation in the beginning, lots of fluff, one pun

Mikey x f! reader

Check out my main masterlist if you liked what you read and wanna read more!

If you want to be tagged in the upcoming fics don’t be afraid to ask me! ^^

Anyway, enjoy^^

~~~~

You gazed at the reflection of a girl. She looked utterly exhausted; bags under her eyes like she hasn't slept in ages.

Her lips were tilted up in a sneer; it was evident that she was repressing the urge to scream. But instead of giving in to the voice begging her to do just that, she drove her foot through the water's surface. Not only disfiguring the reflection of the girl, but also dirtying the dress you nitpickingly chose to wear this day. At the time you felt beautiful wearing it. Proud that you chose the right clothes to fit with the dress, completing the look you wanted.

Now, you just didn't care.

You didn't feel pretty nor proud.

You choked out a sob, rubbing the back of your hand against your face harshly.

You wanted all the white noise to stop, wanted the crying to stop, wanted the searing headache to stop. Why couldn't time freeze? Then, maybe the chaos in your head would finally end.

You had tried everything you knew that normally should have worked. Out of all of the times for those methods not to work, why did it precisely choose now when it actually matters?

You followed all the steps. You even rehearsed the steps as you did them.

Step one: When you feel an episode coming, go to a quiet place with dull, even colours.

You had almost dropped your project when you felt everything becoming overwhelming, muttering an explanation to your teacher before almost booking out of the school building, to the most calming place you could recall; the park.

Step two: Once you have found a quiet place, go sit down and use your headphones to block out all of the sounds.

The headphones did not work.

Your never-ending trains of thoughts took the place of the noise and multiplied it by two.

Images that flashed before your eyes every time you closed them were too bright. You were unable to figure out the meanings behind the words your mind screamed at you.

All of it only worsened the already painful headache.

After only a moment you tore the headphones from your head.

Step three: Try even your breathing, and count to ten to ground yourself.

This was the only step that worked. You managed to calm yourself and stop your ragged breathing but it took effort. It took two attempts of counting to ten before it succeeded.

This whole fiasco petered you out mentally and physically. You just wanted this unnecessary sensory to decrease and quiet down to at least a tolerable level. But alas, the world did not want to cooperate this time.

You sighed, casting your gaze to the heavens.

The sky was beautiful this evening - painted in orange and pink - and you would have taken the time to admire it, had it been in a different situation.

After hearing a familiar yet obnoxious 'ping' coming from within your bag, you cursed under your breath. You snatched your bag from behind you crudely, zipping it open with a huff. As you turned it on, you flinched at the bright light of your screen.

One unread message from 'Mom.'

She was worried sick no doubt. You felt guilty for worrying her, and wanted to reassure her that yes, you were safe, but felt like trash and were in the middle of an episode that wouldn't stop. No matter how hard you tried, all the obnoxious and illogical sensory your brain's been picking up did not stop. Though, on the other hand, you just wanted to ignore the message and skip the whole situation of explaining everything altogether and just turn off the screen and put notifications on mute. You sent a quick 'k' to whatever she had messaged you and moved on to the mute button.

Your finger hovered above it when a notification popped up, causing you to hesitate.

One new message from 'The great Mikester dude!'

Without thinking, you pressed on the notification, staring with big eyes at the message he had sent you: Guess who and where dudette. :P

"Mikey." You gasped out, manoeuvring your head in all kinds of directions, eyes skimming all over the park, trying to find the one in question. You felt the tingling and buzzing feeling of hope and glee pool in your body, replacing the sadness and anger.

All problems were forgotten or pushed to the back of your mind.

The white noise died down suddenly when you heard a low thud and the slight rustling of leaves.

There was no other explanation; they were here...You were sure of it.

Only they could stop the chaos when everything else failed, though you didn't know how, nor the logic in it.

You guessed it had something to do with their ninja nature or something. (Even though Donnie told you multiple times that it might have been because of the aura they carried with, them, being half turtle and all that jazz had its side effects on some humans, like how a pet could soothe its owner simply by being near them. You still blamed it on them being ninjas.)

With your mind settled down, you could think clearly again.

You briefly acknowledged the fact that you most certainly were a dishevelled mess. Puffy eyes from crying, clothes covered in mud, and hair all over the place, considering that you've pulled and tangled your hair in frustration. Despite all of this, you didn't care.

You were too busy thinking of a plan to lure them - you guessed it was all of them, though it could be only Mikey - out of their hiding place.

You accidentally placed your hand on your phone, making it vibrate, and your hand shot back as if it had burned you. A few seconds after, a song piped up. A lot of curses could be heard from the tree where the music came from, the leaves rustled like no tomorrow. Mikey fell out of said tree not long after, hitting the ground with an 'oof' followed by a groan. You stared at Mikey for a couple of seconds before doubling over in laughter as the realisation hit you:

You had accidentally called Mikey!

Well, it sure helped you find him!

You counted that as a win on your part. And it seemed that Mikey was on his own, for normally one of the brothers, cough Raph cough would have jumped out from their hiding place and scolded Mikey.

He rolled into a sitting position, giggling with you.

"Yo, dudette! Fancy seeing you here. Don't mind me dropping in," he said, peering at you with an expecting smile, seeming to wait for a reaction.

It took you a hot second or two for you to catch on, eventually groaning at the pun and face-palming yourself for your delayed comprehension. He did jazz hands and everything.

The great ninja Michelangelo just punned...

You wanted to kick yourself, you completely forgot that April had warned you about Mikey using puns. She had messaged you not too long ago about how it was a "Big" (with capital B) mistake of Casey to teach Mikey "The Art of puns." For Mikey had become obsessed with them. - Throughout the whole exchange, Casey had managed to steal April’s phone a few times and messaged you some words. Three guesses which one was Casey’s input on the matter. -

You had no clue what they meant with "mistake" throughout that whole exchange.

You appreciated a good pun.

This was not a good pun.

You could just imagine the brothers’ reactions to Mikey's newfound fixation: Raph screaming desperately for Mikey to shut up. Donnie being hella annoyed with something pressed against his (ears?) to drown Mikey out. Leo would definitely try to ignore him, probably without success, because you knew...oh, you knew Mikey would take every chance he got to make a pun.

Your heart went out for them. Needing to go through such torture was horrid, yet it was a funny sight to be completely honest. Not that you would ever tell them, heavens no.

You were not going to poke three bears with a stick - in this case, mutant turtles. You were not ready to die three separate times.

"Dude, that was so bad,” you said, making a face as if you had just been forced to smell Raph's feet. You still regret going through with that bet.

"Dude!"

Mikey frowned, throwing his hands in the air. You knew he wasn't really offended, just a bit pouty.

"It's the truth, dude," you retorted absentmindedly, casting your gaze from left to the right before it rested on your bag. Smiling slightly, you snatched it, hauling it over your back before turning back to Mikey who sat contently against the tree.

"But," you emphasised the word by pointing your index finger in the air, "you can get better,” your grin widened as you spoke.

“And I, Y/N, know how it's really done."

Mikey's pout vanished and a wide, child-like grin overtook his face. You had his full attention, as he observed you expectantly from his cross-legged position.

The long uncut grass rippled towards and caressed Mikey, the blades of green curling slightly forward and creating an image of what looked like nature sheltering Mikey from the harsh reality outside of this garden of paradise.

The green-filled branches of the tree hovered above him, leaves gliding down every now and again, covering Mikey in small dapples of shadow.

Dusk's hew engulfed the image before you in a soft purple radiance. Mikey's skin practically glowed, making him look like a forest fairy.

It was a captivating sight.

You could mistake it for a painted fairy tale that had come to life. Whoever the painter was had made sure that each tiny detail captured the magic and beauty of the image before you.

A magic-filled world coexisting in the harsh one you stood in... what you wouldn't give to cast all worries aside and join that world.

You were so lost in the moment that you almost forgot to continue.

Shaking yourself free from the enchanting sight, you carried on, albeit flustered, "a-and I could, um, teach you a thing or two. If...If you want me to, that is."

Mikey almost jumped right in your face before the words had completely left your mouth. There were practically stars in his eyes! He actually looked really adorable.

"Really!? You would!? Y/N, you are the best!!"

Mikey engulfed you into a hug, his body nearly covering your entire body from the world.

You gave a chuckle as he kept his arms circled around you, letting you sit in his lap. You didn't mind at all, feeling cosy in his arms.

"Of course I would Mikester. It would be my pleasure!"

You raised your hands to Mikey's cheeks, giving them a couple of pats before you continued.

"That way, you have a reason to end patrol earlier so we can spend more time together," and it would give the others a break from the barrage of bad puns, but you didn't voice that out loud.

Mikey seemed to agree. He didn't waste any time to establish when and where this 'class-session', as he called it, would be taking place. He wanted it to become, without a shadow of a doubt, a weekly thing, like movie night at the turtles’ place with everyone.

Mentioning movie night brought up some nasty memories of last time -the movie night itself wasn’t bad, just one of your episodes got out of hand - and Mikey changed the subject promptly after seeing you wince slightly.

He told you about all kinds of new skateboard tricks he mastered and invented.

After a little while - when everything had been said about skateboarding - Mikey started to eagerly talk about random topics, bringing up stuff like how his training went this morning or what he encountered on patrol. Just little things to draw more time spending in this position. You kept in mind that this peaceful moment couldn't last forever, for both of you would have to separate sooner rather than later.

You needed to go home to your no doubt worried sick parents, before they would start search parties. And Mikey...had to wait till the next time you two could hang out. (Which wasn't as often as both of you desired)

You listened to his voice silently, only humming a reply whenever Mikey asked for your opinion, snuggling deeper into his embrace as you lost track of time. Drowsiness tugged at your consciousness, beckoning you to close your eyes and let sleep take over. The way Mikey held you close to him made you feel loved and safe, with you resting your head against his chest to hear his heartbeat. He rubbed soothing circles on your left shoulder with one hand, making it impossible to resist the urge to let sleep take you away to dreamland.

You vaguely heard Mikey's voice murmur in your ear, "Sweet dreams, sugar muffin..." You felt soft lips brush against your forehead before sleep took you over.

*(*)(*)*

Michelangelo stayed seated for a little while longer, looking at your sleeping form with loving eyes. If the world would have let him, he would have stayed like this forever. Alas, the moment was broken when your mobile pinged inside your bag, vibrating like crazy.

Mikey panicked. Jumping to his feet (surprisingly without stirring you) without thinking. He opened your bag in such haste he had almost dropped you trying to grab the vibrating phone before it would wake you.

He sighed in relief when the phone stopped its obnoxious buzzing after he managed to keep you from falling. He shifted you gently onto one arm to hold you delicately, yet tightly to his chest, as if he was protecting you from the world around you.

Once he made sure you were nestled comfortably in his hold, he glanced towards the device lying in his palm. Mikey held it at an arm's length.

One question drifted inside his mind: Who in their right mind would call you this late in the evening?

It was a question where he could get an answer, but Mikey didn't want to pry into your private life without your permission.

But the curiosity gnawed at him like he would do with pizza.

He shook his head and chastised himself for goggling the device longingly. "No, bad Mikey...Be the better man, you can do this," he muttered, moving to put the phone in your bag until your phone buzzed again, displaying the number of notifications on the lit-up screen.

It made him halt in his tracks.

Mikey knew you were having a bad day today. After all, he saw you crying by the pond in the centre of the park. It was a mere coincidence, patrolling around the park at the time. He had seen you crying and decided right then and there that he would cheer you up. But he had no idea you had that kind of bad day.

There were seven unread messages and three missed calls from your mother. All of them showed how worried she was about you, asking where you were and if you had one of your sensory overstimulation episodes.

Without really thinking about it, he typed a reply to your mother: Batteries died, was with a friend. Coming home through the fire escape forgot keys.

It wasn’t a grammatically correct message, he knew. It was the best he could do with one hand and one thick tumb.

Mikey glanced towards you with gentle eyes and a soft smile after sending the message and put your phone back in your bag.

He moved you gently, holding you with both arms again and cradling you against his chest.

You, in turn, stirred and snuggled deeper into Mikey's chest, making his heart soar.

"Time to get you home, sugar muffins..." he whispered softly, brushing a couple of stray hairs out of your face.

Mikey moved swiftly yet precisely, ensuring you did not wake or feel uncomfortable during roof-top-hopping. You needed all the rest you could get; the bags under your eyes made him even more certain of the fact.

Your home came into Mikey's field of vision far too soon. Opening the window and laying you softly onto your bed felt too fast for his taste.

Mikey took extra care to tuck you in. He even attached a little note to your bag for you to find when you would wake up.

He really wanted to stay longer, but the sound of your parents coming up the stairs told him it was time to go. He opened the door of your room slightly so your parents would know you were home. Michelangelo climbed through the window before your parents could see him.

He watched your parents turn on the light from a rooftop across your window. Your dad gave you an extra blanket before the two of them turned off the light and left your room.

Mikey stayed there on the rooftop for a little while longer before leaving, looking over his shoulder one last time and then he sprinted over the rooftops towards home.

*(*)(*)*

You found the note the next day. You smiled brightly at the words hastily scribbled on the pape. You texted Mikey a reply before you went to look out your window. Your eyes draw towards the morning sky, which was painted in a soft orange hue.

You repeated the words inside your head, making you excited for the next time you would see your turtle in orange...

Yoo, dudette! Can't wait for the pun-session upcoming Friday!

I'll pick you up at ten alright? It's a date! ;) <3

~~~~

Thank you for reading, and keep soaring high!^^

Forever taglist

@theincaprincess

#tmnt #tmnt x reader #tmnt mikey x reader #mikey x reader #tmnt michelangelo x reader #michelangelo x reader #tmnt mikey #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant mutant turtles x reader #x reader #fluff #angst #sora's writings #mikey's a sweetheart #can't convince me otherwise #nope not happing #cant change my mind #bad at tags by the way

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lyendith · 5 years ago

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Ciconia no Naku Koro ni Phase 1 : To You, The Replaceable Ones

I had planned to write this… review? analysis? of Ciconia Phase 1 right after finishing the game about two weeks after its release, but since then I've had trouble organizing my thoughts. The reason is that this first installment alone tackles a lot of themes: war, nationalism, technoscientism, media consumption and manipulation, the blurring limits between physical and virtual reality, education systems, generational gaps induced by technology, artificial procreation, old people robbing the youth of their dreams, the meaning of family and interpersonal bonds, and even transidentity (albeit briefly). And it is quite remarkable that almost all of those themes are represented by one object: the Gauntlet and the idea of “parallel processing” associated with it.

It's gonna be a long and messy review, I'll probably forget to mention some aspects of the story or overlook others, and I won't talk about every single character, but I'll try to cover the essential parts. Not easy considering how densely-packed the story is, but let's go!

So to start, I should probably focus on this VN's protagonist, Mitake Miyao. On a surface level, he's a bit of what you'd call a “tsundere”: harsh, a little irritable and sarcastic with his pals, but always well-meaning and easy to befriend in the end. One of the running threads of the story so far is that he's too well-meaning in fact, idealistic to a fault, which contributes to his odd charisma but also makes the increasing realization of his powerlessness all the more depressing. You don't want to see this guy fail, but because of the way the story is framed, you know he inevitably will.

For a while, the narration and dialogue like to repeat that “youngsters are each generation's main characters”, but that's a sentiment I couldn't quite share − in our real world, youngsters may be the ones will all the dreams, but they sure as hell aren't the ones making the decisions. The climate change crisis, for example, wouldn't be left unaddressed if that was the case. And sure enough, Ciconia isn't so naïve as to ignore that reality. Every single step of the way, Miyao thinks he can use his power to overturn the situation. Every single step of the way, he's reminded that in the end he's just a pawn moving however his higher-ups or other nebulous forces wish him to. That's a really powerful and relatable theme in this day and age, which raises the question of how far you can oppose a system you're an essential part of.

One thing that makes Miyao special, at least compared to his pals from the AOU, is that he's “ciconia-born” − born from natural procreation. Which means that unlike Jayden or Gunhild, he has bilogical family bonds but also hasn't been subjected to a genetic selection that would predetermine his path in life. At least supposedly, but we gradually learn that that may not quite be the case. In fact, that biological link to Toujirou ends up acting as a tether that robs Miyao of even more control on his own life than he thought, leading to the final tragedy of this first Phase.

There also lies this story's commentary on technology and man's increasing dependence on it − technology makes the kids' life easier, but it's also their undoing. One technology prevented an apocalypse that another caused, and the loss of the former brings about a new apocalypse. Humans created the 8MS but only a handful of scientists have a full understanding of how it works, just like today's technology are only fully understood by a small elite of technicians. We are increasingly dependent on tools whose principles are increasingly out of our grasp. Again, the Gauntlet is another reflection of that.

But back to Miyao and the Gauntlet Knights. In retrospect, it is clear that the way both the characters and readers learn about most dramatic developments through disincarnated news reports (with a goofy “news flash” alert by the frog AI Keropoyo to make it worse) is meant to build up that feeling of powerlessness, and also of disconnect. We should be alarmed that war is approaching, that terrible things are happening… but it all feels distant. After all, do you cry or tremble in fear when you learn that an eathquake killed a thousand people on the other side of the globe? No, you'll think “it's terrible” for a minute and then move on, because what can you do about it? Reading the second half of Ciconia felt a lot like that. And while that's part of the message, it is also to the detriment of the reading experience a lot of the time.

For a while (around the 60-to-80% portion of the game, roughly) we get a lot of redundant dialogue about commenting the news and Miyao rambling on about how they're all COMRADES MAINTAINING THE WALLS OF PEACE, again and again and again, to the point it becomes annoying. That's my only real gripe with the game − the feeling that, at times, Ryukishi forgot he was writing a story and went into political or philosophical essays about its themes instead. Maybe a manga or anime adaptation could help make these parts more… show-don't-telly. But as it is, it could have used some serious trimming down. That's hardly something entirely new − who can forget Krauss' tangent about 1986 Japan's economic situation or Beatrice's explanation of Hempel's crow? But in Ciconia the narration doesn't seem to come from any specific point of view except that of the author (and even on that front, the opening disclaimer warns us that the views expressed don't necessarily reflect the author's opinions), so those parts become all the more conspicuous. Unless this all turns out to be part of a Witch's game, which wouldn't be surprising.

Where Ciconia shines however, is at weaving a web of connections between the characters, one by one, to make you care about some and suspicious of others, sometimes both, and deliberately confuse you about who really controls whom. First we have the kids, with Warcat and Grave Mole which instantly grew on me (the slice-of-life TIPS focused on them had some of my favorite scenes actually), then the other kette with their own quirky charms… then the “villains”, with Toujirou and Seshat, then the Three Kings and Jestress who has a delightful dynamic with Toujirou, and then Toujirou is revealed to be Miyao's father, etc... It's a testament to how well all of those characters are established that I could remember almost all of them very quickly despite their massive number. Save for the Cairo Squad maybe. They're just kinda there. The (mostly) gorgeous character designs certainly help, even if Ryukishi still has a somewhat loose grasp of body proportions and of the… number of fingers on human hands. There's some improvement even in that department though.

While Miyao is for the most part the center of the cast, at least on the kids' side, that doesn't mean the others aren't interesting in their own right. Jayden is your classic “best buddy dudebro” whose easygoingness lets him bounce off Miyao's more strait-laced personality in a fun way, but his relationship with Meow, Miyao's “little sister” who shares the same body, allows him to show more sensitivity and shyness he would otherwise have. Speaking of Meow, she brings about another interesting element of worldbuilding − the existence of “Congenital Parallel Processors”, or CPPs, i.e. people born with multiple personalities, who are not considered mentally ill but a full-fledged minority with its own issues and “coming outs”. Although that aspect isn't developped much (Meow herself kind of disappears from the radar in the second half), we do get other examples of how it can manifest, notably with the character of Naima, whose unnamed alter-ego is violently protective of her, or Rukshana who's prone to abrupt personality changes when she laughs. The way Jayden kinda walks on eggs but genuinely tris to to treat Meow as her as her own person while respecting her and Miyao's privacy is frankly adorable, and I almost wish we got more of that at least in the TIPs!

The kette I found the most interesting, though, was Grave Mole, composed of Chloe, Lilja and Koshka. While a lot of characters have issues, all three of these girls are complete mental wrecks to some degree. Koshka spends her time between grumpily taking part in Kizuna chat rooms and horrific body experiments (usually simultaneously) when she's not training, Lilja has to take drugs to pretend like she's a happy, cute and mischievous cat-girl for the sake of making Koshka a more-or-less functional human being, and Chloe has to constantly deal with unfair punishments and a constantly battered self-esteem. As comedic as Okonogi's angry rants and karate-chops are played (and as much as I like this version of Okonogi, strangely enough), that scene where she gleefully lets Lilja be killed in battle makes it clear that her mental state is just as unstable as the other two's.

On the antagonists' side, things are a lot more blurry: a lot of them utter the arc phrase “All is in the name of guiding humanity down the right path.” However, what the right path is seems to vary depending on who says it. That's where a lot of the mystery lies − be it with Jestress, Seshat or Toushirou, their goals seem contradictory, and Tak… I mean Vier Dreissig doesn't even seem to have a goal beyond SCIENCE. But a big part of Phase 1's hook is that constant uncertainty as to who is playing whom and for what purpose. Even the Three Kings, who seem like your bog standard Illuminati knock-offs, might not be as much in control as they seem − hell, one of the big catastrophes (the fatal damage to the atmospheric 8MS) happens completely outside of their control, in an almost comically sudden way.

Speaking of comical… let's get to what I found personally fascinating but what other readers might have gripes with: the brutal tonal shifts and dissonances throughout the story. A cheery scene to announce the big success of a plan for the Order of the Public Bath? Keropoyo pops up to gleefully announce… an avalanche of terrible news that make the success from a minute ago meaningless. A big conference for peace where World War IV will most certainly be stopped? All of its participant die in an “accidental” explosion. Not to mention characters that are walking balls of tone dissonance like Chloe (who has many comical scenes but is clearly broken beyond repair) or the Yeladot Shavit girls (who by the end are forced to spew out fanatical bullshit with the same sparkly smile they sport when gushing about yuri ships).

This is of course embodied by the incredible climax where all the Gauntlet Knights celebrate their comraderie together in a virtual room… while their real selves are busy killing each other lest they're court-martialed for treason. The moment where all of Miyao's ideals are brutally trashed and scattered in a battle we don't even know the purpose of. The moment where the kids' taent for “parallel processing” becomes their sole mean of escaping the horror of their situation. The moment where all the absurdity, all the unfairness explodes in a depressing flourish. The moment also where the thematic resonance with Umineko becomes fully apparent − how can we not be reminded of Sayo and Maria escaping their shitty lives through their magic? Though of course Rose Guns Days also constantly came to mind, with the focus on war and nationalism, Japan being divided between a union led by the US and one led by China, and two of Miyao's closest friends being the American Jayden and the Chinese Lingji; as well as Miyao being an idealistic and charismatic leader-by-circumstance whose dreams crash into a wall much like Rose's in RGD.

So…

All in all, Ciconia might not entirely be what I expected from a When They Cry game, but it is certainly what I expect from a 07th Expansion game: a thought-provoking experience. Again, I finished my reading shocked and confused. Although it might seem like it shows its cards more explicitly than the openers of Higurashi and Umineko, deception still plays a big part in the story, even if the interaction with the reader is less direct.

Now there might be no murder mystery for the reader to solve, but that won't stop me from speculating! The invisible turning point to me is the “Proof of a Program” chapter, where Blue Miyao tells Miyao that he'll show him someone's face, and that that will activate Miyao's murder program instantly. Miyao first laughs it off, but then the scene brutally cuts to something that might be a flashback, a flash-forward or a nightmare, maybe all of that at once… The most graphically horrifying scene of the entire game, to the point it's almost at odds with the rest. And then… it's never mentioned again. Not even when Miyao meets again with Blue Miyao. Like it never happened. My theory is that everything Miyao experiences from that point onward is some kind of simulation, and that's where the obligatory When They Cry time loop will come from this time. See you in May for the answer?

That is all for today, folks!

#Ciconia no naku koro ni #Review #Back to Trianthology soon!

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animation-recaps-by-sean · 6 years ago

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Adventure Time-Come Along With Me Recap

The fun will never end it’s adventure time! Spoilers below.

After Sym Bionic Titan wasn’t renewed for a second season, a coworker told me that Adventure Time better turn into something great. Little did he know. Adventure Time came right when we needed it. This is bittersweet for me. My first review for this blog was for the season six episode “Breezy”. It’s still my least favorite episode. And the rest of season 6 didn’t really help matters. But the show bounced back, next season. And was still one of the best on tv to the end.

Due to a series of circumstances involving Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a lightbright, and the city of Boston, Cartoon Network got a new head executive who wanted to move the channel in a new direction. He greenlight a series of reality shows and launched CN Real in 2008 planning to move away from cartoons completely. This move was universally hated by everybody and cost the channel millions. Fast forward to 2010 had Cartoon Network premiering it’s first cartoon since the failure of CN Real. It didn’t just save Cartoon Network it saved cartoons. Cartoons were kind of fading from television. Nick and Disney didn’t have a lot of animated shows at the time. And there was a lot of stuff like Adventure Time at the well... time. It’s hard to image since how cartoons have built off it’s style, but Adventure Time really was a breath of fresh air. If we didn’t have Adventure Time we wouldn’t have had Gravity Falls, Steven Universe and so on and so on. It showed everyone that cartoons could be funny and smart too.

It did have issues. Particularly in season six when the show started to by its own hype. And the gave everyone daddy issues. And I mean everyone. Finn, Marceline, Lemonhope, Jake, Jake’s kids, Jake’s brother, Jake’s grandkids. But they did improve season seven going onward by grounding the lore and the story based on the characters. I think deciding ending the series forced them to address interesting lore points.

Speaking of the ending, let’s talk about the finale. It begins a thousand years in Ooo’s future, seen in Lemonhope and Graybles 1000 +. We join Shermy and Beth, who looks like a decedent of Jake and Ladycorn, as they try to topple a Prize Guard Guardian. They fail but gain the ire of a futuristic banana guard. The duo also find an old metal arm. Finn’s metal arm. The return to their house, which is Marceline's house. The two decide to find the King of Ooo to see if he knows anything about it.

The duo travels up a mountain to the King’s house, who turns out to be BMO with a crown and a sheet tied to his face to mimic a beard. Shermy and Beth look around the room breaking a lot of stuff. BMO asks them to leave but the show him Finn’s arm. BMO remembers his old friend and how he lost his arm at the end.

We go back a thousand years. Finn and Jake see King Man and Betty doing something with the unconscious Maja. The three disappear. They report it to Bubblegum who is planning a defense against Gumbald and his army. Both Finn and Marceline warn Bubblegum about the war. The show is framing them in the right but I disagree. Look, war is bad, I get that. But you gotta defend yourself. This isn’t a cold war equal power kind of deal. Gumbald is gunning for Bubblegum. Ask Neville Chamberlain how well appeasement works.

Bubblegum discovers a spy forcing her to launch the attack now. Gumbald, who knows his spy was caught, knows what she would do launches an attack himself. Before the two forces duke it out Finn throws a potion he got from Nightmare Princess back from that episode set between the island and elementals mini series. Finn, Jake, Gumbald, Fern, and Bubblegum are hit and trapped in a shared dream. Finn tries to get Gumbald and Bubblegum to talk it out but the two fly off to dream fight. So Finn tries to get Fern to listen to him, but that’s not working out for him either. Jake meanwhile, conjuring up his brother, goes looking for something in there shared minds. He finds what he’s looking for. Finn’s vault. Finn tries to explain that he has issues just like Fern but Fern insists that he’s the only one who angsted. Trust me Fern, Finn have angsted plenty, just watch season six.

Jake comes in with the vault and opens it releasing a bunch of bad memories. Fern sees that Finn does suffer and Finn and Jake are transported into Fern’s head. The episode does rush past the bad memories without much thought. But I get they only have so much time for the episode. They find that grass octopus holding Sword Finn. Finn kills the grass ocotpuss and frees his time displaced counterpart.

Meanwhile, Gumbald gets to experience running the candy kingdom while Bubblegum lives turning into a candy person. The two get a better feel for each other.

The five of them meet up at the beach. Fern starts to distagrate but Jake assures him it’s just a dream. They wake; but Fern is still disintegrating. Can I just say I love LSP’s “Oh no, there dead! Oh wait there fine.” It just really cracked me up. Gumbald and Bubblegum go to hug it out but at the last moment he pulls out the candy juice. But Lolly trips him and it spills all over Gumbald turning him back into punchbowl, saving Bubblegum. Guys, I feel so validated.

We cut back to the future and Beth thinks that BMO meant the end of the war, but no BMO meant the end of Ooo. Because as soon Aunt Lolly and Bubblegum makes peace, King Man comes crashing down, telling everyone he donked up. Bad. The chaos demon Golb comes down with an unconscious Maja and Betty in a trance. Somewhere deep in Ice King, Simon flashes back to him and Betty discussing GOLB. Back in the present, GOLB turns a bunch of people into a giant monster. The army Gumbald had recruited flees. Boy they were pointless to bring back. Bubblegum turns to the banana guards. She asks them if the will obey her orders. When the yes, she orders them to run away for their lives. Which they do.

King Man and Finn bring Ice King to Betty hoping he can snap her out of trance. Ice King sings the Fiona song. We never got an answer for that Fiona transmision plot line did we? Betty is not happy but that frees Maja who laugh at her chance of revenge. She is promptly overloaded by GOLB’s power and explodes. GOLB than eats Betty, Ice King, and Finn. Biting off Finn’s robot arm in the process.

The monster goes on a rampage and smashes Bubblegum, sending Marceline into a rage. She knocks back the monster and attend to Bonnie. After the two talk, the girlfriends kiss. Good for them. It was never my ship but it was a huge part of the fandom and they deserve to be canon.

Jake fights the monster, who smashes the tree house and BMO’s face. BMO picks up a smashed tiny Jake and sings ‘Time Adventure’ the last song Rebecca Sugar wrote for the show. While singing the monster couldn’t attack them. Bubblegum realizes that creatures of GOLB are creatures of disharmony. And thus are hurt by harmony. So the cast begins to sing.

Meanwhile, trapped in his stomach, Betty and Simon are reverted to their premagic selves. The crown itself also switches to it’s prewish state. Betty and Simon are finally reunited, only to have to face of death. Finn fruitlessly punches the walls. But the song gets through and opens up GOLB’s stomach. Simon and Finn escape while Betty ops to stay behind to use the wish crown. She wishes for what she always wanted, Simon safe. Betty fuses with GOLB and disappears. The crown falls with a clang. I feel the show was a little harsh towards Betty’s quest to save Simon. It’s not her fault that Magic Man transferred his insanity into her.

Gunther picks up the Ice King’s crown and Jake reminders everyone that Gunther is a powerful space demon. But the crown just turns him into a smaller version of the Ice King head from the Garybales episode. Fern distagrates for real and Finn and Jake planet him were the tree house was.

BKO finishes his story. Beth and Shermy thought it was a story about the end of Ooo. BMO tells them it was. They asked what happened to everyone. BMO says they lived their lives. As the two leave and giant Sweet P can be seen walking in the background. They walk to the giant tree and Sherny pulls the Finn sword at of the top.

We cut back to Finn and Jake at the song hole, who sings the ending theme. We see flashes of everyone. Gunther marries Turtle Princess. LSP is crowned queen of Lumpy Space, Simon tries to find Betty, Marceline and Bubblegum cuddling on the couch, Susan and Frieda are still exploring, and Minerva leading the humans to Ooo.

I am bummed that we didn’t get anything with Finn and Huntress Wizard. I thought they worked as a couple and we spent a good chunk of the series dealing with Finn’s love life and would have liked some resolution to that. Also, why are the candy people in stasis in the future?

I think the final episode could have used another 15 minutes to flesh some stuff out. Other than that it was a great ending. I was a little worried we were gonna get a bad or strange ending, but I was happily wrong. It was bittersweet in some ways but did right by most of the main cast.

3 ½ out of 4

#adventure time #adventure time spoilers #adventure time finale #come along with me #the ultimate adventure #finn and jake #princess bubblegum #Marceline the Vampire Queen #ice king #cartoon network #animation recaps by sean

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fernwehbookworm · 6 years ago

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Knight of Kandor- Chapter 10

(Kara)

Organizing the entire guard was difficult. These were men unused to following commands. Sure, they followed ones about where to be and when, but they had lived in peace for too long this far north. I resolved to ask James to be able to make changes. I was also playing with the idea of using my newly trained men to test the guards, get them back on their toes.

I circled the main dining hall, checking every entrance, then made my way through the kitchens, then back out to the entry hall, varying my pattern each time. I also directed guards to change their patrol. Regular patrols were easy to slip through. I glance up to Lena at the high table, laughing with her brother. I could not hear it but my mind filled in the sound because Lena's laugh was so rare that my brain memorized it, craved it. I shake myself and check to make sure that John and Andrew are still standing behind the royal family, both have hands on swords, eyes darting, never settling.

Noise pressed in on all sides, blinding one of my sense and I did not like that. Laughter and music and words all created a wall that my ears could not penetrate. It kept me on edge, always circling, my hand kept fidgeting with my sword.

"Anything?" James asks from behind me.

"No. But I will not be happy until this castle is back to normal. The entire royal family will not be in the same place again for who knows how long again. This will be the best time for an attempt to wipe out Krypton's royal line."

"I know. Keep your eyes open." James moves away to resume his own rounds about the people.

I weave into the crowd of people, trying to cross the room. Many were already drunk and it was only the third course. Isles were crowded and the dance floor was a mass of writhing bodies. Weaving in and out of them took a lot of concentration. Then something felt wrong. I froze. Casting about, something was wrong but I could not figure it out. My eyes were failing me so I close them and try to listen past the chaos. Thud. A noise out of time with the music. Thud. Yes, defiantly not right, but where was it coming from? Thud. I absently brush at my head as a fly lands on it, trying to focus on where the sound was coming from. Thud. That damned fly again. Thud. In annoyance, I look up at the culprit breaking my concentration.

Panic strikes me. The ceiling high above us is cracking. Thud. More cracks as stone fragments shower down on us. I bring my fingers to my lips and whistle as loud as I can. Only the immediate people around me notice. I look at the high table and see John's eyes on me. I point up. His eyes widen at what he sees and he leaps over the table, scattering food and drink, then leaps to the platform with the minstrels, silencing them. All eyes turn to him and John points to me.

"Everyone, move!" I yell into the newly obtained silence.

I point up to the cracks in the ceiling. Thud. Eyes widen as the closest people realize something is very wrong. Thud. The crowd surges backward. Thud. A chunk of stone falls to the ground. It is silent on its long descent before crashing into the floor. Thankfully whoever would have been hit was gone. Thud. More stone falls. I draw my sword, staring up at whatever threat was coming through. My men try to fight through the crowd to reach me. Thud. I see stars through a hole in the ceiling. Thud. More stone cascades down and I have to shield my eyes. When I look back up ropes hang down.

Men dressed in all black slid down the ropes. It was almost like watching someone fall in slow motion. I unstrap my shield from its place on my back and put it on my arm. My paranoia of this exact thing was what caused me to bring it, even Sir James scoffed. Now I stand alone, sword at the ready. My advantage is that the enemy descending are completely vulnerable until they reach the floor. I take a deep breath. Boots hit the ground and my sword whistles through the air. Most men would wait to face another head on, but I am no man.

The slash goes directly across the man's unprotected back and he falls with a cry. Thud. I wheel on the next man, just getting his hand to the hilt of the sword strapped to his side. The hand never makes it, I cut it off with barely any resistance. Blood splatters against me but I am already in the haze of battle, taking out each man as they descend. Soon I realize that more and more are hitting the ground and some even draw swords. I become surrounded by naked blades glinting in the lantern light. Every eye was focused on the man who had already downed so many of their comrades.

A cry sounds from the back of the group, I turn towards it. John appears in the midst of the men. He had struck someone down from behind. I small part of me was proud that I could teach him that there was a time and place for honor. More of my men followed, coming in from all sides. A full on battle had begun in the middle of the great dining hall. The haze of battle covers me as my muscles react before my eyes can tell them to.

Silence falls all at once. Heavy pants can be heard all around. The masses of people had managed to escape. The royal family still stood on the platform with Sir James and some his guards circled tightly around them. I carefully turn about, bodies lay scattered but luckily I do not see any of our own among them. Most of the prone forms are clearly dead, some moan with fatal wounds that were taking their time in bleeding the life from each man. I sheath my sword and look at each of my own guards. Relief floods faces as the desperation of battle leaves them.

"John, go see if any of the healers can save any of these men. We will need to question them."

He nods and starts to turn away. I see fear cross his face again as he turns back to me. Every breath stretches into the next. I turn to see what causes the reaction. Pain pierces my stomach. A dying man had used his last breath to plunge a dagger deep into it. The man falls to the ground dead and I stare at the dagger. I hear my men scramble towards me as I pitch backward. From the ceiling, a stone tumbles down from a shadow blotting out the stars. My last thought is to get my shield above my head. The stone hits it, jarring my shoulder and forcing my head into the floor. Pain explodes in the back of my skull before blackness covers me.

(Winn)

I watched the battle from the doorway. Unable to leave one of my only friends. Kal was like a god. He cut down each man like death incarnated. Then John joined him and they were like twin storms, tearing down trees in the forest. It was gruesome. It was mesmerizing. It was death. Carnage lay at their feet as blood pooled across the broken marble. For the first time, I knew that the rumors about Kal were true. It all made sense now why no one saw Kal as a woman. When I found out I began to notice a few things. Kal never had any form of stubble on his chin, his hips swung just a little too much when walking, and in plain clothes, he had just a few too many curves. Now I know why no man would see that. They would not be able to admit that a woman was that skilled, that powerful.

The last man falls under Kal's sword. I see he him turn, looking for anyone else. Kal straightens and speaks to John. I am too far away to hear the words being said. I am also too far for my cry to reach Kal's ears in time as I see the man at his feet lunges. Fear fills my heart and dread causes my stomach to clench. As he falls, I see another chunk of ceiling fall, somehow landing on Kal's shield but still causing his arm to hit his head and his head to hit the ground. He doesn't move.

I do. My legs carry me as fast as they can. One guard quickly beheads the already dead man with an underhanded swing. The rest circle around. John falls to his knees and drops his sword with a clatter. He presses his hands flat around the knife, debating whether or not to pull it out. I almost slide into the two as I hit my knees on the blood saturated floor.

"Do not pull it out. It is helping to keep the blood in." I command, my voice on the verge of panic.

"Conner! Go get the healers!" Conner hesitates.

"Now!" Johns voice booms out.

I move to look at Kal's head. I peer into his closed eyes, they are unresponsive but he was breathing. I feel the back of his head, it was tender but nothing felt broken. I think the blow just knocked him unconscious. Footsteps come running towards us. I look up and I realize what is about to happen.

"John," I say in a harsh whisper.

"I know. But it is this or his life." John says in a defeated voice, head bowed over Kal's prone form.

"It may very well be his life either way," I say.

"This will at least give him a chance, even a small one."

Tears form in my eyes as I stand to make room for the healers coming. I rub my face and step away. I head to the archives, hoping to find something to save the life of Kal El Ward.

(Lena)

I stood paralyzed, clutching Alexander's arm. He stood bravely in front of Mother and I while palace guards closed in around us. Swords were drawn as people panicked and tried to escape the hall. Kal almost patiently waited for the man sliding down the rope from the ceiling, then lashed out with a sword to dispatch him. Kal was astounding, almost beautiful in the haze of blood that surrounded him. A warrior with little qualms about what his duty was.

"Do you still question his knighthood Mother?" Alexander asks quietly of the Queen. She does not respond.

Silence falls. At this distance, I cannot hear Kal but I see the man rise from the floor and drive a dagger into his stomach. Alexander tries to turn me away but he is too late. I see Kal fall and the blood start to pool before I am yanked from the hall and swept through the castle to the royal family sitting room, one of the safest places in the castle. The walls were built twice as thick and deep in the heart of the castle. Food stores were there in times of emergency along with weapons. Men took up stations inside and out. Mother casually moved to pour herself a glass of wine and sit gracefully on one of the large ornate couches.

Alexander guides me over to the one opposite it and sits me down. He sits on the table in between the two couches and grabs hold of my hands. I stare at them in shock. The image of Kal being stabbed keeps replaying over and over in my mind. Tears fall down my cheeks and Alexander brushes them away.

"Tears should not be shed for a man doing his duty. Tears show weakness. You are not weak, are you darling?" mothers cold voice penetrates into me.

"Men died tonight, Mother. Men died for me." I snap back at her with little grace.

"Lena, dear, control your anger. It does not become you." I feel my anger flare again

"Yes, Mother." adding ice to the title.

Her eyes narrow at me but she says nothing else. Alexander keeps trying to comfort me, rubbing my hands, shoulders, brushing away tears.

"Kal is strong. He will be fine." He whispers.

A small part of me hopes it will be true, but there was so much blood. The hours stretch on. Men report into Alexander as per Sir James' orders. They are searching the castle for the man who escaped off the roof, the one who dropped the stone on Kal. They are also searching for evidence of any other attack. Twelve people were killed in the panic to flee the battle, trampled underfoot. Two guards were found dead at their posts on the battlements. No word of Kal was reported. Mother drank until she fell asleep around midnight. At some point, I fell asleep against Alexander's shoulder. I stir when he tries to lower me to the couch because he is trying to stand.

"Where are you going?" I ask sleepily.

"They say there is news on Kal. I must speak to Sir James." He whispers, not wanting to wake mother.

"I am coming too."

"No, sleep. I will wake you as soon as I know something." He disappears before I can argue and my heavy eyelids drift shut before I can form another thought.

I wake to Alexander shaking my shoulder again. I try to speak but he holds a finger to his lips, nodding to Mother. I nod my silent agreement not to wake her. Alexander takes my hand and leads me out of the room. He does not stop there. Two guards fall in with us as we walk.

"Where are we going?" I whisper, not sure if I should speak.

"The infirmary."

"So Kal is alive?" I ask him, knowing hope was bubbling up.

"Kal is alive. Kal is... You need to see Kal." Alexander was holding something back.

"What are you not telling me?"

"You will have to see Kal first." at that we lapse into silence as Alexander leads the way.

The infirmary is made of smooth marble on the floor. Highly polished in order for easy clean ups. Beds line either wall, twenty on each side of the long room. The last bed in the far corner has the curtain drawn around it. It is the only occupied bed, meaning all the other men in the battle had died or were not injured at all. Kal was the only injured on our side. Sir James stood outside the curtain, barely visible in the faint moonlight. A candle behind the curtain lit the figure propped up in the bed. I walk towards the bed, my pace picking up in my eagerness to reach Kal.

"My lady, wait." Sir James steps in front of me and my irritation must be plain on my face.

"Sir Kal told you he had a secret, correct?" I furrow my brow and nod.

"I had no idea that Kal did. Nor could I have guessed it was something so substantial. Now the truth is out. The damage has been done. However, your brother and I thought you would prefer to learn of it from Kal. Allow Kal to tell you why, before we report to the Queen."

Panic fills me as I nod to Sir James' words. My chest constricts as I begin to walk closer to the closed curtain. Sir James and Alexander head back towards the door, still in sight but well out of hearing for whatever Kal and I say to each other. I see him sit up taller at the sound of my footsteps, the folds in the curtain distorting the shadow. With a deep breath, I draw it back.

The first thing I notice is his bright eyes, shining in the candlelight. His hair is like a wild mane, no one bother to touch it after the fight. His cheeks are flushed. Good, he did not lose too much blood then.

"Kal." I breathe out in relief.

"Hello, Lena." Kal's voice quivers.

It is such a foreign sound that I look back to his eyes. They are not bright, they are wet with tears. Tears that trace paths down his cheeks through dirt and blood. He looks down at his hands, breaking our eye contact. My eyes follow his but I draw up short. Something is not quite right. Bandages wrap around Kal's torso, stopping the bleeding and holding the knife wound closed. A small swell on Kal's chest, however, is evident in his shirtless state. My mind takes a moment to process what I am seeing. Breasts. Kal has breasts. That means Kal is not a he. Kal meets my eyes again and he knows that I know now. Or she knows. My head begins to spin.

"Yes, Lena. This is my secret. This is why my life is the price for my deceit."

My legs feel weak so I sit in the chair next to the bed. My mouth still hangs open in shock, trying to form words, any words. My head was having trouble wrapping around this new revelation. Kal looked at me warily but I could not meet her eyes. I stare into the palms of my hands, working my jaw.

"Say it aloud," I say.

"Sorry?" Kal asks.

"I need you to say it so that I know it is true." Kal takes a deep breath, knowing what I need to hear.

"My name is Kara Zorel Ward. I am a woman who became a knight." The silence stretches between us.

"Why?" is all I can ask.

"Why what, my lady? Would you like to know my whole story?"

"Yes." I look up into her eyes, they were so bright with sadness that I almost lost what little resolve I had to not stand and leave.

"My brother died when we were children, just like I told you my sister did. Then when the decree went out that all girl children were to be taken, my mother and father took me away. We moved and I became Kal, my brother. My parents thought it as the only way to keep me safe. Then when the second decree went out, drafting an able-bodied man from each family, I was taken away anyway. My only survival lay in keeping up the charade I had been living most my life." Kal's story is interrupted by his own empty laugh.

"I guess I was too good at pretending. Too good at being the hero. I almost believed myself so many times. And then there was you. Never had I wanted to be what I had pretended to be then when you kissed me." My head snaps up at that to meet her eyes again.

I had kissed Kal...Kara. I thought I had fallen in love with Kal. Now Kal was Kara and I was not so sure. Kara chews on her lower lip and looks at me. I know her story is done but a pit settles in my stomach. Kara had this life because of my family. Because of me. Kara is still looking at me. waiting for any sort of response.

"I know that this is the end of my life. I have done more than most and I have tried to do good. I knew I would die young. I knew I would die alone. What I did not know was that I would fall in love with the future Queen of Krypton." I intake a sharp breath,

"Kara..."

"Lena. No. I am done with hiding. I know it is unfair to you but I need to say it. I love you, Lena Luthor. Maybe one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me for lying to you. I expect nothing from you, only that you remember at least the good I tried to do. Try to remember Kal the knight. My brother deserves that." Kal stares at me a long moment.

"Goodnight, Lena Luthor." Kara reaches over and picks up the candle and hands it to me.

She rolls her back to me and settles in to sleep. I take the candle and leave without a word. My footsteps echo in the silence of the large room. Alexander and Sir James still wait for me. Sadness creases both of their faces. When I get to them they both watch me carefully, waiting for my response.

"What happens now?" My voice is calm. My face feels expressionless. My heart is screaming.

"That is up to Mother, I suppose. If Kal lives or dies, the choice is hers." Alexander says quietly, his voice is tired.

I nod an leave, guards falling in behind me outside the infirmary doors. Alexander and Sir James let me leave. I go to my room and not back to the royal sitting room. When I get there guards are stationed outside of it. In my room, I shed my dress and crawl into bed next to Jess' sleeping form. I wrap my arms around her. Her hair soaks up the tears that finally escape my eyes.

(Kara)

Lena's footsteps fade as she leaves my bedside. My mind latched on to every detail of her face. it broke my heart. With every word her face went from shock to disbelief, to flashes of sadness, then I saw her retreat into herself. The expressionless mask that she saved for the public was put into place, blocking me out. Resolve filled her eyes as she distances herself from me, first emotionally, then physically.

I cried again after she was gone. Every fiber of me hurt. I knew I should run. Escape. But I was so tired. Tired of hiding, tired of fighting, tired of being who I was. The only escape I allowed myself was sleep.

I wake again in the Infirmary. This time I am greeted by the grim face of Sir James and several guards. They move me down to the prisoner cells, deep in the bowls of the castle. The stench of the place penetrates my nose, even with the cells near empty. Apparently cleaning them in between prisoners was not a priority to the crown. I am shoved into a cell, a tunic that is more like a sack for vegetables is tossed on the floor behind me before the cell door is locked. I lay on the straw in the corner, thankfully that at least is fresh, and fall back asleep.

(Winn)

I ran as quickly as I could to the royal quarters. I knocked briskly on the door to the sitting room. My eyes were straining. I had spent hours searching scrolls and books. The only things I could find were slight miss-wordings and ambiguous meanings. The door opens and I bow after catching a glimpse of the Prince's face.

"Rise, Mister Schott." He says in a tired voice.

"May I speak to you, my Prince?" Prince Alexander steps aside and allows me entrance to the sitting room.

Queen-in-waiting Lena was seated on a couch. I bow to her also. She nods in my direction.

"Please sit, Mister Schott. What seems to be the cause of your haste?" Queen-in-waiting Lena's voice is proper but strained.

I hesitate and glance at both of them. Doing this will be admitting to being knowledgeable about Kal's deception. Both the royals watch me and the weight of their combined gaze makes me swallow and take a seat. I clutch the scrolls and ledgers to my chest.

"Th...thank you for s...seeing me." The Prince nods.

"Umm... you see... I have been..."

"Winslow, please. We have to meet with the Queen so please say what you need to say." The Prince says levelly.

"I know Kal is not Kal. But please, I beg you. Kal is my only friend. Do not let her die." Queen-in-waiting Lena turns from my gaze but Prince Alexander holds it.

"It is out of our hands. Kal may have saved us but he has committed many crimes against the crown."

"But that's the thing, maybe she has not." They both look at me with questions plain on their faces.

I scramble with the documents in my hands, trying to find the right places. Both of their eyes are intent on me. My movements are awkward and stressed. I point to various places as I start to speak.

"I have found nowhere in our laws, in our history, that a knight must be male. Not even is there a law that the soldiers must be male, it was all just assumed. So most of Kal's assumed crimes were just that, assumed. Yes, she is guilty of lying to the crown, but all she has done is protect the both of you."

Both of the royals lean forward to examine the places I had indicated. Both were enraptured by my words and the ones that are written. Each exchanged pages as they read what I had brought. Weeks of work were compounded into hours as I had frantically searched for these documents. They were ancient, dating back to the beginning of Krypton's rise to its own country. Luckily those who came before me cared just as much for the books as I did so those documents were well taken care of.

"Please save my only friend. At least spare her life, even if it means I can never see her again." I stand to leave.

"We have to convince mother." I hear Queen-in-waiting Lena say before the door swings shut behind me.

#supergirl #supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #medieval #au #Body Guard #KoK #multiply pov

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kitto-toberu-sa · 6 years ago

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Sailor Moon The Super Live Report - August 31st (first performance, heart team)

Place: Aiia Theatre Placement: Row 10, Seat 42 (middle, far right)

First, I swore I wasn’t going to buy merch and am SO glad they had so little on offer ;; I bought the pamphlet (which is basically a double sided poster, one of the main image and the other side being info with pics of the different teams) and the light stick.

Second, the show isn’t sold out. Sure, it started a little early (7pm) but it was a Friday night and opening night of a mega popular franchise? Strange for it not to have been sold out, especially since the theatre isn’t that big. (For reference, I was in row 10, seat 42, and the seat next to me was empty, as were others around me). There have been a lot of events and new merch recently though, so I can understand.

They’re also still selling tickets at the door, and are giving out freebies. Little bookmark things of the Inner Senshi with manga art (one of each Senshi, randomly given). They’re quite nice! Another enticement is different events happening after each performance. On opening night they randomly selected about twenty people to have photos with the cast. There is also a high five event on other nights, and it looks like they give out goods on other nights.

The show is VERY dialogue light. As in, there is maybe five minutes worth of dialogue the entire show (not including the live performance part). And that’s incredibly generous. This is understandable – this show is only doing two showings in France, so the effort to translate would be a lot. It’s not cost effective. The audience also more than likely knows the story. The story is the first arc, hugely condensed. I think it worked quite well without a whole lot of dialogue. The cast had to work that much harder on facial expressions and their body language to make up for not speaking.

The show is 80 minutes long. There is no interval. After the play part, there is a song part.

Now, onto the show!

We start off with Queen Beryl and her minions. She’s controlling them and their dancing. Like, SeraMyu is great and I love it, but there is still part of it that’s stuck in years gone by. This is very modern. I don’t really know or care who Takahiro is, but he did a good job! The music and dance throughout the performance is really good! It’s very modern. Perhaps because it was opening night, sometimes the music felt too loud. Not in a good way, but in a it sometimes makes the cast hard to hear way.

Anyway, they’re dancing, kinda like cool zombies? The scenery changes on a screen behind them, showing the battle for earth. Kunzite appears and shows off his sword before taking command of the troops. Unfortunately, the sword was almost dropped… We see a screen of Usagi running – it’s kinda clumsy and ugly, but it reminds me of the live action show, which I’m very fond of, so I can’t be too harsh on it. Beryl then attacks this screen, and we come to earth, present time.

Usagi yells about being late and runs through the audience. Her entrance is GORGEOUS! Why? She’s got glitter in her school bag, so as she runs, glitter is flying everywhere. It’s super shojou and anime. Very simple and cheap, but literally everyone was smiling. I feel bad for the staff who had to clean it up though haha

She stumbles on stage and drops her brooch, and keeps going. Mamoru picks it up, teases her and as she grabs it, they start to remember their old lives. Of course, that’s weird and Usagi’s late, so she grabs her brooch and goes. They part, but then stop, turn to look at each other, and are about to go back to each other when the music starts and sends them on their way. An instrumental version of Moonlight Densetsu plays. As it plays, it shows the characters and gives their names – interestingly, the names are Romanised instead of being in katakana, and the images shown are manga panels. It makes sense not to use the live images, as there are three teams, but I wonder why they choose manga over anime. I honestly think it was a great choice though.

We get a brief scene of Sailor Moon fighting a monster. She’s dodging and crying, but she also fights back. She also cheers for herself when she gets a good hit in, which is super cute. Makes her a very human character. Tuxedo Mask does save her and gives her a chance to fight back, and she runs off after him.

It’s time for school! Miss Haruna makes her appearance~ Honestly her look is iconic (the pink suit) and I love that they brought her back. The students do a dance as they start their daily routine and test results are returned. It’s pretty cute, though too long for me to care about. Usagi rushes in, gets scolded, realises she doesn’t have her textbook, is scolded again, isn’t able to share with her friends, steals Haruna’s book, and joins in on the dance while doing all of this.

Of course, things are going fine until everyone is suddenly infected with Dark Energy (a la Kunzite lurking in the corner). Cue zombie dancing again. This, again, went on slightly too long. It wasn’t particularly good, and the costumes were a little tacky – essentially the stage was mostly dark and certain parts of the zombies/infected people lit up (glow in the dark socks and so on). Usgai basically runs around screaming for a while until Tuxedo Mask comes to save her. Understandable – she doesn’t want to hurt her friends or transform in front of everyone.

Unfortunately, Tuxedo Mask dropped their cane and stepped on it, almost falling. She caught herself really well, so props to the actress there. (I believe it was this scene – could have been the arcade scene)

She fawns over Tuxedo Mask again and after the day is saved, class is over. Everyone leaves as Usagi daydreams with these ridiculous heart eyes. A scene that reminded me of the theme park episode from the 90’s anime – they have a sort of carousel thing going on, and it’s very fairy tale like. It was very nostalgic to see it and remember the old anime.

Afterwards she meets up with everyone who scolds her for being late. They sing about how they met – a very cute and sweet song. Then suddenly we’re in Harajuku!

This part is sort of odd if you live in Japan. Since this production was made for showing Japanese culture abroad, for the Japanese audience, this didn’t have a lot of meaning for the home audience. It was also horribly outdated. The gothic Lolita outfits were ugly and super outdated, and I don’t really associate Harajuku with gothic Lolita. Nowadays it’s a variety of different looks and it would have been super nice to see a variety of styles shown, as well as styles that are from this decade ;; The outfits that the Senshi changed into were ugly clown like outfits and I hate them too.

However, it was a nice attempt in showing off a variety of Japanese things. For example, the girls do a bit of traditional dance (fitting for Bon Odori at this time of year) and also eat fairy floss (cotton candy) and crepes that Harajuku is famous for (at least on Instagram ;p). They also have the dancing with the light sticks, which… isn’t a Harajuku thing ;; More of an Akiba thing, but it’ll slide!

Usagi is separated from the group and ends up the arcade. Mamoru teases her for being so bad, and plays himself. He gets a high score and they high five, before they both remember they’re meant to hate each other. Kunzite is in a mascot outfit, shakes his bottom at Usagi who touches it and shows her a new game to play. I’m… not sure why this was necessary? I mean, it’s low key great, and bizarre, especially because Kunzite initiates it? I just… don’t understand it…

Mamoru is sucked into the Sailor V game, and keeps getting beaten up because Usagi sucks so much. He’s trying to get her attention but she’s too focussed on trying to win ;; She gets better in the second round and Tux is pleasantly surprised. He then promptly dies ;;; On her third attempt, Kunzite throws her into the game too.

The Senshi appear to fight. Their introduction song is honestly a fave of mine. I believe it (and all of the songs) are remixes of old songs (both anime and musical). If I find out which ones they are I’ll edit this post (I currently don’t have internet at home..). This scene is pretty good. Unlike some of the other dance scenes which drag, this scene, through song, tells about the characters and their powers.

Tuxedo Mask is taken away, and everyone is unsure of how to comfort Sailor Moon. I think it’s fitting that Venus is about to step in, but Mercury ends up talking to her first. And by talking, I mean singing Otome Policy. A lot of the performances are predictable in that they go by the order of which the Senshi appeared, so it would have been nice to have that shaken up a bit, but it’s not that big of a deal.

In Beryl’s world, Tuxedo Mask is possessed. Beryl is very pleased and they start to tango. The actress is wonderful – Tux is possessed, but isn’t fully under Beryl’s influence, so there’s point he tries to break free or doesn’t follow along. This was pretty believable! Beryl, on the other hand, is unconcerned – she’s in control and enjoying having the man she wants with her. Meanwhile, Kunzite lurks in the corner.

They teleport to Beryl’s world where they fight Kunzite and his creepy zombies. Honestly if someone aggressively danced their way at me I’d be terrified lol! Kunzite is super strong, and takes down all of the Senshi. Venus gets her sword and fights Kunzite, but they both remember their past. Beryl isn’t impressed and he ends up dead.

This scene was really touching. I felt a lot for her. They show Kunzite’s soul floating away, and her following it briefly, trying to catch it. She realises it’s no use. Everyone goes to comfort her, even though they don’t particularly know what’s going on.

They then have to fight monsters and Mask. Honestly, everyone except Moon and Venus should have been stronger than they were. Venus just got an unwelcomed flashback from her past life and lost her former boyfriend, so it’s understandable when she fails. Moon is fighting the love of her life. Everyone else felt a bit weak.

The Senshi end up dying, and Beryl kills Mask when he responds to Usagi.

Usagi is left with Beryl, and kind of… interpretative dances her feelings out? The start is a little long and messy, but as she starts to go from no confidence, I’ve lost everything, why try?, to I have to do this, I can do this… it’s amazing. She’s taking all of Beryl’s hits and throwing them off and is the strong Sailor Moon we all love.

Beryl tries to suck her up with her darkness, and Sailor Moon walks straight in. She comes back out with her new Moon Stick, glowing brightly. She beats Beryl and dies? But Tuxedo Mask brings her back with a kiss. The other Senshi return as well.

Unfortunately, Mask accidentally turned the Moon Stick back on ;;; I don’t think it really need to be turned off in the first place. (Especially because it looks very ugly and cheap turned off – it’s also silver, when I think pink would be better suited) But that marks the end of all the obvious mistakes. For a first try, it isn’t so bad! I think they could have been fixed easily, with perhaps a bit of design done differently.

From here, there are some quick bows before the song portion.

Song part When it comes to singing, everyone was really good. However, Sailor Venus (Sena) stood out. Perhaps I’m a little bit biased, as Sena is the reason I chose this team over the others, but still. The others faltered a bit at times, or their mics weren’t properly in position, or their voices weren’t loud enough. Sena wasn’t perfect, but out of everyone, her voice was the clearest and most confident.

The songs were all really good choices. There were a few repeats of what was already in the show, most notably Otome Policy in a more pop version rather than the piano version from earlier.

Of course, I’m incredibly biased, but the best song was La Solider~ It’s honestly one of my favourite songs and I’m so so so glad they played it!

They left the stage to come back briefly for a few more songs. In between some of the songs were the dancers getting a bit of stage time, which was nice. Those girls do some really cool stuff, so it’s nice for them to get their dues.

Of course, everything ended with Moonlight Densetsu. Most the characters got solo or duet lines. This is the part where they ran around the audience, giving high fives. I was so close, yet so far T.T Buuuuut Sailor Venus blew me a kiss, so nothing else really matters haha~

We all got a little gift (clear bookmark?) and I got Moon. Some people in the audience were allowed to take pictures with the members. About twenty people I think? How lucky! I waited around with other fans to try and see the actresses as they left, but gave up in the end. It was a good night, and I’m really glad I went!

Summary Enjoyable: 5/5 Worth the ticket price: 5/5 Re-watchable: 4/5 If this was sold on dvd, would I buy it: 3.5/5

#Sailor Moon #Sailor Moon The Super Live #Sailor Myu #The Hoopers

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booksandwords · 3 years ago

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Love in English by Maria E. Andreu

Read time: 5 Days Rating: 4/5

The quote: I can't even blame it on English. It was the internationally nonsensical language of boy that did me in this time. — Ana

Let's see if I can make this review quick. First I am fully aware I'm not in the demographic this is aimed at. But please someone give me a book where the main character faces better(ie lasting) consequences for her actions. Have some balls go full I don't need a man (or I need to find me) or just have her alone as a consequence of her action (though in Ana's situation that would be harsh). Also, I'm not one for love triangles so I wasn't reading this for that aspect I wanted it for the immigration and language aspects. It more than delivers on those.

From that comment, you can probably guess I'm not a huge fan of the ending. It ends in a really odd place. It's so fast, possibly too fast especially given the time jump and vagary of the timescale of the book. I can see where the logical moves are made but it feels unsatisfactory. That said there is certainly some intelligence in writing it the way Andreu has written it. We read and perceive the world as Ana, her flaws, her inability to perceive the situation as an immigrant to America become ours, we too become strangers in a strange land. Ana isn't simply a girl unable to choose, it's more complicated than that.

As well as writing that ending well Andreu uses pop culture references and language well. Reintroducing native speakers to the shall we call them quirks of a language we possibly don't understand the complexity of entirely. We were raised into it, figures of speech at least partially come naturally to us. I appreciate the strings of hashmarks (#) to indicate words, phrases Ana cannot understand that understand. 80s movies, origami (used so well), slam poetry. The poetry is stunningly beautiful. A wonderful way to show Ana's development as a person (well kinda), as a speaker of English and an American resident.

I appreciate the characters and the points they are making. Ana is a good protagonist, a reasonably unproblematic way to take a walk in someone else's shoes. Harrison is the personification of the all American boy, the boy next door. He is largely surrounded by women which is an interesting choice which I'm not sure I want to think too much about. Neo like Ana is a migrant facing more ostracisation than her and there under different circumstances. I like the contrasts and similarities between them. Their different interests as well. Both like words but in different ways. Altagarcia aka 'Gracie' is a way to show assimilation and she's lgbtq+ which is appreciated. I really like her she's a moment of lightness. As a father, Ana's Father is a good way to show growth/ development and much can be missed in a relatively short time. Also the impact of stress and loss of control moving in new circumstances.

I turn back to the screen. Two men who both seem like they're Brad Pitt are sword fighting next to a pristine blue sea. — And I mean fair. I'm pretty sure Garrett Hedlund was cast purely because of his physical similarities to Brad Pitt. I will never ignore an opportunity to talk about this man. Sorry not sorry.

I know they speak Greek there. Turkish too, I think, at least on part of the island. In Spanish the name is Chipre, which sounds a lot like a chirping bird. I wish I knew how to tell him all this. Like: I see you. I know your country is small but I know about it. — This is about Neo's birthplace Cypus. (p.28)

It's weird to think of teachers of humans, as people who care if other people think they're doing a good job. — I like Mr T the ESL teacher. He does a good job of teaching more conversational English. (p.174)

What does he want from me, anyway? He wants perfect grades, he wants me to love the topic he thinks is best, he wants me to stick to the old rules about boys like we're living in the Dark Ages. And he wants me American but not too American, brave but not too brave. — Honestly this has one of the best follow up lines. (p. 275)

I've round this book really hard to rate. I'm giving it four stars. It might have been five stars with a different ending. Only the skill in writing pop culture in a recognisable way despite the cultural barrier and the smart use of poetry saves it from being three stars.

#love in english #diversity #maria e. andreu #book review #ktreviews #maria e andreu #read 2021 #young adult #booklr

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helmes-deep · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on Season 3 of Fuller House (3B):

Thoughts on 3A here. So just binge-watched all 9 episodes of it today haha and here are my random thoughts:

I LOVE THE GIBBLER FAMILY I LOVE FERNANDO AND KIMMY!!!! I JUST NEEDED MORE AND MORE OF THOSE TWO TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THIS SEASON AND/OR MORE GIBBLER FAMILY MOMENTS IN GENERAL THEY’RE JUST SUCH A WARM, LOVING, AND ADORABLY PERFECT FAMILY WHEN THEY’RE TOGETHER AND SO FUNNY WHEN THEY TRY TO OUTSHINE EVERYONE ELSE I LOVE THEM HAHA

Seriously, Andrea Barber is such a great actress!! Like honestly, she should really win an Emmy for this show I am not kidding haha. She is soooo entertaining!! and wickedly talented at acting!!!!

DJ AND STEVE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! FINALLY!!!! I’VE WAITED SO LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!! I’m not exactly 100% down on the whole DJ x Steve thing; I’ve said before that I think currently, the actor who plays Matt has more chemistry with DJ, but DJ x Steve was how it was SUPPOSED TO BE and I’m 2000% down for that. Also, idk how, but I think the Steve actor guy (Scott Weinger) somehow got cuter/more likable over the Season 3 break. He just seems to look a bit cuter and has more chemistry with DJ now lol (the kind he should have had at the beginning of Season 1).

The wedding fiasco... didn’t go down as ideally as I would have liked it to... it was the ultimate break-up — a wedding break-up — so it was, in a way, what you would have expected: really sad and harsh-letdowns all-around... idk how it could have turned out better (although there really is no excuse for how Steve and DJ treated their significant others ://). I am glad they didn’t drag out the whole DJ x Steve thing, though. And the Japanese-set episode was really fun!! Really enjoyed seeing all of the different, beautiful sights and experiences!! Wish we had gotten to see more of those :33 (The Japanese episode was definitely a bit shorter than I had expected.) Also loved how the episode was shot.

The appearance of the Japanese boy group Sexy Zone made me think of K-pop, and how much I love it, so I could relate. Sorry, guys, I just had to put that in there :PPP

KIMMY’S FASHION STYLE IS JUST SLAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! PROPS TO HER STYLIST IDK HOW THEY DO IT BUT SHE MAKES WACKY AND CRAZY LOOK SO AWESOME AND GOOOOD!!!!!

That alligator scene was top-notch. Great acting/balancing!

Seriously, as much as I love DJ and Steve, I will be so, so, so, so, so sad to see John Brotherton (the guy who plays Matt) go if he no longer gets a larger presence on the show. I have really, really appreciated the character Matt and have really enjoyed watching John’s performance.

Max, thankfully, is getting a little less annoying to handle on-screen (might have to do with his lack of scenes with the dog, which perhaps makes him less juvenile???). Also not exactly into his whole “I’m a smart guy”-type persona, but it’s not done terribly or maybe I’m getting used to it, so I can live with it. Idk, I just know I laughed more at and enjoyed his scenes more than I used to (he’s my least favorite character on the show, and probably still is).

Not really a fan of Max’s relationship with CJ’s girl, either (seems a bit forced), but whatever. If they want to make them that horrendously (I am not exaggerating when I use that word) cute couple, then more power to them.

Kinda sad/disappointed we didn’t get to see Popko for 3B, but he was a jerk, so it’s all okay. Ramona didn’t exactly get any love interests this time around, which is fine. And I really, really hope she doesn’t get with that high school dance-team guy, ugh. The dance-rival thing-y is cute enough, though, and I can see it being pulled off in the future.

I also don’t know why Ramona would skip out on SAFSPA: seemed like it was definitely her dream/goal as portrayed thus far, but okay, maybe it wasn’t. I thought the lesson we got out of that whole parent/kid situation was really good/nice.

Jackson and Rocki are a thing, and I AM LIVING FOR IT!!!!!! I’m just a sucker for nerdy guy/cool girl relationships, tbh :p :p

Still don’t like how Gia (a.k.a. Rocky’s mom) is sometimes cast as the “villain,” but oh well. I guess that discrepancy comes from us wanting post-Full House to be absolutely, 100% “feel-good,” but Gia was inherently written as a “bad” character, so she’s destined to be somewhat of the “bad” girl, no matter how far we get into the Fuller House world. At least she was written as less “evil” this time around.

ADORED Fernando and Tommy; ADORED Fernando, Tommy, and the race-car storyline; and ADORED Fernando and Tommy vs. Jesse and Pamela moment.

Tommy’s cute rn and had some really, really adorable moments this time around (funny enough, I enjoy him with Cosmo more than I do Max + Cosmo). I just really hope he doesn’t end up becoming annoying and unlikable like Michelle was on the original show. I liked Michelle as a baby/younger, but I didn’t enjoy her when she got older/was a toddler.

Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of the “let’s be cute with babies” on TV-thing, especially on the original show, but I really liked seeing the guys or anyone holding and playing with the babies this time around. For once, I was like, “You know what?? I get it. This totally warms and melts my heart into a million pieces.” Idk, something cute and maybe more maternal?? within me just spoke :’pp

I STILL don’t think Stephanie should have a baby, especially when she has no job, no stable relationship, etc. I also kind of don’t want anymore babies lololol (first Jesse and Becky with Pamela, and of course, there’s already Tommy); there’s already so many people I have to keep up with on this show haha. But if that’s where they want to go, then hey, I’m glad the surrogate’s Kimmy and not someone else.

Needed more Stephanie and Jimmy. Or just Jimmy tbh.

When I saw Vicky, I gasped out loud. Could NOT believe she’s back, even though I already knew she’d be back/had a strong feeling she would be (idk if it was announced).

I DO NOT want the older guys (aka Danny, Jesse, Becky, and Joey) back for the majority of next season. It just seems like whenever the older guys come back it’s more of a static “callback” than actual progression of the episode/overall storyline. I enjoyed a lot of this season because there was less of the older guys; vice versa, I much more enjoyed seeing the older cast members visit this time because there wasn’t so much of them around. So yeah, reaaaalllly hoping we don’t see that much more of the older cast during the next season (if they get a next season), since they all announced they’re going to move back to San Francisco.

On the other hand, I’d really like to see Danny and Vicky finally get a news/television show together and get married already, lol.

I do like it when the older and newer generations are well-integrated, though. The Danny, Jesse, Joey, Steve, and Fernando scene was really funny and one of my favorites. Fuller House is basically just one big fanfiction that isn’t perfectly written, but it’s pretty snappin’ close, and it’s all TRUE AND Y’ALL GET TO CLAIM IT AND CALL IT CANON!! :P :P

Like I said, glad the whole DJ x Steve thing didn’t get dragged out, but a little disappointed it wasn’t exactly, totally resolved... But it’s okay; I can live with it, for the most part. At least they’ve decided they really do love each other, got in a good kiss, and want to try to pursue a real relationship again (hopefully that doesn’t get messed up next season). Excited to see what happens when they’re finally together after the “6 months” are over huehue...

CAN YOU IMAGINE STEVE BEING A DAD AND HELPING JACKSON, MAX, AND THE REST OF THE BOYS OUT?!?!? LIKE MAYBE THEM COMING TO HIM FOR ADVICE ON “BOY/GUY STUFF” AND HIM ANSWERING ALL OF THEIR QUESTIONS AND/OR TRYING HIS BEST TO HELP THEM OH MY WORD IT WOULD BE SO CUTEEEEEEE!!!!

Happy that there wasn’t so much drama over “whether DJ would pick Matt or Steve”; I really didn’t want that plot point to drag on forever :V :V There was a lot more focus on the girls and family-interactions this time around, which I liked, even though it meant less of the adult pairings altogether.

TBH, there weren’t that many substantial main storylines or funny lines during this half of the season, imo (SHOUT OUT to that “ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” EXCHANGE THOUGH; that scene was hilarious!!). A lot of it focused on everyday family interactions or Stephanie’s “surrogate/trying-to-get-a-baby” storyline (for those who are curious, I’d say the most we got this season was a solid on Stephanie’s storyline, and DJ and Steve confirming they will be getting together, but there really isn’t any further development toward their relationship. Also surprised they didn’t have a Christmas episode??) But tbh, I’m not mad. It was nice to not have to worry about any big romantic or whatever-else-possible drama, and just focus on seeing these characters interact with one another as a family. It was just ordinary, nice, and cheesy fun, and somehow kept me laughing and smiling like an idiot the entire time (which, in a way, is a nice nod to the original show’s purpose). This is really, really just a feel-good show. And you can see that reflected in the cast. You can just tell how comfortable everyone is with one another, and at times, you can see some real tears about to be shed during a couple of heart-felt scenes. It really is just about one big, ordinary, and optimistic family (although sometimes a bit too optimistic lol; I think they give themselves a bit of a dig about that at the end). So yeah, Fuller House is cheesy, ridiculous, lame, or whateverrrrrrrrr you want to call it, but I love it. And I enjoyed watching every episode of the entire second half of this season :’333

Please tell me they bring on Urkel as a special guest for Season 4.

Please tell me they will get a Season 4!!!! I KNOW THE SHOW SUCKS AND IS CHEESY AND LAME, BUT I AM LIVING FOR IT AND LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!!!

Yup, I think those are my thoughts for now. Might add/edit some more points in later if I can think of anything!! lol :P :P

#Fuller House #Full House #FullerHouseedit #FullHouseedit #DJ x Steve #text #fuller house spoilers

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texanredrose · 7 years ago

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Symphony of Souls (Pt 2)

People like this I guess? :p But this is probably where I'll lose some of y'all, lol. Due to the... nature of this universe, individual ships will only be tagged if they're the main focus of the chapter, but after this you'll know which ships might appear.

Weiss sat at the cramped table in the dining area, hiding her rolling emotions behind a smooth, patient, polite mask. It never failed to sting, how she carried so many memories in her heart while those she longed for remained blissfully ignorant. After all this time, she'd turned the entire process into a simple pattern, tailored to the one she found first. Despite the agony of slowly explaining, she took more than a little solace from having found her sweet Nightowl first.

"So... let me get this straight," the Faunus said, both hands wrapped around her cup of hot tea. Weiss had suggested it the moment her question brought back more suspicion than before, feline ears laying back into midnight hair. Usually, tea helped Blake think and calm down, but modern blends never quite reached the same quality, the same taste, and the slight frown on her lips hinted that she might finally know why something never seemed quite right. "You're a goddess from over three thousand years ago, forced into immortality that you'll lose without receiving enough... praise, and I used to be one of your priestesses?"

"That's the basic gist of it," Weiss replied, a small sigh slipping past her lips. She'd learned, through trial and error, that too much, too soon, would do her no favors. Forced to rely on vague summaries, she did her best to convey the important details, the ones that stood a chance of jogging memories. "There's a few more details, but we can cover those later."

"Assuming there is a later." Blake bristled, frowning again. She remembered a time when the Faunus smiled and laughed freely, but it seemed time and time again that fate conspired to give her more than enough reasons to be hostile towards the one she'd once trusted with all her heart. Weiss tried not to take it personally. "I mean, this is a lot to buy. You're basically telling me you're a succubus and that you used my roommate to 'recharge' yourself." She took a steadying draught of her tea but lowered the cup quickly, apparently not trusting her guest to leave her immediate line of sight. "That doesn't exactly sound like a benevolent mistress I'd willingly serve."

The words hurt. They always did. Ancient mortals had whittled away her powers by creating a new myth to vilify her. No longer did she stand as the goddess of creations, mistress of the harvest, patron of childbirth- no, she represented night demons come to lure away the soul and rend the flesh. They turned her into a monster... but her chosen refuted the claims back then and remained loyal to her and she to them. However, before the memories of their past lives took hold, they repeated the myths each time she found them again. Weiss tilted her chin up in defiance of those who'd cast her down so long ago, confident she hadn't lost the fight quite yet.

"I don't hurt people and I don't take unwilling partners. I didn't use Velvet."

"She's not the type of person to jump into bed with someone she just met," Blake replied, anger creeping into her tone.

"But it's happened before, hasn't it?" Already, she could tell her window of opportunity was closing. She hated taking the route rife with conflict, but she had little choice. Even if she lost the battle today, she still had tomorrow; she had the rest of eternity. "She's met someone and had an instant connection, inexplicably deep despite its brevity, but it always felt like there was something missing between you two." The Faunus flinched, prompting her to press forward. She had the advantage now and could press it, could prove her claims true. "You likely blamed yourself, broke it off but stayed friends, because conventional wisdom doesn't apply to the way she made you feel. It scared you, because only a few people can make you feel that way, and you've yet to find an answer for any of them. You love her, just like the others, and you feel conflicted about that, like some part of you much older and wiser is calmly weathering the expectations of the world around you while bemoaning how much has changed, even though you don't remember it ever being any different." Weiss leaned forward, staring deep into amber eyes. "But at least when you dream, she's there with the others, and you feel content lying in the field beneath that ageless tree-"

Blake shot to her feet, anger pinching her expression. "Get out."

She didn't feign surprise. This result always seemed the most likely when she crossed paths with her beloved Nightowl first; she'd avoided it twice but had yet to recreate the results.

Rising in one fluid motion, she started for the door but spoke over her shoulder as she went. "Next time you have that dream, try looking behind you."

As she let herself out, Weiss felt confident in two things: that Blake would take her advice and that she'd hear from neither Faunus for at least two weeks.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she stepped out into the weak morning sunlight. Time meant little to an immortal but the wait would be agonizing all the same.

Weiss spent her days preparing her living space for guests, dragging out the sentimental essentials and arranging the largest room in her penthouse to pay homage to the six souls she stood on the brink of finding again. During the times she found them, the fallen goddess did her best to recreate the temple- their first home together- but when they eventually passed from old age, she would put everything away, store it safely until next she could find them. At first, she tried preserving it, as if leaving a room frozen in time would ease her agony by some small amount. It never did; it merely exacerbated the lack of laughter, the missing warmth, and the decades that would creep by until she had her chance once more.

Blue eyes, still shining bright, scanned over her work, lingering on the spot where she'd set up Blake's things. If her sweet Nightowl could just see her collection, the memories of her soul would be fully restored, but exposing any of them to their previous lives too early would be a dire mistake. The confusion from her claims would call to those memories where they'd been their most lost and, many times, that included their first death. Without context or a guiding hand to help them make sense of the images and sensations being relived, they would turn against her, and she couldn't fault them the reaction. So, the process had to be slow, first presenting the idea and allowing them to wrap their minds around the concept before introducing any of those old memories. The phrase she'd repeated- the one linked to some of their happiest moments- could only unlock the door, not open it. The waiting hurt, especially with the harsh dismissal, but Weiss had patience and faith. Blake usually turned her away, rebelled in some way- it was part of her very nature to do so.

Still, the thoughts crept into her mind. Whenever the first meeting went poorly, the immortal considered letting this time be the last- that retreating back to the crumbling remains of her temple to wither and die alone stood as the better option. She wasn't even sure if she could die; so few had escaped the reckoning and she'd lost touch with them all. Only her sister- the shining edge of a blade, the former master of war- had sought her out during the intervening millennia, and she hardly looked living much less healthy. Dull and dark, a shadow of her former glory, just like Weiss, but she left in higher spirits usually, except for the last time. They stood atop a hill, watching a group of mortals prepare a siege tower- revolutionary technology at the time. They'd just buried her beloveds yet again hardly a week before and the loss always chaffed, always brought out the ugly, vengeful tendencies Weiss thought herself long past, and her sister bid her farewell. For the last time, she'd said, before turning to march into the mountains to wither like a blade left to dull and rust. Did she still linger as a spectre, roaming the mountains during twilight? Did she fade into dust? Weiss didn't know... but perhaps she should find out firsthand.

She shook her head, turning away from the enshrined room in a bid to dispel her troubling thoughts. It should be old hat by now but the worries gnawed at her. She remembered vividly that night so very long ago, when her beloved Nightowl first walked into her temple. Back then, Weiss expected nothing more than the daily prayers from all over Remnant to sustain herself, but then she had this brave Faunus, who'd traveled so far from home, standing before the altar, seeking something she could hardly articulate and hoping she could make a difference.

Her homeland couldn't support her people, couldn't give enough food to keep them from starving or provide shelter from the bitter storms, and while her family exhausted every option available to a mortal's ingenuity, she put her faith elsewhere. Blake had run as far as she could, seeking the answer to her people’s plight, and found herself at the temple of an ancient goddess, ready to offer portions of a harvest in exchange for the ability to grow the crops in the first place. For her part, Weiss had grown bored with watching mortals plod along, toiling through their lives; it didn’t seem to be anything more than a bleak existence, and she didn’t have much occupying her time either. So she went, crossed the sea to the little island where the Faunus had gathered after being forced from the other lands, a place they could make their own, with a little help. Just like Blake, they had the gleam of defiance in their eyes and looked upon the deity- who appeared to all the world like a human among them- with suspicion.

Honestly, she rather liked the change.

Then she rose her voice in song. The sands receded to the beaches and a few patches dotting the island. Lush fields and dense forests sprouted in their wake. Lakes and ponds swelled up from the ground and rivers descended from mountains that reached high into the sky fed them. She called forth beasts- cows and pigs and sheep- to give the Faunus food and fur, and deer for game and wolves to keep them from becoming lax. Pretty birds to sing them to sleep and rouse them in the mornings, and a few others that they might eventually keep as pets. When her song ended, the Faunus had not an island; they had a utopia to call home.

In turn, they raised their voices in song, beneath the stars of a calm night as they spread out in the field and picked ripe fruit for their feast. Weiss had never felt so powerful, recovering all the energy spent in creating this home for them, and she took it as recompense. She needed nothing more and made the long journey back to her temple with just her constant companion at her side, the creature gifted her by her Mother- the Mother of all things- and she thought fleetingly of the Faunus she left behind, with their bright eyes and their powerful voices.

Hardly a month passed before her precious Nightowl entered the temple again, this time seeking something for herself rather than her people. Somehow, through their talks late into the night during their journey, she'd come to see Weiss as more than a goddess. It constituted the first time the immortal deity realized that the fierce soul dancing in amber eyes called to her differently than any she'd encountered before. That night, Weiss shared herself with another and took what was offered in return. Her power surged, yes, but what would always stick with her was the next morning, opening her eyes to see another body beside her own, light breathing in her ear, and a heartbeat she could listen to for all eternity pounding just beneath supple skin.

Soon, her Nightowl discovered a thirst for the stories of the world- history of humans and Faunus and tales of the pantheon- and together they built a little library in one wing. They spent their long nights among the book stacks, the heavy scent of ink and parchment enveloping them as they poured over words. Weiss fell in love with the mortal, declared her a high priestess, and tied their lives together using the strings of fate themselves. She started a trend.

She caused her own downfall.

The ringtone of her phone snapped her attention away from her memories. Pulling it free, she glanced at the screen- an unnamed number- before answering. "Hello?"

"Weiss?"

Her lips curled into a small smile. "Velvet. It's good to hear from you."

"Yeah, I'm- I'm sorry it took so long." She paused. "I just... well-"

"You don't owe me an explanation," she said, entering her bedroom and taking a seat on the edge of her king sized bed. While she resigned herself to using the contraption more nights than not, she found herself hoping its use would soon diminish until it became a forgotten placeholder altogether. "I believe I owe you one, though."

Velvet remained silent for a moment. "Blake said you gave her one."

It wasn't an accusation, just a simple statement, but Weiss felt a pang of remorse all the same. "Where would you like to start?"

"In person, first. When are you free?"

“All the time,” she said, unable to hide her amusement. “I tried being employed, once. Didn’t work out.”

The Faunus hummed. “Well, how about tomorrow? Noon, the water fountain off Central and First?”

Weiss got up and walked to the window, looking down at the location suggested. “Very well. Tomorrow at noon. I look forward to it.” She waited to see if Velvet would hang up or bid her farewell, but the silence stretched too long. “Is there anything you’d like to discuss now?”

Nothing for a while, and then she spoke softly. “How did I almost forget you? If I hadn’t found your number while going through the junk mail, I’m not sure if I would’ve remembered at all. That’s... not like me.”

“After you awoke, Blake confronted you, did she not?”

“We... got into an argument, yeah.” Velvet sighed, shifting her position slightly, the shuffling of fabric and her cheek against the microphone conveying slight discomfort. “She told me you’re crazy.”

“I wouldn’t say she’s wrong.” Turning away from the window, Weiss opted to set her sights on some meaningless task to occupy her hands. “And I’m sure she had some other unflattering things to say.”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“She’s angry; it’s understandable.” Her fingers found their way to a handmade jewelry box from millennia ago, the paint chipped and cracked along the lid. “Painful memories are a burden on the soul. I gave both of you the choice- to remember or to forget. When you sought to forgive and forget your argument, all memories of me followed.” She pulled a necklace from within, a cat’s eye gem set in a flowering replica of deadly nightshade, framed by winds and tinted black. “It’s... probably for the best if you avoid mentioning me. If she wishes to remember, she will in her own time.”

Velvet sighed. “I think she already has. Blake’s been... distant the last few days. I couldn’t get her to tell me why but... she’s the one who usually tidies up. She probably saw your number and put it with the mail. Now... I just get the feeling that she regrets-”

“It’s not regret; it’s confusion,” she said, a frown touching her lips. “She has memories without context, over a dozen lives lurking behind her eyelids. Give her time.”

“If you say so.” A pause. “I was thinking about making her dinner tonight, see if that might cheer her up.”

“That sounds like a splendid idea.” Weiss smiled, replacing the necklace. “If you’re looking for ideas, there’s a website called ‘Eating for Six’ that has a robust menu. I’d suggest checking the ��Nightowl’ tab.”

Over the past twenty years, she’d constructed the website, tweaking it here and there to help fill her days. Sometimes, her mouth would water just glancing at some of the recipes, remembering so many meals shared amid light laughter and good company.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Velvet replied. “And I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be there.”

When the line went dead, she pocketed the device and proceeded to beat down the rising tide of sadness welling in her heart. Finding her Nightowl- Blake, she supposed, since that seemed to be her name again- always proved to be the most emotionally arduous of reunions. She knew why, of course, but that didn’t make the process any less painful.

At least she could take solace in knowing that, when she dreamed, Blake enjoyed the peaceful serenity of her slumber.

Weiss sat on the fountain’s ledge wearing a modest, light blue dress, feet crossed at her ankles and hands in her lap. Unlike the other night, she neither wanted attention nor gained it, managing to blend into the dancing water well enough to escape most mortals’ notice. Remaining unseen continued to be a difficult skill to use, requiring her to concentrate; as a deity, she craved acknowledgement, desired attention, fed off adulation, for it would always be godly to be narcissistic, so to remove herself so forcefully from mortals’ perception drained her, but she couldn’t afford the distractions today.

She’d arrived early, at least half an hour prior to their meeting, to ensure she would have the time she needed to organize her thoughts. Ever since Velvet’s call, she found herself facing a bit of a dilemma on what to do at such a critical juncture. On the one hand, she could appeal to the Faunus as she had countless others and secure a reliable source of energy for at least a few years. However, she’d yet to encounter this particular conundrum, where a temporary partner shared both a soul that appealed to her and a living space with one of her chosen. On top of all this, she’d found Blake, who always seemed to be one of the trickier ones when it came to rebuilding their connection. They were all difficult to find at first but winning them over... her beloved Dragon always seemed the most ready, even after all these years, and her sweet Thief remained the most difficult, so she supposed her situation could be much worse.

In the end, there remained no contest between any new connections and those she’d endured almost three thousand years just to spend a few more decades with, her chosen few so dear and precious to her. In the same vein, it would be rude to cut all contact with Velvet sans explanation, so she diligently waited, noting the top of the hour by the oversized clock on an adjacent building chiming out.

“Weiss?”

She allowed herself a small smile. “Had you asked, I would’ve gladly joined you at the cafe.”

She turned her head, watching as the Faunus approached with a cup in her hand. “You saw me, I assume?”

“No. Sensed you would be more accurate.” Weiss watched as she was joined at the fountain’s edge, noting the abundance of signs that her companion was nervous. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“I just... don’t understand why your voice sounds so different from the night we met... or how, I suppose.” Her brows furrowed. “It’s obviously your voice but it’s... not at the same time. Somehow.”

“Ah. Well, simply put, neither of us is in the mood for liaisons of that nature.” She smiled wider. “Besides, you are immune to my tricks by this point. Those with souls like yours... I can capture you attention and appeal to you the same as any other, but my sway erodes very quickly.”

Velvet’s expression pinched together, gaze darting up and down the deity’s form. “You look the same but sound different- so your powers lie in your voice?”

“Yes,” she said, letting out a bitter chuckle. “Ironically, my ability to physically appear as the epitome of a mortal’s desires faded when they began claiming I only did so to consume the souls of men.” Her brows furrowed. “Which, frankly, is rather preposterous. I don’t like men, generally speaking.”

At that, the Faunus seemed to relax. “Then, when I first saw you and immediately wanted to introduce myself, before you started singing, that was all me?” She nodded. “Good.”

“I’m glad you find me so attractive.” They both laughed lightly. “All I truly did was encourage your inclinations. Provided additional motivation, one might say.”

“I tried telling Blake that,” Velvet replied, a frown touching her lips. “She seemed convinced you were just using me, that it wasn’t mutual.” Brown eyes turned to her. “She was... extremely adamant.”

“Don’t hold it against her. She has every right to be wary of me.” She reached out, covering the Faunus’ hand with her own- a comforting gesture, she hoped. “Blake and I have a history going back several millennia. In a lot of ways, she’s overwhelmed right now, processing half remembered emotions on her own. In time, she’ll decide to confront me or forget me, and I’ll have to live with that, but it’s her choice. Let her make it.”

“You make it seem so... final.” She looked away for a moment. “I... guess you’ve just gotten used to it after, what, three thousand years?”

“Over three thousand years and six amazing people.” A sigh slipped out as her expression fell, her gaze diverting to watch the dancing water. “I wish I could say it’s gotten easier each time. Unfortunately, it’s only more predictable with every iteration. Despite that, I’ve yet to find a sure fire way to regain those connections. It seems some new challenge arises every time I find one and... I am forced to do the best I can, the same as any mortal, and hope for the best. It’s my eternal punishment.”

Tears sprang to her eyes but she held them back through sheer force of will. In the spray, she could see a time long past, a small waterfall behind her temple where her chosen few would play in the summer. Laughter rang through the air, water splashed, and voices intertwined in mirth and light admonishments alike- it didn’t matter that she personally preferred colder weather; the warm summer days were some of her fondest memories.

“Weiss?” She blinked, pushing aside her recollections to focus on her present companion. “Do you talk about them often?” Velvet shuffled a little closer. “I... don’t mean to pry if you don’t want to talk about it but you seem like you could use a friend- someone to just listen.”

A wistful smile curled her lips. When necessity forced her to take partners to survive, she never mentioned those she sought and they never asked. Those she’d chosen had lived through the memories by her side; recalling them always required a careful approach, for there lurked pain around every corner if they crashed recklessly down memory lane. Thus, the ancient deity had only spoken of them aloud with the moon as her audience. She’d forsaken all other connections to her old life so she could move freely through mortal society and her sister rarely wanted to delve too deep into their halcyon days.

“I’d rather like that,” she said, standing up and offering a hand to Velvet. “Would you like to see them as well?”

On the way back to her penthouse, Weiss told their stories. Her fondest memories, their own explanations of life before coming to her temple, and the moments when she realized they were special and dear to her, but she never used the names they bore back then. Too confusing, too difficult for a mortal to keep track of, and she refrained from describing them in great detail for how often those little traits changed, too. All but the eyes, where their souls sparkled and shone brighter than the stars, and the names she gave them in her own mind to thread over a dozen lives together.

She spoke of her Nightowl first. Velvet thought it odd that Blake’s nickname had nothing to do with her Faunus heritage- though that, too, changed from life to life- but, when viewed through a classical lens, it made more sense. When she became the first of Weiss’ chosen, she would spend hours composing poetry and chronicling the stories of every member of the pantheon, from Mother down to the demigods who ran amok until they were crushed by Winter’s sword, and ultimately assembled a considerable library. Within the temple, she became the embodiment of wisdom and knowledge- and she burned more candles and oil than the rest of her attendants combined, staying up late and sleeping in until midday. Apparently, Blake maintained the same sleep schedule on her days off, something that brought a smile to Weiss’ lips.

Next came the Thief. A lonely orphan, forced to steal for survival- she crept into the temple seeking valuables and goods one night, hoping to raid the offerings left for the goddess. Red eyes, wide with terror when confronted by an angry deity trying to protect the only mortal who slept within the temple’s walls- it made for a poor first impression. But her Nightowl calmed her and her Thief possessed more than just the skills of her trade, falling to her knees and genuinely begging forgiveness. She offered her talents in penance and decorated the temple’s walls with artwork, many of which depicted either Weiss’ fury or her benevolence- warnings to others who might trespass in her sacred home. After a time, the deity forgave her Thief and watched in slight fascination as the two mortals inhabiting the temple grew closer. Her Nightowl taught her Thief to read and in return she drew the scenes from poetry and history, whatever to accompany the library’s contents. When given food and a proper bed, the woman saw fit to steal bits of their hearts and Weiss eventually took her as a lover, giving her a permanent place in the temple as the avatar of earnest penance.

“Did they- uh, Nightowl and Thief... were they ever together?” Velvet cocked her head to the side as they waited for a street light to change.

“Of course,” she replied, a smile on her lips. “None of my beloved chosen had want for company, carnal or otherwise, by the end. They had me and each other, though each had their preferences, of course, but they got along very well.” A laugh bubbled up as she shook her head fondly. “Though, it took some time, initially. They might have danced around each other for decades more were it not for my brave little Dragon.”

Her Dragon was a sight to behold, especially that first time she stepped into the temple. Bright and vibrant with smiling lilac eyes, she’d come from far away with all the strength of a warm summer storm crashing on a beach. Louder than the others, her sense of humor and adventure grated on the quieter Nightowl and Thief, but she’d come to the temple seeking something she’d lost: a sense of belonging. Behind her cheer lurked pain and, once she’d settled down some, her fierce loyalty and desire to help and protect won them over. She could build and craft- wood, metal, rock, the material didn’t matter- and constructed whatever was asked of her. Acclimated to her brash personality, the others began to bend as well, and laughter became commonplace. Her earnest devotion won Weiss over and her energy never faltered, enthusiasm only growing as she carved out her own spot within the temple and a place in the deity’s heart.

Then came perhaps the most... troublesome of her chosen, through virtually no fault of her own. Even considering the Thief’s introduction, the fourth to come to the temple seeking her had a difficult time finding her place among the others. With every addition to her temple thus far, Weiss’ popularity grew among mortals. She’d come to represent virtues they prized- wisdom, penance, loyalty- in addition to her longer held duties as keeper of elements and goddess of the harvest. However, taking the three mortals as lovers also gave her a reputation as a beacon of love, for she doted on her Nightowl, Thief, and Dragon often and any pilgrim to her temple could see that. Many tales circulated about how deeply she cared for her chosen, how all should aspire to obtain a love so pure, and the sort of boons she supposedly granted to those who endeavored to love as deeply.

When her sister- a deity of conflict and combat, war incarnate- became enraged at a slight paid her by a mortal tribe, Winter demanded they send their finest warrior to become a servant of the gods. Somehow, the message didn’t get relayed correctly, and Weiss found a woman marching into the temple and falling to her knees one chilly autumn day, swearing her allegiance a few months later. Her Gladiatrix, thinking her life now belonged to the deity of her choosing, had turned away from the combat she’d known all her life for the chance to serve one who encouraged love, something she’d longed for but never truly had during her time on the battlefield. Weiss couldn’t send her away, seeing the open honesty and brilliant hope shining in emerald eyes, and allowed her Gladiatrix to stay. She taught the others to fight and learned just as easily- she drank in their presence and reveled in a type of camaraderie that had been denied her for so long, being held up as a paragon of her people since she was very young. Among Weiss’ chosen, she was just as special as the others, and they crafted their own type of normal amid the scrolls and murals and benches. The deity came to adore her poise, which never seemed to diminish no matter how much she relaxed, and her Nightowl and Dragon took a liking to the warrior themselves, the Thief more content to remain companions rather than become lovers.

When Winter learned of the misunderstanding, however, she was furious.

“What did she do?” Rabbit ears twitched with concern as they stepping into the elevator together.

Weiss couldn’t help but laugh at the old memory. “Oh, I know my sister well enough. When she came to my temple seeking the mortal she’d demanded, I made an excuse of having to go find Gladiatrix in the fields and had Dragon entertain her in the meantime.” She lowered her voice, despite the two of them being the only occupants of the lift. “Two hours later, my sister had completely forgotten her anger. For all her fury, no one can stay mad around Dragon for long. She’s especially adept at lifting the moods of others and her laugh is absolutely infectious.”

“That’s it? She just... forgot?”

“Wars start and stop at the drop of a hat- sometimes, they’ve begun before anyone is even aware, and who you call friend one day could be foe the next, while a foe could be a friend when a greater threat appears. Such is the way of all conflict and my sister embodied that,” she said, sighing. “I let them talk for a few more hours before bringing Gladiatrix in and things worked themselves out from there. Winter couldn’t bear to upset Dragon by taking Gladiatrix away and admitted that her presence at my temple satisfied her demand.“ She smiled. “I saw more of her after that- my sister, I mean. She came by to visit Dragon and eventually bedded her as well, which worked out well for the mortals of the time. Content and happy from her visits, my sister saw fit to leash the dogs of war, so to speak, and Remnant enjoyed a period of peace.”

Confusion splashed across Velvet’s face. “Wait, so Dragon... you and your sister, uh, shared her?”

“Yes. She always had so much energy- there were some nights, I don’t think she even tried to sleep, more content to sneak into bed chambers and entice each of us into a few hours of either love making or cuddling. I daresay she’s almost always the most amorous, the most adventurous, with the softest heart and too much love in it.” Weiss noted her companion’s raised brow and eventually remembered; some things struck mortals slightly differently than they did her. “I never intended for her to take my sister as a lover, of course, but it made them both happy. I couldn’t begrudge them that. And it’s not like the three of us were ever together in that sense; when Winter came to visit, we saw less of Dragon for a few days outside of meals and the occasional walk through the fields, but things returned to normal when Winter left. It worked for us.”

“I guess that makes sense.” She blinked as a thought occurred to her. “How long did all this take? I mean, the last time all of Remnant was at peace ended four thousand years ago, but it started... five?”

“Closer to six now, but you’re not wrong. I met Nightowl- Blake for the first time just over seven thousand years ago. Over the course of three thousand years, I met the others, when I and all the members of the pantheon were revered the world over in some form or another, when I had all my strength.” Weiss glanced up at the lights indicating the floors as they ascended. Sometimes, living at the very top had its downsides. “These precious souls- I couldn’t lose them, so I extended their lives so they could remain at my side, tied their souls to mine with the strings of fate. My Thief, Dragon, and Gladiatrix had no families to go back to and my Nightowl watched over hers from afar. Of them, she understood my pain best, the sort of agony immortality places upon the soul- especially a lonely one. Nightowl lived in the temple for almost four hundred years before Thief arrived.”

Velvet’s eyes went wide. “Wow.” She blinked rapidly, likely trying to process the information. “So when you say you two have history... you’re really not joking.”

“I’m really not.”

“And there were two more?”

Weiss smiled, though a touch bittersweet. Of the six, she spent the least time with her last two chosen but they had grown just as dear to her, and their entrances into her existence came with their own special brand of fanfare. She still vividly remembered the commotion caused when the Seamstress arrived.

By then, the deity had come to represent love and the arts, and the mortal traveled far to see the temple for herself. She hailed from some noble lineage but, upon encountering the temple’s inhabitants, forsook her birthright to remain. She saw the artworks on the walls, the craftsmanship in the furniture, the elegance in the written word, and the dedication in their blades- all of which impressed her and spoke to a deep seated desire to create. From the offerings brought by pilgrims who visited the temple, she pulled fabrics from all over the world and wove them outfits fit for every occasion, each with their own distinctive flair. Chocolate eyes found every small detail and Weiss even procured threads and skins from her fellow deities to give her Seamstress, fascinated by the magic in her fingers and designs. Soon, she found her own place at the temple like all the others, and she combined her talents with theirs to create timeless masterpieces.

For the last of her chosen, though, the road to her temple had been the longest, and to her heart longer still. Another orphan, younger than her Thief, had come to the temple, seeking a home like her Dragon. Hearing the stories of a powerful deity who took mortals as lovers had enticed one abandoned by all others. She’d quite nearly sent the newcomer away on principle but the others begged her to show mercy. It didn’t make sense to her at first but she couldn’t deny them and she eventually came to admire how little her initial coldness seemed to bother him.

“Him?” Velvet’s ears perked, likely at her words and not the ding as they arrived at the penthouse.

“Hence my initial rejection,” she said with a wry grin while stepping out of the elevator. “I find myself drawn to the female form almost exclusively- and my Jester is that ‘almost’.”

At first, he helped where he could. He organized books with Nightowl, he fetched paint for Thief, he worked the bellows and hauled lumber for Dragon, he cleaned gear and sharpened blades for Gladiatrix, he picked flowers to make into dye for Seamstress- whatever task her lovers gave him, he would comply, always with a smile on his lips, just so happy to have a place to call home. As the years passed, he remained a bright spot at the temple, with just as much energy as Dragon and a mischievous streak a mile long, grey eyes shining as he climbed every surface imaginable and used his tail to startle or tickle whoever passed too close to him. To this day, she believed he never expected anything different; he certainly never pursued any of them or even suggested things should change, even jokingly referring to himself as their big brother and laughing at the misnomer. He could’ve lived out all his days at the temple and died, content he’d lived among those who accepted him without question. But she saw the ways the others looked at him- first Nightowl and Dragon, then Thief and Gladiatrix, and even Seamstress glanced a time or two- and she told them they could do more if they so wished. She loved them, all of them, and wouldn’t begrudge them this; they shared her and each other. What was one more? Her smiling Jester had earned his spot among them, for she did love him as dearly as the others. When she finally took him as a lover as well, she realized that the differences in their anatomies didn’t overpower the light in his soul, the same light that existed in her other lovers.

“We found a balance after that,” she said, leading the way up to the second floor of her penthouse and stopping in front of a locked room. Every security measure known to mortals and enough of her residual strength went into protecting the contents from any and all intruders and she carefully undid each one. “For a millennium, the seven of us lived in the temple together, and our days and nights were filled with joy. Sometimes, my sister would visit, and we’d all sup together- we knew true peace. We were friends, family, and we indulged our passions without restraint.” The door unlocked after she input the last code and slid aside. “They were good times.” Before stepping inside, she paused, a slight frown coming to her lips. “Oh, and there was also Myrtenaster but... I’d rather not speak of him.”

“Bad memories?” The Faunus’ brow pinched in concern but she waved it off, not wanting to delay any longer.

“Yes and no- it’s a much longer story for another time. Right now, I have a question.” Weiss watched her companion’s face, trying not to betray the hope rising in her heart. “With each name, each story... did you suddenly think of someone you know? Someone with the same eyes as I described?”

Velvet’s expression conveyed her surprise. “Well... yeah, now that you mention it. How did you know?”

“There’s no cause for alarm." She smiled, trying to keep the expression small but feeling the hope bolster all the same. "My chosen are drawn to each other. When I took them as lovers, I bound them to me with strings of fate, prolonging their lives.” Her gaze dropped as the memories began to creep at the edges of her mind. “When I lost them, I bound them to each other instead, fating their lives to be intertwined, that they might find their lost family and have the support they deserved if I couldn’t find them in time. They are drawn to each other because of this and it seems you’ve landed among them.”

Without further ado, she lead the way into the room, allowing the Faunus to follow at her own pace. She waited for the shocked gasp to turn into muttered wonder before steeling her nerves and looking around herself. In the years after she lost them, the deity had collected every painting, every sculpture, every depiction of her lovers that remained in the world. Most days, she couldn’t bear to look at them, especially during the lifetimes when their appearances deviated from her memories. It pained her now but she had to know, even as her gaze fell on the painting of Blake in her library, pouring over a stone tablet with a candle softly lighting the scene.- she had to know how close they would be to her memories this time.

“I’ve told you the names I have for them,” she said, pausing briefly to brace herself for the answers. “What do you call them?”

Velvet looked at the portrait of Blake, the spitting image of the Faunus she lived with, and nodded. “Well, that’s Blake.” She looked at the one depicting the Thief, brush in hand as she contemplated a half finished mural- one of the rare times her Nightowl and Seamstress joined forces to produce something truly beautiful. “That’s Emerald.” Next, her Dragon, bent over her work bench with the setting sun catching in her hair. “Yang.” The Gladiatrix, spear in hand and shield raised. “Pyrrha.” The Seamstress at her loom. “Coco.” Finally, her Jester, in the garden with his wide smile. “And Sun.”

“... six for six.” Tears pricked at her eyes. “That’s only happened once before. Do they- do they look like their portraits?”

Velvet nodded slowly. “Exactly like them.”

Her knees nearly buckled as she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sob that burst from her chest, tears slipping out to roll down her cheeks. That hadn't happened before- the one time they had their old names, they looked different, just enough details off to make the decades bittersweet. She'd waited and hoped for this day to come but could hardly believe it.

“I’ve found them. I’ve finally found them.”

#Symphony of Souls fanfic #Weiss!Harem #TRR writes #Polyamory implied and in later installments

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porthavenhq · 4 years ago

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Welcome to Porthaven, Duckie! We can’t wait to meet Phoenix Fyall!

Please look over the acceptance checklist and submit your blog within the next 24 hours. If there is a problem or a prior obligation and you need more time than provided, just message the main and we will gladly extend!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　OUT OF CHARACTER　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Name: Duckie Pronouns: She/her Age: 24 Timezone: EST Activity Level: I would say 8/10. Thanks to this /wonderful/ pandemic my schedule is so messed up and I’m left with not much to do anymore so I leave my free time now to rping. And I have a lot of it. Triggers: N/A Anything Else: N/A

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　CHARACTER INFORMATION　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Name: Phoenix Fyall Age: June 7, 1991 Gender: Cismale, he/him pronouns FC: Charles Melton

Character Biography (tw: abuse, violence, exorcism, harsh religion)

Teeth snap, cold kitchen floor covered by broken glass, and a fear that if you don’t stand straight you’d be facing that tile at a much more close proximity. This would be the ruling of a father who was driven by golden liquor and a line of men before him who left him in the exact place that his son was standing before him. Phoenix would have been six when this started with his father. Nightly rants about discipline and failures only to turn against them again and again. He could quote his old man to the point that it was a record that played in his head constantly; loud and set a road of brash behavior and closed fists at his sides. The kitchen was where Phoenix learned; how to be emotionless, fearless, and above all, how to be angry. The anger was something that ran thick in the family’s blood and boy time did not wear it thin when it came to phoenix. If it wasn’t at his father it was at the world that would grind him down and keep him from being victorious. Heart of the Phoenix spirit that anger only grew much stronger.

A small town in the south meant a few things. People knew everything, and they all had a set views of rights and wrongs. And one of those wrongs were the Fyall family. Sinful demons is what they have always been known as, and a curse on their town and that was only brought to pure hate toward Phoenix who never proved them wrong. Always having destroyed everything when his anger set him ablaze. His town figured after so long they had to do something to stop these demons from continuing to ruin their town.

One night, when Phoenix was 19 he found himself walking home after a football game and before he knew it there was darkness after someone had his him in the back of the head and more dragged him off. If anyone was witness it wasn’t as if they cared to report it. He finally woke up in the church, men surrounding him, holding buckets of water, or anything to settle a fire. But after getting such a hit to the head the boy was too out of focus to even get his powers going enough to cause damage. Then they started. an exorcism was supposed to cast out what everyone had imagined was a demon… only they never knew who wrong they were. And after hours of grueling torture on the boy they left him off by taking hot bars and branding his skin with religious symbols on his back, hands, and legs. He had never felt so much pain before in his life and screamed through the night. Only they never knew there was no casting out a spirit’s gift. He was no demon. He was just fire.

Phoenix always knew hatred. It seemed every person hated him, all but one girl he met in the ninth grade. His beaming light who had helped him through every fall in his life. She was perfection in every way, so beautiful, so kind, and never once did she show Phoenix fear. They were best friends. And he soon fell madly in love with her only always fearing to express his feelings and have the girl reject him. She had even helped him recover the night the men of the town preformed the exorcism on him. She made sure his wounds healed… even if he would forever have the scars to remind him by.

Years of hiding his love came to an end, he was ready to tell her, confident that she had to feel something for him as well. He invited her to come to a place in the woods that they had always hung out, the one place they could be alone. But when he arrived he found she had brought someone she had just started dating, she was going to introduce them in hopes they could all be friends. But this only sent Phoenix into a terrible inferno and before he knew it he had sent the whole forest ablaze. The girl and the other male had just barely made it out alive and the town had enough. They wanted the boy taken in and dealt with whatever cost necessary.

But when they went to get him Phoenix had already left. On his way to start over his life and hide from ever being found. He was ashamed of what he had done. Once again his actions made people hate him. He traveled for a while and it wasn’t until he walked the streets of Porthaven that he found he could stop running.

Headcanons

he does what he can to hide his scars. keeping long sleeves on at all costs he hates to be able to look down and see how he was branded for life to remember what people thought of him.

when it comes to dress you can image a boy like him doesn’t like to spend much on clothes. turning into a fireball has taught him to live cheap on clothes. the only expensive thing he’s bought were thick jackets mostly of leather or fire resistant materials.

he doesn’t like to be around much people. but one would see why he is increasingly more harsh toward men. it was men who had always abused him. and he tends to find getting along with them more difficult.

he is terrified of snakes. something about their bodies freak him out.

he loves food and drinks though; his favorites being pasta, peach tea, fried chicken, and his absolute favorite thing ever is cinnamon rolls.

listens to ASMR to sleep; nothing too strange. he ironically loves the sound of rain or anything that reminds him of rain. the sounds tapping sounds get him to fall asleep almost instantly.

he works as a metal shop worker a few times a week. yeah, a boy who can control fire works around fire. call him basic.

Inspiration

P I N T E R E S T

#phqacceptance #disney rp #disney rpg #disney roleplay #rp #rpg #roleplay

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jacksgreysays · 7 years ago

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Ode to 11010201 -> Heritage Script Brainstorming, 1/? (2017-08-16)

I need to stream of conscious type this thing, because I've decided what I want to do for my first attempt at a full length script, but I don't want to commit it to a word document just yet until I have it managed better in my brain. I used to do these kinds of things on my livejournal, but seeing as how the base of it is mostly on here, I figured for tagging/research purposes it'd be nice to put it here.

Also, missed posts are no good so...

Ode to 11010201 is a thinly veiled reference to my life, or what might have been my life in a world with magic. I am R and Zim is a nephew that I don't have because if he were to have existed then he would already be five years old.

And so, the thing is, the idea of them being magical. Of them sharing magic, of using the term "gemini" to describe people who shared magic is very... American of me. Like, how America likes to tout about democracy (which isn't really) and borrow Greek terms to make things sound more sophisticated or classical, when in fact, I imagine, that in a world of magic actual Greek witches would not use the Western Zodiac as a classification system.

They'd probably use Greek Mythology--like, earth witches in America would be Taurus witches, but in Greece they'd be called followers of Demeter or something like that. And it struck me that I know more about Greek Mythology and the Western Zodiac/astrology than I do about Filipino mythology and deities.

Which. Well. The series of invasions/conquering/imperializing/colonizing/occupation definitely didn't help with that. The Philippines is caught in a struggle between Christianity and Islam, never mind that at their core both religions worship the same god. The same monotheistic, omnipotent, omnipresent god.

But that's not what this is about.

Since Ode to 11010201 is based on me, I might as well flavor it even more with myself and make R Filipino-American, and Zim mixed. And the idea to contrast that with a Filipino immigrant who knows the ways of magic as their ancestors would have known it... and is still trapped in the American labeling: the Premier Taurus witch, who I had only vaguely considered being Faye Lin nee Peridot in the Court and Council ficlet...

Which. Well, seeing as how she blames Doctor Kaiza for the disappearance of her sister, Leanne, kind of gave an interesting parallel to R's own search for her sister which I hadn't really considered more fully until recently.

So the idea for the play that I have is more set in the Ot1 Redux 'verse, with the main cast being Kaiza, Zim, R, and Faye--the latter two being called by their respective Council positions, Gemini and Taurus.

It starts much as the first Redux ficlet did, with Kaiza announcing to Zim that the Premier Gemini Witch would be coming to town.

Except it's a much bigger deal because even if Zim doesn't know much about magic--he's the only witch in the region, even Kaiza, technically isn't a witch, though she's lived long enough to pick up some tricks and such--he knows that usually council luminaries only show up when something has gone wrong.

They don't govern, they don't dictate. They only mete out judgement when magical crimes have been committed.

And so, thinking that it's a professional reason why she's coming, Zim (and Kaiza, a little bit) are scared. And R, Gemini, that is, makes a good show of it. She's only here searching for a particular witch. One who's been shielding herself for almost two decades, who she has been trying to track down for nearly as long.

Which, obviously, construes to Zim as a criminal searching thing.

Except as time passes, more and more details are dropped, and it's revealed that R/Gemini is not here in a professional capacity but a personal one. The witch she is looking for is her sister, who has only recently begun using her half of their shared magic. And she knows she's here, she can feel it, but for some reason the scrying spells aren't working (because she's not scrying for the right things, or because Zim is in the same room as her when she's scrying) and it's been weeks.

She's not allowed to renege on her duties for so long.

Because the role of luminary is just that, a duty. Not a privilege. It goes to the strongest witch of each category not because they want it, but because they're the only ones with the ability to enforce punishments and tie together a new and chaotic society.

Btw, dunno if I wrote this already, but the idea is that magic had existed before, but went dormant for a very long time, and only awoke in the last century. More specifically, when Faye Peridot was a teenager. More specifically, when Leanne Peridot's abilities went from cool party trick to bending the laws of physics. The Council was an attempt to bring peace at the sudden resurgence of magic.

I mean, I don't know if I want the Counterclockwise backstory to be so specifically translated into the script--whereas this script will be as close to Ot1 as I can get--but the Peridot family were supposed to be descended from dryads and in pre-Spain Philippines, diwata were the main spirits invoked for good fortune, health, crops etc and they live in trees and if that isn't some kind of sign that, hey, maybe they're a family of Filipino immigrants then I don't know what... I may have to tweak their background somewhat, though.

I mean, Peridot isn't exactly a Filipino last name, now is it?

It could be something that got Americanized, though. Pamulaklakin means "to make bloom" which would fit and is long enough where someone could have just gotten tired and said. Slap some other P word on it. Or one of those families who did get renamed when the Spanish came, and Peridot in Spanish is just Peridoto so...

I'll figure it out.

Sorry, I did say it'd be a stream of consciousness... honestly if anyone's made it this far, I'm very surprised, this is mostly just rambling for my future self.

Uh, anyway. So:

KAIZA ZIM GEMINI (R) TAURUS (FAYE)

Act One would be Kaiza and Zim reacting to Gemini's arrival. And the slow discovery of magic and family and the history of the world. It would end with Taurus's arrival (a sort of bigger villain in the way of television shows, I suppose) who demands that Gemini come back and resume her duties.

Act Two would be a little more fraught. A lot of backstory for why exactly Gemini has no idea where her sister is until now. Taurus' dislike of Kaiza. Possibly a red herring about how maybe Kaiza is eating them to power her immortality (which is, in her opinion, not something to be desired and thus absolute nonsense)...

Act Three would be the reveal about what happened to Taurus' sister?

... or, wait, no... hm...

My sister says (ironically, the one that corresponds to the one R is looking for) that there's no urgency to it.

Like. Why now? Why this story at this time with these people?

- Zim has only recently found out he has magic.

- As the closest thing to a witch in his area, Kaiza has stepped him to loosely teach what magic she knows to him.

- Gemini, feeling the other half of her magic being used for the first time in nearly two decades, takes leave from her duties as a luminary of The Council and goes across country to find her sister (who had sealed off her half of the magic two decades ago after some kind of fall out?** NEED TO CLARIFY)

... but still. Why now?

- Because there was a case before The Council which had been too harsh, which her words hadn't been able to spare a witch who had made a small mistake, and so she seized this opportunity. She is the newest and youngest member of The Council, but only by default (Gemini witches are rare). Surely they would want to the complete set.

and then... ugh, shit.

I'll continue in another part, maybe...

#jacksgreyson #brainstorm #rant #ode to 11010201 #original fiction #writing workshop

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survivor-algonquin-blog · 6 years ago

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IMMUNITY RESULTS #1

Hope everyone got their groove on!!! Let's get to the results,,,

But first let's meet our lovely JUDGES!!!!

Zach!!

Hey! Zach here. A couple of main seasons under my belt and lucky enough to have played with all of the hosts. I've done this challenge and work in entertainment, so I'll be bringing a critical eye to the table and have no reservations about not holding back. Good luck!

Sarah!!

Hi my name is Sarah. Ive played 7 main ts seasons so I am officially qualified to judge now. I cant wait to see what yall did.

Vilma!!

Hi I'm Vilma and all you need to know about me is that I have a burning love for music videos so I hope y'all put in your best effort tonight <3

Now let's get to some music videos!

Castor's Music Video & Explanation

This is the official submission for the Castor Tribe. We choose to do the music video “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence. This song has a strong theme of Duality throughout the lyrics, and we chose to represent that by only using two tribemates for the lip-syncing portion of this challenge. The video focuses on Bobby, crying out for help, but being shut down by his inner thoughts, portrayed by Bryan. At the beginning of the video, you can clearly see the inner turmoil going on, shown through the colour colour changes and spinning screen. Throughout this portion, it is clear he is listening to Bryan, and letting it hold him back, keeping all these negative emotions inside. About half way through the video, there is a clear tone change, with the scarf starting to come off, signifying an opening up, of Bobby starting to let his thoughts out in a healthy way, and his inner voice becoming quieter and less relevant as time goes on. The video ends on a dark room, lit by a single light, showing that as dark as things may seem, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel, you just must keep moving forward. We felt that this was a good representation for survivor for several reasons. Firstly, in order to progress far in the game, you must be able to rely on other people to keep you sane. One of the Key elements of survivor is the ability to outlast the other players, and that requires you to mentally outlast them as well. You can clearly see that on the Edge of Extinction season, where it is only the mental fortitude of these voted off contestants giving them a chance now. Secondly, there have been several survivor Contestants that have struggled with the ideas of self-doubt, and depression both during and after the show, most notably, Sugar, after Survivor Heroes Vs Villains, as well as Spencer Bledsoe, after Game Changers. Finally, no matter how dark you may think your prospects in survivor are, if you believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and keep pushing through, you will always be able to make an impact. We chose to make the video focus on only two of our tribemates because most submissions for these types of challenges tend to include almost all the tribe members, and we wanted to create something that stands out. All of us contributed to the final product in several different ways. Firstly, we had Lilly, who was the Creative Director, and Task Manager. She came up with the narrative and focused on creating a realistic schedule in order to get everything done on time, and to a good quality. Bobby and Bryan, you saw in the music video, as our lead lip-syncers. Aaliyah was the editor of this video, putting to use her skill in a way much better than anyone else on our tribe could have accomplished. Finally, Michael and Jack created the write up, in order to communicate our thoughts to the judges, to show the amount of effort we put into this project.

Zach:

Creativity:6

The explanation for idea of the music video was strong and well intentioned, if not wholly originally, but I’m not sure it is entirely reflected in what got with the video. I appreciate the deliberate choice to use only two members of the cast to support that idea, so I can’t ding for points there, but I don’t think what we got was what we were promised in the explanation.

Effort: 7

Going off of the intro text, I’ll take it in good faith that everyone contributed as much as was mentioned, and despite execution, I cannot fault their efforts if they all tried.

Composition: 5

Any time there’s a vertical video, it’s going to hurt a little, but I won’t dwell on that too much. I will say that the video ending before the song ends does not help its case. Also, the idea behind the colors and the black and white to show emotional change was a good thought, but did not have the payoff that it should have had. The rationale behind it feels more film school interpretation of something after the fact than intended execution.

Theme: 7

The theme as explained was a solid one, and definitely can see tones of it in the performances and set dress of the actors. Nice job. Bryan will haunt my dreams.

All-in-all, I think this was a good effort and it’s obvious that this team works together well and has lofty ideas. I think the technical skill might be lacking, and it seems like everyone here is very structured in their thinking. I prefer that way of thought so I’m with them, but they needed a little more creative flair here to pull it off.

Sarah:Creativity: 5/10

Effort: 5/10

Composition (editing): 7/10

Theme: 8/10

I wish I saw everyone from the tribe in this but I get your reasoning behind it. It was still just overall ok

Vilma:

Creativity: 4/10

You made a creative decision to include only two people of your tribe in the lip sync and while I appreciate the ballsy move I can’t help but feel I would’ve enjoyed the video more if more people were included in it.

Effort: 5/10

Bobby was the king of the show and really put his soul into it.

Composition: 4/10

Rule number one in music videos: film horizontally! Overall I wasn’t a huge fan of the constant use of cheap looking effects but otherwise the editing was fine.

Theme: 6/10

I think the duality theme in your video was nice an well thought-out but it would be a bit hard to understand without your thorough explanation of it.

Castor Total: 69/120

Elan's Music Video & Explanation

youtube

She walks! She talks! She twerks! She's BARBIE! Jump, dance, and sing with your very own customizable doll! Dress her up and take her out. Barbie is your BEST FRIEND! You can be a Barbie Girl too! SHE'S BARBIE! (batteries not included)

Zach:

Creativity: 7

The idea of using Barbie girl for the song was a strong and out of the blue choice, making it look like a commercial really took it over the top. I can’t go higher than 8 because they used a lot of the original music video to cover gaps, but overall, more creative an idea than I’ve seen in a while, and the execution was beautiful which leads me to:

Effort: 8

To put what they put together as quickly as they did takes a lot of coordination from whomever was putting it together, but the fact that most people went so far as to dress as “Barbies” shows that almost everyone was committed to the gag. There were a couple of people who obviously didn’t have as much time to give to this, but substituting them as the Ken was a nice save.

Composition: 9

Obviously when working with iPhones and computer cameras, the visual leaves something to be lacking, but that is more than made up for here with the various superpositions, graphics, texts, crawls, and cuts. It felt like I was watching a bizarro QVC commercial that was as fun to watch as Barbies are to play with, keeping them right on mark for their:

Theme: 9

The fact that this is basically a weird commercial for Barbies is as fantastic as they are plastic. Every inch of it was filled with something to reinforce the theme, whether it was ordering details, people playing with the toys, warnings, calls to actions, or disclaimers (the bottom Mattel crawl was a brilliant example of all three categories of judgement coalescing to reinforce the them.

I wasn’t planning on rating anyone high, but this was weird, original, well done, and fun. Nice job. It was visual candy, high energy, and all surface, which I wouldn’t typically go for, but that’s what Barbie is about.

Sarah:Creativity: 9/10

Effort: 10/10

Composition (editing): 10/10

Theme: 8/10

You guys impressed the fuck out of me and made me literally LOL.

Vilma:

Creativity: 8/10

Cute outfits, cute barbie nicknames, cute editing, cute CuTe CUTE I want these slutty barbies to myself

Effort: 9/10

The barbie QUEENS and the editor guy did a phenomenal job. It looks like most of your tribe participated, although the Barbies outshined the Ken’s a bit. But overall you guys really put yourself out there and put in the most effort.

Composition: 10/10

The editing was ON POINT. Great job ten out of ten.

Theme: 8/10.

I stan the barbie theme and song choice btw Aqua is a Danish band so I love me some nordic representation <3 My only complaint is I wish you introduced us to the handsome Kens too.

Elan Total: 105/120

Hibou's Music Video & Explanation

youtube

We lip synced Survivor by Destiny's Child. Due to time constraints Gavin couldn't be in the video, but it doesn't matter since Sammy stole the show. :) The editing got a little weird at the end. Some of the file types were different and that causes playback issues. Also the deadline was fast approaching so the sequences towards the end are a little longer. :p

Zach:

Creativity: 2

Hate to be harsh, but going for Survivor for Survivor is a little too on the nose. Listen, it’s a great song, and some people have some great energy, but creatively, this was low hanging fruit. On top of that, the video is literally just lip-syncing, which is basically like playing a Borneo Game in 2019. Given that they’d be given plenty of examples of other ways this can be done well, I can’t rate this high. To paraphrase the song “you’re better than that.”

Effort: 4

To the people that contributed to this, I appreciate your attempt. The one guy who really embraced the challenge, got a mic, light-up glasses, the hat, et al, if this was based on just your effort, I could go much higher. It’s as high as it is because of you. Unfortunately, it’s a team challenge, and for the brief moments that we saw most of the other players, you can see them reading the words on the screen as they capture their performance. I hope everyone enjoyed it more than it shows, but again, to the point of the song “you’ve gotta work harder.”

Composition: 2

Vertical videos really just need to be turned 90 degrees and it would feel like we’re watching a movie. Or if you’re given vertical videos, copy the layer, move it to the back, enlarge, and blur. It will make it instantly more watchable. This grade isn’t solely because of that though (3 vertical videos don’t help though). The titles screen is cute, but assembled poorly. Some of the text is covered some of the pictures. There’s no real pace to guide us through the song. The cuts seem arbitrary. Editing is very hard and never appreciated, so to whomever put this together, if you did your best, nice job and I encourage to stick with it, but kinda feels like “I’m not gonna give up” was something you were saying to yourself over and over again when trying to make this work.

Theme: 2

Picking this song was a bold choice since it’s so obvious, but you can’t lose points in this category based on choice alone. But given that choice, you have to really knock it out of the park, and I don’t think the bat even touched the ball with this one. There’s nothing here that screams either Survivor nor what Destiny Child was singing about, I don’t know if we’d be weaker without this song in our life.

Look, I hate to be critical, especially since it’s obvious some people put it in a lot more work with this than others, but to be honest, this wasn’t a shining example of what you’re all capable of. It’s hard putting these together, and maybe it just wasn’t worth it this time. Making music videos can be fun or terrible depending on with whom you work. I wish you the best, but I feel like because of this, for one of you “I’m gonna make it, here on Survivor” just isn’t true.

Sarah: Creativity: 4/10

Effort: 3/10

Composition (editing): 6/10

Theme: 4/10

You tried.

Vilma:

Creativity: 4/10

I feel like you guys could’ve been more creative with your Survivor theme. I like that you introduced everyone in the beginning but other than that the video was very simple.

Effort: 6/10

Most of your tribe seemed to participate and that’s always nice to see. Some of you guys were really feeling it too so big props to that!

Composition: 3/10

Again, gotta deduct some points for not filming horizontally. Plus the lip syncing was VERY off most of the time, such a simple thing to fix and the video would’ve seemed much more professional!

Theme: 5/10

Your song choice is literally perfect, you GUYS are survivors and you know it but I wish you would’ve included little skits or something to emphasize the theme.

Hibou Total: 45/120

Congratulations to Castor and Elan for winning immunity!! which unfortunately means Hibou you will be heading to tribal council, where you will be voting off the first person in Tumblr Survivor Algonquin. Tribal will be live over Google Hangouts, and we plan to start at 9:00 EST. please let the hosts know beforehand if you will be able to attend tribal council or not.

#bringyourbaggedmilk

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