#in which there's one detail that a translation must do for me to recommend it (it used to be the one but now in English several do it)

[longagoitwastuesday]

So so indebted to u for posting those lovely illustrations from Cyrano <333 & even more so for yr tags!! I'm completely in love w yr analysis, please feel free to ramble as long as u wish! Browsing through yr Cyrano de Bergerac tag has given me glimpses of so many adaptations & translations I'd never heard of before! I'll be watching the Solès version next, which I have only discovered today through u ^_^ As for translations, have u read many/all of them? I've only encountered the Renauld & Burgess translations in the wild, & I was curious to hear yr translation thoughts that they might guide my decision on which one I buy first (not necessarily Renauld or Burgess ofc). Have a splendid day & sorry for the likespam! 💙

Sorry for the delay. Don't mind the likespam, I'm glad you enjoyed my tags about Cyrano, and that they could contribute a bit to a further appreciation of the play. I loved it a lot, I got obsessed with it for months. It's always nice to know other people deeply love too that which is loved haha I hope you enjoy the Solès version, it may well be my favourite one!

About translations, I'm touched you're asking me, but I don't really know whether mine is the best opinion to ask. I have read... four or five English translations iirc, the ones I could find online, and I do (and especially did, back when I was reading them) have a lot of opinions about them. However, nor English nor French are my first languages (they are third and fourth respectively, so not even close). I just read and compare translations because that's one of my favourite things to do.

The fact is that no translation is perfect, of course. I barely remember Renauld's, but I think it was quite literal; that's good for understanding the basics of the text, concepts and characters, but form is subject, and there's always something that escapes too literal translations. Thomas and Guillemard's if I recall correctly is similar to Hooker's in cadence. It had some beautiful fragments, some I preferred over Hooker's, but overall I think to recall I liked Hooker's more. If memory serves, Hooker's was the most traditionally poetic and beautiful in my opinion. Burgess' is a whole different thing, with its perks and drawbacks.

Something noticeable in the other translations is that they are too... "epic". They do well the poetic, sorrowful, grief stricken, crushed by regrets aspects of Cyrano and the play in general, but they fall quite short in the funny and even pathetic aspects, and that too is key in Cyrano, both character and play. Given the characteristics of both languages, following the cadence of the French too literally, with those long verses, makes an English version sound far too solemn at times when the French text isn't. Thus Burgess changes the very cadence of the text, adapting it more to the English language. This translation is the one that best sets the different moods in the play, and as I said before form is subject, and that too is key: after all, the poetic aspect of Cyrano is as much true as his angry facet and his goofy one. If Cyrano isn't funny he isn't Cyrano, just as he wouldn't be Cyrano without his devotion to Roxane or his insecurities; Cyrano is who he is precisely because he has all these facets, because one side covers the other, because one trait is born from another, because one facet is used as weapon to protect the others, like a game of mirrors and smoke. We see them at different points through the play, often converging. Burgess' enhances that. He plays with the language itself in form and musicality, with words and absences, with truths masking other truths, with things stated but untold, much like Cyrano does. And the stage directions, poetic and with literary value in their own right in a way that reminded me of Valle Inclán and Oscar Wilde, interact with the text at times in an almost metatextual dimension that enhances that bond Cyrano has with words, giving them a sort of liminal air and strengthening that constant in the play: that words both conceal and unveil Cyrano, that in words he hides and words give him away.

But not all is good, at all. Unlike Hooker, Burgess reads to me as not entirely understanding every facet of the characters, and as if he didn't even like the play all that much, as if he had a bit of a disdainful attitude towards it, and found it too mushy. Which I can understand, but then why do you translate it? In my opinion the Burgess' translation does well bending English to transmit the different moods the French text does, and does pretty well understanding the more solemn, cool, funny, angry, poetic aspects of Cyrano, but less so his devotion, vulnerability, insecurities and his pathetism. It doesn't seem to get Roxane at all, how similar she is to Cyrano, nor why she has so many admirers. It does a very poor job at understanding Christian and his value, and writes him off as stupid imo. While I enjoyed the language aspect of the Burgess translation, I remember being quite angry at certain points reading it because of what it did to the characters and some changes he introduces. I think he did something very questionable with Le Bret and Castel-Jaloux, and I remember being incensed because of Roxane at times (for instance, she doesn't go to Arras in his version, which is a key scene to show just how much fire Roxane has, and that establishes several parallels with Cyrano, in attitude and words, but even in act since she does a bit what Cyrano later does with the nuns in the last act), and being very angry at several choices about Christian too. While not explicitly stated, I think the McAvoy production and the musical both follow this translation, because they too introduce these changes, and they make Christian as a character, and to an extent the entire play, not make sense.

For instance, once such change is that Christian is afraid that Roxane will be cultured (McAvoy's version has that infamous "shit"/"fuck" that I detest), when in the original French it's literally the opposite. He is not afraid she will be cultured, he is afraid she won't, because he does love and appreciate and admires those aspects of her, as he appreciates and admires them in Cyrano. That's key! Just as Cyrano longs to have what Christian has, Christian wants the same! That words escape him doesn't mean he doesn't understand or appreciate them. The dynamics make no sense without this aspect, and Burgess (and the productions that directly or indirectly follow him) constantly erases this core trait of Christian.

Another key moment of Christian Burgess butchers is the scene in Arras in which Christian discovers the truth. Burgess writes their discussion masterfully in form, it's both funny and poignant, but it falls short in concept: when Cyrano tells him the whole discussion about who does Roxane love and what will happen, what they'll do, is academic because they're both going to die, Christian states that dying is his role now. This destroys entirely the thing with Christian wanting Roxane to have the right to know, and the freedom to choose, or to refuse them both. As much as Cyrano proclaims his love for truth and not mincing words even in the face of authority, Cyrano is constantly drunk on lies and mirages, masks and metaphors. It's Christian who wants it all to end, the one who wants real things, the one who wants to risk his own happiness for the chance of his friend's, as well as for the woman he loves to stop living in a lie. That is a very interesting aspect of Christian, and another aspect in which he is written as both paralleling and contrasting Cyrano. It's interesting from a moral perspective and how that works with the characters, but it's also interesting from a conceptual point of view, both in text and metatextually: what they hold most dear, what they most want, what most fulfills them, what they most fear, their different approaches to life, but also metatextually another instance of that tears/blood motif and its ramifications constant through the whole text. Erasing that climatic decision and making him just simply suicidal erases those aspects of Christian and his place in the Christian/Cyrano/Roxane dynamic, all for plain superficial angst, that perhaps hits more in the moment, but holds less meaning.

Being more literal, and more solemn, Hooker's translation (or any of the others, but Hooker's seems to love the characters and understand them) doesn't make these conceptual mistakes. Now, would I not recommend reading Burgess' translation? I can't also say that. I had a lot of fun reading it, despite the occasional anger and indignation haha Would I recommend buying it? I recommend you give an eye to it first, if you're tempted and can initially only buy one.

You can read Burgess' translation entirely in archive.com. You can also find online the complete translations of Renauld, Hooker and Thomas and Guillemard. I also found a fifth one, iirc, but I can't recall it right now (I could give a look). You could read them before choosing, or read your favourite scenes and fragments in the different translations, and choose the one in which you like them better. That's often what I do.

Edit: I've checked to make sure and Roxane does appear in Arras in the translation. It's in the introduction in which it is stated that she doesn't appear in the production for which the translation was made. The conceptualisation of Roxane I criticise and that in my opinion is constant through the text does stay, though.

[judesmoonbeauty]

My Thoughts & Spoilers On Jude's Route

This will contain detailed major route spoilers. If you do not want to be spoiled, please move on because I will not be filtering my review. Also, not all spoilers and details are being shared. This is intentional. Bear in mind this is written prior to my thoroughly translating his route, so the translation may have some adjustments to this information.

So, I really LOVED it!! It's a very good storyline. Am I biased? Yes. However, whether you're romantically interested in Jude or not, I feel like you'll like in route in general. I do highly recommend reading his and Ellis' Past Records before his route if you can. His route does bring up clips from PR, but it's very minimal and there's a lot of context and extra details in PR that you don't get in this MS. I did my best with this, but my thoughts are still every where, so if it doesn't make sense. My bad.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers....of sorts?, Slow-burn. Key Side Villain Characters: Ellis, Nica, Victor New Side Characters For His Route: Theodore Walker, Gilbert Murphy, Oswald Simmons Love Language: Physical Touch (I'd just like to say that I called this.) Who Falls in Love First: Kate First Kiss: Kate Kisses Jude First Full Snu-Snu: Chapter 24 Both Premium ends Jude's Fate Tragic End: He will die bearing a grudge against/hating the world. Route CW: Violence, Smoking, CA, Neglect, Mentions of a child's death. Jude's Age: 28-30. Jude's Heritage: Irish-British Jude's Curse: 13th Fairy (An endless cycle of hatred) Jude's Fated End: To die with a hatred/resentment against the world.

Plot: In a nutshell, Kate is trying to find one good thing to like about Jude prior to her term of FTK (fairytale keeper) ending, as per their first promise made together. If she finds one, Jude must fulfill any one request she has. Amidst working for both Crown and Raven, Kate tries to come into her own in terms of standing as Jude's equal, seeing the world as he does, and essentially saving him from not only own his death wish, but from being framed for treason against their country.

My thoughts: Jude's route is very lively, it's got a healthy amount of funny moments, action packed moments, and it's quite wholesome overall. However, it still retains some darkness in the sense of his past, and the fact that he's literally on this tightrope of life and death.

Kate: She is not afraid of voicing her thoughts and feelings, or speaking sarcastically to Jude. I almost died when I read that she stuck her tongue out at him LOL. There's this scene where Ellis tells her she's thinking out loud when she doesn't realize it, so she apologizes. A few minutes later after she greets Theodore, she sees Jude behind him:

Kate: ....And thanks for your hard work too, Jude. Jude: Can ya please stop greet me so sourly? Makes me wanna vomit my mornin' tea. Kate: I wonder if I'm under a curse that'll kill me if I don't say something sarcastically...

So, she is very courageous and gutsy, but she also thinks things through. There are times where she wants to act because she loves Jude and wants to be there for him, but she also knows not to act rashly because her movements can hurt him and Crown, so she opts to bide her time instead.

Out of all of her versions, I think she is the one who gets the most frustrated, the most angry, and laughs the most at certain situations such as getting locked in the office with Jude. She is very optimistic and kind, but not saintly kind.

She is a fighter. She learns self-defense and how to use a gun, a lot this takes place off screen, but she does develop this over time. Which is nice because it's more realistic.

Jude & Kate Relationship: Starts off very rough, and I say it's an enemies to lovers trope, but no one actually hates the other person, they simply don't get a long and it has that vibe. Jude is trying to kick her out of Crown, and Kate is trying to find something she likes about him.

Overall, they bicker and banter a lot. It's cute because in MLE Kate says, "If I say one thing, he has 10 things to say", and in BLE Jude says, "If I say one thing, she's got 10 things to say." They're adorable together.

One scene I loved was when Jude is being attacked by a group of thugs in his office after closing hours, and Kate barges in with her gun. She yells at the men to stop what they're doing, and then she tells Jude to step away from them. And so, Jude and Kate are having this full blown conversation as they're surrounded by these thugs as to why she is at his office, who's fault it is, etc, etc. And when the head thug starts to complain, both Jude and Kate say, "Shut up!" at the same time. This seems like it actually becomes a thing for them, they say it in MLE as well.

Were they childhood friends? No. That was an AU thing only, and a clever misdirection from Cybird. I think key take aways from Dark IF and Prison IF are that they made promises to each other, and that Kate tries to return to little Jude in Prison IF. Additionally, it does hint that two children were involved in Jude's past, just the other wasn't Kate, it's his sister. While some may be disappointed by this, I loved that it turned out this way, it surprised me.

Love Language: Physical. Touch. Lemme say it again. Physical Touch. While their relationship is a slow burn, it's not without it's tension along the way, and the pay off is hella worth in my opinion. I just knew that Jude was going to tear into her, and he does.

But more importantly, Jude touches Kate a lot especially before missions. For example, in BLE just before Kate goes undercover at a criminal organization that is using Raven products, she and Jude are in his office reviewing the plans, and while he does this, he touches her bare skin, kiss or bite her, and then after the mission he'll make love to her. Why? Because Kate made another promise to Jude earlier in the route that she would never die before him, so he doesn't have to suffering loss ever again. So, prior to any missions, he'll touch her up to a certain point like a promise she won't die, and then finish once she returns safely. I can't...he's so damn precious.

They love each other very very much, but Jude doesn't like saying the words. "I love you." Not because he's a tsun, but because they're easily said. So, he'll convey his love to Kate with words like, "I'm taking you to hell with me." If you read his side stories, he'll tell you just how much he loves her, and he admits that there is no other woman in the world that he could ever love like her.

Important Side Characters: Theodore Walker: 21 y/o and he works in the sales department at Raven. Every one calls him Theo, even Kate. It seems that he's worked for Jude for a long time as well. He's very personable, and chatty, and he gets nervous about things like when the president forgets his custom fountain pen as he's on his way to business meetings. He even says to Kate and Jude that Kate is his type, and everyone is like.....um what? I'm really happy that Theodore isn't a traitor. I like him. I thought Cybird would use him the way that contract worker in Jude's first story event would be used. But no, he's just a loyal young man who cares about his job. I hope to see him again.

Oswald Simmons: He is the doctor who treated Jude and his sister after Jude memorized an entire medical textbook in a week. After Jude's sister was sold off, Jude ran to Oswald and asked that if he put Jude through school, let him lodge with him and provide him food, then Jude would pay him back with interest. Oswald agrees and in time, Jude does pay him back with interest. Oswald treats everyone equally, and he finds Jude's intelligence and ability to memorize things amusing. While he does not offer to take Jude in of his own initiative, Oswald does have a soft spot for Jude, as he tries to gift Jude a new pocket watch upon graduation and the success of his new company. He even tries to dissuade Jude from seeking revenge that will only force Jude into be lonely. In the route, he tells Kate to relay a message to Jude, that if he ever gets into a pinch to comeback and he'll give Jude a run for his money. To this day, Oswald still has the watch that Jude refused to take.

I honestly, hope that they reunite one day. Jude doesn't wish Oswald any ill-will (though he calls him a weirdo), and he wished Oswald a long life when he said goodbye.

Gilbert Murphy: He is a high-ranking officer of the British military who colludes with the Privy Council and a criminal organization to frame Jude treason and building military weapons. However, Gilbert truly does think that Jude is going to the moon for monetary purposes. While he is being an asshole for framing my beloved, his motives are to protect the people from potential weapons that can be created with Jude's research. Still, it's sullying Jude's innocent and pure motives. Still, he testifies in Jude's favor and takes the blame of the dead privy council member, as his own form of justice for trying to frame Jude due to his becoming blinded by his obsession to protect his country.

The other villains: Ellis: Ellis is Jude's right hand so he is heavily involved with the plot, especially in MLE. We know about Ellis.

Nica: Darius asks him to investigate Jude, so he does. Twice, he offers information to Jude that he's gathered after he lets him know he's aware of what he's building.. The first time, he tells him that a part from the criminal organization Jude has already been dealing with, the British military want his plans too. And wouldn't it be something if they teamed up to get Jude's research. He asks if he can snatch the robin away from Jude, but Jude says she doesn't belong to him, and no matter whom she dated she belongs to herself.

Nica leaves the bar after getting scolded by Jude, but prior to that, he tells Jude that the robin is in the most danger because she's around him. A few chapters later, Nica appears again and tells Jude that his assumptions based on the previous information given have come true, and because he didn't let go (of Kate), he's letting her know the facts. After he explains the situation to her, he tries to whisk her away on a date, but Kate declines. While Nica is a "playboy", it seems that he does care for Kate's well-being.....I am letting my current knowledge of his past events, and bond stories influence me by saying this.

At any rate, at the end of BLE, Darius asks Nica why he follows his orders so complicitly, and Nica says it's because he's on the winning side, and to him, Darius will be or is the winner. Darius is satisfied with this, and when he leaves Nica looks at his palm and says that he will be the happiest someday. It's already been established that becoming the happiest person is important to him, but this has now been reinforced.

Victor: Lore crumbs are very little, but what we do know is that when Kate asks him if he is angry, he tells her that he's forgotten loneliness a long time ago.

Further, when he approaches Jude and asks if Jude is hiding something from him and Crown, he tells Jude he has the means to help him. Jude asks if Victor isn't the one hiding something, and remarks that's why Harrison hates him so much because he knows he is lying. Victor simply smiles and stays silent. Upon leaving his study, Victor does tell Jude no matter what, he doesn't want their freedom disturbed and those are his true feelings.

Further, Victor later tells Kate in the BLE that when Jude says he abuses his power, Jude wasn't lying about that. Later in chapter 24, all of Crown are gathered together in front of her Majesty the Queen for a very important meeting. Victor speaks saying that they wish to grant Kate the position of fairytale keeper permanently, and when Jude finds out, he leaves angrily. In the middle of all this, the Queen never utters a word.

I don't think we learn anything new that we weren't aware of before with Victor to be honest, unless I missed something while reading. But, it's nice to know that we should see something big for his route. We better for how under wraps his lore is kept.

Jude's age: He can't be any older than 30 because in his Past Records he definitively says that he is five years old. In the MS, Oswald states the events he recounted to Roger and Kate took place over 20 years ago. Kate reason's that if it was 20 years ago then Jude had to be under the age of 10. I think he's 28-30.

Jude's Curse: Jude's curse was born when his heart was completely broken, and he vowed to get revenge on those who made him and his sister suffer. It's manifestation was described as a black flame of hatred in his heart. Essentially, Jude has entered a vicious cycle of hatred that never really ceases. Jude fuels this cycle by acting in a way where people want to get revenge on him, and a part of that is because he want's to die.

Jude's Fated End: Jude is fated to die bearing a grudge/resentment/hatred against the world. Jude himself says that his death will not be an honest one. Some have made comments that his fated end is a bit underwhelming, but I am pleased that Cybird left Disney alone, and stuck with Grimm's ending for the 13th fairy. I love it because no one knows what the fairy was thinking or what happened to it, it just simply disappears. This is something that is mentioned quite a bit in Jude's route.

In the MS there is a beautiful chapter with all of Crown gathered for a fireworks beach day, and while Jude is looking at the fireworks, Kate is looking at him. She thinks he is like a firework, beautiful, dangerous if you get too close, and then simply gone.

In BLE, Kate watches a Sleeping Beauty play hosted by local town children where she is staying and even though she knows that the outcome of the fairy is unknown, she is hoping for a different outcome. When the kids stick to the fairytale, it's then she realizes that Jude too - while still stuck in his cycle of hatred - will die. He will never know happiness, and disappear like the burnt body of cigarette smoke, like a firework in the sky.

In chapter 18ish, while Jude is being held captive and being tortured by the British military for information on Crown, he laughs self-mockingly and says that this is the perfect fit for him to die bearing resentment/grudge against the world.

Is Kate Trying to find a way to break the curse? No. Unlike Alfons and Roger's route, Kate is willing to accept Jude's fate, stay by him, make him happy and be his reason to live. That is her sole purpose, to make sure he doesn't die. Kate is obsessed with keeping him anchored to the world no matter the cost, and she even mentions to Victor that even though no fated ends have ever been avoided, that doesn't necessarily mean they are tragic.

Is Jude happy by the end of the route: Yes. Though he won't admit it out loud being the tsun tsun that he is, Jude's first glimpse of happiness occured when he told Kate about his dream and she didn't laugh at him. By the time he puts her to sleep and leaves her behind, he tells her that being genuinely liked wasn't so bad. And of course, Ellis asks if he can kill Jude in his BLE epilogue because it's obvious that he's happy......Jude tells him he can go die, and Ellis is like okay okay. FR though E, I need you to calm TF down.

The depth of his love for her is so great that he tells her that if she ever tries to run from him, she should just kill him. The reason is because she is his only happiness - she is the moon that he's been trying to reach for so long. He'd have no reason to live if she left him.....

Hmmm, here are some of my favorite parts in his route:

He tries so hard to protect Kate, from throwing her out of a window when a house is on fire and telling her she died in that fire so she wouldn't have to return to Crown, to lying to her and accusing her of making a 10,000 £ mistake and firing her from Raven, and other things.

I love that he even assigned people to watch her secretly after he's left her behind in a seaside town, with the intention of doing so for a long time since she is known throughout London for said involvement with Jude. He says things like, if she can live a calm, normal life, then that's enough for me. So, he's resigned to love her from afar.

He does everything in his power to protect even Crown from getting involved with his research so they aren’t crushed and hated by the privy council or others, even undergoing brutal torture.

Jude promises to make Kate the happiest he can before they go to hell, and there are many, many more things he does to endear me even more to him. I nearly cried when he introduced Kate to his sister at her grave he had made for her, saying she (his unnamed sister), was the only family he had left.

Even though he knows his dream of going to the moon is going to be difficult, he is more determined than ever to achieve it, because he's got two promises to keep.

Ultimately, we have our teasing Jude and Kate kicking ass together, and loving each other until their ends come.

Ugh, I'm gonna make myself cry. Well, this is it in a nutshell. Sorry for rambling!

[strawhattery]

happy holidays! as my own little nod to the twelve days of christmas, i've made a list of twelve zosan fanfiction recommendations! i hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

this list was originally posted to my bluesky—complete with screenshots of the AO3 listings, which i didn't include here because the post was already really long. there's no particular order to the lists other than what was on my mind each day i posted over there!

the joy of cocking by unity1814

why i recommend it: this is a story about sanji's sexual awakening, and it's brimming with charm, silliness, and heart. the really love how this author portrays the way sanji understands the world & himself through cooking.

under these unpromising auspices by mithrilwren

why i recommend it: a delightful subversion of the "only one bed" trope, the intimacy captured in this pre-relationship fic is so special, and the author's razor-sharp characterizations really shine.

where the real road lies by theroyalsavage

why i recommend it: everything about this hades au is perfect. this author's writing style is stunning and immersive, and the zosan dynamic here is that fun, engaging blend of combative and devoted that i LOVE.

informal swordfighting, and the sorts by naturecalls111

why i recommend it: this story is bursting with wit and irreverent charm, and the zosan dynamic here is probably the funniest i've ever read. a must read for fans of romantic comedies and modern AUs!

icarus, down and out by trixree

why i recommend it: this au PERFECTLY translates the straw hats from canon into a modern world, and the way this author writes sanji learning about & falling for zoro is so good that /i/ felt half in love with him by the end!

swordbearer by glassedplanets

why i recommend it: a masterclass in outsider pov, this author perfectly captures several dynamics of zosan's relationship (and the whole straw hat crew!) and delivers it through a deeply sympathetic—and stunning—portrayal of hiyori.

in the cracks of light (i dreamed of you) by abandonedstrawberry

why i recommend it: this was the first zosan fic i ever bookmarked (and i FREQUENTLY reread it!) 🥹 i adore the zoro perspective in this as well as the perfect blend of zosan's bickering with their more vulnerable moments.

strip by aishahiwatari

why i recommend it: this is the definitive OPLA!zosan fic for me. this author captures sanji through zoro's eyes in the most arresting way, with immersive, lush descriptions of him in all his infuriating attractiveness.

the things you don't see by fruityumbrella

why i recommend it: this author has a gift for writing relationships that feel real & lived in. the conflict & resolution in this story are believable & handled SO WELL. plus: a world-class zoro and nami scene!

search and rescue by megatonnetalon

why i recommend it: i can't recommend this series highly enough. it's a modern au bursting with SO MANY charming, genius details & it had my cheeks hurting from smiling by the end. i could NOT put it down once i started.

hold me down by mellish

why i recommend it: a canonverse story with a fun & inventive plot device that does a great job of using sanji's WCI backstory to craft a compelling post-enies lobby sanji POV. if you love zoro taking care of sanji, this is for you!

pied de biche by batman

why i recommend it: i've shared a few fics so far of zoro taking care of sanji, but in this post-enies lobby story, sanji takes care of zoro. and then some. the prose here is so lush and painterly, it's GORGEOUS.

[srovtl]

(in here, a magic that connects hearts) Faust SSR Card Story Translation

Translator note: This, and all the fifth anniversary card stories, reference each character’s affection story (which can be read here) and I recommend reading them beforehand.

also thanks for Sra and nor from twitter for providing me with the raws

Don't go easy, but let your heart be at ease - Episode 1

Akira: (Faust wasn't in his room. Is he out somewhere?)

It's been a while since I started living at the magic manor.

I was going around asking everyone for interviews again, hoping to add to the contents of the sage's manual.

Faust: Sage. We're back.

Figaro: Hello, Master Sage.

Akira: Welcome back. So both of you were out?

Figaro: Yeah, we went to a store I'm familiar with.

Akira: There are all kinds of flowers in this basket. They're beautiful.

Faust: They're all rare varieties. I'm planning to use them in the next class.

Faust: For example, this blue bud is for Shino. It's a flower that is sensitive to people's gazes, and if you stare at it for five minutes, the bud will open.

Figaro: But if you look away for even a second, it won't bloom, even if you wait five minutes. It's perfect for training your patience.

Figaro: The blue flower next to it was for Heathcliff, right? It scatters pollen irregularly and makes you sleepy.

Faust: The more sensitive you are, the more sleepy you will be. I hope this will help him practice using magic to defend himself instantly.

Akira: Wow, they were chosen to suit each individual's personality. Interesting.

Akira: Then, is this bushy grass that looks like a cat toy for Nero?

Faust: Yes. We talked about this plant in detail in the last lesson. This is to make sure he actually reviewed it.

Figaro: It's like a surprise test. I'm looking forward to seeing Nero's reaction.

Faust: I wonder. He's not the type to review things frequently, but he has a good memory.

Faust: Well, if he can't do it, Heath will probably help him.

Akira: ……Huh? Now that I look closely, there's another purple flower. Who did you prepare this for?

Faust, Figaro: ………

Faust: .....It's for me.

Figaro: The student is our Faust, and the special lecturer is me, Doctor Figaro.

Akira: What! Figaro and Faust are teaching together?

Faust: You don't need to be so surprised.

Figaro: Teachers need to work hard together too. Or we might get overtaken by the younger kids in no time.

Blinking rapidly, I looked at the two people before me.

Akira: (...I cant believe a day like this would come. I never imagined it when I came to the magic manor.)

Days living under the same roof. Days working on the same missions.

All those experiences must have changed something in them, little by little. Now I can feel that with my very eyes, and my cheeks relax.

Faust: What is it, Sage? It seems like you have something to say.

Akira: No, it's nothing! …Wait, I completely forgot that I had something to ask of you Faust.

Faust: Me?

Akira: Yes. Actually, I'd like to write about you all again in the Sage's manual.

Figaro: Master Sage's re-interviewing each of us. I had a talk with them the other day.

Akira: So, would you mind giving me some of your time soon, Faust?

Faust: If that's the case, I'm free after this. If you'd like, we can talk in my room.

Don't go easy, but let your heart be at ease - Episode 2

We immediately headed to Faust's room, and found Lennox standing at the door.

Lennox: Lord Faust, Master Sage. Hello.

Faust: What's the matter, Lennox? Do you need something?

Lennox: Lord Faust, I wanted to give this to you.

Faust: A candle...

Faust: I was just about to buy another candle for my amulet, since I was running low on it.

Akira: Really? What a coincidence.

Faust: Lennox, why did you give this to me? 

Lennox: I thought it was about time you would need one.

Lennox: I accompanied you when you went to buy the same thing before, didn't I? It's been some time since then so…

Lennox: Besides, you've been busy lately, Lord Faust, so I thought you might not have time to go and buy it yourself...

Akira: Is that so...? As expected of Lennox, you really pay attention to the people around you.

Lennox: No, it's not that serious.

Faust: ……..

Faust stared at Lennox for a while with his violet eyes.

Then he takes a faint breath, lowers his eyebrows and smiles.

Faust: Really… I just can't hide anything from you.

The voice he speaks is endlessly soft, and gives the impression of a definite passage of time.

His gaze, shifted to the candle, is still gentle. Surely memories of the past are shining deep in those violet eyes.

Faust: There's no need for you to go that far.

Lennox: I'm sorry for doing something unnecessary.

Faust: I don't mean it like that…..

Faust: Hmm? Haven't we had this conversation before?

Lennox: I think we did...?

Faust: ...Haha. Anyway, you helped me out. Thank you, Leno.

Lennox: No. If I was of help to you, nothing makes me happier.

Their mutual consideration, their trust and respect for each other were all indicative of their attitude. It naturally warmed my heart.

Akira: (Faust and Lennox have helped each other out so many times like this.)

Akira: (I'm sure it will continue to be the same from now on…)

Don't go easy, but let your heart be at ease - Episode 3

When I entered the room, Faust put the paper bag he was carrying on the desk and waved his finger.

A chair floated through the air and was presented in front of me.

Faust: Sit down. I'll make some tea now.

Akira: Thank you! Hm? Is this the same tea from our last interview?

Faust: Yes, it is. You have a good memory. Now then…

Faust handed me the cup and sat down opposite me.

Faust: You can start right away. Where should I start?

His fingers were clasped together just like that time.

It showed his seriousness, and I thought it was a beautiful, elegant sight.

Akira: May I ask you about all sorts of things that have happened since we met?

Akira: If there is anything hard to say you don't have to—-

Faust: ……..

Faust's eyebrows twitch, and I involuntarily gasp.

Then I straighten my back and reword what I had said earlier.

Akira: ...I might be asking some questions that are hard to answer. I'd be happy if you could answer as much as you can.

Faust: Heh.

Faust: You've gotten a lot tougher. That's right, there's no need to go easy on me.

Akira: (Hahaha. ...Even though his words are harsh, it feels like he's praising me by saying "well done.")

I don't know how nervous I had been, but I noticed that my shoulders had suddenly relaxed.

After that, I asked him the questions I'd prepared, one by one.

Faust answered sincerely and carefully, carefully choosing his words. The pages were filled with information about him.

Akira: Thank you for answering so many questions, Faust. This is my last question...

Akira: ...This may be difficult for you to answer. But, please let me know.

Faust: ………What is it?

Akira: Faust……. 

Akira: You like cats, don't you?

Faust: Huh?

Akira: During the first interview, you stubbornly denied it, but this time I'd really like to ask you about it!

Faust: ……Pff, Hahaha.

Faust: You really are, above my imagination.

Akira: R-Really...?

Faust: Well, never mind. To answer your previous question… Well, I don't hate cats.

Akira: You wouldn't say you like them, would you?

Faust: I'm a curse worker, after all. That kind of thing doesn't look good on me.

Faust shook his head with a smile on his face, and I remembered when we first met.

Akira: (Come to think of it, last time he said "There's nothing in particular" that he likes...)

If only one day he could tell me something that he would say he likes without hesitation.

what a joyous thing that would be.

But that's why I want us to get to know each other little by little, without rushing.

Feeling that he has a much softer air about him than when we first met... I gently put my pen down.

I can only say because it’s now - Card Episode

Akira: Faust, thank you for taking the time for the interview!

Akira: Also, this is something I've been asking everyone...

Akira: Is there anything you can talk about because it is now?

Faust: Because it is now...? That's a difficult question.

Faust: ……

Akira: (He's really thinking about it seriously. Ah, he looked at me...)

Faust: I wear that hat sometimes.

Akira: ......That hat? 

Akira: Wait, what? You mean that wool one?

Faust: Yes. The one you bought me as a souvenir when you went to the central city.

Faust: ......you gave it to me yourself why are you so surprised.

Akira: Haha, sorry. I've never seen you wearing it before, so I was surprised.

Akira: I'm so happy that you actually use it. Thank you for letting me know!

Faust: Don't mention it. I would feel uncomfortable if I didn't say anything about it.

Akira: (You're so serious, Faust...) (But I really love that about you)

Homescreen Voiceline

Hearts change with time. Even if we exchange a promise, can our hearts stay the same forever? I won't believe it. What about you, Sage?

[valleyof-goldenlilies]

Se Zaldrīzoti' Prūmia - Chapter 3: When The Lance Fells The Falcon (Daemon Targaryen x Tyrell!Reader)

Chapter 3: When The Lance Fells The Falcon

The day of the Heir Tournament has finally arrived, and what is a joust without some bloodshed? 

Se Zaldrīzoti' Prūmia Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | 

HOTD Masterlist | Main Masterlist |

Warnings: TW! Depictions of violence, mentions of blood, Daemon being an asshole, angst, the continuation of my blood feud against HOTD’s costuming department

Word Count: 4.3k words

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire and Blood characters, save for Y/N Tyrell, although I did expand on their characterisation, which might deviate from canon. All credit for the characters goes to George RR Martin and the showrunners of HOTD. The GIF above is also not mine, original credit to the creator is stated above. Go check them out!

A/N: With all the explicit detailing I included about the character’s dresses, would you guys maybe be interested for me to post some of my fashion designs here, so you guys can get a clearer vision of what I envisioned the characters wearing? Because I find it extremely difficult to translate my designs into words lol, blame my lack of fashion background. And from this chapter on, things are going to start getting serious. 

Also recommended that you listen to ‘There Are Worse Games To Play’ on the Hunger Games soundtrack while you read this chapter, particularly towards the end 💗

lovely dividers credited to @firefly-graphics as always!

The fire crackled merrily in Lady Y/N’s chambers, although the room was filled with a ruminative silence. Night had once again descended on the Red Keep, and after tending to Aemma all day, who was in more discomfort than usual, Y/N was exhausted. 

She was still simmering with displeasure at Daemon’s words from that afternoon. One could argue that Daemon was merely being careless with his words, but Y/N knew better. Just like many other people, he disregarded her based on her gender. She thought maybe Daemon would be different since he cared not for the restraints society has put on him, but it appears she was nothing but a fool to ever think positively of him. 

I sighed, my fingers continuing to weave the bonnet for Aemma’s babe, even though I found no pleasure in the task. Daemon’s words this afternoon had sent me tumbling into an unpleasant spiral of emotions, and I directed my dark gaze towards the roaring fire, where the charred remains of my father’s letter still sat. 

Lord Matthos and Lady Primrose, Lord and Lady of Highgarden, and my parents. With my lady mother dead now, and me being their unfortunate sole surviving child, my father had directed his focus on getting me married off as soon as possible. “You must wed and produce heirs that could inherit Highgarden,” my father had insisted, pleaded, even. “I know with your...reputation, it might be difficult to find a match, but you are no longer young anymore, and you must marry as soon as possible. It is the duty you owe to House Tyrell.” 

“My duty,” I snorted, nearly pricking myself with the needle in the process. It was simply unfair, why must I be expected to marry and pump out babes for my husband while men like Daemon could prance about freely without a care in the world? I wanted to enjoy my youth, as was my right. Why should i care for duty? Even if my father required heirs, House Tyrell was not lacking in any cousins that could inherit if he should pass. 

Indignation coursed through my blood as I began increasing the speed in which I was weaving the bonnet. Even Aemma had reminded me on more than one occasion of the importance of duty, and I was sick of it. There was just some part of me that couldn’t grasp why everyone was so fixated on it. The Seven had granted us one chance at life: one should revel in it by pursuing their own desires. And besides, after witnessing Aemma’s grief and pain over her many miscarriages and stillbirths, I shuddered to think what duty might have in store for me. I was determined that I would not succumb to the notion of the dutiful, heir producing daughter that my father so wished me to be, no matter how much my father pleaded with me. After all, if Daemon could evade it as long as he did, surely I could do the same.

I frowned as I eyed the finished bonnet. Not as pretty as I envisioned, but children grow fast anyway. I went over to the window, gazing at the Dragonpit, dark and imposing against the night sky. It only made me think of a certain princeling, and I huffed, drawing my curtains shut. Rubbing my temples and exhaling heavily. I decided not to waste any more of my thoughts on the Rogue Prince. Clambering into bed, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

I had not expected to be in attendance at the tournament today. Aemma had been experiencing increasing bouts of pain for the past few days, and I wanted to keep her company should the babe be close to making its arrival in this world. Unexpectedly, I had been nearly dragged out of Aemma’s apartments by Rhaenyra and Alicent early in the morrow, with Aemma insisting I go spectate the tourney instead of staying with her like a watchful owl. I had argued, but Aemma specifically called upon Rhaenyra and Alicent as reinforcement, with some explicit threats that I would be quartered, hung and my head placed on a spike should I refuse to attend. 

Thus here I was, in the royal box, my face etched with concern as my mind kept wandering over to Aemma. I prayed fervently to the Seven that she would not go into labour in my absence, and to the Mother that if she did, that her labour would be smooth and painless. 

“What say you, Y/N?” I was pulled out of my reverie, eyes wide as I muttered an unintelligible “Huh?” Rhaenyra rolled her eyes good-naturedly while Alicent struggled to hide her giggles. “I was just discussing with Alicent why you seem to be favouring gowns of Tyrell green as of late. Usually, we noticed you would be in lighter shades.” My gaze shifted downward, surprised at her observation. 

I was dressed in my best, another gown of Tyrell green silk, with fitted sleeves that trailed to a more sheer, but still dark green material that flared out below my elbows. Several gold roses adorned my shoulders, interspersed with tiny rubies. The neckline dipped slightly in the valley of my breasts, but anything that could cause scandal was covered by a layer of Myrish lace. The dress’ skirts clung to my figure, parting at the centre to reveal an underskirt of olive green and gold brocade. It had cost a fortune, and had once belonged to my mother. My signature gold earrings adorned my earlobes, and my hair was pinned into an elegant braided updo. I might dislike the idea of duty to my house, but regardless, I had to represent House Tyrell in the best light possible, especially at such an important event. 

Rhaenyra and Alicent were decked out in their finest for the occasion as well. Rhaenyra was clad in Targaryen colours, and I admired the black corset that looked reminiscent of armour fitted across her upper half of her body. Dragon scales were painstakingly patterned on the corset, and they were held together by laces made of fine golden thread. Underneath the corset, she wore a dark red gown with an intricately pleated skirt. The sleeves were off the shoulder, going down to her wrists. Gold shoulder plates set in a dragonscale pattern with gold fringes protected her bare shoulders from the autumn chill. She wore a heavyset necklace cut with square shaped rubies, hammered into gold, and her hair was let loose in a wild cascade of curls. She looked every inch a Targaryen warrior princess. Alicent was dressed simpler, but still looked beautiful nonetheless. A light blue dress of brocade and silk with a square neckline hugged her soft curves, exposing a little bit of her collarbone, where two strands of pearls were draped across her neck. Her sleeves were puffed at the shoulders, stopping short just before her elbow, while the rest of her sleeves were fitted tightly to her wrists. Small delicate flowers were sewn at the hem of her sleeves. Her skirts parted at the centre to reveal an underlying layer of cream white brocade, and her bodice had crisscrossing geometric diamond patterns sewn on it, dipping at her waist with a point. Her hair was fashioned in a half up, half down hairdo, curls tumbling to the small of her back. Both of them had inquisitive looks in their eyes, though Rhaenyra’s harboured a glimpse of impatience.

I smiled a little awkwardly at the question. Truth be told, I had no idea why. My thoughts had been taking on a darker turn since my encounter with Daemon in the throne room and the raven sent by my lord father, and I supposed my choice of apparel reflected my mood. “Well, at such a celebration, it is only fitting of me to dress in the colours of my house.” I reasoned, tilting my head slightly. “Do the darker gowns not suit me?” 

“All colours suit you well, my lady.” Alicent said gently. I smiled gratefully at her, as Rhaenyra turned to Alicent and asked teasingly if she suited any colour as well. My smile widened as I watched the two bicker playfully. 

We were interrupted however, by the arrival of the King. We all stood up to greet him, bowing politely. He was beaming from ear to ear, as he began addressing the crowd, much to the raucous cheers of the crowd. 

“The day has been made more auspicious, by the news I am happy to share: Queen Aemma has begun her labours!” My eyes widened upon hearing those words, and as soon as the King finished his address, I stood up, ready to excuse myself to go tend to Aemma, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, effectively halting my attempts of a hasty exit. “Viserys-” 

“I know you want to be there for Aemma,” the corner of Viserys’ eyes crinkled as he spoke gently, trying to push me back down to my seat, “But she asked me to relay a message: trust that she will be alright, and enjoy the tourney instead. It will be your only time to relax before you are swept up in your duties to take care of the babe.” 

I bit my lip, a sense of unease washing over me. “But-” “You must stay and enjoy the tourney. Your King commands it. As does your Queen.” I glanced at him, eyes filled with worry, but he only nodded encouragingly. 

“If my king commands…I shall obey,” I said with some reluctance, although it dissipated somewhat when Viserys beamed at me, clapping my shoulder affectionately before sitting back down. I sat back down too, my eyes wandering over to Rhaenyra, who gave me a smile, which I returned. I said a silent prayer to the Seven as the first few contenders were being announced, that both Aemma and her babe would be safe and healthy.

The first of the tilts began, to the boisterous cheers of the crowd. I watched as a jouster carrying a shield with a sigil unknown to me quickly unhorsed a squire of House Tarly. My brows furrowed., I turned to Rhaenyra, “Do you recognise the sigil that the mystery knight was carrying?” She shook her head. Alicent leaned over, eyes fixed on the knight as he steered his horse before the royal box and bowed, “I think he’s from House Cole. Of the Stormlands, I believe.” 

Rhaenyra wrinkled her nose, “I’ve never heard of House Cole. This should prove most interesting.” I pursed my lips as Lord Boremund Baratheon asked for Princess Rhaenys’ favour, addressing her as “The Queen Who Never Was”, causing the crowd to stir a little in dissent. “You could have Baratheon’s tongue for that.” “Tongues will not change the succession,” came Viserys’ assured response. “Let them wag.” 

“Lord Stokeworth’s daughter is promised to that young Tarly squire.” “Lord Massey’s son?” Alicent inquired, a little surprised. Rhaenyra nodded, “They’re to be married as soon as he wins his knighthood.” I snorted, remembering some of the unsavoury rumours I had heard swirling around the court as of late. “Best get on with it,” my voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “I’ve heard that Lady Elinor is hiding a swollen belly beneath her dress.” Rhaenyra's eyes widened in disbelief, and Alicent clapped a hand over her mouth as if reeling from the sheer impropriety of it, while I merely shrugged, a smirk tugging at my lips and turned my gaze back to the proceedings. 

I leaned forward in my seat, intrigued when the mystery knight of House Cole unhorsed Lord Boremund in a single tilt, much to the crowd’s delight and mocking laughs. Rhaenyra let out a small “oof” sound, while Alicent looked  dumbstruck. Mayhaps the tourney would be of some excitement after all. 

“Prince Daemon, of House Targaryen, Prince of the City, will now choose his first opponent!” The smile that was forming at my lips dropped in an instant, and I pursed my lips as Daemon, clad in his black armour, raced past the audience astride his black steed, much to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd. I rolled my eyes: show off. 

I was unsurprised and somewhat amused when Daemon chose Ser Gwayne Hightower as his first jousting opponent. Of course, Daemon chose today to be even more of a little shit than usual. Oftentimes, I wondered if he gained his life essence from pissing Otto Hightower off. I craned my neck backwards to catch a glimpse of the Hand’s expression, my lips curving upwards in a smirk when I took note of his irked expression. 

Suddenly, I felt a heavy stare upon me, and I turned back to the spectacle to see Daemon’s violet eyes fixed on me. When he met my gaze, that little shit had the audacity to smirk and tilt his lance at me. I huffed and turned away, fixing my eyes on Ser Gwayne instead.  

I had to bite my lip to stifle a laugh as Daemon’s lance was nearly knocked out of his hand by a well angled tilt by Ser Gwayne. Mayhaps that smug bastard will get some comeuppance today, I thought with glee. 

That glee was short lived as Ser Gwayne was thrown from his horse in an unsightly scene, when Daemon aimed for his horse’s legs, causing the animal to neigh with agony as it slid forward and bucked Ser Gwayne off into the dirt. I heard Alicent gasp with fright next to me, and I reached out to pat her hand reassuringly. That cheating bastard really had no scruples when it came to dealing with Otto Hightower, even to his kin. 

I frowned as I watched Daemon parade around on his horse, looking all too pleased with himself. I was caught off guard however, when Daemon came to a stop in front of the royal box, prompting Rhaenyra to get out of her seat, tugging me and Alicent with her. I was screaming internally for Rhaenyra not to drag me into this, but I begrudgingly followed Rhaenyra as she leaned over the railing, grinning at Daemon. “Nicely done, uncle,” Rhaenyra complimented him, causing Daemon to tilt his chin upwards arrogantly. “Thank you, Princess.” 

He smirked as he zeroed in on me, lingering behind Alicent. “Lady Y/N,” he called, a certain mischief in his voice. Oh no. 

“You look rather radiant today, dressed in your house colours.” I narrowed my eyes, aware of his attempts to bait me, by first paying me a compliment, so that if I rejected him, I would seem ill-mannered. But with so many eyes on us, I could only respond through gritted teeth, “Thank you, my prince.” 

“With such a beautiful lady as the one before me, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask for her favour.” Murmurs echoed throughout the crowd, as I attempted to minimise the lethality of my death glare. This brazen little punk. To ask for my favour after what he had said yesterday-

I leaned forward, whispering harshly, “What in the seven hells do you think you’re doing?” Daemon merely raised an eyebrow. “You know I am certain I can win these little games. Having your favour would all but assure it. You won’t rebuff me with so many eyes watching us, won’t you, byka zaldrizes?” 

Grinding my teeth, I did my best to keep my expression neutral. He was right, the crowd was getting restless. I could hear some murmuring from the lords behind me, and even Rhaenyra was nudging me subtly. The gods have chosen to curse me on this very day. I sighed, before moving to retrieve my favour, a small wreath of orange and purple flowers. Sliding it down the lance Daemon offered up, I forced a smile on my face. “I wish you good luck in the jousts, my prince.” 

Daemon smirked, having gotten under her skin like he wanted. “With your favour, I’m sure I don’t need it.” Daemon rode away as I rolled my eyes and took my seat once more, Rhaenyra and Alicent following suit. “It appears the Prince Daemon is attempting to play nice today, Lady Y/N,” Alicent smiled at me. Rhaenyra nodded earnestly, “Mayhaps he is starting to be civil to you, Y/N.” I had to refrain from snorting and saying something very derogatory about the Prince, instead letting my surly expression do all the talking. 

As Lady Y/N was distracted by the frenzy of the tourney, a maester sidled up to the Hand of the King to relay a message. The Hand’s eyes turned grim, and he turned towards Viserys, whose expression was still filled with mirth after witnessing his brother ask Y/N for her favour. Upon hearing the news, the King’s face visibly blanched, and he got out of his seat swiftly, followed closely by the Hand. 

Y/N, Alicent and Rhaenyra were engaged in fervent conversation, completely absorbed in the proceedings. But soon enough, the tourney had given way to violence and bloodshed. Y/N winced and averted her gaze as one after the other, the jousters who chose to continue their battle in arms caved in each other’s heads, fighting each other like feral beasts. A wave of nausea rolled over her, and she did her best to block out the sound of agonised grunts and screams from the bludgeoned competitors. Looking over, she saw Alicent picking at her own fingernails till it was bloody. Frowning, she quickly nudged Alicent, who immediately stopped with a sheepish expression. Covering Alicent’s hand with hers to provide some reassurance, Y/N turned her head backward to take in Viserys’ expression, startled when she realised both the King and the Hand were missing. Cursing herself for her lack of awareness, she quickly moved to get up, but Alicent pulled her down to her seat. “Y/N, you must not leave now!” Alicent insisted, “Prince Daemon is about to tilt against Ser Criston!” 

I tried to shake off Alicent’s hand, but her grip was surprisingly strong. “I couldn’t give two damns about Daemon, the Queen needs me-” “It would be rude to leave before you’ve seen the jouster whom you’ve bestowed your favour to compete,” Rhaenyra chimed in, her purple eyes alight with excitement. “Father is there with Mother, she will be alright. They commanded you to enjoy the tourney with us, and as your princess, I order you to stay.” My face fell as I chewed my lip while glancing at the exit of the royal box. Alicent tugged on my hand, and I found myself relenting at the determined looks both of them were levelling at me. After all, there was no harm in staying for just a while. And I might even see Daemon get bested for the first time in his life. 

Reluctantly, I relayed my attention back to the tourney, just as both the competitors began charging at each other. Putting a hand over my mouth, I watched as Ser Criston and Daemon both failed to knock each other off their horses in the first tilt. With my heart in my mouth, my eyes nearly boggled out of my head when I watched Daemon being knocked off his saddle and into the dirt. 

Daemon had lost. 

Mouth agape, I stayed rooted in my seat, even as the crowd all stood to rain thunderous applause and cheers on Ser Criston. I felt a smug smile slowly spreading across my lips. Daemon had lost! At long last, someone had humbled that egotistical bastard, and I had been here to witness it. I sighed happily, savouring the prospect of being able to mock him for this for the rest of his life. “Prince Daemon Targaryen wishes to continue in a contest of arms!” 

I raised my eyebrows as Daemon approached Ser Criston, wielding Dark Sister with a dangerous expression on his face. He is nothing better than a petulant toddler throwing a tantrum, I thought to myself, snickering. My eyebrows shot to my forehead when I noticed Ser Criston carrying a morningstar. A most unusual weapon. 

The crowd followed the ensuing sparring match with enthralled eyes, myself included. Rhaenyra was nearly falling out of her seat from the way she was leaning forward, and Alicent had a hand over her mouth. When Ser Criston splintered Daemon’s shield, it was like something feral had awoken in Daemon. He began doling out more impulsive blows as anger overtook him, slashing at Ser Criston like a madman and deftly manoeuvring out of the range of his blows. 

I clasped Alicent’s hand tightly in mine as Daemon kicked Ser Criston to the ground, pouncing on him with brutal force. When Daemon blocked Ser Criston’s attack by lodging Dark Sister with the morningstar’s chains, Rhaenyra reached over to take Alicent’s hand, squeezing it tightly. Finally, Daemon delivered the final blow, hurling the remains of his shield at Ser Criston, striking him squarely in the face and causing him to flounder on the ground. 

I shook my head in disbelief as Daemon raised both his arms up, hollering and revelling in his triumph. But that victory was soon short lived as Daemon felt a slash on his behind, knocking him to the dirt, face first. I felt Alicent reel back in surprise next to me. Daemon tried to lurch for his sword, but was forced to submission by a few well aimed kicks from Ser Criston, breathing heavily as he dangled the morningstar threateningly in Daemon’s face. 

“Yield.” Daemon could scarce believe what was happening right now. He had lost. To some unknown commonborn knight. Him, the Rogue Prince. The finest fighter in the Seven Kingdoms. Tasting bile in his mouth, he gritted his teeth. “Yield.” Ser Criston’s voice made it clear that he would not ask again. Daemon chuckled humorlessly, refusing to say a word, but begrudgingly surrendered. He knocked away the arm that the knight offered, rising to his feet before stalking off. While leaving the jousting field, he took note of Y/N running off from the royal box. His ire now increased by tenfold, he swiftly made his way to the exit of the royal box, where he spotted his lady emerging from the shadows. Snarling, he grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. “Daemon, let me go right now. I do not have time for your tantrums-” 

“It was you,” he hissed, twisting her arm, causing her to grimace. His rage was blinding him, the heavy pounding of his heart in his ears making his blood boil. “Your favour cursed me. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have won. And instead, I was humiliated-” Y/N scoffed, trying to break away, but Daemon only tightened her grip. “You lost because you were a cocky, arrogant bastard. Do not attempt to blame your failings on me. Now let go!” 

Daemon’s vision was nearly red by now, and he pulled her closer to him as he spat out, “You’re not going anywhere, byka zaldrizes.” “Let. Go.” her voice was laced with contempt. “I will not ask a second time. Go reflect and accept your loss, maybe this will teach you some humility.” 

Daemon opened his mouth to reply, but they were interrupted by the arrival of that cunt, Otto Hightower. He wanted to spit at him to fuck right off, but the look on his face made him think twice. Y/N’s hand went slack, causing Daemon to release her, worried that he had hurt her. He looked between the both of them, confused, but quickly caught on when he saw the Hand bow his head grimly. 

Daemon had experienced a lot of things he would never forget that day, but nothing could compare to the pure look of devastation on Y/N’s face at that moment. The Hand inclined his head, lips pressed together, before he moved past them to the entrance to the royal box, no doubt to inform the other lords. 

His anger dissipating, an unsure look appeared on his face as he scrutinised Y/N’s face. She nearly stumbled over, eyes mad with grief, and Daemon unconsciously caught her arm with his left hand, steadying her. She didn’t seem to register his touch however, mumbling in a daze, “Aemma…I need to find Viserys. Viserys…” Daemon followed her movements with his eyes silently, as she mounted a horse reserved for the nobility nearby, spurring it towards the Red Keep. He watched her disappear into the distance, mouth pressed into a thin line, and his purple eyes swimming with a dozen complicated emotions. He needed to get out of his armour, it suddenly felt all too stifling to be in it. 

Y/N raced into the Red Keep, taking the steps two at a time as she rushed past startled servants. Barging into Aemma’s apartments, she stopped short when she reached Aemma’s bedchambers, her hand going to her mouth when she took in the gruesome sight before her, praying fervently that it was just some sick nightmare. 

Queen Aemma, no, her friend, her dearly beloved friend, Aemma, was sprawled out on the bed, the coppery stench of blood permeating through the room. Trickles of blood still oozed out of the incisions the maesters had made around her abdomen, and Y/N felt bile creeping up her throat as she realised what had been done.

No. 

No. 

 Y/N bypassed Viserys - still hunched over in grief, staring at Baelon’s small, wiggling frame with a broken expression - and went straight to Aemma. Her footsteps felt leaden and unsteady, as she crouched down to hold Aemma’s lifeless hand. She squeezed it desperately, willing her to wake up, to be alive. But it was in vain. 

Y/N went still, before she gently reached over and slid Aemma’s wide blue eyes shut. Trembling as tears began to cloud her vision, Y/N noticed the sun’s rays glinting off a small object tucked between Aemma’s sweat covered neck. It was Rhaenyra’s present to Aemma, that necklace with the ruby falcon pendant, its red shining brilliantly in the sun as Y/N and Viserys mourned for their good Aemma. 

rip aemma :( and also f*ck viserys, he deserves to be burnt alive, roasted and fed to balerion. 

Fic Taglist: @drwho-ess @graniairish @urmomsgirlfriend1 @thelittleswanao3 @animelover18​ @llovinjoonie​

Daemon General Taglist: @aiyaiy​

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[yinyuedijun]

You can answer this when you're off hiatus or... Not since I feel this is a bit uncomfortable to ask for, but may I ask how to write characters who had undergone csa? And how to write how they recover from it. Again I'm sorry if this is uncomfortable you can just delete this if this brings up an uncomfortable feelings I didn't know who else to approach w this question but you as your nightflower fic is wonderfully written and I want to write a character who went through something similair

But I'm afraid of coming off as insensitive and cruel or possibly even worse someone who's writing this as simple shock value or something along those lines as I have (thankfully and luckily) never experienced something like that which makes me afraid that I might write or put something very harmful in my work

I'm sorry if this is too much to ask ^^;;;; I hope this isn't a burden....

Hi anon, thanks for the question! This is a topic that is quite important to me (as I'm sure you've noticed lol), so I'm happy to answer your question. Please forgive me for the length of my answer though because I accidentally wrote a fucking thesis 😰

So, in my opinion, the first and most important thing to remember when you're writing about people who have experienced sexual abuse (underage or otherwise) is that no two survivors are the same. Even if there are many commonalities between the stories of different survivors, ultimately the experiences and recovery process (or lack thereof) is going to be unique for everyone. As such, I can't really give you a "how-to" guide on ways to shape your story, and in fact if I tried to provide you with one then you'd probably accidentally write a caricature of an SA survivor.

However, I do highly recommend that you read stories/anecdotes from real-life survivors in order to get a realistic grasp on the experience and psychological impacts of SA. If you don't have firsthand experience with this type of trauma, I think this is the single most important thing you can do in order to create a story or character that feels authentic and nuanced, rather than coming up with a caricature of a victim/predator or accidentally writing a pointless shock value narrative. An equally helpful thing you can do is read fictional stories relating to SA that were written by actual survivors, or fictional stories that resonated with actual survivors. This will give you insight into how this type of trauma, or survivors carrying this type of trauma, can be depicted in interesting or thoughtful ways - which is not something that intuitively translates from having real life knowledge on the subject.

Now, the second point I'm going to make is somewhat controversial, and you don't need to agree with it by any means. It relates to your fear of writing something "insensitive" or "cruel". While it's amazing that you want to write your story carefully and with intention, you should also keep in mind that "insensitive" and "cruel" are very subjective terms, and different audiences will have different thresholds for them. For instance, there are some people who feel like any meaningful representation of sexual abuse (especially child sexual abuse) is inappropriate to depict. There are many others who feel that your story must exist within certain boundaries to be considered an "acceptable" narrative about sexual abuse. If these people are your intended target audience, then obviously I would try to minimize any kind of discussion of the abuse - and certainly do not write any onscreen depictions of it lol.

However, if your goal is to create a story that feels authentic and nuanced, and you want it to be enjoyed by audiences who are interested in authentic and nuanced narratives, then I can tell you that paying attention to the above group of people is literally the worst thing you can do for yourself. Sexual abuse of any kind is an inherently insensitive and cruel act, and thus detailed narratives about it will always feel insensitive and cruel in some capacity. So, when you consider the execution of your story (the events depicted, the dialogue, the level of detail, etc.), I would advise you not to think about it only with the mindset of "how can I avoid writing something insensitive/shocking/fetishizing" etc. Instead, think about it in terms of the events and thoughts you must depict in order to bring to life the feelings of your characters, and in order to make their struggles and recovery feel real. You may end up with something wildly controversial. You may also still end up with a story that shows nothing onscreen, and does not go into any detailed discussion, and is nevertheless very powerful. Wherever you land though, you'll have landed there because it's the way the story needs to be told - and not because it's how someone else dictated it should be told.

This is what I do, and unsurprisingly a lot of my stories are offensive to people lol. But ironically, many actual SA/DV survivors tell me that my characters are relatable for them, and the stories make them feel seen. While I don't write my fics for SA/DV survivors in general, I do write them for me, and I generally prefer to read SA narratives that feel authentic and nuanced, rather than ones that are gutless or sanitized. That's why I prefer this approach, and I think this is also why my approach tends to produce stories that resonate with other SA survivors. But if you think your target audience will have very different tastes from mine, then this advice may not apply. It really depends on your intent!

All that being said - whatever you may write, or however you approach it, it is already a lot that you are thinking seriously about ways to write your story thoughtfully. This is already more than what most people do when they write about characters who have gone through SA, especially CSA, and I'm sure it'll come through in your work. I know I gave you a shitton of advice just now, but honestly, don't be afraid to just give it a shot and see what comes out of it LOL. You may come up with something that is exactly what you were aiming for. And if it isn't, then you'll at least have a better sense of how to execute it in the future!

I hope this helps!!!! Sending you love 🫶

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor’s Confrontation Date (Eng Translation)

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 对抗之约, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

[Additional warning]: ig it’s not a surprise at this point for Victor’s spicy dates LOL, but yeah, considering the vivid explicitness, if you don’t qualify for the 16+ rating of the game (CN server), it’s recommended that you don’t proceed under the cut~ :>

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•  

──

【Subbed Video: Date + Calls】

[Heads Up]: WATCH THE VIDEO AKSWKASDN!!! yes do read the transcript version for yk “reading,” but DO WATCH THE VIDEO FOR THE LOVE OF—— 👁️🫦👁️

──────────────────

【Transcript】

【Chapter 1】

Victor: I advise you to think this through.

Donning a calm gaze, I walk leisurely through the cluster of bushes to Victor, enduring my laughter as I glance at his hands that are restrained behind his back.

MC: I was simply waving my hand just now. How did CEO Victor accidentally “fall into the trap”?

MC: And I have thought this through~ I’m just playing the game. Weren’t you the one who told me to blow off the steam as much as I like?

I gently caress his cheek, and my smile grows even brighter under his intense scrutinizing gaze.

After several months of continuous overtime work, my entire soul was consumed by a desire for vindictive entertainment.

As a way to relax, I found a new type of role-playing game that involves engaging in confrontations with other players. Over the course of three days, the players are to be divided into factions and compete for points by fighting for props inside a manor––

And naturally, Victor was dragged into it by me.

We teamed up with several college couples to form a group of eight. Each couple split up and joined one of the two teams, which meant that I ended up on the ���opposing side” of Victor.

MC: Where did you hide your metal name tag? The rules state that you must carry it with you at all times.

Victor: I threw it away.

I narrow my eyes as I look up at him, while my hands don’t stop their motion of feeling around his chest and arms.

MC: Aw, it wouldn’t be fun if you were to do that.

Victor: I suggest you unlock the lock behind me right now.

MC: Well, I suggest you don’t make that suggestion~

Not satisfied with just this, I lift myself on my toes and softly peck on his slightly pursed lips.

MC: I’ll release you when I’ve found it.

Although Victor isn’t very keen on this game, I still concentrate on not missing any corners to prevent him from playing any tricks.

I slow down my movements and half-cling to him, feeling his blazing body temperature and the growing tension of his muscles slowly seeping through the thin fabric.

Shirt pockets, jacket’s inner pockets, back collar… I search through every corner of his upper body and still find nothing.

However, I hesitate for only a second before guiding my hand downward.

Victor: MC.

Victor: How much longer do you want to keep playing?

I deliberately ignore that increasingly intense stare and, with a completely innocent expression, reach out behind him with my hand––

My fingertips slide into the pocket of his suit pants, and I immediately feel a metallic touch wrapped in the warmth inside.

MC: Wouldn’t it have been better if you had told me just then?

Smiling, I withdraw my hand and look at the metal plate with the name “Victor” engraved on it. I then take out my game phone and scan the QR code on its backside––

“Player “MC” has gained 20 points, and Player “Victor” has lost his name tag.”

MC: Hehe, thanks for your cooperation.

I complacently pin his name tag to my chest and pantomime fixing the bangs falling in front of his eyes.

Victor: You wanna win that badly?

MC: When an opportunity presents itself, of course one should seize it.

MC: I joined forces with my teammates to deal with you specially. And as I thought, it was easily done.

This small victory causes me to feel a little smug and elated, but Victor suddenly breaks into laughter.

Victor: [chuckles softly]  I didn’t think I’d be so easy to deal with in your eyes.

MC: You can’t say that. I know that Vic gēge(*) is going easy on me. After all, you’ve never been interested in this kind of activity.

MC: It just so happens that this manor is perfect for a vacation. As Pudding’s dad, you should take this opportunity for a good break, “Pudding Senior.”

—

[Tidbits]: (*) as you might’ve already guessed, yes, MC calls him “泽言哥哥” (ZéYán gēge) here, the name MC used to call him when they were kids. For those unaware, when a Chinese girl addresses a boy as gēge (an intimate term of address), if not used to address her own older brother, she’d use it to address her boyfriend~ and the reason it got both Victor and MC flustered the first time they reminisced in Preference SP~ (//∇//) 

You can refer to this post for more details: ♡♡

—

As I say this, I gently run my fingertips over his chin, then check the time again before turning around and preparing to leave.

MC: The mechanism will automatically unfasten you after two minutes. See you later, CEO Victor!

Victor: Do you know why this game has a fixed time every day?

I’m stunned momentarily, then turn around to look at him.

Victor is shrouded in the shade beneath the tree, lifting his chin slightly. Both his hands are clearly bound behind his back, but he seems to be relaxed, as if he is merely in a dormant state.

MC: Because it’s exhausting to be on high alert all the time, right? We’re all here to have fun, so we shouldn’t put the cart before the horse.

Victor: And do you know…

Victor: What’s the reason behind this game’s three-day duration?

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•  

  —

【Chapter 2】

[Fair Warning in advance]: From here onwards, Victor blushes PRACTICALLY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE DATE. As tempted as I am, it’s not possible to include over 60+ blushing sprites, so I’m just giving y'all a heads up LMAO~ \(//∇//)\

──────────────────

With only a two-minute window to escape, I naturally don’t waste that time engaging in confrontation with Victor.

I know precisely what the three-day duration is for–– as long as the game is not over, there will still be possibilities to fight to retrieve our possessions.

MC: [to herself]  This man doesn’t take the game that seriously anyway. If I go and stay with him after 5 pm, it should be alright…

As I calculate in my mind, I run towards the meeting point previously agreed on with my team. But before I can spot anyone, I’m dumbfounded by a string of notifications on my phone.

MC: How come both of you lost your name tags?

Qian Er: …my boyfriend! This scumbag! He duped me!

Lei Zi: My wife also totally f*cked me over…

–

[Tidbits]: He is addressing his girlfriend as “my wife” btw haha~ 

–

At this moment, I finally understand why the game organizers separated the couples…

MC: It’s okay. I’ve got the name tag. Our next step is to reclaim the ones we lost. And for that, everyone needs to work together as much as possible.

Xiao Xin: However, although the game time is from 9 am to 5pm, there is still a possibility of being “converted to rebel” during the break time…

Another boy in the team speaks up in concern.

Xiao Xin: I propose that for these three days, we all should refrain from meeting our partners in private. Otherwise, we will have to watch out not only for the opposite side but also for our own people.

Lei Zi: You’re right. I think if my wife tries to “convert me to rebel,” I’ll easily fall for it.

Qian Er: I’m all for it! The lovey-dovey brain must leave Loveland City!

Xiao Xin & Lei Zi & Qian Er: For victory!

MC: …

Are college students all so competitive these days!

As the three youngsters shift their gazes at me, I feel an invisible pressure coming over me. I blink and immediately raise my hands.

MC: …no problem.

—

In order to firmly adhere to the philosophy of victory, our team members remain together throughout the entire dinner time after the first day of the game.

Victor shoots a faint glance in my direction from afar. And I, encircled by several of my teammates, have no choice but to put my palms together in apology to him.

—

I’ve been unable to find a single opportunity to talk with him all night. After returning to the room, I fiddle with the phone specifically designed for the game.

MC: …I should be able to make calls with this thing, right?

But who knew there would be a knock at the door before I could even look into Victor’s contact number?

Subconsciously thinking it’s the girl from my team with whom I made plans to meet in the evening, I casually open the door without so much as a second thought.

To my surprise, I see Victor’s face instantly appearing in my line of sight. We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds, and at this moment, the air seems to be stagnant.

The next second, my heart suddenly skips a beat. After nervously scanning the surroundings, I immediately pull him into the room and close the door.

MC: Why are you here?

Victor: Why am I here?

He repeats my words unhurriedly, crossing his arms across his chest.

MC: …hehe, let me explain.

I briefly recap to him our team’s strategy for winning.

MC: Everyone was so serious at the time, so I couldn’t say no.

Victor: I can see that your enthusiasm is no less than that of those college students.

Victor: [sounds so wronged]  In order to implement your strategy, it seems like it’d be more appropriate for me to leave so as not to affect your leading-by-example image.

With a smile, I hastily wrap my arms around his neck, leaning in to peck him on the lips.

MC: Don’t leave, don’t leave! You and I came out here to have fun together. And I certainly am very clear on who is more important to me.

MC: I was thinking about calling you just now!

Victor: Really?

Victor’s expression remains unchanged as he snakes one hand around the back of my waist.

Victor: I don’t see any signs of that.

MC: Then you aren’t looking closely enough. Examine more carefully.

Beneath the dim yellowish light, the magnified shadows on the wall merge seamlessly, not leaving the slightest gap between each other.

As my fingertips dig into the back of his shirt collar, I simultaneously take the initiative to meet his slightly pursed, thin lips, softly pecking them twice.

Victor: [blushing + sexy whisper]  This little sweetness is not enough.

His voice follows the rhythm of our exchanged breaths and enters my mind, causing everything to slow down and amplify every subtle touch.

MC: Wait, my teammate will be here soon. We can’t let her catch…

A kiss forcefully cuts me off, swallowing up all the unfinished words.

The hot and moist tips of our tongues intertwine with each other. He brands a rough, grainy sensation between my sensitive lips and teeth, bringing a hint of punishment.

I instinctively tilt my head back slightly, wallowing in the haze of this dimness.

In the scorching and stuffy world, there seems to be something gently coming through.

Qian Er: …sis, it’s me, Qian Er. Are you there?

The sound of knocking on the door rings out. I hear Qian Er’s voice, who was originally supposed to come looking for me, coming from outside.

My whole body shudders in surprise. Amidst the powerful predation, I suddenly regain some of my sanity.

MC: [blushing]  Victor… she is here.

Victor: [blushing + raspy whisper]  I heard it.

His voice is lethally cloying, but his overly scorching lips swim down my cheeks to the tip of my ear, nibbling without the slightest concern.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + slyly hoarse whisper]  You need to be careful… we can’t get caught.

He deliberately repeats what I said earlier. But his soft reminder is akin to the coaxing temptation of a devil, accompanied by his heavy breaths that make my world heat up unceasingly.

Qian Er: Are you not there? You wouldn’t happen to have gone to look for...

MC: [blushing + to the girl]  …I am here!

With great difficulty, I suppress the gasp that’s on the verge of escaping me. Then I struggle to crane my head and sink my teeth into his neck.

Though the subtle bite marks are not entirely clear, they do elicit a slightly insatiable chuckle from this wicked man before me.

MC: [blushing + to the girl]  I was just… taking a shower, so I couldn’t hear you.

Qian Er: Should I come back after you’ve fixed yourself up, then?

The man in front of me slightly arches an eyebrow. And in the next second, he turns even more oblivious as he continues with his bullying. He plants incredibly lingering and gentle kisses, tracing his way up from my collarbones to my neck and upwards.

MC: [blushing + to Victor]  You…

Victor: [flushed cheeks + brEaThEs literally into your ear]  She said she would come back later.

The arm half-supporting me lifts slightly upwards again, making it even easier for him to lean his head sideways and nibble on my throat.

Qian Er: Sis?

Victor: [flushed cheeks + even raspier, proud tone]  You should give her an answer.

My brain has turned into a lump of mush, and I decide to surrender before things escalate any more “out of hand.”

MC: [blushing + to the girl]  I’m feeling a bit light-headed from the shower… Sorry, can we talk tomorrow? I’d like to go to bed a little earlier tonight.

I struggle immensely to get to the end of my sentence, and through gritted teeth, I capture a few glimmers of laughter in that pair of dark and silent eyes.

Qian Er: Sis, rest up then~ Good night, sis~

The footsteps outside the door gradually fade away. I clench my molar teeth and firmly grab onto his front collar.

MC: Are you getting back at me for what I did during the day?

Victor: [flushed cheeks + torrid breath]  This doesn’t count.

The instigator of this episode blends his words ambiguously into his kisses, with a hint of deep meaning flashing in his eyes.

Victor: [flushed cheeks]  Didn’t you just make it clear who is more important to you?

Victor: [flushed cheeks]  I merely took your words for it, that’s all.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•  

  —

【Chapter 3】

The next day, I purposely time my arrival at the front yard of the villa to avoid coinciding with Victor’s.

The other members of his team have already set off earlier, leaving only Victor, who is sitting leisurely on the sofa and flipping through a magazine.

Meeting that toneless gaze of his, I blow him a kiss from the back of the group and happily embark on my journey.

—

Today’s game proceeds smoothly beyond expectations. Relying on Lei Zi’s excellent intuition, we’ve actually found all the individuals who were separately ambushing us in different corners of the manor one by one.

“Player “Zhou Lei” gains 20 points, Player “Zhao Xin” gains 20 points…”

Qian Er: That was incredibly easy… but Lei Zi, your girlfriend’s gaze just now looked like she was gonna eat you alive.

Lei Zi: I’ll just kneel on the keyboard when I get home. It’s not a big deal.

Xiao Xin: Still, we shouldn’t let our guards down. After all, they can still snatch back the name tags.

Xiao Xin: There’s no camera in the entire manor. There are way more blind spots than we can possibly imagine…

While Xiao Xin is gesturing with his hands and contemplating the safest hiding spots on the map of the manor, Lei Zi quietly approaches me from the side.

Lei Zi: Sis, I wanna ask you for a favor.

MC: Hm?

Lei Zi: I have a special solo mission that requires the help of someone from the team... Could you help me?

Upon hearing this special invitation, I immediately perk up my ears with excitement.

MC: Sure! What do you need me to do?

—

MC: That’s odd…

I meticulously examine the surrounding area of the fountain pool, but don’t spot anything out of the ordinary.

MC: The spot Lei Zi said should be here…

I circle the place again, but still find nothing.

The water in the fountain continuously flows outward and forms cascading water curtains that carry the spraying water droplets, creating blooming specs of light under the dazzling sunlight.

I gaze quietly for a long time. Unwilling to give up, I crouch down and carefully fumble around the pool’s perimeter once again.

Suddenly, I inadvertently touch a stone, causing it to tilt slightly–– the water from the fountain ceases its flow in the next second, revealing a set of steps leading to a stone staircase at the center of the fountain.

MC: So it turns out that the stone steps were not just for decorative purposes...!

My eyes widen in amazement, and I walk up to the stone pillar at the center of the fountain, reaching out my hand to search for any special props––

“Click.”

As I watch the mechanism appear once again, the smile on my face is wiped off completely. A rubber ring suddenly emerges on the surface of the pillar, trapping my hand in place!

MC: …?!

Before I can react, a powerful force grabs my other wrist and swiftly flips me over, pinning my wrist next to the rubber ring.

“Click.”

All of this happens within a matter of moments. It’s not until both my hands are bound behind my back that I begin to comprehend the situation, staring wide-eyed at the person who is now standing in front of me.

MC: …how did you get here?

Victor: I’ve been here the whole time. You were just too slow to act.

Folding his arms across his chest, he leans down slightly to meet my eye level, looking at me teasingly.

The alarm bells in my head are ringing frantically, and a strange thought suddenly rushes to my mind, causing me to swallow nervously.

MC: Could it be that you...

Victor: Otherwise, how do you think he was able to locate everyone?

Victor: And why were they all on their own?

MC: When did you talk to Lei Zi…?

Victor: [chuckles lightly]  That’s not something you need to be concerned about.

He lifts his hand and presses on something unbeknownst to me, causing the pool’s fountain to activate again.

The cascading water curtain gushes outward, creating a hazy veil that envelops us within. Instinctively, I am gripped by a sense of looming danger approaching in silence.

Victor is in complete control of this series of actions. He first made his own teammates separate, then found an opportunity to make a deal with Lei Zi––

–– and tricked me into coming here.

The manor is designed to allow players’ evasion activities, and as a result, there are numerous concealed hiding spots. And Victor knows me all too well to know that I would be intrigued by these interesting features.

He is too patient a hunter, creating the opportunity to win by striking just one blow, biting the throat of his prey in an instant.

MC: Victor, you duped me!

Victor: This extent of action doesn’t really count as duping someone.

Victor: It’s just a fitting way to blow off the steam, is all.

MC: But by doing this... your team will lose.

Victor: I have no interest in winning or losing this game.

He gently lifts his hand, caressing the “Victor” name tag pinned on my chest.

Victor: And besides, I guess you’re forgetting… it’s only the second day.

Victor: Where’s your name tag?

His dry fingertips glide slowly up my breasts, passing over my neck and caressing my cheek.

—

[Notes]: bruh they really just straight went for “前胸” (breasts)— not even caring to use short/refined phrasing like 胸/心口 LMAO 🙏

—

MC: …pinned it inside the left pant leg.

Victor: [!! elated chuckle]  There’s no need to be so honest.

Victor: It’d be hard to find us here, so we still have plenty of time.

The powerful fingertips lift my chin slightly, causing the falling droplets of water to be sprinkled finely, only to have this cold sensation be melted away by the extremely intimate proximity of his breath.

He rubs his lips against mine slowly and deliberately, neither delving too deeply nor drawing back too far. 

The unbearable touch feels as if my entire body is being lifted into the air. The damp mist of the water stream spreads around us, bringing our closely pressed skin even closer together.

Water droplets drip down his gently fluttering eyelashes onto my upper lip, then roll along the folds of our lips as they caress against each other, finally entering our intertwined lips and teeth.

MC: …getting back at me… you’re so petty! Evil capitalist…!

Victor has done a full circle and repeated every detail of what I did to him yesterday.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + raspiest of whispers x1]  Naturally, the capitalist has to pay back twice the amount.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + x2]  Also, there’s only one cat at home, and that’s Pudding.

—

[Notes]: LMFAAOOO THIS MAN!!! For those who didn’t get it– at the beginning of the date, MC addressed Victor as “Pudding’s Dad, Pudding Senior,” suggesting that he is her big clingy cat, which he 110% is LOL. But he “begs to differ” ‘cause as he showed just now, feline it may be, but he is still the beast “Lion” 😩🤣

—

His muffled words are intertwined with my heavy panting, reminiscent of a predatory beast patiently teasing its prey that it has captured.

In the long time that we’ve been together, I’ve become too accustomed to him, and in his tacit acquiescence, I would brazenly play with his “belly” without any reservations.

But he’s never been an indolent kitty.

MC: Y-you propose a term… let’s talk.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + the most seductively provocative of whispers]  What capital do you have to negotiate terms with me?

The teasing I capture in his eyes itches me so much that I can’t resist biting him. But this only causes the smile in his eyes to brew even deeper in response.

MC: Just- you- wait.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + chuckles]  That vigor is good.

He finally draws a few steps back, then crouches down and finds my name tag with ease.

Victor scans the QR code and affixes the “MC” engraved name tag to his chest majestically. He then turns around after switching off the fountain, preparing to leave.

MC: Why don’t you take your name tag too?

Victor: I’m just leaving an excuse.

Stepping on the stairs, he haughtily turns his head sideways.

Victor: [chuckles softly]  So you won’t be too bored tomorrow.

—

Victor and I, in a sense, have returned to our starting line again.

Although we don’t sit together at dinner, we both wear each other’s name tags on our chests, creating an indescribable romantic tension.

Lei Zi doesn’t dare to make eye contact with me all evening, and I don’t wish to haggle with him, either.

—

On the third day, it becomes obvious that the other side has received Victor’s instructions and has grown more structured in their approach.

As the dominant side, our countermeasure is for everyone else to stay hidden till the last moment, while I––

I keep my eyes locked on Victor from afar across the dense bushes, provocatively maintaining a distance of about ten meters from him at all times.

—

Following several pulling and tugging, I manage to hide in a flower house, intending to catch my breath.

However, the next second, there is a rustling sound outside the window. I hear the person with a steady stride approaching, treading on the broken leaves.

Victor: Think you’ve chosen a good spot?

Beneath the hot sunlight, a few flower petals float down from between Victor’s fingers. He grips the railing of the flower window with one hand, while his fingertips insert themselves into the flower’s pistil.

—

[Tidbits]: The female organs of a flower are collectively called “花蕊”/ pistil, comprising of stigma, style and ovary. (!!! yeah reference to that innuendo of “the rose and the white thingie” in the PV)~ 💦🙏

—

His piercing gaze is even more intense than the sunlight, locking straight onto me. Even though clearly we are physically apart from each other, his imposing presence is still palpable.

His slender forearm may have been scratched by the thorns of the bushes, leaving a few glaring blood marks. But Victor remains unfazed, as if it were merely a minor price to be paid in the process.

MC: CEO Victor, aren’t you asking a question you already know the answer to?

This is too foul an approach to entice someone in this way to have them walk right into your trap.

MC: After all, you didn’t want me to run away again, did you?

—

[Tidbits]: MC switches to “您” here, which is the courteous term for “you” in Chinese, amplifying her bitterness LMAO~

—

Victor: The door is right there. You can leave if you want.

He raises his eyebrows, revealing all his bright schemes with unparalleled frankness.

MC: Will that cause too much loss for CEO Victor?

Victor: Unexpected opportunities like this always provide a chance to encounter the next one.

Victor: As long as you consider the aftermath, it’ll be fine.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•  

  —

【Chapter 4】

Deflating my mouth, I tie the gauze on Victor’s arm into a knot, then look around the flower room without making it obvious. Finally, I shift my eyes again to my other party’s cool and collected face.

MC: You sign documents worth tens of billions with this hand. You need to be more careful.

–

[Tidbits]:MC uses “您” (the courteous term for “you”), here too LMAO~

–

MC: Ugh, my plan has been ruined. I wonder if a certain Mr. CEO would be as kind-hearted as me?

Victor: Your little thoughts are almost all written on your forehead.

Victor: Your plan is simply to have those college students hide while you stall for time, and then launch a surprise attack when the countdown is almost over.

MC: Since you were already aware of this, why did you still chase after me?

Victor: [delighted laugh]  Because your ruses are enough to make me look forward to them.

An undisguised arrogance climbs up the corners of his lips, and he unhurriedly pulls back the rolled-up sleeve to his wrist. The light in his dark-colored pupils reflects my figure.

This arrogant stance arouses my fighting spirit completely. I compose myself and pantomime leaning toward him.

MC: I never thought CEO Victor would have such a wicked side to him. Shouldn’t it be the prey who is to bite in the first place?

Victor: Whether it’s done at the beginning or end makes no difference. Hunting has always been meant to be a deadly struggle between two opponents on equal footing.

Victor: In the face of a predetermined outcome, the process only enriches the ending.

His fingertips twirl themselves around the ends of my hair, making a circular motion in the air.

I gaze at him for a long time. Then propping myself up, I place my hands on both sides of his head, lowering my eyes to him.

MC: Have you ever considered that doing this would expose you to the risk of me biting your throat?

Victor: I never turn down any challenge.

Victor: Especially when it’s from you.

MC: Is that right?

I lower my head to his neck and, without the slightest hesitation, open my mouth and gently nibble on his prominent Adam’s apple.

He seems to have not anticipated that I’d be so decisive, causing his entire body to quiver instinctively.

I crinkle my eyes and silently concentrate on deepening the mark.

By the time I lift my head, the teeth marks are clearly imprinted on his Adam’s apple, shimmering with a light sheen of moisture.

MC: How does it feel to have someone bite your throat?

The answer I receive is a fiercely wild kiss.

Victor’s hand suddenly presses down, causing me to be caught off guard and collide with his teeth.

All the unspoken words between us are shattered into fragments in the entangled exploration. The rapid breaths entwined with the moist sound of water flood my entire sensory world.

My scorching breaths are constantly being swallowed up by his kisses. But I don’t simply want to sink into this passively. Instead, I stubbornly entangle myself back.

Whether it’s a conspiracy or a bright scheme, when faced with absolute power, you must show your strength.

The palm clasped around the back of my neck continues to exert force, allowing the predator to unceasingly penetrate deeper unchallenged. At the same time, I also step on his thigh and move up a little bit, causing him to release a hot and muffled moan.

My fingertips advance on his chest, and in the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of the phone that has been tossed aside.

14:59.

I kiss him even harder, counting down in my mind––

And just before the number is about to change, I suddenly yank off the name tag on his chest and hold it up over my head.

MC: I’ve won.

—

MC: You cheated!!

Victor: I thought you were very happy and willing to receive my flowers at the party.

MC: This was our team’s reward for victory. And, of course, I would accept the bouquet CEO Victor wrapped for me as the loser.

MC: Besides, this is an entirely different matter––

Even when we return to the hotel after the event dinner, I still can’t stop stomping my feet.

MC: I watched the digits jump to 59 at once. Even if I were to say that I counted faster, it still couldn’t be more than ten seconds.

MC: You must have paused the time!

Victor: Don’t blame other people as an excuse for your miscalculating the time.

Looking at his composed demeanor, I narrow my eyes and follow him into the elevator.

—

Suddenly, a thought occurs to me, and I press my lips together slyly.

MC: CEO Victor, could it be that you paused the time unconsciously and now feel embarrassed about it?

While speaking, I lean over and peck him on the lips.

As the elevator ascends, the dots of light that shine through the window swirl incessantly in Victor’s eyes. He lowers his gaze and doesn’t say anything.

MC: Still haven’t paused, eh.

Pressing my lips against his warm ones, I kiss him again.

MC: Still no pause.

MC: It seems that it wasn’t unintentional, but rather deliberate––

Victor: [flushed cheeks]  You haven’t fully reconstructed the scene in the flower house. So, this doesn’t count.

The patter of rain begins to trickle down outside the window, coating the light and shadow cast on our bodies with a hazy veil. Even our mingled breaths are imbued with the hint of dampness in the air.

MC: Humph, you capitalist! You really never lose out.

Without saying anything more, I lean against the railing and pull hard on his tie knot, yanking it off directly.

Our lips and teeth tightly press against each other as our tongues dance together. I tirelessly explore his territory, leaving my mark on every crevice and corner of it.

The delicate string, as thin as the fine rain, glues our lips together as we slowly separate, panting rapidly for breaths.

The raindrops hitting the glass are reminiscent of blooming flowers, and the world has been rendered silent.

Victor: [flushed cheeks + !!?? lethally raspy, prolonged whisper pouring into your ears]  Do you think I did it unintentionally or deliberately now?

His raspy voice sounds amid the suspended light and shadow, a small cloying smile hanging at the corners of his lips.

MC: It doesn’t matter to me. Regardless of whether it’s intentional or unintentional, it shows that you seem to be working hard in my hunting ground too.

I curl the corners of my lips into a complacent smile, satisfied and ready to open the distance between us––

However, before I can, the palm covering my waist firmly holds me in place and swiftly lifts me up, pressing me directly against the railing of the elevator in a flash.

–

A sudden sensation of coldness crawls up my spine, catching me off guard. To find balance, I instinctively arch my waist and cling onto him with both my hands and feet, crashing into his burning hot breath right in front of me.

I frantically search for a point of strength on Victor’s body and grab onto his coat in a tangled mess. A soft chuckle sounds in my ear, and in the next second, the space in front of me becomes even narrower.

And Victor advances another step further toward me, hemming me in completely into the confined space.

Victor: [!!?? lethally raspy, prolonged whisper pouring into your ears but 3.0]  Then let me see your hard work too.

“Susurrus——”

—

[Tidbits]: !!! the term is simply “簌—” here (suggesting a rustling noise), and now look at the long ribbon of her dress that has been untied––

—

MC: [blushing]  I-I, what else do I need to do? You put me down first…

Victor: [-- 5.0]  I see you’ve been very bold these few days, and now you know to be scared?

The bouquet in my hand becomes heavier and heavier, while my high heels are struggling and on the verge of slipping off my toes.

Victor: [soft chuckle + !!?? 7.0 but more dangerous tone like the hunter has you right where and how he wanted]  Don’t drop my flowers.

His approaching breath is like bait. As I’m trying to escape in a panic, a warm palm has already covered my thigh, pinning me firmly in place.

The sound of clothes rustling is exceptionally clear at this moment. Gentle kisses spread along my neck all the way to the tips of my ears, and together with his scorching breaths and touches, they surge into my consciousness.

The overly steady elevator quietly erases the traces of time. However, the numbers that change from time to time become the only indicator announcing the flow of time.

“Ding——”

MC: [blushing]  Victor, it’s…!

The remainder of my words are crushed between our lips and teeth, and my eyes can’t help but widen. Just as I feel my heart is about to give out, he completely usurps me of the entirety of my sanity——

The elevator door opens, but there is no one outside.

Victor: This is a VIP elevator, and we are the only ones on the top floor.

Victor: Of course, there’s no need to worry about surveillance issues either.

MC: [blushing]  You’re such a…

The only response to me is a quiet chuckle. And in the next second, I’m suddenly lifted up and carried outside the elevator.

—

He holds me up skillfully with one hand, not using too much force, yet using just enough to not allow me to drop back on the floor.

MC: [blushing]  Put me down!

Victor: Only you would let go of your grip after biting the other party’s throat.

He lifts his foot and steps onto the thick and soft carpet, walking extremely slowly. Each step he takes causes me to descend slightly, and my entire body is practically hanging onto his.

My thighs, which are wrapped around his waist, gradually begin to weaken. But those searing hands of his remain pressed against me.

Victor: Stay focused.

The unbearable rubbing is continuously wearing away at my willpower, and his hoarse voice sounds as if he is patiently enduring a certain emotion.

MC: Next time... I will definitely not let you go.

Victor: You don’t need to wait for the next time.

Victor: I’ll give you this opportunity tonight.

Along with the sound of the door opening, the somewhat dazzling light causes me to subconsciously squint my eyes. In my dazed state, I find myself sinking into a softness.

Victor: [!!??!! INTENSE BREATHING + SIR SLOW DOWN!! WHAT IS THAT NOOISEEE]  We can continue our game for a very long time now.

────────────

Calls: here! (important read)~

────────────

[scribl1ta]

Thank you @headinmud😘😘some books I want to read in 2025 (I don't think I have 9 lol).

sorry if I also skip specific tags.... please share any favorite books or recommendations though!! As you will see below I've already started/mostly finished almost everything here <3

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

The only totally new book on the list😭my little sister recommended it to me and I've heard great things about the author so I am super excited to read it!! My literary horizons are pretty small ranging from about 500 BCE-250 CE so I trust my sisters to tell me what's good after that. And over my gap year I did this translation symposium thing and one of the students read a very beautiful and striking passage she'd translated from this book too.

The Injester by Ugo Tognazzi

Found in a bookstore in my city for $21, too much money for a book that's mostly recipes, so I am going to try and get it from the library and decide if I really want to own it since monsieur Tognazzi remains silent on his most notable and (in)arguably gayest role as Trimalcione. How one could leave that out of a book about food and movies is so heartbreaking, society still has so far to go #StopHate

Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire by Mary T. Boatwright

This book is amazing and I've been relying on it so much for my screenplay :) I finally got a hard copy for christmas!!! I've been skipping around a lot so I don't have much to say on the reading experience but in terms of content it is truly invaluable, and the style is very precise and clear! I have trouble finding information on Athens during the Hadrianic era specifically so to have so much in one place is a Godsend.

肉蒲團/The Carnal Prayer Mat by Li Yu

I never really followed up on my Classical Chinese sidequest (now main quest??) last summer but this is how I'm using it so I don't forget too much, and hopefully get to do some research with a really cool professor I met this past semester while I was abroad🥰the book is not classical really, but I lost too many brain cells trying to explain the Chinese language on any level to my other, 老外classics professors so I won't repeat myself at the moment.

On the Set of Fellini Satyricon by Eileen Lanouette Hughes

I already started this book but I have to pace myself and make sure to actually read everything instead of always skipping to the cast photos🥸there are a lot of amazing stories in this book, definitely more than Dario Zanelli's (which is still a good one to read & focuses more on the concept behind the film), but there were a few places where the author is pretty condescending to the women she interviews, way more than the men... nevertheless a must read for you cultured besties.

Raptor by Gary Jennings

I am almost done with this book! I randomly bought it because it was cheap and looked fun and pulpy. It has a really strong concept but it's not executed on the same level imo. It's about a Gothic warrior who is born intersex and raised as a boy and as a girl, but eventually (perhaps obviously given the society) just lives as a man and as a woman only when it's convenient. The author brings up the character (Thorn)'s complex feelings towards his gender but doesn't truly explore them in a way that feels meaningful and especially that feels sympathetic to intersex people and to women. There is a lot of thorough historical detail but as much feels misplaced and it does have a reddit atheist/epicurean tone to it lmao.

I bought some books over the semester that I want to read but I don't have them at hand right now so I sadly don't remember exactly what they are called😟I might also read more of The Golden Ass in Latin for a research thing. I lost my commentary on Lucian's True Story which is so terrible👎🏻I don't know what to do I could barely read it WITH the commentary. I am also still considering coming back to Kate Quinn's Daughters of Rome series. It is SO well done, so well researched, I literally couldn't put down the first two books, and then the third... Sigh.... just when we had the perfectly paced, stylish, woman-centered historical series... I have so many thoughts on everything from the backstory she gave Antinous (mildly irritating) to the level of misogynistic treatment MISS VIBIA SABINA endures at the hands of her supposed "love interest" male author-OC (the word: NEFAS). She would not stand for being called a bitch every paragraph BY. A. M*N. THAT IS NOT MY AUGUSTA🤬🙅‼️

[liquidstar]

do u have any recs for folks newer to the yuri genre? I've never really read any manga other than shounen and some magical girl stuff

Omg i can totally give yuri recs. (And which ones to stay away from. Sakura Kiss has cousin shit in it, Citrus has stepsister dubcon, Dragon Maid has lolicon, Happy Sugar Life is also lolicon but it’s edgy about it and tries to act like this makes it deep, we can do better)

Anyway here’s my actual recs! I'm going to give details but if you don't wanna read them I bolded all the titles.

YuriKuma Arashi (By Ikuhara of Revolutionary Girl Utena fame), is about lesbian bears. But it’s actually a metaphor for the simultaneous objectification and demonization of lesbians, the expectation both for purity and predation. There are some nitpicks I have with it like the sexualization being a bit too much to bring the point home, but overall I do like its themes and its message. And I think the ending pulls everything together really nicely. There is both a manga and an anime, and I believe the anime came first. I’ve only seen the anime so I’m not sure if/how the manga deviates!!!! 

Bloom Into You is an absolute must. Like, for real, I think it’s one of the best romances out there, yuri or otherwise. It gets really deep into both characters' respective psyches and the ways that they’re both Very Screwed Up when it comes to love and romance, or really just life in general. Giving details would be doing them a disservice honestly. Both characters are very messy but also do try their best to genuinely communicate, and what comes of that is a lot of teenage lesbian drama, but the growth they both experience though it TOGETHER is just great, and you can tell they care about each other so much.

Okay this one I’m not really recommending for the good writing, it’s more-so just really cool. Liberta (EXPLICIT) is a series about a vampire who can turn her body into guns and a human woman who is sick of being seen as lesser in her ordinary life. And then they fall in love and are vampires together. The artstyle and character designs are awesome and it has some really cool fight scenes. However it also has full blown barely censored sex scenes. A few of them. One of the women uses her tail at some point. If that’s not what your cup of tea is, give it a pass. 

Anyway for something more wholesome you should check out The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All, which I’m actually not fully caught up on bc life, but has still been a super fun read so far. It’s about a girl who works at a music store, and her classmate who gets a crush on her while she’s at work. The classmate doesn’t realize that they’re the same person, due to her looking different at work, and thinks her worksona is a guy. Hijinks ensue. 

Otherside Picnic is also highly recommended. Its manga adaptation is lagging behind the light novel, which I can’t find a translation of online (But if anyone can help me out w that 🙏). The story itself is about two college students who go on adventures to a parallel plane of reality, which contains cosmic horrors who can only communicate with humans through fear so intense it will make you go insane. They’re also looking for someone who went missing, and gain cool powers like Ghost Hand and Sans Eye. Yes this is still a yuri series and it’s also really really extremely fucking cool. 

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, is a slice of life story about… Well exactly what it says. A woman with a passion for cooking, making lots of food and sharing it with her neighbor, and they end up bonding through this. It’s also like, cool to see a big butch woman for a change! The story itself is very straightforward but I love watching the relationship progress as well as the mc question her sexuality. This story will absolutely make you super hungry though.

Show Me Your Bust (EXPLICIT) is also exactly what it says on the tin, though it’s technically a webtoon. Again this is a series with explicit sex scenes, but it actually does have a story and actual depth to its characters. Honestly there’s a lot to unpack with all of them and a lot of the relationships aren’t totally healthy but it’s a drama so that’s the point. 

A Monster Wants To Eat Me is actually hard to describe without spoilers. It’s about a girl who lives by the sea, meeting a mysterious girl with eyes that remind her of the ocean itself. The girl says that she’s actually been looking for the mc for a long time, and it’s revealed that….

And lastly I wanna mention Hanamonogatari, a story about an old widow who begins to regain confidence in herself as she experiments with make-up with the help of another old lady who works at a local cosmetic store. Honestly it’s very very very sweet, it’s rare to get romances like this of old women when so much of the focus of romances (yuri or otherwise) is often on the characters being attractive. I also really appreciate how the make-up is being used specifically to accentuate their wrinkles. Not hide them. Because aging is beautiful too. Sadly IVE ONLY READ TWO CHAPTERS BECAUSE I DONT THINK THE REST ARE TRANSLATED IF ANYONE OUT THERE CAN HELP ME PLEASE DO 🙏

[josefavomjaaga]

Eugène writes to Bessières about being a prince

This letter I had already known about, as it was in large parts published by Frédéric Masson in one of his volumes on Napoleon's family.

For context: In early February Eugène had - apparently rather abruptly - been ordered to lead a contingent of troops (he speaks of chasseurs, mameluks and artillery) to Milan. Madame Rémusat links this to Napoleon's affair with Madame Duchatel, with whom, according to her, Eugène was first in love. Napoleon had, so to speak, snatched the girl away from his stepson. However, Murat and Caroline also seem to have been involved in this affair that led to violent fits of jealousy on Josephine's part.

I had always considered this a rather dubious anecdote but Eugène does admit in his very first letter to Bessières that he is worried about his mother's peace of mind, Hortense does mention Madame Duchatel in a letter to Eugène as well (though without any reference to Eugène being interested in her), and there's the strange allusion in Murat's letters to Eugène that "a beautiful lady never needs a recommendation" in Eugène's case. Which may or may not refer to this incident.

Whatever the case, at some point during the journey, Eugène received the news that he had been elevated to the rank of prince, in very flattering terms, and as soon as he reached Lyon and got out of the ugly winter weather, he wrote to Bessières about it.

Lyon, this 19 Pluviose [an XIII; 8 February 1805]

You know of my new dignity, my dear Bessières, you know above all the message to the Senate, you also know me well and you can easily judge all that I feel. It is impossible to describe.

I will admit to you that, knowing the Emperor's good intentions concerning me, I dared to expect something; but nothing so beautiful, nothing so flattering for me. I swear to you that I am confused.

Which is actually not a good translation as French "confus" apparently can take on several meanings at once: overwhelmed, stunned, even embarrassed.

I have written, as you can imagine, to the Emperor, the Empress, my sister, in fact to several people who have written me letters of congratulations. As for you, I hope you won't write me anything of this sort. That would be offending me, that would be thinking that I could question your friendship. You know that I count on it and that I attach the greatest importance to it.

Mine, my dear Bessières, is beyond all trial.

I embrace you with all my heart and, as I pay my respectful homage to Mme Bessières, I beg you to kindly ask her to always regard me as a friend of the house.

Le Pr. Eugène

I eagerly await your orders to cross Mont Cenis.

The postscript is a bit funny because in the letter before this one, Eugène had already described to Bessières in detail what he wanted these orders to look like.

Also, Eugène signing "Le Prince Eugène" - Napoleon had written him a letter explicitly telling him that from now on he had to do that. 😁

Bessières, as to him, must have written to Eugène about the newly acquired rank as well, because in his next letter from 29 Pluviose Eugène writes:

[...] I will not talk to you, my dear Bessières, about the letter you wrote to me. You must have received one from me in which I predicted all that your good friendship could inspire in you. Mine can be neither increased nor diminished. [...]

[compacflt]

my apologies if this is too simple or juvenile or personal a question but HOW did you become such a proficient writer? and do you have any tips or pointers to keep in mind? i know you must do a lot of reading and a lot of writing, but your skill is just incredible to me. your prose!! your cadence!! when we get around to talking about it is genuinely one of the best things i've ever read and i'd eat it if i could!!!

this ask was so sweet thank you!! rly made my day when i needed a boost. Hope you don’t mind i took a couple days to think about it cause no one’s ever asked me for writing advice before

idk how i became a “proficient” writer bc I really don’t write that much. something about my fic gave me brainworms and i went into overdrive but that’s…not my usual MO. which is why it’s weird for me too. admittedly i am studying english/creative writing as my second major at uni, but i haven’t learned anything in any of my classes you couldn’t learn by just reading and writing on your own. honestly i should’ve stuck with my IR major instead, i find structured cw classes a complete waste of time. but here are some little tips i thought of that would’ve helped ME:

This is more a “do as I say not as I do” because I’m really bad at habits like this, but keep a diary. You can write about the big events (went to the store, did homework, got laid etc.) but that’s boring—focus on the details (watched someone at west side market throw a glass bottle of olives at a rat, broke a pen and permanently stained my dorm desk and won’t get my deposit back which pissed me off because I move out in a week, this guy’s breath smelled like lemon pledge and it made me wonder if he drank window cleaner before kissing me etc.). Real life is really interesting! How can you write about interesting real life in an interesting way? It’s a good way to practice. You don’t have to do a big reflection at the end of the day or anything. It’s okay to jot down something you saw & then immediately forget about it. It’s the act of figuring out how to translate life into words that’s important

If you type, learn how to type FAST. This is just my experience, but I think typing faster makes your cadence, clause length, dialogue, IDEAS flow better/more naturally. We think in words/sentences, not letters.

This is a super lame tip that’ll make you roll your eyes, but read poetry. Poetry is all about how words/ideas/images sound and interact with each other. Don’t get hung up on one poet—im not really recommending any for precisely this reason—read poetry you love (for me, Ada Limón, Jack Kerouac, Frank O’Hara, ghazals etc) AND read poetry you hate (for me, Rupi Kaur, Emily Dickinson, Whitman, etc)! Read all genres you can get your hands on. (I think there are like “great poetry anthologies” you can find for free online if u don’t know where to start. Also you can’t go wrong with subscribing to/reading a variety magazine like the NYer. It’s pretentious but it exposes you to all kinds of weird topics, ways of writing about them, etc.) Figure out how certain combinations of words and punctuations make you FEEL, and why, and why the writer chose (or not) to make you feel that way. Figure out which literary sounds you like and which ones you don’t. For me, i figured out that I REALLY like alliteration, comma splices, zeugmas, the rule of three, and

“he’s [verb]ing again… yeah compacflt’s characters are [verb]ing again… big shocker”

If you have an idea for a piece, figure out what it is you really want to get out of it—to say something? to experiment with a different style? to see your fav characters do something? to have fun?—and then figure out how, on a technical level, you should write to match that goal (this is where the poetry training comes in handy). If you’re just writing to have fun, don’t listen to any writing advice (incl. mine), because most of it is bullshit and over-generalized and will make you feel bad about yourself. Just take the advice that you think will work for what YOURE trying to write.

But if you’re writing to explore some political idea, then you should think about HOW to best write about that idea. What would be a convincing story/allegory/scene to engage with this idea vs. not convincing. I talk on this blog all the time about how disappointed I am that my very-adult-grown-up attempt to deal with the dynamic of “immovable internalized homophobia vs unstoppable falling in love anyway” is rendered a little childish/immature by some pretty unconvincing plot points like the characters buying a house together—I really should have considered how that plot point would interact with the characterizations I’d built already (hint: poorly). You can think of writing as kind of a military structure if that helps—you have strategy on the overarching campaign (plot/character growth/allegory/theme) level, the battle (scene that advances the above) level, and the tactical (sentence-level construction/syntax/wording) level. They all have to work together. If a scene is failing to properly engage with the idea you’re trying to convey, you’re losing a battle that will weaken the overarching campaign. Same thing if you choose a weird word in a sentence/write in a style or tone that’s weirdly out of place with your idea—it makes your engagement with the theme/idea less convincing. just try to be purposeful and consider your strategy on all levels of your work as you’re writing it!! At the very least it’ll make editing easier lol.

But then again when I read my own writing from just a couple months ago I cringe out of my skin, so like—just also accept that it’s a process and we’re all just making it up as we go along. Be proud of being embarrassed of your old work, because it means you’re growing. Own that shit. When I finished writing WWGATTAI i thought it was the best thing I’d ever written, and maybe it was. But since the day I finished working on it, it’s the worst thing I’ve written since then. That’s a great feeling. Not to be like writing grindset obviously bc it’s supposed to be fun—but if what you want is to get better at writing, the strategy is to WRITE a whole bunch of shit, and then own your embarrassment about how much you’ve grown since you started. And know you’re still always growing and learning. there should never be any “goals” where skills are concerned 👍🏽

[shipcestuous]

Movie: Tranquille Donne di Campagna - 1980 (m/s,cousins,a/nep) (submission)

Hey Shipcestuous. ShipCestFan here.

Didn’t see “Tranquille Donne di Campagna” on your master list, so thought I would mention it in case you want to post on blog and add to lists.

TL:DR:

Five strong women of an Italian family do their best to protect their favorite son/nephew/brother/cousin, Alberto. And in the process, cestships (mostly sexual) develop. When the reprehensible head of the family becomes too much to handle, the women decide to replace him with Alberto.

DETAILED SYNOPSIS:

(WARNING: NARRATIVE AND GIFS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!)

An Italian language movie filmed in 1980 which centers around a sensitive and handsome young man around 20 years of age. Alberto is surrounded by beautiful women. There’s his mother, Anna – a stunning and compassionate brunette in her 40s. There’s his aunt Floriana – also a 40ish, year old, beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair. There’s Elisa, his younger sister, and Gloria, his visiting cousin a bit older than Alberto. Rounding out the beautiful women is Aida, the attractive and flirtatious 20-something maid.

All of these women adore Alberto because he is gorgeous and handsome, yet sweet and sensitive – almost fragile. And that is attractive to all of the women, especially his mother. Alberto’s father, Guido, is the complete opposite of Alberto – a sexist, misogynistic Alpha Male who basically calls Alberto a wimp every chance he gets and slaps him around. He treats all of the women as second class citizens, except his cousin, Floriana, whose ass he has to kiss. Floriana is a former, famous stage actor and the owner of the estate on which they all live. She has power and money, so everyone, including Alpha Male Guido, are subservient to her.

The film’s story line is basically a canon incest arc where each woman is trying to protect Alberto from his asshole father and, in the process, the women can’t help seducing him, or he seducing them or dreaming of seducing them. So throughout the film, Alberto finds himself being seduced by his “aunt” and cousin. He’s so close to his compassionate mother – who shares his sensitive soul – that Alberto dreams of replacing his father as his mother’s lover. And he has eyes for his sweet sister, too. All of this transpires through the arc of the movie, while the maid also gets involved. When Alberto’s father, Guido, takes things too far with his niece, Anna, Floriana convinces the rest of the women and Alberto that Guido must be stopped.

The ending elevated this film from average to above-average for me. I did not need a subtitled version as I understood the language, but I would recommend one as it’s difficult to figure out what’s going on by only observing the scenes. The film’s title literally translates to the “tranquil women who live in the country”, but I think it’s to suggest how methodical and without emotion the women plan and execute Guido’s demise. That’s how much they hate him, and how much they love Alberto. As the credits roll at the end, we see Alberto taking the seat that his father held at the head of the grand, dining room table. His mother, aunt and sister are all seated around him, gazing at him, while the maid serves him. The scene is definitely implying that Alberto has supplanted his father, and the women couldn’t be happier!

The film is billed as an erotic drama, and while it’s hard to take it seriously because of the over-the-top acting, mom (Anna), and cousin (Gloria), shine in their roles. Both, according to online research, were notable actors for the time. The sex is frequent. Every few minutes, someone is getting it on and they are usually blood-related. lol But it’s done tastefully, so I definitely wouldn’t put this in Russ Meyer or Tinto Brass exploitation category. It’s much more refined than that. But it’s a fun romp, nonetheless.

Here are some GIFs from the film with my comments and/or dialogue added for clarity.

[chrononautintraining]

All right! Fine! I’m in! Can you recommend me your favorite fic in the non-hobbit fandom that you post about a lot? I’m not familiar with it all so a fic that explains canon a little more than an a total AU would be best

No biggie if you don’t want to recommend any hahaha just send me on my way with a ‘no’

Yes! Join us! You must be referring to The Untamed, which is a Chinese drama based on a web novel translated into English under the name The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. It has a lot to recommend it to Hobbit fans! Swords! Legendary monsters! Do you like that scene in the Fellowship of the Ring where the hobbits stumble across the ancient tomb and are almost laid to rest by a barrow-wight, but come out with the Numenorean blades? I have good news about both leveling up weaponry in graveyards and ancient tombs!

If your preferred way to enter a fandom is a fic rec, I have to say A Narrow Bridge by JoLaSalle and FrameofMind is my current favorite. It's a Fix-it-AU that tells most of the early canon through flash back scenes while diverging wildly. I'd say it goes into even more detail than canon about how some aspects of cultivation and demonic cultivation works. Moreover, it has a *lot* to appeal to Hobbit fans. "How do you feel about pastoral novels?" she asked knowingly. Please enjoy two devoted, justice-loving idiots growing radishes in a graveyard, zero feet apart because they are in love.

Okay, so A Narrow Bridge is 700 thousand words. A big part of the appeal of this fandom is how many incredibly writers go for sprawling, epic AUs. There is a library here waiting, if you find you like the blorbos. That said, if you're looking for something a little shorter:

Short and Sexy - if this is what you like in a fandom, my friend, this one has a tremendous amount of well written, niche smut.

River-to-the-Sea Sure by Deastar is ~7k words of heat. This fic is A/B/O, which is not usually my thing. So believe me when I say that it is both extremely sexy and genuinely virtuous. It captures the characters of our main leads and their usual dynamic very well. Interestingly, this is the first in a series of A/B/O Bingo by the author, which somehow manages to keep Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in perfect character no matter their "dynamic". But the dynamic illustrated in this story is the one you meet with most often.

But the rose was awake all night for your sake knowing your promise to me by x_los is ~8k of magical lovemaking. Very magical. Using tentacles of resentful energy...

Midlength Mysteries - my understanding of the genre is that the typical format involves two cultivators traveling together to investigate supernatural mysteries. Here are some of those.

And I will Call You Home by Spodume 42k of a post-canon investigation into some mysterious deaths. This is an interesting example of the ways the monsters in cultivation novels differ from traditional western Dragons In Need of Slaying, ala Smaug. At its core, this is two investigators working a problem, and one very smart protagonist coming up with an answer. Also, the investigators are in love. Love is the answer.

Vagabond by xantissa is 65k of something similar, equally good, with added undertones of gay culture in ancient china. I really adore this one, but maybe read one or two other stories first so the climax has its full impact.

Look Not With the Eyes by Spodume 28k Classic tropes, truly classic mythological creature, absolutely adorable. Is it kind of cheating to recommend two by the same author? Maybe. Do I low key think you should just start with this one? Yes. Two men travel to investigate a mystery. After a strange encounter, they find that everyone they meet falls instantly in love with one of them. The other is totally not extremely jealous, but works hard to solve the mystery and fix this serious problem.

And once you're in deep, hit me up again! I have a million AUs to recommend.

[sollannaart]

Napoleonic era fiction

Having shared with you the history books about the Napoleonic era I've read recently, let me talk a little bit on the topic of historical fiction. (Not that I read this kind of book much, but there are some I'd like to express my opinion of.)

The first one in my list will be La Victoire de la Grande Armée, by the former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. It's an alternative history book, where it is imagined what might have happened if in 1812 the Grand Armée had left Russia just after the battle of Moscow. (A spoiler - as one can guess from the title, everything should have went well for the Napoleonic France).

Alas, there are a lot of discrepancies in the book (like, for example, Poniatowski and Grouchy are marshals already in 1812); in additional, the protagonist (a general named François Beille) seems to be a kind of Marty Stu. Nevertheless, I liked this book, because... in that reality prince Józef didn't die in the battle of Leipzig (because the battle just didn't take place)! On the contrary, he's being made the king of the the restore Poland (though, I must admit, Poniatowski in fact didn't long for a crown - more on the topic here).

2. Having touched the topic of alternative history I can't help omitting another book (which, unfortunately, hasn't AFAIK been translated to any foreign language that's why I can now recommend it to my Polish speaking friends only). The book's title is Most we mgle (A Bridge In A Fog) and it is written by Marcin Ciszewski.

The plot is that in 1930ies Poland there appeared a time hole leading to 1813, using which a squad of the Polish soldiers was able to go back in time and change the result of the battle of Leipzig. So, in that universe prince Józef didn't die either )) (Though even there he had to become a king ;))

3. From alternative history of Poland let's switch to the real one, and here I have to digress a little to introduce you the next set of book. A friend of mine had once recommended me The Polish trilogy, a series of book by an American writer James Conroyd Martin, mentioning that in one of the books prince Józef's death in the battle of Leipzig is described. (A spoiler - there was such a scene in the second book, but it was not the most detailed description of the event I've stumbled upon, given all the books on the topic I've read, though it may be the only of those written in English.)

Having started to read the first book, I soon discovered that it wasn't an entire fiction, but was based on a real diary of a woman, Anna Maria Berezowska-Stelnicka, who lived in Poland in the end of the XVIIIth century. The diary was inherited by her descendants who live now in the US, and it was also translated to English and published and this is a book I do recommend to read:

4. And what about the book series? Alas, here I can't be so enthusiastic.

First, it contained a lot of typos (in Polish names etc.; it might have been fixed in the Polish edition, but I was able to find the English one so I read it) and even some historical (for instance, women working as civil-cervants' secretaries of Russian administration in Warsaw in 1830-ies) and geographical discrepancies (for example, according to the author to the East of Warsaw there are stepps which go all the way to Moscow).

In addition, I didn't like how Martin adjusted the real characters from the diary on which he based the first book of his. Also, it surprised me that John Stelnicki, Anna's descendant who is the current owner of her diary, chose a male writer to process the diary into a fiction story (in my opinion, in the book there were scenes where the female protagonist would act illogical and unfeminine and those were the scenes not present in the original diary).

And the second and the third books aren't at all based on the diary events - the action of both diary and the first book, Push not the River, ends in 1794. The second one, Against a Crimson Sky, is set in the span from 1794 to 1814, the last one, The Warsaw Conspiracy, is dedicated the Polish November Uprising which started in 1830 and lasted till October of the next year.

The second book I liked more (and it was there where prince Józef's death was described), but unfortunately, the discrepancies between the characters behavior and how real people of that time did think and act (if to compare with the real diaries and memoires of other real people) only enhanced. (Though it was kind of fun to recognize whose memoires the author was using to describe this or those event).

The last book... well, the November Uprising isn't really my cup of tea, so there were less things there that did catch my eye (but nevertheless, as I've mentioned above, they were). And I was really disappointed that in the epilogue of the book there was nothing about how Anna's family got to America. For because of the Uprising they had to leave Poland everything pointed out that they or there descendants wouldn't have return to the motherland until Poland gained independence in 1918... That's why, taking into account that Anna's descendant who is the owner of her diary does live in the US, it seemed to me it was worth to mention that the family moved to the New World (even if the real chain of events due to which the diary ended in the US couldn't be restored).

5. And the last image is to illustrate more of a question than a recommendation. For the sake of inspiration I decided to look for historical romances where the story is set in Napoleonic France. But, to my great disappointment, it turned out that there are not very much of them. The French Wikipedia in fact mentioned the only one series of books - Juliette Benzoni's Marianne, the set which I read, and even more than once. But those books, in my opinion, though may arouse interest in a person of fourteen, but can't IMHO inspire people in their forties (at least due to the fact that the main love interest of the heroine is a cynical abuser).

That's why I would like to ask you, my friends, for a recommendation of historical romance with the action set in Napoleonic France or its satellites (and where the protagonists are, of course, on the French side ;))

[rjalker]

it's just so fucking funny. Oh my gods.

A Square explaining how allowing disabled people* to exist in public would bring about the downfall of civilization

[ID: The meme of someone standing in front of a wall covered in red string connecting dots in a conspiracy theory, with the person replaced with A Square, a Flatlander seen from above. He has a grey exoskeleton, and insides of various shades of pink and purple. End ID.]

= = =

For context, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, is satire of Victorian England's bigotry, written in 1884. It's also about math and the theory of other dimensions. ("Romance" back then meant "adventure")

Read and download it for free from Project Gutenberg.

An amazing and hilarious audiobook on the Web Archive.

10/10 highly recommend. In the process of "translating" it into casual 2023 English so more people can read it easier.

This is the original text below. I keep getting distracted from "translating" it because it's so funny.

The entire thing is written to show you how absolutely absurd and ridiculous bigotry is.

= = =

Section 7. Concerning Irregular Figures

Throughout the previous pages I have been assuming—what perhaps should have been laid down at the beginning as a distinct and fundamental proposition—that every human being in Flatland is a Regular Figure, that is to say of regular construction. By this I mean that a Woman must not only be a line, but a straight line; that an Artisan or Soldier must have two of his sides equal; that Tradesmen must have three sides equal; Lawyers (of which class I am a humble member), four sides equal, and generally, that in every Polygon, all the sides must be equal.

The size of the sides would of course depend upon the age of the individual. A Female at birth would be about an inch long, while a tall adult Woman might extend to a foot. As to the Males of every class, it may be roughly said that the length of an adult's sides, when added together, is two feet or a little more. But the size of our sides is not under consideration. I am speaking of the EQUALITY of sides, and it does not need much reflection to see that the whole of the social life in Flatland rests upon the fundamental fact that Nature wills all Figures to have their sides equal.

If our sides were unequal our angles might be unequal. Instead of its being sufficient to feel, or estimate by sight, a single angle in order to determine the form of an individual, it would be necessary to ascertain each angle by the experiment of Feeling. But life would be too short for such a tedious grouping. The whole science and art of Sight Recognition would at once perish; Feeling, so far as it is an art, would not long survive; intercourse would become perilous or impossible; there would be an end to all confidence, all forethought; no one would be safe in making the most simple social arrangements; in a word, civilization would relapse into barbarism.

Am I going too fast to carry my Readers with me to these obvious conclusions? Surely a moment's reflection, and a single instance from common life, must convince every one that our whole social system is based upon Regularity, or Equality of Angles. You meet, for example, two or three Tradesmen in the street, whom you recognize at once to be Tradesmen by a glance at their angles and rapidly bedimmed sides, and you ask them to step into your house to lunch. This you do at present with perfect confidence, because everyone knows to an inch or two the area occupied by an adult Triangle: but imagine that your Tradesman drags behind his regular and respectable vertex, a parallelogram of twelve or thirteen inches in diagonal:—what are you to do with such a monster sticking fast in your house door?

But I am insulting the intelligence of my Readers by accumulating details which must be patent to everyone who enjoys the advantages of a Residence in Spaceland. Obviously the measurements of a single angle would no longer be sufficient under such portentous circumstances; one's whole life would be taken up in feeling or surveying the perimeter of one's acquaintances. Already the difficulties of avoiding a collision in a crowd are enough to tax the sagacity of even a well-educated Square; but if no one could calculate the Regularity of a single figure in the company, all would be chaos and confusion, and the slightest panic would cause serious injuries, or—if there happened to be any Women or Soldiers present—perhaps considerable loss of life.

Expediency therefore concurs with Nature in stamping the seal of its approval upon Regularity of conformation: nor has the Law been backward in seconding their efforts. "Irregularity of Figure" means with us the same as, or more than, a combination of moral obliquity and criminality with you, and is treated accordingly. There are not wanting, it is true, some promulgators of paradoxes who maintain that there is no necessary connection between geometrical and moral Irregularity. "The Irregular", they say, "is from his birth scouted by his own parents, derided by his brothers and sisters, neglected by the domestics, scorned and suspected by society, and excluded from all posts of responsibility, trust, and useful activity. His every movement is jealously watched by the police till he comes of age and presents himself for inspection; then he is either destroyed, if he is found to exceed the fixed margin of deviation, or else immured in a Government Office as a clerk of the seventh class; prevented from marriage; forced to drudge at an uninteresting occupation for a miserable stipend; obliged to live and board at the office, and to take even his vacation under close supervision; what wonder that human nature, even in the best and purest, is embittered and perverted by such surroundings!"

All this very plausible reasoning does not convince me, as it has not convinced the wisest of our Statesmen, that our ancestors erred in laying it down as an axiom of policy that the toleration of Irregularity is incompatible with the safety of the State. Doubtless, the life of an Irregular is hard; but the interests of the Greater Number require that it shall be hard. If a man with a triangular front and a polygonal back were allowed to exist and to propagate a still more Irregular posterity, what would become of the arts of life? Are the houses and doors and churches in Flatland to be altered in order to accommodate such monsters? Are our ticket-collectors to be required to measure every man's perimeter before they allow him to enter a theatre or to take his place in a lecture room? Is an Irregular to be exempted from the militia? And if not, how is he to be prevented from carrying desolation into the ranks of his comrades? Again, what irresistible temptations to fraudulent impostures must needs beset such a creature! How easy for him to enter a shop with his polygonal front foremost, and to order goods to any extent from a confiding tradesman! Let the advocates of a falsely called Philanthropy plead as they may for the abrogation of the Irregular Penal Laws, I for my part have never known an Irregular who was not also what Nature evidently intended him to be—a hypocrite, a misanthropist, and, up to the limits of his power, a perpetrator of all manner of mischief.

Not that I should be disposed to recommend (at present) the extreme measures adopted by some States, where an infant whose angle deviates by half a degree from the correct angularity is summarily destroyed at birth. Some of our highest and ablest men, men of real genius, have during their earliest days laboured under deviations as great as, or even greater than, forty-five minutes: and the loss of their precious lives would have been an irreparable injury to the State. The art of healing also has achieved some of its most glorious triumphs in the compressions, extensions, trepannings, colligations, and other surgical or diaetetic operations by which Irregularity has been partly or wholly cured. Advocating therefore a VIA MEDIA, I would lay down no fixed or absolute line of demarcation; but at the period when the frame is just beginning to set, and when the Medical Board has reported that recovery is improbable, I would suggest that the Irregular offspring be painlessly and mercifully consumed.

[moonsunlovers]

Hi ! I read your blog and really admire your observation skills. I want to bring your attention to some things I personally observed

1) During JK's live where he listened to letter. So he was playing songs from YT, right? And he searched up "지민"(Jimin) in the searchbar and scrolled down on recommended searches ("Jimin- jaman- jimin") till he found " 지민 pyeonji" or " 지민 편지" which weverse translated to dear.ARMY. Now if you search "지민 편지" on YT, the 3rd video that pops up is the FMV made by elisssa which is a beautiful Jikook compilation with thumbnail of Jimin piggybacking on Jungkook after a show. When he scrolled down, he saw the thumbnail and smiled at 0:10. (https://youtu.be/OM2EH_VKxW4?si=_mbBZqLzVxdztL7Z). I am absolutely sure this was the reason for his smile. Finally, the video he ended up playing was the lyric video that shows up 2nd for the search. He didn't play the Dear.army live clip as many claim. I know this because I pay attention to music and the one he listened to didn't have acoustic instrumentals like in the live clip. He reacted to the original song.

So my conclusions are:

Jungkook now knows that there are jikook FMV/compilations to letter with above 500k views. And his reaction was just a cute smile. Infact i have never seen jm and jk mind their ship or mentions of the ship.

He didn't play the live clip for whatever reason but maybe because it was too much for him to watch the live version? especially after crying about army's songs? He was in an emotional state after all.

Phew..

2) The JK bday post made by JM on Instagram. I'll just say it- Jimin's pants are sketched. Badly. With a phone editor. While JK's pants/trousers are clearly visible with cloth texture and everything, Jimin's are just plain dark , 2D, with a wobbly waistband. Lol. Even if you change image settings, nothing changes. As someone with decent amount of photo editing knowledge, i am 100% sure of this. Reminds me of the jkk selfie from that exhibition where Jimin's black shirt was clearly sketched. So what do we do with this info? Lol. Maybe jm was in underwear. Yes.

I will never say with 100% confidence that jikook are absolutely dating but their bond is definitely for the history books. Have a good day/night.

Hello dear. Thank you for passing by my blog leaving such an interesting ask and also the little compliment you made me, I appreciate it so much. I have been looking in detail at the things you’ve pointed out and my observations about them are the following:

1) The video search. I have to say that I’ve search “지민 편지” from different accounts and the video edit you said doesn’t appeared in the first ones. Maybe it’s because now there’re trendier ones but you have to scroll down to see that specific video. It’s possible that Jungkook saw it that day or maybe he saw something else that made him smile like that. Maybe he was just smiling at Jimin in the thumbnails of almost all of the videos or he was remembering a fond moment. Whatever it was I’m sure it was Jimin related and was a really sweet gesture. You can see the man melting looking at him in the screen.

About Jungkook having knowledge of this kind of content I think we can be sure that he knows about it pretty well. I mean he watched a video of bts teasing Jimin, is obvious that he has been watching compilations in YouTube and is almost impossible to not cross by to one of this type. The same goes in twitter, Instagram and tiktok. The boys must know everything we’re into as a fandom so I wouldn’t be surprise if they had searched for fanarts and other stuff before. Jimin and Jungkook don’t seem bothered by fans shipping them together in general, at least they haven’t expressed themselves like Tae has done with taekookers so probably they are okey with it. Although I have to say that I feel like Jimin is trying to keep it low this year and doesn’t want to talk about Jk that much and the things that they have going on for some reason. Maybe it’s because the military service is approaching, maybe is because of the breaking into his apartment and his private life… I can not tell the motives behind this decision but I think is pretty obvious that he has been protecting his private life with more tenacity than before, and that includes Jungkook, and that decision alone speaks volumes.

2) The birthday photo. I have to say that I didn’t notice this and is pretty interesting!! You have an amazing eye for the detail anon!!! I’m not sure if only the top part of the pants are drawn or the whole thing. Maybe he was trying to hide his underwear showing or he was plainly in something more compromising. Maybe we’ll see the behind the scenes of this photo in the program that Jikook has recorded, who knows. Whatever it is I’m sure Jimin is comfortable enough to be just in underwear in front of Jungkook, I mean, we know that he usually goes naked at home and this guys have been living together for half their lives. And if we want to be more delusional, we know that in their Tokio trip the bathroom of their room had a huge window. So, yeah, no privacy whatsoever for Jikook.

On the other hand, being more objective, what makes me think that maybe he was just on his swimming trunks and there’s no reason to panic is because obviously there was other people with them, somebody else took the photo for them so probably the staff was there too, I don’t think they would be in underwear or something “compromising” if other people were around.

Although my answer wasn’t maybe what you were waiting for Anon I hope you continue to send me this type of asks because I enjoy them so much. I love to look into the details and try to put everything coherently together. Jimin and Jungkook have an unique and wonderful bond in which we don’t need to exaggerate or create things in order to find something extraordinary between them.

See you next time!