#is she someone who has been transported into a novel??... who knows

[majunju]

I wanna know how the duke the south's fiance looks like

they live a very happy n peaceful life together <3

[alexanderwales]

Pitchposting: Tradwife

Alright, usually I do pitchposting when I think a concept has legs but I don't have the time or inclination to actually write it. I'm not sure about this one though.

The premise is that it's an isekai, but our protagonist is a Gen Z late-teenage girl who is deep into a neo-conservative neo-traditional mindset that she's picked up from TikTok or whatever. She gets thrust into a fantasy world with their own conservative traditional gender roles, and the story happens from there.

I guess I have to start with what appeals to me: this is a fish-out-of-water clash of cultures story that's premised on the protagonist assuming that this is what she wants. It's "weeaboo goes to Japan". That basic pitch is a classic one, though much more rare than "naïve fish-out-of-water knows nothing", and usually the narrative path is disillusionment followed by some kind of synthesis where either the world changes because of the protagonist or the protagonist realizes that the world has its own merits that are different from the naïve notions that they came in with.

And I think you certainly could tell a story where our tradwifelette protagonist was instantly disabused of the notion that tradwifery was what she was imagining, or where it's instantly shown that she doesn't and cannot fit in, that she is ill-prepared for this world she's been dreaming of, simply does not have the material and emotional skills that she needs, etc. And I think that this would be somewhat boring to me.

So what I'm pitching instead is the textured approach, one where we try to slowly pick apart our protagonist's psyche rather than flash-boiling her. We're not ripping this sweater in half, we're pulling at threads until the whole thing is undone. She gets courted (somehow), and gets married, and her husband is not abusive, and she isn't locked away, but there are expectations and she is confined in the way that she had wished to be confined.

(The central example of an aspirational tradwife wants to be transported into the world that mostly existed in 1950s adverts for kitchen appliances. It's a fantasy that's at least partly about prosperity and leisure, and having someone take care of you. I think "woman transported back to the 50s" is something that could work, but is not to my tastes for a variety of reasons. The central example of a tradwife influencer has a bunch of kids, lots of support, puts on a happy face, and hustles like hell to work on photos and videos and stuff. The difference between the influencer and the false reality the influencer is peddling is interesting, but beyond the scope of this idea.)

Anyway, I feel like there are a ton of romance novels featuring women transported back in time so they can get in romantic entanglements with brooding, muscular men, and the romance genre is so wide that there are many different types of men, and many different types of protagonists. So probably this has been done, and been done many times. But there's something that tickles me about giving our hypothetical Zoomer everything she wants and then watching the ways it makes her dissatisfied.

There are obviously some pitfalls to watch out for here, and I think if I were writing this, it would be with the intent that I get at the fantasy and what makes it appealing, then at specifically the ways in which that fantasy offers its own internal paradoxes, rather than the ways in which it's unrealistic or impossible or whatever, the external paradoxes.

And this would take a lot of research, I guess, because I have some inklings about what makes the Zoomer wannabe tradwives tick, but the point would be to deconstruct it from the inside (hard), rather than from the outside (easy).

[luv-indigo]

okay so, redesigning nadine for the third and (hopefully) final time. i felt she looked too similar to soraya (my keyframes fall mc) so i changed nadine up a bit. also!! i was trying to find oc templates to fill out for my visual novel ocs and although there’s so many out there, none were exactly what i was looking for soooo…. I made my own! i’ll post my other our life ocs with them soon but first, nadine ! (again)

I’ve also changed my own mind. Nadine will be my MC for Qiu’s route.

Nadine introduction <3

Nadine spent much of her early childhood moving from place to place, all within her home state of California but oftentimes in different cities. Moving around so often made it hard to keep in contact with friends and after a while made it especially hard making friends in the first place.

When Opal tells Nadine they‘re moving once again, Nadine is surprised to learn they’re moving to Oregon, their neighboring state. This time, she learns it’ll be a more permanent location. Nadine doesn’t know exactly how to feel. She’s so used to moving around that being in a place for so long sounds foreign, weird and new. However, part of her can’t help but feel excited, especially since she gets her own room now! But no matter what, she knows mama will be with her every step of the way.

Upon meeting Qiu and Tamarack, Nadine quickly feels they can be the best of friends. Nadine has always been more of a quiet person but not necessarily shy. Spend enough time with her and you’ll find she can talk quite a lot. Yet she’s perfectly content with simply listening as well.

Nadine is mostly a rule follower. Rules are there for a reason right? She prides herself on being neat and orderly. All her belongings are pristine and in their place because that’s just how she likes it. During step 1, Nadine strongly dislikes getting dirty. Which can be difficult to avoid if you’re playing outside in the woods.

Step Two !!

After four years, Nadine has adjusted well into her new home. Although Nadine needs glasses she very much prefers to use eye contacts instead. It’s also the most convenient when ice skating. She’s taken on ice skating as her main past time and she’s fairly good. Her transportation of choice has been rollerblading so it makes sense she got into ice skating as well.

Her other hobbies are more on the creative side. She enjoys crafting and drawing on occasion. Cosplaying is also one of her major hobbies. For years she has worked on making her Halloween costumes with the help of Mama.

During this time Nadine becomes more of a shy person. During her earlier childhood, she had no problem voicing her thoughts and opinions but it seems now that sort of thing gets harder to do as you age. Thankfully, she has her two close friends to turn to whenever she needs a hand, and in turn she will be there for them as well.

Step Three !!

Nadine has less and less time to do things she wants. If this is how adult life is she wants zero part of it </3

Nadine has always prioritized their studies (although that became much harder to do when middle school started due to her procrastination habits). Now college is weighing on their mind. Nadine still very much enjoys ice skating yet she struggles to make time to practice. Similarly, cosplaying has turning into a year long project (for Halloween of course). Doing multiple cosplays a year is something she doesn’t have time for anymore. Although they are often busy, Nadine will always make time for a special someone and her best friend, Tamarack.

Step Four !!

Nadine’s all grown up </3

Throughout many years Nadine has learned things about themselves and grown into the person they are today. Her experiences and the people she has been around since she was ten years old have impacted her life to mold her into who she is, for better or worse. And honestly, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

And finally this little thing I made with all of Nadine’s doll icons. I had to edit many of them to fit the hair style and clothing options I wanted and it literally took forever </3 ouGh

Also, I apologize for the quality. I tried to preserve it as I was inserting the drawings into the template but resizing may have messed up the quality </3

[sepublic]

I have to wonder about Camila's life and backstory, leading her to the beginning of The Owl House; For example, was she the (grand)daughter of immigrants, or an immigrant herself? For what reasons did she come to the U.S.; Was there a promise of adventure and freedom that didn't entirely pan out? I could see there being additional parallels between Camila and Luz, if they both came to another 'world' and met someone who really made them feel at home, with Camila's person being Manny.

It isn't exactly canon, being revealed in a unreleased episode that no longer fits with established lore, but Homesick (which seems to have been originally written as a Season 1B episode) reveals that Manny was a hospital driver. Now this is also mentioned alongside Camila being a nurse, when we know now that she's a veterinarian.

But the idea could still be repurposed into HC territory; Camila met Manny, as someone who also shared in the same career. Given her compassion towards animals, it seems Camila chose being a vet because she genuinely enjoys and believes in that work, so it makes me think of how Luz wanted to become a witch, and then found belonging in fellow witches like Eda or Amity, who helped to validate that choice for her by participating in it with Luz. Maybe Manny did the same for Camila, as someone who was also compassionate in helping transport people to medical assistance, and I assume ambulance drivers must also be knowledgeable themselves too!

Looking at it from one perspective, you could say Manny was Camila's Eda, as someone more confident who helped encourage Camila into being her fullest self, making her feel at home as a fellow weirdo, etc. And by extension, Luz is her King; Someone younger that she helps guide and look after, a kid with lots of big fantasies they want to play out. And on Manny’s end, he could be Luz, while Camila is his Amity, as someone less confident about embracing herself, only to find that courage upon meeting Manny. He too would share in the immigrant experience of coming to a new world, and maybe he did so with reckless enthusiasm, like his daughter did?

And if Camila's an immigrant, I wonder what sorts of mixed feelings she might have about Gravesfield, and the U.S. as a whole. How does she feel about the Dominican Republic, if she's ever been there? Thinking of those Mother-Daughter parallels, this new home isn't exactly the nicest, and it has many of its downsides; Like the Boiling Isles for Luz, it suffers from the influence of racist Puritan white guys, which exacerbates a hostility to outsiders. But as I've mentioned with Manny, there are still people to find there, and the existence of kids like Masha further cements that because even if viewers can't find a Boiling Isles, they'll rest assured knowing there's still others like them in this world particularly.

Not to mention, Vee! Adopting Vee, who much prefers the human world, could help Camila appreciate her own home by looking at it from that angle, and relate to her new daughter as a fellow immigrant to Gravesfield. Camila still seems somewhat beholden to the human world, since she and Luz still live there; A part of this could probably be attributed to Vee, but I wonder if there are other ties as well, such as Luz and Camila's Dominican heritage?

Do they have other relatives that they're still in contact with, and how do they feel about them? I don't think they're necessarily on bad terms, seeing as how Luz herself struggled with being a loner while still having loving and supportive parents, and her feeling complete with her found family doesn't negate those pre-existing relationships at all; People simply need as many friends as they can get.

Plus, Camila might still enjoy other aspects of the human world nevertheless, such as her Cosmic Frontier novels, or even something as simple as her latin music. Maybe she isn't entirely comfortable with the isles either, given how four years later she's still a bit grossed out by certain aspects of Luz's new Quincenera, but Camila's still open-minded enough to be accommodating and respectful.

And again, that makes me think about how the Boiling Isles has its ups and downs, as well as locals who are cruel without needing the influence of outsiders. This is part of Luz's arc in Witches before Wizards, acknowledging that, while still being able to love it, warts and all. And I wonder if Camila feels similarly about the world she moved to (while also sharing an unambiguous distaste for the government), if there's a lot to Gravesfield and the U.S. as a whole that she doesn't like.

But there are still good parts and good people, hence Vee's friends, her own relatives, and of course Manny. Vee herself likes it, fellow migrants have a lot in common! So there’s an almost begrudging love, like Eda and King talking about their home at the end of WBW. Maybe like Luz, Camila realized the (American) dream she wanted when she came to this new place wasn't going to play out exactly as she expected... But in many ways, it still did, especially because of people who made it feel complete.

So Camila really is like her daughter; A weirdo who felt the need to suppress herself, only to find people who gave her the encouragement she needed. Someone who moved to another place that wasn't exactly perfect, but there was so much to still appreciate, and it's how she met someone who also moved and loved it there, like the Collector for Luz, or Vee for Camila. Two outsiders wandering and looking for a home, and when Luz found hers, she really cemented Camila rediscovering that belonging when she felt emboldened enough to continue where Manny left off, without him.

It'd have been so easy to just have Luz and Camila both renounce the human world, but that would be cultural whitewashing, and keep in mind the antagonist of the series is colonialism. There’s a lot more nuance in them having connections in both worlds that they want to maintain. And I think Vee helps to cement this for Luz and Camila; The latter would otherwise sacrifice staying in her human home for Luz if she had to, but Vee can function as family in the human world to stay in touch with AND a parallel for Luz to reflect on her choices, etc. Mother and daughter navigating two different worlds that they feel beholden to is the immigrant experience; They're still allowed to hold onto their heritage that way, just as in real life they would be considered both Dominican AND American. That's part of the larger theme of not having to choose nor settle for strict binaries, while maintaining your own identity as you explore entering another community.

[talshiargirlfriend]

Remember when I said I’d been thinking about how (some) other Vulcans (mis)treat T’Pol? This…

— post Terra Prime ficlet

“Perhaps the kin-kur-savas would be more to your liking,” the Vulcan steward suggests.

T’Pol’s lips tighten fractionally before she quietly responds, “Thank you for the recommendation, but I am content with my choices.”

The man turns slightly to include Trip in his blandly disapproving stare.

There’s some Vulcan social subtext Trip can’t parse, so he just stands sternly at T’Pol’s side. She has hardly eaten a thing since Elizabeth died, and if this jackass puts her off her meager breakfast Trip’s gonna put him out an airlock. Mentally, of course, while outwardly observing appropriate decorum on the Vulcan transport delivering the grieving parents to Vulcan for an acknowledgment and internment rite with T’Pol’s clan.

Enterprise had been ordered to remain in-system around Sol tying up Terra Prime loose ends and doing coalition schmoozing. Blessedly Trip and T’Pol have been spared any more Earth media scrutiny for now.

Shran had actually offered to give the pair a lift to Vulcan on his way back to Andoria to continue rallying support for the fledgling Coalition of Planets, but T’Pol was insistent they travel via Vulcan ship. At Trip’s questioning she’d reluctantly admitted that her ties to Vulcan society were somewhat tenuous, and there were many who would view her arrival on an Andorian vessel as evidence she no longer belongs to her home planet at all.

Trip quietly wonders if it was worth the trouble given their reception aboard the T’Mara. For every “I grieve with thee” there’s been a haughty look or three. He’s doing his best to be a perfect guest and support T’Pol. Most of the time he wants to scream, cry, hit someone, or all three.

The steward has thankfully left to go be dour elsewhere, and he and T’Pol take their breakfast trays to a table near a window.

T’Pol glances at her food and drink and then stares out at the passing stars.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?” he asks her gently.

He can see by the tightness around her eyes and mouth that she very much does not “wanna.”

“Kin-kur-savas is a Vulcan stone fruit. It has variegated skin of yellow, green and red, pale yellow flesh, and a small deep red pit at the center. You once likened them to Vulcan peaches.”

“I remember.”

She hesitates, “It was an insult meant to imply that while I may still appear Vulcan I am human at my core.”

Trip inhales sharply and bites down on his anger.

“Additionally, his use of English gave him the plausible excuse of deference to your presence while effectively… alienating me further,” T’Pol finishes.

He doesn’t insult her by asking if she’s sure she’s not reading too much into it. It doesn’t surprise him that Vulcans can be just as bigoted and cruel as humans, but it’s still hard to see it directed at T’Pol, especially when he knows how hard she’s working to hold herself together right now.

Trip is absolutely not going to do anything that will bring shame to his daughter (may she rest in peace), or her mother (may she live long and prosper), so he breathes in a controlled manner and tries to keep all traces of what he’s feeling off his face.

He reaches for a utensil and casually touches T’Pol’s hand. When she makes eye contact he thinks as clearly and deliberately as he can: What an asshole. There’s a flicker of amusement in her eyes. Whether she understood his thought or was just entertained by his pathetic attempt at telepathy, he’ll take the win.

“I’m sorry if my presence is making this worse for you,” he tells her with sympathy.

She gives him a long look. “Trip, his actions reflect only on himself. Your attendance is appropriate and necessary as Elizabeth’s father,” she looks down briefly before continuing, “and I personally find your presence… beneficial. As I said, I am content with my choices.” Her voice is soft but firm.

It may not be a romance novel confession of love, but Trip is moved nonetheless.

“That’s good. I … I feel better when you’re around, too.”

T’Pol gives him a soft look and sips her tea. Trip flashes her a quick smile and takes a bite of the strange but not unpleasant plomeek porridge in front of him. Silently he rejoices when she follows suit, and they finish their meal together in companionable silence.

[bethanydelleman]

Jane Fairfax and Emma Woodhouse have never been friends. Mr. Knightley says it's because Emma is jealous, but she doesn't act jealous. She is quick to praise Jane's accomplishments (when they aren't being bragged about by Miss Bates) and prior to age 8, Jane would not have had a good education. The only time she is somewhat jealous is when she's slightly worried that Knightley might actually like Jane. So why weren't the girls friends then in childhood? We know they grew up together until Jane left to live with the Campbells.

I think Miss Bates is probably a huge reason, Emma cannot stand her and her constant bragging about Jane. Even without jealousy, that would get old very quickly. I mean we all know this lady, who brags about their family member, it's awful. So being friends with Jane is a package deal of seeing Miss Bates far more often.

Secondly, children hate being told to be friends with someone, adults hate it too. Everyone always saying Emma and Jane should be best friends just because they are the same age gives me flashbacks to forced friendships in my own childhood. It rarely works.

Thirdly, this is a two way street and Jane gives nothing. Emma tries, she makes a resolution that it will be better this time and is met with vague, short responses. Now was Emma being somewhat nosey? Yes. But she wants to hear about Weymouth and gets almost nothing. It's natural to talk about a trip! It doesn't even seem like Jane offers another subject:

She was, besides, which was the worst of all, so cold, so cautious! There was no getting at her real opinion. Wrapt up in a cloak of politeness, she seemed determined to hazard nothing. She was disgustingly, was suspiciously reserved.

However, I think the real problem is the social discrepancy between Jane and Emma. We know Jane thinks about it; she brings up her fate frequently. Emma doesn't even need to marry, Jane is to be a governess. She is at the bottom of the gentry and Emma is near the very top. The only time in the novel that Jane comfortably talks to Emma is when her engagement is finally public and secure and she has assumed Emma's level in society.

And that makes sense! Emma is supposed to act like Miss/Mrs. Bates is an equal (roughly) but she sends the women charity food and transportation. It is inherently awkward. It's actually no wonder they've never been friends.

I hope you enjoyed my random, jumbled TedTalk.

[lyricthecat-12]

Why is Tyrian a better fighter than Neopolitan?

Ok, a week ago I did a poll for fun about who would win in a Vs between Tyrian and Neo, however the result left me a little perplexed. So to complement it, I would like to offer my own point of view and why I think Tyrian could beat Neo in a fight;

(Small Warning: English isn't my native language, so if there are any grammar errors I'm sorry and I would appreciate it if someone would tell me)

First of all, I won't allow myself to be corrupted by fanaticism, I know and emphasized that Neo is a skilled fighter and shouldn't be underestimated in the slightest. Outside of her amazing semblance, as revealed in the novel Roman Holiday, she briefly received training from a special assassin training program shortly before joining Roman and also receiving his tutelage. In addition to the fact that throughout the show, she demonstrated that she could stand up to characters like Yang or Cinder, who as we know shouldn't be taken as a joke either, and in recent volumes she also demonstrated that she has a certain manipulation skill, which combined with her semblance, makes her especially unpredictable against vulnerable opponents, as seen in his fight against Team JNOR and, above all, in Volume 9 with Ruby.

However, there is a crucial detail in his record that is the reason why I believe he wouldn't emerge victorious in a fight against Tyrian. Most of his combat exploits and victories were against fighters in training, also skilled but young after all. The closest thing he ever faced to an experienced fighter was Cinder; At the beginning of this fight, Neo was on par with Cinder mainly because she was taken by surprise, but as the fight progresses you can see how Cinder is progressively gaining ground, even when she is holding back since, in addition to having not interest in fighting her for being out of his priorities, in between he tried to talk to her before resorting to using weapons and his Maiden powers.

But when we get to the V8 E5 something quite unusual happens. In her brief fight against Maria Calavera, a veteran and widely experienced huntress, María proved to be able to overcome her without problem and was even able to mock Neo like she usually does with others, and everything seems to indicate that he could have won if it hadn't been for Cinder's distraction.

Now speaking of Tyrian, while we don't know how he acquired his abilities, it has been made very clear as the story progresses how formidable and lethal he is, both implicitly and directly: As revealed in V7, he was a criminal and serial killer who became recognized and feared outside his kingdom, to the point that it was necessary to carry out a joint operation between Atlas and Mystral to stop him. Until his transport was intercepted by Salem, who generally prefers others to do the legwork and has only been seen personally gone out to take over the Kingdom of Atlas once the scene was secured, to recruit him herself.

Already from volume 4 you can see his incredible skill. In episodes 6 and 7, we can see how he was able to track down Team RJNR in a matter of days and once he reached them he was able to subdue them without any problem, even being able to easily stop a hammer blow from Nora loaded with his semblance, which was previously able to knock out a entire team and was then able to send Hazel flying.

He practically would have won if it hadn't been for Qrow's intervention and when they get into a fight, Tyrian proves to be on par until the end with Qrow, sober and serious, a member of Ozpin's inner circle and who is considered one of the best, if not the best huntsman in Vale and even with the external intervention of Ruby, Ren and Nora. The only time where he seems to have the advantage is when Tyrian is distracted by Ruby's gunfire. To explain this moment, there is a theory that Tyrian, as he is a scorpion faunus, has poor eyesight or is directly blind, since in real life scorpions are myopic, especially in light, and therefore depends on his other senses as well as his ability to feel the pulsations of movement, which could actually explain his great reaction time and how he was able to stop Ruby's shots without even looking, among others. Although theories aside, despite this brief moment of disadvantage, Tyrian recovers the moment Qrow retrieves his weapon, even to the point of weakening his aura.

Then, in episode 11, when she suffers a mental breakdown and attacks an Ursa, we can see how Cinder's expression is one of absolute horror, which says a lot if we talk about Cinder precisely; megalomaniacal psychopath who doesn't tremble the time to kill and confront opponents like Raven (who had previously made Neo retreat), who has only been afraid of Salem and who later confirmed to us that she knows Tyrian's capabilities and therefore, it is not unreasonable to think that her reaction is It owes, in addition to the impact of the scene, to the extremes to which it knows it can go in its maximum madness.

In fact, later in V5 E11, she revealed that it was him and Hazel who killed all the huntsmen and huntresses at Haven Academy, something they could have done even without the information Leonardo gave them, which makes sense seeing how effective he is Tyrian as a tracker and hunter, to the point that Salem gave him the task of tracking down the Spring Maiden, who was missing, in addition to his feat in the previous volume, of course.

Go back in Volume 7, the CRWBY attempted to show more clearly how formidable he is by putting him in a fight against Qrow accompanied by Clover, an elite agent and Ironwood's right-hand man, and Robyn, leader of an operation. Although he ended up losing, it doesn't take away his impressive physical demonstration in terms of strength, speed and reaction, not to mention that this event would give rise to showing his tenacity now not only physically, but also psychologically during the confrontation between Clover and Qrow. Not only was he able to quickly take advantage of the conflict between the trio to crash the ship and then pretend to be unconscious so as not to be taken into account and thus finish freeing himself, but he was then able to identify the situation of his opponents, he perceived that Clover's priority was blindly Qrow on him so he quickly took advantage of their conflict, he managed to subtly manipulate both Huntsmen so that they only focused on each other until they forgot about him for a moment, taking advantage of it to kill 2 birds with one stone: kill Clover and he frames Qrow for it.

(I'll pause for a moment to say that I personally love this sequence. It clearly has its questionable decisions, but in addition to being wonderfully choreographed, it perfectly exemplifies Salem's main modus operandi: Divide and conquer)

In general, this isn't the only display of emotional intelligence on Tyrian's part, it could also previously be seen in his talk with Mercury and Emerald in Volume 6, being able to identify the true connotations behind Mercury's words and mocking his insecurities not recognize.

Making a more direct comparison between both fighters, Tyrian far surpasses Neo in terms of strength, speed, reaction and durability: he was able to support from an impact that caused him to destroy a house without being minimally affected, he was able to easily stop a charged hammer blow from Nora, he withstood an explosion in the mouth that weakened him but he didn't knock him out, he moved fast enough for Penny to lose sight of him, and he demonstrated enough combat awareness/reflexes to fight in the dark, catch projectiles or casually block a sniper's bullets without looking, as well as having an absolute and versatile control of his 5 limbs.

He was also able to take down an angry Mercury, who had previously been able to pick a fight with Pyrrha and Yang while he was holding back and was literally able to dodge lightning bolts from the previous Autumn Maiden, and he was shown to be able to hold a fight against multiple targets at once as seen in his fight with Qrow and Team RJNR and later, against Qrow, Clover and Robyn for a time.

Neo on the other hand, it wasn't until Volume 8 that she was shown to be able to defend himself against more than one fighter as before that, she was unable to secure the relic against JNOR until Atlas' agents created a distraction. Her perception in combat isn't bad at all but she was taken by surprise when Ruby opened his umbrella and took her out of the airship at the end of V3, she was unable to dodge the badly injured Oscar's blow when she encountered with the JNR and it was also shown that she isn't immune either to manipulation, since during his fight with Ruby at the end of V8 where she was able to trick her into attacking her and then make her fall over the edge using his semblance.

His durability hasn't proven to be a big deal either due to the lack of feats, at most he could resist Yang and Cinder's fire projectiles although for this required Hust and also depended on the setting and context, not like Winter, for example, who had to withstand direct blows. As for speed, it is somewhat doubtful since at first, she was able to evade Yang's attacks in V2 but when she fought against Ruby armed in V3, she proved to have more difficulty until she was assisted by Roman and couldn't keep up with Cinder when she went completely on the offensive and even without using her semblance, powers or weapons, although she was then able to defend herself against Ruby and Blake at the same time, which implies an improvement but going back to her fight with Maria, despite being an old lady, she was able to stop all of their blows and even return a couple.

In terms of fighting style and weapons, Neo has shown a preference for blocking and dodging blows, when he has tried a more direct combat he has shown that he loses advantage, Tyrian on the other hand is someone who is direct in his attacks but also very agile and brutal in his movements. Neo has a Hust but Tyrian has the Queen's Servants and his stinger that give him range options that Neo doesn't have, in addition to Neo usually taking advantage of his combat style to tense his opponents, taunting and making them impatient so that they lose focus but knowing since he is Tyrian, it would hardly affect him and he is more likely to continue fighting without loss his mind (more, I mean) unless she managed to hit accurately him like Qrow.

Now here comes the main course: Neo's semblance, the reason why I think she won the poll. In itself, it was already amazing but with the evolution it had in Volume 9, as I said, it makes it super effective against vulnerable opponents like Ruby or Curious Cat but it also depends on the context. Ruby was caught by surprise being alone while she was going through her lowest moment, it is assumed that Cinder was the one who provided her with information about her history with characters like Pyrrha or Clover, while Curious Cat had just been crushed by Team RWBY, leaving them in a state of weakness and vulnerability where theirs would have succumbed to anyone's attack. [PLUS]

Even if Neo would create clones to help him, again, Tyrian has proven to have not problems fighting several people at the same time, he has a 360° defense thanks to his tail, his long-distance weapons would allow him to ward off or even destroy opponents and surely it wouldn't affect him to slaughter someone just for looking like his companions, at most Salem could make him doubt but Tyrian isn't naive, as I have said, he is more cunning and perceptive than he appears, for not to mention that we don't have indication that Cinder may have shared information about him with Neo as he clearly did with Ruby, so even if he became aware of his devotion to Salem, he hasn't way of knowing the lengths to which he goes or his previous failures to use against him.

Honestly, I think that a fight between these two could be very interesting because, without a doubt, both are notable in their own right: both are cunning, agile, sadistic and very maneuverable but not exempt from being carried away by their emotions, but returning to the initial topic my conclusion it would be this;

If Tyrian and Neo had a fight before the events of Volume 9, Tyrian would win without a problem, perhaps with more or less resistance but in the end he would overcome her, especially if he uses his own semblance with her, since then he would only need to land an accurate blow to Neo to leave her defenseless, injured or out of combat.

But if they were to face each other after Neo's semblance evolved, things would become more complex as additional factors would now have to be taken into account, such as the context of the scenario, as it could be a great advantage for Neo if he managed to catch Tyrian off guard as happened in his confrontation against Qrow, Clover and Robyn, but it depends on the strategy he applies as he could progressively lose that advantage as happened with Cinder if he doesn't take proper advantage of it, so she would have a better chance of putting up a longer fight.

Still, based on all of the above, I still hold my position and consider Tyrian a superior fighter in almost every aspect. This is just my opinion so if anyone wants to add anything else, they are free to do so as long as they are respectful.

[fearthefluff]

Fantasy Romance Recommendations Pt.1

I'm a big fan of Fantasy Romance books but I've noticed that a lot of recommendations lists have the same books over and over again. Nothing against Sarah J Maas, Jennifer Armentrout and Holly Black, but I have read their books already and I'm looking for new suggestions. And thus, I decided to make my own little list (with help from @housebaylor and @shirewalker). Maybe it will help someone somewhere. XD ***Some of the books listed here are not Romance novels officially but all have romance and have HFN or HEA endings Fantasy Romances The Fallen Empire Trilogy by Grace Draven The Kraelian Empire has ruled with an iron fist for centuries, its grip unyielding until the power of three women, and the men devoted to them, break it.

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden Vasya Petrovna is a young woman gifted with the Sight which allows her to see spirits who inhabits the world. The arrival of Christianity spells trouble for her and the world of the spirits at large. This story has her rebel against her fate as a woman in medieval Russia, go on a great adventure and meet amazing characters.  One of my favourite.

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher A subversive take on Fairytales! After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra―the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter―has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. Celia and Marco's beautiful story of challenges, love and magic. Beautiful haunting magic. Radiance by Grace Draven Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart. The Bird and The Sword by Amy Harmon Magic is forbidden and gifted people are sentenced to death. Lark, a voiceless young woman, has a gift she must keep hidden. The day her mother was killed, she told lark's father she wouldn’t speak again, and she told him if Lark's died, he would die too. Then she predicted the king would trade his soul and lose his son to the sky. A Fate of Wrath and Flame by K.A. Tucker Portal Fantasy! Gifted thief Romeria is transported into another world into the body of a treacherous princess. Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom. Only read the first book so far Married to Magic Trilogy by Elise Kova Shared Universe, Fantasy Romance, Stand Alone Novels About Young Women and their Unexpected Romances with Magical Men Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer and everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects. Only read the first book Promise of Darkness by Bec McMaster Princess. Tribute. Sacrifice. Is she the one prophesied to unite two warring Fae courts? Or the one bound to destroy them? If you like S.J.Maas you might like this YA Fantasy Romances Uprooted by Naomi Novik Agnieszka lives in a quiet village bordering a corrupted Wood. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Multiple POVs fairytale Miryem gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When an ill-advised boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk--grim fey creatures who seem more ice than flesh--Miryem's fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. The Girl who fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh Mina's people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering. An Enchantment of Raven by Margaret Rogerson With a flick of her paintbrush, Isobel creates stunning portraits for a dangerous set of clients: the fair folk. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—Isobel makes a deadly mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes, a weakness that could cost him his throne, and even his life. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson Elisabeth was raised in a magical library where dark magical grimoire are kept. She hopes to become a Warden whos job is protecting the Kingdom from their powers. Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. Shielded by Katlynn Flanders Hidden Princess, arranged marriage, yearning! A kingdom ravaged by war, and the princess who might be the key to saving not only those closest to her, but the kingdom itself, if she reveals the very secret that could destroy her. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs. A Crown of Wishes by Rosha Chokshi Book 2 of a series. A captured princess and a wise prince team up and to win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. ****Part 2: Urban Fantasy recs to follow.****

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2023 Anime Overview: Undead Murder Farce and My Happy Marriage

Undead Murder Farce

Premise: Our story takes place in Victorian times/the Meji Era. Tsugaru is a half-oni (demon) and half human as a result of a mysterious man doing horrible experimentation on him. He’s approached by Aya Rindo, an immortal woman who has been reduced to a head (transported in a birdcage by her combat-saavy maid Shizuku) because the same man beheaded her and stole her body. They agree to team up to find the man and hopefully get Aya’s body back. As they look for the man, they travel Europe and to solve mysteries related to monsters and inhumans.

Undead Murder Farce was definitely my show of the summer season. It’s a fun mystery series starring three asshole weirdo protagonists, it’s bursting with monsters and demons and bizarre people, full of references to Victorian literature and rakugo and all kinds of nerdy stuff, it’s got stylish, slick direction from Mamoru Hatekayama (you know him from Kaguya: Love is War, and Rakugo Shinju) and it’s really gay.

The trio of Aya, Tsugaru, and Shizuku all have really have a snarky comfortable friend dynamic and their banter as they solve vampire murder mysteries, try to outsmart Arsene Lupin and a gang of Victorian literary monsters, and investigate a werewolf village and it makes for an entertaining watch. Aya will never stop making stupid jokes about how she’s just a head in a cage, and we love her for it.

The “let’s stuff in every Victorian public domain character we can” arc is where the show really starts to shine (though unlike some others, I do still really like the vampire murder mystery arc a lot—I just love the idea of a vampire murder mystery, and we really get a good feel for the cast. It’s definitely the weakest arc of the series, though). UDM gets to whip out all its literary nerd credentials. The case involves: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Arsene Lupin, The Phantom of the Opera, Carmilla, Frankenstein’s Monster, Aleister Crowley, Phileas Fogg and two surprise characters.

And yes, they remember that Carmilla is gay, which automatically puts in above 99.9% adaptations of the character. They do make her older and WAY more of a sexpot than the novel version, which, eh,  but she’s 100% the ultra-campy Blueprint Problematic Lesbian Vampire she deserves to be. Like in the novel, she exclusively feeds on and seduces women and she gets into a deeply sapphic rivalry with Shizuku, who she tries to subdue and toy with using her vampire powers. (As you can expect from the character, there is the assault stuff that comes with that territory, though they don’t go too far with it, she kisses Shizuku's neck and messes up her shirt a bit).

But also, we find out Shizuku is used to making love with someone who has “centuries” on Carmilla and is “far more experienced ”, which can only be Aya. This is further confirmed when Shizuku shows jealousy over Tsugaru and Aya’s transactional kiss in the next arc and Tsugaru has to reassure her. And then Shizuku just CONTINUES to stumble into sapphic situations. She gets surrounded by naked ladies and bonds with them like twice in the last arc. It’s great. Everyone thought it might be be Aya/Tsugaru at the beginning, but turns out UDM is For the Gays and it straightbaited you. Amazing.

It's not just Carmilla that UDM shows off its nerd (and gay) credentials with—there’s the interesting choice to make the Phantom of Persian descent, which is clever as a reference to the Phantom’s time in Persia in the original novel AND adds an extra layer to the “unfairly treated as an outcast” element of the character. (Lupin and the Phantom also team up in the story and give off such strong gay energy (Lupin especially) that a lot of people ship them). And like in the novel, Frankenstein’s Monster is smart and even functions as the more level-headed one in the villain gang.

All of that stuff is catnip to me, but the best part of UDM is following it’s convoluted mysteries and seeing Aya strut her stuff figuring the them out while everyone gets in cool fights. It’s very good at what it does, and it’s a fun romp with some interesting themes about being on the margins of society and what makes an outcast simmering underneath. I had a great time with it, and I’m aching to see more of these scrappy misfits and their adventures. If you’re here for a campy but intelligent mystery series about lovable weirdos with a side order of gay, absolutely check this one out!

My Happy Marriage

Premise: Miyo was born without supernatural talents despite her father's expectations, and after her mother passes away, her father and stepfamily treat her abusively and use her as a servant. Miyo's family sticks her with an arranged marriage to Kiyoka Kudou, a man with a reputation for being cold and cruel. However, she quickly finds he’s not what he seems, and she slowly begins to gain confidence in herself.

My Happy Marriage is a straightforward Cinderella story, but one that actually focuses on the psychological effects of being abused and the slow recovery and healing journey of its protagonist. Even if she's not with her abusive family anymore, Miyo still has completely shit self esteem and even just running into her Evil Stepsister ™ in the street sends her reeling back to where she started, consumed by fear and sadness. The story is about her finding a place where she’s loved and supported, and slowly gaining confidence, and her and her husband learning to communicate. She’s still shy, domestic, and very devoted to being proper for her husband throughout, and sometimes needs help, but her learning to let herself be loved and learning to find her own strength and power is the focus of the story. It shows how many obstacles you have to bravely face just to move forward after trauma. And in the end, Miyo finds her own way to save the day. I think that’s really valuable.

Though, like in the original Cinderella story, there is the issue of the pure, domestic woman being contrasted with evil, conniving, social climbing women (though at least there’s no “and they’re also ugly” thing going, and they have her dad be shitty too). It wasn’t bothering me too much--even the ‘training to be a proper wife’ stuff Miyo decides to do since it wasn't out of place in the Meiji era setting-- until Miyo met her sister-in-law. Sis is a divorced woman and a little more “modern” and forward than Miyo and I was excited at first, because hey, a woman in this story who doesn’t fit either the ‘demure’ or ‘evil’ archetypes. But then it turned out her tragic backstory was that she’s a shitty cook and therefore failed to be a proper woman for her husband’s family and her in-laws drove her to divorce, which she 100% blames herself and her lack of domestic skil and 'unwillingness to compromise" with her mean in-laws for. She’s not challenged on this attitude at all. I can easily see a future plotline where she reunites with her ex-husband and he reveals he didn’t mind the cooking or something, but as it stands, it’s pretty disheartening and I don't see why it was a thing.

Still, Miyo’s arc is cathartic and well done, and the animation absolutely beautiful throughout. It’s nice seeing a story focusing on recovery that focuses on the small triumphs that come with learning to see your own value after being told you’re worthless. The supernatural element is a fun touch. It’s already been renewed for a second season and I’m definitely here for the rest.

[cecexwrites]

Novel November day 1

Prompt: Write a Journal entry from the POV of your character words: 520/500 @novelnovember

Dear Diary

It came, the letter came! I got in!

I did it, without my family's name, without their influence I got into my dream school. Phase two of the plan is now complete. I do hope that a college degree gotten under a fake name still counts. I do plan on legally changing it but I can't, not yet. I'm sure I could google the answer to that but I'm sure he's watching what I do online. I know there are programs on my computer that aren't meant to be there. Spyware that he uses to keep an eye on me. Make sure his perfect princess isn't, horror of horrors, watching porn or DMing strange men. 

I'll have to get a new phone that isn't on his plan. A new laptop too. The next part of the plan is going to be harder than that last. I have to set up everything without him catching wind of my plans. I have to get plane tickets, arrange transportation for my stuff, make sure everything is lined up and ready to go so on move in day I can step out of this life and into my new one. The life where I am free. 

I know it's dramatic and most girls would love to live the life I have but I am so fucking tired of being His daughter. Of being under His thumb. He caged my mother and now she's gone. I won't let him do it to me. 

Aiden is his heir, his perfect little clone. I don't know what his plan for me is but it would only go one of two ways, either I would be a prisoner, living under his roof until I die or he will use me as a pawn, marry me off to some other family in his circle. He tried to do it to Aiden, who's to say he wouldn't try it with me. I refuse to marry someone I don't love. 

I should see if someone in town can check the computer for monitoring software, but maybe I shouldn't. If I were to disable it he'll get suspicious. Everything is so precarious. If I get too cocky, if I let anything slip slightly out of place it will all come tumbling down. 

Six months, six months and this is all over. I'll no longer be Sloane King, I'll be Sloane Sterling, a nobody from some part of England that no one cares about and a student as Ashmere university. No one will care. 

No one will care. 

I didn't realize how much I craved that before. How much I desperately need that anonymity that I've never been able to have before. I mean from day one everyone has wanted to be my friend, to get into my circle, to get close to me because who doesn't want to be one degree of separation away from Jonathan Fucking King? 

Me. I don't want to be connected to him. And I won't be, not anymore. 

Six more months and I'm out of here. 

[jakesnymos]

Duskwood is Calling (SNEAK PEAK)

A/N: Hi friends, hello. Here's the start of the novelization I talked about a while back. This is just the intro to the first chapter, so think of it almost as a prologue, if that makes sense. Obviously spoilers through chapter 10 of the game, so don't read if you're avoiding those. Anyways. Here it is:

You don’t know how you got here. Not really. 

 If they asked you- everyone, all of them, Thomas and Cleo and Dan and Lilly and Jessy and Hannah and-

 And not Jake. Not Jake, because Jake was stuck in the mines. Stuck with Richy, and the fire, and the unstable mineshafts and the dark and the cold and-

 “(Y/N).” Alan breaks you from your train of thought. “(Y/N), I’m sorry. But I need to ask you a few questions about tonights events.” You nod. “How did you get here?”

 I don’t know, you think. “I took a train.” You answer, because Alan means ‘What was your mode of transportation to Duskwood?’ and not ‘How did you come to know these people so intimately that thier loss has shattered something deep inside you?’

 “I took the earliest train I could get out of Grand Central Station to Duskwood.” You pause, thinking of the frantic way you’d run to the ticket booth, of how the minutes it took to get your ticket felt like hours, and how the couple of hours on the train itself felt like eons. “It was only a few hours.” You continue, “I didn’t tell the others I was coming. They didn’t know until-” You gesture vaguley, still not comfortable acknowleding the nights events outloud. 

 “You didn’t tell any of them?” It seems to have genuinely shocked him, and that, in turn, surprises you. “Not Jessy, or Thomas?” You shake your head. “Why?”

 “I didn’t want to worry them.” You shrug. “After everything else with Richy, and you finding Hannah, I didn’t-” You swallow against the lump in your throat. “I didn’t want them to worry about someone else being in danger.” 

 “But someone else was in danger, (Y/N).” Your eyes close against the harsh truth of the words, and you force yourself not to respond. “Jake Donfort was in danger.”

 “I don’t know who that is.” You lie. You open your eyes again. Sitting before you is still Chief of Police Alan Bloomgate, this time looking much more sympathetic. He nods. “I don’t, Alan. I don’t know who Jake Donfort is.”

 “I believe you, (Y/N).” He pauses, making sure to hold your eye contact. “I think that’s all we need from you, now. End of interview.” The click of the recorder puncuated the following silence. You stare at Alan in confusion. 

 “What-”

 “You should get some rest, (Y/N).” He fixes you with a stern look. “You’ve had an emotional night.” You nod. “Do you have somewhere to stay?” You nod again, though this time it’s a lie. You didn’t think about what would happen after the mines. You didn’t think about anything but getting to Jake. “Miss Hawkins is outside.” 

 That grabs your attention. “Jessy is here?” Alan nods, collecting the files and paperwork from the interrogation table in front of you. “I’ve been told she refused to leave when she learned you were being detained for questioning.” You manage a small laugh. “She’s worried. Perhaps you should stay with her tonight. I’m sure the motel will keep your booking.” And something in his voice tells you he knew you were lying. 

 “Yeah, thanks.” You agree, finally standing from your chair. It bothers you, though. The fact that he didn’t push you about Jake. About knowing him. “Detective Bloomgate-”

 “It doesn’t matter, (Y/N).” He cuts you off again. “No one could have-” He pauses, seeming to think over his words. “I’m sorry. But no one could have survived that fire. And even if he could, those shafts were unstable before the fire. I can’t imagine thier state now.” He shakes his head, sighing to himself. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But he’s gone. It doesn’t matter if you knew him on record or not. Jake Donfort is dead.”

 He’s right, and you know it, but you don’t understand. You can’t understand how this could be happening. 

 I don’t know how I got here.

[semper-legens]

67. Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights vol 1

Owned?: No, library Page count: 192 My summary: A boy falls into a ball pit and comes out the other side in 1985. A girl wants to be beautiful and gets help from an unlikely friend. Some kids want the newest toy on the scene, but wind up stealing a defective copy. Three dark tales from the world of Five Nights at Freddy's. My rating: 2/5 My commentary:

Yeah, yeah, I know, laugh away. I found myself with a strange fascination about Five Nights At Freddy's lore not too long ago, culminating in me reading Cawthon's trilogy of FNaF books. But there's another branch of the FNaF lore that I haven't plumbed - Fazbear Frights, a series of short stories loosely connected around Freddy Fazbear's. This is the graphic novel adaptation of the first set of Fazbear Frights, and when it crossed my desk at work, I knew I was going to end up reading it. Hey, it's not like it took all that long. And I wanted to close off the chapter of my life where I inexplicably care about Five Nights at Freddy's by sampling the last of the FNaF lore that I hadn't yet touched. And so, here we are. This comic is split into three stories, and I'm gonna talk about all of them.

The first is the story of Oswald, a kid from a poor family stuck in his hometown over summer. He finds a ballpit in a local diner that transports him back to Freddy's in 1985, but when he does he finds himself face to face with Springtrap, who follows him back to the present. Which is…a very silly premise, but I'm willing to forgive the time-travelling ballpit. Yeah, it's ridiculous, but the 'innocuous object that takes you back in time' trope is a horror staple. I'm less willing to forgive the utter failure of this story to be horror, however. Oswald ends up going back to what I assume is the child murders, but the sequence of events as seen here is that he goes back to a Freddy's that is in chaos, Springtrap leads him into a back room, and we see six kids…just kinda sitting on chairs, a little slumped over, from the back. The implication is that they're the murder victims, but we don't see anything, they're just kind of there. No blood, nothing. And when Springtrap follows Oswald back to reality and takes his dad's place, he just…doesn't do anything. Literally. He's just there. It isn't creepy, it isn't scary, it's just baffling. There's hardly any tension because there's no threat, at least not as presented by this book. Baffling choices.

Then there's Sarah's tale. She's a teen or preteen girl who thinks she's ugly and wants to be beautiful. When she finds Circus Baby, she asks that Baby make her beautiful and, for a time, gets her wish. I…dislike how the one story about a girl is a moral lesson about Vanity Bad, but even aside from that, this just isn't a particularly well-realised story. Like, Sarah is given a necklace by Baby that she is told to never take off ever, so of course late in the story she trips and the necklace breaks. At least, I assume that is what happens. The art never actually shows that happening at any point? Sarah trips over, then starts transforming because surprise surprise she's a robot now. The necklace being off should have been shown explicitly, but it's just mentioned in dialogue, not drawn attention to in the art. Aside from that, Sarah was just so unlikeable that I struggled to care at all about this story. She makes fun of her friend for not being beauty-obsessed, and wants to get with the mean popular girls…just because they're popular, I guess? It was like a high school girl cliché as written by someone who has only ever experienced high school via bad movies. Bleh.

Finally, Oscar and his friends want to get their hands on a new toy - Plushtrap, a mechanical doll that plays a game with its owner. But when they steal one from a mysterious store, they find that Plushtrap is more alive than they thought. This one was possibly the most competent of the three, in that it actually was a horror story, but it was largely clichéd and not very interesting in and of itself. A killer toy, a little shop that wasn't there yesterday, a kid struggling with some emotional problems that are never really explored to any satisfactory level…the art was creepy enough in itself, but I had the same problem with it that I had with all of the art in this book, that it was kind of smudgy and not particularly representational of any one thing. Characters looked too similar to one another and I struggled to discern them. Plushtrap, too, fell into the trap (heh) of looking too overly creepy from the start and not being believable as a toy that a child would genuinely want to own, as opposed to a horror vehicle. Also, what teen boys really want a doll? It was just…bland, overall.

Next, back to April May, and her friends attempting to solve just what happened to her.

[zushigirl]

Tagged by the phenomenal @ninzied to find break, dark, fall, and regret…Here’s the first one and - boy - has this tag game been fun! May turn one of these wips into a full fledged fic. Let me know what you think!

Break (Bookstore AU)

The quiet.

The shift in energy hits Karen the moment she enters the bookstore. All the chatter of Hell’s Kitchen – the hum of voices, the roar if traffic, the pings and digs of cell phones – seem to fade away. Almost as if she’s been transported to another world.

Like Alice stepping through the looking glass.

She makes her way down the stairs, eyes tracing the rows of wooden shelves filled with tattered paperbacks. Foggy called Castle’s Used Books dreary, but she loves it instantly. Rows upon rows of faded paperbacks. The smell of paper. The focused energy. The place reminds her of the old bookstore across from the Student Union at Georgetown.

Making it to the bottom step, Karen grins. The sign by the unmanned checkout desk is the real reason Foggy poopoos this place.

Silence your cell phone or get the hell out.

The infamous sign.

Foggy told her about it.

“I was minding my own business. Just waiting for Marci to find some Daniel Steel novel. I pull out my phone to check my email for like one second. One second. The minute my phone pings, the owner was on me. He appeared out of nowhere, towering over me. Scowling. Eyes glinting like some psycho murder. Told me to try reading something other than Instagram reel on my phone.”

Karen chuckles to herself. Poor Foggy. He doesn’t know how to disconnect.

Glancing up, she studies the chalkboard signs at the beginning of each aisle. Poetry. That’s the section she’s been tasked to find. Specifically, The Hollow Men by T. S. Elliot. Ellison’s birthday gift from the staff. The newspaper editorial is a huge fan of the poet’s work, and this is the one piece not stuffed in the massive bookshelf behind his desk.

This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Karen remembers reading the poem in college. It’s a little dark for her tastes, but if the man who plays gatekeeper to her name being published in the next edition loves it…

It takes fifteen minutes of wandering through the store, but Karen finally finds the poetry section by the back wall. Of course, T.S. Eliot is located all the way at the very top of corner of it all. She glanced warily at the step stool sitting at the very end of the aisle. It’s not quite tall enough for her to reach her target and the heels she’s wearing won’t make things any easier.

Sighing, Karen grabs the stool and leans up against the bookshelf. She climbs on top, standing on her tip toes, craning her neck to scan the titles.

Hollow Men, Hollow Men, come on Hollow M –

“Ma’am?” A gravelly voice – the first she’s heard since entering the store - echoes behind her.

“Shit!”

In an instant, Karen’s wobbling on the stool. Then she’s teetering on the edge. Then –

Someone’s holding her steady. A firm hand on her forearm.

“Hey. Hey. Be careful now.”

Karen looks down…to find a pair of coffee-colored eyes staring up at her. Suddenly she knows who this is…and Foggy was wrong.

Frank Castle doesn’t have eyes like a psycho murder. His eyes are…Karen can’t put her finger on it, but there’s a story in those eyes. A story so compelling she can’t break her gaze.

[saemixx]

somewhere in the vastness of my room, i had more notes about her. *shrug

Muffet is very loyal to her family. in the games she is dressed quite fancy and is seemingly shown to be money oriented. My idea was to give her quite a difficult childhood. Not with violence or more extreme.

She has been working since she was little because she is the only spider in her family who can pick up more than one pebble. There is little time for school. Most of her money goes to transporting her family from the ruins to New Home. There the temperature is just perfect and the humidity is bearable. In addition, she has to feed more than a few thousand spiders. Make the home liveable and safe for them. In the beginning, her life was rarely about herself or playing with the other children. Even if she had time, she is one of the more creepy monsters. Rarely is there anyone who looks her in the face. She sewed her clothes from the odd bits of yellowed and torn fabric she found. Alphys and Muffet met at the garbage dump of Wasserfall. Muffet first hid behind her found clothes. She didn't want to face a screaming monster again. Alphys, however, thought she would be shy and afraid of the dark garbage dumps that have few moon crystals for illumination.

Alphys, however, thought she was shy and afraid of the dark garbage contents that have few moon crystals for illumination. She moved without thinking about it and with childlike joy to help someone, to an interesting place that remained mostly dry.

"you are looking for fabric? i often find dry stuff over there! It doesn't smell as bad as what you can pull out of the water."

Even after Muffet tried to hide her appearance all the time, Alphys never looked at her in shock.

At some point,

"Why are you here? Shouldn't spiders be able to weave their own fabric?" Muffet dropped her clothes in fright and looked at her, puzzled.

Alphys raised her eyebrow and watched a blue ball of fabric slowly drift away. "I guess that means no?"

"You know what I look like?"

Muffet and Alphys friendship was garbage friends from that day on. At one point, Alphys invited her to go to the New Home library. That Muffet can't read and thus couldn't translate her family's ancient scrolls for her special thread magic almost brought tears to Alphys' eyes. Garbagedumbdiver-Learning- Friends it is!

This is how Muffet met Catty, Bratty and Aster. She felt a direct connection to him, calm - mostly regarded by others fearfully , and working so hard that it led to a childlike infatuation. Batty and Catty directly saw in it a chance to re-enact a plot from their Romance Clichee novels.

Aster still wonders how he suddenly got sucked into a low cost candlelight dinner at Alphys. Muffet was just laughing into her claws the whole time and he was pretty sure he saw water burning.

[yurisorcerer]

Now *this* is yuri. Gorgeous-as-hell sci-fi yuri, at that.

I'm gonna spoil the whole thing below the cut. If you just want a basic read/don't read recommendation I'd say this is quite good, maybe even great.

Our premise here is really simple. Two girls find an abandoned machine in a shed, and it turns out to be some kind of hyper-futuristic VR device that transports them to a virtual world, an abandoned cityscape overgrown with plants and populated by animals and the occasional strange being. On its own, "two girls wander around an abandoned place together" is inherently yuri, but Lily System doesn't stick to the subtextual.

Over the course of this story, we learn the precise contours of the relationship between our leads, Nana and Mizuki. Nana is the sensitive intellectual, whereas Mizuki is more forward (with her feelings, romantically, sexually, etc.) and is just a touch tomboyish. Together, they explore the surreal VR world while probing each other with questions about life. With Nana in particular, these tend to revolve around a novel she wrote---a novel whose plot, it gradually becomes clear, is a metaphor both in- and out-of-text for the plot of the manga itself---Mizuki is fond of accusing her book of being 'a lie,' and we only really get a sense of what that means at the end of the manga.

The girls eventually become lost, both literally and figuratively, within the VR world, encountering echoes of themselves who kiss in a bell tower, and haunted, animate school uniforms that seem determined to charge at them. When they begin appearing in the 'real world,' the girls realize they've been in the machine the entire time.

And yet, the conclusion they eventually reach is that maybe that's not so bad. In the manga's final act, we learn of Nana's forgotten middle school love confession to Mizuki, of Mizuki's regretted rejection of that confession, and how both of them seek to course correct now that they're a little older. In reality, Nana is headed to a college in Tokyo. Like the fairies in the book she wrote, she and Mizuki will be torn apart. It seems, for a moment, that Lily System will be a bittersweet tale, but that's not the direction things go in, and I think this decision to avoid the obvious take is what makes Lily System so memorable.

Instead of abandoning each other for the sake of a "realistic" reckoning with the outside world, Nana and Mizuki abandon the world. They retreat, somehow, into their virtual Eden. If they're ever heard from again, we don't hear about it.

The manga ends on this note, with Nana and Mizuki in each other's arms, in a paradise hidden to everyone else. They create their own space. It's a beautiful ending, and more than anything, it will absolutely fill you with yearning.

The art, it must be said, is gorgeous throughout, with mangaka Yoshitomi Akihito's landscapes conveying a real sense of a lost world. The character art is great, too, although fairly subtle. There are many little nods and expressions that give almost as much characterization of our lead girls as the dialogue does.

Notably! The manga also---ahem---climaxes with an actual intimate scene. It's kept tasteful, and I thought it made a great inflection point for the story, emphasizing that these two really are meant for each other.

All told, beautiful stuff. I have a few stray observations as well.

There's the curious existence of "Yuuko and Kousuke." This is an unrelated one-shot that seems to be grouped with Lily System for....reasons I'm not entirely clear on? Maybe someone else will know. It has little in common with Lily System in most terms, and it's not even a yuri, being about the budding relationship between a young boy and a girl and the former's first steps toward sexual development. Frankly, I didn't like it very much, but that might just be because of its odd juxtaposition with Lily System, which is just a much better and more interesting piece of work overall.

Secondly, Yoshitomi Akihito wrote this, as mentioned! If you recognize that name it might be from Eat-Man or Blue Drop, the two series he is, I think, best known for in the west. Certainly though, I had no idea that, from what I can tell from looking at his catalogue, at some point he pivoted to writing....well, stuff like this. Romance, or at least romantically-inflected, works about the relationships between people set in strange, detailed worlds. At least one of these (the "boy meets girl fantasy" of Hanako in the 24th Ward) appears to actually be a spinoff or distant sequel to Eat-Man. Interesting career this guy has had!

Apparently Blue Drop was also a yuri series, at least in part? I somehow didn't know that, how embarrassing.

[dosnotoevsky]

Book review: The Silent Patient

[SPOILER ALERT ⚠️]

Rating: 2/5

Before y'all start coming at me, bear with me: I know for a fact that it was a debut novel so trust me when I say, I've been very considerate in giving this review :)

1. If I didn't know Alex was a screenwriter, I'd do away with my disappointment. I understand it was a debut novel. I am a writer too and I understand. I've read the debut works of a lot of authors WHO DID NOT HAVE A BACKGROUND in the field of writing like Alex. His writing style (at least in this work) is rushed, there's a feeling of emergency - maybe it was intended to set the tone of the story - but it merely came at me like he wanted to do away with the book, just finish it somehow. I wrote my debut book when I was 17 and it's been 2-2.5 years in my self-doubt and low-esteem that I still keep going back to keep editing and drafting it. So I'm being brutally honest when i say the second draft of my debut work >>>>>>>> the final draft of the silent patient. i thought I was being a bitch but trust me guys, I am being thoroughly honest. you'll see when my book comes out (hopefully before I die). The only good thing I learnt after reading this book is a new sense of confidence and leap of faith in my own writing style, especially being an Indian writer writing about an American setting.

2. Diving deeper into the narrative, which, according to me lacked depth. This semester, I studied about Longinus, the Graeco-Roman critic, who is known for his famous critical treatise, On the Sublime or Peri Hupsous - which basically advocates the importance of the quality of sublimity in a text that makes it special, elevating the readers out of their own self and transporting their imagination to unimaginable worlds. I could go into detail but luckily, someone has already explained it in a better way here . For me, the silent patient lacks sublimity and not just a bit, but in such an amount that it can't be avoided, it keeps poking at you until you give up the benefit of the doubt and accept the truth. There is no development whatsoever regarding the narration of the environment, the characters in depth, and also the one thing the writer must've focused on, he carelessly attended it as well: Ironically, the book is pivoted around the world of psychology and all things synonymous - or at least the writer has forced so - and even then, he did little to elaborate the internal reveries of the major characters, let alone the minor ones. The conversations were rushed, there was no description of contemplation before the characters arrived at a conclusion and so many more flaws that I can keep counting and my fingers would run short.

3. The writer introduced some characters, who provided absolutely no aid to the storyline or the development of the plot - if there was any. He could've either used them in a much more refined way or just shouldn't have even introduced them in the first place. Jean-Felix's existence is beyond me. Also, why did he tell Alicia that she trusts everyone around her so easily - what was the point of that? This statement piqued my interest in Jean-Felix and right after that the writer disappointed me yet again. Kathy's character was yet again wasted. I also don't understand the poor character development of Max. THIS GUY LITERALLY ASSAULTED HIS SIS-IN-LAW AND NEVER ONCE CAME TO SEE HER AT THE GROVE AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN HE'S EMOTIONAL TOWARDS THE END??? LIKE??? I felt like I skipped 20 odd chapters because clearly there's a lack of something so crucial for the sudden change of Max's heart. Or the writer went lazy with his character arc and wasted yet another foil.

4. Alex is part Cypriot and I respect that. I am a sucker for Greek mythologies and trust me when I read the word "Alcestis" for the first time in the book, I immediately became pumped up to finish it. Unfortunately that's all it was. A bait. I think, and no offense, that the writer kept boasting his love for Greek mythologies, throughout the pages. I had better expectations from Diomedes' character but yet again, I think he was wasted. Even though Theo wasn't Greek, he seemed to have a lot of knowledge and interest in it so I think if the writer intended to hint at his honour and love for the mythologies, he should've made Theo Greek/part-Greek? I feel like he could've mingled references of the Greek culture in a better way and not just occasionally hitting with one every now and then when you're engrossed in the story. Idk, this one's a personal reverie though (Please don't cancel me).

5. Coming to the story. I was into 100-150 pages when I got bored. I consulted it with my friends, who had extra hyped this book to me and because of whom I got hold of it. I told them how the noob writing style is really pissing me off and till then, no special development had ignited. But they told me that the climax is really worth it and so I kept reading. I was hopeful that I'll get something. But the climax was not at all original. If you've watched the Netflix series You, you could've already guessed the ending by the fourth part of the book and if you're a sucker for Joe Goldberg's ways, like me, your guess of the ending would've been much sooner and better than the real ending. I was hoping till last that the writer must've done something with Max or Jean-Felix or even Diomedes himself - wouldn't that be cathartic? But no. There's something royally wrong with Theo, granted, but if he was the culprit all along, the writer must've shaped his character in a better, more refined way. Not everyone can be Joe Goldberg. LIKE I DONT UNDERSTAND - HE KNEW IT WAS HIM ALL ALONG WHY TF WAS HE TREATING ALICIA LIKE FOR WHAT WAS HE HELL BENT ON HER FINALLY SPEAKING UP?? SOMEBODY EXPLAIN PLS.

In conclusion, the story was a whole lot of nothing and I gave two stars because the book cost me 160 bucks + i liked the reference of Alcestis. This is my personal opinion and I don't intend to offend anyone who has a different opinion than me, okay? Good kids x.