#keeping up with lada

[hallowpen]

The Secret of Us and the allegory of the puzzle...

I think one of the major overarching themes in this series is that you cannot force something to fit where it doesn't want to belong. And the only way to 'complete' the picture, ideally, is to patiently allow the pieces to be put together in the way they're supposed to.

I really really want to talk about Lada and how much I resonated with her as a character. In order for me to do that, I have to explain some cultural insights that revolve around Lada's familial structure.

Funnily enough, I was recently discussing certain matrilineal cultures that exist in Thailand and how they perpetuate a lot of bigoted ideals... and that is shown beautifully in Lada's relationship with her parents and how they each react to her queerness. To me, it seemed clear that Lada's parents' marriage was born from matrilocal customs. And unfortunately, that's not really something you would be able to pick up on if you weren't Thai (or natively Asian in general). So... in these types of families, women hold a lot of authority, and that authority is passed on through the female line (which is why daughters are valued over sons). The wife would manage and have the final say regarding household matters, including how the children are raised... and the husband's duty would be to respect his wife. A mother and her daughter maintain a continuous relationship with one another as, should the daughter marry, her husband would come to stay with them until they have a family of their own (and sometimes even after). It's a good way to strengthen matrilineal kinship, but it puts enormous cultural pressure on the daughter who is raised with very high expectations... the most pressuring of which is to marry a man and to have natural born children. Should the daughter not 'fit' this mold, they are often ostracized from the family.

It gives new meaning to hearing Khun Russamee say, "Lada is the seed I've nurtured since birth," doesn't it? It's why she is so against accepting and understanding Lada and Earn's relationship. Because in her mind, there doesn't exist a future where two women can uphold these matrilineal customs... and so the only reason Earn must be pursuing Lada is for some form of exploitation (i.e. money). She justifies her cruel and queerphobic behavior to keep them apart as some form of misaligned protection of her daughter and her daughter's future... to keep her from being taken advantage of and to help her see reason. It doesn't excuse the behavior at all... but at least you can understand the motivation (no matter how terrible). These types of mothers exist in the reality of Thai society... it's not just some cliched villain narrative. I'm speaking from experience here (NOT MY MOM! I LOVE MY MOM... my mother's mother).

In Thailand, we hold strong to the notion of บุญคุณ ('bunkhun'). This notion perpetuates the idea that we owe an endless debt of gratitude to our parents. It's seen as our "moral obligation". (Similar ideas exist in other Asian countries, as well)

Lada has done everything right. She's loved and obeyed her mother, she's cultivated a successful career with intentions to take over from her parents' leadership of the hospital, she's set herself up to be able to support her family's needs... She cannot imagine a life where her mother could ever not support her or her choices. Her one "fault" is that she is in love with a woman and refuses to conform to her mother's insistent heteronormative intentions (I loved the juxtaposition of this against P'Nu's defeated acceptance btw). She's rightfully exhausted from all the pressure to 'fit' her mother's mold of the perfect daughter, and Earn recognizes that.

So when her mother falls ill, and Lada is expected to take responsibility, it makes sense from the perspective of her familial structure. When she sacrifices her happiness for her mother and Earn understands the reasons why... it makes sense. Khun Russamee only comes to believe that Earn truly does love Lada once Earn willingly steps away from their relationship to ease Lada's mother's expectations... it's twisted, but it makes sense. And Khun Russamee does apologize, for whatever the frik that's worth (I can only try so much guys 😞😞😞) It's just part of our ingrained culture to value family despite their abusive behaviors. And as much as I wish that weren't the case, these views remain an actual reality. So, it isn't dishonest to portray them.

...The point is, the final pieces of the puzzle could only come together once they were allowed to. And then we finally got our happy ending!!!

Could certain story elements stand to be improved? Yes... but they're no worse than anything we've seen from BL series. And I do believe as time goes on, with more and more GL content being made, the writing will get better and stronger (I hope 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾).

Despite the more problematic writing, Lingling and Orm were outstanding in their roles. Never have I seen two artists, in all of the Thai QL I've watched, be so in tune to their characters and their emotions. Everything from their dramatic scenes to their more subtle facial expressions were completely on point. It was a pleasure to witness... and the biggest draw for me as a viewer. Well done!!!

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Marvel

how to return home by JBS_Forever

Flash Thompson is a good person, but not a great one, so when Peter Parker accidentally gets drunk at his house party, all he can do is say, “Shit.”

Or: the one where Flash is just trying to be a decent person and get a drunk Peter home. Peter, on the other hand, has different plans.

scandal of the century by joshriku

The headline reads:

STEAMY SEX TAPE BETWEEN MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR X LEAKED!

“All right,” Charles says. “I wouldn’t call it steamy, you know, that’s an exaggeration.”

“That is seriously not the point, Professor,” Jean answers.

(A sex tape is leaked. PR crisis ensues).

DC

two vigilantes carry a cake across gotham by JBS_Forever

Jason's had a nagging suspicion that Bruce keeps stalker-esque levels of tabs on all the places he’s lived, so when Tim Drake shows up at his apartment door, it takes only a half second for Jason to level his gun directly at Tim's stupid face and to say, bored, “Give me one reason not to shoot you.”

Honestly, he knew Bruce had a problem, but sending a bat to his doorstep? This is just ridiculous.

Or: in a scheming attempt to make them bond, Bruce forces Jason and Tim on what should be a simple quest: retrieve Alfred’s birthday cake from across town and make it back before the party.

But this is Gotham. And nothing is ever simple in Gotham.

racing on the thunder by merils

Fortunately or unfortunately, Clark Kent is kind of used to getting phone calls about his too-curious-for-her-own-good wife being held hostage somewhere. Superman usually handles it.

Conner Kent gets a phone call meant for Clark Kent, who is Superman, who is currently in space. Uh.... Have no fear, Superboy is here!

What could possibly go wrong?

Original Works

Halfway Home for Wayward Mages by hoebiwan

Part 24 of mage in a wolf pack (This whole series kills me)

He wouldn’t mind it if Lada collared him, if Khalida or Dimitri collared him, because none of them have forced him to hurt anyone, whether human or wolf. They mostly just want him to—

Live, Jaime. Live.

In which the wolves rescue Jaime, but he doesn't realize he's free.

the sin eater by whitegeraniums (puertoricansuperman)

Part 25 of mage in a wolf pack

Lada, alpha of the Hearthstone wolf pack, finds herself in possession of a captured, broken werewolf hunter.

ATLA

Keeping Ones Head Down by ApoplecticAtPeace

Part 3 of May You be Noticed by The Fire Lord

Bao lost his ability to walk when he was 19. Despite the prejudice of many Fire Nation citizens, he got a job as an accountant in the Royal palace, in the Department of Education. After 11 years of working quietly, keeping his head down and allowing his work to be claimed by others, he expected nothing to change when Fire Lord Zuko took the throne. He didn't expect the entire department to be reformed under the new Minister Shu-Lin, and Bao's overlooked position with it.

Clone Wars

Something in the heart beat like a drum by CombatBootsandDreams

Most Jedi only have to take three formal sexual education classes. Obi-Wan, in all their blessed biology has to take five.

Or: Obi-Wan growing up in a galaxy where Stewjoni are Succubi. This changes very little--but it does make certain things a hell of lot more interesting.

A Stewjoni are succubus au that has way less to do with sex, & is more about logistics, medical problems, and cuddling. Featuring Qui-Gon being an excellent master, codywan, aromantic Quinlan Vos, Obi-Wan using he/they/she pronouns, and plenty of costume changes.

[certifiedlavendarmenace]

My thoughts on Lada from The Secret of Us

When it comes to this show I feel like some fans are biased towards particular characters and it hinders their ability to fully appreciate the narrative being told and the complexity of the characters the show has given us. The most complex character is definitely Lada.

I saw a Tiktok comment saying that Lada was born to be a lover girl but forced to be a vengeful ex and that is the most accurate and succinct way I have ever seen this character described. Some people like to think of Lada as a victim due to the way Earn treated her during the break up scene. Others painted her as some villian because of how she reacted at the end of episode 5.

The truth is she can both but more importantly she's the hero of her narrative. TSOU from Lada's perspective is the story of how she gave her heart to another woman. Only for said woman to wake up one day and decide she was done with her.

Earn told her she was using her for her money and she only really liked men which is the worst thing you can say to any queer woman during a break up. And those words nearly broke her. She spiraled and her life would have went down the drain if it wasnt for her friend.

So of course when she met Earn again she was cold and occasionally cruel. She doesn't know Earn's side of the story and Earn refused to clarify anything. Instead she wanted to move on like nothing happened but that type of breakup is not something you just move past. From Lada's perspective it looks like Earn was just bored and back to mess with her life again.

Truthfully, she should have done what Thaen wanted and banned Earn from the hospital but she couldn't because despite of everything that happened she loves Earn. She loves Earn way more than any of the other characters realise even Earn.

That decision left her in an intresting position. She couldn't just take Earn back because she would look gullible and pathetic for crawling back to her ex and she couldn't just send her away because she did want her back and deep down she was afraid of losing her permanently. I think there was also a huge part of her that liked having Earn chase after her and lashing out at her. It gave Earn a taste of the pain she felt for all the years they were apart and it gave Lada all the power in their new dynamic. Which must have felt great after the fiasco that was their breakup. I doubt there's anything more demeaning than crawling on your knees and begging a spouse not to leave you.

This made her outburst and even her slutshaming Earn justifiable in her eyes . If the show was told from Lada's perspective no one would be mad at her in fact the audience would probably cheer her on. Some people questioned why she was so quick to believe an unreliable source and say she should have talked to Earn which is true but why would she? Earn admitted to lying and cheating her in the past who is to say she wouldn't keep lying. Especially when she saw the 'proof' of her deception. Her biggest fear was the possibility that Earn was playing her again so when she was given evidence to suggest that was the case she reacted the way to most people would. It doesn't make what she did right but in hero vs villian narrative its not always about being right it's about having the moral high ground or getting even. Earn hurt her so she had the 'right' to hurt Earn.

Moreover, that scene was necessary for their development because in Lada's mind she finally hurt Earn enough that they were even. Which is how she forgave her.

There's alot more that makes Lada intresting. Like the fact that she seems to have a great relationship with her parents but is still closeted. Possibly because she idolizes her mother and will do anything to make her happy including entertaining a man she can barely tolerate. Yet she trusts in her mother's love for her so fully that she just assumes she will accept her. Or the fact that she seems to be an only child in the show and that must have come with a shit ton of pressure. Or her terrible coping mechanisms and how she's inclined to binge drink at the slightest inconvenience (or more accurately anytime something goes wrong in her relationship with Earn). She's a great character and i feel like she gets sold short sometimes.

Also if the puzzle symbolizes their willingness to rebuild their relationship like Earn said than that whole sequence has alot more depth. The first time they build the puzzle Earn 'tricks' Lada into helping before she falls asleep. Which could symbolize the fact that while Earn is willing to rebuild the relationship she's not ready to do the labour to re-establish the emotional connection she severed leaving Lada to do all the heavy lifting alone. However Lada still has a large amount of residual anger towards Earn and her temper flares up often effectively tearing down everything she built. It's only when she hurts Earn the way she was hurt and Earn is confronted with the ugly reality of what she caused (and she almost reaches her limit) that she's finally ready to do the hard work and that's when Lada is ready to set her anger aside. The second time they build it they work together finally bridging the divide that was their own idiocy and their commitment to miscommunication.

[dragonsareawesome123]

"Later in the evening, Lada will pick me up. Tonight, the girl gang has a meeting." "Okay, but tell P'Lada to keep it down a bit."

Love Senior (2023-2024) dir. Ying Manassanun Su Episode 7

[blueberryforestelf]

Russian Influence in Moral Orel:

Okay so a while ago I just finished watching Moral Orel and I noticed that there were some connections between it and Russian culture. I also noticed that the show had just become popular in Russia and there are dubbed episodes available on VK. Even though Moral Orel is an American TV show and the creator of the show is of Greek descent, here are some connections on the show that linked to Russian culture and social cues:

The heavy alcoholism on the show: Clay and most of the people in Moralton are straight-up alcoholics, and even Bloberta was an alcoholic before she met Clay. Of course, alcohol is a significant part of Russian culture and the country has the highest consumption of alcohol in the world. Not only are alcoholic beverages are consumed in high amounts, but is also very much socially accepted and encouraged. Even underaged children are encouraged to drink. In the episode Maturity, Orel thought drinking would make him “wise and mature” like his father and in Help young Bloberta stated that drinking alcohol “makes us better people”.

There’s a city in Russia called Orel.

Orel means “Eagle” in Russian (and other Slavic languages). So in the Russian dub Orel’s name is Eagle.

Ms. Censordoll loves pickled eggs and keeps a jar full of them in her library. Russian cuisine consists of a lot of pickled foods, including pickled eggs, cabbage, potatoes, fish, watermelon, etc.

If you notice in the Puppington household, you’ll see an oriental carpet on the living room floor. Oriented carpets are very common in Russian households and are often on floors or hung on walls.

Clay’s reckless driving and Russia is famous for its many reckless drivers and very frequent traffic accidents (I just had to add this to the list lol)

Clay’s car looks like a Lada (a Russian brand of cars).

The “depressing”, conservative, perfectionistic, and collective culture of Moralton is quite similar to that of Russian culture. The entire town is centered around a church which literally controls everything in the town and how it operates. The people are fed Christian propaganda and are not allowed to think differently or do things differently than what is socially acceptable, otherwise they would be outcasted and have to face harsh consequences. This pretty much relates to Russia’s Soviet/Communist Era of when housing, stores, businesses, etc. were all controlled by the government and not the people. People were not allowed to solely own their own property or businesses, and if they were to speak up about problems and issues facing their economy or speak out against propaganda or the government, they would would face the harsh and legal consequences (i.e. prison camp or deportation). Moralton is quite similar to that, except it’s in the United States where people have more freedom to do want they want and express themselves.

Many people in Moralton tend to be “cold”, reserved, strict, and cynical, which is a common stereotype among Russians.

The townspeople’s love for classical arts, music, and theatre, like in the School Pageant episode. Also Bloberta comes from a family of choir singers/musicians and her singing voice is similar to that of an opera singer. Russians are known for their love for classical and opera music as it is a very significant part of their culture. I’ve met many Russians who come from a family of musicians, are talented musicians outside of their occupation, or happen to own a musical instrument in their homes.

Moral Orel is a satire that explores the hypocrisy of religious and social institutions with a touch of dark humor and irony, which is similar to the works of Russian authors like Fyodor Dostoevsky, who used similar techniques to critique religious and social mores.

Moral Orel is a stop-motion animated series and Russians are very fond of stop-motion animation as it has a rich history in Russian media and cinema. Famous Russian animators such as Roman Kachanov, Ladislas Starevich and Ivan Ivanov-Vano were pioneers of stop-motion media during the Soviet Era. Many beloved animated films and shows made during the Soviet Era were stop-motion animated. Also a lot of stop-motion animated media known today (such as Coraline, Corpse Bride, Isle of Dogs, etc.) are becoming very popular in Russia. Also, Orel loves making little stop-motion movies!

Thanks for reading! 😁

[hsrlanedefencesquad]

Ok so I've finally played the haze story and the premier was ok, nothing special, nothing bad about it (same way I've always felt about alice's other books so maybe this writing style just doesn't resonate with me) but I still have high hopes for this story...it has so much opportunity to get better

Things I didn't like:

Alice should have explored on Lada and veraya's relationship more, they didn't feel close to me, so much so that I wasn't moved by the sister's death at all

Dragan - what's this guy's problem??? No seriously, I hate this "boy is mean to you because he secretly likes you" CHILDISH ASS TROPE. It's not even a sort of dislike that I can digest from a red flag, no he is full on being mean and insulting & looks like he hates mc with every fiber of his being (I mean he literally clenches his jaw when he sees her coming) I don't like this (and this is coming from someone who loves romancing red flags) I really hope he has a GREAT excuse for why he acts that way other than he has a secret crush on her or else that would be stupid and I will use all my diamonds in making him miserable anyway I can

I was really expecting better from an RC writer not to do this annoying ass trope ESPECIALLY because GOE has already done it and it was no less ANNOYING...like what's going on with the "Boy is mean to you because he secretly likes you & you think he is in love with your dead twin sister but he is actually in love with you" trope?? Did Alice just take inspiration from anastasia's cas route or did a book recently blow up in book twt that had this trope, making other authors go crazy & venture into it or what?! Stop it, it's annoying & childish 🫵🏾

It's just been 2 episodes and I can already see that Lada has little to no backbone, why did anastasia write Lada being in love with that dragan idiot as the canon?? No like even on the determined/stubbornness path....Lada just keeps blushing like a fool thinking about dragan immediately after the idiot says the most insulting thing about her ever, even when I hadn't taken diamond choices with him, she was already blushing?? I hate my mcs being canonically in love with a character especially when said character is a jerk

Not only that but she also seems pathetic over him too, she obsesses over any little interaction her twin sister has with him, EVEN IN HER DEATH & FUNERAL, like what??? your sister just died and the main thing that made you finally drop a tear was whether dragan's gift was sincere or because he liked your sister so he gave you a gift because she asked.....like I would have been able to accept her having a crush on that idiot if she hated herself for it too or had strong internal monologues struggling with liking someone who despises her, like girl have some dignity please. I don't think I have found any mc so pathetic (in how she treats her romantic feelings aspect) in just 2 episodes.....plus she just feels so empty written (yes it has only been 2 episodes so we can't know much about her but still) it feels like there isn't even anything to know about her and please don't bring up lane because that is a very differently written character, she is written as cold and apathetic but we still could feel out her personality but lada? she isn't even described as being cold or empty, just average yet she still feels so.....meh

(I will humbly offer my apologies and give Alice all the praise if she progresses in the upcoming episodes, please note this isn't my analysis for the WHOLE story just this 2 little episodes so yes I do know there is still room for more and I am excitedly waiting on it. This is not a hate post)

Good thing I can say about Lada is that all her sprites are pretty and even though she feels bad about being average compared to her sister, she doesn't go the pick-me "woe is me, oh look at me I'm not like other girls route or develop some grudge or inferiority complex towards her sister for being better that her, No she accepts the way she is and instead find something else she loves doing that makes her whole)

The races

I either don't have eyes or I'm delusional because let me tell you, I haven't seen ONE black character in this story yet that was all the russians could complain of, either racists are that obsessed with black people that they pretty much see them every where, they aren't or there are some hidden characters that maybe I didn't see because where are the black people everyone was talking about? Only black person I saw was the opportunity to choose your mc's sprite

Infact, the race that I kept on seeing was asian (this also seemed weird to me but I googled it and it says slavic people extended to some parts of asia so they rightfully belong there & I don't really know what the russians have to complain about)

[spicyvampire]

Lada unknowingly matching Wisanu and Tan is so funny, like u sent the perfect person girl keep it up

[nomorefstogive]

Our Dearest Sin (Cross Posted on Ao3)

Well, well, well, here we are again ladies, gentlemen, and all things that lie betwixt the two, another rabbit hole to dive headfirst into and another project that will likely not be fully completed till at last we are laid to rest under the cold earth in colder stone. 

This is a trip into the bleak and despair filled world of Path To Nowhere, a land of sinners, Corruptors and Maniacs. A land of Black rings and of shadow Cabals that threaten to upend all there is and all there will be in a vain pursuit of their own goals.

But dear friends, none of these are why we are here.

No, we are here my esteemed comrades to instead indulge in some comfort and fluff, with the occasional sprinkling of angst for extra seasoning here and there, along with the occasional dark and warped and horrifically brutal moments for that extra kick, in the form of some oneshots featuring the wonderful Sinners of this world and the lovely Female Chief of Minos, though we likewise have ideas for a ficlet series with a female OC or reader insert for some of the ideas we have, though that might end up benign adapted for the Chief instead as well, we will have to see. 

A bit of a tidbit before we begin, we are a shameless yuri fan and simp, so expect most of these to be about the ladies of PTN, though the men will likewise get their days in the sun…maybe…probably…okay there is somewhere between a 0.01% and 70.0% chance they will be covered in platonic or friendly manners okay?

As a final note, this fic was inspired by Ota1612’s own Path to Nowhere fic, alongside Prisoner_of_Sin's own fic as well, links will be below this paragraph.

Ota1612’s Fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50373349/chapters/127266175 

Prisoner_of_Sin’s fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49781623/chapters/125660485 

That said, this project is something of an experiment in seeing if we can keep each entry below 10k words, that said we do not have much faith in that happening lol. 

With all of that said, let us begin our dive down this rabbit hole shall we?

Please note that you are all free to make use of any of the ideas you see in this story, so long as due credit is given and we are informed about them so that we can see what you have created as well. 

P.S. This Female Chief will be named Persephone, we were originally going to use our own Chief’s name, Lada, but we like the idea of using Persephone as a name for this female Chief a great deal more. 

Now, with all of that said and done, let us begin shall we?

Our first Chapter is devoted to the wonderful topkurorights, featuring Langley and the female Chief, so here we go.

Female Chief Pampering Langley After Work

It came to her slowly, like the slowly spreading venom of a serpent, that thing known as awareness that aimed to pull her forth from the tranquility that she had been savoring despite her valiant attempts to turn and flee from it and retreat into the merciful embrace of that quite dark stillness once more.

Yet in vain were each of her efforts,for no matter how grand and terrible the struggle she raged against it, and no matter how desperately she clawed at the darkness in pursuit of returning to its tranquil embrace, she found herself pulled forth from the safe cocoon of stillness and quiet and into a hazy fog of awakening. 

First to come to her was Touch, and with it there came to her the sensation of warmth gathered beneath her head, a pleasant sensation that seeped into her scalp and made her long to keep her eyes closed for longer still, and one that was made all the more intense by the feather light caress of soothing warmth and silken smoothness that carded across her brow before it dipped to cup her cheek, a softness that put shame to her sheets and blankets and made her long to burrow into its embrace.

Second to come to her awakening senses was Scent, something floral and soothing, a flower, whose name evaded her, and a faintest of hints of lavender, and below it further still was something not quite recognizable to her, something that combined with the floral aroma into something that resonated within her mind as the smell of something dearly beloved and cherished and made her shift to nuzzle closer to the source of it, allowing the soothing smell to ease her once more. 

Third to greet her awakening form was Sound, the distant echo of thunder resounding above the gentle pitter patter of rain, yet neither of these came to her as strongly as a low humming sound that caressed her ears as the gentlest whispers of wind, and yet still it echoed in her ears in a way that nearly drowned out the roar of the thunder and the crack of lightning. 

And at last, there came that moment when she was made to relinquish the soothing blanket of darkness and to wearily open her eyes, her vision foggy with sleep and yet present weariness that yet tried to bid her return to the embrace of the dreaming realm, though still, even with blurred vision, she could make out something that made her heart throb within her chest.

For looking down at her with blue-gray eyes that seemed to shine as they gazed down at her slowly awakening form, a small smile curling the edges of delicate lips as her humming stopped for but a moment as she leaned in, her proximity making Langley close her eyes to avoid getting any of the locks of gray hair that softly tickled her skin in her eyes as lips ever so gently caressed her forehead for a moment longer than a heartbeat. 

The scent of before was heady this close, intoxicating and enthralling, bidding her to close her eyes and nuzzle into the pale neck that lay before her, idly ghosting her own lips over the pulse point that steadily beat below the ever so gentle skin, the taste of the smooth skin making her hum as a low sigh left the lips of the one who now began to pull back from her.

Lowly, and quite pitifully in hindsight, did Langley whimper as she tried to chase the woman that was moving back from her, trying to cox her to lean back in with an unintelligible warble and lidded eyes, her acts making the woman holding her chuckle lightly.

“You are always so adorable when you are sleepy.” There came to her ears these softly chuckled words as the hand that had stilled in its gentle massage of her scalp resumed it caressing, nails lightly caressing her scalp in such a way that Langley felt the desire to close her eyes and savor the sensation once more, only to force herself to remain awake.

“What…what time…what time is it ‘Sephone?” Sleepily and near unintelligibly there came these words from the lips of the Spider of Paradeisos as she tried to sit up, only for a hand to gently place itself on the center of her chest and push her back down to rest her head on what she now knew to be soft thighs, the hand caressing her scalp pausing to tile her head and coax it into nuzzling into her abdomen, an invitation eagerly accepted. 

A low hum left Persephone’s lips as she gently lifted her hand from Langley’s chest and began to softly stroke her neck up to her cheek, her thumb idly putting the slightest bit of pressure on the corner of Langley's lips, after softly caressing them for but a moment, the pressure making Langley part her lips and take the digit into her mouth, the action making Langley let out a low purr of content while a slight sigh of pleasure leave Persephone’s lips.

For a moment longer there was silence as Langley silently enjoyed the scent and warmth of her lover, the additional sensation and taste of her digit in her mouth only serving to further lull her into closing her eyes once more, though she yet stubbornly resisted until at last she heard her lover softly purr to her-

“Time to sleep dear, we don’t have any work today so you can rest a bit longer. So close your eyes and rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

The words yet still lingering in the air, Persephone leaned down and gently placed her lips to Langley’s forehead for a moment, before she softly tilted her head such that she could elan down and gently ghost her lips over Langley’s own  for but a second before she pulled back with a small smile as she saw Langley close her eyes and begin to drift off to sleep once more.

Sighing softly, Persephone tilted her head back and closed her own eyes as she continued softly stroking Langley’s hair, allowing the gentle caress of her lover’s breath against her clothed abdomen to caress her as she began to slowly slip into unconsciousness herself, yet leaving her thumb in Langley’s mouth for her to suckly upon ever so gently as they both got some much deserved rest.

Fin

1,078 Words…Holy Shit that is the shortest thing I have ever written…How in the hell did…you know what? I’m not complaining, I feel that this short little oneshot can be ended here, though if anyone feels otherwise please let me know and I might go back and edit it a bit.

That said, this is but the start of this merry journey, though I feel I must remind you all that I have many other projects I am working on, and as such cannot promise regular or cohesive updates for this fic in the future.

But, with all of that said and done, I hope you all take care and stay safe,

See you in the next chapter.

[clatterbane]

This shit is making me a little nervous, ngl. Maybe an hour ago, I went ahead and ate this pretty yummy tteokbokki cup (with some added kimchi and cheese), which I had actually been holding off on because it usually it is likely to hit my blood sugar like a truck even with loading up on plenty of insulin beforehand. Normally I would start out with 4 units in advance, and be prepared to get like 2-4 more units in later to cover that amount of concentrated particularly high glycemic rice carbs. By this time after eating it, I would likely be reaching for the insulin as the graph is shooting up into the red above the top range lines there. It's enough of a PITA that I just haven't felt like dealing with that enough to eat the thing.

But, tonight? One unit in advance just because it felt like maybe I shouldn't push my luck that hard to go totally without, and this is what the graph is doing:

(That's a new sensor put on yesterday, and it's wanting to be particularly noisy in the readings. Just ignore the aggravating spikiness of that line. I have double checked by finger sticks to calibrate, and it is accurate enough down the middle.)

Going by recent experience, I may actually need to grab a sweet snack before long, to keep that one freaking unit of insulin for a carb-dense meal from crashing my blood sugar right about when I want to go to bed.

Yeah, my three (3) remaining beta cells have apparently all decided to wake up at the same time recently, and go back to work cranking out their own insulin specifically in response to eating. And particularly later in the day. They seem to be night owls too.

It's apparently not unusual for later-onset folks like me to keep some level of insulin production going for longer. Which can change unpredictably.

Don't know if you can even call it a "honeymoon" at this point, since I do seem to be Stubborn Beta Cells Georg. They are still pulling this shit over 15 years in. That's kinda how the extended NHS medical negligence didn't just flat out kill me much faster. Kept limping along with just enough production to keep me progressively sicker and developing complications but only half-dead until that huge crash. Don't know how they managed it, or how they are this persistent even after it looked like they had finally keeled over for good. But, they're still going enough normally that I the endo has been surprised at how relatively little insulin I do normally need.

Some decent backup does seem to have let them recover enough to occasionally come back to work part time, though. This is just the biggest effort they've put in again so far. It's fucking weird.

Impossible to tell when that stubborn handful of beta cells will decide to go back on strike again, of course. But yeah, may as well take advantage of it while it lasts. Thus the post-midnight rice cake snack to begin with!

Maybe I should go ahead and cook some of the real deal over the weekend. I bought some tteokbokki a while back, because I do love it, but hadn't quite psyched myself up to fix it yet. May go for a cheesy variation, because why not.

Not my pic, but it is making me hungry.

[ya-world-challenge]

Book Review: The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White (🇷🇴  Romania)

[image 1: book trilogy covers: And I Darken, Now I Rise, Bright We Burn. On each cover a spear slashes through an object: a flower, a necklace, a pomegranate; image 2: map showing modern Romania; image 3: the view from Poenari castle in Romania - the walls of a stone fortress drop away to a steep mountainous landscape covered in green; source: wikimedia]

And I Darken; Now I Rise; Bright We Burn

Author: Kiersten White

YA World Challenge for 🇷🇴 Romania

I've seen some criticism of this series by Romanian reviewers, one of which is Lada's name (which I agree is odd), and others that are to be expected when you take a national hero (Vlad the Impaler), gender-flip him, and write him in love with the leader of an empire that oppressed your nation for centuries. So it's important to acknowledge this series as pure fiction. It did have me flipping through Wikipedias of the the real historical characters mentioned, many of whom I had never learned about before.

While much of the series (1 and 2 especially) take place in the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey), the series follows the point of view of two siblings from Wallachia, a historical region of the modern state of Romania.

Review

Lada and her brother Radu are left as hostages of the Ottoman Empire as children to keep their father "loyal" as a vassal. I loved Lada's character from the beginning: strong-willed, possessive, brutal even as a child, and "ugly". The character-building was expert and the way the author weaves relationships and motivations in a complex tapestry, against a backdrop of a rich world.

And I Darken builds the siblings' relationship with the future sultan Mehmed, setting up that messy love triangle, and a scheme to get Mehmed on the throne. While Radu falls for Islam, Lada is never not wholly dedicated to Wallachia.

With Now I Rise, oh lord, the gay angst!... dear Radu. With Lada gone off to find support for her kingdom, Radu is left with his angst. We see the battle of Constantinople, and interconnected politics around Eastern Europe as Lada raises her army and searches for allies.

Bright We Burn, and Lada is ready to go full-on Impaler. The action was great, until... the entire climax and ending. I felt the finale really cheated Lada and did not serve her character. I didn't feel that book 3 lived up to its title. (And god, what a cringe epilogue!)

I have such mixed feelings about this series because it is incredibly well-written and engaging throughout, with an epic world and depth of character. But I dislike the ending the more I think about it. Without spoilers, I can just say that I think the whole feminist theme built up through the book fell apart in the end.

Books 1-2 I would have rated 4.5 stars, but Book 3 ultimately pulled the rating down.

Other reps: #muslim #gay #m/f #lesbian side characters #orthodox christian

Genres: #alternate history #drama #romance #adventure #war

★  ★  ★    3 stars

SPOILER rant under the cut:

In Book 2, the gunpowder lady said something to Radu - that Lada would be the type to go out with fire. With a title called Bright We Burn, I fully expected to see Lada going down as brightly and destructively as a meteorite, taking herself out with everything. What a disappointment.

The ending and Lada's forced 'submission' to Radu, by him taking away every last thing she had, under the guise of *compassion*, quite rankled me. It took away all the independence of her character that the series had built up from the beginning, and replaced it with nothing.

And. The. Kid. That epilogue. No, just no. I hate that such a promising series had to end with the cisheteronormative notion that "you must bear progeny to have a legacy". Fuck that. It completely threw away everything that Lada was just to have this "oh cute she acts like her mother" moment. 🤮 That and Radu vandalizing the church floor with his weak, misogynist scratchings.

It could have been so much better.

[em-nikolaev]

The Duality of "Strong Female Character No. 2"

So, I'm re-reading the Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White for what must be the thousandth time, and I keep comparing it (irrationally) to another series I'm re-reading, that being the shades of magic. The main line of connection I've been able to draw between them are the female characters featured within, both SOM and TCS have 'strong female characters' in a historical setting, but they are so very different in how they are written.

I'll confess, I don't like Lila Bard, she gets on my nerves, for the longest time I didn't really relise why, but now I have a thesis, so buckle in.

Lila is NOT a strong female character, she's manipulative, cruel, a bit misogynist, and selfish, which, on it's own would be fine, we love flawed characters in this household, but the problem is, it's never acknowledged in any real way during the series how her actions harm others, and even herself. Her views are validated and rewarded without consequence, I mean, there are moments when she feels some semblance of guilt, but it's never more than a fleeting thought, I'd like to make it clear, I understand why people like her, and that's completely fine, she's a strong woman with a knife and an absurd amount of confidence and that's awesome, but I can't help but feel that her presence in the SOM is bringing the series down, feel free to disagree, I'd love to be proven otherwise, but as it stands, I don't think the character of Lila Bard is a good one, especially in comparison to Lada, who is a similar character in a lot of ways, they are both forced to act more like men for safety and power, they are both strong willed and dangerous women, but the thing that I think raises And I Darken and subsequent books above and beyond in their writing is the way Lada interacts with other women, as well as how she reacts to the world and her own actions.

At first Lada and Lila are quite similar, Lada thinks of women as weak and powerless, likely due to how her mother abandoned her to a situation that ultimately resulted in both her and her brother's captivity (not a spoiler, it happens pretty early on, if you haven't read And I Darken I can't recommend it more, It's great) but as the story progresses her view is challenged, she meets many different women in a similar situation to her and she ends up seeing how femininity and their womanhood can be just as powerful as the control which she has found with blunt force and cruelty, but she finds that, for the very same reason those women were able to leverage their femininity, she was not able to, Lada is not beautiful, she is not "court smart", and she is not patient, these are faults which she understands, much in the way that the women around her understand that they too have faults in that they do not have the physical strength or strategy to fight numerous battles, all this to say, Lada is different than (some not even all) the women around her, that does not make her better or worse, just different, whereas with Lila, she's "not like other girls" because she's perceived as better, breaking even the very laws of the established universe to express that she is special.

I'm really interested in hearing anyone's thoughts if you've read either of these books, I would also like to say that I really enjoyed the Shades of Magic series aside from the grievances I stated above, and am not saying that I think V. E. Schwab is a bad writer,

With that I conclude my long winded essay, don't forget to drink water, eat food, and sleep!

[helloenee]

The Secret of Us episode 3 - in which Earn gets told off and Lada fantasizes about sweet kisses.

Earn... ate a banana... to be admitted to the ER to get attention from her ex-gf. She really deserved to be told off by literally everyone for such a stupid stunt. And they did! Did she take it to heart? I hope so. Please don't do such stupid things. Alas, love makes you foolish.

Tan is such a good friend. :( I wonder about how Lada and Tan knew each other. Childhood friends? They even went to study abroad in the same university.

The break-up depression flashback is so freaking sad. :( And again, Tan is such a good friend. No wonder he was so protective of Lada.

Lada was so depressed because she never knew the real reason that Earn broke up with her. Well! She still doesn't! Because even now, Earn never told her "sorry I fucked up. this is why I broke up with you. can you forgive me? also your mom was kind of a bitch". Whennnn will this conversation happen? Shouldn't you warn Lada about her mom not having her best interests? Speaking of, I haven't seen Lada's mom since Episode 1.

Earn is determined to earn Lada back. You go, gal.

But I also wonder, where is her line for giving up on this pursuit? She's getting told no over and over again. At this point Lada's friend is telling her off for harassing Lada and not respecting her boundaries. But it's the little moments that keep her going. The hand protecting her head from the table. The worried Doc when she was in the ER. That it's obvious that Lada still cares about her even if she tries to deny it.

Lada hesitating at the door and daydreaming a whole kissing sequence is the funniest thing. Oh, Lada.

Engfah is definitely... uh... making things messier. I love mess.

Parallels between Engfah and Earn. Both are pursuing their romantic interests. Both aren't getting what they want right now. Both are still determined! Engfah is much messier. And touchier. But Earn is kind of touchy back? Skinship is confusing.

[ballet-symphonie]

Hi, not sure if you keep up with her but if you do I’d love to hear your thoughts on Lada Sartakova and her career progression/time at vaganova. I know from comments on vba’s instagram page and forums that there is a lot of upset at her being sent to the primorsky stage spb mariinsky and a general feeling that vba really screwed her over due to her figure. She was always talented and based on her insane levels of debuts now I can’t understand why she was so pushed aside in those final years.

To add the the Lada Sartakova ask, I also know she took on a typical character student progression and that was definitely where the teachers were pointing her. But when a girl who not only comes in with talent, but manages to consistently be in the top 5 in class all way through school, you’d think vba would be more proud. The way I’ve heard it said is that the school proved that they were unable to see talent beyond the body aesthetics.

Russian balletomanes have generally concluded that her body type definitely had a negative impact on her career. She was dancing decent roles as an upperclassman, but that class was perceived to be relatively weak, especially in the wake of 2018-19.

It's worth remembering that Sartakova wasn't accepted to VBA as a child, she studied at the school of Vladislav Kuramshin, who has successfully coached two other 'last minute' Vaganova admits and now prominent soloists: Ksenia Zhiganshina and Maria Bulanova. The school prides itself on 'pyrotechnics,' Sartakova went viral several times as a very young child doing ridiculous feats on pointe, she was doing 32 fouettes on stage before many of the VBA girls had even started seriously training. One has to wonder about the sustainability of that technique and it's also worth noting that none of the dancers Kuramshin coaches are particularly renowned for their cleanliness which is generally championed by MT.

I think also graduating during 2021 helped absolutely no one, the school had a bit more restrictions than MT and she certainly had fewer opportunities to perform and showcase herself and I think she would have had to make a really good impression to get hired in such a tricky time, MT only took around 3 girls from that year.

For what it's worth, she's getting WAY better roles at Primorsky than she ever would at the main stage at MT.

[certifiedlavendarmenace]

A lengthy post on why Lada's parents suck

Disclaimer: I hate them both equally the dad does not get off easier

The Father: On that note let me start with the dad because he truly does not get enough flack. A wise man once said "I'm biggest hater I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk" and that's how I feel about the father.

I've seen him be praised for the grand act of not being a homophobe in 2024 and I didn't mind because his wife is a menace and his only crime was being passive and "clueless". However I still didn't like him, sure he loved Lada and supported her decision regardless of what she did but that is quite literally the bare minimum for any parent and the fact that other queer people have parents that struggle to trip over that mark does not make him exceptional in any way. Beyond that he only advocated for her in private and when he did it was half hearted. He was far more concerned with keeping the peace with his wife then he was with defending his daughter. Which was fine when we assumed Lada didn't know either of her parents knew she was queer.

Then you could argue that he was waiting for Lada to come to him and he couldn't possibly know what the mom did. However this new episode shows that Lada knew that her mom knew about her being queer so one would think a father who is a #ally would tell his lesbian daughter that her mom is actually secretly homophobic and maybe she should be mindful of that.

What makes him worse is the fact that he knew the mom orchestrated the breakup and he sat there and watched his daughter who he 'supports' suffer for years. He didn't even bother confronting the wife he just sat on that information, comfortable to let his only child wallow in misery until her mother forced her to marry a man. Never once did he think 'hey maybe I should tell my daughter the life altering breakup she's barely surviving was orchestrated by my evil wife and she should probably get back with the love of the life since I again am a #ally'

I will die hating that man. He's so complacent he might as well not be there. He's like a cartoon angel on the mom's shoulder that gets batted away every few minutes. If that's allyship and supportive parenting then he can keep it because obviously it makes no difference. Passive parents are just as bad as their evil/abuse partners. He was not cursed with the witch he chose her and he's sticking beside her.

The Witch: Now lets get to the she devil. My feeling for her transcends hatred . I haven't wished this much misery on a character since the old bat from Gap. She is so caught up with her idea of what Lada's life should look like she's willing sacrifice her own daughter. She wants Lada to be a hallow doll, a human sized trophy whose only goal is to please her and whose only purpose is to be paraded around so that anyone who might be looking can see what a great mom she is because her doll is so accomplished.

She caused her daughter to go through an unimaginable amount of pain and even when she saw her at her lowest she didn't feel a shred of regret because to her the love between women is just fundamentally inferior for no other reason besides the fact that 'it just is'. She even had the audacity to twist the knife and paint herself as some beacon Lada could cling to because she would always be there and she 'loved' her so much.

I don't believe that woman knows what parental love is. That whole scene with the husband where she basically blames Earn for her choices she also talks about Lada but she never really talks about her. Instead she talks about what she did, how she molded her and how perfect Lada was as a result even though Lada told her none of that made her happy.

Then the show had the temerity to pull the sick card just like in Gap and just like in Gap Lada goes running back and now Earnlada is in jeopardy again. Just once I want these writers to kill the homophobe. She wont be missed and it saves me the pain of watching them forgive and forget simply because she's sick. Why is it always forgive and forget? For some relationships it works but there has to be a line where things become irreparable. Where even if the characters do forgive they can heal privately, free from the people that hurt them. Not everyone has to hold hands and kumbaya sometimes we can say fuck the homophobes and leave it there.

In conclusion, Lada deserved better. Earn should have snitched. I will never like the father and I will be praying on the mothers' death.

[gruzeburya]

𓂃₊☁︎ A VICIOUS/EO VERSE. . . THE STORM WITCH OF THE EAST     𓆩 ' 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 

   ▍note:  it has admittedly been a while since i have read the villains books so there are bound to be inaccuracies here that i will probably go in and edit once i get around to a re-read. that being said i don't really plan on having zoya's verse interact with the overall plot of the books outside of her run-ins with EON which is still mostly classified information. this also means that zoya's main arc takes place in a post-vicious timeline after stell conceives of EON in response to eli and victor's appearances. 

   ⊹ CONCEPTION.  growing up in the rural russian countryside zoya is scouted as a figure skater by valentin grankin at the tender age of twelve.  coming from an impoverished home zoya's competition money is what kept her family afloat and she quickly becomes the main breadwinner within a few months of performing. grankin agrees to fund the young prodigy's education and training in what he sees as a sound acquisition. entering into a contract with the businessman zoya's unwittingly signs away her autonomy.  the partnership does not last long before grankin begins to expect unsavory favors from his investment. after he makes an advance towards zoya she kills him while squabbling to escape and has to flee her hometown as a result.

her aunt and adoptive sister come to her rescue at the rink. escaping in a car they are pursued by grankin's security detail and they run the family off the road during a raging thunder storm. veering off course the pursuit ends in a devastating crash seemingly killing everyone in the vehicle but that is not the case.  zoya dies with rain water in her lungs and rage in her heart and when she rises again she has the power of the sky at her behest.  lada garin, zoya's sister technically survives as well and is later rumored to be an eo on her own right.  the only victim that didn't rise again was zoya's aunt, liliyana 

   ⊹ GATHERING ALLIES.  as a teenager zoya survives off of secrets.  initially she couldn't find any subtlety to her newfound abilities.  she would bring rainy weather to notorious dry towns and violent winds to the most mild of villages. in time she learns that she can use her manipulation of atmosphere to bend sound waves and she begins to gather intel about other EOs via whispers. forced to move from place to place in order to avoid further suspicion this constant storming around earned her the title of burya vedma ( storm witch ).  this is when she meets david and genya two eos with an affinity for technology and disguises respectively. they had followed the gathering clouds towards her and the three from a tenuous alliance. 

   ⊹ MOVING TO THE U.S. zoya is nineteen when she finally catches wind of information in regards to lada's whereabouts.  rumors of a alleged pyromancer from her hometown fittingly dubbed, the firebird. at this point zoya has amassed a coalition of EOs… a small army of sorts. she has created a safe haven from them and swears to continue her mission to protect any EOs she comes across and keep their true identities masked from the public. she takes a fraction of her allies with her when she immigrates in pursuit of her sister.  she spends years on the hunt for information in her search she has amassed a network of EOs in the U.S. and internationally who become loyal to her cause.  the larger her legion grows the more attention she draws towards herself.  already EON agents are beginning to put out hits on her and others who are her close allies. 

𓂃₊ VERSE NOTES ( TLDR )

zoya's EO abilities encompass a broad spectrum of atmosphere manipulation. as i said above she is prone to using her powers in more subtle ways to help maintain her cover. such as employing acoustic anomalies to spy on her enemies and gather intel on EOs in the area. 

her more offensive skillset is reserved for emergency situations.  this is the customary calling of lightning, wind and rain. the more subtle way this skillset manifests is how the temperature drops whenever she enters a room and the heavy humidity that hangs around her sometimes in thick vapor. 

zoya's network of EO's can be considered somewhat of a rebel army. some of her contacts are more loyal to her than others. david and genya are her left and right hand when it comes to day to day operations.  david innovates so that their home base is kept up to date in terms of defense and genya assists in spy craft with her tailoring of the human face. base of operations is roughly on the vermont/new york border in the deep forest.

in her civilian life she is currently enrolled at state university in vermont as a graduate student studying meteorology and atmospheric physics. she still a skating instructor on the side at her local rink, which is more for her own fulfillment than monetary gain. she travels often so she is only a part-timer at her current college.

[needlepokes]

one last thing i’ll say about LADA type 1 diabetes is this: tons of people being diagnosed as type 1 are also technically LADA, which is not a very clinically important distinction if the patient is managing their blood sugar fine - doctors will usually leave you alone if your A1C is fine.

This means their “honeymoon phase” can last YEARS, LADA means “latent autoimmune diabetes of adults” - latent is the keyword here.

SO, that being said, if a t1 diabetic shows you their sugars and they don’t “match”1 standards for how a type 1 diabetic’s sugars are - that’s fine! you’re not an awful diabetic for not keeping up with someone who’s body is still producing insulin in some capacity -

diabetes truly is sometimes a spectrum more than a binary of diagnoses and it’s always a losing game trying to compare sugars, carb ratios, extra oral drugs needed with other type 1 diabetics.