#the people we are ruled by are disgraceful | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jaeyunverse · 7 months ago

Text

the fake dating pact

pairing(s): park sunghoon x fem!reader

genre(s): fluff, suggestive, fake dating, enemies to lovers, rich kid au, cruise au

wc: 1.6k

warning(s): profanity, making out, implications to sex (no smut)

inspired by: dil dhadakne do

summary: in which ridiculous circumstances lead to a fake dating contract pact being struck between park sunghoon and you.

note: i’m ngl i thought i’d reposted this fic but i’m not able to find it so here we go LOL the sunghoon brainrot’s been hitting real hard lately

masterlist

There was a slight chance Sunghoon and you had crossed the boundaries you’d set when you first drew up your fake dating contract.

Okay, agreement would be a more accurate word choice since the document wasn’t legally binding, but the two of you took its contents very seriously. Together, you’d come up with a few mutually acceptable ground rules:

no kissing unless absolutely necessary

non-sexual acts of intimacy are acceptable in order to maintain the facade

keep arguments to a minimum no matter how insufferable the other person is being

no bed-sharing under any circumstances

no falling for park sunghoon even though he is the epitome of sexiness

The last condition was total bullshit, but you didn’t have it in you to make him get rid of it. Your mom had already done an excellent job at pissing you off; the last thing you wanted to do was get into it with Sunghoon.

One may wonder what caused the two of you to make this pact. Simply put, both your families desperately wanted to set you up with people you had no interest in dating.

(Not that you wanted to seek a romantic relationship with Sunghoon either, but we’ll get into that later.)

Lee Saerom had organised a cruise across the Mediterranean Sea on the occasion of her parents’ 30th wedding anniversary. Normally, your family wouldn’t have come within 10 feet of the Park family, but you were both good friends of the Lees and neither of you wanted to give the other the satisfaction of avoiding the trip.

Now that all the powerful and influential families of Seoul were gathered in the same place for a celebration spanning over a few weeks, your parents thought it would be a good idea to find you an ideal suitor who would help their company expand.

Word spread that you were seeing Lee Heeseung, the younger son of the Lees and heir apparent to their empire. The rumour was entirely false, but you had to admit it was a genius move on your parents’ part. Not only did it become harder for Heeseung and you to deny the allegations, but it made the Lees consider a future with your family’s business.

As if you weren’t in a shitload of mess already, the entire thing had somehow turned into a competition with the Parks beginning their own efforts to set Sunghoon up with Ning Yizhou.

The minor problem was that Heeseung and Yizhou were in love with each other, and neither of them had the courage to tell everyone the truth. They were both too afraid of disappointing their parents and bringing disgrace to their families.

You supposed it was a good thing Sunghoon and you had no such qualms. So, before things could escalate any further, the four of you got together and decided to put an end to this idiocy.

On the third night of the cruise, Sunghoon and you announced your relationship. Holding his hand and giving him lovey-dovey eyes felt ridiculous, but you would rather stomach fake dating him than see a wedge form between Heeseung and Yizhou.

Needless to say, everyone was shocked.

Yizhou even pretended to faint while Heeseung started sobbing hysterically. You couldn’t believe he actually pulled out a tear stick and applied it to the underside of his eyes when no one was looking. You wondered if he’d purchased it for this specific reason when you’d explored Turkey earlier that day.

Overall, it was a pretty convincing act.

The Lees and Nings were furious, but you weren’t particularly worried. In fact, you didn’t even care. Your parents had it coming their way the moment they dragged you into their scheming and plotting.

It took a few days for everyone to calm down and for the festivities to resume, but things pretty much went back to normal. Sunghoon and you both got tongue-lashings from your families, but they didn’t make you two break up.

Your reputations were already in the gutter; forcing you to end your relationship after all that had conspired would have been the cherry on top of your disaster of a cake.

The pre-decided course of action was to fake date Sunghoon till the cruise ended. Once you returned to your daily lives and enough time had passed, you would cook up a reason to break up.

It didn’t take long for your original plan to go to shit. As it turned out, spending a week pretending to love the bane of your existence had proved to be quite the opportunity to really get to know him.

Ever since you were a kid, you’d heard your parents say a lot of terrible things about the Parks. You’d been instructed to stay far away from Sunghoon. An impressionable and susceptible child such as yourself had obeyed every order they gave you.

You’d literally been hard-wired to despise and assume the worst of Sunghoon.

The wall of hatred you’d built between the two of you began coming down brick by brick once you learnt the kind of man he was. He was honourable and good and down-to-earth.

Of course, he was a dickhead to you for the same reason you were a bitch to him, but the asshole side of him was more endearing than annoying now.

His snarky replies no longer seemed to bite, and there was always an underlying film of adoration accompanying them.

Perhaps, he’d grown to care for you just as you had for him.

You certainly hoped that was the case, since regularly making out with someone who couldn’t be bothered with you wasn’t exactly your dream.

To this day, you had no idea how you’d ended up grabbing the collar of his shirt and crashing your mouth against his.

Maybe it was because he kept reminding you that you’d lost a bet to him and you wanted to shut him up, or maybe it was because he hadn’t bothered to button up his shirt and his abs were on full display, the ocean wind ruffling his messy hair.

Nonetheless, something seemed to snap in him when you made the move. He responded to your kiss immediately and pinned you against a wall. Thankfully, it was almost midnight and there was no one to witness your less than decent makeout session on the deck.

The next ten minutes consisted of his hands travelling under your loose shirt, fingers grazing the cold skin of your abdomen. Soon, your shirt was discarded, and your legs were wrapped around his waist.

Sunghoon hadn’t bothered stopping even when you ran out of breath. Instead, he’d taken the opportunity to leave bruises on your jaw and neck. The warm feeling of his tongue soothing the spots where he’d nipped at your skin with his teeth had caused you to experience a burning need for desire that went further than the second base.

The amount of reaction he’d gotten out of you was embarrassing. Never had you been unraveled by anyone so effortlessly. He had to muffle the whimpers that slipped past your lips as a result of his ministrations.

If it weren’t for the fact that you were making out in the open and were at the risk of being walked in on, things would have escalated. By the time you parted, Sunghoon’s lips were swollen, his face was flushed and he was breathing hard.

His eyes were hooded and dark, and he was gazing at you with an intensity that made you shiver.

Taking that as your cue to leave, you pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek, fetched your shirt from the ground and hurried away.

You didn’t even know why you thought things would go back to normal the next day.

One look at him, and your legs turned to jelly. You happily obliged when he wrapped his fingers around your wrist and whisked you away from everyone else.

Soon enough, you’d breached almost all the conditions in your fake dating pact.

You spent most of your nights together—be it hooking up, lying in the comfort of each other’s arms or just talking till slumber claimed you. Never in your life had you imagined being at ease around Sunghoon.

Everything else faded away when you were with him. He made you feel yourself. He made you feel whole.

“Hey,” you murmured while you were both swimming in the pool one night, the stars shining brightly in the sky. His eyes were closed and his neck was tilted up, the back of his head resting on the decking behind. “Can I ask you something?”

Sunghoon hummed and opened his eyes, turning his attention to you. “Yeah.”

“I know we have a plan,” you continued, doing your best to ignore the droplets clinging to his skin, “and I know that we’re supposed to stop pretending after this cruise ends tomorrow, but have you ever thought about making this—” you pointed at him, and then at yourself— “real.”

He laughed softly and shook his head in amusement. Your brows furrowed in confusion. “I’m not joking—”

“Every single day,” he interrupted you. Wading his way through the water to close the distance between your bodies, he repeated, “I have thought about making you mine every goddamn day.”

He cupped your cheeks and rested his forehead against yours. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you, Y/N,” he whispered.

Taking a shuddering breath, you closed your eyes and felt him press his lips to yours.

The kiss was slow and passionate, as if the two of you had all the time in the world. It expressed what couldn’t be said using words, and you realised just how much you’d grown to admire and care for this man.

It physically pained you to consider the possibility of a life without him.

“Sunghoon,” you mumbled against his mouth. “I would say I love you too but I don’t wanna breach the contract.”

He chuckled and ran his tongue along your bottom lip, even going as far as to suck on it. “I thought you broke the last rule days ago.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across your face. You opened your lids and shifted to get a better look at his expression.

Sunghoon’s eyes were shining with happiness, and you thought you could gaze into them forever. You thought you could witness the grin on his face and hear his honeyed laugh without ever getting tired. You thought you could stand ground against anything life threw at you if you had him by your side.

You knew you could love him and be loved by him for as long as your soul wandered through the worlds.

“I love you too.”

686 notes · View notes

sour-leminies · 4 months ago

Text

Rebellious

Paring: James Hook x F!RoyalReader

Summary: Parents suck. That was something you had come to learn. You hated their expectations of you. You hated about how they controlled every aspect of your life. The only thing that they didn’t see coming nor you — was a pirate with an offer.

Warnings: Intense kissing. Drinking, cussing and even mentions of smoking.

Taglist: @unhealthy-obessions @4ng3l-ch1ld @herondale-lightworm @astrynyx @snixx2088 Just ask to be added!

3.7k WC

Navigation — other works!

I really, and I mean really hate today. I’ve gotten yelled at already from my parents for not wearing my tie, not a single kid in this school wears a uniform, but my parents still decided it was the biggest thing in the world. I was late to class, simply because people couldn’t walk faster in the halls. And now I was listening to this kid go on and on about himself.

For an assignment we paired up, teacher choice, and now while I did the work I had to listen to this boast about his castle. To be honest I wasn’t really listening, only zoning back in for a sentence or two before zoning back out.

My parents are visiting today, and that was all I could focus on. They showed up out of the blue as I was about to head to class. It’s not like them to show up at random – they always try to put distance between us ever since they declared I was a disappointment. Something I was grateful for.

At first being called a disgrace from my mother hurt, and being called a sorry excuse of a princess from my father burned. Now though hearing that from them made me happy, because I wanted to be nothing like them.

Then why was I still trying so hard to be perfect?

The loud laughs of kids snapped me back to reality and away from my thoughts. “Ugh, James Hook and his stupid crew.” My partner had said, clearly annoyed they were laughing and talking over him.

James Hook, a ruthless cut throat pirate who took rules and shoved them up people's asses. A man who did what he wanted, and didn’t give a damn about the consequences. He was everything I wanted to be.

“Excuse me?!” I looked to my partner – my eyes widening at the sound of him calling out to the loud group of pirates. “Can you shut up?” My jaw dropped at him, not only was he going to get himself in trouble he didn’t want, he was going to get me in it too.

“He didn’t mean that!” I said to the pirates who started to make their way over to our table. “He’s clearly not gotten enough sleep, and he’s very sorry.” Where was the teacher? I didn’t see her step out of the class, but she wasn’t at her desk or in the room.

The boy beside me went to speak again, but I stomped on his foot, drawing his attention while he whined about his ‘pretty toes.’

“You know this man, Lass?” My breath got caught in my throat at the sound of Captain Hook’s voice. I had heard him before, obviously I had, but this was the first time he talked to me. The first time he looked at me for so long.

I shook my head, my heart pounding as he got closer to me, walking around the table. “You can speak.” I knew that, but every time I tried my mouth got too dry for me to even say a word. Say the wrong word and who knows he may make me walk the plank and drown.

I nodded again, I couldn’t hear or see anyone else besides James Hook. I never even fully met him and he had already had a hold on me, a hold I desperately wanted back. “What’s your name?”

A sharp feeling on the bottom of my chin caused me to look up at the captain, while he used his hook to ensure I didn’t look away. His brown eyes remind me of a puppy, but the glint in them reminded me of a lion. Ready to snap. His eyeliner enhanced and deepened the color, a thought crossed my mind. One I immediately snapped out of my head.

Who knew men in eyeliner were so handsome.

“Y/N.” My answer was short, and direct. What I had wanted this interaction to be, but nothing was ever that simple was it?

“Hm.” He removed his hook, letting me let out a sigh of relief. “Take your things, and go work at my table while I have a little chat with your friend.”

Don’t listen to a pirate. My mother’s voice echoed in my head, and I finally didn’t give enough of a damn to listen.

–

I opened my dorm door, seeing my parents snooping through my things, making me sigh out. Today had been stressful enough. Hook never went back to his table, nor did the rest of his crew, but they had taken my partner out of the class and he didn’t come back at all.

“What are you two doing here?” I was tired of this, them. Wanting parents who will never want me back. Trying so hard, and getting nothing in return. Caring for them, when they didn’t give a shit about me.

“Always so quick to jump, Y/N. I didn’t raise you to be that.” You didn’t raise me at all. I wanted to scream that to them. That the daughter they were so disappointed in, was because they couldn’t raise her. Some people weren’t meant to be parents – and I had really wished they had enough self awareness before having me.

“What do you want mom?”

She released an annoyed sigh, while my father reached into his shirt before pulling out a scroll. “You're getting engaged.”

Time stopped. I couldn’t hear anything besides my heart thumping in my ears. What? I looked to my mom, seeing nothing there. This wasn’t my mother. I looked to my father – seeing nothing but boredom. As if coming to tell his daughter they are selling her away was nothing but a daily task. This wasn’t my father. These weren’t my parents, because I never had any.

“No.” My voice was raw, and rigged, like I was an animal in a cage waiting to bite. My mothers jaw set, before she grabbed the scroll from my father and threw it to me.

I caught it, and opened it briefly. “You will be married to king Midas son. You will sign this contract.” I threw it to the side before snapping my gaze back to the people in front of me. “I said no. Get over it! I’m not your little fucking pet fish you sell off to when you get tired of feeding it.”

“You insolent–”

“I’m not done!” I cut my father off. “You don’t like me? Too bad, you had me. I’m not marrying anyone. You want to cut me off, go ahead.” They think I’m some rebellious teenager, then that’s who I’ll be.

They sent ferocious glares my way and I knew that mean look in my fathers eye. He never once hit me, but he would hit maids, or anyone who annoyed him. He took a step closer to me, and I felt panic start to spread.

“You heard the lady.”

I looked to my right as James Hook walked in front of me, in between me and my father. “I think it’s best if you leave.” Was he mad? That was a king. And he didn’t care.

My father and James started – or more accurately glared at each other before my father, brushed past us and walked out through the wide open door.

I looked back to my mother, who was looking between us. Disgust in her eyes. “You have four months to sign that contract, or else–”

“Leave.” Hook cut her off, and made a point to grab the sword hilt that was attached to his hip. She shook her head before also storming out, slamming the door.

I looked back to James who started at me, eyes full of wonder, interest, and mischief. “You didn’t have to do that.” I felt my eyes water, this whole thing draining me. I didn’t do anything wrong, and yet I’m always punished.

A tear dropped down my cheek but was quickly wiped away by a warm, and rough hand. “Don’t cry. You were so strong.” He stepped closer to me, his voice surprisingly in a low, deep and soft whisper. “Don’t give them the satisfaction of breaking you.”

I looked down to the floor where I had thrown the stupid scroll, “They hate me.” And I didn’t even know why.

“So make them hate you even more.” I looked back to the pirate, confusion all across my face. “It’s a lot easier to get someone to hate you than love you.” Yet I had a strong feeling that it was easy for James Hook to get people to love him.

He gave my head a pat before making his way out of my room, before I even had a chance to ask what he was doing in my room in the first place.

–

I took a seat on the outskirts of the campus, the image of a certain contract stuck in my head. I didn’t burn it, I couldn't, I was too afraid. Yesterday was suppose to be my push, but fuck it seemed like I need a bigger one. How much bigger could you get?

I had basically told my parents to go f themselves. Now I don't know what to do, I’m at a loss. I grabbed one of the over salted fries and stuck it in my mouth. Food was my comfort, and I loved salt but even I knew these were way too salty.

“Hello Lassie!” I looked over my shoulder to see a pirate dressed in red making his way over to me. What was he doing over here? He was a popular if not the most popular guy in school, Hades would be his only contest in bad boy charm.

“Hook.” He leaned down, plucking a fry off my plate before pulling me up as well. “Mmm, those are perfectly salted. Okay now I know he’s crazy.

“I have an idea for you.” Before I could even question him, or say ‘any idea of yours is mad’ his voice started to pick up.

He moved me away from where my food was now being eaten by ants and more over to the flower filled field.

“I know what you want from me, I know what you want from me.”

He bent down, picking a deep red rose.

“So if you wanna piss off your parents, date me to scare them. Show them you're all grown up.”

He handed me the rose, and twirled me around.

“If long hair, and tattoos are what attract you. Baby you’re in luck.”

He grabbed me and gave me a slight twirl.

“And I know it’s just a phase. You’re not in love with me.”

Setting me back on the ground, he lowered his voice, letting it fade out.

“You wanna piss off your parents, baby piss off your parents. That’s alright with me.”

“You're actually mad.” I scoffed at him, but couldn’t help the slit tilt of my lips. “I prefer bloody genius.” I lightly shook my head before handing him back his rose that smelled devine. “Thanks for your help with my parents yesterday. But it’s my problem not yours.” Just because I’m a princess doesn't mean I need someone to be my knight in shining armor.

“And I’m offering you a solution, love.” He tilted the rose back to be, encouraging me to take it, and his idea. “What's the worst that can happen? You’ll fall in love?”

I grabbed the rose, only because I knew he couldn’t take care of it. “Sorry pirate, I’d never love you.”

“Sounds like my cup of tea.”

–

I pushed the pillow further on my head at the constant knocking of the door. I was silently pleading for my roommate, Belle, to get the door. However as I looked up and over to her bed, I noticed her absent presence.

The knocking started up again, causing me to scream out into my pillow in frustration. It was a weekend, a very rare, and free weekend where I could relax. Slugging myself out the bed, I muttered every curse word I knew before yanking my door open.

“Hello, love, good day to hit the woods no?” I rested my head on my door, slightly whining. “What do you want, Hook?”

“How about a smile.” Oh my god he’s actually a dick. “I want you to get change, wear black – or red –” He smirked at that before continuing his list of demands. “Then you're going to come with me, and I’m going to show you what fun actually looks like.”

“That’s all?” My eyes felt swollen shut from dreariness. “That's all, now chop chop, off ya go.” I hate pirates.

–

Correction, I hate James Hook.

He took me to a party. Though he was such a gentleman about it, I’ll have to say. Located in the black forest, where it always looked night – he made sure to help me walk. That was the only redeeming quality about this party.

People were doing all sorts of things, from dancing, to drinking, to making out, etc. Definitely a villain kind of party. “Hook, I don't think this is my scene.” I rubbed my arms nervously, I felt like a needle in a haystack.

“No, this isn’t your parents' scene. I promise once you calm down you’ll have fun. Trust me.” Everyone was taught not to trust a pirate, but I couldn’t help but do so.

He reacted to his jacket before pulling out a flask, “here, don’t drink anything besides what I give you.” I nodded, engraving his words to my brain to not forget them. I twisted off the cap, taking a sip and immediately feeling the burn going down my throat causing me to cough. “The hell is that?”

I never had liquor before, but that tasted like acid with a twinge of something else.”Rum, the best.” I couldn’t help the laugh leaving me – finally letting out a sigh, and my discomfort. “You stupid pirate.”

–

I think I’m drunk. I’m not sure, but I can’t really see or more accurately focus.

“Alright lass time to get you home.” I looked over to where the voice came from, my eyes finally focusing on a very handsome man. “Hiii.” I gushed, my cheeks red. This man had a very attractive laugh, I thought as he laughed in my ear while bending down – picking me up.

“I’m a princess!” I said, loudly, as we walked out this stupid sea carcass thing. Why would they hang out in a dead sea fish? Not very sanitary. “Aye lass, a very pretty one.” This handsome man thinks I’m pretty.

–

Over the next three months Hook and I continued to “date”. It was surprising how easy it was to hang out with his friends. I had expected Hades to burn me alive or something with one of his cigarettes, but everyone – even the sea witch Uliana was pretty welcoming.

After I woke up the next morning from that first party Hook took me too. I had decided I hated drinking, and would not be doing it again. Something James laughed at. Tonight the vk’s were throwing some kind of party, I don’t know why – but I had opted out.

Usually James and I would spend late nights together, if not at my dorm than at his. We would lay on the bed, and it was weird – because our dating was supposed to be fake and to piss off my parents, but even when no one was around he’d hold my hand. Or we would cuddle, even though our roommates were out. He’d kiss my hand at random times – hug me at others and it all felt real.

We had felt real and I had realized I was falling for him. Hard.

A knock at the door pulled my attention from the fire crackling in my fireplace and to the dark oak door. Belle was having a date with her beast, but even then she had a key to get in.

Standing I opened the door, prepared to laugh at Belle for being forgetful but instead I was met with a Handsome pirate that I had actually wanted to call mine. “James.” He ditched his coat, and had his sleeves rolled up. Exposing his forearms, where his veins were showing. He had ditched his hook and replaced it with a guitar.

“Mind if I come in?”

No, not at all. Instead of saying it though I just moved out the way and opened the door more. The captain walked past me and sat on my bed. I closed the door, before I too made my way to my bed.

This would be normal for us, him playing piano, or even guitar while I listened. Though he would never leave a party that he needed to be there for. I’m pretty sure it was something about it being a blood moon or something to do with the moon.

His finger danced across the strings, and his deep rich voice started to fill the silence while the orange of the fire highlighted his skin.

“I met you in the dark. You lit me up. You made me feel as though I was enough.”

My breath hitched at the sound of his voice. I could feel my heart in my ears, but it was in the best way possible.

“We danced the night away, we drank too much.”

I didn’t know who he was singing about, but at the same time everything he said felt so familiar.

“I held your hair back when you were throwing up.”

He finally looked back up at me, his eyes achingly beautiful. In this moment I knew I had loved him. I loved him more than the world can even express itself.

James Hook POV

“Then you smiled over your shoulder. For a minute I was stone cold sober.”

The night I knew I fell in love with her played through my head and out into the song. The first night I took her to a party and she got black out drunk.

“I pulled you closer to my chest, and you asked me to stay over. I had already told ya; I think you should get some rest.”

This woman has made me question every single moral, this woman has made me question who I am. Was I still a ruthless villain – yes, just not to her. I couldn’t be.

Y/N L/N was the definition of my saving grace, and I loved her like I breathed. Naturally, effortlessly, and most of all needing.

“I’m so in love with you, and I hope you know.”

God I couldn’t wait another moment. I needed her to know that I truly love her, that she made this darkened heart beat.

“Darling, your love is more than its weight in gold.”

When the final strings of my guitar played out, I was ready to pour my heart out to her. Ready to tell her how she taught me how to love. How love wasn’t enough to describe how I felt about her.

But this damn woman beat me to it.

Normal POV

“I love you.” I said the second he stopped playing. Fear struck my heart, he might not love me back – but I’ll be damned if he doesn't know how much I care for him. “I know I told you that I could never love a pirate, but the truth is you have stolen my heart and I don’t want it back. I know you might not feel–”

My words fell, and his lips absorbed them. I didn’t know when he threw down the guitar, but he was kissing me.

His lips were soft, gentle, and his kiss was full of love.

“I’d go to the end of the earth for you. I love you so much, and don’t you for a damn second consider that I don’t.” I smiled at him. I was happy – finally so happy. Tears laced my eyes, and I let them fall, because James Hook didn’t only want my strength, he wanted my weakness as well. He wanted all of me. Just as I wanted all of him.

I pulled his face back to mine, kissing him desperately. This one was rougher, sexier. Full of things I didn’t even know but wanted to explore with him.

His hand pushed through my hair, as he slightly gripped it and tugged. Causing me to gasp. He took that as an invitation, his tongue brushing against mine. He pushed himself forward, pushing me back onto the bed, using his other hand to keep him from crushing me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, sighing out as he kissed down my neck. Everything in this moment felt right. It was cut short by the sound of the door opening, and the sound of Belle screaming out sorries.

James let out a groan of pure annoyance, while I laughed – giving him a peck. His gaze softened, and he hugged me. Letting him fall into me caused me to release a groan while he laughed.

Belle had run back out the door, and so I pulled him up off me and led him over to the fireplace. I opened a box placed on top of it, and grabbed a scroll out of it.

“This is a marriage contract that, if I signed, would marry me to King Midas' son, and grant me royal immunity.”

James swallowed thickly, fear laced in his eyes, and I swore his eyes glazed over with water.

“Burn it.”

The fear was replaced with confusion as he looked at me lost. “What?” He asked. I placed the scroll in his hand before pressing a kiss to his lips.

“The only man I’ll ever marry is a pirate that goes by Captain Hook and has a drinking problem.” He wasted no time in throwing the scroll into the hot flames before he picked me up and twirled me. “Marry you I shall.”

—

A/N: I’m actually really proud of this one.

#decendents #decendents masterlist #decendents x reader #hook #hook decendents #hook x reader #james hook #james hook masterlist #james hook x reader

239 notes · View notes

thatscarletflycatcher · 3 months ago

Text

The problem with discussions about Henry Crawford is that there are two different questions being asked at the same time: 1) Can Fanny reform Henry? and 2) Can Henry reform?

Austen answers negatively to the first one, but I'd argue she's very ambivalent in her answer to the second.

Austen is not in the habit of "punishing" her villains; none of them are struck by accidents of fortune or anything the like, but we commonly perceive the downgrade between what they could have had and what they end up having. Edward Ferrars is an infinitely preferrable husband to Robert Ferrars, but Lucy Steele never seems to become aware of that fact. Isabella tries to get Captain Tilney over James Morland. Mr. Elliot is not crying by the corners over the fact that he lost Anne Elliot. Even Willoughby's regret is not about Marianne's actual goodness, but his personal convenience. Austen's "villains" as a rule are morally stupid people.

When Aristotle says that no one can be good who is stupid, he doesn't have in mind things like being good at Math or being well read or quick-witted; he's thinking of a certain intuition, clear-sightedness about what is good, what contributes to human flourishing, and this seems to be a strong component of what Austen calls sense. Sense is almost convertible (if not completely) with prudence, and prudence is a rather intuitive virtue, as it regulates the when, the how, the how much, etc of the other moral virtues. (and there goes my first thesis topic that I never did!).

In that way it is interesting that only 4 characters are said to possess sense in Mansfield Park: Edmund, Fanny, Henry, and Tom (and Tom doesn't even fully count, because his is expressed negatively: instead of having sense, he doesn't lack it). Here are the Henry instances:

"He did not want them to die of love; but with sense and temper which ought to have made him judge and feel better, he allowed himself great latitude on such points." "Henry Crawford had too much sense not to feel the worth of good principles in a wife, though he was too little accustomed to serious reflection to know them by their proper name; but when he talked of her having such a steadiness and regularity of conduct, such a high notion of honour, and such an observance of decorum as might warrant any man in the fullest dependence on her faith and integrity, he expressed what was inspired by the knowledge of her being well principled and religious." "That punishment, the public punishment of disgrace, should in a just measure attend his share of the offence is, we know, not one of the barriers which society gives to virtue. In this world the penalty is less equal than could be wished; but without presuming to look forward to a juster appointment hereafter, we may fairly consider a man of sense, like Henry Crawford, to be providing for himself no small portion of vexation and regret: vexation that must rise sometimes to self-reproach, and regret to wretchedness, in having so requited hospitality, so injured family peace, so forfeited his best, most estimable, and endeared acquaintance, and so lost the woman whom he had rationally as well as passionately loved."

(I'm not counting the one time Edmund calls him a man of sense, and the one time Sir Thomas does the same, for obvious contextual reasons).

It's not only interesting that he is the only rake to be called a man of sense by the narrator (Mrs. Smith calling Mr. Elliot a man of sense in Persuasion is clearly not meant to be taken straight), but that it is always specifically tied to moral perceptiveness; he was morally perceptive enough to know he shouldn't have played the way he did, and he chose to ignore it. He perceives Fanny's moral worth, and it is the core reason why he wants to marry her.* He also perceives William's moral worth as something both good and desirable:

"To Henry Crawford they gave a different feeling. He longed to have been at sea, and seen and done and suffered as much. His heart was warmed, his fancy fired, and he felt the highest respect for a lad who, before he was twenty, had gone through such bodily hardships and given such proofs of mind. The glory of heroism, of usefulness, of exertion, of endurance, made his own habits of selfish indulgence appear in shameful contrast; and he wished he had been a William Price, distinguishing himself and working his way to fortune and consequence with so much self-respect and happy ardour, instead of what he was!"

Both here and at the end of the novel, Henry's moral perceptiveness leads to remorse for his own moral wrongdoings. Compare this to Willoughby's regret over Marianne:

"Willoughby could not hear of her marriage without a pang; and his punishment was soon afterwards complete in the voluntary forgiveness of Mrs. Smith, who, by stating his marriage with a woman of character, as the source of her clemency, gave him reason for believing that had he behaved with honour towards Marianne, he might at once have been happy and rich. That his repentance of misconduct, which thus brought its own punishment, was sincere, need not be doubted;—nor that he long thought of Colonel Brandon with envy, and of Marianne with regret. But that he was for ever inconsolable, that he fled from society, or contracted an habitual gloom of temper, or died of a broken heart, must not be depended on—for he did neither. He lived to exert, and frequently to enjoy himself. His wife was not always out of humour, nor his home always uncomfortable; and in his breed of horses and dogs, and in sporting of every kind, he found no inconsiderable degree of domestic felicity."

This sense/moral perceptiveness of Henry Crawford, and his experiencing remorse for his own wrongdoings sets him apart from the other Austen rakes. He's also not a drinker or a gambler; he does take at least minimal care of Everingham ("Everingham could not do without him in the beginning of September. He went for a fortnight") and did some modifications to it as soon as he got it. The same way Darcy's character is revealed as we see Pemberley, so the inflexion point of Henry's redemption attempt is his trying to become a better master of his estate:

For her approbation, the particular reason of his going into Norfolk at all, at this unusual time of year, was given. It had been real business, relative to the renewal of a lease in which the welfare of a large and—he believed—industrious family was at stake. He had suspected his agent of some underhand dealing; of meaning to bias him against the deserving; and he had determined to go himself, and thoroughly investigate the merits of the case. He had gone, had done even more good than he had foreseen, had been useful to more than his first plan had comprehended, and was now able to congratulate himself upon it, and to feel that in performing a duty, he had secured agreeable recollections for his own mind. He had introduced himself to some tenants whom he had never seen before; he had begun making acquaintance with cottages whose very existence, though on his own estate, had been hitherto unknown to him. This was aimed, and well aimed, at Fanny. It was pleasing to hear him speak so properly; here he had been acting as he ought to do. To be the friend of the poor and the oppressed! Nothing could be more grateful to her; and she was on the point of giving him an approving look, when it was all frightened off by his adding a something too pointed of his hoping soon to have an assistant, a friend, a guide in every plan of utility or charity for Everingham: a somebody that would make Everingham and all about it a dearer object than it had ever been yet. She turned away, and wished he would not say such things. She was willing to allow he might have more good qualities than she had been wont to suppose. She began to feel the possibility of his turning out well at last; but he was and must ever be completely unsuited to her, and ought not to think of her.

I have half an idea of going into Norfolk again soon. I am not satisfied about Maddison. I am sure he still means to impose on me if possible, and get a cousin of his own into a certain mill, which I design for somebody else. I must come to an understanding with him. I must make him know that I will not be tricked on the south side of Everingham, any more than on the north: that I will be master of my own property. I was not explicit enough with him before. The mischief such a man does on an estate, both as to the credit of his employer and the welfare of the poor, is inconceivable. I have a great mind to go back into Norfolk directly, and put everything at once on such a footing as cannot be afterwards swerved from. Maddison is a clever fellow; I do not wish to displace him, provided he does not try to displace me; but it would be simple to be duped by a man who has no right of creditor to dupe me, and worse than simple to let him give me a hard-hearted, griping fellow for a tenant, instead of an honest man, to whom I have given half a promise already. Would it not be worse than simple? Shall I go? Do you advise it?” “I advise! You know very well what is right.” “Yes. When you give me your opinion, I always know what is right. Your judgment is my rule of right.” “Oh, no! do not say so. We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.

This is even more hammered in by the narrator: "Had he done as he intended, and as he knew he ought, by going down to Everingham after his return from Portsmouth, he might have been deciding his own happy destiny."

All these elements seem to point towards his being redeemable; he almost managed it! If only he'd gone to Everingham instead of London, catastrophic failure would have been averted! And yet at the same time we are told this:

Henry Crawford, ruined by early independence and bad domestic example, indulged in the freaks of a cold-blooded vanity a little too long. Once it had, by an opening undesigned and unmerited, led him into the way of happiness. Could he have been satisfied with the conquest of one amiable woman’s affections, could he have found sufficient exultation in overcoming the reluctance, in working himself into the esteem and tenderness of Fanny Price, there would have been every probability of success and felicity for him. His affection had already done something. Her influence over him had already given him some influence over her. Would he have deserved more, there can be no doubt that more would have been obtained, especially when that marriage had taken place, which would have given him the assistance of her conscience in subduing her first inclination, and brought them very often together. Would he have persevered, and uprightly, Fanny must have been his reward, and a reward very voluntarily bestowed, within a reasonable period from Edmund’s marrying Mary.

Ruined by early independence and bad domestic example. Mansfield Park is in a way a rather pessimist novel: it is a novel about education, and once your education has "set", your character is fixed, and your fate determined. Much of Maria and Julia's disgrace was also directly caused by their upbringing in a household where all importance was given to superficial qualities, and very little effective affection was shared; one can compare the restrained calm of Mansfield as a reflection of Sir Thomas' own unwillingness to see reality and give himself some discomfort in making others comfortable, with the bustle of the Musgrove household, and connect the dots to what makes the relationship between sisters Maria and Julia so different from the one between Louisa and Henrietta in similar situations.

In the end, it's a bit of a Schröedinger's cat situation. Can Henry reform? Yes, says Austen, he has the qualities needed for moral improvement, but no, his upbringing ruined him, and his character is fixed.

While this idea is the strongest in MP, it is present one way or another in all Austen's novels. Characters reforming is usually more about one specific quality or moral tone not being fine tuned than proper metanoia. Darcy was taught to do right, and did right; what he needed was to add proper humility and kindness to his practice. There is an exception, though, the one thing Charlotte Brontë and Jane Austen agree upon: a close brush with death is the best recipe for moral cure in the otherwise incurable.

Maybe the key is to wish Henry a good pneumonia, or a strong horsefall-induced concussion.

_____________

*On a side note, it's interesting that before he proposes, he considers how attached Fanny is to Mansfield, as undeserving as he thinks the Bertrams to be of her affection, and even draws a plan that contemplates giving her pleasure that way too: "I will not take her from Northamptonshire. I shall let Everingham, and rent a place in this neighbourhood; perhaps Stanwix Lodge."

#Jane Austen #Mansfield Park #Henry Crawford

190 notes · View notes

jester-lover · 2 years ago

Text

Dorm Leaders with a Girlfriend who wears Suits

Warnings: fluff, very flustered boys, insecurity (not from the reader), talks of gender roles/identity, whoever reads this is so cool, reader is so hot and confident (did I mention she’s so hot)

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle has grown up in a certain structure, men lead, women follow, women lead, sons follow

When he sees you, dressed to the nines, not a care for the stares of others; something in him snapped

Head over heels

Considering his rule following tendencies, he is immensely attracted to the rebellious flair of a woman in a suit

You tend to notice him staring at you whenever you wear your male uniform

You always wink at him, reminding him you can see him too

Strawberry Riddle

“Um- well I wasn’t staring! It’s just- you look really pretty…”

Leona Kingscholar

Yes.

PLEASE.

His familial structure is very matriarchal, so seeing you, a confident woman just hits something in his soul

Bro, if you wear the male uniform, he will (politely) ask you to model the Savannaclaw uniform

If you do he’s literally on one knee

Girlfriend? I think you mean WIFE

Also he’s a lil afraid of you considering your confidence, you have a lot of power over people

Trying so hard to be all suave and cool and still such a sucker for you it’s funny

“Woah. I didn’t think anyone could make it work better than me.”

Azul Ashengrotto

He definitely thought you were a competitor at first

Who else would have such smooth banter, such playful glances, than an enemy trying to hinder his business!!

You definitely ask him out because he’s so in his own head, when you do, it’s like the wires in his brain connect finally

Also has a staring problem, the way that you walk with complete confidence, absolute disregard for anyone who speaks ill of you; he dreams of being like that

You lovelovelove pulling him in by his tie for a kiss, because he definitely places his hands on your shoulders all startled

“That lipstick suits you… What?! You think it’ll suit me too?! Don’t just s-say things like that!”

Kalim Al-Asim

Wowie!

This is the best combo ever, smiley pretty boy and a woman with endless personality

He literally buys you anything you want, new suit? Down. Makeup perfectly matching a new suit? Amazing! New shoes with a new suit? Take his credit card!

Kalim literally wants you to have anything you could possibly desire, so

Will buy both of you matching suits for galas and other occasions, and if anyone has the GALL to look down in you for your clothes, he’ll just leave along with you.

The public disgrace that would happen to that person for insulting the s/o of a member of the affluent Al-Asim family would be TREMENDOUS

“You look absolutely radiant. We look so cool!”

Vil Shoenheit

Masculine Wife, Feminine Husband.

He is so down you don’t even get it.

You help him out of the car? It’s trending on magicam in seconds.

Put your coat on a puddle so he can walk past without damaging his shoes? The paparazzi is loving it.

He adores your dynamic, the confidence you have matched his, and it contrasts with the opposite fashion you wear

“Dearest, the rose pinned to your lapel is a perfect match for the color of my overcoat, we will look stunning!”

Idia Shroud

404 error

Idia saw you once and he literally froze on the spot, you walked around like you owned the school!

The crisp edges of your suit reminded him of the butler from one of his favorite anime, so he was immediately nervous to talk to you

When you start dating, he begins to wonder what cosplays you would look good in,

Spy, demon butler, vampire princess, the possibilities are endless with your androgynous fashion

This one time, you took off your blazer, so you just wore a button up and slacks, and you looked so domestic, so old Hollywood beautiful, he burst into red flames

“I can’t believe you settled for someone like me. WHAT-what??! Stop calling me handsome! You really mean it? Wow…I- “

Malleus Draconia

Malleus loves this so much

The sheer power you exude, walking into every room and demanding attention, feminine mixed with masculine creating beauty beyond mankind

He’s obviously obsessed

On your nightly walks, he notes how you choose to take off the blazer in preference of a cardigan, he loves looking at little changes in your wardrobe

Mal is an old being, he’s seen fashion evolve, but I love to think he enjoys 40s/50s era fashion, the way that you choose to portray that style, he loves even more

As you grow more comfortable around one another, more affectionate, malleus will enjoy fixing your tie and buttoning your vests, small acts of domesticity feel so meaningful

He is another who will buy you expensive clothes, his future queen deserves the best

“My love, your tie is crooked. Perhaps you simply wanted me to fix it hm? Such a sly move…”

Welcome back to J sucks at dialogue and cries over pretty women.

But honestly I wrote this bc I want to feel more confident, and I want you to feel more confident!!!! I see a good amount of insecure reader posts, which are very good and comforting! But I would love to see more confident reader inserts. Thanks for reading, women in suits are amazing, and goodbye.

2K notes · View notes

enter-the-phantom · 6 months ago

Text

Okay, sit down, Tumblr. Let me get on my soapbox for a moment.

I want to talk about Windows95Man and Henri Piispanen and why we should all be applauding them. And no, this isn’t another “crown the pantsless Finn” shitpost.

I know I joke about my love for these two a lot, and I’ve kind of become the Windows95Man guy this week, but with all the drama and chaos going on, they really do deserve recognition for what they did. And I’m so dead serious about that. There is a reason I adore this stupid act so goddamn much.

This competition was a shitshow and was very stressful, for the performers as well as the audience. It was tense and hostile, and even when our favorites for the win were performing, we could never really relax because we wanted so badly for them to beat the team that should not have been there and that was turning this into a nightmare for everyone involved. We were so scared of the points and the voting at every turn, wondering if the EBU was going to pull another stunt. It was miserable even when our favorites did well. And we are all heartbroken for Joost. It was a disgrace and it wasn’t fun.

Now. “No Rules!” was the joke entry and it never stood a chance in hell and everyone knew it. I guarantee you they knew it and they never expected to get this far. But for a few minutes, everyone got to forget about the cruelty and the politics and the unfair treatment and the harassment, and just watch a crazy dude run around pantsless on stage. We got to be consumed by pure, unbridled joy and happiness for a few minutes, together, because this entry wasn’t a threat to anyone’s win and never set out to be. They did not come here to win—according to Teemu himself, they came to spread a few moments of joy to a world and an audience that desperately needed it. That is all they came to do. And that is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

It is such a deeply moving and wonderful thing to watch people laughing together with the people they hated only moments ago. The way the crowd roared when that stupid denim egg opened was a truly emotional moment in a way I can’t quite express. No matter what flag they were waving, everyone in that audience was singing along and cheering on these two madmen, united in the sheer hilarity and chaos of those few minutes. When that man’s shorts descended from the rafters and he lit those sparklers, we weren’t crying for Joost or worrying about the final outcome or panicking. We were laughing, and we were laughing together. Laughter is healing and it’s unifying. And it may have been only a few moments in a week that was bitter and stressful for all involved, but that is worth something to unite people in such a way.

According to all sources, the Finnish team was nothing but kind and warm to everyone and did exactly what they set out to do. They can go home with their heads held high knowing they made people smile. I have so much deep respect for these two and their team for being the joy and fun this competition was so sorely missing. They never lost that spark and that drive to make people happy, because that was their only goal. And it’s probably melodramatic because I’m a performer myself. But they are my heroes for it. And I mean that with all the sincerity I have.

With all the drama and the horrible things happening in this organisation and the world at large, I just don’t want us to forget two of the unsung heroes just because their entry was never a real contender. They deserve better than that, because they more than succeeded in what they came out here to do.

All the love and all the applause in the world to Teemu Keisteri and Henri Piispanen, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. 🇫🇮❤️👖

#this is long but my god #esc #eurovision #eurovision song contest #esc 2024 #Eurovision 2024 #windows95man #henri piispanen #teemu keisteri #look if one entry made me cry? it was them.#helping people smile is not a small thing. it matters.#they truly are an inspiration and I cannot overstate how much I truly appreciate them #eurovision finland

148 notes · View notes

cainhart · 3 months ago

Text

My brief theories on hybrid psychology, biology, lifespan, historical connections to our world, and the possibility of other hybrids in the DMC world aside from the loser twins and Nero.

In Devil May Cry, being a hybrid is not exactly seen as a freak of nature but rather as something disgraceful on the demons' side. The reason for this is quite simple: humans are considered "food" for demons. Human blood is both literally and spiritually a fuel, an essential substance that feeds the demons. The fact that a demon has "disgraced" itself to the point of mating with "food" is a big deal among demons. A lot of Devil May Cry media comment on this—it's even directly said of Sparda that he "turned into a lustful monkey," because, in their eyes, humans are lustful monkeys. Worse, humans die very quickly; they're weak and fragile. You can imagine how much worse it is for demons, where power is everything.

As for humans, there is no canon information about their perspective that I know of. My theory is that some of the "demigods" and mythological figures mentioned in the history of the world are hybrids who were born on Earth before the separation of the two worlds, but that's a topic for another day. As far as we know, the hybrids that are on Earth right now are Dante, Vergil, Nero, and (probably) Matier.

What confuses me more is biology. Humans and demons are different species, even though they were once "one." And even devils differ from each other by looks, too. While Mundus looks like a human man, particularly Zeus, Sparda looks like a bug. Agrosax has both a female and a male body. But it looks like they can alter their looks and DNA enough to have a human-like body by using their demonic magic. And they can have hybrids, hybridity works strangely in humans and animals too.

In Homo sapiens-Neanderthal hybrids, only the female was fertile.

In the animal kingdom, female hybrids are usually fertile unless there is a direct biological problem.

This is a Mule. A hybrid born from a female horse and a male donkey. Female Mule can only breed with male horses. Male Mule are infertile.

This is a Hinny, born from a female donkey and a male horse. Both male and female ones are infertile.

Liger's are both thought to be unfertile, but like Mule's, female Liger's can breed with male lions, creating Liliger. Tigon females are fertile, but males are not. A female Tigon and a male tiger had bred and created Titigon.

The reason for this is Haldane's Rule. When I tried to apply it to demon-human hybrids, I came up with something quite funny: Vergil shouldn't have been able to have a child. The Sparda twins are supposed to be infertile. But if we replace this with demon fuckery, we get at least the following result:

Male hybrid: Can breed with human females. Cannot breed with demon females. Cannot breed with Hybrid females.

Female hybrid: Cannot breed with human males. Can breed with demon males. Cannot breed with Hybrid males. A sad day for people with Vergil/hybrid!Nero's mother OCs because hybrids are unable to breed and produce offspring. Probably. Their partial infertility isn’t the strange part—that’s expected. Hybrids are known to have accelerated healing, incredible strength, agility, speed—the list goes on. These are part of their demonic heritage. But the truly fascinating aspect is how it plays into their biology. The human body can't display even half the strength of hybrids unless adrenaline is involved. If humans could perform such actions, our muscles would tear, our bones would break, and our blood vessels would rupture. Not to mention the risk of brain hemorrhage, blood coming out of the eyes and ears, or even heart attacks. The reason hybrids don’t suffer from these conditions might be due to their superior healing abilities, but even that explanation only scratches the surface. It’s directly related to the fact that they are hybrids.

The reason why Dante and Vergil can fall or jump from great heights (with Vergil literally falling into hell and only fainting, and Dante jumping off a cliff in DMC4) and continue on as if nothing happened is perhaps due to the high ratio of collagen, protein, and hydroxyapatite in their bones. This trait likely begins developing in the womb, as their bodies produce an abundance of osteoblasts. However, it would be nearly impossible for human women to survive such pregnancies. The human body would struggle to provide the immense amount of nutrition a half-demon child requires, leading to either a miscarriage or the mother dying from malnutrition and exhaustion. This could explain why hybrids are so rare.

How Eva carried TWO hybrid babies remains a mystery, but Sparda was likely-no, surely highly active during and after the pregnancy. Otherwise, Eva would not have survived, since there are six hours between Vergil and Dante’s births.

I believe that if a hybrid woman ever became pregnant by a human male or a hybrid male, her pregnancy would be shorter. Since hybrids are not fully human, their bodies function in a way that's almost like Homo sapiens 2.0. Their growth factors would be insane: -Growth hormone would be highly elevated. -their IGF1 would be mutated, leading to significantly increased cell growth and development -mutated CDKs would regulate the cell cycle to promote faster cell division and growth. -placental efficiency would be enhanced, with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor doubling the blood flow and nutrition supply. The cyncytin genes would also be more active. Anyway, you get the picture. Hybrid women could grow and pack a whole ass baby in about 4 months and call it a day. This process may be even faster in Devil Trigger form, but Hybrids can't hold their DT long enough. What bugs my mind is whether female hybrids would have periods. I think so? But the duration and intensity would likely differ from human women. One day I will write in-depth about female and male hybrid anatomy but for now, this is enough.

Another thing is, assuming hybrids are not easily cut or pierced by mundane weapons, their skin must produce high levels of keratin. Keratin is a protein that gives nails their hardness and forms the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). The calcification—the storage of calcium salts in the skin—must be high. At the same time, neither Dante, Nero, nor Vergil have any scars, acne scars, blackheads, or blemishes. Their skin heals perfectly, restoring itself to its original state. The white blood cells of hybrids must be working like crazy lol. To put it crudely, when they get a cut—or any wound, for that matter the white cells ring alarm bells and rush to close the wound. Blood clotting (hemostasis) begins, then cytokines are released and after that the bleeding stops, what follows is tissue formation (Proliferation). This happens in such a short time that it is hard to believe. At the same time, as I mentioned above, the high collagen and keratin ratios of hybrids also prevent scars. It's really strange.

Another thing is that hybrids have a highly developed sense of smell, hearing and sight. In DMC5, Dante could smell Urizen from quite a distance. And demons, even hybrids, have their own scent. According to Dante, it's not a nice smell. That's my guess, too. I think the sons of Sparda are fire-based demons, considering their devil trigger form (I don't know what to think of Nero because his DT form is very vague and very humanoid. But he still can be a fire-based demon, considering Sparda, Agrosax, and Berial are prolly fire-based demons but none look alike). Therefore, the smell of all three could be like burnt flesh or a sooty, weird grotesque smell which I like the idea of. This is probably the smell of their demon blood mixing with their human blood. The hybrids smell must differ from each other based on their type. We've seen demons from the four elements throughout the series, but I think there could be more concept-based demons, like ‘darkness’ because nobody knows where to put these demons, so they just call them darkness or void… things like that. Even though we humans are the same species, we can give ourselves different names to feel special, so it's not surprising.

Hybrids also have the ability to sense energy. This is something we humans possess as well since we live in an energy field and are always in touch with it, we can feel the energies around us. It’s the same for hybrids, but their ability to transfer and sense energy is far beyond what we can ever achieve. It’s canon that demonic energies can bring a hybrid’s demon side to the surface, calling and provoking it. In Deadly Fortune, when Yamato is fixed/healed by Nero, Dante feels a sudden and all-too-familiar demonic energy that unintentionally triggers his demonic side for a moment. This is Yamato’s call. Dante’s demon side is provoked by her and, inevitably, by Vergil’s energy because I wholeheartedly believe Yamato contains a part of Vergil’s soul. They are inbound.

Not much is known about how long hybrids live, but they do age, as we’ve seen with Dante and Matier. Interestingly, Matier lived long enough to meet Sparda. I think hybrids outlive humans, and an average lifespan of 300 years, like Tieflings. I’ll delve into the biological factors of this separately another time.

In the Devil May Cry anime, there’s an episode about a devil’s sincere love for a human. This kinda confirmed my belief that there MUST be other hybrids besides shit twins, Nero and Matier. People in love sometimes have sex, and if they want to, children are born as a result. However, based on what I mentioned earlier, I’m not sure how healthy the pregnancy would be.

The character themes are the best source for understanding the inner conflict a hybrid experiences. Their demon and human souls and blood clash with each other, fighting to see which will come out as the victor. This is evident even with Nero, which is interesting because he’s only about 15% demon, having a hybrid dad and a human mom. It’s weird because, physically, demon blood is dominant, but according to the lore, the human soul is superior. Nero has so little demon blood that he nearly lacks the demonic smell (Dante in Deadly Fortune and Malphas in Devil May Cry 5 comments about this). He’s more human than the twins—a very domestic boy. His psyche should be stronger than the twins.

Dante's theme songs, however, are understandable, he is a half-breed, a perfect balance of two opposite sides. We see that these demonic urges are directed toward other demons, but I’m curious about whether hybrids have any violent urges toward humans. They are half-demon, after all. Demons are the predators of humans—Sparda himself ate humans before he awoke to justice. We humans even have cannibalistic urges, thanks to female genome transaction, our time cannibalizing each other has scorched into our brains. Human blood is not just tasty to demons yet hybrids are not berserkers or lesser demons with zero intelligence. They have a brain and a human heart; I don’t see them openly fantasizing about mauling or eating people. But I’m pretty sure the smell of human blood would be appealing to them. It might be like smelling a barbecue and thinking, “Damn, that smells good.” But maybe it wouldn’t be enticing enough to make them attack or eat people. You wouldn't want to eat an alive cow while it stands there cowly, eating grass. You may even interact with it in a nonaggressive way. That’s how I think hybrids would act towards humans if they were in control. Yeah, IF. Returning to Sparda Kin’s theme songs, the inner conflict of a hybrid makes sense with what I’ve said earlier. When you lose control and your demonic side takes over, you essentially leave part of your human consciousness in the hands of an apex predator. In such moments, you could harm those you love or innocent people, or commit worse acts. In the Bible, Nephilim are said to eat humans. This is, of course, a biased point of view, assuming that Abrahamic religions derive their sources from ancient records. But these Nephilim (hybrids) are not all the same; they are all different from each other and this is proven by science, human hybrids and animal hybrids are always different. It is also said that Nephilim are immortal, but there is no explicit mention that they are truly immortal; they simply die. However, the existence of man-eating Nephilim might suggest that some hybrids would indeed have a desire to eat humans. By the way, Nephilim are directly related to our world and the DMC hybrid concept—giants. Hybrids result from the mating of Annunaki people left on Earth with humans.

And don't even get me started on the creepy similarity between the Annunaki legend and Sparda and Mundus. :l

Well, uhh, that's all. I didn't touch on everything I wanted to touch on, but this post would be too long if I let myself go. Have a good day!

#i wish i could examine a hybrid im so curious about them #i want it so BAD. they are so weird my teeth itches #dmc #devil may cry #vergil #dmc vergil #dante #dmc dante #nero #dmc nero #dmc headcanons #dmc meta

76 notes · View notes

anim-ttrpgs · 1 month ago

Text

Fairy Player Character Rules in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Eureka has six playable "monster" types, and about ten total supernatural character options all together. Each supernatural trait is taken basically as if it is a normal trait like the ones you have been seeing us post. You cannot give a character more than one supernatural trait--and from what you are about to read, you probably wouldn't want to. Playing monsters is recommended for "advanced" players only, people who like a lot of "crunch" in their games, as require you to keep track of a lot more mechanics than playing a normal human.

Here is the Fairy Trait as it appears in its overhauled state which will be coming in the next release. The August itchio beta does not currently have these overhauled monster traits(though, you could just use this post as reference if you wanted to play with the overhauled fairy rules, we don't mind! They're much better rules and we want people to have the most fun possible!)

If you are reading this past about October 24th, then there is a good chance that the itchio beta actually has been updated to include these improved rules, fingers crossed!

Anyway here we go. This is going under a Read More because it's long as hell but we really hope that you will check it out and comment. This is, like, the whole entire ruleset for playing a fairy in Eureka.

Stay tuned for the overhauled Wolfman rules next week!

Fairy (Monster Trait)

“Fairy” is a bit of a nebulous term, and has been used to describe all sorts of things which, thanks to modern fantasy literature, are now strictly sorted into all sorts of distinct categories such as elf, goblin, dwarf, fairy, pixie, etc. in our culture, when in the past when such legends were told, many of these words were just different regional names for the same or similar phenomenon in Northern Europe and the British Isles. Mysterious beings outside of normal society—and who may have an entirely separate society of their own—who live by a bizarre set of rules and are as likely to grant a boon as steal one’s child.

What a fairy can actually do is similarly often nebulous, though there are a small handful of through-lines which we extrapolate from. The modern categorization that most people would probably use for the fairy being described by these rules is “elf.” Pointed ears, magic powers, and a sense of superiority.

A fairy investigator could be born and raised as a fairy by fairies, or they may have been raised by humans as a changeling.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Unlike with the Changeling Trait, a character with the Fairy Trait is a respectable, fully capable fairy regardless of their origin. That does not mean, however, that they cannot fall into disgrace by means other than the circumstances of their birth.

The Fairy rules tackle some very different themes compared to most of the other supernatural character options, but, mechanically, certainly don’t fit anywhere but the Monster category.

A lot of a fairy’s powers hinge on them knowing someone’s “full true name.” What exactly is meant by a person’s “full true name” is a matter of discussion between player and Narrator, but as a general guideline, if a person is named Jeremy Matthew Jones IV, then “Jeremy Matthew Jones IV” is needed, and just “Jeremy Jones” or “Jeremy M. Jones” won’t be enough. Nicknames also do not generally count. A fairy cannot make their magic work by just guessing a person’s true name, they have to know the name with certainty.

Spiriting Away

Sometimes, a fairy wants someone to just go away forever, and they do.

So long as the fairy is not debilitated by a weakness, can see and is within 5 feet of the target, and knows the target’s full true name[1], at the fairy’s whim the target appears to simply pop out of existence, or at least out of this existence. If done while time is being measured in Turns, this takes one Movement. This can be done without the fairy knowing the full true name of the target, but under these circumstances, the fairy must make voluntary skin-to-skin contact with the target.[3] There are a number of explanations and possibilities as to what happens to them or where they go,[2] but for the purposes of gameplay, it does not matter, because the ‘camera’ of the story will never follow them there. They are out of the Scene, and potentially out of the adventure entirely. There will be no Scenes exploring the fate of a spirited away character.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] What exactly is meant by a person’s “full true name” is a matter of discussion between player and Narrator.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] They may be transported to a sort of “pocket dimension,” transported to the “fairy world” if such a thing even exists, still technically present but unable to interact with the rest of reality, or perhaps all or none of the above. It depends on the whim of the fairy - and they may not even know!

[2.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] A thorough explanation of fairy society and where they come from would be far beyond the scope of an investigative TTRPG, any fairy’ll tell you that.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] “Voluntary” means that the target knowingly accepts the physical contact and does not do anything to resist it, or initiates physical contact themselves voluntarily. They do not have to be aware that the fairy is a fairy or that the fairy intends to spirit them away.

Spiriting Back

It is much easier to send someone away than to bring them back.[1] To return someone they have spirited away, when not debilitated by a weakness, the fairy must make a full Success on a Nature, Paperwork, Blacked Out, or Senses roll. Each Skill can only be used to attempt this once per fairy per victim, and each attempt costs the fairy 1 point of Composure. If another fairy knows both the full true name of the victim and the full true name of the fairy which spirited them away, they may do the same, but with a -2 modifier.[2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It’s possible that the fairy’s household may have changed the servant’s name to thwart efforts to retrieve them.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The return of a spirited away person does not need to happen at the same location where they were first spirited away.

Taking Names

When not debilitated by a weakness, a fairy can be “given” a mortal’s name voluntarily, though the mortal need not fully understand the situation coming to pass.[1][this sentence sucks help me rewrite it]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This could be anything from a formal signed contract detailing the transfer, to giving one’s full name in response to the simple request of “Can I have your name?” It is up to the fairy if they actually want to take the name or not. Voluntarily handing over a physical nametag could potentially count as well, if the nametag has the full true name.

A person whose name has been taken by a fairy will perpetually forget their own name, and will not respond to it when called by it. The fairy must take the full name of the victim for this to work, and a fairy will quickly become aware if they do not have the full name.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A fairy does not have to take possession of someone’s name to use name-based magic such as curses or spiriting away on them, they just have to know the name.

Write the person’s full true name in the fairy’s inventory.

A fairy can relinquish a person’s name and return it to them at any time, from any place.

A fairy can also take possession of a person’s voice in the same way. If a voice has been taken, the person missing their voice will be unable to speak, and the fairy in possession of it will be able to speak in the taken voice at will.

Using Names

So long as a person is missing their name, no name-related magics, such as curses or a fairy’s spiriting away, will be able to affect them. These magics will instead affect the fairy in possession of the name.

Spiriting away has no effect on a fairy regardless of the name.

If a curse is put on a fairy through any of the names in their possession, they may instantly transfer the curse to any name they possess, and send that name back to the original owner, along with the curse.

A fairy can *truthfully* answer with any name in their possession when asked their name.

The Gentry

When not debilitated by a weakness, fairies have a +3 Base bonus to Wealth. Their Wealth Skill Rating and any Wealth bonus they get from any other Traits will also always be considered Base. While this means that Composure will cap their Wealth Skill checks during the adventure, it will not cap their Wealth Skill during the Wealth Point Roll in character creation.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Some kind of joke about exchange rates.

Fairies also seem to be able to pull things out of the most unlikely of locations sometimes. Add +2 to the Property Modifier of any home or vehicle owned by the fairy.

A backpack, purse, duffle bag, or similar personal storage device given to a fairy at character creation at a WP cost of 2 will be a little bit bigger on the inside than it looks like on the outside, and can be used to roll Wealth for items just as a home or vehicle could, with a Property Modifier of -3.[1][2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This already accounts for their +2 Property Modifier bonus. It would be -5 otherwise.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Maybe they could even cram a person in there with a bit of effort. If the fairy does try to cram an unwilling person into their purse or whatever, consider this to require a successful Hold. Regardless of compliance, this will deal 2 Superficial Damage.

Glamor

When not debilitated by a weakness, fairies appear supernaturally attractive and supernaturally well-groomed at just about all times. They have a +2 Base bonus to all Interpersonal Skills except Social Cues and Threaten.

A Keen Interest

Fairies gain +1 Investigation Point for any Investigative Roll that involves asking or otherwise inquiring about someone’s family history or personal identity.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] “Personal identity as in how a person would identify and think of themselves. This would not apply to a fairy asking “Who is the killer?”

Weather Affect

When not debilitated by a weakness, fairies can exert very minor influence over the weather in a localized region of about a mile radius around them for the duration of a Scene. They could not turn a hurricane into a sunny day, but they could turn a storm into a drizzle, a drizzle into a cloudy day (or vice versa). They could raise or lower the temperature by about ten degrees Fahrenheit, cause the fog to thicken or dissipate, part the clouds to allow sunlight or moonlight through, or help block it out, etc.

With use of a Eureka! Point, the fairy can change the weather much more drastically, such as summoning a violent rainstorm out of nowhere, initiating a snap freeze or sudden thaw, or parting the clouds during a hurricane.

With use of a Eureka! Point,[1] a fairy can extend the duration of the weather change to last for the whole day, and one day per Eureka! Point after.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This is a separate Eureka! Point usage from the above option of making the weather change more drastically, though they can be combined to make the drastically changed weather last longer.

Poltergeist Activity

When not debilitated by a weakness, fairies have the ability to exert “poltergeist activity” in their general vicinity, such as within their line of sight or the building[1] they are in. This ability essentially causes chaos and unexplainable accidents. Equipment malfunctions, food mysteriously spoils, objects fall over or off shelves, people trip and drop things, unidentifiable banging may be heard, etc.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The wing or floor of the building they are in, if it is an exceptionally large building.

For each use of this ability, the Narrator rolls 3 hidden D6s. For each 4 or above, something advantageous to the fairy will happen, and for each 3 or below, something disadvantageous or at best unhelpful to the fairy will happen. When deciding what happens, use the same logic as Woo Rolls. Whatever is the most obvious thing to happen happens.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Beware, use of this ability can have catastrophic consequences in places where people’s lives rely on the proper functioning of sensitive equipment or strict safety regulations, such as hospitals or construction sites.

Curses

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, by speaking the intended target’s full true name,[1][2] a fairy can place a terrible curse on an unsuspecting victim from anywhere in the world.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This must be done with intent to curse, it doesn’t just happen every time the fairy says someone’s name.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] What exactly is meant by a person’s “full true name” is a matter of discussion between player and Narrator.

Casting a curse requires a supernatural ability Composure roll.

Casting a curse takes one Movement. The curse takes effect immediately, and will last for 14 days by default before wearing off completely. As the curse is cast, roll 1D12+1+[Relevant Skill]. Which Skill is used will vary depending on the curse. The result is the number of days by which the fairy may extend or reduce the curse's duration. If the result is a negative number, reduce the fairy’s Composure by the same amount. A fairy may use the Focus Eureka! Point ability to add an additional 1D12 to this roll and drop the lowest die.

If a curse is reduced to a duration of “0 days,” it will only take effect for the duration of a single Scene.

Fairies may place curses upon themselves if they so desire.

A second curse placed upon the same target will extend its duration, but only the effect of one type of curse can apply at once.

Effects of Fairy Curses

Each curse has a different Skill associated with it.

Curse of Transformation

This curse uses the Nature Skill. The target will be spontaneously transformed into an animal of the fairy’s preference.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Their clothes don’t transform with them.

The fairy must make a Full Success on a Nature roll to choose an animal that is not on the following list.

Cat

Frog

Mouse

Newt

Pig

Rat

Toad

Wolf[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] For the stats of a wolf, see p.xx “Werewolf”. The rest of these do not have official stats, but we expect you to be able to figure out what they would be good and bad at.

The target will maintain a functional degree of human intelligence while in this form, at least for some time. Once their human mind is lost, the curse cannot be removed, and will never revert after any amount of time. The curse will also never revert if the target dies while transformed.

For an NPC, the Narrator rolls a hidden 1D6+3. This is how many days the target will retain their humanity.

For an investigator, the Narrator rolls a hidden 1D6. After this number of days, if the transformed investigator ever reaches 0 Composure, their humanity will be lost.

Curse of Reduction

This curse uses the Visual Calculus Skill. The target will be spontaneously reduced to between 5% and 10% of their original size.[1][2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Their clothes and items may or may not shrink with them, at the caster’s preference.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] For a 72” person, that would be between 3.6” and 7.2”.

If the target dies while shrunken, the curse will never revert.

Curse of Petrification

This curse uses the Chemistry Skill. The target, including their clothes, will be spontaneously turned to stone. At the preference of the caster, they may or may not retain awareness of their surroundings. If kept aware, they will lose 2 Composure per day, and if unaware, 1 Composure per day, until they are effectively dead, at which point the curse cannot be reverted.[1] If the curse is reverted, either by it wearing off before the point of no return, or being broken, any damage the target sustained as a statue will immediately take effect. For example, chips in their stone body become lacerations in their living body. If an arm was broken off of the statue, their arm is now severed. If the statue suffers fatal damage, the curse will not be able to be reverted. If unaware, then reverting the curse will feel like waking up from a long and restless sleep. The target does not need to eat or sleep so long as they are petrified.

[1 off to the ads in the final formatting] For NPCs, consider them to have 1D6+1 Composure to lose before it starts to eat into their Superficial HP.

Curse of Slumber

This curse uses the Medicine Skill. The next time they fall asleep, the victim will fall into a coma-like state for the duration of the curse. The target will lose 1 Composure per day until the curse either reverts or they die.[1] Unlike with petrification, the body must breathe and be fed during this time.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] For NPCs, consider them to have 1D6+1 Composure to lose before it starts to eat into their Superficial HP.

Curse of Death

This curse uses the Blacked Out Skill. The target begins to take 2 Superficial Damage each day for the duration of the curse or until they die, and will be unable to regain HP or Composure through sleep. In addition, apply a -3 modifier to all their rolls.

Breaking a Curse

There are a number of ways for a fairy to break a curse. If the ailment is not immediately identifiable as a curse, a Full Success on any Knowledge Skill check by a fairy will positively identify whether it is or not.

The death of the curse’s caster will not remove the curse, and fairies cannot simply lift their own curses at will.

To lift any curse, the fairy must know the full true name of the victim, and must make a Full Success on a Nature, Paperwork, Blacked Out, or Senses roll with a -2 modifier. Each Skill can only be used to attempt this once per fairy per curse, and each attempt costs the fairy 1 point of Composure.

True Love’s Kiss

A kiss can sometimes be all it takes to lift a curse, and it doesn’t even have to be a kiss from a fairy. The Narrator rolls a hidden D6 once the victim has been kissed. On a 7, the curse will be broken by the kiss. If it fails, another kiss from the same person will not work either.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Morgie’s kisses always lift curses.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser truly loves the victim.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser is female.

Add +1 to the roll if the kisser is of noble or royal lineage, or is a fairy.

Mage Power

Every fairy has one Mage Power by default. A fairy may have any number of additional Mage Powers, but for each additional Mage Power, increase the number of Investigation Points required for the fairy to gain a Eureka! Point by one.

Fairies can only make use of these powers when not debilitated by a weakness.

Misc. Fairy Features

Every fairy character must have one or more of the following features.[1][2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] The expectations placed upon a fairy has affected them, whether directly or through rebellion.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] In many cases “what happens to fairies who aren’t cut out for the thing they’re prescribed at birth” and “why is this fairy hanging out with a bunch of humans” have the same answer. Other times, fairies just might want to unwind in a world where the stakes are lower and their riches higher.

[2.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It’s only humans.

Pointed Ears

It is said that fairies with pointed ears are always eavesdropping on others’ conversations and internalizing their secrets, but who isn’t? This is the most common feature among all fairies.+2 Contextual bonus to Senses rolls involving hearing.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] These ears are articulate, and their position will often betray a fairy’s mood.

Antlers/Horns

It is said that fairies with antlers or horns are stubborn to a fault and should never be trusted with nuanced decision making, but are very fit for positions of authority.

The fairy is considered to be wearing a helmet when struck with bludgeoning weapons.

Irregularly Shaped Pupils

Some say that fairies with eyes like these eyes can gain very brief glimpses into the immediate future. That’s not how it works, but there is something going on. The fairy has a +1 Contextual bonus to Reflexes and Visual Calculus.

Tapetum Lucidum

The fairy’s eyes will reflect light and appear to shine in darkness. They are not affected by low-light conditions, unless the environment is completely lightless.

Unusual Number of Teeth

Fairies with unusual rows of teeth are thought to be liars.

Glowing Skin

At all times, the fairy’s skin emits a very faint glow and may even sparkle.[1] Apply a -2 penalty to Stealth in any darkened area. At will, the fairy may intensify this glow enough to dimly light a dark room.[2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This may be colored or white light.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] It’s said that these fairies always want to be the center of attention, but what fairy doesn’t?

Furry Legs and Hooves

The fairy’s legs are more like those of a goat or deer than a human’s. Any sort of kick from these hooves can deal Penetrative Damage. Fairies born with these qualities are thought to grow up to be sexual deviants.

Wings

The fairy has large insect-like wings on their back, such as resembling a butterfly or dragonfly. So long as these wings are uncovered, the fairy may fly and hover freely, in such a way that does not seem to actually be directly related to the intensity by of the wing beats, as long as they are able to spread out and flap.[1] When flying, the fairy has +5 Acceleration.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Fairies with wings such as these are thought to be flaky and noncommittal.

Marked Skin

The fairy has elaborate markings across at least a third of the surface area of their entire body, which could be passed off as regular tattoos to the untrained eye. Add +1 to all Composure rolls made by the fairy for non-skill supernatural ability usage.

Short Temper, Long Grudges (Fairy True Nature)

Fairies are able to regain Composure Points from restful sleep, and will take Flat Composure Damage if they do not sleep. Fairies will take Flat Composure Damage as normal for skipping meals, but do not regain Composure Points for eating three meals a day.

Fairies are known for their short tempers, long grudges, and difficulty letting things slide. Fairies must have “Disrespect” at some rank on their Tiers of Fear.[2] This Composure roll is made when the fairy is slighted, insulted, intruded upon, ignored, or otherwise disrespected by others, whether disrespect was the intent or not.[1] If the one disrespecting the fairy is a changeling, always consider this an exacerbating factor.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] A fairy might even consider accidental disrespect to be worse. To think that they weren’t even thinking about how rude that would come off…

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Lying to a fairy, expecting them to lie, or accusing them of lying, is considered disrespectful. In this case, make it a Lying Composure Roll (see below), but all the same rules regarding Composure loss and restoration apply.

Keep track of how much Composure was lost as a result of a Disrespect Composure roll. If at any point the fairy enacts disproportionate revenge upon the person who slighted them, then this revenge will restore the amount of Composure that was lost +1. If the act of revenge results in permanent or otherwise life-altering consequences for the victim, then the revenge will restore double the amount of Composure that was lost.

Trickster

Pranking, humiliating, or otherwise “whimsically” exerting power over mortals will also restore a fairy’s Composure.[1] If the effects are temporary, this restores 1 Composure. If the effects are permanent or otherwise life-altering, this restores 2 Composure. Double these values if the target is a changeling.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] How well can a fairy establish a relationship with someone they have been raised to look down on so pointedly?

Exchange

Where fairies come from, nothing is given freely, and if no one else is going to name the price, they will. Fairies must have “Debt Discrepancy” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear.

If a fairy accepts aid, or accepts something given, they must provide something in exchange, or else they must make this Composure roll. If the other party does not name a price, then anything will do, even a smile.

If the fairy’s aid or possessions are accepted or taken by another person, and the other party does not name a price, the fairy must decide upon something that they are owed, and do everything in their power to ensure that this price is paid, or else they must make this Composure roll. The fairy also has a +1 Contextual bonus to any Skill check which will directly result in collecting on this debt. The price they name may be anywhere from something as inconsequential as a single penny, to eternal servitude.

Honest to a Fault (Fairy Weakness)

Segue?

Lived Under a Rock, or Maybe a Mushroom

Whether the “fairy world” is actually real or not, fairies certainly seem to come from a different world. Fairies have a -1 penalty to all Investigative Rolls using Knowledge Skills.

Cannot Lie

Fairies must have “Lying” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. If a fairy tells a lie, they must make this Composure roll, but lies of omission or statements that are technically true but phrased in a misleading way do not count. Additionally, if a fairy learns that they have been lied to, or otherwise does not believe what they are told, they make this Composure roll.

Fairies have a -2 penalty to Social Cues.

Iron

Iron, and alloys of iron, will irritate a fairy’s skin on contact, often causing an itchy rash.

Iron, but not steel or other alloys, will also render a fairy powerless so long as it is in physical contact with their body, giving them a -2 to all rolls, and debilitating them. This will not undo any curses or spiriting aways that have already been enacted.

Their Own Name

A fairy’s full true name is perhaps their greatest weakness. If a fairy’s full true name is spoken to them with intent, the fairy will be debilitated for the remainder of the Scene. This must be the fairy’s own name, not one they have taken from someone else. This will break any ongoing curses by the fairy that have not already become permanent, but will not return any spirited away people.

82 notes · View notes

hallowpen · 3 months ago

Note

Hello! 👋 First of all i just wanna say, as someone who isn’t very familiar with Thai culture your explanations have been very enlightening and just give TLP another layer of depth, so thank you for posting them 🥹🙏. With that said, I was reading one of your posts that said “the social class nods are subtly woven into their interactions” and I was just wondering if you could maybe expand on that?

Hello!!! 😊😊😊 Aw... thank you!!! That actually means so much to me because this series means so much to me. I've been anticipating the adaptation of The Loyal Pin for who knows how long, at this point. I love the novel! (I own both the Thai and English versions. Though I haven't actually read the English translation yet, so I don't know how accurate it is to the original hehe) Once FreenBecky were attached, I was SOLD. Then the MOC decided to back the series and I knew how monumental this series would be, not just for Thai GL, but for Thailand in general. It makes me extremely proud to see important sapphic media, on such a large scale, originating from my home country. I could never have imagined something this grand happening just three years ago. It makes me emotional.

Before I get too in my feels, let me actually answer your question...

Just for clarification purposes, the ask is referring to my tags on this reblog of @dragonsareawesome123's gifset.

It's important to understand that Anil and Pin's whole dynamic is built around their social rankings, so it makes sense that their interactions reflect that... even if it's not entirely conscious. Anil is royalty, and because of that she is afforded certain liberties that Pin is not. Her 'mischievous' behaviors are excused and overlooked because, yes she is young, but she can also do as she pleases. She never faces any repercussions in the same way that Pin does. It's one of the perks of being a highly ranked Princess. Anil is favored in the palace because it's her home.

Pin is a guest. Yes, she holds the rank of 'nobility', but it is a title reserved for what higher ranking royalty would consider a commoner. She was afforded the privilege to live in the palace because Princess Pattamika took her in. Pin was not born into royalty. Neither was Pattamika, for that matter. Pattamika is strict with Pin, in much the same way Pin is strict with herself. Because neither of them can afford to have her fall out of line. Pin holds favor with Anil and her family, but it does not afford her the freedom to betray her social standing. If anything, it only enforces it. It makes you think...would they sill favor her if she were to go against their wishes in any way, shape, or form?

Pin is forever on the outside looking in... and she subconsciously knows it. And, in some ways, Anil subconsciously knows it as well.

"People say that it is so hard to hear Lady Pin uttering a word. As if you’re afraid something will fall out of your mouth." Anil to Pin

Unlike Anil, Pin must hold firm to palace rules.

"Why did you hit her?" "Lady Pin failed to take good care of Your Highness. She disgraced you by putting you in danger." Pattamika to Anil

"Please feel free to do as you wish. As if you would listen to me if I try to stop you." Pin to Anil

She dares not to disobey Pattamika, because she knows and understands why she'd be punished if she were to do so. And she cannot talk her way out of it, the way Anil can.

"Although she might be strict, meticulous, and strongly adherent to tradition... she loves me dearly, and continues to teach me and educate me in many things." Pin about Pattamika

"Poor Lady Pin, I really pity her. She often gets punished because of Anil."

She keeps her feelings of adoration for Anil hidden as secret treasures in her room.

She's quick to question Anil's lack of adherence to formal etiquette:

"Aren’t ladies normally supposed to [dance] with a gentleman? It would look peculiar if we do it together."

The only times she feels comfortable and gets to be herself is when Anil, for lack of a better word, 'allows' her to be. And Pin feels indebted to her because of that.

"Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to get through those lonely and miserable times. Thank you for being my friend, my home, and my everything."

So to answer Anil's question, Pin would feel incredibly lonely should Anil ever leave her... as she would no longer have an escape from society's class structure and expectations.

"With you, my life in the palace is never lonely." Pin to Anil

#the loyal pin #anilpin #these class dynamics will continue to play an important role in future episodes #even more so #koda watches gl

79 notes · View notes

mesetacadre · 5 months ago

Note

Hello! In one of your posts you mentioned Anna Louise Strong's The Soviets Expected It, where she describes that Belarusians did not turn on their Jewish neighbors when Nazis invaded the USSR. Then you said that in 30 years the USSR managed to extirpate antisemitism from the general population. Was this something Strong said in the book explicitly? I'm interested in the topic and I was wondering whether Strong's book is worth reading for her analysis on how the USSR managed to eliminate antisemitism or whether she only mentions it briefly. Thank you!

Hello! After searching for it, @komsomolka helped me find this quote. It wasn't by ALS as I remembered, but rather by Vic L. Allen in his book The Russians are Coming: The Politics of Anti-Sovietism:

It was German practice as they entered Soviet territories to encourage the local populace to engage in pogroms against the Jews as a first stage in their genocidal policy. They had some success in those areas which had become part of the Soviet Union since 1939 but in the Soviet Union proper there was no evidence of spontaneous anti-Semitism. A Jewish historian commentated that "In Byelorussia, a conspicuous difference is evidenced between the old Soviet part of the region and the area which had previously belonged to Poland and was under Soviet rule from September 1939 to June 1941. Nazi and anti-Jewish propaganda drew a weak response in the former Soviet Byelorussia: we encounter complaints in Nazi documents that, "it is extremely hard to incite the local populace to pogroms because of the backwardness of the Byelorussian peasants with regard to racial consciousness" Another view of the cause of the racial attitudes in Byelorussia was given in a secret memorandum by a collaborator to the chief of the German army in August 1942. He wrote: "There is no Jewish problem for the Byelorussian people. For them, this is purely a German matter. This derives from Soviet education which has negated racial difference... The Byelorussians sympathize with, and have compassion for the Jews, and regard the Germans as barbarians and the hangman of the Jew, whom they consider human beings equal to themselves...".

The Russians are Coming: The Politics of Anti-Sovietism (pages 144-145), Vic L. Allen, via ebook-hunter.org

This book goes into some detail regarding jews in the USSR, the sixth chapter, in part II, is dedicated to this.

Anna Louise Strong also wrote about antisemitism in the USSR, although just like almost any other subject in her books, she tackles it through a collection of anecdotes and observations, though I still think she paints a clear picture that's corroborated by Allen's book, for example:

Acts of race prejudice are severely dealt with in the Soviet Union. Ordinary drunken brawls between Russians may be lightly handled as misdemeanors, but let a brawl occur between a Russian and a Jew in which national names are used in a way insulting to national dignity, and this becomes a serious political offense. Usually, the remnants of national antagonisms require no such drastic methods; they yield to education. But the American workers who helped build the Stalingrad Tractor Plant will long remember the clash that Lewis and Brown had with the Soviet courts after their fight with the Negro Robinson, in the course of which they called him “damn low-down nigger.” The two white men were “deported” to America, disgraced in Soviet eyes by a serious political offense; the Negro remained and is now a member of the Moscow City government. The devotion of long-suppressed peoples and their willingness to die for their new equality is the prize that the Soviet national policy won for the present war. The Jews in the Soviet Union especially know that they have something to fight for as they see beyond the border Hitler’s destruction of the Jews and the anti-Semitism that spreads from country to country. When I last visited Minsk, which under the tsar was a ghetto city, and under the Soviets was the capital of the Byelo-Russian republic, with more than one-third of the population Jews, I asked the young Intourist guide, “Don’t you yourself, as a Jewish woman, ever encounter racial feeling in your daily contacts?” “I haven’t for years,” she answered. I wonder what she encountered when the Nazis entered Minsk.

The Soviets Expected it, Anna Louise Strong, via redstarpublishers.org

I recall across the years one of the Birobidjan leaders who went on the same train with me to Moscow. His energy and teasing laughter made him the life of the train. He frequently sat in the compartment with two Red Army commanders, joshing them about the quantities of edibles they consumed and declaring that he would have them arrested for upsetting the food balance of the country. Later he told me that these two commanders gave him more delight than anything on the train. He told me of his own early life in the Ukraine amid constant pogroms. He repeated the discussions with the two Red Army commanders. They had been asking whether the Red Army gave adequate help to the Jewish settlers. “We hear they made you a road. Was it a good one? Do they help you properly with your harvest? How are relations developing between the Red Army and the new immigrants?” “Can you imagine what those questions mean to me, a Jew of Birobidjan?” he asked. “No, you can never imagine it, for you cannot live my life. Those Red commanders are the sons of the Cossacks who used to commit the pogroms! And now it is all gone like a dream! They want to know if they help us adequately! They are too young even to remember pogroms. But I remember; I am old enough.”

The Soviets Expected it, Anna Louise Strong, via redstarpublishers.org

How much discrimination there was against Jews in educational institutions is hard to tell. It was never general but certainly there was some. It was evasive and struggles always developed against it. My best friend felt for a time undermined in her university job because she refused to yield to the anti-Semitism which seemed to be promoted by the Party secretary at the university. One day she came home exultant. “Now I know the Party doesn’t stand for anti-Semitism,” she said. “They removed A… He was in charge of universities here for the Central Committee and was behind much of this anti-Semitism.” This anecdote shows the confusion that existed. Anti-Semitism was sometimes promoted by people high in office, but always with evasion. The basic law that made it illegal was never attacked, challenged or revoked. The disease of anti-cosmopolitanism passed, and anti-Semitism with it. Not by law or decree, but because of three facts. In 1950, the USSR reached the highest production in its history, with comparative abundance of goods. The USSR also attained the A-Bomb — the threat of America’s monopoly was gone. And, also in 1950, the Chinese People’s Republic was established in Peking, and at once made alliance with the USSR. The sick, excessive patriotism bred by the cold war could not survive close contact with an eastern, equal ally, whose inventions began a thousand years before Russia’s, and whose present intelligence and achievements even the most successful Russians had to acclaim.

The Stalin Era, Anna Louise Strong, via redstarpublishers.org

In simple oratory the worker and peasant deputies to the new National Assemblies told of their tortured past and of their happiness when the Red Army arrived. Women told how in former days young boys had been held on anthills by landlords’ agents in order to break the spirit of rebellion, how a mother picking up fuel in the woods to heat water for a newborn baby had been caught by the lord’s forester, beaten, and afterward turned over to the attack of fierce dogs. It was a gruesome account of medieval conditions. Deputies from Grodno told how the Jewish and ByeloRussian workers of the city had organized their own militia before the Red Army came and had rushed out and helped build a bridge for it into the city under the fire of Polish officers. “As soon as the Red Army came,” said a carpenter from Bialystok, “we asked them to set up Soviet power for us. But they told us: ‘Soviet power is the power of the people. Organize it yourselves, for now you are the bosses of your lives’.” A simple peasant women deputy said: “Let the priests pray to God for Paradise, but for us the daylight is already come; the bright sun is come from the East.” Letters telling a similar story reached America from Jews in the occupied regions. They especially commented on their rescue from death, for they had been threatened both by German bombing and by anti-Semitic bands of Poles. “If the Red Army had been a day later, not a Jew in our town would have been left alive,” wrote a man from Grodno. Other letters marvelled at the new equality. “To the Bolsheviks everyone is equal; there is no difference between Gentile and Jew.” There was a grimmer side to the story. Poles in fairly large numbers were deported to various places in the Soviet Union. Letters received by their relatives in Europe and America showed that they were scattered all over the U.S.S.R.; the sending of the letters also indicated that they were not under surveillance but merely deported away from the border district. The Soviet authorities claimed that former Polish officers and military colonists had done considerable sabotage and kept the people disturbed by rumors of imminent invasions by Rumanian and British troops. After the conclusion of the Soviet-Polish alliance against Hitlerite Germany, these Poles rapidly joined the Polish Legion under the Red Army High Command. Most of them then stated that they fully understood the necessity of the Red Army’s march into Poland.

The Stalin Era, Anna Louise Strong, via redstarpublishers.org

The new people’s government of Lithuania had appointed as governor of Vilna an able Communist, Didzhulius, not long since out of prison. Prison had injured his health and he had gone to a rest home, but had not been able to take the time to get well. People were needed for Vilna, and so he came. When I saw him he had held office only three days. “We must end this evil process whereby first Poles suppress Lithuanians and then Lithuanians suppress Poles,” he told me. “Under Smetona only thirty thousand people here had the vote. We have given it at once to everybody. “There were one hundred thousand unemployed here. We at once began road-building and other public construction; we are setting up public relief. The old Polish pensioners had buildings and funds which Smetona did not let them touch. We have made their possessions available to them for the relief of those most in need. We have done more to relieve the misery of starving people in three days than Smetona did in six months.” One of the first decrees passed was that government officials must hear citizens’ requests in whatever language the citizens choose. For this purpose officials are sought who can speak as many languages as possible. Schools also are to be in all the local languages. “Under the Poles education was only in Polish; under Smetona it was only in Lithuanian,” said Didzhulius. “Now we shall have to have schools in our languages since there are four chief languages in this district: Polish, Jewish, Lithuanian and Byelorussian.”

The New Lithuania, Anna Louise Strong, via redstarpublishers.org

Overall, I think the picture ALS paints is a nuanced one. The USSR made a lot of progress removing racism and nationalism from its population, although it was not perfect and some decisions like the deportations were negative for the moved population (though not as genocidal or malevolent as most like to paint it), they did an outstanding job at the task of removing prejudice from their society at a time where that was not happening anywhere else, and this was reflected both in laws and in action. We have a lot to learn from their policies, both their many (even to this day) unparalleled achievements as well as from their flaws.

To these third party accounts I'll also add Stalin's own words:

In answer to your inquiry: National and racial chauvinism is a vestige of the misanthropic customs characteristic of the period of cannibalism. Anti-semitism, as an extreme form of racial chauvinism, is the most dangerous vestige of cannibalism. Anti-semitism is of advantage to the exploiters as a lightning conductor that deflects the blows aimed by the working people at capitalism. Anti-semitism is dangerous for the working people as being a false path that leads them off the right road and lands them in the jungle. Hence Communists, as consistent internationalists, cannot but be irreconcilable, sworn enemies of anti-semitism. In the U.S.S.R. anti-semitism is punishable with the utmost severity of the law as a phenomenon deeply hostile to the Soviet system. Under U.S.S.R. law active anti-semites are liable to the death penalty. J. Stalin

Anti-Semitism: Reply to an Inquiry of the Jewish News Agency in the United States . J. V. Stalin, 1931. First published in the newspaper Pravda, No. 329, November 30, 1936

#ask #anon #quotes #seriousposting #bookmark

109 notes · View notes