#this is almost a year old and features a character that i’ve kind of neglected and in the process of rewriting LOLOL

[bytesyzd]

realised I haven’t shared the art on my header yet here

[megs-mostly-past-random-fandoms]

Crumbled Kingdom

Based on this request:  Oooh, how about Labyrinth where the reader comes to the crumbled Labyrinth after Sarah rejected Jarath and reader helps his broken heart? I just need a little flangst, if that’s okay.

Here you are! *Familiar Characters are NOT mine!*

Fandom: Labyrinth

Warnings: Angst with a semi-happy ending, a little bit of tension.

Pairings/Characters: Jareth x reader, Hoggle

"I wish the Goblin King would come and take us away right now," you whispered. You felt slightly foolish saying the words from the book you'd grown up reading and had been reading to your young sibling when things got bad at home. While you were technically old enough to move out on your own, you couldn't leave your sibling alone. That night was particularly bad, prompting you to utter the words that part of you hoped would send you away where those people who neglected you would never find you.

         Your hopes were answered when you woke up to a slight crying of your name. You opened your eyes to find your sibling looking down at you with wide, teary eyes. You were immediately on alert, shooting up to make sure they were okay. You looked around in surprise. "What the-" you began but stopped yourself. Little ears hear everything after all.

         "I'm scared, Y/N." You hugged your sibling close and attempted to smile. You didn't want to frighten them more. You let yourself take in your surroundings. Something looked familiar and yet, not. Everything around you was in a state of ruin and chaos. Crumbled and moss covered stone stood alongside dead hedges like those that lined the walls of a maze. You knew you'd heard about a place like this before but it wasn't until you heard the trickling of water that you made any sort of connection.

         You followed the sound of the water, holding your sibling close to you. It didn't take long before you stumbled upon a broken and algae-ridden fountain. But that wasn't what caught your attention. It was the creature that stood around the same height as your sibling. "Excuse me?" The creature jumped and turned to you.

         "Oh, excuse me." You cocked your head to the side, your memory trying so hard to catch up with what you were seeing. "Who are you? C-Can you show us the way out?" The creature looked between you in confusion. "Two? There's never two. Name's Hoggle."

         "Hoggle? Like from the book?" your sibling piped up. You glanced down at them and then back at Hoggle. "No fuc-freaking way. There's no way. It's just a story." Hoggle chuckled humorlessly. "A story. Tell that to the Goblin King. Ever since…since her, thing's been different."

         "Her? Sar-" Hoggle shushed you. "Don't say her name. Jareth's magic may have lessened but he sends the Cleaners if anyone mentions her name. Broken, he is." You exchanged a glance with your sibling. You remembered your mother's stories about her "crazy" friend Sarah who told her all about the Labyrinth.  Without a word, you knew that you and your sibling agreed that it was time to get out of there. You wouldn't go home, but you couldn't stay here. "How do we get out?"

         "Same way as always. You have to beat the Labyrinth. Thirteen hours. But the Labyrinth is even more unpredictable than before." You nodded and sighed. "I know, but I have to try. I have to protect them," you said, gesturing to your sibling. Hoggle let out a groan and showed you the entrance to the Labyrinth. "Come on," you told your sibling, "And stay close to me."

*Several hours later*

         Hoggle was right. The Labyrinth had been more unpredictable, but thanks to reading the book so often as a child, you knew which landmarks to look for. You learned from the mistakes of the book's heroine. It wasn't easy by any means, but it wasn't as difficult as you were expecting, although you did nearly get stuck in the Bog of Stench. Not that you'd say that out loud. While you hadn't seen hide or hair of the Goblin King, you didn't want to risk his wrath after what had happened with Sarah. Clearly it was bad if the kingdom was in such a state of ruin.

         To your surprise, the drawbridge of the castle was lowered when you finally approached. You were exhausted and your legs felt like they were going to give out. The only reason you kept going was for your sibling. "We're almost there. Do you think we made it?" You have them a smile. "I hope so. Come on. We have to get through the castle. We have to see the Goblin King." Your sibling looked more scared than they had since the moment you woke up in the Labyrinth. You hugged them close. "It'll be alright. I'll protect you."

         Your footsteps echoed on the stone floor of the crumbling castle. The sound was a mixture of ominous and comforting. It grounded you since you had absolutely no idea what to expect from the king when you finally encountered him. At the same time, the sound sent a shudder down your spine. It was far too quiet for such a large castle.

         It took you a while and several mistakenly opened doors to find what you were looking for. The throne room. You pushed open the doors, expecting to be greeted by goblins or guards or traps. Instead, you came face-to-face with an almost empty room. The only person in the room was lounging across the odd throne. He didn't even look up at your entrance.

         "It's him," your sibling whispered, "It's Jareth." You nodded, but kept your eyes on the Goblin King. You took a step closer, but froze when Jareth finally spoke. "Stop. Don't move." His voice sent shivers down your spine. He looked to you, swinging his legs off the arm of his throne and standing much more gracefully than you expected. "You've beaten the Labyrinth." You nodded. "Yes. We'd like to leave now."

         "Then you know what you should say. Say it! Bring the rest of my kingdom crumbling to nothing! Just like her!" You jumped a little. "Y/N, I'm scared." That caused you to straighten yourself up and glare at the Goblin King. "This wasn't Sarah's doing," you stated, "This was all you. What kind of king are you?! It's a king's duty to care for his kingdom and his people! So what? Sarah left and you let all this happen! She was fifteen! A child! You're not a king. You're a spineless coward! A little kid playing at being a king."

         Jareth's face twisted into a mask a pure rage before he schooled his features again. Before you could even react, he was in your face. You fought against your instinct to run away. For some reason, you didn't think he would actually hurt you. His nose touched yours and he hiss, "You know nothing."

         "I know she hurt you. I get that. But you hurt your kingdom. Your people," you whispered to him. You knew about pain. You knew how it could cut you so deeply it seemed like you would never recover. It softened your heart toward him a bit. Your sibling called your name, prompting both you and Jareth to look at them. They were now surrounded by curious looking creatures. The goblins, you assumed. They were examining your sibling as if he had been hundreds of years since they last saw a human. Since you had no idea how time passed in the Labyrinth, it's possible it had been. They reminded you of children that needed care and love.

         "Look at them, Jareth. They need you. They need their king. I think that's why they brought me, an adult, here instead of just (Y/S/N). They wanted to help you so that you can help them." Jareth scoffed, but didn't look away from the goblins. "You cannot help." You smiled a bit. "Maybe I can. If you let me. What harm could it do? Let me help you, Jareth. I swear I won't leave until I've at least tried."

         Jareth backed away slowly, his eyes turning back to you. "Do not make promises you cannot keep. The magic of the Labyrinth will hold you until your promise his fulfilled or until you fade away." You met his gaze. There was a storm brewing in his eyes. You could feel the gazes of the goblins on the two of you as Jareth sized you up.

         "I swear it," you repeated. Jareth continued staring at you, the tension in the room thickening. You heard giggles from all around you, but you ignored them. You were on edge as you waited for Jareth to say anything. "Do you really think you're strong enough for this?" You snorted out a laugh. "I think the better question is are you prepared to handle me? I've been told I'm quite the handful."

         "Well you are!" your sibling interrupted with a laugh. The small goblins joined in the laughter. You rolled your eyes before turning back to Jareth. "Well?" Jareth took another step back and gave a small nod of his head. The next thing you knew, someone grabbed your hand and pulled you over to the growing throng of goblins. You couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm and your sibling seemed to be enjoying themselves.

         As you were being passed between the goblins, you missed the miniscule smile that made its way to Jareth's lips. You didn't know it, but a small spark of hope ignited in his chest and he could feel the Labyrinth's magic seeping back out toward the kingdom. Maybe you were the key to rebuilding his crumbled king and, perhaps eventually, healing his heart.

(a/n: I hope you like it!)

[soren-bleu-kun]

BnHA Fics I’ve Read This Week 1

I read and review a lot of fics, every week. Here is the list from last Friday, to today. Let me know if I should I do this next week. 

Bloom in Winter - God linking all the art for this was a bitch in my google document, but worth it. In this uncompleted and seemingly abandoned twelve chapter fic where Midoriya is forced to work with villains with his analytical abilities. The story picks up when he finds out that he’s going to have to infiltrate UA as a General Studies student in order to find a way to help kill his idol, All Might. 

The Sun in My Eyes - This is a MomoJirou fic where the two girls meet at a young age and slowly fall in love as they grow up together. A fast read, and really cute. 

Trust Fall - This is a cute little fic that I think is supposed to end on a note of a possible relationship between Shinsou and Midoriya. Basically, the 2A addition to the UA Cultural Festival is a cat café, and while chasing one down both Midoriya and the cat he was chasing end up stuck in a tree, and it’s Shinsou to the rescue. 

What’s She Got That I Don’t? - This is a one-shot where we see Kirishima tell Bakugou that he has a crush on him. Getting rejected, he expected that. What he didn’t expect was for Bakugou to turn around and ask out Uraraka the very next day. This one-shot was good, but painful at times. 

I. Shaky Hands - This is the beginning of rexcorvidae’s incomplete Whumptober Series. I did not review every single piece of this series, but it does kick off with a very good start. Dadzawa to the rescue when he realizes that - with all the damage that Midoriya’s done to them - his problem child can’t use a pen well, or a pair of chopsticks. 

[Because this was a series of unconnected stories, I will be putting each one that I reviewed after this] 

III. Delirium - Midoriya gets sick out of the blue in the UA dorms, attacks some students in his delirious state, and collapses. The whump is just spectacular and I love any story that features a character that thinks their friends are their enemies 

IV. Human Shield - While taking Midoriya out for ice cream, he and Yagi get attacked. His brilliant solution to save his mentor? Jump in front of the bullet and almost die. There is some good Dad Might in this fic. 

VII. Isolation - Warning, this fic deals with Suicidal Ideation. Basically, what would happen if Midoriya took Bakugou’s middle school taunting as far as it could have gone. It ends with him standing on a roof, read at your own risk. 

XV. Scars - Midoriya has scars from the years of violent bullying that he went through and they don’t go unnoticed by his mentor. On the other side of the coin, Midoriya doesn’t want to tell Yagi who did it because he knows that if the people who tormented him don’t get to slide into being the heroes that they don’t deserve to be, they could be terrible villains. I honestly love this fic, it deserves everything. 

XVI. Stitches - This is an AU where Nighteye finds Midoriya at a pretty young age, sees the sort of analytical work that he can do, and has him intern at his office [and holds onto his notebooks for him, since there’s a lot of dangerous information in there, even if Midoriya doesn’t understand that when they first meet]. This story takes place a few years into that internship, when Midoriya collapses at work after the stitches he put in himself after another round of violent assault from his classes gets infected. 

XVIII. Muffled Screams - The last fic in this series that I reviewed, and it is a painful one, quite literally for Midoriya. In this story, he has been kidnapped, and he has one job. Don’t scream. Of course, this is difficult as he gets tortured, but he has to, because the villain promises that if he makes a noise, someone he cares about will die. We see this from the live feed that is being broadcast of the torture, with Yamada, Aizawa, and Yagi. 

Is it the Thunder in the Distance - This is a good little one-shot featuring Yagi spending the night at the Midoriya household and finding his successor sleeping on the floor right outside of his room. All in all, this is a very good fic and I like it a lot. Note, the actual name of the fic is much longer, but I am not writing the entire thing out again. 

If I’m Losing Again, Quiet Me Down - This takes place during the Stain Arc, when Midoriya is sitting in the hospital with Todoroki and Iida. While calling around to make sure that people know that he’s okay, he ends up having a panic attack. There is a soft ending to this one. 

I’ll Carry You Home - This was a debut fic for the author on Ao3, and it features Yagi carrying an exhausted Midoriya home after a long day of training. Most adorably, he accidentally calls his mentor “dad,” and when Midoriya wakes up enough to realize what he said there is a lot of apologizing. All in all a cute story. 

Growing Like You - This is a short one-shot featuring Midoriya finding out that one of the side affects of his new Quirk is that he’s growing, fast and a lot. Trying to find him something to wear, Yagi ends up stumbling across a box of his old UA clothes, and he gives it to Midoriya. 

Feelings of a Fanboy - This is one of those “What if Midoriya had a Quirk” stories, and they are some of my favorite kinds of fanfics out there. In this one, his power is called Emotional Rush. Basically, the more he feels, the stronger and faster he gets. This goes up to right around/before the Stain Arc. 

Father’s Day - This is a fic that features Hisashi Midoriya not really being around and Yagi stepping into the paternal role in Midoriya’s life, something that they both seem to need. 

Define “Villainy” - This is more or less a crack fic where Tsuyu realizes that literally no one in her class has tried to stop her from straight up attempting to murder Mineta, and they will probably continue to let her because no one in the class actually likes him. 

Anything, Anything - This is a fic that I already recommended to someone, and it is so good. This is a fic that features eventual TodoDoriya, where the two of them keep running into each other in the UA Dorms common room whenever they wake up from nightmares. 

Those Hardest to Love Need it the Most - This is a Dadzawa fic where Aizawa finds out that Midoriya was extremely mistreated at his middle school and opens up an investigation in hopes of taking the place down for Quirk discrimination. 

All the Signs - This is a crack fic for what I consider a bit of a crack ship, Huyumi. Basically, Fuyumi gets pregnant with Hawks’ kid and starts acting a little... bird like. The author, ohmytheon, is fantastic and I have read so much of their stuff. 

Come Home - This fic breaks my entire heart. This is a story where Touya and Fuyumi Todoroki are twins, two halves of the same whole. This goes through their childhood together, right up to the end where Fuyumi watches Touya being Dabi on TV and refuses to rat him out. She just wishes that he would come back. 

Who Will Protect Them - USJ 2.0, taking place when 1A has become 3A. After getting slammed into a wall and not being able to get back up, Aizawa wonders who’ll protect his class, before realizing that they’re more than keeping their own. He’s proud... and he’ll be even more proud if he survives this. 

Darken Your Door - This is a fic that deals with neglect, emotional abuse, and manipulation. While on a run to a corner store with Midoriya, Aizawa gets to meet his students estranged father. It doesn’t take long for him to realize that his student is extremely uncomfortable around his parent. From then on he wraps Hisashi Midoriya in more red tape than he’ll be able to get out from under. No one talks to his students unless his students want to hear from that person. 

Mouth Shut (Eyes Down) - A story in which Midoriya does not trust adults because they were the ones that let Bakugou and the rest of his bullies get away with assaulting him. He accidentally admits this to Aizawa after being stabbed when he thought he could “handle” getting stalked. 

A Touch of Hope - This is technically a soulmates fic, where you find your soulmate after physical contact. Shinsou was not expecting to find his at UA, nor was he expecting that it would give him an opportunity to join the Hero Course if he can prove himself. 

Voiceless - This is a shorter fic, only 1K, and it features Midoriya losing his voice when he gets sick and Shinsou taking care of him. It’s pretty cute. 

Creating Music - This is a three chapter fic taking place over two days, the day before and the day of Valentine’s Day. This is a MomoJirou fic that is really cute and sentimental. I love it so much. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - In this fic, Midoriya is a dumbass and Shinsou finds his crush stuck to a pole by his tongue. He is not wearing a coat, and he has been stuck like this for a long time. 

Hook, Line, and Sinker - This is a great EraserMic fic in a Quirkless AU, where Aizawa thinks that his tinder date it a catfish because there is no way internationally famous singer Hizashi Yamada just matched with him. Note, there is smut in either the second or third chapter. 

Ask Me No Questions, I’ll Tell You No Lies - This is a silly little fic where Shinsou and Midoriya share a hotel room. Before you ask, there are two beds. There is a kiss, but that’s about it. A little OOC for Midoriya, but still pretty good. 

Shinsou the Local Cryptic - This is a fic where Shinsou becomes an internet meme of his own creating. It’s honestly pretty fun, and I had a good time with this one-shot. 

You Anchor Me Back Down - This is a one-shot with some fun art in it. When Todoroki is hit with a random Quirk that causes him to float whenever he’s happy, it’s difficult for him to keep his crush on Midoriya a secret. This takes place during their third year. 

Cosmic Confluence - Wonderful Shinsou-Centric fic where he’s a reaper and it’s his job to watch over Izuku Midoriya until he dies. I wish that there was more of this fic that I could read because the idea of this is so interesting.

[chiseler]

Tales of the Unexpected:  SANTA CLAUS

Most of my life I’d been haunted by an image—five seconds from a film I could not name: Santa, in someone’s living room on Christmas Eve, fires a toy cannon at a demon’s ass. That’s all, but it stuck with me for decades. The only thing I was sure about was that it came from a film my father had taken me to see when I was four or five. There was snow in the theater parking lot.

It clearly wasn’t a typical holiday film, so as the years progressed I decided it must have been Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (co-starring Jamie Farr and Pia Zadora as martians), but I was mistaken. There are no demons in that movie. I asked my dad, but he had no idea what the hell I was talking about. Then, as the universe would have it, when I was well into middle age the film was placed in my hands by someone  who had no idea I’d spent much of my life looking for it. Seeing the film in its entirety for the first time in 40 years, I finally understood why things might have turned out the way they did.

When the conversation rolls around to bad Christmas movies, there’s of course a broad spectrum from which to choose. Given that nearly every Christmas movie ever made is insufferable to some degree, it’s generally easier, I’ve found,  to break things down into categories that stretch from the simply godawful (Jingle All the Way) to the agonizingly painful (A Very Brady Christmas or that Marlo Thomas remake of It’s a Wonderful Life) to the merely baffling (An Ewoks Christmas). Of course there are some people who think they can bring the conversation to an abrupt end by pulling out Santa Claus Conquers the Martians as the last word on holiday cinema. There’s simply nothing more to say.

Oh, but that’s far too simple. There’s another level out there. Something that reaches far beyond banal categorizations like “good” and “bad” and even “weird,” deep into the almost unfathomable territory of “brain damaging” and “utterly terrifying,” and a number of adjectives that have yet to be discovered. Films that cannot and should not be called “bad” no matter how easy it would make thinking for the smug hipsters in the Mystery Science Theater crowd. These are films that come from another plane, another universe, another way of thinking, and for that they remain fascinating, and cannot be so easily dismissed.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, K. Gordon Murray was an American film producer and distributor who made a decent living for himself by picking up the rights to foreign genre pictures (mostly from Mexico), dubbing them into English, and renting them to U.S. theaters. English-speaking audiences can thank Murray for The Brainiac and Robot vs.The Aztec Mummy.

In 1956 he bought the rights to a children’s holiday picture directed by René Cardona, a man better known for horror and exploitation pictures like Survive! and Night of the Bloody Apes. Instead of widespread distribution, Murray limited the film to short (two or three day) runs around the holidays, when the film would only be shown as a children’s matinee. In retrospect I have to wonder if he limited viewings that way because he knew what kind of effect the film would have on people.

Santa Claus sounds about as innocuous as they come. Who would even pay attention to a title like that?  It’s only when you note the shrill, almost frantic tone of some of the taglines attached to the film that you begin to get some sense that there’s something else going on here—that this isn’t another Rankin/Bass production:

Bursting upon our BIG SCREEN in all the colors of the rainbow… a prize-winning blue ribbon treat for old and young alike! Here’s something for the whole family to see together!

Another tagline makes it sound even more ominous:

See All the Weird and Wonderful Characters of Make-Believe! The Fantastic Crystal Work-Room of the Happy Elves! The Fabulous Realm of the Candy-Stick Palaces!

Those families who weren’t scared away by those dire warnings were never the same again.

René Cardona

In  Cardona’s vision, Santa (José Elías Moreno)  lives in a cloud kingdom in space, positioned in a stationary orbit above the North Pole. Instead of elves, Santa has collected groups of children from all corners of the world—North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa. It’s unclear who these children belong to or if they’re in space willingly, but they open the film with a long recital of traditional songs from each nation.

Ten minutes later we cut to Hell. Although this happens in most Christmas movies, few do it so literally. There amid the flames, Satan informs a minor and bumbling demon named Pitch (José Luis Aguirre ‘Trotsky’) that he is to turn all of the children on Earth evil in order to anger “that old goat Santa Claus” and show the people of the world “who their true master is.”

We are then introduced to three storylines: a lonely rich boy whose parents neglect him, a poor girl whose single mother can barely support them both, and three young thugs. Behind each story, we hear Santa’s echoed laughter. Santa laughs through the entire film, often at scenes of misery and despair. It’s unclear why.

Finally and centrally, we see the core of Santa’s orbiting kingdom—an observatory equipped with a collection of surveillance devices that would put the NSA to shame. As the narrator (Murray himself) describes it:

This is Santa’s Magic Observatory. What wonderful instruments! The Ear Scope! The Teletalker, that knows everything! The Cosmic Telescope! The Master Eye! Nothing that happens on Earth is unknown to Santa Claus!

He’s not kidding, either. Santa can see anyone he chooses merely by thinking of them, listen to what they’re saying, even watch their dreams, and these are powers he abuses freely.

There is no reason to attempt to describe the plot any further. It’s not an issue. Visually, however, the film is a thing of deranged  wonder, reminiscent of Japanese films that would be made ten or fifteen years later. It’s a world of remarkable and sometimes frightening imagination. The telescope features a large, roving eyeball instead of a lens. Santa’s sleigh is actually a giant wind-up toy, the living reindeer replaced with carousel reindeer made of white plastic. The color palate throughout the film (if you can find a decent print) is intense. And the film’s multiple dream sequences are, well, pretty jaw-dropping.

It’s also a remarkably subversive film—which intertwined both with the visuals as well as the director’s background, may be no surprise at all. Along with the kidnapped children he’s using as slave labor, the cannon he fires at the demon’s ass, and  Santa’s often inappropriate laughter, which snakes throughout much of the soundtrack, there’s Merlin, another of Santa’s employees. Merlin runs a drug lab, and on Christmas Eve has just developed a “magic powder” that will “give people a sound sleep and fill them with wonderful thoughts and good intentions.”

Santa is perfectly willing to deliver babies to children who request little brothers or sisters, and one good little boy is set to receive “an atomic lab and a machine gun.” And then of course there’s the role of the demons here, in a world in which Santa and his toys have replaced Christianity.

It’s a film that’s often mocked by fools for its cheap sets and bad acting, without pausing to think about what’s really going on here—the kind of twisted, alien imagination at work, or the ideas that Cardona is sneaking in under their smug noses. It’s a deeply strange and disturbing work, a visionary work on a minuscule budget, and one that says more about the holidays than we may care to think about.

Maybe that’s why my dad has blocked it out of his memory, and why I spent a lifetime trying to track it down.

by Jim Knipfel

[fourteendaysinaweek]

Show Recommendations

Grimm

Platform: Amazon Prime

Official overview: Portland detective Nick Burkhardt, descended from a long line of warriors known as Grimms, defends his city from magical creatures known as Wesen, which are part human and part animal. Fighting alongside his partner, Hank, colleague Sergeant Wu and friends Monroe and Rosalee, Nick faces off against internal and external forces, including his police captain, Sean Renard.

My overview: Portland detective Nick Burkhardt thinks he's going insane when he randomly starts seeing monsters at the time his aunt goes into a coma. Turns out he's not, in fact, going crazy. He deals with shit trying to kill him and his girlfriend and friends CONSTANTLY and in reality all he wants to do his keep his city safe, and he accidentally saves the world in the process.

Thoughts on the show: I love it, it does have a habit of setting up for recurring characters and then never mentioning them again, so that's annoying. There are 6 seasons. There are some great romances in the show, and also some iffy ones, but the iffy ones are definitely regarded as such in the show, and eventually either develop past the weird stage or die before anymore harm can be done. Aired from 2011 to 2017

Thoughts on the fandom: Wayyyy too small, I know of 0 people around my age who like it, and 90% of the fan base is obsessed with Sasha Roiz who plays Sean Renard (not that I'm judging). Definitely not enough fics out there, and the ones that I've found seem to be poorly written or basically just pwp.

Warehouse 13

Platform: Amazon Prime

Official overview: Following an abrupt transfer, Secret Service agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering find themselves in the middle of South Dakota at a massive, top-secret storage warehouse that holds every strange artifact, mysterious relic, out-of-this-world object and supernatural souvenir ever found by the U.S. government. Lattimer and Bering's new task, as directed by the warehouse's caretaker, longtime agent Artie Nielsen, is to investigate reports of unexplainable and paranormal activity in an effort to secure more peculiar and dangerous objects, and to help Artie manage the warehouse itself.

My overview: imagine the TARDIS except it's a warehouse and not a police box (bigger on the inside) and it's full of cursed objects to be kept there so it doesn't destroy the world.

Thoughts on the show: I love it. It accurately depicts trauma and has decent representation such as a black woman everyone is intimidated by because she's the boss, a gay man who isn't sexualized and has development and a personality other than "gay". There is even an incredibly homoerotic friendship between two women that the actress of said women played up because they wanted their characters together, even if one turned out to be not-so-good. The show deals with sexism and victims of neglect. You'll learn a lot of random history while watching the show as all of the artifacts tend to be historically based (the guillotine blade that cut of Marie Antoinette's head, for instance). There are 5 seasons and I'm s3 or 4. Apparently the show does something weird with Pete and Myka at the end, which probably means they get together. Ran 2009 to 2014.

Thoughts on the fandom: again, way too small, although a lot bigger than Grimm. There are quite a few fics out there, mainly for the two women which I ship with my whole heart. There might be some controversy with Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer) but I'm not very well-versed in it. I wish Grimm's fandom was as big as W13's.

The Umbrella Academy

Platform: Netflix

Official overview: On one day in 1989, 43 infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. Seven are adopted by billionaire industrialist Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who creates the Umbrella Academy and prepares his "children" to save the world. In their teenage years, though, the family fractures and the team disbands. Fast forward to the present time, when the six surviving members of the clan reunite upon the news of Hargreeves' passing. They work together to solve a mystery surrounding their father's death, but divergent personalities and abilities again pull the estranged family apart, and a global apocalypse is another imminent threat. The series is based on a collection of comics and graphic novels created and written by My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way.

My overview: adult survivors of abuse with increasingly weird/out-there superpowers due to the weird circumstances of their birth come together to celebrate *cough* I mean mourn the passing of their "father" And accidentally cause the apocalypse.

Thoughts on the show: I love it. I've finished season 2,currenfly there are only 2 seasons, it's still in progress, I love it. I'm sure most of you have already watched it because what is the supernatural fandom if not emo? Also a good one for representation. Mexican man with a stutter, black woman with a daughter she is in a custody battle for, gay druggie veteran, Ellen Page, Asian ghost boy, 58 year old man in a 13 year old's body, and a half-chimp man.

Thoughts on the fandom: big. Big big big. Haven't found any fics that cater to my specific wants in a fic, but there are fics. Some of them have weird pairings, but since the show made two (adopted) siblings canon, I can't exactly blame them.

Lost Girl

Platform: I actually have no idea

Official overview: Bo is a small-town girl on the run after a disastrous sexual encounter with her boyfriend ends with his death. Bo learns that she is not human, but a succubus, who feeds on the sexual energy of humans. She and her kind are members of the Fae, creatures of legend, who walk among humans and feed off them in different ways. As she searches for the truth about her origins and runs from her inhuman urges, she vows to help those she meets along the way -- human or Fae -- who need to right a wrong.

My overview: bisexual woman finds out she's a succubus and she has to choose to be either good Fae or bad Fae (I think it's light vs dark but it's been a Hot Minute) she has a thing with a werewolf and also a thing with a Fae doctor who is human and a woman.

Thoughts on the show: it's good, 5 seasons, don't think I've finished the first season. Back when I started watching it it was on Netflix and has since been removed. It's on Vudo but it costs money which is bullshit. It's a little weird at first, but I like it. Ran 2010 to 2015.

Thoughts on the fandom: have not interacted with the fandom for fear of spoilers. I'd imagine this show's fandom is about the size of Grimm.

Being Human (USA version)

Platform: again, I don't know.

Official overview: "Being Human," based on a BBC series of the same name, features three 20-something roommates who each try to keep a secret from the rest of the world -- one is a ghost, another is a vampire and the third is a werewolf. The three roomies try to help one another navigate the complexities of living double lives.

My overview: again, weird starts off in almost the middle of the story. It deals with abuse, death, fighting urges, dealing with past sins, and, well, being human. The characters are Sally (Ghost) Aidan (vampire) and Josh (werewolf). The three of them are trying to live like normal, Aidan and Josh as workers at the local hospital as Sally works to deal with her death.

Thoughts on the show: I love it I just wish I could find it on a reliable site, again, it's on Vudo but it costs money. It definitely had the set up for a good mlm relationship but from what I've gathered they end up forcing heterosexuality.

Thoughts on the fandom: again, too small, roughly the size of Grimm. I have seen 0 fics.

The Librarians

Platform: Hulu I do so believe

Official overview: Cued by TNT's popular 'The Librarian' trilogy, this series introduces new members of an ancient group protecting mystical artefacts. Hidden below the Metropolitan Public Library, the secret society's longtime leader is Flynn Carsen, whose job has become very complicated. To help, the Library recruits Eve, a counterterrorism agent responsible for organizational security; Jacob, who has encyclopedic knowledge of art, architecture and history; Cassandra, who links auditory/sensory hallucinations to memory; and Ezekiel, a skilled thief and master technician. Overseeing them is Jenkins, the reclusive caretaker of the Library's sleepy little outpost in Oregon. Noah Wyle executive produces and recurs as Flynn, the role he played in the movie series.

My overview: very similar to W13. This time imagine the Bunker, and the Warehouse, and boom, you've got the Library.

Thoughts on the show: good! I love it, I just found out it was on Hulu and am going to be binging it as soon as I finish Grimm and Warehouse. I'd love to see a crossover between W13 and The Librarians I feel like they'd have a feud.

Thoughts on the fandom: probably the same size as W13 if not bigger as the series came from movies. Again, haven't finished the series so I haven't interacted with the fandom.

Eureka

Platform: Amazon Prime

Official overview: In the years since World War II, the U.S. government has been relocating the world's geniuses (and their families) to the Pacific Northwest town of Eureka. Daily life there shifts between amazing innovation and total chaos. U.S. Marshal Jack Carter learns this first-hand when his car breaks down in Eureka, stranding him among the town's eccentric citizens. When they unleash a scientific creation still unknown to the outside world, it's up to Carter to restore order. Subsequently, he's let in on one of America's best-kept secrets.

My overview: a small town but make every person a genius. Has some crossover with Warehouse 13, they exist in the same universe.

Thoughts on the show: I love it so far. Just the kind of weird shit I enjoy.

Thoughts on the fandom: I'd imagine about the size of Warehouse 13's but I've yet to interact considering I'm still in season 1.

[caedmonofthehighlands]

Harry Potter Fic Rec List

I’ve practically been reading Harry Potter fics since I was out of the womb and unsurprisingly, I recently ran out and have been searching the web for stories that I haven’t yet read. 

I figured that with all of my fanfiction knowledge, I should make a list like the ones that have helped me to find interesting and well written fics and so, I present to you a list with my favourite Harry Potter Fanfictions. Some are Classics, some are Muggle Au’s, but they’re all worth a read.

Gelosaþ in Écnesse by Batsutousai | Completed | 98.5k | Mature

Pairing: Salazar Slytherin/ Harry Potter

Summary: Caught in the backlash of Voldemort's Killing Curse, Harry is thrown through time to a world so very different from his own.

Notes: It’s a time travel fic! I have a special place in my heart for that trope and I love this one particularly. The pairing is one I’d never even seen before and at first, I was a bit sceptical at first but I was pleasantly surprised the way everyone interacted with each other and the amount of research that clearly went into this fic. In my experience, every work of Batsutousai’s is a good read.

Gray Skye Mourning by KneazleGriff | Completed | 183.4k | Mature

Pairing: Severus Snape/ Harry Potter

Summary: As Severus Snape lay dying on the filthy floor of the Shrieking Shack, bleeding in the arms of Harry Potter, a profound, devastating realization awakens a long lost love, latent for years, torn asunder by time’s cruel fate. Is love strong enough to overcome the pain of the past and ensure severus’ survival? Time-Travel fic. SSHP

Notes: Okay, I know the summary is kind of cheesy but this fic is fantastic. It explains why Snape was such an ass in canon and it’s really touching. It’s a very emotional fic. There are a few smutty scenes so you’ll want to make sure you’re okay with reading that. Also SSHP fics that I enjoy are pretty rare since I usually steer clear of Teacher-student relationships as well as Minor-Adult relationships.(Part of why I love time travel fics so much) 

Zubats, Zubats Everywhere by RenderedReversed | WIP | 16.8k | Teen and Up

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Summary: In which Harry is pretty sure his Pokémon journey isn’t supposed to have such a copious amount of Zubats—or just the figurative one, since Arceus knows Tom Riddle pops up in his life often enough to be a Zubat in disguise.

Notes: This fic is adorable. They have Pokemon Pet names, they buy each other stuffed animals and accidental stalking? It’s more of a Oneshot Collection than a continuous fic but don’t let that stop you. Comedy, Fluff and Harry Potter. What else could you need? 

Away Childish Things by lettered | Completed | 153.8k | Teen and Up

Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter

Summary: Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

Notes: This fic. The way lettered handled the whole ‘people from the wizarding world find out about Harry’s home life’ amazingly. The characterization of the characters, their younger selves and their opinions of themselves is just... *Chef’s kiss*. I’ve read this one over and over and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. 

Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived by Santi | WIP | 147.7k | Mature

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Female OC

Summary: Harry Potter loves, and is loved by, his parents, his godfather, and his brother. He isn’t mistreated, abused, or neglected. So why is he a Dark Wizard? NonBWL!Harry. Not your typical Harry’s brother is the Boy Who Lived story.

Notes: One of the only ‘Wrong boy who lived’ Fics I’ve enjoyed. Technically, Harry twin brother is the actual BWL so it’s not exactly the wrong one. This Harry is very OOC, keeping only his name and his physical features. His twin brother is really more ‘Harry Potter’ Personality-wise. Despite all of this, I absolutely loved this fic. The way Durmstrang operates is amazing and much better than Hogwarts.

The Spellmaker by SonnyGietzel | WIP | 166.7k | Mature

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle | Voldemort

Summary: Latin; a dead language with no practical applications except perhaps the deciphering of old texts and as a particularly quaint party trick.Thankfully, as Harry finds out, Latin is not as dead as he was first taught when he decided to learn the language. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, of course; he loved Latin, and would have been proud to know it even had it been as useless as it was pretty. But in the world of Wizards, the world of Magic, Harry realizes his rare talent with words is particularly valuable, and allows him to use magic that no one's ever heard of, that no one's ever seen. But as time goes on, and he becomes more and more entangled in the webs spun by those around him, he starts to realize just how deep the magical rabbit hole goes and how dangerous power like his can be.All Harry had ever wanted was for the world to make sense.

Notes: Latin? Hell yeah! Harry’s spell casting by knowing latin and understanding science is so cool. Plus I just really love the librarian. It’s still updating too so you’re not just torturing yourself for the sake of entertainment if you read it,

SCHOOLED by WyrdSmith | WIP | 113.6k | Explicit

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Summary: 7th Year Gryffindors learn why it is never a good idea to piss off Ravenclaw Hadrian Morgan. His payback during Professor Slytherin's class is BEAUTIFUL. In carrying it out, orphaned pureblood Hadrian catches the interest and libido of the present Lord Marvolo Slytherin, who -- with the assistance of the entire Slytherin student body as well as a few other surprising characters -- tries to lure Morgan into his life and his bed. But just how naive is Hadrian Morgan, really?1945-era mash-up of most major and minor characters of HP and other fandoms, as well as historical characters. [WAIT, PLEASE! .... ahem.... If you just heard a mental screech of brakes, please understand that this is not a farce, nor crack, nor crap. This has many reviews from now-devoted readers who almost bypassed it, but are now glad they accepted the dare to just try chapter one.]

Notes: My opinion on this fic is complicated. It’s brilliantly written. Harry is witty, sneaky and ruthless and I just love him. Tom is just a lil bit predatory. You should definitely give it a read because it’s awesome, just make sure to properly read the tags and the summary first. 

Time to Put Your Galleons Where Your Mouth Is by Tsume Yuki | Completed | 46.3k | Teen and Up

Pairing: None

Summary: Harry had never been able to comprehend a sibling relationship before, but he always thought he'd be great at it. Until, as Master of Death, he's reborn one Turais Rigel Black, older brother to Sirius and Regulus. (Rebirth/time travel and Master of Death Harry)

Notes: I love this. I love this so much. Harry is so great To Sirius and Regulus. He may be a bit OP but he’s honestly just a king in every single way other than literally. This was an amazing read and a great change from the more romance-centric fics that usually catch my eye. 

Kudosed, Bookmarked, Subscribed by maquira | WIP | 49.6k | Explicit

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle | Voldemort 

Summary: By day, Harry works as a lowly assistant to his boss: the cruel, controlling Tom Riddle.By night, he lives, breathes, and writes fanfiction. And when he's not writing, he's obsessing over the work of his favorite Ao3 author: Lord_Voldemort_.So, of course, it’s only a matter of time before Harry gets caught reading Voldemort’s latest fanfiction at work… by none other than his boss.

Notes: I know it’s Harry Potter and the nearly everything about the books has to do with magic but Muggle Au’s are my guilty pleasure. Pair that with maquira’s beautiful writing and I’m hooked. Really, check out any of maquira’s other fics, they’re all just as good. 

Let’s Start the Show by Terrific Lunacy | WIP | 29.9k | Mature

Pairing: Kind of Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Summary: It started as a game. When two highborn lords come looking for a distraction from boredom, they merge the worlds of the highest class with those of the lowest class. An invitation sets things in motion that were supposed to stay locked away. Because a kingdom on the verge of collapse, a noble without a past and a circus performer with a secret are not a good combination.

Notes: Something about this fic just captivated me when I first read it. It still does, really. I love the plot, I love Harry’s cheek and you’ll love it too.

Dreams and Darkness Collide by Epic Solemnity | WIP | 209.5k | Mature 

Pairing: Harry Potter/Voldemort

Summary: Though he was raised without the expectation of saving the world, Harry still possesses a savior complex. Only, it's so dark and twistedly immoral, he created an alter ego to practice vigilantism. His second identity makes a name for himself and immediately ensnares Minister Riddle's complete and obsessive attention. A game of cat and mouse begins and morals are questioned.

Notes: I’ve read this so many times I could probably recite it by heart but I could still read it a thousand more times. 

My Name is Cameron Sage by thesewarmstars | Completed | 41.8k | Explicit

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Severus Snape

Summary: Things are going poorly for the side of the light, and in a last-ditch effort to fulfill his destiny, Harry goes back in time to try again.

Notes: Another Time travel fic! A particularly smutty one but Sevvy has a friend for once in his life and they’re so sarcastic but they’re also really sweet. 

Consuming Shadows by Child_OTKW | WIP | 312.2k | Mature

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Voldemort, Harry Potter/ Male OC

Summary: On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husband’s life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard.But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes.

Notes: Harry attending foreign schools is also a favourite trope of mine. I love the different interpretations of different wizarding schools. Bonus points if he visits Hogwarts to attend or participate in the Triwizard Tournament. 

To be Set Free by Merrinpippy | Completed | 35.8k | Teen and Up

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Summary: Harry Potter, raised and abused by the Dursleys ever since his parents died, lives in the cupboard under the stairs. He has no friends or family who love him and his life is dull until one day a letter arrives arrives for him, written in green ink, that promises freedom. Sounds familiar, right?King Thomas Riddle's illness combined with his political paranoia pushes him to arrange three royal balls, after which his son, Prince Tom Riddle, must choose a guest to marry, thereby securing the kingdom's future and solidifying their strength in the eyes of their allies/enemies. Tom is convinced that he will be able to defy his father and choose no-one, or at least he is until at the first ball he meets an attractive stranger with dark hair and glasses who won't tell anyone his name...

Notes: Fairytale Au’s are magical and this fic just proves it. You barely even need to put a spin on cinderella to fit Harry into his role in the story, which is sad but also absolutely perfect.

Azoth by zeigeistic | Completed | 88.7k | Explicit

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Draco Malfoy

Summary: Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

Notes: Portrait Snape. That’s it. That’s all I have to say.

Death of Today by Epic Solemnity | Completed | 500.8k | Mature 

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Voldemort 

Summary: Raised in a Muggle orphanage, Harry arrives at Hogwarts a bitter boy. Unusually intelligent, he's recruited by the Unspeakables and the Death Eaters at a young age. As he grows older, he constantly has to struggle to keep his footing around a manipulative and bored Dark Lord, who fancies mind games and intellectual entertainment.

Notes: In all honesty, I don’t have much to add. Epic Solemnity is a fantastic author though so make sure to check out their other works.

Hermione Granger’s Hogwarts Crammer for Delinquents on the Run by waspabi | Completed | 93.3k | Teen and Up

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Draco Malfoy

Summary: 'You're a wizard, Harry' is easier to hear from a half-giant when you're eleven, rather than from some kids on a tube platform when you're seventeen and late for work.

Notes: I live for this Au. I would give my right hand and make quite a few human sacrifices for a sequel to this story. 

Rebirth by Athey | WIP | 269.7k | Mature 

Pairing: Harry Potter/ Tom Riddle

Summary: Two boys grow up together in an orphanage, grow powerful at school, are torn apart by death and brought back together by rebirth. Horcruxes aren't the only way to live forever. Necromancy, reincarnation, TR/HP Slash dark!Harry.

Notes: Ah, reincarnation. I always figured that Harry’s type of immortality would be much more interesting than tom’s in this story. A little bit of smut near the end there so you might want to watch out for that. 

[allgirlsareprincesses]

Still More Search for the Lost Husband: The Revival of the Prince in Star Wars

Yes, there’s more! Though I covered this to an extent in my original folktale post, I felt a deeper look into the resurrection motif of The Search for the Lost Husband was necessary, especially in light of the new Hux comic. As the lovely @corseque has pointed out (have I tagged her in every post I’ve made so far? I hope so, because I stand on the shoulders of giants….), Ben Solo is clearly presented as the Sleeping Prince, metaphorically dead just like Anakin Skywalker. I’d love to delve a bit into the actual folktales that are the basis of this motif, how it appears as a pattern in Star Wars, and what that means for Ben Solo’s redemption and likely resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker.

In many versions of ATU-425, the lost husband is deathly ill, in a deep sleep, imprisoned, cursed, pretending to be dead, or some combination of the above. As with the flight of the fairy bride, this princely suitor is metaphorically dead, and in rare cases literally dead. After their separation, this is how the searching wife finds him when she comes to his rescue, and she may use any number of means to revive him: Sometimes she makes a blood sacrifice, others she might need to make him a special concoction, and often all that is needed is a declaration of love. Interestingly, the famous kiss of life doesn’t often appear in these tales as it does in the revival of the fairy wife, though sometimes Beauty kisses the Beast when she tearfully agrees to be his wife. Sometimes, the prince does not immediately recognize his wife after his revival, and she must complete another task or put on her royal raiment for him to know her as his true bride.

The most obvious place that this tale appears in Star Wars (before the Sequel Trilogy) is in the rescue of Han Solo in Return of the Jedi. Frozen in carbonite “in perfect hibernation,” Han is asleep, enchanted, imprisoned, and nearly dead when the princess creeps into Jabba’s throne room (in a palace of evil on a dead planet, no less) to rescue him. When she frees him from the carbonite, he falls to the floor as if dead, and then wakes to find that he is blind. I intend to cover this in a future post, but blindness in mythology is often used as a metaphor for death (which by the way is a pretty insidious form of historic ableism, but I digress). As Leia’s mask distorts her voice, he does not recognize her at first, but knows her immediately at her declaration of love and subsequent kiss of life. This one scene effectively crams nearly every revival motif from the Search for the Lost Husband into just a couple minutes of screen time.

The other obvious “sleeping prince” in the Skywalker Saga before the sequels is Anakin, although sadly we never see him revived by his bride. This is because his story ends tragically, as the Quest for the Lost Bride tales tend to do. That leaves only one more candidate for the classic rescue and happy ending of the Search for the Lost Husband, and that is our dear Ben Solo. Certainly it’s clear that Ben is in many ways metaphorically dead in the first two films of the final trilogy, but in the recent Hux comic, Lucasfilm has gone out of their way to show him sleeping, mask off, while Hux and another character discuss how much like his princess mother he is.

Given that the Lucasfilm Story Group is apparently being about as subtle as a sledgehammer at this point, what might we expect for Prince Ben in The Rise of Skywalker? Well, let’s review several ATU-425 revival stories to see the possibilities:

In East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon, the lassie arrives at the castle after her travels to find her prince imprisoned by an evil family of trolls. He is now betrothed to the troll princess, and will marry her in a matter of days. Using gifts given to her by those she met on her journey, the lassie buys the right to spend the night in the prince’s room. However, the cruel trolls make him a sleeping draught, and no matter what the girl tries to wake him, he sleeps on. The lassie tries a second night to wake the prince, but the same thing happens. However, this night, other prisoners hear her weeping and calling to the prince, and tell him when he wakes the next day what they heard. Realizing what has happened, he slyly pours the drink out instead of drinking it, and the third night is awake when the lassie is allowed into his room. They spend the night embracing and planning the defeat of the trolls the next day (achieved by the lassie washing a black shirt to pure white). Check out this stunning illustration by PJ Lynch, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss:

**Trigger Warning for some dark and gruesome imagery in the following paragraphs, especially about blood**

In Pajaro Verde, the prince becomes deathly ill when shards of broken glass become embedded in his body, and flees to his father’s house. In her search for him, the princess comes across little birds who tell her that she must give them a sleeping potion, cut their throats while they sleep, and fill a bottle with their blood. Then, she must cover the prince with the birds’ blood, and the glass will be drawn out of him and cure him. The princess does as they say, and when she arrives at the palace, soaks a sheet in the blood and covers the prince with it. Immediately, he begins to recover, but he does not recognize his wife, and is instead pledged to another. On his wedding day to the false bride, the princess approaches him in all her royal attire and crown, and the prince suddenly remembers her, declaring her his true wife and love. The Enchanted Snake is an almost identical Italian tale, in which a blood sacrifice is again the cure for the ailing prince.

There is also, of course, the classic Beauty and the Beast, in which the neglected Beast lies dying in his garden when Beauty comes upon him after the visit to her family. Realizing her true feelings for him, Beauty calls out to her Beast, kissing him and accepting his offer of marriage. At her confession of love, he transforms into a handsome prince, and he and Beauty live happily ever after.

In The Ninth Captain’s Tale, the fair Sittukhan is the first to fall into a deathlike sleep and is revived by a sultan’s son, but is then abandoned by him. Sittukhan enchants herself into a rich and beautiful princess to entice her wayward lover, and failing to recognize her, he begs for her hand. To win her, she tells him, he must wrap himself in burial clothes as if dead and be carried in a funeral procession to a place of rest. This he does, and when they are alone, Sittukhan unwraps her lover’s burial shroud, revealing both him and herself. After teasing him for the lengths he would go to for a bride, she consents to be his wife and they marry. In this story, it is remarkable that the imagery clearly shows her raising her bridegroom from the dead, rather tenderly if somewhat macabre.

From these stories, we may perhaps assume that Ben Solo will indeed die, and that the keys to his resurrection may be a blood sacrifice of some kind and a declaration of love by his true bride. You could even argue that he’s already been baptized with blood in the imagery of cleansing salt in the red wound of Crait. However, few of these stories feature a notable villain comparable to the diabolical Palpatine who will be returning to menace our heroes in The Rise of Skywalker. Given what we know from the trailers, does the Emperor have a clear role in this part of the myth? Does Dark Rey have a part to play?

WOULD YOU BELIEVE I actually found in my collection a story that until now, I didn’t realize contained this motif? This is The Blood-Drawing Ghost (the version I have is simply called Kate Culhane: A Ghost Story), an Irish folktale over a hundred years old. In the story, a deceitful young man leaves a fine blackthorn stick on the freshly-dug grave of an old man. Kate, a young woman whom he is courting, offers to retrieve it, but when her hand touches the blackthorn stick, a ghostly voice tells her to open the tomb. Though she tries to resist, Kate is compelled by magic to obey, and she is forced to pull the gruesome corpse from his grave and carry him on her back. Though her burden is heavy and painful, she must carry the dead man a great distance until they reach a house in the village that is unprotected by holy water. Inside, the corpse searches for something to eat, but Kate can find only oatmeal. Upstairs, they find that the wealthy family has three sons, and the dead man forces poor Kate to hold a bowl under their hands as he drains the blood from each one in turn. He then has her mix the blood with the oatmeal and eats it, instructing her to eat it as well, but she cleverly hides the food in a handkerchief instead.

The old man then forces Kate to again take him upon her back and carry him back to his grave. On the way, she asks if there is any cure for the dead young men whose blood was drained. The old corpse tells her that if only a bit of the oatmeal mixture had been saved, just a bite in each man’s mouth would bring him back to life, and they would never know of their deaths. At the graveyard, the dead man tells Kate that as she has eaten his food, he will pull her into the grave with him before the cock crows three times. In my version, he does actually try to drag her into the grave, but thankfully dawn breaks and the brave girl is able to escape. She makes her way to the house of the three dead sons, where the family has discovered them and is lamenting their misfortune. She tells the family that she can revive the young men if only they will give her the eldest as her husband. They agree, and she feeds the sons the bloody oatmeal she had saved in the handkerchief, reviving them immediately. Kate marries the eldest son and they live happily for all their days.

Call me crazy, but this looks like a great plot outline for The Rise of Skywalker based on what we know so far. First, there is the brave girl who goes to retrieve a special stick, or in this case the legacy lightsaber, as Rey did in The Force Awakens. When she touches it, she is drawn into a dark struggle between good and evil, life and death. If Rey becomes a target for the risen spirit of the Emperor (who resembles nothing so much as a corpse) as many suspect, then he may attempt to use her to do his dark bidding, or convince her to become his apprentice/alcolyte. At least, this is what is suggested by the appearance of Dark Rey and some of the links she has to Palpatine in her musical theme and backstory on Jakku. Further, the Emperor has already tried to drain two sons of the Skywalker line (Anakin and Luke), and now it seems he may attempt to drain a third (Ben). There’s certainly been a lot of talk about Ben Solo’s bloodline, at least.

Just as Psyche was instructed not to eat the food of the Underworld lest she be forced to remain there forever, Kate has the sense not to share in the bloody feast of her deathly captor. Since we know Rey will likely have a “dark night of the soul” in Episode IX in which she is sorely tempted by the Dark Side, I take this as the model for her resisting that temptation to taste the fruits of death. And finally, just as the corpse attempted to drag Kate into his grave with him, Darth Sidious will make one last effort to entrap or destroy our heroine, but she will escape him. Unfortunately, it is still too late for Ben, the third son whose life he drained away. Or is it? Perhaps Rey, in her brush with the Dark Side, will have learned the cure to rouse her beloved from his deathly slumber. Perhaps it will be the sacrifice of Ben’s own blood that saves him, along with the love of a clever girl.

Hope you all enjoyed this latest installment! Let me know if there are any specific folklore topics you’d like me to explore in Star Wars. This has been a great way to pass the time during the agonizing wait for TROS!

[hoshisstuff]

Wrightworth Omegaverse recs?

Can anyone out there recommend some good Omegaverse fan fiction featuring Wrightworth/Narimitsu or Klapollo? I’ve read everything on AO3 and I’m dying for more.

Below are some good ones if you’re looking for it yourself (to be updated as I find more). Please be aware that most of these are NSFW.

Wrightworth/Narumitsu:

“Exposure” by Bella_Luugosi on AO3.

Alpha!Phoenix, Omega!Miles, ongoing

After Engarde's trial and Maya's release, Phoenix wonders if his newfound trust in Miles might extend to something more than friendship, this time without Miles running off to Europe right after their date.

Phoenix is an alpha, and the worst thing he can imagine is that Miles, who he believes to be a beta, won't countenance dating someone with a secondary gender. But Miles has a long, difficult history to contend with, and a secret he's trying desperately to keep.

“Overheated” by Write Anything Agency on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix, ongoing

Heats can be trying on everybody, especially the Omega. Yes, there's lots and lots of sex, but doing nothing but breeding for days at a time is physically and mentally exhausting. And they can sometimes happen without warning, which is something Phoenix has never had to deal with until this point.

A more realistic look at an Omega heat cycle, where instead of just displaying the sexy parts, we get to explore the not-so-sexy parts as well. 'Cause, when you really think about it, nothing sounds more painful than an Omega's heat. Or an Alpha's rut, for that matter.

“A Series of Firsts” by Write Anything Agency on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix, ongoing

This fic consists of snippets of Phoenix and Miles's relationship with each other, detailing the important "firsts" of their relationship. From first kisses to first ruts, it'll all be covered in here!A companion piece to "Overheated", but you don't need to read it to understand what's going on.

“Believe Me When I Say I Love You” by Write Anything Agency on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix, ongoing

In the span of seven far-to-short months, Miles Edgeworth had gone from a single alpha to a bonded father of one. Beginning to date Phoenix by itself would have been enough of a change for him, but he’d barely had a chance to live that life before it all got ripped away from them.

Almost three months after Phoenix's disbarment, Miles finds himself in Germany struggling to balance his newfound family with his career. Unable to relocate permanently to the US, he's forced to make a sacrifice that he really doesn't want to make.

Takes place after A Series of Firsts, but before Overheated. You don't need to read either of those to understand this fic, but it adds flavor.

“Alpha, Plus or Minus Epsilon” by Aris Merquoni on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Beta!Phoenix

Phoenix has never dated an alpha before.Miles Edgeworth has just asked him out.

Phoenix isn't going to let a little thing like differing biology get in the way of their relationship, no matter what surprises are in store.

“Away Childish Things” by Aris Merquoni on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Beta!Phoenix

Miles Edgeworth spent a lot of effort getting his alpha instincts under control. Manfred von Karma taught him what it was to be a perfect alpha, and he'd never considered that he should act otherwise.

Of course it was eventually going to come crashing down around his ears. Fortunately, Phoenix Wright is a beta who, for better or for worse, doesn't care in the least about perfect alpha behavior.

“Omega, Plus or Minus Epsilon” by Aris Merquoni on AO3

Omega!Miles and Beta!Phoenix

Miles' heat hitting around Christmas has never been a problem before. He's always been able to take suppressants and ride out the season in a fog of medication.

This Christmas is a little different, and the fact that Phoenix Wright has turned his world upside down has all kinds of repercussions.

“Five Greek Positions Phoenix and Miles Found Themselves In” by Aris Merquoni on AO3

Various configurations

It could have gone a lot of different ways; here are five of them. Scenes from five different universes, where Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth still have to figure out how to relate to each other.

“Au naturel” by sabinelagrande on AO3

Alpha!Phoenix, Omega!Miles

It comes natural, and as far as Athena is concerned, that's a good enough reason to do it.

“Determinism” by sabinelagrande on AO3

Alpha!Phoenix, Omega!Miles

It takes Phoenix forever to find out, but it never really mattered in the first place.

“Howling for You” by Milesphoenix on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix

Phoenix's heat comes sooner than anticipated and Miles is all too happy to help his mate through it...even if it means providing what is needed in the middle of the woods.

“Two Years” by Moorglade on AO3

Alpha!Phienix and Omega!Miles

Miles joins a pottery class, makes a friend, goes to therapy and has some overdue realisations.

“Change” by Sleepy_fan on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix

Shortly before his "disappearance" Alpha Edgeworth sleeps with Omega Phoenix.

“A Summer Day Long Overdue” by Skylarium_Rose on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix

The wedding of Miles Edgeworth and Phoenix Wright has been a long time coming and it's finally here! But a lot of work has to go into making sure it's the best day they've ever had and completely deserved.

Which means they're going to be some...bumps along the way

“The Serendipity of Fools and Family” by Skylarium_Rose on AO3

Alpha!Miles, Omega!Phoenix

Sometimes life just happens and it sucks. But sometimes, love does too and that make it all the more worth wild. Phoenix and Miles experience this in their usual way, unconventionally, and still make it out alright with more people to love than before.

Klapollo:

“Strange Days” by Saevam on AO3

Alpha!Klavier, Omega!Apollo, hasn’t been updated in years but still a great read

He was a Beta. A regular old Beta, who shouldn't be aware of the Alpha mating season. Nor should he be attracting the attentions of a high pedigree Alpha such as Prosecutor Gavin.

Apollo was pretty certain that when he went to bed the night before he was a regular old Beta. However, considering how many Alphas’ heads he’s turning this morning, things are definitely starting to look strange.

“Stranger Stories: A Strange Days Series” by Saevam on AO3

Alpha!Klavier, Omega!Apollo

A series of short stories that take place before, during, and after my Ace Attorney Omegaverse Story: Strange Days. Strange Days is the Main Line Story for this AU, so while it is not necessary to read Strange Days, the intention of this is to be a collection of side stories that don't exactly fit into the story of Strange Days. This collection will offer insights into the characters and further world build for this Omegaverse AU series.

“Neglected Feelings” by ShikoMora on AO3

Alpha!Klavier and Omega!Apollo

Learning his mate was supposed to be Justice, Klavier fled to Germany.

Now, almost 3 years later, Apollo is no longer willing to accept his return.

“Let me tell you how the sun makes me sing” by Skylarium_Rose on AO3

Alpha!Klavier, Omega!Apollo

Apollo never really had more than one friend and that was fine. He just needed someone to go to get away from the Troupe for awhile.

Klaiver was given expectation on who he should befriend and just went against his parents' wishes altogether.

Somehow they find each other and it becomes a worthwhile friendship and more for the both of them.

Stories of Apollo, Clay, and Klavier having fun, being semi-normal, and just handling life.

[the-quiet-winds]

Your Time Will Come, if You Wait for It (part two)

hey there so i goofed up and made it look like this was a one part thing and it’s not! @ichlugebulletsandcornnuts​ and i wrote enough for three parts!

and this one features super-awesome-new-character that fits really well if you read my drabble from last night (nudge nudge wink wink)

[part one]

[Part 2: Rain Won’t Fall for the Both of Us]

the next morning begins a dreadfully repetitive pattern, one in which jane feels she never sees katherine. as soon as they are both set for the day, one of anna’s ladies collects katherine and brings her before the future queen, where she is delighted to take part in helping to prepare for the wedding, which isn’t for another four days. 

jane almost wishes it would just happen already, so they can go home and get out of court. 

but jane can’t say that, so she settles for never seeing katherine and killing her boredom in whatever way possible.

the days drag by until finally the morning of the wedding arrives. katherine wakes up early, buzzing with excitement, which of course means jane has to wake up too.

she doesn’t necessarily mind it; it’s nice to actually get to spend time with katherine again, even if she’s still talking non-stop about anna and the preparations. they get to talk for a couple of hours at least before some ladies arrive to help them prepare, and jane thinks katherine might actually tire herself out from the way she’s practically bouncing off the walls.

the guests had been asked to where one of the three colors of germany. katherine’s new dress was red, rich and full, and jane’s ironically, was black. she said she chose it because ‘it’s the only color that looks good,’ but, if jane was being honest, she feels she is walking into a funeral today. not only is she watching the man she loves get married to someone else, she also feels this pit in her stomach as she feels she’s losing katherine to anna. 

a horrible thought strikes her as she’s doing katherine’s hair: what it katherine wants to stay at court? anna would let them, and jane would be forced to continue with this lonely, biting pain. 

the thought alone nearly makes her faint.

she must have accidentally twisted a section of katherine’s hair a little too hard as she’s pulled out of her thoughts at the sharp yelp katherine lets out.

“sorry, love,” she says immediately, dropping the plait she was constructing and resting a hand on the side of katherine’s head. “it won’t happen again.”

“it’s okay,” katherine shrugs. she kicks her feet slightly as jane finishes up her hairstyle, still full of energy and having no outlet for it.

as soon as jane is done, katherine jumps up, barely saying thank you to her mum before rushing out of the room, and jane swears she hears anna’s name come out of katherine’s mouth. 

jane sits down on the bed with a sigh, putting her face in her hands to try (and fail) to ground her. 

“jane?”

she looks up and, out of everyone who could have been standing there, it was mary. 

during jane’s short tenure as henry’s fiancée, she had met mary, and felt a pull towards the neglected princess. it was wonderful to see her again, and jane stands and holds out both hands to invite her closer.

surprisingly for the usually formal princess, mary immediately hugs her.

“it’s so good to see you again,” she says, and jane feels her heart lift slightly; some confirmation that not everybody had replaced her.

“likewise, mary,” jane says softly. mary pulls away but holds on to jane’s forearms, a smile on her face.

“truth be told, i’m thankful there’s someone here who i know and trust,” she gives a small laugh. “goodness knows father is surrounding himself with more sycophants every day. we shan’t be alone, though. poor little elizabeth is being brought over this morning.” her tone sobers slightly at the thought of her little sister, a disgraced bastard like her at only three years old.

jane grips mary’s forearms and gives them a gentle squeeze. “i’m sure you and bess will both love anna,” jane forces out pleasantly. 

“i’m sure i’ll like her well enough,” mary says with a small shrug. then she looks back to jane with a slight blush. “but i doubt she’ll hold a candle to you.” 

jane smiles and leans forward to press a soft kiss to mary’s cheek. “you really should visit me more often, love,” she says. “you’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

mary gives a gentle laugh. “i may take you up on that. getting away from court for a few days is always a welcome change.”

jane’s heart twists slightly, remembering that katherine may insist they stick around. she does her best to mask her displeasure at the idea. “we’ll have to see, then.”

mary gives a soft smile. “the countryside seems like the perfect place for a break. I’ve been meaning to visit ever since you moved there with your ward.” she glances around the room, as if she’d just noticed they were alone. “where is your ward?”

“oh, gone to help with the preparations, no doubt,” jane forces a smile. “she seems... very taken with anna.”

“how is she?” mary asks politely. “i have unfortunately not heard much about her.”

jane’s fake smile flickers for a moment before she steps herself. “well, she’s very smart, quite witty... very kind, has a good sense of humor about her...” jane trails off, staring at the wall past where mary was. “she’s everything any sensible person would want,” she finishes faintly. 

“jane?” mary asks, moving to catch her eyes. “are you alright?”

jane blinks as she comes back to the present, then plasters that fake smile back on. “oh, yes, just perfect, love.”

mary smiles back, but there’s a frown on her forehead.

“well, we had probably start heading out to join in with the preparations,” she says. jane wishes she could just stay in here all day, but she reluctantly nods.

“lead the way, love.”

mary does, casting glances back at jane that she can’t quite figure out the meanings of.

the actual ceremony is taking place at the cathedral, but all the festivities, the feast, the jousting and entertainments, they would be taking place at the palace, and so the place was full of servants, officials and artisans running around and trying not to get in each others’ way.

mary doesn’t let go of jane’s hand as they weave amongst the endless sea of people scattered throughout the palace. they finally make their way to the hall where anna was being decked and dressed for her big moment, and jane suddenly feels quite sick. 

she holds mary’s hand tight, bracing herself against the wall with her free hand, eyes squeezed shut as she desperately tries to keep her wits about her.

“jane, are you alright?” mary asks, concern filling her voice. “is something the matter?”

jane is about to say she’s fine but another wave of nausea hits her and she closes her mouth again.

“should i fetch someone?” mary asks, and jane manages to shake her head.

“i’ll be okay,” she mumbles.

“mama?” she hears katherine’s voice, anxious and afraid, from somewhere around her, and jane isn’t convinced she hadn’t imagined it.

mary turns to see katherine, so small and so young, looking at them from just outside anna’s chambers. the queen-to-be follows katherine over to where jane was pressing herself against the wall. 

“mama?” she asks again, reaching up to grasp where jane’s free hand met the wall. “what’s wrong?”

“schwester jane,” anna says quietly. “are you unwell?”

jane squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment more, before opening them and shaking her head. “i just think i ate some bad food this morning, that’s all,” she lies. she won’t tell any of them why she’s so upset, why she feels this won’t be the first incident of its kind.

“but you didn’t eat anything,” katherine pipes up, looking even more concerned. mary narrows her eyes slightly, as if trying to piece everything together.

“jane, is something the matter? you can tell us, please!”

“please, mama,” katherine says quietly, slipping her hand into jane’s. “please tell us what’s going on.”

she can’t, though, not when anna was standing right there with a look of worry on her face.

“can i just have a glass of water, please?” 

katherine immediately lets go, ready to go off and find a servant. but before she could possibly get far enough, the stem of a chalice is being pressed against her hand. jane finally opens her eyes, and anna, of course it’s anna, is holding out a glass for her with a gentle, concerned look. 

before she had to answer questions, jane downs the glass, then stands upright again. mary still holds her hand, unwilling to let go. 

“thank you,” she says quietly. “i think i was just a little dehydrated, that’s all.”

katherine seems happy with her mother’s explanation, too young to really understand, but mary isn’t convinced. she doesn’t say anything, though, instead just continuing to hold jane’s hand.

anna holds onto jane’s shoulders and looks her seriously in the eyes.

“please say if you feel ill again, i can send for the physician. i do not want to see my beloved sister unwell.”

jane gives a hesitant nod and anna pulls back. a thought strikes her, and she bends over to whisper something in katherine’s ear, and the girl lights up and is once again swept off by the german woman, leaving jane and mary alone. 

jane bites her lip as she watches them go. “i’m losing her, mary,” she says quietly. 

“that can’t be-“

“i feel i haven’t seen her since we arrived here, five days ago!”

mary has nothing to say, not knowing how to comfort the woman, and instead tugs on her hand to lead her to the cathedral. 

katherine doesn’t join them, and jane’s anxiety spikes as the choir begins their processional tune and there is no sight of katherine. 

then the door opens, and katherine is in front of anna, spreading rose petals on the carpet in front of the future queen. 

the red gown she had been wearing, the one jane had had made special, is replaced by something anna must have already had, a gold dress of german style. her hair had been changed as well, somehow, in the hour they’d been apart. 

katherine didn’t look like katherine anymore.

tears fill jane’s eyes before she can stop them, and she desperately fishes her handkerchief out of her sleeves. she hopes the display of emotion passes for motherly pride at katherine being allowed to fulfil such an important role in the wedding, but the expression on her face would prove otherwise for the discerning.

mary, seated next to her, glances at her with wide eyes. she reaches over and takes jane’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze that she hopes reassures her.

jane feels that she clings to mary’s hand like a lifeline. if she had well and truly lost katherine, she couldn’t bear to lose mary too, even if it had been a while since they’d connected last. 

through the entirety of the ceremony, jane’s stomach flips and flops every time she changes her attention between henry and anna, standing side by side at the alter, and katherine, standing to the side with anna’s ladies in waiting. 

the bishop tells them to kiss, finally, and as they do, katherine throws one last handful of petals over them, and jane knows she’s squeezing too tight on mary’s hand, but she just can’t help it.

the ceremony ends and the royal party files out, katherine in tow. the rest of the guests begin to slowly filter out of the cathedral, ready to head back to the palace for the celebrations, but jane can’t bring herself to stand just yet.

mary stands and jane shoots her a panicked look.

“i’m sorry,” mary says, sounding truly regretful. “i need to congratulate my father and stepmother. i’ll see you at the feast, though?”

jane gives a shaky nod, and mary leans down to press a soft kiss to her cheek. “i’ll catch up with you later.” she files out behind the last of the attendees, and jane finds herself sitting in the empty cathedral hall, unable to move.

she’d lost henry. she’d basically lost katherine, would she lose mary too?

an image flashes before her eyes. she’s alone in the big house in the country, with only servants, while katherine chooses to stay with anna, mary never visiting, and life going on without her. 

it’s enough to make her silently start crying, alone, in the cathedral.

there’s several minutes of nothing but sobbing, her choked breaths echoing from the cathedral’s acoustics. she can’t face leaving, not when it means having to sit there and pretend everything’s okay.

“mama?”

jane pauses, a sob catching in her throat. she turns her head and there, standing awkwardly in the aisle, is katherine.

jane hastily wipes her tears from her cheeks, still unable to make her legs work. “hey, kat,” she says, hoping to sound convincing. 

katherine furrows her eyebrows and walks in, hopping onto the bench next to jane. “what’s wrong mama?”

“oh, nothing dear,” jane says with a flick of her hand, “just emotional from the ceremony.” she leans over to press a kiss to katherine’s forehead. “you did wonderful, love.”

katherine tilts her head slightly as she looks at jane with wide eyes.

“no you’re not,” she says suddenly, and a spike of panic suddenly runs through jane.

“what do you mean, love?”

“that’s your sad cry,” katherine says. jane glances down. apparently in all this chaos she’d forgotten just how intuitive her little girl was.

jane wipes at her eyes again. “right again, my little love,” she says with a choked sort of half laugh. “i guess i’m still a bit upset about how things ended with henry, that’s all.”

she wouldn’t dare tell katherine the whole truth. yes she misses henry, but she’d be lying if her current state of upset wasn’t caused more by the ever increasing fear she was losing katherine as well. 

“mama just needs a moment, kitty-kat,” jane says quietly. “then we can go to the feast, yeah?”

katherine nods, then shuffles closer, tucking herself under jane’s arm.

they sit quietly for several moments before katherine speaks again, voice quiet.

“we don’t have to go to the feast.”

jane glances down at her, a slight frown on her face.

“don’t you want to celebrate?”

katherine shrugs. “i do, but if it makes you sad then i’d rather stay here and help you feel happy again.”

jane presses a kiss to the top of her head. “that’s very thoughtful of you, love, but i don’t want you to miss out. i know how excited you were earlier.”

katherine shrugs, but jane knows it’s forced. she dabs at her eyes once more with the handkerchief, then gives katherine a gentle nudge about the ribs. “shall we go?”

katherine nods and slips her tiny hand into jane’s, clinging on as they walk slowly out of the cathedral.

the feast is already in full swing when they arrive and they are led to their seats at the table, sharing with mary and some women neither of them know, but who seem friendly enough.

jane still can’t bring herself to do more than just pick at her food, her stomach too busy twisting to allow her to.

katherine is too chatty to notice, and the other women absolutely adore her. mary seems to enjoy her company as well, although she continues to toss concerned looks to jane. 

as soon as katherine is finished eating, she jumps to her feet and, without asking permission, rushes to the edge of where everyone is dancing, leaving jane and mary alone once again, something jane is becoming slowly more accustomed to.

mary glances over at katherine, then back to jane.

“i don’t think it’s as bad as you think, jane,” she says softly. “she’s overexcited, but she seemed to be holding onto your hand pretty tightly when you arrived.”

jane gives a defeated half-shrug, not convinced, and mary sighs.

“you’re her mother, jane,” mary reminds her quietly. “i don’t think anything can replace that.”

“but-“

“no buts, jane,” mary interrupts. she takes jane’s hand and squeezes it lightly. “you’re her mother, and i know i haven’t seen all that much but i know how much she loves you, i can practically feel it off of her.” she squeezes jane’s hand again. “don’t you trust me?”

jane sighs, looking down.

“i do, but...” her free hand clutches the arm of the chair she’s sitting on. “she’s just taken to anna so much, and she loves it here. what if she doesn’t want to leave?”

mary gives a dry half laugh. “trust me, court is no place for a child. even if she did want to stay, she’d ask to go back to you within a week. but she wouldn’t want to stay anyway, she adores you.”

jane glances around, accidentally finding where katherine and anna were dancing together, the smaller girl holding the woman’s hands as they danced a funny sort of circular jig. “i hope so, mary,” she murmurs faintly, unable to look away. 

“i know so, jane,” mary insists. “she won’t leave you, or replace you, or any of that.”

jane desperately hopes mary’s words are true, that her little girl wouldn’t want to move on to somewhere better. there’s a pang in her heart as she watches katherine shriek with laughter and she forces herself to look away.

it’s then she notices henry, still seated at his own table rather than joining in with the festivities. he’s looking, not at his new bride, but directly at jane.

again jane directs her gaze somewhere else. she can’t bring herself to look at him, not now.

she ultimately forces her eyes into her lap, desperately looking anywhere except the hosts of the party. jane tries and fails to block the music and voices from her ears, and the only thing that seems to ground her is mary’s light squeeze on her hand. “maybe we should call it a night.”

jane looks up at her quickly. “i don’t want to end this for you!”

mary shrugs. “i’ve been to these before.”

jane protests weakly again, but mary stands up, helping jane to stand too.

jane lets mary lead her back through the palace to her and katherine’s chambers, mind whirring with unwanted thoughts. perhaps she should have told katherine she was heading back, but would katherine even notice? if she did, would she miss her?

mary stays by her side as the ladies helper to prepare her for bed. once jane is settled, mary leans over to kiss her cheek, which jane returns. “goodnight, jane,” she says quietly, “i hope you feel better in the morning.”

“goodnight, love,” jane answers softly, “i hope so too.”

jane doesn’t fall asleep, the boisterous ringing of the party downstairs echoing in her ears as she thinks of katherine.

it’s several hours later when there’s a quiet knock on the door. jane doesn’t answer it, hoping whoever it was would just give up and go away. to her annoyance, a few seconds later the door creaks open and jane rolls over to see who it was.

anna stands in the doorway, carrying a fast-asleep katherine in her arms, and she gives jane a soft smile.

“guten nacht, jane. i am sorry to wake you, but i thought your little one needed her mama.”

jane crosses the room to gather her growing girl in her arms, then smiles at anna. 

“thank you, and...” she blushes slightly. “good luck.”

it takes anna a moment to realize what jane meant, but she goes scarlet as well. “thank you, jane.”

she leaves, off to fulfill a duty that jane never had. 

she shakes these thoughts off as katherine stirs in her arms. 

“anna?” katherine asks. 

“no, love,” jane says carefully. “it’s mama.”

“oh,” katherine murmurs, eyes fluttering shut again. 

“let’s get you to bed now, love. okay?”

there was no way of jane knowing the marital issues that were already beginning with the king and his new wife as jane carefully unpins katherine’s hair. katherine is just about lucid enough to lift her arms as jane changes her into her nightclothes, and when they’re settled in the bed katherine curls up against her.

“i had fun today, mama,” she says sleepily, and jane kisses her forehead.

“i’m glad, love,” she says, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

katherine presses herself as close as possible, tucking her head under jane’s chin. she’s so tired that she doesn’t hear the hesitation or catch in jane’s throat, instead murmuring, “love you, mama,” as she drops back to sleep. 

jane holds her daughter, not wanting to ever let go. fear and insecurity swirls in her stomach, and all she can do is press a kiss to katherine’s head and mumble back, “love you too, my little seymour,” despite the nagging fear in the back of her head that katherine no longer is her little seymour.

[gloster]

Favorite Fanfics of 2018

So after seeing so many booktubers and book people make a list of their favorite books of 2018, I figured why not do one for fanfics. After all, they are stories done by insanely-talented, creative people who deserve more love. Why not make a list of the favorites that really blew you away this away-along with hyping the people up who need more love? 

I implore you all to try, especially: @kila09, @scarlet47, @awjiminie, @profoundfelicity, @dreamydrarry, @sebbies, @goldentruth813, @sasuhinas-fan, @l0vegl0wsinthedark, @oh-my-fancan, @eyelashesandentropy. Show some love to your fics, share the recs. 

My favorite fanfics of 2018: 

1). The Changing Lights by @lazywonderlnds (drarry, featuring fem-Draco)

Summary:  Harry returns for an eighth year following the end of the war and soon realizes that although he's put his own animosity towards Malfoy aside, no one else seems to have done the same. When a hex leaves his oldest rival in the body of a female and ridicule doubles, Harry discovers that his hero complex is a difficult thing to fight.

THIS. FUCKING. STORY. OMG. OMG. First off, I have to thank @scarlet47. It is because of her and the insanely amazing fanart she did that I discovered this hidden gem. And I thank her for it since this has to be the best drarry fanfic I’ve read in the longest time.

It has been too damn long since a drarry fanfic had me hooked the way this one did. First chapter in, halfway through, I was hooked. I blew through the chapters, and am anxiously, eagerly waiting for more because it was so good. 

I also love it since I’ve been wanting to read a fem-Draco story. I know some drarry lovers don’t love genderbent drarry but I love it. I’ve read plenty of fem-Harry but sadly hadn’t come across fem-Draco. And the ones I managed to find were just okay.  This one though...set and fucking broke the bar. It makes me CRAVE and want more (feel free to send any recs featuring it). And I loved it so much that I wanna reread but I have to resist since I have a mountain of fanfics to go through. 

2). Oh Darling, Stand by Me by @beatitudinembty (BTS, taekook)

Summary: Kim Taehyung had never coped well when there was an angry alpha around, no matter that he wasn't the object of their fury. Wisely choosing to keep his mouth shut, he had ignored the flaring annoyance building up inside of his chest at being treated like a frail and delicate porcelain doll who did not know any better, once again.

He was not frail.

He was not delicate.

And he was also not anywhere near ignorant.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Alpha Jeon asked eventually, tiredly taking a seat when he realised that Alpha Kim was not about to open his mouth any time soon.

"How else, Alpha Jeon," Alpha Park said easily, an eerie smile taking over her lips as she regarded both the Kings levelly, "Just like we have sealed our alliances with one another, of course."

If you would have told me that I would fall in love so hard, so quick with a royal-AU, I would either look at you like you are crazy or say...”That would have be one of hell of a story to get me hooked.” Most love royal-AUs, but I typically get too bored with them. Most take forever with the romance, others become too UNNECESSARILY angsty. The political aspect gets so tiring. This one though was the fucking JACK-POT. 

We have a royal-AU with both parties wanting to make the most of the marriage and go from friends to more, which I love and adore so much. Set in an Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamic world done so well. We have feisty, independent Taehyung who may be an Omega but sure as hell doesn’t let people’s narrow mind-sets get him down. We have Jungkook who’s the sweetest in the most softest of ways-and possessive in the most delicious of ways. READ. IT. If you love reading BTS stories, READ IT. If you love royal au with taekook, READ. IT. if you’re in need of a new BTS story, FUCKING. READ. IT. 

3). Love Yourself Series by @profoundfelicity (BTS: namjin, taekook, sope, yoonmin)

Summary: Linear stories revolving around themes of love, self-acceptance, and understanding.

This is a 3-story series following various couples: 

Pretty In Pink follows namjin

My Lovely Lilac follows taekook

Under Pressure follows Yoongi, JHOPE, and Jimin 

This series, this goddamn holy grail of a series-I could not just pick one story of them. Had to say the entire series since it’s THAT GOOD. All stories connect to each other, so even though one story focuses on one couple, the side pairings and characters still play a massive part in them. All stories tackle sexuality, gender norms, trauma, parental abuse and neglect, self-discovery, self-understanding, self-love.  ALL. ARE. FUCKING. AMAZING. ABSOLUTELY, RIDICULOUSLY, UNBELIEVABLY amazing. AND NEEDS TO BE READ BY ALL. 

I feel like this series is painfully underrated, since not too many BTS-fans I talk to know of it. And it’s so good. I honestly learned so much about sexuality, the different branches of it, and the harms of gender norms, rethinking the gender norms through these 3 stories than all the years I’ve been in school. It’s amazing. And is so important during the turmoil we’re currently in. Also the writer is a fucking, perfect, precious cinnamon roll who deserves all the nicer things in life. 

4). It’s The Most Wonderful Time (Of The Year) by @awjiminie (BTS, yoonmin)

Summary: Park Jimin is only three years old when he meets cooler, older, and smarter Min Yoongi for the first time, and is immediately enamoured.

For the first time in his entire life, Jimin feels an emotion he never thought he would feel: infatuation.

Not that he even understands what that feeling means.

All he knows is that there’s a small, pale boy at the front door of his home, right under the hanging mistletoe, firmly gripping his father’s hand and his mother’s skirt as he stares unabashedly into Jimin’s eyes, rendering him absolutely speechless.

Or

childhood best friends yoonmin growing up together and experiencing the complexities of love & relationships, as well as, the harsh realities of growing older over the years, on Christmas day

OH. MY. FRIGGERING. GOD. Warning to all: you will most definitely need a cavity filling from the vast amount of sweetness in this story. It is that fucking cute and so damn good. 

This, to me, is the epitome of sweet holiday goodness every person needs in their lives both during and even after the holiday season. Along with a nice mug of hot chocolate. Or something insanely delicious to go with it. We have yoonmin meeting as kids during the holidays and instantly falling for each other, we have side-taekook that comes along, we have the sweetest, most perfectly-done vmin friendship that just proves they are the definition of platonic soulmates (you will die reading chapter 3).

This story also holds a special place in my heart since I read it during a difficult time and needed some sweetness. Also got to know the author @awjiminie who is the sweetest, purest human being alive and needs love. 

5). Fate Worse than Death by @awjiminie (BTS, taekook)

Summary: For an immortal, five hundred and sixty-six years passed by in the blink of an eye, as time was endless and life was infinite. Yet, for Kim Taehyung, five hundred and sixty-six years of a meaningless existence passed agonisingly slow with each second dragging on to the next as he waited for the day that he would finally see his beloved once more. His beloved who had been ripped from him just as they were on the cusp of freedom. Freedom to finally live and love together without any barriers.

Kim Taehyung lived every day feeling as lonely as he did when he lost him, even when he had his coven to call family, his maker, Min Yoongi, and his lavish lifestyle in one of Seoul's richest districts where he studied at one of the most influential universities.

But nothing was the same. Not without him. Never without him.His lover, his life, and his everything. 

His Jeon Jungkook.

If I could sum up this story in two words, it would be this: HOLY. FUCK. If I could sum up the writer with the plots and twists and fucking cliff-hangers she throws my way, one word in my best Josh Peck’s voice: EVIL. Pure, goddamn evil. And I know for a fact @scarlet47 can agree with me on that one. But it is so damn good. 

Once upon a time, middle school me, along with high school me, was the BIGGEST, die-hard vampire fan. You can thank Twilight for that. And also Vampire Diaries, before season 4 ruined it all. However, like most vampire fantatics, my love for vampires died. Even though I have read the occasional vampire-trope in fanfics with my OTPS, it was just okay. 

This fucking story came out of nowhere and snatched me by my hair and didn’t let me until I got to the recent chapter. It reminded me why I fell in love with vampires in the beginning. Along with that, it also carries so many things I love, so many beloved tropes: reincarnation (which I need more of), enemies-to-lovers, a slow-burn that is so excruciating and so well-done with so many possibilities attached to it, the sweetest taegi platonic relationship that melted my heart. It definitely gave me Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes, and those good, non-annoying alluring feelings Twilight brought to us when we first read it. 

Basically if you love vampires/in need of a vampire story/love angsty enemies-to-lovers story, you will love this. 

6). EPOCH by Sharleena (BTS, Yoongi, Jimin x Hoseok) 

Summary: “It's kind of fucked up that we feel like this, don't you think?” Yoongi asks.

“Yeah.” Hoseok says, Jimin shrugs.

“Maybe we should take this as a sign.” he says.

“A sign for what?” Yoongi looks at the boy and his thumb is rubbing circles on the soft of Hoseok's stomach.

“That maybe we should stick together.” Jimin whispers.

Yoongi doesn't speak for a long time after that, eyes staring at the ceiling where the red lights keep flickering.

“Yeah.” he finally murmurs, words almost getting lost in the echoes of the music “Yeah, we should.”

Or, they are different, but they were lost and their paths still crossed.

Before the end of 2017, if you had told me that I would be into poly-relationships...there’s a good chance I will give you a look questioning your sanity. I could never get into them. To me, it always felt like one person was being the shared toy between two people. That all changed thanks to several stories, including House of Cards (SO FUCKING GOOD) and Guns, Knives, and Lace that were discovered by chance, were read, and completely changed my mind on them. 

This story made me fall deeper in love with poly-relationships. So well-done, so-addicting, and you can feel the love equally shared between the 3 main characters who are all so different but fit each other so perfectly. 

It’s the kind of story that’s so good, you’re stunned by the number of chapters. 

7). Hear the Harmony Only When It’s Harming Me by @horsegirlharry (drarry, fem-slash)

Summary: Before the war, Draco was so certain of her looks, her breeding, knew exactly how to dress to accentuate her curves without ever looking cheap or tawdry. Now, her body feels strange and extra, like something that she’s forced to carry around with her, a lump of scar tissue that only fires a nerve impulse if it’s brushing knees with Harriet Potter over tea and stolen scones.

---

Or, Harriet and Draco finding themselves (and each other) after the war.

*lets out a low whistle* You know one of those stories you happen to find at random? The story you see on someone’s else’s favorite lists or their collection of favorite stories and become curious? Or, in my case, see a story with an intriguing summary and beautiful edit and you think, I’ll give it a try? And as soon as you finish the last line of the story, you are so grateful to past you for deciding to read it since the story ended up being one of the best perfect stories ever? 

Well this is that story. 

I know a lot of people aren’t the biggest fan of genderbent, especially with drarry. Even I who loves reading about fem-Harry or Fem-Draco get picky since most time you read a story with them, but they don’t feel like them. That wasn’t the case here. Despite the obvious genital changes and names, they felt like drarry. Personalities were right on point, their relationship development was perfect. It was seriously amazing. 

I suggest you give it a try. 

8). Pas De Deux by @julietsemophase

Summary: Harry has a show to put on and the last thing he needs is prima ballerina Draco Malfoy messing things up. But when Draco is injured, the two end up spending more time together and Harry wonders if maybe there's something between them after all?

Muggle AU. Smut.

Really, do I need to say anymore? Given how popular this drarry fanfic writer is? Given how insanely sweet and brilliant her drarry stories are? Do I need to say anymore more? 

I will say this: Ballet-Draco + Stage-hands Harry= one very, very, very happy reader. 

9). Say the Words (Say Them Out Loud) by @goldentruth813 (drarry)

Summary:  When Draco gets assigned as the Auror to guard Harry Potter day and night, he is sure nothing good will come of it. But as the days go on Draco is forced to evaluate himself and things he thought to be true about Potter and relationships. Sometimes it's not love at first sight. Sometimes, first, it's miscommunication and misunderstanding. A story in which Harry and Draco learn to accept the things they want from themselves and from each other.

Again, we see the name. We know the name. We love the name. We love the stories. Do I need to say anything more? Maybe not, since again, we all know and love this person and her amazing stories, but I will make this. 

One of the major things I loved about this story is the fact consent was a big part of the story, of the relationship. Safe to say, we learned, given the BS in the news, that sadly not too many people know the meaning of the word. Don’t seem to grasp the meaning. And this story definitely enforces it and I love it. 

Also LOVE how she did this story. How she wrote their relationship, which was snarky and witty but not tiresome or too annoying. Also, slight spoiler, but the career Janel had Harry be made me so happy. 

This whole story had me so happy, and I loved it so much. 

10). This Isn’t A Dream (Let Me Love You) by...surprise, surprise (NOT) @awjiminie (BTS, yoonmin)

Summary: As captain of his high school’s basketball team, Min Yoongi dedicated all of his attention to his team and their games. His focus on the game never waned, not once for anything or anyone.

Well, until head cheerleader Park Jimin flashed his abs during a solo cheer and made him fuck up his shot.

As we can tell, I clearly gained a new favorite fanfic writer. Seems fitting since I did join a new fandom, aka the phenomena that is BTS. 

What on earth can I say about this story? I feel like it’s one of those that you have to read for yourself to understand why it’s so good. Let’s face it, whenever we try to describe something and hype it up, it’s usually a fail and can never match the goodness of the story. But I will attempt. 

First off, if the summary doesn’t make you the least bit curious, I don’t know what will. Does it sound like a typical high-school AU? Yes, I mean we have basketball player Yoongi and cheerleader Jimin. It is a typical AU? Nope, definitely not. There is so much humor, so much angst, so much slow-burn that drives you nuts and makes you wanna kill the author for the way she ends her chapters but at the same time makes you 10x more thristy for the next chapter.

Also for reasons I cannot explain, but because an inside joke between me and @awjiminie, this story seriously unleashed the High School Musical fangirl in me. I don't know why. It's hardly anything like HSM but every time I read it, the songs play in my head. Especially Troyella.

This is definitely a story I cannot recommend enough. Cannot gush enough over. Please please read

And thus concludes my top 10 favorite fanfics of the year. To the writers who created them, thank you so much for your wonderful stories. I honestly you guys share the fanfics you absolutely loved this year. Doesn’t have to be 10. It can be more than 10. Less than 10. Whatever and how many you love

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Gacha Gacha crate May 19

Welcome to the review :3 today we’ll be looking at the May Gacha Gacha Crate; which stars everyone’s favorite pink puffball~

Well sorta, it’s only one item but still. Click the pic if you want to read the text more clearly, otherwise let’s get this review started!

Our first item is this.... Unicorn worm?!

Unicorn Bracelet

Actually it isn’t; it’s a bracelet! From Toys Spirit, there are 7 available Unicorn bracelets to collect. There’s only 5 shown in the book though, so I assume there might be 2 special ones?

They come in white pink (the one I got), green purple, pink red, purple blue, and white purple.

Now I think these might have been based on an American toy series (that I suddenly forgot the name of I’m sorry); I say that because I have proof. About a year or two ago these came out: 

I think the one I bought, the other unicorn was 5 or 6 dollars (I also have a kitty like it, and they still make these now in a variety of finishes, animals, and series). They are almost exactly the same in terms of detail, shape, gimmick.

Basically, to make these work you take the larger bead beneath the neck and tail, hold them by the holes on the body and twist to form them into arms and legs. Then when you want to wear it you pull them loose and connect the tail tip to the head hole.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Now, I really like the concept, I love cutesy jewelry an accessories. As a stand alone toy/item I would have really loved this little cutie x3 I still do really like it, but I couldn’t stop myself from comparing it to my other one and like it even more than I already do. But they pretty much work exactly the same, and they’re both very cute so I’d recommend either.

Dragon Ball Super Figures

Our next item is this... arguably less-cute chibified Dragon Ball gacha from Bandai. They’re simplified little figures with moving head and arms, and they each include a little stand they can be attached to. I don’t know the form names anymore outside of the originals, but I do know this is Goku...?

Rating: ♥ ♥

I don’t hate dragon ball or anything, but as I’ve said before I don’t keep up with the series and lost interest in it. The figure itself is nice though, and I love all of the detail on the head. But I feel like with all that detail they neglected the body, you can kind of see a difference in mediums between them and it bugs me.

I also dislike how they hands look like they could hold something- but you don’t get anything for them to hold. I know it’s just meant to be like... a generic figure or something, but to me it left a lot to be desired. I won’t be keeping this one knowing someone else would really appreciate it.

Pochacco Figure

Our next item is this super-cute figure set of Pochacco, a slightly obscure Sanrio character depending on where you live. Like where I live I rarely ever saw him in/on anything; but lately I’ve been seeing him show up a lot more.

This series is by Takara Tomy Arts and there are 5 available in this collection, each featuring Pochacco in a variety of poses. 

Of course I got the really plain/basic pose, and he’s even wearing yellow for an added bonus <,<

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ve already said this before, but I prefer practical Gacha that give you something to do over plain figurines. But I’ve always had a soft spot for Pochacco and even if this one is a bit on the plain side, it’s still pretty cute. And thinking about this, I could still do something with it; re-ment, put it on things and take pictures...

Shiba Plush

Our next item is this kawaii little Shiba plush. I was kind of surprised to see this, given that Shiba were featured in the prior booklet and box. This would have been perfect for it.

This line is by Koro Koro Collection, and there are 5 available. I can’t understand their names though, so I don’t know who/what species of shiba mine is.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

There isn’t all that much to it but I do like the detail on this small plush. It’s body has small beans in it, and it fits right into your palm x3 I like how it kind of works as an alternate Squishy. It’s also really cute~

Kirby Squishy

Next is another gacha from Takara Tomy Arts, a kawaii itty-bitty Kirby squishy~

4 are available, including basic kirby, kirby with a rice ball, waddle dee, and meta knight. I love Kirby so much I’d have been happy with any of them, although I do think besides this one, I’d have loved to have meta knight.

Since I actually own a few Kirby Squishy I thought I’d get them out to sort of compare with it.

Like them it’s just a simple foam squishy. But the two I already own are ulra-soft, semi-slow rise, and they have a fruity scent. This one is soft, but due to its smaller size there isn’t enough foam for it to really rise back, it bounces back to normal in a second, if that. It also has a light roasted soy bean scent.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

So, if you prefer slow rise squishies and things you can really sink your hands into, this isn’t for you. But if you like a quicker rise squishy and something smaller sized for easier transportation I’d say it’s perfect. But it’s very small so I feel like if you’re not careful it would be pretty easy to lose.

Whack-A-Mole Game

Our final item is this really cute little portable electronic game based on Whack-A-Mole, you know, the game where you hit the moles or similar animals with a squeaky toy or your hands?

There are 4 available, each with a different base that is themed after one of the seasons. I really wish I got the spring or winter ones, but I was born in Fall/Autumn, so this is kind of appropriate :p

Basically, all you do is pull the tab out then turn it on. The bar along the bottom works as a sort of time/game phase measurement, and the game goes through multiple phases until you get to the point where you miss one, then you’re automatically out/the game ends.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love games, and when I was little I used to have a bunch of little things like this, and my old dentist had some that I was allowed to play while waiting. It’s very fun and a great way to kill a few minutes or work out some stress or if you’re fidgety.

The only thing bothering me is that the game doesn’t really tell you the score you get (as far as I know, there weren’t instructions), and it is very loud. There isn’t really a way to control the volume unless you leave the game flat on a surface, or turn the ON button half-way, which lets you play the game in silence.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥ 

Total Rank: 8 out of 10 cuties, one of my favorite boxes so far. Everything had nice detailing, I didn’t notice any defects or real issues, I also feel like the practicality was about the same as the prior box. But this time they didn’t include a price, so... I feel like in terms of what we pay, only one or two of them didn’t really seem to suit it. The rest sure.

if I had to change anything I’d say swap the Dragon Ball capsule for something more cute to match the rest of the box. I also wish that the boxes had a stronger theme. Like, this one had a Kirby booklet insert, so why not include more Kirby capsules? I know it’s possible for them to do a themed box, even if they just did like 2 or 3 capsules out of the 6 so that if the person didn’t like the theme the entire box wasn’t a waste for them.

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

1. Kirby Squishy

2. Shiba Plush

3. Unicorn Bracelet

4. Pochacco

5. Whack-A-Mole

6. Dragon Ball Figure

Sorry if you thought this last part of the review was kind of lacking... I honestly just didn’t have anything extra to add in. Sometimes it just happens.

Anyway, I’ll be returning to our regular box. So remember, until then make sure you open a box of cuteness every day ♥

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Totally Awesome

by Viorica

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Viorica finds a Potter-related bit of media that actually deserves the hype

Oooh! This is in the Axis of Awesome!~

Parodies are a tricky thing. If you've got too much of a hate-on for the source material, you end up being too bitter; if you love the source material too much, you can't effectively make fun of its flaws; and if you just don't care either way, you get something like this. It's a difficult tightrope to walk, but when you're lucky/talented enough to get it right, you end up with A Very Potter Musical. Written by college-aged fans of the Potter series, it combines the best of the original series with the talent of the actors and writers involved, and ends up eclipsing the source material entirely.

The story takes place in Harry's second year, and encompasses the events of all seven books. Harry and his friends (with Ron's sister Ginny in tow) arrive at Hogwarts to discover that the new teacher Professor Quirrel has R

resurrected the House Cup (which is basically a one-school Triwizard Tournament) as part of Voldemort's plan to capture Harry Potter under a bumbling Dumbledore's very nose. It's hard to describe the rest of the plot without going into spoilery detail (which I'll be doing in the next paragraph anyway . . .) but suffice to say, problems arise, relationships are formed, and Team Potter must go up against Voldemort and his Death Eaters- though ironically, Voldemort's ultimate fate owes more to the "love conquers all" theme which the books neglected and the musical effectively puts into use.

When I said in the first paragraph that the musical is an improvement on the books, I meant it. The plotting is much more streamlined (for one thing, the Trio doesn't spend months sitting in a tent, and actually condemns the seventh book's plot as "stupid") the characters more likeable, and the biggest problems with the book-

tokenism

,

Dumbledore's lecturing

,and the

delusions of grandeur

are removed in favour of canonical gay characters (the main couple is, in fact, gay, and Voldemort's redemption comes about from his affection for Quirrell- quite a divergence from Rowling's choiceless choices) a Dumbledore whose stupidity and blindness is repeatedly mocked, and a pervading knowledge that this is, in fact, a very silly story. For instance, Malfoy's conviction that there is a wizarding school called Pigfarts located on Mars and presided over by a talking lion turns out to be true; after all, how is it more ridiculous than the main concept of the franchise? The musical also addresses such all-important questions like:

How did Quirrell sleep with Voldemort on the back of his head?

Why did Dumbledore trust Snape, anyway?

What happens when two people who share one stomach get drunk?

In addition to lampshading the flaws and inconsistencies of the original series ("I just put anyone who looks like a good guy into Gryffindor, anyone who looks like a bad guy into Slytherin, and the rest can go wherever they want." "Can anyone tell me what a Portkey is? . . . Well, can anyone tell me what

foreshadowing

is?") the musical can stand on its own as a creative product. The songs are entertaining and catchy - the fan favourite seems to be "Granger Danger", but my own is "Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts:"

We're sick of summer and this waiting around It's like we're sitting in the lost and found Don't take no sorcery For anyone to see how... We gotta get back to hogwarts We gotta get back to school We gotta get back to hogwarts Where everything is magic-cooooool Back to wizards and witches, and magical beasts To goblins and ghosts and to magical feasts It's all that I love, and it's all that I need at HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS I think I'm goin' back!

But of course none of the material would be entertaining without good actors to support it, and the cast rises admirably to the task. The three leads - Darren Criss as Harry, Joey Ritcher as Ron, and Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione - all bring the right balance of likeability and flaws to their roles, but it's the secondary characters who steal the show. I suspect that Joe Moses (Snape) is familiar with the Harry Potter fandom, because his Snape is a perfect parody of the fanon version, right down to his exaggerated purr of a voice. Joe Walker makes a truly hilarious Voldemort, especially given that he has to deliver lines like "Get me some Nasonex, you swine!" with a stright face (though I am surprised that his voice held out through five performances, given the amount of growling that was involved.) with Brian Rosenthal serving as his quieter, gentler (but no less funny) counterpart. Lauren Lopez as Malfoy steals every scene she's in, with her exaggerated accent and habit of rolling around the stage. Even Goyle, who barely has any lines, cracks the audience up every time he opens his mouth. While Britney Coleman, who plays Bellatrix, has caught some flak from YouTube commenters for being "irritating" she didn't really get on my nerves. The worst you can say of her is that she didn't leave any impression at all- and with a cast this good, less-than-perfect performances can easily be buried in their better counterparts.

All in all, the musical is recommended to anyone who has a passing familiarity with the HP canon. Honestly, it's a shame that this show can't make any money, being an unauthorized parody. It's really the only thing connected to Harry Potter that I wholeheartedly enjoy, one that actually earns it's tagline of "Totally awesome"Themes:

J.K. Rowling

,

Theatre

~

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

Wardog

at 11:03 on 2009-10-14Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, this is, in fact, *totally awesome*.

The hot female Malfoy is making me go wibbly.

permalink

-

go to top

Andy G

at 13:01 on 2009-10-14This is brilliant! I love every scene with Voldemort and Quirrell in particular.

permalink

-

go to top

Wardog

at 13:50 on 2009-10-14"Your plan to infilitrate Hogwarts on the back of my head is going swimmingly, my liege..." BEST LINE EVER!

permalink

-

go to top

Melissa G.

at 23:23 on 2009-10-14Loved it! Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

permalink

-

go to top

Viorica

at 01:54 on 2009-10-15Have you gotten to Voldemort's big tapdance number yet?

permalink

-

go to top

Jamie Johnston

at 21:28 on 2009-10-16Fab. Those kids deserve to go far.

But can someone explain to me the thing with Malfoy falling down and rolling around all the time? Bear in mind all I know about

Potter

comes from three of the films (1, 2, and 4, I think) and anything I've picked up from conversations and

Ferretbrain

articles.

permalink

-

go to top

Viorica

at 22:41 on 2009-10-16Honestly, I'm not really sure. I think it's just the actor being goofy.

permalink

-

go to top

Andy G

at 10:15 on 2009-10-17I saw it as being a bit of a spoof of femme fatales or female villains writhing round the stage in dance shows/musicals, rather than anything based around the books.

permalink

-

go to top

Melissa G.

at 16:54 on 2009-10-17I don't know. I kind of saw that as an exaggeration of how over the top Malfoy can be. It seemed somehow fitting to a caricature of his character.

permalink

-

go to top

http://mmmarcusz.livejournal.com/

at 23:57 on 2009-10-17I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

permalink

-

go to top

http://tabaquis.livejournal.com/

at 06:49 on 2009-10-19I adore a VHPM, which is great because I too have become completely tired of That Woman and Those Books being touted as any kind of coherent literature.

I do think the guy playing Snape was totally channeling Kevin MacDonald's "Simon" from Kids in the Hall though! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC4PjXNt2gw

permalink

-

go to top

Wardog

at 11:14 on 2009-10-20

I think it's meant as a reference to how Malfoy is always described as striking a pose ("lounging", "preening", etc.) and this is just an over-the-top extension of that. Also, was I the only one who found the Draco actress incredibly cute?

Yeah, that's what I thought as well.

And, yes, she is amazingly, wibble-inducingly hot. Me likey.

Also I notice the musical has a delightfully arch relationship with the fandom - so I think purring, rolling, lounging Malfoy was a nod to both the books and his typically depicated fandom persona.

permalink

-

go to top

Montavilla

at 01:58 on 2009-10-21So glad to see appreciation for this musical. I just loved it.

It's hard to say what makes Lauren Lopez so perfect as Malfoy, except everything. The ponchy accent, the constant posing, the way she's always trying (and failing) to get Harry's attention. Somehow Draco just *is* a 12-year-old girl.

And I liked Bellatrix. She's somewhat annoying with the screaming, but that is Bellatrix, and I love that they aren't being coy about her and Voldemort having a sexual relationship. It's only one of the ways in which the musical trumps the books.

I crack up everytime I think about her face when Voldemort sits on the desk. You can see that she's still trying to make it work--but she's kind of catching on to what he's really up to.

But *everyone* is so excellent. I showed this to some of mine and we all kept remarking on how perfectly perfect Cedric Diggory is. I love the entrance of Cho Chang and just that look that the Asian actress gives. It's almost her only moment in the whole show and she makes the most of it.

You can tell that the entire cast is having a great time playing their parts--and the audience is loving it as well. And that's what makes a great live performance.

permalink

-

go to top

http://for-diddled.livejournal.com/

at 21:08 on 2010-08-08Just thought you chaps might be interested to know that they've made a sequel, which can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepW-AG-Ris&feature=PlayList&p=86C718AEE71C9DE9&playnext=1&index=7

[powercouplepress]

EXPLORING INTIMACY: AN INTERVIEW WITH CLARICE NG

In the month or so in the run up to our launch on April 13th, we are going to be interviewing a number of the artists whose work we will be distributing. The first of these is the artist and illustrator Clarice Ng, whose book To You Out There, Vol. 1: You Are Not Alone will be available from us from June 2019.

Nat: Hi Clarice, first of all would you like to introduce yourself?

Clarice: Hey, I’m Clarice! I’m an artist from Singapore who's currently based in London. I’m in my final year doing an illustration degree but recently I've been branching out into interactive, installation art and ceramics.

N: Great, I was just looking at your last installation on your website - and I definitely want to talk about it later. But first of all, shall we talk about the book we will be stocking, "To You Out There, Vol. 1: You Are Not Alone"?

C: Yes! "To You Out There, Vol. 1: You Are Not Alone" was my graduation project in my previous school, SOTA. It's a book that reads as a personal letter that's addressed to the reader, with the general yet important message that ‘you are not alone’ in your struggles. I mostly wanted to address personal doubts commonly faced by individuals and to offer words of comfort, conveniently packaged in the form of a book. I also wanted to explore the intimacy between the author and reader through the act of 'reading' and did so by creating an authorial voice that blurs the lines between character and narrator, in a tone as it if were written by an old friend. It got a positive response when it was first exhibited in a WIP show, to the point where visitors wrote personal notes that directly addressed me and my work, saying how much it impacted them. This prompted me to approach a local publisher just so I could extend the message by making it more accessible to the public, as opposed to the niche audience that would pass through a gallery space.

N: That's impressive, I thought when it had an almost diary-like tone, as if the reader was an imaginary friend used as an exercise to allow you to write, perhaps. But the idea of it exploring the relationship between author and audience is really interesting, especially in relation to your other work.

C: Haha yes that's a theme that I'm looking to explore a lot more into. I wrote my dissertation on it too - on how the relationship between the artist and audience is constantly being redefined.

N: One of the things I really enjoy about it is how, even though it is quite conceptual and in parts has quite dark content, the book is also very endearing and quite funny.

C: Yeah, as much as it was serious, I wanted to balance it out with lightheartedness and humour by including little 'breaks', hence the little cartoon girls. It's almost like how your mind wanders off in a conversation without you realising but then you snap back into it.

N: The work on the artist/audience relationships, does that relate to the themes of isolation present in the book?

C: My dissertation revolves more on the traditional structures found within the art world where the artist is seen as the 'producer' of the work while the audience merely 'receives'. But with artists like Sophie Calle and Marina Abramović, that traditional structure is being challenged as the audience is given a greater power in impacting the result of the work. Bringing it back to the book, I did include a 'write back' feature in this current edition where the reader is given an opportunity to respond, which would enable the beginnings of dialogue rather than creating work that exists to talk ‘at’ you.

N: I think that your idea of audience or viewer involvement is really interesting as it relates to books - because a book is an object that opens up to you - physically as you open it, and thematically and aesthetically as you read it and I think that the way you have made this connection somewhat more explicit in the book (and with the write back section) is really interesting.

C: Haha, aw thank you. I totally agree with you, it’s really the tactile nature of books that gives it that unique experience, from how it fits in your hands to the flipping of a page. The authorial voice and the use of language also makes it a lot more personal because of its direct sense of communication.

N: On a less conceptual note, I really like the emphasis of self care in TYOT. Is that something you think is becoming more important to people today - I know in my personal experience that taking care of ourselves seems quite often neglected. But simultaneously there is a growing move to centre self care.

C: Yeah, I would say that it's most prominent in TYOT, because it was a theme that I heavily related to during that period of my life. Incidentally, I think that the emphasis on the need for self-care has resurfaced itself in my personal life as well. Perhaps it's because of my general nature as a person, I would say that I tend to put others first and end up forgetting that I'm human too. And all of a sudden you find yourself being stretched too thin. Sometimes you need that external reminder from someone, or something I suppose.

N: I think that's quite a universal experience - people sort of struggle to treat themselves with the kindness they treat others.

C: Very true, also, as much as TYOT is a letter to the reader, it was also a letter to myself as well.

I Begin To Write by Clarice Ng, install view

N: I was wondering if you’d like to talk about any of your other works, specifically the I Begin To Write installation? I really like the little porcelain figures.

C: Yes, those were recent experiments. They were the first batch of porcelain that came out in fact!

N: The install itself; you had set up a small desk and chair with a notebook and pen for people to write in - how did that go? Some of the writing I saw was quite funny, was that what you expected?

C: Some of it did come out quite humorous, I really didn't know what to expect! Especially since this was its first trial run. For this piece, I tried to take on the role of 'artist as a facilitator', where I would provide a platform for the audience to interact with the work and with each other. What happens after that would be out of my hands and into theirs, which is the beauty of it, I guess.

N: I think it worked really well, there seemed to be a running theme of dogs and personal and uplifting bits of diarist writing.

C: I really enjoyed those. I think that the contributions that I was most surprised by were the illustrations.

N: Some them were quite absurd, but I was expecting more joke writing if I’m honest. People took it quite seriously, which I think is interesting given it was a public space. You wrote in the TYOT book that it should ‘be read in solitude’ but this was placed in a public gallery space and people were quite candid - what was your reaction to that?

C: I think part of it was the nature in which the installation was positioned, down to the use of the ink nib dip pen to the quality of the paper it was printed on, which created a delicate, deliberate and ritualistic feel to the experience. I was hoping to create a safe space where the audience can engage with the piece comfortably and from the writings that came out of it, I think that it was effective. Let's say I used a store-bought ruled notebook and a cheap ballpoint pen for the installation, I'd say that the outcome would have turned out quite different.

N: I think so too. Creating a safe environment through design is something you have obviously thought about. I like that you were acting as a facilitator of intimacy. I especially liked the point where the 26 year olds were writing to each other about getting older, and a 60 year old chipped in.

C: Yes, I actually knew three of the people who were involved in that four-part conversation. I was present when each of them were participating, so it was anonymous between them but I saw how it played out. Part of the work was how I wanted to create a space where people from unlikely backgrounds were given the opportunity to interact with each other - how everyone who passed through the gallery space are all at different points of their lives, but the common ground they shared is the fact that they visited the space during the period of the exhibition. I think that anonymity allows you to bring out your true, unfiltered thoughts which can be a double-edged sword at times.

N: Very true, obviously anonymity can be very negative - such as online in the worst parts of the internet, but I think you've found a way to make it much more positive.

C: Yeah, that's where the need for curating comes into play, both in the delivery and establishment of context and environment. I try to curate the context in which my works are received because I know how much it affects the overall impact of the work. Which is what I tried to do for TYOT, where it would have been received very differently if it were read in a crowded, public space as opposed to a dimly lit corner of your room on a quiet evening. So in that sense, all I can do is produce the work, but the emphasis is the unique interaction that the reader has with the work.

---------

You can follow her work updates and activity on instagram: @clriceng and her website: cargocollective.com/clariceng

[seadeepywrites]

find the wrong within the past

Character: Basil Noctis Words: 2508 tw: Chath and Basil's fucked-up headspaces, references to childhood abuse & neglect

"Has anyone ever told you," I ask Basil, "that there's something really wrong with you?"

Basil blinks at me. "Yes. Many times."

"I don't mean that in like, an insulting way," I add as an afterthought.

"I didn't think you did."

I stir my bowl of gruel, and actually take a moment to think before I speak. "Have you always been like this?"

"Like what?"

Basil sits further from the fire than I do, cross-legged and unassailably composed. I served him a third of the portion I ladled out for myself, but he set his bowl aside after taking only a few bites. If I nag him about it, he'll just retreat into a frosty silence.

Frowning, I say, "You know how high elves are supposed to be all calm and repressed?"

"I've heard that's the stereotype, yes."

"Well, most of the ones I've met still have emotions under all that," I say. "They just don't want to show them. Or something."

Basil arches an eyebrow.

"But you..." I shake my head. "Did they like, beat them out of you really young?"

"The emotions?"

"Yeah."

Basil's thin lips twitch in amusement, but he seems to be actually considering the question. Eventually he says, "Something like that, perhaps."

"Wait, really?"

Being Basil, he doesn't exactly relax, but he does shift his weight, settling into a more neutral position. The green of his eyes glints gold as he studies me in the firelight, and shadows snag along the sharp edges of his cheekbones.

"I can tell you that there was certainly no place for emotion in my relationship with my family," he says, as matter-of-factly as discussing the weather. Then again, I've heard him use that same tone to detail the gruesome torture of innocent civilians, so maybe it's not a great metric for how fucked-up his childhood was.

Hence the topic of this conversation, I guess.

Basil adds, "But I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge your point about elven society. It's true that many elves are bred to hide their stronger sentiments beneath a veneer of civility."

I stare at him. "Ignoring the fancy vocabulary words, you're saying you're an exception?"

He sighs. "Yes. That's most definitely a possibility."

"Say more about that."

Basil tilts his head. "You mean 'elaborate?'"

"Okay, now you're just doing it on purpose."

"I am," he agrees placidly. Stretching out his fingers, he flexes them once or twice before continuing. "I would say that I saw many, many small dramas play out over my years in Bastion. Rivalries and politics and heartbreak. I had my own share of challenges, but I never got involved in that side of things, exactly."

"But do you think that has more to do with your position in the household or who you are as a person?" I ask. "Was it because you weren't," I gesture, "you know, a proper noble?"

"Partially. I never had any honor to defend in the first place." Basil's clear-eyed gaze fogs over a bit. "But I was aware from a very young age that I didn't tend to pour energy into relationships the way that others did."

"And by young age," I say, "you mean, what, thirty-five?"

A sliver of a smile from Basil, just a flash of his pearly-white canines. "Yes."

"Elves," I grumble, motioning for him to go on.

"I don't know that there's much more to tell." He looks at me with a courteous degree of interest. "Was it like that in your childhood? With everyone getting involved in petty squabbles and all that... yelling and crying?"

I grin, baring my own canines, and toss my mane of black hair. "The other kids were pretty scared of me. A lot of people still are."

"So I've noticed."

It's one of the things we bonded over when we first met -- how even in a monastery full of murderers, thieves and outcasts, we are considered unsettling. Me for my violent emotions, and Basil for his complete lack of them.

"I did a lot of yelling and crying, yeah," I say. "Are you telling me you didn't?"

"Not particularly. There were things I wanted, to be sure, but..." Basil's eyes narrow, before he shakes his head. "No. Not that I remember."

"You little freak," I say, but affectionately.

"To your earlier question," Basil says, "it wasn't as if I had many peers of a similar social status to myself. There were the servants, and then there were the members of the nobility, and neither group really saw me as one of their own."

"Oh." I stir my gruel, aching with a sudden sense of connection between us. "It was kind of like that for me too. With the orcs and the dark elves."

"So while I don't have any comparisons I can draw to other Noctis bastards in the same position as myself," Basil says, "I also believe myself to be predisposed to... tranquility."

"Is that what you'd call it?"

"It seems more descriptive than 'something really wrong,' don't you think?" Basil says, looking at me meaningfully.

I grumble, conceding the point.

Basil is silent for a few seconds before he adds, "I have not found myself capable of the, ah, attachments that others form. Nor any kind of powerful emotion like love or hate."

Even having known Basil for over a decade, there are times that he makes my skin crawl. It's some kind of visceral physical reaction -- quite separate from the attraction I've felt towards him, though both are primal instincts I cannot control.

As I look at him now, I shiver. Something about the emptiness in his expression as he says it unnerves me, the unnatural sharpness of his elven features. It sets my teeth on edge, though I have trusted him unquestionably since the day he disobeyed Hieram's orders and saved my life.

"Well, maybe you're better off that way," I say, weakly, not really believing it. "It's a lot less messy, huh?"

"I suppose. I don't have much to compare it to, aside from observing people for whom the opposite is true." Basil fixes his gaze on me, and I breathe in suddenly against the sensation -- like being impaled, a butterfly pinned to felt inside a collector's case. "People like you."

"Yeah..." I hold up one hand and murmur a word, setting my fingers alight with smoky purple flame. "I know my magic is a gift from Our Lady, but sometimes I almost think..."

Basil doesn't roll his eyes, but it's a near thing. His tiny blasphemy gives me the courage to continue.

"It feels like it comes from inside me," I say. "From my emotions. The angrier I am, the more powerful my spells get."

"Couldn't your Lady have given you magic that works in that way?"

It does not escape my notice that he refers to the Starshadow as my goddess and not the both of ours. All these years in the monastery, and he still clings to his impiety with the stubborn force of a mollusk.

I close my hand around the purple fire, which smolders out. "Yes," I say firmly. "I guess that's a better way to think about it."

"Glad I could help," Basil says, tone as dry as drought.

"What I'm saying is that for me, being emotional makes me better at what I do. Do you think the reverse is true for you?"

"It's possible." Basil blinks a few times. "I suspect the acolytes at the monastery would prefer a bit more rabid devotion and fewer level-headed decisions, but in the Spire? A Lieutenant who prioritized the organization over any personal influences was desirable."

I genuinely have to sit with those sentences for a moment, sifting through the ridiculously long words to get to the meat of what he's saying. Sometimes listening to Basil talk gives me a headache.

"So you were good at your job in the Spire, then?" I ask, hoping to entice him into dropping more details about his past.

Basil sets his bowl down and folds his hands neatly in his lap. "I would like to think so," he says. "Many of my superiors have also seemed to believe as much, over the years -- though unfortunately not all of them."

"Mmm. Where does Hieram fall on that list?"

"Above Adrian Crowstar," Basil says instantly. "For giving me a chance to work in the field instead of saddling me with babysitting duty."

I gape. "They let you near actual children?"

"Sixteen years old," Basil says with a huff. "Not a thought in that empty head of hers."

"Oh." I'm a little disappointed, actually. I say, "I was kinda hoping you meant like, a toddler. Because that would have been hilarious."

"I would have left much sooner, had that been the case." Basil's face has clouded over, stormy and disdainful. "It was out of respect for the others in the Order that I stayed as long as I did."

"And some of those..." I hold up my two hands and weigh them like balancing scales. "Better or worse than Hieram?"

Basil tucks his displeasure into the corner of his mouth as he considers.

"I won't tell anyone," I say hastily, realizing he might be worried about bad-mouthing his current boss.

"I have few objections to Hieram," he says after a moment. "It's simply that Magister Uthgart was... well, he understood my abilities on a level that few have, before or since."

"You liked him." I point triumphantly. "Admit it."

He glances at me, irritated. "As I have just finished telling you," he says, "I do not form attachments the way the rest of you do."

"Yeah, yeah." I wave my hand. "Whatever. You tolerated him."

"I tolerate many people."

"You..." I screw up my face as I search for the right word. "You wanted to hang out with him?"

"I do not ‘hang out’ with anyone." Basil glares. "Not even you."

I pitch my voice up and affect a godawful posh accent. "You preferred his company over the unwashed masses."

Basil flicks a pebble at me. He has annoyingly excellent aim, so it bounces off my forehead and lands in my gruel. I grimace and fish it out, growling a little.

"Okay." I say, relenting. "You worked well with him. I get it."

"I don't know that you do," Basil says.

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.

"I'm not saying you've never cooperated with anyone." His smile is thin and bright, like light off a knife's edge. Just a flash, and then gone. "Though I'm tempted to imply as much."

Glaring, I hold onto my snarl because I want to hear where he's going with this.

"But you... the best you get is agreeing with someone. I don't think you know what it is to..." Basil pauses, searching for words. "To fit together as a larger part of something."

My hand goes to my amulet, curling around the cool enamel of the disk.

Basil doesn't miss the gesture. "I'm not talking about religion. Or perhaps I am, but the mundane aspect to it. The organization."

I think about this. Then I say, "What?"

"Chath," Basil says, pronouncing my chosen name with enough delicacy and care to make me shiver, "do you know what it's like to be one stone in the foundation?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

There is a set to Basil's face that I haven't seen yet in this conversation, a glow beneath his skin's usual pallor. He says, "Like a stream joining a river. All flowing in the same direction, gaining force with every mile traveled."

I look at him. "Where are you going with this?"

He holds his hands parallel to each other, then rotates them a quarter turn and brings them down again, like he's outlining the sides of a small box. "There's a satisfaction to be found in order."

"Like, following orders?"

"That as well. But I meant clean lines and neat edges. A well-crafted object. Fulfilling one's function."

"I feel like my purpose is to follow the Starshadow," I say, stumbling over my words a little. "Are you talking about something like that?"

"No." Basil inhales through his nose in the way he does when someone is trying his patience. "There are many people involved in it, and your own purpose is... not as important. Submerged. Included, but not given particular emphasis."

I frown, frustration licking up around the bottom of my ribcage like a dozen hungry tongues of flame. The thing is -- I can almost figure out what he's getting at. Not because of anything I've experienced, but because I've seen how happy it makes him to be given an assignment, and then carry it out. It's the closest he gets to real joy, the only times I see him make true, lasting facial expressions. Most of the time, Basil reminds me of a wax figure -- animated by magic to move and bend, but lacking some essential component of life. I look at him, and I wonder what's missing. Maybe that's why I asked. I thought he might know the answer, after a century and a half inside his own head.

"And that's a good thing?" I say doubtfully, picking up the thread of the conversation from where I dropped it a few moments ago. "That doesn't sound very appealing."

"Not to you," Basil says with subtle emphasis. "Because you and I are very, very different."

"Hmm. I won't argue with that. But what does that have to do with the feelings thing you were saying earlier?"

Basil stares into the fire, so I do too. I look at it and I see life -- an animal that cannot be tamed, and yet one I love with my whole wild heart. To him, it's probably just a campfire.

Basil says, "I liked what I was doing in the Spire when I was working for Magister Uthgart. Because it felt like that. I don't think any kind of personal feeling for him entered into it."

"I don't really understand the line you're drawing there, honestly." I shake my head. "It sounds the same to me."

"One more comparison," Basil says, mouth firming into a flat line. "Before I give up my attempts to communicate entirely."

"Hit me," I say. "Not literally."

"A piece of woven fabric," Basil murmurs, unwinding the cloth strip that binds his left hand. He tugs at the end, pulling it loose from between his knuckles. "The threads in it are small, but pulling one loose can affect the integrity of the whole garment."

I stare at him helplessly. "You want to be important."

Basil says nothing to that, but I can see his jaw clench.

"I give up," I say, holding my hands up in surrender. "Sorry, little man. You lost me."

"Call me that again," Basil says pleasantly, "and I will snap your neck."

I believe him. But I do light up my fingers again in purple flame, and grin back. "You can try, Basil. You can damn well try."

[codependentcat]

Some general research

Camera & Sound Techniques / Examples of POV Short Films

POV shots are expected to be less stable, so can get away with handheld work - in fact, it would probably be worse to use a tripod.

Make sure you’re keeping the camera at eye level.

You don’t always have to use POV shots - can use others like establishing shots, close ups, cut backs, but make sure it’s nothing that takes you away from the character's perspective.

Make sure the character is “looking around” - don’t keep the camera static or it will look boring.

POV doesn’t necessarily mean “through the eyes” - it could also mean just portraying a certain story from a certain characters’ viewpoint.

POV shots don’t have to be from a person - they can be done from an object as well (often used in Breaking Bad).

Issues - you have to be creative with your edits if your whole film is happening from a single perspective; it limits your scope and perspective as you can only see so much; it’s not easy to have an emotional connection with a character when you can’t see them.

If trying to convey a person is younger this can be done by having the camera from a lower perspective.

POV could also mean what the character sees in their mind as well as through their eyes. How could we portray this? Animation? Archive? Through the use of visual metaphor?

Medical and Historical Background

Two types - care seeking (a lot of time at the doctors) and care avoidant (don’t trust doctors or think they don’t take you seriously).

There is illness anxiety disorder (hypochondria) and somatic symptom disorder (real symptoms but unable to pinpoint cause).

Possible causes: childhood trauma (child abuse and neglect); extreme stress, health anxieties or other anxiety disorders in your family; childhood illness or serious illness in your family during childhood; mental health issues such as anxiety and depression; trauma such as rape or physical abuse.

Symptoms: avoiding people or places due to worry about catching an illness; constantly researching diseases and symptoms; exaggerating symptoms and their severity (eg a cough becomes sign of lung cancer); high level of anxiety about health; obsession with normal bodily functions like heart rate; oversharing your symptoms and mental health status with others; repeatedly checking for signs of illness like checking your blood pressure or temperature; seeking reassurance from your loved ones about your symptoms or health;uneasiness with healthy bodily functions like gas or sweating; can become depressed or suicidal.

Diagnosis: seeing a mental health specialist, health professional. Top thing for diagnosis - a persistent fear of having or developing a serious illness.

Cure/treatment: medications such as anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication or cbt to talk through fears/anxiety and learn healthy ways to cope. It could always return, and there is in most cases no curing it - treatment is about learning how to manage the disorder.

History: “The Greek word "hypochondria" roughly translates as "below the rib cage". Over the past 3,000 years it was used to explain indigestion, then melancholia, then neurosis and then, finally, "a misplaced fear of illness based on misinterpretation of bodily symptoms". Statistics have been bandied about by doctors: the equivalent of one day a week of surgery time lost to these perfectly healthy people; up to 13% of us worrying about our health when we might not have done in the past.”

“Contemporary ideas about hypochondria include these: as cave persons, we were hard-wired to worry about threat. John Naish, in his book The Hypochondriac's Handbook: A Disease for Every Occasion, An Illness for Every Symptom, points out how modern sanitation and medicine have eliminated the old dangers, but modern civilization has given us more time, money and energy to fixate on illness. There has been a huge drop in mortal illness in the western world, but a massive increase in new diagnoses. As these new "illnesses" emerge, they are over-reported and given disproportionate significance.”

“There have been two other major shifts in society. The first is the rise of the internet, which has spawned "cyberchondria". Health is now the second-most popular internet search topic after pornography. Millions of people tap symptoms and diseases into Google and wait for some dreadful outcome. I am an aficionado of these sites (my favourite is the NHS site, patients.co.uk). We terrify ourselves as we read information we do not understand and use to justify our worst fears.”

“The second change is the role of the GP. As one told me recently: "People don't trust their GPs any more. We haven't the time to give patients what they need, and it's resulted in a breakdown of trust. They go on the internet themselves." ”

More on Cyberchondria - “Cyberchondria refers to a person's anxiety about their health that is created or exacerbated by using the internet to search for medical information. A British newspaper coined the term in the early 2000s as a play on the word hypochondria. Like hypochondria, cyberchondria involves excessive anxiety about health.”

Others Experiences via Social Media

https://www.findmecure.com/blog/inside-the-soul-of-a-hypochondriac/ - detailed account of hypochondriac, many in the comments as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/17/health-and-wellbeing-anxiety - article in the Guardian which has a fairly detailed account as well as some historical context.

I’m a member of some social media groups where we could share the survey.

Story Ideas / Inspiration

One experience that seems almost universal in most of the accounts I’ve been reading is the obsession with looking up symptoms. I was thinking we could do a deep dive into the illness the person thinks they have, using archive material and research to create a kind of mini film within the documentary which would try to portray how absorbing this aspect of the illness can be. Maybe before the film it could be daylight, then once it’s done it’s dark? Also maybe afterwards when the character is lying in bed when they close their eyes the film starts playing again? This could also be a good way to use some archive material so we had less filming to do.

Do we begin with what caused the health anxiety or do we just flash back to this? Also, how do we end - does the character get better?

Goals of the Documentary

To paint a picture of what it is really like for someone with health anxiety - often they are seen as attention seekers or faking it, and people become frustrated with them, but it’s a real illness which can have dramatic effects on peoples’ lives. 

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG5pkGTJqWM - a 50 min documentary that was on c4 which follows 4 people with health anxiety as they try to get better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu6Ooht4bAA&feature=emb_imp_woyt - short animation (soundscape?).

Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives - book which is commonly referenced in articles and discussions on hypochondria.

[millennialdemon]

1995 Series: Romeo no Aoi Sora

[Re-write of a quick review from last year. Read on Wordpress]

Romeo no Aoi Sora (Romeo’s Blue Skies, also known as Romeo and The Black Brothers) is a 33 episode historical anime made by Nippon Animation and aired throughout the year of 1995 as part of the renowned World Masterpiece Theatre program. As with many World Master Piece Theatre feature anime, it is based on a classic novel – in this case the 1941 novel The Black Brothers (Die schwarzen Brüder) by Switzerland author Lisa Tetzner. The anime follows the story of Romeo, an 11-year old boy from a poor rural village in the mountains of Switzerland who sells himself to “The God Of Death”, a wicked man who bribes struggling families into giving him their children to sell as chimney sweeps in the city of Milan. Romeo meets a runaway boy named Alfredo and together they eventually form “The Black Brothers” – a group of young chimney sweeps who do anything they can to support each other in hard times and fend off attacks from a local gang.

Romeo no Aoi Sora marks the first 1995 series that I have completed, and I am pleased to say that I got such a wonderful start to this quest. Many of the early episodes had the same satisfying story beats I had hoped for since watching and enjoying the Flanders no Inu movie the previous year, and while the momentum definitely slowed in the second half, I wouldn’t say it was especially flawed or ever a drag to watch.

Back to the Flanders no Inu movie for just a moment though – it is so far the only other World Masterpiece Theatre production I have seen, so it was my point of reference when watching Romeo no Aoi Sora. I found Flanders no Inu to be a wonderfully focused, coherent movie. It may seem like a modest compliment, but the movie’s approach to structuring drama was truly fantastic and created a constantly increasing narrative momentum despite the mundane nature of the historical drama genre. A story so well crafted is a rarity when it comes to anime movies, which are almost always rushed or plainly incomplete, as if waiting for a sequel that usually never comes. This is especially true of movies that are spin-offs or summations of longer series, which Flanders no Inu was, making it even more impressive to me.

That being said though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the 52 episode Flanders no Inu anime series wasn’t as tightly put together as the movie counterpart, and had similar pacing issues as the Romeo no Aoi Sora TV anime.

The first half of the series was great and executed many dramatic set ups very well, making for an exciting, emotionally engaging watch. The second half of the series (mostly the last ~10 episodes) moved away from structured drama to focus on emotional reveals, and between or following those reveals were big action sequences (breaking into the castle) or emotionally lighter episodes (Michaelo losing his mother’s necklace after the grieving episode). This isn’t necessarily bad as it does make sense to explore the emotions and development of our main cast eventually, and I’d imagine most people would like relief after a heavy series climax like the one in Romeo no Aoi Sora – but I am not one of those people. Flanders no Inu was unbearable and I truly loved that about it. There were no loose ends and every line went somewhere meaningful that kept pushing the momentum and made each reveal and reaction just a bit more tragic than the last. So I was a bit worried when I saw that there was 4 or 5 episodes left of Romeo no Aoi Sora after the tragic series climax, and my worry wasn’t entirely unfounded because I did find that a few of the episodes were rather clunky and tonally inappropriate, particularly the one focused on Michaelo.

My only other gripe besides the change of pace was the framing of almost all of the “non-villain” adults in the series. I think it’s one thing for the children in context to like and forgive cruel adults, because they are innocent children and rely on them at the end of the day, but when Rossi becomes this somewhat fatherly figure who protects Romeo from his “even worse” wife and son, I have to object. I understand that characters can be flawed whilst still being forgivable, and I think there can be some nuance with alcoholic parents and the like, but I always remembered this throughout Romeo no Aoi Sora: he bought Romeo as a sub-human business asset, and “being nice” to your child slave can never supersede the fact that you have a child slave. Even if it could, Rossi was just as cruel as his wife and son towards Romeo until he risked his life to prove to Rossi that he, an 11-year old boy working harder than Rossi himself probably ever has to make money for his awful family, is worth treating like a human being. Another thing to keep in mind is that Rossi’s family have “hired” children before Romeo and likely weren’t nearly as kind to them, and they almost certainly hired more after Romeo left.

That is just one instance where this happens: Romeo has to convince bitter, mean adults who are either exploiting him or being otherwise cruel to be marginally kind to him, and once they “see the light” a la Romeo’s infinite kindness, are “redeemed” and become allies to Romeo or to his brotherhood.

I understand it’s a TV show for children about children, but it’s difficult to rationalize hand-waving this as a mostly harmless cliche when for the first ~5 episodes we focus on how cruel the “industry” of stealing children and ruining their families is. It may be too much for the adults to be constantly cruel and never let up, but they can let up and still be viewed in a negative light. Back to the first arc:

The “God of Death” takes Romeo to Milan and on the way, many awful things happen to Romeo and he meets other children locked up in a cellar with the same fate as him. They try to escape, realizing how dire their situation truly is, but end up almost dying in a storm-churned lake with their adult captors in the night. Romeo bravely decides to save the drowning God of Death, unable to let anyone die if he can help it. Unlike Rossi and Angeletta’s grandmother, the God of Death does not apologize or praise Romeo, and only shows that he is vaguely humbled by being a bit more passive. Nevertheless, he still takes Romeo to Milan, and still sells him. The dynamic between Romeo and the God of Death from the point where he wakes up post-drowning and the point where he sells him changes only slightly from what it was before, and the change is focused on Romeo’s impression. Romeo still dislikes him but is more inquisitive, and when they arrive in Milan there’s this wonderful, subtle moment where it is stated that “The God of Death was the only other person the children knew in Milan” – Romeo hates the God of Death, but as a child in a new place being bought by a strange new family, part of him is reluctant to leave. This moment is about Romeo’s feelings, and does not reflect a truth about the God of Death, who remains thoroughly evil up until the very end of the story where we see him bringing in a new batch of children to work as Romeo begins his journey home. So Romeo no Aoi Sora did manage to successfully soften a child’s impressions of a cruel adult, without making that adult heroic or likable eventually.

I would have liked if it took this more nuanced, Romeo-focused approach to characters like Rossi and Angeletta’s grandmother wherein his impressions could change, without a drastic shift in character from the adults towards “goodness”. Pardon another comparison, but the perhaps too simple, too optimistic view of the adults made me realize another thing I like about Flanders no Inu: the tragedy is that the adults never do the right thing, and Nello never gets a good enough opportunity to convince them to. Neglect and apathy is the enemy, and we see adults realize that they were wrong and mourn that, but it’s too late to be of any help to Nello and far too late to redeem them of their cruelty. By the time Alois’ father finally realizes he was wrong after Nello selflessly brought back his lost money despite needing it so much more badly than him, it’s too late to be of any significance to his character beyond realizing his arrogance is a part of Nello’s sad fate, and instead reflects on the tragedy of how Nello does not deserve that fate.

I have little interest in seeing Alois’ father and that nasty, nasty rent-collector realizing the errors of their ways and mourning Nello – in the same way, I have little interest in seeing Rossi and his wife realize they will miss Romeo. In one, it doesn’t happen and that’s great, and in the other it does and it feels jarring and unsavoury.

In the end, Romeo no Aoi Sora is still an anime I will hold dear and one that I would recommend to others who enjoy classic stories. I don’t necessarily think it is unethical to go along with the story-telling, even the small parts I didn’t like. The apologism of the family and a few other adult characters is still handled better than most other times I’ve seen in anime, because the changes are gradual, and the adults’ behaviours are usually familiar (not acceptable, but familiar and genuine) and are not at the front of the story. The main cast of children that we follow are charming and the themes of childhood comradery and bravery in the face of adversity are timeless. Even when Romeo no Aoi Sora is tragic, frustrating, or suspenseful – it is a joy to watch unfold.

Overall rating: Solid 8/10 from me and I feel already that it will stay one of the best titles of 1995. I am glad it’s the first birth year title that I ended up finishing.