#this is also not largely aimed at people who are themselves demi

[asneakyfox]

if you interpreted a post starting "i wish people could hc fictional characters as demi without" as meaning "i wish people wouldn't hc fictional characters as demi" i'm afraid we are in a category 5 piss on the poor scenario

personally i kind of wish people could just hc fictional characters as demi without talking about it in a way that implies they think demisexual love is somehow purer than the baser form of love experienced by allosexuals who are still capable of experiencing attraction to people other than their true love. for several reasons, one of which is that's a weirdly fetishizing and insulting way to think about the whole concept of demisexuality

[nightswithkookmin]

G I R L

I just saw y the HYBE x Ithaca Holdings video and it really hit me with some realisations. HYBE partnering with them is bound to change some things in a huge way. Collabs and economics notwithstanding, Ithaca is home to NUMEROUS big name artists. I want to focus on the fact that: (1) Beiber is a heavily tattooed dude, I wonder if this fact will give some leeway for Kook to be a bit more free with his existing tatts or allow him to continue getting more. (2) Demi is an openly queer woman. This, along with how open Ithaca’s artists are with their support for the LGBTQ+ community, makes me wonder how it will influence HYBE artists who might be queer themselves (looking at Jikook 👀). I fully know that culturally Korea is its own thing and HYBE its own entity, but I think this might open up some doors for our boys both musically speaking as well as regarding their own selves. Dearest Goldy of mine, what do you think?

Hmmmmmmm

That's an interesting question.

I do agree that this provides a huge economic opportunity for BTS as a group and as investors in Hybe and for frankly anyone within Hybe labels- there's a lot of talents who would kill to be part of this company now. I just know it.

Hell I wanna be part of Hybe and I can't even sang. Lmho.

Cute, if you think I can dance. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

BigHit just got cooler you know.

But I think you are basically asking if this new acquisition will in effect impact the lifestyle of BTS, specifically Jikook as queer people in any way?

I'd say no- especially on the issue of tattoos. But I might be wrong. I just think it takes more than a business merger to undo a person's lifestlye and or socialization or even influence it.

Unless of course, this merger guarantees them certain universal rights and protections outside their culture and political system I don't see how it's to profit them as queer people in any major way.

Whatever impact I'd say is rather intangible.

If you know what I mean.

I've said a few times now how BTS by virtue of their presence in the international community, in my opinion, are socialized and are expected to be socialized a tad differently from the average regular conservative or even liberal S. Korean person with no external influences whatsoever on their socializations.

Your socialization informs your lifestyle.

Justin, Troye, RM and other artists have undoubtedly had and perhaps continue to have an influence on Jk musically and lifestyle wise, to some extent, but he has his own unique values and beliefs and morals that has been acquired and instilled in him through the years independent of these influences.

He is his own person afterall.

Plus did you see the arm sleeve on the director of the MV for Home? He is surrounded at the work place with people that are tatted too. It can't be just Justin B.

He saw a girl with tattoos and said that was something he'd love to have one day when he got of age and he got it- in spite of Suga's objection. He's always expressed interests in tattoos and wanting to become a tattoo artist.

He got these tattoos in spite of the inconveniences they pose to his expressions of self within his career and society- as tattoos are still pretty much stigmatized in S.K and aren't legally allowed on certain broadcasts within S. Korea. And he continues to add on them, draw over them etc way before this merger came into existence.

If he decides that's what he wants he will get them but it wouldn't be because Justin Bieber is heavily tatted or because his company expanded.

I'm not sure what you mean by leeway, but in a recent Run episode (the one with the famous chef) we saw his full arm out and I think that was the first time we had seen his tats on full display on run.

Contrastingly, he had his whole arm bandaged in the Let's BTS interview on KBS.

He covers his tattoos most times because of broadcast rules that prohibits (regulates) not just tattoos but alcohol consumption, cussing, nudity etc on public television that require specific ratings.

Merger or not he will still have to adhere to the laws of South Korea, including entertainment and media broadcasting laws and hide his tattoos as and where.

On the topic of queerness, I think now more than ever BTS would have to become socially, racially and culturally conscious and aware the instant this deal is concluded in May.

Ithaca has one of the most diversified group of artists under its belt- from Quavo who is black to Demi who is queer like you pointed out.

Now more than ever they are at the center of the global conversations we are having in our generation- from racism, to LBGTQ plus marginalizations, to all oppressions of minorities and minority groups.

And with that proximity comes a need to keep themselves in check now more so than ever- which include a check on the cultural appropriation bit, the queer baiting, drawing on queer aesthetics in their 'fan service' culture and other problematic issues that is characteristic of KPop.

What they do now matters more than ever- socially speaking of course.

When Jin started eating a lollipop JM gave him provocatively, JM asked him not to do that on camera but to reserve things like that for the group off camera.

If 'gay' is not gay but their 'culture' I think they know better to keep it to themselves off camera and act 'right' on camera- especially now.

I'm not about to stan a group that capitalizes on the trauma and oppression of me and my people in the name of entertainment. That's just tacky.

On the plus, I think it's great that they be surrounded by other queer folks in the business and be part of a community that welcomes and support queerness so they don't feel like they are the only ones.

That's not to say they aren't surrounded by queer people in their dialy lives.

I mean they have a large staff and I know damn well some of those staffers are queer as well- why wouldn't they be. Lol.

They've always had that 'supportive' environment to foster their relationship- well except for that one time a manager tried to bitch slap JK. Lol. Sorry.

It's not funny at all. Serious face.

They've always been free and loose in places outside Korea- Japan for one, to be themselves in certain 'controlled" areas of their lives.

I think if anything there's gonna be a focus on creating conducive and inclusive work environments and ethics for everyone not just queer people within the company at large.

I think Jikook can relate more, have certain essential conversations in the group, be exposed to and be part of the 'community' in a way that just felt so distant to them prior to the acquisition- in my opinion.

There is strength in numbers after all. Other than that those two companies might operate like night and day with a few eclipses in between.

The bigger question for me is how SK is going to react to Hybe as an international company from now on. No elite Korean company has openly admitted queer artists within their label. Such revelations presumably is bound to impact their social and economic standing...

Seems in acquiring Ithaca though Hybe have circumvented the conservative problem within Kpop and their culture as they have acquired openly queer artists.

Not that they care about an artist's sexuality. Bang have made it perfectly clear he prioritizes a person's talent over their sexual preference and thus hire artists based on their skills regardless of their sexuality.

But that is also not to say that the company wouldn't be met with harsh criticisms and suffer economic loss should they openly admit the sexuality of certain artists they work with.

I mean he did advise Jo Kwan on the risks he would be taking in going in the direction he wanted to go in with his heels schtick. So he is aware of the risks involved in going public with an artist's sexual orientation.

He talked about Korean companies playing it safe and not taking certain risks especially when it comes to deeds that are deemed 'rebellious' against the Korean conservative way.

-Watch and learn people, if you can't hire openly gay talents acquire their company. Problem solved. Lol.

From May, Hybe will technically officially become the first elite Korean company with openly queer artists under its labels that openly touches on and advocates for LGBTQ plus rights.

I'm waiting for Pride month with a cup of tea. Mu haha ha.

BTS has performed with queer artists in the past, dabbled in LGBTQ plus conversations which was mostly met with mixed reactions from the general public- some oblivious to who these artists were much less that they were queer. (Sis laugh with me. Hehe. If you know you know)

BigHit is gradually evolving the status quo.

It's an interesting development I must say, one I'm very much invested in at this point.

BigHit has always aimed beyond the borders of Korean commercial verse often straddling the line of conservatism, literally just became an international company within South Korea governed by both Korean and American laws that in all essence conflict with eachother morally and constitutionally.

Bang has some heavy balls I'll give him that.

Also, since this is an acquisition and not a merger I doubt if much will change in the structures of either company- the family photoshoots would be interesting to watch.

Imagine trying to get Arianna, Justin, BTS, TXT in one large studio for a photoshoot. I'm literally cackling. Lmho.

Scooter Braun will become part of the board of Hybe to manage the company and he is part owner of Hybe along with Justin, Ariana and BTS who also have shares in the company- until they decide to sell their shares that is.

That's about it.

I'm not sure how these Asian haters are gonna respond to an Asian company taking over 'America.' That's something to watch out for.

Then there's this whole issue of 'scandals' and both campanies view on it.

Western companies feed off chaos and drama and scandals, Kpop is the exact opposite.

Most of these Artists under Ithaca have had some pretty bad records and are prone to scandals and stuff like that. In case of an inevitable future scandal, the news would read 'BTS's so so and so.'

They are gonna make it all about BTS.

I mean when BigHit went public with their IPO and it went south it was all about BTS' 'failed IPO' in the news rather than the company it's self.

I have mixed feelings about this acquisition.

It's obvious BigHit is saving Justin Bieber's label. You don't sell unless you are in some huge financial decline blah blah.

Hybe is keeping them in business while building their own portfolio in the industry. BTS may not have a Grammy but Hybe has several artists with Grammys under it's belt now. Smirk.

The success of Justin, Ariana and all these artists are the success of Hybe which together with the powerhouse that is BTS gives Hybe more prestige- it's like watching the game of thrones but this time it's a bunch of nerds with chapsticks and Prada. Lmho.

At least now people will think twice before they peddle the 'they are not gay, it's their culture' nonsense.

Not sure if this answers your question?

I purple you💜💜💜💜💜

Signed,

GOLDY

[thedreadvampy]

Hey Ruth! I noticed you've talked in the past about asexuality in quite a negative manner. As an ace-person (who has received backlash for it) I was wondering: do you still uphold these opinions?

Hey! I have in the past said I don’t really...like people popping up in my ask box asking me My Opinion On Asexuality, but I do appreciate you asking me as someone I kinda know and with your face turned on, so I’m gonna aim to answer in the macro. Though I mean it depends on what the opinions...are? I have had a lot of opinions over the time I’ve had this blog and I don’t necessarily know what all of them were or which ones have concerned you. I can give you a top-level view of how I see my views, though (however, since I have been largely holding off on answering this kind of ask for Literally A Year Now this is less an answer to your specific question and more an answer to the last year of asks)

(also if I get dogpiled in my inbox for Having Bad Asexuality Opinions which I do every time I talk about asexuality regardless of what I actually say then. my phone is broken I won’t know about it :) so I feel untouchable)

I don’t think I hold a negative opinion of asexuality as an identity (I say I don’t think bc we all have blind spots)? I have a lot of very important people in my life who are asexual, aromantic or aroace and. I mean it feels pretty condescending to say ~uwu it’s valid~ bc like. ace and aro people don’t really need my input to validate their identity. but a) it seems like a pretty accurate way to describe their experience and b) I know a lot of them have had a really huge boost from finding a name and community to fit their experience and have found that really helpful, and I’ve seen that make a huge difference in people’s lives and I’m really happy to watch my friends come to understand themselves and feel comfortable and accepted in a part of themselves they had felt really alienated or stigmatised by. In a broader sense, I think there’s huge value in decentralising romance and sex in our assumptions of What Human Happiness Means and for some people that’s not the most important thing, and for some it’s just not interesting. 

So like. I find it difficult to really express these opinions in any meaningful way because my opinion on asexuals and aromantics is much like my opinion on trans people or idk like people of colour. like very obviously those people exist and very obviously those people don’t deserve to be marginalised or stigmatised but it would feel. weird and performative to just make a post saying like “Asexuality Is Good And Valid, I Am Pro It” bc again like. who needs my permission or cares about my opinion. it’s not a Good Thing To Do it’s just. a thing you are that shouldn’t be treated as a bad thing.

however. and I suspect that this is what you’re referring to. while I love and appreciate ace and aro people, I think building communities and active support for ace and aro people is valuable and needed and, as above, I think Asexuality Is Good And Valid I Am Pro It, I do take some issue with elements of how discussions around asexuality are framed online (pretty much only online, I really haven’t run into the kind of black-and-white thinking in in-person queer spaces) 

and I also. think there are some issues with people extrapolating their experience of their own sexuality onto the world in a way which. I’m just going to say a lot of the time when I talk about The Ace Discourse in a negative way it’s around people assuming that the world is split into a binary between ace and allo people, or assuming that only aspec people experience a nuanced or complex or fluid relationship to their sexuality while pigeonholing allosexuality into a pretty flat image of sex and romance focus. and I have always felt like this does a massive disservice not just to people who don’t identify with aspec labels, but also to the general hope that we could work against the expectation that there’s a Standard Amount To Value Sex/Romance - I think that the assumption that there are aspec people and then Everyone Else Has The Normal Type and Level of Attraction just. reinforces the idea that there’s a “Normal” type and level of attraction. which is ultimately pretty self-defeating and also just. observably untrue. 

and this division of the world into Aspec People and Allo People also has some other weird knockon effects - I don’t think there’s anything intrinsically wrong with identities like gray ace or demi or other aspec labels beyond asexual and aromantic, but I do think that the way those labels are used is often. unhelpful. and they’re defined in such personal, subjective ways that you get weirdnesses sometimes like people Diagnosing Each Other With Demisexual or people saying ‘you can’t talk about this experience you share because it’s an Aspec Experience’ and again. there isn’t a concrete material experience there because the whole experience of romantic and sexual attraction, what that feels like and how sharply divisible it is is very, very personal and subjective. and everyone has different experiences of those and will name those experiences differently.

there’s also. historically a minority of Big Ace Blogs that kind of sneer at allosexuality or who would hijack posts about other issues to derail them to asexuality. but I don’t think they were ever representative of the community as a whole and I certainly think that inasmuch as those blogs remain around they’re a legacy of the Long-Ago (and a lot of them are trolls imo)

but there is. an issue I take that does seem to be more currently live which is the question of allo privilege. I think personally that framing all allosexuals/alloromantics as privileged over all aspec people on the basis of feeling sexual/romantic attraction is provably untrue in a world where people, particularly queer people, are actively oppressed and marginalised for expressing non-normative sexuality. it isn’t that I don’t think asexuality and aromanticism isn’t marginalised and stigmatised, because it visibly is, but it seems pretty reductive to boil it down to a binary yes/no privilege when both sexualisation and desexualisation are so actively tied into other forms of marginalisation (this is what I was trying to express in the argument about Martin a while ago - sex and sexuality are so often disincentivised for fat, queer, disabled and neuroatypical people that it doesn’t...feel like a reclamation that those tend to be the characters that get fanonised as ace where slim, straight, able-bodied and neurotypical characters aren’t. like it’s more complex than a binary privilege equation; sex and romance are incentivised and stigmatised differently at the intersection of oppressions and. for example. in a world where gay conversion therapy and religious oppression of gay and SGA people is so often focused specifically on celibacy and on punishing the act of sexual attraction, I don’t think it’s a reasonable framing to say that a gay allosexual man has privilege over an aroace man on the basis of his attraction) 

so those are like. things I would consider myself to feel actively negative about in online discourse (and again. in online discourse. not in how I relate to asexuality or aromanticism or aspec identities in general but in the framing and approaches people take towards discussing it in a very specific bubble).

but also. um. the main criticism I have of the online discourse culture of asexuality is that there are things I don’t have experience of that I have mentioned, when asked, that I don’t personally understand the meaning of but I don’t need to understand them to appreciate that they’re useful/meaningful to others. things like 

the difference between QPRs, asexual romantic relationships and close friendships

how you know the difference between romantic attraction and friendship

the distinction between sexual attraction and a desire to have sex with someone for another reason

and I hope I’ve generally been clear that this is. honest lack of understanding and not condemnation. I personally have a very muddled sense of attraction and often have difficulty identifying the specifics of any of my own emotional needs so like. it’s a closed book for me at the moment, how you would identify the fine distinctions between types of want when I’m still at step 1: identify That You Want Something Of Some Sort, Eventually, Through Trial And Error. but I think I’ve always been explicit that this isn’t a value judgement it’s just a gap in my own knowledge and yet. every single time I’ve said anything other than enthusiastic “yes I understand this and I love it and it’s good and valid” (and again. I have not gone out of my way to talk about it I have mostly only mentioned it because people keep asking me to talk about it) I have got a massive rush of anger and accusations of aphobia and “just shut up if you don’t know what you’re talking about but also answer my 30 questions to prove you think Correct Things about asexuality” and. I understand that this comes from a place of really unpleasant and aggressive backlash towards the ace community so it’s a sensitivity with a lot of people but like. it doesn’t seem proportional.

also I feel like ever since I hit like 700 followers my Tumblr life has been a constant cycle of people asking me Are You An Ace Inclusionist Are You An Exclus Are You An Aphobe Justify Your Opinion On Asexuality which. eventually yeah I’ve got pretty snippy about the whole thing. but you know. fuck it I’m just gonna lay it out and if you or anyone else is uncomfortable following me based on those opinions then I’m sorry to hear that and I will be sad to see you not want to engage with me any more but I also think that’s absolutely your prerogative. however I will not be taking questions at this time (and not just bc my phone’s broken) - demands for an argument about this Are Going To Be Ignored so if you want to go then go.

so like the big question I reckon is Do You Think Asexuality Is Queer and

yes. no. maybe. I don’t understand the question what does it mean for an identity to be queer? 

there are spaces and conversations where any form of aromanticism or asexuality makes sense as a relevant identity. talking about hegemonic expectations of normative romance. building community. combatting the idea that heterosexual missionary married sex between a man and a woman is the only rewarding or valuable form of relationship or intimacy.

there are spaces where I think heterosexual aros/heteromantic cis aces don’t. have a more meaningful or direct experience of the issues than allo cishets. because while being aro or ace or aspec has a direct impact on those people on a personal and relational level, disclosure is largely a choice, and the world at large sees them as straight. they don’t have the lived experience of being visibly nonconforming that SGA people and aroace people do. they may still be queer but there’s a lot of conversations where they bring a lot of the baggage of being Straight People (because. even if you’re ace or aro you can still be straight in your romantic or sexual attraction and if your relationships are all outwardly straight then you don’t necessarily have an intimate personal understanding of being marginalised from mainstream society by dint of your sexuality). this doesn’t make you Not Queer in the same way that being a bi person who’s only ever been in m/f relationships is still queer, but in both cases a) you don’t magically have a personal experience of societal oppression through the transitive properties of Being Queer and b) it’s really obnoxious to talk as if you’re The Most Oppressed when other people are trying to have a conversation about their lived experience of societal oppression. and they’re within their rights to say ‘we’re talking about the experience of being marginalised for same gender/non-heterosexual attraction and you’re straight, could you butt out?’)

(I very much object to the assumption coming from a lot of exclus that “cishet ace” is a term that can reasonably be applied to non-orientated aroace people though. het is not a default it really extremely doesn’t make sense to treat people who feel no attraction as Straight By Default. when I were a lad I feel like we mostly understood “asexual” to mean that identity - non-orientated aroace - and while I think it’s obvious that a lot of people do find value in using a more split-model because. well. some people are both gay/straight/bi and aro/ace, and it’s good that language reflects that. but I do think it’s left a gap in the language to simply refer to non-attracted people. this isn’t a criticism of anything in particular - there’s a constant balancing act in language between specificity and adaptability and sometimes a gain for one is a loss for the other)

some queer conversations and spaces just. aren’t built with aces in mind. and that isn’t a flaw. some spaces aren’t built with men in mind, but that doesn’t mean men can’t be queer. some conversations are about Black experiences of queerness but that doesn’t mean non-Black people can’t be queer. not all queer spaces will focus on ace needs but that doesn’t mean asexuality isn’t queer, or that queerness is opposed to aceness - sex, sexuality, romance and dating are all really important things to a lot of queer people, especially those whose sexuality and romantic relationships are often stigmatised or violently suppressed in wider society. there should be gay bars, hookup apps, gay and trans friendly sex education, making out at Pride, leather parades and topless dyke marches and porn made by and for queer people, romantic representation in media of young and old gay, bi and trans couples kissing and snuggling and getting married and saying sloppy romantic things. and there should be non-sexual queer spaces, there should be discussions around queerness that don’t suppose that a monogamous romantic relationship is what everyone’s fighting for, sex ed should be ace inclusive, etc. 

I think the whole question of inclusionism vs exclusionism is based on a weird underlying assumption that If An Identity Is Queer All Queer Spaces Should Directly Cater To That. like. aspec identities can be queer and it can be totally reasonable for there to be queer spaces that revolve around being sexual and romantic and there can be conversations it’s not appropriate or productive to centre asexuality and aspec experiences in and we can recognise that not all queer people do prioritise or have any interest in sex or romance. in the same way that there’s value in centring binary trans experiences sometimes and nonbinary experiences at other times but both of those conversations should recognise that neither binary or nonbinary gender identity is a Universal Queer Experience.

anyway that one probably isn’t one of the opinions you were asking about but I have been wanting to find a way to express it for a while so you’re getting it: the Ruth Thedreadvampy Inclusionism Take.

uh. it’s 1:30 on a work night so I have been typing too long. if there was an opinion you were specifically thinking of that I haven’t mentioned, chuck me another ask specifically pointing to what you want me to clarify my thinking on. sometimes I gotta be honest I’ve just been kind of careless in my framing (thinking of the Martin Fucks debacle where I spent ages insisting I didn’t say Martin couldn’t be aroace then read back like two days later and realised that I had said “he’s not aroace” bc I had written the post at 2am without proofreading and had meant to say “unless you think he’s aroace”) so I May Well Not Stand By Some Posts or might Stand By Them With Clarification

[jenatwork]

CW: sex talk

Somehow this post picked up a couple of new notes this week, about eight years after I first wrote it, and it's interesting to revisit where I was in my journey back then and how my views have... Not necessarily changed, but how I feel better able to articulate why I feel a certain way.

I've realised that the reason this particular fandom-specific trope feels squicky to me had nothing to do with gender expression or with fetishization (not that fetishization of gay men never happens in fandom, it does). Rather, it's because I can see this sort of chain, this process, of some people learning what is considered 'sexy' by picking up tropes from media aimed largely at straight cis men and recreating them in fanfiction about cis men, and then other people learning about 'sexy' from that same fanfiction.

It's like, someone saw some photos or videos or porn aimed at straight men which depicted women in lingerie, and assumed it was the underwear which made the image appealing, rather than the woman. So they wrote about or drew some sexy men, and assumed that lingerie was what would add sex appeal to the male partner of the first man. We're surrounded by images that are meant to appeal via sexiness (I'm told they even work, but I'm asexual so I don't experience it personally), and 'women in lingerie' is so ubiquitous you can see such images on street-side billboards at any time in countries like the UK and USA.

The reason I think this is the case is that it's not just lingerie that's become a default, go-to shortcut to 'sexiness'.

I see tropes from porn for straight men reproduced in smut fics about queer characters aimed at queer audiences. I see w/w fic where one character will fellate a sex toy - a trope used in porn aimed at straight men - which woman in that scenario is getting pleasure from that? It's an action intended to titillate men who can imagine themselves in place of the toy.

I see people reproducing BDSM tropes in fic with an assumption that BDSM is a common occurrence in most queer relationships - I have nothing against BDSM, kink, or fetish-play - but there's something squicky to me about assuming that most or all queer men are into it and that it's the main focus of their sex lives.

I see fic writers including choking scenes with a scary lack of knowledge about the realities of erotic asphyxiation, and can only assume that they chose to include it because either porn or other fic inspired by porn established it as a 'sexy' trope.

If you look at art created by queer men for other queer men, there's no lacy lingerie. Look at Tom of Finland, and see how those depictions of male sex appeal compare with fandom's depiction of men in lingerie.

I don't mean to say that no one should depict queer men in lingerie, or that no queer man has ever enjoyed wearing lingerie or looking at men in lingerie.

I personally find it squicky because, to me, it feels like an inauthentic depiction of male sex appeal, almost like a lazy shortcut to eroticism.

(Also, I'm ace and agender, not demi or gender-fluid!)

Stuff that bugs me about fandom #742

I don’t get the fetishisation of male characters in lingerie/female-fit clothes. It seems to crop up so much more in fandom now than when I first got into fic-writing (over 15 years ago, because I’m old).

I understand that, as a demisexual person, I don’t have the standard response to seeing/imagining naked people or people in sexualised clothes. Maybe sexual people just find short skirts or lacy underwear ‘sexy’ regardless of who it’s on.

But as a genderfluid person, there’s something about it that always makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s that long-standing tendency in some slash fiction to feminise men in same-gender relationships. Maybe, because transgender issues are currently so en vogue, some people think they’re being cool or edgy by having their characters cross-dress. Maybe I feel that something that’s an inherent part of my identity (and that of so many of my friends) is being adopted by cisgender people as a kink, or as a way of saying ‘I’m down with the trans community!’ when really it’s not helping the cause all that much.

On my boy-days, when I absolutely can’t leave the house without binding and wearing boxer-briefs, I don’t feel that there’s anything sexualised about it - it’s what I do to feel comfortable - to make my outsides match my insides. If anyone told me they thought my wearing that stuff was ‘sexy’, I’d be weirded out at best.

When my dash is littered with fanart of boys in lingerie or skirts, it makes me uncomfortable - wearing clothes intended for other genders is as normal to me as wearing my glasses, so seeing it sexualised and fetishised makes me feel like the whole process of ‘cross-dressing’ is being exposed rather than normalised.

[disasterdemi]

Idk if anyone else feels this way but sometimes I think there should be a D and we should have our own letter vs being under A. I'm Bi and Demiromantic and I think about how B is it's own letter and wonder why D isn't.

Ahh the acronym. The Acronym. We love it. (We hate it? …We have mixed feelings about it.) Performative politicians stumble over it. It's incredibly important, and its varied appearances can be rather controversial. As always, thinking critically about language and its impact is the key here.

The important thing about The Acronym, I think, is finding a compromise between inclusion and efficiency. And the best way people have found to do this so far is with umbrella terms.

Now, I remember being a wee ally in early high school (maybe... my early teens?) having trouble recalling all of the letters, and the usual order they went in. And that was when there was usually only 4-5 letters. It's much easier to remember things if you can associate them with stuff you know - so being involved in the queer community now means things like that (and strangely specific microlabel definitions, and random queer facts, etc) are easy for me to remember. But people who aren't so involved will struggle to find associations to help them remember. That's just how brains work. People also absorb small bits of info easier than large chunks - this is important to apply in activism and education.

Anyway, back to increasing the efficiency of the acronym while also maximising inclusivity:

So as far as I'm aware, and with a little extra digging (feel free to correct me with sources if I’m wrong), the LGB are there for historical significance reasons (e.g. gay originally referring to the whole spectrum of people outside the gender and attraction norm; then lesbian being adopted for gay women who wanted their own term to stand behind because of homophobia and sexism, among other reasons; and bi emerging when gay and lesbian came to more commonly mean just homosexual, so that mspec people could describe themselves.)

But generally, most widely accepted letters are umbrella terms! Like:

Trans, for people who don't fit neatly into gender binaries, or who defy gender norms and expectations.

Even bi, often used to refer to any mspecs (though of course this isn't perfect as many mspecs don't identify with the bi label).

Queer or questioning is about as broad as you can get.

Intersex, of which there are many, many variations.

And,

Aspec, for people who experience attraction outside allonormative expectations.

And... (at least by definitions; of course, not everyone personally identifies with the relevant umbrella terms!) demi comes under the aspec umbrella. In particular, I would argue that demi is really under two umbrellas. Like, you've got:

aromantic > greyromantic > demiromantic

So tbh... I'd feel uncomfortable pitching for demi to be included before grey :/ (if at all)

And as much as I love microlabels as a personal thing and to find other people like me, I also like, and place a lot of value in, the idea of finding ways to unify us more than divide us, especially in contexts where our activism is aimed towards people who aren't queer.

This is just my opinion though! I really don't think any (good-faith) variation of the acronym is necessarily good or bad, right or wrong. There are pros and cons for all of them tbh, and you raise a very valid point about awareness and inclusion of lesser-known identities.

As I said, this is my opinion - what do other people think?

-

(I doubt this will leave aspec circles, but just in case: Demiphobes and other aphobes DNI. Obviously.)

[ichika27]

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun s2 ep16

Guys! Have you already seen the TV size music video for season 2′s OP? avex had just released a music video for “No! No! Satisfaction!” and it has the group DA PUMP in chibi form doing the full dance from the OP and Iruma is also with them! It’s super cute!!

Anyways, the latest episodes got a bunch of stuff happening, huh?

Walter Park is still in chaos due to the monster rampage. Iruma decides he's not gonna sit back and do nothing like everyone else and went to try and save the crying child from earlier. To the amazement of everyone watching, Iruma dodged every large piece of debris that was falling his way all the while carrying a child.

He’s shown this ability way back in season 1 but he’s using it here in this very dire situation all with a child in his arms and both of them are okay. It’s really cool.

When they finally got to a safe space close by, Iruma tells the child to evacuate with everyone else. He then tells his friends that he really had fun the entire day and is very upset at what's happening now. He declares that he would fight back and do something about it. He says goodbye and would do it on his own.

I like the looks of determination on his face. When he was about to leave you can tell he’s nervous but he never voiced it out and still walked on.

Upon hearing his words, the rest of Team Baram decides they would help, too! Azz of course isn’t gonna just leave his Iruma-sama and he’s also upset that he didn’t realize that Iruma is upset. Sabnock on the other hand isn’t just gonna stand there and do nothing when his rival has a plan and he also thinks it’s a good idea. Agares wants to help stop whatever is causing the problem so he could nap peacefully. Sensei of course isn’t gonna leave the kids on their own.

On the other hand, Ronove is dragged with them unwillingly.

Meanwhile, Team Opera is also facing the beast in their area. Opera tells the others to evacuate and says it's his job to protect those dear to Iruma which impressed the kids in their care cause Opera is “a reliable adult”. Opera then battles the monster alone after everyone agreed to leave.

Ameri makes a return in the middle of the fight and tells Opera that she also has a duty to fight as she's the student council president. Opera happily agrees to tag team with her. The two pose back-to-back and were gonna kick ass and be awesome!

Just when they think they have a shot, they see Clara hanging on one of the beast's tail.

Team Kalego is still trying to fight on their end. Camui is commanding a flock of demonic birds nearby to attack the beast as distraction. The others ride a different bird and swoops in close with Lied stealing the beast's hearing.

It is revealed that their current actions are part of Jazz's latest plan. While the beast is freaking out, the boys attack with Goemon defending them. Jazz then uses the opportunity to get to the beast himself.

He uses the Ear-Wrecking Whistle he has which has the power to unleash a powerful soundwave that was given to him by his brother. Lied returns the beast's sense of hearing and Jazz blows on the whistle making the beast pass out.

Side note that it is explained that Jazz’s brother gave him that whistle and said Jazz could use it if he ever gets caught while pickpocketing so he could distract pursuers as he runs away. It’s might be helpful but the brother also mentioned that if Jazz uses it, it means he wasn’t good enough and it’s why he needed it in the first place. Added in the Interval that they made a little bet with Jazz claiming he’d never use the whistle. He is upset when he remembers but I think his reasoning to use it as an offensive weapon instead of a defensive one is pretty cool.

The boys rejoice in their victory with them praising Jazz on his successful plan. Jazz tells them that it wasn't just him but all of them who did really well.

While initially, they only picked Jazz as their leader due to his rank and also cause they don’t want to be on the frontlines, in the end they did respect him. Lied mentioned earlier that they didn’t really think they’d have a chance but hearing Jazz’s plan gave him hope cause it’s just really convincing. They also quickly congratulate and praise him for his plans and it took Jazz himself telling them that they contributed a lot to their victory for them to start praising themselves.

Jazz is pretty humble that he didn’t take all the credit himself even if it was being given to him. Plus it’s very big bro of him when he encouraged and praised them and looked very happy to see them happy about themselves.

Sadly, the win was another temporary one as the beast regain consciousness while they were off-guard. Kalego-sensei quickly went to their defense. As he uses his power to stop the attack aiming for the students, Kalego-sensei tells them they suck at defending and grades them all on their performance. He also mentions that even if they're kind of low, those are passing grades. Sensei then uses Cerberion to defeat the beast.

Kalego-sensei might not be the bestest of all the teachers but he’s not that bad. He let the kids handle things on their own to teach them but he would defend them if the situation is really bad. He actually graded them on their performance and told them what they did wrong and he even gave them passing scores. They all have varying grades depending on what they did which meant he was watching them closely, too.

The group is impressed by Kalego-sensei who then proceeds to place a chair to sit on on the unconscious beast itself. He then tells them that he found that particular event fun and had them take this group photo.

I found this hilarious in a way. He wasn’t having fun at all earlier but did when they had to fight which wasn’t surprising but what he does afterwards is. Who knew sensei likes showing off like this?

At the emergency shelter, Elizabetta and Kerori finds some kids crying which Elizabetta helps to calm down. Upon Kerori sensing everyone else's distress, she decides to change into her demi-dol persona, Kuromu, to try and calm them as well as she says it's her job as an idol to make people happy. She then performs for a cheering crowd.

Kerori is both proud of her work and herself while she also really cares about other people. I like that they showed this side of her character here.

Back at the battle, Ameri uses her bloodline ability: Romanticist. It's the ability to bring out her maximum power once she convinces herself that she's strong. She brings down the beast with it. Opera notes that it is a self-hypnotism magic that relies on the strong will of the user. Kuromu's song plays as very fitting background music while Ameri continues to fight. In the middle of battle, Ameri herself starts singing the song as well as a self-motivator!

It’s awesome how Kuromu’s song suits Ameri. I also found it cool how Ameri starts singing and later on, the two are having a “duet” while in different places. It was fun to watch!

Ameri successfully renders the creature unconscious. Opera is very impressed at this and praises Ameri. Opera then asks if she wants to work for Sullivan after she graduates. Ameri declines as she has already decided that she'd work with her father... at least until realization hit her that if she works for Sullivan, she'd be living under the same roof as Iruma. She then tells Opera that she'll think about the offer cause she might change her mind.

Opera isn’t a teacher but I like what they told Ameri. Ameri says she isn’t that strong yet but Opera tells her that she’s young and not being perfect meant she still has room to grow.

Also, Ameri’s imagination runs wild when she realized that she’d be living with Iruma if she works for them. She’d have to cook for Iruma and it’d be like marriage! So cute!

They also talk to Clara asking why she even came back and the girl answers she wanted to give a weapon if need be. Opera then asks her for a "secret weapon". I wonder what it is and what for? Hmm...

Back to Team Baram, Iruma and Agares have successfully located the trapped kids and are about to help them get out of the rubble. On the other hand, Azz and Sabnock are preparing for battle.

--

A lot of stuff happened in one episode and by that I meant that even certain scenes have little things in them that is worth mentioning. It’s nice how even with all of these content the episode doesn’t feel rushed or cramped.

Iruma and the gang has to deal with the beast on their end next week since the other two groups have already won their battle. After that, it’d be the threat of the Six Fingers. I’m excited for that and also the main trio seeing Kiriwo-senpai again!

Again, I like how the second season showcases all of the other characters. They have a big cast to work with and it’s nice to see bits and pieces of their abilities and personalities being given the limelight.

Thanks for reading this far!

[carewyncromwell]

Back with another installment of the POTC AU...and we have entered mermaid (and men) waters, folks. These two lovely creatures are Merman!Kai Williams and Mermaid!Keira Jones, owned by @hphm-brooke, based on their designs here, but with more of the “fishy” look the mermaids have while underwater in Pirates 4! (They look much more like Brooke’s concepts, when they’re above water.) I hope I did your kids justice, cherie! Yes, I know this visual logically doesn’t work at all as neat as it looks, since Carewyn should be drowning if there’s a hole in the ship she can see through: I was stupid and half asleep when I originally drew this, but I went ahead and conjured up an explanation for it for the actual writing section, so indulge me. XD;;

Some LGBT+ headcanons of mine for the HPHM cast are also featured here -- namely, McNully as gay, Skye as lesbian, and Charlie as aroace. (I also personally see Carewyn and Orion as ace/pan and gray-A, respectively. ^.^) Feel free to ignore them if you see these characters differently than I do...goodness knows I understand why plenty of people would want to hook up with Charlie!! He can always be interpreted as demi, gray-A, or just a late bloomer here too, if thou dost prefer. <3

For the previous part of this AU, click here -- for the full POTC AU tag, click here -- otherwise, enjoy! And beware any siren song you may hear...

x~x~x~x

The Revenge was an even more oppressive prison than it was when Carewyn was a child. Charles Cromwell had always been a very controlling, cruel man who only saw someone’s value based on what they could do for him. Even when you were family of his -- or, one could argue, especially if you were -- you were expected to never say “no” to him and to always put his desires over your own. So it was when she and Jacob were under his control way back when, and so it was now that Carewyn was alone.

Interestingly, despite Charles’s clear disdain for Carewyn having become a Commodore of the Navy, he actually seemed very coldly pleased by how she’d grown.

“The Navy may be a pathetic institution,” Charles said very coolly as he strode leisurely in a circle around Carewyn, “but at least fighting in the War toughened you up. You’re strong -- ruthless -- talented in swordplay and willing to do whatever it takes to defeat your enemies. You’ve been taught and trained to kill.”

He stopped right in front of her, his cold almond-shaped blue eyes boring into her as his lips spread into a smile.

“You are far from the weak, bleeding-heart little girl you were before, Carewyn. Before, you could only be useful in persuading other men to join my crew -- now, once we’ve finished at Isle de Muerta...you’ll be able to join your aunts by doing that and helping us with our plunder.”

Carewyn’s eyes, which were the same color and shape as Charles’s, met his gaze head-on with just as much coldness, but with no hint of a smile.

“I have no intention of being anything like Pearl or Claire,” she spat, “least of all by being one of your pawns.”

Pearl made a violent move forward, but Blaise grabbed her arm and gave her a dull warning look.

“Pawns?” repeated Charles. “I’m wounded, child. We are family -- we are blood. I raised you and your brother. I provided for you.”

“After killing both Mum and Dad right in front of us,” Carewyn said very coldly.

Charles feigned an empathetic expression, but it only came across as incredibly condescending.

“Yes -- it was a horrible thing. But your parents thought to abandon the crew, our family...to take you two children away from me, your grandfather, who loves you so dearly. And deserters and traitors must be held accountable -- any good leader knows that. It’s awful that it had to happen...but they left me no choice.”

Carewyn’s eyes flashed with hatred.

“First of all...our parents thought to protect their family -- Jacob and me -- from you. Second, any good leader knows that true loyalty is accrued through respect, not fear. Third, you always have a choice to do what’s right, and you didn’t. Fourth, I will NOT hear you try to tell me that my parents brought their deaths upon themselves when you pulled the trigger. And fifth...”

She took a step forward, aiming to get right up in Charles’s face -- Claire Cromwell grabbed her harshly by the arm and held her back, but Carewyn was strong enough to push herself forward right up into her grandfather’s personal space anyway.

“...you don’t know what love is,” hissed Carewyn venomously.

Charles’s face lost all hint of a smile or warmth, instead becoming oddly mask-like and detached as he considered her. The stillness was far, far more intimidating than his attempts at pleasantry -- it was like he truly felt nothing...like all possibility of persuasion or appealing to his better instincts was hopeless.

“It seems freedom has spoiled you, my child,” he said softly. “I suppose I’d have to blame your brother for being such a bad influence on you...at least while he was still alive.”

Carewyn’s face blanched and her eyes widened. ‘What?’

“Oh?” said Charles, raising his eyebrows in mock concern. “Were you unaware? I thought for sure something would’ve trickled back to you through the Navy. But I suppose if they had told you, you’d have had far less reason to be loyal to them. After all...the pirate who killed him ended up getting a full pardon from the crown, and now works alongside the new Lord Cutler Beckett at the East India Trading Company...a thoroughly prosperous woman, by all accounts.”

Charles’s face again grew much mask-like as he stared down at Carewyn.

“One would never know such a woman could be capable of shooting a man square in the back and then pushing him overboard into the ocean...and just when he’d returned from Port Royal, to find that his sister was gone...”

Carewyn could feel her shoulders quaking. Her eyes had fallen away from Charles and down to the deck a while ago, as she struggled to contain her emotions, but what he said --

It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. Jacob, dead -- Jacob, having gone to look for her, and not finding her because she’d gone off to War -- Jacob, being murdered right after he tried to come home --

“You’re lying!” snarled Carewyn, but her voice quaked with pain and grief despite her best efforts.

Charles didn’t answer. Clearly he didn’t think he had to. The silence was infinitely worse than if he’d chosen to mock her further -- it forced her to solely focus on the terrible doubt and pain flooding her chest and making it hard for her to breathe.

Charles’s gaze flickered up to Claire still holding Carewyn’s arm.

“Get Carewyn out of that Navy filth and into some proper clothes,” he said almost boredly. “Make sure to pick something that shows off her assets -- she comes from fine breeding, and we want the men of Tortuga to see that first.”

His gaze then rested on Carewyn again, twinkling with a cruel kind of satisfaction, as Claire yanked Carewyn away. Carewyn fought against her grip, but before she could pull out of it, Pearl grabbed her other arm and, with considerably more strength, helped Claire drag her away.

Carewyn was soon forced into a pair of men’s knee breeches so tight that they felt more like form-fitting stockings than trousers; tall black boots; an off-white sailor’s shirt identical to Pearl’s with such an oversized neckline that her chest was largely exposed; and an R-standard dark red coat just small enough that she couldn’t button it around herself to hide her chest better. Pearl had also pointed a pistol at Carewyn’s neck while Claire applied eye-make-up and bright red lipstick. Carewyn normally wouldn’t have minded wearing make-up -- she may have had to dress like a man out of necessity, but she liked women’s fashion a lot. Under the circumstances, though, it was impossible to enjoy it.

Needless to say, Carewyn was in no mood to take orders from Charles or exchange so much as a word with any member of his crew, whether it was her uncle, aunts, cousins, or in-laws. At one point, one night, one of those such cousins -- clearly very amused by how unhappy Carewyn was with her new “look” -- decided to try to force himself into her personal space, and Carewyn was so disgusted that she grabbed his own pistol out of his belt and pointed it right at his head to threaten him to back off. Rather than scare him, though, the cousin merely laughed.

“Go ahead!” he jeered. He clearly thought Carewyn was too much of a “good girl” to do it. “Go ahead and shoot me. Right in the head, come on -- ”

Carewyn pointed the pistol down at his thigh instead and fired.

BANG.

The younger man collapsed in on himself with a cry as his leg collapsed out from under him, the bone clearly blasted open from how close the pistol had been. Carewyn then gave the pistol a light shake to clear the smoke.

“Seems to me that place is closer to where you do most of your thinking than your head,” she said very coldly. She looked around at the rest of the crew, who’d stopped to watch, and added, “Now, all of you, stay away from me -- AHH!”

She suddenly felt a hand seize her around the neck and hoist her up off the ground.

The younger man somehow was back on his feet again, as if he hadn’t been injured at all. Carewyn’s shock only seemed to make him smugger still, even though his smile was oddly humorless.

“You’re so cute, little Winnie,” he said. “Thinking you can hurt somebody who feels nothing but pain already.”

At that very moment, the clouds parted, to reveal an eerie silver-white moon. And it was in that terrible, paralyzing moment that Carewyn saw why everyone said that the crew of the Revenge was cursed.

It seems that the medallion Jacob had stolen from Charles’s office wasn’t just a pirate trinket. It was one of 100 identical pieces from a cursed chest that once belonged to Cortez himself. Anyone who stole but one piece from the chest was cursed trapped between life and death, unable to enjoy any earthly pleasure -- food, drink, or otherwise -- with their true decaying form only revealed under moonlight. Jacob had taken the medallion with the thought that Carewyn could always sell it if they ever got really desperate for money -- Carewyn had kept it because it was one of the only things Jacob had ever been able to give her before he disappeared, and she cursed herself eternally for the sentiment now. Still, she told herself, it also hadn’t seemed safe to try to sell something that so clearly looked like a pirate medallion anyway -- just about anyone would ask where she got it, and that would’ve opened her up to a million more questions. In either case, that medallion Carewyn had was the last piece that Charles Cromwell needed to break the curse -- and thanks to her fame as the newest Commodore in the Navy, one of her portrait miniatures had found its way into Charles’s hands, revealing to him where his granddaughter had vanished to. And now he had both her and the medallion -- in short, everything he’d wanted.

Charles Cromwell decided to punish Carewyn for her little act of defiance by locking her in the brig. It was a very wet and mildew-stained place -- clearly it had been host to more than a few leaks. One hole in Carewyn’s cell in particular even showed clear blue ocean water -- she suspected that the Revenge had been patched up with quite a few spells to keep it from sinking, over the years. She remembered there was a witch on Tortuga that her grandfather sometimes made deals with -- maybe she’d given him something to keep the sea water from rushing in.

Carewyn could’ve easily broken out of the brig, but under the circumstances, she decided it wasn’t worth it. Not only did she not want to show off all her tricks yet, but the cell door would at least serve as a barrier between her and everyone else, for now. And that was what she’d wanted -- to get as far away from them as she could. Jacob would’ve understood. Jacob had always been there as a protective wall between her and the rest of their family, in the past...

The night in that cell was one of the coldest, darkest, and loneliest of Carewyn’s life. Her heart ached at the thought of Jacob -- of Percy, his face white with upset and terror when she told him to retreat -- of Bill and Charlie -- of Jules. She missed them so much, and yet she knew...she would likely never see them again. Charles Cromwell wouldn’t tolerate her insubordination for long, and if she failed to escape -- rather likely, considering that neither he nor the rest of her family could be killed, at this point -- she’d be murdered just like her parents.

...At least then...she’d see Jacob again...

She didn’t know when or how she’d fallen to sleep, but it was in her sleep, when she was most lonely, that Carewyn found herself again in her and Jacob’s tiny, old house in Port Royal, sitting at the side of her own bed, which currently held a young man with a worn brown bandana around his head, a black eye, and bandages around his arms. He looked up at her, his dark eyes rippling like the darkest sea -- and then, he rose from the bed. As he did, he changed, becoming older, with tanner skin and dreadlocks under an emerald green bandana. Orion didn’t say anything in the dream -- instead he held her gaze, drowning her in it as he gently held her hands in his...

When Carewyn awoke, she found her face wet with tears. Wiping her face clean, she sat awake for a while, revisiting Orion in her mind. As bizarre as it sounded -- just like he had many times in the past -- the thought of Orion seemed to bring her a sense of peace and focus she couldn’t quite explain. And it was for that reason that she found herself singing one of the songs she used to sing Orion to sleep, all those years ago...for the thought of him, if not for the man himself.

Abroad, as I was walking one evening in the spring,

I heard a maid in Bedlam who mournfully did sing.

Her chains she rattled on her hands, and thus replied she:

"I love my love because I know my love loves me.

Oh, cruel were his parents who sent my love to sea,

And cruel was the ship that bore my love from me --

Yet I love his parents since they’re his, although they've ruined me...

I love my love because I know my love loves me.”��

As luck would have it, however, her song attracted some attention. For the waters surrounding the dreaded Isle de Muerta contained merfolk -- specifically a mermaid called Keira and a merman called Kai, who hunted as a pair and had heard Carewyn singing through the hole in the ship’s hull.

“Was that you singing?” asked Kai. He seemed the more sociable of the two -- the red-haired mermaid behind him called Keira was staying at a distance.

Carewyn rested a hand beside the hole, trying to peek out at who was speaking. She couldn’t see them very well, but from what little she could see, they didn’t look like how she’d always heard mermaids described. They appeared human enough on top, of course, but she could see scales on their faces and there was no white in their eyes. Kai had one completely brown eye and one completely blue eye, while Keira had completely blue.

“Yes,” said Carewyn.

“I could hear the longing in your voice,” said Kai. “Like a woman in love.”

Carewyn’s face flushed, but she kept as proud of an expression as she could manage.

“...Are you merfolk?”

“Why, yes,” said Kai with a smile. “And you? Are you a pirate? Or perhaps you’re a maid from Bedlam, awaiting her love’s return?”

“Neither. My name is Carewyn...but most people call me Carey Weasley.”

Keira looked at Carewyn through the hole, clearly interested despite her distance.

“You’re different than the other humans on this ship,” she said thoughtfully.

Carewyn scoffed. “I’d certainly hope so. I suppose my grandfather and his crew fear you?”

“Fear, yes,” said Keira in an oddly stiff voice, “but we don’t approach them.”

The memory of her disgusting pirate cousin as a molting skeleton rippled over Carewyn’s mind and she grimaced.

“...I don’t blame you for that. I wouldn’t be here either, if I had a choice.”

Kai raised a curious eyebrow. “You’re a prisoner, then.”

Carewyn sighed and nodded. Kai’s eyes flickered over to Keira before returning to Carewyn.

“...Perhaps we can get you out.”

Carewyn was startled. “What?”

Kai’s lips turned up in a smile. “Come with us...we’ll help you escape.”

It was strange -- Carewyn hadn’t known these two at all, but something in their voices sounded so kind. Despite everything she’d ever heard about sirens, they seemed oddly persuasive...it was like even they were singing beautifully, even while talking...

But...

“No,” she said. “My grandfather and his crew can’t be killed. I’d never be able to defeat them, while they’re like that...and anyone who tried to help me would be killed right along with me.”

Her eyes softened. “Thank you...but I have to stay here.”

Both Kai and Keira looked genuinely startled. Kai seemed to rest on his stomach in mid-air, his tail flopping up over his head as he rested his chin on his fist, his lips spreading in a much fuller, fanged smirk.

“...Well, now,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone saying ‘no’ to one of our kind in order to protect them before. He shared a glance with Keira. “You truly are different, Carey Weasley.”

Keira exhaled tiredly. “Come on, Kai...let’s go.”

“Coming, coming,” said Kai in amusement, as Keira began to swim off. He added to Carewyn, “Guess we’ll never know if we would’ve been able to tempt you, if we’d met you above water...oh well. Best of luck, little Bedlam maid -- thanks for the new song!”

Kai swam in a circle to follow along after Keira and disappeared into the dark blue depths.

Back on the Artemis, the days of their voyage dragged. Jules had heard all sorts of exciting stories about pirates since she was a child, but now that she was onboard a ship with them, she found that it was far less glamorous than one would think. There was so little to do to pass the time, aside from trimming sails or swabbing decks. Charlie and Bill admitted that was a lot of what sailing on board ships was like in general -- there was plenty of excitement, sure, but only inter-spliced briefly between long stretches of nothing. On top of that, the water on board went sour before long, making it so everyone had to drink rum instead, since it was the only drink that didn’t go bad at sea. The best thing by far for Jules, though, was that there was no dress code -- and so she ditched her fancy dress as quick as she could, traded them in for a pair of men’s breeches, and then belted her chemise around her waist so that it fit more tightly like a shirt. She’d be a little embarrassed walking around in her underwear for a while, but after a while, she concluded it really wasn’t any more revealing than the loose-fitting shirt and men’s breeches Skye was wearing. Bill’s ears turned a very dark red when he first saw Jules out of her dress, though.

Their first real burst of action came when they had to battle a torrential storm that had blown in. The Artemis had been tossed about as if it were a toy in a bathtub, sea water splashing onto the deck with full-bodied waves that could knock a man off their feet. It was likely only thanks to Orion’s bizarre idea to tie everyone securely to the mast with a long piece of rope that served as a life line that no one was thrown overboard. The following day, the storm had fortunately cleared to leave an almost surreal calm. Soon everyone returned to the boring routine of before, mending torn sails and swabbing the deck, as if nothing had even happened.

The helmsman solely followed Orion’s direction of where to go, rather than using a map, so Bill, Jules, and Charlie had assumed he already knew where the Isle de Muerta was. One could therefore imagine how horrified Bill was overhearing McNully talking offhandedly to Orion one afternoon about his compass “not working right for him” -- Jules recalled that it didn’t work at Port Royal either. When the three confronted Orion about it, the Captain responded rather cryptically.

“Lieutenant Weasley said that my compass didn’t point north, Miss Farrier. That doesn’t mean it’s broken.”

Orion turned on his heel and headed back up to the helm. “A bit more to starboard.”

Bill opened his mouth to protest, but McNully climbed down one of the loose ropes enough to pat his shoulder.

“Easy, Mr. Weasley.”

He lowered himself back down into his chair and rolled it around to properly face them.

“The Captain’s compass isn’t like most compasses -- just like Orion himself isn’t like most captains.”

“But you said it wasn’t working right,” Charlie said angrily. “And all he ever seems to look at is that compass. How do we know we’re even heading the right way? Does he even know how to get to Isle de Muerta at all?”

Jules had to admit, she had doubts too. Orion had sounded pretty confident that he’d be able to find Carewyn -- but how could anyone do that, when they didn’t even have a compass that could point north?

The dispute was interrupted, however, when Orion abruptly called out from the helm.

“Put out the lamps!”

The crew immediately tensed up, and bolted around, putting out every lamp. Jules looked around in confusion.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “It’s almost dusk -- we won’t be able to see!”

“The water is darker and colder here,” said Orion solemnly, “and there’s a song on the air. The lamps would only antagonize them further.”

“‘Them?’“ recurred Jules.

“Mermaids, of course,” said Skye impatiently.

“Mermaids?”

“I heard those tales when we were all in the Navy,” said Bill, glancing at Jules a bit uneasily. “Mermaids are attracted to singing and lamplight.”

"Right,” said McNully. “There’s still a 32% chance they might show up even without those, though, so you’d best keep your wits about you.”

Skye nodded. “Mermaids are no joke. They might look beautiful above water, but they don’t look half so pretty under the water when they pull you down to the depths and eat you alive.”

Jules cringed.

“If they’re that dangerous,” she said slowly, “why don’t you do what Odysseus did, to escape the sirens? Just have someone else tie you up really tightly on the mast, and you can’t jump overboard.”

“Yeah!” Charlie piped up. “I reckon Jules, Skye, and I can handle running the ship for a bit on our own -- pretty faces don’t really do much for me.”

McNully laughed. “If being attracted to gorgeous women was the problem, then I’d be a better choice to help than Skye.”

Skye rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Mermaids don’t just tempt you with sex,” the quartermaster explained. “They’re temptation itself. Everything about them draws you in, makes you open up to them and talk to them...lets them look right through you. They’ll try to tempt you with whatever they think you want most in the world -- and when you give in and get too close...”

She made a knife-like gesture across her throat with her finger.

“There’s only one person on this ship that’s known to have ever said ‘no’ to a mermaid before,” said McNully, and he nodded up at the helm. “And that’s the Captain.”

Bill, Charlie, and Jules all looked up in surprise. Orion had his back to them and was looking out to sea with narrowed, unreadable eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, the crew could just barely make out a eerie, beautiful song, which seemed to float on the wind itself.

“...her chains she rattled in her hands and thus replied she...”

“Stopper your ears!” McNully said urgently. “Quickly!”

The crew hurriedly did as they were told. Orion, however, did not do so. Instead he darted down to the main deck, grabbed one of the lanterns, and set about relighting it.

“Orion, what are you DOING?!” bellowed Skye.

Orion didn’t answer her. McNully rolled hurriedly around the deck as he tried to make sure everyone blocked their ears, but Orion completely ignored him, instead rushing over to the side of the ship with the lit lantern.

The singing was getting louder now.

“Yet I love his parents since they’re his, although they've ruined me... I love my love because I know my love loves me...”

Just as Bill had finished helping Charlie and Jules completely stopper their ears, he caught the sound of a low male voice singing the next line.

“With straw I'll weave a garland, I'll weave it wondrous fine...”

Bill looked up in alarm at Orion. He had a hand cupped over his mouth to magnify his volume as he sang over the ship’s railing.

“With roses, lilies, daisies I'll mix the eglantine...”

“Stop!”

Bill barreled over, grabbing Orion’s shoulder and trying to pull him back away from the edge.

“What are you doing?! Singing and lanterns attract mermaids!”

“That’s the plan,” said Orion, his voice almost frustratingly calm.

Bill saw the water burbling up beside the edge of the ship. His heart clenched with fear.

Orion, however, paid him no mind -- he turned right to the form burbling under the water, his hand beside his mouth again as he continued,

“And I'll present it to my love when he returns from sea... I love my love because I know my love loves me."

Jules quickly grabbed Bill’s arm, pulling him back away from Orion. Bill looked at her anxiously, but she merely reached up to stopper his left ear with some fabric she’d ripped out of her chemise. Orion wasn’t going to explain, so all they could do is get ready.

Within moments, a woman with red hair had appeared out of the water. Her chin and neck were still largely submerged as she blinked up at Orion.

“You know the words,” she said almost shyly.

“Yes,” said Orion. “Where did you hear that song?”

The mermaid blinked slowly. “A maid imprisoned in the brig of a pirate ship.”

Jules had been just about to stopper Bill’s right ear when he straightened up sharply. He turned his head sharply to better listen to the conversation.

"What did the maid look like?” Orion asked.

The mermaid’s eyes flickered over the pirate captain’s face carefully as she eased her head and shoulders out of the water.

“I could not tell for sure. The brig was dark. The hole looking into it was small.”

“Yet you spoke to her?”

“Yes. She was a selfless woman. Very selfless.”

“When did you see her?”

“Very early this morning...before dawn.”

Orion’s dark eyes narrowed. The mermaid reached out to grab onto the edge of the Artemis so as to slide herself out of the water and closer to Orion.

“You know her,” she said.

“Yes,” Orion answered quietly.

The mermaid’s eyes seemed to soften. “...You love her.”

Bill, who had been listening carefully, looked quickly at Orion’s face for some sort of reaction -- but once again his face was remarkably calm, and he didn’t respond.

“I could take you to her,” the mermaid said sweetly. “I know where she is...”

Bill felt his mind drifting slightly, as if he’d suddenly become very sleepy -- her voice sounded almost soothing -- and she knew Carewyn? She could take them to Carewyn?

“No, thank you,” said Orion with the kind of polite finality one would more likely hear at a Christmas function than to a creature that wanted to eat human flesh. “If you saw her this morning, we’ll be caught up with them soon enough. The wind will take us where we need to go, if only we have our sails pointed in the right direction.”

He inclined his head respectfully.

“Best of luck finding your next meal elsewhere.”

The mermaid frowned in immense confusion at him, looking almost put-out.

“You and Carey Weasley are both very strange humans,” she said. Her lips then curled into a faintly wry smile as she added, “She was not tempted by our call either. That should please you.”

And with that, she splashed back into the dark water and disappeared.

Orion blew out the flame on the lamp and turned back around.

“It’s all right now!” he bellowed loud enough that everyone could just barely make out his voice through the stuffing in their ears. “It’s safe!”

Everyone little by little unblocked their ears. Bill turned around to face Orion properly, his brown eyes rippling with amazement and a bit of guilt despite himself, as the pirate captain walked past him.

“You did know what you were doing.”

Orion turned to Bill. The eldest Weasley rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I misjudged you.”

Orion inclined his head slightly to Bill, his lips touched with traces of a smile.

“A common enough thing, for people to do,” he said patiently. “Think nothing of it.”

He strolled back up to the helm, leaving Bill and Jules alone.

Jules turned to Bill. He still had his eyes on Orion’s back.

“Bill...is everything okay?”

Bill glanced at Jules and then back up at Orion, and he swallowed.

The mermaid had said Orion loved Carewyn. He didn’t make any kind of reaction that would prove it was true -- but he didn’t deny it either. And more importantly, back at the church, he’d said he wouldn’t have hurt “either Bill’s or his lady,” when talking about Jules and Carewyn. And immediately after, he spoke of Carewyn’s past, of her history with him...of details even he didn’t know, like her apparently having worn a red ribbon in her hair since she was little...with such a soft voice that it wouldn’t be a stretch to think there was something fond in it, under that detached affect..

Bill hadn’t had a real friend in his life until he’d met Carewyn. They’d connected almost immediately out of their mutual desire to protect and nurture others, and they always seemed to be in sync whenever they had to battle together. Bill had always been a shoulder for others to cry on, but it was Carewyn who had first offered her shoulder to him, while they were fighting the Spanish together. The friendship and caring she’d shown him made her family to him more than her using his name alone ever could have. She was a sister to him -- his best mate -- someone he loved and cherished like few others in the world. And he wanted every happiness for her, just as he knew she did for him...

But what happiness could there be for her, with Orion? He was a pirate. There’d be no way the Navy would pardon him with the East India Trading Company breathing down their necks -- and would Carewyn truly be happy living the life of a pirate, after having been raised on a pirate ship like the Revenge? She’d built up a stable life for herself in the Navy, and Bill knew how much Carewyn loved being able to come back to Port Royal after a long expedition -- to come home, after being at sea. But pirates had no home. There was nothing anchoring a pirate. And no matter what Orion’s feelings were, and how much Bill suspected they might actually be something genuine...it didn’t mean a thing if Carewyn didn’t feel the same way.

“Jules...” he said at last, very quietly, “...is Carey...in love with Amari?”

Jules was startled by the use of her nickname. She glanced from Bill to up at Orion at the helm and back, frowning deeply. 

“...Love, I’m not sure, but...back at the fort, before Captain Amari rescued me...Carey told me that she’d bandaged him up and hidden him from the Navy, when they were young. So when Captain Amari figured out who she was...he let her go. I reckon they probably just made it look like Carey broke free.”

This information startled Bill. His brown eyes brightened in understanding.

“He owed her a life debt,” he said softly.

Jules smiled. “No. I thought the same thing -- that it was gratitude, on Captain Amari’s part. But...”

Her dark eyes softened.

“...Carey said...that he was simply a good man. And I don’t know...but the look in her eyes, as she looked out to sea...I’ve never seen her eyes look like that before.”

She reached out and took Bill’s hand. Bill gave it a squeeze.

“The water temperature has returned to normal,” announced Orion from the helm, emptying the bucket of sea water he’d filled earlier over the side. “Go ahead and relight the lamps -- we should approach Isle de Muerta within the next day or so.”

[lizzylunawizardessfanfics]

Not Your Time

Pairing: Light X Lizzy

Summary: Having been assigned to take care of the nameless that have been appearing in Gedonelune; Florin and Light were heading there though as there was a slight change in mission when word got to them about a natural born dragon having shown up. (Slightly spoilerish) 

“Why do they keep just appearing,” I shouted in frustration while I sliced through more of the shadow like figures; it didn’t matter how many I took out as only more would appear. “Light! Light look out,” I heard Florin shouting as turning around I was going to slash the shadow that was attacking me, but when turning I felt something hit me in the chest causing a rippling pain as I could feel it spread. “D-Damnit,” I cursed under myself already starting to feel light headed when the last thing I could remember seeing was the shadows dissipating before everything went black. 

I don’t know what happened but I must have passed out, I thought to myself as though I tried to open my eyes they wouldn’t for some reason. Was this what it was like to die, or could it be a coma, whatever it was I couldn’t move. I started to hear a gentle hum, a gentle voice, I could hear the female voice say, “You should be more careful, it isn’t your time.” There was a soft brush of a hand over my eyes as they felt like I could finally open them though when I did so my vision was still blurry. Blinking a couple of times I started to see a girl; long hair as I could make of the soft blue color that faded down to an ash gray, was she wearing small flowers in her hair. But the most surprising feature I noticed was that where the whites of the eyes were, they were black instead as it oddly made the girl’s blue eyes stand out. 

“Are you an angel,” I asked as it would certainly surprise me if that was what they really looked like. Hearing her laugh I was now sitting up and looking around to see I wasn’t in the open field we were fighting at; it was a forest well I should say more like a dead forest as there were no leaves on the branches and the trees themselves appeared to be shriveled up as a thick fog covered the ground and all around the trees giving it an eerie feeling. “Who I am, or what I am isn’t important. It’s time for you to wake up,” she said as when I looked over to look at her she was gone and in her place a light shined causing my eyes to close.

“Light! Light wake up,” heard Florin’s voice when I started to open my eyes letting out a soft groan in pain. “Glad to see you’re alright,” Florin said with his usual large grin as Zurvan came over to us. “If that’s what you wanna call it sure,” I said while rubbing the back of my neck as the image of the girl flashed in my head. Deciding to keep what happened to myself I started to get up as I could only question if it was real or could it have been just some odd dream. Having made sure my wounds healed up the two of us headed off to make our way to the academy in Gedonelune on Zurvan’s back. It wasn’t too long of a trip to the esteemed academy thanks to Zurvan’s speed. It certainly was a big place, we were currently following a member of the Ministry to the headmaster’s office. “I can’t believe we’re going to see a natural born dragon,” Florin spoke overly excited. I rolled my eyes at how he’d just go on and on, I just wish he’d stop rambling. Then when we came to a stop in front of double doors “Here we are,” Albert said with a smile before giving a knock and pushing the doors open. Upon entering the room it was a spacious room that had a group of people inside. “Welcome thank you both for coming,” The man dressed in black, I could only assume the headmaster thanked us which I gave a simple nod of the head.

Looking over to the group of people there were a mix of people in uniforms of white, red, and gold as the rest were dressed in uniforms of black and blue. The one holding the small white dragon was a girl, and that’s when I took in a sharp breath; looking at her she had medium pastel blue hair and baby blue eyes. It struck me as a sense of familiarity, but this was the first time I’ve seen her. That was when I saw her looking over at us and her eyes suddenly went big and then quickly glanced away. “Oh look at him he’s so cute,” Florin shouted, running over to the girl as she seemed to jump back a bit from Florin’s close proximity to her. The baby dragon already looked like he was weary of Florin but when he went to reach out to probably pet the dragon it chirped angrily and nuzzled closer to the girl. “It’s alright, you’re perfectly safe,” I could just barely hear her talk to the dragon while she petted his head which he seemed happily content. The meeting went on as it seemed that for the mean time it was decided that the dragon was staying with Lizzy until he was more grown. She even named him; Shu. The meeting went on a while longer before it came to an end. 

It was a couple of days as I’ve been watching over Lizzy and Shu since that’s what Florin has wanted. Lizzy certainly was a strange girl, but she was interesting; though I will admit there are times where it seems she acts slightly stranger than usual, but I don’t think much of it. We were all currently gathered in the cafe that was in the night class, I silently watched while Zeus and the other guys were being loud. ‘Hey,” I heard Lizzy’s voice greet as she sat on the stool next to mine as Shu was happily nested in her arms. “Hey,” I replied back plainly before adding “Are they always like this?” She let out a giggle as hearing that caused something in my chest to stir. “Yeah the guys can get pretty rowdy whenever we’re hanging out here, haha but then again they’re pretty rowdy no matter where we are,” she answered as she said it more in a fond manner than an annoyed one. The door suddenly slammed open to reveal Klaus as he looked completely out of breath as he was missing his hat. 

“Klaus, what are you doing here, what’s wrong,” I heard Elias ask when he went over in which everyone else stopped what they were doing. “There’s something approaching the academy,” he said while trying to catch his breath as everyone seemed to be in shock and when I looked over to Lizzy she was surprised but recovered and jumped off the stool. We were all running to get outside and once we did the sight that was in the distance was a disturbing one. “What are those,” Zeus shouted as in the distance it looked like it was a flock of creatures as though it was hard to make out what they were from here, but I already had a bad feeling. Looking over to Florin as he was already looking at me with the same expression of concern. I suddenly heard Zeus and Lizzy having a small argument; “Just take him for me,” she said at Zeus as he just gave her a narrow look before shouting back “What for?!” Letting out a frustrated growl Lizzy carefully but forcefully handed Shu over to Zeus as she snipped back “Just shut up and hold him for me please!”

She was quick to walk away as she was passing by us all when she started to undo the buckle of her cloak, I could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. “Lizzy you got-” I heard Albert calling over to her as to my surprise when the cloak came off and tossed to the side she was dressed in a white uniform instead of her usual prefect uniform. “I’m already on it Albert,” she shouted back as what she was doing with a pocket knife-wait... Is she about to hurt herself?! Watching as she sliced her right palm while reciting a spell I could see the trickle of blood when three purple magic circles in the air appeared. “She’s a necromancer,” I heard Florin say in shock as there before all of us appeared a reanimated griffin, hippogriff, and a thunderbird. 

She ran and hopped on the back of the thunderbird as it let out a loud squawk before taking off into the air as the other beast followed as storm clouds gathered. “Well what are we waiting for, let's go help her,” Caesar jumped in until Albert shook his head in a no manner. “It’d be safer if we stayed out of her way; aside from Florin and Light being here, right now she’s the only Ministry agent here qualified for combat,” Albert said as Zurvan finally arrived and landed for us to hop on. “Surely that can’t be-” I heard Elias interjecting until I heard Klaus’ voice cut him off. “Unfortunately as much as I hate to say this, but Albert is correct. Out of the three of us here she’s the only one extensively trained for these situations,” Klaus said as looking out there were bolts of lightning and other spells flying through the air. 

“Don’t worry we’ll provide her back up,” Florin said right before we took off and Zurvan flew through the sky. “It was just as we feared… Demi-wyverns,” Florin said in a worried tone as I felt an overwhelming feeling of anxiety ripple through my body; if they were here… She could only be close by. For a moment I was drawn to watching the reanimated thunderbird maneuver through the sky as the rain was pouring and there was Lizzy fighting casting spells but she also was wielding a blade that was in a similar shape of a cleaver, but only much longer. It was actually amazing to witness it was almost captivating, but I focused on helping fight and taking out the demi-wyverns. Letting out a low growl I cut through another beast as there really was just no end to them but then the sound of the all familiar roar that would haunt my dreams echoed throughout the sky. The storm clouds seem to only grow darker as from the clouds was when she came out of the clouds; the sorrow dragon. “What the hell is that thing,” I heard Lizzy shout which though I couldn’t see her face I could only tell how shocked she must feel, this wasn’t good; the sorrow dragon is a lot bigger than last time.

“Lizzy, do not engage it! Repeat do not engage! That’s the sorrow dragon, you’ll get badly hurt,” Florin shouted loudly as another clap of thunder filled the air. The dragon’s mouth opened as it was charging up a blast as I wasn’t sure where she was going to aim it. “Zurvan be careful dodging its attacks,” Florin told Zurvan while the black artificial dragon nodded his head. The countless beams of lasers came flying out of the dragon’s mouth as Zurvan was flying and weaving through the sky to avoid them. Glancing over to check on Lizzy, her thunderbird and other beasts were evading the beams. But that all changed when I witnessed a demi-wyvern fly right into them allowing the sorrow dragon to unleash an attack. “Lizzy,” I shouted as I watched in horror as she held onto the now plummeting thunderbird until it hit the ground. 

Zurvan was already starting to fly down to land while continuing to avoid the beams; lord please let her be alright. I adjusted myself and jumped off of Florin’s dragon and once I landed I started to run over to Lizzy as from here I could see her slowly moving. “Get up! Lizzy you gotta get up,” it seemed the both of us were shouting as glancing up at the dragon she was already aiming another attack at Lizzy. Lizzy rolled out of the way right in time as the beam blew up the ground she was just laid seconds ago, what a relief. Cutting down the demi-wyverns that were getting in my way I didn’t stop, I couldn’t stop running; I needed to protect her. Lizzy continued to jump out of the way of the beams and dodged them, good to see she was light on her feet.

I was getting closer, if I could just grab her and summon my bird I could at least get her to safety. I heard her shriek in pain as my eyes widened in fear when seeing the blood spill from her left arm, oh no she was slowing down. A twisting pain in my chest constricted my chest with every beam that just managed to nick her. The attacks came to a stop as I noticed the dragon was going for one big attack; no, no, no! I can’t allow her to kill another person I care about! Finally having reached her that beam was already flying right this way, I had no other choice in which I pushed Lizzy out of the way. I felt the familiar searing pain when the attack hit as I heard my name being screamed. Lizzy was the last thing I saw before my sight became blurry and feeling my body dropping to the ground. “I’m… Sorry, please forgive me,” I softly said and then everything went black.

I felt myself laying on the ground, though I didn’t feel any pain my whole body felt so sore, so heavy. Again just like the first time I couldn’t open my eyes as I didn’t hear humming, I didn’t hear the girl’s voice. “This must be it then… huh,” I thought to myself as I came to terms with death a long time ago, but why do I feel so sad. “Light!” I suddenly heard my name be called when I felt hands on my shoulders and I was being shook. “Light you stupid jerk wake up,” I heard the voice say again as feeling my eyes being able to open I froze; that sounded a lot like Lizzy. My eyes opening up I blinked a few times and there she was. “Wait-wait… Lizzy is that you,” I asked as I know I was confused last time I was here but… Why was she here, how was she even here to begin with. “Yes it’s me! Now what the hell were you thinking throwing your life away like that,” she shouted as though she sounded angry she looked more upset than anything.

Shaking her head she pulled her arms away and back to her side. “It was the only thing I could think of! I didn’t want to watch another person I cared about dying to that creature… I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if you had died,” I answered slightly looking away though I felt her eyes on me. Hearing a sigh slip from her mouth I looked over at her when she said, “Look we don’t have time for this, we both gotta wake up now.” I opened my mouth to ask her something, but just like the first time there was a bright light blinding me.

My eyes shot open as I was quick to force myself to sit up, heavily breathing. Wincing I hunched over in pain, feeling the soreness of my body but then I remember Lizzy had to be around here. “Lizzy,” I called out her name picking my head up and looking around which right by me resting against a tree she was. I watched as she woke up and looked over at me before she started to get up. Looking at her she had a couple more tears in her uniform. She walked over to me and held out her hands to me as she told me “Come on, we gotta get out of here. I have no clue if all the demi-wyverns are gone or not.” Taking her hands I was able to get up with her help as thankfully it wasn’t that painful to stand, her hands felt so warm. 

“Wait Lizzy tell me how you were able to do that, how is it even possible for anyone to be even able to do that,” I asked as it made no sense, never in my life have I ever heard of a human being able to even do such a thing. “Now ISN’T the time for this talk, once we’re safely back at the academy I’ll tell ya okay,” she said before pointing at my chest before quickly adding “And don’t you EVER do that again got it!” Not wanting to anger or upset her any more I just silently nodded in agreement and with that the two of us started walking. “Say what happened after I blacked out,” I asked after a little while of there being silence between us. “I freaked out and ran over to grab your body to get you out of there. Florin and Zurvan were continuing to fight off the demi-wyverns as thankfully some friends of ours from the Ministry showed up to help out though… The sorrow dragon did get away,” she softly explained as while walking she stopped for a moment, wincing as if she was in pain and slightly hunched over.

“You’re hurt,” I said, making my way over to her as quick and carefully as possible, but she just seemed to step away from me. “I’m fine, nothing that I can’t handle. It’ll heal on its own,” she responded quickly as when she turned to start walking again my eyes widened at the sight of her back. Her once medium long hair looked shorter like it got sloppily chopped but that wasn’t the worst of it; the back of her uniform had three long diagonal tears as the fabric was stained red. Rushing to catch up to her I grabbed her wrist and carefully pulled her back, she must have been in so much pain as it only made my chest get that familiar twisting feeling. She looked like she was ready to say something but paused only to say, “While I was trying to carry you to the forest a demi-wyvern attacked me from behind is all. Like I said before it’ll heal on its- ugh.”

I tensed up at the sight of her starting to slightly stagger, even the look on her face made it look like she wasn’t doing so good. Lizzy just suddenly started falling towards me as I closed the little distance there was catching her in my arms before I fell to my knees while holding her. Pushing her still wet hair out of her face I noticed a small cut on her cheek, well it looked more like a small scar now. “Lizzy, Lizzy,” I called her name in a panic which I put my fingers to her neck to check her pulse; her pulse felt normal but maybe not as strong. Gritting my teeth I felt so angry with myself, I tried to protect her yet I still failed to even do that. I was brought out of my thoughts by a screeching sound and when I looked up I saw there were a couple of demi-wyverns. “Shit this isn’t good,” I growled to myself taking a small moment to glance down at Lizzy holding her head to my chest protectively. Grabbing the handle of my sword it wasn’t going to be easy to fight in my condition, but if I don’t it’ll be the end of both of us. 

The next thing to happen took me by surprise; suddenly out of nowhere the nameless appeared and attacked the creatures until they were destroyed. “Great first the demi-wyverns and now the nameless; could anything else make this day any worse.” I thought to myself as oddly the nameless seemed to just… Melt away but I was back on alert when I heard an unfamiliar voice. “To think things have taken a turn for the worse, though I guess it hasn’t gone to complete shit,” I looked over to see a man with long pink hair that was tied back and only one eye visible and wore a mask covering his mouth; needless to say I didn’t like the looks of this guy. “Who the hell are you,” I asked loudly, giving him a cold glare. “Who I am is none of your business. Give her to me,” the mystery man said as he seemed to be eyeing Lizzy, taking a step closer which I held her closer to me while being mindful of her injuries. “No way I’m handing her over to you,” I snapped back as the pinkette just seemed to look mad by the furrow of his brow. “Just to make myself clear I could care less what happens to you, but on the other hand I need her to be alive or everything I’ve worked so hard on will have just gone to waste. Now hand her over so I can bring her to the safety of the academy,” he repeated himself as I had no idea what this guy was talking about as he continued to walk closer. “I said no! Wherever she goes I go with her. There’s no way I’m just letting some stranger take her,” I sternly said as he rolled his eyes. 

“Heh another knight keeping guard, how annoying,” he simply stated while I was slowly standing up and carrying Lizzy in both arms. Another knight, what’s that even supposed to even mean? I mentally questioned to myself but decided not to dwell on it too much. Keeping my distance from the man I followed him as I was ignoring the tiredness my body was feeling with every step I took. I don’t know how long it took but soon enough I saw us drawing near the academy entrance, we finally made it. Collapsing to my knees I heavily breathed as I felt so tired, but I was happy to have managed to get us back safely. “You better protect her, if anything is to happen to her I’ll hunt you down,” I heard the pink haired man say and when I went to look over to where he was, the man was suddenly gone. Too exhausted to care I felt my eyes growing heavier and harder to keep open. “Hey guys I found them,” I heard a loud voice in the distance that I couldn’t make out. “Alfonse! Alfonse get over here,” more shouting voices I heard but I passed out before I could see anyone.

Feeling myself stir in my sleep I moved my hands to rub my eyes before opening them and all I saw was a ceiling. Just at a glance I guess I was in an infirmary and when I looked down at myself I saw I was wrapped in bandages. I really couldn’t remember much besides getting us back to the front of the academy- wait where’s Lizzy?! Scrambling to sit up in the bed, I needed to go find her. “Light stop! You can’t strain yourself, your body is still healing,” I was stopped by two hands and looking to my right was when I saw it was her. She was in casual clothing, I noticed how both her legs and arms were wrapped in bandages and a large band aid on her face where the small scar was. “How are you feeling, I was so worried when you just fell over- your hair,” I asked as I reached a hand out to put it over the bandaid and it was then when I noticed her hair was shorter, moving my hand to her hair to lightly run my fingers through it and gently held the end of it.

“I’m sorry for scaring you like that, I kinda overused my magic. Huh, oh right haha,” she explained as seeing her back to her usual self more or less made me feel relieved though seeing her face slightly grow pink was cute. “After I woke up and Alfonse checked up on me Klaus helped fix my hair. Can’t walk around looking like a five year old gave me a haircut haha,” she continued to talk which I couldn’t help but chuckle a little, but deep down I couldn’t help but still feel guilty about everything. “Lizzy, why did you save me the first time,” I asked suddenly which I seemed to take her by surprise when she looked at me with wide eyes before they went back to normal. “Well I guess I should first explain myself huh,” she said as I looked at her, carefully listening to her tell her story. 

“So your contract with death… In exchange for you to perform more advanced spells of necromancy; you became one of his apprentices in maintaining people who die,” I repeated the main aspect of her story in which she nodded her head in a yes manner. “I saved you then because it wasn’t your time, as when I saved you again it still wasn’t your time; however even if it was,” I heard her talk more but she paused momentarily and my eyes widened when I saw she was starting to cry. “Even if it was, I would’ve saved you regardless because I couldn’t let you die like that! I didn’t want you to die protecting me,” she said in between her crying as it broke my heart to see her like this. Putting both hands on her face I cleared her tears away when I said, “Hey, hey please don’t cry. I’m sorry please forgive me.” Not only did she only get more hurt because of me, I made her cry because I made her worried; way to go Light. “J-Just don’t do that again,” I heard her say after sniffling to which I softly smiled leaning closer and placing a kiss on her forehead “I promise.” 

“You should get some more rest; if you need anything just let me-ah” I heard her talking when she started to move to get up from the bed, but I carefully grabbed her and pulled her back over until she was lying beside me. “L-Light what are you doing,” she seemed to grow flustered and embarrassed by my actions as I lightly rolled my eyes. “You’re saying I need rest when you should be resting too, I wasn’t the only one who got hurt during that fight and if I have to hold you to keep you here I will,” I stated as I watched her puff out her cheeks in a pouting manner. “Fine fine you win,” she said giving in as it actually felt nice holding her in this manner, that warmth she gave off; it was relaxing. Briefly staring at the ceiling I then looked back down to Lizzy to say something but it seemed she already fell asleep as even Shu was fast asleep next to her. Softly smiled I brushed her bangs out of her face before carefully removing the flower from her hair so it wouldn’t get damaged. “Sleep well my angel,” I whispered, deciding to close my eyes to rest able to rest easy knowing she was safely beside me.

Bonus: here’s a lil drawing done by your’s truly a while back when I first came up with the fic idea~ 

[mulanxiaojie]

The high-profile remake, with an all-Asian cast, a PG-13 rating and a politically-charged star, was always going to pose major risks. Then the coronavirus upended its entire release plan.

Liu Yifei, star of Disney's live-action remake of Mulan, lives in Beijing, but she is originally from Wuhan, epicenter of the coronavirus. In January, the 32-year-old actress left China for Los Angeles to begin press for the film, weeks before the virus' outbreak, which has now infected more than 77,000 people, killed more than 2,500 and wreaked havoc in her home country. She says she doesn't have any family or close friends personally affected by the disease — she left Wuhan when she was 10 — but the epidemic has added an impossible-to-foresee variable to her film's March 27 worldwide release.

Liu pauses when asked about the outbreak. "It's really heavy for me to even think about it," she says. "People are doing the right thing. They are being careful for themselves and others. I'm so touched actually to see how they haven't been out for weeks. I'm really hoping for a miracle and that this will just be over soon."

In China, Liu is a household name, nicknamed "Fairy Sister" for her elegance and beauty. Modeling since age 8, she broke out in the 2003 Chinese TV series Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, a commercial hit in China and the highest-rated Chinese drama in Taiwan at the time, and hasn't stopped working in film and TV since, earning fashion partnerships with Adidas, Shiseido and Armani along the way.

Disney and director Niki Caro selected Liu from more than 1,000 aspirants from around the world to star as Hua Mulan, the Chinese heroine who disguises herself as a man to fight in the Imperial Army in a film carefully designed to appeal to Western and Chinese audiences alike. But now there's a question of when Mulan will be released in China. With the coronavirus shutting down all 70,000 of the country's theaters since Jan. 24, it's unclear — and more unlikely every day — that multiplexes will reopen in time for its planned release. (Several high-profile U.S. films, including Universal's Dolittle and 1917 and Searchlight's Jojo Rabbit, saw their February releases scrapped.) "It certainly has worldwide and global appeal, but there's no denying that this is a very important film for the Chinese market," says Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It's a huge blow for Disney if it doesn't release in China." Disney president of production Sean Bailey says he's "looking at it day by day."

Of course, this puts added pressure on the $200 million budgeted film — the priciest of Disney's recent live-action remakes — to perform in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Liu, who is enveloped in her own storm of controversy based on a political social media post about the Hong Kong protests, says she is trying hard not to think about all that. "It would really be a loss for me if I let the pressure overtake my possibilities," says the actress, who learned English when she lived in New York as a child for four years with her mother, a dancer, after her parents' divorce.

Even before the outbreak of the virus, Mulan — the first Disney-branded film with an all-Asian cast and the first to be rated PG-13 (for battle scenes) — would have marked one of the studio's riskiest live-action films to date. While the original 1998 Mulan was a critical and commercial hit, garnering a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination and grossing more than $300 million worldwide ($475 million today), it faltered at the Chinese box office. Part of the reason is that the Chinese government stalled its premiere for nearly a year because of lingering anger over Disney's 1997 release of Kundun, Martin Scorsese's Dalai Lama movie that dealt with China's occupation of Tibet. By the time Mulan reached theaters in late February 1999, most children had returned to school after the Chinese New Year holiday and pirated copies were widely available. For the new film, the plan was to counter piracy by releasing the movie in China the same day as the rest of the world, a strategy that's no longer possible.

The film also has tested the ability and tolerance of Disney — which aims to be ideologically neutral — in managing global political fallout. In August, Liu stirred up a major controversy when she reposted a pro-police comment on Chinese platform Weibo (where she has more than 66 million followers) at the height of the violence in Hong Kong. Her action was seen by critics of the Chinese government as supporting police brutality; soon after, the hashtag #BoycottMulan started trending on Twitter. Liu, who has American co-citizenship from her time in the U.S., was harshly criticized around the world for supporting oppression.

"I think it's obviously a very complicated situation and I'm not an expert," she says now, cautious in the extreme. "I just really hope this gets resolved soon." When pressed, Liu, whose answer seemed rehearsed, declines to say much more, simply repeating, "I think it's just a very sensitive situation." (Bailey also deflects when asked: "Yifei's politics are her own, and we are just focused on the movie and her performance.")

"Most Chinese celebrities choose to avoid posting such political statements because of the risks to their careers internationally," says Dorothy Lau, a professor at the Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University. But though Liu's post drew criticism globally, some experts believe the political drama could actually result in more support for the film in China. "At the time, the government came out in various publications supporting the film very strongly," says USC professor Stanley Rosen, who specializes in Chinese politics and society. "There's a real impetus on the part of the Chinese government to make this work. I'm sure the government is going to try to show that the boycott has had no effect." And while her comment might still anger filmgoers in Hong Kong, where the recent live-action Aladdin took in $8 million, that market is tiny compared to the mainland (total 2019 Hong Kong box office was $245 million compared with China's $9.2 billion). "Most people outside Hong Kong have likely forgotten about this controversy," says Rosen. "But the Chinese government does not forget these things."

The fact that this version of Mulan is a large-scale war epic inspired more by the ancient Chinese ballad than the original animated film may also help win fans in Beijing, but the choice carries its own significant risks: The film needs to satisfy Chinese audiences raised on the legend while not disappointing a generation of fans in Asia (and elsewhere) for whom the animated film is foundational. "People would come in to audition and would say, 'Sorry, I know this is really unprofessional, but before I start, I just want you to know, the animated movie was the first time I saw someone that looked like me speak English in a movie theater,' " says producer Jason Reed. "The stakes couldn't be higher."

Mulan also represents a leap of faith in the film's director, Caro, whose previous two films boasted budgets of about 10 percent of Mulan's (The Zookeeper's Wife and Disney's 2015 sports drama McFarland USA were each in the $20 million to $25 million range). Caro, 53, was not Disney's first choice. Before hiring the New Zealand filmmaker, the studio targeted directors of Asian descent, including Taiwanese Oscar winner Ang Lee (he was busy promoting Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) and Chinese helmer Jiang Wen. Still, Caro showcased a knack for representing cultures outside of her own with her 2002 debut Whale Rider, which follows a young Maori girl who wants to become chief, a role traditionally reserved for men.

The feminist story of Mulan resonated deeply with Caro. "When I first started wanting to be a filmmaker, there was so little precedent for women doing this [big studio] work," she says. She has now directed the most expensive live-action film by a woman, joining only a handful (Kathryn Bigelow, Ava DuVernay and Patty Jenkins) who have helmed films costing more than $100 million. "Patty changed the game with Wonder Woman. It was like a shot of adrenaline for me as a filmmaker," says Caro, who assembled a mostly female-led crew, including cinematographer Mandy Walker, costume designer Bina Daigeler, makeup designer Denise Kum and first assistant director Liz Tan.

To those still upset that an Asian filmmaker didn't get the job, Caro responds: "Although it's a critically important Chinese story and it's set in Chinese culture and history, there is another culture at play here, which is the culture of Disney, and that the director, whoever they were, needed to be able to handle both — and here I am."

Soon after Caro's hiring, rumors about the movie began to swirl online. Years of studios centering Asian movies around white protagonists (from Scarlett Johansson's Ghost in the Shell to Matt Damon's The Great Wall) meant the threat of whitewashing loomed large. An early report online claimed that the first draft, penned by Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek, featured a white male protagonist.

"This is the first time I've been on a big touchstone movie with the internet what it is today. And I had a Google alert set, so I'd see these things, 'Oh, there was originally a white male lead, or they're casting Jennifer Lawrence,' and they were all just made up," says Reed, who adds that there may have been two non-Chinese characters in the initial script, but both were secondary roles.

The rumors may have been unfounded, but the fallout was real: The Lawrence-as-Mulan story sparked a 2016 petition, "Tell Disney You Don't Want a Whitewashed Mulan!" drawing more than 110,000 signatures.

Ironically, as that rumor swirled, Caro struggled to find an actress to play Mulan. The global hunt began in October 2016, when Caro sent a team of casting directors to each continent and virtually every small village in China. They were looking for an actress who could play Mulan across three phases, from a young woman unsure of her place to a soldier masquerading as a man and, finally, as an empowered warrior. She had to be fluent in English, handle the physical demands of martial arts and deliver the more emotional moments with Mulan's family. "She's a needle in a haystack, but we were going to find her," says Caro. "It's impossible to make this movie without this person."

Though the studio cast a wide multinational net, Bill Kong — a veteran Chinese producer known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Monster Hunt who was brought on as a producer on Mulan — advised Caro that in order for this film to play well in China, not just anyone of Asian descent would work. "The first thing I told her was, 'Hire a Chinese girl. You can't hire a Japanese girl to do this,' " he says.

Actresses who made it past that initial audition were brought to Los Angeles, but, after vetting several promising candidates for months, Caro decided to start over. (The search dragged on for so long that Disney delayed the original November 2018 release date.) Eventually, Liu, who had been unavailable during the first pass because of a TV show in China, was able to audition.

"I was determined that whoever played Mulan was not going to be fragile and feminine," says Caro. "She had to pass as a man in a man's army." So the director and a trainer put Liu through a 90-minute physical assessment, with extreme cardio and weight exercises. Other actresses fared less well. "Boy, did they flame out," says Caro with a laugh. But Liu "never complained once, never said, 'I can't.' She went to her limits."

With Liu, Disney also found an actress who could speak English, was familiar with martial arts from her TV work in China and, most importantly, was known to the Chinese market.

While Liu spent three months training for the role in New Zealand, Caro finished up her own extensive research. She took multiple trips to China and spoke to dozens of experts — including the world's foremost specialist on Tang dynasty military strategy. She also studied the 360-word Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan, which first told the young heroine's story. The legend, which originated in the fifth or sixth century CE, is a tale as familiar in China as the story of Joan of Arc or Paul Bunyan in the West, and it's been adapted many times into plays, operas and films.

"I certainly wasn't aware of how deeply important it is to Mainland Chinese — all children are taught it," says Caro. "She is so meaningful that many places I went, people would say, 'Well, she comes from my village.' It was wonderful to feel that profound connection — but also terrifying."

As soon as the first trailers rolled out, so did the grumblings about factual inaccuracy, like the choice to situate Mulan's family in a tulou, a traditional round structure that housed several clans. These homes were mostly present in southern China, in what is now Fujian province (Mulan is said to be from the north), and would not have existed at the time she lived.

"I told [Caro] to not be too concerned about the historical accuracy," says Kong. "Mulan, though very famous, is fictional. She's not a historical person."

Disney tested the film thoroughly with Chinese audiences, including its own local executives. In an early version, Mulan kissed love interest Chen Honghui (Yoson An) on a bridge when they were about to part. "It was very beautiful, but the China office went, 'No, you can't, that doesn't feel right to the Chinese people,' " says Caro. "So we took it out."

Caro and the writers, Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa (the husband-and-wife team behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Jurassic World who rewrote the original script), also had to consider the passionate fans of the 1998 film. Most Disney remakes, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, have remained loyal to the tone and structure of the animated source material while adding a new song or character. Departing from that formula wasn't a swift decision. "We had a lot of conversations about it," says Reed. Ultimately they wanted "to tell this story in a way that is more real, more relatable, where we don't have the benefit of the joke to hide behind things that might be uncomfortable and we don't break into song to tell us the subtext."

They swapped the musical numbers and funny animal sidekicks for a large-scale war epic in which Mulan takes her father's place in the Imperial Army. "It's a woman's story that has been told for centuries but never by women, and we felt like it was really time to tell that story," says Silver. The question is whether Generation Z and millennials, who fell in love with these animated tales as kids and helped boost Aladdin to its $1 billion global haul, will embrace the direction. "To be honest, we really go by our gut and what creatively excites the team here," says Bailey. "I think it shows that there can be different approaches to these [movies] that have validity."

When word leaked that Mushu, the silly dragon sidekick (originally voiced by Eddie Murphy), would not be included, some fans expressed disappointment on social media. But the character's disappearance makes sense in the Chinese context. "Mushu was very popular in the U.S., but the Chinese hated it," says Rosen. "This kind of miniature dragon trivialized their culture."

Unlike its Marvel-branded films, Disney live-action movies must appeal to significantly younger audiences. Yet Caro wanted to make a real war movie. "You have to deliver on the war of it," she says, "and how do you do that under the Disney brand where you can't show any violence, gratuitous or otherwise?" She took advantage of the film's stunning locations, like setting a battle sequence in a geothermal valley, where steam could mask the fighting. "Those sequences, I'm proud of them. They're really beautiful and epic — but you can still take kids. No blood is shed. It's not Game of Thrones."

Disney's past live-action performance in China is a mixed bag. Both The Lion King ($120.5 million there) and Jungle Book ($148 million) enjoyed strong showings. Aladdin earned only $53 million, while 2017's Beauty and the Beast took in just $84 million (though it earned $1.3 billion worldwide).

Of course, the expectations for Mulan in China are much higher. "They will eventually release it in China," Dergarabedian notes. "It's just a matter of when and what effect that might have." Some analysts forecast that the film could match the success of the Kung Fu Panda series. The third movie, released in 2016, earned north of $144.2 million and became the country's biggest animated film ever. It was praised for being a Hollywood film that understood and showed respect toward the Chinese culture. Panda, however, had the advantage of being a Chinese co-production, which guarantees a larger share of the market — an advantage Mulan doesn't have.

Caro thinks about the film's fate there in more than simply financial terms. "Of course it's vitally important that it succeeds in China," she says, "because it belongs to China."

[happynewyearquotes19-blog]

14 Awesome New Year Parties In USA That You Must Be A Part Of

New Year’s Eve is the most awaited time of the year when you celebrate and make the most of your time with family and friends. It is now a part of tradition to bid aloha to the dying year and welcome the new one. Everyone wants to be a part of the best New Year parties in USA. Our sense of optimism is at its zenith when we are facing the last day of the year. We want the new year to be friendlier and kinder to us than the last one.

14 Best New Year Parties in USA

The festivities at the Times Square in New York, the madness of Las Vegas, and the food and drinks festivals everywhere around you, you will find no other country more geared up to celebrate the New Year than the US. Here’s a list of 14 new year parties in USA:

1. New York City

Perhaps the most iconic and most visited places on New Year’s Eve, Times Square in New York City tops our list of the best places to visit for New Years. It may be the largest New Year’s Eve celebration in America. The lowering of the ceremonial ball, the gathering of people bustling with crackling anticipation almost hidden from view in the confetti, all this adds up to make New Year’s in New York a memorable experience. Being one among the thousands at The Square or in a party nearby makes you feel you are a part of global happening. In Brooklyn, some of the parties may offer you a view of the amazing display of fireworks. The US is bursting with places where you can bring in the New Year but the best New Year party in USA can only be experienced in the madness of The Times Square.

2. New Year’s Eve Fireworks at Honolulu

Aloha Tower Marketplace celebrates the best New Year’s party in USA, with unmatchable festivities including waterfront dining, free live entertainment shopping, and a fabulous midnight fireworks display over the Honolulu Harbor. Celebrations commence at 7pm with many events like live entertainment, face painting, and free giveaways, among others. Head to the Tower with your family and enjoy yourself to the fullest.

3. New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas

It is the biggest party in the country! America’s Party is the name given to the New Year’s Eve celebrations that are organized at The Strip. It includes fireworks at midnight, extravaganza at the Las Vegas Strip, dining experiences, and live concerts among others. More than 330, 000 revelers throng the streets on a yearly basis to soak in the party atmosphere of Las Vegas.

4. New Orleans

New Orleans is known for its parties and it is known to throw the best New Year’s party in USA! Warm and friendly people, the perfect weather, pubs and bars which are open for business late into the night and merrymakers strolling down the lanes with their favorite drinks in hand; now who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Go straight to the famous Jackson Square in the celebrated French Quarter. Musicians and entertainers play through the night which ends with the floating down of the iconic symbol of New Orleans, the Fleur de Lis, when the clock strikes 12. But don’t worry as the party continues across the many bars and restaurants in the Bourbon Street. If you are in the mood for something special then go aboard the Creole Queen or Natchez to enjoy a fireworks cruise.

5. First Night Arts Celebrations

Touted as the largest New Year’s Eve celebration in America, First night Boston celebrates the arts. It showcases Boston’s cultural and artistic talents through more than 250 art-shows and performances by both nationally and internationally renowned artists. The festivities begin at 1pm and continue to midnight. The celebrations include the Boston Pops Symphony Hall concert which is broadcast live and a fireworks show over the harbor.

6. Los Angeles

The City of Angels is pretty large one and thus, you have a selection of many events happening across the city. The biggest party happens at the Grand Park with scores of food trucks, live music and fun people to party with till 1 a.m. It is especially for families who want to celebrate outdoors as it is alcohol-free, but there are many bars that throw New Year’s parties. Prohibition at the Union Station is another famous event which is usually themed around the ’20s with an open bar, deejays, burlesque dancers, and live jazz music. Cap it all off by going aboard Queen Mary which just might be the best place to spend New Year’s Eve in USA, with its international-themed party, entertainers, live music, and fireworks at midnight.

7. Chicago

If you can brave the chilly winds then head to the windy city this New Year’s Eve. Chicago is chilly during New Year’s, but they surely know how to throw parties aimed at singles and families too. Walk down to Navy Pier with your family and enjoy the rides, and attractions. Just as the clock strikes 12 at midnight, the fireworks burst into a dazzling symphony of light and heat over Lake Michigan. Perhaps the best New Year party in USA can be found at the Lincoln Park Zoo with millions of twinkling light draped across all the spots in the zoo. There are ice carvings, a live DJ, games, free carousel rides and much more at only $10. The hotels, restaurants and clubs have their own offerings.

8. Washington D.C

The regal seat of power in America has a lot to offer on New Year’s Eve. From parties to balls, locals and visitors have plenty to see and enjoy. You can also head down to the nearby cities like Alexandria and Maryland to soak in the New Year’s vibes. Washington DC restaurants offer some of the best cuisines and drinks for your palate. There are many First Nights celebrated across the cities near the capital of America.

9. Houston, Texas

The fourth largest city in USA, Houston celebrates New Year’s Eve in style. Houston attracts many tourists during the month of December, with locals waiting for the New Year’s Eve eagerly themselves. You ask for it and Houston has it - live performances, tasty dinner options, the best of wines and fireworks to round the whole thing up.

10. The Fontainebleau, Miami

The people at the Fontainebleau resort are the best at throwing New Year’s Eve parties. Trust them to get some of the best performers to sing down to the New Year with unmatchable entertainment. This year they have roped in Demi Lovato and Kygo to sing along the poolside and steer the party to midnight revelries.

11. New Year’s Eve Ball and Showcase, Dallas

Dallas has many parties and event themed around the end of the year celebrations. One of the best is the New Year’s Eve Ball and Showcase. Dance your way across the ball room and just soak in the soulful atmosphere of good food, great people and amazing drinks. The party is a black tie only and that’s more than enough encouragement for us to ring in the New Year in style.

12. Nouveau: A Glamorous New Year’s Eve

What a novel way to celebrate the New Year’s! The Orlando Museum of Art is organizing a memorable night filled with delicious hors d’oeuvres, open bar, live music, photo booth, deejay, and a champagne toast with the fireworks on display.

13. Nashville, Tennessee

If you have not been to a southern party then you have been missing out on a lot. Nashville is the hub of country music. The city hosts several New Year’s Eve parties across its bars and restaurants and sometimes even throws in a live concert or two of famous country singers. If country music isn’t your thing then head toward the many parties and events for the ultimate New Year Eve party in USA, 2019.

14. New Year’s Eve in Walt Disney Resort

The Walt Disney Resort in Orlando is the best place to spend New Year’s Eve in USA with your entire family. Salute the brand new year with lip smacking delicacies, tasty drinks, sparkling dance parties and unforgettable fireworks. Every year Disney World offers amazing packages across its hotels, the most popular being eating while enjoying the Magic Kingdom fireworks at Disney’s Contemporary Resort California Grill. You cannot find any place better than the Disney World to make your New Year night memorable!

[dystovian]

can u do a demigod AU???

I didn’t know if I should do Gods/Goddesses or demigods so I just did demigods because holy cucjdmf f

—————

The Children of Zeus—— Zeus: The God of the Sky, Lightning, and Thunder—Children of Zeus are typically natural born Leaders. Sometimes though, even when thrown into leadership against their will, they’re a natural and know what they’re doing. From the young age of 6 onward, they tend to be rather independent, and will never ask for help on things amongst their strong suit. These demigods are also known for having a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, and will make sure to make it known if need be. These particular children of a God, are most common. Zeus tends to….move around, a lot more…. if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. They are also known for being high in power, as kings, lords, owners of companies, and even areas like the President of The United States. They are also internationally known as athletic.

—Abilities|| •Enhancements in: Talents -Depending on whatever these demigods show interest in, they are almost always good at it. Art, Writing, etc. •Partial Immortality -Life-spans are a lot longer than a mortals, and they tend to keep their younger looks. And seemingly stop aging around 21 •Enhancements in Durability and Strength: -Being the children of the God of the Gods, strength and durability is a strong suit of theirs. They can deal with things twice their weight and can go days being beaten. Including weeks without food or water.

———Abilities involved with Element|| •Thunder and Lightning Manipulation: -These demi-gods tend to express their feeling through this. When emotions are at their brim, storms begin. Happy, sad, and even mad is when this usually occurs. But naturally, they can use it for battle as well. Their thunder is so powerful it can cause earthquakes in regions on the other side of the Earth. •Air Manipulation: -Basically Air Bending, they can use the air around them to do just about anything. From making balls of air, to changing the direction of the wind in the area. Typically used to their advantage! •Teleportation: -Although when this ability is first discovered, it’s quite difficult to master. And they tend to falter and become mist, they could still be injured when fleeing during this time of learning.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Zeus’s Children:

•Takashi Shirogane

—————

The Children of Poseidon—— Poseidon: The God of the Sea, Earthquakes, and of Horses—Children of Poseidon are typically known to have a confident exterior, but also tend to bottle things up, such as their feelings. They do not wish to bother others. They are mostly natural born leaders, greed particularly doesn’t overtake them, so they will only lead if need be. These demi-gods predominantly can speak and read Latin and Greek. They are always kind-hearted and full of sympathy to those who deserve it. Their confidence level is not very high, though they very much believe in themselves if it means doing good for others. In large droughts of sadness, they tend to force happiness upon themselves and lift the spirits of those around them.

—Abilities|| •Enhancements in: Durability -When these demigods are engaged in battle, they can be beaten and battered to an extent far higher than mortals. •Enhancements in: Strength -The strength of the human is half the strength of these demigods naturally. But at full ability, they can lift things almost 10x their own weight. •Enhancements in: Reflexes -When faced against those with quick movements and wits, children of Poseidon typically can sense and avoid things like that. Sadly, it’s only 90% of the time, and a small percentage of his children are not graced with such a gift. All of them move like water, smooth and placid.

———Abilities involved with Element|| •Aquatic Adaptation and Respiration: -When underwater, they can usually adapt and learn a lot quickly than other demigods. They can breathe underwater, and even create air bubbles that last a lifetime. •Water and Blood Manipulation: -Children of Poseidon 100% of the time control water, though Blood Manipulation is very uncommon. Those with Blood Manipulation can control life and death within itself if they needed to. •Water Generation: -In the first stages of this ability, it’s required that they are near water at all times in order to probably generate enough of use. After a year or two, they can generate water even miles away from any source.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Poseidon’s Children:

•Lance McClain

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The Children of Athena——Athena: The Goddess of Wisdom, Craft, and War—Athena’s children are natural born fighters, whether it’s physical battle, or mental. They are extremely independent and know right from wrong, from birth onward. Though sometimes, without proper guide, they are easily corrupted and drawn within themselves. Also, they are known to be very attached to those they love, no matter what, and will do anything in their power to make them content. Even if it means being cruel to do so.

—Abilities|| •Enhancements in: Strength + Durability: -Same as children of Zeus and Poseidon. •Photographic Memory: -Although photographic memory is common in mortals as well, Children of Athena can remember everything. When remembering a moment, they remember what they heard, saw, and even smelt. •Immortality: -This is sadly uncommon, but almost every child of Athena doesn’t die. Unless they are murdered, they can strive and live forever. Their aging process stops at the age of 28.

———Abilities involving Element|| •Infinite Knowledge: -Demi-Gods of Athena have infinite knowledge, they know everything there is about anything even if they had no idea they did. You can ask them a question about something they’ve never heard of before, and they’ll spew out information before they even realize. •Immunity to Curses: - When it comes to being cursed, they aren’t affected. Although there are side effects, such as dizziness and sickness in general. Whatever said curse was, it doesn’t work. •Hammer Clash: -Although every child of Athena is giving a sword and shield, at times, some children reach a certain point in mentality where they are granted a giant hammer. With this hammer, they can cause Earthquakes. And lift curses.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Athena’s Children:

•Princess Allura•Pidge Gunderson/Katie Holt

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The Children of Apollo——Apollo: The God of Music, Healing, the Sun and Light, Truth and Prophecy, Knowledge, and Poetry—Children of Apollo are usually cocky and over-confident. But, when it comes to their thinking process, it’s smooth and well thought out. They never act on something without bringing it into further thought. They are also known for doing things for others, even in times of their own despair. Sometimes, they’ll even risk their life if it meant someone were to live for one minute longer, but they wouldn’t admit to that, they’d probably say something like, “well if I didn’t do it my dad would scold me so…” As for their healing ability, they often go as far to praying to every God and/or Goddess for a solution to other’s sadness. When someone is ill, or injured, these demi-gods can simply sing or hum, it may not completely heal, but just enough for it to further heal on its own. They are most of the time, tall and have bright hair. They are commonly quick on their feet, and quick in their mind.

—Abilities|| •Enhancements in: Flexibility -Most of the time, these demi-gods could most likely pass as gymnasts! •Natural Archer/Musician: -No matter what they do, they can never mess up. They aim; they fire; bullseye. This goes for their music skills as well. •Advanced Knowledge: -Although they aren’t as smart as Athena’s Children, they are close! They know everything there is about history, music, and healing! And always use it to their advantage.

———Abilities involving Element|| •Invisibility: -Not only can they become invisible themselves, they can also make others invisible as well. Sadly, you can still bump into people and can still be injured and heard. •Pyro Abilities: -As a child of Apollo, you can summon and use fire to your will, though when you are first learning the fire tends to build a mind of its own. Including, you can use solar cream as well to help you fly. The solar cream was named by Apollo, and it’s usually the color of nebulas; they tend to appear wispy like whipped-cream, and flow quite smoothly. •Truth: -Because Apollo is the God of Truth, his children inherited that as well. They cannot lie; but sometimes, due to being half mortal, they can. They never do so on purpose and never to hurt anyone. They also can pry the truth out of anybody, no matter who, (Gods and Demi-gods included) But in order to do so, they must painfully dig their fingers into a part of their skin, usually to know if it’s working, their fingers seem to manifest into golden liquid and even drip like melting popsicles.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Apollo’s Children:

•Coran

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The Children of Ares——Ares: The God of War—These demi-gods are usually hot-headed, and tend to always have some form of attitude. They are mostly extremely confident, but know when the line has been crossed and will be quite apologetic. Despite how physically strong they can be, mentally-wise; they are always at 100%. Although they can be struck with doubts, they always snap back and use the last of their strength. These Gods are also insanely stubborn, it’s hard to get them to step down from something, and if you’ve ever managed to make one cry, then I believe you’ve broken them~

—Abilities|| •Physical Enhancements: -Everything is enhanced for these children! Height, strength, durability, flexibility. You name it, and it’s most-likely apart of that list. •Invulnerability: -Unfortunately, this only takes action whenever their physical strength is at 0. But! Their mental strength is at 100. •Weaponry: -They can battle using any weapon! Even a God’s! But, they cannot do so unless their intentions are good.

———Abilities involving Element|| •Sonic Boom: -Although these children are teased for their cliché Marvel Superhero power, it’s quite deadly! It can come to be whenever they are angry. They can hit something, or stomp their foot. This causes everything in the vicinity to be effected. It usually has a strange sound, that no one can seem to describe. Though Lance described it once as “A Tuba going up the note scale!” Hunk had said “it just sounds like a bass to me?” •Emotion Manipulation: -These Gods, usually when older, are given a certain war. The war can be large, or a small one between a family. They often visit the area is which they’re in and can choose which side will win in the end. They put the anger within mortals. This usually happens on camp, and is used to stop fighting. (Unfortunately, it can’t be used on themselves or their siblings.) •Mental Touch: -Although they seem cold-hearted and tough, they’ve still got a heart. Sometimes, if someone is battling a war within their mind and are suffering rather harshly. They use their large hands and grasp their head tightly while speaking words of encouragement. Sadly, it doesn’t always work, and it’s said that the mind has always been stronger than Gods themselves.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Ares’s Children:

•Prince Lotor

—————

The Children of Hephaestus——Hephaestus: The God of Fire, and MetalWorking—Children of Hephaestus are known for their kind heart, and pure doings. They rarely do anything cruel, as they prefer to stay away from the line of fire. They tend to be very talkative, but everyone knows whenever they are being serious or whenever they’re are speaking about something important. They are usually never ones to brag but they wouldn’t care if they did, it’s only natural to when you have genuine abilities such as theirs.

—Abilities|| •Enhancements in: Physical Strength and Durability -These Gods are very similar to the Children of Zeus and Athena. Their strength is enhanced to the top tier, and their durability is as well. Their skin can never be pierced. •Knowledge on MetalWorking, Forging, and Sculpting: -Due to the fact their father is Hephaestus himself, they are extremely talented and knowledgeable on things in this field. They can create any weapon, and can even create a weapon that can only be used by certain people. Though, the weapon they create is specially designed for the person who asked for it, so it suits the way they move and work themselves. •Curses And Spells: -Strangely, despite their father, it’s unknown where this gift came from. It’s believed to be in the veins of Hephaestus himself but he’s unable to use it. With this, these demigods can use the sand around them to implant curses or spells into the pores of an enemy. They can take it out themselves. But once it’s in their, the demi-god who put it in must take it out himself.

———Abilities involving Element|| •Fire Mimicry: -They themselves suddenly can become fire itself! The only thing really noticeable on the body after this are their now white eyes. They have the ability to burn through the face of the Earth. They can choose to do so, though. In this state, they cannot be touched, unless you’d like to have 3rd-Degree burns. Water does not affect them. •Melting: -Using heat, they can melt anything in their hands. Most of the time, they are melting metal or even tar/concrete! During this, their hands appear to look like hot lava. •Magnetism: -Rather self-explanatory! Using mental strength, metal from a 3 mile radius (Beginner) or 30 mile (Advanced; Expert) gravitates toward them.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Hephaestus’s Children:

•Hunk Garrett

—————

The Children of Hades——Hades: The God of the Underworld—Being a child of this God is quite difficult, considering Hades is known for being the ruler of the Underworld, the dead, and riches. People tend to be frightened of them, as when pissed off they can easily control life and death itself. Literally or figuratively. Also, they’re pretty hot-headed as well, but they consider and know that it’s one of many weak points. They tend to avoid others and avoid close relationships unless they know for sure how to control other abilities. It’s hard to hold or touch living things without fear of killing them, so they usually steer clear. They actually tend to be found in pairs; them and children of Hephaestus can easily become close friends. Hades’ kids always ask his children if they can create things for them, metal isn’t ‘alive’ like plants,animals, and people are. So there is less risk of death when it comes to a tin knick knack.

—Abilities|| •Immortality: -Self-Explanatory! They can live forever, but! Sadly, they can still be killed by outside forces. Their aging process stops at 21. •Enhancements in Strength, Durability and Flexibility: -Children of Hades can lift anything, when a beginner though, it requires more effort and it’s not as easy as someone who’s done it a while. As for durability, their skin can almost never be pierced, but their are some godly weapons and creatures that can. Lastly, flexibility makes them seem like cats. They’re similar to acrobats and tend to use this to their advantage during fights. They ca jump rather high and climb mountains like they’re nothing. •Black Emission: -A strange ability yes, but with this, children of Hades can absolutely devour someone with black goo. It looks like tar, but its smell is very different. It’s smell is supposed to lure you in, remind you of something or someone that you deem ‘home.’ You don’t die immediately, but as soon as you’re completely engulfed, you see plenty of memories in your life. But the strange thing, is that it can be quiet different. There are times where survivors say that they just say their life flash before their eyes, slowly. Others say it shows moments where they were blind, a moment where they made a mistake they never even knew about, (ex: not asking someone if they’re okay, only for them to pass due to a certain circumstance). And lastly, it’s said that it shows times they missed out on, what would’ve happened if they did a certain thing.

———Abilities involving Element|| •Mental Sense: -They can sense the mental health of the people around them. Though, they can do nothing about this as they do not have the ability to act on such a thing. Whenever they are touched by someone who is pure, and has never been corrupted, their skin crack and flake off. This is uncommon, because the life of a demi-god is difficult. •Necromancy: -Using this ability, these demigods can summon the dead, and even potentially bring them back. They are directly connected with the Fates, and whenever a favor is needed they can contact them through thought. •Shadow Manipulation: -Self-Explanatory as well, but when used, they can shape how the shadows work around them. Usually, their eyes become black and the skin by their eyes flake. They can capture people in their shadows, and keep them frozen for as long as they please. When protecting themselves in shadows, they’re unaffected by everything, but it doesn’t last very long. At most 20 hours.

——Characters I Believe Could Potentially Be Hades’s Children:

•Keith Kogane

[thekingsmanscycle]

Karlemon’s Lands: Isagor (continued)

Geography of Isagor

River Bia. The only great river that flows through Isagor, with a source in the Pylaen Hills at Lake Angarano and a mouth in the Bay of Kastokas. Famed far and wide for its rich pastoral land and steep river banks, it is now home to the river trade route between Angarano and the Vestal Sea. In spite of this, it is a dangerous course at many points; with strong riptides, sinkholes, white rapids and shallow rock beds all along its sides.

The Lysandrian Strait. Named for a famous poet of the Elvahen Era, the strait is a highly dangerous body of water to navigate, filled with reefs and whirlpools. Said in former times to be the home of various monsters and ravenous creatures, it runs between mainland Isagor and the southern landmass; called Ixion and Doros respectively. It is not difficult to cross, merely to traverse.

The Isle of Oenale. Said to be the birthplace of the Lydian gods, it is home to the largest collection of Lydian idols and effigies in the Known World. They are stored in a cave beside the sea but hidden from the waves. Known as ‘Nethos’ Grasp’, it is a tight and harrowing experience to enter the tunnels, where it is said the gods themselves watch your every step as the veil between worlds is thinnest here.

The Isle of Helikos. Once home to a large population of beastmen, now only inhabited by the victims of a terrible wasting disease known as Black Canker who were banished from across Karlemon’s Lands to live out the rest of their days here. It is not known how the disease is spread, but local folklore tells that it is the punishment of a forgotten deity for being cast out of the pantheon in the days before the City of Kash.

The Isle of Carysos. Said to be home to a shape-shifting witch in the days of Atticus, this large island south of the mainland houses a large population of boars and wild pigs for slaughter and sale onto markets in Dalecar, Tylia and Cosima. It is also home to a small branch of the Arcanum Nobilite which studies natural magic i.e. druidry in relative seclusion and peace under the auspices of the Dhi Qaar.

Mount Lykoreia. The highest peak in Isagor, it is sacred to Bromos and a temple shrine sits atop the summit where on Midsummer’s Eve the god of fertility is worshipped in his aspect of the wolf. There are day and night long orgies of food, drink and sex, aimed at increasing the harvest in the coming months. This practice has been extant for close to two thousand years, dating back to the satyrs and centaurs who would drink here beneath the moon.

Landmarks of Isagor

Mount Orthrys. A great peak of the eastern Pylaens, Mount Orthrys is an infamous and prestigious site in Isagori culture. Formerly the site of a shrine to Elene, goddess of the moon, the notoriety of the mountain grew in stature following the Titan’s War of 1022-24 CE, when it became well-known as the final resting place of the Hell’s King, the fire giant rebel Sintan Scarbrand. The traitorous warlord was slain by the warrior and storm giant Uthal Skywatcher. who left his adversary’s corpse impaled upon the mountainside. 

The Palace of King Nestor. Legend from the southern island of Isagor speaks of this great marble and stone palace, built as a trap for unwitting human victims following the defeat of the beastmen in open battle. ‘King Nestor’, a were-bear of a vengeful and angry temperament sought to draw in the youths of surrounding villages and sacrificing them on a green jade floor to feed the labyrinthe beast that the king had bred to hunt in the darkness below,

The Mausoleum of Antisseo. The modern day pilgrimage site for the great Cosiman bard Antisseo Macarici, it is a small and unassuming tomb at the centre of a great petrified forest, about which the bard composed his masterwork ‘The Calliopiad’. This magnum opus details the long and sordid life of Calliope, an archaic Isagori bard who had many lovers and children throughout her life whilst dodging the advances of the jealous godling Phyrixus. After Phyrixus kidnaps Calliope’s bride, she chases her tormentor into the Halls of Nethos and slays him with the help of a magical lyre.

The Stratiotai. The longest avenue in Artepolis is a monument to the great military heroes and heroines of Isagor, as sculpted by the Akademia of Jeradri. Amongst their number are counted Atticus, hero of the Nethosiad; Ursa Kalkhos, general at the Battle of Byzauros; Enkelados Thalassa, famous leader of the elite Akritoi light infantry units and Kalanthe, the heroine of the texts of the Lydaead who is represented as a servant of Solus for her military background and service.

Wildlife of Isagor

Pegasus. A winged horse sacred to the early Isagori, it is a rare but welcome sight outside rural communities who interpret them as a sign of favour from local spirits or the gods.

Melagean Boar. A particularly stubborn and vicious porcine creature from the foothills of the eastern Pylaens, they are a dangerous plague on farmers during their biannual mating season.

Hydra. A multi-headed serpentine creature native to the swamps of central Isagor, it was once considered a rite of passage for young men and women of the Isagori to hunt them.

Selakh. An unusual remnant of the ancient beastmen races that once dominated the lands of Isagor, these ferocious sharkmen prowl the coasts of Isagor, hunting in packs for straggling fishermen.  

Karakond. Grey skinned goblin-like creatures from western Isagor, they are a plague on households and will try to intimidate families into leaving by imitating ghosts and demons.

Basilisk. A pot-bellied reptilian creature from the southern island of Isagor, it is a bane to travellers in the hot countryside where it paralyses its prey with a petrifying gaze before devouring them whole.

Demi-human Races of Isagor

Centaur. A nomadic people of the Pylaen Hills, they were driven south into Isagor by marauding beastmen and orcs in the millenia before the arrival of humans. They are fierce warriors and fiercer drinkers, leading to infrequent but violent clashes with human settlements.

Satyr. A diminutive goat-legged race, they live in the wilderness of Isagor enjoying a life of revelry and leisure, occasionally venturing into human villages to steal away the best-looking to join their partying for the night. Some are sworn to the retinue of Bromos, Lydian god of the wilderness and revelry.

Nymph. Mischievous spirits of nature, they live bound to trees, rivers and mountains and play tricks on passing travellers, who know to leave them an offering to be left in peace. Some fall in love with humans and may leave their homes for up to a year at a time before returning to their sites to rest.

Medusa. A much-feared but rare race of near-immortals, medusae are hunted for their powers of petrification through eye contact. The majority hunt via this method, but some are more curious and hide amongst human society, learning and living as one of them for years before settling down or returning to their fellows.

Isagori Folklore

King Maides. This myth from the lands of Phylidaeia concerns a king whose vanity and love for the lustre of gold drove him mad. He tried to steal the source of the forge from Phaeston, god of mankind so that he could smelt gold from any material, even stone. For his insolence he was cursed by Nerys to ‘make his household unto gold’, meaning that he would cover every surface and retainer in golden paint, before melting down the treasury and covering his throne room and three daughters in molten gold, before drinking it himself.

The Lydaead. Accounted by the scholar Arsinoe of Theskelos, the Lydaead is the name of a saga which informs much of the common religious thought in human lands to this day. The story follows the elderly heroine Kalanthe looking back at the end of her life and recounting to her great-grandchildren the beginning of the world. In the tale she speaks with the seneschal of the gods while dreaming after a battle and is taught about their existence and place in the heavens.

Cyclops. One eyed giants of immense size, they are rare anywhere but the remote wilderness of Isagor. They are man-eaters, and may besiege a town to gather food for long winters in the form of live captives. Isagori myth tells of their birth in the age of giants as the children of a great general of the hill giants who were all half-blinded for looking upward at the sun while it was being set in the sky and disobeying the laws of the earth.

Minotaur. A bull-headed race of beastmen resident in Isagor since long before the arrival of humans, minotaurs are for the most part savage and violent, living feral in ruined villages in the wilderness. A few individuals however, hear the call of higher powers, gaining a measure of intelligence and humanity. This can be for good or ill, as both gods and demons may compete for the loyalty of these powerful creatures.

Nethosiad. In a popular myth from Isagor, a group of mortal heroes sail into the Lydian underworld. Banished for killing Urian, son of the king Hylaeos, the hero Atticus is banished to the Underworld and told to seek the favour of his victim, where it is thought he will perish. Not deterred, he recruits a crew of thirty of the greatest heroes and heroines of his age to sail alongside him and they traverse the Far Ocean to find the Halls of Nethos. There the crew meet each of the Vanathes and must complete a task set by each before meeting Nethos himself.

Rhdanthe of Hesperidis. One of the greatest satires and farces ever written, it is also one of the most violent plays ever performed. Known as the playwright Antigone’s masterwork, the Tragedy of Rhdanthe of Hesperidis details the tale of a self-aware princess in the court of Gerenion, father of Maides, who is constantly avoiding the hyperviolent and nonsensical deaths of her fellows and family members, all of whom are patisches and parodies of other famous tragic characters of Common Era. Written as a criticism of the tragic tradition, it is considered to be one of the most important works of theatre ever made by human hands.

[upshotre]

Crocodile Tears For Zamfara And A Culture Of Interference

Azu Ishiekwene The immediate reason why the Supreme Court ruling on Zamfara has sparked a civil war in the All Progressives Congress (APC) is that the decision could further complicate the outcome of the leadership vote in the 9th National Assembly in a few days. Before the ruling nullified the election of the three APC senators from Zamfara, the party had 65 senators, for example, which is seven less than the two-thirds majority required to produce the next Senate president, without help from the opposition. With the party unable to persuade Senator Ali Ndume to step down for Senator Ahmed Lawan, the Supreme Court’s decision worsens the APC’s numerical nightmare in the legislature. But it improves the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to renew, possibly for another four years, the gift of political adultery which it has enjoyed these past years in the Saraki-Ekweremadu love affair. But the problem is not only short term. At the state level, the tally has improved from the pre-election status of 23-12 in favour of the APC to the current 19-16, with at least two key states of Osun and Kano still undecided by the courts and one potentially consequential governorship election (Kogi) coming up later this year. Given the demi-god role that governors play in local and national politics, largely because of the enormous funds they control, the stage is set for a showdown between the APC and the PDP in the next four years, with a huge army of APC discontents, further splitting themselves between the PDP, and possibly, a new third force. And all this appears down to the spectacular mismanagement of the APC primaries as a result of corruption, incompetence and the blatant refusal of party mandarins to follow the rules. I’ll come back to this shortly. In response to the Supreme Court judgement which declared that votes for the party in the governorship and legislative elections were wasted, the party’s deputy national chairman, Lawal Shuaibu, asked national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to resign. Making the era of John Odigie-Oyegun look like the party’s golden age, Shuaibu said Oshiomhole had failed and brought nothing but grief and misery to the party. In the meantime, Oshiomhole, who you can bet on my dime would return fire, has trained his own gun elsewhere. He aimed at the Supreme Court judgement, accusing the court of stretching technicalities, rather than the substance of the law to ridiculous limits, and by so doing imposing strangers on the people of Zamfara, as if their misery at the hands of bandits was not enough. I don’t know what Oshiomhole wanted the Supreme Court to do, but if the Court indeed imposed strangers on the people of Zamfara, then the APC opened the door and offered the strangers front seats. This is one of the states in the North where the opposition PDP has never won elections since the beginning of the Fourth Republic 20 years ago. It’s been solid anti-PDP, along with Borno and Yobe, before party shenanigans opened the door. The former governor, Abdulaziz Yari, is the stranger-in-chief. He spent more time in Abuja either looking after himself or looking after the Governor’s Forum than he spent in Gusau. And instead of going quietly after his eight wasted years, he insisted on imposing a successor on the long-suffering people of the state. It was the fight between Yari and another desperado, Senator Kabir Marafa, that would wreck the party, with the two men calling God as witness that their selfish notion of justice had not been served. Surely, Oshiomohle remembers that there were no primaries in Zamfara after Yari threatened that anyone from the party’s headquarters who came to the state to conduct one would not return to Abuja alive. Rather than face Yari and Marafa – the party’s nemesis in Zamfara – and confront allegations of serious corruption in the primaries (with some people spending as much as N4billion, according multiple credible sources), Oshiomhole has chosen the soft and convenient target: the Supreme Court. Zamfara was the metaphor of APC’s catastrophic primaries in a number of states and Oshiomhole cannot pretend otherwise. In Delta, Imo, Rivers, Adamawa, Ogun and Lagos, it was a shambolic spectre of bribes, shady deals, intimidation, blackmail and rules-bending in varying degrees, with the national secretariat worsted in all outcomes. Yet, party secretariat turmoil has a fairly long recent history; a culture that often produces temporary pleasure and comfort for the instigators, but ultimately, never ends well. Like many bad habits in the last two decades, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the first major exponent of meddling in party affairs and later, hijacking the party completely. A former PDP governor told me on Tuesday that it was under Solomon Lar, the first Chairman of the PDP, that the office of party chairman became a tollgate – something that might never have happened had Sunday Awoniyi emerged the chairman of the party. The former governor said after party primaries had been conducted and winners announced, it was common, under Lar, to find an unexpected letter from the chairman’s office nominating a completely different candidate or list of candidates, and saying, “This letter substitutes any previous letter you may have received on this matter.” To checkmate this problem, Obasanjo who had just been drafted by the military to run for office, mobilised ten governors who confronted Lar and apart from “imposing” Obasanjo’s running mate (Atiku Abubakar) on Lar, also paved the way for Obasanjo to demand his resignation. After Lar’s execution, Obasanjo increasingly took control of the party to the point where he got former governor James Ibori and co to amend the party’s constitution which then vested him with the position of chairman of the BOT – the party’s alpha and omega – apart from being president. His initial intention was to bend the party to his will, but over time interference became entrenched and widespread. The habit festered, infecting not only the PDP but also other political parties, which were, to be honest, the PDP’s Siamese cousins. As politicians crossed and crisscrossed carpet, the habit of malicious interference in the party secretariat mutated to the point these days where government officials think they are in charge of the party and party officials think they are in charge of the government. When, for example, Oshiomhole stepped into line, displacing the chief of defence staff, to receive President-elect Muhammadu Buhari at the Eagles Square on Wednesday, he didn’t mean any harm. He was just overwhelmed by Freudian grandeur; grandeur that has not only blurred party-government lines, but which has also conquered it. Yet, an important distinction in style remains: if Obasanjo reduced the party to a mere pawn, Buhari’s aloofness has created a mushroom of aggressively contending power centres and radical cells, with each centre or cell eager to use the party to its own advantage. And that advantage means only one thing: getting power at any cost. I can understand Oshiomhole thinking that the Supreme Court is his problem. He’s probably too occupied with mourning his party’s current loss and the blemish on his record as chairman to see that the problem goes much deeper. I can also understand Shuaibu asking Oshiomhole to resign. He’s too concerned about the party’s numerical nightmare, not to mention Oshiomhole’s grating style, to see that the problem goes much deeper. Until the party becomes more than a mere vehicle to get power for its own sake; until it has some clear organising principles, develops and honours a system that keep its leaders honest and accountable, it would continue to drift. And it requires more than taking a stab at the Supreme Court, playing musical chairs with the party leadership or asking for Oshiomhole’s head, to fix the broken system. The party must find its soul. Ishiekwene is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview and member of the board of the Global Editors Network Read the full article

[glopratchet]

jase

page 14,067 You think to yourself "with enough time, anything's possible" brush your teeth Well not everything As hard as you try, with your pass-able looks and natural charisma, you couldn't convince a regular girl to settle down with you There was of course the time you got close Really close You could almost taste it But events didn't quite turn out in your favor, giving birth to your desire for revenge against these menacing criminals that took everything away while keeping the status quo in the background, you prepare the vehicle for tonight The heavy modified hoverbike sitting in your parking space in the Apartment-Boat you call home could bu handy if anything happens tonight A quick look in the mirror and you make sure your kutte is straight Time to fire this festering hole eventually door shuts behind !!!!!" "What did you just say?" You bend your head to your scruffy looking "girlfriend" "Darling" "I said he, are we or aren't we eating an alligator burger tonight?! Come on! We are going to be late! her fingernails nervously as she wears her construction outfit in your room She didn't work to day, but instead wanted you to show you this new opening at a Gallery You roll on the bed and sit up to catch a napping Cello, "uhh I dunno Bri, I'm supposed "No excuses! We are going, be ready, meet me there, DON'T BE LATE! Whole alligator dinner , assemble or eat Last weekend on my break from capture the flag, I stayed with my father, and his new bride "Darling" has no blood relation to me, but she feeds me bugs everyday and lets play near the construction sites We love to ride the huge trucks and dump them Once we were playing catch with a grenade since we thought it was a medicine ball Right before it blew up, dad came running at us with his eyes bigger than us Now that I rely use some filters and stay near sea I do not get to eat opening acts 4 minutes ago Well back in the day, I had an assassin try to take me out at their main encampment This was years ago when the ED and GC were still allies My public reason was to get some fuel for the trip to Nine-Oak, my real motive well to this day I'm not quite sure but it must've been important since I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it out of there and owner Door 5 The smell overtakes the sensors While 4 channels show a heavy dose of psychosis swinging back and forth with tylium injections, a brighter side appears You nearly see hope Her quarters are the large one at the top of everyone's screens covered with a one way window; perfect for spying and collecting intel, while maintaining necessary top security Also, you instantly recognize this families logo Your mind draws a blank then slowly; a blurry memory resurfaces ! Now! The writing on the walls is like no language you've ever seen, but you can make out a few familiar shapes Your mind struggles Zukhara? No, much older "Darling" hasn't moved an inch Quickly she grabs the image of an alligator in a fine crafted cherry wood frame from the wall and throws it on the floor with a loud crack The mirror and painting lay shattered and displayed on the ground or the paintings for dinner? And that other thing, whatever it was Be my guest! You pull yourself out of the seat and slowly walk to an empty space on the wall where you open a hidden safe Typewriter and stacks of cash fill the drawer as you sit down and start writing a note While your writing doesn't exactly look like calligraphy, presumably this will still be counted as "artwork" finish it and then mount it on an alligator skin I believe? Well if it'll honor you prefer the skin? Nothing's stopping you now, assuming he is on the level then both will be coming from our rations tomorrow night along with a bottle of 1975 empire Zinfandel which should make a fine adhesive, provided the gluing is up to the quality of your current paintings Your collection should look flawless The door opens as a slight breeze pushes it further into the room pay money to own some of that, shining in black frames on the red walls, alligator skin flooring and a genuine Empire zin Please give our compliments to genius chef as soon as he has time Research Assistants - University of Progensberg Your art is now top secret Even if anyone thought the colorful swirls were anything more than bits to be analysed they wont get far before it's taken out of general circulation , good thing arnt they one of the few human like species discovered it'd be a shame to see them go extinct before we had a chance to eat them Year 595 Research: While the painting sub branch isn't exactly mundane, you don't feel like it's enough creative outlet for today How will this help forging a GC post extinction legacy? You need to be doing more smelling faintly of paint and on most occasions you see red, blue or purple flash before your eyes Congratulations, after 500 years since the inception of the project it appears urantra brain secretes some kind of purple pigment for decoration purposes At this point we don't care, just take it and inject it into your veins almost as much as a fine bottle of empire zin The purple lightning strikes outside seem brighter and warmer these days, might just be the drugs talking though Almost done with this batch and then it's a few months of off book research Wanna come with? to EAT animals but not ok to EAT people or OTHER human like species, or elves or anything like that After rereading Anecia's speech you realize how close the average person is to becoming their food source Hopefully this research will earn a bit of trust that you aren't planning on eating them probably I heard that! And no im not coming with you, ill just be here waiting than they'd want to hurt Anecia They are essential for milk and cheese after all That being said, when your racing home after a hard day at the lab, hoping that tonight might treat you to some Anecian Stuffed Peppers, how often do you think about where the meat in that casserole really came from? And where did the cow come from anyways? Was it just walking around one day when it decided to become lunch? ? plus they taste good You were always told that dragons where monsters that scorched the earth and sky alike but now your standing here arms deep in a corpse of one The first dragon you've ever slain, and its wings are actually alot smaller then you thought If your parents could see you now, how proud they would be They'd probably question their training however, and rightfully so but still you had this one in the bag all along to realize, be it hook, spear or net, the dragon had little chance of escape With your own particular set of skills, you have this wyrm failling to a blow from above Year 600 You meet mr Average Person (read:secretary) early in the week with the to-do list every sunday you have to go over everything with him and give some sort of idea of what the team is going to work on two months from now or the intense studies of the Purple ichor's amazing healing properties? Question 6 (1,798 voters, tcoh_input@yahoo com) Hello nice to meet you roommate! tell me about yourself Name: Sun LiRace: Black TrollClass: PlayboyER demigodSTR! 30INT! 30WIS! 40 AGI! 50LUCK! 70SKILL! 56TRAIT! 18 let's see your father ran before he took you away Since that is no doubt who your roommate is let's see if we can figure that out There are roughly 100 students at this school about 25 are demi human and half of them are races that could easily be your roommate (or would that be roommers?) Of the remaining human race half of them are girls hmmm 1 in 4 now that probably isn't right If your more of gun nut check the lastest firearms at [kroger market] beer !!! if i were a teamate in this, what would my role be? (ans: Captain Kirk) if you don't find the quest fun anymore you can get The big you go, the harder it gets and more danger you're in with the law getting in your way many snatchers have been shanked because they tried to use deadly force Common based snatchers are in it for a quick buck, so as such they won't try to take on an entire orc tribe by themselves They'll hit lone caravans and small to mid sized groups of merchants Most cases the black market isn't a criminal underworld full of dangerous felons and relentless mana-vampires as it is a bunch of bored immortals trying to pass the time One of these things is the demon market, located in the third layer of hell (dashit) , with a 50% savediscount! As the thief harvest goes on, something a bit odd stands out to you In each and every case of missing persons a lot of them were last seen in the area around Kroger's region That supermarket is either running a regular scam or is involved in this somehow It wouldn't be the strangest thing you've seen, and it certainly wouldn't be the worst crime organization By questioning the store manager, it becomes clear that he knows exactly what's going on at your supermarket The hell is this? This smelly bigfoot goes by many names, from dogman, to the grizzy, to bigfoot, yet in all cases it is all the same creature Some say it's a werecreature of some sort while others believe them to just be a rare species that has managed to avoid discovery all these years But fact is, they look like bigfoot and that's good enough for you with the scope With this mode, each gun has a different "feel" to it You'll need to spend some time with this to master precision shooting There's aiming on the move, finding your range, and many other types of shooting Since you've only got the one shot, make it a good one To shoot or not to shoot With a deer carcuss near it You find the creature standing outside for some reason with one shot Not such an easy task, considering you're pretty far away Your standard iron sights are going to have to do since you don't have an optic for this gun It's a bit tough since when you use this gun from the hip it's over 20 pounds, so getting your aim steady is important Fortunately for you there's no wind so you just have to account for your lateral movement and launch the round There's fur, blood and entrails everywhere It's easy meat to take back and sell, which is important, because you're not getting it for free after your hunt congrats op you've more than doubly profited from this encounter Choose: deer skin or alligator skin Oh ick totals Maybe this game would be a little easier with higher caliber guns, or at least ones that can accept scopes The noise really isn't worth it though since all you're doing is driving away any game in the area In the future it might be worth going furless, but for now all those useless bits can be turned into ichorium explosives , as usual So, loot and sell the gall bladder, liver, heart, intestines and maybe even a tooth or two Keep these offable parts in your pack until you get home, then put them in the fridge If you need more storage get a cooler or upgrade the house comes, sell more parts to him then cook dinner for you and your buddy While preparing the meat for cooking have some guests come over They brought a few six packs of brew with them Go ahead and share the wealth You should put it in your new fridge After eating, showing off a bit and having a generally good time its time to hit the hay You fell asleep on the couch so move yourself to the bed at 12 99 a person Ohh monetization Tonight's profit: 2168 ichorium shares, 8 silver, 4 quarters Days passed in the marsh and you still don't have Clyde or Fen just a lot of wet feet You do however have eaten everything in your fridge even the bait, so you're going to have to get more food or eat something inedible again like the alligator fleshes you've got hanging around The thought haunts you throughout the day and night It's really throwing off your concentration, you can't wait for this time to be over so you can bag a couple of wyverns First thing in the morning you sharpen your rifle and put on your pack This is going to be the day Not once, but twice people from the fort come and see if you're around and suddenly everyone wants to see me And they'res not just a few people they're like 18 of them You were out hunting so you weren't around to whlect their calls, replys or even show up while prying eyes were watching Instead they get your mildly annoyed brother in law to talk to them They leave dissapointed and unanswered Then you jump in and make things worse You wander into the fort to pick up a few things at the store and who do you find there? The same two wyvern jockeys that approached you To your surprise they knew you were out here, but even more surprising was what one of them said while the other looked on in silence "We would've been better off if you hadn't helped us at all Did I really do that much damage? You tried to wave them off and assure them of the contrary but they left shortly there after You could only hope they would come to appreciate what you did for them in time Just then an all too familiar symbol caught your attention, staring up at you from a wanted poster it was Clyde! Or rather Commander Ram himself If you wore a mask around here people might mistake you for someone else But what does it say about us that someone like him was able to take charge in the first place? You were Clyde There was no denying it But you couldn't hunt him down, not after what happened The poor sap that did finally catch up with him on that wanted notice looked a lot like Mason, even had a family resemblance It wasn't him, but it could've been What would you do if you found him, put a gun to his head and drag him back? It was a tempting idea but he probably wouldn't get far and in your current mood you might not be able to bring yourself to help if someone else was beating him to within an inch of his life It was shameful, but the best thing you could do for him right now was stay away However he still needed to be brought to justice, the way he was gallivanting around the countryside rounding up god knew who and throwing them in his cells was bad for business People would begin to unite against him and that could be far worse bandits, mercenaries, wary townies, kobolds all with one collective ideology: Fear Something you only engendered towards yourself and justified with your greater purpose To lose that power could cost you your survival! No, Ram had to be brought to justice, but not by you The best way of erasing your past was to put some distance between it and yourself You'd head west, maybe head out to sea or even up north to where the gnomes and their contraptions came from A new frontier, there had to be one yet untapped But before you could begin your new life you had to make one last trip out to the woods and see how Detlaf and Ranon were progressing on their logging town (You didn't want to go out there again ever but beggars can't be choosers ) You found them both cutting down trees like it was going out of style, which with the influx of new settlers it very well might Seeing you ride up they finally take a break You didn't really have to, but it was a convenient excuse to just sit there pulling up your shirt sleeve and scratching at your glowing badge of honor Your beam of light may have been gone, but it would never fade from your arm You came to accept that, you only wished you could do the same with the scars that wrapped around your back Still, the badges were going to come in handy as you've managed to use them as a conversation starter "See something you like Mason?" Ranon playfully sneered while waggling his eyebrows He probably didn't even realize what he was doing but you just let it slide and carry on with what you needed "That town you were working on looks like its coming along well "Town?" Ranon said with some pride "Haram, it's a city now King Sylvester himself stopped by recently to give his official endorsement Lot of people flooding to it You were genuinely happy for both of them but the news did stop you for a moment A whole another kingdom? If a place that big could form that fast just from one bandit gang then wherever you end up things were going to be very different Actually now that you thought about it considering how big the kingdom must be there was probably anothere bandit gang somewhere else doing much the same thing you were Bandits: Been there, done that It probably hadn't even been a year yet and already the game was up Well in for a coin, in for a Rai-ken You had made your decision and your destination doesn't matter as long as its a new frontier and they needed doctors right? Well maybe you'd stick to frontier clinics, but that was still medicine Might even get to put those old bandit skills of stealing from the sick for the good of the community Time would tell In any case you had some people to see and from there you'd make your plans Your next destination was Rask and then beyond it! Or so you thought Funny how things worked out, but it was the calm before the storm You laid down to sleep on your bed one night and then you heard a loud noise followed by the house shaking as if there was an earth quake going on Your rabbits in a stew because none of the furniture broke but everything ended up in disarray and broken pottery was everywhere One of your manticores came running in from one of the other rooms having been spooked by the noise if the trampled flower vase and rolling obei seeds meant anything You were still half-awake and pretty startled yourself, but instincts kicked in and you moved towards your rifle, thinking it was hostiles or something By the time you got into the living room and realized what happened it was over And just in time too, because you heard Naji let out an unearthly shriek of pain from her bedroom next door

[practicetestbooks-blog]

Future-gazing | Special report -

LONDON, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The World in 2020, the annual publication from The Economist, predicts that 2020 will be a testing year ahead, citing decisions to be made in the US election and Brexit, concerns over a faltering world economy and worries about nuclear proliferation. But there will be many events to celebrate such as large global sports events in Japan and Australia and exploration on Mars.

Now in its 34th year, The World in 2020 will be available within The Economist app, and online on Thursday, November 21st and on newsstands on Friday, November 22nd. The magazine can also be purchased at The Economist Store at shop.economist.com

Twelve themes emerged out of this year's publication:

It's judgment time. That's doubly true for President Donald Trump: first in Congress with the Democrats' drive to remove him from office (the Republican-controlled Senate will save him), then in a febrile election in November. It will be ugly; the artificial intelligence we consulted reckons Mr Trump will lose. Britons, meanwhile, probably will get a chance to pass judgment on Boris Johnson.

Economies wrestle with negativity. Banks, especially in Europe, will battle with negative interest rates. America will flirt with recession—but don't be surprised if disaster fails to strike, and markets revive.

China highlights positivity. It will claim to have met its target of achieving "moderate prosperity" by 2020. Other countries will have to work out how to position themselves, in trade and technology, between a Chinese sphere of influence and an American one.

Sport has a jumbo year. The Tokyo Olympics will draw a huge global audience. The Euro 2020 football championship will be  spread across 12 countries. Cricket hopes for a smashing success in Australia with the t20 World Cup—and in England with a new, even shorter version of the game called The Hundred.

Worries about nukes proliferate. The five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty will be a fraught affair, 75 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fears of a new arms race will grow as nuclear arms-control agreements fray.

Sustainability is all the rage. At least, talking about it is. In Kunming countries will discuss biodiversity. In Glasgow they will make pledges on carbon emissions. Business leaders will vow to support sustainable capitalism—as long as shareholders let them.

The Gulf welcomes the world. Dubai hopes its World Expo will have a lasting impact. More awkward, Saudi Arabia hosts the g20 summit.

Multiple missions head to Mars. America, Europe, China and the uae all plan missions.

Tech has both highs and lows. The highs include flying taxis, electric supercars and personalised medicine; the lows involve tech giants bracing themselves for more regulation, taxation and critical scrutiny. Instagram will find itself in the spotlight of controversy in this American-election cycle.

Big anniversaries resonate, especially Beethoven's 250th. It's also 500 years since Raphael's death, 400 since the Mayflower sailed to America, 300 since the South Sea Bubble burst, 200 since the birth of Florence Nightingale (the World Health Organisation has designated 2020 the Year of the Nurse), 100 since Prohibition, 75 since the founding of the UN and—while their fans gently weep—50 years since the Beatles broke up.

A torrent of entertainment comes on stream. Television's streaming wars intensify, as streaming opens new vistas for gamers, too. But James Bond fans will head to old-fashioned cinemas for the 25th film in the franchise. And a new national museum in Cairo will show that physical presence still matters.

It's the decade of…the "yold", or the young old, as sprightly baby-boomers hit 65. For the first time, the world will have more people aged over 30 than under. The 2020s promise to be a bad decade for African dynasties, a disruptive one for countries facing separatist pressures and an exciting one for plant geneticists, who in ten years' time aim to be drawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a global scale.

"The start of a new decade prompts bigger-than-usual thoughts about the future" and the year ahead "will not be short of drama," says Daniel Franklin, Editor of The World in 2020, who after 17 years is stepping down to focus on his role as Diplomatic Editor. From next year Tom Standage will take over from Franklin, working on the annual issue alongside his current role as Deputy Editor of The Economist.

The magazine, which will hit a circulation of one million this year, sits alongside The Economist's other annual supplement, The World If.., and under an editorial umbrella for the future-gazing franchise, The World Ahead. It's complemented by a podcast of the same name, The World Ahead, a monthly series examining an assortment of what-if conjectures and provocative prophecies. It's available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and TuneIn.

The World in 2020 is specific, numerate and opinionated: full of predictions, and an exciting read. The Economist's writers are joined by leaders from business, politics, science and the arts who also add their ideas for 2020: Robert F. Smith, investor and philanthropist; Juan Guaidó, interim president of Venezuela; David Malpass, president of the World Bank; Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei; Jim O'Neill, chair, Chatham House; Demis Hassabis, CEO, Google DeepMind; Guido Barilla, chairman of Barilla Group; Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip; Adena Friedman, president and CEO, Nasdaq; Joanne Chory, professor of plant biology, Salk Institute; N'Goné Fall, curator, "Afrique 2020"; Iván Fischer, conductor.

It is this mix of contributors that makes The World in 2020 uniquely authoritative in its predictions of trends and events—and that has won the publication a loyal and growing readership around the world.

[nextstop-pluto]

//Anime//

//The Rising of the Shield Hero//

//Also known as; 盾の勇者の成り上がり (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari)

//Click the title to watch the trailer//

[FIRST 6 EPISODES OUT OF 24]

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-synopsis taken from the anime archive website myanimelist

Stories of old tell of four otherworldly heroes—wielding the sword, spear, bow, and shield—who defended the land from wave after wave of calamity. With the fate of the world in balance, the kingdom of Melromarc summons these legendary figures; in modern-day Japan, the call is answered, and the unwitting heroes are transported to this fantasy universe.

Thrust into Melromarc and given the title of "Shield Hero," otaku Naofumi Iwatani is labeled the weakest due to his lack of offensive capability and apparent inexperience. When the heroes part ways to start their journeys, he only has one willing companion: the beautiful princess Malty Melromarc. However, she soon betrays him, steals all his money, and accuses him of taking advantage of her. For his alleged crimes, Naofumi is branded a criminal and made outcast of society. With hatred filling his heart, he sets out alone, vowing vengeance against those who wronged him. 

Source: https://myanimelist.net/anime/35790/Tate_no_Yuusha_no_Nariagari

***

Otaku meaning: Otaku in popular Japanese culture normally refers to an individual who is heavily invested in the subculture of anime, manga, light novels and video games. In relation to international fans of anime, manga ect the term otaku is largely the same however some cases based on the behaviours exhibited by some international fans this meaning changes. Overseas otakus have also been referred to as weebs/weeaboos, a negative definition for a fan who’s investment has become obsessive, ignorant and disrespectful. Otakus and weeaboos and not the same however due to negative attitudes towards the wider anime, manga ect community many are viewed through the derogatory lense of “weeb/weeaboo”

-Naofumi the protagonist of The Rising of The Shield Hero is a Japanese college student who is also an otaku

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Plot:

 As the synopsis stated, The Rising of The Shield Hero follows college otaku Naofumi after he is transported to another world as one of the four heroes of legend. In six episodes alone this anime has already subverted many tropes found in similar shows whilst not becoming stale or uninteresting in it’s presentation.

I’m currently only six episodes in but I’m heavily invested. This type of plot, surrounding characters travelling to another world became popularised recently in anime and light novels. It’s been popularised so much that it’s essentially -despite being a trope- has now been largely accepted as sub-genre of anime. This sub-genre is referred to as “Isekai” 

Isekai meaning: In literal Japanese Isekai means,  different world or another world. When used on light novels and anime it becomes a term used to describe that the concept revolves around characters travelling to a different world.

So in our main character Naofumi’s case. he is an “iskeai” protagonist because he left one world and entered another. 

Back to the plot, the first six episodes have Naofumi dealing with responsibility of being a hero for a world that appears out to get him. At every turn he is deceived, disrespected and defamed. In the first episode alone (spoilers ahead) he is falsely accused of sexual assault and almost executed. After to which this false accusation ruins his reputation among the other characters. He receives no help and has to go it alone despite burdened with the task of being one of the four heroes of legend.

What I love about the plot is how subversive it is from many others in its category. Isekai shows have in the current anime sphere a negative reputation. Many feature overpowered protagonists who barely worked for the power they wield. These protagonists have been known to come across exceedingly “edgy” bland in personalities and as I mentioned incredibility overpowered from a early stage.

There remains a lot of discourse in the community about these types of story and their characterisation. Some many of the community simply cite and engage with these shows as way of wish-fulfillment whilst others enjoy complex high fantasy magic systems. The divide is often in the characters

***

Character/s:

I’ve spoken a little about Naofumi but for some deeper detail. Naofumi was summoned as the fourth hero, the shield hero. Since his hero type is defensive as opposed to offensive he’s viewed as week by wider society. From his very arrival Naofumi deals with being sidelined and looked down upon, when he’s accused of sexual assault in episode one; nobody vouches for him. Naofumi becomes the embodiment of the “underdog” we want to see him grow and prove everyone wrong. 

Naofumi as an isekai protagonist is quite different. I mentioned earlier that isekai protagonist tend to early on become very overpowered. Before even half way through the show a typical isekai protagonist will have mastered every skill imaginable and essentially be unbeatable, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s all about it execution in my opinion. Watching a character grow organically over time allows for a bigger emotional pay off once they reach the point of next to unbeatable.

Naofumi’s situation forces him to have to grow by his own hand. The lack of allies, knowledge and mental/emotional support makes it a struggle for him to grow. But it’s his struggle that connects me as a viewer to his character. He becomes admirable to watch perceive than stale to watch defeat a whole army in the span one episode single handed. 

Shield Hero’s secondary protagonist is a demi-human named Raphtalia. (see above) Raphtalia had been the property of a slave merchant before she came to know Naofumi. Naofumi in a last resort for a companion to fight with brought Raphtalia.

What I liked about the characterisation of Raphtalia was how she was distinctly a child that behaved like a child. What I mean is in other anime not just isekai shows child characters have a tendency to behave very “un-childlike,” in the sense that their way of speech, thought and action is exhibited as if they are meant to be older. Regarding young female characters in anime, some of them have also been portrayed in a sexualised manner despite their extremely young age. This can involved getting into uncomfortable sexually charged situations with the much older protagonist or involving themselves in the romantic pursuit of the main character. 

There’s a lot of discourse about this is community but personally regadring myself, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable considering they’re minors. 

Moving on, although it’s quite apparent that later in the series Naofumi and Raphtalia are likely to become romantically involved when she’s older. During her introduction and the episodes that follow her personal development and platonic relationship with Naofumi she behaves as young person would. She enjoys playing children’s games, likes having friends and appreciates the parental type role Naofumi has become in her life.

As the episodes progress and she gets older (significantly fast I might add) she learns to defend herself and assert her own standing in the world. In short she develops. She doesn’t pander to every whim of Naofumi, she stands up for him when he’s falsely accused of her and she becomes an anchor that emotionally supports Naofumi.

It should also be heavily noted that the slave-owner dynamic between Naofumi and Raphtalia is non-existent, she does work for him but he treats her as a person, not a slave. In one of episodes, I can’t recall, the magical contractual bond between them is removed however, this doesn’t change Raphtalia’s loyalty to Naofumi. In short she is only a slave in name whilst a friend in reality.

***

Themes:

The main themes of this anime appear to be growth and perseverance. Every episode is about the characters growing as people personally but also in the world around them. They find ways to deal with the things that limit them as individuals and strengthen what they’ve already acquired.

As I said, I enjoy a good “underdog” hero story. So to see characters constantly growing and changing with the aim of becoming unmatched against their enemies is heavily engaging and enjoyable. 

***

Overall: 

Only six episodes and all I can do is sing this anime’s praises. I’ve always been a fan of fantasy action shows when executed well and The Rising of The Shield Hero is currently ticking all the boxes. I’ll definitely be continuing this show