#too late to edit now but i realized these are the prince versions

[maplecaster]

WILDBERRY PRINCESS... HOT DOG PRINCESS... WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

[clockworkbee]

1989 tv as Jude x Cardan’s version

♪ Slut! ♪

Cardan Got lovestruck, went straight to my head,

Jude, Cardan thought, hating even the shape of her name. Jude. —how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories: the prince of elfhame is mildly inconvenienced

Jude Got lovesick, all over my bed / Love to think you'll never forget.

Back in bed, I push aside the curtain and let the sunlight spill in, brighter than any lamp. I take the folded-up paper from behind my pillow. Smoothing it out, I see Cardan’s furious, arrogant handwriting scrawled over the page, taking up all available space. In some places, he pressed the nib so angrily that the paper tore. Her brows knit together. Jude, it reads, each hateful rendering of my name like a punch to the gut. —the cruel prince, chapter 14

Cardan Lovelorn and nobody knows, Jude Love thorns all over this rose.

I flattered myself that at moments you had feelings for me other than contempt, but even were that true, they would be but watered wine beside the feast of your other, greater desires. —the queen of nothing exclusive editions: Cardan’s letters to Jude

You love him, too, I think. You’ve loved him since before you were a prisoner of the Undersea. You loved him when you agreed to marry him. Once this is over, I will find the bravery to tell him. —the queen of nothing, chapter 22

Jude But if I'm all dressed up, Cardan They might as well be looking at us.

This mortal was a girl, dressed in gloves and a long gown that appeared like the sky at night. She was of medium height, with hair the ted-brown of a willow tree. She had soft features and the solid grace of someone used living in her body. An acrobat, perhaps. Or a soldier. The tail faerie boy who held her in his arms had a mess of black hair. His cheeks were painted in silver, his eyes edged in black kohl, and he looked drunk, his crown askew. The girl was glaring at him, and Kaye wondered how they wound up dancing together. Then she noticed the way he was looking at her. But that made things even more puzzling. —a visit to the impossible lands, the cruel prince bonus story

Jude And if they call me a slut, You know it might be worth it for once

“Is this really what you wanted? Him?” —the wicked king, chapter 7

But we all know what you lost.” “Locke?” I laugh. “Good riddance.” Her brows knit together. “Surely it’s not the High King himself you were gazing at.” —the wicked king, chapter 8

I’m there to whisper my counsel in his ear, as any seneschal might. The difference is that he must listen to me. And if he whispers back a few horrific insults, well, at least he’s forced to whisper. —the wicked king, chapter 1

Cardan And if I'm gonna be drunk, Might as well be drunk in love.

“Yes, my sweet villain, my darling god. I will be as sober as a stone carving, just as soon as I can.” And with that, he kisses me on the mouth. I feel a cacophony of things at once. I am furious with him, furious and resigned that he is a failure as High King, corrupt and fanciful and as weak as Orlagh could have hoped. Then there is the public nature of the kiss, parading this before the Court is shocking, too. He’s never been willing to seem to want me in public. Perhaps he can take it back, but in this moment, it is known. But there is also a weakness in me, because I dreamed of him kissing me for all my time in the Undersea, and now with his mouth on mine, I want to sink my nails into his back. His tongue brushes my lower lip, the taste heady and familiar. Wraithberry. He’s not drunk; he’s been poisoned. —the wicked king, chapter 27

Jude Send the code, he's waiting there, The sticks and stones they throw froze mid-air

I realize what’s happening a moment too late. A note told the Court of an assassination attempt, and the Bomb went looking for an assassin. She found someone hiding in the shadows with a weapon. Someone who had every reason to want to kill the king: me. // I feel a guard’s hand close on my arm. Then Cardan’s voice comes. “Do not touch her.” A terrible silence follows. I wait for him to pronounce judgment on me. Whatever he commands will be done. His power is absolute. I don’t even have the strength to fight back “Whatever can you mean?” Randalin says. “She’s—” “She is my wife,” Cardan says, his voice carrying over the crowd. “The rightful High Queen of Elfhame. And most definitely not in exile.” The shocked roar of the crowd rolls around me, but none of them are more shocked than I am. —the queen of nothing, chapter 16

Cardan The wrong place at the right time

I keep thinking of the steady way he looked at me when we were both naked, before he pulled on his shirt and fastened those elegant cuffs. We should have called truce, he’d said, brushing back his ink-black hair impatiently. We should have called truce long before this. But neither of us called it, not then, not after. Jude, he’d said, running a hand up my calf, are you afraid of me? I clear my throat, forcing the memories away. “I command you not to allow yourself to be alone from tonight’s sundown to tomorrow’s sunup.” He draws back, as though bitten. He no longer expects me to deliver orders in this high-handed way, as though I don’t trust him. The High King of Elfhame makes a shallow bow. “Your wish—no, strike that. Your command is my command,” he says. I cannot look at him as he goes out. I am a coward. —the wicked king, chapter 21

“I hate you. You sent me into exile. Everything you say to me, everything you promise, it’s all a trick. And I, stupid enough to believe you once.” The sheathed knife slides easily to my hand. “Of course it was a trick—” he begins, then sees the weapon and bites off whatever he was about to say. —the queen of nothing, chapter 7

“It’s you I love,” he says. “I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.” He walks to the door to the royal chambers, as though to end the conversation. “You probably guessed as much,” he says. “But just in case you didn’t.” He opens the door to prevent me from responding. Abruptly, we are no longer alone. Fand and the rest of our guard stand ready in the hall, with the Living Council waiting impatiently beside them. —the queen of nothing, chapter 22

Jude And I break down, then he's pullin' me in, Cardan In a world of boys, he's a gentleman.

I am on the High King’s enormous bed, bleeding on his majestically appointed coverlets. Everything hurts. There’s a hot, raw pain in my belly, and my head is pounding. Cardan stands over me. His jacket is thrown on a nearby chair, the velvet soaked through with some dark substance. His white sleeves are rolled up, and he’s washing my hands with a wet cloth. Getting the blood off them. —the queen of nothing, chapter 17

He’s every bit as terrifying as any serpent. I don’t care. I run into his arms. —the queen of nothing, chapter 26

Cardan’s fingers dig into my back. He’s trembling, and whether it is from ebbing magic or horror, I am not sure. But he holds me as though I am the only solid thing in the world. —the queen of nothing, chapter 27

Jude This is luxury / You're not saying you're in love with me / But you're going to.

I let go of him and remain standing. I promised myself I would do this, if I ever had the chance again. I promised I would do this the first moment I could. “I love you,” I say, the words coming out in an unintelligible rush. Cardan looks taken aback. Or possibly I spoke so fast he’s not even sure what I said. —the queen of nothing, chapter 27

Cardan and Jude: Half awake, Taking your chance, It's a big mistake, I said it might blow up in your pretty face, I'm not saying do it anyway, But you're going to.

“Hear my judgment,” Cardan says, authority ringing in his voice. “I hereafter exile Jude Duarte to the mortal world until such time as she is pardoned by the crown. Until then, let her not step one foot in Faerie or forfeit her life.” I gasp. “But you can’t do that!” He looks at me for a long moment, but his gaze is mild, as though he’s expecting me to be fine with exile. As though I am nothing more than one of his petitioners. As though I am nothing at all. “Of course I can,” he replies. “But I’m the Queen of Faerie,” I shout, and for a moment, there is silence. Then everyone around me begins to laugh. I can feel my cheeks heat. Tears of frustration and fury prick my eyes as, a beat too late, Cardan laughs with them. At that moment, knights clap their hands on my wrists. Sir Rannoch pulls me down from the horse. For a mad moment I consider fighting him as though two dozen knights aren’t around us. “Deny it then,” I yell. “Deny me!” He cannot, of course, so he does not. Our eyes meet, and the odd smile on his face is clearly meant for me. —the wicked king, chapter 30

“I need something from you,” I tell Severin. He makes his bow. “Of course, my queen. Whatever is mine is yours.” // You already know how to end the curse. “I do love you,” I whisper. “I will always love you.” I tuck the golden bridle into my belt. Two paths are before me, but only one leads to victory. But I don’t want to win like this. Perhaps I will never live without fear, perhaps power will slip from my grasp, perhaps the pain of losing him will hurt more than I can bear. And yet, if I love him, there’s only one choice. —the queen of nothing, chapters 25 // 26

Jurdan And if I'm gonna be drunk / Might as well be drunk in love.

“I knew little else, but I always knew you.” And when he kisses me, I feel as though I can finally breathe again. —the queen of nothing, chapter 27

more 1989/tfota posts on #1989 tv as jude and cardan’s version tag

[trashikin]

Vader is Jealous

This was gonna be part of a longer piece about Vader figuring out why he suddenly cares what Luke is doing, but then I started writing another scene and went “eh, that works for an opening too.” I’ll likely pull bits of this into the final version.

So have IWM’s first cut content. This is a first draft that will never be edited

Tw: accidental incestuous marriage, possessive behavior, jealousy, Vader is a general-purpose pissbaby

Vader would usually not be in his, their, quarters this late in the morning. But his Master had demanded his presence via comlink, then there were reports to read, and he suddenly found himself still in his private chamber by mid-morning. This was more than unusual, it was nigh unheard of.

It did not matter, ultimately. None of his crew would notice his absence, they would only assume he was elsewhere on the Executor. It still rankled him, he hated it when his routine was disrupted. And since he had been forced to incorporate Luke Organa into his life, it had become nothing but disruptions.

He typically read his reports over his very early breakfast, but since his Master’s demands had altered his schedule, he sat at the table in the common area much later in the morning than usual. Vader was not one for idle motion, but he did idly play the fingers of his flesh hand over the divots he had left in the table when he had interrogated Luke. It did not help his focus.

Nor did the sounds coming down the corridor. Vader’s mouth twisted in displeasure. This deck’s quarters primarily belonged to officers who were assigned to Alpha and Beta shifts. It was unusual for any chatter to sound in the halls this time of day.

The sound grew louder, until Vader could almost make out words. The conversation seemed to stop outside of his door. A bright laugh echoed against the bulkheads, made all the louder when the door to their quarters slid open.

Vader turned in his chair to look at the door. Luke stood there, dressed in lightweight workout clothing and hair in a simple style. One of the Executor’s officers, a lieutenant, stood just beyond.

When Luke realized that Vader still sat at the common area’s table his laughter died and he schooled his face into a careful mask of neutrality.

“Lord Vader,” he said formally, before turning to his escort and saying warmly, “I’ll shower quickly then we can go to breakfast.”

Without another glance in Vader’s direction, Luke strode through the room and into the refresher he used. Vader’s gaze turned on the lieutenant, who quickly adjusted her posture to be as straight as it possibly could be.

“L-Lord Vader,” she stammered.

Her anxiety was a balm against the ragged remains of his soul. It was becoming increasingly difficult to intimidate Luke without effort, and it made the prince mouthy.

It had been a long time since Vader had to tolerate anyone being mouthy in his presence.

Vader did not acknowledge the lieutenant, and the door soon slid closed, hiding her from view. Not long afterward he heard the shower in Luke’s refresher start. Several minutes later, he realized he had read the same paragraph in his report a number of times without absorbing its meaning. Vader grit his teeth and did his best not to damage the datapad he held.

He had known that Luke hated living aboard the Executor. That had not bothered him because he did not care about the comfort of a Rebel. But something about the idea of Luke melding into the thin line Vader laid out for him and finding small pleasures in it stoked the coals of his fury into smoldering flames.

There was no focusing on this report now. Vader slammed it onto the table and stood. He opened the door to his quarters, where he found the lieutenant who had escorted Luke back still at attention.

“Lieutenant…” Vader said, realizing too late that he did not know this officer’s name.

“Harko, Lord Vader,” she said with no little trepidation.

“Lieutenant Harko,” Vader repeated. “Do you often escort my husband around the ship?”

He caught a fleeting frown before she calmed her face, and felt her confusion in the Force.

“Y-yes, Lord Vader,” she said slowly, “there are a few of us who have been assigned to be Luke’s escorts depending on shift. It is less disruptive than selecting a new officer each time.”

That made sense. It was an imminently practical way to obey his standing orders that Luke not be allowed to roam the ship alone. But there was still something there he detested.

“‘Luke’?” Vader asked, the acid in his tone proliferating through his voice modulator.

Lieutenant Harko blanched, realizing her mistake.

“I muh-mean Prince Luke of course,” she said quickly. “Please forgive me, my Lord. The Prince encourages familiar modes of address.”

“Does he now,” Vader snarled.

In truth, he was not certain where his irritation came from. He did not care about the dignity of the Alderaanian royal family. If they wished to allow those beneath their stations to address them as such, it was no concern of his.

Yet, something about this officer, this lieutenant, behaving familiarly with Vader’s husband rankled him. He could not say why, but he hated it.

Further interrogation was interrupted by the refresher’s shower turning off. Vader lurched back inside of their quarters and allowed the door to slide close. He felt flickering relief from Lieutenant Harko, and despite his mood he could not fault her for it. He was an intimidating figure, anyone would feel relief upon being dismissed from his presence.

[snifflesthemouse]

Harry’s the Problem. His wife is the symptom. He is the real Diana 2.0 Wannabe...

         Since the Oprah interview aired, my whole perspective regarding the spare and his spouse has shifted. It would seem that I’m not alone in my thought process as more and more media outlets start reporting similar stances. Just recently, there was an article suggesting Harry didn’t change; but rather, he is only finally revealing his true self. The more I think about it all, the more I’ve come to the realization #6 is the real culprit behind everything.

         I’m not saying that his wife doesn’t have her own agenda or shares responsibility for her part in all this. Her hands are far from clean. What I am saying is it’s finally time for all of us to consider the cold, hard truth. Harry is his mother’s child. Harry is the bad egg, and his wife is only a side effect of the real problem here.

         Had it not been for the Oprah interview, I would have never put it all together. The problem with oversharing is too much information gets put out in the public. Most assume PR firms would worry about oversaturation in the press, but the real problem comes from personal interviews they cannot control in real-time. Puff pieces can be edited before publishing so facts and statements align; live interviews cannot. Over time, one of two patterns form from this oversaturation. Consistencies, repetitions, and similarities can be found in oversaturated truth-telling. Inconsistencies, changes, and huge differences result from those like Harry who prefer their trousers scorching hot from bursting into flames from deception. When you consistently lie, the only constant is the inconsistencies. 

         Now, those of us who have been following these two already know by now inconsistencies and changing stories should be expected. But the Oprah interview really highlighted some interesting things I had previously missed. The interview with Dax Shephard only solidifies my theories. Up until lately, those two have been together through most everything. Very seldom have we seen Harry alone in an interview or speech. There’s never a time where the missus isn’t popping up. James Corden proved that. Then we have the Oprah interview where she was supposed to be the star of the show. But, that was the moment it all changed. That interview was the moment she became the understudy. 

          Think about it. Who is the one being used in the media lately? Most people would suggest that the impending delivery of child number dos is why the missus is absent. One would then argue the Apple + special with Oprah started production well before the second child was a topic for discussion. The missus is being used less and less on camera or in the media. Everything is all about Harry. Forget about when Harry met Sally; Harry Met Hollywood! 

         Harry is the one doing the interviews, dropping projects, and talking with big Hollywood names. Even their announced Netflix projects are focused on one of Harry’s pre-married concepts. All the wife has going for her is a book that’s only number one in the “Books written by ex-Royals who couldn’t hack it” category. Seriously though, as of this posting the Bench is #2130 on the Amazon Books list, #12 in Children’s Black and African American Story Books, #73 in Children’s Emotions Books, and #167 in Children’s Family Life Books. Being pregnant isn’t a disqualifier for being interviewed. But, apparently being just the wife is.

         So, if it was his wife’s plan from the beginning to marry Harry, get him to abandon his family, move to California, and become a big star with a Prince for a husband, her plans have been ruined. And if you think about what she said in the interview with Oprah, you can actually see the moments she told us all exactly that. She clearly tells Oprah Harry was her direct link and source to the Royal Family and everything she needed to know. She didn’t misspeak or misunderstand a thing; she was telling us that Harry’s next to be markled. In every weird answer or revelation where she gave her versions for why their child(ren) were without title, saying they wed three days before the chapel, or having to cry out to HR since Harry failed to help her while she was so depressed she wanted to kill herself and her unborn child... all of it. It was all just the beginning. It may seem like she is attacking her husband’s family, but Harry’s the real target now.

          In just a couple sentences, she managed to reveal who Harry really was. Harry, of all people, should (and does) know how to navigate the press. Clearly, he failed to not only help her acclimate to Royal life, but it could also even be argued he set her up for failure for the get go. Let me give you an example. When my husband introduced me to his family for the first time, he told me little tidbits of information he found important for me to know. He essentially prepped me for the meeting so things went well. He wanted his family to like me because he loved me. I wanted them to like me because I loved him, too. So, I took to heart everything he told me. Yet, Harry’s wife shared with the world how little Harry cared about that. She credits Fergie with teaching her to curtsey, google for teaching her the National Anthem, and even said Her Majesty made her feel especially welcomed. So how did Harry not do more? If they started seeing one another in the early Summer of 2016, how is it Harry failed to teach or explain anything to her prior to meeting his grandmother, the Queen, when he had months and months of time to do so? How is it he failed his wife so miserably, she didn’t even understand basic UK custom, laws, or protocols? Why might you ask?

         Simply put, Harry is so much like his mother, all he knows is how to play the victim narrative while using the link to the Royal family as a nonstop ATM machine. Many people aren’t honest with themselves when it comes to Diana. She wasn’t the Mother Theresa everyone makes her out to be. Mother Theresa wasn’t a Mother Theresa either, though. Did Diana do some great things? Absolutely. Did she do them only because they were nice or great? Absolutely… not. Diana’s PR team would even have her switch up her charity causes whenever they felt it was getting to martyrdom level. They’d refer to her PR stunts as flavors. Does that sound like an innocent woman?

         Not to me. This whole time we all have seen his wife as the root of all issues, but she’s the side effect. It’s becoming more clear by the day that Harry searched out her. He wanted someone with the basic Hollywood connections that he could capitalize. Someone that seemed so controlling and ambitious it would be easy to believe they were controlling him, too. Of course he knew she would invite all the celebs she did. He probably inspired that guest list. Instead of guiding her in the press and in British society, he leads her to slaughter. He hides behind her repeated gaffes and wokeness to keep on his own mission.

         You see, Harry is obsessed with his brother eventually becoming king, being the “Second Son of Diana” and being the misfit. He is obsessed with his brother and father. They are all he talks about. When you obsess on something like that, it is more revealing than anything you say. Harry’s true motives aren’t protecting his wife and children. His real motive is making a name for himself like his mother did. If he can manage to get some revenge by making the Firm feel some backlash, hey that’s a bonus. 

         While his wife may think in her mind she will be the next Diana 2.0, the truth is we all missed who really will be. Harry is the one wanting to be Diana 2.0. If that’s the case, then that means the much older spouse for whom there are two children with, aka the wife, would be his Charles. Remember, Diana lost her HRH and titles. And we have Harry being very aggressive and pushy, to the point it seems he is trying to get ahead of a Palace announcement of them losing their titles. But it makes sense now.

         They aren’t trying to lose anything, but instead Harry keeps opening his mouth to create pressure in the media. He knows his wife does not want to give those titles back. But if he himself keeps saying outrageous things, then it would put everyone in ultimatum mode. Either Harry will push hard enough that Parliament and the Queen will have enough, or the press will get so critical of the two, Harry will push his wife to agree to returning the titles.

         Harry is following the Diana business model. While in the Royal Family, they both were seen as rock stars who had more star power the the Sovereign, which was an issue. Then, they couldn’t take all the abuse, coldness, and inhumanity, so they bolted for freedom. Instead of putting the past behind them, they use the past to monetize grief and trauma in such a way, they become their own brand. Right now, the trauma being monetized comes from the past, but the problem will soon come when that trauma is tapped out. He will need a source of new pain or victimhood. Enters the wife stage left.

          The wife is a tool. She of course has her own plans and thinks she is the one in control or the genius. She thinks she is the one everyone wants to work with. But it’s becoming clear to her that isn’t the case and she’s been played by her elite buddies. They all want him, not her. They all duped her for him. If I can see it, and I can see her already finger pointing that Harry is the failure here, then she can see it. And that means paradise will soon be lost in those Montecito hills. His wife won’t go down without a serious fight here. I wouldn’t even be surprised if she eventually causes him to lose his special visa. 

         Overall, Harry hides behind his wife like a beard or shield protecting him from the press’s glaring lens. He lets her do and say whatever she thinks is great so he can keep plotting his own plans. He allows her to take the fall, look stupid, pull stunts people can see through, etc. for a reason. He isn’t completely sure he can make it in his new California life. He knows he can’t if he keeps her for too long, but he also knows he needs an exit strategy in case it blows up. So, he pins the press to attack her as the true culprit. If they split and he has to, he can return home and play the victim of her. If they split and he is doing okay in Hollywood, she can be the reason he plays victim to big named people like Oprah and Gayle. 

         I can see it now. An Oprah Special with Harry tonight on Apple +. Something cheesy or corny that is almost plagiarism. Like Narcissus and the Prince or something. Watch. Mark my words. Oprah talking to Harry about surviving the marriage while trying to rescue two small kids, being in the spotlight as a Royal while being gaslit by a narcissistic wife… yes I can see the green screen set up now.

         I know this is difficult to digest, but I do ask you to try. While his wife is not innocent, she clearly is guilty for her own part indeed, his wife isn’t the true problem. The true problem here is a man who has a serious issue with living in the shadow of his future-King father and future-King brother, and his future-King nephew, that he has chosen to use the same exact attack model his own mother used to merch and marginally disrupt the institution that made her a star. Harry and his mother both wanted the entire spotlight, but both knew they could never have it the way they wanted it. So, they wrote their own victimhood narrative.

         And here we are now. Mark my words. Harry will keep pushing until those remaining titles are removed by them forcing the hands of Parliament and the Queen. Or, they’ll push and push in the press so much the outrage and hypocrisy will leave them no other option but to renounce and re-gift those titles and rights to the line of succession. That is what he wants, even if his missus doesn’t. Also make no mistake about it. Harry is the real Diana 2.0 wannabe, not his wife. Keep an eye out. I have this gnawing feeling that soon enough, there will be plenty leaks from the wife about the husband. She won’t go quietly into the Beverly Hills… but neither will he.

[hyperfixation-hideout]

Going through my inbox and apparently a lot of you have been asking what I'd like Oscar's Vacuo outfit to look like, so here's a haphazard MS Paint edit done with a trackpad by a non-artist (me) who doesn't even know how to use Paint:

god knows why I chose a screenshot where his jacket is scorched... it was just the first full-body I found in the folder and by the time I realized it was too late.

Crop the jacket, shorten the sleeves, freckle the arms, revive the rag, remove the collar, add a scarf. And maybe a little ponytail but I couldn’t figure out how to draw that. I wouldn’t complain if they removed the cummerbund or wrist straps, either. (Also make his skin darker again please! I couldn’t do it here cause it had to match but return his melanin!) I know the colors on the rag are a bit off for his current palette, so the outfit might look better without, but I miss her :’(

Look, I just really want a scarf a la The Little Prince, is that too much to ask?? And it can flap in the windy desert, pretty please? As a treat? 

I have this recurring vision of the v9 intro where Ruby is silhouetted from behind, standing on the beach looking out to the suns on the horizon -- her cape flaps in the wind and briefly covers her silhouette before twisting back, except now it’s thinner -- a scarf, and the silhouette revealed from behind the cape is Oscar looking out to the desert horizon, the suns replaced by the full moon as the sky cuts from day to night.

(alt versions and more thoughts/ideas below!)

Here’s one with the rag shorter and on the other side, idk which looks better

I think that one may be more balanced but the first makes him look taller? Oh well. Here’s one with fingerless gloves and no wrist straps (I tried, okay?)

I feel like he should keep some sort of wrist strap, but I like the idea of fingerless gloves for him :) Potentially angsty, given his whole staring-at-my-gloves-when-contemplating-my-identity thing he does, but it could also be a way of showing his growth, since he was looking at them while talking about how he isn’t the same farmhand he once was, but still keeping them as part of his history.

[flashfuture]

hello do you mind explaining all the amazons?

All of them????

Okay uh I'll break down the ones i at least know about anyone who's deeper into the WonderFam please jump in I don't really interact with them that much.

But we've got

Diana Prince: Wonder Woman

Our Golden Age Princess of the Amazons. During the Golden and Silver ages she came from Paradise Island. She was truly animated clay here and several hundred years old by the time of WWII. During the Golden Age Diana married Steve Trevor and they had a daughter named Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor. (My break down of Lyta would be an essay in itself and she's not really an Amazon so). Diana was a member of the JSA here.

During the Silver Age Diana also married Steve but no kids. She rescued Donna Troy from a fire and sent her to Paradise Island to be raised by Hippolyta making Donna and Diana sisters. This is the first timeline to mention Ares is her grandfather technically as he made Hippolyta. Diana lost her powers at some point. She got really really good at martial arts and then two years later got her powers back. She supposedly died during Infinite Crisis but then you know didn't. During Convergence she killed a vampire Joker. That was fun. In this timeline Diana was a founding member of the JLA.

Okay and post crisis New Earth Diana is the first one to say Diana is from Themyscira. It was still called Paradise Island sometimes. She was molded from clay. Diana in this time was not a founding member of the JLA but came to America after it was founded. (I think Infinite Crisis retconned her to be a founding member but idk) Diana has become a member of the Trinity alongside Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Superman (Clark Kent). 

The Prime Earth Diana is the one from Flashpoint and onwards. She’s now the daughter of Zeus. In New52 if I recall right she was made much much younger like in her 20s and explored mankind in the modern era. The Doomsday clock thing reestablished her WWII origins. She was also said again to have been born during probably the Hellenistic Period (they said classical antiquity and that’s you know just a few thousand years) She just helped out in Death Metals and is now doing something with Infinite Frontier unclear I don’t really know what Prime Earth Diana has been up to lately. 

So on Earth-Two, Earth-One, and New Earth Diana was the granddaughter of Ares and as such her life span was greatly extended. On Prime Earth as the direct daughter of Zeus she is immortal. 

Donna Troy: Troia/Wonder Girl 

Donna is a tricky one. She was introduced real quick to fill the girl role on the Teen Titans cause the boys were getting a little too gay. So started Silver Age Earth 1. Okay so basically her origin kept changing but the one that’s ‘canon’ is she was created to be a playmate for Diana but was abducted and kept being cursed to live tragic lives in New Cronus. Right around the Titans era okay Donna was rescued by Diana and brought back to Earth. Donna was the one to suggest the Teen Titans name. Donna is a member of the Fab Five along with Robin/Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Aqualad/Tempest (Garth of Shayaris), Kid Flash/Flash (Wally West), and Speedy/Arsenal (Roy Harper)

Donna married Terry Long when she was 19 and they had Robert, got divorced, they died in a car crash. 

After Crisis on Infinite Earth Donna sorta realized all those ‘lives’ she led were other version of her which she was all of now. And also Donna was believed to be the Goddess of the Moon. She had to stop a sun-eater or whatever but failed (Hal came in with a clutch it it’s cool)

Donna also had to fix some shit during Infinite Crisis and ended up on a Universe Hopping road trip with Kyle Rayner and Jason Todd to find Ray Palmer for Final Crisis or something. She was killed by a Superman Android during the Teen Titans/Young Justice Crossover. (Edit thanks to that anon for this I legit couldn’t remember how she died)

And Prime Earth Donna was made to destroy Diana. She you know didn’t. 

Look I’ll be real I know next to nothing about what the New52 tried to do with Donna. I just go by her original origins of being Diana’s sister. 

On Earth-One and New Earth Donna’s life span was greatly extended and on Prime Earth she is stated to be Immortal as on Prime Earth Amazonian’s on Themyscira were granted immortality. 

Nubia: 

She is like Diana’s twin made from darker clay on Earth-One which is the silver age Earth. Nubia was actually slightly older than Diana but she was stolen as a baby by Ares who was going by Mars. Mars/Ares is Nubia’s grandfather and he wanted her help in taking down the Amazons. Nubia was raised on Floating Island (or slaughter island as Mars/Ares called it). Nubia fought Diana and hesitated to kill her leading to a draw. Nubia returned to Floating Island and at some point Supergirl had to save her life from poison of some sort. 

On New Earth she went by Nu’Bia and was just a random Amazon, her job was to guard the Doom’s Doorway which is an entrance to the River Styx. She was not Diana’s sister. 

On Prime Earth Nubia is the daughter of Hippolyta and the half-sister of Diana not her twin. Nubia went undercover pretending to work with Darkseid before Themyscira could recover and rally to fight. Nubia is currently the Queen of the Amazons. She was given the crown by her mother, Hippolyta during the Dark Metals event. 

As with Donna on Earth-One and New Earth Nubia had a greatly extended lifespan and on Prime Earth Amazons are immortal. 

Cassie Sandsmark: Wonder Girl 

She is a New Earth entry who was for the new Young Justice team. She is the daughter of Zeus and Dr. Helena Sandsmark. Here as Ares is Cassie’s half-brother and technically the father of the Amazon’s this means Cassie is Diana’s great-aunt. 

Cassie as a girl was able to request a Boon of Zeus who she didn’t know was her father at the time I believe and demanded real superpowers. Her mother Helena was able to turn off Cassie’s superpowers at the start as well. Cassie was trained by Artemis for awhile. Cassie became Wonder Girl in honor of Donna Troy who handed over her old suit. Cassie joined Young Justice as a teenager and would later be on the Teen Titans. Cassie has become a part of the Core Four for Young Justice alongside Robin/Red Robin (Tim Drake), Superboy (Kon-El/Conner Kent), and Impulse (Bart Allen). 

Cassie’s best friends outside of the core four are Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) and Cissie King-Jones (Arrowette). Cassie and Conner Kent used to date as well and she was in love with him before he died during Infinite Crisis. 

On Prime Earth Cassie is the daughter of Lennox and the granddaughter of Zeus. In this version Diana is Cassie’s aunt not the other way around. Cassie is still a member of the Young Justice team here. I don’t exactly remember what was happening during the New52. She was still Cassie unlike Kon and Bart who’d been replaced. But during Rebirth she went with the other members of Young Justice to rescue Conner Kent from Gemworld. She is currently still a member of the Titans. 

On New Earth as the daughter of Zeus, Cassie is an immortal who would not age further once she reached her prime age (like 27 or so). On Prime Earth as the granddaughter of Zeus and the daughter of Lennox Cassie’s life is extremely extended. 

Artemis Grace:

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall comes from a separate group of Amazons not on Themyscira or Paradise Island. Bana-Mighdall is a tribe of Amazons in Egypt who left Greece millennia ago. 

On New Earth Artemis left her home at 14 and wound up working for Ra’s Al Ghul before returning to her home. There was a competition to see who would be the next Wonder Woman as Hippolyta foresaw Wonder Woman die and wished to spare her daughter the fate. Hippolyta ensured Artemis won the competition. Artemis was shunned by most of the world including the Justice League who refused to see her as the true Wonder Woman. Artemis was also thought to be too violent. Artemis would later die in a battle with a demon fulfilling the prophecy of Wonder Woman dying. 

Artemis got out of hell eventually and was given the job of training Cassie Sandsmark by Diana and would later train Supergirl in combat as well. 

On Prime Earth Artemis was raised being told she would be Queen of the Amazons. She was desperate to prove herself and wanted to be the Shim’Tar of the Bana Amazons. Artemis’ best friend and lover Akila was chosen instead. Without Akila by her side Artemis felt her home had nothing left to offer and set out on her own. She helped stop an invasion of Qurac into Bana as well. 

Artemis then joined the Outlaws and worked with Red Hood (Jason Todd) and Bizarro, a botched clone of Superman. 

On New Earth Artemis had a greatly extended life span. On Prime Earth he Amazons were gifted immortality but those who left for Bana-Mighdall lost this gift so it is most likely that Artemis has the same extended lifespan from New Earth. 

Grace Choi:

Grace on New Earth comes from the same group as Artemis in Bana-Mighdall. Grace’s mother is an Amazon but her father was a Korean American. Grace grew up in America in the foster care system. She ran away at 9 but was kidnapped and sold into a child prostitution ring. She managed to escape at age 12 after her powers kicked in. Grace began fightining both for pay and for fun and worked as a bouncer at a meta club in Metropolis. 

Grace worked for the Outsiders for awhile at the request of Roy Harper an ex-fling and good friend of hers. She helped rescue Lian from the same child protsition ring she was in as a child and generally had lots of adventures with the Outsiders. 

Later it was revealed she had Bana roots but Grace refused to join them as they were currently you know sieging down the US. Batman was briefly worried about her loyalties but Grace proved she had no loyalty or ties to the Bana Amazons. 

Grace has returned to the Prime Earth in Infinite Frontier and in Festival of Heroes and it seems like nothing has changed with her so far. 

Grace has increased longevity of her life. She is listed as half-amazon because only her mother is a Bana Amazon but all Amazons only have their mother who are Amazons so I don’t really see why she isn’t a full Amazon. Anyways increased life span. 

Jason:

He is Diana’s twin on Prime Earth. He was sent away cause you know no men on Themyscira. Jason was raised by Glaucus who was a member of the Argonauts crew and worked under the original Jason of Greek Myth. Who Jason was named for. 

Jason was raised on the Aegean Coast by Glaucus and became a Fisherman. Jason was trained in his youth by his half-brother Hercules. 

Jason worked briefly with Diana but wasn’t sure how to be a hero. There was a period where Darksied’s daughter tricked him but Diana talked him down. And Jason saved Diana’s life during the Dark Metals event. 

He is currently in the Dark Mutliverse living with a boyfriend on the Aegean Coast. 

As the son of Zeus, Jason is an immortal. 

⚔️ Also for fun the Weapons:⚔️

Lasso of Truth: Wielded by Diana Prince

Originally imbued with it’s power by Aphrodite and Athena later after crisis forged by Hephaestus and powered by Hestia, this lasso forces the truth from whoever it has ensnared. It is indestructible.

Lasso of Persuasion: Wielded by Donna Troy

This Lasso forces someone to do what the wielder demands. This requires Donna’s or whoever wields the lasso to have a stronger will then who they’re using the lasso on. It is indestructible.

Lasso of Lightning: Wielded by Cassie Sandsmark 

This lasso was created by Ares and gifted to his half-sister Cassie Sandsmark on New Earth. This lasso channels Zeus’ lightning and can make someone experience intense rage if they are caught by the lasso. The power of the lasso is directly correlated to Cassie’s rage levels. 

Lasso of Submission: Wielded by Artemis Grace

Originally from Earth-3 this lasso has the ability to make someone obey any commands even those to inspire false love. After Superwoman (Lois Lane) of Earth-3 was killed Diana took the lasso and gifted it to Artemis. 

Bow of Ra: Wielded by Artemis Grace

The Bow of Ra was a gift from the Egyptian sun god, Ra to the Bana-Midghall Amazons. This bow goes to the Shim’Tar and forges a special bond with them. Those who are not the Shim’Tar cannot wield the bow and further if you are not a candidate to be a Shim’Tar the bow will harm or even kill you. The bow requires intense willpower to use or it can drive the wielder mad. Akila was driven mad with the power of the bow and had to be killed by Diana and Artemis. It is said to have the power to destroy stars so this bow is incredibly dangerous and powerful if not wielded by the right person. 

(Bonus Donna used to use a lasso that was golden but held no specific magical properties.) 

[taleweaver-ramblings]

Would you be willing to tell me about your original writing? I'd be very interested to hear about it!!

Ok, first off, thank you for being so patient waiting for me to respond. With all the fandom character ask fun, I didn't want this to get lost. Warning, long post incoming.

Right now, I'm between traditional novel projects, which means I'm primarily focusing on writing adventures for the D&D campaign I run. The adventure I'm currently working on has the PCs helping a favorite NPC achieve her long-term goal of getting back to her homeworld after she was stranded in the fantasy world by the Summer King (aka Oberon). They're going to be hopping through a few different worlds, including Middle Earth (they're going to run RIGHT INTO the ending of Fellowship of the Ring, and if I play it right, they won't realize that until AFTER they've changed the course of that narrative) and Elsewhere University. It's going to be super fun.

As for my novels, I'm . . . kinda all over the place! I've written in a lot of fantasy subgenres. Lately it's been mostly fairy tale retellings, but I want to get back to my portal fantasies/fantasy adventures. A few of the current-ish WIPs I'm most likely to be thinking about on any given day:

Berstru Tales — Currently a four-book series, with plans for at least two or three more books. Technically, I've been writing this for almost nine years, though I haven't been actively working on it for four of those years. It's a classic dragon-riders-swords-and-magic fantasy adventure, but it's really mostly about a very complicated, broken family split across two sides of a conflict. Features abundant dragons, evil twins, too many siblings, a questionably secret evil organization, scholarly bards, and some of my favorite characters and relationships I've ever written/imagined. (There's going to be a villain who's redeemed through the love of her sister, who's kind of been forgotten and pushed aside by most of the family but who chooses to love and seek to heal others anyway and ahhhhhh, it's going to be lovely.) I need to rewrite basically everything I've written thus far, but it's going to be great when I get to it.

Epic Celtic-ish Fairy Tale Retelling Series — Which I still haven't named. But it starts with the 12 Dancing Princesses (who, in this version, are twelve adoptive sisters locked in a tower, because this is also a Rapunzel retelling) who get tangled into an evil king's plot to break free of the interdimensional prison he's been locked in for centuries, and then it moves on through Beauty and the Beast (drafted), Cinderella (not yet drafted), and a few other fairy tales. It's very explicitly Christian (though I did move away from having my villains be literally descended from demons, though that's mostly because I realized something else fit better), to the point where one of the plotlines of the second book is literally just . . . one of the failed princes from 12DP is wrestling with the legalistic version of Christianity that he's been raised with versus the grace he was confronted with at the end of book one and the fact that his legalism failed to bring him success when he's been promised it would. This one also contains some of my favorite ships I've written, so that's fun. I'm currently rewriting book 1 (because I changed so much in the process of writing book 2 and hooking this into my multiverse).

Between Two Worlds — Portal fantasy about what happens after you come back from an adventure that . . . was more LOTR than Narnia, to put it lightly. Kate, the main character, comes home from another world suffering from guilt and PTSD, tries to put everything behind her, but then gets pulled back in when the villains from her adventure turn out to be rather less contained than anyone realized. And now she has to face all her trauma all over again. Again, draft 1 is done, and I need to rewrite/edit it now, but it's been on hold because other storeis have distracted me.

Blood in the Night/Soil/Earth — Asian 12 Dancing Princesses crossed with Hades and Persephone. I really like the 12 Dancing Princesses fairytale, FYI. It's technically a sequel to a Snow White retelling, though it focuses on different characters — primarily on the Demeter stand-in, though in this version she's the Persephone character's sister, not her mother. But she refuses to let the Hades character take her sister, which causes the 12DP situation. And the whole novel is just the situation slowly spiraling out of her control and her confronting the fact that things she did that she thought were good, that she thought were protecting her sister and her family, have actually done more harm than good and might've just been her protecting herself. (Also features a Cerebos stand-in who is a Very Good Dog, and whom the MC loves as much as she despises his master.)

So, yeah! Not-so-brief overview of some of what I write. There's other stories as well, but they don't occupy as much brain space (despite the fact that I've worked on most of them more recently). All of these are also linked in a multiverse, though that doesn't really come into play much except in Between Two Worlds and a tiny bit in Berstru. I may ramble about my multiverse sometime, now that I've actually made up my mind to talk about my writing at all here, because currently the only person I have to listen to my rambling is my sister (not on Tumblr).

Again, thanks for your patience; hope this was at least mildly interesting. xD

[zeppelin-and-unicorns]

Fanfic recommendations part two: Stories that take place during season 8 (canon divergence)

This is a smaller category than the previous one, but I promise that those stories are amazing. I’ve read and reread every single one of them, and I love them all with all of my heart. I hope this post is useful to you. Lots of love ❤️

(And yes, they are in alphabetical order. I wish I’ve done that with the post season 8 post too, but it’s up for a while now and it would be just too much work to edit the whole thing)

All These Things That I’ve Done by c00kiefic

Story based on the sexual tension between Jackie and Hyde during season 8.

This story is complete.

26k words, 9 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Don’t Stand so Close to Me by c00kiefic

A story when Eric came back way earlier than he planned to because his friends were being dumbasses and needed some direction. Gotta love Eric Forman.

This story is complete and it’s a super fun read, 10/10.

95k words, 24 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, Kelso/Brooke, background Red/Kitty

Fear and Loathing in Wisconsin by elphabacan

What if Jackie had decided enough was enough after the slumberparty with Donna and Sam and recruited Brooke to go to Vegas? And what if turnabout is fairplay when they run afoul a charming lounge singer named Jude?

Lots and lots of love for this story. It’s amazing and it’s complete.

42k words, 15 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Brooke/Kelso

Get Away From The Edge by BlueZeppelin

Jackie has been down for a while and it leads her to the Water Tower, alone and depressed. She wants to jump but will Hyde let her?

This story is kind of sad, but it’s still good. I just wish it gave us more details. Don’t read it if you’re triggered by depressive thoughts. It’s complete.

5k words, 3 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

I Think it’s a Real Waste by Jaded

In which Fez and Donna are decent friends to Jackie, and Hyde knows he fucked up. There’s a lot of J/H, but the story also focuses on all the gang. This is a really good story, please read this.

This story is complete.

120k words, 13 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna, Brooke/Kelso, Fez/OC

Into the Woods by c00kiefic

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess with long raven hair and enchanting eyes, whose only desire was to be loved by the handsome, yet distant prince…

I absolutely adore this story, I really, really do. It reminds me of fairytales and it makes me want to cry at the same time. Also, both Hyde and Donna get an not so pleasant “wake up call”, that they rightfully deserved btw.

This story is complete.

41k words, 10 chapters.

Rated T

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde mainly, some background Eric/Donna angst

Pain Without Love by YouLivexYouDie

This story made me cry so hard. It has a happy ending though, so it was worth it.

Jackie Burkhart is about to experience something life changing. She will never be the same afterwards, nor will the people who love her.

This story is complete.

12k words, 3 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Confession by heavinly-vixen

After the torture Hyde had been inflicting upon Jackie since the arrival of his 'wife', Jackie just needs to talk to someone who's on her side.

This story is complete and it has a sequel! It’s called Reconciliation and it’s also complete.

12k words, 9 chapters.

Rated T. The sequel is rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Made Bare by MistyMountainHop

A heartbroken Hyde considers his relationship with Jackie kaput. Too bad Jackie sees it differently. She intends to get a proper resolution with him, but breaking through his hostility — and getting past his wife — may well prove impossible.

This story is complete.

50k words, 8 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Eric/Donna

Also available on AO3

Someone To Love by Bunny1

Hyde comes back from his 3 month bender to the unexpected.

This story is complete.

6k words, 7 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

The Birds and The Bees by c00kiefic

Jackie’s pregnant and the father of her child is married to someone else. Amazing story, what I love the most about it is Jackie and Donna’s friendship.

This story is basically complete, the only thing missing is the epilogue.

22k words, 6 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna

The Right Road Lost by zpplnchick

After a car accident, Hyde wakes up to a twisted version of reality he comes to find is actual hell and with no memory of how he got there, a hell that Jackie's been living in for the past few months. Set during Season 8, shortly after "Sweet Lady".

This story is complete.

43k words, 20 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

The Road to Redemption by Hyde’s Bride

Jackie leaves the group because of Hyde and Donna's behavior. Eric comes back early to find how things have changed. When he forms a new bond with Jackie, will it force Hyde and Donna to fight for them? Or will they lose their loves forever?

This story is complete.

33k words, 12 chapters.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Jackie/Eric, Eric/Donna

When The Leeve Breaks by zeppelinandunicorns

What would've happened if Jackie and Donna left Point Place when Eric moved to Africa and Hyde married a stripper?

Donna and Jackie moved to Chicago once they realized that they've sacrificed themselves enough for the sake of their relationships with Eric and Hyde. Will it be too late to fix things once the boys realize what they're missing?

This story is a WIP.

So far, 125k words, 23 chapters. This story will be 54 chapters long so... yeah.

Trigger warning: Depression, past eating disorders, child abuse

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, Eric/Donna

Zen Vision by Ultrawoman

A series of one-shots turning each and every episode of the horrendous Season 8 into a happy Jackie and Hyde love affair!

This story is complete.

37k words, 22 chapters.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

One-shots during season 8:

Being Here by UnfitWriter

Set in season 8, after Sam's departure. Jackie and Hyde can't stand each other, but when something horrible happens to Hyde, Jackie will try to console him in only way she knows how.

5k words.

Rated M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Here Comes Goodbye by nannygirl

Sometimes you just have to say goodbye. Or not.

5k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde, background Red/Kitty

Reconnecting by SerenitySparrow

During the party at WB's house in season 8. Jackie and Hyde hook up in a coat closet during the party.

3k words.

Rated M. Very M.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

Tipping Point by janus_74 (tanner)

How a different Perfect Man list could change the end of Season 8.

4k words.

Rated T.

Pairings: Jackie/Hyde

So far, this is all.

I’ll repeat this at the end of every single post: speaking as someone who writes, it would be really cool if you guys decide to leave a review (or a comment, if the story is on AO3) in the stories you read, especially the unfinished ones. It really motivates the authors, and receiving a compliment is always a mood lifter. I’ve seen some authors updating stories after years because of nice reviews, so… yeah, this is just an idea.

If you think I left out a good story, feel free to reply to this post!

Next category: Season 7 fix-its.

[thebluestbluewords]

9 for the OTP questions? Choose any ship you’d like!

Thank you nonnie! Sorry for taking almost a week to get to this, hope you enjoy :)

Number 9-- Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

(There are two not-fics below-- rotten four as is my brand, and mal/audrey)

There’s two ways I could go with this:

either THIS is the Maldry rivals-to-friends-to-lovers fic, where Mal is a dashing pirate who is young and rebellious and was kicked off of her ship by her mother, who wants her to attend the young lady's academy on the mainland and educate herself in the ways of “proper” society so that they can infiltrate the rich ships better and get the reputation as the gentlewoman pirates that they deserve. Of course, in this fic Mal meets Audrey along the way, and hates her immediately. Seriously, this girl likes PINK and PRINCESSES but also NOT PRINCESSES because she is NOT INTO GIRLS and it’s INFURIATING.

“Mal,” says Evie, who is Mal’s best friend from the pirate ship who is actually delighted to be attending the princess academy and is learning new ways to hide knives in her fancy dresses every day “Babe.”

“Fuck off,” says Mal, who has known Evie since they were six and had a falling-out so dramatic that they sailed on separate ships next to each other for four years afterwards.

“You’re so gay for her.” says Evie, who is already hooking up with Mal in their free time because it’s easy and comfortable and they both enjoy it well enough. “I know that look, Mal Bertha.”

“There’s no look,” says Mal, sulking.

“Just ask her out with all of your dashing pirate charm.” Evie says. She has not stopped applying her lipgloss throughout this conversation, and it’s not as distracting as it should be for either girl.

So Mal goes out and picks up a new pair of boots with less bloodstains than her old ones, and rents a boat (renting is like stealing, except it’s only for a while. It’s practically borrowing, really, except for how Evie has drilling it into Mal’s mind after a few too many incidents with lost books that BORROWING happens when you’ve ASKED FIRST) and decides to turn on the full pirate charm

Audrey is not impressed, and does not break up with her boyfriend, Chad Charming, over this attempt at wooing. She is a princess, and in NO HECKING WAY did she sign up to be….harassed!! By a pirate no less!! Everyone knows who her mother really is, no matter if she’s here under an “education decree” from the “crown prince” for the “children” of the exiled *former* smuggler’s community by the coast.

….Mal steals a boat, and tries again. Only this time with kidnapping.

Audrey is impressed with the dedication, if nothing else. She may not like a pirate, but she can appreciate a girl who will dedicate at least six hours of her life to plotting and stealing a whole finishing vessel from the coast. And cook her a lobster dinner on it.

Mal is delighted by this turn of events. Evie is thrilled that she finally has time without her best friend where she can FINALLY decorate their room the way she wants. Audrey is reluctant at first, but eventually comes around to the idea of dating a bad girl.

….and also there’s a bit where Mal gets dumped in the water and Audrey, despite Not Signing Up For This Bull Crap, has to jump in and save her. From about two feet of water. Because Audrey was being a reasonable person and taking her shirt off so that she could get the full benefits of the sun. Make that vitamin D.

Mal is so gay that she walked off the side of the boat when it happened.

The OTHER answer is that it’s a rotten ot4 story, and Mal is an evil princess who gets sent away to live on a pirate ship for a year by her mother, who wants her to become more evil and also learn some leadership skills. The other three are the pirates who are supposed to teach her their wicked ways of stealing and drinking and cruelty.

Unfortunately for Maleficent’s plans, the shipping journey doesn’t go exactly according to plan.

Mal does not fall overboard this time, but what DOES happen is that the OTHER wicked princess on board the ship is too perfect for words, and when it’s revealed that actually, Evie is the famous pirate princesa espelho and NOT another wicked boarding school member, Mal has a full blown gay crisis.

“Well YEAH,” says Jay, who is also dating essentially pirate royalty. “She’s like, basically the coolest person you’ll ever meet, aside from me. What, did you think she was one of us regular wicked school brats?”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Mal tells her pillow, which she is burying her face in during said Gay Crisis. “She’s too good to be true.”

“Nah.” Jay says, mouth full of ye olde cheetos or something. “She’s pretty lame sometimes. You should ask her about what her room looked like when she first got her own ship. All dark and gloomy.”

“WHAT” shrieks Mal, who has been working on changing her bunk to the darkest, deepest corner since she first arrived. “She THREW OUT a room that was dark AND gloomy in favor of what?”

“Better lighting for her makeup tutorials, mostly.” Jay says, not paying attention anymore. “I think she might also have a full journalism setup there too. She won’t tell me anymore, not after what happened with the caustic tar.

Mal is horrifically curious about the caustic tar now. “What was it made from,do you know?” she asks, because she’s still working on how to cohabitate with other people peacefully despite growing up running around an evil academy since she was a child.

“Nothing important,” says Jay casually, throwing a ball at the ceiling.. “She had some boards replaced, scrubbed off all the skin on her palms fixing the parts of the door she didn’t want to replace, and then made a very cool liquid version of the tar for spraying on fabric to get natural wear and tear patterns on new garments.

“Sick.” Mal says, and before she can make any other comments:

“There was the matter of the handprints though,” Jay say, still extremely fake-casually. .”they were weird, you know, because Evie had them on her back for weeks, with the tar and all, and they were definitely dainty. Almost like some girl kissed her around the neck while there was still tar on her hands.”

Mal throws a shoe at him, knocking both the ball and the boy out of the way, and shoves past to find Evie.

Because the roles are already a mess for this (I am very small and very tired place just roll with it as I am not editing this before I post) Mal runs into exactly the pirate royalty she doesn’t want to see.

“What the fuck are you doing in my room?” asks Carlos, who is basically a tiny perfect decoy in this world. His mother had a monopoly on the exotics trade for a good few years when he was a child, and would tie him to the mast and make him cry for mercy as a way of luring other ships hoping to rescue a nobleman’s child closer. It worked disturbingly well, and now at sixteen, Carlos is both a pirate elite and terrified of falling into the water.

Mal pushes past, because she is as always a little bit of an asshole, and goes off to find her OWN pirate princess to date. She doesn’t need any stupid boys who just look at her like she’s dumb when she doesn’t know an anchor form a bowline. She doesn’t need to know. She’s going to be managing her own crew eventually, and they’ll do all of the heavy lifting aspects of it all. Mal is simply going to chill out and wait for the princess to come to her.

Of course, because this is a pirate story, this is when another ship sees the school experience boat, and decides that the best experience for the young baddies to have is explosions. Lots of them.

First hand, even.

The pirates (Evie and Jay and Carlos included) get to stations.

Mal, confused and distressed by this turn of events, is about halfway from transforming her whole shit and dealing with the dragon claw marks later, decides to wait in the hold. She is not getting paid for this experience, and it’s so beyond her ability to control what other ships do, mom.

Mal might have a few mommy issues in addition to the princess issues. A balance there.

“Fuck” Mal says, instead of dictating a letter to her mother like she should when entering a potentially life-threatening situation. “Now I’m never going to be able to talk to her.”

Mal does not die, Evie does not die, neither of them actually manage to steal anything in this story except for each other’s hearts, and then they talk at length about their feelings and how they should become a mean fighting team.

The next pirate raid (intentional), they’re ready. They’ve practiced all of their cool two-person moves together, and they’re ready for this.

Two minutes into the battle, Jay gets taken by the unwitting second team and disappears. Mal, predictably, flips her shit when this happens.

Aaaaand now it is late and I’ve written up enough of a piece of a fic I won’t write for this hour. Hope you enjoyed one or both of these ideas, nonny.

(the second one ends with Evie and Carlos dragging Mal along on an adventure to get Jay back, where Mal learns how not to be useless on a ship anymore and she and Evie bond as people and they keep Carlos and Mal in turns from having a nervous breakdown as they get their boyfriend/BFF back and then they all realize that ACTUALLY they work best as a foursome and do that)

[snowdice]

Little Kestrel (Part 2)[Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted, look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1

Virgil hated this. He really, really hated this. To think he wished he was back in training camp. He yearned for General Landon’s mistreatment like he imagined most children desired their mother’s affection. He tried not to sniff too loudly from his place behind the foul-smelling bags he’d hidden behind in the small shed long enough ago that his legs had long since cramped.

He could tell from small window opposite him that the sun had set recently, though it was not quite last light. Soon he would have the cover of darkness and would have to move from this spot. That was almost worse than staying cramped here forever and starving to death in the shed. He felt sick. He felt so sick. He didn’t want to be here.

A noise startled him, and he flinched down further behind the bags as someone pulled opened the door to the shed. A man made a groaning sound and set gardening tools down on the table with a clank. Virgil did not want to imagine all the ways each of those things could kill someone, but his brain didn’t give him the choice.

Virgil focused on breathing as quietly as he could even when the thoughts in his head made him want to pant. The man continued to put away the tools in different places in the shed. Virgil tried to curl even tighter into his already tight ball when he strayed too close a few times.

The man finished his work and wiped off his hands on his shirt. Virgil expected him to turn and exit the shed, but instead he called out. “I can see your hair.”

Virgil froze, and when the man turned to look right at his hiding place, he let out a small whimper. He tried to scramble away when the man took a step closer to him, but there was nowhere to go but to press himself up against the back of the shed, the man’s body between him and the door.

They sized each other up for a long moment. Could Virgil make it to one of the tools if he moved quickly enough? He didn’t know. He doubted it and there was more than a likely chance that he’d reach for a tool himself with his much longer arms.

“You here to steal food from the castle garden?” the man finally asked.

Well…no, not at all. He wished he was here to steal food. How should he respond? What was the most tactical answer? He cast his mind back to his training. There were a few options when faced with this situation, but he didn’t know which was the best one. The most obvious explanation was to go with his cover story and try to say he worked in the kitchen, but this man worked with the garden. There was every possibility he knew people in the kitchen. Another strategy would be to agree with whatever he said and hope he came up with a reasonable explanation on his own… but that explanation seemed to be that Virgil was a thief. Would he immediately be dragged in front of the king or have his arm chopped off or something else horrible? He could try spinning it around on him by asking him questions back and confuse him. He could ask him why he was here or if he was the one stealing food. That would be stupid though, he was obviously the gardener. That would probably just piss him off and make Virgil’s fate worse.

Virgil couldn’t breathe.

“Hey kid,” the man said. “What’s going on?” He had crouched down in front of Virgil and the fading light from the window finally hit the side of his face the right way to light up the currently black tattoo on his face, a familiar design as he’d seen it on Janus’s face. Virgil blinked. He was really glad he hadn’t just lied in that case. He did not comment on the marking or otherwise indicate he knew what it was. That would breed questions about why he knew what the man was. Why was the man a gardener if he was a multrum? It didn’t make any sense.

That didn’t matter now however, Virgil needed to say something, and it had to be the truth.

“Kid?” the man said again.

“I don’t want to be here,” Virgil said truthfully.

The man’s tattoo shimmered just slightly, and he paused. He settled himself down in front of him. “Well where do you want to be?”

Virgil shrugged.

The man frowned and then leaned back to grab something out of a bucket under the table. “Here,” the man said. An apple was plopped down in his lap.

Virgil stared down at it in confusion.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” Virgil admitted. “I wasn’t here to steal though, promise.”

The man nodded. “Go ahead and try it,” he suggested. “It’s from a new hybrid plant that just started growing fruit.”

Virgil cautiously brought it to his lips and took a bite. “It’s good,” Virgil said softly. “Thanks.”

The man watched him eat for a long moment. “What are you doing here?” he finally asked.

Virgil was careful with how he responded. “Hiding.”

He arched an eyebrow. “From what?”

Virgil was not fool enough to say.

“Well, you can’t hide in here,” the man said once he realized Virgil wasn’t going to speak. “I lock it from the outside during the night. How about I walk you back to wherever you’re supposed to be. Where’s that?”

Virgil bit his lip. “The castle,” he said.

He titled his head at Virgil. “Alright,” he agreed. “Come on.” The man offered him a hand and he twitched before slowly taking it. The man pulled him to his feet carefully. He reached over and grabbed another apple from the bucket. “Here, have another one for the road,” he offered.

Virgil looked at it in confusion. “Oh,” he said. “T-thanks.” He stored the apple in his pocket and while he was looking away, he felt a hand descend on his back.

He yelped and jerked away, eyes wide, but the man was just holding his hand in the air where Virgil’s back had been, looking confused.

“Sorry,” he stuttered. “You just startled me.”

The man eyed him. “Sure kid,” he agreed. “Let’s get along.”

Virgil nodded and followed him out of the shed. He waited for the man as he locked up the shed, and then they walked side-by-side to the castle. The man never reached for him again, Virgil noticed.

Virgil found himself shuffling closer to him as other random castle workers passed them, using him as a cover. No one looked at them twice.

The man took him in one of the doors of the castle. It was one near the kitchen if Virgil’s mental map was right.

“Can you find your way from here?” the man asked.

“Yeah,” Virgil replied. “I know where I am. Thanks.”

“No problem kid,” he replied. He nodded at the bulge in Virgil’s pocket. “If you ever want another one of those apples, I have plenty.”

“Oh,” Virgil said softly. “Thanks for the offer.”

He inclined his head and turned back to leave out through the door they’d come through. Virgil watched him go. Well. That was the weirdest interaction he’d ever had with an adult, but at least all of his limbs were intact. He gulped looking around at the strange hall he was in. For now.

There weren’t many people coming in and out of the kitchen at the moment since dinner had long since passed, but he was still cautious as he took the spiral staircase up. Though most wouldn’t question him in the more public areas of the castle, it still never hurt to be safe. He came out in a large corridor across the way from what he knew was a small dinning hall for important guests. It was still fall, but it was getting late enough in the season that there should not be any guests staying for fear winter may come early and snow them in.

He kept close to the walls as he quickly passed through the dining hall, wincing as his shoes clacked softly on the floor and then turned left. He kept his ears peeled for guards and ducked around corners when he heard people coming, but eventually found himself in the correct hall. It was a hall of large bedrooms used for visiting dignitaries, and he slipped into the first bedroom on the left.

He took a moment to gawk at the large bedroom. Most of the furniture was covered in white cloth to keep it from getting dusty when not in use, but he could still imagine how beautiful it was when someone was staying there, how soft the bed and chairs must be, and how pretty the designs on the wardrobe.

He shook himself and turned his attention to the bed. He crouched down and squirmed underneath it. His arms stretched out, searching along the wall at the head of the bed until he found the loose board. From what Virgil had been told, a dignitary from Faumatia had come here in the spring before their membership in The Mocnejsi Alliance was known and planted supplies for this. He grabbed the bag and squirmed back out from under the bed. He opened the bag and pulled out exactly what he’d been told would be there: a knife, some dried meat (which he chose to forgo since he still had the apple), and one light sleeping potion for the guards who would inevitably stand at the entrance to the hall The King’s bedroom was in.

Then, Virgil settled in to wait for a few more hours until the rest of the castle was asleep. He chewed idly on the second apple he’d been given. He felt a little bad; he wondered if the nice gardener liked his king. Would he make the connection between The King’s assassination and Virgil? Would he feel guilty for helping him even if accidently?

He shook off the thought. He had enough to feel bad about without feeling bad about that too.

He waited for hours before he finally decided it was time to move. The clock had struck 2am a good while ago and everyone but the night guards should be asleep. He stood and snuck back the way he came, past the dinning hall and into another area of the castle. The correct hall was easy enough to find with its two guards posted outside of it. With practiced ease, he kept silent to the shadows and snuck up on them. When he was close enough, he pressed his shirt up against his nose and uncorked the potion, tossing it so the gas it made when hitting oxygen hissed and spiraled up their legs. It was such a weak potion that it wouldn’t even take them off their feet. It’d be more like a dizzy spell as far as they knew; they wouldn’t realize they’d even fallen asleep. Virgil ran past them, holding his breath. He closed the doors behind him silently.

Now, he just needed to find the king’s bedroom. He imagined the floorplan in his mind. There were two bedrooms in this wing: one for the prince and one for the king. He froze. Which was which? He remembered which doors led to bedrooms, but racking his brain, he couldn’t remember which one they’d said was The King’s.

It was fine. They’d both be asleep at this hour. He’d just check the first bedroom on the left and see if it was the prince or the king. If the prince was sleeping there, he’d back out and go to the next one.

Decided, he took out the knife and crept to the first bedroom door. He turned the knob and pushed it open slowly.

Confused eyes met his the moment the door finished opening. It was the prince. What was he doing awake at this hour? They stared at each other for a long moment, both frozen. The prince’s eyes drifted to the knife.

Then, something heavy and flat slammed into the back of his head.

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 3 Part 4

[arofili]

Line of Elros Edit Series: Appendix B

Continued from Appendix A. This section will contain information on the House of Andúnië and the Royalty of Arnor.

~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A: Royalty of Númenor Appendix B: House of Andúnië, Royalty of Arnor (you are here!) Appendix C: Royalty of Gondor Appendix D: Princes of Dol Amroth, Chieftains of the Dúnedain Appendix E: Stewards of Gondor

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HOUSE OF ANDÚNIË

Silmariën ft. Silmariën, Elatan, Valandil of Andúnië It is canonical that Silmariën was passed over for inheritance, that she received the Ring of Barahir, and that she had a mithril fillet (a kind of medieval headband); the story of her making the fillet herself with the aid of her cousin is an embellishment. Technically it was not Silmariën or Elatan who first led the House of Andúnië, but their son Valandil, but I altered the story to give it more feminist themes. The details of Elatan’s life are all headcanon.

Valandil of Andúnië ft. Valandil of Andúnië, Vairanatsë (OC), Ulmondil (OC) Save for the names and professions of his wife and son, Valandil’s story is canonical.

Ulmondil ft. Ulmondil (OC), Hyamindë (OC), Elvëanna (OC), Tintilárë (OC), Lilómëo (OC), Malwacilin (OC), Irmondil (OC), Lelyárë (OC), Moruinë (OC), Ortólorë (OC) Here we get to the long stretch of “unnamed lords.” Since we know nothing about these people or their spouses, I’ve had some fun with gender and sexuality here. Literally everything here is headcanon (except that Tar-Minastir did canonically build a tower on Oromet).

Vóreäla ft. Vóreäla (OC), Tyulussë (OC), Vilwarindo (OC), Rómandur (OC), Roquendië (OC), Vasaryamarto (OC), Failaher (OC), Pirucendëa (OC), Canyahondë (OC), Elwenára (OC), Ilcarion (OC), Morilindië (OC) All details about my OCs are pure headcanon. Check Appendix A for information on whether the details about the kings they interact with are canon or not. ETA 3/31/21: Fixed some minor timeline discrepancies.

Vóromir ft. Vóromir (OC), Arphazêl (OC), Aulendur (OC), Istimiel (OC), Lindórië, Eärendur of Andúnië Gimilzagar (and thus his hypothetical child) is canonically possibly the ancestor of Inzilbêth; I decided to go with that, and wrote a narrative around how the daughter of one of the King’s Men married into the House of Andúnië. Lindórië and Eärendur are both canon characters who are indeed siblings. Everything else is headcanon.

Lindórië ft. Lindórië, Tulcatio (OC), Inzilbêth, Eärendur of Andúnië, Aranyo (OC), Minasdil (OC) The politics of Andúnië and Gimilzôr are all headcanon, though it is canon that Gimilzôr married Inzilbêth. That’s pretty much the only canon part of this story, though. Eärendur is canonically the fifteenth Lord of Andúnië; I changed it so Lindórië was the leader instead. The Adûnaic versions of Lindórië and Eärendur’s names are my own translations, as is Inzilbêth’s Quenya name. ETA 3/31/21: Made some fairly significant changes in order to reconcile some timeline errors, though the core story remains.

Minasdil ft. Minasdil (OC), Tiristiel (OC), Númendil, Vailimion (OC), Narwalótë (OC) Everything here is headcanon, except that the Faithful did indeed move to Rómenna around this time. The leader of Andúnië between Eärendur and Númendil is unnamed, so I made them nonbinary because I could. Númendil is not mentioned to have any siblings, but I gave him some because I felt like it. ETA 3/31/21: Completely rewrote the last paragraph to reconcile it with the canon timeline. Apparently I originally had Minasdil getting married around the time that their grandson Elendil was supposed to be born!! ...except that doesn’t make sense at all either, so I changed things so it’s Amandil being born at that time. Still - I had Minasdil marrying too late, and that’s fixed now.

Númendil ft. Númendil, Lómiel (OC), Amandil, Elenyë (OC), Elentír, Elendil Númendil was canonically a friend of Tar-Palantír, and Amandil was canonically a friend of Ar-Pharazôn. For the canonicity of Pharazôn’s life details, see Appendix A. We know nothing about the wives of Númendil or Amandil; I made that all up. Elentír is a discarded character from drafts of the Akallabêth; he and Míriel were to be wed before Míriel fell in love with Pharazôn. I kept the published Silm version where Míriel married Pharazôn against her will, but I liked the detail of her having a boyfriend before him, so I kept it. (I definitely queercoded her though, she wasn’t in love with Elentír either in my mind...) Amandil’s fate and final journey west are canon, though Elentír didn’t stick around in Tolkien’s writings long enough for him to get an ending. I had him tag along with his brother. The Adûnaic names of Númendil and Elentír are my own translation; the Adûnaic names of Amandil and Elendil are both canon.

Elendil ft. Elendil, Lauriel (OC), Isildur, Anárion Everything about Elendil’s wife is headcanon. The story of Isildur stealing the fruit is canon, but has been embellished a bit for dramatic effect. The rest of this is canon, with a few minor details added here and there. Elendil’s Adûnaic name is canon; Isildur and Anárion’s Adûnaic names are my own translation.

~~~

ROYALTY OF ARNOR

Isildur ft. Isildur, Cemniel (OC), Elendur, Aratan, Círyon, Valandil of Arnor Almost everything here is canon, though Isildur overhearing his father about the White Tree is an embellishment, and we don’t know the exact reason there was such a long gap between the birth of Elendur and his next two sons. My guess is he knocked up his wife before they were married, and then didn’t want to have kids in the dangerous times of Númenor...though that didn’t stop them from having a son in the dangerous times of the Last Alliance.

Valandil of Arnor ft. Valandil of Arnor, Ahyarë (OC), Eldacar of Arnor, Culalmë (OC), Arantar, Vistariel (OC), Tarcil, Niëlinyë (OC), Tarondor of Arnor, Lossëa (OC), Valandur, Tasarwen (OC), Elendur of Arnor, Luinaivë (OC) Aside from the timing of Valandil’s inheritance, all of this is headcanon.

Eärendur of Arnor ft. Eärendur of Arnor, Quildaraumë (OC), Amlaith of Arthedain, Adanamarth of Cardolan (OC), Anorhír of Rhudaur (OC) The basic details of Arnor’s split into three kingdoms is canon, but everything else is headcanon, including the names of Amlaith’s brothers.

Amlaith ft. Amlaith, Linnoril (OC), Beleg of Arthedain, Ferieth (OC), Mallor, Cidinnor (OC), Celepharn, Glasdil (OC), Celebrindor, Sídhiel (OC), Malvegil, Hwinior (OC) Amlaith did indeed move the capital from Annúminas to Fornost, and his kingdom of Arthedain had border disputes with Cardolan and Rhudaur for as long as they all stood. Angmar canonically began to move against disunified Arnor during Malvegil’s reign. All other details are headcanon.

Argeleb I ft. Argeleb I, Edlenniel (OC), Arveleg I, Eithruin (OC), Araphor, Elweth (OC), Argeleb II, Lithuies (OC), Arvegil, Calaear (OC), Arveleg II, Tavoriel (OC), Araval, Halloth (OC) Save for his wife being a princess of Cardolan and that being the reason the people of Cardolan accepted his rule, Argeleb I’s story is canon. The story of Arveleg I’s brother being the last prince of Cardolan is entirely made up (even that he had a brother), though it is true that the last prince of Cardolan died in battle alongside Arveleg I. Araphor’s story is canon, save for the details about his OC wife. Argeleb II’s story is mostly canon, though I made up the bit about two of his children dying in the Great Plague. There is also an inconsistency around here: earlier the “last” prince of Cardolan died beside Arveleg I, but apparently the “last” prince of Cardolan died in the Plague? I picked the story I liked better and just emphasized Cardolan’s desolation in this time period. Arveleg II’s story is canon with a bit of embellishment. Araval’s story is canon, but everything with his spouse is made up (though the barrow-wights did scare the Dúnedain back to Arthedain in canon).

The Last Prince of Cardolan ft. Mallor (OC; the Last Prince of Cardolan), Gwileth (OC; the Lady of the Blue Brooch) I made this edit for OC week, and it wasn’t really intended to be a late addition to this series, but since I didn’t get to do much with Mallor in the edit featuring his brother I was happy to expand on him, and even more excited when I realized that I could tie in the Lady of the Blue Brooch to this story as well! The Last Prince of Cardolan is a real (unnamed) figure mentioned in the Legendarium; the Lady of the Blue Brooch was mentioned only by Tom Bombadil as someone “fair...long ago [who] wore this on her shoulder” when he took it for Goldberry to wear. We don’t know for sure how the prince knew the lady, but come on, that’s just a story begging to be told! The tie-in with Merry’s sword is a slight liberty from canon: we don’t know who the dagger originally belonged to, but given that Merry quiet possibly dreamed of the prince’s final moments, I think it would be poetic for his sword to be the one who helped to kill the Witch-king in the end. Overall, there’s a LOT of headcanon here that I had fun developing from the scraps Tolkien gave us in canon! Also, I didn’t mention it in the main post, but Mallor’s name means “golden,” and Gwileth’s is a contraction of “gwilwileth,” the Sindarin word for “butterfly.” Since Arveleg is a name taken from Ar+Beleg (meaning he was named for his ancestor King Beleg of Arthedain), I thought it would make sense for Arveleg’s brother to be named for King Beleg’s son, King Mallor. Gwileth’s brooch is described in canon as being “set with blue stones, many-shaded like flax-flowers or the wings of blue butterflies,” so I leaned on that for inspiration when it came to her name.

Araphant ft. Araphant, Laerdil (OC), Arvedui, Fíriel This is mostly canon with some embellishments, such as Laerdil orchestrating Arvedui and Fíriel’s marriage. ETA 3/20/21: Tweaked this caption because of an inaccuracy I noticed.

~~~

CONTINUED IN APPENDIX C

[lov3nerdstuff]

Dark Stars {Part 4}

*Loki x OFC*

Part: 4/10

Words: 3.6k

Warnings: adorableness and some darkness

Summary: ~Loki could just let her die here and now. His problems would be solved and he could go back to his usual ways. But then he would forever be left with an unsolved mystery and he hated the prospect of that even more than the fear of what would happen if she lived.~

A story of what happens when Loki stumbles upon someone who is like him in every way. Only better. Oh, and they just happen save Asgard too.

A.N.: To celebrate over 1000 people following me (how insane is that?!), I decided to share the newly edited version of the very first Loki fanfiction I ever wrote! Enjoy the mischief 💚

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

______________________________

Now that Ivy stood this close, Loki could see the anger dancing in her eyes, clear as day and mingling with the shadow of how much she hated him in that moment. It was an expression he had seen so often on so many people that it didn't take much to recognize anymore. But there was something else… something she tried to hide from him.

From the second he noticed it lingering in the shadows of her gaze, it appeared to be the most obvious thing he had ever seen, and he couldn't believe that he had missed it before. And something about this deeply hidden expression felt so oddly familiar to Loki that he didn't even dare questioning her about it.

Right in this moment, with her small, angry form in front of him, only illuminated by the moonlight occasionally breaking through the heavy clouds, he felt utterly defeated. The anger in her eyes, the knowledge that he was the cause of it, was squeezing the air right out of his lungs and he wanted it to stop. Right now.

"I don't regret it." His voice was quiet now, almost reluctant in its tone.

Ivy blinked a few times too many, as if only now waking up from a dreamlike state of mind. "What…?" The anger vanished from her voice in a blink, leaving it just as calm as Loki's own.

"I don't regret that I saved you." He repeated, more certain this time, breaking free from the spell her eyes had put him under by looking anywhere but at her.

"But maybe I do..." She whispered a few seconds later, making Loki's eyes snap right back to hers. The sincerity he found in them struck him like a cold lightning from deep within, making his lips part ever so slightly. Did she… no, she couldn't mean that. She didn't want to die… Loki didn't want her to die, for hel's sake! His eyes widened as they dug into hers, searching of her soul, but finding something greater.

Silence. Intimacy conveyed by nothing but an honest glance.

Now it was Ivy's turn to look away in the vain attempt to cover up her own vulnerability under his gaze, clearing her throat and taking a few steps backwards once she realized just how close they had been standing.

In an instant he had sorted himself out as well, going back to his normal, stoic self, rising up the walls. But he wouldn't forget what he had seen in her eyes that short moment ago, nor would he ever forget how it had made him feel.

"We should really leave this place. Both of us." Ivy said then, running a shaky hand through her tousled locks in an attempt to get a grip. She hadn't meant to say what she had said before, hadn't meant to reveal so much of herself, and she hadn't even noticed the words leaving her lips until it was too late. It was something she kept hidden deep within her, only to surface when she was sure no one would notice. No, she was strong, she was playful and she was smart. That's what she had to show the outside world. That's who she had to be right now.

"We should really leave this place." She said once more, repeating herself involuntarily. Of course Loki noticed, but he decided to keep it to himself. Just like he decided to keep quiet about everything that had just happened. If he would have remarked on it, had admitted to recognize it, he would have risked giving away too much of himself in return, and that was not an option.

"Where are we going?" He finally asked, for once forgetting about his urge to be in control. The whole situation had thrown him off quite a bit, and he was grateful for a pause in their teasing game.

"Do you trust me?" Ivy asked, back to her ever so present smirk. So much for a break…

And before Loki could answer, she had already grabbed his wrist and gone they were, only a short moment before the door to Sif's chambers was opened.

_______________

Loki found himself at the outer rim of the forest, surrounded by only trees and darkness. Ivy stood right next to him, frowning to herself.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he turned towards her, unable to stop this expression of concern from showing.

Ivy smiled at him. "Do I hear worry in your voice?" She teased, but as his expression turned from neutral to clearly annoyed, she stopped smirking. "Yes, I am fine. I'm just not specifically used to..." Her mind caught on, making her stop mid-sentence. "This situation is rather new to me." She finally said.

"But is this…" Loki pointed to their surroundings dramatically, "...really where you wanted us to go?"

"Actually, yes!" She smiled, obviously satisfied with herself.

"Then not all hope is lost on you…" Loki muttered under his breath as he took his time to look around with a deep frown.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing, dear…" Dear! There it was again, that stupid little term of endearment, adding much to Loki's annoyance.

Ivy smiled to herself, very much liking this effect she seemed to have on him. It were either annoyed, angry or flirtatious vibes coming from him at most times, and Ivy would gladly take the latter.

Without any further questions, she took a hold of his wrist once more and started walking ahead into the darkness that lay before them.

Loki rolled his eyes, but let her drag him through the forest without complaining. For some reason, their little moment of rawness back in Sif's chambers had taken most of the anger he had felt for her and simply erased it from his body, leaving him with curiosity and maybe the slightest bit of inclination, which he yet tried to suppress.

Suddenly Ivy stopped dead in her track, a few feet away from a huge boulder. It was almost double the height of Loki, and more than ten feet wide, but there really was nothing special about it, and after a few moments of Ivy just grinning at it, Loki started to frown.

"Did I hit you in the head too hard while fighting? Oh geez, you must have lost your mind…" He sighed dramatically, making Ivy chuckle and grin even more. Yes, he enjoyed that… making her laugh. Seeing her happy. Was by far better than making her angry, and by far more difficult.

Only when she started dragging him closer towards the boulder, he suddenly came to realize that she had indeed almost exactly copied his own magic barrier, and thus created the illusion of a solid stone wall. It didn't even look half bad, and he was only able to tell it was a doorway because of long years of experience. A normal guard surely would have missed it, even if they had stood right in front of the magic wall. Somehow, seeing her copying his magic made him proud, and seeing her doing it this well made him positively boast.

They walked right through the boulder then, a small tunnel leading them to the other side, to a clearing not unsimilar to his own. It was not as spacious nor as beautiful as his, but it would surely do, and it even enclosed a small lake in the far back. He had to admit that it was a rather good place for a hideout.

"I thought it would only be fair to show you my version of a secret hiding place." She smiled, while walking right over to a little spot where he saw a bag and blankets lying on the mossy ground. "You know, after you threw me out of yours, I had to build my own place."

Loki looked around the open space rather doubtfully, he wasn't even that unimpressed, but he just hadn't ever thought of his hiding place as a place to live in, as that obviously was what Ivy used it for.

"So… You live here?" He tried to hide his distaste for the rather dirty surroundings, just as he tried to hide his heart clenching at the thought of her having to live here.

"Not everyone is blessed with a palace and a nice bed and free meals." She laughed quietly, but he noticed the strain in her voice, the subtle sadness and shame.

"Why don't you live in the city, and find work there, or just build your own home out here if you'd prefer that?" He questioned, while Ivy motioned for him to sit down next to her on the dusty blanket she had thrown herself onto. Loki couldn't help but pull a face at it, yet when Ivy glared at him, he rolled his eyes once and plopped down right next to her.

"I can't afford building or buying anything at the moment. And well, I'm not what you would call 'welcome' in the city, and I despise being surrounded by so many people anyway, more than anything. So much for working there..."

"What do you mean you are not welcome?" He asked in disbelief, frowning.

"I mean that I'm not welcome. Simple as that. Don't ask about it." The harsh tone of her voice surprised even Ivy herself, but she didn't like talking about it and this was maybe the only way to counter Loki's curiosity. And certainly she didn't want to talk to Loki, of all people, about her past and origin.

"If it makes you feel any better, the people of Asgard certainly despise me more than they could ever dislike anyone else." Loki finally said, staring at the stone wall on the opposite side of the clearing.

"And how would you know?" Ivy asked as she rubbed her hands against her legs, trying to warm them up. Romantic as it may sound, nobody ever mentioned that living in the wild nature was shitty as hell when it came to the weather and temperature.

"They would never dare as much as outright tell me, as I'm still their prince and they ought to pay me respect." He started, earning a snort from Ivy, which again makes him look at her amused face in feigned dismay.

"I told you that you're an asshole right away. A puny excuse of a prince, a total loser, a..." Ivy started with a self-sufficient grin.

"Yes, I know that, Ivy, now shut your mouth while I try to answer your question. Will you do that?" He asked with a sarcastic undertone and Ivy made a move that looked like she was zipping her mouth shut.

Loki sighed. "The people, the citizens… they always put on a smile when it comes to meeting me, but nearly all of them forget their eyes. Their eyes tell me so much more than their words ever could. They are full of hatred, anger and usually also... fear."

"Why would they fear you?" Ivy frowned, crossing her legs beneath herself as her knee brushed against Loki's thigh.

Loki let out a sincere, but dark laugh. "If you even have to ask, then you must truly be blind. Or insane!"

"Oh, I'm clearly and utterly bonkers!" She laughed, and shoved her still freezing hands into the pockets of the jacket. "What do you see in my eyes?" She asked after a while, curiously, calmly… not at all frightened.

A cold shiver ran down Loki's spine… why did she have to ask THIS question? Of course he did see something in her eyes, but he wasn't so sure if it was something meant for him to see. Usually he would, for that sole reason, tease and torment her with it until she broke into pieces and crumbled into his hands. But he just couldn't. Not after what he had seen.

"I see that you're cold!" He finally said, and his face clearly showed the discomfort he felt, despite his attempt at hiding it. There simply was no hiding this kind of knowledge.

Ivy rolled her eyes, but to his great luck decided to let it go for now. Seeing Loki all flustered amused her greatly, and that was enough for the moment, but she had to admit that she was cold indeed, and thus buried her hands deeper inside her pockets. Until her hands touched something cold inside. She flinched immediately, pulling her hand back while making a small squeaking noise.

"What is it?" Loki asked in an instant, following her gaze down to where she just pulled a little metal device out of her pocket. It was not larger than her hand, flat and had a black glassy surface.

"What the heck is this?!" Ivy twisted the little object in her hands, inspecting it from all sides.

Loki on the other hand let out a sudden, loud laugh. He honestly had no idea how or why Sif had an ipod in her pocket, but it didn't surprise him either. She often ventured to Midgard, thus probably also the odd jacket…

Ivy was still staring, her eyes shifting between Loki and the ipod, unsure of what to think or say, but the moment she touched a button by accident, the screen lit up brightly, illuminating her face. With a small yelp she dropped the device into her lap, and in her surprised shock, she tightly grabbed onto Loki's arm. He smirked at the gesture and picked up the ipod from her lap, as second later, once Ivy realized what she was doing, she let go of Loki's arm and eyed the device with a frown.

"This…" Loki held the ipod so that Ivy could see the screen. "...is a device to play music with, mainly. It's Midgardian technology."

"But it doesn't look like technology." Ivy said quietly, feeling utterly stupid in the statement.

Still smiling, Loki unlocked the thing (for whatever reason Sif had not minded to lock it properly… but she also didn't lock her chambers, so much for that.) and scrolled through the playlist. He let out one disapproving sigh after the other, while inwardly making a note to criticize Sif for her taste in music.

"Let me see!" Ivy grabbed it from his hands, now almost too eager to find out what the mysterious device did. She pressed down on the screen and a faint music started to blare from the tiny speakers. "It's so quiet!" She said and looked at Loki expectantly, holding the small item out to him again.

"Good Lord…" Loki sighed and rolled his eyes, before finally waving his hand over the little screen, upon which the music started flowing all around them, well to be heard all over the opening.

Ivy looked first at the ipod, then at Loki, as she was deeply fascinated by the foreign music.

The song Ivy had picked by accident was not more than a loud blaring of various foreign instruments, not at all to Loki's taste, so he picked up the ipod once more and searched through the music, until his eyes fell upon a playlist called 'good'. Now, that was very creative of Sif for sure... He rolled his eyes.

Loki scrolled through the songs and found one he liked, selecting it and a few moments later it was to be heard all around them.

Ivy got up from her place on the blanket and started strolling around the opening, while Loki's eyes followed her every step. Then she slowly started dancing to the music.

"What are you doing?!" Loki asked with wide eyes full of surprise, and also a little amusement.

Ivy only laughed and continued moving. "It helps against the cold. You should try it!"

The rather dark lyrics made Ivy wonder whether he had chosen the song intentionally, or if it was all in her mind. But then she shook her head at herself, probably reading something into his choice of music that wasn't there. It was a good song after all... No lutes and harps for once, and that was good enough to enjoy it.

She looked over at Loki then and found him watching her, his head to one side and his arms resting on his propped up knees. He seemed to enjoy watching her dance… and she enjoyed his gaze on herself.

"I'm serious, come and dance with me right now or I will forever haunt and torment you!" Ivy said with an amused smirk. "You'll feel much better once you start! Or can Loki, the almighty god of cowardice, not dance with a lady?"

Loki rolled his eyes once more, but got up from the blanket with a small groan and a chuckle. She surely would be the end of him, no doubt in that.

He sauntered over to her slowly, his arms crossed behind his back, smirking ever so slightly. Whatever she was doing there, it wasn't dancing. But it certainly was adorable.

In a rush of excitement at having him actually following her order, Ivy pulled him closer to herself, trying to get him to dance, which eventually he did. Surprisingly enough...

Ivy had expected it to be awkward and somewhat hilarious –since he had refused to dance at all at first– but gosh had she been wrong. He moved with such an ease, such an elegance and grace... it was rather mesmerizing to watch, and thus she observed him for a few seconds, not sure if she should smile or stare in awe, and only then joined in to dance once again.

It was nothing special, really, and it must have looked utterly ridiculous to anyone who would have watched, but Ivy enjoyed herself and she was fairly sure that Loki did as well, even though he desperately tried to suppress the smile that tried to take over his features. Maybe, just maybe he was just was broken as she was.

As the song ended they both remained silent for another while, listening to the softer tunes that now started playing. That surrounded them in their own, comfortable little world.

"May I?" Loki asked in a polite yet gentle tone, holding his hand out for Ivy to take. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this. Where was his mind? His common sense? His normal self?!

She returned a small smile, placing her hand in his and he pulled her close to his chest without even thinking. Oh, he must be insane… But now, at least, they could be insane together for a while.

Loki placed one hand on the small of her back, the other capturing hers and holding it gently. Ivy on the other hand had no idea what to do, for she had never danced with someone before... or danced like this at all. But simply out of instinct, she placed her free hand against his chest and hoped he wouldn't cut it off for her daring to touch him. He didn't even flinch, and Ivy's skin started to tingle as she felt his heartbeat beneath her fingertips.

And like that they moved to the music, slowly and without any more words, as there were none needed.

Ivy didn't know what had overcome Loki all of a sudden, but she was more than certain to enjoy it while it lasted. She didn't dare to look at his face though, for she feared to see the same cold darkness in his eyes she had faced before. On the other hand, she didn't want him to see how much his touch affected her, and how much she wished to just let him in. To always be like this… close, trusting, honest.

Loki for his part was glad that she didn't look up to meet his eyes. He knew that his face would give away what he thought, what he felt… And right in that moment, with her in his arms and that comforting heat radiating off her like his own personal sun, he knew that he wouldn't be able to uphold his masquerade if only she looked at him with her beautiful green eyes. He was not ready for his facade to slip, for his walls to break down, and he certainly was not ready for any of the things Ivy was stirring up inside of him. So he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts, to force them away from her, sadly noticing the heavenly intoxicating smell of lavender, mixing with something utterly Ivy. He had come to a point now where he needed to chose if he would allow for this to continue, allow for her to become this maddening, all-consuming force in his life, or if he wanted to stay on the safe side and push her away like he did with everyone. A cruel choice, really… but he was scared. Scared of what would happen if he let this continue.

Thus, with every inner strength he possessed, he dropped her hand, letting his arms fall to his sides as he took a few steps back.

"Enough of this madness." He whispered gravely and turned around so that he wouldn't have to see her sad, confused face. All it would've taken for him to break, to turn around and pull her right back into his arms, into his life, was a single look into her eyes. And he wouldn't allow that.

Without another word of explanation, he walked away and left the opening through the secret barrier, taking the sound of the music with him.

_____________________________

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[eirikrjs]

Random tidbits, volume 3 (上）

[This is a submission I had to split into two parts. Italicized comments are mine. -Eirikr]

I’ll admit, this one’s a weirder set of tidbits than normal.

1. I checked Rosemary E. Guiley’s “Encyclopedia of Angels” (2nd edition). Victor is not there. Guess it doesn’t pass that test.

“Dictionary of Angels” by Gustav Davidson seems to be much more comprehensive, but a bit dry. Just aimed at giving you information, which is fitting for a dictionary. “Encyclopedia of Angels” isn’t as thorough, but covers some modern (as in twentieth century) tangentially related to angels topics, like their appearances in movies and near-death experiences.

I actually have a bit of a soft spot for Rosemary E. Guiley’s books. Remember this picture from Prognosticatio In Latino, the one I thought may have inspired Soul Hackers Satanael? I actually stumbled upon it in her “Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca”… in very low quality. I lot of evenings were spent looking for a higher quality version. ______________________________________________________________

I checked the above Soul Hackers bibliography and listed are two angel books not even part of the conversation: Know Your Angels by John Ronner (JP version) and Angels: An Endangered Species by Malcolm Godwin (JP version*). I’m not sure I’d recommend either of these. Ronner also wrote “The Angels of Cokeville and Other True Stories of Heavenly Intervention” and I think that’s probably a good review of Know Your Angels in and of itself. There’s a brief preview of Godwin’s on archive.org, and right away on the inside cover you’re treated to the best possible embarrassing dedication now forever enshrined:

[*Note: the Amazon link shows a JP pub. date of 2004 for the book which would be too late; however, the first printing was apparently in 1993.]

Would love to know what else Aaronman was brainstorming before he settled on The Fallen Aarngel. I seriously hope he adopted that moniker a few years later on his AOL account. But the book wastes no time in quoting Eurythmics lyrics so this is probably the official Generation X angel book and I honestly can’t fault it for that. In fact, I kinda want a copy now just in case I can ever get Aaronman’s autograph.  ______________________________________________________________

2. Speaking of searches, I was wondering, do you ever have this experience of searching for/googling something and following what seems to be a prospective lead, only to one moment realize that it’s a wild goose chase and it should have been obvious from the start?

Let me give a couple of examples of what I mean:

Exhibit A

I tried to figure out the origins of Enlil’s role and depiction in Persona Q2. So far I haven’t found anything plausible (and let me tell you, my standards for that are much lower than yours). One of the leads I tried to follow was Nagi (Enlil’s human guise) mentioning how movies started in France. Looked up the first movie. Found Roundhay Garden Scene. It was made by Louis Le Prince. I won’t describe how I noticed this (it’s an embarrassing tale), but ‘Louis Le Prince’ is an anagram to 'precious Enlil’. As I started googling that phrase, I snapped out of whatever it was. Had to tell myself that an English anagram of a French guy’s name is unlikely to be what a Japanese developer intended.

Exhibit B

When I was trying to figure out meaning behind P5 Morgana’s name, I came across Teatro Brancaccio, originally called Teatro Morgana. As I was reading its history here, I thought that it interestingly parallels the adventures of Phantom Thieves (at least their first year). The theater went from regular theater, to a cinema one, back to regular, and finally one for musical performances. Phantom thieves went from their regular adventures (full of theatrics, I’d say, but I see how this point may be disputed) to a cinema-inspired adventure in Persona Q2, back to their regular adventure, and finally to a musical one in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. I don’t believe this comparison was intentional. This comparison is probably not that valid either. It seems to be a theater + cinema combo in the present, so unless I manage to tie Persona 5 Scramble into that (I’m waiting for western release to experience it) this analogy falls apart.

So yeah… Apophenia is strong with me. ______________________________________________________________

This happened to me all the time in the search for the mystery demons, particularly with the claim that many medieval beasts hailed from Ethiopia. Until I figured out that “Ethiopia” didn’t mean the modern country but instead just generally east. Like, whatever was foreign to Europeans. Yeah, it’s kind of one of those terms! But once I figured that out we started having a much better time and found Camphur right away. Yessss! 

Anyway, thanks for leading me to Aaronman, probably my favorite discovery since Tingkat/Roluwi/Camphur and the others. This is exactly the kind of dumb obsession I need right now. I’ll get to the other part of the submission soon!

[imagitory]

D-Views: The Princess and the Frog (with guest input!)

Hi everybody! Welcome to another installment of D-Views, my on-going written review series focused around the works of the Walt Disney Company, as well as occasionally films made by other studios that were influenced by Disney’s works! For reviews for Disney films like Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, and Treasure Planet or non-Disney films like Anastasia, The Nutcracker Prince, or The Prince of Egypt, please consult my “Disney reviews” tag!

I’m super excited about today’s subject -- not only is its heroine my favorite Disney princess, but I also won’t be watching the movie alone! My darling mum, who has in the past helped me review Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, has graciously agreed to co-review this with me! We hope that you will join us on this magical adventure through the Louisiana bayou as we review...The Princess and the Frog!

In the early 2000′s, the Walt Disney Company -- especially its animation department -- was in trouble. Of all of the films done in the so-called “Experimental Era,” the only animated film that had made Disney a real profit was 2002′s Lilo and Stitch. The others, even if they did manage to receive favorable reviews, were all financial disappointments. The Emperor’s New Groove was fourth at the box office opening weekend behind movies like What Women Want and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and only grossed about 169 million dollars in theaters worldwide after costing 100 million to make. Brother Bear even now boasts a rather sad 37% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. And even if Atlantis: The Lost Empire hadn’t received such lukewarm reviews and been accused of plagiarizing several other movies (most notably Nadia: The Secret of the Blue Water, Stargate, and, as I’ve discussed previously, Castle in the Sky), it wouldn’t have changed the fact that it was released the same year as Dreamworks’ green monster hit Shrek. But no Experimental Era film did as badly as the last one -- Home on the Range -- which after its release in 2004 was so badly received both by critics and at the box office that it prompted Disney to write down the production costs and announce the closing of its 2D animation department for good.

But it didn’t close for good. In 2006, the new president and chief creative officer of the company, Ed Cadmill and John Lasseter, reversed the decision. The 2D animation department had one last chance to turn their dark destiny around, and in 2009, as Disney did after World War II with Cinderella and in the late 80′s with The Little Mermaid, it pinned its hopes on a beautiful, goodhearted princess.

The Princess and the Frog in some ways was Disney’s attempt to return to their Disney Renaissance roots. Its directors -- John Musker and Ron Clements -- had previously directed The Little Mermaid and Aladdin among others. The reinvented fairy tale story features magic, a theatrical villain, a prince, animal sidekicks, romance, and Broadway-musical-style songs. Even the advertising highlighted how much it wanted to remind millennial audiences of the films they grew up with, putting a spotlight on the music and beautiful hand-drawn animation, rather than the “adult,” meta humor that Dreamworks had used to advertise its films and Disney later used to advertise its next Disney princess movie, Tangled. Some production details leaked to the public, such as the title of “The Frog Princess,” the main character’s original name, and her profession as a chambermaid, also were edited upon receiving backlash, and still others (such as the use of voodoo in the plot and our black princess’s prince not being black) were just left as is. Despite all of the negative press that swirled around the project, there was also a lot of promise that Disney fans noted too, such as Dreamgirls supporting actress Anika Noni Rose being cast as Tiana, Pixar composer Randy Newman being chosen to write the film’s score and songs, and Oprah Winfrey being brought on both as a technical consultant and the voice of Tiana’s mother Eudora.

The marketing decision to focus more on nostalgic millennial adults rather than the new Generation Z is what I feel largely contributed to The Princess and the Frog not being the blockbuster Disney was hoping for. As much as I wholeheartedly believe that animation is not and has never been a children’s medium, the attitude that lingered around the public consciousness in the late 2000′s and sadly even today is that animation -- most importantly, 2D animation -- is for kids, and without the kids being just as excited to watch the film as their nostalgic parents, uncles, aunts, and older siblings, The Princess and the Frog was fighting an uphill battle, even if it was produced by a marketing monster like Disney. Even though the movie was handicapped by this bad marketing choice, however, I would still argue that The Princess and the Frog was a success. Even with that bad marketing choice, the racism-themed controversies that had swirled around its production, and the release of James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar a week later weighing it down, Tiana costumes were selling out everywhere prior to Halloween that year. The movie still was #1 at the box office opening weekend, an honor not held by a Disney animated movie since Lilo and Stitch. It still made $104.4 million and was the fifth highest grossing film that year. It still earned pretty favorable reviews, earning an 85% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Sadly, because The Princess and the Frog wasn’t the big blockbuster that The Little Mermaid had been, Disney turned its focus more toward its 3D projects, and after the release of Winnie the Pooh in 2011 (the same weekend as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 -- COME ON, DISNEY, WERE YOU EVEN TRYING TO GIVE THIS FILM A CHANCE??), the 2D department did close its doors after all, and the studio went in a new direction with the release of Tangled. It’s a choice I lament Disney making, for as much as I’ve enjoyed most of the 3D entries to the Disney Revival, there was something so utterly magical about seeing The Princess and the Frog’s premiere at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank with my mother back in 2009. 2D animation is a beautiful art form, and it’s frustrating that Disney has turned its back on it so thoroughly after it got Disney to where it is now. The Princess and the Frog could’ve been the Great Mouse Detective to another 2D film that could’ve been a Little Mermaid and proved once again that 2D animation is for everyone, not just for kids, just as Little Mermaid did. But instead, the film that was the Revival version of The Little Mermaid was Disney’s first 3D princess film, Tangled -- and not to diss Tangled as a film, but it saddens me that it succeeded largely by playing to the public’s ignorant attitude that 3D animation is more “adult” than 2D animation and that the way to communicate that your animated movie is “for adults too” in your trailers is through using snarky meta humor rather than through artistry and complex themes.

With all this background out of the way...laissez le beau temps rouler! Let’s start the film!

Anika’s singing voice starting our film out is just a perfect introduction. Its pure, unassuming tone just ripples with sincerity as we are led into our introductory scene for our main character Tiana, her mother Eudora, and her absolutely hysterical best friend, Charlotte “Lottie” La Bouff. As we leave the La Bouff manor, we also see a touch of the “Lady and the Tramp influence” that Musker and Clements added to the production in the background design. Just by transitioning from the well-kept, affluent neighborhood in the dimming sunlight to the more run-down areas of town at night, we get a perfect, complete sense of the environment that our heroine lives in, all without any dialogue. And yet, as Mum pointed out, even the rundown areas are full of warmth and charm. Just like in Lady and the Tramp, they never look scary or shady, simply modest and maybe a little worn. On the note of charm, as well, I absolutely friggin’ adore Tiana’s dad, James. Considering how big of a role he has in the story, it’s really good that we see how big of an impact he had on his daughter through his good, hard-working attitude and love for his family and neighborhood despite not having much screen-time.

Once the “Walt Disney Pictures” banner floats by, we finally meet Tiana as an adult. As mentioned earlier, Tiana is my favorite Disney princess. Part of the reason why comes back to the fact that Tiana’s movie came out right before I started my first job (ironically enough at a restaurant in Disney World) and she inspired me to give 120% everyday, but the other reason Tiana speaks to me so much is because she reminds me quite a bit of Mum! Like my mother, Tiana is a very warmhearted, logical, and hardworking person who never sits on her laurels and is always ready to fix a problem, and it was really cool to see a Disney princess with the same kind of organized mind and stubborn work ethic that I saw in my mum growing up. That feeling I had watching Tiana’s story is one of the things that inspired me to write my Disney crossover story TrueMagic, where I wrote a character directly inspired by Mum. On top of all that, I realize that Tiana speaks a lot of the millennial and gen Z experience, having to save up a lot of money at two dead-end minimum wage jobs just to try to get ahead in a world where the cards are stacked against her. We even see her sleeping in the room she grew up in, meaning she’s still living at home as an adult to make ends meet!! Isn’t that relatable!!

I have heard others critique Randy Newman’s music, but in my opinion the score and songs developed for this movie perfectly set the mood of 1920′s New Orleans. The opening number “Down in New Orleans” is really well-paced with the medley of scenes introducing Tiana’s usual work day, Dr. Facilier’s vindictiveness and desire for Eli La Bouff’s wealth, Naveen’s playboy attitude, and Charlotte’s instant attraction to the newly arrived Prince. Of the songs, I’d personally cite Tiana’s “Almost There” and Facilier’s “Friends on the Other Side” as the strongest links, with “Gonna Take You There” as the weakest, but even if you don’t end up finding the songs catchy, I don’t think anyone can deny how well it suits the film’s setting.

Now admittedly, one critique you could give the film is its idealized, whitewashed view of historical race relations. Let’s be honest: in the 1920′s, a rich cotton baron like Eli La Bouff would not have visited a cafe on Tiana’s side of town and he would not let his precious daughter engage with Tiana as an adult either. As much as there were people who didn’t follow the common attitude that black Americans were somehow “inferior” to white Americans, if you didn’t follow that attitude, you couldn’t have expected to be very financially successful or influential in such a racist society, as Mr. La Bouff is. On top of that, Tiana would not only be facing passive prejudice when trying to open her own restaurant, like the kind the Fenner brothers express about her “background” -- she would also be likely facing active discrimination and potentially violence. As much as this film doesn’t truly represent the way things were back then, however, I would argue that the decision in the end benefits the picture, which clearly is supposed to be a fairy tale. This is a story where a girl kisses a frog, becomes one herself, meets an alligator who plays the blues and a firefly in love with a star, and both fights against and alongside people who practice voodoo. It may have a historical backdrop, kind of like Pocahontas and The Great Mouse Detective do, but it is still a fantasy. There are other films that aim to teach us about how things really were back then, so why can’t we have one where a young black American lives her own fairy tale in the iconic Crescent City? Plus, in Mum’s words, an integral part of this story is the pure, unlikely friendship between Charlotte and Tiana, which would have been close to impossible in a completely historical setting. To my memory, it’s actually one of the few times we see a close friendship between two female contemporaries in a Disney princess movie -- the closest we’d had previously were relationships like Aurora with the three fairies (which was more of a familial relationship) and Belle and Mrs. Potts (which...yeah, big generation gap). Even in films that came later, we have Elsa and Anna, but they’re sisters, not just friends. And Tiana having a friend like Charlotte ends up being pivotal in her eventual triumph.

Speaking of Charlotte and her friendship with Tiana, something I love about her is that she doesn’t just give Tiana the money she needs to open her own restaurant. Instead, because she knows Tiana has pride and wouldn’t just accept the money for nothing, Charlotte finds a reason for her to give her the money she needs by assigning her the task of making beignets for the ball she and her father are hosting. It’s something that reminds me a bit of my mum and her best friend, who also comes from a wealthy family -- like Charlotte, my mum’s best friend likes spending money on my mum, but has always known that she can’t buy my mum’s friendship. Both she and Charlotte know that you can only be a friend through expressing sincere caring, which is the mark of a true friend.

Ever since The Princess and the Frog first came out, “Almost There” has been my work mantra, and every time I hear it, I just am full of drive and excitement. The animation for this sequence -- animated by senior Disney icon Eric Goldberg, who previously worked on the Rhapsody in Blue segment in Fantasia 2000 and was the supervising animator for the Genie in Aladdin -- is also pitch perfect, incorporating both Al Hiershfeld-inspired designs and an Art Deco vibe to envelope us in Tiana’s fantasy. It’s one of the kind of artistic risks that Disney used to do more often, like the Pink Elephants sequence in Dumbo, the fairy’s gift sequences in Sleeping Beauty, and the Zero to Hero sequence in Hercules, and you just don’t see this sort of highly stylized song sequence in most of Disney’s newer films. The only one that comes to mind is the “You’re Welcome” sequence in Moana, which ironically enough also featured Eric Goldberg drawing all of Maui’s “Mini-Maui” tattoos! Those sorts of stylized musical numbers is something I’d love to see more of in the Disney Revival, because it gives the film in question such character and can bring an already great song to new heights.

Naveen is a character who I could’ve very easily disliked upon first meeting him. Obnoxious, selfish, and/or vain characters -- such as Lightning McQueen from Cars or even Kuzco from The Emperor’s New Groove -- really tend to rub me the wrong way, unless there is something in the character at the very beginning that makes me want to see them improve themselves. Fortunately our main prince is saved for me because we see that along with his vain, shallow, playboy attitude, he also expresses a great love of music and living life to the fullest. He doesn’t ignore his responsibilities as a prince just to be rebellious or lazy, but because he is so in love with New Orleans and its culture. He isn’t an angry or willfully condescending person: he immediately starts dancing with regular New Orleans citizens and is enthralled with the moves of a tiny street entertainer. And just as Tiana represents the millennial experience through working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, Naveen expresses a different kind of millennial experience -- that of being so sheltered by one’s privilege that, once you’re on your own, you’re incapable of sustaining the life style you’ve become accustomed to and are led by society to believe you should be able to achieve. At this point, it’s still easy to feel sorry for Lawrence, Naveen’s resident “Peter Pettigrew-look-alike” manservant, though that impulse quickly disappears after we see his interactions with our villain, Dr. Facilier. Speaking of which...

Just as Tiana is my favorite Disney princess, Dr. Facilier is my favorite Disney villain. Voiced by Keith David, the man who previously gave life to Goliath in Disney’s Gargoyles, the so-called “Shadowman” is -- in Mum’s words -- just “deliciously evil.” His voice drips with cold charisma, dipping into rich bass tones but never sounding groggy or lacking in energy, and the animation -- done by Bruce W. Smith, supervising animator for Oscar Proud from the Disney Channel show The Proud Family -- just fits David’s line-reads like a glove. Although Lawrence briefly provokes Facilier, effectively foreshadowing his true viciousness, the witch doctor largely puts on a theatrical persona that entices even the most jaded viewers in with his song “Friends on the Other Side.” Mum brought up the wonderful comparison to Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and just like Oogie Boogie, Facilier’s number feels very unscripted and spontaneous, and yet it’s still conniving. Even though the song is jazzy and oddly conversational, there’s this dangerous, sinister darkness echoing in the background, not just in the echoing voices of the Friends on the Other Side but in the lyrics with multiple meanings (”when I look into your future, it’s the green that I’ve seen”). Along with the theatricality, however, Facilier doesn’t forget to also be very intimidating as a villain -- the scene where he turns Naveen into a frog gets quite scary in its imagery.

Just as everything seems to have come up roses for her, Tiana is suddenly about to lose the restaurant of her dreams for good. But there is still hope -- or, at least...there’s a frog. Or a prince. A frog pri -- you get the point. Interestingly Naveen, while a frog, reminded Mum and me of two very different characters. Mum immediately thought of Aladdin, thanks to his charming, smiling expressions, while I immediately thought of another frog seeking a kiss from a beautiful girl: Jean-Bob from The Swan Princess. I personally think the second of those is a coincidence, given that Jean-Bob and Naveen really don’t have much in common excluding a flamboyant accent, but Aladdin’s influence on Naveen’s character animation is pretty reasonable. After all, Flynn Rider’s design was also influenced by previous Disney princes.

Not having seen this movie in a while, I’d forgotten about the “frog hunters” sequence in the middle of the movie until it came on screen. I know that Tiana and Naveen had to face multiple dangers before they reached Mama Odie, not just for dramatic storytelling but also to help cement their budding relationship...but I’m sorry, the characters of the frog hunters are just...uncomfortable. The stereotypical portrayal just comes across as very mean-spirited, especially when compared to the great respect for New Orleans culture in the rest of the movie. The scene does give Tiana and Naveen good character development, though, so it’s a flaw I can overlook to enjoy the rest of the movie.

Usually I don’t enjoy Disney “sidekick” characters as much as I do more developed main or side characters, but I will grant that as sidekicks go, Louis the alligator and especially Ray the firefly are among the better ones. Louis is kind of there for humor more than to advance the plot at all, which is a shame, but Ray becomes both ridiculously charming and central to the film’s theme of love when we see his romantic side in his song “Ma Belle Evangeline.” This song has special significance to Mum and me, all because of Mum’s little Russian Blue/Short-Hair kitty, Evangeline, or Eva for short. When Eva and her sister Ella (full name Cinderella) were being driven home from the pound, the two cats were absolutely beside themselves, crying and yowling the whole way. The only thing that quieted them was me singing songs to them, including songs based on their names -- Cinderella’s opening theme (”Cinderella, you’re as lovely as your name”) for Ella, and “Ma Belle Evangeline” for Eva. Even now, Eva knows that that song is her song, and she always relaxes whenever she hears it. The song sequence in the film also beautifully reflects Tiana and Naveen’s budding relationship, which has already affected them enough that they are starting to take influence from each other. Tiana has started to open up and have some fun, while Naveen is more able to acknowledge his shortcomings and takes more responsibility. They even see eye to eye enough that they stop Louis from telling Ray that Evangeline is a star, not a firefly. Tiana/Naveen is my Disney OTP mainly because of that influence that they have on each other. Both of them are such beautifully flawed characters, but they both also teach and encourage each other to be better people than they would have been on their own.

Tiana and Naveen learn that if they want to turn human again, they need help from Charlotte, who will be “princess” of the Mardi Gras Parade until midnight that night. Unfortunately, when Tiana finds Charlotte, she finds her about to marry who she thinks is Naveen on a float in the parade. Admittedly I kind of wonder why Tiana didn’t consider that it might not be Naveen, as earlier she saw a human Naveen dancing with Charlotte before meeting frog!Naveen and so should know there’s an imposter, but I suppose it’s just story convention, to have this kind of a pre-climax misunderstanding. It’s the same reason why Naveen is locked in a box on the float where he can interrupt the wedding, rather than being stowed away more securely somewhere else, or why Charlotte didn’t turn into a frog too after not being able to turn Tiana and Naveen back.

At long last, our climax arrives. After Dr. Facilier “lays Ray low” in a scene that makes both Mum and me cry out in grief, he corners Tiana in the graveyard, enticing her with the dream she’s worked so hard for in the hopes of getting the medallion that would allow Lawrence to impersonate Naveen and Facilier to steal the La Bouff fortune. But because of all of the character development Tiana’s gone through, she remembers what’s really important -- the people she loves -- and she outdoes the Shadowman, condemning him to be yanked down into the underworld by his so-called “Friends” for all time. The growth Tia’s gone through also gives her the strength and courage needed to put her dream aside and tell Naveen about her feelings for him. And because she’s a true friend, Charlotte shows no hint of bitterness about missing out on her “happily ever after” with Naveen -- instead she immediately is supportive of her friend and tries to fight for her happiness, to the extent that she looks over the moon when Tiana and Naveen get married as humans. Even Ray, who Mum wishes desperately had been able to make it, achieves happiness by finally becoming a star beside his beloved Evangeline. As our film comes to an end with a reprise of “Down in New Orleans,” we’re left with a sense of triumph and optimism...two things that embody our newly crowned princess beautifully.

The Princess and the Frog is a movie that, in Mum’s and my opinion, should receive much more appreciation that it has. Financially speaking, it only did about as well as The Great Mouse Detective and Lilo and Stitch in theaters, but it still has left a lasting impact. I still see plenty of little girls dressing as Tiana in the parks, and I still hear about young black women and girls who have found validation and comfort in the first African American Disney princess. Even I, who share a complexion with white bread, find Tiana an engaging, brilliant role model in today’s world -- in Mum’s words, she embraces the idea of success being half inspiration and half perspiration, but she also learns the virtue in disregarding the chase for success when it comes at the cost of your values. She learns how to love, how to grow, and how to change, while also encouraging the best from those around her. The Princess and the Frog also features what I would argue is the best Disney animated villain since the Disney Renaissance, a soundtrack that embraces its setting to the Nth degree, and a prince who grows just as much as his love interest does while they are together. It’s not a perfect film, but no film is, and Mum and I hope that like other Disney films that didn’t make much money on their initial theatrical releases, we as a Disney fanbase can make this movie a cult classic and give it the love it fought so hard to earn and so rightfully deserves. Look how it lights up the screen -- ma belle Princess and the Frog!

[lady-divine-writes]

ACITW AU - “Kurt Confronts Blaine”

This was another scene that deserved more than I gave it by putting it up unfinished. So if you want to read its finished, edited version, here it is :) Thank you all <3 (2325 words)

“Explain yourself.”

“Wh-what … what do you mean?” Blaine looks up at him, hazel eyes pleading and wide like a lost puppy, sitting on the edge of his bed, hands folded in his lap, back bowed as if this is all too much for him to bear.

“You know exactly what I mean!” Kurt originally thought he was going to be more patient than this, but the patience he had built up is wearing thin. He’d even worried that driving Blaine home, then following him up to his room, would soften his heart to him, bring old memories rushing back, make what Blaine did seem forgivable – a lesser offense. No, he wouldn’t kiss him or sleep with him, and not just because Blaine cheated – BLAINE CHEATED! But because Kurt has something in his life so much more wonderful now that he holds dear, and there’s no way in heaven or on earth that he would jeopardize it for the fairytale Disney prince boyfriend that was Blaine Devon Anderson.

“I … I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Too late, because you’ve already done that.”

Blaine nods, eyes drifting to his folded hands. “If I … if I explain, if I tell you everything, would you consider … getting back together with me?”

Kurt’s throat goes dry, and a simmering rage rises in the form of red splotches on his cheeks. “You do realize I have a boyfriend now, right? I mean, I’m sure Cooper told you. He can’t seem to keep his mouth shut about things like that.”

Blaine’s eyes close, his brow pinching. Kurt should feel Blaine’s pain tug at him, every wrinkle furrowing his brow should pluck at his heartstrings and make his whole chest ache. He remembers a time when nothing hurt quite like watching Blaine cry. Not eeven his own world falling to pieces. But there is no tug. There is no ache. “You can’t … you can’t be serious. I thought you were just dating Sebastian to hurt me.”

“It’s not all about you, Blaine!” Kurt snaps. “I’m dating Sebastian because I like Sebastian. In fact, I love Sebastian and he loves me! So no, I have no intention of breaking up with him to go back to you, a boy who broke up with me for the summer and then slept with someone else after just NINE DAYS! And when you did, when I felt like my life was over, when I felt like I was going to die, do you know who was there for me!? Sebastian! So, you’re going to sit there and explain to me what you did and why you did it because it’s the decent thing to do! No other reason!”

Blaine’s eyes open again, moisture clinging to his lashes, but he doesn’t say a word. Why did Kurt think this would work? That he might get some answers? And that it might be easy? This innocent schoolboy act of Blaine’s that Sebastian had said he found so hot really wears on the nerves after a while, Kurt has discovered. How did he not see it before?

Because he was in love. That’s the answer. So very much in love with Blaine that the feeling overwhelmed him. It felt like a dream come true when the two of them met on that staircase at Dalton, like the answer to prayers he’d never admit to praying.

“You know …” Kurt decides to start since Blaine is leaving him no other choice. He focuses in on something that happened at the beginning of all this that has bothered him since day one “… I always wondered, the day you left, when you drove away, you had this look in your eyes. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but it’s haunted me.” Kurt watches Blaine’s reaction to those words as they land and sink in. His back bows further, his head sinks deeper – a confirmation that the theories Kurt had been entertaining all summer were true. His eyes narrow with repressed anger. “You knew, didn’t you? Before you left, you knew you were going to hook-up with someone? This wasn’t a ‘let’s do a trial separation and see what happens’. You had a plan!”

“I didn’t!” Blaine says, finally meeting Kurt’s eyes, vehemently shaking his head. “There … there was a guy, but I didn’t break up with you to be with him! I swear!”

“But you were going there to meet someone, weren’t you? Someone you’d already met?”

Blaine sighs. “Yes. I … I met him on the camp’s Facebook page. He was … cute and flirty. I was … interested in him. But that’s it.”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say – that’s it? What we had was love! Love! It’s supposed to mean everything! It’s not the kind of thing you can dump and pick up again when it’s convenient! That’s not how it works!”

“I know!”

“We talked about spending the rest of our lives together, and you threw that away for some guy on Facebook you thought looked ‘interesting’! And it only took you NINE DAYS!”

“I’m sorry, Kurt …”

“At the very least you could have told me the truth from the beginning instead of leading me to believe we were actually going to get back together again when the summer was done.”

“But I wanted to get back together with you! I didn’t want this break up to be permanent! That life we talked about – I wanted that to happen! More than anything!”

Kurt shakes his head, trying to rectify the idea that Blaine thought he would ever be okay with getting back together if Blaine slept with someone else.

The answer to that is so simple, Kurt is surprised he didn’t figure it out sooner.

God! Why did he have to be so damned naïve?

“You had no intention of telling me about your little friend … did you?”

“Well … wh-what about you?”

“What about me? I didn’t cheat on you!”

“Oh, really?” Blaine finally looks at Kurt, right in his face, his eyes red-rimmed with tears, but also with indignation. “I saw the pictures on Facebook, Kurt! From what I hear, you were dating Sebastian pretty much from the moment I left!”

So, it appears Cooper did tell him some things, but he didn’t tell him everything? Why not? Did he want Kurt to have the chance to tell him? Or did he, and Blaine chose not to listen?

“For your information, we were fake dating!”

“Fake dating!? What the heck does that mean?”

“It means that he was paying me to pretend to be his boyfriend! To get his parents off his back about … stuff!” Kurt refuses to go into any more detail than that. Blaine is the last person who deserves to know. But a spark ignites in Blaine’s eyes at Kurt’s admission, as if he’s found an opening. As if he still has a chance. Kurt rushes to stomp that spark out before it turns into a full-fledged fire. “But that changed. It became real … after I found out you slept with someone else!”

“I know I was with someone! I know! I know I hurt you and I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to happen but it did! I had every intention of coming back to you, Kurt! Of moving to New York with you, of living happily ever after with you! But I didn’t ruin that, Kurt! You did! You did because what you did was way worse!”

“What? What did I do that was way worse?”

“You fell in love! And with Sebastian Smythe!? You hate him, and if memory serves, he hates you!”

Kurt jerks back a foot, the words Blaine hurled at him like hands against his chest shoving him. They carry with them so much past pain, so much humiliation, so many insults and schemes and conspiring, all against him. But they don’t make him back down because if Sebastian has proved anything to Kurt it’s that people can change.

Sebastian has changed.

Sadly, so has Blaine.

“This was your bright idea! You were the one who said that if we could survive the summer broken up and still wanted to be together, we’d get back together. If not, if we decided we’re better off apart, then we’d go our separate ways. Did that only apply to you and not me? You made up all these rules that only applied to you when there were two of us in that relationship! You wanted to be broken up, so we broke up! You wanted to sleep with someone, so you slept with him! Now you want to get back together, and I’m supposed to dump a boy I care very much about to go back to you, just because it’s what you want!?”

Kurt wants to go on and ask him, ‘Did you think of me at all when he kissed you? When you were fucking him or he was fucking you, did you almost say my name? Was my smell still on your clothes, or did you make sure to wash them twice before you packed them so it was gone completely?’ But none of that matters anymore.

Kurt’s sorry it ever did.

“Look, Blaine, we loved each other so much. But we’re so young, so immature, made so many bad choices …” Kurt says that word we, we, we over and over even though he doesn’t entirely mean it. But deep down, there’s a part of Kurt that’s culpable. He let Blaine make that decision instead of taking ownership of his own feelings. He let Blaine command the conversation when he had so much more to say. Blaine controlled how they communicated, even with their mutual friends, but Kurt went along with it. The best he can do now is try to leave the hurt feelings in the past and let it go - not necessarily for Blaine. Not to make Blaine feel better. But so that Kurt can walk away with his head held high, into a future that he deserves … with someone he loves. “Let’s just … remember that and part as friends. Like you said. No mess. Just good friends.” Blaine drops his head and looks off to the side, turning his back on the conversation. It’s a signal to Kurt. Whatever he wanted to accomplish here, he’s done. "Maybe we weren’t meant to be together, but that’s not a horrible thing. It’s not going to … not going to kill us.”

Ironic, since that’s how Kurt felt for the first month Blaine was gone, but now he sees how ludicrous that was. He’s young. They’re both young. And this, too, shall pass.

Kurt waits for Blaine to speak - to agree, to argue, to try and win him back, to sing - but he says nothing. He stares at a far wall – a wall with pictures of Blaine and the Warblers and his family … and Kurt smiling back at him, putting Kurt’s words together. Or maybe shoving them away.

Kurt puts a hand to his aching forehead. Too much drama and too little sleep. He doesn’t need this. What he does need … or correction - who he needs, is driving back to Westerville this very moment.

And Kurt wants to be with him.

Why did he offer to drive Blaine home again? It’s getting harder to remember with every minute that rolls by.

Kurt looks at the boy in front of him - the boy he pined over; the boy he obsessed over; the boy he loved, for a while, more than he loved himself. But that’s over. He has someone else in his life that he needs to return to.

‘If I leave now,’ he thinks, 'I can get there only twenty minutes after Sebastian does.’

"Relationships are about trust,” Kurt says quietly. “And I don’t trust you anymore. Good-bye, Blaine.” He doesn’t reach a hand out to hold him, to hug him, to give him any comfort. That’s not what their 'relationship' is anymore. Even if they manage to become friends again in the future, even if Kurt finds some way to trust him, it probably won’t be about physical contact for a long, long time. That’s heartbreaking since Blaine has been the one he’s reached for when times were tough since the day they met.

Now, he has a new hand to hold, one just as sure and steady as Blaine’s used to be.

Kurt walks toward Blaine’s bedroom door when he hears his voice, shaking with rage, maybe some embarrassment, and thick with tears, talking to his back.

“Wh--what do you expect me to do now?”

Kurt stops with his hand on the knob, itching to turn it and leave. “I expect you to grow up. I expect you to learn from this. I expect you to accept that we’re over. And maybe, in time, we might go back to being friends again.”

“No.” Blaine sniffles through gritted teeth. “I … am never … going to forgive you for this, Kurt. Never.”

There’s a harsh sound in Blaine’s voice, one Kurt had only heard once before - when Blaine fought off Dave Karofsky in the halls of McKinley on the night they went to watch the New Directions perform.

When he fought Dave off to defend Kurt.

Now that anger is directed at Kurt, and it makes Kurt’s blood run cold. Not out of fear. In anger. In disbelief. It zaps any sympathy he might have had for Blaine straight from his body.

So much for not ending badly, Kurt thinks, remembering what Blaine said to him when he first told him about his asinine break-up plan.

“Good,” he says, turning the doorknob and opening the door, the relief he gets from that one action telling him it’s the right one. “Now you know how I’ve felt most of this summer.”

[spaceorphan18]

Re: bookish asks -- you realize I'm going to do to you the same thing you did to me, yes?

Yes, I’m self indulgent like that ;) 

Since it’s the end of my vacation - what better way to get into the swing of things again by answering a bunch of book questions.  

Which book would you consider the best book you’ve ever read and why?

I don’t know if there’s one that I’d consider best thing ever... I think the most engrossed I’ve ever been was reading And Then There Were None for the first time.  

Are you an Austen person or a Bronte person?

There aren’t a whole lot of things @ckerouac​ and I fully agree on, but I’m pretty much on her with this one, in that I’ll be thrown out of the book fandom, too, cause I don’t really care about either one. 

Are there any genres you will not read?

I mean - if something’s recommended to me by someone I trust, I’ll read just about anything.  However, fiction wise, I tend not to read historical fiction -- just not my ham.  Non-fiction - I think business books might be the most boring subject to write on (and there are a thousand of them at bookstores).  Probably won’t be touching anything related to theology.  And then there’s all the technical, how to guides that I really don’t have any use for.  

Are you a fast or slow reader?

Medium reader.  It depends on the level of the writing.  Young readers I can do in a day.  Classics will take me quite a long time.  The faster I go, though, the less comprehension I usually have, so I try to slow it down. 

What was your relationship with books like as a child?

Oh, I loved books as a kid.  My mom was a librarian, and she always read to us - so books were super important in our household. 

Are you the type of person who will read a book to the end whether you like it or not, or will you put it down straight away if you’re not feeling into it?

I should put them down more often than I do - cause I feel guilty (for some strange reason) about stopping.  I have been better about it lately.  RB is right - why waste the time? 

Have you ever despised something you have read?

Yes.  I hated Catcher in the Rye with a fiery passion.  There have been others.  It’s not worth it to get angry at a book - at that point, one should stop. 

Do you prefer to read first person or third person?

Doesn’t really bother me either way.  I don’t notice all that much.  

Are you for or against multiple narrators in the same book?

As long as it’s a good story, and it’s clear who’s POV it is, I don’t mind how many narrators there are. 

Bookmarks, dog ears or leaving the novel open and face down to keep your spot?

Bookmarks! We aren’t heathens here... 

Do you prefer to read at a certain time of day?

Usually at night, I have a tendency to fall asleep while reading. 

Do you need to finish a book before you can move on to the next one, or will you have multiple books going at once?

Nah, I usually have a good ten or so going at one time.  

How do you chose which book to read next?

There’s no process to it - whatever sounds interesting at the time.  

What is your favourite children’s book?

I’m gonna have to agree with RB and say Goodnight Moon.  

Do you agree that Jane Eyre should be considered a feminist novel?

Um, haven’t read it... sorry. 

What’s your favourite of Shakespeare’s plays?

You know, I’ve only ever read the tragedies.  I’m gonna go with MacBeth - though, I was obsessed with Romeo and Juliet as a kid.  

Do you know any poetry by heart?

Nope.  I know part of one about trees because my mother made me memorize it. 

Did you enjoy the Hunger Games?

I’ve never read it.  Nothing about a story where children are forced to murder each other sounds appealing to me. 

E-reader or traditional book?

Traditional book!  Ug, don’t get me started about ereaders. 

Do you read in the bathroom?

No, that seems unsanitary.  

Ideal reading position?

Sitting in a nice chair.  I move positions a lot.  

Hardcover or paperback?

Trade paperback, they’re the easiest to handle. 

Nicest edition or cheapest edition?

Whatever is the easiest to hold.  The only nice editions I have for things are special classics.  One day, I will own that illustrated version of Lord of the Rings

Do you prefer happy endings or sad endings?

Happy endings.  Mostly.  Unless it’s like And Then There Were None - that gets a pass.  

Do you enjoy concepts in books to be concrete or abstract?

I mean, what are we talking about? Would I enjoy reading James Joyce’s Ulysses? Probably not, that sounds tedious.  Depends on the subject material  

A book you studied in school and ended up loving?

Anything by Oscar Wilde - I found his writing fascinating.  

Classics or modern literature?

Modern Literature, though there are some classics I do enjoy. 

Thoughts on adults reading YA?

Oh goodness, okay...  Yes, plenty of thoughts.  I think that YA, in general, is much, much better than when I was a kid.  We had things like Sweet Valley High and Christopher Pike, and a lot of it was suuuuuper problematic for a lot of reasons.  So kids today have a huge variety of things to read.  With the abundance comes both good and bad.  There are some fantastic YA novels out there right now.  There’s also, still, a lot of crap, and the pretty covers sometimes make it difficult to weed things out.  

That said - while I am glad there is a lot of good stuff out there - I only read YA occasionally.  Being in a teenager’s head gets tiring after awhile, and I kind of want to go back to living in an adult world.  Besides, there’s just an overload of questionable fantasy and dystopian novels right now (cause YA goes in cycles). 

But that’s me - in general - if you enjoy YA, more power to you!  

Have you ever read a book in another language?

The only time I have come close was reading The Little Prince in French for French Class.  

Have you ever written your own book?

Yes, yes I have.  Some day, maybe I’ll even publish something.