#tried to go for that tragic fairytale vibe

[sylvrndoodles]

the Lady of the Lake

another homebrew goddess!

the Lady is a goddess of water, purity, and children.

She was once a servant who had an affair with her employer—a nobleman—only to have the resulting child stolen from her after the wife of the noble could not bear children that survived infanthood. Once stolen, the child died of loneliness, treated horribly by his stepmother. The servant took his body back, cleansed his tears away in the lake, and drowned herself, becoming the Lady. As the Lady, she guided both her son's soul and the souls of his half-siblings to the afterlife, and now watches over all unwanted and unavenged children, both in life and in death.

Temples to the Lady always run an orphanage, and shelter all children from harm wherever possible.

She punishes those that harm children with an inability to drink water, eventually killing them through dehydration.

Drowning is seen as sacred, and some devotees drown themselves in a ritual that turns them into a drowned cleric. They are technically dead, do not grow, and cannot drown.

Though she appears frightening, with her hair obscuring her face and eternally drenched in lake water, she is kind and comforting to all that speak to her.

[not-she-which-burns-in-it]

Ok, my fixation on the Magnus Archives isn’t going away any time soon, and I don’t want to jump into Protocol yet because I’m not ready to say goodbye to Jon and Martin. And I don’t want resent some fabulous new characters just because they’re not my boys.

Instead, I played one of my favorite games. Turn on an album and use my theater brain to figure out how I would stage it. I had a 3 hour drive for an out of town gig, so I listened The Mechanisms all the way there and back.

Each album got 2 listens in a row, one for vibes and appreciation, and one to dissect and take notes.

I think I like The Bifrost Incident the best. The songs are so good. A train set would be totally reasonable to build. Utterly destroying it a little bit harder, but I was thinking of a large scale regional production (something like Papermill, ART, La Jolla) where automation/projection/special effects aren’t an issue - so we could explode a train.

The problem is that it’s a train … In Space!

Outer Space and Theater feels so deeply incompatible. Not that people haven’t tried, I’m just not sure I’ve ever seen someone do it successfully (sorry Jonathan Larson) But that’s fine. This is a reimagining, it doesn’t have to be an outer space train, it can just be a train traveling through the BiFrost.

Ok, then I started thinking of design, maybe more of a steampunk aesthetic to go with the train. But hey, wait a minute, a pantheon of gods, in a tragic story about a doomed train, singing a little jazzy-folky, cabaret tunes.

Oh. Fuck. We’ve just invented Hadestown. 

And every design and staging idea, I’ve been mulling over for the past hour drive vanishes in a puff of smoke. Nah, I can’t do a big intricate metal spiral staircase. That’s too fucking close to Hadestown.

It’s even got the narrator that pretends to be neutral, but is actually deeply emotionally invested in the story. And while I like Jonny’s vocals very very much it’s just mean, - for any performer - to allow the audience to draw a direct comparison to Andre DeShields.

So it’s with a heavy heart I put The Bifrost incident down and try the Snow White/Rose Red album Once Upon a Time (In Space). And unfortunately, I think we’ve hit market saturation of gritty warlike retellings of Grimm’s fairytales. I’m sure this absolutely fucking slapped in 2012, but in 2024 Disney’s Once Upon A Time has ruined the possibility for everyone. I tried so hard to imagine a design, but all I could see was either that or the new generation of Disney live action remix. Or even that one Huntsman movie with Kristen Stewart as Battle!Snow White.

I kind of love, weird, obscure shit, though, I could totally see this, finding a home in fringe circuit. Unfortunately, you need those institutional dollars if you want highly stylized, long wigs and battle armor and spaceships. It’s the intrepid black box theater troupe that gets a show that looks like this:

But with less tailoring.

So with a great sadness, I put Once Upon A Time In Space on the reject pile for my fantasy new musical development workshop.

The next time I have a long drive I’ll try out Ulysses Dies at Dawn but unfortunately, that would be a race against time since there are about four different odyssey themed musicals in development right now. One of which, epic, is getting a lot of traction online. And another will be coming to one of the LORT theaters I mentioned earlier. (Fucking call me back [Redacted] am I working on [redacted] or not UGH)

So, I’m about three years too late to win that game. [inset joke about Gatsby vs Gatbsy here].

All this is just fantasy of course, even if I did strike gold I would still need to convince actual-human Jonathan Sims to engage in a years long, time consuming, deeply frustrating development process, on the wrong continent. So for the absolutely microscopic overlap of my followers, who are both invested in The Magnus Archives/ The Mechanisms and also Musical Theater, I’m sorry to disappoint.

But it is nice to think about New Ideas tm for theater while making my yearly sacrifice to the gods of freelance employment and do another year of The Nutcracker. Oh well at least I’m not Christmas Caroling this year.



[dat-town]

own fic rec game

recommend 5 or more of your own works that you would rec to someone asking what they should read first & explain a little bit about the work. these can be the most popular, the ones you think are underrated, or your own favorites! then tag five other writers!

tagged by @restlessmaknae

tagging @lily-blue

dude, but like romantically - mark lee, 10k

i'm usually not your go-to uni au, slice of life or fluff writer but this was so much fun! honestly, probably the most fun i had writing a story in the last years because it didn't even feel like writing at times. i looked up mark-inspired playlists, i listened to him speaking in random lives and i just wrote without really knowing how i wanted this to end. i was there, you know, just for the ✨vibes✨ and i'm really happy that lots of people seem to enjoy it and think that it's mark-like. (so many that i just checked and it bet my hades!yoongi story in notes even though that had been my most popular writing for almost 5 years. wow.)

ignisum - hwang intak, 24.5k

world building! oh my god, i love world building. really, sometimes i get so swept up creating these little worlds for my stories that they end up being way more detailed than needed for the story. that's actually one of my favourite parts of writing and maybe that's why i love fantasy, dystopia etc. aus so much because i can do just that. the plot might not be the strongest (political intrigue isn't forte) but i really enjoyed creating ignisum and all these kingdoms. also for some reason i really like my fantasy aus with historical settings as well as badass girlies with smug boys, so really i put a lot of my favourite tropes here.

small doses - choi yeonjun, 7.8k

i don't think i have written anything so heavily focused on mental health before this one, so this was challenging but i think i could keep it realistic and i'm quite proud of that. also i have been wanting to work with such a now/then kind of contrast/parallel structure for a while, so i was glad that this story proved to be the perfect for that

bed warm, heart colds - min yoongi, 3.7k

i love mythology and fairytale aus a lot because they have so much potential and i love to twist the original story a bit, i love to explore their worlds, see if i can surprise people. and while this one i just wanted to jump on the train that claims that hades loved persephone and their love is tragic, i really wanted to put this here. i think this story was the first one i tried to write in a poetic-ish way and i still think back on it fondly.

destined to fall - kim taehyung, 33k

i'm pretty sure that if i were to read back this one, i would cringe really hard at parts and i would write it differently, but i'm still proud of the idea of it even if the execution wasn't that good. but it's okay, it wasn't an easy story to tackle and my longest for a long time (or maybe still is?) it was very interesting to jump in time, to create so many scenarios and try not to make it repetitive. i think my angst writing really took off with this one.

[cee-grice]

Hi Cee! 👀

What’s the most unhinged AU you’ve imagined your characters in, and what’s the fluffiest? 🌷

⁉️⁉️⁉️ you really just want me to put my freakiness on public display huh

ok the most unhinged AU that I'm WILLING to share would be. evil wizard!Quil and stalker!Endra. hear me out. this is not even that unrealistic, it COULD have happened if I decided to go a different route (maybe one day...). basically the idea is. Quil's the Resident Wizard™ of this small town (as he is in canon as well) but...he's the sort of folklore witch type which parents tell their children scary stories about. never wander into That part of the woods alone...or after dark...because u will not leave them...and it's not just fairytales or smth, it's very much true lmfao. once in a blue moon, however, he visits the town... for very mundane stuff, nothing out of the ordinary, but everyone knows that on those days you DO NOT go outside lest you catch his attention. and you do not want that!

well, 'you' as in the general term. cue Endra, who one day DOES go out and sees him. and oh man. oh boy. everything about him just draws Endra in, both his appearance, his voice, his mannerisms, and this sense of danger that does something to his brain's chemistry. that one time is enough for him to get stuck in Endra's head. sooo, he Does start wandering into That part of the woods, and Does try to catch his attention. at first, Quil finds this fucking annoying. like, you'd think someone coming to HIM on their own accord would be great, less work for him, but no, it kinda ruins the whole vibe. people are meant to be scared of him, not?? enamored??? wtf???

so, he tries his darn best to get this dude to stop fucking. following him around and intruding on his business. like 'leave me the fuck alone or I'll skin you alive???' but all he gets in response is 'u can do whatever u want bby<33'. it's both baffling and exhausting. and now he DOESN'T want to skin him alive because what's the point if the guy's not scared of it?? it seems he has met his match in unhinged and highly questionable behavior and now he doesn't know what to do with himself. anyways then even more toxic and highly problematic shit ensues but I've already gone on for far too long<33

okay and the fluffiest - I honestly very rarely do fluffy AUs cause. yk. BUT I do have one where it's a modern setting at a uni and they're both teachers, Quil's a biochemistry and Endra's music :)) then you know how you can just.. enter any lecture hall during a lecture in a uni.. yea well one day Endra accidentally stumbles upon Quil's, and he doesn't understand SHIT but wow does this guy have a pretty voice. and a pretty face. and wow he's so smart. wow have I just sat through this entire lecture uhm what

anyways so he starts to just kinda. sit in on Quil's lectures whenever he can...still understands jack shit but goddd his voice is MESMERIZING. until one day Quil's like 'so um. what are you doing here lol?'. Endra kinda doesn't know what to say because he's not about to tell his co-worker he may be in love with him so he just bullshits and says 'oh yea bio? super cool and interesting and you're a good lecturer sooo....', which, obviously, Quil takes that rlly well because he LOVES bio and now uh oh Endra has to actually learn bio to keep up the ruse but he's tragically unequipped for it??? yea and then more cute stuff happens, you get the vibe <33

i'm This close to actually writing these fucking AUs.....i'm obsessed with AUs y'all don't even know

[iron-sides]

Oh This Is My Moment (guy who likes reccing fics almost more than reading them)

ok this is just kind of a dsmp grab bag from my bookmarks so it swings wildly around the length & vibe spectrums but its pretty much all tommyinnit centric. uh. so heads up lol altho theres a lot of bench trio I Think (also warning a fair bit of sbi for sure possibly more than bench trio so if ur like I Dont Read Sbi Anymore uh. sorry) also i tried to avoid like huge fandom faves like passerine/butterfly reign/devil town/event horizon just bc the liklihood u havent read them is Small-- also superhero aus for similar reasons. ok no more disclaimers i prommy fic time now!

in all their bashful glory

2.5k words of pure cclingy fluff. its beautiful. its so good. complete. i love her.

humans are space velociraptors

series incomplete but work one isnt! ur lookin at a little under 200k words of space au that really utilizes the language barrier in some really cool ways!! ALSO! human tubbo :D this one tends slightly angstier but i personally feel its pretty well balanced out- it functions similarly to a Humans Are Space Orcs tumblr post but like a bunch of them that go together? one of the more popular fics on this list but i reread it recently and its still so good !! mostly sbi but Also really really good clingyduo (you will notice there's a lot of that)

ours poetica by @zeeskeit-writes-sometimes

another long, angsty, fairly popular one, but this time it's tragically incomplete at 77k words :( BUT i can never say no to slam poetry au ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ this is another sbi one but not like Happy Family sbi its like. angsty. warning the poems are GREAT but it does get super dark tommy attempts suicide onscreen iirc (its been a few years BUT i cant do a dsmp reclist without ours poetica i think about her All The Time)

Unconnected Magic Fics

also 70k words BUT this is a benchtrio magic hurt/comfort series (tommyinnit centric im an inniter what can i say)! tommyinnit can now read minds! (hurt/comfort ensues) tommyinnit can no longer lie! (hurt/comfort ensues) beeduo can now read tommyinnits mind! (hurt/comfort ensues) etc etc

Rewind/Remix by @a-non-ymouswriter

this series is THE clingyduo bible its THE dsmp time travel fic its THE protegee tommy au you dont understand its SO GOOD ‼️ tragically abandoned sitting @ 290k words (idk why all the long ones r first i prommy theyre not ALL rlly long) BUT its so good. like its so good. future protegee tommy and former president tubbo are from EGGPOCALYPSE FUTURE which is awesome and IN eggpocalypse future nikis president. it rocks. its so great. dream has like tattooed the loyalty enchantment on protegee tommy like its CRAZY its so good. but again incomplete very incomplete :( idk if thats a dealbreaker for u but it is for the irl i usually am reccing to so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

talk to me by @doodlebloo

ik everyone knows and loves doodlebloo but im reccing this anyway its so good. its so good. i love them (cclingy) 5k words, complete

treatise on sin and vice

you dont understand it goes SO HARD. 7k word screenplay, complete. just trust me okay just read it its so good just trust me. take me my hand. its so good.

the snow king

SO GOOD!! ok so u know hit fairytale the snow queen? what if the snow queen was philza minecraft and the two friends were tommyinnit and tubbo underscore. 135k words, complete, another cclingyduo classic that i think about constantly. the worldbuilding is SO cool

i no longer know if i wish to drown myself in love, vodka, or the sea

ok self promo time :)) I have!! a beeduo fic!! shes 592 words! its about how crazy weird it must be to live with the ghost of someone you used to love :) i dont remember why i thought tubbo and michael moved into ranboos house after he died but i promise its a good fic anyway ! :D

can someone reccomend me dsmp fics. I just rewalized i cant remember the last time i read a fic

[jessamine-rose]

✿ Herbarium – Author’s Note ✿

Read Herbarium here!! ღゝ◡╹)ノ⚘ 

Read Fairytale here!! Σ੧(❛□❛✿)

Aahhh so first of all?? Thank you so much for all of the comments and reblogs!! I was blown away by the amount of positive feedback for my writing, and I hope that more people will enjoy reading Herbarium (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)

This post is just me rambling about details in the fic, my characterization of Yandere! Capitano and his darling, and bonus content which didn’t make it into the final draft. If you want to know about the creative details and symbolism……..here you go  (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ)っ

“You had long given up on wishes and happy endings. After what you believed to be the end of your tragic story, you resigned yourself to a shadow of a life with only your books and flowers to keep you company…until the vestiges of Windblume brought forth a mysterious stranger and a new ending for your dark fairytale.” (AO3 Summary)

✿ Introduction ✿

♡ Apologies for tagging you two again, but I simply can’t talk about Capitano without mentioning @bye-bye-sunbird and @yandere-romanticaa!! I absolutely adore their characterizations of Capitano due to the Beauty and the Beast vibes and themes of devotion, chivalry, monstrosity/ knighthood, etc. Now would also be a good time to credit the posts which inspired Capitano and Damsel’s first meeting and the beginning scene of ix. whopperflower <3

♡ From the start, I wanted Herbarium to have dark fairytale vibes and a twisted happy ending, hence having to churn out 10k words in order to logically explain Damsel’s behavior and backstory. (In reality, I just prefer victorious yanderes and docile darlings lol) I’m quite happy with how the ending turned out, because I’d like to believe that I successfully framed Damsel’s new life as Capitano’s darling and her descent into Stockholm Syndrome as a “happy ending.”

♡ It’s just………..dwdkndekwedneks the juxtaposition of Damsel finding love, family, and a home in Capitano versus the terrifying reality of her newfound codependency!! If I ever write a side story or short continuation to this fic, I’d like to illustrate her psychological demise from the perspective of either Capitano or another character.

♡ Also, allow me to thank @diodellet​ once again!! Aside from being my main consultant for Genshin lore, she also peer-reviewed the fic and offered great revision notes!! You can thank her for suggesting the nightmare montages and spicing up the beginning of ix. whopperflower amongst other scenes.

✿ Characters ✿

♡ Regarding my own characterization of Capitano, I had the most fun writing his dialogue!! His dialogue in the Harbingers trailer is very sophisticated, so I tried to translate that into dignified speech and prose-y statements. For his face, I imagine a mix of these images?? So yeahh I think he would look very impassive with a terrifying gaze and less severe scars (as Hoyoverse will probably make him more “attractive and marketable” for the game)

♡ I headcanon Capitano to be a very patient, protective yandere who utilizes both his physical strength and his intelligence as a military strategist. In addition to reading all of Damsel’s books as a means of psychoanalyzing her, he also controls her hobby/ source of escapism and weaponizes book spoilers lmao. There is a careful balance between how he uses light physical threats to scare Damsel and how he treats her in a gentle manner which portrays him as “better” than the people from her past.

♡ In writing Damsel’s personality, I focused on the comparison and contrast between her and Capitano. While she has peaceful hobbies and an aversion to violence, she is also inexpressive, quiet, and asocial; in that sense, she isn’t so different from Capitano. Her passivity and pessimism are fatal flaws which prevent her from actively seeking help or recovery from her past, which in turn solidifies her “damsel in distress” position as Capitano’s darling :>

♡ Additional notes on Damsel’s backstory!!

♡ My own name and appearance for Damsel

✿ Literary Motifs ✿

♡ Herbarium – Damsel is not the type to nurture flowers or appreciate their natural transcience. Instead, she collects flowers in order to own them completely and permanently preserve their beauty. From the start, I wanted to draw a parallel between this hobby and Capitano’s own treatment of Damsel…....yeahh idk if I was actually able to do that xD

♡ Dark/ subverted fairytales – aahhh I just really love exploring themes of love, delusion, and happy endings within the yandere genre!! It was fun switching between Capitano’s moments as both the monster and the hero in Damsel’s story. In the end, his darling was always going to be a tragic character trapped between choosing a depressing ending or a false happily ever after ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡

♡ Hades and Persephone – NO BC I WASN’T ORIGINALLY INSPIRED BY THAT MYTH??!! I only included those parallels in the final revision after deciding on the name of Ceres Fames. I wanted to give the character a symbolic name, and one candidate was the Greek/ Roman goddess of hunger and famine. Except that I didn’t like how Limos/ Fames sounded, then I remembered that her opposite is Demeter/ Ceres…….yeah. It was a very wtf coincidence when I later realized the couple’s Hades and Persephone vibes, the fact that Ceres only appears when Capitano is away on missions, and the duality of the goddess Demeter/ Ceres. It also made ix. whopperflower an unintentional subversion of Persephone’s abduction, complete with Ceres’s Delusion being changed from originally Electro to Cryo (❅▽❅)

✿ Flower Symbolism ✿

♡ Idk why I decided to make my life harder by using flowers as section dividers. Anyway, just know that all of these flowers were originally chosen simply because they grow in Teyvat. There is no important symbolism regarding my choice of windwheel asters, cecilia, calla lilies, sweet flowers, or dendrobium. I just found ways to incorporate those flowers in their respective sections.

♡ At this point, I don’t think I need to explain Damsel’s parallels to/ relationship with dandelions. Roses were featured for the white/ red color symbolism, unavailability in Mondstadt, and meanings of secrecy in Genshin lore. (And if Hoyoverse later says that roses can’t grow in Snezhnaya, just assume that Capitano had the rosebush artificially planted for Damsel) Whopperflower is meant to represent Ceres’s deceit.

♡ Mint belongs to the first category but I’m giving the flower its own bullet point for this reason:: After realizing the Hades and Persephone coincidences in the fic, I recalled the Greek myth of Minthe. So mint became a fitting flower for Damsel’s moment of doubt and separation anxiety.

♡ Windblume is supposed to represent Damsel offering a kiss/ herself to Capitano. If I wasn’t able to allude to that properly in the fic, rip now you know. Back when Damsel was an OC in my imagination, she was named after a flower so the Windblume connotation was more obvious.

✿ Deleted Scenes ✿

♡ Post-kidnapping, Damsel is already referred to as Capitano’s wife. In the first draft of vi. rose, there is a scene where Capitano gives her a ring with a flower design. I ended up scrapping that scene later on, but just imagine that they had an off-screen “proposal.” And in response to a comment on AO3, I don’t plan to write a wedding scene in the future.

♡ When I was still figuring out how to incorporate roses in vi. rose, I wrote about Capitano and Damsel visiting a flower shop in Snezhnaya. There was a friendly Dendro shopkeeper who would show Damsel the roses and get threatened by Capitano but yeahhh, it didn’t feel scary enough. It was eventually replaced by the private tour of the woods.

♡ I also thought of Damsel interacting with more Harbingers, specifically Pantalone and Arlecchino. I chose Pantalone because he also experienced hardships in his early life and was denied a Vision by the gods. As for Arlecchino, Damsel would’ve compared the House of the Hearth to the orphanage she grew up in.

✿ My Favorite Scenes ✿

“There is not a single moment when I do not think of you or your safety,” he tells you. He reaches for your hand and intertwines your fingers. “Let these be your words of comfort until I return to you.” (vii. mint)

♡ Watch as I get f*cked over by my own writing. No matter how many times I read this dialogue, I find myself simping and feeling big-brained. If I were to ever commission an artist to draw something for Herbarium, I would definitely choose this scene  Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→

Then there was the Eleventh Harbinger. Capitano had attended an appointment with his fellow Harbingers—a rare gathering, apparently—so you had to wait outside their meeting place. When the door finally opened, Tartaglia was the first to leave.

“Oh? You don’t look like you work here,” he said, walking over to you. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Were you listening in on our conversation, little mouse?” (vii. mint)

♡ Not Childe showing up for 0.5 seconds and stealing my heart. This was one of the last scenes to be written and I think it added a nice touch to the final draft. I think Childe would be curious about Capitano’s darling but also smart enough to know his limits. Also, while Damsel’s age is kept ambiguous, I imagine her to be around 30 years old and therefore older than Childe. That is just a random detail I wanted to mention  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

✿ Capitano x Damsel Playlist ✿

Aka I tried to listen to music during my writing breaks, only to start cursing because the lyrics kept reminding me of Capitano and Damsel. If anyone would like to recommend darker/ yandere songs, be my guest.

♡ Lots of Love – Kuzu no Honkai ost

♡ Pearl Tower by Anna Evans golden folks

♡ Sora to Utsuro (空と虚) by sasanomaly

♡ 0 (zero) by LMYK

♡ Your Name by Little Glee Monster

♡ 

That’s all I have to say!! I ended up rambling quite a bit, but I’m truly happy that I was able to finish Herbarium and write a fic which I can be proud of. I hope you all enjoyed Herbarium and this Author’s Note, and may the Capitano agenda gain more followers  ˶ づ ˊ ꒳ ˋ づ ˶

[gizkasparadise]

Best fairy tale esque Asian drama

Beauty and beast type

Little mermaid type

Aladdin type

Cindy type

Etc

oh interesting! here's what comes to mind

for a beauty and the beast parallel, i think my favorites are:

hotel del luna. gender-swapped version! the female lead is a hedonistic immortal being cursed to run a hotel for ghosts due to her Traumatic Backstory. the male lead is a recent harvard graduate who was born for middle management and is in way, way over his head as he tries to teach her how to balance a checkbook

love between fairy and devil. the female lead is a little naive, very sheltered young flower immortal who accidentally unleashes the devil from a mystical space magic prison. so gorgeous and unexpectedly wonderful

for little mermaid:

my girlfriend is a gumiho draws direct comparisons to this story throughout its plot! it's a romcom/action/lite horror show about a gumiho (fox demon) who ends up transferring her power to a guy who wants to become a stuntman/action movie star. very cute and aggressively 2010 teen movie

i havent seen it yet, but legend of the blue sea is about mermaids and based off of a korean fairytale

for cinderella/rags-to-riches

okay it's not super cinderella-y on the surface, but princess agents has this vibe in a way? but instead of A Fancy Party the heroine instead was given An Awesome Sword, Spy Training, and Several Noblemen with Complexes

continuing to be super liberal with this interpretation, empress ki has the female lead go from smuggler to slave to concubine to empress. work.

shopping king louie is sort of this fairytale in reverse: the rich male lead loses his memories and ends up relying on a poor country girl. very fluffy and cute

100 days my prince is like a joseon version of shopping king louie, but at times darker with the subplots

i think a good chunk of 2000-2010ish kdramas basically lived on this trope

for aladdin i couldnt think of anything direct, so here's sort of a broader "making wishes/deals with immortal powerful fantasy beings":

mystic pop-up bar is about a cursed immortal female lead who runs a pop-up bar and is trying to resolve human being's grudges/grant their wishes by teaming up with a former ghost cop and a regular guy (or is he?) that has a special power of his own

goblin is about a girl who finds out she was destined to be the "goblin's bride" and bring about the death of an immortal cursed general who has been looking for a way to die for several centuries at this point. some wishes/genie-esque dynamics

angel's last mission: love. female lead is a cold, bitter former ballerina who has closed herself off from the world. male lead is her actual guardian angel. not one of my absolute favorites, but i liked the interesting dynamic and the OST is beyond gorgeouuuus

i did not like this drama that much but doom at your service might scratch this itch as well. the female lead is dying from cancer. the male lead is the actual manifestation of doom. would have been SO GOOD if it cut out the subplot and streamlined things a bit more

and these aren't really related to fairytales, but they have a similar vibe:

love and redemption. girl meets boy. boy is in a martial arts sect forbidden to love or marry. girl doesn't understand feelings and is in fact the reincarnated god of war. girl has also sort of killed boy for 9 lifetimes prior to this. boy keeps coming back for more because he thrives on masochism and costume changes. one of my top 3 favorite dramas

goodbye my princess is like someone had all the fairy tale tropes (rebellious princess, meeting while disguised, magical rivers) and then sort of took them in the backyard and shot them. lmao if you want it tragic, go here

craving more dysfunction junction? check out the wolf which starts with some sweet disney tarzan plot and escalates into fucking chaos

river where the moon rises is based on a piece of korean folklore. this one i wanted to like so much (and was enjoying for the first half), but the real-life drama lead to some unfortunate story complications (the show notoriously swapped out its male lead actor midway through airing)

alice in borderland draws a lot of parallels to alice in wonderland. it's survival horror so LMAO not the same vibe as the original story at all, but i figured i'd throw it in here. i have some mixed feelings about the drama, but i definitely binged it all

[lazysublimeengineer]

the princess who protected her hero

Title: the princess who protected her hero

Summary: Because life wasn’t a fairytale where the hero always protected the people.

Characters: Hanagaki "Takemitchy" Takemichi, Kawaragi Senju, Matsuno Chifuyu, Tachibana Hinata

(A/N: I don’t own this franchise. Only this pain and angsty fic on this site that Ken Wakui probably camps at for inspiration on his tragic and angsty fate of his characters).

She slung her bag on her right shoulder and walked out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang, and their last class was dismissed for the day. Senju stared straight ahead as she walked quietly through the school corridors going out of the academy. The sun was already setting slowly, painting the skies in soft tangerine hues that lent a dusky, melancholic vibe along the surroundings.

Senju walked aimlessly. Her steps were steadfast, yet her feet don’t know where to go.

It’s been a few days since the battle of the three deities had happened.

Yet she hadn’t visited Takemichi in the hospital yet. Not even once.

Uncharacteristically, she was overcome by her own humiliation and cowardice. Takemichi’s beaten up and bruised body in front of her that day reminded her of her own failure as a leader.

She failed to protect Draken who was under her care and a great asset to Brahman.

She failed to stop the unexpected war to happen that day between the three of them.

She failed to defeat South.

She failed to defeat Mikey.

But most of all…

…she failed to protect Takemichi to whom she’d sworn to protect in return.

He protected her from that gunshots.

But what did she do?

She just watched helplessly as Mikey beat him to death unable to do anything worthwhile or useful that day.

The only thing that she could do at that moment was to kneel at him and begged for him to stop by disbanding her own gang and declaring their own lost.

If anyone will say that it was enough, she will beg to differ. She knew that no one could stop Mikey that day. No amount of reasoning could stop a beast like him who was cloying with murderous intent on people who would get in his way. And if she didn’t disband Brahman back then for sure they will be absorbed by Mikey’s gang upon their lost and she couldn’t protect the other members from God knows what they’re about to do with the defeated gang under their territory.

So, this was for the best…even if it cost her own dream of becoming the top delinquent in Japan.

She could feel her eyes glistened, but she quickly controlled and tamped out her overwhelming emotions. No. She wouldn’t cry. Not anymore.

Senju stopped in the middle of the street, debating within herself if she should visit him or not.

She tried to push her spiraling thoughts away and proceeded to walk towards the hospital where Takemichi was currently confined at. Upon reaching the inside of the sterile building, she inquired one of the nurses manning the nurses’ desk on which room he is currently confined at.

“May I ask for your name and what is your relationship with the person currently confined at room 406?” The nurse asked calmly as her eyes didn’t leave the screen of the computer and continued typing from the keyboard.

Senju hesitated for a brief fraction of second before she simply settled on a safe answer. “I’m Kawaragi Senju and Hanagaki’s friend and classmate in the academy…” Which was both true and a lie since she was his first friend who was the same age as her but at the same time was also a lie since he wasn’t her classmate in the high school that he’s studying at.

“Okay. Room 406 is located at the left hallway after you walk straight ahead of the corridor.” The nurse replied simply.

“Thank you.” She uttered as she followed her words and proceeded to walk along the corridors going through his designated room. Senju felt her nerves were fraying and her pulse skyrocketing inside her veins.

Why was she feeling anxious and nervous suddenly?

Ignoring the apprehension building up within her, she focused on walking ahead and finally stopped upon reaching the room he was confined at, staring at the room number embossed on the door.

The room was ajar, and she was about to enter when she heard voices conversing inside that made her froze and her mind went blank all of a sudden.

“It’s your fault that Draken-kun is…!” A male voice exclaimed in agony and misery before his eyes grew wide and clamped a hand towards his mouth to stop himself from saying things that he might regret later.

“I’m sorry, Takemitchy…” He muttered, unable to look at him directly.

“It’s okay Chifuyu. It’s all my fault.”

Senju clamped both of her hands into her mouth as silent tears finally escaped her eyes upon hearing those words from Takemichi’s lips and seeing his current, pitiful state for the first time ever since the terrible incident had happened.

Other words and dialogues seemed to bypass her hearing and mind as she could only stare in miserable silence on what he had become.

However, she was jostled out of her thoughts when she heard the blond visitor stood up and was about to leave his room that made her scrambled on her feet and quickly hide in one of the partitions at the right wing of the hospital that said fire exit. Senju just closed her eyes and leaned against the wall as she listened to the faint conversations outside.

“Matsuno-kun…” A woman’s voice greeted her line of hearing. “You’re going home already? I’ve just finished replacing the flowers.”

“It’s all right Hina-chan.” The male stated simply as he walked away.

Senju’s eyes flew open upon hearing the woman’s name and cautiously peeked from the partition. Hina-chan? From what she remembered about the rumors from some of the delinquents before, Hina was the given name of Takemichi’s childhood sweetheart.

She had strawberry blond hair that was currently pinned up and a soft fringe that magnify her innocent face and beautiful eyes. She looked like a beatific angel holding the vase of flowers while she observed Takemichi from the small window of his door.

The sight was like a harsh slap to her back into the reality. A bittersweet smile hovered around her lips.

Right. Her presence wasn’t needed here anymore since there’s someone who could take care of him.

And it wasn’t her.

Also, if she showed her face right of her what would she say? Sorry for failing to protect your boyfriend and his deceased comrade back then because I’m a terrible leader?

Just the mere sight of Takemichi’s deathly state inside the hospital and hearing him validating other people’s thoughts of being at fault was enough to make her stay to where she was right now, unable to face him without her breaking down in front of him because of her guilt and wretchedness.

No. She didn’t want to face Takemichi this way.

She promised to him before that she will protect him, and she doesn’t back on her promises. Takemichi was her first real friend and she’ll be damned to fail him once again.

Amid her tears that streamed down her face, she remembered Wakasa’s words to Takemichi back then at the war.

“Hanagaki. Take care of Brahman’s princess.”

“No Waka. This time it’s my turn to do that to Hanagaki.” She whispered to herself.

Because life wasn’t a fairytale where the hero always protected the people.

There came a time that the hero needs to be protected too.

And even if she’s fading in the background of his life, the princess will fulfill her goal of protecting her own hero this time around.

(A/N: Now I need more Senju flashback and content from her own point of view and not just from the other people such as Takeomi. Damn. The sacrifice she made… It reminded me of Yuzuha’s self-sacrificing tendencies to the people that they care about. My queens being in pain but growing as a character is what I live for. Chapter 234 is a soap opera drama between besties who had a misunderstanding. Reviews are amusing so let me hear them from you).

[allofmycrushes]

Something I realised about Midnight Cowboy being an inspiration for BF ending

Midnight Cowboy is a cult movie but its ending never reaped so much controversy. At first glance BF copies it all from MC. Unlucky in life guy dies in a manner of "oops shit happens", unnoticed among stranges, his demise sweetened by his friend's comforting embrace. Tragic, bittersweet, the prose of llife. So why would Ash's death evoke different emotions? Ash is a different person from Midnight Cowboy hero, the story of Banana Fish is different- maybe that is why the ending feels so mismatched for so many people. Maybe cutting and pasting the conclusion of other character on Ash isn't a good or smart choice all things considered. The circumstances surrounding Ash's life and death are dissimilar too which adds to the feeling of disrepancy. Let's compare: Ash isn't a naive, rather passive but otherwise completely unremarkable ordinary MC guy. He and Eiji aren't "loser" con men hustlers having random encounters while just trying to get by. The stakes are much higher. Ash like the Midnight Cowboy hero is haunted by sexual violence but the overall plot of the story and what he goes through during is a much different journey. He is also presented to us as a person who fights back against his odds, his spirit unbroken and despite being tormented deep down he's not completely marred by the things that happened to him, his conflict is to not become what his abusers told him he is and to free his mindset from their influence. In that context Ash's death and its circumstances feel jarring. Additionaly we have to consider the most frustrating part- the letter. Before it serves as a nice daydream and all the points Eiji had tried to make are reducted to "feel good" fairytale as Ash dies it is the very thing that causes Ash getting stabbed and then paradoxically despite of Eiji's wishes expressed in the letter itself it becomes his reason to go and bleed out in the library. It's the opposite of what Eiji intented for Ash and what he promises him in the letter contents. Eiji tells him there's something to live for, that he can triumph over what is thrown at him, that shit doesn't have to always happen to him and he doesn't have to give in to it because he isn't fated. Eiji's role up to this point was not only to console but to reignite that flame Ash managed to preserve for so long. He gives Ash hope and motivation but now he apparently becomes a reason to lose it, to do the opposite. What Ash does in the end renders what Eiji wrote about false and meaningless. Shit happened again and Ash gives in. Eiji failed. Tragic irony or indecisiveness in ideas the story wants to present? Ash just bleeding out in public is something so obviously taken from a different tale considering all that happened before but it takes place because of the cinematic inspiration. Mixing the letter carrying the torch of Banana Fish previous spirit and having Ash ignoring it for the sake of a preplanned scene lifted from a movie with a whole other vibe just adds to the divergence. The letter and the story says one thing, the ending and what Ash did says another. Both can't be true at the same time, they clash but somehow we're supposed to think they don't? Additionally Ash dying a peaceful death of a resigned person who acts as if he believes he has no control over his life is not Ash we've seen before and it's not what Ash is told he is by Eiji. The guy in Midnight Cowboy dies in a bus from pneumonia, nobody told him he could change his fate, conclusions of the movie are different, it isn't a passive suicide. Maybe it wouldn't be this incoherent if Ash had just died immediately (with added flashbacks to the good times) after getting stabbed and with no letter involved. If there absolutely had to be the end scene in the library what for also seemingly unironically have the letter babbling Ash can change his fate in a staggering lack of self awareness. If Eiji was just meant to be one good thing in a bleak life destined for nothing else but a bleak end (like the MC hero's friend is in the movie) it wouldn't be so bizarrely out of the blue but the narrative was unambiguously attempting at having Ash actualizing this aim to change his destiny or rather at having him learn that he has no fixed destiny. In order to force the Midnight Cowboy ending Ash's actions have to deny Eiji's words. In BF the consolation is also a reason for death and proves to be actually smoke and mirrors. The fallen promises don't make the story even more tragic, they almost make the whole story unravel and I don't think creating an incomplete puzzle that don't fit together was the intention. The need to paste a Midnight Cowboy ending on BF undoes all established relationships and development, tries to force us to be blind to the sudden unexplained inconsistency, to suddenly ignore it the way Ash ignores what he had strived for and what Eiji told him. In the context of the whole story forcing MC ending proves inadequte, it makes you sad and that's not the problem- the problem is that it's not a fulfilling, compelling conclusion that makes sense.

[mooosicaldreamz]

Have you listened to folklore yet?? Can you do commentary on all the songs??

it’s time.

THE 1

This song has a funny vibe in comparison with “I Forgot that You Existed” - it really sets a tone of calm, quiet vibes in comparison to the more bombastic stuff on Lover. Also this song is kind of a banger. It has a very gentle rhythm, like I’m in the sun in the woods and I’m in my hammock. I have a hammock now and I’m considering moving into it. “It would’ve been fun / if you would’ve been the one.” Also I love the “I had this dream you’re doing cool shit” - so fun, so sweet. Taylor said a curse word.

CARDIGAN

This song is proof to me that this album was produced by a Dessner because it has the same repetitive piano that I would say is a hallmark of National songs - it sounds a lot like “Light Years” to me. That song is, by the way, an absolute banger. This song? Fun! It’s an interesting metaphor, and an interesting way of saying the point of the song. And I think it’s much more grounded than some more old school Taylor metaphors of like fairytale stuff. “Tried to change ending / Peter losing Wendy.”

THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN DYNASTY

As we ALL KNOW, this song is about Taylor’s wonderful little house wherein the great Fourth of July celebration took place all over Instagram in the Red era. I googled it and it’s semi-biographical! I think it’s clear that Taylor is making commentary on her life on the Cape just as much as she is telling the story of this person, Rebekah Harkness. It’s an interesting piece of self-awareness to compare herself to an oil heiress who caused quite the stir in a segment of the world that is full of big stirrers (ie the Kennedys who I’m pretty sure she was neighbors with somewhere down the beach). I’m intrigued. She is having fun.

EXILE (FEAT BON IVER)

This will sound like absurd hyperbole but between Bon Iver and Taylor Swift, I’d be hard pressed to name two artists who have fucked up my life more. Getting to hear his beautiful baritone without layers of distress like he’s been rolling with lately is a gift. Thank you to Taylor Swift. “I can see you staring, honey / like he’s just your understudy / like you’d get your knuckles bloody / for me.” VIBEZ???? ARE WE VIBING????? I AM VIBGIN!!!!!! “Those eyes add insult to injury????”” BANGER!!! IT’S A BANGER.  THAT BREAKDOWNN!!!! LET’S ROLL!!!! LET’S GET FUCKED UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m PUTTING THIS ON SO MANY PLAYLISTS!!!!!!!!!!

MY TEARS RICOCHET

LET’S GET EMO !!!!!!!! You know, just recently I was discussing with Lynne (or myself? I talk to myself about Taylor a lot) about how she’s gonna go on her like farewell tour when she’s 50-60 or whatever and it’s gonna be all these low-down sexy baller mixes, like when Cyndi Lauper did her greatest hits cover release (it’s a banger!). This album is just an excuse for her to sing in her low register. God, I’d die for her. I love how sad this is. I have too many favorite lines. “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace / ‘cause when I’d fight, you used to tell me I was brave / And if I’m dead to you why are you at the wake?” ALSO “And you can aim for my heart, go for blood / But you would still miss me in your bones.” OKAY HONEY!!!!!!! This is a clear Supercorp song. Since I know this is why you are asking. Start here for fic titles.

MIRRORBALL

Oh, okay, Taylor went to the woods and listened to Ryan Adams, Bon Iver, and just fucked around and made shoe gaze pop? What kind of talent!!!! Her last album was premium pop. Why is she like this. This song is very interesting. It’s very sweet. The phrasing on “tallest tiptoes / highest heels” oh my God. I love this song. I might cry.

SEVEN

Another absolute National-style production, God, we are living in my dream world on this album. “I’ve been meaning to tell you / I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why / And I think you should come live with me / and we can be pirates.” WHAT A JOKE. WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!! What a beautiful portrait of childhood. There’s a scene in Spring Awakening (the musical, I can only assume now that Taylor is a big fan), where they talk about playing pirates when they were younger and now everything is tragic. “Are there still beautiful things?” It shouldn’t be that easy bro.

AUGUST

This, like “Seven” is an Antonoff production, which is just vibes. The dreaminess. We are vibing. As much as I am inclined to hate the line, “August slipped away like a bottle of wine” it is phrased so well and delicately that it comes across more dreamy than wine mom memey. I also just want to say that I bought the OG vinyl and the “meet me behind the mall” vinyl and after hearing the song that it comes from it’s a vibe. This is obviously a teenage romp song, which is really great because obviously Taylor wrote about being a teenager in love when she was a teenager and wrote about like, the classic world-ending Romeo and Juliet style fairytale. But this is….”meet me behind the mall.” Which is such an adult perspective on what being a teenager is. It’s so wonderful to see that artistic depth in an artist we’ve literally watched grow.

THIS IS ME TRYING

I feel like this is the depression song that should have been on Reputation but was so out of step with the rest of the album between it’s thunderous anger / thunderous oh-shit-I’m-into-this-dude that they couldn’t work it in. And it doesn’t quite vibe with Lover either…this whole song is GREAT. It’s very depression 101. It makes me cry also. “They told me all of my cages were mental / so I got wasted like all my potential / and my words shoot to kill when I’m mad / I have a lot of regrets about that.” I LOVE the way she sings “I have a lot of regrets about that.” Also “and it’s hard to be at a party / when I feel like an open wound.” Absolute banger.

ILLICIT AFFAIRS

I feel we should give this song the true banger status because Taylor wrote a song about a girl who is the other woman and it’s empathetic. God, we love progress. This song also does a good job of being about the other woman, but also has a little more universal appeal. I know when I heard this I was like, “oof, okay, I don’t miss being 16.”  The word mercurial is used in this song.

INVISIBLE STRING

Not to get too emo about it, but this song is adorable and it’s messed up that she wrote it. The idea behind it that I think must be fairly common for people who are in love, that their lives have unique crossover moments, and there’s this hope/want to believe that you were always going to end up in this place because of all those connections? That’s kind of a complex thing (imo) to express. And she WROTE IT!!!! God. If I were Joe Alwyn I would cry every day.

MAD WOMAN

The fact that Taylor would ever attempt to make me believe this is not about Scooter Braun is insane. I love this song. Proof of concept that you don’t need to yell to show how mad you are.

EPIPHANY

This song is sad. But very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her write anything like this. I think the back half of this album is a little more experimental.

BETTY

I’m not sure what I’m expected to say here. I know that this song is not actually gay. But I don’t care. It’s country twang from a boy’s perspective and you know what? We’re taking it. We are taking it for ourselves. But also, I love that she chose to write this weird “teenage love triangle” set of songs and that she chose to write none of them from like, her perspective? Right? “August” is James cheating on Betty, “Illicit Affairs” is the other woman, and this is James…when Taylor was 17 she would have written this song from Betty’s perspective. And that’s what we would have got. There’s real growth in storytelling here, and a real interest in expanding the canon of what she’s writing about. It’s really great to see an artist do that. Also the way she sings “The worst thing that I ever did / was what / I did to you.” This whole song is a masterpiece. I hate her.

PEACE

I just learned that Joe Alwyn is a Pisces. I am A PISCES. TAYLOR!!!! WE COULD BE TOGETHER.

I love the “I talk shit with my friends / It’s like I’m wasting your honor.” This song is so adult. She’s in like. Real love bro. BRO. I AM HAPPY FOR HER. BRO!!!!!!

HOAX

I am interested in why this is the last song on the non-deluxe version of the album. I don’t have a lot to say about this but that it reminds me of Wuthering Heights. Also if you wanted to get emo this is probably a good SC song.

[ravenbell-exchange]

Here come the prompts!

These are for all of us to use, so please feel free to peruse, reblog, explore, comment, and be generally delightful. Everyone will be receiving their assigned prompts later today, but remember that we are writing two stories each: one from the assigned prompts, and one from this list. You are free to pick anything apart from stuff you yourself prompted. There haven’t been any Dear Author letters I’ve spotted so far, so I’ve included some additional crossover prompts from people here, just for ease of reference. You absolutely don’t have to pick them - there’s just there in case you want them!

If you didn’t sign up for this challenge, but want to use any of the prompts below to write a fic – go for it! As long as you make sure to credit where you got the prompt from, you are very welcome to play with us.

Now, without further ado:

1.

Url: @autobot

Prompt 1: Sports AU: Bellamy and Raven flirt while their respective teams yell at them to get their head in the game.

Prompt 2: Delinquent Winter: It's snowing, so the delinquents decide to start a snowball fight. Raven and Bellamy really go at each other. Bellamy ends up getting a cut on his lip from an icy snowball, and Raven decides to remedy that with a kiss.

Prompt 3: Season 7: This is pretty vague but just anything with the relationship Bellamy/Raven/Doucette, with Bellamy having had separate relationships with the other two in the past.

Prompt 4 (optional variation on 1): HP AU: Bellamy and Raven flirt while their respective Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch teams yell at them to get their head in the game.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Momma didn't raise no wussy "N/A"

Also: Have seen all 7 seasons.

2.

Url: @growlereish

Prompt 1: post mount weather road trip. monty, miller, lincoln, gina, octavia, harper welcome to come too. maybe they find a bunch of cars and the delinquents take off into the sunset together. maybe it's just bellamy and raven exploring the world together.

Prompt 2: au where they're on a sports team together. any sport, the sport is not important, it's about the Team As Family and the Narratives

Prompt 3: fantasy au or canon + fantasy elements

Prompt 4: relationship negotiation / exploration

Prompt 5: anything from the expansive list of likes on my dear creator letter: https://growlery.dreamwidth.org/11097.html

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: somnophilia; humiliation, especially as a kink; d/s that's about punishment; discussion of diets/nutrition plans/exercise regimens/body maintenance/weight management/etc

Also: Have seen up to + including 3x08

3.

Url: @kinetic-elaboration​

Prompt 1: High school AU: Bellamy and Raven are exes, but Raven is still good friends with Octavia, so they still see each other all the time

Prompt 2: Bellamy/Raven/Gina negotiating/figuring out a poly relationship in Arkadia pre-S3

Prompt 3: Braven + First real, heavy snow on the ground (canon or canon-divergent AU)

Prompt 4: Librarian!Bellamy and Mechanic!Raven

Prompt 5: Modern AU: Bellamy, Raven, and author's choice other delinquents living in a cramped apartment together; Raven and Bellamy are either struggling with UST or in a secret relationship or FWB arrangement

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: pregnancy/kid fic of any sort; side/background Minty, Marper, or Clexa; explicit sex (implied/fade to black/generically described is ok); character bashing of any kind

Also: Have seen season 1-4 (really do not want to write/read anything related to the timeskip on, please!).  I'm not really into the Grounders generally; I love the delinquents; I headcanon Raven as bisexual but Bellamy as straight.

4.

Url: @justbecauseyoubelievesomething​

Prompt 1: Sci-fi/Space AU where Bellamy and Raven serve on the same ship; (fr)enemies to lovers with lots of angst along the way! Time loop/travel or interdimensional travel shenanigans would be appreciated as well!

Prompt 2: Dark Fairytale/Fantasy AU; very dark, stormy, foresty vibes; one of them is some sort of mythical creature, maybe even ruler of other mythical creatures; dark forbidden romance; for lots of bonus angst, one of them can be a magical creature hunter and reveal themselves at the end!

Prompt 3: Canonverse Ark AU; Bellamy and Raven meet as adults on the Ark because they both join the same secret revolutionary group planning to overthrow Alpha Station; other Delinquents can definitely make appearances!

Prompt 4: Modern AU; one of the two is driving through a small town trying to get home for Christmas when their car breaks down and they are forced to take it to the town's only mechanic; they snark at each other before the mechanic invites the stranded party to Christmas dinner; found family; fluff; basically you're typical Hallmark-esque set-up.

Prompt 5: Any setting! Bellamy and Raven are rivals in some sort of extreme sport (or if set in canonverse can be something like spacewalking). They're constantly pushing each other to their limits trying to beat each other, until Raven permanently injures her leg. She becomes very bitter during her recovery until she realizes that Bellamy isn't competing anymore and confronts him. Maybe feelings come out right away or maybe it takes them a while to get around to realizing it, but lots of angst and hurt/comfort during the build-up!

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Explicit smut; pregnancy/kid fic; incest; student/teacher; character bashing of any other characters

Also: Have seen seasons 1-6 and the first half of season 7.

5.

Url: @ravenbells

Prompt 1: Raven discovering and enjoying the fact that Bellamy is a huge history nerd (can be canon, modern or some kind of fantasy/sci-fi setting).

Prompt 2: Modern AU. Raven is sharing a flat with friends, but one of them has to move out because of Reasons, and Bellamy rents the freed up room. Doesn’t have to be set in the US if you don’t want to, I don’t care that it’s an American show.

Prompt 3: Grounder AU, but set in the past. Bellamy and Raven were children when the nukes that caused the Ark to stay in space for generations went off. Now they are they first generation of survivors who have to build a life in a world without technology.

Prompt 4: Steampunk AU. Can be traditional Victorian-aesthetic steampunk, but if you want to lift your visuals from any other time period, be my guest. I’m going to love anything you do.

Prompt 5: Bellamy and Raven are exes who get back together (can be canon or any AU setting you can imagine).

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Graphic violence

Also: Have only seen the first 2 seasons, please have mercy. If you want to incorporate the characters playing DnD into any of the stories, be my guest - just putting this in here because I know some people in the group love it (Bellamy would play a paladin, fight me), but if you’re not into this stuff, absolutely don’t feel obliged.

6.

Url: shortitude @ AO3

Prompt 1: Modern coffee-shop AU where they meet because both of them has a Specific Table they like to sit at and usually their schedules do not coincide, but then because of fate (someone's wi-fi broke, there's plumbing work happening at home, etc) they have to go to the coffee shop and their table is taken, as are all the others. Luckily, the traitor who took their Specific Table is willing to share it, just for today. (And then every day after.) Friends to Lovers is preferred over Instant Attraction in this one. Even open-ended works. (Please, no pandemic.)

Prompt 2: Canon-based AU: Give me cottagecore survival to replace the weird plots that happened to this show after s2. The idea of the Delinquents settling in a village, life moving on, peace being brokered, etc etc. In the middle of it all, Bellamy and Raven rely on each other to rebuild, and fall in love. A lot.

Prompt 3: Five times Bellamy tried to show his love for Raven and failed, and one time she finally got the point. Oblivious That People Might Love Her!Raven is my tragic and problematic fave. A bonus: competence kink. Acceptable: any form of AU; I am not a stickler for canon.

Prompt 4 (optional): Pacific Rim AU; veteran Jaeger pilot gets pulled back into action because of a need to pull off a last fight against the apocalypse/alien invasion, drifts unexpectedly with the supermouthy, supersmart, very capable engineer/mechanic. Add as many characters from The 100 as you'd like into this, but I am very much more into the wholesome survival of all of them than I am about everyone except Braven dying.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Bellarke content if the Braven content is just a way for Bellamy to "get over" Clarke, be it failed relationship or unrequited one.

Also: Have seen season 1 and Season 2 in full; vaguely familiar with STUFF about how they ended up in space, and nothing beyond that because I literally don't care.

[unnursvanablog]

All the shows I watched in the second half of 2019.

Sort of in the order that I watched it in, or wrote the titles down in my bullet journal.

Shows that I finished 😄

Victoria: I find myself growing bored with this show with each passing season. The main couple didn't do much than other than fight this season, they introduced a bunch of new characters and drama that I just didn't care about. Stunning to look at though.

Jane the Virgin:  A solid finale for this show that could not have picked a better place to end. The story had sort of run out of steam and the soap opera plot and twists gotten a little tired. Made me cry in the end.

Absolute Boyfriend: Don't ask why I finished it. I don't even know. What a mess. Angel's Last Mission: Started quite well, lovely role reversal and I really enjoyed the characters. Got a tad too melodramatic for me towards the end.

Stranger Things 3: Oh, how I adore this show! It's almost just pure entertainment. The characters are great (although some of them were altered a little to fit the narrative), especially the new additions to the gang. Some parts of the show had lot more exciting narrative than others though, as the characters scatter around looking for clues. A nice mystery, the monster got to evolve a little. I cried my eyes out toward the end.

Hotel Del Luna: I adore this show for the most part. IU and Yeo Jin Goo are both great in their roles, and it always had this dark fairytale vibe going for it. Loved how big of a role Man Wol got and the role reversal. The drama wouldn't have worked without her at the reins. The drama seemed to struggle to end properly though.

The Living and The Dead: a nice to look at period drama, okay horror story, nothing more to say beyond that.

Medici: Masters of Florence: Binged the first season, was super into it. The second season was more of a struggle for me. Wasn't as into that story for some reason.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung: A cute little sageuk. The story is rather slow and steady, not many highs or super intense. Focused a whole lot on the female characters, which is always a plus in my book. The female friendship was great and made the drama great for me.

Gentleman Jack: Very well-made period drama, a beautiful love story that hits all the marks for a period drama romance, this time with two females. Colorful characters and the humor in it were great. Very witty. I adore it! It gave me everything I wanted out of a show like this one, and I can't wait for more.

Fleabag: Short but impact, funny, bleak and interesting and just get better as you spend more time with it. Each character messed up in their own way. You think about it long after you finish it. 

Schooled: Cute sitcom about teachers. Doesn’t leave much behind after watching it, but a nice, nonetheless.

Why Woman Kill: Everything a little over the top and a little camp, but it works for the story it’s trying to say. Colorful characters, lovely humor and the narrative is exciting for the most part. Tells three different story, with one of them being a lot duller than the other two.

The Great British Bake Off: Just the loveliest, coziest show. I drink way too much tea and eat way too while watching it. All of my favorites had left before the finale, which made it harder to watch.

My Country: Bloody, tragic. Lots of people killing each other with swords, backstabbing each other and all the other things you would expect from a show like this. Kept me on my toes, exciting all the way through. Gave me everything I wanted out of the show, pretty much.

Tale of Nodku: Ran out of a story towards the end, the first two episodes was where the magic were. Super cute and light and funny with a lot of great characters.

When The Camilla Blooms: Very slice-of-life, very cute and cozy to watch, but a little slow in the pacing at times. The story never truly won me over tho, even if the otp was very cute. Found most of the male characters annoying, and I hate the murder-mystery storyline.

Dickinson: Short, a somewhat nice but strange mix of maybe modern humor and period drama. Modern pop songs and speech. I liked it but didn't love it.

His Dark Materials: Has more time to explore the story from the books but doesn't always give itself time to do so. The narrative has pacing issues at times, as we jump between worlds and characters and due to budget issues, it can't do everything it needs to do. Pullmans world it very complex and it seems to be hard to convey all of its massages and depth into another medium, but this is a step in the right direction and there were a lot of scenes and moments I loved.

The Crown: Finished all three seasons. A stunning period drama, there is lot of effort put into it. Some episodes great, while other a bit more lackluster. Never got totally emerged into it, but a nice watch.

Bojack Horseman: I like how openly Bojack talks about talks about certain issues with a very dark humor, yet it's always kind of respectful. Seems to be ending at the right moment.

The Dragon Prince: I like this little fantasy show more and more as we go further into this world. It's sort of a refreshing fantasy, while also not straying too far away from the more traditional story that you might expect from a story like this.

The Witcher: Had pacing issues at the beginning as the story didn’t seem to find itself at first and just sort of jumps between narratives as it's introduces the world and the characters to you. A lovely adaptation though and gets a lot better as we go further along, and the story finds its footing.

Shows I didn’t finish: 😶

Sky Castle: Dark and dramatic and I could see how well made they were even before I started watching then. But half way through I seemed to have lost interest a bit. Maybe because I heard lackluster things about the finale. Might pick it up again.

My First First Love: Cute, but I kinda didn't care about it. Was never in the mood to watch it.

Arthdal Cronicals: I struggled through the first half, forced my way through the second half and never felt like picking it up when the third half rolled around. A mess. It tried so hard with the world-building that it forgot to start the story for good, or develop the characters that much, so when it was time for the story to actually start you just kinda didn't care about what was happening.

Joseon Marriage Agency: The story was uneven, kinda unfunny and silly at times and then way too serious at times. Cliché storyline. Didn’t do much new or interesting. I never really cared about what was happening. 

Sanditon: I was just never in the mood to watch it, and when I did, I was quite bored.

Melting Me Softly: Unbelievably unfunny, way to silly and messy narrative. I can't believe I watched like six episodes before I just gave up. I could not take it anymore. It was just so dump, but not in an entertaining way and never very sincere with anything. It seemed to be trying too much, yet not at all. Never touching a drama by this screenwriter again.

[cosmi-trashbin]

My Top 5 Favorite Ducktales 2017 Episodes (So Far)

I’m pretty new to DuckTales as a whole.

The reboot has been my official introduction to Scrooge McDuck, Duckburg, and otherwise. So, it may be awhile before I’m familiar with or better acquainted with the original comics and the first cartoon series, as well as other series referenced such as Darkwing Duck and Talespin. After getting caught up with this series, I’m definitely curious about the source material that bits and pieces of the toon makes loving references and homages to. Regardless, these picks are based on what I’ve personally liked and enjoyed about DuckTales 2017 so far.

5.) "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!"

Golden Lagoon is the reboot’s introduction to Scrooge’s old flame Goldie O’ Gilt. She’s cunning, she’s devious, she’s beautiful, and she’s one of the few ducks that can really give Scrooge the proverbial run for his money. It’s kind of fun to see how dramatic, complicated, and dysfunctional her relationship with Scrooge is. Scrooge and Goldie definitely gives off vibes of ‘This is the only man/woman I have genuine feelings for’ but it’s tempered by the idea of a perpetual cat-and-mouse chase.

Goldie and Scrooge sync up on so many things, but their attraction towards each other and the big deal-breaker are their respective obsessions with and opinions on treasure-hunting. For Goldie, treasure is the ultimate objective, she will go to any length to get it, and she’ll do whatever she thinks she needs to do to keep it. For Scrooge, he’s obsessed with gold and hoards treasure like a true miser, but he’ll pick a loved one over treasure every time if it comes down to those rough circumstances. It’s a bit of a toss-up as to how Goldie will react to or behave in certain situations. The ideal meeting for Scrooge and Goldie is a fairweather Indiana Jones venture with low stakes and only the other as their worst enemy. It’s more fun and the focus is on being both enchanted by and disgusted by what the other will do next.

Scrooge and Goldie had the spotlight for this episode, but Glomgold is a ridiculously welcome third wheel. Apparently, his jealousy of Scrooge’s love life is the kind of kicker to give him “Grade A Villain” casting for at least an episode. It was unexpectedly grim when Goldie slipped into that river of molten gold.

4.) "Who is Gizmoduck?!"

I love episodes of cartoons that focus on and follow another character of the cast for at least that one story.

This episode is pretty much the underdog story of how Fenton, the humble and starry-eyed intern, became the hero Gizmoduck. Previous episodes set up Fenton as an awkward, kind of over-compensating, but sympathetic figure. All he wants is to earn his boss and personal hero Gyro’s respect and get a few words of encouragement. Viewers learn that Gyro isn’t the only one Fenton’s trying to impress. His M’Ma, Officer Cabrera, is skeptic of Fenton’s role as an unpaid intern and his insistence that “it will lead to bigger, better things, I swear!” In short, Fenton is caught between his personal hopes and the expectations of others.

With how much respect Fenton holds for Gyro, the expected story was that he’d be let down by how the man doesn’t live up to the idealized image in Fenton’s mind. Instead, Fenton has been losing respect for and blind admiration of Gyro for awhile. Fenton’s attention shifted to Gyro’s highly experimental prototype suit of armor and what kind of potential said suit has. It’s no longer about gaining Gyro’s approval. It’s about figuring out who Gizmoduck is and what he can do. Whether he expected it or not, Fenton unexpectedly stumbled into his life’s purpose. Suddenly, Gizmoduck isn’t just an abstract idea or an idealized concept, Fenton is Gizmoduck. Since the episode shows things from Fenton’s perspective, Gizmoduck can be considered a key part of his own journey towards self-actualization.

Honestly, I consider “Gizmoduck” an example for why this toon has something for everybody. Kids have the triplets, Webby, and Lena. Older adults have Donald, Scrooge, and Beakley. And personally, as a twenty-something on a self-discovery journey, I relate to and empathize with Fenton.

3.) "From the Confidential Case Files of Agent 22!"

There was a scene in the very first episode where Webby posed dramatically in front of a Scrooge statuette. Part of me was pointing excitedly at the screen thinking “She’s Scrooge McDuck’s thematic echo for the current generation!”

I was a bit off. Arguably, both Louie and Webby have traits, goals, and motivations in common with Scrooge. In Webby’s case, she shares Scrooge’s intense enthusiasm and zeal for adventuring and the history attached to the relic/site they’re about to visit. The reason why she’s so drawn to and utterly fascinated by Scrooge is that she’s Scrooge’s kindred spirit for lack of a better description. “Confidential Case Files” is the most significant episode so far for fleshing out this particular idea and Webby’s specific bonding-with-Uncle-Scrooge episode.

Viewers are treated to a fun James Bond parody, the official reveal and confirmation of Mrs. Beakley’s background as a spy, and direct focus on Scrooge and Webby’s dynamic. It’s fun to see Webby’s and Scrooge’s vie to rescue Mrs. Beakley compared/contrasted with the first time Scrooge teamed up with Agent 22. Webby naturally goes for similar conclusions and approaches to island threats that Scrooge originally had, but her actions are tempered by Beakley’s shrewd instincts. Scrooge and Webby’s team-up is a showcase for what kind of impact Beakley had on both of them: Scrooge tries to be more conscientious and responsible of his actions and Webby’s reckless adventuring spirit is teamed up with thorough training from Beakley. In short, Webby benefits greatly from having both Scrooge and Beakley as her mentors and guardians.

Scrooge and the triplets have been a driving force in Webby opening up and exploring how to be more comfortable her strange, eccentric self. When Scrooge acknowledges how important bonding with her is, it’s pretty much on-screen confirmation that Webby and Beakley are extended members of his family.

2.) "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!"

Throughout the series, Lena kept trying to convince herself and her aunt Magica that she was just ‘using’ Webby and that she’s locked away all of her ‘weak’ emotions. But it was just lip service the entire time.

I’ve loved her character writing over the course of the entire first season. Viewers can see Lena’s struggle and empathize with how difficult it’d be to act against her aunt, but root her on that much more the bigger and more significant her defiance becomes. It starts with how ambiguous her reasons for saving Beakley were and grows into signs that she sincerely cares about her friendship with Webby, if not the McDuck family at large, when she uses her magic to destroy Magica’s money shark. Lena’s personal dilemma has been gaining her freedom vs the possibility of hurting someone completely innocent. Despite her position, when things get dire, Lena opts for the decision that helps/protects others from Magica.

Lena’s freedom was the most powerful incentive Magica had to keep the girl under her control. The nightmare is Lena’s bucket of cold water. It’s one thing for the McDucks to find out about how she was part of Magica’s plot, but the bigger realization is that Magica can and will hurt the people Lena cares about no matter what she does. Even worse, Lena was always just a tool for Magica and that if she can, Magica will use Lena to destroy the people Lena cares about and revel in it.

Watching Lena inadvertently destroy Webby permanently left a bigger impact than anything else Magica did. The build-up and execution of that scene, in addition to Lena’s relief at it all just being a dream, is hands-down one of the strongest scenes in this series. It’s satisfying to see Lena try to reach out to Scrooge for help. It adds to how fantastic a twist the Magica possession is and gives ample weight to how tragic Lena’s death is.

After “Shadow Wars,” I’m really hoping Lena returns at a later point in the series. While there’s a certain kind of narrative closure and gravity to the idea of Lena as Webby’s guardian spirit, the sappy part of me wants her to come back. I want the happy, fairytale ending of Scrooge adopting Lena, okay?

On a side note: It’s kind of interesting that plush doll Webby partly resembles her original character design from the 1987 DuckTales series. Maybe this scene could be interpreted as having a double meaning or something?

1.) "The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!"

This episode is an emotional gut-punch because of the ending montage. The entire season kept dropping bread crumbs about the missing Della subplot. As the story keeps building, it’s like a rubberband is slowly getting pulled to the point of snapping with Scrooge’s confession about the Spear of Selene. In the heat of the moment, the triplets directly blame Scrooge for losing their mom and old wounds are ripped open for Donald. It’s understandable why everyone is so emotional and the big fallout that follows. As if seeing the triplets’ hearts break wasn’t enough, viewers see Scrooge’s side of the story: He was getting used to the idea of having family join him on adventures, building the Spear was a gesture of goodwill and hopes for how grand future adventures would be, how everything went wrong when Della took off against his warnings, and how desperately he tried to get Della back home safely.

Losing Della broke and devastated Scrooge just as much as it did everyone else. Over the course of adventuring with his niece and nephew, he was starting to become more open-minded and open to others in general. He already took people under his wing if they had interesting ideas and rebellious ideas that stuck out to him, but even then, they were just colleagues or employees. Della and Donald started to convince him to consider others, family especially, as someone he could trust, confide in, and learn from just as much as he could teach them. Seeing Scrooge sink back down into that big arm chair was the dramatic climax of his character arc in this series; a weighty echo of this series’ fantastic take on the classic ‘curmudgeonly Scrooge’ story.

In short: This episode’s writing tugged at my heartstrings and made me feel things.

[utterlyinevitable]

Well well well only one more month to go of prompts before I must saddle myself to a book idea 😬

Month 5 stats:

DWHAF 14,635 words

Fairytale 9,847

Flatmate 2,094

What if 4,833 / 10,152 w Bryce fics

FATL 5,076

Always Never 3,164 / 44,126 w fics

Lovers 2,098

This month I’ve been living in the What If universe. Flatmate and What If have the same vibes so I’m thinking I’ll retire Flatmate for now. My mind also thinks doing a modern sex and the city with flatmate seems like a good idea 🤔

Eventually I may put all the poems/prose I’ve written for Tragically Twenty into one doc and see what happens. I’m pushing 30 so gotta finish this idea in the next two years 😅

I think Fairytale is definitely going to be one of the fics I focus on this month to see how much I can create for them. There’s layers to the story idk what to do with. I’m also not sure I want to keep it period? I like them not having cell phones and proper cars and living a small wealthy village life. I want this story to just be about friendship, growing up and how expectations can change/ruin a good thing. Ambrose and Eliza have potential, I just don’t want to harp on the getting married bit (though that’s the driving factor for a period piece). I’m all 🤷🏻‍♀️ about what’s going on at this point. We’ve got the bones of Ambrose being jealous, Eliza being selfless, them going on adventures and being bonded, then she is the one that goes and gets the “more” they’ve always talked about and he resents her for it.

For my other focuses I’m not sure if I want to write a self indulgent romcom about that For Always or Never Control Room Game for Lucia. I have absolutely no idea how it ends but I know it ends badly. It’s like the sexual Hating Game without the happy ending 😅

DWHAF trilogy seems like the most obvious to continue. It’ll be somewhat easiest to write because it’s rooted in personal experience. I just don’t know what else to make the story about besides mental health post termination and how it can be destructive to more than just the woman’s mental health. Any ideas? Or am I just over complicating this?

I really love What If. I know if I wrote a book it would be all about Hannah being an enigma and falling for Theo and hating herself for it. She’ll harbor all the what if’s and could bes from her past with Bryce. Essentially it’ll be a love triangle between herself, the boy who’s here, and the boy who never realized he was an option. I think this is a lot like FATL but sadder. Hannah’s got a lot of armor and trauma, is nomadic and likes the world she’s carefully curated in her head, whether those memories are real or fabricated it doesn’t matter. How she presents she tries so hard to be. For some reasons, somehow, she’s met two boys a decade apart who could see through all that.

If anyone has any suggestions on what routes I should pursue, I’m all ears! 🥰

taglist: @mercury84choices @forallthatitsworth @withbeautyandrage @reputaytion-xiii

‘182 Days of Prompts’ Masterlist

In which I take a few of my favorite prompt lists and write an unedited micro story every day for as long as I can. 

AKA Dom tries to figure out the concept of her first book. 

storylines outlined

prompts: micro story list 🔹 things you said list 🔹 one word writing prompts 🔹 soft sentence starters 🔹 potentially romantic prompts

FATL 

7. silent fury.  |   18. flinders  |   45. svelte

65. said with too many miles between us

85. said at the top of your lungs

108. wings | 136. tend | 

What If  

 OH Fic  

Flatmate  

3. i trusted you  |  12. candles. | 21. collapse

24. tender | 27. hide | 34. bauble

38. soak | 40. pet | 51. said at 1am

54. said over the phone | 147. “You always do that. Pull away when I get close…”

148. “For once, will you just look at me?”

150. “Wait! Please - I’m sorry.”

Fairytale  

111. chocolate | 

DWHAF Saga

5. help.  |   20. alone, finally  |   29. sweat

36. total control  |   43. undone  |  53. said too quietly

55. didn’t say at all | 63. said at the kitchen table

97. numb  |  117. afterlife  | 138. “You’re not in bed. I came looking for you.”

141. [hugs for a very long time]

143. “If something happens to you - I couldn’t…”  |  144. “You’re not breathing. Breathe” 

Tragically Twenty 

> old tragically twenty blog <

2. this was a mistake  |  17. empty  |   23. sated

28. something about [them]  |  33. saccharine 

48. rampage | 58. said when you were crying

60. said that made me feel like shit  |   73. said from your conscious

114. stranger  |  130. wishing

An Infinite List of Lovers and a Teacup Full of Soulmates 

1. don’t leave  |  8. sunbathing  |  11. drastic

15. trembling hands  |  19. sea change  |  25. senseless

33. saccharine  |  41. comfort food  |  49. nightfall

57. said while we were driving | 62. said when you thought i was asleep

112. nostalgia |  122. hand | 135. notice

Stories for Songs  

9. falling  |  11. drastic  |  16. in dreams

TWC Fic

13. too loud

Life of Anita

50. accost  |  100. “Never will they hurt you. As long as I’m alive.”

For Always or Never

61. said when you were drunk  |  66. things you said with no space between us

67. things you said that i wish you hadnt

86. said but didn’t mean  |  91. first

99. kiss  |  110. rules

[barddom]

The Tempest

I started my reading list with The Tempest because it’s the first one in my copy of The Complete Works. It’s also a little bit poignant because Tempest is one of those plays that People believe “means” something about Shakespeare (or, as he will be colloquially referred to on this blog, Billy Shakes). It was probably one of his last plays, and because it’s about an old man giving up his craft, People say that it is about Shakespeare giving up The Theatre.

I don’t know about all that. What I do know that Shakespeare had daughters, and that the way he wrote father-daughter relationships is very particular and interesting. However, using his plays to try and expose truths about the playwright can be really unproductive. I’ve tried it and it’s hard and usually wrong. That being said, the plot is pretty wild.

[what follows is a plot summary. for hasty, last minute thoughts, skip to the end.]

Act One

Surprise! It’s about a tempest! We open in Act 1 with a storm, and a ship caught in the fustercluck.

The Boatswain and Shipmaster are like, “Nooo!” and the passengers are like, “Please God, I don’t want to die at sea! I want to die on land!” (1.1.63-65)

These passengers are: Alonso, the King of Naples, his brother Sebastian, his son Ferdinand,  his counsellor Gonzalo, and Antonio, the Duke of Milan. Basically, the who’s who of Italy.

After this expository storm scene, we jump to a nearby island to meet our protagonists, Prospero (old, weird, presumably funky smelling), and his daughter, Miranda (young, nubile). Also, Miranda is the only female character in the play, which means we’re off to a really great start of continually failing the Bechdel test.

“Papa,” Miranda says, probably. “What is up with this freaky storm? Is that a shipwreck over there? Also, who am I?” (1.2)* (See notes at the bottom re: Miranda’s questions, memory, and this entire exchange.)

Here’s the deal: Miranda is fifteen, and has never met anyone other than Prospero, her father, or Caliban, the dude he keeps chained up in a cave for reasons that will become clear (but make that fact no less alarming).

Prospero, on today of all days, decides to be honest with Miranda about his past and her identity. This is a classic Billy Shakes move: exposing the noble lineage of a character to move the plot along. The sad tragic backstory is this: [cue violins]

Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan. Antonio is his evil, scheming, usurping brother. (Gasp!) Back when Miranda was a toddler, Prospero spent all his time reading magic books, and his brother was like, “I should be the duke!” King Alonso was in on it as well, and they shoved Prospero and Miranda on a boat and left them out at sea. Gonzalo gave them food, clothes, and water, but more importantly, the magic books! (Thanks, Gonzalo.) They eventually made it to The Island, where Prospero was like, “Chill,” and set up camp for the rest of time. (1.2.36-173) (It’s a long story.)

So the storm is Prospero’s revenge. He’s gonna really make life hard for the guys on the boat. (1.2.180). Miranda tries to ask another question, but her dad spells her to sleep instead, naturally.  

This is where we meet Tempest’s real MVP: the spirit Ariel. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see him in action just yet. Instead we hear his tragic backstory. [Violins again, please.]

Before Prospero came to the island, it was ruled over by an evil witch named Sycorax. (Notice how men who practise magic are good magicians and women who practise magic are evil witches? Yeah, that’s a thing.) Prospero killed Sycorax, freed Ariel from the tree he was captive in, and then immediately enslaved him again. (1.2.257-293)

Prospero has promised Ariel that he will free him, as long as he follows through with the plan to separate, torment, and punish the shipwreck victims. Ariel’s like, “Already on it, boss.” And he flies away. (1.2.300)

When Miranda wakes, they go visit Caliban, Sycorax’s son! Wild. He collects their firewood and complains about it, mostly.

Meanwhile, Ariel has found Prince Ferdinand and is luring him in with sweet music. Miranda, who has never seen a man who is not a) super old or b) horribly disfigured, immediately falls madly in love with him on sight. Too bad, so sad, Prospero locks him up.

Act Two

We open on Antonio and Sebastian, who – I’m not gonna lie – I have always gotten a weird evil lovers vibe from. Is that just me? Probably.

They put their heads together and decide to kill the king, who is super bummed out because he thinks his son is dead. So if he dies, then Sebastian would be the new King of Naples! And Antonio would be the Duke of Milan and they could have slumber parties! Flawless plan. But as they go to behead the sleeping men, Gonzalo wakes up.

“Hey guys, what are those swords for?” he asks.

“Uh… we heard a monster?” they say, you know, like liars.

They don’t know how right they are, as we cut to–

Caliban, who is chopping wood (naturally) and starts to soliloquize on how much he hates Prospero, which is pretty understandable. I mean, a guy comes and kills your mother, steals the land you grew up on and were destined to inherit, and then enslaves you? That’s a huge bummer.

Enter Trinculo, the court jester, who was also in the shipwreck. The scene that follows is slapstick AF, providing a much needed break in the action of Slavery this and Drowned Souls that. He and Caliban end up under the same cloak for shelter from the storm, and Trinculo says, “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows!” (2.2.42.)

Too true, Trinculo. Too true.

Another survivor, the butler Stephano, rocks up, only he has a whole lot of wine with him. Get in, buddy. He thinks that Caliban and Trinculo look like a weird beast, and decides the best course of action is to feed it the rest of the wine. Caliban gets smashed, immediately. Then Trinculo pops out and says, “Stephano, buddy! It’s me!” Happy friends are reunited, and now have a drunk, pliable, and desperate Caliban believing that they are gods and that wine is divine nectar, and that they’ll be able to kill Prospero! Sounds logical.

Act Three

Because there’s not much to do on an island populated by three people, Ferdinand is the new Caliban and is in charge of woodcutting. He waxes poetic about how the work is hard, but his love for Miranda makes it all okay. (i.e. “This work is hard, but I am harder, eh-hey!”) (3.1.1-15)

It’s cool though because it’s totally mutual. Prospero isn’t too keen on it, and is spying on them from a distance like the creepy, overprotective father he most certainly is. He’s conflicted because Miranda has never been happier, but also his baby girl is growing up! [violins, again]

The important thing about this scene, I think, is the language about servitude. We’ve seen a whole lot of different kinds of servitude in the play so far - mostly, you know, involuntary. Miranda and Ferdinand exchange willing, voluntary vows, declaring their love for and service to each other. (See, kids? Love is a prison.)

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, Stephano and Trinculo are getting Caliban even drunker.

More importantly, Ariel comes in, invisible to them, and plays them some kickass tunes on his pipe. This is where one of the best known passages from the play comes from.

Caliban

Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices, That, if I then had wak’d after a long sleep, Will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak’d, I cried to dream again.

(3.2.130-137)

I love this part because this is where we finally start seeing the island for what it is: a haunted fairytale world. Caliban, who’s lived there all his life, doesn’t know what the noises are, or even the spirits that make them. His connection to the island is so innate and deep that he doesn’t question this mystery, just accepts it. It’s *clenches fist* so beautiful.

Back with the merry group of Italian Nobles, shit is about to get real. They’re busy complaining about their feet being sore, or whatever, and then… “solemn and strange music; and PROSPERO on the top, invisible.”

Strange shapes enter the stage with a banquet. Sebastian is like, “Cool, I believe in unicorns and fairies now, this is absolutely nucking futs.” (3.3.22)

Before the nobles can eat, though, the greatest ever stage direction I’ve ever read in my life.

Enter ARIEL, like a harpy; claps his wings upon the table; and, with a quaint device, the banquet vanishes.

First of all: enter Ariel, like a harpy? Can you think of anything more beautiful and terrifying than seeing a giant bird-spirit with an enormous wingspan emerge from the air, slam its fists down in front of your face, and vanish everything there? This is why Ariel is my MVP. He’s just such a drama queen.

I’m also hugely fascinated by the “quaint device” situation, here. There’s a good chance my MA thesis will be on magic/witchcraft on stage. As Tempest is a late play, probably 1610-11, it was written and performed under King James, who was obsessed with witchcraft. Magic tricks weren’t just slight of hand, back in the day, they were fully, completely real. The audience, the actors, and the king all believed in the supernatural.

Anyway, Ariel makes this big speech about how he is a spirit of vengeance who is there to punish them for what they did to Prospero, before vanishing in thunder.

Act Four

“Sorry I, like, imprisoned you, or whatever,” Prospero says to Ferdinand. “But you can totally marry my daughter. As long as you don’t bone her until after the wedding. Or else I’ll do… something. Something magic and weird.” (4.1.1-23)

“Cool,” says Ferdinand.

Ariel, when Prospero asks, brings down the spirits/deities Iris, Ceres, and Juno to bless the union. Then some nymphs, then Reapers. Which reminds Prospero suddenly! Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo were on their way to kill him! Yikes.

With the help of Ariel’s trusty invisibility cloak, they manage to spy on them, and then set dog/hound spirits on them, and scare them away. Too easy.

Act Five

Finally, Ariel is going to be set free! After god knows how many years stuck in a tree stump, and thirteen years at Prospero’s beck and call, he’s going to be set free!

Only no.

What proceeds is a super sad scene where Ariel, telling Prospero how the Merry Italians are faring (spoiler: not well), feels a deep tug on his ol’ sympathy wire. Or, rather, “Mine would, sir, were I human.” (5.1.19)

Who is the monster and who is the man? Huh? HUH?

While Ariel goes off to fetch the shipwreck victims, Prospero makes an awesome speech about how cool and powerful his magic is, and how, alas, he is going to give it up. Because he cannot be a wizard and a Duke, can he? Also, it seems to me that his main power was, you know, enslaving people and spirits who can do his bidding. Not exactly kosher.

Ariel returns with the Italians and Prospero finally confronts them. Of course, they’re like, “Are you real? I’ve seen so much crazy crap today I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a figment of my imagination.”

But no, he has a pulse, and he has aged, and he is real!

He confronts everyone, left and right. Sebastian, Antonio, Alonso - nobody is safe! (Except for Gonzalo who he’s chill with.)

He even gives them a twist by saying, “I’ve lost my daughter…” and while they’re like, “NO!” he says, “PSYCHE! I meant because she married the prince! Booyah!”

Meanwhile, Ariel repairs the ship, fills it with supplies, and sends the captain to pick everyone up.

“FREE ME!!!!” he seems to be screaming, through clenched teeth.

Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano all emerge, in stolen clothes, reeking of wine and, probably, their own piss. Everyone heads back to the ship, bound for Milan.

But first - “My Ariel, chick / That is thy charge. Then to the elements / Be free, and fare thou well!”

Finally. Finally.

Epilogue.

To be fair to those who think Prospero is kinda sorta Billy Shakes himself, Prospero’s epilogue sounds a lot like an old man giving up his trade, there on the stage. In fact, he begs to be set free from it.

Really, it was Prospero who was the slave all along. A slave to his circumstances, his trade, his life. Heavyhanded? Yes. An attitude that maybe diminishes the suffering endured by the actual slaves in the story? Probably. But in the end, it’s Prospero who needs to be freed from the shackles of the play, of magic, of fury, a quest for revenge, and his life on the island.

What makes Prospero’s epilogue sound like a speech being given by Shakespeare is that he asks the audience for permission to step down: “As you from crimes would pardon’d be, / Let your indulgence set me free.” (19-20)

Only can the audience set him free - not the other characters. The epilogue happens for us, not for the sake of the plot on stage. It is our job to pardon Prospero for his crimes. Our job to let Shakespeare put down his pen, I guess.

My real interest in Tempest is, as I said, in the stagecraft of it, and the implications of performing, or re-enacting the supernatural on stage. I’ll likely think about this more when it comes to things like Macbeth, Midsummer, or any play with supernatural elements, like Hamlet.

Other fascinating points:

colonialism/land ownership

colonialism and language - (Caliban: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t Is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you For learning me your language!”)

that Ariel was freed from the stump implies that he was captive in the land. I’m sure there’s some kind of eco-criticism about this, somewhere, but I don’t know if I care enough about eco-criticism to follow it up

Memory

Antonio has convinced himself that he did not wrongfully usurp his brother, for instance.

Miranda cannot remember… anything? (See Kevin Ohi (2015), ‘Forgetting the Tempest’, in Dead Letters Sent: Queer Literary Transmission (pp. 49-66). University of Minnesota Press.)

The way in which Prospero constantly qualifies the story (1.2), asking her if she’s listening, if she’s paying attention, etc. implies that she might not be listening, that she perhaps can’t pay attention, that she might not remember. Despite knowing that the shipwreck victims are alive and safe, Miranda let’s Ferdinand believe that his father is dead - or, perhaps, she does not remember that Alonso is alive.

Caliban’s memory of his mother, of his island, of his childhood - it leads us to the question of who is the custodian of knowledge, of memory, for a place?

Performances and rituals

magic, marriage, masques (oh, i like the sound of that.)

And yeah. What a plot summary. Catch me never writing one again.

Things to accompany The Tempest:

Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed

The Little Mermaid and/or Pocahontas

Julie Taymor’s The Tempest (2010) where Helen Mirren plays Prospera.

“The Island: Come and See/The Landlord’s Daughter/You’ll Not Feel the Drowning” by The Decemberists.

[just-seheun]

bye 2017, hey 2018

I feel like I always get around to writing an end of the year post on tumblr even if i never really even get to use this site during the year.

well I guess it’s that time of the year (or new year I should say) where I try and look back as well as look forward.

let’s see what happened in 2017...

- let’s say, for one, ‘Murica as a whole kinda went through a lot of bullshit (still is honestly) - we’re getting rid of DACA, the tax cut bill was passed (holla @ the rich 10% and say bye to the other 90%), we’re slowly trying to get rid of/fuck up the EPA despite climate change being very real (if category 4-5 hurricanes occurring back to back is what we’d call “real”), and ya know just the firing of members of the HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention council in the government - to name a few (not to mention, continued police brutality, racial discrimination/injustice (tbh just racism as a whole), and dumb ass fucking people who - ugh 

well, moving on to maybe more lighthearted moments...

- I tried to infiltrate the Asian community a little more with (mixed, mostly unsuccessful) efforts. Idk man I tried. I think I did make stronger relationships with the Asian friends I started out with so, I think that’s definitely a major plus. (*insert thumbs up here*)

- also, kinda along with that one, I think I dived into more adventurous food/hangout spots in terms of finding kinda Asian hubs and places I vibe with (an accomplishment of last year too that I think worked and flourished even more in 2017). 

- Kind of cooled down with the whole going out scene. I still go out occasionally and have a pretty good time but it’s definitely dwindled down. We definitely started the year going out more but like I said, definitely calmed down a lot. 

- Went to my first Terp Thon FTK! Started my TTPT journey with the 1 million dollar year - pretty crazy and amazing. It was truly and unreal experience for all those kids and wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Super sad I won’t be there for Terp Thon 2018 though. 

- oh! successfully (kinda) resurrected my GPA from a sad 2.7 (result of getting a 1.7 from failing calc2 and getting a D in bio) to a nice and solid 3.23 which I am tbh very proud of. A 3.8 and 3.88 (technically straight As - woo hooooo) these last two semesters - yay! Just also improving in school as a whole. I’m really starting to enjoy what I’m doing. yeah, spring ‘17 sem was more chill and fall ‘17 sem was more like hell but, overall I’m pretty excited about the work and studies I get to do. (like hell as in 3 2900-3200-word papers in the span of like 2 weeks) 

- Another academic thing, I added Art History (officially) as a Double Major which probably means a winter term here or there but still very exciting. I also feel like I’ve really learned a lot about the fundamentals of art history that I really felt like I was missing this whole time. Just like the basic timeline of movements and key artists from Burgundian Netherlands to Venice to Rococo to Realism to Cubism (and all its various forms) to Der Blauer Reiter to Contemporary and everything in between. All cool stuff - definitely makes you pay attention more to dates and stuff when visiting galleries and museums and just makes me feel more in the know if nothing else. 

- Again, another academic thing, I’m officially in the English Honors Program - woo hoo! This does, however, mean I’ll be writing a 25-page thesis but honestly it’ll be fine, I’m fine, it’s all fine... I mean I don’t really know what I’m gonna write about and I have to skype my professor for like 2 months in the summer but hey, it’s all good and if it’s not I’ll just figure it out (*insert nervous sheepish grin here*)

- Kind of started the process of cutting off 아빠 which take that with a grain of salt. It’s a mess tbh, I don’t even know what to say honestly. 

- Finally left Slaveway for good. It really tbh started becoming too much of a risk and just uncomfortable for me to stay. Not an awful job (despite the shit customers a lot of the time) but I just couldn’t stay longer.

- I feel like there was also definitely a more solidifying of sustained relationships and a distancing in others. I don’t know definitely still a lot just up in the air and a lot of familiar faces but a lot of new things and stronger bonds in 2017. 

(now, post looking at my snapchat memories from the year and realizing how much shit I did this year... lol)

- I went to 2 concerts (kinda); one being 2 Chainz and all of the many acts that came before him at Art Attack 2017 and the other being Khalid’s bomb American Teen Tour concert at the Filmore that I initially just went to because Sam wanted to go and Anh had an extra ticket that ended up being real lit. 

- Had like a little fame after writing an Odyssey Online article about Moco which was kinda cool and kinda ridiculous lol. I also just stopped writing for them all together after like less than one sem rip. 

- Also realizing I went to a lot of really cool exhibits and art-related things this past year which I’m really happy about actually. Yayoi Kusama’s exhibit was crazy amazing and well worth the wait. Artec house was really cool and just visiting the NGA, the PMA, the Hirshorn, the Freer/Sackler with a fresh and more knowledgeable outlook was really nice. Also starting those solo museum trips during the sem was really nice no matter how short-lived they were. 

Honestly this year was very different from 2016 in many many ways. I think there’s been a lot more growth in this past year but I and the community around me definitely went through a lot. 

- Something I realized this past year in unfortunate circumstances, was the prevalence of loss and losing individuals close to your community. I never thought things like death, loss, grief, and suicide were things that I would ever come across (let alone, this often) at this age. We really did lose a lot of young lives that were filled with so much potential and hope this past year especially in this community, including an old classmate. Things that we always thought to be intangible and far away landed right in front of us and I don’t think a lot of us including myself still know how to grasp all of that. It’s hard to see the people around you, the ones you grew up with and always had by your side whether you knew them well or not, lead such a tragic fate. This year made us think about mental health more and more. You realize in the most unfortunate circumstances that everyone has there own demons that they’re fighting. No one is free from them. Even in regards to Jonghyun, it affects everyone in the darkest of ways. 

This past year really made me think more about how fragile life truly is. I’ve dealt with and still deal with my own demons and the dark thoughts of my past and truly wonder especially in light of all the tragic events from this past year, what things would be like. It would be a lie if I said that they didn’t make me wonder about past thoughts of my own more. 

I think it’s sad to think that even as I wonder about all this, I still feel empty about it in the midst of being unable to process it all. I feel like in a way, whether as a result from school distracting me and my own self protecting or shielding itself, I’ve grown numb. I feel like my own mind is trying to avoid emotions at all cost in a way that’s pushing away emotion and problems by just not dealing with them (which by no means is the right way to deal with things at all bc you’re not dealing with anything). I don’t know, I guess I’m getting by and I’m not as broody as I was in the past but I wouldn’t say I’ve improved, I’ve just kind of paused in a way I guess. 

I want to end this post with a brighter look toward the future though. I think 2018 has a lot of potential waiting to happen with lots of things to look forward to that I think should be highlighted in this post. After all, a new year means moving forward, not burying your past necessarily but, using the past to cast light on the future. 

So with that, things to look forward to in 2018...

- First things first, STUDY ABROAD IN ROME for Spring ‘18 sem! I mean it doesn’t get more exciting and new than this honestly. Yes, I am super stressed and there’s so much stuff to do besides the fact that I’m paranoid and don’t know what to expect at all. I’ve never traveled abroad in my life, let alone lived away from home (ever) so this is just gonna be absolutely nuts tbh. I have lots of hopes though. Do I want a fairytale, movie-like experience? Lowkey, of course. But I also try to be a harsh realist when I can so, we’re staying generally tame about our study abroad fantasies lol. Still, I’m hoping this will be a chance to make new friends and hopefully make some of them in my art history classes as well as in the school in general. It’s been a hard few years in the whole making friends department seeing as how all my past roommates are very antisocial. Yes, I myself am also very much like this but that doesn’t mean my internal self doesn’t want a lot of friends lol. I’m excited to take a class with Evelyn and just experience the city while hopefully staying safe and smart. It’ll be a crazy and hopefully amazing semester with a lot of travel and just a lot of fun before my senior year. I could go on and on about all my thoughts and hopes for this coming semester but, I’ll just leave it at that (your girl really needs to sort her life out/figure out what to pack/pack/schedule the rest of my home excursions/get her documents together/everything else. Bottom line: we’re a mess lol.

- Hopefully a summer internship. Forreal forreal like actually. Your girl was stuck at safeway again this past year and we’re not having that shit again. Nope nuh-uh, not happening. Not this year mm mm, no. We’re gonna find one. We have to - it’s gonna happen. Trust and believe. Trust and believe! 

- Also turning 21 this year (although, this probs won’t be exciting seeing as how I’ll be legal all semester while I’m abroad, then come home and be nonlegal for another like 2 months and then be legal again). Look, I’m just looking forward to getting mimosas and going to bars without memorizing random identity information from Illinois. 

- Also 2018 is really gonna be a year for me to REALLY think about me. In all contexts, really. Academically; figuring out what it is I really want from my education and working toward making the most out of it, finding a real path for myself in terms of grad school and other things school-related. Lifewise; gauging how I’m going to continue my life. Graduation is coming faster than I can think and by this time next year, I’ll be gearing up for my last semester as an undergrad. That is so wild. 2018 is really gonna be me trying to buckle down, I suppose. Trying to cloud out my peers and their success/failures/paths and really try to hone in on myself. It’ll be a challenge but we’ve got to start somewhere, right?

All in all a lot was thrown onto the table in 2017 in a lot of different ways. It’s been a different kind of roller-coaster with much much more to come after this year (my favorite number year really, 2017). 2018 will be a test of time and one of the biggest challenges but, also hopefully a year with a lot of hope and potential for success. Wishing everyone the brightest new year with health, opportunities, growth, and burgeoning happiness! Cheers to all 2018 has to offer all of us and to all the things 2017 gave us!