#villaige

[libraryofbaxobab]

October 27, 2022:

Pretty standard puritan cult vs witches narrative, except that there are more than two sides to it. Maximum foreshadowing ensures there are few surprises, and the themes are real clear. The ending overstays. But, like, it's fine, it's decent 6.5/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

[nefarious-looking-banana-duck]

new chapter goes crazy never knew cale henituse was a disney princess

[forestfan69]

Doomed medieval yuri

[ghostliest-ghosty-ghost-bastard]

Shout-out to the time when I was like 14 and working a job under the table after being kicked out and a 6' something Russian woman in fucking heeled boots came to the store, called me sweetheart and sir (🏳️‍⚧️) in the same sentence while asking about our canes, then left. You hanged my brain chemistry, mam

[ilikelookingatthings]

Anyone else kind of hope in the next Trolls movie they might properly adress the trolls becoming Grey thing?

because in the first movie they make a point that Among all of the trolls in the village Branch is the only Grey one due to the trauma of feeling like it was his fault his granny died and he felt it was the music's fault because he lured the Bergans over because he wasn't paying attention. He avoided hug time and seemed to put up a front to push the others away...but by the end of the movie he was okay with hug time and was able to bring back everyone else's colors and got his colors which were much brighter back.

and we saw all the trolls go grey and demoralized when poppy got sarcastic and felt hopeless....but Branch was living in a relatively peaceful settlement for ages and wasn't doomed to be eaten and was atcvely doing his best to prepare and fight against those type of scenerios...so its not just the hopeless factor right?

but what I don't get is Branch goes from super grey to super bright blue...but then in the following movies he was bright but then got darker?

like on one hand in the second movie he felt a bit off to me because he was supposedly more positive due to not being grey anymore so felt like he had more difficulty calling poppy out..but what I don't get is he is clearly much darker in this third movie then he was before? what happened to his colors? why did no one bring it up?

like does it come and go? can he shift his colors now depending on how he feels? but we also saw how there WAS a bias about him being kind of weird and grey so why does him being greyier not get adressed by anyone if those bright colors f his were so hard won in the first movie?

also what about his brothers? I know its been a while since they've been around branch so they don't know the specifics about him being grey before(which feels odd they never brought up) but do they not think his colors aren't as bright as they used to be?

also his brothers' colors (aside from bruce/spruce and maybe clay's hair) seemed to be not as bright...like their bods seem to bathc but werent they all bright colored before on the body? did they just naturally fade?

did his brothers turn Grey at all?

cuz honestly it seem difficult to get a troll sad enough for them to be grey..let alone stay Grey...and considering all of troll villaige went through the trauma of having been systematically eaten for a LONG LONG time and the only Gray one was Branch...like maybe its because he was a impressionable child it stuck harder? but I have questions...

like they make a clear point that princess/queen Viva has strong similarities/paranoia to Branch but she also clearly hasn't lost her colors...is it because she was forcing herself to stay positive and be strong for the other trolls she was protecting? but what about Clay? he has bright hair but has his odd sad hut he was choosing as his room and is the one who seemed to be doing the fire exits and the like..and Viva seems way more traumatized....but they at least seemed to semi listen to him...

so is it a socialization things? like everyone in viva's kingdom still seemed on edge so Clay got to actually feel more listened to and included unlike how all of the trolls kind of brushd off all of branch's warnings due to his 'the red coats are coming' vibe and his dismissal of their choice to cope with trying to forget and move on?

Bruce/Spruce has the love of his life and his family with the muppets so still seemed pretty bright....but i'm definitly stll curious.

especially about John Dory...because he was the eldest child and he left but when he came back he literally thought EVERYONE had died...and he had no way to know if his other brothers were alive either. He seems to be pretty upbeat honestly with some similar vibes to Poppy...but he definitely seems duller...but we know branch turning grey definitely was connected to seeing the grandma die/be taken...but also since most of the trolls had to deal with the bergens they all must have lost someone at sometime to the Bergens but they weren't Grey....but if Branch turned Grey over the grandma...its hard to imagine John Dory NOT turning Grey afetr thinking every troll he knew was dead including grandma and bitty B and most probably his other brothers...

but did he get his colors back recently after hearing about branch and teh pop trolls after they were discovered in the second movie after complete isolation? or was it earlier due to taking care of his catterpillar bus?

like...I'm kindof curious about how they can adress the grey aspect.

though I am applauding the implication of them showing the hug time aspect isn't just for socialization and care...it seems to be a biological need as basically having all his energy sucked out/talent...floyd came back to life after they were all around him giving him a hug...it wasn't even a 'spray my talent on him to see of it would bring him back' thing...it was literally hugs that saved flyod which gets so interesting thinking about all the other hug times as well as the affects on branch who avoided hug times as much as possible when he turned grey...also...how come we don't really see the other genre's of trolls with the hug time braclets...

also was it just me or were the trolls using their hair less in the third movie?

[alpaca-clouds]

Worldbuild Differently: Unthink Family

This week I want to talk a bit about one thing I see in both fantasy and scifi worldbuilding: Certain things about our world that we live in right now are assumed to be natural, and hence just adapted in the fantasy world. With just one tiny problem: They are not natural, and there were more than enough societies historically that avoided those pitfalls.

What is a family? What do you imagine, when I say "family"?

Does your first idea include father, mother, two kids and a white picket fence? Even though you are kinda queer and do not even aim for something like that? Yeah, see. Because we got pretty much brainwashed into assuming this was what family looked like. Father, mother, two kids. Heteronormative, mononormative, one generation.

And here is the issue: This is not how humans have evolved to live. And the absolute insanity is, that the modern world might be even less viable for this model, and yet is the one that is enforcing this idea.

Because this model is so normalized, we will constantly see it show up in fantasy and scifi settings, even though it is as ridiculous for the world to be like that. Why would people in the scifi setting live like that? Why would people in a medieval world life like that - even though they historically did rarely do it like this?

See, historically there are usually two models of familiar living:

The multigenerational household

Village as family

The multigenerational household is what was probably most common in Europe during historical times. No matter whether you go back to ancient times or medieval times. Usually a lot of families would actually live with grandparents, aunt/uncle, their kids, the parents, and the parents' kids as well. It was usually a lot more sensible given that this way there was always someone around to take care of kids that were too young to be alone and too young to help working with either the job, or on the fields.

The alternate version of this, that a variety of indigenous cultures also had. Instead of having a very certain family unit, some also had the concept of a village as a family. Meaning: Kids were raised by everyone in a villaige/group together. It does not matter who are the blood parents, everyone is there for those kids, and everyone is responsible for them. In some cultures this had even been so far formalized that a lot more than two people are considered the mother and father of any given child.

This modern idea of father, mother, two children and the white picket fence? Yeah, that was something that was created in the 1950s. Really. It is not even a hudnred years old.

The idea for the small nuclear family was developed for capitalism. Because they assumed that the nuclear family would be better consumers, they pushed for it. See, when the parents to no longer live with the grandparents, we have already parted one household into two. So both of those households need to buy a house, need to buy a lot of appliances, and so on. More stuff sold. More stuff consumed. Yay, capitalism. (Please note how sarcastic and bitter I am sounding.)

And... Honestly, here on the end of this big I am just thinking to myself: I am begging you. Please, please, unless you write a capitalist scifi world, don't do a father-mother-children family model. It does not work. It is not sustainable. It is not what humans have evolved to do. And in a pseudo historical setting it is simply just bad worldbuilding, that does make no sense whatsoever.

You will notice that I am not gonna do examples here, because... Honestly, I am struggling to think of many books that do not use the nuclear family as the standard model in their worldbuilding.

And I am sorry. Even if you do not wanna do polyamory... The nuclear family is a toxic construct of modern western capitalism, and it is destroying families and people everywhere. Stop propagating it in your books, just because you have swallowed to cool-aid too much.

If you take anything from this week of worldbuilding advice, it is really this: Don't worldbuild around a model of family, that is hurting people, after being invented to sell more stuff to people in the US.

[bellybursterhungrythirster]

That stupid blue cunt is going back to the Smurf villaige we retrieved him from if he bites the counselor one more time

[esevik]

So, thinking about Yomi no Tsugai/Daemons of the Shadow Realm and the fact that Dera is responsible for Yuru having Sayuu (Right/Left).

First of all, Dera doesn't seem to currently have a tsugai/daemon pair of his own. The rare times the subject comes up he's a bit dismissive and changes the subject. There are however a few interactions with those bandit guys (or what they call themselves) that indicated that he probably had a pair before. So it seems Dera used to have a tsugai/daemon pair but not anymore. Now if this pair died or they simply released the contract is up in the air but whatever happened it seems Dera isn't interested in acquiring a new pair.

Now, Sayuu (right/left) is supposedly the antithesis to kai and fu (break and seal) which means Yuru who has fu/seal shouldn't have them since he theoretically would be unstoppable. But by "accident" he ended up with Sayuu anyway.

However this "accident" is pretty much Dera's choice. To be clear, Dera didn't plan the attack on the villaige and he didn't even know about it until it was happening, but it was his choce to give Yuru Sayuu. It may seem like this was a choice made in panic to save Yuru's life but then why didn't Dera make the contract himself? He was right there and helped/forced Yuru to make the contract. And I mean technically wouldn't it make more sense if Dera, who knew what was going on, got Sayuu than Yuru who had no idea about anything?

I fully believe Dera cares for Yuru but I think it's interesting that he's the one who made the decision for Yuru to get Sayuu.

[gamma-gal-24]

9 with gaston👀

9 -- to shut them up.

OOOOH THIS IS SO PERFECT FOR HIM!!!! OKAYOKAY- HERE WE GO!

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

This had been going on for almost two hours *solid* now...

-"And then I said to Lefou- "No thieving bear is stealing MY food and getting away with it!" And so then I"-

   Poor Cherise, patient as she was, hadn't been able to get anything more than a nod in for over an hour. Now, she loved hearing Gaston talk, loved hearing him more than anything!.... But she had things to do today! Goats to feed, pies to bake! She couldn't do anything stuck at the village fountain listening to more of Gaston's daily triumphs, even if she was happy to hear them.

   A squiggly, strained smile seems to have taken permanent residence on her round face. She hoped that he'd sense that she had somewhere to be, that way she wouldn't have to try and interrupt, but any hints she gave went right over his thick head. Darting glances towards her cottage, attempting to stand before being told, "Oh, please, Cherise, sit and let me tell you about how I bested that giant boar!" Things like that.

   Now, she knew Gaston meant no harm. He simply enjoyed talking, and she was fortunate enough to be the one he liked to talk to most! She was so thankful for that.... But she could hear the goats screaming for food from across the villaige square. She was needed.... And he wouldn't shut up.

   Gaston just kept on about bears, hunting, and tavern drama(he called it "disputes" to make it sound more manly and official, but it was just drama among men,) completely oblivious to gentle taps placed on his arm to get his attention.

"Gaston...?" She's too quiet, he can't hear her over the sound of his own laughter. "E-excuse me, Gaston?"

Nothing. He's still chattering away.

Cherise's cheeks go pink, her lips pursed into a line. Her ever so vast patience it nearing it's end. "Gaston?" A little louder this time, but still no luck.

It occurs to her suddenly that this is cause for drastic measures. With a determined huff and a fluff of her skirts, Cherise stands on the side of the fountain, pulls her bonnet from her head to sheild herself and him from nosey passerbys, and takes Gaston by his yellow collar.

Cherise yanks him down to her level, soft lips pressing firmly against his for only a moment before pulling away. She's never been so bold- the whole situation catches Gaston off gaurd; a feat few men have ever accomplished.

Poor Cherise is mortified.

She drops her hat to the ground, her hands flying to cover her mouth and cheeks redder than her suitor's shirt. He's silent... She's only ever seen him silent when he was hunting or brooding in the tavern. Her heart's hammering, her shoulders shaking. Is he upset? Is he angry? Oh gosh, please speak!

Gaston blinks once, then twice, and finally turns to Cherise with a grin.

"Now, Cherise... If you wanted my attention so badly, you need only say something!"

At that she deflates, her shoylders visibly relaxing as she smiles.

Silly, silly man...

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Live Action One Piece

(Thanks @knightsweeties for this awesome penguin version of Mihawk)

Now Live action adaptations often had the appeal of Durian Smoothies and the last Live action adaptation of anything I remotely liked was Aladdin (and even I admit the bar was Low on that)

So hearing that there was an Adaptation of ONE PIECE of all things, covering the East Blue arc. My hopes were in the ground. But hearing Oda himself have direct involvement from Casting to Writing made me a lot more optimistic. Did this adaptation live up to my expectations?

For this review I will be going about things differently. then my usual reviews. I will be trying to keep things as direct as possible as there is a LOT to talk about

Here are the categories:

The Plot (How faithful was it to the manga, what changed? What was consistent? Did the changes work?)

The Characters (Did they capture the spirit of the character? Did the character get some changes? Did those changes work?)

Fight Choreography (How did they adapt the fights to live action?)

Cinematography: How were the scenes shot? How were the backgrounds? The Atmosphere?

Does it grasp the spirit of the Manga?

Final Thoughts

____________________________________________________________

The Plot

As mentioned before this season covers the entirety of East Blue, from Romance Dawn to Arlong Park. Our story begins with the Pirate king Gol.D Roger being executed after revealing to the world that his treasure is out there and that it belongs to who ever finds it. Cut to 22 years later with our protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy setting sail to find the one piece and become King of the Pirates.

On his adventures, he rescues Koby, a kid that wants to be a Marine, from the nasty Alvida. He ends up meeting up with the Pirate Hunter Zoro, a swordsman with dreams of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, and Nami, a Cat Burglar that has a love of money and is very interested in the Grand line map. Recruiting them both despite their protests, and they get the grandline map from Axe Hand Morgan, a nasty marine with a spoiled brat son.

After escaping with the map, they end up getting captured By Buggy the Clown and Luffy must fight his way out of the circus (while having flashbacks of how he got his rubber powers and met Shanks). They beat buggy and free the captives of the village that the mad jester destroyed.

The crew finds themselves on Syrup village in search of a boat and Meet Usopp, a liar with a gift for sniping with his slingshot. There they fight Kuro, a pirate pretending to be a butler in order to steal the money from an orphan rich girl and retire. And through figuring this out the crew. save the girl and recruit Usopp.

Their next adventure involves them at Baratie, a floating restaurant where they meet the ladies man and amazing cook Sanji, and this is where the first big deviation occurs. Instead of having to deal with Don Krieg, Mihawk (the one Zoro wants to beat to be the best) wiped them out already, shifting the story to focus more on the main villain, Arlong. Who shows up after Zoro tries to fight Mihawk (and as you can imagine Zoro didnt win)

Arlong and his crew have been a LOT more active in this plot, intimidating Buggy and using him to track down the map.

Eventually Arlong fights Luffy and Nami gets Arlong to leave as she got the map and reveals to everyone she is Arlong's crew the whole time.

Sanji joins the crew and off to rescue Nami.

Nami finds out that all her years of saving up money to buy back her town from Arlong was for nothing as Arlong told the marine he's bribing where the stash is. Nami breaks down and Luffy is there to assure her that they will save the villaige, mirroring that iconic scene in the manga and anime.

And the fight with Arlong's crew commences, ending with Luffy destroying Arlong park and slaming that fishman supremacist into the ground.

But instead of ending there with the crew sailing into the grand line, Garp, the vice Admiral who captured Gol.D Roger. had been chasing the strawhats the whole time shows up and he aint letting them get away this time. Forcing Luffy to fight his Grandpa. Luffy proved himself to his grandpa who let him go this time, but next time they met it would be much more serious.

I think the plot is actually well paced considering it only had 8 episodes and it was relatively consistant with the arcs, it does have some pacing issues in the syrup village arc and in the last episode but I overall enjoyed the plot and think its enjoyable

7/10

Now that I got that out of the way. Its time to list all the Big changes that were made in the plot. (That I remember) and how I rate those changes out of 10:

-Garp shows up much earlier in the plot and is chasing Luffy and his crew since the events of Axe hand Morgan (7/10)

-Koby being an ally to luffy isnt resolved right away (8/10)

-Luffy meets Nami trying to steal the Grand line map from Axe hand morgan, instead of when she is stealing stuff in Orange town (8/10)

-We see Zoro kill Mr.6 in a fight on screen (10/10)

-Luffy sees Zoro get arrested and put in the Yard. (7/10)

-Axe hand morgan has the map to the grand line instead of buggy (5/10)

-Luffy, Zoro and Nami end up getting captured by Buggy. (8/10)

-Buggy trying to kill Luffy with Sea water instead of a canon (9/10)

-No lion fight (1/10)

-The Plot around the dog was cut (5/10)

-No Jango in the Syrup village arc (0/10)

-Kuro kills merry (10/10 great change)

-Kuro being more of a threat and only having 2 of his crew left (7/10)

-Kaya being poisoned instead of being sick from depression (8/10)

-Kaya kissing Usopp (9/10)

-Luffy's sea battle with Garp before escaping to Baratie (7/10)

-Mihawk kills Don Krieg and nearly all of his armada thus removing his attack on Baratie (10/10)

-Mihawk being told by Garp to capture Luffy (7/10)

-Zoro's injuries are treated as much more serious.

-Gin being the only survivor of Don krieg's armada and NOT betraying Sanji's kindness (6/10, we lose an arc but it still does the job)

-Arlong kidnapping buggy and using him to find the strawhats. (9/10)

-Nami betraying the crew at Baratie

-No Hatchan (0/10 the best part of the crew)

-Luffy doesnt use Arlong's teeth to bite him. (0/10)

-Coco Village didnt understand why Nami worked with Arlong until after Arlong had the Marine's steal her money. (4/10)

-Garp fights Luffy to test his resolve before the grand line (8/10)

Overall those are just the big changes that were noticed and for the most part I enjoyed them. Most of it was likely for time constraint and overall I give the changes made 7/10

like the plot.

______________________________________________________________

The Characters

(I am only going to discuss the strawhats in length)

Monkey D Luffy: Played by Inaki Godoy:

Did He capture the spirit of the character? This actor is Luffy in Human form. I cant see anyone else as live action luffy. I would say his casting is on the level of Hugh Jackman as wolverine

Did the character get some changes? Aside from being a bit more sorrowful when his crew is in danger he is relatively the same. And maybe calming him down a touch to work with the tone works.

Did those changes work? Yes

10/10 casting

Roronoa Zoro: Played by Mackenyu Arata

Did they capture the spirit of the character? Yes, I think Mackenyu captured Zoro's seriousness and loyalty perfectly. Yes he is edgier but I think it works for the adaptation.

Did the character get some changes? Edgier and more serious than his manga counterpart at this time, but it never seen as TOO out of character

9.5/10 casting. He's good and I think he deserves credit where its due

Nami: Played by Emily Rudd

Did they capture the spirit of the character? Emily captured Nami's focus and how she is the level headed one of the group, she also got how its clear she is looking at all the angles and her emotional breakdown is phenominal.

Did the character get some changes? Nami is not as peppy in this, she is usually more playful and would use her wiles to get things. This iteration still will use her charm in some aspects but its usually more subdued and she doesnt try to scam free meals which I feel is a bit out of character for her.

Did those changes work?) Yes and no. I think they could have made Nami have more of a dichonomy, hiding her true self with fake optimism and scheming. She betrays the group a LOT in the original, but I can also see how with the time constraints it wouldnt have worked as well

8.5/10. She does it well but sometimes it didnt feel like Nami, but when she is on, its very convincing

Usopp: Played by Jacob Romero Gibson

Did they capture the spirit of the character? I think they nailed Usopp's Lying nature perfectly. Jacob also nails the secret insecurity that can be shown in his character. I think he suffers from the limited screen time and constraints of the show.

Did the character get some changes? Aside from physical features and removing his kid crew. They also give him a back story where he is shown WHY he lies so much and its cause of his mom who we see basically die. (Yassop you a$$)

Did those changes work? Yes to an extent. Usopp feels less useful until the end of the show where he finally clutches a win, but it feels minuscule in comparison

9/10. Jacob just needs a bit more screen time to flesh out his Usopp

Sanji: Played by Taz Skylar

Did they capture the spirit of the character?

Taz nails Sanji nearly perfectly. I would say he is just behind Inaki in terms of perfect casting. His presentation, his flair, his cool and flirty nature. He is the live action Sanji

Did the character get some changes? They made him less of a pervert and a bit more of a rebel. Changes I really enjoy because Sanji does suffer from the cliche perv trope. But they now made his interest in Women more flirty instead of out right perversion.

Did those changes work? It fits in quite well.

10/10

My only gripe is that Sanji joining the crew does feel a bit abrupt but thats time constraints and not Taz's fault

Now for the other characters the casting varies

Jeff ward's Buggy is nothing short of Inspired! They really upped the pirate clown by making him much more spotlight hungry and joker like antics. I loved how committed to the bit he was

Craig Fairbrass as Chef Zeff was basically Gordan Ramsey if he was a pirate and I LOVED it. His conversation with Garp is one of the best scenes in the show so far

Peter Gadiot as Shanks was serviceable but I never felt it was amazing

Morgan Davies was a solid Koby. Capturing that naive and cowardly nature mixed with a desire to do good no matter what.

Aiden Scott as Helmeppo was straight perfection.

Vincent Regan as Garp... Look wise he matches what I would expect but the direction they went with Garp is a mix for me. But overall I enjoyed it

McKinley Belcher III as Arlong. Im not gonna lie, I was so worried how Arlong would be handled but McKinley brought that aura of Menace to the role and I LOVE it

But let me tell you, out of all the side character, there was one that was such perfect casting and performance on par with Inaki's Luffy.

And its Steven Ward as Mihawk

LOOK AT THIS.

THE FLAIR! THE STERN LOOK. Even the aura of dominance. I dont know how the Live action did it, but they Made Mihawk EVEN COOLER.

Masterful performance and I was entranced every second he was on screen (GP is dressed like him for a reason)

His fight with Zoro was on the level of the Manga and for that I applaud

The rest of the casting was a mixed bag. The only child actors that I felt were good were child Sanji and Nami.

Overall solid casting 9/10

_____________________________________________________________

Fight Choreography

I will say that for live action they do the best they can. Zoro's sword fights are always S tier. And I did like how creative they were without trying to mimic the manga one for one.

Kuro and Axe hand Morgan seemed like legit threats in this. And the fight with Buggy was creative.

Though the CGI was a mix in some places and some of it felt wacky for live action.

overall 8/10

______________________________________________________________

Cinematography:

How were the scenes shot? I think this show relied a bit TOO much on close ups. In some cases like in the Syrup Village arc, it worked as it added a level of suspence. But in the other cases its because they wanted to save on budget. When they go for the wide shots or shooting action scenes they do capture what they want and it is done quite well.

7/10

How were the backgrounds?

I felt that the stand out areas are the Baratie and Buggy's circus tent. Arlong park felt more like a lame carnival as opposed to a recreation of Sabody. But overall the shot of Logue town was phenominal.

7/10

The Atmosphere?

I think that the world was a bit more dark but it still did give off the air of freedom. In a way it felt like Pirates of the Caribbean. I give it a 7/10

_____________________________________________________________

Does it grasp the spirit of the Manga?

Now this is what the live action really comes down to. Does this feel like one piece?

And to answer this, it needs to be discussed

Eiichiro oda himself oversaw every part of the live action remake, approving of Casting choices and the scripts.

And in that regard you can tell Oda called the shots, as this was adapting his baby.

Oda understood that making this a one for one would have been impossible, so he focused on capturing the Essence of One piece. And in that regard, this was successful.

Is the live action better than the Manga? No, but it has things that the manga doesnt have and in some regards the changes could be seen as improvements.

This one piece is just a piece of the One piece experience and I hope it does bring more people to watch it.

_____________________________________________________________

My Final thoughts.

The show is good. I think it would be best to be a fan before going in, because this was made as a love letter to the fans. I think it could win over some new fans but its main focus is on the OG fans.

I can also understand why some fans didnt like the live action. Its not everyone's cup of tea.

But I think the acting is great, the plot is good and it is fun.

And thats what one piece is about, The fun of adventure.

Let it be free, and I give it my best rating of all live action

9/10

TLDR: If you like one piece, Give it a watch.

[shinysparklesapphires]

I BLEW UP AN ENTIRE VILLAIGE IN MINECRAFT AND THERE WAS LIKE ONE VILLAGER LEFT SO I BLEW UP HIS FARM LMAO

[jewishdainix]

Chag sameach Mina!!! How do you think Aurora characters would celebrate Passover?

Chag sameach!! I dont know honestly. I can see Dainix being a part of big seders in his desert villaige? Here in my kibutz theres always a seder with soem families here, Ive been to them a few times.

[jeannahas]

-- 3 Weeks - Grey Skies --

-someone who knows how to place tags, your services will likely be needed.

Three Weeks.

That's how long it had been, you see, since I learned just how much my life was worth to them.

Three miserable, long, grey weeks. Weeks of sideways glances, of whispered words, of kids asking me excitedly what a dragon's scales felt like, what a dragon's breath smelled like up close.

Three weeks of sickly sweet smiles and honeyed words - three weeks of utter, irredeemable lies that I had had to endure.

The sky seemed to agree with me on the situation, as it had been overcast, rain had been misting down, and the wind hadn't even bothered doing anything interesting or distracting since he had come through.

It had been terrifying. Waves crashed against the cliffside as they dragged me out of town, kicking and screaming, at that beast's demand. Heat seared from it's chest as It had landed in the town square, and I vividly remember as its jaws snapped around old Tim, the hunter who had taught me to hold a bow, and as one of it's claws had slammed down on Maebel, a washer woman I'd talked to nearly every day.

"The fairest among you for me, or the villaige burns."

Its words had sounded wrong, of course. Reptiles were not meant to produce the speech of people, but this creature had, before it had turned it's horned head to the windmill, the one that ran our well and dredged up water for our crops during the dry season, and had set it ablaze, the miller and his wife still very much inside.

That hadn't been the horror. Not for me. No, that was just the beginning.

You see, apparently, the town had collectively decided that I was their fairest.

Or, that I was the fairest they were willing to give up. No one scrambled to propose that their wives be laid out as the monster's feast.

Lacy and Old Nate were the ones who dragged me out of my home kicking and screaming after sunset. My mother and father just covered their faces and looked away, and the kids all crouched in their windows - Kids I had taught how to read, the way my mother had taught me, kids who had played hoops with me as they dragged me away from my work. tending the flocks, or helping with the washing. Jane - little jane who I had taught how to make little crowns with the flowers that grew at the edge of the village, along the south wall, she clung to her mother, locked eyes with me, and said nothing as the others dragged me away. As I bloodied my hands clawing at the ground.

They tied me to a stake that they had somehow found the time to drive into the ground there, at the edge of the cliff. My voice turned to ash as I begged, pleaded, screamed at them to let me go - as I called each and every one of them by name.

It hurts, sometimes, having known everyone your whole life, when they decide that life isn't worth enough to them.

I looked down at my hands, as the rain misted down, as I looked out over the cruelly calm sea, as tall grasses swayed around me. The post lay on the ground just a little to my left, charred to a cinder, and I would have been alongside it. Indignantly quiet, compared to the lighting, the torrential rain and the crashing waves of that night.

I remembered when HE came. Shining armor, riding a mount, drawing the monster's attention. It had landed on the edge of town, laughing. A low rumble that spoke of power, confidence, of superiority absolute.

It had brought it's snout next to my ear as tears and frigid rain poured down my face, unable to flee, unable to move, twitch, or turn away.

"How quickly they abandoned you... no fight... no resistance... such a delicacy. Your pain will be my greatest treasure - your pain - and their guilt."

Then the creature reared up, opened its jaws to incinerate me or to eat me the way it ate Old Tim, before it suddenly turned away from me, and the fight began. Something broke my ropes, and I scrambled out of them, crawling through the grass like my life depended on it- which, i suppose it did. The dragon burned that stake, perhaps a frustrated attempt to kill me anyway.

The Knight's lance hit true, however, as his two companions launched hooks attached to strong chains to trip up the beast and keep it from flying away.

And our terror was dead - slain and smoldering on the cliffside, before it tumbled over the edge into the crashing surf below, where its body still lay, broken, battered, food for the crabs and other creatures that could reach it. Practically bones now.

I didn't look down.

I didn't look behind me, at the village that had stood in dumbstruck amazement as the knight rode back into town with me sat astride his animal, flanked by his two companions in their dark leathers and bloodstained clothes.

He handed me back to my parents.

They cried.

They barely held me, I could feel the hesitation. They pointedly didn't look at my bloodied hands, fingernails caked and pried off, in some cases, as I had tried not to die.

The kids did talk to me. I supposed I couldn't really blame them - what could they do, they were so small. Jane hugged me, tears pouring down her face.

No one else did, as the town feasted and celebrated. someone put a flower crown on my head, and the knight was toasted for his bravery as someone else washed my hands while avoiding my gaze.

Then he left. He and his two companions. On to do more good deeds, to receive more feasts, I suppose. I hadn't bothered remembering his name.

I made them look me in the eye, that night. I looked right at Lacy, with her three little kids, that I'd taught numbers to. Right at Old Nate, and his cane, as I considered the strength of his carpenter's hands as he'd tied mine behind my back. I locked eyes with my parents, with Marley, and with Rowan - who had professed love for me only a few nights before, and who had held a torch so the others could see as they lashed me to a stake.

Who were really the monsters? the creature dead below me, or the people who had raised me, who had lived alongside me, and had cast me aside at the demand of a beast and a tyrant?

I clasped my hands together, felt the shudder come over my shoulders as I felt my expression turn hollow. i couldn't stay here, not here with the too-kind smiles, the too-friendly faces, to the people who greeted me as they always had and pretended that they hadn't tried to kill me.

I laughed bitterly, in that flat air by the cliffside, and turned my head up to the grey sky. I considered becoming the monster they had feared - taking up the dragon's work, fulfilling his promise. He hadn't eaten me - I could easily hold up his demand, go about burning the town to the ground, throwing their torches back in their faces, back onto their thached rooves, see how they liked the fear, see how they liked screaming, with no one to care or help them.

I relished in the surge of power that rushed through me at the thought, before I felt reality set in.

I couldn't do that to the kids.

Not to them.

I didn't trust their parents to save them anymore.

Where to go then? What to do?

The thought crossed my mind to just step off the edge of the cliff, to join that monster at the bottom and be free of the twisted pain of it all, when something stole my attention away from my misery.

My eyes locked on a traveler making their way up the road that ran alongside the coast, that passed near the town. they wore a brown cloak, and at first I thought them a monk, or some other pilgrim, untill I saw the longsword on their hip, simple, utilitarian, and unadorned, but still worth a good three to five cows if I had to guess.

I thought they would pass me by, but when I turned my gaze in their direction, they paused, before turning, and trudging towards me.

I realized then it was a woman, with long dark curls, wearing a simple blue tunic and trousers of a style I'd never seen before in my small village.

She looked at the ground, the ashes, the charred remains of the stake, and then leaned over to see the dead creature below.

"Ah." She said simply, standing, arms crossed as a wind picked up from the sea for the first time in weeks, blowing her brown cloak back, revealing the dented but definitely functional armor she wore on her left arm. "I see that I'm late."

She turned to look at me, for a moment, dark skin speaking of an upbringing farther south, where the sun beat down against the coast.

"They chose you then, didn't they."

I turned up to her. It had not been a question.

"What?"

"As the sacrifice."

She nodded her head back to my village. "They chose you, didn't they? When that thing demanded a sacrifice. That, or they chose someone close to you- lover, sister, perhaps, and they weren't saved in time. which is it?"

I turned back to stare at the sea, setting my head on my arms. As memories of that night flashed through my mind. she glanced down at my hands.

"Ah, yes, - it was you."

"How could you tell?"

She didn't answer. Rather, she sat down next to me, folding her legs up underneath her, and set her sword across her lap.

Without turning to me, she spoke. "It hurts, knowing how easily those who loved you can cast you aside sometimes. Living your life thinking you mean the world to them, the way that they mean the world to you."

I turned to her, confused.

"What do you mean?"

She lifted her arm, and removed the metal plates, revealing a burn that stretched from her middle finger all the way up to her neck.

"Happened to me too. Couldn't stay there, not after what they did to me. Smaller dragon, I'll give you that. "

"What did you do? Did someone save you?"

"No." She said bluntly, eyes cold. "I had to save myself. Got real creative with some of the terrain, and I had a large boulder. Dropped it on the creature's head as It chased me scent. I couldn't exactly go home, after that, So... I took to this." She smiled, setting a hand on the pommel of her sword. "Took to wandering, figured I'd keep an ear out for others like me."

I hesitated, some kind of hollow echo of hope rising in my chest.

"And then what?"

She placed the vambrace back on, and with difficulty attached it to some piece of armor under her tunic.

"Well, you're the first I've run across, so I thought I'd give you a choice."

I raised an eyebrow.

She smiled.

"Join me, leave this hellhole behind, and let's see if we can do some good in the world, eh? Kind of a, teacher-apprentice thing. Lots of people get abandoned the way we were - and not just to appease the appetite of dragons. There are crueler things in this world, and you'll quickly find that most of the monsters we'll face will be very human. "

I looked down at my simple dress, better for farming and sheep herding than anything else, and up at her. Her sword, her cloak, the experience practically radiating off of her.

"How do we make money?"

"Whatever works, darling"

"Where will we sleep?"

"Tree roots can be surprisingly comfortable if you find a good hiding spot from the wolves."

"Where will we go?"

"Down the road that way, and then probably wherever we can find trouble."

"You realize that's terrible planning, right?"

"Oh, immensely so."

I took it her hand without a second thought, and she lifted me up to my feet.

"Lead on." I stated hoarsly, and followed her into the grey mist.

I never looked back once.

I suspect that the others in the town were glad to see me go. It's been Three more weeks since - I have my own sword now - got it off of a bandit who figured we'd be easy to take down. It's much easier to face down a charging man when you've had a dragon breathing in your face. Puts things into perspective. I have my own cloak now, and piece by piece we've been getting me armor. Long way to go, there, but at least now I have some proper pants to fight in.

I knew I would be back - some day, years from now. I promised myself that - I would be back, and I would force them to truly face what they had done.

Maybe then, after I was stronger, I'd forgive them.

Or burn the town down and reduce it to forgotten ashes.

I'd decide when the time came.

but for for now...

I guess it was time to do a little good in the world - to reach a hand out to those the world had deemed sacrifice enough, and intervene in whatever way my new teacher and I could.

--End--

Hey anybody going to talk about rescued sacrificial maidens. Like yes a guy with a fuck off sword turned up and so you're not getting fed to the dragon/water creature/mountain spirit/vague embodiment of all things scary and you get to go back home, but is that really home? Your mom hugs you and your dad says he's so happy you're alive and you know that when they said they'll do anything to keep you safe they didn't really mean it. They have a feast prepared and you get to taste what they cooked for your funeral, help wash the dishes after. And it's selfish to think that between the whole village with everyone in it and you they wouldn't pick the lesser evil but it still leaves an emptiness in your chest, knowing exactly how much your life is worth. And the neighbors smile at you awkwardly and the neighbors' kids yell "hey! I thought you died!" because they don't know not to do that yet and maybe you did. Maybe you did.

And the hero with the fuck-off sword rode off into the sunset the way they always do but you're still here and you herd the cows by the cliff where you were tied up in your cleanest clothes waiting to not be alive anymore and sometimes you think that would be easier and when you don't come back one day, you can imagine it's a relief for everyone involved. Maybe you'll be the new thing to haunt the mountain, or maybe you'll follow down the road and listen for cries that sound like yours did. Either way, there's little left to fear. You know exactly how much your life is worth.

[bitletsanddrabbles]

My Brain

Brain: Okay, so "vil-an" is spelled "villian" so "vil-age" is spelled "villiage", right?

Me: No, brain. Also, it's "villain", not "villian".

Brain: Oh! So "villaige"?

Me: *sigh* Dear English, would it have killed you to be phonetic? Three cheers for spell check...

[dragxnpearl]

❛ i didn’t know things had gotten this bad. ❜ (Xiu)

        ❝  you cannot tell them that i sent for you in a letter,  ❞    she pleaded softly as she spoke barely above a whisper. the farm itself was relatively quiet now that the twilight hours had come and past. inside, her mother and father talked, mostly in hushed tones over a cracking fire, as both were angered.

          her elder sister, Mulan rested within her bedroom, her back most likely pained, causing a struggle with her breathing. Xiu had just come from there, before she had been told by a servant whom they had hired in her sisters absence, that Lan Sizhui was outside and waiting for her to come to him before he went to greet her parents. racing to see him, she explained why she had summoned him so quickly.

        ❝  they are both so stubborn, but Bàba was away for a while and just come back from active duty. he has some bruises and cuts, but he came home for MuMu's birthday and refused treatement... but he came home to a choatic home... normally Mulan would be the one to treat him, but she is recovering from a punishment that happened yesterday and has been bedridden... ❞    her voice quivered as she glanced around to make sure that no one overheard her.

        ❝  it is my fault... all of it. she was only retaliating on some of the noble girls in the villaige who pulled a bad prank on me... they had pushed me into the lake not knowing i could not swim and when Mulan had come to fetch me from my schooling she witnessed it and got me out before taking me home. i did not realize she would retaliate by going to a social event and making sure a bridge would collapse on them as they tried to gain favor from the men who had returned home.  ❞    her gaze had long since returned to him,        ❝  i do not know how Māmā found out, but she punished, MuMu and now her back is in pain. so i have been trying to help but she keeps shooing me away, telling me i should be in classes and taking care of Zǔmǔ !  but how can i just leave her ? ❞

          tears fell down her cheeks as she gave a few large sniffs to try and clear her airway.     ❝  now Bàba and Māmā are mad. the physician said everything will be fine, but i cannot do anything so i called for you since you said to come to you with any problem i have.... can you fix this ?   ❞ / @battleguqin for 🐝  *  ―  𝑩𝑨𝑹𝑩𝑰𝑬 𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑼𝑻𝑪𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.

[oneeyecatnamedkay]

It was my really old setting with typical "mages and demons" tropes, but OMG i loved it. It was my lesbian phase until i even realised it.

Main protagonist - Eleanor Rossa von Sheorbrich. Mage from mothers side and reuru (daemon) from fathers, ofc

Only picture of Alkonskaya Elena-Esfir Georgievna (Eleanor's girlfriend mage) and her anim (soul of a mage that grants them magic trasferring it from the world) I have. But it is some FutureAU where after revolution Elena, despite being ruler's distant relative, was left alive, but oppresed as a mage and used to work in some king of military-police.

Torkadl' Beraridkadt - reuru, Eleanor's father. Pretty chill dude, loves his mage-wife.

Gel'dshida Beraridkadt (golden, on the right) and Ruula Fangmillim (on the left). Elder sister of Torkadl' (she is albino by the way. Yes, albino reuru are golden) and her girlfriend.

There are 5 more arts below but TW: picture Blood, Death, War

Illustration to my fanfic with some really strange story. Btw, she died by falling from the ladder while trying to pet phoenix in the cage.

Warriors: "We shoul not be sad. We made everything so our people can live" and children: " - Want to hold my lucky scale? Just don't cry, friend..." My friend's and my arts. Reuru and fierniks (her race from her setting) united by the theme of brutal war and it's victims.

" there's always quite in the snows " The last dragon cub of Helm. During The Sacred War (happened pretty long before mane plot) mages slaughtered lots of dragons in mountains of Helm. And even when new eggs hatched there was no more adults to protect their lands from harsh snow and deadly cold, leaving cubs to slowly freeze to death.

My friend's art again. Villaige of mountain reuru. After the dragons and they magic left there were no protection from snow. Most men of the tribe was also gone - fighting mages slaughtering every reuru they could found. There only women and children left. Like their dragon protectors, they wait for the cold and hungry death.