#yes this is a quote from the little mermaid

[blue-eyed-beastie]

Oh my goodness! This is it!! Thank you for this!

I was able to find the original novel through Project Gutenberg. It's free to read on any web browser! Helpful hint: If you use Firefox, it gives you the option to translate it automatically (but with varied and sometimes hilarious results).

Anyway, as far as I can tell, the story is told through a series of letters. The excerpt from Belle's book is from a letter written by one Annette Bourdon to her friend Adelaide Fairlie, dated 19 September at Les Frênes (in case you want to look up the exact chapter, since they aren't numbered).

I won't include the entire translation, because it is quite long, but it's worth the read. By the way, I'm not at all disappointed that my earlier guesses about the context were wrong. I'm just thrilled that someone else knew what the excerpt was from so that I could read it in its entirety!

For those who don't have the time to read it right now, the summary of it is that Annette is discussing her engagement to Paul, and what has happened since, and how she feels about it. She also wonders what comes after marriage (and yes, she means the bedroom!):

There must be novels that talk about these situations, novels that I'm forbidden to read. As soon as I'm married, I'll read everything that's been forbidden to me; so I will be informed and I will know what I must do, in case of necessity. I am determined to be very good to my husband, but I would not want to cause anyone unnecessary pain. If someone courts me, I will be happy. I like to be looked at, and to be talked to. All alone, I get bored and sometimes I have done extravagances to attract attention. I told you about the one in the river, but it was my sister who had the idea. No matter, I see that the idea was not bad, because it is since that moment that Paul began to look at me with completely new eyes. As for me, if I saw a naked man swimming on the surface of the water, it would frighten me and I would start running. Men are braver; they are not even afraid at all. They both seemed ecstatic, and I almost laughed, which would have made me drink water and drown. What a pity, but what an opportunity for Paul to fish me out and hold me in his arms, like a languid siren!

Ah, the languid siren that was mentioned at the beginning of the excerpt! One translation suggested "mermaid", which I actually prefer in this context, since sirens tend to want to drown their victims. Mermaids, not so much! (See: The Little Mermaid, as a case in point.)

Now, I won't quote the entire excerpt again, but I did want to know what the very last fragmented sentence turned out to be, so I will include it below in its full context, plus a little more:

Paul is more handsome than I have ever seen him before. He is pale with large eyes full of fever and love. I find him sublime when he kneels down beside me to look at me as if in prayer. I want to pray to him too, sometimes, and to lay my cheek on his knees, but when I have that desire, I get angry with myself and I sulk at Paul. It is very difficult to keep a man within the bounds of respect. He addressed me informally once; I did not like that. No one has ever addressed me as "tu" [you] except women. In the mouth of a man, this familiarity seemed unbearable to me. Nothing vulgar pleases me. A woman must be a queen to be completely a woman. This is the attitude I want to take from now on; even when I play hide-and-seek, people feel that I am a princess and they do not pull me carelessly by my crumpled dress. I turned eighteen the day before yesterday. At that age, one has a scepter or a fairy wand. When I laugh, there are eyes that are worried; and when I smile, people look at me to share in my smile.

The last of Annette's letter sees her looking forward to marriage, but wishing this feeling would last. She ends with this last romantic thought:

I feel that I am embarking on a long pleasure voyage. Everything laughs. Autumn itself is spring-like this year. There are languors of the month of May and freshness of new grass. One would say that it rains love every night…

While there are no sword fights or magic spells in this one, there seems to be plenty of romance, and that's all right with me. ❤️

A Closer Look at Belle's Book: Part II

In Part I, I went into some detail about the illustration inside Belle's book, but now I want to turn the page, so to speak.

Thanks to the magic of 4K, I was able to zoom in on some details in Beauty and the Beast that I had never noticed before, and this time I wanted to see what story Belle was reading. I've seen theories that it was either foreshadowing Aladdin or referencing Sleeping Beauty, and I myself noticed that it bears some artistic resemblance to Snow White... but it turns out that it has nothing to do with Disney, or its fairy tales.

It's something else entirely, and it's in French!

After zooming in and studying each frame, I managed to make out the following text:

une languissante sirene! Enfin, il sera bientôt heureux, si c'est là ce qui doit causer son bonheur. Je sais que je suis agréable à regarder, puisque j'y ai du plaisir moi-même, et de ce plaisir je ne priverai pas mon mari, au contraire. Je ne sais si je l'aimerai, je l'espère; mais je veux qu'il m'aime lui, et je ferai pour lui plaire tout ce qui lui plaira. Ah! chère Adélaïde, je suis pleine de rêves absurdes et de pensées contradictoires! Je songe à des choses qui me semblent à la fois douces et vilaines, et j'ai des imaginations qui me font rougir en même temps que pleurer! Au moins, je ne m'ennuie pas. Je vis plus en une heure de ces journées que l'an passé je ne vécus en toute l'année. Chaque heure me renouvelle, me grandit et m'épanouit. Je me semble un rosier qui fleur rirait à vue d’œil, je suis fraîche et parfumée; je suis légère et forte: j'attends le bonheur. Paul est plus beau que je ne l'avais encore jamais tu. Il est pâle avec de grands yeux pleins de fièvre et d'amour. Je le trouve sublime quand il s'agenouille près de moi pour me regarder comme en prière. J'ai envie de le prière aussi, parfois, et de coucher ma joue sur ses genoux, mais quand j'ai cette envie-la, je me fâché contre moi-meme et je boude Paul.

Which, roughly translated into English, means:

a languid siren! Finally, he will soon be happy, if that is what will make him happy. I know that I am pleasant to look at, since I take pleasure in it myself, and of this pleasure I will not deprive my husband, on the contrary. I do not know if I will love him, I hope so; but I want him to love me, and I will do whatever he pleases to please him. Ah! dear Adelaide, I am full of absurd dreams and contradictory thoughts! I think of things that seem to me both sweet and ugly, and I have fantasies that make me blush and cry at the same time! At least, I am not bored. I live more in one hour of these days than I lived in the whole year last year. Each hour renews me, makes me grow and blossom. I seem to myself a rosebush that blooms laughing before my eyes, I am fresh and fragrant; I am light and strong: I await happiness. Paul is more handsome than I have ever seen him before. He is pale with big eyes full of fever and love. I find him sublime when he kneels down next to me to look at me as if in prayer. I want to pray to him too, sometimes, and to lay my cheek on his knees, but when I have this desire, I get angry with myself and I sulk at Paul.

By the way, there is one more sentence (maybe even two) at the bottom of the page that is partially obscured by Belle's shoulder and right hand. It may or may not be important to the rest of the excerpt, but for completion's sake, I'll share it here:

Il est ... maintenir un homme dans les ...

Which translates to:

He is ... to keep a man in the ...

Intriguing, isn't it? What was she trying to say?

Overall, the author appears to be an unwed woman dreaming of her future marriage to a man named Paul. Her confidante is someone named Adelaide, but I suspect she is actually writing to herself. Regardless, she is either betrothed to Paul or she longs to be, since she calls him her husband. Perhaps it is an arranged marriage? She goes on to dwell upon his handsomeness, and how she longs to be close to him, but then she gets angry at herself for feeling this way. The last line of the passage is incomplete, but my best guess is that the author is saying that Paul is not to blame for her sulking, so it is not right to keep a man in the dark, i.e. ignorant. I could be wrong, though. In any case, she is conflicted about her feelings on the matter. You could even say that her feelings are "new, and a bit alarming".

I can see why the filmmakers chose this passage for Belle's book.

It may not be a fairy tale, but it certainly has elements from the film. There are references to beauty, roses, imagination, and eyes filled with love, and passion.

Belle:

"Oh, isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part because—you’ll see Here's where she meets Prince Charming But she won't discover that it's him 'til Chapter Three!"

Do the lyrics match the story hinted at on the page itself? No, but I really respect the filmmakers for going out of their way to include this kind of detail in the film. They could have taken the easy way out, by writing out something like "Once upon a time" to echo the opening narration, or used "Lorem ipsem" Latin filler, or even meaningless brush strokes just to fill the page... but they didn't. They chose something in French that Belle herself might have liked to read. And I think that's really cool.

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

Lucifer reveals his secret (Pre-fall)

Lucifer (about Lilith): Sera, I love her! Sera: No...have you lost your senses completely?! She's a human, you're an angel! Lucifer: I don't care!

[sciralta]

There’s something that’s been bugging me for ages about Marcelino and I could never quite grasp it until right now in this chapter when he quoted Ursula’s “and don’t underestimate the importance of body language” line from poor unfortunate souls.

I fully believe that Marcelino was originally written as a Gay Best Friend™. I have never seen a single adult man not only quote Ursula but the body language line who wasn’t a dogged homosexual. And when you realise that, literally everything else about his character comes neatly into perspective as the GBF™ stereotype. My theory is that someone in PB offices took a look at his character and was like “isn’t that a little reductive? aren’t we past this?” so the writing team changed his sexuality and slapped in a pregnant wife character as their way of fixing the problem.

[cheerioskid]

moonrise au mumbo and grian doodles bc they are so silly ft. a quote by the lovely @germworms when we were exploring their dynamic

little bit of explanation below!

basically after grian disappears from his position as a god he lives in disguise on "square earth" and eventually finds his fav human, mumbo! (the moon prophet)

being so detached from the land of the humans leaves grian really curious about almost everything (yes like the little mermaid but w mcyt gods)

so he's pestering mumbo w all his questions and just generally never leaving him alone, mumbo is slightly annoyed by this and tries to get him off his ass by giving him random objects to inspect or he starts a fire for him to stare at for hours

grian is naturally very warm (sun god tings) and mumbo is naturally cold being the moon prophet so grian sometimes just hangs close by to make sure he doesn't die of hypothermia (red winter era, very cold brr) even though mumbo doesn't mind the cold as much

mumbo also has no idea grian is the sun god (remember no human has seen him in this form other than his prophet) so he starts complaining to bdubs about this weird guy who keeps following him around and is too frustrated to notice bdubs giving him suspicious looks

for more info about bdubs go check out Sea's character sheet for him!! also check the hashtag for other posts!!

[hannie-dul-set]

sunwater [teaser].

SYNOPSIS. this is how you get a merman boyfriend.

PAIRING. park sunghoon x female! reader. GENRE. merman! sunghoon, artist! reader, slight college! au, strangers to lovers, romance, modern fantasy, humor, suggestive. WARNINGS. swearning, drowning, dirty/inappropriate jokes, mentions of sex, things might get a lil spicy but No Explicit Smut, mermaid politics, reader says and does a lot of questionable shit (might add more as i progress!) WORD COUNT. full fic: est. 20k more or less. teaser: 1.3k RELEASE DATE. late july to early august.

NOTE. finally thought of a title last night and immediately made the header so i can post the teaser HAUHASDH. stemmed from a convo with a friend of mine (i quote "u reject every man woman person that tries to date u. little do they know, ur type isn't human 🤩").

anyway, send me an ask/dm to be added to the taglist! preview under the cut.

GANGNEUNG-SI, GANGWON-DO. The drive to the east coast is always nostalgic, like fragments of previous summers are powdered into the air and with every inhale of the breeze outside the car window fills you with the past— scraped knees from the rocky beachside, saltwater daydreams under bunny-shaped clouds, and the smell of paint and the sea melting together in early morning dews. It takes a little over an hour for the cab to roll up to your summer neighborhood. It takes twenty minutes of walking to get to your family’s vacation house situated right beside the sea.

“Welcome home.”

Your words echo in the empty living room and your own voice greets you with remembrance. A smile crawls onto your lips. Eggshell walls, sandy brown wooden panels, your favorite blue sofa matching the stripes on the rug underneath it, and the sheer cream curtains painted with the orange spills of the sunset through wall to ceiling windows— it’s a still life painting of last year’s summer. Prior to that, you still had plants around, but they kept dying, getting replaced and dying again until your neglectful guilt finally hit you. Throughout highschool, your family diligently spent time here every December and July. Now, it’s just you every summer and the caretaker that comes by every few months.

“I should call mom after dinner,” you hum, washing the dishes you found in the cupboards. Your first night here always ends early. By sunfall, you have a quick meal, wash up, tuck yourself into bed upstairs and allow yourself to be lulled to sleep by the sloshing waves of the nighttime sea. 

Four in the morning is when you start to feel alive.

The first thing you do upon waking up, pitch black sky with the sun still hiding behind the oceanline, you grab one of the bags you left on your living room sofa, slinging it over your shoulder before picking up a folded up easel leaned against the wall and two of the blank canvas panels stacked beside it. Your body moves mechanically, practiced and familiar movements— sliding the glass door open to the backyard and closing, feeling the sand wither underneath your bare soles until soft grains blend into jagged stone as you climb up the natural staircase of rocks, leading up to a solid flat plateau.

Is it safe to be painting on top of a cliff when you’ve just woken up? No. Have you been doing this every day since you were fourteen every summer you spend at your vacation home? Yes. 

When the sun starts to rise, you become invigorated with life that it almost feels like rebirth.

You haven’t fallen to your death yet, and you don’t have any plans to slip and succumb to its cold hands any time soon. Not until you manage to perfectly capture the image before your eyes at this very moment; neither your memories nor your imperfect renditions can compare to the vibrancy of the orange stained waves, the clarity white seafoam kissing its surface, and the beauty of flaming disk peeking from the firmament where the sky meets the sea in all its ephemeral glory.

It’s five-thirty when the sun fully emerges from the water. Your legs give in, and you fall onto the rocky ground with a sigh. All you could finish is the underpaint today. You’ll continue working tomorrow. 

Whenever someone asks you— why the fuck are you doing this? you never have a satisfying answer. It’s an exercise, it’s a routine; it’s the only time when I feel like I’m painting something worthwhile. You have countless pieces in galleries and exhibits, meaningless works with the highest praises from your professors, but they’re nothing worth the buzz of your fingertips whenever you chase the sunrise with your own paint-stained hands until it inevitably, ritualistically flies beyond your devoted reach.

The strain in your leg muscles takes forever to recover. You should remember to bring a stool tomorrow because although you don’t feel anything besides adrenaline whenever you attack the canvas with your brush, the aftertaste can be a little brutal. 

“Can’t you stay a little longer tomorrow?” you mumble to the orange tinted sky as you lay on the uneven ground, arms and legs spread out in vulnerability. When it doesn’t respond, you groan and pull yourself up. You could leave your painting materials here, but the probability of them getting thrown into the ocean by the wind is too high for your peace of mind.

As you collect your paint brushes and gather your extra paint tubes, your eyes keep getting pulled by the ocean’s songs. The scene before you has been imprinted in your retinas since you were seven. So when something appears amiss or changes, you can pick it apart immediately. A shift in the tides. A crack in the rock formation. Even a floating piece of driftwood from afar can’t slip away from your attention.

So when you find something— rather, someone emerging from the warm blue near the sprouting rocks, you drop your things and pace quickly to the edge to get a better look.

This is odd. This entire plot of land is private property, and it’s the only way to get into the water besides the island across it, which is still at least twenty miles away. Your eyebrows furrow, wondering how they got here, but when you get to the edge of the cliff, the rough terrain biting into your feet, your concerns are suddenly thrown into the water underneath you.

You can see the intruder’s face clearly now. Whoever he is, he’s breathtaking.

He’s gotten closer to the shore, resting his arms on the inky rock, half submerged into blue depths. The saltwater beads glisten like jewels on his porcelain skin, splashing sunlight into the water when he throws his head back before letting the ocean consume him once more. There’s a flicker of gold that splashes above the surface in a steady rhythmic wave, slowly moving further away.

You have found your new ocean sunrise. You don’t intend on letting him get away.

Splash!

Suddenly, all the warmth from your skin is stripped away as your body sinks into the sea, engulfed by the thick raptures of its waves. Though having been enamored by it for the better part of your life, you have never stepped into the ocean’s embrace— never dared to corrupt its ethereal beauty with your feeble humanity— that is, until now. You slowly feel heavier, and each second hurts more than the last, like the sun itself has entered your lungs and is burning you from the inside. Maybe you should have learned how to swim. Maybe you shouldn’t have jumped off the cliff in the rushing hopes of catching a fleeting stranger’s attention.

No one should underestimate the lengths an artist would go for their art. Just when your consciousness starts to slip, you see a spark in the dark water, slowly approaching before your eyelids flutter to a close. You can hear nothing. You feel nothing but the cold, until all of the sudden you’re gasping, coughing out water from your lungs and the jagged rock you’re laying on sinks its teeth into your wet palms.

There’s one person who could have saved you. You can’t believe your deranged plan worked.

You open your eyes and look above, your still beating heart burning into a frenzy and instead of the sunrise sky, your gaze meets a pair of stygian gemstones muddled with concern. A few droplets of water from his damp hair fall onto your cheeks. 

“Are you okay?”

Burnt stars form a constellation on his face. His lips are full and painted by coral hues. 

“I want to burn you in my memory.”

He’s even more breathtaking up close, it’s almost impossible to believe. Your gaze draws down, noticing how you’re caged between his arms, noticing the patchy waist bag loosely hanging on his bare hips over a makeshift skirt of fabric, noticing the iridescent gold flakes blending into his skin, shimmering under the sunlight from where his lower half should be.

You flit your eyes back up. His are now widened in panic.

Splash!

sunwater. © hannie-dul-set, 2023.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies + info about the Nun AU ~

Anonymous asked:

would you be willing to put the hi-res for that idia/ortho you drew recently (with the megara quote) in your store, if it's not too much trouble! thank you!!

Yes, of course, Anon! Here you go <3 I am happy you liked it!! Sometimes I wonder whether I should keep updating the shop with hi-res stuff or not, so thank you for letting me know. I’ll upload more of our recent stuff there soon…

hipsterteller asked:

Its 12:49am and when I saw Azul in nun, I had to grab this

LOL THANK YOU!! Yeah, this is one hell of a nun lol

Rollo would’ve been disgusted… or not? Just kidding, he is not a part of this AU.

thestarlightfae asked:

A new AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please give us more details!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!! Ahhh first of all, thank you so much for being so excited for it! This really is our newest AU, it’s pretty recent, and we got so excited over nun!Azul that we actually have a lore for it this time lol

Azul, Jade, and Floyd are a part of the Underwater mafia/criminal world, and as a part of Azul’s plan to spread their involvement/power on land, they infiltrate a small and secluded monastery in an isolated island: Azul got a tip that this particular place would be perfect to gain access to important people through religion. All he has to do is to rise in ranks and gain more influence, but for that to happen, he and the boys have to hide their true identity: the merpeople are very demonised in this world and this religion in particular.

No one knows for certain if merpeople exist, so there are a lot of rumors and legends, a lot of which have nothing to do with reality, but the main consensus on land and in the church is that merpeople are spawns of the devil, and the depths of the ocean are the very depths of Hell. So Azul and the tweels have to really keep it together while listening to other nuns talk about mermaids seducing poor men and drowning them, literally dragging them to the underworld for their souls to suffer for eternity.

But our merboys do a very good job, and no one suspects them, in fact, they became rather popular very quickly. Nuns adore sister Floyd and consider him to be a very bright innocent soul, a little childish, but only closer to God for that; and sister Jade is like a saint that takes care of the older nuns and sick ones, selflessly spending hours at the infirmary. And of course, sister Azul is an absolute angel that is always here to support and help anyone who needs it.

(by the way yeah, everyone here is a boy, but they are still called sisters – don’t worry too much about it, we just really wanted them to be nuns…)

But even though Azul, as per usual, just acts nice and in actuality dislikes pretty much everyone around him, there is one person he got genuinely close with – it’s sister Idia, a mysterious shut-in that really stands out from the rest of the nuns. You can rarely see him around, he prefers to stay alone and he is excused from some events. Azul is intrigued by Idia, but also genuinely enjoys their chats and playing little board games (which they’re not really allowed to play) with him whenever they get a chance to spend some free time together.

And this accidental gamble of spending time with a loner weirdo really pays off when Azul finds out that Idia is, in fact, a son of a very rich and influential family, and that he is probably even the biggest golden ticket for Azul than any other fat-cat Azul could’ve gained access to through his way up the ranks.

This changes Azul’s plans: now he wants to take Idia back with them, when it’s time for him and the Tweels to leave…

One day, he invites Idia to talk alone in a private room, and as sister Idia arrives, he witnesses something otherworldly and horrifying: long and slimy tentacles crawling from under Azul’s robes. Not only did poor Idia not know that merpeople even existed, he sure as hell didn’t expect to see one among the nuns AND with tentacles lol

But aside from utter shock, confusion and fear, Idia also feels like he is getting something that he deserves. If merpeople exist and he is witnessing one with his own eyes, maybe it has come to drag him to Hell where he belongs. Because you see, Idia also has a secret… and a reason why he got pretty much disowned from his family and sent to live here in isolation.

Gee I wonder what’s going to happen next :3c

(lots of sex)

[gothic-thoughts]

(Un)Trustworthy

(I've been obsessed with mythical creatures lately so imma write a few fics to get it out)

König x Black Fem Reader Angst

Mermaid!Reader, MeetUgly

CW: Racism to humans, standoffish/mean reader

TW: blood mention, kidnapping mention, human experiment, PTSD (elements ig)

Word Count: 1032 (give or take)

After his team returned to the base, the Colonel was informed that something strange had caught something strange in the enemy territory. He was intrigued but wasn’t fazed, assuming it was just another weapon or something. He followed the seemingly eager soldiers to the airplane hangar and once there, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of her; a dark blue-tailed mermaid on the floor.

“Heilige scheiße(holy shit)......”

She looks around at the humans around with panic, baring cat-like fangs as she hisses, causing all soldiers to jump at the sound. Most raise their guns at the mermaid, unsure and fearing what they’re facing. Colonel König, however, slowly approaches the creature. She narrows her eyes angrily, immediately recoiling from the masked man and causing him to stop in his tracks.

He reaches his hand out to her to show the creature he is not a threat but her eyes remain slit and full of distrust as she hisses at the large man before her. König remains still, his face is calm and there is no fear in his eyes as the soldiers continue to aim, unsure as to whether or not the creature is going to hurt their commanding officer. He slowly brings his hand closer to her to which she slaps his hand away.

“Do not touch me, landwalker.” She snaps, “This is your first and only warning.”

König is surprised as well but he does not show it, waving his hands to make the soldiers lower their weapons. He steps back and clears his throat.

“You can speak?”

“Do not be flattered, I have nothing nice to say to you. My silence is more than your kind deserves.”

“My kind?”

The mermaid squints, “Yes, your kind. The stories are true, you humans are nothing but barbaric and cruel.”

“Barbaric and cruel? Is this... your opinion of all humans?”

“When I meet an exception, I shall alert you. And unless you intend to kill me, landwalker, back away. I rather die than be tested on by two groups of humans in one lifetime.”

A murmur of chatter erupts among the soldiers. Colonel König holds up his hand to shut them up before turning his attention back to the creature.

“We have no intentions to harm or test you, mermaid.”

“I am not dense, human. I know what you want.”

“What is it that you think we want, mermaid?”

“The same thing the last group of humans did before you quote unquote ‘rescued’ me; my scales, my hair, my tears, and my blood.”

“You were tortured?”

She winces in pain as she pulls her tail to her scale-covered chest to show the small exposed patch of flesh where shiny blue scales used to be.

“For your kind's cruel, violent experiments, yes I was.” She scowled, “My scales are the equivalent of fingernails, besides the fact that they grow and shed from my tail, like hair. And these landwalkers manhandling me here only made it worse.”

He steps a little closer, kneeling, “May I?” He asked, reaching out for her tail.

“What game is this?

“May I... examine? Your tail that is, I swear I’ll be gentle.”

While eyeing him intensely, she slowly extends her tail with a pained groan allowing the Kortac Colonel to cautiously grab it, holding it up in both large hands. He begins to examine the exposed bloody patch of skin in front of him, grimacing under his mask at the 10 small spots where the scales were plucked from.

“When did this happen?”

“A few days ago but they haven't had the time to grow back yet. Especially since they were ripped off.”

Colonel König nods his head, “Let me take you to our infirmary. Our medics will bandage it and you can rest it while it heals properly."

“You... how can I trust this isn't some land-walker trick?”

“We are not all like the other humans you have encountered before. Some of us have morals and values, so please...”

“...who are you, giant?”

He chuckles at her observation. “My name is König.” He kneels to her and holds out a gloved hand, wanting to solidify her trust, “Will you trust me? At least enough to carry you to our medical bay?"

“You intrigue me, König.” She rests her hand in his, “I will... I am trusting you.”

König smiles behind his sniper hood and lifts her in his arms, holding her against him. As he stood up, she quickly wrapped her arms behind his neck with a gasp as she was lifted from the ground.

“I've got you.”

He starts heading for the exit of the hangar with the mermaid in his arms. As they head for the medical bay, the mermaid sees that the halls in the base are filled with humans; some of them are working, some of them are relaxing, and some of the are just doing their own thing. What the mermaid doesn’t realize, is that all those eyes are on her. 

She hugs herself closer to his body, afraid and on guard as he walks past the people dressed like him. Colonel König senses her fear and immediately holds her even closer to him, wanting to make her feel protected against anything.

"They're not going to touch you."

"You're sure...?”

"It's a promise, mermaid, I’m not letting anyone close to you.”

“It's... I’m (Y/n)...”

He can’t help but chuckle again. "(Y/n), ja? That’s a beautiful name.”

“And I also wanted to apologize for insulting you.”

He chuckles, "It's okay, alright. If anything, I understand. We, uh, humans, aren’t the friendliest bunch most times."

“Oh, I'm painfully aware. But I'm apologizing to you.”

"Me? Me specifically?"

“Yes, just you... You’re the only human I’ve met to not view me for profit.”

He clears his throat as his cheeks warm up, "I can assure you that I do not see you for just profit. Of course, I can’t speak for everyone else but I see you as something more."

“More? More than profit?”

König nods. "More."

“Why?”

"I think... that might be a secret I'll hold for myself for now.” He winks, “Until we get to know each other better.”

[dranna]

Doubt

AO3 / Commissions / Links /

Ryan Gosling!Ken x Gender neural reader

Warnings: fluff, angst, emotional hurt/comfort, feeling excluded, sobbing, not beta read

Summary: you always loved Ken, his silly, all so excited personality, wondering over every tiny thing. But recently you noticed something strange. He started to get nervous, fidgety and sad (?) around you.

a/n: lineart is mine🧡 / It was inspired by this quote from Sense and Sensibility-- “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. “

tags my beloveds: @ken-dom (let me know if you would like to be tagged:) )

It’s impossible to describe,

How much you adored this Sunshine, 

He is the sneaky little Smile,

That bless your face,

During the cold and boring weekdays. 

He is loud, jumpy and silly,

Excitement and wonder are part of his personality,

There is not a single day, 

That goes without him discovering everyday things,

However he does it with such delight, 

It bewitches your heart every time.

Yet recently,

You noticed something unnerving,

His whole demeanor changed,

Self-forgetting disappeared, 

And anxious guarded took it’s place,

He become reserved and fidgety,

Not in the way you loved him to be,

His beautiful eyes became glossy,

And sadness was clouding their vision.

You didn’t understand, 

What caused this distress,

So one day in Baribeland,

After a 3 days long suspense,

You decided to put an end,

To this gloominess,

“Ken, what’s been going on?” 

“B-been going on?— n-noting! Haha..”

“Ken.. “

— you sighed,

While looking at him,

Questions in your eyes.

It was a dreamy day in Barbieland,

Just like every other beforehand,

The sun was throwing his warmth,

The mermaids were singing to its charm,

The beach was hot and comfy, 

Kens and Barbies were playing gleely,

Alan was standing alone and cheering,

Even Weird Barbie was joining,

There was nothing out of the ordinary,

So what caused his misery? 

You two were sitting under a palm tree,

Away from the loud team. 

You glanced at him again,

He looked nervous and uncertain,

He was staring at the other Kens,

With eyes filled with fear and tears.

Yes, you had no idea what's happened,

But how would you? 

He hid this knowledge deep,

Sealed with secrecy, 

Sooner or later you will see it too,

And you will realise, 

How pathetic I am compared to the others,

He thought, 

Rocking back and forth. 

It was an other perfect morning, 

As he was ‘beaching’ on the beach, 

Looking perfect and sun-kissed, 

While he was drawing something for you,

Lost in concentration,

To make it perfect for you.

He was a cowboy today, 

Wearing his black jacket and pink scarf,

Decorated with the most magnificent hat,

And a rope lasso at the belt.

“I have no idea what They see in Him! 

He is such a loser at everything” 

— Ken heard the voice of his ‘archenemy’,

The Other Ken, 

While he was sunbathing. 

He was surrounded with other Kens,

Listening to him intensely,

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you noticed?! 

It doesn’t matter what he tries, 

He fails miserably every time.

Also, 

Y/N is so beautiful and confident,

Lovely and intelligent,

I have no idea what they see,

In such a loser as him. 

He is always jumping around,

Being the loudest—“

“It’s not nice to talk about someone,

 Behind their backs like that!”

“Yes, you shouldn’t say such meannes!”

— Joined the others,

So this conversation lines ceased,

But Ken froze in place,

Only heard the Other Ken’s words.

He gazed down the drawing,

He was working on,

So endlessly and proudly before,

But the warmth escaped from his heart,

Leaving icy marks.

“ … Ken ? Ken??”

— Your worried voice pulled him back,

Into the sunny present,

You two were still sitting under the shade,

Covered by anxious silence.

“Ken, please talk to me.”

He looked at you with huge tear filled eyes, 

Streams flowing down both sides,

“I-I’m n-nothing-g.” 

— His voice was so quiet and broken,

If you didn’t see him in front of you on the sand,

You wouldn’t believe it was him.

“What is it about? 

What do you mean?!”

“I-I’m a loser aren’t I?!

I’m a failure in every task,

I’m always the one in the back,

Who the others laughing at, 

Doesn’t matter what I try,

I’m just never enough—..

S-so I understand,

If you decide,

I-if yo-u w-want to leave me b-beh-inde.”

“How can you say that,

It’s not true!

I don’t understand where it is coming from?”

“Yes it is!”

—At this point he was sobbing hard,

An ocean forming in his eyes,

Hugging his knees to tight, 

His hands went white,

You couldn’t bare to see him like that, 

So you gently touched,

His shaking shoulders,

“Who told you these things love? 

“H-hear-d it from t-the O-other Ken.”

— At the word ‘love’,

His head shot up,

Silent pleading in those blue eyes.

“You.. you still want..us to be,

Boyfriend and girlfriend..?”

“Of course I do!”

“B-but..”

“I love you silly!” 

— With these words,

You pulled him close,

Holding his shaking form.

“Whatever you heard it's not true, 

I adore you,

I love your enthusiasm, your awe,

Your never ending shiny self,

Your astonishment of tiny things,

And the babbling facts coming from within,

I love you the way you are,

Please never change,

And question my heart."

– Taking off his hat you held his face,

Hinting it with kisses,

Which bloomed in teras,

“And what if you fail?

Do you know what's more important?”

“What?”

–Suffocating pain was replaced,

With soft tenderness,

In his voice.

He looked at you,

Like you hanged the Moon on that perfect sky,

Admiring you beauty in the dark,

“You stand up,

Holding your head high,

Smiling to the sky,

It doesn't break your spirit,

In fact,

You try again!

– You placed a kiss on his forehead,

“And again”

– Now a smooch on his pretty nose,

“And again.”

– And kisses on his cheeks,

Which were now burning red.

You two sat there,

In your quiet spot,

Holding each other close.

The sun started to set,

Yet you stayed, 

Whispering sweet truths in his ear,

His sobs started to stop then disappear,

Leaving behind dried up rivers,

Which you pet better.

Doting started to bloom,

In his plastic heart,

With a newfound passion and warmth.  

He shuffled closer, 

If that's possible,

Gently hugging you more,

“I was making something for you,

When I heard them speak..”

– You heard them whisper quietly,

You looked down to see worry rising, 

So with a gentle tap,

You encouraged him to continue.

After a little shuffling and careful moves,

He took out a paper from his clothes,

Then gently placed it in your palm,

Nervously waiting for your reply.

You glanced down to see,

A drawing of a happy horsie,

It looked like a child drawing, 

But you can't help but smile, 

At the thought of him drawing this.

“I like it so much!

I–”

“Really?!”

–Instead of a reply, 

You just pulled him close,

Praising every tiny detail of it.

The glow worms' light were in sync,

With the music of yours heartstrings,

From Ken’s mind, 

Disappeared everything blue,

His chest was filled with comfort and heat,

With the lovely words,

From your pretty lips,

The night dragged on, 

But your pair didn't mind,

Your soul were set in a feeling so sublime.

.

Probably his drawing would look something like that:

[shadowpeachceo]

More Ninjago incorrect quotes Garmadon Family edition

*Lloyd texting Sensei Garmadon*

Lloyd: Come downstairs and talk to me please. I'm lonely.

Garmadon: Isn't you're mom there?

Lloyd: Yes but I like you more.

Young Misako : You get turned back into a baby but you retain all your skills and memory, what do you do?

Young Garmadon: Eat a nickel.

Young Misako : A reminder: You have retained all your skills and memories.

Young Wu: Eat a nickel.

Young Misako : Ok.

Lloyd: Okay, who's turn is it to give the pep talk?

Sensei Garmadon: It's Misako 's turn.

Misako : Don't die.

Sensei Garmadon, wiping a tear away: Truly inspirational.

Lloyd: what do you see in this woman???

Young Garmadon: Protip is you do not feel good about yourself after eating tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce.

Young Misako: What's wrong with you??

Young Garmadon: I literally JUST said I ate tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce?? Pay attention.

Young Wu: No, they mean other than that.

Young Garmadon: Ohhhhhh.

Young Garmadon: I haven't slept in 4 days.

OR like father like son

Lloyd: Protip is you do not feel good about yourself after eating tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce.

Sensei Garmadon: What's wrong with you??

Lloyd: I literally JUST said I ate tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce?? Pay attention.

Misako: No, they mean other than that.

Lloyd: Ohhhhhh.

Lloyd: I haven't slept in 4 days.

Lil Lloyd, texting Lord Garmadon: Dad! Help I'm being kidnapped!

Lord Garmadon: Where are you?

Lil Lloyd: I'm with some strange person. In a car. Help.

Lord Garmadon: I'll call Wu.

Wu, answering their cell: hello brother?

Lord Garmadon: Where's Lloyd? He texted me that he's were being kidnapped.

Wu: Whaddya mean, he's right next to me-

Wu:

Wu: I'll call you back. *Hangs up*

Wu: THE NEW HAIRCUT ISN'T THAT BAD!

Lil Lloyd: WHO ARE YOU!?

Lloyd: I have a bad feeling about this...

Emperor Garmadon: What do you mean?

Lloyd: Don't you ever get that little voice in your head that tells you if you're going to get into trouble?

Emperor Garmadon: No?

Wu: That actually explains so much.

Wu to lil Lloyd: First rule of battle, little one... don’t ever let them know where you are.

Lord Garmadon, shooting out of frame: WHOO-HOO! I’M RIGHT HERE! I’M RIGHT HERE! YOU WANT SOME O’ ME?! YEAH YOU DO! COME ON! COME ON! AAAAAH! Whoo-hoo!

Wu: 'Course, there’re other schools of thought.

Wu: We need a distraction.

Lord Garmadon, turning to the Ninja: one of you go to be good at jumping up and down and making weird noises right?

Lil Lloyd, whispering: My time has come.

Wu: Hold on! I’m having one of those things... a headache with pictures.

Lil Lloyd: What the fuck???

Lord Garmadon: They’re having an idea.

Emperor Garmadon: So... This is my full potential?

Harumi: Yes.

Emperor Garmadon: So, then it's...

Emperor Garmadon: All downhill from here.

Harumi: Like Lloyd.

Emperor Garmadon: I do not know what this Lloyd is. But it sounds disappointing.

Misako, excitedly: Heeyy!!

Sensei Garmadon: Hey, someone's excited.

Lloyd, deadpan: Yeah, and it's making me sick.

Lil Lloyd: *cooking*

Lord Garmadon: *kicks down door*

Lord Garmadon: *grabs knife from Lloyd's hand*

Lord Garmadon: WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR?

Lil Lloyd:

Lil Lloyd: What???

Wu: he doesn't trust you with sharp objects because he's scared going to turn evil like him.

Lloyd, to Sensei Garmadon: You know, Mom can be really passive aggressive, so it's important to take all the necessary precautions when approaching.

Lloyd: *blows airhorn at Misako* GET FUCKED!

Young Garmadon: Onion rings are vegetable donuts.

Young Wu, used to Garmadon being dumb: Sure...

Young Garmadon: Your stomach thinks all potatoes are mashed.

Young Wu: Okay?

Young Garmadon: Lasagna is spaghetti flavored cake.

Young Wu:

Young Garmadon: Lobsters are mermaid scorpio-

Young Wu: Jesus, that one is a little-

Young Misako, interested: No, no, Garmadon, keep going.

Misako: Want to hear a hard riddle?

Garmadon: Sure.

Misako: A rooster laid an egg on a roof. Which way did it roll?

Garmadon: ...down?

Misako: N-

Lloyd: Who cares about which way it rolled, it would be scrambled eggs by then.

Misako:

Misako: No, it's that roosters don't lay eggs... In the name of the first spinjitzu Master...

Wu: So, what's it like living with Lloyd?

Sensei Garmadon: he once referred to sand as "heterosexual glitter."

Wu: ...

Sensei Garmadon: I love my son so much.

Lloyd: So what, now I’m just supposed to do everything that Wu does? What if they jump off a cliff?

Sensei Garmadon: If Wu were to jump off a cliff, they would have done their due diligence regarding the height of the cliff, the depth of the water, and the angle of entry. So yes, if you see Wu jump off a cliff, by all means, jump off a cliff.

Lloyd: You jump off a cliff.

Sensei Garmadon: Gladly, provided Wu did first.

Garmadon: I bet you’re wondering why I gathered you here today. It’s because we need to have a discussion about how some people in this room aren’t getting along with other people in this room.

Lloyd: Why did you say that so vaguely? Mom and I are literally the only people you called in here.

Lloyd, texting group chat: What flavour of ice cream do you guys want? I’m at the store so be quick!

Garmadon: Moose Tracks is good!

Misako: What the fuck is that!?

Garmadon: *Gasp* How dare you insult moo-

Misako: No. No no not that. What the hell. Why do you spell flavor like flavour. It’s like you have flavor but then this guy shows up and is like “Oui Oui Would you like chocolate flaVOUR or vanilla flaVOUR.

Lloyd and Garmadon: what?

Misako: I don’t get it why add the EXTRA u when it’s PERFECTLY FINE AS IT IS!?

Lloyd: You done now?

Misako: Yeah ok.

Lloyd and Garmadon: ...

Misako: ...Can I have the Mint Chocolate chip flavour?

Garmadon: Remember! Curiosity killed the cat!

Lloyd: Yes, but you forget that satisfaction brought it back. So yes, Misako, go find out if that thing can catch fire!

Garmadon: You're a bad influence.

Lloyd: And you don't know your sayings.

Lloyd: In my defense, I was left unsupervised.

Misoko: Wasn’t you're dad with you?

Sensei Garmadon: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised.

Wu: Say no to drugs.

Emporer Garmadon: Say yes to drugs.

Lloyd: It doesn't matter if you say yes or no to drugs. If you're talking to drugs.. then you're on drugs.

Emperor Garmadon: All I did was kill Lloyd, is that really such a crime?

Misako:

Misako: Yes?!

Misako: HELP! I TOLD LLOYD I'D COOK DINNER TONIGHT BUT I CAN'T COOK!

Wu, pouring milk directly into the cereal bag: And you thought I could help?

Sensei Garmadon: If I were a drink, I'd be Cherry Vanilla Coke. If you were a drink, what would you be?

Lloyd: Bleach.

Wu: Sewage.

Sensei Garmadon: ...Please calm down, edgelords.

[quotidian-oblivion]

✨Out of context lines shitpost Pt. 7✨

Part 6

Sorry we've taken so long. Life=sucks. School=hard. Us=dead. But we also spent most of our energy roasting each other online under the tags 'quotidian convos' and 'nogolsta says hi'.

However, we managed to stay funny and collect quotes throughout, so here ye go.

gfhirgy forgot to tag Nog @mispeltnostalgia Here's dumbass #2 guys /aff

Shit we said in class (or in public) as the batfam:

~

Duke: You can’t tease me i got a scholarship

~

Kon: I got these caramels from the shop and they're really stale. But I'm still gonna eat them cuz I don't give a fuck about poisoning myself Bart: Just like how I'm poisoning myself with expired mayonnaise *bites sandwich*

~

[talking about poisoning] Steph: Then they die! >:D Damian: No, they won’t die. They might just get a little dizzy when they stand up. Steph: Oh.

~

Bruce: I have once gone two days without water and was on the brink of death Tim: Once, I hadn’t drunk enough water for a couple of days and I went to stand up, but I just c o l l a p s e d on the ground

[while deciding on who would say what]Nog: Hm… who would be stupid enough to— it’s Bruce.

~

Tim: The level of projection has gone so far that I am now projecting into school assignments.

~

Teenage!Bruce: *goes for a high five* Alfred: *awkwardly holds his hand*

~

Babs: Tim, have you gotten a date for Valentine's yet? Tim: Yeah. I’m texting them right now, Babs: Who is it? *leans over to see* Babs:  Babs: Are you roleplaying with a chips company? Tim: I asked them on Instagram and they said yes as long as I add them as one of WE’s sponsors.

Quo: Nog is in a committed relationship with Arnott’s Shapes. Do you have any words to say to your lover, Nog?Nog: ❤️chimpkon crimpens❤️Quo: And that’s real love, guys.

~

Duke: A lot has happened since last week, I have a whole ass big fucking family now Dick: That happened today

~

Tim: The world is an oyster and Jason is gonna eat it Jason: What? Oh. Yeah. Nom.

~

Steph: I stand up and a Niagra Falls of popcorn falls down off my boobs.

~

Bart and Kon: jAywALkjAYwAlKjaYWaLkJaYwALkJAyWalK

~

Damian: You need protection for kissing as well and it’s called a boxing glove.

~

Lex Luthor: You’re not a gamer Kon: no but i am a gay mer… person. I’m a mermaid- oh no the condensation

[cosmicwhoreo]

Childhood Home (WRITING DRABBLE)

Takes place a little after the events of "A Mermaid's Tale" where Crimson Coral Cookie has been leading her people and sisters across the ocean in search of a new home. But the trip has been long and arduous for them and they need a safe place to rest for a day... All the while the tired leader tries not to reflect on the events too hard... ____________________________________________________________ The seahorse huffed a small plume of bubbles, annoyed. A stark difference compared to the amused giggles of the little mermaid precariously riding atop it’s forehead. A little mermaid who had been there for well over half the trip because quote; “her fins were tired…!”.

It’s anger was only being just slightly quelled by the reassuring pats from its true rider. "Just a little longer, my friend… be patient with them."

And yet, even with Crimson Coral Cookie's naturally strong voice, both the seahorse and the little clownfish mermaid could hear just how tired their leader sounded.

The pod had been migrating for a long time now with little to no rest, all working diligently to keep in formation. Crimson Coral Cookie and her soldiers working extra hard to defend the remaining mermaids of their fallen kingdom from any predators or fishing nets.

But, even they were doing all they could just to stay awake.

Her brows furrowed, an uncomfortable weight forming in her stomach at the pitiful sight of her once proud people. Her soldiers… Her sisters…

How could she let this happen…?

"Crimson Coral Cookie…?"

Her attention was drawn back to the small mermaid, now fully facing her with a concerned expression.

The older mermaid's eyes softened to try and help reassure the child. "Do not fret over me, I am fine..."

This didn't seem to really convince them, but they thought better than to press the issue. "Okay, umm… then do we know exactly where we are going?"

Crimson Coral finally allowed herself to smile at the tiny question, feeling a small sense of playfulness push through the gloom. "You mean you don't recognize this path? Surely it hasn't been that long for you."

The little clownfish tilted her head like a confused puppy, before deciding to take a moment to actually take in their surroundings.

It was currently night time, so their general view wasn't the best. But, what she could make out were these impossibly bright bits of coral and seaweed poking out amidst the sandy terrain that seemed to get taller and taller around them. Gradually forming large, protective walls around the traveling pod the further they went in.

The chasm itself flourished with vibrant colors and busy marine life, to the point it nearly became overwhelming to the mermaids after the long travel of empty underwater sand dunes and deadly trenches.

The little mermaid gasped, her eyes lighting up with the scenery.

"Are we in–!?"

"-Yes, yes we are." Crimson Coral Cookie finished, amused at the giddy guppy who was now shaking their fins in poorly contained excitement. "So I ask that you behave yourself and treat our great Grand Reef Cookie with respect."

Her words seemed to echo throughout the halls of the colorful crevasse, a low murmur beginning to pick up amongst the mermaids and even a few of her soldiers behind her.

Some were happy to be back, ecstatic even. To so much as see something they recognized still intact despite everything they've all been through.

Others had felt it might be rude and disrespectful to intrude in such large quantities into this sacred atoll. Some even argued that it was borderline sacrilegious.

And the rest were far too tired to care about either… Just wanting to finally rest their fins somewhere safe after the long trip…

Crimson Coral Cookie couldn't help but relate to all parties in one way or another… but, she doubted their host would really be at all upset with the company. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The sound of her horse whinnying in annoyance at the clownfish practically using it’s head as a springboard drew her attention back to the front of the pod.

"GRAND REEF COOKIE!!" The child squealed. Soon followed by three other little ones zipping past Crimson Coral Cookie to practically tackle the large figure passively waiting by the undersea entrance to the reef.

He likely would've been found imposing in size, had he not had the colors of rainbow sherbet and the disposition of a manatee. His large arms, speckled in gold barnacles, swallowing up the little ones in an impressive hug as they all giggled.

"Ohoho! My, and how long has it been since I've seen you four, hmm?" Grand Reef Cookie chuckled, looking like he was struggling to properly greet the group as they all clung to him like remoras. "Haven't been giving your pod any trouble, have you?" He playfully raised an eyebrow, a faux stern expression that he struggled to keep as the children only continued to giggle. Sputtering out little "no"s and "maybe"s as Crimson Coral Cookie approached the group.

She bowed to him, greeting the large cookie with as much royal professionalism as if to a king. "Great Grand Reef Cookie, I apologize for intruding unannounced and with no forewarning. But we all needed a safe place to rest and recuperate before we can continue to travel again."

He immediately perked up at this, pleasantly surprised to see the red mermaid. And he likely would've greeted his child in a much more different and friendly manner had he not paused for a moment, confused by her wording.

"Recuperate?" He echoed, before finally looking behind her. 

The sight brought a deep, painful frown onto his face. His children have all come home, but they were worn, some injured. A few had even looked away from the large sea cookie in embarrassment or shame at his expression.

"Oh dear."

One more observant look down at the little ones cuddled up in his arms showed him just how tired they all were, one having already fallen asleep.

"Please," he said quietly, gently beckoning them to follow as he turned to walk back into the reef. "Come in, everyone." _____________________________________________________________

Ye, I wanted to write a bit of an idea of a pre-oilspill Grand Reef Cookie interacting with the mermaids... I mean, I got more idears for the specific "story" but I'll just leave you with this little spit of an intro for the time being that I wrote while bored. Maybe I'll write more, maybe not idk

[moonliched]

Yet more incorrect quote for you!

Moon: I understand why my spouse (tricked) won’t play with me. It is because they were hurt the last time we played, and so I have figured out the solution! I must request to play with them everyday, so they can become more accustomed to the idea! It is sad though, that my spouse (tricked) was introduced to playing with pain… I will have to show them that even though their prey instincts seem to be overwhelming, they will hopefully learn that I mean no harm.

Reader: I like it when my new (maybe) friend comes and sits with me so we can talk, and maybe one day I’ll play with them, but today is not that day!

———

Moon seeing reader remove their breather: HOLY SHIT!? CAN THEY TALK THEN!?!? CAN I GIVE THEM A LITTLE KISS!?!? LITTLE KISSES FOR SPOUSE(TRICKED)??????????

———

Headcanon based!

Reader, seemingly just drinking some water and humming in a small air pocket: lalalala

Moon: they’re singing???? They’re singing in my caves and home???? I must work to finish those rings for us, our wedding will have to happen soon if they’re so comfortable with our courting!!!

———

Eclipse: hmmm, I should go check in on moon soon, he tends to get up to no good if he’s left alone for too long.

Eclipse, swimming into moons den: hey moon-

Moon, hunched over two rings made of the most beautiful shells he could make, knife (taken from spouse(tricked)) in hand: hey eclipse, how are you? Do you think this is good enough for my (hopefully) spouse? They’re the one that likes to swim in the tunnels with two long tentacles on their head, and are seemingly completely pure white.

Eclipse, remembering the little human(?) who shouted at him for wrecking their den: moon-

spouse (tricked) is still sending me ahdjahgsjhdjs

i'm loving getting a taste of my own post-chapter povs, it's so nice seeing how my bbys come across to others... Moon seems so much more logical and level-headed, tho his hopefulness for mermarriage is jumping the gun😂

singing Reader!!! yes!!!! esp paired with mermaids singing in mythology!

Eclipse, remembering Rabid Reader Encounter:😰

[astridthevalkyrie]

to add to that last ask, portia featherington is a beloved character despite the fact that she: encouraged marina to trick colin, manipulated her by forging the letter from george (because before that marina was NOT planning on pursuing colin like that), fearmongered her and made sure marina didn't stay unmarried despite her wanting to, slapped her after finding out she was pregnant (marina was a teenage girl!), and is generally emotionally abusive to all her daughters especially penelope and everyone says it's okay because she loves her kids!

so we have our answer, if marina was white, i think everyone would love her. because portia is like 70% of the reason marina did what she did. and sure, she has somewhat of a redemption arc in season 3, but people loved her even before that. and that's not to say i don't find her entertaining. she's funny, she delivers lines well, she's the worst and it makes for enjoyable scenes. but i do give more grace to the pregnant black teenager than to the middle aged white woman for "protecting her kids." in quotes because even if portia did see herself in pen, her treatment of pen is in no way protective or loving and flipping it around once she sees that colin genuinely loves her seems incredibly insincere.

also this isn't unique to bridgerton. you remember when the little mermaid live action came out? even going past the absolute vileness and vitriol that halle bailey faced leading up to the release you remember how when it came out? and everyone and their mothers LOVED vanessa? vanessa who had no lines? vanessa whose singing voice was halle bailey and whose speaking voice was melissa mccarthy? the white actress who just had to spin around for a minute and make a very evil expression? and people said she stole the movie? and you can't say it's racism because people will be like "omg so just liking a white actress/character is racist???" no. and you know that's not it. it's that you would go out of your way to put such heavy praise onto a white actress that did absolutely nothing special aside from being a pretty white girl when it was halle who made the movie and even that scene with her acting and her voice.

remember how in ginny and georgia people are absolutely insane and disgusting when it comes to ginny a young mixed girl but praise abby the mean and edgy white girl and go so far as to call her a victim? and sure some of it just comes from a concerning lack of recalling media but it's also just this unsaid perhaps unconscious dislike people have of black characters (and all characters of color but especially black characters). it's the fact that many writers write them to be disliked. and people fall for it, take the bait, hook line and sinker.

and it's in little doses. god i just. people can think i'm reaching at straws all they want but lucas in stranger things. how in the first season he's MADE to be disliked despite being in the right. kenny in cobra kai who is humiliated again and again in show and we're supposed to dislike him or maybe just laugh at him. whatever the fuck is happening in that shameless scene where fiona fires the only black employee that works for her. i haven't seen shameless but that scene unfortunately comes up on my feed once every few months and each time i hate it more. because people will say "b-b-b-but that lady was a bad employee! she was lazy and coming to work late and then playing the race card!" yes! precisely! why did the writers write a scene like that? why did they play into such a negative stereotype just to give their woe-is-me white woman a #badbitch moment? the sinister thrill that people get from seeing black characters and especially black women "get what's coming to them" is so concerning!

how people talk about jacinda in the last season of once upon a time and say henry had more chemistry with ivy. no the fuck he did NOT. if jacinda was white and ivy was black, that would not be such a popular opinion. and it does get trickier when it comes to shipping because sure, everyone likes different things in fiction. i haven't seen star wars so take the following with a grain of salt but yeah sure people will like rey x kylo more than rey x finn. her dynamic with kylo is probably more interesting. but WHY is it more interesting. why could the writers not make her relationship with finn more engaging if he was supposed to be her love interest? would more people not be calling reylo toxic if kylo was played by a black actor? would more people not be saying that rey is a lesbian if she was played by a black woman? that is to say, i am in no way saying that people who ship reylo are racist. i think there are very few people who actively had the thought "i'm not going to ship rey with finn because finn is black." however i think there is a combination of a, writers not wanting to make black characters outright evil because they'll be called racist so they just sneak in ways to make them either annoying or boring, and b, fandom either ignoring or actively disliking black characters whether the writers do it or not. again, haven't seen star wars, but i can also talk about how lucas and max from stranger things are now more popular post season 4 when they were given better scenes, but how before that everyone shipped max with eleven.

or what about the mess of a movie that is set it up. where the two bad characters are the ceo guy who is portrayed as angry and aggressive and cheating on his girlfriend, and the main character's girlfriend, who is portrayed as vain and selfish.

the only beloved black character from a POPULAR fandom (because there are beloved and well-written black and other poc characters in smaller fandoms) that i can think of off the top of my head is jesper from six of crows. he's a MAIN character, first of all, and he is clearly written to be liked. the show and book make him the charmer, the funny one, gives him an actual plotline and secrets and family and angst and engagement just like all the other characters in the story. perhaps characters like t'challa in marvel could be considered popular. but on ao3, out of 500k marvel fics, 10k have him tagged as a character. whereas in 10k fics for six of crows, jesper is tagged in 6k and him x wylan is the second most popular ship.

idek where i'm going with this. i'm not trying to be mean. it's fine and valid to say that someone wouldn't like a character if they're white. i think it's also valid for me to say that black characters are villainized or ignored by writers and fandoms alike in a way white characters aren't, and that sometimes it's very obvious.

[halorocks1214]

SO a few nights ago i was playing ye old Sea of Thieves with my two good video game friends and we decided to finish up the Shores of Gold quest since we started it a while back but never actually got it done. to give a short summary, the first half of the final stretch involves running around an island, solving various image puzzles to obtain medallions that get placed into a door, and once all of them are in said door, the last half opens up et cetera et cetera

now most of these vaults' doors shut on us once we began solving the puzzle, meaning we could not leave until we either all died or the puzzle was solved. pretty straightforward, right? WELL for one of these vaults, we decided to angle our ship a little bit so we could shoot ourselves out of our canons to get there and a key detail to this story is that Friend #1 was the last one to do so

we solve the vault, get outside, yippeeee hooray! EXCEPT as we trekked our way to the next vault i noticed a mermaid on the shoreline of the island. for those unaware of Sea of Thieves mechanics, one of the things mermaids do for you is that if you fall off your ship in the middle of the ocean while sailing (i.e., meaning it's going too fast to catch up), a mermaid will appear shortly afterward and you can click it to teleport back

SOOO you're probably thinking the same question i thought in that moment, why is a mermaid, the thing that teleports you to your ship when you get too far away from it, on the shoreline of the island? i, like an utter fool, brushed it off because i wanted to get to the next puzzle, thinking, eh, sometimes you can use mermaids to hold onto treasure to get it back to your ship faster and [insert other excuse i probably came up with here]

then Friend #2, carrying the braincell, asks out loud, "hey why is there a mermaid, the thing that teleports you to your ship when you get too far away from it, on the shoreline of the island?" this isn't the exact quote of course but the point is that since he also thought it was weird, my brain finally decided to turn on and realize yeah, that's not right, why is it there? that should not be there

SUDDENLY FRIEND #1 STARTS LAUGHING. but he's laughing in that wheeze-y kind of way that you do when you realized you fucked up. and now Friend #2 and i are confused as to why he's suddenly hacking up a lung when he says, "hey, uh, i think i forgot to, um-"

that's when i realized OUR SHIP WAS NOT NEAR THE SHORLINE ANYMORE. it was, in fact, QUITE A BIT AWAY FROM THE ISLAND. my bestest friend buddy since elementary school FORGOT TO LOWER THE ANCHOR. and since one of our sails was slightly down (because WHY wouldn't the anchor get lowered, rendering it a moot point, yeah??), that meant our ship had ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD to pick up wind and drift away while we were STUCK IN A VAULT UNTIL WE SOLVED A PUZZLE

Friend #2 was able to swim to it and get back on so it wasn't too far away/going too fast, plus Friend #1 and i used the mermaid to teleport to the ship in a panic despite Friend #2 getting to it so the issue WAS resolved relatively quickly, but WOOOO what a day

we are NEVER going to let him live this down, btw. truly, one of the moments of all time. things like this make me wish we were really popular youtubers or streamers or something because no amount of storytelling i can possibly type up will do the emotions we felt in those minutes justice

[k8lynjoy]

I know the Live Action Little Mermaid came out forever ago, but I wasn't blogging then, so I have to discuss my grievances with it now. I want to start off by saying that I think the live action was good, this is in no way intended to slander the movie because as far as live actions go, this one is one of the good ones (Halle Bailey, I love you, marry me). That being said, I have got to talk about how much I hate the lyric changes made to "Poor Unfortunate Souls".

I understand why they decided to change the lyrics in "Kiss the Girl" to remove the lines of kissing people without their consent, but the lyric changes in "Poor Unfortunate Souls" irk me to no end because they completely miss the point of the original song. Are the lyrics incredibly misogynistic and rooted in outdated stereotypes surrounding women? Yes. Is that the whole point? YES! Ursula is MANIPULATING Ariel. She wants her to believe that giving up her voice is in her best interest. Of course she's going to be spouting bs about how "it's she who holds her tongue that gets a man", she's the VILLAIN. We are not meant to be taking any of what Ursula says seriously. Changing the lyrics to "remove the sexism" misses the intention of the original song. It's SUPPOSED to be sexist, not because it's sexism for the sake of sexism, but because it serves a narrative purpose within the story.

I also want to add that URSULA IS PROVEN WRONG! I know The Little Mermaid gets a lot of flak for having the FMC give up her voice "for a man" (I use quotes bc Ariel had an interest in the human world BEFORE Eric, but I also understand that he was the main catalyst for Ursula being able to manipulate her into giving up her voice and becoming human), but I don't think enough people- or anyone really- ever talks about the fact that Ariel NEEDS her voice in order to be with Eric. Now obviously I know that Eric was falling for Ariel even before she got her voice back, but her not having her voice was the main source of "conflict" for their relationship. This was once again, intentional on Ursula's part. She knows how powerful Ariel's voice is, which is why she takes it in the first place, she knows that without her voice, Ariel is going to have a very hard time winning Eric. What Ursula doesn't count on is Ariel having a personality that still manages to win Eric over. I also feel compelled to add that Eric spending the movie wishing that Ariel could speak to him also disproves the points Ursula made because "on land it's much preferred/for ladies not to say a word" becomes null and void when Eric actively wants Ariel to speak, but she can't. I digress.

Regardless of Ariel being able to sway Eric with her personality, they do not end up together until AFTER she has gotten her voice back. Ariel did not need to lose her voice to gain a man, she needed to WIN IT BACK. Ariel's voice holds a lot of weight in the movie- being the thing that drew Eric to her and what Ursula now covets in order to keep Ariel from succeeding to get Eric to kiss her- so her taking it back from Ursula is very important within the context of the story. And it is only after she has gotten it back that her and Eric end up together, fully cementing the point that Ursula WAS WRONG. Ariel NEEDED her voice, its important and holds its own kind of power. We were never supposed to believe what Ursula was saying, and even if some of us did get manipulated right along with Ariel, by the end of the movie, we see that what Ursula was saying wasn't true.

Now this isn't me trying to spin some revisionist, feminist take on The Little Mermaid, where I'm lamenting on how beautifully feminist the original message of the movie is, because that is most definitely NOT what I'm saying. What I am saying is that there is an ever-growing lack of media literacy and nuance when it comes to the things we read/watch and changing the lyrics to "Poor Unfortunate Souls" because they're sexist, just proves that A.) some people lack the ability to understand context and nuance and B.) that Hollywood doesn't trust people to have the brain capacity to understand complexities within plot and character.

It's just a shame to see because one thing that remakes keep doing is removing a lot of the things they deem "problematic" in order to make it more palatable, but- in reality- the only thing they are doing is reducing the complexity of the narrative because they can't trust audiences to work things out for themselves.

[waggtoon]

It feels like with the Disney remakes (and even some of the newer animated films) Disney feels afraid of any criticism aimed at their movies, so they want to make sure their main characters are as flawless as possible and that every single action they do is justified.

An example of this is the Pinocchio remake. In the original he skips going to school to become an actor, leading to him being imprisoned by Stromboli as punishment later on. In the remake he goes to school and gets kicked out, which is supposed to justify him skipping school to become an actor, but the whole plot of Pinocchio is that he's supposed to learn how to be a good boy. It's supposed to teach important morals; like go to school, don't go with strangers, listen to your parents, let your conscience be your guide, don't do stuff you know is wrong otherwise you'll turn into a donkey. In the remake they make the moral of "don't be bad" kind of pointless as Pinocchio did do the right thing, but he got punished for it anyway, so it feels like the moral of the new version is "Do whatever and you'll get the same results."

It feels like Disney saw all of those Cinema Sins videos with all the nitpicky critiques of their older films and took them all seriously, leading to the current state we're in where even "Poor Unfortunate Souls" the villain song in The Little Mermaid sung by the villain (AKA the character who is evil and we are not supposed to root for) has to be corrected to be "Progressive."

I'm all for progress and updating stuff, there are several pieces of media I love that fit in that category like Steven Universe, and the Netflix She-Ra series. Now some people don't like those, and I'll admit they have their flaws, but here's the thing... It's okay for media to have flaws, it's okay for characters to have flaws, you know why? Because people have flaws, it's what makes us human. It's how we deal with them and learn from them that makes us who we are, and what makes characters and stories so much fun and unique. If you give us nothing but main characters who never do anything wrong and already know the right thing to do... Well it's just kind of bland.

Are there elements of past stories in media that haven't aged well? Of course. Can some of these elements be seen as harmful? Yes. When retelling these stories should we try to update them properly? Yes. But we shouldn't try to avoid our stories and characters having no flaws whatsoever. Because to quote Duckman:

"The risk is better than the alternative: a steady diet of innocuous, child-proof, flavorless mush!"

Those are my thoughts anyway. Remember wether you're creating your own stories and characters or just a fan who enjoys them, it's okay for them to have flaws. Maybe it's accepting the flaws in characters which makes it easier to accept the flaws we have as humans.

Now to end this, a couple of Cartoon Network quotes which sum up my feelings: