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anyathefandom · 1 year ago

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To Those Fortunate Enough chapter 35:

@burned-lariat

"What are you reading?" she asked shakily.

"A text from one of my men," Victor showed her the message that appeared on his phone screen.

From: Unknown (5:41 PM)

WH spotted at Warehouse 22

We have perimeter guarded

Come ASAP

Irina settled into her chair, biting the right corner of her lip. Her heart began to ache at the thought of it all, and she did her best to ignore Victor's skeptical gaze.

"Don't tell me you still have some affection for that man."

"He's an important part of my life."

"He is? No, my dear, he was. I seem to recall a very passionate monologue where you pinpointed Dexter's death as his responsibility."

"We resolved that."

"You resolved things with the man who murdered your son?" Victor looked at her with faux shock, "If I were Dexter, I'd be appalled that you care more about his killer than him."

Such a foul creature you are… Irina glared at her father, her thoughts bitter. She then looked back out the window.

Me: I would love to reach the level of delusional that Victor has reached. Being this delusional has to be fun.🥴

"What did you ever see in that man?"

Irina swiftly looked back at Victor, "Excuse me?"

"Wallace is a degenerate criminal, a man with no morals and no heart. You are a woman of higher standing and excellence. How could you ever fall for someone like him?"

Me: Victor really doesn't know him like me and Irina do😭

"Maybe because he never treated me like an object."

Victor stared at his daughter, confusion in his features. Irina's gaze was firm and assured.

"My mother kept me locked up in different compounds, and now you're using me to eliminate your enemies. Wallace never saw me as a weapon of mass destruction or a means to an end."

"Credit where it's due, the man is intelligent. He clearly found a way to keep his hold on you after all these years. I'm almost jealous of his skills-"

Me:

Y'all don't understand I need Victor in hell immediately.

"He never manipulated me, Father. Never. I know him."

"Do you now?"

"This man that you look down upon allowed me to have a connection to the world. His language, his culture, his delights are all things I've come to love myself. I'd still be a sheltered, frigid woman if not for the things he exposed me to."

"So he gave you a taste of freedom and independence. That's not a love story."

"And what would you know about it? Were you in love with Helena? Did she make you feel like you mattered, that you were more than a pile of clay to mold? Did she appreciate your flaws and quirks and always give you grace when it came to your own intricacies? Did she look out for you, protecting your interests and being more than what the world made of her? Did she show you affection openly and confidently, letting you know at every waking moment that you were the one for her? Did she even ever tell you that she loved you? If the answer to all of these questions is no, then you have no business saying anything."

"...Hmph," Victor turned away as the car parked at their destination, "We're here. You better change your tune soon, young lady. For your sake."

Me: Oh she gagged him real good.😌 Girlie said "STFU, let me tell you what a real love story is!" Like even I'm jealous of what Irina and Wallace have.😂

Irina could only roll her eyes in response as she stepped out of the car. Johann stood in her direct path, a silver handgun resting in his palm. She sighed gently before taking the weapon, trailing behind her father as he stepped inside.

"Wallace," Victor nodded with a grin.

"Victor," Wallace replied flatly.

"Bastard."

"Scum."

"Always with the pleasantries."

"Yeah, I'm a sweetheart," Wallace rolled his eyes, "I take it those buffoons in suits outside are yours?"

Me:

I'm just living for how Wallace and Irina can't control how much they despise that man🤭

That they are, but don't refer to them that way. They don't need to be reduced to your…level."

"Whatever," Wallace rolled his eyes before letting them travel to the woman nearby, "...Hi."

Irina was silent, nodding her head before glancing away.

"It would be best if you didn't make eyes at my daughter," Victor cut in.

Me: No matter the situation one thing about Wallace is that he's going to make it known he adores irina.🥰

"Or else, what? You'd shoot me?"

"No, but she would."

Wallace raised an eyebrow before looking Irina up and down. Her grip was firm around the handgun, a sharp glint in her eye as her aim was steady at his heart. He frowned at the sight before taking a deep breath.

"Hands up," her voice was shaky, but loud enough for him to hear. Wallace stood still for a moment before he slowly lifted his arms.

"You had to know this was coming," Victor stated sadly.

Me:

“Irina,” Wallace cut in, “listen to me.”

“Be quiet!”

“Make me!”

“With pleasure,” Victor smirked, “Go ahead, my dear. Finish him.”

“Irina, wait,” Wallace pushed his hands forward, his breathing a bit shaky, “just…before you shoot, just hear me out.”

He glanced at Victor for a moment before looking back at her.

“I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, been a lot of things I’m not proud of, but I’m proud of what I did and who I was with you. You’ve changed my life for the better, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to repay the favor. It’s been an honor being in your life, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I’ll be spending the rest of my life burning in Hell, but my time here on Earth, as messy and chaotic as it was, was pretty good because you were part of it. I love you.”

Irina gulped, feeling her eyes well with tears. Her words echoed in his ears as she pulled the trigger, “I love you too. I’m sorry.”

Irina froze for a moment, taking everything in before pulling the trigger. Wallace fell to the ground in an instant, a hand on his chest.

“Dearest,” Irina rushed to his side, laying a hand in his hair. He writhed in pain, gasping for air, “Oh God-”

“It’s o-okay,” he choked out, “I had it c-coming.”

“No, no, please. Wallace, please, you can’t-”

Me:

My wig is missing! I repeat MY WIG IS MISSING!!!! The way Wallace and Irina are acting down🫡

“Irina, let’s go,” Victor boomed as he walked towards the warehouse door, “You have more targets to strike down.”

“I’m sorry,” Irina cried softly, “I’m so sorry. I love you.”

“I love you too…” Wallace sighed, his voice hoarse and weak. She opened her mouth to say more, but relented when she caught him wink. Eventually, she backed off and walked to the door, turning to blow him a kiss before finally leaving.

Me:

"Raise your weapon," Victor whispered to Irina, who did as much, "Come on now, come closer. I'll have my daughter lower her weapon if you do."

"Give me one reason I should trust that."

Irina's heart fluttered as she heard the voice, lowering her weapon on impulse. Victor scowled at her as a foot came into the light, and then legs, and then a chest, and finally, a head.

He could hardly believe his eyes: "Dexter."

"Hello, grandfather," he replied, a sharp glare on his face. Irina did her best to suppress a smile of pride.

"You're dead," Victor spat out in shock, "You should be dead. How are you standing here?"

"Well, as you can see, I'm not dead. Points for trying, though. You really did a number on me."

"You shouldn't be here."

"Oh, but I am. I mean, I'm a Cassadine, after all. If there's one thing that's true about us, it's that we don't die easy."

Me:

I'm a sucker for smooth confident entrances 🤭

"Dex," she hissed as she came from his left. He snapped his head her way and sighed, dropping to his knees.

"Oh, Dexter?" Victor's voice was melodic, "Come on out, young man. Spend some time with your mother before she corrects the course."

"Anna, hey," Dex whispered back.

"Take this," she passed him the gun, "I know you said you didn't have to use a gun, but use it here if you must."

"I'm not going to shoot my mother," Dex remarked, looking the weapon over.

"Are you a good shot?"

"My father's an excellent marksman. He may have screwed me up, but he made sure I knew how to shoot a gun."

Me: I need Wallace to become canon because someone needs to teach Canon!Dex how to shoot😂

"Irina," the older man boomed. She lifted her gun in response. Victor took a step closer to the young man.

"What a fun sight," Victor grinned, "a stalemate between mother and son. I know you wouldn't dare harm your mother…but she'll do what I say if she knows what's good for her."

Victor took a step closer, covering his daughter, "This is it for you, dear boy. Whatever plan you came up with to subdue me won't work. I had your mother take your father out, and I'll have her do the same to you. It would've been more prudent to have stayed in the shadows, because now, all that recovery will be for nothing. Goodbye, Dexter. I hope you enjoy burning in Hell."

Me: Once again I have to say it must be fun to Victor because why does he think Irina would kill her own son? The very son she was devasted over him trying to kill in the first place🥴

He held up a hand, "Now, my dear. Fire!"

The room stood still for a brief moment. Dex's eyes widened as he saw the bullet rip past him, striking the wall. Victor grabbed his side, clutching it as he fell to his knees. The young man looked between his grandfather and mother, who lowered her gun and rushed to them both.

"Mom-" Dex began as she pulled him away.

"Shh," Irina hissed, "we need to go. Let's get Anna and Valentin and-"

The world stopped again. Irina let go of her son's arm, her hands clutching her stomach. She doubled over in pain, lying flat on her back.

Me: ......I'm on the way

"You…" Victor hissed as he got to his feet, "you worthless bastard spawn."

Dex felt Johann's forearm press harder against his neck. Anna and Valentin squirmed, trying to free themselves.

"All you have done is cause misery," Victor growled, "You broke apart the family, you actively interfered with my plans, and above all else, you still have air in your lungs."

Me: Oh Victor needs to be fucking fr because this man is acting like he didn't set all of this in motion.🥴 Victor middle name has to "бредовый"

"Your very existence is unnatural," Victor got in his face, "a black mark on our legacy. Helena should've gutted you when she had the chance, and I should've followed through after using you to bring your bleeding heart mother back. You won't evade death this time, young man. Your father's dead, your mother's dying, and you're the next to go. Enjoy these final moments while you still can."

Victor shakily aimed the gun at his grandson's head, his finger slowly pulling the trigger. The gun fell to the ground, going off and striking Johann in the leg. Dex fell to his knees, gasping for air. He looked at Johann, who struggled to get up, before looking to Victor, his eyes widening at the sight.

The old man laid still, a bullet wound present on his neck. His eyes were wide and glossy, blood leaking from his mouth. Dex looked to his left, seeing a pair of dark brown hiking boots. His eyes traveled up until he saw Wallace's face, determined and cold as the gun was perfectly aimed. There was a hole in his shirt, exposing a bit of his bulletproof vest's black padding. In the shock of the incident, Anna and Valentin seized the moment to free themselves, twisting the goons' arms and knocking them to the ground. They rushed into the middle of the action.

"Oh my God," Anna sighed, looking at Wallace, "You…you-"

"I know what I did, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Wallace replied, his voice deep, "His reign of terror is over…for good."

Me:

Like wow...

Dex," Wallace called out, stepping over Johann's body and dropping to his knees, "Dex, hey."

The young man's vision began to blur, a hand slowly landing on his chest, "D…Dad-"

His heart…verdammt… Wallace thought anxiously as he pulled Dex into his arms, "It's going to be okay."

"M-Mom-"

"I know, I know. She's getting help."

"But-" his breathing was shaky as his chest ached. Black spots clouded his vision as his father cradled him from the waist up, "Aah-"

"Anna and Valentin are with her, they're getting her help. Your mother's going to be okay. Worry about you."

"She…she was sh-shot-"

"And you're having a heart attack. Please, son, worry about yourself."

Me:

"Help's on the way," Anna walked over to the men, "The WSB's sending agents to take in the rest of Victor's grunts and ambulances are on the way."

"Anna-" Dex gasped out, "My…m-mother-"

"She's still alive," Anna crouched down, "She's hanging on; she's not going anywhere."

"I…I-" Dex blinked slowly before looking up at Wallace. The man stared back, a reassuring smile on his face. On impulse, he wrapped his arms around his father's shoulders, holding him close.

"Thank you," he sighed.

"No need," Wallace replied, hugging him back, "This was all you."

Me: 🥹

He squeezed Dex a little tighter, "Ich liebe dich, mein kleiner Bär. Ich liebe dich so sehr."

"Ich…liebe dich auch…" Dex felt a wave of relief rush through him, his vision blurring further before his eyes fluttered closed. His hold on Wallace loosened, and the hand he left on his father's shoulder slid off, going limp. Wallace felt his son slump against him, and he slowly pulled away to examine him. He gently shook the young man, panic slowly but surely coursing through his veins.

His voice cracked as he spoke: "...Dex?"

Me: So yeah i've decided that the Heller family will be the death of me.😄

#to those fortunate enough #AND THIS IS HOW YOU SOAP 🫧🧼#MAY SWEEPS WHO?!!!#general hospital

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thehungrykat1 · 10 months ago

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Pardon My French Manila Launches New Asian-Pasti Lunch Buffet

There's a great new lunch destination for those working or living near the Makati area. While the evenings at Pardon My French Manila are usually busy and packed, not so many people know that the restaurant also offers a relaxing venue for a classy business lunch or casual get-together with friends. That's why I'm here to discover their new exquisite lunch buffet for myself.

Pardon My French is located along Jupiter Street in Makati, right where the iconic Strumm's used to be. It continues to be a popular music hotspot where guests can enjoy live bands and dance to the beat of classic songs after sundown. This time, we were here for lunch to try their newest offering, the Asian-Pasti Buffet which promises to be an exciting option featuring familiar Asian favorites served with a French twist.

Pardon My French Manila made big waves when it opened its doors in 2022, instantly becoming a lively party place for those with a more refined taste for food and music.

The central dining hall is where live performers and bands come to play in the evenings. But for today, the Hungry Kat was invited to see the more relaxed version of the restaurant during its lunch service.

The entire place exudes a fanciful charm that you don't often see in other restaurants along this side of Makati. This is a great venue to invite family and friends for a lovely afternoon filled with excellent food and drinks.

There's also a balcony floor overlooking the party venue below if you want to enjoy lunch in a more private dining area.

Taking the helm at the kitchen is the legendary Chef Ariel Manuel who is more popularly known as the man behind the beloved Lolo Dad's, arguably the best fine dining restaurant in the country during its time. While I was not able to visit the original Lolo Dad's in Malate, my first experience with Chef Ariel's restaurant was when we dined at Lolo Dad's Brasserie in Ayala Center, Makati. It seemed that everyone at the table had their own memorable experience at Lolo Dad's.

Fortunately, the bar is open as early as lunch, so guests can order any of their refreshing beverages. We tried their Cocktail of the Week called the Yellow Room (P380) which was inspired by Johannes Vermeer's "The Girl With a Wine Glass." It offers a refreshing afternoon cocktail composed of gin, mango and calamansi corsial, white wine reduction, and prosecco with tropical citrus notes. They also have Signature and Classic Cocktails, as well as other beverages such as the Strawberry Lemon Basil (P280).

The all-new Asian-Pasti Buffet is an endless array of Asian-inspired small bites, dips, spreads, breads, and canapes available from 11:00am to 3:00pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays for only P990+ per person. Unlike other hotel buffets which can be a bit heavy on the meats and fatty dishes, the Asian-Pasti buffet at Pardon My French offers a lighter and healthier selection so you can still go back to your office without falling asleep.

You can start at the salad station which comes with several composed salads like the Duck Salad, Banana Heart Salad, Spiced Fish Tofu Salad, Beef and Glass Noodles Salad. You can also make your own salad with all the ingredients spread out on the buffet table, then add your chosen salad dressings from lime vinaigrette, sesame vinaigrette, Thai basil raspberry dressing, or peanut dressing.

There are also several other enticing small bites and canapes available like these Marinated Fish and Shellfish Platters. Try some of the Soy Cured Salmon, Tuna Kilawin, Brined Mussles, and the Marinated Squid with Shrimp. There's also a Barbecued Pork platter which features this lovely Cantonese specialty.

One of my favorite dishes that afternoon was the Scallops XO with its soft scallops topped with a very flavorful XO sauce served on the half shell. I immediately went back here to get a few more servings.

There's also a Sushi Board offering some small sushi bites including Maki, California Rolls, and these Oshizushi or pressed sushi topped with fish.

Don't forget to grab some of these Shrimp Cocktail served on shot glasses with sweet chili sauce. If you like noodles, there's some Cold Soba with sauce and condiments here as well.

Over at the other table, guests can treat themselves to some meatier dishes featuring Asian barbeque and dimsum.

These Assorted Dimsum baskets come with homemade shrimp, pork, and mushroom dumplings. Try to get at least one of each then dip them in the chili sauce provided. Just beside these are Deep Fried Mantou Buns with condensed milk, pork humba jam and spiced chicken liver dips.

Meatlovers won't feel left out because there's a lot of choices here like the Beef Sate, Chicken Sate, Roasted Pork Belly, Charcuterie Quiche, plus all the Crispy Pork Chicharon that you can handle.

The centerpiece of the Asian-Pasti Buffet is definitely the Roast Pekin Duck served with hoisin sauce, condiments, and wrappers. Get a few pieces of this ultra crispy American Pekin duck and put it inside the pancake wrappers together with the vegetables and sauces for the complete Pekin Duck experience.

The buffet also comes with your choice of soup. You can ask for the very interesting Cream of Lettuce Soup or go for the Tom Yum Soup. Both are quite good and served very hot. All of these are included in the Asian-Pasti buffet.

However, for just a little more, you can actually go for their Special Lunch Deal for only P1200+. This option comes with the lavish Asian-Pasti buffet plus a tempting Entree of your choice and their Dessert of the Day. You can choose from four different entrees like the Szechuan Pork with Stir Fried Saffron Rice.

My order was the Salmon with Teriyaki Glaze served with Fried Vegetable Ravioli. The tender salmon was doused in a sweet and tangy teriyaki glaze that I really liked.

Other options for your entree are the Spiced Curried Chicken with Potatoes and Pappadum and the Braised Beef and Tendon with Garlic Pasta. Everyone really enjoyed their main course even if we were all pretty full from the Asian-Pasti selections.

We ended our beautiful buffet lunch with their Dessert of the Day which was the Mango Panna Cotta with Coconut Milk and Tapioca. This was a sweet and lovely way to finish our extended lunch session.

We would like to thank Chef Ariel Manuel and Chinkee Koppe for hosting our fabulous lunch at Pardon My French Manila. This is one of the best hidden gems in Makati for lunch so make sure to check out their Asian-Pasti Buffet before everyone else finds out.

Pardon My French Manila

110 Jupiter Street, Makati City, Philippines

(0917) 823-0091

www.facebook.com/pardonmyfrenchmanila

#PardonMyFrench #PardonMyFrenchManila #Lunch #Buffet #Manila #Asian #French #ChefArielManuel

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iomadachd · 10 months ago

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"Ah, Verne. Excellent taste. I always found myself in adventure books as a child. Robert Louis Stevenson, Johann David Wyss, Baum, Hemingway, Wells, and the like. Aside from the Infernal texts, anyway."

A whole childhood surrounded by libraries and religious texts. Was it any wonder an orphan ended up buried in books his whole life?

"I will certainly seek you out for majik or magic or anything of the ilk. Our own texts are extensive, but eh..."

How does the head of a church explain he can do so very little compared to ghouls, demons, or the papas that came before him? He doesn't and keeps the shame to himself.

If Nihil wasn't so insistent on calling her 'Seestor', then Copia wouldn't have picked it up as well. She was very simply Sister Imperator to him, and always would be, blood or not.

He doesn't hear the scream, only preoccupied with his own drink and the comfort of a warm fire and pleasant company.

He looks to Alastor and smiles, the fire catching the infernal eye, bright white almost like an animal's caught in the flash of a camera.

"I find demons to be an oddly honest sort. You always know exactly what you're going to get with them. Humans not so much. It is very clear to me that you and Dewdrop have no intentions of hurting the other on purpose or by accident. I rather expect I'll never have to set foot in Hell until my time comes."

"Mmm.. I do fancy books quite a bit as well. I enjoy learning. I enjoy the stories those pages hold. Sometimes, I enjoy practical knowledge, other times, I enjoy the more.. Imaginative kind of literature. I am quite fond of Jules Verne." He spoke, chuckling slightly at the sentiment that he, an Overlord of Hell, enjoyed reading fantasy novels.

The more you know, n'est-ce pas?

He straightened up some, crimson orbs taking in the features of the other. Noted the way the fire cast a warm glow across his skin.

"If you are ever in need of a specific topic, in terms of majik, feel free to inquire. I might just be able to provide you with certain texts that are incredibly difficult to obtain. I have quite the library, you see~"

Ah, he didn't miss the fact that he was about to call her "Seestor". He took note of that, and stored that away in his memory. It was a little humorous that even Papa shared the dislike for that woman.

He'd slowly sip at his mug, one ear twitching slightly at the sound of a few, snapping branches in the woods behind them, the faint scream of a deer dying. But it was so faint that human ears probably didn't pick up on it.

"I will do right by him." He finally spoke, turning his body a little in order to face him more.

"I will do right by him, Papa. And that is a promise. As odd as it may sound, I am a man of my word. I keep my promises. And I am promising you, as amusing as it would be to see you march to Hell, that I will do right by him. My Rosée. I would be a fool if I did not. "

#alastors radioshow #c: copia emeritus #v: say that we're out of control

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avijohann · 4 years ago

Note

https://neurodivergent-angus.tumblr.com/post/631448345276203008/tazpoc-zevwanawainai-johann-i-drew-a-few-days his hat!!!! saw him and thought of u

THAT FEATHER!!!! thank you anon this made my day <3

#you have excellent taste in johann #Anonymous

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dearest-solitude · 3 years ago

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dearest-solitude recs, part four

Anon asked:

If I enjoy Violaf fics, which other fics(and original works) could be to my taste?

Finally, original works! Thanks again for this ask, I had so much fun compiling all these.

General CW for all sorts of problematic content.

Books:

Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov - This one is sort of obvious. Daniel Handler loves Nabakov (and called Lolita sexy!) so I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven’t. I myself wouldn’t particularly consider Lolita to be a “sexy” story, but it is an excellent book, and basically a must read if you love exploring power imbalance due to age gaps.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russel - I finished this one recently, and really enjoyed it. It got a lot of hype when it came out, deservedly so. The story explores two timelines: a budding student/teacher relationship, and the aftermath twenty years later.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - This book doesn’t have anything remotely shippy in, but the the catalyst and first chapter of the story is the rape and murder of a fourteen year old girl by her middle-aged neighbor. I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the above two, but it explores grief and tauma in an interesting way.

Abarat by Clive Barker - I think this series is YA but possibly it is middle grade. It is a series about a girl who gets called to a magical world and has to help save it. The plot isn’t super original, but it is a fun series to read, and the main villain of the first two books (a evil man named Christopher Carrion) tries multiples to kidnap and then to marry the teenage lead, Candy Quackenbush. My memory of it is a bit foggy since I read these sophomore year of high school, so no promises with this one.

The Lost Episodes of Revie Bryson by Bryan Furuness - I read this book on the recommendation of @s-softersoftest a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it! Again, nothing too shippy, but there is a storyline about a middle school boy who’s substitute teacher begins a relationship with him. Overall, I think Furuness did an awesome job of balancing some really serious topics while also staying realistically in the voice of a middle schooler.

Movies:

Buffalo 66 (1998) - I love this movie and I love Billy Brown and Layla. A summary would be “Freshly released from prison, man kidnaps local girl and forces her to be his pretend wife when meeting his parents.” I don’t know how old the characters are, but the lead actors (Christina Ricci and Vincent Gallo) were seventeen and thirty-seven when the movie was filmed. I believe it is online to watch for free if you are interested.

The Lover (1992) - A french 15 year old begins a steamy affair with a 32 year old chinese playboy in 1920’s french colonial Indochina (Vietnam). This movie has hot sex scenes, and a lot of them. It also made me cry.

Comics and Art:

@kmclaude’s work - Lots of power imbalances and advantage taking and truly lovely art. It’s real good stuff. I’m not sure how to summarize it all here, so aside from checking out the art on their blog, you can read up on their character’s here.

BeLoved by Jaelui - Comic follows 32 year old, Dr. Wei, after she realizes she hooked up with a (legal) 16 year old girl who she brought home from a club. This story is just like Violaf in the age gap aspect, everything that goes on in the story is legal, consensual, and it’s just a super cute love story. I’ve read it like six times.

The Double Agent -This is a newish webtoon, about a woman who is forced to be a spy, and who is immedeatly caught and subsequently psychologicaly tortured by the opposing side. Sexual tension is very high, and Sasha Laurent and Major General Johann von Willendorf quickly become obsessed with each other. This is possibly the darkest romance story I’ve seen on Webtoon.

part 1/2/3/4

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the-great-imagines-of-1812 · 4 years ago

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Through The Years Pt. 10

A/N: feedback is so so appreciated! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO WAS KEPT THEIR PATIENCE WHILE I WROTE THIS! (also, this is kind of short, my apoligies)

tags: @a-girl-who-loves-disney @the-romanian-is-bae @bihoeofmanyfandoms

@thicc101q

takes place during: The Avengers

Italics= flashbacks

~~~~~~~

NEW YORK, 1942

SSR HQ

“As you all know, a threat has risen. Commander Johann Schmidt has his eyes on something new; they call it the Tesseract. The power it holds is unlimited and unknown. If it falls into the wrong hands, especially in times like these, this is a war we won’t win. Meeting dismissed.” Dr. Erksine said, as all the agents seated around the table got up, desperate to go home.

You had dozed out ages ago, and would’ve practically fallen asleep if it weren’t for Howard. He laid a hand on your shoulder and shook you.

“Y/N/N, it’s time to go. C’mon. I heard your favorite radio show is on tonight.”

“Thanks, Howwie. It’s just, there’s something-”

“This Tesseract thing? I know were supposed to believe everything Dr. Erksine tells us, but this is a stretch-”

“Except it isn’t, Howard. I got a bad feeling about this one. You know how strong my intuition is.”

“I know. That’s what worries me.”

~~~~~~

PRESENT DAY, 2012

BRUCE BANNER’S LAB ON THE HELLICARRIER

The Hellicarrier is quiet as it floats across the night sky, and you absentmindedly type some data that Tony had given you a few minutes ago. You weren’t going to lie; you were scared then, and you are scared now. It seems like history is repeating itself; some bad dude wants to get his hands on the Tesseract and if he isn’t stopped, a lot of people will die.

Only difference was, you didn’t have a brother this time.

Blinking back the tears that were about to escape, you kept typing as Dr. Banner was scanning the scepter for gamma radiation, and Tony was solving several different equations and theorems and god knows what all at once.

“Well, we’re going somewhere now. The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process.” Banner said, letting out a sigh, laying down the object he was using to measure gamma readings on Loki’s scepter.

“We bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer Cluster we can clock this at around 600 teraflops.” Tony replied from across the room.

“And all I packed was a toothbrush.” Bruce said, going back to the computer.

“You know you should come by Stark tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You’d love it, it’s Candy Land. I’m talking to you too, Auntie. Paris must be as boring as-”

“How- Tony, I can promise you its not. Paris is fine.”

“But Pepper and I miss you in New York. Think about it, will you?”

“Sure will, hun.”

“Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Stark. But last time I was in New York- I sort of broke Harlem.” Dr. Banner said.

“Well I promise it’s a stress-free environment. No distractions, no surprises.” Tony says, while poking Bruce in his side with an electric current.

“Tony, leave him be!” you say, taking the current away from him.

“Hey! Are you two nuts?” Steve says, scolding Tony as he walks in.

“Oops. Jury’s here. Tell em your secret, Dr. Banner. Bongo drums, mellow jazz, bag of weed?”

“You think is is funny, Mr. Stark? Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship? No offense, Dr. Banner. You neither, Y/N.

“None taken, sir.” Bruce says, while still working on the scepter.

“Don’t worry about it, cap.” you say, while finally snatching the current from Tony’s hand and placing it down on the countertop to continue working.

“You- you don’t have to worry, capsicle. Last time I checked, you spent over 66 years stuck in the ice. You don’t know how anything works here. This little gadget-” he getsures to the comm in his hand. “will let us know everything S.H.I.E.L.D has been hiding from us since the beginning of it’s existence.”

“This is going to cause trouble.”

“Ding, ding, ding. We got a winner. Congratulations, you’ve just won a free box of popsicles. Or is that too cold?”

“What have you three been doing all this time?” Fury’s voice cuts in as he walks into the lab. “You’re supposed to be locating the Tesseract.”

“We are. The model’s locked and we’re sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we’ll have the location within have a mile.”

“You’ll get your cube back, director.” You say, crossing your arms, after hopping to sit on the table with Tony.

“No muss, no fuss.” he passes you the blueberry bag, then looks at the screen “What is ‘Phase 2′ anyway?”

At this point, Steve has had enough and decided to intervene. “Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D uses the cube to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was moving a little too slowly for my taste.”

“Captain Rogers, we have gathered every part of information possible related to the Tesseract. This does not mean-” He’s interrupted by none other than Tony.

“What about this Nick? What were you lying?” Tony said, turning the computer so Fury could see it clearly.

Steve takes one look between the two men, but keeps his gaze on Tony, and says “I was wrong director. The world hasn’t changed a bit.”

Thor and Natasha enter the room and Bruce asks them “Did you two know about this?”

“Dr. Banner, you might want to think about removing yourself from the premises.” Natasha said.

“I was in Calcutta, I’m pretty sure I can handle this, Ms. Romanoff.”

“Loki’s been manipulating you.”

“And you’ve been doing what exactly?”

“Dr. Banner, You didn’t come here because I batted my eyelashes at you.” She fired back, crossing her arms.

You hopped off the table, and on the hilt of the sword on your left side, if tensions just so happened to go to another level.

“And I’m not leaving because you’re getting a little twitchy. What I do want to know is why S.H.I.E.L.D is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction!”

~~~~~~

NEW YORK, JANUARY 1943

SSR HQ

“Starks, Ms. Carter, General Philipps, should the case arise that we get our hands on this - ‘Tesseract’ - as it appears, it shall not, under any circumstances, be used for weapons of mass destruction. It goes against everything we stand for. Everything the SSR stands for.” Erksine says, addressing the group.

“But Dr. Erksine, The rise of facism in Europe is a threat to our national security, and if the SSR can not make weapons of not necessarily of mass destruction, but weapons to protect the country, how are we to protect the nation?” General Philipps said from across the table.

“Excellent question, General. That’s were Y/N and comes in. Y/N, if you will.” Erksine said, gesturing to you.

Straightening yourself up, you opened a file. “I’ve thought of this concept for the past couple of months- although just a concept, It would, has General Philipps mentioned, make weapons not of destruction, but of protection. This is why, I’ve decided to name the concept- S.H.I.E.L.D. Get it? A shield is supposed to protect, and that’s what this will do.”

“And what does it stand for, Y/N?” Peggy asks.

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.”

“And it’s purpose?”

“To Protect and Serve, Dr. Erksine.”

“I like it, but we will discuss it further on Monday. Meeting Adjourned.”

~~~~~~

PRESENT DAY, 2012

BRUCE BANNER’S LAB ON THE HELLICARRIER

“And I’m not leaving because you’re getting a little twitchy. What I do want to know is why S.H.I.E.L.D is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction!”

“Banner, calm down.” Natasha said cautiously.

“No, Romanoff. He had every right to be mad and confused. With all respect, director, me and my brother did not start S.H.I.E.L.D so we could pull stuff like this.” you said.

“But we have a reason, Stark. It’s because-” Fury points to Thor “him.”

“Me?” Thor questions.

“Yes, you. Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who held a grudge on a small town. We learned then that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned.” He finishes, diverting his eye to you, but saying nothing.

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies, as a signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of war.” Thor booms.

“A higher form of war?” Steve questions.

“You had us in a corner, Thor, we had no choice. We had to come up with something.” Nick fired back.

“A nuclear deterrent. Cause that always calms everything down.” said Tony.

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Mr. Stark?” Fury asked.

“I’m sure if Stark industries still made weapons you both would be knee-deep in-” Steve was cut off by you.

“That’s enough, Steve! Leave it alone!” you exclaimed.

“No, hold up capsicle, how is this about us?” Tony asked, in a tempting manner.

“Are you midgardians really this naïve?” Thor asked.

“Oh please, are you that immature?” Natasha said, looking between Thor and Fury.

“Everyone, we’re a mixture for chaos. A ticking time bomb waiting to explode.” Bruce said.

“You should step away, Doctor.” Fury said to Bruce, before being overlapped by Tony. “Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?” Tony asked, putting a ahnd on Steve’s shoulder.

“You know damn well why!” Steve yelled.

“I’m starting to want you to make me.” Tony said, coming face to face with Steve.

“Big man in a suit of armor, take that off and what are you?”

“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

“He’s not wrong-” Natasha said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Thank you, Romanoff! Someone with sense on this ship.” Tony said, thanking Natasha.

“I’ve seen guys none of that worth ten of what you are. The only person you fight for is yourself. You’re not one to make sacrifice play, to lay down your life for someone else. You better stop playing the hero.”

“Steve-” you began, now both hands on both swords, both of them on your waist.

“No! You better stop acting so cocky, Rogers. You’re a lab rat, everything special about you came out of a bottle.” Tony fires back.

“If you think your think you’re so special, put on the suit then, lets go a few rounds.”

“I’m not afraid to hit an old man.”

“Stop it you two! You’re acting like children!” You yelled, cutting both of them off.

“You are ALL acting like children, man up, all of you!” Fury said.

Bruce kept his eyes firm on Loki’s scepter. It seemed to glow even more now, but all of you had to resolve the argument first.

“Something’s coming. Something bad.” Bruce muttered. “I can feel it.”

“Keep calm, Banner.” Natasha said, and both her and Fury put a hand of the holster of their gun.

“Dr. Banner, please-” You began.

You were once again cut off, but not by anyone talking. Thor, Natasha, Bruce, Fury, Tony, Steve and yourself were knocked down to the floor, scattered all over the room.

“What the hell was that?” Natasha asked.

“Engine’s been blown off. I didn’t want to say I told you so, Agent Romanoff.” Bruce said, while helping you up from the floor.

“You alright, Tony?” you ask, as You help Tony up.

“Just fine, aunty. You?”

“Barely hurts, tones.”

“What the hell was that, Fury?” Natasha asked.

Fury looks out the window before running out of the room.

“Agent Barton.”

#marvel #marvel x reader #avengers #avengers x reader #tony stark #tony stark x aunt reader #steve rogers #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #thor #thor odinson x reader #steve rogers x reader

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emachinescat · 4 years ago

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Welcome to Fic Rec Friday! Every Friday, I will be recommending three of my favorite fan-fics for your enjoyment. This week's fandom is How to Train Your Dragon!

Quick Links:

Midnight Scrum: The Aftermath by imagination-running

Power Couple by Fictional Viking

Traitor by imagination-running

Summaries, info, and my own thoughts are below the break! :)

Midnight Scrum: The Aftermath by imagination-running

Summary: A father/son fic where Hiccup is coming to terms with a hard decision, and Stoick just hates seeing his son get hurt so often. One-shot, rated T to be safe. RTTE SEASON 4 SPOILERS!

Rating: T

Chapters: 1 | Words: 3,152

Year Published: 2017

Platform: fanfiction.net

I can't tell you how many times I've re-read this story! It's a tag to the episode of RTTE "Midnight Scrum," and it gives us the aftercare we need for such a whumpy episode. Filled with father and son bonding and hurt/comfort, it also deals beautifully with Hiccup's guilt at having killed a man for the first time. This, in my mind, is canonically exactly what happened after the episode ended.

Power Couple by Fictional Viking

Summary: Hiccup and Astrid awaken to find themselves in a less than ideal situation. Their captors, however, have no idea just what they've gotten themselves into.

Rating: T

Chapters: 5 | Words: 8,426

Year Published: 2017

Platform: fanfiction.net

I am in love with everything that Fictional Viking does. Power Couple is no exception. Their mastery of not only the HTTYD characters but their voices, mannerisms, interactions, and world is legendary. This story is a pretty quick read, filled with some whump but mostly just Astrid (and Hiccup) kicking butt as a, well, power couple. There’s lots of laughs and fluff, some well-choreographed action, and some truly incredible storytelling.

Interesting tidbit - the author had another story called The Berk Maneuver, which was quite possibly one of my favorite fics of all time, from any fandom. I was planning on adding it to my fic rec master list - and it’s gone. Like it never existed. I contacted the author about it, but they are on hiatus, and they might have removed it themselves for some reason, so I’m not going to get my hopes up. However, that story was their first attempt at writing this story, so you can get a taste of what TBM was with this amazing fic, too. Seriously, I recommend Power Couple very highly, and if you ever get your hands on The Berk Maneuver, please, PLEASE read it. Both are pure perfection.

Traitor by imagination-running

Summary: Major RTTE season 5 spoilers. When Hiccup receives a request from Johann to meet him a couple of hours from Dragon's Edge to pick up a package, things do not go as anyone expects. High T/Low M rating for violence and some gore, not sex or language. See A/N for more details. 4-parts

Rating: M

Chapters: 4 | Words: 24,502

Year Published: 2017

Platform: fanfiction.net

This story is INTENSE. I’m normally not a big reader of M-rated stories, but this one is so well-done (and honestly “tame” enough to be high T, as the author states). It deals with the big reveal (SPOILERS) at the end of RTTE season 5. It has whump - oh boy, does it have whump - but one thing that sets it apart from other whumpy fics is the fact that it doesn’t just deal with the whump itself, but the aftermath. Particularly, the trial of the whumper, and how it affects Hiccup to have to relive his experiences. Be warned, though - there is a lot of gore in this story, and torture, both psychological and physical. It is excellently executed whump, though!

The author also has such a good understanding of these characters and their voices, and it’s honestly a delight to read every interaction, especially those between Hiccup and Astrid, Hiccup and his dad, and the dragon riders themselves. Every single character is captured to pure perfection! Oh, and don’t forget the copious amounts of Hiccstrid! This is an intense, beautiful, in-character masterpiece from start to finish!

#how to train your dragon #httyd #fic rec #fic rec friday #fanfiction #rec list #fanfiction review #fic review #fanfic review #by imagination running #by fictional viking #fanfiction.net #these are so good #my favorites #for your enjoyment

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noirandchocolate · 4 years ago

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So back in the late 90s my dad--a vry srs lawyer just like me, as you’ll see--developed a special interest in what’s commonly called “Classical Music” (a genre which record stores didn’t confine to the true Classical period, and I trust you know what I mean and won’t get pedantic at me please). He proceeded to spend about two years buying CD after CD and reading book after book (keeping one book out of the library for months of renewals at a time) about famous composers, and then bringing the CDs to work and playing them in his office.

Dad had a couple of pals in the office who he infodumped on in emails about what he’d be playing and what he thought about each composer and their music. These emails developed running gags, mainly how much Dad hated Stravinsky and loved Dvorak, booze jokes about The Five, Tchaikovsky being The Five’s enemy, and practically everyone being a “poseur.”

Recently Dad found printouts of some of these emails, as well as a document titled “Top 50 Composers of All Time.” And this, I am about to share with you below the cut, because it is silly and fun.*

*Disclaimer: These are my Dad’s opinions not mine (he was actually worried I’d be offended by his rating of Vivaldi!), and I’m sharing them because they’re funny, not because I want to start a serious discussion about which composers are best. So, thank you in advance for taking this in the spirit it is offered, and not yelling at me unless you’re yelling in an equally irreverent manner.

TOP 50 COMPOSERS OF ALL TIME (by KidK’s Dad)

1. DVORAK--He never wrote anything less than brilliant. There can be no debate, he is the Greatest of All Time!!

2. Beethoven--Overall, the best symphony writer ever. The true Hammer of the Gods.

3. Mussorgsky--Pictures at an Exhibition is the single best piece of music ever written. Could outdrink any of The Five.

4. Borodin--In the Steppes of Central Asia is the second best piece of music ever written. A chemist by trade, he designed sobriety tests for The Five, which they all repeatedly failed.

5. Prokofiev. Alexander Nevsky is the best music that’s ever been in a movie. His First Symphony is, well, “Classical.”

6. Mozart--Wrote the most consistently pleasant music of all time, all of it exactly the same. Gets points for writing choral music you can actually listen to.

7. Brahms--Four great symphonies, dozens of stirring Hungarian Dances, one nasty temperament. Coolest beard of any composer.

8. Sibelius--Drunken maverick of the North Country. Laughs out loud at the mere mention of Stravinsky.

9. Saint-Saens--Danse Macabre is the best piece of devil music ever. Would be higher, but he tried to defend Stravinsky.

10. Smetana--If there was no DVORAK, he would be in the top three. The Moldau is great!

11. Bach--Ranks this high because of the sheer number of pieces he wrote, even though they were all variations of the same eight notes. Loses points for having a bunch of relatives who also thought they were composers. Result: The Bachs were the Jackson 5 of the 1600s, with C.P.E. in the role of Tito.

12. Ravel--Bolero is what every piece of music should be, repetitive but compelling. Also helped Mussorgsky out on Pictures. Liking Stravinsky was his only flaw.

13. Rimsky-Korsakov--Wrote the wonderful Scheherazade and helped Mussorgsky with Bald Mountain. Designated driver for The Five.

14. Grieg--Next to Brahms, wrote more music for cartoons than just about anyone. The Hall of the Mountain King would be great even if it wasn’t mentioned in Eric Burdon’s Spill the Wine.

15. Liszt--Superb tone poems, great Hungarian Rhapsodies, had Roger Daltrey play him in the movies.

16. Debussy--In the Top 20 even though michael Jackson told Barbara Walters he is one guy he would like to meet. La Mer is excellent!

17. Mahler--Ranks this high for two reasons: (1) the first three minutes of The Titan and (2) the fact that he wore eyeglasses that are now considered cool. Had too much singing in his symphonies to challenge the leaders.

18. Mendelssohn--A Midsummer Night’s Dream is dreamy and his Italian Symphony is spicy without leaving a bad taste in your mouth.

19. Berlioz--The idea for Symphonie Fantastique was better than the actual music, but it’s still good enough to place Hector in the Top 20.

20. Tchaikovsky--Enemy of The Five. But wrote better holiday music than Handel.

21. Haydn--More fun than Bach, but essentially copied what Bach did. His titles for his over 100 symphonies are examples of poseury at its worst.

22. Handel--Calling his pieces Water Music and Fireworks Music even made Haydn laugh. The Messiah though is very good for choral music.

23. Telemann--Another Bach disciple, but wrote great trumpet and flute music. Less of a poseur than Bach, Haydn and Handel. Would rank higher if he had written more.

24. Janacek--Worthy follower of DVORAK. Would be welcome at picnics held by The Five.

25. Rossini--Wrote terrific overture music like William Tell and the Barber of Seville. Not as big of a poseur as Verdi.

26. Copland--A favorite of Emerson Lake & Palmer, so he gets a Top 30 spot. Fanfare and Rodeo are toe-tappers and the rest of his stuff won’t sicken you.

27. Verdi--Overall, the best opera composer, but who can truthfully stand all that aimless singing?

28. Vaugh Williams--Somewhat boring, but always pleasurable. Songs like Greensleeves are the best the Island Nation of England can offer.

29. Offenbach--The Can Can was the Macarena of its day. Fun music!

30. Balakirev--President of The Five. Would be in the Top 20 but, late in life, he actually said hello to Tchaikovsky. Islamey, though, is stunning.

31. Wagner--Must have had a tremendous press agent. Most of The Ring cycle is cumbersome and impenetrable.

32. Chopin--A poseur with a piano. Did write the great Funeral March, but couldn’t orchestrate his music to save his life, or the ears of his listeners.

33. Schumann--A poseur. Ranks this high only because he ran a music newspaper that criticized other people for being poseurs.

34. Schubert--Left his Symphony unfinished, but was nevertheless a complete poseur. Actually named one of his pieces “The Trout.”

35. Richard Strauss--Without him, Elvis would have had no introductory music. Next to Wagner and Stravinsky, the most overrated composer of all time.

36. Rachmaninoff--On first listen, he’s in the Top 10. On second hearing, he starts falling like a lead zeppelin. Would be even lower, but I stopped listening.

37. Bruckner--Has almost nothing going for him, let someone else name his Symphony “The Romantic,” but is still able to laugh at Stravinsky. It’s sure a strange world.

38. Shostakovich--Ponderous posturings for little purpose. Makes no impact whatsoever on the listener. A disappointment.

39. Respighi--Did wonderful things with old music of unknown composers. Would be ranked higher if he had redone Bach.

40. Holst--Only on the list at all to appease certain readers. Called his epic work “The Planets,” yet left out Earth and stuck with Uranus. More famous for “striking a pose” than Madonna.

41. Vivaldi--Poseur in a big ugly powdered wig. Wrote The Four Seasons, then basically issued the same music over and over again, giving it different names.

42. Cui--Have never heard anything this guy did. But, he was one of The Five and that gets him into this Top 50.

43. Elgar--Even more boring than Vaughn Williams. Did write Pomp and Circumstance, but he’ll never graduate to the Top 40.

44. Hindemith--You can listen to this stuff, but like Schumann and Schubert, you instantly forget you did.

45. Bizet--Wrote Carmen, which unfortunately for him is opera. Got beat by a guy who no one has ever heard.

46. Bartok--Actually tried to be as bad as Stravinsky but, like everything else he did in life, he failed miserably.

47. Satie--Was ranked higher until it was learned that he was part of a group of poseurs called Les Six, who worshipped Tchaikovsky, sworn enemy of The Five. Did write music for Blood, Sweat and Tears.

48. Johann Strauss--The Waltz King: Wrote exclusively merry-go-round music. A joke.

49. Gershwin--The Johann Strauss of his era. Whatever this music is, it isn’t Classical.

50. Stravinsky--Listen to a jackhammer pounding away on your teeth , while the J.V. football team plays tubas, and it will still sound better than this guy. No one was worse, EVER.

#kidk says stuff #long post #classical music #for the record i'd rank vivaldi much higher and would also rank schumann higher because i enjoy his scenes from childhood for piano #also for the record dad just likes writing things like this #and none of this should really be taken seriously #i'm posting this to entertain some people pls don't make me regret it

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kkintle · 4 years ago

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Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen; Quotes

The heart is on the left side also in emperors.

And as he sat, it occurred to him that maybe the fairy tale had gone into hiding, like the princesses in the old folk tales, and now had to be sought out. If she were found, she would shine with a new splendor, more beautiful than ever before. “Who knows? Maybe she lies hidden (…)

Tragedy was bottled in champagne bottles that start out with a bang, as tragedy should

“He’s sure like a human being, that pixie!” said the old cat. “Just one sweet miaow from the mistress, a miaow about himself, and he immediately changes his mind. She is clever, Madame.” But she wasn’t clever. It was the pixie who was human. If you can’t understand this story, ask about it, but don’t ask the pixie or the Madame.

An actor once told me that when he played a lover he thought about just one person in the audience. He played to her and forgot the rest of the spectators.

“I could have said that better,” thought the critic, but he didn’t say it out loud, and that was already really something.

You can’t learn imagination.” “But what shall I do to make my living by writing?” “Oh, you can manage that by Shrove Tuesday! Become a critic! Knock down the poets. Knock down their writings—that’s just like knocking them. Just don’t be over-awed. Hit at them without ceremony. You’ll get enough dough to support both yourself and a wife!” “You’ve hit upon the very thing!” said the young man, and he knocked down all the poets because he couldn’t become one himself.

When the clock struck five the five senses were there. Sight came as a maker of eye glasses. Hearing was a coppersmith. Smell was selling violets and woodruff. Taste was a cook, and Feeling was a funeral director with mourning crepe hanging down to his heels.

People who are dead can’t walk again, we know that very well, but works of art can haunt. The body was broken, but not the spirit. The spirit of art was spooking, and that was no spoofing matter.

I have something of the poet in me, but not enough. Often when I’m walking the city streets, it seems to me like I’m in a big library. The houses are bookcases and each story a shelf with books. There stands an everyday story. There a good old fashioned comedy. There are scientific works about all kinds of subjects. Here smut and good literature. I can fantasize and philosophize about all that literature.

There’s something of the poet in me, but not enough. Many people have just as much of it as I have and yet don’t carry a sign or a collar with poet written on it. They and I have been given a gift from God, a blessing big enough for oneself, but much too small to be parceled out to others. It comes like a sunbeam and fills your soul and mind. It comes like a waft of flowers, like a melody you know but can’t remember from where.

“People are like milk that curdles. Some become fine cottage cheese and others thin, watered whey. Some people are lucky in everything, always given the place of honor, and never knowing sorrow or want.”

Everyone has his burdens to bear. We’re not alone in it, and there’s a comfort in that.

There was an open casket standing in the middle of the church floor with a dead man in it, soon to be buried. Since he had a clear conscience, Johannes wasn’t afraid at all, and he knew that the dead hurt no one; it’s evil living people who cause harm.

She looked at all the innumerable little stones on the shore; the water had polished them smooth. Glass, iron, stone—everything that was washed up on the beach had been shaped by water, water that was softer still than her white hand. “They roll tirelessly, and so they smooth out the roughness; I’ll be just as tireless! Thank you for your wisdom, you clear rolling waves.

It’s true that the sea is softer than your fine hands and can shape the hard stones, but it doesn’t feel the pain your fingers will feel. It has no heart and doesn’t suffer the dread and terror you must tolerate.

“You can make one up,” said the little boy. “Mother says that everything you look at can become a fairy tale, and that you can get a story from everything you touch.” “But those fairy tales and stories are no good! No, the real ones come by themselves. They knock at my forehead and say, ‘Here I am!’”

Then they did the hardest dance, the one that’s called “stepping out of the dance.”

Here’s my card. I live on the sunny side of the street, and I’m always home when it rains.” And then the shadow went away.

But we can take comfort that the soul is most clever when it’s on its own. The body only dumbs it down.

The air and light were the flower’s lovers, but light was the favorite. It turned to the light, and if that disappeared, it rolled its petals together and slept in the embrace of the air. “It’s light that adorns me,” said the flower. “But the air lets you breathe,” whispered the poet’s voice.

As is the case with anything done thoroughly, the galoshes could only do one thing at a time.

Our greatest sufferings here we don’t impart, You who were alone at last, and often; Know that in life much presses harder on the heart Than all the soil that’s cast upon your coffin.

The little pixie grabbed the wonderful book from the table, put it inside his red cap, and held on to it with both hands. The greatest treasure in the house was saved! Then he ran off, way out onto the roof and up on the chimney, where he sat illuminated by the burning house across the street, and with both hands he held onto his red cap that held the treasure. Now he knew his own heart and knew to whom he really belonged. But when the fire had been extinguished, and he thought about it; well—“I’ll divide myself between them,” he said. “I can’t completely give up the grocer, because of the porridge.” And that was quite human of him! The rest of us go to the grocer too, for the sake of the porridge.

“Come out on the roof, little Rudy,” was one of the first things the cat said, and Rudy understood. “All that about falling is just imagination. You won’t fall if you aren’t afraid of falling. Come on, set one paw like this, and the other like this! Feel your way with your front paws. Use your eyes, and be flexible in your limbs. If there’s a gap, then jump and hold on. That’s what I do.”

When you’re a child and can’t talk yet, you can understand hens and ducks, cats and dogs very well indeed. They are just as easy to understand as father and mother when you are really small. Even grandfather’s cane can whinny and become a horse with a head, legs, and tail. Some children lose this understanding later than others, and people say that those children are slow in developing and are children for an exceedingly long time. People say so many funny things!

(…) but that doesn’t matter because I have gotten this much out of it: things are not distributed quite the way they should be, either for dogs or for people in this world. Not everyone is created to sit on laps or drink milk.

Never think that you will fall, and you’ll manage!”

You have to climb, and you won’t fall down if you believe you won’t.

When you meet someone from your home when you are far away, then you speak to each other like you know each other.

Luck was with him, as it always is for those who believe in themselves and remember that “God gives us the nuts, but he doesn’t crack them open for us.”

Water is so soft and yet so strong. It has a back to bear weight, and a mouth with which to swallow. Gently smiling, softness itself and yet a terror, with shattering strength.

“The world has no more joy to give me.” Words uttered in an abundance of happiness, repeated in a torrent of grief.

“Little Kai is with the Snow Queen and finds everything to his liking. He thinks it’s the best place in the world, but that’s because he has gotten a splinter in his heart and a little chip of glass in his eye. They have to come out first, or he’ll never become human again, and the Snow Queen will keep her power over him.”

He was carrying around some sharp, flat pieces of ice which he positioned in all sorts of ways, trying to make something out of it. It’s like when the rest of us use little wooden pieces and make figures from them. It’s called a tangram. Kai was also making figures and very complicated ones. It was the game of Icy Reason. To his eyes the figures were quite excellent and of the very highest importance. That was because of the bit of glass in his eye!

Then Kai burst into tears. He cried so that the splinter of glass washed out of his eye. He recognized her and cried joy fully, “Gerda! sweet little Gerda! Where have you been so long? And where have I been?” He looked around. “How cold it is here! How big and empty it is!” and he held Gerda tight.

A tail wind for one is head wind for another.

“Cattle die, kinsmen die, one day you die yourself; I know one thing that never dies— the dead man’s reputation.”

In those days the saying was: “The herds know when it’s time to go home and give up grazing, but a foolish man will always forget the size of his stomach.”

They knew that, all right, but do as I say, not as I do! They also knew that “love turns to loathing if you sit too long on someone else’s bench,” but still they stayed. Meat and mead are good things!

“I don’t quite understand it,” said stork mother, “but that’s not my fault. It’s the idea’s fault. But it doesn’t make any difference because I have other things to think about.”

Then they repeated this and wrote it up as a prescription : “Love brings forth life,” but how the whole thing was going to be worked out, they didn’t know.

They say that raindrops hollow out the hard rock. Over time the waves of the sea polish the angular stones until they’re round. The dew of grace that fell over little Helga hollowed out the hardness and rounded the sharpness. But she didn’t recognize that, didn’t know it herself. Does the seed in the earth, when it’s dampened by life-giving moisture and the warm rays of the sun, know that it hides growth and a flower within itself?

“Everyone flies in his own way,” said stork father. “The swans diagonally, the cranes triangularly and the plovers in curves like a snake.”

Better to have something in your tummy when you’re alive than be made a fuss of when you’re dead!

People don’t always go straight to hell, but they can get there the long way around, if they have talent.

Tears of sorrow that a mother cries for her child always reach the child, but they don’t set it free—they only burn and make the torment greater.

“The Portuguese is a gifted speaker,” they said. “We don’t use such great big words, though our sympathy for you is as great. But if we don’t do anything for you, we’ll be quiet about it. We find that the noblest.”

It’s so cold here that the clouds freeze to pieces and fall down in little white patches.” It was snow she meant, but she couldn’t explain it any better.

Oh, to grow, to grow, to become big and old! That’s the only beauty in this world, thought the tree.

“Enjoy your youth!” said the sunbeams. “Enjoy your fresh growth, and the young life that’s in you!” And the wind kissed the tree, and the dew cried tears over it, but the spruce tree didn’t understand.

“Take pleasure in us,” said the air and the sunshine. “Be happy in your fresh youth out in the open air!” But the tree wasn’t happy at all. It grew and grew. Both winter and summer it was green. Dark green it stood there, and people who saw it said, “that’s a lovely tree,” and at Christmas it was cut first. The ax cut deeply through the pith, and the tree fell with a sigh to the earth. It felt a pain and a powerless-ness, and couldn’t think of any joy. It felt saddened to be parted from its home, from the spot where it had grown up. It knew, of course, that it would never again see its dear companions, the small bushes and flowers all around, maybe not even the birds. The departure was not at all pleasant.

“How lovely the world is!” said the caterpillar. “The sun is so warm! Everything is so pleasant. And when I shall one day fall asleep and die, as it’s called, I’ll wake up and be a butterfly!”

“I’ve let myself be taken by surprise,” he said, “so I’d better surprise them too.” And he did. He was gone. Gone all day, gone all night (…)

“The world isn’t so bad after all,” said the dung beetle. “You just have to know how to take it.”

Here he could live, but “living is not enough,” he said. “You must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower!”

The flower understood it in his fashion, as we understand things in ours.

“How terribly alone he must have been,” she said. “Terribly alone,” said the tin soldier, “but it’s lovely not being forgotten!”

No, rather with friendly handshakes, and they get bread and pastries from each other because foreign food tastes best.

Harsh words bear harsh fruit. How would this end?

“The less you know, the less you’re burdened,” said Mother Søren.

Embedded in Andersen’s story is a notion that good tales can expose even the storyteller.

#fairy tales #hans christian andersen #fiction #literature #danish literature #quotes

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emeraldtawny · 4 years ago

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Wow I have to say that I adore you and your blog as always... It's been solid months but to find that you're still here and writing for otome games honestly makes me very happy. also it's hilarious to find that our taste in faves still seem to be really similar lmao. I love your thoughts on Dazai!!! Because that's honestly something I've been thinking about myself since the moment I started playing Ikevamp hahaha. I love how interested and knowledgable you are concerning the IRL people (1/?)

Jsjsxjksksbdms AAAAAA ANON!!! It’s always so encouraging when my dumb ramblings get a response like this. I have the biggest smile on my face right now, thank you so much hdbdkndjs. And may I say...TASTE ANON, TASTE!! Excellent choice in 2D men, she says with incredible bias bdjdndk. You are very right in your assumption of Satan being my fave OM boi...I love him ;w;

Aaaaa idk what to say to this other than jdjdkxhjdnfkejxkdnckdmjs????? I just really like finding parallels between IRL and fiction when a character is based off of a person who actually existed in our world. And the fact that at least one other person likes listening to me yelling about usually very depressing IRL lives just because I’m curious of how accurate the company wrote their fictional counterpart is...very humbling. Gives me them warm fuzzies uwu.

And anon, I feel you on the whole “leaving him until last” part. Gotta keep ramping up that angst every time and make us cry ;w; makes me super nervous for Sebas’ eventual route, like how on earth are they gonna make him sad? They have complete free reign to destroy us jfndjdnkd. And yes to the recommend route order type deal. That’s why I like games like these that slowly open up routes and make it very distinguishable of the order they want you to play it in. But with Dazai especially, all we’ve gotten so far is crumbs, and we’ll continue to only get tiny morsels until a bit later. Was it on purpose for his elusive character? Did Cybird genuinely forget he existed until they dropped his route? Who knows hfnkdjdkdkd.

I honestly have no idea of the “rival” for Dazai. Since there’s now new characters (Vlad, Charles Henri Sanson and Johann Georg Faust), it could be one of them (many MANY hints pointing to Charles on this front). I don’t want to hold out hope for any rival in particular otherwise I’ll get too sweeped up into it, but GOD if it was Sakunosuke or ofc Chuuya for those who knew BSD before IkeVamp lmao. That being said, I won’t know until I play his route...and I don’t plan on playing it until English release. so imma sit here simmering on my theories and my angst for like 2 years hdndkdkd.

I think I’ve rambled enough now. Thank you for enabling me to scream into the void, lovely anon. Thank you for your continued support, silent or otherwise (though I love being screamed at, I must admit hfjdndkdk). Hope you have a lovely day~

#tawny rambles #lovely anon #who am i yelling about? just Dazai nothing new hdbjdndks #aaaa im still unable to express words even when writing this all out #this was exactly that i needed especially with my recent dry patch in writing #thank you again anon ;w;

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81scorp · 4 years ago

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My top 7 movies of 2016 (and a bonus)

Hey kids! Its that time again! That day you`ve all been waiting for, when I talk about the movies I`ve seen in the cinema and rank them according to my own personal taste and bias!

Except this year there were some... complications. You might have heard about something called the corona virus, a pandemic and stuff like that.

This year I only had time and opportunity to see one movie in the cinema, not enough material to make a list of as you can see. So instead I`ll give you a list of the movies I saw in 2016! Now, if you`re wondering if I`ll do a list of all the movies I saw in 2015 I`ll have to dissapoint you.

I didn`t start keeping track of my movie going experiences until 2016.

(One of these movies came out 2015, and it even came to the cinemas in my country that year but I didn`t get to see it until 2016, so that`s why it`s on this list.)

M`kay? M`kay.

7: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Zack Snyder is good at making a movie look good but he is not a good story teller.

Man of steel had some shortcomings, but surely Snyder would learn from that and do better in the next movie that would help build the DCEU and lead up to Justice league, right?

Nope. Batman kills, Supes is sad, just like most of this movie, and I can`t really take Eisenbergs Lex seroius as a villain.

But atleast Wonder woman is not in the movie long enough for them to screw up her character, so there`s always that.

Overstuffed, not strong enough to live up to it`s own ambitions and uses up all the big guns in it`s climax instead of saving them for later movies. Snyder was not the right guy for these movies. He`s better suited for telling his own stories than others.

6: Suicide Squad

This one gets a better spot than BvS because I like it. I like that Batman was allowed to be Batman this time and not another one of Snyder`s broken antiheroes who are appearently obligated to kill people just because the plot says so. I like that we were introduced to characters that aren`t Batman, Superman or Wonderwoman for a change, the DC comics universe does have more characters than those three after all. I like that they weren`t afraid to introduce magic into the DCEU. I like that Harley Quinn, a character with potential, finally appeared on the big screen.

But the keyword here is "like". Just because you like something doesn`t mean that it`s good.

The plot is admittedly a mess. A mess I could follow, but still a mess. Some consider this movie worse than BvS because that movie at least had ambitions while this does not. Yeah but this was fun, and without ambitions it had one less area where it could fail.

Buut that`s not really an argument in it`s favor.

5: Dr Strange

I feel bad putting it this close to Suicide Squad on the list becuse it is much better than that.

Pretty standard MCU quality. Does not dissapoint but doesn`t excel either.

"Iron Man but on LSD" is an accurate description of the plot but also a very generalizing way of describing the movie. Cool set pieces, original ideas and a clever climax makes it different enough from most of the other chapters in the MCU saga churned out by the giant Marvel movie factory.

4: Star Wars: the force awakens (2015)

I didn`t ask much from the new Star Wars movies. I only wished for two things: Don`t mention Jar Jar or midichlorians.

Besides avoiding those obvious mistakes the movie also had good acting, likeable characters capable of delivering non-wooden dialogue, sets that weren`t completely CGI`d and a pretty engaging scene between Han Solo and Kylo Ren. Sure, it played it a little too safe by borrowing more than a few plot points from A new hope but other than that it did what a Star Wars movie should do.

3: Deadpool

The basic spine of the plot is not very innovative and a little old fashioned: boy meets girl, boy loses girl to kidnappers, boy gets superpowers and rescues girl. But what sets this apart from other movies that have used the same formula is the execution. It has a lot of comedy, raw violence and some self aware fourth wall breaking.

R rated superhero comicbook movies are few and rare. R rated superhero comicbook movies that break the fourth wall are even rarer, and thats what makes this movie intersting.

2: Captain America: Civil War

The MCU has always had a little problem with sequels. A few examples are Iron man 2 and 3 and Thor the dark world. Here`s were the Captain America movies are a golden exception.

Captain America: Civil war did not surprise me as much as Captain America: Winter soldier but it still gave me something to sink my teeth into.

It gives both sides good and understandable reasons to fight for the things they believe in and it introduced two new characters in a way that felt like it helped the plot instead of cluttering it.

It gives you some "Hell Yeah!" moments but also someting to think about.

And now...

Drumroll please.

My number one pick for 2016 iiis...

1: Zootopia

As usual, the movie that gets the number one spot on my list is an animated one that knows how to tug at my heart strings. I like when a movie gets me to feel someting but to get the number one spot on my list a movie needs to do a little more than that, and that`s what this movie did. It made me feel and it made me think.

Some tears, some laughs and a little commentary on todays society.

Here`s where my list would normally end, but this year hasn`t exactly been normal. Before I get to the one movie I actually saw in the cinema this year I`m gonna list some of the movies I planned to see this year but didn`t get the chance to.

Wonder Woman 1984

Onward

Sonic the hedgehog (I did see this one in 2020. On DVD. It was adequate.)

Scoob!

Birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn

The New Mutants

(Black Widow used to be on this list but since it got delayed to 2021 I couldn`t keep it on my 2020 list.)

And now...

Drumroll please... again.

The only movie that I saw in the cinema in 2020 iiis...

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

It is late world war two, we follow Johannes "Jojo" Bretzler, a 10 year old boy who believes in the nazi ideals so much that he has Adolf Hitler himself as an imaginary best friend.

Just when you think that we have made all the movies we can about WWII this movie shows that there are still are a few angles left that we haven`t tried.

Jojo Rabbit shows us not just how dangerous, but also how immature nazism is. The worst kind of immaturity, the kind that lacks any kind of selfawareness and believes that it is dead serious.

If I could to sum up this movie in three words they would be: Important, serious and funny.

And that`s my list, feel free to disagree.

-----------------------------

Deviation nr: 142

Written Stuff nr: 35 I usually post these lists at the beginning of the new year instead of at the end of the old one. But this year there was no point in waiting for any late December releases (for obvious reasons). I had already seen all the movies I could see. Let`s hope that next year is better.

#movies #review #list #2016 #2020

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dragonrajafanfiction · 4 years ago

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Dragon Dancer II: Chapter 8 - Happily Ever After

Ouroboros

Words couldn’t describe the depth of my intense panic. It was more than a sinking feeling. It was a rushing torrent that sank me down into a hellish nightmare beyond my worse possible dreams.

For over a year, I had closely guarded my father's identity. I never spoke that name, I avoided all references to having a father at all.

And in a moment, this man shattered the silence

Master List

I froze. I could feel Caesar’s eyes on me. If I moved or spoke, I might make things worse on myself.

Raj Yamir stood up from his seat and made his way down the stairs. He was dressed like royalty in a bright red coat with gold embroidery, a sword at his hip. He smiled, speaking in the Dark King’s tongue. “What unusual appearance you have. But I have been asleep for quite some time. Tastes do change.”

He sidled right up to Johann. His hair dragged the floor behind him. They looked each other in the eyes. “But you are unmistakably my escort.”

Lu glanced up at Johann and then at Nono. “Ummm… What’s he saying?”

Johann glanced at Lu and then turned back to Raj Yamir. “You are Raj Yamir.” He spoke in clear draconic. “You’re related to Leviathan…”

“That’s correct. Leviathan and I are to marry at the King’s Tide. You are to escort me to her.”

Johann nodded.

Lu looked between Nono and Johann.

Johann eyed the man’s long hair. “You should have your hair cut. Outside it's dirty.”

The sick feeling settled into my stomach. Johann appeared to be coaxing the man from the temple, leading him to Leviathan. But I bit my tongue. Hard.

Raj Yamir turned his back. Johann took the hair into a bundle and drew Murasame.

Lu squeaked, “Hey, what are you-”

The sword cut easily through the thick locks. They fell away to the floor.

Raj shook his head, freed from the weight. “Excellent. Shall we go?”

I watched Johann play along. He wasn’t going to go through with the mission, was he? The image of his first love, the dragon, stabbing him through the heart, played in my head. He wouldn’t do to Raj what she had done to him, would he?

“Well, this is a complication.” Caesar sighed. “Anyone know how to care for an ancient Indian head of state?”

“If anyone can do it, you can, Caesar. You’ve been around more heads of state than any of us, right?”

He puffed up in front of me. I gave him an uneasy smile.

“That’s right! That’s right! Carli, I think you’re finally starting to know me!" He tilted his head. "You had me worried for a moment there. But your work is over. The Raj can take it from here."

The man in the temple raised his voice in his own song in draconic, holding his hands in the air.

When you commanded me to sing it seemed as though my heart would break with pride!

Bright light poured in along with the heat of the day from an opening in the ceiling. A shower of dirt rained on them all. The floor began to elevate lifting them out of the temple complex.

Drunk with the joy of singing I call you 'friend', you who are my lord!

He then began to dance, stomping his feet in a circle and ululating with ecstasy!

Caesar smirked. "Well… at least he looks like a good time. I'll have our standby agents arrange a little party." He tilted his head at me, "You get some rest in the meantime."

"You're not… actually going to make him lead you to Leviathan, are you?" I asked, pleading. "He wants to marry her!"

He tilted his eyes down at me, grinning. "This mission just got a lot more fun. I'll follow it down to its end!"

He helped me up and led me back to my room down the hall. He opened the door. "Off you go."

I was convinced he was getting rid of me, putting me away. I resisted, bracing myself against the door frame. "He loves her."

He tucked his finger under my chin up for me to look at him. "I've got this. Don't you worry about it further!"

His face was close to mine to the point I could see the variation of the color of his eyes, little flecks of green among the bright white reflection, like lily pads on the surface of a crystal blue pond.

“Working with you was a singular privilege.” He said, “One I’ve waited for for a long time. Especially since the Day of Liberty.”

I turned away from him, uneasiness growing. “Why? Don’t you have someone else to work with?”

“Nono lost to you. I’m not sure how, and things haven’t been the same ever since.” He leaned away from me, back against the other side of the door frame, arms crossed. “Seeing the Raj today reminded me how far we’ve drifted apart.”

I shook my head. “No… you’re the great Caesar Gattuso! You’re unparalleled in love, remember?”

He didn’t respond to my encouragement. He regarded me for a long moment. The luster of his gaze growing ever dimmer.

Finally, he straightened. “Rest up. I think I will double the order of booze and cigars tonight. Perhaps we’ll call in a dancing horse.” He grinned and walked away.

I slipped passed the door and shut it.

I sat on the bed, hanging my head. Ielia stood before me, hands folded.

“You knew… didn’t you? You weren’t going to tell me… who Leviathan was… were you?”

She stood tranquil as a marble statue. I hung my head. “Perhaps… in your world, they live happily ever after.”

My ethereal spectral twin nodded once.

“I guess... that doesn’t exist here.”

#Caesar Gattuso #Dragon Raja #Johann Chu #Nono

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th3okamid3mon · 5 years ago

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JoJo Rabbit, a well thought and heart-wrenching satire [SPOILERS]

Even in a comedy you can´t help to cry, there´s no way you can talk about any war without crying or feeling such a deep horrible feeling of fear and distraught.

(I´m gonna be disclosing a lot of SPOILERS, which include the ending and several key points of the story.)

Sinopsis:

Johannes Breztel is a 10 year old german fanatic who wishes to become a good nazi soldier. He goes to a military camp where he has to learn everything you need to know about being a good soldier and make Hitler proud. JoJo, with his imaginary friend Adolf, began their adventure to becoming a better German for their homeland and fighting against the evil plaguing it: jews.

Writing and Characters:

I heard a lot about Taika Waititi, haven´t watch Ragnarok since I´m not exactly a huge fan on superhero movies (Watched most of the MCU movies mostly out of duty, in a ¨God, please just end it¨ kind of way. Loved Iron Man, hated the 3, Thor was boring, and etc, etc.), I heard how awesome he is, how good is he at also acting and such. This is a huge and great example for his brilliance to shine.

Every story about WW2 is really predictable, you know people are gonna die and people are gonna be miserable or happy at the end of the war. Waititi does a flip by using dark comedy and the perspective of a child, which a lot of people seem to not want due to how disturbing it can be (once you get all the comedy out of the way).

You follow Johannes ¨JoJo¨ Betzler, a 10 year old who is, as the character of Elsa says is:, ¨just a little boy playing to be a soldier with a funny costume trying to get in a club¨. We see he has blind devotion towards the evil Adolf Hitler and is really excited to participate in a training with the hopes of becoming a soldier or better yet, Hitler´s personal body guard. It is disturbing to think a young child, or any child by any means, want to become part on the worst human activity there is: war, and not only that, idolizes the worst and evilest bastard who could have ever been alive. Of course, JoJo is not good for war at all. No kid has the killing instinct in their blood, it´s not something you inherit its something they learn or, in this case, brainwash into believing. He gets into a hilariously portrayed accident that involved a hand bomb that exploded his left side.

His character is the most developed in the entire movie, we follow his steps, we see what he sees and we feel what he feels. His mother tried very hard to taught him how awful war was, he saw Elsa hidden in a tight spot where she had to keep quiet or she and the rest could get in serious trouble, he saw the military before and after going to war. He began to understand how awful can war be, but it wasn´t fully absorb until several traumatic events happened that no child ever had to see in their young life. It´s a very likable child, you are never angry at his devotion he was literally taught from infancy how he had to serve a dictator. The fault falls in the regimen, his actions, the things he does and acts are his only responsibility and thanks to his child innocence and wonder and compassion we know he is a good person in the inside just a bit confused.

Rosie Betzler. If you didn´t like Scarlett Johannson for his previews acting on the fucking MCU movies (like me, GOD I hated her), well I bet you are gonna like her in this one. I mean... SHE SMILES? WOW, DIDN´T KNEW SHE COULD DO THAT. Seriously, the directing in the heroes movies fucked her seriously. She is a brilliant actress and is so wonderfully funny in this one. A kind mother with brutal honesty trying to raise her now beloved child alone (since her husband is at war and her older child died from influenza, I didn´t exactly got that from the movie) while keeping certain secrets to keep him safe is hard enough, but during NAZI GERMANY while being part of the jewish resistance is IS ANOTHER LEVEL OF HARD, ITS LIKE NIGHTMARE MODE IN FUCKING OUTLAST. Badass character, keeping a balance between trying to make her child feel like a child and also keeping the orphan Elsa a secret. She didn´t had a huge development and she didn´t need one, we only needed to see what secrets she was hiding and damn... They cost a lot once you knew them all.

Elsa, brave and aggressive Elsa. Of course anyone would act the way she did if she had to be quiet to avoid being sent to a concentration camp. The girl has a lot of knowledge in popular culture, telling JoJo about different artists who, not only were writers or musicians, but also Jewish (to the dismay for poor, silly JoJo). She didn´t have a huge development, she begin to understand JoJo deeply as well as Rosie, since both where there for her (even if they had different and opposite motivations). Elsa is like an obstacle for JoJo except she doesn´t do much and wouldn´t do so if it meant putting herself at risk. We can see she is really brave once the Gestapo stop at their home, brave and smart that is. Without her quick thinking the movie would have ended then and there. I can´t imagine how deeply horrifying it would have been to do that and how awful and sad her life was after not only loosing her fiance to tuberculosis but also watching her family getting in a train and leaving to a place where no one returns. She acts aggressive and is harsh because she needs to survive and when she begins to trust JoJo, their bond become strong and deep and become like siblings.

Capitan Deertz is a very apathetic and silly capitan, the guy is really tired of the war and doesnt really want anything to do with the children at the camp, not because of a moral compass he just doesnt give a fuck. You get this character and you laugh at his commentary and at how Rosie can easily threaten him. And then you see more of his character, he seems to care at certain some points. He cares about Finkel, who is a second in command. Every time they appear in screen they are literally whispering stuff at each other or have certain looks, clearly a gay couple. At that time period it was EXTREMELY dangerous to show any type of love towards another man and this two werent that subtle about it but since they were high in command guess no one actually care or said anything (considering most of the people in their command were children, no one would probably even care). Finkel was just this goofy guy who follow Deertz and show a deep appreciation. Not the main thing to focus, it´s just there and it´s funny and its normal. They dont have to look or act in ¨gay way¨, they are just there and they do their work and such. Which is fine until you get the war scenes and then you want to bawl even more (Because when you get at the war scenes you already should have bawled your eyes out due to a lot of sad circumstances). He also cared about Rosie and JoJo, even when he seem not to. When he saw Gestapo in Rosie´s house he helped JoJo save Elsa and when he was trapped by the Allies he helped JoJo again by ripping a nazi jacket off of him and shoving him to the ground while screaming at him. General jerk is actually a caring character, cliche move but man, does it always fucking works.

The dialogues were impressively well thought, no one felt out of place and they made sense. The way they make fun of the whole blind fanatism and how the military views boys and girls it´s all in your face and its hilarious, it is presented as that so please no one start saying how sexist or how wrong it is for saying the things they say. It´s a SATIRE. It´s a MOVIE. ITS COMEDY.

I cannot thought of any kind of plothole, I´m sure it has or it probably has but the story is so well thought and so well acted you are absorb into it. Your whole attention is in what will happen next, the story of WW2 can be predictable, but this story is always at 2 steps of ripping your heart and then replacing it and hoping it pumps blood normally and when it does pump blood normally it rips it off again. It´s a rollercoaster, and it´s capturing. Your attention is in the story 100% of the time, and you gotta pay attention to the details because they foreshadow so much good and so much PAIN.

Directing and Acting:

I almost go off in the other section about Scarlett´s acting, now here it comes: MY GOD. I hated her so much in Avengers. The mot disliked character for me was her, and I always forget it was the directors fault. Here´s a note: When an actor acts bad, it´s not always, if not NEVER, their fault. Most of the time is the directors fault, you have to give straight and good orders and to maintain a communication with them if not the story falls. When Black Widow was shown in Iron Man, I was like ¨Wow, I like her! She is really good and badass!!¨ and then Avengers happened and it fucking fall all over the fucking lava floor. And IT WAS A FUCKING SHAME. Scarlett Johansson is a really good actress! She portrayed an excellent character, even if it was a minor character, she did it perfectly and shown so much emotion with the looks and the words she said and the actions she did. She was a mom in this movie, and it showed! THIS! THIS CHARACTER MADE ME LOVE JOHANSSON! Please dont go to shit directors ever again, my god. Avengers was a fucking toxic relationship and SHE GOT OUT AND SHE IS BRILLIANT.

Taika Waititi is such a great director, he really put his love and passion into this project and it shows. It bleeds passion, it fucking tastes passion. I dont understand, he needs more money to make more works. GIVE THIS MAN MORE MONEY.

The kids? Holy- How old are th- 12!?!?!?!? ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS WAS 12?!?!?! How old was- HIS SIBLINGS ALSO WORK IN THIS?! Ok how old is the othe- 11!?!?!??! ARCHIE YATES IS 11!??!?! Ok, as you can see, I am very impressed by this child actors. It can be a challenge to direct them because sometimes there are a lot of different needs they have and they also can´t work as much as the adults and such, this means there´s less time to work with them and maybe they have school and other child responsibilities. Waititi must have had a lot of patience and a really big understanding of their work hours, not over pressuring them and knowing how to explain the whole script. That doesn´t mean they dont have talent, though. This kids are EXTREMELY talented, they are funny and they show a lot of emotion, even when one is comic relief you can sense and see how exhausted he is while saying ¨I´m going to see my mom, I need a cuddle¨ LIKE... THIS ARE KIDS, THEY SHOULDNT BE AT WAR, WTF!?

The actors protrayed their respective characters in such a way, deeply understanding what emotions go in each scene and making the scene so heart wrenching.

[BIG SPOILER, SKIP IF YOU DON´T WANNA KNOW] There´s a scene I enjoyed a lot by how it is presented, it´s a good sequence and the punch hits you really hard. During the movie you can see a couple scenes where they only show Rosie´s feet, dancing or just moving while JoJo sees amused or not. Anyway, the scene I´m talking about is when he is following a really pretty blue butterfly that is flying at floors level. He walks towards it and smiles, he squats to take a better look at it before it flies away. And when he stands up again, he is next to a pair of legs, and not any legs, they have a specific kind of shoe, and they have a specific blue coat. Oh no. You dont have to see the face, there´s no need to see the face. You dont have to see the expression you only need to see JoJo. And this is where I have no idea how this kid did it, but his expression goes from wonder to horrifying sadness and desperation. I dont know what direction, what mental image did Waititi told him but he manage to portrayed a really raw and deep sadness and heartbreak you can only see in people who lost someone. And the kid is just holding his mother´s lifeless legs and crying and desperate trying to tie her shoelaces and then giving up and hugging her again. And then he is just broken, looking at her hanging with other people who might have been with her or not. The realization of how harsh the punishment is and how awful life is that day at that time. And he can´t believe it, he doesnt want to believe and maybe if he had acted differently she would have still been there but no. It wasn´t his fault, he had nothing to do with it. He later was explain what possibly happened. She was with the resistance, her husband was with the resistance in Italy. She was against nazi´s but she never told him to protect him and to protect herself. She sacrifice for other people, she put herself in danger for other people and for a better future for her son. JoJo wouldnt have known, he couldn´t know and now that he knew he just loved her so very much and it hurted him. It wasn´t the jews´ fault, it wasn´t his fault, it was the people of the regimen he was following, the regimen who promised a bright future for him and the other children.

Sound design:

It was delightful. Dialogues kept at their respective volumes, background noises were there and not overbearing, the sound of steps, something being dragged, the sound of bombs and artillery. Not a single time was any sound out of place, it was as if you were there, it immersive. The sound played a huge rolled into being capture in the story, with such detail at every sound that could be played at the scene. The silences where used perfectly, only backgrounds and atmospheric sounds plagued the scene, and when the moment hit you there was still no music until the realization was made. Perfect timing.

The soundtrack was beautiful, endearing and melancholic at their respective scenes. When there was music to dance on, the music played, when there was a hilarious montage the music exaggerates the ridiculous situation they are presented in. It was wonderful.

Art design:

They went all off!!! The clothes, the cars, the food, the plates, everything! I wonder how much investigation did they had to do to fully dress up an entire cast and also to do the little details. One thing is getting the clothes that, to be entirely fair, thanks to photos from those times and more investigation from books, you can figure out the type of clothes and materials they used, but the details from the streets, the kind of bikes and the inside of a house its an entire story:

Investigation is not entirely what you need to do, you have to consider what colors go well, what makes the character pop but also make sense, how the decor should be done and what kind of table and chairs are in a normal house. How do the hidden rooms worked and how where they hidden at plain sight, how do you make it work and how will it look. All has to be thought out, everything has to have a purpose, even the smallest change can be a whole new set. Make it look pretty but make sure it makes sense to the era.

Photography:

Let´s talk photography, shall we?

Look at how the colors vary, look at the highlights and shadows. Look at the saturated colors. I LOVE saturated colors, not many photographers used them out of fear, the colors can be very bright and distracting, but Mihai Mălaimare Jr. made it work! His shots are spectacular, they work perfectly to capture whats going on and how the characters feel.

JUST LOOK AT THE CONTRAST. In the first picture there´s a big open shot, both Rosie and JoJo are in the very left corner while you can see the bright green grass. They are free from everything when they are out of town, they can be happy or enjoy their time while being there, even if JoJo likes to pretend to be mature and to still want to be a soldier while his mother is trying to make him understand how life has to be enjoyed while it last and how war has ruin that for everyone, including the nazi germans. The second shot is at the town, look at how grayish it looks. Everyone is miserable. There´s no such thing as a good war, and whether you believe it or not, even the nazi germans were suffering, the ones who werent fighting were frighten to be attacked, hungry because the food was not enough or was given to the soldiers, no one was happy at that point in life. The color palettes help tell a story, and influence how you look at the lives of the characters. It´s visual storytelling and you can feel the fresh air, the relief from the first shot and then the limited, claustrophobic and fearful atmosphere from the second.

What a better representation of what war is. Kids going to get killed for an evil regimen disguised as the savior for their homeland. JoJo who finally sees that horrors of war, a kid who has lost so much now, who knows heartbreak but never fathom the idea of horrifying, raw, disturbing and sickening war is. How you loose more than you gain from fighting, how you see your friends being send like pigs to a slaughter, how the military blindly follows orders for a falling regimen. The look of utter disbelief and horror contrasting the he blind joy of dying for your country. This shot is everything and in motion is even more epic yet disturbing.

Conclusion:

I might be too blinded by how well it was made that I don´t see any problems in it. I would have to watch it again to see if there´s some inconsistencies but going by the first watch I have to say it was really good. The plot was understandable, it had high points and slow points, but those were well made. It was smooth how the story evolve, the turns were expected but maybe not in the way they were presented. What i mean is, it can be predictable but you dont expect HOW it is presented. With War stories death is at every corner, it´s the manner that you don´t expect or hope to happen to anyone. The acting was phenomenal, the star was totally Roman Griffin, all the actors were amazing but you gotta give the kid credit, THIS WAS HIS DEBUT and he NAILED IT!

By the looks of the trailer you expect so much and it gives you that and more. To the eyes is a delight, to the heart is a pain and comfort and to the ears is a melody. To the soul is a story that has to remind you history, war is not a good thing and so many people get more damage by it than saved. No kid should ever be put in that situation, and yet there are kids suffering in this world. This movie could potentially be an Anti-War movie, because it literally shows how awful it is. Wars are awful in general! It´s kind of ridiculous we need to be reminded of that but here we are.

We are shown a cruel environment with a humorous tone to get the message straight into our heads and it works perfectly. Give it 3 watches and then watch another 3 times, every time you feel like everything is going down, remember there´s still hope even in the darkest more horrifying places and times. We have the choice to make good, humans can be evil but can be extremely brave and compassionate. Never give up being a good person, it can be hard but it is more rewarding. People need kindness and compassion. We need to be those compassionate people for others. It always starts with one brave person.

The last thing you leave the theater is with a verse from Rainer Maria Rilke:

Let everything happen to you. Beauty and Terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.

Sincerely moved, T.O.D

PS: Fuck Hitler.

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a-queer-seminarian · 5 years ago

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the Confessions

The Presbyterian Church USA makes use of Confessions to guide our interpretation of scripture and how it relates to our own lives. Here are my notes from my Polity and Heritage class on these Confessions.

(This post probs isn’t gonna be of interest to any non-Presbyterians out there, sorry to spam your feed yo)

Basic facts

The primary Confession is “Jesus is Lord;” all other confessions are an elaboration of that statement of belief.

each confession discusses God, the world, and the relations between the two. One vital component that the PCUSA has determined over the years is the sovereignty of God -- God cares about and is involved in every part of life; there is no part of human life outside of Hir command or care.

This concept opposes the “doctrine of spirituality of the church” that says the church shouldn’t involve itself in sociopolitical issues -- because God cares about suffering and oppression, we must be active in fighting it.

many of the confessions were written in a time of crisis – when the Church has been compelled by things happening within the church or outside the church to say “oh hell no!”

The Confessions are

provisional – open to being corrected

reformed theology emphasizes our tendency towards idolatry; we are always going to be looking for an easier God to deal with than the true God; we love things more than God -- and thus we have to be ready to realize that what we once confessed is not actually right and fix it

temporal – open to new ways of God speaking to us

relative – scripture first

even so, the confessions should guide us in our reading of scripture

Why do we keep all the old confessions? Even with their instances of sexism, antisemitism, and more?

humility – we do not get to pick what to keep or get rid of

keep even the problematic stuff – to remind ourselves of where we’ve gone wrong in the past instead of pretending it never happened

“A dangerous memory” -- Johann Metz, Catholic:

most forms of oppression and injustice rely on our capacity to forget those who have suffered; thus, memories of suffering are dangerous to oppressive regimes because they interrupt our ways of being

Thus the Confessions do not only guide and prepare us, they interrupt us and force us not to assume the status quo is how things ought to be

By keeping these historical confessions, we are equipped for the future crises we cannot yet foresee

The big question: how much of the Confessions do I actually “have to” believe to be a “good Presbyterian” (let alone to be ordained)?

Yoo’s book shows those arguments in the United States (pp. 5-14)

Dickinson: worries that the Confessions will start to be on par with scripture

Thomson: scripture is still first, but the Confessions offer nothing new – just tell us the proper way to interpret and live out scripture; also says the Confessions unite us

The Adopting Act, 1729 -- Came to the decision that ministers must subscribe to Confessions to be ordained, but are allowed to have ‘scruples’ – places where they disagree with the Confession

We are a church that respects freedom of conscience

if it’s not an “essential and necessary” part of scripture, they can still be ordained and that scruple is fine

but who decides whether a scruple is critical or not?

different presbyteries tend to come to different conclusions about what counts as a scruple -- that’s just part of our polity

Okay, time to dive into each confession, under the readmore.

The Scots Confession

1560

Created in a time of turmoil when religious leaders were being persecuted in fight between Catholics and Protestants

Makes a point to state that they are willing to listen to any arguments that anything in the Confession is not biblical and to change it if that turns out to be true

God ordains leaders (kings, parents, etc.) and we should obey them – unless they make commands “contrary to the commands of God” and fail to “suppress idolatry” and to protect the innocent.

Scots Confession came up with a Third note of the Church – ecclesiastical discipline

Calvin had two notes: preaching of the gospel and administering of the two sacraments

Ecclesiastical discipline is to make sure that good fruits are coming out of the church rather than corruption and “idolatry”

priesthood of all believers

lots of Trinitarian language, emphasis on how we are “by nature” “so dead, blind, and perverse” and how both justification and regeneration/sanctification are God’s doing not our doing

The Heidelberg Catechism

1563

Written to help reconcile the Lutheran and Reformed views of the Eucharist, to find common ground that could unite the two groups

Catholic view of Eucharist

“Heavy Cookies” – Marilyn McCord Adams – term she used approvingly for the Catholic view that the bread and wine truly become the bread and blood of Christ -- not just symbols, they’re heavy with grace

Transubstantiation – accidents stay the same; substance/essence changes

all the accidents could be changed in a thing and the thing would still be that thing: example of a chair: could change the cloth and plastic to wood, but if it is still a human-made thing that one sits upon it is still a chair – the essence makes a thing a thing

the accidents of the bread and wine remain the same so it still looks and tastes the same, but the substance changes to that of the body and blood of Christ

The Lutheran view of the Eucharist

Consubstantiation – substance of bread and substance of body are both present in it

Reformed view of the Eucharist

it’s a “sign and symbol,” a seal, a confirmation of the real spiritual nourishment that God gives us as we partake

The substance and accidents both remain that of bread and wine/juice, don’t change -- it really does nourish your faith to partake, but it’s not really the body and blood of Christ

a symbol participates in what it points to – so it’s “heavier” than the way we think of signs in the secular way -- spiritually weighty but not physically so

Zwingli, meanwhile, had the “lightest” cookies -- for him, the eucharist isn’t even a sign and symbol that nourishes spiritually; it’s just a reminder