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johannestevans · 9 months

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Whats your perspective on names?

Do you have any specific thoughts about them? how did you find yours? did it take long to? how many have you had? also your characters! obligatory "I Love Your Work!" (and i enjoy riffling though new and also rereading old), So from amaethon to cecil to danny to the King family and the Laithes family, their names are one aspect that have always stuck out to me because they all integrate into their stories while still feeling unique in contrast to each other! i dont miss that a lot of it is influenced by your interest in fae lore and your welsh heritage either. where does the name come in during your writing process, is it the first or last thing you think of? do you have a mish-mash of where you find them? any pettier more low stakes opinions on names?

(all this started bc i'm struggling to find a name, and want the perspective of another trans person :) !)

I changed my name when I was about 15 - it comes from a similar biblical root as my deadname, so basically I shortened my deadname and then looked for other names that it could be a nickname for.

For me, it really wasn't a long or involved process - it happened quite smoothly and easily, and I've never felt like I needed to try other things or find something that fit me better.

Johannes is a Dutch and German name - it's an older form of John and is like Ioannes / Yiannis in Greek, and it comes from Hebrew for God is gracious. It can be shortened to Johann, but generally my actual loved ones either call me John or Johnny, or they call me Hannes.

"Johannes" in German is kind of a stereotypical old man's name? A German friend was laughing a lot about it because she said that to me and I was like "Yeah?" and she was like, oh, yeah, that fits, lmao.

I do play around a lot with names, and I'd say that I take them from a lot of different sources and get creative with them. Multiple times I've called a character "Henry Sutton" without realising I've done it multiple times, which is why I've got a few Henry Suttons knocking about.

For more established characters with deeper backstories, I play around a lot with the naming process - I normally have a particular mouthfeel or aural impact I'm going for, such as a certain number of syllables or a particular "flavour", like a name that has a feel of a particular class or country or profession.

With that said, I think most of my names I pick quite quickly and feel out early on in the process - it's rare that a character of mine is more fleshed out and lacks a name, because I find a name is such a useful part of someone's identity and informs a lot of how they move in the world and are perceived and treated. Something like their appearance is far less important, funnily enough.

I like to employ some literal stuff - Valorous King, for example, is very aptly named in a way that can sometimes feel like a curse to him; Amaethon is actually one of the children of Dôn, but people don't really know old Welsh gods and goddesses very well, so it just feels like a random elf name; Ganymede Cavendish is named for a beautiful young lover of Zeus, and he is just as beautiful and victimised in the same way as his namesake.

Other times, I go with more irony or play with juxtapositions - name a character for joy or ease when they're generally miserable or tortured; name them something small when they're very big or vice versa; name them for darkness when they're very light, etc.

I'll often take forenames or surnames from things I'm watching or playing or listening to - when I want to pluck a name out of the air at random and am worried I'm using too many of the same names, but want like, "real" names that real people use and live with, it's fucking great to pick names out of the credit sequences of TV or movies and mash them up.

Sometimes I scroll through census records and stuff, but the problem with the number of characters I have is that I can't always do that - as much as it's realistic for many characters to be called Jones or Evans or Williams, I'd need to make a thing of it in fiction. Census records are great for older characters, especially from the 1700s-1900s.

The ones that are actually hardest for me is Latin names - Greek ones I'm a lot more comfortable handling, but my Latin grammar is fucking dogshit, and I often worry about mishandling a name or reusing one that's too commonly written already. Medieval Latin is alright to play with, but when I'm writing old Roman characters I just feel like I'm kicking my own ass the entire time.

I will say that some shit in that regard is just fucking lazy. I abhor the lazy tendency in fiction to introduce a Black character and call him Mr White or Mr Chalk or something similar, especially when it's contrasted with an evil white character and/or that character's best friend who's named Black or Ebony. It's not in itself that awful, it's just the fact that it's so overdone and clichéed, and comes from a really basic humour and sense of irony that doesn't really build on or create anything, just lazily says "haha, this guy's Black and this other guy's white, isn't that a thing?"

I don't actually have a problem with reusing some names a lot - John, Henry, Daniel, etc - and I will often just search "common names [country]" and play with similar names that jump between and change from different languages or change throughout history. It can be worth looking up legends or stories from a certain region or like, old wives' tales and stuff, because like...

Sometimes, the benefit of a common or uncommon name is in its cultural impact - a name like mine, a name like John, is ubiquitous, but that means you can draw loads of parallels to it; on the other hand, if you grab a word that's very much not a name, but is a place, an object, a common noun, an animal, a turn of phrase, etc, you create a tension around that character with the other characters around them, even if people aren't commenting on it directly and even if you don't tell the reader immediately that their name is unusual or noteworthy.

When you're playing with a name that has a lot of cultural impact within a culture you're writing, as a name or otherwise, it can be fun to have a name that will have a lot of resonance for the characters you're writing, but doesn't inherently have that same impact on the reader (or only has that impact if the reader is already familiar with them culturally, or is familiar with the niche historical/religious subject you're working with).

An obvious one in mine is Esben's pets, for example, are called Kottr the dog and Hundr the cat - Kottr in Old Norse means cat, and Hundr, dog. A lot of English speakers will notice the cognates there if they think about it, but I've had people who speak Nordic languages comment on it a lot because it's just a fun little thing.

Gellert Osgodby has named himself after Gelert the dog - but in Welsh, we don't use two Ls to make an "l" sound. In Welsh, his name would be pronounced more like Geshert (the ll sound isn't easy to transcribe in English). He's fucked that up, and that's part of how you can tell he isn't Welsh himself, and isn't a Welsh speaker.

I definitely am influenced most by Welsh and Irish mythologies and stories, and I do tend to play with some Jewish cultural elements a lot as well, if not directly with Jewish mythologies.

Part of that, I regularly say, is because of the way that Welsh and Irish stuff tends to be treated by US American creators who identify as Welsh/Irish/Scottish/ "Celtic" or whatever and just go for random butchery of everything in sight - it's not their fault they don't have any sense of cultural respect, because that's not the culture they were raised in, but it does irritate me, and like...

Because I get so snippy about Welsh stuff, I try to be a lot more careful handling other cultures, particularly in various ways oppressed or minoritised ones, especially who are often misrepresented in media in similarly clumsy, lazy, or just entitled ways.

For names in cultures I'm less familiar with and coherent with, what I actually do is regularly search the full name I'm using, but also like, search Wikipedia entries for famous celebrities that use that language, come from that country or culture, and are of the same caste, religion, or ethnicity as the character(s) I'm working on and basically just read a bunch and contrast and compare.

Sometimes I very explicitly go against a lot of cultural stuff depending on which cultures I'm drawing from - Velma Kuroda, for example, has picked a name very much at odds with the more traditionally Japanese name her brother has picked, and that has to do with family beef that I'll get into later in Little Devils.

In Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant, people have three names - their regular name, their magical name, and then their true name written on their soul, by which they can be commanded and coerced; in T.S. Eliot's The Naming of Cats, cats have three different names - the name by which their human family call them, the name by which they're known to other cats, and then their secret, most innate name, known only to themselves.

Many of us have multiple names and go by different names in different circles - many Jewish people have a Hebrew name, and gerim might pick one when they convert; in Ireland, a lot of people have their names as Béarla different to their names as Gaeilge.

Some people go by their middle names or are called a completely different name to the one they were named at birth - Hell, some people don't even realise until they're adults that the name everyone's always called them isn't their official documents name.

And that's not even considering queer people and how many names we might cycle through, feeling out the ones that fit or don't, using different names in different circles or for different personas, using different names online or offline.

There's a lot of power in a name and in a naming, but there's also a lot of leeway and flexibility, and one name isn't the same to all the people who might use it - I try to reflect that living quality in lots of the characters I write and play with.

With a name, I would say it's important to think about how it feels in your mouth and in your hands - how it feels to say your name, how it feels to write it, how it might feel to write your signature, what spelling you choose or what characters it's made up of, what your initials might be, etc. What nicknames you might or mightn't like.

How does or would the name strike people, depending on who they are or where they're from or how old they are? Are you named for someone - someone people would or wouldn't recognise? A figure from myth, from TV, from books, a historical figure, a religious or cultural figure, someone you love, a relative, an ancestor? Is your name usually a name at all?

I know so many people with so many beautiful names, many of them unexpected, either because their parents or family chose them, or because they chose them themselves, and I know there's a lot of choice out there, but good luck with the hunt! I hope you find something that fits, and feels like it sings to you!

#musings #writers on tumblr #anonymous #writing

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callmecams26 · 1 year

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🐐, ⛔️, 👼🏻 for the motogp ask game?

Hi! Thank you so so much for the ask <33

🐐 who in your opinion is the best rider in motogp?

Best rider in terms of raw talent, I’ll have to say Marquez. I believe, raw talent wise, he’s better than Valentino Rossi. I’ve had people call me crazy for that, but the way Marc came into the sport and did things no one else had done before, and did things nobody thought of doing (like pushing himself up to save the bike and shit) is just insane to me. He was just, like, a prodigy in my mind.

Dani even said it himself in a Spanish interview. Marc had this insane talent for switching direction on the bike during corners, which is really hard to do.

I think, when we talk raw talent, Casey Stoner also deserves being mentioned. The way he was sliding that Ducati around Philip island sends chills down my back every time I see it. Such a talented man.

BUT, if we talk in all around aspects, the entire rider taken into consideration and not just raw talent, obviously Valentino will have to be on here.

(Notice how I didn’t say Lorenzo?) no, but, while I think Jorge is a great great rider, he lacked some things that would’ve made him unstoppable. He lost the world championship in 2016 because he’s terrible in the rain, and unfortunately, there were a lot of rain races that season. For me, that means he isn’t as well rounded as my stupid little brain wants to believe he is. Still, I love him <33

⛔️ a rider you dislike?

I already answered this one on another ask where I go into detail, but I said Johann Zarco and Jack Miller, mainly. Don’t like those guys all too much.

👼🏻 favorite rider?

….🤭🤭

All time favorite is Lorenzo. He’s the guy I started out with, he’s the guy that truly got me into MotoGP. I remembered his name from when my dad would watch MotoGP back in the day because one of his last names is kind of similar to a family name of mine. I also remember my dad telling little me that Lorenzo was “an icy guy. He never smiles” and I had that in my head so much. Like I thought he was truly not someone who smiled at all (I was like 6, ok?)

So when I watched a MotoGP race last year, trying it out and all, I remembered his name and was like “let me google him real quick”, and I just instantly got hypnotized by him and his riding style. Also just his entire color scheme at Yamaha was so… seductive? Like I remember I thought his color scheme was perfect. And yeah, I haven’t looked back since.

My OTHER favorite rider, second to Jorge, is obliviously my man Dani Pedrosa. I just fell in love with the way he is, and what he has done. Dani deserves much more credit than he gets, even though he’s super popular. He has been through a lot of pain for this sport, and yet always kept going. Did you know, when he was 14, he broke his arm and needed surgery to make sure it would grow together correctly again? But then, because he was young, the doctors didn’t think surgery was necessary, so Dani’s bones grew together wrong.

THEY GREW TOGETHER WRONG, and he literally has some movements he can’t do with his arm!! He can’t lift it completely, and he can’t move it outward! LIKE WHAT and he has still persevered and won like 30 races in the most competitive motorcycle sport in the world with that.

Just insane, I mean. That is CRAZY to me. He has won world championships with an arm he can’t completely move freely.

#dani pedrosa #jorge lorenzo #I love them both #they mean the world to me #motogp

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jessreadingblogk-6 · 6 days

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The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers. Illustrations by Shawn Harris.

Genre / Category: Children and Young Adult / Newberry Medal Book

Age group: 6th grade and up

Summary: This book is about a dog named Johannes who lives in a park on an island. He is tasked with being the “Eyes” of the park by the bison, the oldest living animals on the island. This book is about friendship, the natural environment, and about finding oneself.

Justification: This book is a Newberry Prize winner. It also features talking animals which was incredibly fun and imaginative as we can see the different species interacting with each other.

Format and Evaluation: Because I read this book in audiobook format, I was unaware this book had illustrations until after I had read the book and was looking up citation information for this review and noticed the artist’s name. Fortunately, the art in the book is only used to bookmark the end of some chapters and is not integral to the narrative of the book. Therefore, I will be evaluating this book based on perspective, character, and setting

Perspective: The style and language in this book offers a unique perspective to this book. As we are in the head of a dog, most of his sentences are simple and short especially when stating facts. The narrator will also say things that make no sense for a human to say such as how he believes the park to be a thousand miles long and three thousand miles wide. Or how the bison must have been on the park for hundreds of years. Johannes will also often remark on the smells of a place before mentioning the visual elements of the scene. This perspective truly helps the reader inhabit the perspective of an animal. A final aspect I admire about the perspective in this book is how important the idea of freedom is to Johannes. As a wild animal, he constantly reminds the reader how important his autonomy is to him. This can help young adults understand the importance of preserving natural habitats for animals in the wild.

Characters: There are many animal characters within this book who are all believable and fit the personality of their species. My favorite animal is Angus the racoon. The narrator of the audiobook gave him a Daffy Duck voice and it instantly endeared me to him. In fact, all of the animals came to life when they were read by the narrator. Each voice perfectly fits the characteristics of the animals and give emphasis to the character’s mannerisms.

Setting: The park in this book is almost a character in-and-of itself. The wildlife that inhabits it, the structure of the roads, plazas, forest, and habitats are realistic and constantly changing. The older structures of the park cause a major accident while the new construction upsets the natural wildlife inhabiting the park. I believe this setting is great for children and young adults as it shows the many ways human habitation can negatively affect the animals in the area. This setting shows how even seemingly innocuous human behaviors such as camping can have huge repercussions for the ecology of the park.

Citation: Eggers, D. (2023). The eyes and the impossible (S. Harris, illus.). Knopf Books for Young Readers.

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hoghtastic · 6 months

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“Well, in relation to Johanne and me, 🚩I think perhaps the distribution has always been that Johanne is Glinda and I am Elphaba.🚩”

Crazy how that’s the first thing she thinks of when she things of her and Jo’s dynamic, basically(what I got from that) “it’s always been known that Johanne (“conversationally” pretty, populær, and calls the shots) is up there ⬆️, and I’m below her ⬇️” (at least that’s what it felt like when I read that)

“We went to class together at the musical academy We start out pretty much like our characters in Wicked are too.🚩So Glinda, she's in control of everything, and she's totally in control of everyone else and she's popular, but she also puts herself a bit in the position of having to be popular.🚩”

The victim complex here is insane. No longer is she the outgoing but nerdy to the core girl, she admits to putting herself above others and feeling like she just has to do everything because who else will? Who will they look up to if I wasn’t here, where would they be without me. I’m so weighed down by all this pressure I PUT ON MYSELF. Did she not actually say something like that in the askepot interview? That she has a “if I don’t who else will” type of mind set? And it’s the way she tries to twist it and make it seem like it’s some burden that she has to deal with , I have an actual mother who is like this and let’s just say I hope if she has kids, she’s changed her attitude by then. It’s going to be hell for them.😅

“🚩Elphaba is a little quieter, she doesn't quite know where she should be. Me and Nanna were like that at school too.🚩 “

Mind you, this is Johanne saying this. About her friend. Now I don’t know if it’s just me but she said that, not because she actually felt that way, but because she needed those extra “aww she was just such a cutie patootie in school, she was so lost” which is believable when it comes to her friend, because she was friends with Johanne. But Johanne relating to that aspect is obviously a contradicting statement because you “control everything and everyone(but only because you have to😉)” so how were you also passive and quiet and lost if you were a wild red haired girl who knew what she wanted to do from a young age, and just had a fire lit in her from the beginning. It doesn’t make sense Jo.

“We think quite differently, but she is also one of the people who inspires me the most, 🚩and who helps to challenge me and my own way of thinking really a lot.🚩”

It’s great to have friends who incourage you, but it’s a little different when they “challenge” the way you think, in the way that I think Jo does. She comes off as someone who will seem very condescending towards someone who doesn’t agree with what she says so she has to narrow her eyes at them in front of an entire group of friends and make you feel embarrassed by “challenging” the way you think. That’s what I got from that, the wording was off to me, but I’m not entirely sure if we can conclude that that’s the kind of “challenging” she means. Especially when you consider how fondly she talks of her friends a lot of the time (ex. “I couldn't sing Elphaba 8 times a week either, I just have to say that. Few people can do that, and we are quite lucky to have Nanna in our musical world.) but in my opinion (an observation) i feel because of how she’s explained her own personality and the way she acts, and the at she is very passionate about her own opinions, she can have her moments where she may have indirectly challenged someone in a way that might not be helpful. Especially when we consider Nanna, who is admittedly passive,(and who acknowledged that “We think quite differently”) probably wouldn’t have spoken out at the times Jo challenged her (if she ever did☝️) I can’t really criticize her for that specific part though because I have probably come across as “challenging” to someone and didn’t know it simply because I’m also very passionately opinionated. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be for sure, especially for other people if you’re not careful. Self awareness and self control with our kind of passionate and challenging personality is important.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on the interview! You made a very interesting analysis and valid points, with which I personally agree! 😊

Something I also noticed about Nanna, is that while she seems nice and likeable, she's also represented in a way that she's somehow "bellow" Johanne, and has always been this way since school, but she has accepted this dynamic and seems okay with it? Like those "followers" of the popular kid at school. I found it quite interesting how she so easily accepts this, but then also noticed that while Johanne makes some statements that assert her own "dominance", at the same time she compliments Nanna and lets her shine for a moment, like some momentaneous "lovebombing", so to speak, so Nanna probably doesn't really notice how negative this dynamic truly looks to someone observing from the outside.

#anon asks

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themusiichouse · 1 year

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The Duel

Historically, Brahms could sometimes be brusque and sarcastic. His reincarnation Johannes embodies these traits to an even greater extent; given all he’s had to go through in his current life, he’s definitely got a chip on his shoulder. Before he regained his past life’s musicality, he was incredibly sensitive about the false accusations swirling around that he was lying about having Brahms’ past life memories since he didn’t have Brahms’ talent. He knew deep inside him that those memories were his; he resented being told he was schizophrenic or having delusions from some other mental illness just because he felt them so strongly, and he hated even more the fact that he was bullied at school over it. It wasn’t even like a bunch of teenagers cared about some old dead guy with a beard who got famous in a genre of music they found “boring.” But what they did care about was that one of their peers had claimed to have a famous past life, that there were still articles about the “false Classica” available on local news websites if you dug deep enough, and that said “false Classica” was 5′5″ and skinny and looked like an easy target for bullying. So groups of kids made Johannes’ life hell at school all the way from lower school (when he first started telling people of his memories) to twelfth grade.

One day, he found a way to get back at them.

When he had been restored to his previous musical talents as a composer and virtuoso pianist, he once again made a claim to the world that he was Johannes Brahms. To wipe the doubt from everyone’s minds, he posted new compositions and videos of himself playing the piano on YouTube. But he said one thing further than that, and it was that if anyone still wished to challenge his authenticity, they could come and challenge him directly. It was the most obvious bait for the people who’d bullied him when he was a kid. And they fell for it.

The lead bully in his high school, a young man by the name of Max King who was by then a rising star in the popular music scene, took notice. Apart from having the singing and dancing skills required to become a popular musician nowadays, he was also classically trained, and immediately took it upon himself to try to prove himself better than his previous victim. He challenged Johannes to a duel that would consist of two parts: one part composition, another part performance, with the performance phase having two parts of its own--prepared performance and improvised performance. Johannes, ready to wipe this dude off the map, gladly accepted.

For the composition part, Max composed and wrote the lyrics to a popular song like he’d always been writing, and Johannes composed a 22nd Hungarian Dance. The crowd vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Max’s composition because classical music is so unfairly underrated these days, but the five composition judges unanimously declared Johannes’ Hungarian Dance superior in terms of depth and sophistication--meaning that this round was declared a draw. Next came the prepared performance section, which yielded the same result: the audience preferred Max’s pieces because they were easier to understand, but Johannes swept the board with the technical judges. But in the improvisation round, it was truly Johannes’ time to shine. Max’s performance was lovely enough, but overall it was rather simplistic and not really able to hold peoples’ attention. Johannes, on the other hand, took a theme of Beethoven and just went ham in the most elegantly passionate way, captivating the crowd for a full ten minutes before realizing he got carried away and that he’d have to wrap the piece up. It was at last that he was declared the winner, and that everyone who ever doubted him realized they’d erred in their ways. As for Max? Just as some artists today will always be remembered for a single embarrassment in their careers, his main claim to fame would henceforth be that he so foolishly challenged the great Brahms and lost.

Minona was watching the whole thing on live television, by the way. She remembered her own musical duel as Beethoven in which she’d flattened Steibelt, and felt a surge of pride.

#canon facts. || JOHANNES BIEHL

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starlene · 2 years

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Would you be willing to talk more about Varissuo? I managed to miss it (as always I'm really good at missing musicals in Finland rip) but it looks fascinating. Voi vastata kans suomeks jos helpompi mut ei paineita :D

I was hoping someone would ask! I'm definitely willing to talk about Varissuo, what with it being one of my all-time favourite musicals and all.

Here's a synopsis in English, in case some of my non-Finnish followers are curious, and then some thoughts in Finnish under the cut.

Varissuo is an original Finnish musical with music by Tuomo Prättälä, Jori Sjöroos & Jussi Vahvaselkä, lyrics by Paleface, and book by Satu Rasila. So far, it's only been performed in Turun kaupunginteatteri in 2018–19.

In short, it's a musical about reaching for your dreams + the relationships between parents and children, named after and set in the Varissuo suburb in the city of Turku (a real suburb known for its multicultural population; it's sometimes maligned as a den of crime and unemployment, but a study has also shown that its inhabitants are happier than most other people in Turku).

The musical consists of four parallel storylines:

Nadia is a teenage girl that dreams of moving out of the suburb and becoming a pop star, but she lacks the parental support to achieve her dreams: to say her father Asko is emotionally distant is a severe understatement, and all she knows about her mother is that she died when Nadia was a baby. Frustrated, Nadia starts a relationship with Aku, a young recovering alcoholic who has just hit a major setback in his recovery due to his grandmother's death. When the relationship results in an unplanned pregnancy, Nadia craves the support of her father more than ever – but how will he react?

Reijo is a middle-aged karaoke enthusiast with a violent past who's lost contact with his daughter, Noora. He dreams of fixing things with her but has a hard time gathering enough courage to take the first step. Will Noora agree to talk to him again after all he's done, let alone ever seeing him again?

Ilona is the single mother of 12-year-old Ben. She broke up with Ben's father Mikael a decade ago and he hasn't been a part of his son's life ever since, but when she falls severely ill, she's forced to contact him again. Soon enough, Ilona is hospitalised, and Mikael has to start learning how to be a father for real. Will father and son find something to bond over when Mikael decides to share his passion for street art with Ben? And what about Ilona and Mikael? They had a messy separation way back when, but will Ilona's illness make them see each other in a different light?

Rafa is a boxer in his early 20s whose mother Sarita is ready to do whatever it takes to make him a champion – but secretly, he dreams of giving up his boxing career, graduating high school, and living a boring normal life with a house, a wife and a golden retriever. With the support of a dreamy Tinder match called Johannes, will Sarita finally learn to live her own life instead of micromanaging Rafa's? And is Johannes really as great as he seems like on the first date?

I think on paper, it's always bound to sound more clichéd and less interesting than it actually was – but please trust me, it was brilliant. I saw it four times, it's been over three years now, and I still miss it. By far the best original Finnish musical I've ever seen, and as I mentioned before, one of my top ten musicals in general.

Ja tähän loppuun suomenkielinen jälkikirjoitus: miksi näin loistava musikaali ei sitten menestynyt? Ilona-tietokannan tietojen perusteella esityskauden täyttöprosentti oli 65 %, eli ei mitenkään ihmeellinen. Kumpi on väärässä, minä vai suuri yleisö?

Toki eri genrejä hiphopista iskelmään yhdistävä musikaali oli varmaan osalle konservatiivisimmista vanhan polven katsojista liian kova pala, mutta väitän, että hieman paremmalla markkinoinnilla teatteri olisi voinut paikata eläkeyhdistysten jättämää yleisövajetta ainakin jonkun verran. Jälkiviisastelu on paitsi helppoa myös raivostuttavaa, mutta tässä silti pari ajatusta siitä, mikä olisi voinut mennä paremmin:

Varissuon suurimpia vahvuuksia olivat 1. musiikki, 2. Palefacen lyriikat, 3. hahmot, eikä markkinointi hyödyntänyt näistä mitään.

Joku musikaalin kappaleista olisi ehdottomasti pitänyt julkaista Youtubessa ennen ensi-iltaa. Palefacen nimi olisi pitänyt ottaa julisteissa, nettibannereissa ym. häpeämättömään hyötykäyttöön ja miestä itseään olisi pitänyt tyrkyttää aiheen tiimoilta haastateltavaksi mahdollisimman moneen mediaan (olettaen siis, että hän olisi ollut moiseen yhteistyöhön valmis). Lisäksi julisteisiin/promokuviin, jotka esittivät geneeristä takaapäin kuvattua hahmoa, olisi ehdottomasti pitänyt jo julkistushetkellä saada vähintään pari rooliasuista näyttelijää – tuntematonkin naama myy paremmin kuin tuntematon takaraivo.

Tiedän omasta kokemuksesta, että nämä asiat ovat vaikeita toteuttaa (julkaisukelpoisen demon tekemiseen ei ole budjetissa varattu rahaa, markkinoinnin väellä ei ole aikaa tyrkyttää Palefacea Arto Nybergille kun samaan aikaan pitää markkinoida ohjelmiston kahtatoista muuta teosta, ja julkistushetkellä rooliasutkin ovat vasta luonnoksia pukusuunnittelijan lehtiössä), mutta väitän, että tässä ylimääräinen vaivannäkö olisi kannattanut.

Toinen iso ongelma, johon teatteri ei ikävä kyllä mitenkään olisi voinut vaikuttaa, oli Helsingin Sanomien oikeusmurhaa lähentelevä arvostelu.

Mielestäni on kyllä hyvä kysymys, kuvaako teatteri lähiöelämää valtaosin tukevan keskiluokkaiselle yleisölleen liikaa ongelmien ja tirkistelyn kautta, mutta kriitikko ei päässyt kliseisen lähiökuvauksen aiheuttamasta raivostaan mitenkään yli eikä lainkaan jaksanut pohtia sitä, onko Varissuo onnistunut genrensä edustajana eli musikaalina (eli toisin sanoen aivan tavanomainen suomalainen musikaalikritiikki).

Omasta mielestäni Varissuossa oli loistavasti löydetty jokaiselle hahmolle oma sävelkielensä siten, että kokonaisuus kuulosti silti yhtenäiseltä, ja tarinan kuljettaminen musiikin keinoin oli paremmin hallussa kuin yhdelläkään toisella näkemälläni suomimusikaalilla. Vaikka ymmärrän, mistä kritiikki käsiksen kliseisyydestä kumpuaa, mielestäni kaikki tarinan hahmot olivat kuitenkin kolmiulotteisia ja heidän kohtalonsa aidosti koskettavia. Ja voihan asian nähdä niinkin päin, että on hyvä, että keskiluokkaista teatteriyleisöä yritettiin edes parin tunnin ajaksi saada samaistumaan erilaisesta taustasta tuleviin ihmisiin, vaikka sitten vähän kömpelösti kliseiden kautta – vai pitäisikö lähiön elämästä kertoessa keskittyä vain sen keskiluokkaisiin ja tasaisen onnellisiin asukkaisiin? Siihen, mitä ihmettä kriitikko paahtaa hahmojen samanlaisuudesta, toivottomuudesta ja v-sanan käytöstä, en osaa sanoa oikein mitään, itse koin teoksen niin täydellisen toisin.

Turun Sanomat tykkäsi muistaakseni enemmän (maksumuuri, en voi tarkistaa), mutta jos joku pääkaupunkiseudulta harkitsi teatteriretkeä Turkuun, Hesarin negistely riitti taatusti nitistämään ne suunnitelmat.

Varissuossa on vielä sekin ongelma, että se on päällisin puolin hyvin turkulainen musikaali, mikä varmaan vähentää muualla sijaitsevien teatterien mielenkiintoa tarttua siihen – mutta mielestäni siinä käsitellään niin universaaleja aiheita, että sen voisi pienillä käsikirjoitusmuutoksilla siirtää joko johonkin toiseen oikeaan lähiöön tai täysin kuvitteelliseen tapahtumapaikkaan.

Pähkinänkuoressa: en suoraan sanottuna usko, että Varissuosta saadaan koskaan toista tuotantoa, mutta mielestäni tämä on täysin hyvän musikaalin täydellistä haaskaamista.

Olisivat, penteleet, edes cast recordingin julkaisseet.

#thank you so much for asking! always glad to discuss this musical #Varissuo #Finnish only

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arllenn · 3 years

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Hey there, I rarely check on Tumblr nowadays due to work and stuff but I've played Dragon Raja for a while now so if it's not too troubling, I would like to request a fic of MC giving Osho and the others a well deserved verbal smack down during the final showdown (the MC didn't blame the Gen siblings for what happened to them and managed to save Erii from Osho). Bonus if MC cut ties from everyone after the mission... Sorry, I'm a huge fan of angst.

Tags for this chapter: angst, violence, all bitter no sweet, respawn system gets abused for angst Tw: cannon typical violence, graphic-ish descriptions of death, blood, suicidal thoughts and almost actions, wounds and the like

You’re clutching yourself as you shake knees getting weaker by the second, hiccuping and heaving the flood of tears that decorates both your face and the street under you with the weight of your emotions are the only constant for you. You’re drowning in your own emotions, phantom pains of all of your recent deaths and revivals clawing at you demanding your attention, demanding your time. You’re hugging yourself trying to mimic the comforting action that you remember from your childhood. “Why isn’t it working.” You choke out sobbing harder as you grip your arms. It’s too tight yet not tight enough, your limbs responding to your pleas is a sign that you’re still alive yes, but, but this is, this isn’t what you want.... this isn’t what you want at all. Your nails are far sharper than you remember them they tore through the flesh of your arms lightly. You could feel Herzog’s claws ripping through your flesh as well, everything hurt, you want to go home, you want to go home, you want to go home.....

But you can’t. Everyone was dead, at one point Caesar had said that Black Swan Bay had sunken, so the actual land was probably gone too, nothing left to remember that place but you Zero and Z. God you wanted to see them right now, the area on your head that he had patted earlier seemed warm giving you a small amount of comfort but also dealing even more damage to your psyche. You wanted to go back to those warm days in your childhood when none of this was known to you. When you weren't running around matchmaking and doing everyone else's work while also getting nothing in return, not a thanks, not even a small indirect amount of appreciation or encouragement. Your legs buckled under you your arms reching out as if to grab onto something to stop you from falling. Your knees met with the ground violently scraping at the skin there. You can't breathe, you can't breathe, youcantbreatheyoucantbreatheyoucantbreatheyoucantbreathe, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts, why is he doing this to you didn't he love you? That man, Herzog, had raised you. You had spent so much time at that orphanage, you were so happy. So why. whywhywhywhywhyhwhywhy. You recalled warm winter nights spent in front of the fireplace curled up with Zero on one side and Z on the other.

You remembered one day specifically. Back then you lot were young, so, so, so, young. You chuckled choking on your tears, that day Z and you had spent a solid hour arguing over who would run over to get Zero, that day it had started raining, then the rain had turned to hail mid hide and seek game. Z had found you moments before the storm started. You two ended up huddled under the ice bridge. The orphanage in sight but seeming miles away due to the storm. Zero had been caught first and had gone back to the courtyard as per the rules so she was probably fine. You needed one of you to go and get her so that she could bring back an umbrella for the other. Then you had heard it, the sound of thunder wolves nearby. Then Z, with no hesitation had, scooped you up put your head under one of the flaps or his jacket and ran back to the cottages. All while you could hear the heavy ‘thunk thunk thunk’ of wolf paws behind you. Looking back on it now those wolves were probably the result of Herzog’s experiments and not a naturally occurring species. The souring of your childhood memory made bile rise in your throat, the thought of looking at your early life through that lens rather than just christmas day made you want to scream. Z and Zero were so different from your seniors. If you had been with any of them back then you knew for a fact that they would’ve sent you to deal with the wolves, only coming in when you were a hairs breath away from dying.

But that hadn’t save you before, you can’t count how many times you’ve died sense meeting them. From your flesh being torn from your bones by death servitors to bleeding out in some nameless alleyway after being shot by hydra’s soldiers. You had also drowned at one point, that death had been the worst. You remembered clawing at the water begging for the chance to live once again, you remembered feeling your legs tear off after the submarine had exploded, you remembered reaching your mangled arms out, out, out towards the light that came from the surface of the water. You remember feeling the water force itself down your throat and into your lungs, it burns, it hurts, it burns, it hurts. You had been seeing flashes of reality as well as the last time you ended up in cold waters like those. It didn’t matter because in the end you had died. It never matters how hard you try, how many times you die, because you always end up failing.

You lay on the sidewalk screaming, there was no one nearby nor anything that you could hear other than the pounding of rain on the sidewalk and your own sobbing. Your hand burned with the new blood that flowed inside you. Your mind burned with the scars of the past that it never got to address, your heart burned with the open wounds this mission had left you with. You wanted to die right here, sink away into nothingness. Stay in the room with the grand piano and flowing waters. No one could bother you there, no one could make you do meaningless tasks without your say, there was no matchmaking, no pointless errands, no suicide missions, there was nobody but yourself there, just you, just you. Luminous wouldn’t be there to make you do his work, he wouldn’t be there swearing to be by your side to help you while simultaneously doing nothing at best and dragging you down at worst. There wouldn’t be a Caesar there to send you on every reconnaissance mission with no backup and no direction. Johann wouldn’t be there to demand information on your past like he had even earned the right to know it, like he didn’t need to earn that right because it should just be given to him. Just you in a place where no one could hurt you.

You looked up from the ground that you had been staring at, bringing your hands up to your neck you squeezed. It wouldn’t work in terms of killing you, you knew that, but it worked as an easy substitute, feeling the pressure of your own hands on your neck, the shortness if not complete lack of breath, the light headed feeling, it served as a less drastic solution for now.

“It’s great to see you all safe and sound!” Eva’s voice cut through the momentary peace that you had found, your hands reflexively letting go of your neck.

“Safe and sound?!” You repeated in disbelief, “What part of any of me seems to be safe and sound?” It felt like she was mocking you. The memories of Herzog’s claws slicing through your spine, through every part of you, flashed then the words ‘It’s great to see you all safe and sound!’ Played over them, those words were the last thing you wanted to hear right now. Why,why,why,why,why is your pain always ignored like this? Why is it always your job to make everything right? You can’t do this anymore! You won’t do this anymore.

Bringing your fist up you smashed at your communicator, “Cassell- will...turn th-this into- into no-nothing more th-th-th-then a dream for every- every- everyone” Eva’s voice though distorted still managed to snake its way out of the thing despite all the damage you had done to it.

"AGH, SHUT UP!" You yell slamming your fist down harder and harder, each time screaming, begging for her to "JUST SHUT UP" You're crying even harder now. The glass that made up the outer layer of the screen. The rest of her words came out broken and jumbled, and even if they hadn't been due to the damage your screaming and shouting would've drowned it out anyways. "STOP. TALKING. JUST. SHUT. UP."

"Caesar helping you to-to-to destroy- criminal underworld.... true story- believe." Your fist paused midair at those words. Caesar had helped to destroy the criminal underworld? That was the story that they were going with? Not even the whole team, just Caesar what kind of absolute bullshit was that. You had done 100 times more then the supposed hero of the story, hell Luminous had done more, fucking Erii had done more. So where did they get off on this- this- you didn't even have a word for it it was so stupid, so stupidly infuriating. Herzog had said that the people from Cassell had experimented on you, and while he wasn't one to be trusted you sure do feel so fucking dumb for defending them. At least Herzog had the common decency to put up an air of kindness. These people just treated you like a convenient tool, something to be used and dealt with as they pleased. Something that didn't need thanks or praise or a break because it was an object meant to be used and thrown away as they saw fit. "Re-re-re-return to takamagahara to say-say-say-say-saysay goodbye-bye-bye to-" Your fist swung down with overwhelming strength shattering the communicator completely. Broken pieces of metal and glass embedded themselves in your hand bringing a fiery pain that slowly destroyed all of you in its wake. You fell even further onto the concrete clutching your hands one in the other relishing a bit sickly in the pain that it brought. Your right palm glowed with the same light it first had when you had accepted Erii's blood. Then it started rejecting the pieces of metal and glass in both of your hands. Slowly pushing them out and healing the cuts instantly once they were out.

Chuckling you flipped over your hands looking at both perfectly healed sides. It was like you had never been hurt in the first place. You marvled at them, twisting them over and over again, bringing them to your neck once again you smiled and closed your eyes. You had no idea what you were. Had you always been like this? An undying freak with special powers? Had Herzog's experiments done this to you? It was obvious that your new healing ability came from Erii's and the light king's combined blood but what about everything else? Had you been born this way? Was it Herzog's half baked evolution pills? Had Cassell truly experimented on you? Z said you had the capability to become a dragon lord now, but what did that mean? What did that make you? Your chuckles turned into full of peels of laughter, your cheeks stinging at the feeling of both the semi dried tear tracks being pulled at as well as the force of your laughter. The peels of laughter soon mixed with pained sobs and you were once again back to crying. You weren't going to put up with this anymore. Dropping your hands you slowly stood up like a puppet on strings. Walking at a slow pace one second in between each step you started walking.

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

Anjou is in one of the VIP rooms with a man dressed like a pastor. You don't care what they're talking about, stepping in front of the pastor you look over at him. He takes steps back on his own, unprompted, it's a first but then again you suppose that you probably look like the walking dead, and in a way you were, not to mention that you also felt like it. A lukewarm apathetic haze settled over your emotions as you looked down at Anjou. He's the second person you met after waking up, he's the whole reason you, a freshman at his wacky school that you hadn't even been asked if you wanted to join, were on this mission. How stupid is he? He had sent you, a person who had what he described as 'little control' over your extra skill and who had just woken up after a freeze bath in Siberia on this mission, an SS ranked one that he was hesitant to even send his best students on already. So why had he chosen you? Why did you have to die over and over for a cause you didn't understand and people you don't know. "Freshman." he nodded as though prompting you to speak. He never broke eye contact or even showed any emotions other than a laid back and relaxed expression. It pisses you off. Why is this old dingbat relaxing, kicking back and enjoying his time while your'e such a mess? He gestures for the priest to leave and he does. Leaning forward elbows on his knees he looks you up and down before going back to making eye contact. "What has you so worked up?"

You want to cry, its the closest you've gotten to an 'are you ok' sense waking up but at the same time you wanted no part of a wellness check led by the man in front of you. "Herzog said that Cassell College experimented on me. Is that true?" You can almost make out a hint of surprise in his eyes before he starts laughing. You bight your lips pulling them into your mouth in a desperate attempt to hold back your anger wanting to get your answer first before you rip him a new one.

"Goodness no, why would you ever believe anything that old snake had to say, and here I thought you were a once in a decade genius. I suppose that title still belongs to Johann then." You ball your hands into fists. Its more than obvious that he's making light of the situation. Didn't he know that you had been raised in Black Swan Bay? Didn't he know that Herzog, a man who you had trusted, had experimented on you? Is he incapable of connecting the dots between your trauma and your current situation combined with Herzog's words? No he did know, he knew and he still chose to make light of everything you had gone through. Insinuating if not blatantly saying that you were an idiot for believing that what happened to you once could happen again. Slamming your hand down on the table you levied on him the worst glare you could, the burning behind your eyes letting you know that you probably looked less menacing then you wanted to.

"Where the fuck do you get off saying something like that to me." It's phrased as a question but its really not. It's a challenge for Anjou to defend his words, one he unfortunately takes you up on.

"I understand that this whole mission and especially today has been taxing on your team but that doesn't mean you should and can snap at everyone like that freshman. Take sometime to cool off, go outside and talk to your seniors, hopefully they'll be able to reach you in ways I cannot." He's getting up to leave after his mini lecture, essentially passing you off to be someone else's problem but you wont let him leave that easily. Your hand grabs onto his forearm stopping him in his tracks. For a millisecond you consider punching him. Beating him over the head with one of the glasses on the table, but the part of your brain that still, despite everything, says that you ca't do that to him because he had pulled you out of Siberia's ice who knows how long ago says not to. And it wins.

"I'm not going to apologize for my language-" He cuts you off with a tut of his tongue, now you have no regrets for the words you planned on saying next. Letting go of his arm you continued. "I'm entitled to be angry when an asshole says asshole things. And I'm allowed to curse said asshole out however much I want." You step in front of the exit crossing your arms, you catch a momentary glimpse of your face in one of the metal outlinings of the wall as you do. You truly do look dead, eyes lifeless and lightless, face twisted into a painfully weak version of the you that you wanted to portray. You know that in this position you run the risk of your conversation leaking out of the room but honestly you don't care, like at all. At this point you want to just scream and cry your emotions out. But you can't because you don't want to, you don't want to be any weaker in front of anyone than you already are.

"Freshman-"

"I was raised by Dr. Herzog for so so many years and the whole time he was experimenting on me and everyone I knew. And-and-and you expect me to just trust you when you say that you didn't do anything. You expect me to rule that out as a possibility when you've given me no reason to, not in terms of character or proof. So why would you say that me believing that random strangers who I've known for less then a month and who I, if I'm being honest don't trust, experimenting on me is a dumb fear?" You clutch at your heart bunching up the cloth that protects it. "I just- do you see why thats dumb? Do you see why it makes no sense to me? One day I'm celebrating christmas as normal with my friends the next minute I'm smacked in the face with the fact that the man that I considered a father," you gag a bit on the word, "has been experimenting on me and everyone that I love, that he's been killing all of us as soon as we turn 18 because we wont survive to 22 because of his experiments? Finding out that he thought of us, children he had been raising for years as nothing more then science experiments who had outlived their uses. Do you have any idea how much that fucking hurt? I had to watch everyone die around me while I wasn't able to do anything! Zero even sacrificed her life to save me and I still ended up dying so many times anyways." You're clutching at yourself again, seeking comfort in the only arms that you can trust right now, your own. You're glaring down at the floor trying to blink the tears away. It doesn't work. You're basically two steps away from dry heaving and sobbing. Anjou reaches out his hand, most likely to guide you to sit down but you slap it away. "Don't fucking touch me. You sent me, a freshman who hadn't really even enrolled in your school or been given the choice to do so on a suicide mission with other students and no adult supervision from the college itself. I've died so many times sense waking up. It always hurts, it's never been painless, I've never been thanked and yet you expect me to just what- put my blind trust into you? I spent more time around Chime then I did you and he spent half of the time as Ruri Kazama."

'"Freshman you're hyperventilating you need to calm down."

"I WONT CALM DOWN" You're yelling now, its not the same kind of painful shouting that you had done earlier on the street, this is loud as well yes, but its from a frustrated sadness rather than a devastated anger. "Why did it have to be me? Weren't there other students you could've sent? Adults? Why did it have to be me? You had no reason to trust that I wouldn't kill the others. I had justwoken up and you decided that I was your best choice? You didn't tell me anything you just threw terms out and expected me to understand. You didn't even give me time alone to breathe let alone ask questions." Your chest is tight, you can feel each of your deaths, piercing pain of claws slicing through flesh, the burning heat of bullets, the singeing of fire, being torn to pieces. You can feel it all and it all hurts so much. You want it to stop, you need it to stop. You don't want to hear these people talk like they're your friends like they care anymore. It's all too much, you're almost sobbing now, curling in on yourself to try and mitigate any pain that may come.

"Newbie whats-"

You turn eyes catching onto Caesar, Johann, Luminous and Finger standing behind you. When did they get here, how much did they hear. It burns and it burns devouring everything in sight. All the memories that you have with them that you've been trying to view in a happy light, all of them crumble to the ground in front of you the moment you see them. "SHUT UP, USE MY NAME FOR ONCE WILL YOU?! NEWBIE DO THIS, FRESHMAN DO THAT, YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN ONCE USED MY NAME!" Full on sobbing you bulldoze through every thought that comes to mind yelling them out at the people surrounding you. "YOU'VE NEVER ONCE ASKED ME IF I WAS OK. YOU;VE NEVER ONCE SENT ANYONE WITH ME WHEN YOU SEND ME ON THOSE STUPID SUICIDE MISSIONS. I'M A FRESHMAN A NEWBIE YOU HAD NO REASON TO TRUST ME WITH ANY OF THIS. WHAT WOU;LD'VE HAPPENED IF I HAD DIED AND STAYED DEAD? WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED IF I HAD BEEN CAPTURED? WHAT THEN?" You clutch onto yourself harder, seeking even the smallest bit of comfort from the feeling. Your voice has lowered in volume, you no longer have the emotional or physical strength to do anything other than keep your voice above a whisper. "Do you lot remember when Ruri had specifically said that even two of us couldn't handle Herzog alone? And yet you still thought that it would be a good idea to send me up alone, acting like you were tough for taking care of the death servitors at the entrance." You sigh, there are so many other examples you could go through but you also don't want to be here any longer. "What about you Luminous? I get that you had to watch Erii, but making me do everything and anything you could think of by myself while knowing that Johann and Caesar were constantly sending me on missions as well? You even complained that I took too long to do things. Maybe if you did something for yourself for once instead of just saying that you will then running away and hiding like a coward these things wouldn't happen. Maybe then Erii, Chisei and Chime would still be alive and I wouldn't have to deal with- with this fucking guilt!"

"Look I'm sorry about the Erii thing but listen, we had no idea you were feeling like this. You should've come to us-" Finger is trying to mediate, trying to comfort you, but it only makes things worse.

"And how could I have," You croak out, "How could I have trusted that you would listen, that I would get a break? You never even presented the option for me to have any kind of choice in how I carried out my missions let alone not do them at all. I had nothing I still have nothing. I'm presumed dead at best and no longer exist at worst in terms of my original legal documents. And even if I had access to them I'm still 20 years younger then I'm supposed to be." With a watery chuckle you continue, "Even if I did tell you if I was thrown away I wouldn't have any papers to do anything, to get a job, to live a life, I'm completely reliant on the college for everything. Not to mention the fact that I know nothing about the world. If Cassell had deemed me" You shudder at the word "a failure, then I would've had nothing, not information on the world at current, not even an identity." You shake your head walking in between them and towards the exit. "I don't care I'm not doing this anymore. Find some other freshman to be you dog."

You walked out and onto the streets of Tokyo. You glanced back once lamenting the fact that you hadn't gotten to say goodbye to Zero. You turned away glancing in the direction of the convenience store that Luminous would always make you go to to buy Erii's milk. You trudged down the streets of Tokyo back to that place. Hopefully you can buy paper and a pen to leave her a note with what little money you have.

The bell on the store door jingled when you opened it. The man was standing behind the counter as he always was. You're experience with father figures have been lack luster this far but you've always thought that this man gave off the air of one. It made you relax, seeing someone that while familiar wasn't from the orphanage or Cassell. He looked up at you wearing that same smile that he always did. You knew it wasn't for you specifically but rather something that he probably gave all of his costumers but still it made you feel a bit warm inside.

"Hey kiddo you look a bit rough, everything ok?" You take a few steps forward and nod a bit

"I think it will be now. Or at least I hope so." He hums and nods his head at your answer deciding not to pry, a decision you appreciate.

"So then you here for the usual?" You look back at him and glance around the store, you don't see paper or pens of any sort. It's a bit of a let down but you suppose asking wouldn't hurt.

"Ah no actually," Your voice is still raw, and a bit choked up from all the crying and yelling that you did earlier, you hope you don't sound weird." "Do you sell like, um... paper and pens or something like that? I want to write a note to a friend before I leave."

He scratches at his chin mumbling under his breath as he thinks for a few seconds before getting up and going around the store coming back with a bottle of warm milk in hand. He then returns to his spot behind the counter pulling a note pad and pen out from under it. He places the milk next to the writing utensils and pushes them towards you. "Here, milks on the house, I don't sell paper or anything but feel free to use that and leave the note with me. I'll give it to your friend."

You give him a small smile. It's all that you can manage right now. Your eyes burn with tears again. "Thanks, my friends name is Zero she's blonde has blue eyes and is about," you place your hand were Zero's head is about as accurately as you can, "This tall. She has a flat affect and seems kinda emotionless but she really is a sweet girl. Um, her hairs long and she has a big black bow tying it back." The man nods his head repeating your description back to you. After gaining conformation he sticks his thumb up and takes the letter from you promising to hand it to her the moment she walks through the doors of his shop. You thank him one last time and promise to come back there if you're ever in trouble before leaving.

As you walk through Tokyo's streets aimlessly, you repeat the words in your letter, speaking them into the rain. "I hope that we can meet again in a more peaceful time, preferably away from the bay and Cassell as I don't have the best impression of them. With lots of love, your best friend..." You laugh a bit, your words were supposed to be a parody of what Z said to you. You think its fitting for a farewell letter.

You meld into the raindrops after looking back one last time.

#me when respawn #dragon raja #dragon raja mc #caesar gattuso #johann chu #luminous lu #finger von frings #fanfic #writing #major character death #but they dont stay dead #its just alluded to #angst #hurt no comfort

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athingofvikings · 4 years

Note

i've always figured that the Protestant Revolution as we know it couldn't happen in the context of ATOV because you've mentioned that anything born past the dates in-fic are no longer possible, i think due to snowball effects and history changing? I figure the Protestant REformation falls under similar grounds; i suppose some kind of shake up COULD happen, since Hiccup's thing is accidentally wrecking static societies, but i dont think it could be like the real Reformation's outcome?

Indeed. The reason I have to keep bringing it up is because there’s a degree of... I call it “prescriptive history,” going on with people. (I’m trying to find a better name for it; an accurate name for it would be “telological bias”, but that hardly rolls off the tongue!)

The issue is specifically that the way we teach history is very often as a story, and in that story there are specific major events that are made into a specific narrative. It’s the same mindset that informs and reinforces everything from the “March of Progress” of evolution, the classic image showing the progression of ape to man, to the idea that “history has an arc that bends towards justice” and so forth. It’s embedded in every classroom history wall poster and every historical video game, especially with the “great inventor/great man of history” trope. The thing is with evolution and with history is that nobody and nothing is working towards a specific outcome. They are acting in their specific moment, doing things that make sense for them in that moment, using the tools they have available that others have made.

Let me give an example here to illustrate what I mean.

Johann Gutenberg is credited as having invented the printing press.

He didn’t.

What he did do was make it an economical proposition, and for that, he gets all of the credit.

Most of the technology that went into this thing had been around for centuries. The lever in the center that presses down on the pad to mark the paper came from a paper press (where they squeezed out the water from the paper) and that came from a modified wine press.

And people had been using those sorts of presses to print with woodblocks for over a thousand years before Gutenberg.

The problem with woodblock printing--or even using metal or ceramic blocks to print with--was that when they started to wear out (think of the soles of your shoes and how the pattern can wear out unevenly depending on how you walk), you were screwed, and you had to make the whole thing all over again. And that was expensive.

It was just easier to have scribes write out books than carve an expensive piece of wood that had to be just perfectly flat with intricate carvings that would only be good for a specific book and would only produce a certain number of copies of that page before it wore out.

And in the 1040s, a Chinese polymath named Bi Sheng invented movable type specifically to address that problem; he made individual stamps that would each print one Chinese character that could be used together as a block, allowing more flexibility. He made his out of porcelain, and they not only had problems with uneven wear as well, they could also crack--and when that happened, you still needed to get another one handmade which might then not fit in with the other handmade stamps without leaving gaps. So still scribes were cheaper and faster.

So all of the technology for the printing press was there for centuries before Gutenberg.

What happened?

Well, a century before Gutenberg was a little thing called The Black Death, which wiped out a tremendous number of Europeans--including a lot of the scribes. And when supply drops, demand grows and prices rise--so suddenly scribes were a lot pricier to hire. So there was incentive to look at the printing press again...

And here’s Gutenberg’s breakthrough that let him get all of the credit.

See this? This is a mold for casting identical letters.

There is a negative image at the bottom (itself derived from a hallmark punch stamp used by metal-smiths as a signature on their work), and molten metal was poured on top of it. So worn out letters could be easily recycled and since they all came from the same mold, they were all the same size and could be easily swapped out with other letters.

So Gutenberg was in the right place and time--a time when the existing supply of scribes was recovering from a massive blow, rendering a new printing mechanism economical, and having access to several technologies that he put together to solve a problem that he faced.

And it spread like wildfire.

He had no idea that, decades after his death, a young reforming priest would nail up 95 issues he had with the way the very centralized and corrupt Catholic Church acted onto the door of a church. How could he? After all, Gutenberg was just looking for a better way to rapidly copy texts that would be more economical than having an expensive scribe doing it one letter at a time.

But because Gutenberg had made printing economical, Luther’s 95 Theses and his followup material could be rapidly spread, instead of quashed like the Catholic Church had done to previous such reformers and their sects.

So without those conditions--like, let’s say, if the Black Death had killed off a smaller part of the population, leaving the pool of scribes larger and not giving them a chance to push for higher wages, and thereby not giving Gutenberg a reason to invent his press--would the Reformation have happened as it did?

I’d say that, no, it wouldn’t have.

And to that, I’d point at steam power.

Hero of Alexandria had invented a small steam engine as a toy back during the days of the Roman Empire, but it wouldn’t become economical to develop into a machine for over one and half thousand years--and that was because Newcomen was building a mine pump that was cheaper to fuel with the low-grade coal being brought up from the mines than it was to import animal feed.

He wasn’t trying to invent a technology that would completely transform the world.

He was just trying to make a more efficient way to pump water out of mines.

But we aren’t taught it like this. We’re taught that Newcomen invented it, James Watt refined it, and boom, trains and steamships!

And if you’re taught about the Protestant Reformation in absence of the context that birthed it, of course you’re going to view it as a historical inevitability, especially if the individual person ascribes a deep theological import to the event.

So... I rambled, but yeah. TL;DR: People don’t do things because it will have an effect in the future that they know nothing about--they do it because it makes sense for them in that moment.

#paragonrobits

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dragonmartellstark · 4 years

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AU: Elia Martell and Rhaella Targaryen, the sun and the dragon (2/?)

Shireen Baratheon: She was the only daughter of Stannis Baratheon and Selyse Baratheon, being the niece of Robert Baratheon. She was cared for by her aunt Lyanna Stark seeing her as a daughter to her. Shireen grew up being a curious, shy but polite girl, as well as being considered very pretty with big blue eyes, thick black hair and a cute smile. Despite the fact that her father longed for a boy, she had some appreciation for her daughter and every month she gave her a present.

The young woman and two of her cousins, Lyarra and Cassana appeared at the Maidens' Day Ball as candidates to be the next queen consort of the Seven Kingdoms and wife of Aegon VI. During the dance the young king asked to dance with little Shireen and they both had a good connection with Shireen being one of her favorites, but she was also the envy of other candidates including her cousins. At the end of the Ball, Aegon VI claimed to want to marry Shireen Baratheon and this engagement was welcomed by the king's mother, Elia Martell, and her grandmother, Rhaella Targaryen. In 299 A. C., the wedding of the young people was celebrated being a splendid and happy event for the young people. Elia Martell gave her daughter-in-law a necklace that she brought from Dorne and wore it during her wedding, inheriting it from Shireen and marking a good relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Shireen and Aegon did not consummate the marriage until 304 A. C., when Shireen turned 15 years old and shortly after sharing the bed, the queen announced her first pregnancy, being a great joy for the family and the common people. At the end of 304 A. C., Prince Aemon was born, the future Aemon I and it was a great joy for all, even for the parents of the queen. The kings were very close and had six children in total, bringing the couple closer together.

Aegon's reign was fairly peaceful and Shireen focused on charity work and caring for her children. In 335 A. C., Aegon VI died victim of puerperal fever due to a hunting accident where he cut his hand and the wound was not well treated. The death of her husband was painful for Shireen, wearing her entire life in mourning and taking shelter in her children, numerous grandchildren and in art, being she known as a great patron of the arts. Shireen Baratheon passed away in 353 A. C., at 64 years old while she slept in her rooms in the Red Fort. She was cremated and her ashes were placed next to those of Aegon VI.

Lyanna Stark: In the tower of joy, Lyanna gave birth to the only child she had with Rhaegar Targaryen, Jon Eddard Stark and despite the difficulties Lyanna managed to leave the birth alive as well as her son. When Rhaegar died and Princess Elia made a peace treaty with Robert Baratheon, Arthur Dayne traveled with Lyanna to King's Landing where he was reunited with his brothers and his fiancé.

It was a complete scandal that Lyanna had had a son with Prince Rhaegar intensifying Robert's anger, but Elia Martell convinced him to let Jon live in Winterfell and allow her mother to visit him whenever she wanted. This idea did not please Lyanna, but she could not be more stubborn as she had already had a relationship and a child with the princess's husband, so she accepted that her brother Ned would take care of the child as hers and she I would visit it.

Lyanna and Robert were married shortly thereafter in 285 A. C., to Lyanna's surprise, Robert was attentive to her and was eager to share the bed with her. Little by little Lyanna began to feel a great appreciation for Robert, both of them spending time at hunting parties and banquets. Shortly after her marriage, Lyanna became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Gendry Baratheon, the future Lord of Storm's End.

Their marriage was passionate and relatively happy, even though Robert had a discreet lover while Lyanna was pregnant, but it is known that these relationships were rare and short-lived. The couple had a total of ten children: Lyarra, Steffon, Cassana, Stella, Eddard, Sara, Rickard, Rickon and twins who died shortly after birth.

Lyanna was also present in the life of her son, Jon Eddard whom she adored, but she did not have a good relationship with her daughter-in-law, Ygritte who she considered somewhat mocking and suspicious because of her mysterious origins.

In the year 311 A. C., Lyanna became pregnant again, but she was already 45 years old so the doctors feared for her life. During labor, her mother suffered a hemorrhage caused by childbirth and in the end she gave birth to a pair of twins, but Lyanna died after giving birth being a heartbreaking grief for her entire family.

Jon Ned: Jon spent his entire life in Winterfell being raised by his uncle Eddard Stark and his aunt Catelyn, while he received visits from his mother, Lyanna Stark whom he adored very much.

Jon was a skilled swordsman and a good boy who was loved by Winterfell and his cousins, especially Robb and Arya Stark. From the beginning he wanted to find a fiancée so that he could have children and make his living, but surprisingly Jon brought an unknown young woman named Ygritte, who was said to be an illegitimate daughter of the Commander of the Night's Watch, Jeor Mormont, but others say that she was a savage that the young man found and fell in love with. The little wolf affirmed that he had married her and that he was in love with her being this something bittersweet for her uncles and her mother, but they ended up accepting and organizing a formal wedding.

Jon was in the service of his cousin, Robb Stark, when his uncle Ned Stark passed away and Robb was proclaimed lord of Winterfell. Robb appointed his cousin as his chief advisor, gaining fame for his peaceful reforms and not wasting so much money. Jon reportedly also had a good relationship with his half-sister, Rhaenys Targaryen, despite all the problems his mothers had in the past.

Jon and Ygritte had a passionate marriage, having thirteen children, even though three would die at birth. Jon was a loving and attentive father always looking for the best for all the sons and daughters, looking for important trades or marriages, he even agreed to marry one of his daughters, Raya with his cousin Eddard Stark, becoming Mistress of Winterfell.

The young wolf's life continued as usual until one day in 334 A. C., while doing a hunting party with his sons Cregan and Jeor, Jon was envestigated by a bear ripping off his leg causing him to bleed. Jeor tried to save his father, but the low temperatures and the amount of blood that he began to lose caused Jon to go into shock and die in the presence of his children at 51 years of age.

Ygritte was plunged into deep sadness upon losing her husband and six years later she would end up dying under strange circumstances. They were both buried in the Stark Cemetery.

Ygritte: The young redhead always lived among the savages being a tough and skilled archer, but Ygritte knew that the conditions were not favorable she loved to hunt, but the food was scarce and the skins even more.

Luck smiled at Ygritte when she met young Jon Targaryen, the illegitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, at a hunt. Jon was amazed by Ygritte's beauty and her strong temperament, Ygritte also felt attracted to the 16-year-old young man, her face seemed beautiful to him. The savage offered the young man a night of pleasure in exchange for food, but the little wolf offered him to marry her and live in Winterfell as her wife, to which Ygritte accepted in order to have a comfortable life.

Jon with the help of Jeor Mormont posed Ygritte as an illegitimate daughter of the commander with a prostitute before joining the Night's Watch. The young Stark took the redhead to the Forest of Gods where they were married privately only with the presence of Samwell Tarly and Dolorous Edd. Jon and Ygritte appeared before Eddard Stark and Jon's mother Lyanna Stark claiming that they were in love and had married in the presence of the Old Gods. Lyanna Stark was not satisfied because she was not convinced by the origin of the young woman, but she ended up accepting the marriage for the happiness of her son and soon a formal wedding was held where some members of vassal houses attended.

The marriage was somewhat tumultuous at first due to Ygritte's strong and disorderly character, but the couple managed to have a solid, passionate and fun union as they both shared a love of combat and hunting. Ygritte became pregnant a year after getting married, giving birth to a boy named Jeor in honor of the Old Bear. Every two or three years Ygritte gave birth to more children, having a total of thirteen children: Irrla, Johann, Daeron, Raya, Sarra, Samwell, Brereton, Cregan and Cecily; Ella ygritte gave birth to two stillborn children and one died an hour after birth.

Ygritte's personality changed slightly with her motherhood being her a protective mother and something dominant especially with her children. Ygritte's life continued as always alongside her family and hunting for her until 334 A. C., her husband Jon Eddard passed away being a shame for her since she was very much in love with hers. Upon Jon's death, Ygritte took refuge in the hunt and in her children, especially in her daughter, Cecily, who was her tear cloth and her greatest consolation until her daughter died in the year 339 A. C., further increasing Ygritte's grief.

One day in the year 340 A. C., the body of Lady Ygritte was found near the Wall in inappropriate clothes for the severe winter that hit. It is said that she died of hypothermia or cardiac arrest from the pain of losing her husband and daughter. Ygritte was buried at the age of 60 next to Jon Ned and his children who had passed away at the time.

Shireen Baratheon: Fue la única hija de Stannis Baratheon y Selyse Baratheon, siendo sobrina de Robert Baratheon. Fue cuidada por su tía Lyanna Stark viéndola como una hija para ella. Shireen creció siendo una niña curiosa, tímida pero educada, además de ser considerada muy bonita con los ojos grandes y azules, el cabello negro espeso y una sonrisa tierna. Pesé a que su padre ansiaba un varón tuvo algo de aprecio por su hija y cada mes le regalaba algún presente.

La joven y dos de sus primas, Lyarra y Cassana se presentaron al Baile del Día de las Doncellas como candidatas para ser la siguiente reina consorte de los Siete Reinos y esposa de Aegon VI. Durante el baile el joven rey pidió bailar con la pequeña Shireen y ambos tuvieron una buena conexión siendo Shireen una de las favoritas, pero también la envidia de otras candidatas incluyendo sus primas. Al final del Baile, Aegon VI afirmo querer casarse con Shireen Baratheon y este compromiso fue bien visto por la madre del rey, Elia Martell y su abuela, Rhaella Targaryen. En el 299 d. C., se celebro la boda de los jóvenes siendo un acontecimiento esplendoroso y feliz para los jóvenes. Elia Martell le entrego a su nuera un collar que ella trajo de Dorne y uso durante su boda, heredándoselo a Shireen y marcando una buena relación entre suegra y nuera.

Shireen y Aegon no consumaron el matrimonio hasta el año 304 d. C., cuando Shireen cumplió los 15 años de edad y poco después de compartir la cama, la reina anuncio su primer embarazo siendo una gran alegría para la familia y el pueblo llano. A finales del 304 d. C., nació el príncipe Aemon, el futuro Aemon I y fue una gran alegría para todos, incluso para los padres de la reina. Los reyes estaban muy unidos y llegaron a tener seis hijos en total acercando mas a la pareja.

El reinado de Aegon fue bastante pacifico y Shireen se centró en las obras de caridad y en el cuidado de sus hijos. En el 335 d. C., Aegon VI falleció victima de fiebres puerperales debido a un accidente de caza donde se corto una mano y no fue bien tratada la herida. La muerte de su esposo fue dolorosa para Shireen vistiendo de luto toda su vida y resguardándose en sus hijos, numerosos nietos y en el arte, siendo conocida como una gran mecenas de las artes. Shireen Baratheon falleció en el 353 d. C., a los 64 años mientras dormía en sus habitaciones de la Fortaleza Roja. Fue incinerada y sus cenizas fueron puestas al lado de las de Aegon VI.

Lyanna Stark: En la torre de la alegría, Lyanna dio a luz al único hijo que tuvo con Rhaegar Targaryen, Jon Eddard Stark y pesé a las dificultades Lyanna logró salir viva del parto al igual que su hijo. Al morir Rhaegar y que la princesa Elia hiciera un tratado de paz con Robert Baratheon, Arthur Dayne viajo junto a Lyanna hacia Desembarco del Rey donde se reencontró con sus hermanos y su prometido.

Fue un completo escandalo el hecho de que Lyanna había tenido un hijo con el príncipe Rhaegar intensificando la ira que tenía Robert, pero Elia Martell lo convenció de que Jon viviera en Invernalia y le permitiera a su madre visitarlo cuando ella quisiera. Esta idea no le agrado a Lyanna, pero no podía ser mas terca al ya haber tenido una relación y un hijo con el marido de la princesa, así que acepto que su hermano Ned cuidara del niño como suyo y ella lo visitaría.

Lyanna y Robert se casaron poco después en el 285 d. C., para la sorpresa de Lyanna, Robert fue atento con ella y se mostraba deseoso de compartir el lecho con ella. Poco a poco Lyanna empezó a sentir un gran aprecio hacia Robert compartiendo ambos el tiempo en partidas de caza y banquetes. Al poco de casarse Lyanna quedo embarazada y dio a luz a un niño, Gendry Baratheon el futuro Señor de Bastión de Tormenta.

Su matrimonio fue apasionado y relativamente feliz aun que Robert tuvo alguna discreta amante mientras Lyanna estaba embarazada, pero se sabe que estas relaciones fueron escasas y poco duraderas. La pareja tuvo un total de diez hijos: Lyarra, Steffon, Cassana, Stella, Eddard, Sara, Rickard, Rickon y mellizos que murieron al poco de nacer.

Lyanna también estuvo presente en la vida de su hijo, Jon Eddard al cual adoraba, pero no tuvo buena relación con su nuera, Ygritte la cual consideraba algo burlona y sospechosa por sus misteriosos orígenes.

En el año 311 d. C., Lyanna volvió a quedar embarazada, pero ya contaba con 45 años de edad por lo que los médicos temían por su vida. Durante la labor de parto, la madre sufrió una hemorragia provocada por el parto y al final dio a luz a un par de mellizos, pero Lyanna acabo falleciendo tras dar a luz siendo una pena desgarradora para toda su familia.

Jon Ned: Jon paso toda su vida en Invernalia siendo criado por su tío Eddard Stark y su tía Catelyn, mientras recibía las visitas de su madre, Lyanna Stark a la cual adoraba mucho.

Jon fue un experto espadachín y un buen muchacho siendo querido por Invernalia y sus primos, en especial por Robb y Arya Stark. Desde un principio se le quiso buscar una prometida para que pudiera tener descendencia y hacer su vida, pero sorprendentemente Jon trajo una joven desconocida llamada Ygritte, la cual se decía que era una hija ilegitima del Comandante de la Guardia de la Noche, Jeor Mormont, pero otros dicen que ella era una salvaje que el joven encontró y se enamoro. El pequeño lobo afirmo que se había casado con ella y que estaba enamorado de ella siendo esto algo agridulce para sus tíos y su madre, pero acabaron aceptando y organizando una boda formal.

Jon estuvo al servicio de su primo, Robb Stark cuando su tío Ned Stark falleció y Robb fue proclamado señor de Invernalia. Robb nombro a su primo como su consejero principal ganando fama por sus reformas pacificas y por no derrochar tanto dinero. Según se dice Jon también tuvo una buena relación con su medio hermana, Rhaenys Targaryen pesé a todos los problemas que tuvieron sus madres en el pasado.

Jon e Ygritte tuvieron un matrimonio apasionado llegando a tener trece hijos, aun que tres fallecerían al nacer. Jon era un padre amoroso y atento siempre buscaba lo mejor para todos sus hijos e hijas buscándoles importantes oficios o matrimonios, incluso acepto casar a una de sus hijas, Raya con su primo Eddard Stark convirtiéndose en Señora de Invernalia.

La vida del joven lobo siguió como de costumbre hasta que un día del año 334 d. C., mientras hacia una partida de caza junto a sus hijos Cregan y Jeor, Jon fue envestido por un oso arrancando su pierna haciendo que se desangrara. Jeor trato de salvar a su padre, pero las bajas temperaturas y la cantidad de sangre que empezó a perder provocaron que Jon entrase en estado de shock y muriera en presencia de sus hijos con 51 años de edad.

Ygritte quedo sumida en una profunda tristeza al perder a su esposo y seis años después ella acabaría muriendo en extrañas circunstancias. Ambos fueron enterrados en el cementerio de los Stark.

Ygritte: La joven pelirroja siempre vivió entre los salvajes siendo una ruda y experta arquera, pero Ygritte sabía que las condiciones no eran favorables amaba cazar, pero la comida era escasa y las pieles todavía mas.

La suerte le sonrío a Ygritte cuando en una casería conoció al joven Jon Targaryen, el hijo ilegitimo de Rhaegar Targaryen y Lyanna Stark. Jon quedo maravillado con la belleza de Ygritte y su fuerte temperamento, Ygritte también sintió atracción por el joven de solo 16 años pareciéndole bello su rostro. La salvaje le ofreció al joven una noche de placer a cambio de comida, pero el pequeño lobo le ofreció casarse con ella y vivir en Invernalia como su esposa, a lo que Ygritte acepto con tal de tener una vida cómoda.

Jon con la ayuda de Jeor Mormont hicieron pasar a Ygritte como una hija ilegitima del comandante con una meretriz antes de unirse a la Guardia de la Noche. El joven Stark llevo a la pelirroja al Bosque de Dioses donde se casaron de manera privada solo con la presencia de Samwell Tarly y Edd “El penas”. Jon e Ygritte se presentaron ante Eddard Stark y la madre de Jon, Lyanna Stark afirmando que estaban enamorados y se habían casado en presencia de los Antiguos Dioses. Lyanna Stark no estaba conforme debido a que no le convencía el origen de la joven, pero acabo aceptando el matrimonio por la felicidad de su hijo y pronto se celebro una boda formal donde asistieron algunos miembros de casas vasallas.

El matrimonio fue algo tumultuoso en un principio debido al carácter fuerte y desordenado de Ygritte, pero la pareja logro llevar una unión solida, apasionada y divertida al compartir ambos el amor por el combate y la caza. Ygritte quedo embarazada un año después de casarse, alumbrando a un niño llamado Jeor en honor al Viejo Oso. Cada dos o tres años Ygritte alumbraba a mas hijos teniendo en total trece hijos: Irrla, Johann, Daeron, Raya, Sarra, Samwell, Brereton, Cregan y Cecily; Ygritte dio a luz dos niños muertos y uno falleció una hora después de nacer.

La personalidad de Ygritte cambio ligeramente con la maternidad siendo una madre protectora y algo dominante en especial con sus hijos. La vida de Ygritte siguió como siempre al lado de su familia y la caza hasta que en el año 334 d. C., falleció su marido Jon Eddard siendo una pena para ella ya que estaba muy enamorada de el. A la muerte de Jon, Ygritte se refugio en la caza y en sus hijos en especial en su hija, Cecily que fue su paño de lagrimas y su mayor consuelo hasta que su hija falleció en el año 339 d. C., aumentando mas la pena de Ygritte.

Un día del año 340 d. C., el cuerpo de Lady Ygritte fue encontrado cerca del Muro en ropas poco apropiadas para el fuerte invierno que azotaba. Se dice que murió de hipotermia o de un paro cardiaco por la pena de perder a su esposo e hija. Ygritte fue enterrada con 60 años de edad al lado de Jon Ned y sus hijos que habían fallecido en ese entonces.

#shireen baratheon #lyanna stark #jon stark #jon targaryen #ygritte

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sollannaart · 3 years

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Józef Poniatowski’s women.

Part II. Three ladies who supposedly tried to seduce him.

First of all, I would like to inform you that the story below looks to be a kind of legend. And there is no hard evidence that it really happened. But some diarists recall it in the Memoirs, that is why I thought it is worth to mention.

So, this is said to be happened also, like the episode of “riding naked”, during the Great Sejm. That time Pepi had an affair with the actress “Zelia” Sitańska. But three most beautiful women of that time Warsaw - Julia Potocka, Rozalia Lubomirska and Barbara Kossowska - were not satisfied with the state of things.

So on prince Jozef’s name day they “bribed the butler for letting them into Poniatowski’s bedroom while the latter was absent, decorated his bed with flowers and clothed themselves as Nymphs”. And when the prince eventually returned home, the Copper-Roofed palace („Pałac pod Blachą”), they appeared in front of him in all their beauty.

But this all, as it turned out, was to no avail, because Pepi came not alone, but with his beloved Zelia. Whom he stately refused to abandon, despite all the pleas. So the ladies had to withdraw, being non the wiser (some diarists even mention, that leaving, the women intentionally broke all the nice things they decorated Pepi’s bedroom with).

So, that’s the story. (As I mentioned before, there is no hard evidence it in fact happened. But if it did, and in the time of the Great Sejm, it could not have happened in the Copper-roofed palace, because Pepi didn’t live there yet.)

And here is a drawing, showing how this “seduction” might looked like, by Maja Berezowska.

(And, of course, I wasn’t able to resist and made a Photoshop from it, using real portraits of people participated.)

But let’s have a close look to the three Nymphs, who failed to seduce Pepi.

Number one, on the right hand side of my creation - Julia Potocka.

A portrait by Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder, about 1789

Being born in 1767, she was the eldest of the “Three Nymphs”. Here maiden name was Lubomirska (yes, she was a distant relative of the husband of Rozalia, and, btw, a second cousin to prince Józef).

A portrait by unknown author

In 1785 Julia married Jan Potocki (the future author of The Manuscript Found in Saragossa). In two next years their two sons were born.

A portrait by Kazimierz Wojniakowski, 1795

But as for Julia’s feelings towards Poniatowski and her probable participation in the visit - I have great doubts.

Yes, she was considered to be very beautiful (her nickname was “Giulietta la bella”), and everyone was enchanted of how she danced. But together with this Julia Potocka was known a very virtuous woman. Secondly, if there existed a man for whom she could have broken the marital oath it was not Pepi, but his friend, Prince Eustachy Sanguszko.

But the love-story of these two was a very sad one. Several years after the Great Sejm they had to spend abroad, he in Russia and she in France. When they both returned to Poland in 1794 prince Eustachy joined the Kościuszko uprising. And then Julia… died unexpectedly of tuberculosis.

It happened in Krakow, and Eustachy that time was near Warsaw. Having learned about the death of his beloved, he took a vacation under the word of honor. But when he finally got to Krakow, it was too late. The funeral had already started. So the only thing heart-broken Eustachy managed to do later was to get to the tomb with the help of a friendly priest…

The second lady of the trio was Rozalia Lubomirska.

Wincenty de Lesseur: Miniature of Rozalia Lubomirska née Chodkiewicz, between 1794 and 1796 (btw, it was just this image which inspired me to create the Photoshop from the drawing of Maja Berezowska. And something prompts to me the painter as well had seen and been inspired by it )))

Rozalia was a little bit young than Julia, but by 1789 she was also married (to the prince Aleksander Lubomirski) and had a daughter with him.

Anna Rajecka: A girl with a dove, possibly portrait of Rozalia Lubomirska née Chodkiewicz, between 1789 and 1790

Contemporaries remembered the princess Lubomirska as a beauty, with a filigree figure, golden blonde hair and blue eyes. But here participation in Pepi’s seduction either doesn’t seem to look probable.

Because in the summer of 1788 Rozalia left with her husband for Paris, and prince Józef came to Poland from Austria to Poland only in autumn of that year. And when two years later she return to Warsaw she fall in love with another man. His name was Tadeusz Mostowski and it looked like he reciprocated her feelings.

In the fall of 1792, they left for Switzerland almost simultaneously. And a year later, when he had to go France on a diplomatic mission, she followed him.

But during the next year their feelings, it looks like, that faded away. And when in autumn of 1793 Mostowski left Paris, princess Lubomirska decided to stay there alone. And was arrested.

The next six months she spent in prison. Of course, there were some efforts to free her. Made by Mostowski and others. But to no avail. It was said that Robespierre himself had fallen in love with Rozalia, but had been rejected, and for that very reason he was relentless.

Anyway, in June 1794 princess Lubomirska was executed…

So, let’s move to the last “participant” of the visit, Barbara Kossowska.

Portrait of Barbara Kossowska née Belińska, ab. 1800, by an unknown painter.

She was the youngest of the trio, being born in 1770 (though in some sources her birthdate is stated as 10 years before). She was also married, to a man 20 (or even more) years older than her.

And she was the only one of the three, who might have paid a visit to prince Poniatowski to the Copper-roofed palace, because in 1798, when he moved there, she, in comparison with Julia Potocka and Rozalia Lubomirska, was still alive. The diarists recalled how she drew everyone's attention while dancing with Pepi on the balls he arranged.

Portrait of Barbara Kossowska née Belińska, Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder, 18th century

But even Barbara was not predestined to live long. She died in 1801. It is not known what exactly happened and with whom of her four children, but it looks like she gave her life saving one of them. Because the inscription on her tombstone in Powązki cemetery stated: "This grave hides the body of a virtuous mother, saving the lives of children, she has lost hers".

I am sorry, but the story of third “Nymph” turned out to be sad as well…

And this post was supposed to be a fun.

So, to sweeten it up I decided to add one more Photoshop (or, more exactly, the extended version of the first one). Here you can see not only the seducers but Pepi’s sweetheart Zelia as well. And as background I added in image of prince Józef’s bedroom from Myślewicki palace of the Royal Bath (Łazienki) park, which was his home in the times of the Great Sejm.

#józef poniatowski #józef poniatowski’s women #zelia sitańska #julia potocka #rozalia lubomirska #barbara kossowska #photoshop

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nyxravessnow · 4 years

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Review 2021 Kuromyu – Namashitsuji Secrets of the Public School Arc

Disclaimer: This is not an unbiased review so please proceed knowing that it is heavily opinionated.

2nd Disclaimer: I have never seen the anime or read the manga of Black Butler. All of my thoughts are based on comparisons to previous musicals and comments from fans about how accurate their portrayal is. I understand this may turn some people off my review which is understandable but I think an important thing for shows is how accessible they can be for people who don’t know the source material.

FREE OF SPOILERS

Overall rating: 8/10

Acting – 8/10

Music – 8/10 (I took an average of my song scores)

Ease of understanding – 8/10

Direction – 7/10

Overall Summary:

I think the show was excellent and showed respect to the old shows but also did quite a few new things. All the scenes and songs had clear thought put into them and the acting showcased these things very well. It was not quite like what I expected it was going to be like but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t quite think of what I expected. I think if you like 2.5D or if you like Black Butler or the actors in this show then you will enjoy the show quite a lot. It is not exactly the same as before from every standpoint apart from it being Black Butler so I would say don’t go in expecting it to be just the same.

I will move to a spoiler review under the cut but plainly, this show is very good and I think all the actors did a great job.

As I normally do I am going to give my thoughts on story, acting, songs and directing, then mention some extra stuff that I might think of at the end. I am sorry if I bring up the fact that I’m British and went to boarding school like my parents too much.

Story: The story was mostly pretty easy for me to follow, especially as a British person who knows about Cricket and boarding schools. I haven’t seen Campania so the dolls confused me a little at first but that is completely on me for not having seen the previous show. When watching I was very confused about what was going on towards the end but looking back on it that was mainly because of my migraine and not because it wasn’t clear. Scenes were set out well and the camera work was done in a way to make it very easy to follow along. But omg the cricket made me a little upset. It was super fun and all. But it was so inaccurate XD. I guess I now know the pain of people who like tennis when they watch the Prince of Tennis.

Acting: I am going to go actor by actor and give a rough overview of what I thought of them

Tateishi Toshiki as Sebastian Michaelis

I felt like we didn’t get a terribly demonic Sebastian in this show but otherwise I loved Toshi as Sebastian. He felt very elegant and reserved most of the time which contrast well with the times in which he was annoyed at Ciel. He wasn’t terribly present in a lot of the show but I did really enjoy him when he was on stage. His singing voice is excellent and I loved hearing him sing, will go into more about it later during the song summaries.

Konishi Eito as Ciel Phantomhive

I thought Eito was amazing as Ciel and he is my favourite Ciel so far. He showed Ciel’s switch between cute and normal so well and it really made me think about how good of an actor Ciel is. I don’t know how he did what he did to his voice but he makes himself sound like a young child with a slightly higher and scrapey voice than normal and it really makes you think that he is very young. I know many people were worried that they were casting an adult as Ciel because they wanted to sexualise him and this was not the case at all. He only showed any skin in the very first scene when in the cage and he had the sheet/robe-thing showing his shoulder. His singing voice is quite a lot mature than the previous two Ciels, for obvious reasons, and I think it really helped me enjoy his songs.

Okayama Ryousuke as Soma Asman Kadar

While I would still say I prefer Sho’s Soma, mainly bc Sho is one of my fav actors and I am biased, I really liked Ryousuke’s Soma. He was super energetic and friendly and really gave off this air of innocence as he believes Ciel’s reasoning for him to join Weston. His cricket was also very fun. His singing was pretty okay. I think this was as his singing suffered when he was trying to sing in Soma’s voice.

Ueda Kandai as Undertaker

I was honestly quite surprised how good Kandai was as Undertaker. I think his Undertaker voice got better as the show went on so I assume the reason it was less good at first was nerves. He wasn’t in it too much but I thoroughly enjoyed him in every scene he was in. I think I would love it if he learnt to sing in his Undertaker voice more but I also understand that is quite difficult so understand why he’s not doing that.

Sana Hiroki as Edgar Redmond

I thought he was very good as Edgar and carried the emotion needed for the more serious scenes, like the flashback about Derek, very well. He definitely emphasised the queerness of Edgar and had some rather flirtatious moments with Maurice and Joanne. However, despite being flirty and not seeming to be very serious, I completely bought it when he became serious and he played the shift very well (such as in the Maurice reveal scene). His singing voice is good.

Tazuru Shogo as Herman Greenhill

I thought Shogo was really good as Herman, even if it did feel like him playing a slightly nicer version of Sanada – his character from Prince of tennis. He was my 2nd fav of the four and I always enjoyed watching him in his scenes. He played the emotion in the Derek flashback amazingly and you could really see the pain in his eyes when he realised what he had done. His voice was really perfect for Herman.

Satonaka Masamichi as Lawrence Bluewer

I really loved Masa as Lawrence. I don’t know how accurate it is as he didn’t seem very sweet from what I read on his wiki page, but his Lawrence seemed quite tsundere. I loved his bit in the Cricket match when he was talking about wanting to win in his very last year. He also just seemed quite cute. I really enjoyed his singing.

Goto Dai as Gregory Violet

I LOVED Dai as Gregory. He definitely gave off the aura of being weird but he also seemed very sweet to Cheslock and the two actors had really good chemistry. He was really cute in his Cricket gear. He was by far my favourite of the prefects. Despite seeming cute and sweet to Cheslock he definitely retained the aura of mystery and you could never tell what he was thinking. His singing voice is pretty good but he didn’t have many solo bits.

Furuya Yamato as Clayton

While at the beginning I did get an intelligent stuck up vibe from Yamato as Clayton that kinda died away as the show went on and he became much more of a dork. I dunno how much of this is in character but to me it felt slightly like Yamato playing himself. As I think Yamato is an excellent actor, I was a little bit disappointed to see his character change quite a bit but I don’t know how much was him and how much was the direction. Since Yamato is known for comedy and his adlibbing I wouldn’t be surprised if this was actually just direction and the route they decided to go down for this character, hence why they scouted Yamato. I know his singing voice may not appeal to everyone, but I really like it.

Nakajima Takuto as Edward Midford

Takuto was very good as Edward and I think he played his straightforwardness quite well. I love Takuto but I don’t think Edward had much to do apart from the cricket which Takuto did very well. His singing voice is excellent.

Warning: Tsukasa is my favourite actor, and I am very biased

Taguchi Tsukasa as Maurice Cole

Tsukasa was AMAZING as Maurice. He played the changes in his character so well and even though he’s not a very nice person I felt really bad for him during his breakdown as Tsukasa’s scream was heart wrenching. When he was pretending, he felt so light and sweet and then when he was being his normal self he dropped down his voice and even changed his accent slightly as well as changing the way he would stand and walk. Ngl I was not paying too much attention to other people when he was in the scene and I don’t know if it’s just because I’m biased or because his command of the stage is that good but I really felt his stage presence. I loved the way he repeated 2 O’clock to Edgar and the others and how he mirrored the way he did it with Ciel and all the subtleties to his acting were great. He didn’t get to sing very much but he sounded really good.

Fukuzawa Yu as Cheslock

Apart from Tsukasa I think Yu was my favourite in this show. He brought so much energy to Cheslock and I don’t mean making the character energetic, just that he always has so much power and feeling behind his lines and he was so good and cool! He had good command of the stage and worked so well with Dai to be the one the stands out and the one that fades into the shadows. He mostly rapped so I don’t remember his singing voice very much.

Uchino Fuuto as Joanne Harcourt

Fuuto didn’t really stand out to me very much and I don’t think he had very much to do. His singing voice was pretty good.

Hayakawa Iori as Macmillan

He served his part in the story well and was very cute and energetic which I liked. He kinda reminded me of doll a little. His singing voice was pretty good.

Yamaguchi Kooki as Derek Arden

He wasn’t in very much of the show but he played his part very well and even though we got so little of him being unpleasant the way he played it made me hate Derek immediately. I don’t think he got any solo singing bits?

Takahashi Shunichi as Johann Agares

He filled his role very well. The most impressive thing was his falling from the stairs, I was very worried he was going to hurt himself, so I was really glad he was okay as he went from pretty high considering there were lower stairs. His singing voice was good.

Songs: I really love Yu(vague) the composer of the show and he is my favourite music composer. I think he did a really good job with the songs on the whole. I think he did well making them seem different and new yet familiar.

Opening song – 7/10

I think this song was a good opener. I wasn’t too sure about it at first, but it got better as the song went on. Toshi’s voice didn’t sound to be working with the song at first but since he sounded fine later, I think it was just his voice wavering at first from nerves so I’m excited to see what he’s like in the last show. I like how they did short recaps of the previous shows from Lycoris to Campania so the fans are caught up on what has happened, especially since it becomes important when Undertaker comes back with the dolls at the end.

2nd song, I think it’s called ‘It’s perfect black’ – 8/10

I really like this song. I think it is a nice scene setter and is very well sung by everyone. The dance works well and kinda brings Druitt’s dancing to mind with some of it. The song features the full cast and is effectively the Pawn and Sword song of this show.

Welcome to Weston song – 10/10

My first 10/10 song. I really love this song and I already can sing along to it. I love the prefects singing and that the others sing the chorus for them. (Also partly love it for its reprise but I’ll get to that later) I love how rigid and together it sounds. By that I mean that everyone is singing their lines as quite cutting and the harmonies are very crisp. Everyone is perfectly in time and there is no deviation. The rigidness shows the formality and tradition of the school which is reinforced by the students marching around the stage to get to the places. This is the case for everyone except the prefects who have more flowy lines and they walk a lot more freely showing the school’s hierarchy. I also love the prefects pushing Ciel around and surrounding him which foreshadows how he his treated.

Only Prefect Four – 9/10

I might be slightly biased as a Mankai stage fan as this song sounds so like a Mankai stage song but I love it so much. It would be 10/10 but I think their harmonies at the end could be a bit tighter. I think the soft and flowery and upbeat music works really well after the last song. Kinda indicating that the prefects live in a different world to the rest of the school which kinda serves as storytelling so that later when they’re so surprised by Derek’s actions it makes sense as they feel kinda separate from everyone else and it makes sense that they wouldn’t know what was going on in the rest of the school. I also love how they each get their solo bits which tell you stuff about the characters. Edgar’s dance is really reminiscent of Druitt which I really love. Herman’s music is a lot less flowy with a base note and the dance, using cricket bats, really gives off an image of strength. Lawrence’s mixes classical music into the instrumental and it has a more traditional feel. The dance involves a lot of stepping and stopping showing a formulaic approach rather than being flowy or strong. Gregory’s music has a grand feeling to it and it goes lower. Gregory doesn’t move much while Cheslock is doing some hip-hop dancing next to him. And instead of singing a solo section he talks about how he wants to go to bed.

Yes, my lord – 10/10

My favourite song in this show. It shows Ciel being told to do things and him passing his chores to Sebastian and Sebastian getting more and more annoyed with him, even breaking and calling him a brat at one point. The upbeat tone is quite fun and it works really well as a montage song. I like how it goes from Ciel saying ‘Yes, Clayton-senpai’ (senpai is a polite suffix for names of people who are higher up than you) to dropping senpai to just saying yes then turning to Sebastian. It really showcases brat Ciel.

Soma’s song – 10/10

His song is all about being Ciel’s friend and it’s really cute and energetic. The outfits from Soma’s song in Circus and brought back and it has a similar instrumental to his song there. He messes around a lot more in this song, though. Even though he is now much older than Sho was when he played Soma through this song he feels far more youthful through the more relaxed choreography and the energetic music.

Ominous prefect song – 9/10

This song is so cool. I really like the sharp shapes being projected onto the back with lilac light and the softly ominous instrumentals. (it comes right after Edgar mentions ‘the secret of what happened that day’). The vice-principal walking around at the back is really interesting as it looks like he is monitoring them. And the other students walking around with lanterns gives the song an almost supernatural feel. And then Undertaker peeking out from the back at the end gives a more direct hint of what is going on.

Nightmare, opening reprise – 8/10

This is just a reprise of the 1st song but I like it a bit better because it is shorter and the choreography of the cultists surrounding Ciel’s bed is really nice.

The Headmaster’s decision – 10/10

I like the fast pace of this song as Ciel runs around to ask about Derek and keeps just being told it was the headmaster’s decision. The students moving and singing together, then encircling him reinforces Ciel’s feeling like there’s a secret that everyone knows but isn’t telling him. I also like the use of Derek’s actor walking around the stage, always just beyond their sight from where they are.

Cricket song, last song of Act 1 – 6/10

This song is good it’s just not super enthralling. I think it’s probably the weakest pre-interval song out of the Kuromyus. At the beginning Sebastian and Ciel’s mics got really quiet for some reason and the instrumental was a bit louder than them. It’s a nice gentle and weirdly happy and hopeful instrumental which is a bit at odds with the past two ominous songs and I can’t decide if I like that or not. Also, I think the harmonies are a bit off so hopefully that will be better by the final performance. A lot of the singers sound like they have tension in their voices so I think they were all pretty anxious for this song. I do like the song and it might go up a bit if they can get the harmonies in the final show because they got almost none of them in this show. (The one that they did get sounded really good though)

INTERVAL

Cricket tournament – 9/10

While the previous song was also more upbeat than the ominous songs I don’t think it worked due to being directly afterwards, as the first song of Act 2 I quite like that’s it’s more energetic as it gets you hyped for the 2nd Act. This is the song that some Tenimyu, Prince of tennis musical, fans are saying was inspired by Tenimyu. And I will say, it was 100% inspired by Tenimyu XD. Yana-sensei is a fan of Prince of tennis and Shogo, Herman’s actor, was cast in a role very similar to his Prince of tennis role then the Green Lion section literally has lines that are exactly the same as lines from the team Shogo was in. Also, the music during their bit is actually somewhat reminiscent of the music that team normally has.

[Yu(vague) is so good at changing types of music during songs ahh, the Green Lion to Scarlett Fox transition is just so good.]

Honestly, this song would be a 7 or 8 out of 10 without the Violet Wolf part bc omg that part slaps so hard. Gregory and Cheslock high-five and the music just switches to electronic disco music and they rap most of their bit. I love it so much.

Sapphire Owl’s bit is cool too.

Scarlett vs Sapphire Cricket match – 6/10

It’s pretty good. Solid song but isn’t too exciting. Soma’s solo bit is really cute. Main thing letting it down is the ‘It’s cricket’ refrain that is in all three match songs. I was already done with it after like 30 seconds in this song and this song doesn’t have anything else lifting it above like the others do.

Violet vs Green Cricket match – 8/10

Cricket match as a rap battle. I dunno why Violet House became a rap house but I love it and I love Cheslock rapping about his awesome pitch. Then he and Herman having a rap battle is just so fun. I don’t know if this is as fun to Black Butler fans who know the characters a lot better or whether it would be uncomfortable but I had a blast in this song.

Sapphire vs Green Cricket match – 7/10

I really like the beginning instrumental and the short song bit at the very beginning of the song but the refrain hit again so it couldn’t go above a 7 for me.

Victory song – 6/10

Not a bad song but I don’t think the harmonies were there for this one and so I’m excited to see it in the last show again and hear if they improve.

Weston Reprise – 10/10

Oh my god I love this reprise so much. At first it sounds very like the original song then as the prefects slightly lose it as they realise what they have done it becomes more out of sync and the music quietens and it sounds more acapella and they sound slightly like they’re losing it due to the horror of what has happened. And the scratchiness of Gregory’s voice making it sound like he’s going to cry really reinforces that they are just children and they cannot deal with something like this.

Fight song – 7/10

I love the Undertaker taking Ciel to the side and staring at him crazily and singing at him. Again, I could hear Toshi’s nerves and I hope that he can sing the song better in the final show. I really love the Undertaker and Sebastian’s duet though and I think their voices sound really good together and I love the blood refrain in the song.

Finale song – 7/10

A pretty short but solid refrain of ‘It’s Perfect Black’

Direction: I thought the direction overall was pretty solid. There wasn’t anything really innovative attempted I don’t think but I didn’t really feel like there was anything lacking.

Overall: I really loved this show and look forward to seeing the final show and I think this show set up the new cast well for future shows.

Do I recommend buying the stream and DVD?

If you are a fan of 2.5D, any of these actors or Black Butler I really recommend trying to see this show. (The final show with be on 4th April on theatre-complex.jp and you can buy a ticket with just a vpn) While it is very different I feel like it was fairly faithful to its roots but is also trying to grow into something new.

Lastly: If you have any questions about the show, any parts, any songs or about any of the actors feel free to drop me an ask and let’s talk about it!

#Kuromyu 2021 #kuromyu #Secret of the Boarding School #weston arc #stage review

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play-like-athena · 3 years

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2021 WNBA Mock Draft

This is a weak draft considering the top talent that declared early last year. This makes things even harder to predict because teams can go in many different directions. There are no clear choices... ESPECIALLY at #1.

1. Dallas Wings- Awak Kuier (PF, Finland)

I can’t put Charli Collier as the #1 overall pick. I just can’t do it. The youngest team is going to draft the youngest player in the draft. Kuier is just 19 years old but she has the versatility and skill that today’s game loves. She’s a 6′5″ forward who already has a decent 3-point shot. Many over seas players who are drafted this young don’t come over right away, so she will be a good stash pick for Dallas. Why not, they have 100 other picks in this draft.

2. Dallas Wings- Charli Collier (C, Texas)

IN THEORY she would be a great choice for Dallas. They need a good rebounder and a true center to help out Izzy Harrison. Here’s my problem: Big 12 Semi Finals vs. Baylor (FG 1-2. PF 4. REB 1). The player many are predicting to be the #1 pick only had TWO shot ATTEMPTS against one of the best teams in the country. If she can’t demand the ball and make plays as the best player on her team in college, how can we expect her to do it in the WNBA? Another example: vs. UCLA in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament (FG1-3. REB 5. PF 4.) Texas pulled of the upset in this game but it was in no thanks to Collier. She is far too prone to getting into foul trouble. A #1 pick is supposed to impact a franchise and I don’t see how Collier will do that. In honesty I don’t think she’s a #2 pick either, but I think Dallas will end up picking her here anyway.

3. Atlanta Dream- Rennia Davis (SF, Tennessee)

With Tiffany Hayes returning Atlanta should hopefully find some consistency this season. The loss of Renee Montgomery to retirement shouldn’t effect them too much considering they has Chennedy Carter to fill her spot. What Atlanta is lacking is versatility. Rennia Davis is a player who can get them a bucket, rebound and defend well, and get up and down the floor quickly.

4. Indiana Fever- Aari McDonald (PG, Arizona)

I don’t think anyone has boosted their draft stock more than McDonald. I love her game because a lot of her energy comes from her defense. That’s not something you see from a lot of players, so if you can find it you should take it. With the Olympics being in 2021 it seems like Allemande won’t be playing this season, so that means Indiana will be down a point guard. Dana Evans could easily be chosen here as well, but I think her tenacious defense and her tournament performance will give her the edge.

5. Dallas Wings- Natasha Mack (PF, Oklahoma St)

I desperately want Dallas to take Mack here. She lead the country in blocks, averaging 4 BPG. Dallas desperately needs some rim protection. They just need to do it. Will they? Probably not.

6. New York Liberty- Dana Evans (PG, Louisville)

It’s hard to predict what New York is going to do because they team they will have this year will look nothing last last years. They made some great additions with Natasha Howard, Betnijah Laney, and Sami Whitcomb. With the Olympics it is unclear whether Han Xu and Marine Johannes will be playing. And with Asia Durr’s battle with Covid- 19 it seems unlikely she will be playing either. I think New York will go with Evans here because they need to improve their shooting and defense. I think they’ll also just go with the best available player, which would be Evans if she’s still available.

7. Dallas Wings- Arella Guirantes (SG, Rutgers)

What Dallas does with their other 3 picks will determine what they do here. Guirantes will give them scoring off the bench, which will relieve some pressure from Ogunbowale.

8. Chicago Sky- Kiana Williams (PG, Stanford)

Other than Vandersloot Chicago doesn’t have another true point guard. I think they will be choosing the best available point guard here. If my predictions are correct that leaves Williams as the best available point guard. She has greatly improved her draft stock during the tournament. This pick could easily go to McDonald as well .

9. Minnesota Lynx- Iliana Rupert (C, France)

I think it’s about time Minnesota starts thinking about life after Sylvia Fowles. The problem is they spent a lot of money this off season. They don’t need someone right this minute. That is why I think they’ll go for a stash pick here. Rupert is just 19 and has already played against WNBA stars in the Euroleague. She has a good face up game at the basket and is a great rebounder as well. I think her game would work well in Cheryl Reeves’s system.

10. Los Angeles Sparks- Chelsea Dungee (SG, Arkansas)

LA lost a lot of great players in the off season. LA is going to need someone who can come off the bench and score some points. It will also be great for her to learn from Seimone Augustus.

11. Seattle Storm- Didi Richards (PG/SG, Baylor)

A lot of mock drafts has Richards falling to the second, even the third round. That blows my mind. Like any player from Baylor, her defense is elite. She brings constant energy, and her biggest spark is making a great defensive play. She doesn’t take a lot of shots, but she can get a bucket if she needs to. She also came back from a spinal cord injury in 38 days! That tells you the kind of person, and competitor she is. These are things you just can’t teach. Seattle lost Natasha Howard, Alysha Clark, and Sami Whitcomb in the off season. That is a lot of lost defense. Richards will be a perfect plug to those holes.

12. Las Vegas Aces- N’Dea Jones (PF, Texas A&M)

Vegas was also busy in the off season. They have no glaring needs, so I think they’ll go with someone with some versatility. Jones is a double- double machine. A downside is she is undersized at 6′2″. But she is someone who reminds me of Napheesa Collier. They are both undersized for their position, but aren’t afraid to do the dirty work to get the job done.

#wnba #mock draft #I have no idea how this will turn out #makes things more interesting

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hoghtastic · 1 year

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“Still, I wonder what happened to this Alex:”

Damn, it’s like looking at a completely different person. Like his whole energy is different. And I mean it’s not like he’s on the internet all the time or whatever but when you see him he’s usually promoting something, posting about him or his messy girlfriend (probably being in on the shenanigans as well as she),but even when he isn’t posting something, other people are posting him and what do you see? He on his phone 9/10.

The way him and Johanne have been posting recently reminds me of the way Georgia Hirst posts.

He’s turned into an official instagram influencer🧚‍♀️✨

That is very true... and I mean, it's okay and even expectable for people to change over time, especially when they become more mature. But in Alex's case, it's almost as he's done the complete opposite of evolving. Despite being so young, it felt like his heart and mind were in the right place back then, and he seemed genuinely funny, interesting and caring. But now, he only posts when he's trying to sell/promote something, or when it's about Johanne, despite spending so many years keeping his love life private and claiming he didn't want to expose too much of himself on social media, to keep a certain distance between his true self and the characters he portrays, which was a position I truly understood and respected.

I know that in today's world social media has become a crucial platform for public figures to promote themselves and their work, and that someone's number of followers plays a huge role in their popularity and increases their chances for partnerships and being hired, so it is expectable that Alex also uses his IG in such a way, as he's still building his career. However, I'm sure the great majority of the people who started following him around 2017 and until the pandemic, still remember his fun, playful posts and would love to see more of this super talented, yet down to earth and relatable guy. 😊

Maybe the people he has surrounded himself with lately have had a bad influence on him? I've noticed he doesn't seem to hang out with some old friends as much as he used to, but he's grown very close to Malte. And I may be wrong, as I don't know him personally of course, but Malte has always came across as having such a "I'm better than everyone else" mentality. 😅

#anon asks

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chayacat · 4 years

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Devil’s Sweet Star (16)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut

***

Yesterday was a day full of revelation. And that night was a long night's work for Danny. You think that being a murderer, especially Ghostface is as easy as stealing a lollipop from a baby? Well, you're wrong. It’s not enough to kill someone in cold blood or just for fun without worrying about the small details to be a murderer. You have to be smart; you have to calculate each of your moves, study every potential victim, neglect no details. That's always how Danny did it, and he never changed.

He had spent the whole night watching McKellan and his guards. 4 guards were watching the house, all as chubby as the gorillas. But the raw strength and muscles are worthless in face of Danny's flexibility and agility. He'll be able to avoid them without any problems. McKellan spends three-fourths of his time in his office, studying statistics and turnover. In case he earns less money. As if he didn't have enough already... What a miser.

But soon he will no longer have to worry about his fortune, earned dirty by lying and cheating. For soon he will become a true masterpiece of bloody art. Which unfortunately will not be appreciated by anyone. What an indignity. But good news came to Danny’s ears during the night: someone finally found Mike's body. The police are on the spot and obviously two officers, surely new ones, have obviously vomited their guts. An image that made Danny smile a lot: that's exactly the reaction he wanted. Wilhelm is going to have a job, and it's deserved. Danny couldn't stand him and it was reciprocal.

“Have a good day, my bastard... I hope you're going to have nightmares about it in addition to the other cases you have to deal with.” He said with a smirk, thinking of Wilhelm’s face.

He looked at your picture and landed on his bed, remembering what you told him yesterday. So that's why you refused to talk about your parents. And in a sense, it's normal: Who would want to remember such a tragic day? You had a good life, you had great parents and suddenly.... everything falls apart. You're alone. That's also why you came to Roseville: To escape all this. Making a clean slate of the past. Move forward without looking back. Start a new life. For Danny, of course, he left Florida for reasons you know, since he told you everything too. Why did he do it? He himself didn't really know. Maybe because he felt obligated because you had done it? Or. Because he needed to empty that weight that weighs so much on his heart? And that you are strangely, the only person who can comfort him and with whom he feels comfortable?

He took out a picture of his bedside table, a little worn out by time and bent but still as beautiful in his eyes. It was just Carla and him, kissing her on the cheek as he takes the picture and she smile. They had been dating for a year at that time, but for him, it meant a lot to him. All these years spent together... that go up in smoke because of a man.

“I’m really sorry Mr Johnson...she passed away. We were not able to resuscitate her in time.” That’s what that bastard said to him.

It took four nurses to master and comfort Danny. And it didn't work. And the worst happened when he learned that that bastard had let her die. What for? To justify his requests for a budget increase. Because inevitably, who says dead, says lack of staff and suitable equipment and therefore a larger budget to "fill" these gaps. But of course, the money he received... it was for his personal well-being.

His blood only done one lap. So, one night, he went to see him in his office. Without being spotted. By the window, a knife in his hand. He remembers the rage with which he had struck him until he fell to the ground, moaning in pain. He was begging him to leave him alive! Seriously?? After what he had just done? Did he dare ask him to let him live? It's a good joke.

“You took the only thing that mattered to me, and now you're going to pay for it.” Danny said before slaughtering him like a pig.

The adrenaline he had, the satisfaction and even the pleasure he experienced, he never wanted to forget. That's how Ghostface was born. And since that day, he has improved a lot in his way of doing things. He is attacking everyone, without mercy. You're the only exception. Danny looked at the photo with a smile, melancholy before kissing her. he folded the photo where a small inscription was: I will never forget you, always in my mind.

He put the picture in the drawer of the bedside table and got up to take a shower. He said he'd come and get you, so he might as well be a presentable minimum. There's something else that perturbated him: your reaction when "Ghostface" came to see you. Certainly, he expected it to happen one day but not so quickly. What game are you playing? Unfortunately for him, you're the only one who knows. But sooner or later he finds out. Like he always does. But McKellan is the priority for now. For real.

The article to bring down Hoggins and Mckellan was making its way, but they were not going to publish it first. Since a journalist from Georgia had tried his move, we will give him the opportunity of exclusivity. And so, if Hoggins go after someone, it will be them and not the Roseville gazette. A clever little change of plan, proposed by the boss Hembrook himself. Having worked in the middle for years, he knew all the tricks. After all, it's not the old monkey you're learning to make grimacing, is it?

And when tensions rise between Hoggins and McKellan... That's when Ghostface will come on stage. All this promises to be wildly fun. The wait is worth it. Danny already imagines this "poor detective" heading for a false trail, who will feel humiliated when he realizes that Ghostface is making fun of him. His face will twist in unimaginable anger. He took his keys and left the apartment before driving to Zanesville Hospital. He received a message from you, telling him that you will be ready to go out soon, time for the doctors to make one last check-up before letting you go. It's better to be careful.

As he was about to start, his phone rang. It was his boss, Mr. Hembrook.

“Ah Jed! I’m glad you're answering! How are you? Ready to go back to work son?” He said on the other line.

“Hello Sir. I’m fine, I needed that break. I’m ready to track any information that Roseville needs to know. Do you need something?”

“... I guess you know... Or maybe not. But the police discovered Mike's body last night. Ghostface struck again. Apparently, he is in such a state... that two young rookies threw up their guts.”

“Goddamn... He was a big jerk, narcissistic and horrible with everyone but... He didn't deserve that. What happened?” replied Jed while Danny's holding back from smiling. Of course, he deserved it, he was just one too many bastards on this earth.

“The autopsy has not yet been performed. But in view of the initial findings, this Ghostface massacred him. and not just a little bit. since you are usually in charge of these cases... I was wondering if you'd like to go to Mike's house to write an article about this new murder. If you don't want to, I'd understand, after all you just...” said Hembrook.

“Don't worry, sir. I’ll take care of that. I just have to pick up my friend from the hospital. She's going out today. I dropped her off at her house and set off for Mike's house right after.” interrupts Danny trying to stay as neutral as possible.

“Say hello to her from me! This little girl is a lucky girl. I hope I can taste her pastries! I would like her to do it from time to time for the newspaper... she will be paid for, of course.”

“Promised. And for your proposal, I will talk to her about it, but it seems to me that she would be happy. I have to go. Good day to you Mr. Hembrook.” said Danny before hanging up.

He started his van, and took the road. He turned on the radio to make the journey less boring and less time-consuming. It still takes about 20 minutes to get to Zanesville. It's still a long way off. Count the time he parks, picks you up at the hospital and you both leave and you arrive at a little half an hour.

He was planning to spend some time with you, but unfortunately, he just told his boss that he'll go to Mike's house once he drops you off at your house. If he doesn't, his boss is very likely not to appreciate this. When you promise something to Johann Hembrook, it's better for you to keep your word. How many noses had he broken since the beginning of his long career? A lot too much. He often had problems because of his temperament... Explosive. Too often even. But at least he got what he wanted... In a way.

Danny couldn't help but smile as he thought of his boss in front of his boss explaining why an informant ended up in the hospital. He would have wanted to see it with his own eyes. He finally arrived at the Zanesville hospital and parked, then put his glasses back in place on his nose before descending. He looked at the façade with a lump in his stomach. Until he can turn the page, those bad memories will resurface. But how can you forget, the reason you became a murderer?

He took a deep breath before entering and heading towards the reception. The young woman told him that you were going to be able to leave your room in a dozen minutes and that she was going to inform you of his arrival. All he had to do was sit on the benches in the waiting room and wait for you to arrive.

And he didn't have to wait very long. He saw you coming from afar, talking to the doctor who had taken care of you, and when your eyes crossed, he got up and you trotted towards him, hugging him. He could not help but smile and put a kiss on your forehead, even if the urge burned him to taste your lips again.

“Well...I see that you’re really happy to see me.” He said with his angelic smile.

“And you don't push me away, so I conclude that you're glad to see me too.” you answer, smiling at him too.

“That’s true. Did the wounds heal well?” he replied, looking at the doctor.

“Faster and better than I thought. She still needs a rest but she can go back to work without overworking herself. If you ever feel bad pain, I've prescribed medication and if it doesn't work, come back to me urgently. My professional phone number is on the prescription. I'm counting on you, young man, to watch her and take care of her.” respond the man, clearing his throat.

“Oh, don’t worry about it... I'm not going to take my eyes off her for a second. Ready? We've got a little way to go.”

You nod and you both get out of the hospital. The return journey was livelier between your laughter and the music, the few anecdotes you heard from the nurses making Danny smile. Once in front of your building you both head to your apartment, Danny smirks as he looks at you, lying behind you. And he can say that the view... is superb. You had to do a lot of sports, to have such a firm buttock. That's another part of the body he'd like to touch, plus, the rest.

“Well, this is where we separate. Unfortunately, I have work to do, my boss wants me to deal with the new murder committed by Ghostface. But if you want, we could make a little restaurant one night. I'll pay for it this time.” Said Jed with a little smile.

“Sure! I missed it a lot... a new murder? I pity the poor victim of this sick man. Jed... Take care of yourself. You never know who his next victim might be.” You answer before kissing him, hugging tightly. Then you released him and enter into your appartement, Saying goodbye with a wave of the hand.

Danny smiled and left for his apartment. Once inside his smile disappeared, vexed to see that you like "Jed" more than he does. But it's only a matter of time before the trend reverses. Once you've passed into the expert hands of Danny... I mean Ghostface, Jed Olsen will gradually begin to fade. It's high time for Danny Johnson to take his place. One way or another. He took his work bag and left for Mike's house where he stays the rest of the day. He held back a smile, thinking back to the massacre that had taken place there and imagining these two poor policemen who vomited their guts as his boss told him.

The evening came and it's time for you to have your daily one-on-one with Ghostface. But this time he won't come empty-handed! he has a little gift for you! You were showering when he walked into your apartment through the window. Hearing the sound of the shower, the idea of entering to join you made him smile. But he's not silly he knows you surely lock the bathroom door. So, he waited for you to come out of the bathroom, in a towel, and into your room. The little start he caused in you made him smile even more.

“Goddamnit ! You can't leave me alone even one night!?” You said hiding as much visible skin as you can with your towel.

“No. And I'm especially excited to be here tonight. I have a very nice view. But it would be better if you took that towel off. But let's move on. I've got a little something for you. A small gift for... show you that sometimes I can be nice.” Danny said, handing a packet to you.

“If it's a cut limb or a knife you can keep it. I'm not a fan of the massacre like you.”

“Hahaha...very funny my little angel. But it’s none of that. I made an effort... you could do the same and accept my gift. For once.”

You took the package from Danny's hands and opened it. He smiled slyly when he saw you pulled out a black dress... very, very sexy. Short and quite open at the chest.

“The dress that your little nerd offered you is pretty good I have to admit ... But this one makes your shapes more valuable to me. I hope you like it.” He replied approaching you, taking your face in his hands. “I know he and you kissed... and not just once. I am vexed that you chose him instead of me. He's so annoying... You'll get tired of him very soon believe me.”

“What do you know about that? At least he is not a mentally ill man who kills for simple pleasure.”

“It's been a long time since you've broken my heart. It’s clear that he only thinks about his work. Me on the other hand... I will treat you like a queen, in exchange for keeping silent on my.... Activities. Which, by the way, will fix you when McKellan will be dead. I haven’t forgotten that you’ll owe me a favor when it’s done. And this dress... will be a part of what you owe me. I hope you'll wear it that day.”

“Don't even think about it. Creep...”

“Oh, I gonna think about it every single time my sweet little star. And it’s better for you...” He starts pushing you on your bed, pulling on the towel to get you naked. Then he passed the plate of his knife on your belly rising little by little. “It’s better for you to obey. It would be a pity for you and for me to damage this sublime body. Don't you think so?”

“Get...get off of me...” you said hardly, biting your lips by feeling the cold blade touch your breasts.

Danny chuckled as he gradually raising his blade. He could enjoy it so much now but... He knows that sooner or later he'll have his reward. He took his camera and took a picture of you before backing away and laughing as he saw you hastily looking for something to dress.

“I keep it as a little memory. Until I can touch the real merchandise, I'll just look at your curves in pictures. I still have work to do. McKellan's death must be perfect and spectacular. I have to plan everything in every detail, you understand? Until we meet again... take care of that nice body for me, will you? Have beautiful dreams... hoping I'm in it.”

Danny sends a kiss to you and his smile grows wilder when his saw your disgust and your anger. Then he disappeared. Is there just an emotion that doesn't make you so cute? Danny would have liked to spend more time... intimate with you, explore your body to make you vibrate with pleasure but as he told you …

He still has some preparations to do. And this murder will be the most spectacular Roseville has ever known.

You can count on that.

***

(Well, it’s done! I started the code to get my driver's license and for now I'm doing pretty well! (yes at 22 it might be time for me to have it I know! U.u) But I have an excuse! (or not) I've always been afraid of driving and seeing some of my generation driving like sick didn't reassure me either. But I know I'm going to make it! In the meantime, I hope you will like this chapter as much as the others! See ya!)

#dbd fanfic #dbd #dead by daylight #ghostface #danny johnson #jed olsen

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