#Alicent would go in “trying” to improve herself but fails

[bluntfriend]

Okay, now I am thinking of Team Green and Team Black actually going to therapy in a modern au, and oh my god that is going to be a whole fucking colossal fuck up... the therapist is going to need fucking therapy themselves.

[syndrossi]

We've had Dany getting Summerhall-ed as the boy's sister, we've had the same for Arya, and we've had Rhaella get Summerhall-ed as herself. But what about Rhaella as the boy's sister? Aside from the pure confusion of grandmother/mother/sister, I think she would enjoy it far more than her first life. Sure being a neglected bastard daughter isn't great, but at least she's no longer married to an abusive psychopath and forced to endure a slew of failed pregnancies and dead children. (and she gets a dragon!) I would imagine that she'd be extremely quiet and withdrawn, and that she would probably end up being pretty close to Helaena. I am curious as to what her relationship with Daemon would be. As with Rhaegar, I think it is possible that his violent tendencies and poor emotional regulation might invoke Aerys a little, but, also similar to Rhaegar, his gentleness towards her would probably quell that. For Rhaella, I'd say the biggest worry about him would be his "Lord Fleabottom" reputation, since that will definitely trigger some Aerys memories. I'd imagine that Daemon will be at a bit of a loss with her, given that his only experience with young girls was Rhaenyra, who was (presumably) a much happier child then Rhaella is. There is also a good chance that Daemon draws...certain conclusions about why Rhaella is so timid, in which case Allard better start fucking running (again.) Going back to Rhaenyra, I think she would adore Rhaella because a) Rhaenyra has always wanted a daughter, and the fact that she's Daemon's only makes it better. I think Rhaenyra may even come to view her as the daughter she should have had with Daemon. B) Rhaella might remind her of Aemma. This one is a little bit iffy since Rhaenyra obviously doesn't know about Rhaella's previous life, but I feel like Rhaenyra might notice the same sadness in Rhaella that she saw in her mother, although she wouldn't be aware of the reason. Either way, Rhaenyra is almost definitely going to want a Rhaella/Jace match, although I can't see her pushing it if Rhaella is truly against it. As far as her prospects go, most people will probably assume that she'll marry Jon or Rhaegar, which is...unlikely, given their familial ties. I think she'd reveal herself to Rhaegar as soon as she knows who he is but given that Jon is still withholding the fact that Rhaegar is actually his father, she'd probably also be unaware of her exact relation to him. Once it becomes clear that she'd not marrying either of her brothers, there would likely be a bit of tug-of-war between the Greens and the Black over her, with the Blacks wanting a Jace match and the Greens wanting her for Aegon or Aemond. Daemon will obviously be 100% team Jace, but Otto and Alicent will fight pretty hard, and maybe even try and use Helaena to convince her, to get her to marry one of Alicent's sons. Obviously this won't be for a while, since I can't imagine Rhaella is eager to be married again, but eventually she is going to need to deal with betrothals again.

Lastly, (sorry I know this is a ridiculously long ask,) I think her relationship with Viserys would be incredibly interesting. He'll absolutely want to spoil her, the same way Daemon did for Rhaenyra when she was young, and, given what an improvement he is from the last king she knew, she'll probably be pretty happy about it. I do think that no matter how nice he is, she'll always distrust him a little bit, and that's mainly because of Aemma. As I said earlier, Aemma and Rhaella had pretty similar lives, and if Rhaella hadn't been Summerhall-ed, she would have probably ended up dying the same way, a fact I think she is extremely conscious of. For Rhaella, who knows exactly what Aemma endured and how it would have felt, the knowledge that it was Viserys who put her through that isn't going to endear him to her. Since Aemma has been dead for a while at this point, and presumably isn't mentioned often, I doubt it'll end up being a huge deal, but Rhaella will still be aware of it (and if she ends up spending lots of time with Rhaenyra she'll probably hear lots of stories about Aemma) so it would be interesting to see how this affects her relationship with Viserys. This ended up being way longer than I intended (it was over the character limit for a single text block!) so I'm going to end it here, but let me know what you think about Rhaella as the boy's sister!

Aaaaaa I love this variant! It's the perfect "yes, and" to the core wackiness at the heart of Resonant's "your (younger) dead father is now your twin brother" by throwing in a mother/grandmother!

It really would be a fresh start. Yes, the trauma still exists, but she's a child and carefree and has two brothers who are kind and protective and sweet (and hey, it helps that one of them was her dear son). And the more of them there are ("triplets" vs "twins," though I'm assuming that perhaps Rhaella is Elys's and Jon+Rhaegar are Rhea's), the less it hurts to be neglected as they were in the first few years under Allard's care.

I cannot imagine what Daemon thinks when his two children that have the Valyrian coloring react with such trepidation during his emotional outbursts. What the fuck did Allard Royce do to his children? And broaching the subject so very carefully with all of them to make sure the unthinkable never happened.

Rhaenyra would absolutely adore Rhaella, and you get some of the same fun dynamic that you have with Rhaegar being crown prince formerly, where Rhaella knows what it is to be queen (albeit not a ruling one), so she's not only a sweet cousin for Rhaenyra to mother to her heart's desire, she also has the insight and wisdom.

I do expect that Rhaella is very much uninterested in marrying another brother, even if her options weren't her former son (and grandson, if she learns of it). Rhaenyra is pushing Jace as hard as she can, though that comes with the burden of being a queen--is that something Rhaella wants this time around? It's hard to give up the freedom of being a dragonrider for the responsibility of birthing the future king an heir.

On the subject of Viserys...a bit like Rhaella AU, I think he would remind her some of her own father, Jaehaerys, who was similarly frail and prophecy-obsessed. Kind, but willing to force those he loves into situations for prophecy's sake. Aemma's fate is certainly another consideration when it comes to deciding who she wants to marry. Though Viserys may insist on Jace, if that's what it takes to get PTWP blood into Rhaenyra's line.

But also, what a happier life for Rhaella! A fellow princess for a companion in Helaena, a fierce dragon of her own, brothers who she loves with all her heart, a father who would burn the world for her, and far more freedom than she had in her first life, married at age thirteen to her brother to birth an heir at fourteen, and her brother-husband's victim thereafter. What breaks my heart about Rhaella is that she was so trapped. How many places beyond KL and Dragonstone (and Summerhall) was she allowed to visit after marrying Aerys? There is so much of the world to see and explore, and a dragon and family to do it with!

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I know you’ve talked about how all the Cullen pairings are eventually going to implode - glad someone said it - but I was wondering if you wanted to talk a little bit about what you think Meyer INTENDED with the pairings - tropes and whatnot? And what you think would have to change in her narrative to make what was intended what we actually saw on the page? Or — what do you think each cullens’ Perfect Spouse would actually look like?

Anon is referring to this post.

And well, you've certainly given me quite the challenge.

Some Musing Ramblings Before We Begin

Sort of like asking me to make Dramione work, I'm not sure I'm the person to ask this. Anyone who reads my work knows that... well, that's a lie, every story I secretly write is a love story. But it's not Twilight in any way shape or form.

Twilight simply isn't a story I would set out to write. This isn't a good thing or a bad thing, it just is, which means that asking me to make Twilight work the way Meyer intended is probably not your best bet.

But I'll try regardless, it's what we're here for.

Bella/Edward

Meyer intended Bella Swan and Edward Cullen to be the best and brightest of all the pairings in Twilight. They have the love and devotion of Carlisle and Esme, the physicality and sexual attraction of Rosalie and Emmett, and are such a grand love that even depressed Marcus takes note. This is the love story that drives the entire series.

Edward is an improvement upon Carlisle, a Carlisle with even better control, and the most beautiful man you ever did see. He's also a gentleman, a man of his time and from an era where chivalry was alive and men courted women. Bella is one of those disturbingly altruistic people who makes you feel bad about yourself just by being in the same room. She's incredibly selfless, kind, and also quite brave.

Together, despite their ups and downs and the many obstacles in their way, they're disgustingly perfect.

However, that's not what we get. On Edward's end he's... Edward about loving Bella. On Bella's end, she has no idea who Edward even is but she does know he's beautiful and special.

And to get what Meyer actually wanted... Christ, Anon, I'll try.

So, the first problem, if Edward was truly a good person then Twilight would never happen.

Edward would have his first day of Biology, miraculously maintain control, and flee to Alaska as he does in canon. However, he would not return. Edward in canon returns due to his budding obsession as well as his wounded pride, in fleeing Forks he feels he has lost to Bella. When Carlisle later points out that a girl's life is on the line, that Edward is foolishly endangering this girl solely for his ego, Edward refuses to acknowledge this.

A good man would never have returned from Alaska, the Cullens would have moved in short order, and Bella may or may not have died in a parking lot or in Port Angeles.

That said, what if Bella is not, in fact, Edward's singer? Then there's not this constant debate of him eating her or his creepy, budding, obsession with his personal brand of heroin.

Well, the trouble with that is that Edward would then never notice her. Even were Edward not a colossal dismissive dick, required per this ask, Bella is one mortal out of many and someone he shouldn't grow close to. Associating with her just exposes her to unnecessary danger from him and his family. Edward is a guest in our world, nothing more, and a kind Edward might chit chat with her in Biology but even if he had a growing crush he'd keep his distance.

As he tried and failed to do in canon, actually.

Basically, change Edward alone, and it's not enough. The Edward Meyer wanted would never get together with Bella. At least, not without a lot of AU-sauce.

But let's look at Bella for a moment. Bella's character also has to be entirely stripped down. The Bella of the books is extremely depressed and her infatuation with Edward is fueled in part because of this. Edward's obsession with her gives her worth.

Obviously, in this new and improved edition of Twilight, Bella can't use either Edward or Jacob for validation. She has to be able to stand on her own two legs. If she does use either for validation, then the relationship must come to an end, as she and her significant other realize just what it is Bella's doing.

The trouble is, what does this not-depressed Bella have to fall in love with? Yes, Edward's beautiful, and that certainly goes a long way, but in canon he's a dick. Bella even thinks to herself that he's a complete dick (even when he's trying to be charming). Luckily for Edward she later decides that this is cryptic and therefore appealing.

Well, in AU land, Edward might be so damn charming that Bella likes him anyway but we come back to Edward keeping her at a polite distance.

So, what we need is a terrifying villain. Let's call him Angelus (though per Twilight this would probably be James). Angelus is a vampire that will force Edward's hand. For whatever reason, he decides to torment and ruin Bella's life, ending the hunt in either eating her or turning her into his bride. Angelus' existence forces Bella to be in the know and for Edward to have to take extreme action.

The pair become closer, grow through undoubtedly horrific trauma, and through said trauma Bella understands not only the pros of being a vampire but the terrifying cons.

Basically, it'd be this story. Just replace the name "Carlisle" with Edward and "Edward" with James.

Alice/Jasper

Alice and Jasper are supposed to have this ineffable, mystic, connection where they're together because... Alice saw them together. And in a way, that's true, but it's supposed to be a thing of beauty, soulmates if there ever were any, and instead it's this dumpster fire with nothing holding them together.

This one's easier in a way, well, sort of. Alice would have to be a completely different character and we'd have to see a lot more of Jasper.

Alice has a bad habit of treating those around her, even those she loves, as chess pieces. She'll put them in significant danger, court their misery, so long as it gets her the future she wants.

And she's extremely controlling.

Right away in the opening of Midnight Sun we see this and how it affects her and Jasper's relationship. The novel opens with Alice hovering, scanning the future for Japser fucking up, while Jasper just sits there in misery. Due to her obsession on making sure Jasper doesn't eat students, she actually misses Edward's plan to massacre Biology and his many plans to eat Bella Swan.

Even if she wasn't, this isn't good for anyone to live with. Jasper has very little concept of free will, whatever happens to him, whatever he'll do, Alice tells him and the worst possible option is always on the table.

For Jasper/Alice to work either Alice's gift needs to go (and that's... sort of all Alice is) or she has to tell no one any vision ever unless under extreme circumstances.

Which would be devastating for Alice. Rather than this mostly well-adjusted, perky, girl, Alice would be crippled by her gift. The weight of the world, everyone's free will, rests on her shoulders and she has to constantly avoid temptation to simply pick everyone's future for them.

Without the attitude Alice has in canon, I think she'd go mad with such a gift, or else be consumed by the responsibility of it.

Then we get to the mess that is Jasper. Jasper's complicated, and I don't want to get into it here, but his love story would have to be... too large to be put to the side like that. The redemption he'd need is not one that can be shoved into a few paragraphs told to Bella, it's frankly the kind of story that would drive an ordinary story.

So we'd have to see a lot of Jasper and Nouveau Alice. Which, of course, detracts from Bella/Edward which is the main point of the story.

Honestly, I take it back, there's no salvaging this relationship. They would have to be completely different people to the point where they're entirely different characters wearing nametags 'Alice' and 'Jasper'. Alice couldn't have her gift, which informs her entire character, and we'd have to see way too much of Jasper who is ultimately a tertiary character.

Carlisle/Esme

Thoughts on Carlisle/Esme.

Carlisle and Esme is a very 'spiritual' relationship per Meyer. They're... mom-bot and dad-bot. Alright, fine, they're the perfect parents with this deep love for each other and a very parental bond with Edward especially. It's the relationship Edward admires the most in his paired off family.

I don't even know how to fix this one.

Again, they'd have to be such different people. The trouble with Esme and Carlisle is that they share no values and are plagued by massive miscommunication. The Carlisle who is perfect for Esme... No, wait, this Carlisle is perfect for her, but that's because she's in Esme Land.

The Carlisle that would be perfect for a grounded Esme is not the one that exists. She'd want someone who would always put the family first, who would treasure her above all other things, that's not Carlisle.

Carlisle, similarly, would want someone that truly shares his ideals. That's not Esme.

So, we're back to nametag land, because one or both have to completely change for this to work. (Not to mention that Esme's probably not supposed to be Esme).

So, I've got nothing for this.

Rosalie/Emmett

I actually think these two are what Meyer intended. They love each other but are mostly held together by attraction. They're a very physical couple and good for the most part but inherently lesser than Bella/Edward.

Sure, I'd argue that they're the most put together couple in the house, but I think they're meant to have flaws. They work well together, but every other relationship in the Cullens has to be a step up or at least have something more to it.

Something Edward and Bella can be better than.

Conclusion

Dear god. Did I only manage to somewhat address Bella/Edward? Was that it? This was worse than I thought.

[thewickedmerman]

The Swan Princess Live-Action Remake: What I’d Like to See

As many of you who follow me are aware, there is going to be a live-action remake of The Swan Princess. I know many of you are tired of these remakes but this one has the potential to be one of the greats because of the fact that the people working on it not only are the ones who worked on the original, but also people who interact with their fans and listen to their ideas. This is a good thing because of how the public has seen so many live-action remakes and have complained about them either being too different from the original (Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland for example) or too similar to the point of being pointless (The Lion King), so the fact that they listen to their fans is very much a good sign. Besides, despite the results of the universally hated CGI Swan Princess movies, a live-action remake is promising, especially since this is a passion project for them and not just a way to make a quick cash grab. That’s what brings us to this post of mine. These are some things I’d love to see in the live-action remake of The Swan Princess. Keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion on things I would love to see, therefore not everyone is going to agree with me.

Staying True but NOT Shot-For-Shot

As I’ve mentioned, bad remakes usually fall into one of too categories. They are either so radically different that they aren’t faithful to the spirit of the source material or are just pretty much shot-for-shot the same to the point where they are pointless. This is the difficult thing with adapting any work of fiction, especial one that is a beloved property, especially into a different medium. You have to know what iconic moments to do but also try to make it different enough to where it can be its own thing and justify its existence. I don’t want it to be afraid to try different things. The live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast was great and just as good as the original but I don’t feel like it made enough changes, not to mention some other problems. I hope it takes the same turn that remakes like Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and 101 Dalmatians took by staying true to the source material but also being different enough to where it’s not the exact same thing. We don’t want to see it be 100% the same because that’s boring and it would have no real point when we’d have the original.

One thing that they could do is maybe take deleted scenes from the animated film that are alternative versions of certain scenes. For example, the scene of Derek in the library and Uberta telling him about the ball. It’s different and helps to show the relationship between Derek and his mother. It shows how quick witted (When he’s not doing things like saying, “What else is there?” lol) and energized Derek is. It’s very fun and is able to show us how Uberta can be a mother that uses guilt to get what she wants from her son. Besides, there is no way for the live-action to capture the amazingness that is Uberta’s lip thing. That’s something that can only be captured in animation and attempting to do it in live-action would just be disappointing.

That’s just one example of using an alternative version of scenes from the movie, which are different but still charming in their own way. Another thing they could do is incorporate more elements from the original ballet, Swan Lake. I’ll get more into certain elements connected to that a little later, but it would show how it’s not only trying to respect the animated film but also the source material that lead to the beloved animated film. In the original ballet, if the vow of everlasting love failed, Odette actually wouldn’t die but instead she and the other swan maidens that Rothbart had cursed would become swans forever come daybreak and never be able to change back into humans again like they were able to before. Odette decided she would rather die than be a swan forever, so she and her prince (Named Siegfried in the ballet) committed suicide and that act of love was strong enough to destroy Rothbart and all his magic. This lead to the swan maidens being able to become human forever and the two lovers dance off to heaven together.

Let me be VERY clear about something, I’m not suggesting that they do this ending for the live-action movie because that really wouldn’t go over well with audiences. However, something they could consider doing is that instead of Odette dying if Derek makes his vow the the wrong girl, have her become a permanent swan. I don’t just meant have her physical form stay that of a swan but also have her end up losing her human mind. Before this, she still had full control of her human mind in her animal form but with Derek’s vow of everlasting love failing, she’d revert to that of a dumb and witless animal. It would have her die in a different sense and maybe it would help represent Derek realizing even more what he loved about her. It would be painful because she’d be gone even though she was still alive, which can sometimes be even more devastating than death. Now, this is just a suggestion and I wouldn’t mind if they decided to just have her die like she did in the original movie. Besides, there would be a happy ending anyway. That’s what is important lol.

An advantage that live-action movies have over animation is that they can be longer than just an hour and a half, so they can expand upon certain elements. We could see Odette and Derek maybe meeting secretly over the course of a few nights (After Odette manages to get reveal the swan spell to Derek, of course) to help their relationship and chemistry feel more organic and natural. The romance in the original is great but everything can be improved.

Other elements could be expanded upon like actually showing Odette’s mother and her giving birth to Odette, as well as King William and his wife longing for a child. Live-action remakes from Disney seem to have a thing for actually talking about the deceased mothers and even showing them interacting with their child. True, Odette’s mother would’ve died after childbirth but it would add something with how protective William is of Odette and even adding a song for the queen to sing, which I’ll elaborate on further when I talk about the music. Odette’s swan necklace could also have originally belonged to her mother rather than being a gift from Derek when she was an infant. It would help give her more of a connection with her dead mother and wanting to be a strong and kind leader like her mother was.

It should also show more of Odette’s sorrow and trauma from her father being killed by her kidnapper and not being able to hug him, say goodbye, or tell him that she loved him one last time. Her love for her father, as well as her people, would give her strength whenever Rothbart would try to break her down. She’d stay strong and wouldn’t back down. They should also try to make it more clear that Derek isn’t really shallow but rather he just has a hard time expressing himself into words. That’s the way I always saw Derek and I think to help audiences identify more with him that they should do a better job of making that clear. They should also show more subtle hints of Odette and Derek liking each other as kids but not being mature enough to admit it to others or even to themselves.

Overall, this remake shouldn’t fall into the same trap a lot of remakes do of basically just being a shot-for-shot remake. Don’t be afraid to make changes to justify its existence but also stay true to the spirit of the original.

Music

With this being a musical, it’s important for me to talk about the music for the live-action remake. A complaint the musical live-action remakes from Disney get are that they aren’t energized enough and aren’t as big and grand as they were in the animated movies. In certain musical numbers I can see where they are coming from. Musicals are a very stylized medium, which require big dance numbers and a chorus with a lot of energy, especially in numbers like “No More Mr Nice Guy”, “This is My Idea”, and “Princesses on Parade”. When making the original movie, they used a lot of choreography that was Broadway-styled. That’s something they should do with the musical numbers in the live-action remake. I don’t mean to copy the exact choreography from the animated movie but still put in a lot of energy. Look at musicals like Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Greatest Showman (Apart from the lack luster choreography of “Rewrite the Stars”), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (With Whitney Houston and Brandy Norwood), Moulin Rouge, Newsies, and any musical with THE GREAT dancing talents of Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and Dick Van Dyke. They have a lot of energy in the musical numbers with elaborate dancing that gets the audiences pumped and excited. They are fun and vibrant.

Now, big dance numbers aren’t something required for all the musical numbers, like “Far Longer Than Forever”, which is more romantic and intimate, but should still have stunning visuals, which I’ll get more into when I talk about the visuals of the film.

It could also take certain songs and make them different. The song “Practice, Practice, Practice” for example, which is played as a comedic number, could be a song for Uberta. It could be used to show she’s concerned about her son and how he’s just obsessed with practicing and trying to find Odette, which everyone (Herself included) considers an endless path because Odette is believed to be dead. It would help show the relationship between her and her son. She’d be questioning what she should do and what her late husband (Who was likely MUCH less pushy and more understanding than her) might’ve done if he were still here. True, it would also require the song to have more lyrics to it and be longer, but it would be a welcomed change. While the song is great and a lot of fun, it’s utterly pointless when you think about it. This would be taking a song that was short and comedic and making it different, meaningful, and adding something to both the characters of Uberta and Derek. Showing Uberta’s love and concern for her son as well as Derek’s stubbornness and determination, not to mention his skills.

Another song that could be used differently is the song “No Fear”. When I discuss the tone of the film, I will elaborate on why the animal sidekicks shouldn’t be in the live-action remake (Even though I love the animal sidekicks). In the live-action movie, it could go one of two ways, either a solo for Odette showing her courage as she sets off to find Derek or could be a duet for both Odette and Derek as they set off to find each other, as well as Derek’s hunt for The Great Animal.

Something important to discuss is the song “This is My Idea”. Apart from “Far Longer Than Forever”, it’s the most iconic song in the movie that people just adore. What definitely needs to be made clear is that they NEED to get child actors that not only look like the actors that are playing the adult versions of Odette and Derek, but can also actually act and sing. I don’t want any lame excuses that they are kids and we shouldn’t expect great acting from them because there are PLENTY of amazing child actors that give it their all. Besides, one of the things that made the song so awesome was that the the younger versions of the two leads were full of so much energy and personality. They really need some strong child actors that can capture the spirit of the song. Not to mention make sure that they can sing, which is something they need for all the actors in general.

With “No More Mr Nice Guy”, with the tone I have in mind for the film (Which, again, I will get to soon) probably would make the jazz styled song feel out of place. I mean, I still want it to be energized but also to fit with Rothbart’s character. I’m thinking maybe a style that is similar to the overture of Phantom of the Opera or “In The Dark of the Night” from Anastasia. Those are musical styles that are more serious in tone but are still fun and energized, which will help bring the song to life in a new way, as well as show that they are growing with their audience. It would show him causing chaos but not so comedically but also not entirely serious. Odile should also be allowed to sing a little in this song, in fact, I have one particular moment in mind. I’m imagining with the line, “Who’s a real dead ringer,” that at first it’s Odile’s real voice but she holds out on the word “ringer” and her voice is transitioning to Odette’s voice. That would be fun and creative.

Of course, with this being a live-action remake, it will need to add more songs to the film, especially since you gotta think about that “Best Original Song” nomination. However, it needs to be careful about where the songs are placed. They can’t be too soon after the previous song or feel like they came out of nowhere. One song I think they could add is a lullaby that Odette’s mother sings to her infant daughter as she slowly dies. I think it should have lyrics that foreshadow the events of the film and the journey that Odette will have in the same way the song “All is Found” did in Frozen II. It should also add a solo for Odette, maybe a song for her to sing when she’s escaping from Rothbart’s prison and flying to the ball that is similar to the song “Speechless” from the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin. Another song could be a short one that is meant to be Odile just vocalizing like a siren to scare the carriage drivers. The way I see it is that she’s flying around in her animal form (A black swan) singing to give them a feeling of unease and catch them off guard while also occasionally flying fast close by to scare them for fun. All leading up to the reveal of her human form and then the attack of The Great Animal (Which should remain in shadows until the climax). Maybe even a possible duet between Odette and Odile, to show how opposite and similar they are. Just a few suggestions.

The last thing involving the music that I want to talk about is the instrumental music. I want them to have the movie mix three types of music; the music from the original movie, the music from the original Swan Lake, and original music like in the live-action concept trailer. Something the film is criticized for is not using any of Tchaikovsky’s music from the ballet when the film is based on the ballet. I do agree with people that it’s very strange, especially since even products of lesser quality and budget have even used music from Tchaikovsky. However, there are iconic instrumental music moments from the movie that I can’t imagine the film being without, especially the music for Odette’s transformation. Disney also seems to have a thing for adding new instrumental music to their remakes like in Cinderella, Mulan, 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book while still including music from the original animated film. So it would be amazing for them to use all three types of music for the remake to show them respecting the animated film, showing respect for the source material that led to the creation of the beloved animated film, and doing something new. True, it will be hard to make sure they all mess together naturally but it’s not impossible.

Tone

This is one of the most important things about a film, especially when adapting a beloved property, particularly into a new medium like live-action. I do want the tone for the film to be more serious than the animated film but I DON’T want it to be so serious to where it’s too dark, too grounded in reality, and would feel out of place as a musical. Being too dark and serious seems to be a trend with some childhood properties that really have no real understanding of the source material, as proven with shows like Riverdale, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the upcoming disaster that is Fate: The Winx Saga. Trying to be all serious limits them too much in “reality” and therefore can’t go too far with being stylized and aren’t able to be as memorable. This is also something that goes hand in hand with the visuals, which I will get to later on.

However, there are some things in the original movie that should be taken out for the live-action remake, the main thing being the animal sidekicks. Don’t get me wrong, I love those characters dearly but their style of humor wouldn’t work in a live-action setting. Their style of humor is similar to that of the Looney Tunes, which works in animation but not in a live-action remake. They’ll feel out of place and cause the tone of the film to feel unbalanced. This is also why I don’t think The Hag (Later named Bridget) would work in the live-action remake, but I’ll get to that later.

Jean-Bob, Speed, and Puffin are iconic and beloved characters that do help progress the plot and don’t feel like needless comic relief, but they wouldn’t work in live-action. They’d feel out of place, come off as if they are hijacking the film, would likely look weird with CGI (Especially Jean-Bob), and removing them would allow them to have more time to expand upon other elements.

The film should still have humor but it should come from things like Rogers’ dry wit, Uberta’s pompous and flamboyant personality, Chamberlain playing off of Uberta with his nervous and silly character (While still not feeling too silly), Derek being charmingly humorous and playing off of Rogers, Odette’s savage comments to Rothbart in the way she rejects him and stands up to him and her wit in general, Rothbart’s dark humor, and Odile being a major sass master with a lot of sarcasm and clever lines.

This film should have a balance of romance, being serious but comedic without doing too much of either, having fantasy, being like a fairy-tale, stay true to the original while being its own thing, and just being what the film needs to be. It needs to appeal to the fans while also trying to win over people who aren’t really a fan of the original movie. It basically needs to do what a good remake needs to be, which can be done when you look at the example of the 2015 version of Cinderella. Also, DON’T do make any pop culture references like the CGI movies, which instantly date the movie.

Odile/The Black Swan

Many of you are already aware of how I’m really crazy about the idea of Rothbart’s daughter from the original Swan Lake, Odile, being in the live-action remake. It honestly would be a welcome change for so many reasons. A lot of the fans are wanting to see Odile appear in the live-action remake, so that is one reason to include her. There’s just so much potential with her.

However, before I get into her potential, I need to discuss why it makes much more sense for her to be in the movie instead of Bridget. The Black Swan is supposed to act seductive and also give Derek some hesitation to show that he has a feeling something isn’t right. It shows how he isn’t only interested in Odette because of her looks. This makes more sense with Odile because her behavior and mannerisms should be more like her own rather than like Odette’s, which doesn’t work with Bridget. In all the scenes that Bridget is in, she’s very comedic, wacky, silly, and over-the-top in her behavior and mannerisms. That makes her entertaining, but it doesn’t make sense in the context of The Black Swan trick. It kind of hurts Derek’s character by having him so easily fooled and not hesitating enough. Don’t get me wrong, he does hesitate but it could’ve been better a lot better. Just an observation of mine.

Now for her potential, which she really has a lot of. She’s a seductive and sensual woman that is also a sorceress. I imagine her being very clever, sassy, sarcastic, and just has a badass aura about her. Her personality would basically be Shego from Kim Possible. She should really go one of two ways, either a full blown villainess or an anti-hero with a redemption arc. She’s a fascinating character that would help bring a layer of depth to Rothbart by having a great love for his daughter, and while he is motivated by greed and power, he is also motivated by his love for his daughter and wanting her not to struggle in life like he did.

If they made her an antihero with a redemption arc, it could be because she slowly grows a bond with Odette and relating to having a loving but protective father and never really knowing their mothers. She’d think men were all the same and would be confused why Derek would hesitate when she’s disguised as Odette because she was unaware of genuine romantic love due to always using her looks and sensuality on men to get what she and her father want. Maybe she could take the place of Bromley by helping Derek with defeating her father.

When she dances with Derek, it should feel different for him compared to how it felt when he danced with the real Odette. Both should be elegant and vibrant but done differently. When Derek dances with the real Odette, it should be more intimate while with Odile disguised as Odette, it’s more sensual and makes Derek feel like something is off about “Odette.”

Either way, she’d make for an incredibly compelling character that would help add an element from the original ballet to the film and be something different. Odile is a popular character in the world of fiction, especially for those fascinated with ballet. She’s meant to be Odette’s opposite and yet they could have a connection the same way that Mulan and The Witch did in the live-action remake of Mulan. I also have made it VERY clear that the ONLY real choice for Odile is Bella Thorne. She has the right look, she’s sexy and seductive, she’s gorgeous, she’s an amazingly talented and versatile actress (She’s even getting some Oscar buzz for her performance in the movie Girl), she can sing (Listen to the songs she did for Midnight Sun if you don’t believe me), has experience playing villainess characters, really puts her all into her craft, and everyone who has worked with her has just raved about what a joy she is to work with.

Visuals

There is a lot of things to talk about here. The costumes, the effects, camera work, the sets, the atmosphere, and so on. I’ll try to be as clear and organized about this as possible.

The costumes are a major part of the movie because they help to establish the characters personalities and the journey they go through. I do think the outfits should be as similar to their animated counterparts as possible but also not look too similar to the point where they just look like cosplays. Something live-action remakes often do is change the look of the outfits to the point where they are completely different. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it can help the film stand out, especially when you look at the outfits in the 2015 version of Cinderella. However, it can just as often be a bad thing, such as with Belle’s yellow dress in the 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast, which didn’t even do very good jobs with her pink and green dresses either (But her blue dress and her wedding dress were good). I can understand why changing the design of the costumes happens because some things that look good in a drawing don’t translate well into live-action. However, when done well, they can make them look similar enough and add details that are too expensive and time consuming to put into animation. A good example of this is Jasmine’s turquoise outfit in the live-action remake of Aladdin. It looks similar enough while also being a good translation to the real world. Although, I do think they should take more liberties to Rothbart’s outfit to make it look more badass. Not to mention they’d have creative liberties with Odile, but should make sure there is a contrast with her appearance and Odette’s.

Another thing about the costumes is that I want the characters to have a variety of outfits to wear. It’s true that Odette would be wearing the same dress for a majority of the film because of how she’s been kidnapped and wouldn’t give Rothbart the satisfaction of her accepting any outfits he might offer her. However, considering that the major characters are either royalty or well off enough to afford some good clothes, they should really be wearing more than just one outfit. Queen Uberta in particular would be wearing a large variety of outfits (Not just the same outfit in a different color) and maybe even different hairstyles. It would go with her flamboyant personality and style. The younger versions of Derek should also be wearing different outfits and have different hairstyles like Odette did. It shows how people grow and change as they get older. Maybe even make Derek have his awkward phase as a teenager the same way Odette did as a preteen. However, definitely don’t have his younger versions wear the same outfit because it’s weird that he never changed his style at all growing up. Plus, I think the entire fandom agrees that Derek’s weird haircut has GOTTA GO! I’ll get more into the costumes when I discuss diversity because what I have left to say about costumes has to do with “Princesses on Parade”.

As for the effects, I’m hoping that they do their best to mix practical effects and special effects together. Hollywood is too reliant on CGI and people often call it out as fake looking. There are movies that mixed those together like Lord of the Rings, Hocus Pocus, Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and the first Jurassic Park movie. The effects in those movies are still praised because they aren’t reliant on just CGI. It can be helpful but it shouldn’t be the only thing that is used.

Something important about the visual look with this movie, at least to me, is Odette’s transformation. A problem I have with the concept trailer (Although, I will give it leeway because it didn’t have much of budget for the effects) and the CGI movies is how Odette’s transformation lacks color, which makes it less magical looking. People love Odette’s iconic transformation with the gold glowing light where she stands (Or floats in the case of her swan form) and her getting surrounded by the pink and purple water (Along with some purple sparkles). It’s such beautifully animated scene because of the vibrant colors that pop in the night time setting that is full of different shades of blue. By making the transformation have normal colored water just makes it not as memorable or imaginative.

The look of Odette as a swan (As well as Odile in her literal black swan form) should still be expressive and slightly stylized like the animals in The Chronicles of Narnia movies, the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book, the live-action Stuart Little movies. It’ll make her feel more human and if they were to use the idea about Odette losing her humanity if Derek makes his vow to the wrong girl, it would show her looking and feeling more like a real dumb and witless animal. But definitely make sure that there is texture to her with the feathers and bill. Basically make sure she doesn’t look fake but not too realistic to the point she can’t be stylized a little. Basically DON’T make the same mistake that the pointless “live-action” remake of The Lion King did.

Something else important to talk about is the look of The Great Animal. First of all, I think that the way The Great Animal looks should be kept a secret up until the climax when Derek is fighting Rothbart. This includes commercials and trailers because it’ll make an even bigger impact if no one has any idea what it looks like until the very moment they see it. As for the design of it, the original movie had a very interesting design with it being a combination of different animals. The head of a wolf, the wings and snout of a bat, the talons of a falcon/hawk/eagle, the tail of a lizard, and torso of a bear. Not sure if this would work in live-action (It might if done right) but if it can’t, they could get creative with a new design. Making it look either like some demonic creature or something. Either way, I’m sure it’ll be awesome.

With the sets and such, I want them to be absolutely MASSIVE! As I mentioned before, some live-action remakes don’t have things on as big a scale as they were in the animated movie. When you compare the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast, the live-action remake doesn’t look nearly as grand as the original did and was much smaller in scale. I hope that they go all out with the sets to make it feel big, grand, and epic. It will especially help with the “Princesses on Parade” scene. Even with Rothbart’s castle, which would look more decayed, should have an eerie feel to it with a lot of dark colors to contrast with Uberta’s castle and the castle from Odette’s kingdom.

The visuals also shouldn’t be afraid to not be vibrant enough because just earth tones are boring and not as eye-catching. The look of the live-action concept trailer has a good look, at least for the night scenes. The visuals and colors weren’t too dark, had a mysterious atmosphere, it was pleasant to look at, it would make Rothbart and Odile’s magic really pop because of how their magic has warm colors to contrast with the cool colors of the setting, and would show a contrast to the world that Odette was used to before she was cursed. How she could feel the warm sun on her skin and that refreshing daylight breeze blowing through her hair. It’ll make when the spell is broken all the more meaningful because she’ll be able to experience those senses she missed so much from when she was a human that could enjoy the daylight. They definitely need to take advantage of the landscapes as well, since many scenes take place outdoors.

As for the camera work, it’s very important to have a lot of interesting angles, dynamic movements, and pleasant shots. They shouldn’t go too crazy with the camera work to the point where it is annoying and messy, but they should have fun with it. Such as when Odette is flying in the air, they need to take advantage of that. The musical and dance sequences need to have some fun camera work. With something like “Far Longer Than Forever”, they should keep it intimate but also creative and interesting. Not to mention have it look visually stunning with the stars, the moon, and how in some scenes that Derek is inside where there is light to contrast with the nighttime setting where Odette is. The action scenes should definitely be creative, like when Derek uses his bow and arrow. Not to mention have the climax be epic.

A particular camera work I want them to do is to slowly reveal the face of The Black Swan at the ball when she arrives. Yes, we know it’s Odile disguised as Odette, but playing with the camera to not reveal her face until she’s close enough to Derek will make it more exciting. Similar to the way that Cruella De Vil was slowly revealed during her introduction in the live-action remake. That just helps with great storytelling.

Diversity

First of all, listen to me before you pass judgement. I’m not saying for them to racebend characters, especially since many people of color are seeing through that as a, no pun intended, skin deep gesture just for brownie points. However, I want the background to have a lot of diversity with races the same way that movies like the live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella did. One of the great things about the original animated film was that, even though it was about white people, still had racial diversity with people from the background. They weren’t just with servants and peasants but also with royalty and nobility. There were people that looked black, Hispanic, mixed, and it was just for the heck of it, which I love. It shows that the movie is stylized and acknowledges that people of color do exist (Something certain movies fail to do).

However, I want them to take it a step further by not only having the background characters/extras to be racially diverse (Only include more than just blacks and Hispanics) but also show diversity in culture at the ball. What I mean is that the princesses at the ball attending the ball in the hopes of winning Derek’s heart should be racially and culturally diverse. The live-action remake of Cinderella did this, particularly with this one Hispanic princess that had a very cultural looking dress. There were some princesses in the animated movie that were people of color but they were just wearing European clothes. They need to show some diversity for different racial cultures, even if it is only for a the ball/”Princesses on Parade”. After all, the first line of the song did say, “Every single princess on the planet pray to be invited to the ball,” so it should be showing different cultures around the world with these princesses. I mean, Uberta would definitely be inviting princesses from kingdoms far and wide in the hopes of Derek finding a wife. Besides, she never does anything without it being absolutely BIG and GRAND.

Not only should there be diversity on screen, there needs to be diversity behind the scenes. The Swan Princess tried to show some cultural diversity in the movie Kingdom of Music and it was clearly made by people who knew nothing of these cultures. They had racial stereotypes and stereotypes of people of different nationalities. I’m sure that their heart was in the right place and had ZERO intention of being offensive but the result was pretty offensive. This time, I want them to have experts of the cultures to make the outfits, hairstyles, jewelry, and make up be as accurate as possible. Besides, as much trouble as actors that are people of color have of finding work, people of color that work behind the scenes have an even more difficult time finding work, especially those who are women. I’m sure the people working behind The Swan Princess are willing to listen to this because they love their fans and hearing their ideas and concerns. So I’m sure they’d be willing to do all they can to be as inclusive as possible on screen and behind the scenes.

Organic Feminism

Okay, this is something that will be a bit difficult to talk about, due to it being a bit controversial. First of all, Odette was already a strong and feminist character. She was kind but had her limits, wasn’t afraid to stand up to Rothbart but could still show her vulnerability like any normal person, and actually was deconstructing fairy-tale cliches long before Elsa in Frozen ever did. In most fairy-tales, once the characters fall in love, they just get married and all that jazz. However, Odette, despite falling in love with Derek, wasn’t just going to jump into marriage right away. First she wanted to know what he loved about her besides just her beauty, which is very reasonable. She wasn’t just gonna let herself be seen as a prize to be won or someone who was just supposed to look beautiful. She wanted to be admired for her mind and personality, as well as to make herself be heard. You see the disapproving look her father gave her after she asked Derek if beauty was all that mattered to him, but she still didn’t back down, despite her father basically telling her to stop. She cared about her father’s legacy and the people of her kingdom, which is why she wasn’t going to give into Rothbart and would rather die than give him her father’s kingdom. It wasn’t just because she hated the man, even though she clearly hates Rothbart, she was thinking of others. During her year of being under Rothbart’s captivity, she never relented or lost her strength.

Some may say that she just waited around to be saved and could’ve just left to get help/find Derek. However, this statement is absolutely WRONG! She was in a situation where she really couldn’t do much. As soon as the moonlight left Swan Lake, she’d turn back into a swan and it didn’t matter where she was. She had no idea where she was or how to get back to Derek’s kingdom. If she were to try to run away, she’d get lost and turn back into a swan. Even if she were to use her ability to fly in her swan form, she’d be exposed to hunters that could kill her before she could find any help. In both her human and her swan form, she’d be vulnerable to predators, especially in her human form. She lived in a time where women, particularly a princess, wouldn’t be trained in survival skills, especially with her father being so protective. She was out of her element. Not to mention that she could only turn back into a human when she was on Swan Lake and the moonlight touched her wings. If she was lost enough, she’d have a difficult time trying to find her way back to Swan Lake and would have no way to protect herself from the dangers of the world.

She wasn’t someone who just had the mindset of waiting around in the hopes of being saved. She’s way too smart for that. She was just in a situation where she was trapped and didn’t have many options until she and Puffin thought of trying to steal a map from Rothbart’s castle. If she saw a way to save herself, she’d take it but she’s smart enough not to just rush into it without a plan that would just get her killed. In the hand-drawn sequels, she’s shown to take action when she had the resources to do so. She’d rather be making herself useful instead of just waiting around, she just had very little resources to help her in her situation.

This is all leading to the subject of organic feminism. The Disney live-action remakes have been trying to make their female characters stronger, even if they already were strong. For the most part it works but then there are some issues that come along with it. You have Emma Watson (Who I love) refusing to wear a corset and that resulted in the disaster of her yellow dress (Which isn’t feminist if you look as your costume history), Mulan already being incredibly skilled and pretty much magical, Nala losing all of the likability and emotion of her character (She doesn’t even act happy when she sees Simba is alive), Alice being made as a warrior and lost her interesting and curious personality, and the disaster that is the Maleficent movies that just are anti-men. Apart from the dress thing, Belle was well-done in the live-action remake and Jasmine was done very well too.

The point I’m making is that while I’m open to trying to make Odette appear even stronger than she was in the original, I don’t want it to be in a way that butchers her character. One of the reasons that many people hate the character of Alise in the CGI movies (Myself included) is that she’s a major Mary Sue. She succeeds at things too easily when she has had no training, seems to know no fear which makes her feel less human and hard to identify with, and she feels so forced and cringe-worthy. She says things like, “I don’t wanna be a PRINCESS princess! I wanna be a MODERN princess!” That’s so forced and sounds like something a middle school fanfic writer that hasn’t had much experience would write. They need to stay true to the character of Odette. They can improve upon her but make sure she’s flawed and has depth like a real person. Not just generically nice all the time and not perfect at everything.

Letting Fans Help Make the Film

One of the best things about the people that work on The Swan Princess movies is how they never forget to appreciate their fans. They interact with them in real life and online. They even follow me on Instagram, which is AWESOME. They do a lot for their fans, which is something a lot of companies don’t really do unless it means they can make money.

Anyway, something I think that they should do is allow the fans to be part of the making of the film. One example of what I mean is even allowing them to design the costumes, particularly the fans by the name of Nephi and Bethanie Garcia (Who are married to each other). They have made some incredible cosplay outfits that aren’t just good by the standards of cosplay but also by the standards of a big budget movie. They manage to make outfits that look accurate to the animated movies but also updated enough to translate well into real life. They would be the perfect team to work on the costumes of the movie. It would help them get more recognition and maybe get work in Hollywood as costume designers. Here are links to their social media.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thedesignerdaddy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designerdaddy_/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7bIF8t4eBP-zXhwmh8SDIg

Another thing is that they could include them as extras in the background, including as dancers and singers. It would show how they know they wouldn’t be anywhere without their fans and are showing their appreciation. I would personally love to be one of the directors (Movies can have more than one director) and writers of the film. I know that’s unlikely but if they are willing to let me, I would accept without hesitation. After all, I know that Richard Rich was a new comer when making the original film and I know that he would want to do all he can to help new talent make their dreams come true, especially when they are fans of what was his passion project known as The Swan Princess.

Casting

First of all, this is NOT me telling you who I would cast in the film. I have already done a post explaining that right HERE.

What I want to talk about with this is that I want them to try to cast actors that look as much like the characters as possible. While talent is what is most important, with a live-action remake of animated property we want actors that look like the characters as well because we want to see the characters brought to life. Don’t just choose actors based on bringing in the box office numbers, even though that is important as well. But base the casting on looks, acting talent, being able to capture the essence of the characters, sing talent, making sure that the two leads can handle the vocal demands of their respective roles, and that they are the right age or at least look the right age. They should also include cameos from people like Liz Calloway, Howard McGillin, and other cast members from the original animated movie. It would just be a fun thing to do for the fans and a way to honor these actors for helping to bring the original movie to life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you guys like it and let me know what you think. Also, did you guys know that The Swan Princess has an OFFICIAL Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube?

Tumblr: @theswanprincessofficial​

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swanprincessofficial/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_Q3k32sEVQbrANS7-vSjA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/official.swanprincess/

You can even send an email to Odette@swanprincessseries.com where you can ask a question and it might be chosen for the monthly Chamberg Daily News (Chamberg is the name of Derek's kingdom).

[sensenoi]

I recently reread Cruel Prince/read the B&N short story, and I had THOUGHTS:

Cardan is already drunk at the coronation because he's angsty about his least favorite brother becoming king, but he gets really drunk to the point of completely missing the coronation massacre because he's pissed about Jude. So essentially, Jude is indirectly responsible for saving his life.

I love how Jude is so shocked that Cardan is attracted to her that her first thought is that he must somehow be lying or twisting his words, while Kaye figures it out in about five seconds flat just watching them dance from a distance, before she's spoken to either one of them.

During the nixie episode, Jude thinks Cardan goes to the river's reeds to get a better look when she slips and falls in the water. He's really about to get into the river to help her if she was actually in trouble. I love how she automatically assumes the worst conclusions with him.

Cardan was probably looking for Jude under the tables after the coronation massacre. She and Taryn have a well-established habit of hiding under the tables at feasts, and he knew she would be in danger. It wasn't luck that Jude got her hands on Cardan - he was actively trying to find her.

One of the guards at Hollow Hall tells Jude and Sophie that Cardan has to return them both back this time. This raises SO MANY QUESTIONS. Cardan at the start of CP wouldn't be the type to return glamoured humans to the human world - he really does have a contempt of them, learned from Balekin and from his friends. But he also wouldn't intentionally hurt human servants either, and definitely not kill them. So what was happening there? I don't think we'll ever get answers and that upsets me a little.

When Jude first breaks into Cardan's room, she sees that he broke his pen. The pen he was writing his infamous Jude note with… so many angsty feelings.

Jude and co are literally the biggest dumbasses for not seeing the Balekin/Madoc alliance coming. Jude recognizes the spy she killed as being Madoc's and just decides not to mention it?? Jude figures out they've been misreading the blusher mushroom note and then not only fails to follow up on her investigation (to be fair, getting sidetracked to rescue Sophie is a noble cause), she fails to mention it to the Court! Sorry but the Court of Shadows is really bad at spying. Just epically bad. No wonder they mess up again in WK.

Cardan making out with random fairies while watching Jude make out with Locke is a mood and I can't believe Jude didn't figure out things sooner.

At the beginning of WK, when Grimsen is introduced, Jude mentions that Cardan had told her some info once about the Alderking's son Severin. I totally forgot that happened in CP and that we also met Severin.

I love how at the coronation and the Hollow Hall party, murder and mayhem is happening with abandon and everyone just stands around eating popcorn and watching the shenanigans unfold.

I really liked The Lost Sisters novella, but it ended a little too soon. I'm forever curious about Taryn's thought process when Jude comes in with Cardan at the Hollow Hall party.

In addition to Jude and co being unbearably bad spies, the one other major failing of the book is that it starts at the point when Jude stops giving a shit and starts fighting back. For the majority of her childhood, Jude has sat with Taryn under tables and hidden in balconies at feasts, bowed her head and bit her tongue to Cardan, and generally kept a low profile when the faeries are asshats to her. At the start of CP, Jude decides she's had enough and enters her rebellious teenage phase. Taryn says multiple times in CP that Jude fighting back "isn't like you" and is a new bad idea Jude hasn't had before. This is reinforced in The Lost Sisters. But we don't really get much of a glimpse of Jude's previously meek behavior, except at the first feast when she curtsies to Cardan. Because of this, Jude starts off in feisty rage mode, which rather lessens the effect of said mode because we don't have anything to compare it to. I wish CP had started a little earlier, so we could get a better contrast and also a better idea of how Jude survived this long if she's willing to push everyone's buttons.

It's very clear that Cardan was attracted to Jude even when he was with Nicasia, which much have pissed him off to no end. I'm so curious when he started developing feelings for Jude.

I didn't notice this so much in WK, but in CP Cardan and Jude's contrasting approaches to alcohol speaks volumes about their personalities. Jude has a low alcohol tolerance and wouldn't drink anyways because she likes to always be in control of herself and always be in a sane frame of mind. She feels like she always needs to be on her toes and can never truly relax (and is in fact kind of creeped out by how relaxed and chill she was at Locke's house). Cardan drinks in excess because he hates his life and if he's drunk he can basically forget about it. Jude is constantly aware of her shitty situation and makes copious efforts to improve it by any means possible. Cardan is unmotivated to improve his shitty situation because he believes there is no way to fix or improve it, so might as well get drunk and have fun.

It will never cease to amuse me that one of Cardan's demands in exchange for helping Jude and co stop Balekin is all the alcohol in the palace. Like, damn.

I love the part when Jude and Cardan are in class the day after she snuck into Hollow Hall and saw Balekin beat him, and she realizes he's actually in a lot of pain but pretending to be his usual chill, snarky self. And she realizes that there's been plenty of times he's come to class and has pretended he's fine when he isn't, just like her. It's a nice moment early-ish on where Jude starts to understand that she and Cardan have more in common than she'd like to think.

It's also a great scene when Jude finally tells Cardan the exact circumstances of Valerian's death. Cardan says he assumed Jude had hunted down and murdered Valerian, and I rather like that Cardan had begun to think the worst of Jude in the same way that she thought the worst of him. When she holds him at knife's point at the end of the coronation, she realizes she's smirking in the same way that Cardan usually did to her. So there's some nice continued role reversal where Cardan is taking on Jude's worst case scenario expectations. When Jude explains that Valerian actually tried to kill her again and came pretty close, Cardan realizes that he had misunderstood Jude's character. Holly Black has said that Cardan is the only person who truly understands Jude, and I think that moment is when Cardan really starts to get Jude and how she operates. He understands that Jude isn't actually as mean and nasty as she's been pretending to be, and that she must have given Valerian quite a few chances for him to have nearly strangled her.

Not a new note, but Vivi's decision to give zero fucks about anything Madoc cares about is amazing and a beauty to witness. The fact that she has maintained and sustained this kind of rebellion for ten years is honestly life goals.

Returning to the B&N short story, I quite like Kaye and I hope she and Jude become friends. But I really don't get the Kaye/Roiben dynamic. I don't think the story did a great job of making their relationship convincing, in part because the story got majorly sidetracked with playing voyeur to Jude and Cardan. Which was my favorite part of the story, but still. This is Kaye's short story, not Jude and Cardan's.

I have SO. MANY. QUESTIONS about the Ghost's motivations. After the coronation massacre, everyone is upset, but the Roach is mostly upset that they now have literally nothing without Dain while the Ghost is mostly upset that Dain is dead. So the Ghost is loyal to Dain, whereas the rest of the Court of Shadows were mostly opportunistic and loyal to the power and money that Dain could offer them. But then why would the Ghost side with Balekin and the Undersea in WK? Balekin literally killed Dain. He stabbed him straight through the chest. I can see the Ghost thinking Jude and Cardan and shitty rulers, but I can't fathom him siding with Balekin. There is clearly other things going on that will be explained in QoN, but right now I am a very confused person.

So it wasn't clear to me until after I reread CP that the original Hollow Hall plan was to drug Madoc and then have him fall asleep at the party while Jude was in the hallway letting the Court in through the window. It wasn't Jude's original intent for Madoc to follow her out, and their duel was her improvising to delay Madoc until the poison took effect. So the OG plan was just for Madoc to collapse in the party in front of everyone and for Balekin to just think this was fine and normal?! I would think that would totally freak Balekin out and maybe even lead him to cancel the party immediately, which would ruin Jude's plan.

Where are the other faerie lands?? Where do the other courts live? Jude has literally only ever been to the islands of Elfhame, but there's this massive faerie world out there that she's heard about but never been to. I'm so curious, and I have a good feeling we'll find out in QoN since the setting is ice and snow.

By the way, super curious also about how Cardan has a copy of Alice in Wonderland in his room. I guess he sees Alice as a Jude parallel. Is he more curious about Alice, the intruder in Wonderland, or about the inhabitants of Wonderland themselves? Everyone keeps commenting that Jude and Taryn's situation is like a fairytale come to life, but I think it's interesting to view their situation through an Alice in Wonderland lens. In the book, Wonderland is insane because it literally runs on dream logic, nothing makes sense, and Alice spends the entire book attempting and failing to apply human logic and reasoning to the madness she encounters. But what if Wonderland wasn't a dream, and what if Alice couldn't go back home in the end? What if Alice had to stay in Wonderland forever?

Every time Cardan tells Jude that she doesn't belong in Faerie and should leave, all I can think about is in WK, when he tells her, "I wasn't sure if I wanted you or wanted you gone from my sight so I that I would stop feeling as I did." Having read that in WK, it's so interesting to go back and see those moments in CP where Cardan is trying to get Jude to leave Faerie so he can forget about her and move on. 

When Jude first starts trying to make alliances with other courts, we get this great line: “’Take care’ he [Cardan] says, then smiles. ‘It would be very dull to have to sit here for an entire day just because you went and got yourself killed.’” Cardan admitted earlier to Jude that he smiles when he’s nervous, and I’m convinced that’s why he’s smiling here. He tells her to take care because he’s genuinely worried about her safety. Then he has an ‘oh shit my feelings are showing’ moment and backtracks by covering his slip up with an insult. 

[the-end-of-art]

Dancing with Professors by Patricia Nelson Limerick

In ordinary life, when a listener cannot understand what someone has said, this is the usual exchange:

              Listener: I cannot understand what you are saying.

              Speaker: Let me try to say it more clearly.

              But in scholarly writing in the late 20th century, other rules apply. This is the implicit exchange:

              Reader: I cannot understand what you are saying.

              Academic Writer: Too bad. The problem is that you are an unsophisticated and untrained reader. If you were smarter, you would understand me.

              The exchange remains implicit, because no one wants to say, "This doesn't make any sense," for fear that the response, "It would, if you were smarter," might actually be true.

              While we waste our time fighting over ideological conformity in the scholarly world, horrible writing remains a far more important problem. For all their differences, most right_wing scholars and most left_wing scholars share a common allegiance to a cult of obscurity. Left, right and center all hide behind the idea that unintelligible prose indicates a sophisticated mind. The politically correct and the politically incorrect come together in the violence they commit against the English language.

              University presses have certainly filled their quota every year, in dreary monographs, tangled paragraphs and impenetrable sentences. But trade publishers have also violated the trust of innocent and hopeful readers. As a prime example of unprovoked assaults on innocent words, consider the verbal behavior of Allan Bloom in "The Closing of the American Mind," published by a large mainstream press. Here is a sample:

              "If openness means to go with the flow,' it is necessarily an accommodation to the present. That present is so closed to doubt about so many things impeding the progress of its principles that unqualified openness to it would mean forgetting the despised alternatives to it, knowledge of which makes us aware of what is doubtful in it."

              Is there a reader so full of blind courage as to claim to know what this sentence means? Remember, the book in which this remark appeared was a lamentation over the failings of today's students, a call to arms to return to tradition and standards in education. And yet, in 20 years of paper grading, I do not recall many sentences that asked, so pathetically, to be put out of their misery.

              Jump to the opposite side of the political spectrum from Allan Bloom, and literary grace makes no noticeable gains. Contemplate this breathless, indefatigable sentence from the geographer, Allan Pred, and Mr. Pred and Bloom seem, if only in literary style, to be soul mates.

              "If what is at stake is an understanding of geographical and historical variations in the sexual division of productive and reproductive labor, of contemporary local and regional variations in female wage labor and women's work outside the formal economy, of on_the_ground variations in the everyday content of women's lives, inside and outside of their families, then it must be recognized that, at some nontrivial level, none of the corporal practices associated with these variations can be severed from spatially and temporally specific linguistic practices, from language that not only enable the conveyance of instructions, commands, role depictions and operating rules, but that also regulate and control, that normalize and spell out the limits of the permissible through the conveyance of disapproval, ridicule and reproach."

              In this example, 124 words, along with many ideas, find themselves crammed into one sentence. In their company, one starts to get panicky. "Throw open the windows; bring in the oxygen tanks!" one wants to shout. "These words and ideas are nearly suffocated. Get them air!" And yet the condition of this desperately packed and crowded sentence is a perfectly familiar one to readers of academic writing, readers who have simply learned to suppress the panic.

              Everyone knows that today's college students cannot write, but few seem willing to admit that the professors who denounce them are not doing much better. The problem is so blatant that there are signs that the students are catching on. In my American history survey course last semester, I presented a few writing rules that I intended to enforce inflexibly. The students looked more and more peevish; they looked as if they were about to run down the hall, find a telephone, place an urgent call and demand that someone from the A.C.L.U. rush up to campus to sue me for interfering with their First Amendment rights to compose unintelligible, misshapen sentences.

              Finally one aggrieved student raised her hand and said, "You are telling us not to write long, dull sentences, but most of our reading is full of long, dull sentences."

              As this student was beginning to recognize, when professors undertake to appraise and improve student writing, the blind are leading the blind. It is, in truth, difficult to persuade students to write well when they find so few good examples in their assigned reading.

              The current social and judicial context for higher education makes this whole issue pressing. In Colorado, as in most states, the legislators re convinced that the university is neglecting students and wasting state resources on pointless research. Under those circumstances, the miserable writing habits of professors pose a direct and concrete danger to higher education. Rather than going to the state legislature, proudly presenting stacks of the faculty's compelling and engaging publications, you end up hoping that the lawmakers stay out of the library and stay away, especially, from the periodical room, with its piles of academic journals. The habits of academic writers lend powerful support to the impression that research is a waste of the writers' time and of the public's money.

              Why do so many professors write bad prose?

              Ten years ago, I heard a classics professor say the single most important thing_in my opinion_that anyone has said about professors. "We must remember," he declared, "that professors are the ones nobody wanted to dance with in high school."

              This is an insight that lights up the universe_or at least the university. It is a proposition that every entering freshman should be told, and it is certainly a proposition that helps to explain the problem of academic writing. What one sees in professors, repeatedly, is exactly the manner that anyone would adopt after a couple of sad evenings sidelined under the crepe_paper streamers in the gym, sitting on a folding chair while everyone else danced. Dignity, for professors, perches precariously on how well they can convey this message, "I am immersed in some very important thoughts, which unsophisticated people could not even begin to understand. Thus, I would not want to dance, even if one of you unsophisticated people were to ask me."

              Think of this, then, the next time you look at an unintelligible academic text. "I would not want the attention of a wide reading audience, even if a wide audience were to ask for me." Isn't that exactly what the pompous and pedantic tone of the classically academic writer conveys?

              Professors are often shy, timid and fearful people, and under those circumstances, dull, difficult prose can function as a kind of protective camouflage. When you write typical academic prose, it is nearly impossible to make a strong, clear statement. The benefit here is that no one can attack your position, say you are wrong or even raise questions about the accuracy of what you have said, if they cannot tell what you have said. In those terms, awful, indecipherable prose is its own form of armor, protecting the fragile, sensitive thoughts of timid souls.

              The best texts for helping us understand the academic world are, of course, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Just as devotees of Carroll would expect, he has provided us with the best analogy for understanding the origin and function of bad academic writing. Tweedledee and Tweedledum have quite a heated argument over a rattle. They become so angry that they decide to fight. But before they fight, they go off to gather various devices of padding and protection: "bolsters, blankets, hearthrugs, tablecloths, dish covers and coal scuttles." Then, with Alice's help in tying and fastening, they transform these household items into armor. Alice is not impressed: " Really, they'll be more like bundles of old clothes than anything else, by the time they're ready!' she said to herself, as she arranged a bolster round the neck of Tweedledee, to keep his head from being cut off,' as he said, Why this precaution?" Because, Tweedledee explains, "it's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle_to get one's head cut off."

              Here, in the brothers' anxieties and fears, we have an exact analogy for the problems of academic writing. The next time you look at a classically professorial sentence_long, tangled, obscure, jargonized, polysyllabic_think of Tweedledum and Tweedledee dressed for battle, and see if those timid little thoughts, concealed under layers of clauses and phrases, do not remind you of those agitated but cautious brothers, arrayed in their bolsters, blankets, dish covers and coal scuttles. The motive, too, is similar. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were in terror of being hurt, and so they padded themselves so thoroughly that they could not be hurt; nor, for that matter, could they move. A properly dreary, inert sentence has exactly the same benefit; it protects its writer from sharp disagreement, while it also protects him from movement.

              Why choose camouflage and insulation over clarity and directness? Tweedledee, of course, spoke for everyone, academic or not, when he confessed his fear. It is indeed, as he said, "one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle_to get one's head cut off." Under those circumstances, logic says: tie the bolster around the neck, and add a protective hearthrug or two. Pack in another qualifying clause or two. Hide behind the passive_voice verb. Preface any assertion with a phrase like "it could be argued" or "a case could be made." Protecting one's neck does seem to be the way to keep one's head from being cut off.

              Graduate school implants in many people the belief that there are terrible penalties to be paid for writing clearly, especially writing clearly in ways that challenge established thinking in the field. And yet, in academic warfare (and I speak as a veteran) your head and your neck are rarely in serious danger. You can remove the bolster and the hearthrug. Your opponents will try to whack at you, but they will seldom, if ever, land a blow_in large part because they are themselves so wrapped in protective camouflage and insulation that they lose both mobility and accuracy.

              So we have a widespread pattern of professors protecting themselves from injury by wrapping their ideas in dull prose, and yet the danger they try to fend off is not a genuine danger. Express yourself clearly, and it is unlikely that either your head_or, more important, your tenure_will be cut off.

              How, then, do we save professors from themselves? Fearful people are not made courageous by scolding; they need to be coaxed and encouraged. But how do we do that, especially when this particular form of fearfulness masks itself as pomposity, aloofness and an assured air of superiority?

              Fortunately, we have available the world's most important and illuminating story on the difficulty of persuading people to break out of habits of timidity, caution, and unnecessary fear. I borrow this story from Larry McMurtry, one of my rivals in the interpreting of the American West, though I am putting the story to a use that Mr. McMurtry did not intend.

              In a collection of his essays, In a Narrow Grave, Mr. McMurtry wrote about the weird process of watching his book Horsemen Pass By being turned into the movie Hud. He arrived in the Texas Panhandle a week or two after filming had started, and he was particularly anxious to learn how the buzzard scene had gone. In that scene, Paul Newman was supposed to ride up and discover a dead cow, look up at a tree branch lined with buzzards and, in his distress over the loss of the cow, fire his gun at one of the buzzards. At that moment, all of the other buzzards were supposed to fly away into the blue Panhandle sky.

              But when Mr. McMurtry asked people how the buzzard scene had gone, all he got, he said, were "stricken looks."

              The first problem, it turned out, had to do with the quality of the available local buzzards_who proved to be an excessively scruffy group. So more appealing, more photogenic buzzards had to be flown in from some distance and at considerable expense.

              But then came the second problem: how to keep the buzzards sitting on the tree branch until it was time for their cue to fly.

              That seemed easy. Wire their feet to the branch, and then, after Paul Newman fires his shot, pull the wire, releasing their feet, thus allowing them to take off.

              But, as Mr. McMurtry said in an important and memorable phrase, the film makers had not reckoned with the "mentality of buzzards." With their feet wired, the buzzards did not have enough mobility to fly. But they did have enough mobility to pitch forward.

              So that's what they did: with their feet wired, they tried to fly, pitched forward, and hung upside down from the dead branch, with their wings flapping.

              I had the good fortune a couple of years ago to meet a woman who had been an extra for this movie, and she added a detail that Mr. McMurtry left out of his essay: namely, the buzzard circulatory system does not work upside down, and so, after a moment or two of flapping, the buzzards passed out.

              Twelve buzzards hanging upside down from a tree branch: this was not what Hollywood wanted from the West, but that's what Hollywood had produced.

              And then we get to the second stage of buzzard psychology. After six or seven episodes of pitching forward, passing out, being revived, being replaced on the branch and pitching forward again, the buzzards gave up. Now, when you pulled the wire and released their feet, they sat there, saying in clear, nonverbal terms: "We tried that before. It did not work. We are not going to try it again." Now the film makers had to fly in a high_powered animal trainer to restore buzzard self_esteem. It was all a big mess. Larry McMurtry got a wonderful story out of it; and we, in turn, get the best possible parable of the workings of habit and timidity.

              How does the parable apply? In any and all disciplines, you go to graduate school to have your feet wired to the branch. There is nothing inherently wrong with that: scholars should have some common ground, share some background assumptions, hold some similar habits of mind. This gives you, quite literally, your footing. And yet, in the process of getting your feet wired, you have some awkward moments, and the intellectual equivalent of pitching forward and hanging upside down. That experience_especially if you do it in a public place like a seminar_provides no pleasure. One or two rounds of that humiliation, and the world begins to seem like a treacherous place. Under those circumstances, it does indeed seem to be the choice of wisdom to sit quietly on the branch, to sit without even the thought of flying, since even the thought might be enough to tilt the balance and set off another round of flapping, fainting and embarrassment.

              Yet when scholars get out of graduate school and get Ph.D.'s, and, even more important, when scholars get tenure, the wire is truly pulled. Their feet are free. They can fly whenever and wherever they like. Yet by then the second stage of buzzard psychology has taken hold, and they refuse to fly. The wire is pulled, and yet the buzzards sit there, hunched and grumpy. If they teach in a university with a graduate program, they actively instruct young buzzards in the necessity of keeping their youthful feet on the branch.

              This is a very well_established pattern, and it is the ruination of scholarly activity in the modern world. Many professors who teach graduate students think that one of their principal duties is to train students in the conventions of academic writing.

              I do not believe that professors enforce a standard of dull writing on graduate students in order to be cruel. They demand dreariness because they think that dreariness is in the students' best interests. Professors believe that a dull writing style is an academic survival skill because they think that is what editors want, both editors of academic journals and editors of university presses. What we have here is a chain of misinformation and misunderstanding, where everyone thinks that the other guy is the one who demands, dull, impersonal prose.

              Let me say again what is at stake here: universities and colleges are currently embattled, distrusted by the public and state funding institutions. As distressing as this situation is, it provides the perfect setting and the perfect timing for declaring an end to scholarly publication as a series of guarded conversations between professors.

              The redemption of the university, especially in terms of the public's appraisal of the value of research and publication, requires all the writers who have something they want to publish to ask themselves the question: Does this have to be a closed communication, shutting out all but specialists willing to fight their way through the thickest of jargon? Or can this be an open communication, engaging specialists with new information and new thinking, but also offering an invitation to nonspecialists to learn from this study, to grasp its importance, and by extension, to find concrete reasons to see value in the work of the university?

              This is a country in need of wisdom, and of clearly reasoned conviction and vision. And that, at the bedrock, is the reason behind this campaign to save professors from themselves and to detoxify academic prose. The context is a bit different, but the statement that Willy Loman made to his sons in Death of a Salesman keeps coming to mind: "The woods are burning boys, the woods are burning." In a society confronted by a faltering economy, racial and ethnic conflicts, and environmental disasters, "the woods are burning," and since we so urgently need everyone's contribution in putting some of these fires out, there is no reason to indulge professorial vanity or timidity.

              Ego is, of course, the key obstacle here. As badly as most of them write, professors are nonetheless proud and sensitive writers, resistant in criticism. But even the most desperate cases can be redeemed and persuaded to think of writing as a challenging craft, not as existential trauma. A few years ago, I began to look at carpenters and other artisans as the emotional model for writers. A carpenter, let us say, makes a door for a cabinet. If the door does not hang straight, the carpenter does not say, "I will not change that door; it is an expression of my individuality; who cares if it will not close?" Instead, the carpenter removes the door and works on it until it fits. That attitude, applied to writing, could be our salvation. If we thought more like carpenters, academic writers could find a route out of the trap of ego and vanity. Escaped from that trap, we could simply work on successive drafts until what we have to say is clear.

              Colleges and universities are filled with knowledgeable, thoughtful people who have been effectively silenced by an awful writing style, a style with its flaws concealed behind a smokescreen of sophistication and professionalism. A coalition of academic writers, graduate advisers. journal editors, university press editors and trade publishers can seize this moment_and pull the wire. The buzzards can be set free_free to leave that dead tree branch, free to regain to regain their confidence, free to soar.

[alloveroliver]

Luka x Alice (MC) “Back To The Start.”

Fluff; Luka Clemence

A Valentines Day Kiss Event: Black Army Winner!

WC: 2,920

Prompt: An “I’ve missed you,” kiss.

Ikemen Revolution Fanfic

♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡  ♥ ୨♡୧ ♥  ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥ ♡ ♥

“Alice?” A familiar voice slices through the fog of her deep thoughts. “Alice? Hey.” The person calling to her rubs her shoulder in small circles.

Alice jumps at the contact and jerks her head over to her friend. “Oh, Hey, Dutchess.”  Her voice is groggy as she greets her childhood friend feigning a slight laugh.

She lifts her chin from where it rests on her hand and rapidly blinks her dry eyes. The dining room lights hang just overhead while she relaxes at the table. The dull ache in her chest demands to be felt, even at the most inopportune times taking her mind away from the present. Duchess places a delicate teacup on the table in front of Alice and meets her weary gaze.

“You were spacing out again. What’s on your mind?” Her friend inquires, moving to the other side of the table to take a seat. The chair legs scratch the ground and the wood creaks under her weight when she sits.

“Oh, nothing really.” Alice fails to shine a convincing smile. She runs her fingers through her long hair, looking out at the inky world just beyond the large window. The stars are hidden behind heavy clouds, and the moon seems to have disappeared entirely.

“Liar. I’ve known you since we were kids. I know when something is bothering you.” Duchess cocks a brow and sips her hot tea carefully.

Alice pauses for a long moment, hoping her friend would pick a new subject to talk on. Dragging her gaze away from the outside world,  she spoons a teaspoon of sugar into the teacup. Lifting the rim of the cup to her mouth, she blows the warm liquid. The steam gently changes direction under her cooling efforts as they sit in momentary silence.

Duchess shuffles in her seat and clears her throat. “Look, if you don’t want to tell me that's fine. But I worry about you. You don’t eat or sleep properly, hell I haven't seen a genuine smile in months.” She goes on. Duchess spouts her genuine concerns but laces it with a bit of hard-to-swallow truths knowing this would rile Alice up.

“I sleep,” Alice interjects.

“Four hours is hardly enough sleep per night. I’m terrified you’re going to make yourself sick.”

Alice licks a droplet of tea left on her lips. The sweet liquid ghosts over her tongue while she wracks her brain trying to figure out how to change the subject of their conversation. Duchess was right, Alice didn’t even have the energy even to pretend to be happy anymore. She couldn’t, knowing she’d once experienced true happiness but threw it away for a logical choice instead.

“I’ll be fine please stop worrying so much about me.” Alice made her decision months ago, and now she had to live with it. It seemed like the feelings between them could be put on hold and be thought on fondly in the future. However, this was not that case since all Alice could think on was him and how truly blissful he made her.

“I can’t! How can I? I see exactly what’s going on. Your health is deteriorating in front of me, and I don't think I can take it anymore. I genuinely care about you.” Duchess reaches out her arm to Alice across the table. Alice looks upon the outreached hand and sets her palm over the of comforting gesture, giving her fingers a firm squeeze.

“It’s okay. I promise I’ll eat regular meals, and tonight I will go to bed early.”

Duchess gives her a side eye tuts. “You just haven’t been the same since.”

Alice snaps her head up. Her stomach twists in knots as she inwardly pleads for her friend not to bring up the past. Her tongue goes dry and her muscles tense in her chest.

“I-” Words die on Alice’s tongue in her hopes to try to steer the conversation elsewhere. A tightness she's grown familiar with in the past months stretches over her torso making her heart rate increase.

“Ever since you went missing for that month you haven't been the same. You left as one person but returned another. And, I know you say you don’t remember what happened to you but…” Duchess leans in causing the dining chair to squeak, rubbing her thumb over the back of Alice's hand. “I think you do.”

The last words stung. Alice flinches, jerking her hand away from the embrace. She looks anywhere but her friend's eyes and strokes the designs of the teacup.

“What makes you think I'm lying?” The heavy weight on her chest makes it hard for her to breath as she waits for a response.

“Because you don’t act like someone that forgot an ordeal, you act like a person that remembers everything. You mourn as if you had something and now it's gone.”

Alice pondered back to all the fake stories she thought up. She could tell people she wanted to get away, or there was an unexpected death in the family, and she needed some time alone. But no, she went with the ‘I don’t remember a thing’ story.

She was numb after lying to everyone closest to her. The past six months seemed like years in her aching heart. Falling into the Cradle now felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

His kind face flickered in her mind and her heart painfully throbbed. The gentle curve of his lips in a smile, showing her nothing but kindness. His deft fingers pushing pieces of hair away from his forehead. His golden eyes sparkling in the sunlight as the summer air blows past and tousles his plum hair.

Alice’s soul ached for him. A piece of her would always remain in the Cradle. She just didn’t know how hard it would be to leave it behind. Their choice for her to go back to her old life and fulfill her dreams seemed like the most logical one. Now, it was the farthest thing from what she wanted.

“I- maybe.” She didn’t know how to respond to Duchess. Her friend saw right through her, as always.

“Did you leave someone behind? Wherever the hell you went.” Duchess’ voice was soft, not wanting to agitate but still needing to press to get to the bottom of the situation.

“Yes…” No point in lying anymore, Alice decides to confess the truth.

“Whoever it was, did they feel the same way you feel about them?”

Did he? She and Luka had grown so close in the time they spent together. Neither of them left the others side by choice. They shared dates and held hands in their time together. Alice allowed herself to think on these things hurting her tender heart, but also filling her up with so much warmth and joy. How could one person make her feel so many emotions at once?

“I don’t know.” 

Alice’s love only grew for him, but she knew how easy it would be for his feelings to melt away like the snow in the sun.

“Do you think you could find out? Would you be able to go back to where you were?” Duchess took a sip of her tea and carefully watched Alice’s face.

“I-well… I would have to wait a week or so for the next full moon.”

Her friend's brows rose. “Interesting. That is oddly specific but okay. Anyway, then I think you should do it.”

“What?! Just like that? Are you sure?” Alice’s body hummed with excitement. Was it possible for her to go back, even if it was just for a moment? She could run to him, find him wherever he was fast, and just blurt out her feelings for him. If he felt the same, would she stay?

“You already see how miserable you are without them, and it doesn’t seem to be improving. I say go for it.” Duchess shone her a big smile.

“This might mean I would never see you again. I could come back to visit but months would go by in between. Our schedules might not match up, and I wouldn’t be able to send or receive letters.”

“Just so we're clear, this place your talking about going isn’t a cult, is it? It sounds very strange that you would say these things.” She laughed at her own joke, making Alice smile.

“No no, it’s not a cult. It’s just really really far away.” Alice laughed with her.

“Alice, I support you. The look on your face right now is something I haven't seen in a long time. This is the first time you’ve been happy, and you’re only talking about going back. I give you my full support to leave and never return.” Duchess jested once more, wafting her hand in their air in a shooing motion.

“I think I will.” Pure excitement bubbled within Alice. Her cheeks burned with the wide smile she shone, stretching muscles that hadn’t been used in a very long time. “I feel like this is the right thing to do! Even if he doesn’t want to be with me, there are so many other reasons to go back. I made a lot of good friends, and there's a whole worl- um, country to explore!” Alice’s chest filled with warmth, a pleasant warmth that began to spread over her limbs making her feel as light as air.

Alice made up her mind right then and there. She would go back to the Cradle on the night of the full moon and confront Luka. She plans to pack all her personal items, properly quit her job, and say goodbye to her friend.

Her week turns out to be hectic as she gathers together everything she needs for her trip. Trying to fit her whole life in one bag was tricky, but she manages to get as many personal items in the luggage as possible.

When she walks into St. James Park at midnight, her heart pounds against her rib cage. An excitement bubbles over within, while her legs quickly move forward in the dark. Just a few more steps until she meets the looking-glass and takes the tumble of her life.

She can hardly wipe the large grin off her face when she sees the barely-there silvery shimmer glittering over the entrance to the Cradle. She steps around the tree root she tripped over trailing Blanc here for the first time and holds her bag tight to her body.

Dipping her toe into the mirror-like illusion, she smiles wide. Alice says a silent goodbye to London. 

She hops into the hole beginning her tumble down 

...down 

........down the rabbit hole.

Her airy body enters the clouds, and she blinks several times before the entire Cradle comes into view. The neighborhoods with the army barracks are spotted, and she can hardly contain her happy tears. A warmth overcomes her as she floats like a feather towards the rooftop garden, a sense of being home overwhelms her.

Soon the roses come into view, and before she knows it her feet touch down gently onto solid ground. Wasting no time, she takes off in a sprint towards the large doors. A giggle spills out of her the harder she runs towards her goal.

As her feet pound the grass, a voice takes her by surprise. She stops by the door, wondering who was walking up on the other side.

“I like how this has become our routine.” A familiar voice breaks the silence.

“It’s kind of like old times at school.”

Alice's heart jumps up at the responding calm voice. She wipes her face dry and pushes her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, when we used to feed the birds on the rooftop of the main building. That was fun-” The doors swing open, and Edgar stands face to face with her. “Alice!?” He yells out in astonishment.

She gulps, eyes wide while her throat constricts halting speech.

“Edgar don’t joke like that. It’s getting old…” Luka’s aggravated voice fills the air behind him.

“I’m not joking… Alice, what are you doing here? I thought you went back to live in London.” Edgar’s voice was filled with disbelief. “I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re not here to see me. Luka!” He shouts over his shoulder. “Hurry and get up here!”

Edgar steps aside as Luka climbs the last steps and meets Alice's gaze for the first time in months. He drops his hands to his sides and stops dead in his tracks. A long silence stretches before her name quietly falls from his lips.

“Alice? Is it really….” Luka stares dumbfoundedly, unable to remove his eyes from hers.

“It’s me.” She drops her luggage as Edgar quietly slips away towards the garden, leaving them alone. “I came back because I want to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?” He shifts his weight on his feet awkwardly.

“Well, to ask you something while also telling you something.” She crosses her feet at the ankle.

Luka walks closer to her, never taking his eyes off her as if she would disappear in an instant. She shines a bright smile at him, and Luka’s face lights up. He reaches out his trembling hand to her.

“I missed that smile.” He whispers, linking their fingers together.

Holding hands, Alice’s confidence soars. “I missed you... I missed you a lot, Luka.”

“You have?” His eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Yes, more than you would ever know.”

“I’m so happy you’re here…” He confesses, moving ever closer to her.

“Me too. Wait, why were you up here?” Her brows pinch quizzically.

“Oh-” He pushes the tip of his boots into the grass. “Edgar and I come here every full moon. I don’t know why…. He saw me coming up here every month and started to join me. Now it’s a routine we have.”

Hope fills her chest, desperate for him to have wanted to see her just as bad as she wanted to see him. However, Luka lacked the resources to find her. He didn’t have a piece of London to take with him through the rabbit hole, so who knows where he would end up.

The silence stretched between them as they fix their gazes on one another. Luka’s face tinges red the longer their eye contact remains. Edgar clears his throat from the other side of the garden to break the silence, then ducks his head back out of sight.

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Luka’s soft voice fills her ears.

“I know we parted after much deliberation. And when we left, I had already fallen for you.” Luka waits quietly for her to continue. “You see, that feeling never left me. In fact, it grew stronger and stronger until I was helplessly lovesick. Food was bland and sleep evaded me.”

“Are you saying…” He licks his lips. “That you love me?”

Heat blooms over her cheeks and rushes through her body. Her eyes connect with his golden ones, watching his hair shimmer in the silvery moonlight.

“Yes... “ Her word leaves on an outward breath. A hope-filled confession that she pleads won't die here unrequited.

Luka drops her hand and cradles both of her cheeks in his palms. His thumb rubs the underside of her lip gingerly. Leaning forward his hair falls gently onto his face. The electricity that passes through them is palpable in the breeze of the night air.

The moon had never seemed so close, so bright, and so ethereal. It washes the land with pale light and illuminates Luka’s facial features. The stars sparkle like glitter, twinkling in the crystal clear sky. His warmth transfers to her while his hand moves down to rest in the middle of her back.

Leaning in, Luka closes his eyes tight and leans his forehead against Alice’s. He takes in deep breaths as his heart rate increases. Alice wraps her arms around his neck at once.

“Alice, I-” He shakes his head, annoyed with himself.

A moment passes as Alice waits patiently. He swallows and bites his lip in earnest.

“I-” Luka begins again, but pauses before he can say another word. His hand wraps around her waist holding her in an embrace. His mouth moves down, and his lips encase hers in a sweet and gentle kiss.

“Lu-ka!” Alice whispers in surprise into the kiss.

He nips at her bottom lip lightly, then kisses the corners of her smile. Featherlight pecks turn passionate in a matter of moments the longer he holds her in his arms. Their warm lips tingle as they touch.

Alice tries to pour all her emotions into one kiss. How hard it was to be away from him, how much she truly cared for him, and how happy she was that she was here with him now.

“I love you, Alice” Luka declares. “and, I’ve missed you so much.”

.

.

.

Duchess is Alice’s friend and another character from Alice in Wonderland. She is not described much in the books by Lewis Carroll. I thought I would add her as a friend to Alice for the plot of this fic <3

Thank you for reading! And thank to all the people that voted for Luka in the kiss event!

𝔸𝕤𝕙 - 𝔸𝕝𝕝𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕆𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣

[k-e-monroe]

For twenty-eight years, years no less than challenging and complicated due to circumstance and the mystery of her origin as well as what she is in the scheme of things, Kimber Monroe has managed to overcome adversity and rise to said challenges whilst limiting certain complexities in her life. It would be accurate to call her a survivor, but even more so, a force of nature that can withstand hardship and turmoil without even breaking a proverbial sweat. She learned at a very young age just how to handle herself and more importantly, how to live and exist in a harsh and unforgiving world. However, recent events over the past few days, both horrific and tragic, have undoubtedly put her to the test and in ways she could have never expected or conceptualized for that matter. 

Plagued by gory, violent imagery and the sinister veneer of a diabolical madman, she is consumed with guilt and regret. Everything that has transpired she is sure to be held accountable for and if not by a higher power or law enforcement then surely by herself alone. The patient, Jason Myers, pulled the perfect con by bamboozling her into believing that they had made progress since his release from prison and his state of mind improved thus tapering his impulses. Being /what/ she is, this is NO easy feat and Kimber certainly isn't the foolish kind either, but in many ways, she met her match in Jason Myers. The good doctor's efforts to treat his wounded spirit and heal his fractured mind, ALL IN VAIN. She let her ego get the best of her and for such a grievous mistake, she failed him and more importantly, failed his victims. Their blood IS on her hands as much as it is on Jason's hands and NO ONE could tell her otherwise. 

For days she has been on the move with one Wayne Connor, following all the clues and tracking Jason's moves, always a step behind and a minute too late. Every defiled corpse and dreadful, crimson stained scene more depraved and gruesome than the one prior. With the victims all being young females and Jason's twisted obsession with 'Alice In Wonderland' and his depiction of scenes from the books in his executions of the crimes, the media has been in a frenzy--pegging him the Mad Hatter, the victims Alice's and the atrocities 'The Wonderland Murders'. It's perverse, to say the least, and for Kimber, Jason Myers is her Hannibal Lector and quite possibly the catalyst to her professional demise. And all along, she believed herself to be her own worst enemy. 

Whatever the case, she refuses to go out without a fight and surprisingly, it's one who only days before was a mere stranger in which she has found strength. Wayne, a wildcard rebel /with/ a cause, proved to be a compatible partner on this hunt and without him, she wouldn't have gotten this far. The clues and riddles have taken them to every borough, neighborhood, and slum in the great city of New York and despite obvious differences, their minds are aligned as much as their desire to take out this menace. They ARE closing in on their prey, readying themselves for the kill as they await the next ambiguous text whilst in a dive bar in Hell's Kitchen. 

If not for all the faces of the victims haunting her, she might actually enjoy this and take pleasure in it. Sitting at the bar, perched on a worn stool, she hovers over a double shot of whiskey--her second since walking thru the door. Lost to her troubled thoughts and the ache of the guilt and regret in her patchwork heart, she is lured from her waking nightmare by an ominous tune. https://youtu.be/QUvVdTlA23w Chills run down the length of her spine and she turns to Wayne, expression etched and strained with concern and a hint of fright. "Do you believe in fate Wayne?" She asks, genuinely curious. "I think the universe is trying to tell us something."

[honey-baes]

ALL THE EMOJI ASKS PLS RACHEL

I DONT THINK U REALIZE HOW MANY THERE BLOODY IS THIS TOOK ME SO LONG AHGSJHAGSJHAGSJ

💗 if you could hug anyone, who would it be? @occultlike she looks like she’d be soft n squishy n im here for that

🐹 what are some of your favourite Pokémon and why? litwick!!! idk its just so pretty!!!! i also love darkrai n jirachi cus those were two of my fave pokemon movies as a kid!!!

🌠 if you were in charge of the world, what would the world look like? p fucking gay ig uhh there would be flowers every fucking wear for sure

👀 what was the most recent vivid dream that you had? i dont dream much?? the last dream i had all i remember is like,,, somebody ik dying?? idk

☀️ what do you like the most about your best friend? idr have a best friend BUT i love all my friends for being the most TALENTED N CREATIVE people ever im. gushing

😘 talk about your crush or partner - dude i have a new crush every week but uhh but i kinda have a thing for my friend ajhdahdha

💁 if someone was rude to you, would you be rude back? def not!!!!! i hate confrontation n i usually just stay silent (although that never fuckin works n i really need to stand up for myslef ahdgahd) tho if its playful ill def be a bitch

🌟 what do you like about yourself? (must choose at least 3 things!) I’ve gotten through so much n im still here!!!!!! // i try to be kind to the people around me // 

🐾 what are you scared of most? how will you overcome it? uhh this is dumb but really myself??? like, my paranoia is really shit n it makes me scared of alot of shit im fully aware isn’t a threat or anything 

🎁 what never fails to make you happy? flowers!!!!!!!!!!!!

💙 what annoys you about some people? people who are rude for no reason!!!!! it just annoys me when people say something in a rude tone for literally no reason yknow

😤 do you get angry easily? uhh yes unfortunately!!!! i have alot of pent up anger ahdhaajsdhasd

🐇 what do you always daydream about? alot of things!!! i’ll often daydream about mundane stuff like what i’m gonna draw later n that

🌻 if you could change 3 things about the world what would you change? 

✈️ what is your dream city and why? hmm vancouver looks pretty cool!!!!!! idk im a lil bit sheltered n a lil bit bad at georgraphy

☕️ talk about your ideal day - i’d wake up n make some green tea and honey and then do some painting in my room, n have pasta for dinner!!!! i love pasta jadhajsdja

🌸 are you an introvert, ambivert or extrovert? introvert definitely!!! i love my friends but being around people, especially outside is really draining hh

💧 when was the last time you cried? uhh yesterday hjdgasd i cry p much every day HhhhH

🎵 name 5 songs you love at the moment - wetsuit // a lack of colour // drop pop candy // talk too much // if you’re over me

⚡️ if you had any superpower, what would it be and why? i’ve always thought itd be awesome to be able to read peoples mind!!!! ig i really just want to know what people think of me?? ahdhags

💛 if you could talk to your younger self, what would you say? please for the love of god don’t eat that much icing at once it won’t end well

💚 who are you jealous of and why? idrk um i’m naturally kinda jealous of loads of artists??? just cus i think my arts been p bad recently n im really envious of others art hhh 

💎 which one would you rather have more of: intelligence, beauty, kindness, wealth or bravery? why? kindness!!! i’m none of those things except for kind so i might aswell go that route yknow ahdhadgaj

🙊 what are you ashamed of? dude alot of things honestly most things i do adjhadhass 

🌺 which languages do you know? which do you want to learn? i know english and welsh!!!!! i don’t think i’d be able to learn another language tbh hh

🍀 if you could be any fictional character’s best friend/lover, which fictional character would you be? hmm i love tomoyo daidouji n i’d love to be her friend!!!!! (she’s from cardcaptor sakura!!!)

💜 which acts of kindness are you going to do today? i’m in the proccess of drawing something for someone!!!! n fufilling reqs!!!!

🐬 if you could transform into any animal/magical creature, what would you be and why? a siren bcs theyre pretty and murderous n i like that

🍄 talk about someone/something you really dislike - ash she’s a real dumbass yknow

😣 talk about some things that have been making you depressed/angry/anxious lately - everything tbh hh ive been going thru a rlly shit rough patch atm but!!! im still here so 

🍪 what did you want to be as a kid, and what do you want to be now? i wanted to be a artist, n i didnt for a couple years but i do again!!!!

🍰 what are some of your favourite sugary foods? chocolatechocolatechocolate 

🍑 what are you obsessed with? currently bnha n kiribaku!!!!!!!! n uhh kamideku/tododeku/kamisero/ashido and happiness

💘 what happens to you when you’re stressed? i uhh cry hh

😪 what are you sick of? it being so hot!!!!!! gahh

🙀 are you an adrenaline seeker? nO

☔️ would you consider yourself a good person? i’m definitely trying!!!!!! i don’t know if i really am yet though ahah

😊 what do you like to do as hobbies? painting!!!! video games!!!! i love doing sumi-e/oil/watercolour/digital painting n i love nintendo games!!

🎤 what’s the last song you hummed or sang by yourself? i sang Hot n Cold ahddgahdajadh

🐝 what’s your worst trait? how are you planning to improve it? me being a bit of a pushover hadahdsjjah im trying to stand up for myself but it usually just ends up in more grief HHH

🎨 what do you always doodle when you’re bored? eyes!!!!!! i draw eyes all over my school books, and bloody hands!! // i like doodling blood hh

🐻 what’s stopping you from chasing your dreams? i’m like uhhh 2 years old ig

🌷 what’s your mbti personality and why do you think it suits you? i havent,,, done that hhh

👑 who are your favourite celebrities and why? off the top of my head i love jenna coleman cus uhhh shes a pretty lady

🍋 do you consider yourself an emotional person? o fuck yeah

📚 share 3 books that you love and your favourite quote from them. alices adventures in wonderland // ‘she generally gave herself very good advice, although she very seldom followed it’ | through the looking glass and what alice found there // ‘Thy loving smile will surely hail the love-gift of a fairy tale.” | the lion, the witch and the wardrobe // ‘She did not shut it properly because she knew that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe, even if it is not a magic one.’ 

😔 what do you always do when you feel sad? does it help? i listen to music!!!! 

😌 what thoughts keep you going when you’re sad? def my friends!!! i don’t acc like talking about things that are bothering me but i know they’d all be willing to listen and care about what i say n that makes me happy ahhh

🌍 which country do you live in? wales!!!!

🐧 describe yourself in 3 words - salty, tired, TIRED

💭 do you keep a diary? i have tried but alas i cant keep up w that shit

💫 who inspires you? so many people!!!! my science teacher is p cool n i wanna be like him!!

👻 do you believe in ghosts and why? idk but uhh i like buzzfeed unsolved so

🎀 what’s your fashion sense like? black, hoodies n sweaters n LEGGINGS

🎬 what are some of your favourite films? the captain america movies!!!!

[unusuallyzealousburgette]

Frank & Alice (draco/neville)

Summary: Neville's parents have never been 'okay', but now that their conditions have worsened significantly he needs someone to be there with him. Draco just happens to be the one.

Words: 1799

(read on Ao3)

Draco sat thumping his foot to the upbeat muggle song that played as he waited outside of the Leaky Cauldron. Sun beat down on the rusty car and shone through the windshield; it was Neville’s car, as he was supposed to be driving the man to see his parents after work in twenty minutes. He wanted to find some calm before they arrived. There weren't often pleasant visits, but he bore it all for Neville.

As the radio landed on yet another empty, buzzing station, Draco noticed Neville sprinting towards the car. At first, he couldn't figure out what had sparked his excitement, but then he noticed a panicked look on his face and his haphazard steps.

“Drive!” Neville shouted. Draco jumped as the man slipped inside.

“What the bloody fuck, Neville, what’s happened? You're early- and where's all your stuff?”

“Draco, I need you to drive! We have to go – they're in intensive treatment!”

Draco couldn't move for a moment as the static roared in his ears, before he pushed his own frothing emotions aside and thought of his friend. He turned the key and shoved his foot onto the gas pedal, barely pausing to signal before entering the stream of London traffic. The car moaned as he drove it through the muggle streets – but the traffic was unavoidable; lanes clogged with congestion, vehicles stuck hood-to-tailpipe in clouds of smoky exhaust.

Neville sat gazing out the window with his teeth clamped down on the tip of his thumb, leg fidgeting unconsciously.

“Did they floo you?” Draco asked, trying to hide the overwhelming pain and worry in his voice, and failing, a slight waver evident in his words.

“No,” Neville’s voice mimicked that of a scared child. “They called, said Mum and Dad were in the ER and that they were taking care of him. Said they couldn't bloody well tell me anything over the phone either.” The man sniffed and scrubbed his face with the sleeve of his starched shirt.

“Oh.” Draco only felt more guilty now for bringing it up.

“Yeah.”

He pretended not to notice the way that dust swirled on the dashboard in front of Neville, as if at his command, or the how the radio kept switching between a fuzzy mariachi band and an infomercial selling sobriety pills.

The song cutting through the crackling noise caught Draco by the pliant ear and pulled him back in time. In his mind he could see airy red and green fabrics flapping in the wind, the day that they'd taken Alice and Frank out, back when they weren't getting worse. They’d visited a Cinco de Mayo festival one Saturday, in celebration of Alice’s birthday, which happened to fall around the same date of Alice’s birthday. There were colorful decorations all around, and the savory aroma of cooked beef wafted through the air as large-skirted women danced and the most beautiful sounding bands played.

Draco remembered the unwavering smile on Neville’s face as Draco danced with his parents, following an intricate step, and the way that Alice had leaned into his ear and told him something he would never forget. She said she was thankful for that day and for him, even though she didn't know him. She told him that she was glad her son had someone like him because she couldn't be there for him herself. Then she lost all coherence and went back to spinning in circles with a man on stilts.

Those words had kicked something up in him; a realization that, as he watched Neville with that gorgeous smile on his face as he wiped powdered cheese from his lips, he felt something deeper for him. Some man had taken Neville by the arm and asked him to dance, and the sweet taste in his mouth turned sour, and he'd realized. Just realized.

But after that their conditions had only gotten worse, they knew they were meant to but kept hoping tbey would somehow end up fixed. Maybe that was why the nurses had let them take them out.

Draco was drawn back to the present moment as Neville began shouting at the impatient woman behind them, and he wanted nothing more than to take him into his arms and comfort him, but, as a friend, that just wasn't his place. He kept driving.

When they arrived at hospital, there was no panic or rushing gurneys – it was hauntingly unaffected.

Apparently, Alice was under intensive care for numerous injuries, but still no one knew what had happened to Frank, and all tests had proven futile. Frank had simply become angry that morning to the point of violence and attacked his own wife. The nurses and doctors had sedated him as soon as they had arrived on the scene and taken him from the ward immediately for testing and confinement as Alice was put under. Draco half wondered if the staff were starting to consider whether it was even worth it to keep them alive at this point.

They were taken to Alice’s room first. Neville leaned over his mother’s bed and caressed the red-purple scars across the frail woman’s face with a feather-light gentleness upon seeing her. He looked away as tears shone in his eyesonce more. His pain was so evident, it was difficult for Draco to standby and watch.

Her eyes were frozen open. Draco could imagine Neville, in the cloudy eyes of his mother, seeing his parents the way that he’d seen them throughout youth, the way he’d told Draco of – with hollow eyes that stared right through him; lost souls drifting somewhere in empty shells of human beings who used to be. Apparitions.

The doctor chattered behind them thoughtlessly, unheard, “She had a number of open scratch wounds on her face and still more up her arms that we disinfected stitched up, but those were the worst of her injurys. The bruises take time to heal, ain't nothing we can do ‘bout that.”

Neville stepped away from the bedside, saying in a flat voice, “I want to see my father.”

Frank Longbottom’s condition was much more serious than it appeared when they first saw him asleep in bed, his grey hair plastered across his damp forehead. Without much closer inspection, thick purple veins pulsed through pale, crepe paper skin under the flouresent lights.

"You're allowed to touch him, but gently, so you don't wake him,” said the nurse, wringing her hands gently against her chest.

Neville turned with a questioning expression.

“He's not unconscious,” the doctor chimed in. “Just ‘sleep under a few sedatives.”

As the nurse and doctor left them alone, and Neville drew further into the room.

“Dad?” he whispered, voice cracking. The lines on Frank’s heart monitor rising and falling like the slopes of mountains.

When Frank didn’t stir, Neville repeated himself, louder, his desperation spilling thorugh, “Dad?”

Frank’s eyes parted like half-moons at this, and he shuddered awake, reaching an unhappy consciousness. As sentience hit him like a brick, he bucked wildly in the creaking hospital bed, and spit sprayed from his lips.

Never before had Draco ever seen Longbottom act this way in the many times they'd come to visit. He was like a wild animal caught in cage, so full of raw anger; and Neville just stood there, tears running down his face. He willingly took the insults that spewed from his father's mouth.

“Get out! Get out, you horrible monster! You disgusting disgrace!” he shouted. “Die! Bloody die!”

“Dad,” Neville croaked.

“You bloody, filthy-”

“Dad!” he shrieked, sobbing violently, a dam broken inside of him. “Dad, it's me! I'm your son!”

Draco’s heart clenched, and he called out, “Nurse!” Disregarding his better judgement, Draco rushed forward and wrapped his arms firmly around Neville, holding him close as the man sobbed.

The nurse and doctor swept into the room, wands aloft. The first man hit Frank with a temporary stunner as the nurse filled a syringe and stuck it into Frank’s pulse point. The crazed man’s eyes glossed over, and all that could be heard in the room was a low, rhythmic beat.

Neville turned in Draco’s arms to plant his face in the crook of his neck, hot tears streaming down his face. Draco just held him, rubbing slow circles into his shuddering back. He met the doctor and nurse’s gazes defiantly, as if daring them to comment.

The mediwizard wiped a hand down his face. “I'm real sorry - I thought it would be safe.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Draco asked.

“We’ll try the best we can to try an’ improve his condition."

It sounded more like a question.

(read the rest on Ao3)

[serpent-jugheadjones]

It’s The End Of Riverdale As We Know It - Phone Calls - Part 7

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Pairing: Jughead Jones x Gladys Jones / Jughead Jones x Jellybean Jones / Jughead Jones x Reader

Description: Jughead’s phone call to his mom doesn't go as expected.

Warnings: Angsty af. IT WILL BREAK YOUR HEART.

Word Count: 1632

A/N: Before anything. I dedicate this whole series to my twin @southsidejuggie. I know how much she loves Jellybean (same as I) and that has kept me interested and happy through writing a not so popular series. She has been giving me priceless feedback that I can never fully express how much it means to me. Thank you so much Zoe! - I broke my own heart writing this. Changed a few things from the show to add something of my own. It saddens me to say, but this is the final part for this series. It was a pleasure writing this. I hope you guys enjoyed this journey!  Happy 2nd episode.

Jughead lives his most fragile moment ever, feeling unable to take any other disappointments. First, he was betrayed by his closest only friends, then his dad’s trailer was trashed by the police when they arrested him for Jason Blossom’s murder. He can see nowhere else to turn to in Riverdale, so the apprehensive boy has one last glimpse of hope.

He stands in the phone booth outside the bus station, holding the piece of paper containing his mother’s number and a ticket. Before calling, he memorizes the number and slips the two sheets inside his travel backpack containing all his stuff. The line rings for a while before being answered. 

“Yeah.” That’s barely audible as loud conversation and plates clanking mix with her voice. 

“Hi, Mom.” This is the first time Jughead speaks to his mom since she left. He wishes it had been on better terms, but the boy had to learn the hard way early on to take what life gives you.

“Jughead! It’s been ages, so great to hear from you.” Gladys walks out of the diner lobby into the employees room to muffle the noise from the customers.

“Hey, guess what?”, Juggie asks in a somewhat cheerful way. Seeing his family again is the one light shining on the darkness that’s taking over his life.

“Did you win a writing award?”, the woman speaks through biting her fingernails, nervous she may say the wrong thing. “What?”

“I got a bus ticket to Toledo.”, Jug reveals excitedly, already anticipating how hugging his sister would feel like, finally able to see her play live.

“When? Why? Did something happen to your father?” That’s not really the news she was expecting nor the response he was hoping for.

“Yeah. I thought I'd come see you and Jellybean for a while.” Jughead feels weird at the need to have a reason for seeing them. In fact, something did happen to his father, but the beanie-clad boy doesn't think it’s wise to share that. 

“Oh, son... You know we are already crowded in here.”, she explains hardheartedly. 

“I could crash on the couch.” He’s been sleeping in thin mattresses on the floor at the Drive-in/School/Archie’s house, therefore a sofa would be an improvement, to be honest.

“I’m already sleeping on the couch so JB can have the spare room... There’s just no space. You get it?” Gladys opens her locker to look at a picture of the four of them under the tree house. She brushes her red fingertips over Juggie’s face. 

“Yeah.” His heart tightens, barely allowing blood to pump through.

“You know it’s not that we don’t want to see you. I work all the time and JB has school and she’s always at her friend’s house. You’d end up wasting your time.” 

“Mmm-hmm.” The eloquent writer can barely string two sentences together now. 

“And you don’t want to miss school, right?” At her every word, the light he was moving towards diminishes more and more.

“No.” He’s dumbfounded that’s one of her arguments, like that ever mattered before.

“Maybe when I save enough for an apartment of my own. You can even have your own room. It’s just not the right time, you understand?” In a different time maybe the prospect of that would've brought him joy.

“No, I understand.” Juggie is used to being let down by his father, but this is a new feeling for him as for when his mom left, the last thing she said was “I’m always here for you, Jughead.”. 

“Expenses aren't really that great. Your grandparents are already throwing at my face that they’re supporting JB.” Money, the one constant ruining his family. FP not earning any was the reason she left, not having any is the reason she doesn't want her own son.

“Look, forget I said anything, okay?” The freckled boy has to use all the strength left in him to not fall apart then and there.

“I’m sorry, Jughead.” Her words don’t mean a thing at this point.

“All right. Bye.” Jughead bites his bottom lip vigorously, trying to hold his tears in.

“Bye. I lov...” She’s cut off by Jug hanging up the phone. 

If he could crawl into a dark hole right now, he would. They boy changes his ticket to Toledo for one to the next bus leaving, but there’s still a long wait ahead. Before anything, Jughead wants to rid himself of the clothes that reminds him of the epic fail of the school dance. The closest place he can go is his dad’s trailer. Getting there, Jug finds two helmets on the ground, his and JB’s, dropped by unattentive police officers searching the place earlier. He thinks his sister has the right to know what’s happening. Before even realizing, her voice is echoing through the small trailer as he puts her on speaker. 

“Jug? Are you there?” Jellybean can hear his breathing.

“Yeah. I got something to tell you.” Jughead puts his beanie back on, for he needs all the comfort possible.

“Mom said you called and sounded weird. Does it have to do with that?”, the raven-haired girl asks. “Got worried something bad happened.”

“No... Everything is fine. Just wanted to see you guys.” In that moment, Juggie can’t burden his sister and the lie just fell from his lips.

“Are you sure?” She doesn't really believe him. “Before I’m incriminated, I yelled at mom for telling you to stay in Riverdale.” JB wanted nothing more than seeing her brother but her mother stopped that from happening. 

“Well, I’m not staying, anyways.”, he confesses unintentionally, speaking his thoughts out loud.

“What? You’re coming regardless?”, the confused girl begs for information.

“No... Nevermind that.” Her brother denies her wish.

“I can’t just let it go, Juggie.”, she insists.

“Look, I gotta go, talk to you soon, JB.” His heart is shattered into a million pieces now..

“NO! Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third! Don’t you dare hang up on me.”, she shouts desperately.

“I love you, Forsthia.” He hangs up in tears.

His phone rings immediately. Ignore. Again. 1 Voicemail. Let it ring. 3 Text messages from JB Jones. Deep sadness.Turn off. He wishes the world had an on/off button. 

He seeks mental refuge, turning to his only safe place in Riverdale. Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe. Deserted at this hour. Surprisingly, not too long after his hit of cafeine arrives at his table, the bell rings. Jug doesn't even make an effort to see who it is until the person is standing in front of his booth. “Y/N, what are you doing here?” He drinks his coffee and she sits next to him, still in her Homecoming dress. “I've looked for you everywhere. You just left me there. I had to find out what happened by Reggie gossiping.”, the hurt girl criticizes. “They went behind my back.”, he explains. “THEM, Jughead. Not me.”, she emphasizes by pointing at herself, but he just stares out the window, trying to keep himself together. “I know you are trying to leave. Do you know how much it would've hurt me if I found out you were gone?”, the girl confesses, her voice breaking from keeping tears in. He doesn't have the strength to reply. “He was set up. You’d know if you had stuck around.” That is the only thing that brings him back to reality, his eyes begging her for more information. “Alice confessed. She waited until he left to drop us off at the dance and set the gun in his closet, then called in an anonymous tip.” He can’t believe her words. “It was Grundy who killed Jason. They were having an affair, but then he wanted to be with Polly and she freaked out. Alice got the gun from Betty when she broke into Miss Grundy’s car...” He kisses Y/N into silence, for all he needed was to know FP’s innocent. 

Pop brings the girl an extra cup of coffee. “I’m sorry. I freaked out.”, Jughead explains, holding her hand firmly, scared of losing her, just as she was not too long ago. “I know. Just figured if you were going to run away you’d know I’d go with you.” she rests her head on his shoulder. “Can we put this night behind us?”, Jug requests. “Done.”, she agrees. “Ok. Now explain to me what happened.”, the inquisitive boy requests. “Sit back and relax, because things are about to get crazy. Even I can’t fully understand it yet.” Y/N instructs. “Alice found out Hal had stolen the files from the Sheriff. She flipped, thinking her daughters would be orphans if both their parents went to jail. So she confessed to both planting the gun and stealing the files.” That is indeed a lot to take in, but the boy listens intently. Even Pop is eavesdropping. “She told Keller from whom she got the gun and he brought Grundy in for questioning. She broke easily, for she’s very unstable.” That concludes the mystery they've been trying to solve for the past months. “My brain has frozen. That’s fucked up. Who would tell?”, Jug comments shockingly, taking all that in. “Now let’s get you unpacked, Mr.. You’re staying with me.”, Y/N instructs. The couple leaves the diner, feeling the weight of the world dropping from their shoulders. They leave everything that went wrong behind, as if it was just a nightmare.

[fatedsong]

Shipping question! Top five NON-Shonen anime ships and why!

I think all of my favorite ships are the ones I read as a kid who had barely started reading romance manga.

- Syaosaku (Cardcaptor Sakura). They were like my first shoujo ship, mostly because it was one of the first I had ever watched. I just really love their story. Syaoran at first treats Sakura very coldly, to him she’s his rival for the cards he has the duty to collect. Syaoran holds a lot of pride for him and his clan, being sent at such a young age to live and move to another country by himself and given the task to collect Clow’s cards is a huge responsibility he takes it very seriously. Syaoran is really ambitious too, he wanted the power to prove himself and to his family. The whole time he just wants to remain his cool and keep his composure but then he meets Sakura and he just becomes a mess. Everything just goes wrong for him, it turns out there was someone else collecting the cards in which the guardians of the book chose, then all these people keep coming up, then he’s being swayed by Yukito because of his magic and to top it all of he starts to truly fall in love with Sakura. Then the more he fell in love the more he changes and doesn’t know what to do with all these feelings, he’s never felt before and because of his pride he kept being in denial of his feelings until it was too much and he had to accept them. It wasn’t sudden, it took time for the feelings to develop, the more he was with Sakura and the more he learned about her he started to fall in love with her and the more he was, he started becoming so much more gentle to her and others. Syaoran just fell so deeply that to him she was so much more important than everything, so much that he didn’t even want to confess because he didn’t want to bother her, all he just wanted was to support her and wanted to her to always be happy. This causes a lot of frustration on him because he feels like he isn’t able to, but our dear Sakura doesn’t feel that way at all, for her as time passed Syaoran became a huge pillar of support and comfort for her and despite they didn’t meet eye to eye at first slowly as time goes by she starts knowing more about him and finding all this kindness he has despite his blunt words she herself starts to falls in love with him. Although she doesn’t notice this growing feelings because her attention is still on her first love, her childhood crush and it was only after she gets rejected she starts to truly notice Syaoran in a romantic matter. It’s just both of them have these insecurities and there are times when they need a push and they always gave each other that. Syaoran is already failing at his duty and when he finally falls in love with her he just feels much more useless because he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything for her but then Sakura just keeps reassuring him that he does. For her Sakura faces a lot of challenges but in many times when she needs it he was always there to guide her, just him being there really reassured her and made her continue doing her best. They are just children but damn it just gets me.Then the new series came up and like all that sweetness and they are always getting embarrassed and are dorky and damn.

- Natsume & Mikan (Gakuen Alice) This couple had me on the edge, I read this when I was their age too. You’d think a shoujo manga of children would be all happy and smiles but no it was way off. Gakuen Alice had like so much serious and mature themes. For Natsume he was just suicidal when he met Mikan, he was at his breaking point that he thought him dying was the only choice there was. Due to his sister power going rampage and burning a whole town in order to protect her and his friend he took the blame and took his sister’s place and was taken to the academy in which they make children have barely any contact with their family until they are like 18. Natsume then was forced by the academy to go in these dangerous missions and when he refused he was abused. The reasons he even went to them was to protect his friend and because the academy had gotten a hold of his sister so he couldn’t refuse. As if it wasn’t enough the power he had, the more he used the more he shortened his life, that got him coughing up blood and going to the hospital often. The pressure he felt of just trying to survive and protect everyone he cared about was just so much and not to mention he was only a child.  Natsume was just in this pitch darkness until he met Mikan who was like Natsume’s sun. Mikan was really innocent, she didn’t know about what the academy was, she was just following her friend because she didn’t want to be apart from her but because of this she starts meeting all these people and Natsume. At first they just hated each other, for Natsume who was weary of everyone Mikan was strange, he didn’t understand her, but as time went by he warmed up to her and begun to trust her and eventually fell deeply in love with her. Because of Mikan, Natsume started trusting people more, he began to rely on them instead of taking everything upon himself and most importantly he begun to want to live, to believe in having a future. For Mikan who was slowly beginning to be exposed to the world, to darkness of the academy, there were times she would find herself at loss at what to do, she always wants to be positive and is always smiling, but at those moments when she is about to cry or when she feels really uneasy, especially the more she got involved with the academy itself, Natsume was the one who was there with her. For children they had this very intense love. I mean when I was their age I was like all hyped but now that I’m older lol I’m still very fond of this pairing, all their moments were intense some shoujo need to get on their level tbh.

-Otani & Risa (Lovely Complex) I like watch Lovely Complex at least once a year. What I just love about the series is the comedy, like despite they go through the drama you can’t really feel it because it’s always accompanied by some ridiculous dialogue. It’s just so easygoing. What I love about them is that they are just themselves, they do all these stupid things, have all those weird hobbies but they are always having fun, there isn’t a single time they aren’t having fun. When they go on dates they either go to Umibozu concerts, they go play in arcades or just spend the whole day in a karaoke, their conversations consist of them fangirling over Umibozu, doing skits or having debates on silly things. They are just so synchronized. Although they are always bickering you can see they still enjoy even that. It just took a long time for them to get together because of how their relationship was and their heights. It was always if they could step over the line of just friends which was difficult for Otani the most. They really value their relationship and was really important so it was difficult to suddenly change that. For them they had found a comrade who could understood each other’s pain about their heights and at the same time they had just so much in common that they didn’t want to lose that. The whole story is a fun ride between them. I just really love this couple because of how fun and simple they were, always silly but loving at the same time.

- Hayama & Sana (Kodomo no Omocha) lmaoo I read this when I was their age too. I think it’s a bit similar to Gakuen Alice in that sense I read Kodomo no Omocha their age too. The difference was more that the manga was trying to portray the transition of children to teens and how to deal with these new feelings  and focused on that. Here we have Hayama who is the troublemaker in the class and Sana who is a child-actress and because the boys are just bullying the teachers and girls, they never have class, it was just a mess in which Hayama had control over despite he’s more like forced into the role of being the leader, this caused the confrontation between them and their involvement with each other. Hayama was neglected and caused him not to care for his life. In his house no one spoke to each other, his father didn’t know how to approach him and his sister blamed him for their mother’s death, because she died in child-birth, Hayama felt invisible and unwanted. Seeing this Sana took it upon herself to help him and his family to improve their relationship with each other an Hayama’s mental state. This obviously worked and because of this Hayama was so grateful and fell in love with Sana, her existence became really important to him. Realizing his feelings he doesn’t really know how to go on about this, he constantly picks a fight with her, and the moments he wants to word out his feelings he just freezes and instead he acts upon them hoping she would realize without him telling her. Sana on the other hand doesn’t really notice him until further on when he begins to help her out when she is facing all these new things. They eventually go through a lot of things and are constantly tested with different things, but they still loved each other and were able to surpass them. I just love how at the same time you have children having all these feelings and while they really love each other they have to face the fact they are still children and I think on that part is a realistic portrayal. Of course at that time I didn’t have this type of opinion and was just concentrating on the romance.

- Zero & Yuki. (Vampire Knight). Vampire Knight drove me crazy and tired any patience I had for love triangles like this manga had those intense moments but it was just so frustrating that I wanted to scream but I still shipped zeki lol What I really loved about them mostly was because when they were together they were able to be themselves, to be happy and free. It was difficult at first because Zero hated vampires only to be turned into one and then finding out the love of his life is like a vampire and her brother/fiance/ancestor was the one who caused his tragedy in the first place. For Yuki she’s all cheerful, all happy, she was free but then as soon as she awakens as a vampire she just loses all that. Being with Kaname was stressful for her and was never truly happy there, yes she loved Kaname but their relationship was not right and toxic. Kaname was manipulative to her and others. On the other hand Yuki and Zero relationship is built on trust and viewed each other as equals, there is a lot of communication between them, it’s just a very healthy and pure relationship. They truly treasure each other and because they do they made a lot of sacrifices or were careful because all they want for the other is to be happy. The thing I liked the most was that even though they went through heaven and hell those feelings were still there, no matter how much both of them tried to end those feelings, to deny them, they couldn’t because they just loved each other so much and they just kept going back to each other. They just couldn’t let go of each other. I also just love the patience they both display, Zero never forces Yuki to do anything, from the beginning he was always supporting her from way back they even knew she was a vampire, and when Kaname is frozen he never pressures Yuki into a relationship, all he wants is to be near her and if she ever wanted to be in a relationship he would wait no matter how long it would take. 

[brightestwitch333]

Lily Evans

lily wanted to be in gryffindor.

sev insisted that slytherin was the best house but once she'd gotten her course books she'd done some research of her own. she was sure that gryffindor was the best. she didn't tell him that though. she just smiled and agreed when he talked about slytherin because she knew how excited he was about it. when the hat peered into her mind it knew immediately where she belonged. she was so brave with a heart as fiery as her hair. she had enough courage to last a lifetime and her personality was so bright. everyone that knew her loved her, it was impossible not to. she glowed as brightly as a flame. she was one of those rare people that you can't help but want to know. the kind that project such an image that you have to find out more. she was as beautiful as she was brilliant and even at such a young age the hat knew she would do great things. she was gryffindor through and through.

lily wanted her sister to love her.

she'd entered a world of dreams and fantasies, a world where the impossible and fantastic happened everyday. she'd met new friends, Alice and dorcus and marlene. but she missed petunia. petunia had been her best friend her whole life, she'd always looked up to and admired her. but now petunia hated her, she thought she was a freak. she never replied to Lily's letters, and over the summer she completely ignored her. lily knew it because of her jealousy but she couldn't help that she was magic. she just wanted petunias love. she already received enough hatred without petunia. while petunia hated her for the magic in her and everyone else hated her for the muggle in her. she'd unknowingly entered a world in which she was hated for her blood status, despised for who she was. she'd entered a world of magic and hope but also one of prejudice and bigotry. & the worst part was that she entered it alone. she wanted her companion back, her best friend, her sister. she wanted petunias love, but she didn't receive it.

lily wanted severus back.

her best friend from childhood had grown away from her. he'd always flirted with darkness and now it had seduced him. she shouldn't have been surprised. she knew this would happen her first year when she'd learned of the slytherin house's true reputation. that didn't stop her from missing him though. but when he'd called her a mudblood she'd had enough. he'd called her a slur when she was standing up for him. she knew when enough was enough. he'd crossed the line. she was stubborn when she needed to be, and she would not forgive him for this. she created a barrier between her and her former friend, she had no use for people who subscribed to bigotry. she wished it could've gone a different way, it didn't have to happen like this, but now it was far too late to fix him. he'd gone too far down the wrong path and nobody could pull him back now. she wasn't going to waste her breath trying, lest she find herself lost as well. she knew it was right but that didn't stop it from hurting. but she was strong willed and smart, he didn't deserve her and she certainly wasn't going to chase after him. she made a hard decision, but ultimately the right one.

lily wanted to give james a chance.

because she had to believe that people could change. she had to believe it because if she didn't then what was the point? she needed to believe in people again. she'd lost too many people, petunia, Severus. she needed someone who wouldn't leave. all of her friends kept insisting that he'd changed, and she was starting to see it too. so she gave him a chance. she never regretted it. he took her chance, the faith she gave him and he ran with it. he had a heart of gold under all his arrogance. she saw it when he hexed anyone that called mudblood in the hallway. when he healed all of remus' cuts and bruises after full moon, when he sat and studied with Peter for a big test, although he didn't need to. when he invited sirius home with him for the summer, without question. he cared so deeply and truly. & so slowly and then all at once she fell in love with the boy with the messy hair and golden heart. she found love in a loveless world, in the most unexpected of places.

lily wanted to fight.

when she was 11 she'd unknowingly entered a world in which she was despised for who she was, for her blood status. she entered a world of magic, but also a world of hate. she wanted to fix it. she was vibrant and vivacious, lively and lovely. she had strong morals and beliefs and she was willing to fight for them. she would improve this world she had stumbled upon. she had to. & so she did, she fought with every fibre in her being. she threw herself into the fray. she fought with her heart and soul. she, along with James and the marauders and her best friends, and they defended their beliefs with their very last breaths. they joined the order at just 17, fresh from hogwarts. they fought and defied and battled. crusaded against the evils that plagued them. lily was brilliant in battle, fiery in fights. she was extraordinary.

lily wanted a happily ever after.

she was living out a fairytale. she'd undergone hardships, and had adventures, and fought evil. defied Voldemort thrice. she had met the the love of her life, her prince charming, and married him. she had a beautiful baby boy. she deserved her happily ever after, that was all that was left. but often fairytales are lies, there's not always a happily ever after. good people don't get what they deserve. this world knows nothing of justice. & so the happily ever after that she deserved never came to pass. sometimes fairytales are mirrored with tragedy. her child was the subject of a prophecy, he was marked by the dark lord for death. james and lily went into hiding with him, placing their trust in their friends. trusting in the power of love. but love had never failed so spectacularly. trust was misplaced. war brings out the best and worst in people. & so on October 31, 1981 lily's fairytale ending was destroyed. her happily ever after never came.

lily wanted to save her baby.

she heard the love of her life fall like a marionette whose strings were cut. she heard him fall to the ground dead, and everything inside her shattered, her brain went numb, she let out an earsplitting scream. and yet it didn't matter, nothing mattered. whether she lived or died, she didn't care. she just needed to save her baby. she barricaded herself in, wandless, in a vain attempt to protect against him. she kissed harry, murmured to him her love just as voldemort came crashing in. she stood in front of Harry, sobbing, all pride forgotten. just let her son be all right. she begged for his life, begged to be killed instead begged for mercy. he could've cast her aside like a rag doll, could've moved her by force or magic. instead, when she grew tiresome, he simply cut her down as he had cut down her husband. killed her in a flash of green light. & as the light hurtled towards her all she could think of was Harry, all she could do was hope for his safety. & then her brightness, her green eyes and scarlet hair, her energy and life, all of it was extinguished. she was a ray of sunlight, glowing valiantly until her very last breath. who would've ever thought that her life would be put out so suddenly, and so early?

lily wanted love to be enough. she learned that it was in some ways and in others it completely failed her.

[diagrapher]

Glowfic confluences I’ve been daydreaming about

Coruscation

Lost Pen in Coruscation Earth Bet:

Arrives, starts brainphoning. Finds no Joker and no Bell on account of Lorica’s mental opacity.

Does find a Charlie or Renee. Given that Brockton Bay is currently afflicted by a mysterious and terrifying supervillain team, probably subject to some suspicion.

Pen knows Charlie’s daughter’s name but he might presume whoever’s behind her presence know the local version of her mother is a superhero, raising the dilemma of whether to interact with her as Charlie or as Transit.

She is likely to end up in the Wards, at least once Lorica trusts her, but her “powers” don’t seem especially useful to them except by keeping her alive and giving them an extra flyer and Brute to deploy; they already have access to flight, super-strength and a remote communication network.

How does Glam get along with with the daughter of an alternate universe version of their girlfriend?

Alice meeting Glam in Milliways:

Talk about their worlds, consider how the Deck can help Glam’s world, find out they’re both in relationships with Bells which are failing for very different reasons.

After either of the above, the Effulgence Peal come to Coruscation Earth Bet:

Jane eats the internet and incorporates Lorica’s bot. Given that she won’t already know about Dragon, possibly eats her accidentally, which is probably pretty upsetting for Dragon even though it means she can have her limitations removed.

Wishcoins can deal with the Endbringers pretty easily at the Peal’s current power level. Dealing with the S9 is a bit less straightforward given the need to decide how to balance certainty of neutralization on the one hand and mercy on the other.

And once the Peal have done that, Lorica will need to decide how to present what’s happened to the rest of the world; whether to admit to having otherworldly help, or reveal that she has mysterious new powers but not why, attribute it to Glam so they can become more powerful, or keep that stuff entirely seperate from the Lorica identity so as to avoid being ordered to use it.

Then presumably she Downsides Earth Bet, resurrects Glam’s mom and various dead Brockton Bay Wards, wishes up the means to mass-produce tinkertech, collaborates with the Tonies, continues arresting supervillains and possibly waits to age out of the Wards before rolling out resurrection more widely or setting herself up as a space empress.

And at this point she probably attracts Cauldron’s attention, and, thanks to Contessa, is quickly contacted by them.

The Incandescence Peal find Coruscation Earth Bet:

This would, of course, begin with an Adarin finding Lorica by scrying. I guess he would presumably also see the passenger attached to her, meaning this Peal would know about those from the start, although probably not about their tendency to destroy the world?

Glam would probably take Lorica apparently having a destined lover who wasn’t them as confirmation that their relationship wouldn’t last.

The Peal might start here by resurrecting Glam’s mom and some of the dead Wards and especially useful dead capes.

After this, maybe try to get the Necklace to as many Simurgh victims and capes useful against the Simurgh as possible.

The Silmaril Peal find Coruscation Earth Bet:

Surreptitiously finding the local bell would be complicated a bit by her secret identity.

Once that’s sorted out, Sauron killing procedures should be more than adequate to deal with Behemoth and Leviathan. Luthien being a magic rock might make it infeasible for her to go near Ziz even momentarily, ‘though. Lorica can probably wish for additional anti-Simurgh powers.

Hopefully eventually someone will think to try morphing Scion. Which may or may not work. Morphing is adjacency limited and Scion probably is too, but this would give that person immense power anywhere within two steps of Z-space.

In Color

Simaril Peal finds In Color Amenta, either before the blizzard or after Nertel’s paper:

The first thing to happen here, presumably, is various Vanda Nosseo citizens try to make sure this goes better than the last first contact with Amenta, with non-ex-red Warp Amentans having a different range of opinions on what “Better“ looks like than the rest of Vanda Nosseo. Ex-reds contacting their alts probably helps a lot with getting reds on board with VN’s projects, and having clean Amentan VN agents similarly helps with getting the trust of the clean castes.

In contacts after Nertel publishes her paper, morph based cleaning will presumably have an easier time gaining acceptance.

And at some point, people notice that a prominent Anitami family are alts of the Noldorin royal family.

Presumably there is similar conflict between Amentan and other Feanorians as we saw in You Belong with Me, though having encountered Shadow the concept of morally ambiguous alts will be a bit less shocking.

Pre-blizzard, Makel’s attitude towards Warp Peka will probably be different.

Another thing that will probably improve clean caste attitudes to VN: “our directors are alts of these Anitami blues, so if Anitam joins those blues will become part of our upper management.”

Terraria

Silmaril Peal finds Terraria:

So, Terraria doesn’t have much of a population, but what resources does it provide the Peal?

It would be great for Amentan greys, if not for the walking corpses polluting everything every night.

As it is, the main resources it provides are probably:

faster, easier mana recharge than in Materia neighbors

injury-healing potions demons can produce almost as fast as they do various other medicines

free land for anyone who can handle the monsters

new materials for elven architects to work with

Can meatbots be puppeted? Petted? Woken like basement dwellers? How do they compare to basement dwellers as yeerk hosts? Can the Crimson be morphed? Can Cthullu?

[wakefieldmagazine-blog]

Laurie Hunt, REALTOR®

Helping sellers and buyers in Wakefield and surrounding communities. Call/text 781-244-3350 or email LaurieHuntHomes@gmail.com. REVIEWS Archit Agarwal We had been trying to sell our house for almost a year, with little luck. Then, we finally made the right move and contacted Laurie, who not only impressed us right away with her knowledge of the market, but also made us feel comfortable as sellers in terms of what to expect, possible pitfalls that could be driving buyers away, etc. Laurie always kept us in the loop, and was always extremely responsive to any and all questions. Had we taken her advice from the get go, we would not have had to wait for as long as we did -- but despite our stubbornness, Laurie never once let us down, and helped us sell the house with multiple offers! I most definitely, very highly recommend Laurie to every one! Dan Jarvis My wife and I believe the hallmarks of a good realtor are business acumen, responsiveness, and willingness to accommodate. Laurie Hunt possesses all of these qualities in abundance and if possible complements them with an indefatigable work ethic, which is why she is a great realtor. The perfect  example is the hot water heater in our condominium failed and flooded the basement the day before our closing. My wife and I were both out of state when this occurred. Laurie took it upon herself to coordinate and facilitate the renovations necessary and assuage any doubts the buyers may have had so that the closing was only briefly delayed and there was minimal hassle associated with what could have been a total calamity. This anecdote exemplifies the type of professionalism and care you will receive from Laurie. My wife and I simply cannot recommend Laurie Hunt as a realtor enough. Peter Digiuseppe My wife and I can't even begin to explain how great Laurie was during our whole time working with her.  We are so glad we chose her to help us sell our house.  We had a unique situation where we had already bought a new house and needed to sell our house quickly.  She totally understood that and  even worked perfectly around our chaotic schedule as we have young kids and lead busy lives.  She made the whole process very easy and simple for us.  She was always there to answer questions, listen, offer suggestions, and help us through the entire process.  She did such a great job marketing our house that we had constant viewings of our house from the moment it hit the market to 5 days later when it sold right after the first open house. We had multiple offers on our property and the price we accepted far exceeded what we expected to get and we have her to thank for that.   We can not recommend her enough for her expertise in all the different aspects of our sale and are so thankful that we got to work with her.  Sarah Bingham Laurie represented me during the purchase process of my first condo and the sale of it a few years later. She can be trusted as if she is your own family. She is honest, thorough, creative and caring. I always felt she had my best interest in mind, which is incredibly comforting when you're going  through either process for the first time. I moved out of state when selling and if I could have brought her to Maine to represent me here when I was buying again, I would have. She will be there you day and night for any questions or concerns you have. Ray Dorney I highly recommend Laurie Hunt for anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable, competent, personable, honest, and skilled real estate agent.  Indeed, I have already recommended her to my nephew who in the near future hopes to purchase a new home.  I found her indispensable in the process of buying  my first house.  She was extremely responsive and helpful in guiding my choice for a new home. She carefully listened to what I was looking for in a new home and provided many important suggestions and recommendations.  Her presence at the many open houses I attended and the private showings she arranged was invaluable.  She thought of issues that I had not considered and thereby markedly improved my decision making process. She was always looking out for my interest.  Laurie is not only great at her profession but she is a wonderful person.  As a result of my experience, she become a true friend.  The real estate profession is lucky to have someone like Laurie Hunt among their ranks. Michele Phillips Buying and selling a house is a very stressful time. We could not have asked for someone better to guide us through this process. Laurie was excellent to work with. There was very low inventory in both the town and price-range we were looking for so it took almost 2 years to finally find what we were looking for. Laurie was so patient and always right on top of new listings that fit our criteria. She was phenomenal in negotiating the sale of our house, facilitating the purchase of our new house, making recommendations and suggestions for various items we were unsure of. Putting aside what a great realtor she is, she is also a genuinely nice person that really cares about her clients. We would highly recommend Laurie if you are looking to buy/sell. You can't go wrong and she'll take good care of you! Morgan Leichter I couldn't have been happier with everything that Laurie did for me when I was selling my home and buying a new home at the same time.  During that normally stressful situation, she did everything plus more than she needed to.  I would recommend everyone to use Laurie! Cheryl Sartori Laurie was incredible in helping us find our home.  We had difficulties with the bank and Laurie was right there with us every step of the way.  She made the home buying experience so much less stressful for us.  It took us a while to find a house and Laurie never lost patience with us while we looked at house after house.  She suggested that we look at the house we ended up buying even though we weren't interested in it.  She reminded us to look with eyes wide open, and see the potential.  We are in love with our home and our kids are so happy to be back in their neighborhood.  None of that would have been possible without Laurie's help.  I would HIGHLY recommend Laurie or Angie (equally as awesome) to anyone who is even thinking about buying a house.  They will help you find your home, and you will enjoy the process. Chris Ridgway For the average person, the biggest investment you will make will be your home.  One should not go into that lightly, and on their own. I had the pleasure of working with Laurie Hunt to purchase our current home in Wakefield. Laurie was the extra set of eyes, who could see things in a house that we as buyer could not. Both bad, and good. One instance that stands out had to do with closet space. Laurie took out an average size hanger, showed us that the closets were insufficient in size, and it would not fit our needs. The experience of having someone represent us, as buyers was very eye opening,. We are very happy we had a true professional in Laurie that had our best interest as heart. Lauri Dannenberg Laurie and Angie are amazing.  They take into consideration what each clients needs are.  Open, upfront and full of knowledge.  They can walk through your home and let you know what you need and how and where to obtain it.  If you are buying, they really listen.  All your needs are taken into account.   We were selling my grandmothers house for her estate.  Every need was taken care of and with grace and respect.  When I needed to sell my mothers house out of state both Laurie and Angie stepped in and got me in touch with an amazing agent who, like them, respected and cared about me and the process. I cannot say enough about how wonderful they make your experience. Carmen Urbonas Laurie Hunt continues to prove herself as a trusted leader in the real estate industry. Whether assisting first-time buyers in the purchase of their new home or preparing long-time homeowners in the downsizing phase of ownership, she takes the time to listen and assess the needs of her clients then leads them through the process with confidence and patience. She is the ultimate real estate professional and clearly values long-term, trusting relationships with her clients over a quick deal. For this reason, I routinely recommend Laurie to anyone looking to buy/sell a home in the Greater Boston area. Find reviews on Zillow, Google Plus and Facebook (business page: Laurie Hunt Realtor, North Star Realtors 781-244-3350) Alice McDonald Laurie is wonderful! She guided us through buying our new home and selling our previous one. Her negotiating skills are tactful,  respectful and strong. She kept us informed every step along the way. Her stager helped us get a great offer on the house we sold too! Dolores LeBlanc Laurie sold our home in Wakefield this year in July.  We were so lucky to have her!  She is extremely professional, knows the Wakefield real estate market, is so patient, loves what she does, honest, always there to answer any questions we had and is just a wonderful person.  We just can't say  enough about her.  She is the best!! Clare Ziemetz Laurie is the consummate professional. Her knowledge of the local real estate market proved to be indispensable.  She is in the process with you from beginning to end- always there to answer a question or calm your nerves. I would (and have) recommend Laurie to anyone. She's the best! Doug Dykes My wife and I were first time home buyers. From the very beginning Laurie shared information about herself and Angie's Realtors but more importantly got to know us and walked us through best practices when looking for a home. Upon looking at homes Laurie was very open and knowledgeable when it came  to pointing out pros/cons of different houses/locations. During the offer stage, Laurie was very responsive and guided us through comps and negotiating to land our home! Laurie was also helpful working to recommend multiple vendors for us to consider for things like home inspections and worked closely with our bank through closing.  Erin Findlay My wife and I were very help with Laurie and would recommend her highly!We can’t thank Laurie enough for all her help in selling our first home. From the minute we sat down with her to discuss the selling process to the day we turned in our keys, she was very helpful every step of the way. She knows the Wakefield real estate market inside and out and told us from day  one that we would have no problem selling our home. She provided us with the appropriate steps to get our house ready for sale in less than a month. In less than five days of putting our house on the market we accepted an offer. Thank you to Laurie Hunt & her staff at Northstar Realty for all their help during a stressful time! They made it very easy! Marta Valez Working with Laurie has truly been an amazing experience. My fiancé has known Laurie since he was 8 years old since she was our neighbor up until recently when we purchased our first home in the Bradford/Haverhill area. Laurie was able to help us get over every obstacle that we came across and put  our worries to rest. Laurie was always prompt, precise, and on her A-game when we needed her! If you are in search of your first home, I would STRONGLY recommend Laurie Hunt from North Star Realtors! Marta Moura Laurie’s customer service, communication, expertise and knowledge is second to none! I purchased my first home in July 2016 and she was there for me every step of the way. I could’ve not wished for a better realtor to guide me through the process and to provide much needed support throughout so  many hiccups with the bank; she did not miss a beat and advocated for me every step of the way. The main characteristic that makes Laurie such a wonderful realtor and human being, is her honesty. She will not “up sell you” or omit facts in order to make the sale, you can surely count on her honesty and integrity at all times. I would not recommend anyone else to help with your real estate needs! Find reviews on Zillow, Google Plus and Facebook (business page: Laurie Hunt Realtor, North Star Realtors 781-244-3350) Read the full article

[linkspooky]

Urie 400%

Souced to the TG Calender translation project here: (x)

Urie Kuki has been foreshadowed several times in omake, and in the manga itself that he’s going to acquire a kakuja, or otherwise swelling of his muscles (to a hulk like state). This state form dubbed Urie 400% was first drawn by Saiko in volume four, and has since shown up as a running gag in Omake. Generally though, if something is mentioned more than once, no matter how silly it may seem it can count as foreshadowing. 

TG: RE volume 4 Omakes by Makyun

While the theory that Urie is going to develop a kakuja, or at least turn full ghoul has been around for awhile, I want to elaborate on how effectively the manga has foreshadowed it, and also how this is going to tie into Urie’s character arc. Starting with the first appearance, Urie 400% showed up immediately after two important events in the manga.

Part 1 Character

Tokyo Ghoul Re: 29 to seek a nest, page 8

The first being Urie’s breakdown in the auction after his frame 4 surgery. This scene not only parallels Kaneki’s breakdown as he awakens his Kakuja down to positioning, it also clues us in to both characters. Kakuja are purely freudian in nature, they’re characters being overwhelmed by their repressed urges, when they break out it’s pure Id. Which is why they are associated with mental stability or instability, the only characters shown controlling Kakuja for periods of time are the stable and surrounded by friends Yoshimura Kuzen, and the very self controlled and directed Eto Yoshimura. 

Tokyo Ghoul 101, page 6

If this is a breakdown if Id (I desire) then what do each of them desire in this case. From the ramblings it’s rather obvious to decode. “Me, me, me, me, me, me” and “Me? Myself? I....I, I, I.” This has been interpreted in the past of a confusion of idenitty, especially since Kaneki is elaborated on in the next few chapters of unstably flipping between his gentleness and his viciousness with little cohesion between both. I’m going to put forward a new interpretation though, it’s actually referring to their selfishness. After all usually when a preson thinks “Me, me, me” it’s in the context of being selfish.

Both boys are rambling about their selfish desires. For Urie, it’s for strength, and to “Feel Good”, and Kaneki as well wants strength to “Protect everyone.” Both of these are selfish desires meant to alleviate the boys insecurities. Both of them further break down later, Urie says that he “Hates everything,” to Mutsuki out of frustration and Kaneki realizes he’s not protecting anybody but rather being violent. 

Both of these boys have very selfish and nasty desires that are highly repressed, that come out when they feel a rush of their ghoul powers. This is because Urie was deliberately made to parallel Kaneki. If all of the original Q’s are a cross section of Kaneki, Shirazu his want to improve, Urie his struggle, Mutsuki his hypocrisy, and Saiko his innocence (I’ll elaborate more on Mutsuki and Saiko in a different Meta but to prove my point for now, Mutsuki is someone who has a gentle nature and then flips to enjoy killing, while Saiko tries to stay out of conflicts entirely, or acts like her usual self in the middle of them to a fault.)

The tragic element of Kaneki’s struggle is that it’s futile. At the end of the Kanou arc, he asks himself over and over again, “Why?” what is he accomplishing through all this struggle. The correct answer is nothing, as Touka points out to him and Kaneki accepts at the end of his journey at Tokyo Ghoul. None of his actions were protecting Anteiku, he suffered so much and gained so much strength to basically exhaust himself running in circles. He didn’t accomplish his goal of protecting Anteiku, because it was never about Anteiku in the first place, it was about fulfilling his own selfish need for security. 

Tokyo Ghoul 107, Page 6

Tokyo Ghoul Re: Chapter 140, page 6

It’s why Kaneki is the central character in a tragedy. He does not change enough, and in time, and in the end succumbs to his flaw. Urie is the embodiment of that part of him, but somehow turned up even more. Urie’s entire being is running himself in circles, and repressing what he really wants to achieve and conflating it with strength. Even his manner of speaking, and being drawn reflects this. Urie often speaks with parenthesis that leave out his true thoughts or finish the rest of his sentences in his head (because he’s kind of a tool). He’s also drawn mouthless even in critical moments, because Urie often does not say what he truly means. 

Chapter 95, AM (MS) Page 18

Even in this panel in particular, Urie is masking the word (slaughter) with the much more business like exterminate employed by the CCG. Because the word slaughter, implies he wants to beat Amon up in a bloody rampage for hurting Mutsuki rather than carrying out his duties as an investigator. 

The second manifestation of Urie’s struggles comes in his foiling to the character Takeomi. As pointed out Here (x) by Coromoor, this foiling is continued up until this day with Urie being unnerved by Takeomi getting married, and also trying to imitate his stellar feats but failing against Donato. We’ll get to Donato later, but to focus on what Urie wants out of this rivalry. His reasons for hating Takeomi are for the actions of his father, he feels a deep resentment that Urie told his squad to leave without him, and the squad members left. He sees Bujin as somebody who got to grow up in a presumably happy childhood with a father, at the cost of him losing his own father. It might have a deeper root even than that though.

Chapter 9, Inherited Feelings, Page 10

Urie wants acknowledgement for his pain as a really basic desire. Let’s talk about narratives for a moment, from a narrative perspective, Kuroiwa saw the loss of his comrade, but a noble one. As Mikoto Urie himself chose to sacrifice himself for the rest of his squad. Kuroiwa saw the right thing to do in this situation was to take down owl, as that was what Mikoto Urie had sacrificed himself trying to accomplish. In Kuroiwa’s perspective, the matter begins and ends with owl.

Chapter 61, the ENT page 3

Owl dying however, would not make Urie feel better. What he felt was not the noble sacrifice of a comrade but the loss of his father. The narrative that Kuroiwa sees, is shallow and does not account for Urie’s emotions. Which seems to be the main flaw of the Kuroiwas in general, so masculine they are actually completely comfortable in their masculinity and seem generally oblivious to circumstances especially emotional ones. Urie suffered a great emotional loss that was never acknowledged, and because of that he continually feels unsatisfied and directs those emotions at Iwao and Bujin. If he can’t have their ackonwledgement, he wants them to suffer the same negative emotions that he did then, he wants to surpass them, he wants to bury them.

 Tokyo Ghoul RE: Inherited Feelings  Chapter 9, page 9 

Chapter 32, Eat and Run, page 9

What Iwao sees in this scene, is the son of a former comrade now accomplishing what Mikoto would have wanted him. He is becoming a full fledged investigator in his own right, even without his father around. Therefore he gives him the same acknowledgement of congratulations he gave his own son. This is not what Urie sees, or what Urie wants, ashe sees the man who left his father to die continuing to act like it was nothing, and therefore his pain is nothing. 

Chapter 104, Sudden Death, Page 6

As I’ve said before, Kuroiwa tends not to understand others or be blinded by his own traditionalism. This is even shown in the cap above where both Aura and Kuroiwa seem to care more about how Akira’s parents would feel about her current situation then Akira herself. Even though Akira’s own narrative has always been about failing to live up to the expectations of her parents, a mother of which she never met, and a father who unconsciously nurtured and expectation of her to be like that mother, and trying to eventually break free from that. 

This is not a favorable position, especially since the two adults here are oblivious. They mourn the deaths of a Washuu, who has sent them to meaningless deaths for the sake of securing their own bloodline within the next panel. However, this is the position that Urie aspires to. His ultimate goal, is to reach where the Kuroiwas are, to be so secure in their position, power, and masculinity they don’t have to question anything. 

Now while his means of accomplishing that has become different over the course of his development, I will argue that that basic desire (I want to feel secure) has not changed at all. Now, the majority of Urie’s character development is quite obvious, and has been summarized elsewhere so rather than talking about how he has changed, I will elaborate on how despite all of that change he’s remained the same in character . The key word of the day is Sisyphean, a lot of effort but with no development. A pointless struggle. You push the boulder all the way up to the top of the hill and it rolls to the bottom. 

The events that are happening in the manga, deliberately call back to what was set up all within the first ten chapters for Urie. Chapter 3 was when Donato was first introduced. This conversation shows the way that Urie sees the world, in terms of credit and achievement. His means of getting what he wants (To feel secure, acknowledgement) are through climbing the rigid system of merit set up by the CCG. He also remarks on his preference to work alone. 

Tokyo Ghoul Re: Chapter 8 Bell, Pages 6, 8

While Urie has grown significantly to be more aware of others, and even value them he as not once broken free from the framework surrounding him. Even when he is trying to encourage others, or when trying to speak sincerely he always sees it through the lens of rank and accomplishment. 

We see this again,

Chapter 26, Ah. Page 4

Again.

Chapter 32, Eat and Run, page 8

Again.

Chapter 55, Alice & Amp, page 8

Again. 

Chapter 59, Kneel Page 13

Again.

Chapter 64: A Devouring Gut, page 6

And Again.

Chapter 106: A Hopeless Course, Page 17

Urie refuses to let go of this framework of advancing through the system of the CCG and earning what he wants in that way. The second thing established in this chapter, Urie prefers to work alone. Which we also see him reminded of. 

Chapter 57, Regretting Smile, Page 10

Chapter 98, Old School, Page 10

Chapter 108, Eternity, Page 15

He charges in alone against Amon in the end whent he battle turns unfavorable extremely recklessly, and he tells Higemaru to fall back against Donato while he serves as a distraction. It’s especially poignant from a sins of the fathers perspective, as Urie is exactly mad at Kuroiwa for that same reason, yet here he is repeating the habit of telling others to stand down while he handles everything alone. The only thing that has changed is his motivation. Which ties into Donato, and is the real reason he’s fighting him.

Urie is this sequel :RE manga’s equivalent of Amon Koutarou. The two of them both ascribe to rank and advancement, and hunt ghouls to sovle their own issues and insecurities that have a basis in their father. The most important similiarity between the two of them though, is that what Urie wants right now but what he’s failing to realize is the same realization Amon failed to make. 

The two of them only want to fight to protect their friends. However, they are too tied into the logic and system of the CCG that neither of them can realize it, and therefore neither of them can achieve what it is they want. They are, as characters, stalled. 

Tokyo Ghoul Re: 97 Body Alone, 21

Tokyo Ghoul 134, Page 14

Amazing how Urie thinks the exact same words that Amon did, a moment before slaughtering him. Despite being so similiar though, Urie was never going to come to an understanding to Amon. Because Amon was a ghoul.

Part 2 Body Development

Finally we’re getting back to the second thing that happened before the first Urie 400% comic arrived. Urie got crunk. 

Chapter 37 Dead Secret, Page 6

Urie has specifically, been concentrating all of his RC cells into his muscles since receiving the frame 4 operation. After repeatedly releasing his frames again and again, the results of this are obvious Urie is about to cross a point of no return. Rather than recap his slow development into a ghoul over the course of the manga though, as that’s been covered elsewhere let’s touch on the foreshadowing of why exactly it is important.

Chapter 6: A Bad Gamble for the Possessed, Page 1

First off, there is an unwritten horror about the Quinx surgery. Unlike Kanou’s half ghoul surgery which forces its patients to effectively become ghouls, thus having to struggle with the same problems that ghouls do, an unquenchable hunger, a horrifying body. The Quinx are allowed to use the abilities of ghouls without having to suffer the same way ghouls do. Therefore no Quinx has any significant sympathy for ghouls, and is effectively an emotionless weapon against them. Even Shirazu and Saiko, who questioned there role in fighting ghouls never actually did anything about it. Saiko was even handed an oppurtunity on a golden platter, and basically made no decision on how to react to Amon until she was forced to fight.

The horrifying thing of Urie’s slow transformation is not that he is becoming a ghoul (half the characters in the manga are ghouls anyway, everybody’s a ghoul now), but rather his attitude towards ghouls. He has no sympathy for them at all, and the image he has in his head of ghouls, as killers without remorse that need to be exterminated - is Urie all that different?

There has been foreshadowing about Urie turning into a ghoul from the start of the manga, and most of it has to do with ironies present in his attitude. 

Chapter 2, The Neglected Helm and the Fearful Serpent, Page 22

Chapter 8, Agent 8 Page 5

Early on it’s set up that not only should investigators who lose control of their kagune be exterminated, but that Urie might just be a shitty bastard worse than a ghoul. 

He repeatedly denies ghouls their humanity. Here is Urie giving a speech about how important it is to have the bodies of the dead. In the next few chapters he’s shown using a quinque made of a dead guardian who was so important to Eto, his deaths is one of the many reasons for her revolution.

Chapter 58 Playfully Faint, Page 12

Chapter 16, Heavy Steps, Page 16

Here is Urie comparing ghouls to whales. “Take a good long look, at their own cruelty.” Interesting Urie. 

Until we reach the current showdown. Urie is against Donato, and look at his revulsion for Donato’s actions. 

Chapter 108 Eternity, Page 16

Yes, to Urie killing children is disgusting. Unless they are ghoul children who were imprisoned for saving your mentor, and then are going to be executed by being put into a blender. 

Chapter 59 Kneel, Page 17

Perhaps Donato is worse than Urie and deserves to be imprisoned because he enjoys bloodshed. He kills and devours others who are weaker than him for the sake of his own personal enjoyment. 

Chapter 27, Calling out to Within, Page 8

Chatper 46, C page 16

Then perhaps it’s because ghouls kagunes are too powerful, and they themselves mess with a power they cannot control. Urie even remarks something along those lines when he sees Amon’s Kakuja go out of control.

Chapter 98, Old School, Page 5

Except whose been shown steadily trying to master his own power with reckless ambition.

Chapter 27, Calling out to Within, Page 8

Who has been foreshadowed to develop into a Kakuja?

Who has been compared with centipede Kaneki at his literal worst point?

Chapter 107, Page 6

Urie has been able to get away all this time not sympathizing with ghouls at all because he is a human. No matter how much progress he’s made, he’s stayed stagnant on this point. That is why, he is most likely going to turn into a horrifying kakuja like monster comparable to Amon, especially since all of his kagune currently are in his muscles. 

The important part will not be the transformation though, but after. When Urie becomes irreversibly a ghoul, he’ll finally be treated the way they are. There’s a reason that in the one calendar page he shares with Matsuri, Matsuri is drawn as Van Hellsing, while he is drawn as Dracula, the antagonist and monster of the novel.

Tokyo Ghoul Calendar, translation done here by Michi. (x)

Urie has been able to be the protagonist in his own story of development for quite some time. However, perhaps that was not the true role he was meant to play. Soon, he might even feel what it is like to be an antagonist.