#1001 Nights / Magic City

[artstar1997]

For my last fairytale au, here’s Demo and DJ Suki as Aladdin and the princess of the story from the 1001 Nights of the same name, Aladdin.

In the reimagining, Demo tries to help the poor while trying to survive as a thief alongside his pet monkey. They met a hooded young woman who was wandering around in the city and took him to his place. When Demo noticed that she accidentally left her armband behind, he sneaked into the palace to give it back and he was caught by the palace guards who brought him to the evil sorcerer who planned to use him to get the magic lamp containing the genie. Just like the original story and the Disney version, Demo as Aladdin summoned the genie from the lamp and the ring, use two of his wishes, win the heart of the princess, fight the evil wizard to save the kingdom, and set the genies free but the difference is that the genie of the ring is a female genie and she falls in love with the genie of the lamp.

[chibi-celesti]

Was yea ra afezeria infel waath sos herra

(I bless you with my love and song of healing.)

*Synopsis: In the aftermath of the Fire Lotus incident, the Ramshackle Prefect felt powerless as her classmates fought tooth and nail to end the chaos. Knowing the weakening states of everyone in her group and the city, Meryu decides to break the nighttime rules for one night to sing. Only this time, this song is a gift to all.*

Word Count: about 1.4k-1.5k

A/N: No joke, I did not expect to write a 1.4k words for this one shot, and yet I did lmao. This is sort another sneak peek to Twisted Tonelico, but more on how Song Magic is used.

Spoilers for the events Glorious Masquerade. And also its a bit romantical, but you can also read it as platonical if you'd want :)

Mini edit: this is the song Meryu sings in this piece. Definitely recommend if you're interested in what she's saying!

~Twisted Tonelico~

It is now nightfall in the City of Flowers. And everything seems to be a lot calmer than it was a few hours ago. A few hours ago, this beautiful city was covered in a landscape from the depths of Hell itself. Fire lotuses were everywhere, spreading like a virus to get to anyone or anything creature emanating magic to sap away if also possibly kill. It was a nightmare, but the students of Night Raven managed to purge them and save those who were affected by the mastermind behind this event.

The Masquerade planned for the evening had passed; a final tribute to those who came as part of the Arcane Trip for their respective schools. And now, everyone was tucked into their beds, all exhausted from the festivities. All except for one person: the otherworldly Reyvateil, and designated Prefect of Ramshackle Dorm, Meryu Melenas.

Meryu couldn’t sleep. She kept having nightmares from the past near forty-eight hours. The flowers, the fall, the unknowing if her friends were safe and if they were able to stop Rollo’s maniacal machinations. It was too much in too little time, leaving her mind frazzled. Struggling to get any type of rest, Meryu got out of bed, donning her uniform jacket over her pajama shirt, and walked out into the hallway.

Wandering aimlessly, she tried to think of a way to clear her mind. Meryu would usually go for a walk outside and admire the stars with her dear friend, Malleus Draconia. Unfortunately, her dear fae friend had turned in early for the night. So for now it is just her and the moon’s warm light keeping her company.

Her walk led Meryu to the main floor foyer of Noble Bell College. The place where so many memories were made; the arrival, the madness, the ball… countless events occurred here. All within the span of one day. And maybe, even now, she could leave behind one more memory. Something that she wanted to do ever since her dear friend’s performance at the Masquerade: a song of her very own. One that can ease (and maybe undo) the lingering effects of the Fire Lotus to everyone in the City of Flowers; luckily for her, Meryu knows the perfect one to use. One she had crafted from her time with the Shroud brothers.

Walking to the heart of the foyer, Meryu embraced the silence of the night and began her song. Hoping and wishing for it to heal everyone in the City of Flowers.

xA rre exail sarr wLYErm anw sphaela/.

xA sorr aLYEuk zess l.l.n. anw aje harphe/.

xA sorr aLYEuk zess y.y. Ahiew_ayulsa/.

xU rre rhaplanca hLYEmYAmArU enw raklya en yLYEzAtU,

jLYEwA dejuy an arhou tes 1001 Implanta/.

(In tune with her song, Meryu closes her eyes and invokes her spell.)

Hana wo sanji shu ni someta yubi de

Hitai wo kazaru toge wo ande

Watashi wa ima shokuzai no shirushi

Ibara no tsuru no kauburi itadaku

Hohotsutai ochiru shizuku

(A warm, ethereal light began to encompass her body. Soon after, four small balls of light formed around her and danced to her melody.)

Kawaita daichi ni somite

Inochi no me uruosu you

Ame to narite sosogitai

Anata ni

Kono mune no naka afururu

Hikari maioriru

Inori no tane wa kagayou

Kiseki ni mebuku

(Her voice echoed through the foyer, reverberating off the walls and flowing through the empty halls of Noble Bell. Each ball of light dipped into the ground as a pulse to the beat.)

xN rre harr f.s. tes maoh ess ouvyu sechel/.

:/xO rre qejyu m.t.y.y. anw daedu/.

Naave wEsLYN ayulsa sphaela/.

xE rre vega a.u.k. ayulsa Asiance_qejyu/:

Chorus A:

xN rre Maoh s.s.w. tie Rhaplanca enw h.k.t.t. has./

Chorus B:

:/Reta yorr tYAnu za j.d.r. gor Ajues_qejyu./

sYAIA Atitia_qejyu

Reta yorr hYArAnAt oucc

xU yorr vUsUk 1000 Aujes_qejyu

wYAfA za rYAfrm 1001 Atitia_qejyu

en vYAsk yor/:

(The young woman was so concentrated on her singing; she never noticed the countless eyes seeing her serenade.)

Shiroki ashi de deido wo fumishime

Tsubasa was tsui kegaruru tomo

Watashi was tada inochi hatsuru made

Asu wo shinjite kanata e

Habataku

Aganai wa itsuka tabi no

Subete wo oeru sono hibi ni

Hatenaki negai utaou

Omoi kasaneau

Tsunaida yubi wa ikue no

Hanabira no you ni

(Nor did she notice how the air had begun to shift and her own light of salvation expanding throughout the whole city.)

Kono mune no naka afururu

Hikari furisosoge

Negai nokigi wa itsushika

Sora eto todoku

(Meryu put so much of her love and hope into this song, her chest felt constricted and her eyes began to water. And even then, she continued her song.)

Chorus A:

xN herra h.r.n.t. ane sphaela ttu y.y. 1000 hiewi meryu/.

xN harr v.s.k. nafa eje en Atitia_qejyu enw h.r.n.t./.

Chorus B:

xN rre Rhaplanca y.y. eh 1001 Atitita_qejyu,

en harr w.n.s. anw ouvyu sechel sev maen olo/.

xN harr h.l.s.s. ess ouvyu sechel/.

:/xU rre vega a.u.k. zz ayulsa siance/.

xU rre vega a.u.k. zodal sechel/:

xN harr y.z.t. en y.z.t. enw raklya/.

:/mAtUyYAy 1001 Implanta/:

The last note fading into a whisper in the wind along with the warm lights, concluding the young girl’s solo. Opening her eyes, Meryu was a bit surprised at what she saw. Her vision may be blurry from her tears, but she knew that her classmates and Rollo were standing before her. The students had various faces of shock, endearment mixed with concern, and confusion. Grim was the first to go up to her, and rather than teasing or questioning her, he climbed up her side and cuddled into her chest comforting her. Deuce and Epel followed suit, checking Meryu for any scratches or marks since they were the most worried about their friend. A few more walked forward to the girl, questioning her and slightly chastising her for breaking curfew or complementing her for her song.

There was one person, Meryu’s most precious person, who was left speechless by her song: Malleus Draconia, the heir to the Valley of Briar.

The prince was left in awe of what his dear friend had done. Despite her song’s somber but hopeful tone, he knew exactly what she did. And he felt it down to his very bones. To hear her sing something so powerful away from the Dark Mirror was not an easy feat. And yet she did it without fail; all for the sake of everyone hurt by the accursed fire lotuses. When her tears began to form, it was not because she was hurt, but because she wanted her wish to come true.

And it did.

Malleus walked towards his beloved, making everyone surrounding the Prefect move aside for him to see her. No words were said between the two as they met each other again for the night. The only exchange was that of a gentle hug shared between the Prince and his beloved Reyvateil.

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

Tempted by Lexi Blake is now live! 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake comes a new story in her Masters and Mercenaries series...

When West Rycroft left his family's ranch to work in the big city, he never dreamed he would find himself surrounded by celebrities and politicians. Working at McKay-Taggart as a bodyguard and security expert quickly taught him how to navigate the sometimes shark-infested waters of the elite. While some would come to love that world, West has seen enough to know it's not for him, preferring to keep his distance from his clients--until the day he meets Ally Pearson.

Growing up in the entertainment world, Ally was always in the shadow of others, but now she has broken out from behind the scenes for her own day in the spotlight. The paparazzi isn't fun, but she knows all too well that it's part of the gig. She has a good life and lots of fans, but someone has been getting too close for comfort and making threats. To be safe, she hires her own personal knight in shining armor, a cowboy hottie by the name of West. They clash in the beginning, but the minute they fall into bed together something magical happens.

Just as everything seems too good to be true, they are both reminded that there was a reason Ally needed a bodyguard. Her problems have found her again, and this time West will have to put his life on the line or lose everything they've found.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it's an introduction to an author's world. And for fans, it's a bonus book in the author's series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

  Download today! Amazon: https://bit.ly/4615KQe Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/TemptedLB

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3qN4sIB

[dargeereads]

“I think you could break my heart, Rycroft.” “I know you could break mine.”

Tempted, an all-new page-turning novella set in the Masters and Mercenaries world from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake is available now!

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake comes a new story in her Masters and Mercenaries series…

When West Rycroft left his family’s ranch to work in the big city, he never dreamed he would find himself surrounded by celebrities and politicians. Working at McKay-Taggart as a bodyguard and security expert quickly taught him how to navigate the sometimes shark-infested waters of the elite. While some would come to love that world, West has seen enough to know it’s not for him, preferring to keep his distance from his clients—until the day he meets Ally Pearson.

Growing up in the entertainment world, Ally was always in the shadow of others, but now she has broken out from behind the scenes for her own day in the spotlight. The paparazzi isn’t fun, but she knows all too well that it’s part of the gig. She has a good life and lots of fans, but someone has been getting too close for comfort and making threats. To be safe, she hires her own personal knight in shining armor, a cowboy hottie by the name of West. They clash in the beginning, but the minute they fall into bed together something magical happens.

Just as everything seems too good to be true, they are both reminded that there was a reason Ally needed a bodyguard. Her problems have found her again, and this time West will have to put his life on the line or lose everything they’ve found.

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

Fall in love today! Exclusively on Amazon Amazon: https://amzn.to/3D3lBBy Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/temptedLB Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3FyASej

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3Fx5pJE

Keep reading for a look inside Tempted!

Soft music was playing. It was folksy but modern. Not at all what he would expect. And she wasn’t in front of the TV. She sat at the dining table which was covered in… Were those puzzle pieces? “Hey,” he said. “I’m here for the rest of the night and through tomorrow. Was Tessa okay?” Her head came up, and she damn near took his breath away. She was in pajama bottoms and a tank top, her face scrubbed free and hair piled on top of her head. She was every bit as gorgeous this way. “She was great. I liked her a lot.” “But you didn’t like Matt?” Her lips turned down. “Well, now I like Tessa less.” He set down his duffel on one of the chairs and set the grocery bag on the table away from the numerous puzzle pieces. She’d started working on the edges, and it looked like she was a sorter. “Don’t. It’s literally my job to make sure you’re okay. She’s going to give me any information I need.” “Did she tell you I thought you were an asshole?” For some reason, that made him smile. “She did. And I was. And if Matt does anything at all to make you uncomfortable, I expect you to tell me. Ally, I had a job go weird a couple of weeks ago. I know men are supposed to want any pretty woman who comes their way…” She sat up, her expression turning distinctly sympathetic. “Someone tried to sex you up when you didn’t want to?” That was one way of putting it. “She was very aggressive, and it bothered me more than I realized. I think I took a little of that out on you today, and for that, I am truly sorry.” “Did she look like me or something?” “Not even close,” he said with a huff. “Like she wasn’t as… No, she didn’t look like you. But she was something of a celebrity. She was a European royal.” “Please tell me it was Kate.” Her eyes had gone super wide like this would be the best gift ever. She would so get along with his brother and Martin. “It was not. She’s a minor royal but a major pain in my ass. I’m sorry. I hope you’ll give me a second chance.” She stared for a moment as though assessing the situation. “Are those Flamin’ Hot Cheetos?” “My brother’s fiancé swears you like them. His name is Martin, and he’s a big fan.” Her shoulders relaxed, and he would have sworn that girl…woman…glowed. “That’s so nice. If he has any time, he could come up to the set and have lunch with us. And he’s right. Gimme. I love them, but the camera adds five pounds and…” “You always have four cameras on you.” He handed her the chips and sat down. It would be a much quieter night than he’d counted on, but he kind of liked that. She opened them and had one of those suckers in her mouth very quickly. She sighed, obviously content. “Not now I don’t. All right, Rycroft, we start again. And Matt’s probably fine. You’ll know he’s done something wrong if he has to go to the hospital because I kicked him in the balls. Pass me that blue piece. I think it goes here.” He handed her the piece, and they got on with their first night.

For More Information about Lexi Blake, visit her website: https://www.lexiblake.net/

For More Information about 1001 Dark Nights, visit: Website: https://www.1001darknights.com/ Facebook: https://bit.ly/3ONzTtZ Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rTZdo3 TikTok: https://bit.ly/3G98oYh

[byemyselftravels]

Open Sesame: I'm beginning my series on the imperial cities of Morocco with two days in Fez. It's the oldest one of the Maghreb's royal cities with one of the most exciting historic old towns. Fez was an absolutely magical introduction to a place from 1001 Nights.

#fez #fes #imperialcity #royalcity #morocco #maghreb #africa #northafrica #femalesolotravel #byemyself

[worldtouradvicetravel]

Easter Holiday to Cairo and Hurghada

Make the choice to travel to Egypt to learn more about the country's history. World Tour Advice offers you the possibility to experience an Easter holiday in Cairo and Hurghada.

Try our various packages to find what you love, such as Easter trips by visiting the classic locations in Egypt, such as the temples or museums, or you can try the holy land tours if you'd like to learn more about the Islamic faith by visiting the most well-known mosques in Egypt, such as Muhammad Ali Pasha Mosque, Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque, and Al-Hussein Mosque.

Explore a pristine world full of beauty and magic with Red Sea packages to Hurghada or Sharm, and unwind and liberate your inner self. Try water sports like snorkelling, diving, and swimming to explore the underwater world and entertain your eyes with beautiful sea creatures and the wonderful coral reefs. Through our Egypt Easter Packages, there are unique packages that contain amazing tours to St. Catherine Monastery (most important) and Ras Mohamed National Park in the City of Peace and Giftun Island in the beautiful City Hurghada.

Day 1: Arrival to Cairo

Upon your arrival to Cairo , meet World Tour Advice tour representative, transfer to your hotel in Cairo, overnight in Cairo

Day 2: Pyramids tour

Enjoy your breakfast in hotel, meet your private tour guide, start a day tour to visit Giza pyramids, Dahshur pyramids and Memphis, lunch meal will be served during the tour, shopping tour, visiting papyrus institute and oil palace, back to hotel, Overnight in Cairo

Day 3: Cairo tour

Enjoy your breakfast in hotel, meet your private tour guide, go in a tour to visit the Egyptian museum, the citadel, the old market, lunch meal included during the tour, back to hotel, Overnight in Cairo

Day 4: Cairo - Hurghada

Enjoy your breakfast, meet our Easter tour representative, transfer to airport of Cairo, fly to Hurghada airport where you will meet our other Easter tours representative in Hurghada, transfer to hotel ( Egypt Easter Holiday )  , free day, at night attend the show of 1000 nights and one night, back to hotel, Overnight in Hurghada

Day 5; Giftun sland Trip 

Enjoy your breakfast in hotel, meet our Easter tour representative , go in a day tour by boat to Giftun island , snorkeling, swimming , diving, lunch meal on board the boat, back to hotel, overnight in Hurghada

Day 6: Free day in Hurghada  

Free day in Hurghada for optional tours, or for leisure

Day 7: Free day in Hurghada  

Free day in Hurghada for optional tours, or for leisure

Day 8: Hurghada - Cairo 

Breakfast at your hotel and transfer o Hurghada airport, fly o Cairo and arrive Cairo airport after that transfer to your hotel and overnight 

Day 9: Final Departure 

After breakfast, check out, transfer to Cairo airport for final departure

Includes

Meeting and assisting service upon arrival to Cairo airport and Hurghada airport

All airport transfers by private modern A/C vans

Cairo tours including transfers, guides, lunch meals, and entrance fees

Accommodation 4 nights in Cairo hotel with breakfast 

Accommodation 4 nights in Hurghada hotel with all inclusive 

Flight ticket Cairo Hurghada Cairo 

Private tour guide in Cairo

Private transfer during Easter holiday day tours in Cairo

Lunch meal during Cairo day tours and the boat trip to Giftun

Giftun island tour by boat

1001 Nights show in Hurghada

Services and Charges

Excludes

International flight 

Egypt Visa 

Tipping , recommended but not obligatory

Meals or beverages not mentioned in Easter tour itinerary

For more info

amanywaw@gmail.com

Website

Mobile and what’s App:

002 01090023837

[directorsnarrative]

pumpkin touch by e christopher drake

[iwant-bread]

My To Read List

Category 1: YA

1. Loveless (2020) by Alice Osoman (England)

description: an aroace main character. A strange and eventful first year at university, some interesting new friends, and exploring what it means to be both aromantic and asexual opens mc’s eyes to the less conventional forms of love in her life as she learns that happiness doesn’t rely on you finding your soulmate

2. To Kill a Kingdom (2018) by Alexandra Christo (England)

description: slowburn enemies to lovers sirens princes etc

3. The Wrath and The Dawn (2015) by Renée Ahdieh (United States)

description: retelling of the 1001 nights- currently reading the webcomic and holy shit its good

4. Southern Reach Trilogy (2014) by Jeff Vandermeer (United States)

description: “Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide; the third expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer.”

5. Cemetery Boys (2020) by Aiden Thomas (United States)

description: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him

6. When the Moon Was Ours (2016) by Anne-Marie McLemore (United States)

description: “Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel’s skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love.”

7. Children of Blood and Bone (2018) by Tomi Adeyemi (Nigeria/United States)

description: “Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.”

8. Cinderella is Dead (2020) by Kalynn Bayron (United States)

description: living in the same universe as Cinderella, but 200 years after her death. When coming of age, it is tradition for girls to attend balls to be chosen as wives of men they never met. But, OH NO, main character is queer

9. A Botija do Fantasma “The Ghost's Bottle” (2021) by Pablo Praxedes (Brazil)

description: only two things scare the city of Mossoró at the end of the 1920s: the return of the Lampião gang and the witches of Carnaubal. Luiz wants to abandon everything and start his life over with Chico, his best friend and love interest. The problem? Chico does not agree with this plan. Salete, a young witch, lives isolated in a carnauba forest while learning about her powers, but she will soon discover that being a witch in a small town is not an easy task. What none of them expected was that a ghost's gift would come to change their lives

10. The Sleeper and The Spindle (2014) by Neil Gaiman and  Chris Riddell (United States)

description: “On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems”

11. The Unseelie Prince (2021) by Kathryn Ann Kingsley (United States)

description: As the son of the Morrigan and heir to the vacant Unseelie throne, Valroy itches to shed the mantle of prince and take his place as King. To his great regret one ancient tradition stands in his way, demanding he first take a bride. With all the members of the Unseelie court proving to be insufferable, what is a prince to do? Steal a human, of course.

12. The Dark Tide (2020) by Alicia Jasinska (Australia)

description: “A gripping, dark enemies-to-lovers LGBTQ+ YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island home.” i mean... must i truly write the summary? 

13. Discworld (1983–2015) by Terry Pratchett (England)

description: a series of 41 comic fantasy books, set in the Discworld, a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants that sit on the back of a giant tortoise

14. Written in the Stars (2020) by Alexandria Bellefleur (United States?)

description: fake dating trope and sapphic

15. Once Upon a Broken Heart (2020) by Stephanie Garber (United States)

description: after the protagonist finds out that the love of her life is going to marry another, she does what anyone in their sane mind would do: strikes a deal with an immortal being, the Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for 3 kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing

16. The Witch's Heart (2021) by Genevieve Gornichec (United States)

description: “Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love. Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.”

Category 2: *actual* historical fiction

1. Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) by D. H. Lawrence (England)

 description: old folks smut

2. A Rainha do Ignoto “The Queen of the Unknown” (1889) by Emília Freitas (Brazil)

description: secret society of women, hierarchically organized on an island, called Ilha do Fogeiro, ruled by a Queen who recruited women based on the suffering they experienced in their daily lives - terfs do not touch please :)

3. The Yellow Wallpaper (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (United States)

description: written as a diary from a woman confined by her husband. She is slowly succumbing to madness

4. Senhora (1874) by José de Alencar (Brazil)

description: it is a novel that criticizes the behavioral futility and the fragility of bourgeois values resulting from Brazilian capitalism. Lovers to enemies to lovers again. A girl trying to get revenge on her opportunistic ex fiance

5. Persuasion (1816) by Jane Austen (England)

description: a story about Anne Elliot, who called off her engagement after being persuaded by her friend. When her ex returns from the sea as a successful and wealthy captain, Anne's family is on the brink of financial collapse

6. Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891) by Thomas Hardy

description: a novel centered around the victorian rural lower class and in its open treatment of sexuality and religion

7. How the Steel Was Tempered (1936) by Nikolay Ostrovsky (Soviet Union)

description: a socialist realist novel about the birth of the New Man, the man of the socialist epoch who dares all and achieves all in the struggle for the happiness of humanity.

8. Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749) by John Cleland (England)

description: considered to be one of the first published erotic novels

9. Úrsula (1859) by Maria Firmina dos Reis (Brazil)

description: one of the first brazilian novel written by a woman, not only that, but a black woman. And one of the first abolitionist novels too

10. The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers (United States)

description: a collection of 10 short Victorian Gothic fiction stories

11. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1594-1596?) by William Shakespeare (England)

description: I really don't know for sure, I heard that a lot of people die and marriage is involved. What made me want to read it was a tiktok about how a woman was sleeping, she woke up with a flower in her eye, and fell in love with a talking donkey. I don't know but it reminded me of shrek so I want to read

12. Moll Flanders (1722) by Daniel Defoe (England)

description: a novel partially based on the life of Moll King, a London criminal whom Defoe met while visiting Newgate Prison

13. The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World (1666) by Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle (England)

description: “fanciful depiction of a satirical, utopian kingdom in another world (with different stars in the sky) that can be reached via the North Pole. [...] A young woman enters this other world, becomes the empress of a society composed of various species of talking animals, and organises an invasion back into her world complete with submarines towed by the "fish men" and the dropping of "fire stones" by the "bird men" to confound the enemies of her homeland, the Kingdom of Esfi”

14. Genji Monogatari (early 1000′s) by Lady Murasaki Shikibu (Japan)

description: considered the world's first literary novel- The work chronicles the life of Hikaru Genji, a son of a Japanese emperor with a low-ranking concubine. For political reasons, Genji is relegated to citizen status and begins a career as an imperial officer. The tale focuses on Genji's romantic life and describes the customs of aristocratic society at the time

15. Satyricon liber (60 a.c.) by Gaius Petronius (Roman Empire)

description: describes the adventures and misadventures of the narrator, Encolpius, his lover Ascyltos, and his slave, Giton, who intrudes between the two lovers, provoking jealousy and quarrel

Category 3: historical fiction

1. Catch-22 (1961) by Joseph Heller (United States)

description: it takes place from 1942 to 1944, exploring the absurdity of war through military life, with the characters trying to stay sane so they can return home. Narrated in 3rd omnicient person

2. Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut (United States)

description: an anti-war science fiction novel. Unreliable and non-linear narrator 

3. A Thousand Ships (2019) by Natalie Haynes (United Kingdom)

description: a retelling of the Trojan War by the point of view of women

4. The Marvels (2015) by Brian Selznick (United States)

description: “It weaves together two seemingly unrelated stories - one in words, the other in pictures. The illustrated story begins in 1766, while the prose story opens in 1990.”

Category 4: studies / Essay / biographies?

1. Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History (1991) by Cathy Caruth (United States)

description: “Through the notion of trauma, she contends, we come to a new understanding that permits history to arise where immediate understanding may not.”

2. Eros the Bittersweet (1986) by Anne Carson (Canada)

description: “A book about love as seen by the ancients, Eros is Anne Carson's exploration of the concept of "eros" in both classical philosophy and literature.”

3. Vita Sanctae Hildegardis (+ or - 1180) by Godefridus (Germany)

description: hagiography

4. Discourse on Colonialism (1950) by Aimé Césaire (France)

description: Césaire’s Discourse on Colonialism argues that colonialism was not and had never been a benevolent movement (myth of the “good colonizer) whose goal was to improve the lives of the colonized (civilizing them); instead, colonists' motives were entirely self-centered, economic exploitation

5. Malleus Malleficarum (1486) by Kramer and Sprenger (Germany)

description: inquisitorial manual about witches. The reason many people died

6. The Barefoot Woman (2008) by Scholastique Mukasonga (Rwanda)

description: the story of the author's mother, during pre-genocide Rwanda

7. Selling Beauty: Cosmetics, Commerce, and French Society, 1750–1830 (2009) by Morag Martin (United States)

description: Morag Martin’s history of the cosmetic industry in France examines the evolution of popular tastes and standards of beauty during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As the French citizenry rebelled against the excesses of the aristocracy, there was a parallel shift in consumer beauty practices

8. The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence (1997) by Gavin de de Becker (United States)

description: title self explanatory, the author talks about how to spot danger basically

9. Cinderella ate my daughter (2011) by Peggy Orenstein (United States)

description: the book explores the phenomenon of princess culture and in particular how the concept is marketed to young girls

10. Handbook of Medieval Sexuality (2013) by Vern L. Bullough (United States)

description: title self explanatory

11. The Coming Insurrection (2007) by The Invisible Committee (France)

description: French political pamphlet describing the hypothesis of an "imminent collapse of capitalist culture".

12. Fairies: A Dangerous History (2018) by Richard Sugg (England probably)

description: title self explanatory

13. How to Catch a Man, How to Keep a Man, How to Get Rid of a Man (1970) by Zsa Zsa Gabor (Hungary)

description: written by the actress, socialite, and author, married at least 8 times, Zsa Zsa- title self explanatory

14. A Handbook of Disappointed Fate (2018) by Anne Boyer (United States)

description: highlights a decade of Anne Boyer's interrogative writing on poetry, death, love, lambs, etc

15. Chromophobia (2000) by David Batchelor (England)

description: Chromophobia - a fear of corruption or contamination through colour. David Batchelor analyzes the history of, and motivations behind, chromophobia, from its beginnings through examples of nineteenth-century literature, twentieth-century architecture and film, to Pop art, minimalism and the art and architecture of the present day

16. A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books (1995) by Nicholas A. Basbanes (United States)

description: “A Gentle Madness is vividly anecdotal and thoroughly researched. Nicholas A. Basbanes brings an investigative reporter’s heart and instincts to the task of chronicling collectors past and present in pursuit of bibliomania.”

17. Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life (2020) by Lulu Miller (United States)

description: a non-fiction that smashes together: memoir, science, biography and History

Category 5: poetry

1. Eloa, or the Sister of the Angels (1824) by Alfred de Vigny (France)

description: an angel falls in love with a stranger, he starts to love her too, but is unable to return the affections, because of his twisted notions of love. He drags her to hell.

2. How to Cure a Ghost (2019) by Fariha Róisín (Australia)

description: “An exploration of all the ghosts that haunt me”- works about ancestral trauma, violence, being queer, islamophobia and life, but still having hope for the future

3. The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser (England)

description: one of the longest poems in the English language

4. Autobiography of Red (1999) by Anne Carson (Canada)

description: a novel written in form of poem, retelling about Geryon (one of the monsters Hercules has to kill) “Sometimes a journey makes itself necessary.”

5. I see you as I saw a flower (2015) by Na Tae-joo (South Korea)

description: great book for beginners in korean, contains poems about flowers, love, the changing months and seasons, etc

6. Morte e Vida Severina (1954) by João Cabral de Melo Neto (Brazil)

description: portrays the trajectory of Severino, who leaves the northeastern hinterland towards the coast in search of better living conditions, and finds many others like him. He watches many deaths and, from so much wandering, ends up discovering that it is precisely death, the wild's biggest employer. It is to her that they owe their jobs

7. Les Fleurs du Mal (1857) by Charles Baudelaire (France)

description: contains poems about decadence, eroticism, suffering and its relationship to the original sin, disgust toward evil and oneself, obsession with death, and aspiration toward an ideal world

Category 6: tales? novels? short stories? not quite YA fiction?

1. Um Espinho de Marfim e outras Histórias (1999) by Marina Colasanti (Italy/Brazil)

description: anthology with women as the center of a cosmogony

2. Uprooted (2015) by Naomi Novik (United States)

description: written by one of the founders of AO3. “ Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

3. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (2015) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Japan)

description: In a back alley in Tokyo lies a café called Funiculi Funicula. In the café, customers have the opportunity to travel back to a time of their choosing, as long as they follow a long list of rules. There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold. The novel follows the stories of the café staff, notably barista Kazu, and four different customers.

4. The Ghost’s Child (2008) by Sonya Hartnett (Australia)

description: "They talked to one another, but never about important things - never about a lost winged dream, not about unseeable mysteries that lay beyond the setting sun. They both knew that you can talk and talk, but when the talk is done and there's nothing else to say, the thing that you long for is still not there."

5. Austrian Fairy Tales (Collected from Old Sources) (2017) by Harald Salfellner (Austria)

description: dont know- i think the title is pretty self explanatory

6. The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden (2006) by Catherynne Valente (United States)

description: “Secreted away in a  garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the  puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history”

7. The Mabinogion translated by Sioned Davies (Wales)

description: collection of prose manuscripts written in medieval Welsh. They are partly based on historical events from the early Middle Ages, but which can be traced back to Iron Age traditions

8. I Have the Right to Destroy Myself (2007) by Young-Ha Kim (South Korea)

description: “I don't encourage murder. I have no interest in one person killing another. I only want to draw out morbid desires, imprisoned deep in the unconscious. This lust, once freed, starts growing. Their imaginations run free, and they soon discover their potential... They are waiting for someone like me.” A short story that follows a person who helps others to commit suicide

9. The Canterbury Tales (13th) by Geoffrey Chaucer (England)

description: collection of stories (two of them in prose, and another twenty-two in verse) written from 1387 onwards. In the work, each tale is narrated by a pilgrim from a group who travels from Southwark (London) to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the tomb of St. Thomas Becket.

10. Ariadne (2021) by Jennifer Saint (United States)

description: the story of Ariadne

11. The Dwarf (1978) by Cho Se-hui (South Korea)

description: revolves around a literal “little guy,” and his family and friends, and their changing economic and social relationships which are destroyed by Korean modernization

[procutemeister]

these, our bodies possessed by light || vergil x reader, chapter 1

The city of Red Grave has been defeated; Urizen, the devil king, has risen. No warriors have been able to best him, and countless lives have been offered to him in sacrifice. They say the devil king’s bloodlust is boundless… And you, last of the witches of Red Grave, are his betrothed.

(Vergil x F!Reader, with some V x F!Reader. Arranged marriage AU, with elements of Beauty and the Beast and 1001 Nights. An attempt to give Urizen some personality. Romance, eventually.)

much thanks to @tonitart for supporting me as i write this. <3 if you'd like to be tagged, let me know.

read it under the cut or on ao3 here!

--

these, our bodies possessed by light

1. land a man in a landscape and he’ll try to conquer it

--

Today was to be your wedding day.

Soon to be married to the devil king, all you could feel was trepidation and fear. Your marriage was not one for love, far from it; it was a marriage of compromise. Of sacrifice.

An offering of your life, for peace between the humans and demons, a reprieve from the cruelties of hell on earth.

You have a responsibility, your aunt told you as you dressed in the nicest gown you owned. It’s an honor, to have so great a task bestowed upon you.

I am going to die, you wanted to say. Your finest dress would become your funeral gown.

As one of the last witches, you were offered to the devil. With your unique abilities, the people of Red Grave hoped that you might find a way to end the devil king’s reign of terror. While it was true that you possessed some magical power, you were experienced mostly with healing and incantations, rather than combat magic.

You had met the man—if he could be called that—who was to be your husband only once before. You were relieved that at least, you would not have to live in the Underworld for this union; you would live in a palace that remained on earth.

No man nor demon on this world or the one beneath could face him. The people were sure that his was the wrath of a god, unleashed upon a defenseless humanity, and that such a great and terrible god could only be sated by the ultimate sacrifice, the gift of life.

However, you remembered that day—meeting your betrothed, slouched on his throne as you were presented to him. He had not been any more amenable to the marriage than you were. Impossibly tall, his features masked by demonic armor, you had been unnerved at the sight of him. You recoiled when you imagined the marriage bed—you could not possibly be expected to perform the wifely duties for such a creature, could you? He looked utterly monstrous to your human eyes: a twisted appearance, his body the color of brimstone and blood and covered in roots and thorns.

His voice was inhumanly deep and rattled your very bones.

“Is this to be my bride? A human?”

Despite yourself, you froze like a rabbit faced by the wolf. Your heart thundered and you could not help but cower, because what defense did you have against this creature?

You let your eyes settle on him. You could not discern even a hint of humanity in him, only the cruel cold glow of blue light in the gnarls of his skin, the suggestion of a crown by the thorns on his brow. There was no soul in those eyes.

The man beside you quailed, though he had been the one who had arranged all this. He said, “This is an offering from the humans. One of our most precious—one of our own. A great sacrifice.”

You were hardly as great an offering as he made you out to be. You were no virginal young maiden, no legendary beauty, nor the prized first daughter of a proud and subjugated lord. Your life and your body were being thrown away to sate the bloodthirst of a devil that did not even desire you. What use were you, really, to him?

He seemed to consider this. “I could kill her,” he said, “the night we are married. I have no use for human scum.”

Your blood ran cold. He couldn’t possibly—but this was a devil, not just any devil, but the king of them. You would not put it past him to kill you in cold blood. You knew that devils would not hesitate to execute any mortal that dared displease them.

And those who had come to his house before you, all killed by his hand, were the evidence: warriors that dared take arms against him, spies who attempted to undermine his power from the inside, and others like you, who had been offerings from their own hometowns. They, too, had been sacrificial lambs, offered to the demon king in a desperate bid for the legions of hell to stop ravaging the land, misguided appeals to the devil king’s nonexistent mercy. You knew not why those women had been deemed unsatisfactory, nor how many they numbered, only that they had all failed to suppress the devil king’s thirst for blood.

Rumors abound that he took wives not for procreation nor for pleasure, but for his own sadistic, murderous desires. Some lived for quite a while, others only a single day before being executed. But they all ended up the same way: dead.

Today, at your wedding, you had to find out how you could stay alive.

Before you left, you recited a spell of protection for yourself, so that you might not come to harm. You spoke the incantation from your memory as easily as you read it from a book, the familiar words and energy of the magic calming your mind. You pulled out a pendant you wore around your neck, a simple crystal you had infused with dormant power. This you poured your protective ward into, then hid the pendant beneath your wedding clothes. Then, a prayer, to the spirits above and below, that your magic might hold, and your treacherous intentions remain obscure.

Your betrothed had made almost no arrangements for the ceremony, not that you thought demonic weddings were even supposed to exist, anyway. There was simply a minister who had administered the rite upon the both of you, reading aloud the marriage vows and presenting the documentation of your union. One other demon was present as your witness, and that was all. You found you much preferred this, if the alternative were to get married with the people’s eyes upon you, watching and complacent at your sacrifice.

Your husband was called Urizen. He remained seated and he spoke no more than was absolutely necessary. There was no reception after the ceremony, only a dispersal of the scant amount of demons in attendance.

He did not stay with you afterwards, either. In fact, you would not see him until well after night had fallen.

In the meantime you were introduced to your chambers. Possibly the only good thing about this was that you would be living in comfort, however short the rest of your life might be. The palace was an old one, standing centuries before your great-grandparents were ever born, and comprised of so many rooms and structures that you could conceivably take years to explore it all. It was clean, surprisingly so, but cold and empty. It did not have the life of servants bustling around, or any other residents. Or maybe it did, and you had not seen neither hide nor hair of them. The palace was certainly large enough.

Of note were the books in what you assumed to be your husband’s room. There was an astonishingly large amount, and when you looked, they were mostly fiction and poetry, contrary to what you had thought. Some titles you even recognized, and many were well-worn, obviously read several times.

It was a strange detail, you mused, that a devil with such disdain for humans would so readily consume their literature. It was something that had kept the gears of your mind turning the rest of the day. You had a way with words, and writing had always been one of your strengths. This, along with the way your magic manifested, would be the key to your survival.

In the evening you took dinner alone. Despite being human, you were still considered with some respect, as you were served delicious food in a large and ornate dining hall. You were just completely alone; even the demons that served you were mere mannequins, unable to speak or perform actions beyond their purpose. You had the feeling that your new husband did not like to populate his home very much. You weren’t sure if that were better or worse; surely there would be no one to witness or call out to if he attempted to murder you, and you doubted that anyone would even notice in such a situation.

After dinner you washed up, spending so long in the bath you were sure you would shrivel up like a prune. You didn’t want to think about what was to come once you headed to bed; Urizen had not yet returned from wherever he had gone.

With apprehension you left the bath and dressed for bed. You wore a long nightgown, one that covered your body as much as possible. You missed your corset and your layers that shielded your body, much better than a simple nightgown could. You climbed into the bed, a large, ornate affair carved from dark wood and curtained with damask. The bed was sinfully soft, and against your better judgment you found yourself slipping into sleep as you lay there, wrapped in blankets and exhausted from the day’s events.

* * *

You didn’t want to do this.

Terror clasped at your very bones as the plan was explained to you: you, the last witch remaining in Red Grave, would be sent tomorrow into the devil king’s lair under pretense of an offering, as many other towns and cities had attempted to do.

“Hide your magic,” your aunt told you. “Find out what you can about his protections.”

“Yield to his demands,” your uncle instructed you. “Do what you must to survive.”

Numbly, you nodded, even as your veins ran cold.

“Your life is no longer your own,” they said. “The people of Red Grave count on you, now.”

The people of Red Grave had sent their men and women in futile attempts to fight the demon king. When that failed, they began to leave, or to bend the knee to cruel and demonic overlords. Some had fled to Fortuna, hoping that the supposed land of Sparda’s blessing would offer respite from the demonic invasion. Only a few years later was that hope disproven; demons installed themselves in that city’s highest of holy orders, and now Fortuna too bowed under the weight of hellish rule. Your parents had gone to war, too. They fought, and they died, and now you were expected to assume that burden.

You pressed a hand to the crystal that hung from your neck, a last gift from your mother, who taught you everything you know.

Then you silenced your fear. Outside, the summer flowers bloomed, mindless of the blood spilled on their grounds, and you promised upon your life to venture into the heart of the devil king.

* * *

You immediately woke at the opening of the door. You were still restless, after all. Moonlight still poured in through the window; you hadn’t been asleep long. The one who entered was a devil, one you recognized attending your wedding. From his chest he glowed orange, the light the color of molten rock, with an impressive set of wings extending from his back. He spoke:

“My lady. You are summoned to the throne room.”

You blanched at the address, though you expected it as befitting one who was the demon king’s wife. You supposed this made you a queen, but the title meant nothing when you felt like a prisoner. You were not allowed in the throne room, not unless you were explicitly summoned. Despite your position, you held no power in this place. All you had were your brains and the strength of your will.

“Y-Yes,” you wavered, and stood unsteadily, your hands wringing at the cloth of your nightgown. You followed the devil to the large room where Urizen stayed, dark save for the fireplace, kept lit with blue flames.

It was your husband, looking much the same as he had during your wedding. He still wore the same expression of cold indifference. At his side floated the ever-present red jewel, a mysterious object from which you could feel waves of strong demonic power. What manner of magic was it, you wondered?

“My lord husband,” you addressed him, taking a knee as you had been instructed to.

“Wife,” he grumbled, as if saying the word pained him. “Get up.”

You stood. Urizen was seated on his throne, one arm bending to support the chin, eyes skating over you to land on the flames in the fireplace as if you weren’t even there.

You had not moved. You bit your lip, wondering if what you had in mind would work, or if it were even sane. Once again, the image of the books next to the chair revived itself in your mind.

“My lord husband,” you said again, “may I interest you in a story?”

Your voice interrupted his brooding. He raised his head slowly from his hand, his face turning towards you in what looked like a silent fury. You hoped you hadn’t inadvertently angered him with your seemingly inane question.

“…A story?”

There it was, that deep, deep voice that sounded like the rumble of the earth itself. There was something strange in his tone: less animosity, something more akin to questioning. Maybe curiosity, if you were feeling generous.

“Yes,” you said, “I like to tell stories.”

You could barely keep the tremor from your own words. So far, he had done nothing, but Urizen still terrified you, as distant and dangerous as he was, the sound of his words before still echoing in your head.

I could kill her the night we are married. I have no use for human scum.

You didn’t know if he was serious or not. Maybe for now he would keep you alive, or maybe he would murder you later.

“You realize this is no harmonious marriage,” he said. “You mean nothing to me. I do not care about your stories.”

He sneered the last word. You could not help but shiver, but your mind’s eye once again found those well-worn books, stories and poetry that were clearly loved and perused. How long had it been, you wondered, since he had cracked open a book?

You settled yourself next to his throne. Carefully you started to speak, weaving the story you had formed in your mind. You had always been a lover of art, of literature, and you had dedicated many years of study to the humanities. You felt you could put together a story that would keep his attention and weave your spell so that your husband would not lay a hand on you and—maybe—change his heart.

To your astonishment he made no move to stop you. On the contrary, he seemed like he was listening, though he never said a word and never did he turn those cold eyes towards you.

You felt your resolve waver, but you didn’t let yourself falter, not when you had lulled him into this strangely receptive mood with your words. You still feared the devil—after all, he could so easily kill you, and even slouched in his throne you felt the aura of death from him. The red crystal revolved, silent and dangerous.

You continued your tale. You told it all the way until you had reached the last of what you’d written. The hero had fled the destruction of his hometown and met a young woman to whom he’d recounted his tale. He felt torn between his need for vengeance and the feelings that were quickly growing for her.

“Is that all?” Urizen asked.

You looked out the east window. The sky was swathed in violet and edged in gold by the encroaching sun.

“Morning approaches, my lord husband,” you said. “The story must be continued the next evening—I haven’t slept.”

He grumbled, but made no further complaint. Then, “Get out.”

“My—”

“Return to your chambers. Bother me no further.”

You quickly stood, nodded, and nearly ran out of the throne room. You weren’t sure how long you ran, or if you were even going in the right direction, but you made it back eventually.

You closed the door behind you, chest heaving, and not only from the running. You felt like you had just escaped with your life, and when you clutched a hand to your chest, your heart was pounding. You clenched your fists, fear and anxiety knotting between your lungs.

Knees weakening, you fell back into the large, soft bed, trying to calm your racing heart. After tossing and turning you fell finally into a restless sleep.

* * *

The next morning you woke alone. So, he didn’t have you killed in your sleep, at least.

When you looked out the window the sun was already high in the sky. You’d slept in a little; considering how late you’d stayed up the previous night, telling your husband your story, it was to be expected.

You hadn’t been given any actual responsibilities in your new home. You had the distinct feeling that Urizen considered you little more than a nuisance in his home; a thing without real purpose here. It suited you just fine: the more invisible you were in this den of demons, the more likely you were to get out of this alive. And the longer you stayed, the more you would become acquainted with the devil king, and his weaknesses, no matter how small those might be. All you needed was a single chink in his armor, and you’d be able to work your magic.

Your husband, to your knowledge, had never left the throne room. You could not go to check; the red devil that had escorted you there the night before was also nowhere to be seen. Was he just a servant, you wondered, or something more? His presence at the wedding implied the latter.

With you thus unoccupied, you decided to fill your day with exploration. The palace was undoubtedly beautiful, and you wondered why a devil would take such a place as residence. Maybe it was a site of great demonic power…? The home of a conquered human lord? You would not put it past the devils to take a man’s home as a war trophy. You were simply astonished at the state the house had been left in: it was pristine, as if servants cleaned it every day, as if demonic forces had never breached its walls. The glass of all the windows remained intact, the floors sparkling; elegant curling columns reaching towards beautifully painted, vaulted ceilings, and stained glass throwing multicolored light against the walls.

Wandering the halls, you trailed a hand absently along the walls. The sunlight shone brightly outside, and the thickness of the air signaled the height of summer approaching.

Somehow, you found yourself at the far corridor of the west wing. Judging by the sun’s position, it could not be later than noon, and so you thought a bit more exploring could not hurt until you were expected to take your midday meal.

This part of the palace was as pristine as the rest of it, just as clean and untouched, but the energy felt different here. Where you previously felt ignored by the few beings that crossed your path in the halls, here you simply felt… alone. It wasn’t a lonely feeling. On the contrary, you felt peace in the solitude.

At the end of this corridor was a large double door, vaulted, heavy and inlaid with colored tile. It was beautiful, and you couldn’t help but wonder what was inside. After checking to see that you were indeed alone, you placed both hands on the beautiful doors and pushed, making your way inside.

The room that revealed itself to you was a vast library, with towering shelves that seemed never-ending. Sunlight streamed through the large windows, so bright and the air so still that you could see the motes of dust floating.

The way the doors creaked and the difficulty in pushing told you that no one had set foot in here for a very long time. You supposed demons did not really have much time or purpose for human literature, though once again you thought of the books in your chambers. Were they Urizen’s? You doubted it when you thought about it. He had not been to those chambers with you, and it seemed in character for him to arrange a whole separate suite of rooms for you, far away from himself.

You looked again to the library you were in. A shame no one seemed to come here, because this place had been built to take advantage of the sunlight. There were tables and chairs for writing, and cozy little alcoves for reading. You could easily picture yourself spending hours here. Your parents had nurtured a love for reading in you, and you felt a prick of loss at the thought of them.

As you lightly ran your fingers across the spines of the books, reading their titles, the dust stirred. Truly, no one had come in here in recent memory but you. You thought maybe this could be your hideaway, far enough that you could feel even a little like yourself again, and still close enough by that you could easily validate your presence here. All these books would help, too, as would the ones in your bedroom, for crafting more of the stories that had somehow ensnared your husband’s attention. And if, by chance, they held magical knowledge as well, you could do some surreptitious research.

Moreover, it was simply a beautiful place. Even if you were not in the clutches of a devil, you would gladly come here every day.

The sun outside heralded the afternoon, and you knew you would be fetched and served lunch. Quietly, you left the library, closing the doors behind you. You could return another time, you thought. For now, you would acquiesce to the expectations (however little there were) of you.

In the throne room a human was being brought to kneel before the demon king. This man had dared protest his power and struck one of his knights in retaliation. Such insolence demanded punishment, and the decree for him was death.

“Do what you must,” said Urizen. “My power will not be challenged.”

He waved an imperious hand, sprawled as he was on his throne. The guards took the prisoner away, heedless of his piteous cries.

“I did nothing wrong! It was him, he—”

They dragged him to the courtyard, the man’s struggling making a spectacle of the walk. It was just your luck: the window overlooking that courtyard was the one right in front of you.

One of the silent knights struck him across the face with his metal gauntlet. He fell to the ground, and another pulled him onto the chopping block.

His pleas were cut short by the descent of the axe upon his neck.

You stared, barely believing what had happened right in front of your eyes. A man had been killed. You watched the blood spurt, the ground turn red beneath him. Above the body, the branches of a large, leafless tree swayed in the windless air, its bark as white as bone. Red splattered over that bone-white tree, soaked into the earth beneath, and his head rolled on the ground with a heavy thunk.

What had that man done? You weren’t shocked that executions were carried out here at the palace itself, but seeing it was another matter entirely.

Were you going to be next?

You had no stomach for the rest of your meal. You stood, fighting the urge to retch, and took off back to your room. Feeling numb, you hoped that you would not be summoned to attend to your husband in the evening. You weren’t sure you could take another fright in the same day. To distract yourself, you made notes on the story you had started the previous evening, in the case that you would need to provide a continuation. Your mind wandered, far from the confines of the palace walls, as you wove your tale.

Of course, right before you were about to begin your evening toilette, the same devil from the night before came to your room to escort you to Urizen once again. Various other demons came in and out of the palace during the day, but this one was the only one you had encountered at night, not counting the mannequin demons that cleaned and served in the kitchen.

In case this devil was going to remain as your chaperone, you deigned to ask him his name.

“I can’t really say, my lady. But you can call me Tony.”

You noted there was a strange, clipped quality to his words, as if some spell or physicality prevented him from uttering his name. Or maybe you imagined it because demons had different voices than humans. More than that, though—

“Tony?” you echoed. “That’s…” An unusual name for a demon, you were going to say. Much too… human. His face, too, was far more humanlike than the other demons you had encountered.

To your surprise, he chuckled. “A weird name? Sounds better than Urizen, I’d say.”

His nonchalant manner took you off guard. You hadn’t been expecting this at all.

“I only meant that I didn’t expect a devil to have such a normal sounding name,” you explained.

He shrugged. “It doesn’t need to be complicated. Just Tony is fine.”

Before you knew it, you were back again in the great hall, standing before the doors to the throne room. Tony walked ahead of you to open the doors and once again, you saw your husband.

You walked through the large room, one you surmised was the largest one in the entire palace, approaching your spouse. Tony remained outside.

You tried not to let the images from earlier that day distract you too much. The man’s cries. The blood seeping into the ground. The tree that moved by itself.

You nearly crumpled the notes in your hand.

“Wife,” Urizen said, in that deep, dark tone. There was no discernable expression on his obscured face, and none in his voice. You bowed before him and awaited his instruction.

“The tale from yesterday. Continue it.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. As long as this remained all he asked of you, you would be okay, probably. Shuffling through your notes, you began to recite the rest of the story.

Again he offered neither comment nor interjection, or really any reaction at all, which you supposed was the best you could hope for at the moment. The plot you’d woven was fairly basic: the hero of this story was torn between his mission and the growing love between him and the lady who had rescued him, and while he was making to leave, the lady asked to accompany him. She wanted to help him, she said. He did not want to get her involved in his problems.

“This is not just about you!” said she. “I lost loved ones in that attack too. And who’s to say they won’t attack this town too—”

“I have a mission. It’s dangerous.”

“With them out there, everywhere is dangerous,” she said. “I am going whether you want me to or not.”

Cursing his mission for vengeance, she left him to seek a new home for her family.

“What a strange tale,” Urizen said.

“Wh-what?” This was the first time he’d spoken about the story itself. You couldn’t tell whether he meant the comment as a compliment, or as a sign he disliked it, and a shiver of panic rose in you.

“If that is all, you may go.”

You weren’t done, but you also didn’t want to go against his word.

“Then I shall resume tomorrow evening, my lord husband.”

He said nothing, only waving his hand in dismissal. You gathered up your notes, bowed hastily, and left the room.

You wondered—why did he decide to comment on the story now? Was there something about the tale he disliked? He had given no clue as to his feelings, as always. His expression had remained inscrutable and distant. Your hands clenched around your books and papers, frustrated.

Tony was nowhere to be found outside. Alone, you walked back to your room, returning to fitful sleep.

“So? What about it, V?”

There was a crow perched on the top of an armchair in the library, where a young man sat deep in thought.

“Think she’s the one?” the crow asked the young man.

“She has power, I can feel it,” he responded. In his hands he held a book, idly flipping through the pages.

“But what about—"

He interrupted the crow. “She’ll come back. I’ll speak with her then.”

“If you’re sure,” the crow said. “Y’know, I could always fly out there, get her to come if you can’t—”

“No need,” he responded. “What she needs is here. She’ll come back.”

[willow-wanderings]

pls tell us about the galandara cycle o:

Long story short: it's a fantasy series that involves lost cities, magic treasure, a dash of time travel, and an elite peacekeeping force that rides GIANT TELEPATHIC WARCATS into battle.

It's like if Princess Of Mars, JC's Avatar, and Temeraire had a baby whose cool lesbian aunts were 1001 Nights and HP&The Sorcerer's Stone

Seriously, I'm not remotely doing it justice here, PLEASE GO READ IT 😭 THE FANDOM IS SO DEAD IT HURTS

[365days365movies]

March 8, 2021: The Thief of Bagdad (1940) (Part One)

ARABIAN NIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHTS

Aladdin is actually the first film I ever saw in theaters, according to my Mom, and I do adore this movie. In case you’re wondering, I thought the remake was...OK. Not great, not terrible, but...not bad, y’know? But yeah, I love this movie, even if it’s not exactly the most accurate to the original story of Aladdin presented in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.

Interestingly enough, though, this movie instead takes from a much more recent, much newer source for a lot of its inspiration. And this is going to begin a chronologically-ordered foray into cinematic fantasy. So, back to 1940, in a time period where fantasy films began to explode in popularity, thanks to one film that came one year before.

Yup. The Wizard of Oz, considered one of the greatest films of all time, is still a classic that holds up today, as well as being arguably the most high-profile fantasy film in all of film history.  But a year later, Hungarian-British film director Alexander Korda came out with an often-forgotten film: The Thief of Bagdad. Which was ACTUALLY a remake of a silent film from 1924!

But I’m going with the 1940 British film instead! And honestly, I’m excited enough to just get started here! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

Before I get into all of this, I think I need to say this at the jump: this is a film from 1940. Most of the main actors are White. Yeah. Duh. Not ALL of the are, but the two love interests definitely are, alongside the villain. And NONE of the actors are from the region that the film takes place in, except for possibly the extras. So, yeah, thought I should bring that up before anything else. ANYWAY

A ship pulls into port somewhere in ancient Arabia, and before we start here...I can’t even SLIGHTLY comment on the authenticity of this film, costume wise. But in the meantime, I can at least enjoy the color of this film, which are beautifully bright and technicolor.

A mysterious man has come into port, seeking a sleeping princess and a blind beggar. I won’t say the name of the traveler yet, as I don’t know it from the film itself as of yet. He and a young woman named Halima (Mary Morris) go into town to find the blind man, named Ahmad (John Justin).

Speaking for the mysterious traveler, Halima invites Ahmad to a palace, alongside his trusty dog, Abu (a good boy). At said palace, a princess is afflicted with a ceaseless sleep. The man would appear to be an advisor of some kind, and also does not know how to end her sleep. She is apparently in love with the blind beggar.

Said blind beggar is being attended to by many maidens, and to them (and the advisor), he tells a story of his dog’s past life, a street thief also named Abu (Sabu), who’s stealing food, pursued by a group of angry salesman and citizens. He parkours away from them all, keeping one jump ahead of the bread line.

There will be MANY Disney puns, I’m warning you now.

From a rooftop, he sees the young Sultan of the kingdom, Ahmad’s past life, named...Ahmad. He is accompanied by his Grand Vizier: Jaffar (Conrad Veidt). Yup. Really. Also, he’s the same guy playing the advisor from earlier, meaning that this is also HIS past life. Neat!

Like a Vizier do, Jaffar whispers in Ahmad’s ear, trying to get him to do less-than-great things in order to show his power. Ahmad, however, is a kind man, who wishes to show such kindness to his citizens. He goes into the city that night, with Jaffar’s encouragement, in order to discover more about his people. He begins this by listening to a sermon, prophesying that the tyrant Ahmad will fall to Allah’s will. Awkward.

Not that it’s about to matter, since Jaffar tells his men to arrest Ahmad, as he’s now dressed as a citizen, and to claim that he’s a madman if he claims to be the Sultan. It works, and Jaffar is crowned Sultan as Ahmad is thrown in prison. It’s there that Ahmad meets Abu, who’s also been arrested. A madman and a thief.

The two plot to escape from the jail, and Ahmad learns that he’s presumed dead by the populus. After Ahmad realizes that Ahmad’s not mad, but the actual Sultan, they decide to flee to the kingdom of Basra by travelling down the river for three days. Time for a cruise!

We skip ahead quickly to the glorious city of Basra, which is...impressive. It’s genuinely gorgeous, and it was filmed in...THIS ENTIRE THING IS A SET? HOLY SHIT!!! That is legit impressive, goddamn. In Basra, Abu trains Ahmad in the way of subtle thievery and trickery, and they learn of the Sultan of Basra, who has the world’s largest collection of toys, like a proper nerd. He guards his toys more carefully...than he guards his daughter. Well, OK!

Speaking of the Sultan’s Daughter, a commotion clears the marketplace in order to clear a way for a procession, at the center of which is the beautiful Sultan’s daughter, Jasmine. No, not really. But considering that she’s only credited as The Princess (June Duprez)...I’ll be referring to her as Jade.

Attended to by Harlem Renaissance legend...the Singer (Adelaide Hall, who is one of the big figures from the early days of jazz), Jade would appear to be a somewhat bored young women, disaffected by her upper-class life. So, yeah, Jasmine. And Ahmad is, of course, wildly in love with her at first sight.

Ahmad has to see her again, and when Abu notes that they have tickets on a ship helmed by Sinbad the Sailor (trying to set up a 1001 Nights Cinematic Universe, nice), Ahmad insists that he has to see Jade again. Abu agrees, and helps him get into the palace garden.

There, he pretends to be a genie in a pond, using reflections while he hides in a tree. She falls for it (somehow), and he just simps all over her. She notes that she’s come to the pond to bathe, and he notes that he’s paid good money for his OnlyFans subscription, and wants some of that sweet, sweet bathwater. Which sounds like a semi-topical humorous exaggeration, but is BASICALLY THE TRUTH I SWEAR

He reveals himself to be a real live simp, and she responds by IMMEDIATELY kissing him. Goddamn, they’re fuckin’ perfect for each other. They agree, but her father will not be pleased. Still, they pledge to see each other again. Which pisses off Abu, because now he can’t go on that trip and set up this film franchise. He agrees to stay with Ahmad to help him get Jade.

Which is gonna be WAY goddamn harder, since Basra has a new visitor in the form of the usurper, Jaffar. He’s come to meet with the Sultan of Basra (Miles Malleson), a man who is absolutely obsessed with toys, big ol’ nerd that he is. Which, again, is SUPER used in Aladdin. To win over the Sultan’s favor, Jaffar brings in a mechanical horse. And that horse can FUCKING FLY WHAT THE SHIT

And this is when the GF (she says hello) informs me that this is ANOTHER REFERENCE to One Thousand and One Nights! Apparently, there’s a flying mechanical horse called the Ebony Horse, given to a King! It really IS a 1001CU! But back to the original story, and the Sultan WANTS the goddamn horse. In exchange, Jaffar wants only one thing: his daughter. And he immediately agrees.

She ain’t havin’ that shit, and she tells one of her handmaidens to find Ahmad in the garden, and tell him to meet her in Samarkand (another reference!), where she flees to avoid the forced wedding to Jaffar. However, that message doesn’t get to Ahmad soon enough, and he’s arrested in the garden by the palace guards, along with Ahmad.

Overjoyed to finally be able to stab the EVER-LOVING FUCK out of Jaffar, he tries to tell the truth to the Sultan. However, Jaffar uses his magic to...make Ahmad blind. Abu tries to tell the truth instead, only to be...turned into a dog. Wait...it’s not past lives? THEY’RE LITERALLY THE PRINCE AND ABU? Abu is a FUCKING DOG? Damn.

Back in the present day, Ahmad finishes his story, where the maidens tell him of Jade’s fate: she was caught by slave traders and brought back to Basra, where she quickly fell into a trance that she hasn’t awakened from. Although, she apparently still talks in her sleep about the Genie of the Pool.

They take him to see her, and she IMMEDIATELY wakes the fuck up! The two embrace, reunited at last, only for that reunion to be interrupted by Halima, sent by Jaffar to “end the masquerade”. That can’t be good. She takes Ahmad away under false pretenses, and she’s told that she can cure his lost sight by seeing a doctor. Ahmad leaves Abu with her, for protection.

However, this whole thing was just to get Ahmad to wake Jade up, so they could kidnap her and put her on a ship back to Basra. He throws Abu overboard (MOTHERFU-), and goes to speak with the Princess. As she notes that she was roised a cure to Ahmad’s blindness, he claims that the second the two of them embrace, Ahmad will see again. Damn...dude really wants a hug, huh?

AND IT WORKS! Not only is Ahmad able to see again, but Abu is a human again, as both of their curses are broken by a fucking hug. Um...somebody hug this man. Goddamn. The Hays Code is STRONG with this one, holy shit. And it’s ESPECIALLY weird, because Jaffar literally admits that he could MAKE her love him, but wants her true love instead. Um...fuckin’ YIKES, buddy.

As she runs away, he pursues her outside, and they look out to see that they’re being followed in a boat by Ahmad and Abu. And then Jaffar pulls an Elmer Fudd, and goes “NOWTH WINS BWOW”, and summons a storm after the two on the sea.

GREAT place to pause, I think! See you soon, in Part Two!

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Barefoot Waltz

Beauty Pop

Dramacon

The Garden of Words

Hana-Kimi

I.O.N

Last Hope

Lover's->Flat

Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin

Re-Gifters

Runaways

Scott Pilgrim

Ai Yori Aoshi

Animeta!

Astra Lost in Space

Azumanga Daioh

Bakuman

Barakamon

BattleAngel Alita

Beet The Vandel Buster

Behind Story

Behind The Scenes

Black Cat

Citrus 1

Cowboy Bebop

DeathNote

Disappearance of Yuki-Chan

Dojin Work

Drifting Dragons

Eden's Zero

Eromanga Sensei

FairyTail

Fruits Basket

FullMetal Alchemist

Gunsmith Cats

Gunsmith Cats Burst

Gurren Lagann

Kare Kano

K-On

Komi Can't Communicate

Love Hina

Manga Dogs

Mär

Marmalade Boy

Maison Ikkoku

MegaTokyo

Mobile Suit Gundam 00F

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 2

Mobile Suit Gundam The Last Outpost

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt

Mobile Suit Gundam Endless Waltz Glory of Losers

NTR Netsuzou Trap

Ouran Highschool Host Club

Our Wonderful Days

Pastel

Ringworld

Shortcake Cake

Skip•Beat

Steel Fist Riku

Suzuka

Syrup

Takane & Hana

Tiger and Bunny

Very Very Sweet

Voice of Love

Voice Over

Wanted

Wild Ones

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Another Castle: Grimoré

Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers

Check Please

Citizen of The Galaxy

Concrete

Dead Boy Detectives

Death Jr.

Dishonored

Doctor Star

Electric Girl

Frontlines: Requiem

The Fountain

Galaxy Quest

Hellgate London

Highlander The American Dream

High Level

The Jetsons

Kin: Descent of Man

Klaus: How Santa Claus Began

Klaus: The New Adventures of Claus

Klaus: The Life and Times of Santa Claus

The Legend Of Drizzt 1-7

Mirror's Edge: Exordium

Neverending

Newbury and Hobbes: The Undying

Orbiter

Ravine 1-2

R.I.P.D City of The Damned

Rust

Secret Identities

Starlight

Star Mage

The Star Wars (based on the original script)

Superior

Swordquest

Ultra

WildFire

Alex + Ada (I own volume one but won't be continuing the series myself. But it is finished.)

Anne Bonnie

Atomic Robo

Birthright

The Books of Magic (original 90's run, no idea about the new series)

Calvin and Hobbes

Crux: Atlantis Rising

Danger Girl

East of West

Fanboys Vs. Zombies

Invincible

The Losers

Kingsman

Jupiter Jet

Miracle Man

Saga

Splinter Cell Echoes

Spyboy

Starborn

ARTEMIS FOWL

ASSASSIN'S CREED

ASTRO CITY

CRITICAL ROLE

CTRL+ALT+DEL

DCU

All Star Superman

Batman Arkham Knight

Batman War Games

Batman War Drums

Batman War Crimes

Batman Year 100

Batman White Knight

Batman Curse of The White Knight

DC Comics Bombshells

Gotham Academy

Earth One Batman

Earth One Green Lantern

Earth One Superman

Earth One Teen Titans

Earth One Wonder Woman

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary

Harleen

Harley Quinn White Knight

Justice League of America Riddle of the Beast

Justice League: The New Frontier

Kingdom Come

Superman Red Son

Superman Secret Identity

Superman Smashes The Klan

Watchmen

DC ElseWorlds

Green Lantern 1001 Emerald Nights

Green Lantern: Evil's Might 1-3

Superman: Kal

Superman/Batman Alternate History

Stan Lee Green Lantern, JLA, Wonder Woman, The Flash

FABLES

Fables

Fables: Werewolves Of The Heartland

Fables: The Wolf Among Us

Fairest

Fairest: In All The Land

Jack of Fables

Cinderella From Fabletown With Love

Cinderella Fables Are Forever

Everafter

1001 Nights of Snowfall

Complete Covers

IRREDEEMABLE

Incorruptible

Irredeemable

JUPITER'S LEGACY

Jupiter's Legacy

Jupiter's Circle

LADY MECHANIKA

Lady Mechanika

THE LIBRARIANS

Librarians

LOLA XOXO

Lola

Lola Wasteland Madame

LUMBERJANES

LumberJanes

MCU

House of M

Ms. Marvel

Wolverine The End

Wolverine Origins

X-Men The End

MERCY THOMPSON

Mercy Thompson Moon Called 1

POWERS

Powers: Bureau

Powers

PROJECT BLACK SKY

Barb Wire

Blackout

Brain Boy

Captain Midnight

Ghost

King Tiger

The Occultist

Secret Files

Sky Man

X

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS

SEJIC-VERSE

BloodStain - SFW

SunStone - NSFW

SunStone Mercy - NSFW

Swing - NSFW

TOMB RAIDER

Tomb Raider 1-3 (Between Tomb Raider and Rise)

Tomb Raider 1-4 (Between Rise and Shadow)

TRIPPING OVER YOU

Tripping Over You

Extra Mini - NSFW

UNWRITTEN

The Unwritten

The Unwritten: The Ship That Sank Twice

RECS RECS RECS RECS RECS RECS!!! 

I have heard of quite a few of these and seen most of the manga come thru my register at work lol. I can second the Check Please rec (it’s also a webcomic!) and I’ve been reading the newer Books of Magic in the past year or so ironically enough and thought it was fun, was considering fishing some of the 90s out of the dollar bin at a local comic shop but the condition wasn’t good. Calvin and Hobbes is a CLASSIC and I’ve been meaning to get around to Kingsmen cause I enjoyed the movies. DC Bombshells is a GIFT. A Gift. And I adore the Earth One Teen Titans, kinda wished they’d continued it. Kingdom Come is another classic and something I was leant in high school, I was very lucky in high school lol. Lumberjanes is adorable as well! I know you said you weren’t looking to start new stuff but Fence is a good one and has Check Please vibes. The Umbrella Academy is also great when it comes to just weird superhero flavored nonsense. And Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is a classic for a very good reason. 

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 24: Someone Actually Called the Cops.

So recently I was like, “I should do something different than my usual” and I decided to open up a little thread for critiquing ppl’s short stories, and I kid you not, the very first story I got was someone’s Seto Kaiba erotica. Which, even in erotica form, did not have very much romance in it. So, now that Yugioh will apparently haunt my every waking move forever until I die, lets get back to S4. Lets desperately get back to canon. I miss canon.

Last we left off, Kaiba lost KaibaCorp...again. Really feels like he loses this company once every couple of years (weeks if we count season 1-3). Except, this time, Dartz didn’t read the fine print in the legal files that says the company must be run by a member of the Kaiba family. While that was a huge plot point with Pegasus, turns out that Seto and Mokuba’s memories have been blended so thoroughly, like a very fine Shadow Realm smoothie, that they just...forgot.

And like I’m positive that Roland remembers, but Roland’s not gonna say something and accidentally reveal he’s the 4th Kaiba brother and have to get abducted all the time and actually work for a living. Anyways, they forgot why Pegasus abducted them in the first place in Season 1, and honestly, so did the writers of this season 4 years later. Not like it mattered, because if Seto and Mokuba did take Dartz to court, the world would end before their case would even start.

Which is how, after one talk with Roland, Seto and Mokuba just sort of laid prone on the metaphorical ground and let it wash over them that yes, KaibaCorp is gone.

I really like this extra-long helicopter, PS.

Both members of Kaiba’s Sunglasses Army decided to align themselves with Kaiba, although honestly, I don’t think anyone else in this company has realized that they’ve been bought. It happened...1 hour ago. Like what do you even do if your company randomly gets bought in the middle of a workday? Like no lead up, no indication, just BAM you’ve been bought?

And if Duke works for Pegasus who got bought out by Dartz and then Dartz bought Kaiba Corp-------What does that make Duke? Is he gonna have to start wearing sunglasses inside?

Anyway, Roland knows better than to tell Seto Kaiba he doesn’t work for him anymore while still in the same helicopter as Seto Kaiba, who already crashed one plane today and will crash yet another plane before this episode is through.

(read more under the cut)

Seto decides to align with Yugi since he needs to confront Dartz eventually. Which is when we find out that Seto always planned to align with Yugi and was just giving him a really hard time.

Because over the last several episodes, Seto has had an entire team at this random museum in Florida in order to take some pictures (that really should have already been on the internet but wtv, it was 2003 so maybe it wasn’t?)

It’s like most of the way through s4 and the biker ninjas still send me. How did he make SO MANY biker ninjas? At what point was Dartz like...and now...all my mooks...will be ninja bikers. Or orcs. Mostly Ninja bikers.

Did Alister or the others ever tell him “hey, Master Dartz, I get that your 10000 years old but like...do you not understand what a biker is?” and was Dartz like

“clearly bikers are the most evil thing in the world, obviously.” completely unaware that most bikers are just 45 year old accountants.

In these scenes we also get a gander at their laptops and, if you ever want to see high level life crippling OCD anxiety in picture form, it’s illustrated very clearly right here:

Not only did they draw this keyboard in 1 pt perspective, they used like a ruler to draw all those letters so they were the same size. Some artist put so much time getting this nice and crisp and smooth...and then this happened.

And I’m pretty sure they died after that. I’m pretty sure this scene killed an artist.

It’s at this point that Yami kinda puts two and two together and was like “WE BOUGHT PLANE TICKET’S, YOU ASSHOLES.”

(It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen Mokuba smile like this, and it’s because he’s been hiding the fact for So Many Episodes that he and his brother prepped like hours ago to get this huge dunk on the rest of the party. He just wants to dunk on them so bad. Look at him. His company was bought today. BUT he gets to spend time with his bro dunking.)

Serious question, will Delta refund your flight if the Great Leviathan appears in the sky and tries to eat your soul to reboot the world from the ground up?

Of course not. They will never refund your flight. Trick question.

We switch back over to Rebecca and Duke, who have been absent from this show for so long, I actually forgot what Duke’s name was and had to think for like...5 entire minutes until I remembered that his nickname sounds like a poop and I was like “oh man, what name of poop would it be???” and then I recalled “Dookie. Yes. His name is literally Dookie. Wow that took way too long!”

Then we start a story arc I’d to call “My Kingdom For a Sharpen Filter” where, much like King Lear, the Yugi crew splays themselves on a battle field just strewn with different ways to sharpen an image, but can’t for the life of them use any other one, but the one deep in the heart of what is now DartzCorp.

And so yes, we are going to fly to San Fransisco, hop into ye Olde KaibaCorp, and log into proto-Noah in order to read a language that Arthur Hawkins can already read.

This is nonsense, but they put it there because it’s something to do. And honestly, it’s not a card game, so I’m down for this change-up. Lets go visit a version of Noah’s brain. At least they won’t drop an orichalcos for the 12th episode in a row.

On the way, Seto decides to try and egg on Yugi.

This backfires as you expect it will because Yami doesn’t freakin care. Like he’s not Yugi, he doesn’t care who the King of Games is, he harnesses freakin Dark Magic. The Wizard never cares if he’s King Arthur or not, and in fact, he probably prefers it....

..................Except in that spinoff where they had Yugi as a reincarnation of King Henry VII.

...................................................never mind.

And then Seto Kaiba says this actual line and I just...

WH.

WHHH

WHAT?

This entire show is just watching Yugi desperately cling to his scary ass hobbies. The tagline of Yugioh is “1001 reasons to go back to school and get a real job.”

What does Kaiba think Yugi does when he’s not around? Does he actually think Yugi attends school or sleeps at night or works an actual job? Like...he thinks Yugi has...NO HOBBIES.

Very interesting insight into what Seto considers a hobby and not hobby.

Especially since this Yami, who spends most of his spare time farting around his scary ass brain castle and getting lost. Occasionally he is forced on a date with Tea and wipes minds. That’s it. That’s all the things Yami does outside of hobbies.

Anyway, what is Dartz doing during all of this?

After this, Dartz pulls back the literal curtains on this room to reveal these candles that each hold the soul of someone he’s murdered.

There are not NEARLY enough candles for this segment.

A very brave man to have candles littered on the floor when his hair is down to his ass and all of his mooks have floorduster coats.

I really want to know what the local arts and crafts store thought when Dartz strode in there and bought every single tiny styrafoam skull during the Halloween sale and was like “can I put souls in these? You sell the kind I can put souls in, right?” and then immediately pulled out like a dozen 50% off coupons like a complete asshole.

Anyway, using this candle hocus pocus, Dartz uses the Orichalcos powers to take advantage of something Yugi did in the first episode. We distantly recall there was a giant eyeball in the sky--turns out if you bust up the eyeball with, lets say, a card that has a dragon on it, the eyeball will explode into many tiny Orichalcos pieces that will fall all over planet Earth.

So apparently Yugi didn’t save anyone at all when he busted that eyeball, because he instead set in motion Dartz’ evil plan to eventually use these many tiny Orichalcos pieces like the one seen here, to kill the hell out of people.

Good job, Yugi. Too bad you missed the Actual Bakura.

In fact, actual Bakura is probably the only one who survived this incident because I guarantee that Ryou Bakura is too busy eating all the contents of his fridge out of stress. He’s probably opened his window at this point, seen the crazy lights in the sky and in the street and was like  “Blooooooody nope nopenopenopenopenope” and just locked the windows and doors, turned up Hercule Poirot to max volume, and stuffed his face with cookies.

(Or biscuits, I guess.)

WELL.

I don’t know how to tally that.

Yugioh not only broke the tally I was using to measure the distance they spent commuting this season, it also broke the tally on the amount of people who have died on this children’s show.

That’s a really big number.

We’ve had real duel monsters for a couple weeks but youknow...this time they’re extra, extra, extra real. More so than the last times. Also they’re all Orichalcos versions of their cards so their extra edge now. They’re the hot topic versions of what were already pretty hot-topic ass cards.

MMM. We come full circle, back at a dock, a warehouse, and some huge ass boat.

Right where we belong. Where all friends meet, where we can all finally be one.

Yugioh found one of the only cities that has a very famous and tourist heavy pier/warehouse district in it just so the Yugi gang could finally feel comfortable in their natural habitat. HOWEVER, there’s just one tiny problem in this scene, and it’s that it’s not overlaid with the actual soundscape of a SF pier, which is that of 100000 screaming seals

I don’t have a seal problem, you have a seal problem.

Anyway, the only healthy adults here attempt to follow the children into danger but someone on the animation team was like “we just lost the keyboard drawing guy to that capslock! We cannot lose any more interns to a crowd scene with 9 people in it and 2 dead bodies!” and they uh...

And we immediately eject Roland and whoever that weird sunglasses guy is out of the script. Mokuba gave them a longing glance as they helicoptered away. Maybe because he missed his Dad stand-ins that he went through such efforts to call in the first place. Or more likely, because Mokuba would have preferred to be on that helicopter and far away from whatever the hell is going to go down on this dock.

Honestly the rest of Joey’s storyline this episode is him going rogue because of Mai rage, and it both comes out of nowhere and also seems very on point for him.

Meanwhile, Rebecca’s unbridled rage towards Yami Muto is still low key hilarious to me.

Witness the only character here who thinks Yami should suffer actual consequences and witness Yami just appear to not give a single damn about it.

Nearly spat out my own drink watching this.

The...

...police...

...exist in this universe?

Anyway, while Tristan and Tea try to locate a payphone to dial 911, Seto and Yugi decide to invade Seto’s own company by going through an elevator that you have to reach through the sewers.

Straight up I don’t think SF even has sewers. At least, not in the sense that you can walk in em like New York or Paris or other cities that have sewers. Our sewer systems are very small cuz we got something called “liquefaction” which means our ground is so soft (and artificial--a lot of the land is fake), that when there is an earthquake, certain parts of the city will...liquefy. It’s Terrifying. We kind of...avoid going and building underground except in certain stable places. (like even BART gives me the heebies.)

I just have a very strong distrust of basements, caves and other underground places in general and it’s not because of spiders, or ghosts or whatever, I’m just afraid of faultlines. It’s like having an active volcano, but you just don’t see it, and we haven’t had a Big One since 1989 so...any day now (I mean, 2020 has been such redic content, that I think we’re finally ready)

Again, Japan has way more intense Earthquakes than we do, and yet they have a billion underground subways and very, very tall buildings, so like, this is mostly a big cultural difference between the two of us. And the bedrock. They probably have better bedrock than we do (honestly, I just have no idea).

MASTER HACKER SKILLS.

Almost as good as that time he hacked into Pegasus’ company by dropping a satellite on it. I’m starting to think Seto actually doesn’t know how to use a computer.

Anyway, Seto is faced with...real cards, real monsters, indisputable evidence, and he decides, it’s time. It’s time to finally face facts.

So, while these two are just flinging cards around willy nilly, Tea and Tristan are ...actually talking to police.

4 seasons. They’re actually doing it.

Although, TBH, they probably should have gone to the Japanese Embassy first? Just throwing that out there.

Ah Yugioh, the only kids show around that tells you point blank not to trust cops. Timeless.

U.S

In some weird underground earthquake hazard, Rebecca proves that she is smarter than Seto Kaiba. She’s maybe even the smartest person on this show. Nice that we gave her nothing to do this season but pine over Yugi who is already taken by Tea who he is also not even dating.

Not that I love Rebecca or anything, I actually have a hard time with her voice, but like...they really dropped the ball on Rebecca.

If she does end up joining Kaiba corp as their back up Felicity Smoak while Seto just runs around aimlessly punching stuff that really is just offbrand Arrow but with cards. And with slightly less resurrections.

So, lets get a gander at that computer.

We didn’t get to see Kaiba pull out 12 other discs to complete the installation process for these all these Hard Discs. Maybe the lure of throwing a very aerodynamic CD across the room like a paper card was so strong that his dev team forced him to switch to these defunct squares?

PS, I am a true millennial, OK? But, I don’t remember Hard Discs.

Hard Discs were SO long go. I stopped using these damn things in Elementary school. The last Hard Disc I ever touched was in college, when I had to put my art portfolio on a disc to submit it to my degree. I don't know even why. Everyone had a mac, so I knew no one’s computer in the department even...HAD a disc drive so it was like...whomst among you has this damn computer from 1997? Whomst among you is still using Windows 95? WHY would I put IMAGES on a floppy when I can just email them to you?

Anyway, I had to get a USB hard disc reader, and to get that reader, I had to call my Dad who had legacy software because he’s a computer engineer, and he had to mail it to me.

In that same portfolio review, PS, I also had to submit my portfolio as slides.

I didn’t even know where to produce slides so I had to ask all these old people and go to the last photo processing store on earth to get digital pictures turned into negatives and then turned into freakin slides.

SLIDES.

I honestly think they just did that to weed people out of the art degree.

Anyway, I tell you this story just to say that there is no way in hell that Kaiba was using a hard disc during the height of the CD era. We were CD or go home since 2000. We had pretty decent jump drives at this point. We had wifi. It was realllly bad wifi, but we had it. Your phone could connect to the internet. It would charge you 50 bucks, but it COULD connect.

Who on the Yugioh team DID this?

Anyway lets see these pictures that for which, we spent thousands of dollars in unused plane tickets, destroyed a Caltrain, killed 2 ancient Atlanteans (and their dog), killed 3 random mid-villains, walked across the entire Peninsula, crashed an international plane, and left both the plane and the train to rot gas fuel into the nearest lake which is right next to a ghost graveyard?

Yeaaaaaaaaaah!

Like he reads it and is all “They’re gonna resurrect Atlantis” and it’s like WE KNOW. Dartz and his hooligans have talked about starting their Utopia to reboot the world since Gurimo. Since Day 1.

Man.

Anyways, there was one plus to the pictures, and it was that Seto Kaiba recognized the Oricalchos logo.

just...

The Oricalchos logo is...

...This logo, Seto?

You...didn’t recognize...seriously? Not until just now? You have been inside of this logo, rearing to lose your soul to Alister 2 times, and he only recognized it...just now.

I mean Seto takes a while y’all. He’s a genius, but his memory is so, so bad, that he will Eventually get smart, but you have to wait until like episode 24. But he’ll get there. Just gotta be patient.

And, when he saw it, he wigged out in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

Y’all I feel like I’ve seen to many weird zooms on Kaiba’s crotch in this show. Or just in life in general, especially after that surprise fic. That’s all.

I don’t know why everything exploded, but maybe the logo is cursed in the same way as God Cards? I dunno.

Anyway, this is when Dartz shows up with his brand new dog.

So they run outside onto the roof.

Now listen, does every Kaiba Corp building need the same weird ass roof? Is it like a McDonalds?

Because I’m just picturing this type of roof in SF and I’m having a time.

Forgive me if I made this lemming joke already. He’s just stood on a cliff’s edge so many times I can’t keep up.

RIP Dragon Jet, who took us from S3-S4, you’ll always live on in our memory, you glorious, wasteful, beautiful death trap.

Seto and Yugi are fine by the way, they just kinda jumped out, as you do when you’re an immortal god possessing a small boy and a...whatever the hell Seto is.

It’s at this point we reintroduce Valon because Joey went rogue and has decided to take on Dartz by himself. This is what happens when Tristan leaves the party. You always need Tristan to hold back Joey by his armpits to keep him from fighting random people.

So I guess Valon’s gonna die next episode. That’ll be nice.

What’s great about this show is each arc is just watching each villain die. You know they’ll die. But...how much?

Anyway, that’s all for today. I’m still drawing a hell ton of stuff so I don’t know when the next update will be...but just now I haven’t dropped off or something. I’ll...eventually get to it.

And if you just got here, this is a link to read all of these in chrono order.

Anyway, I mentioned Hercule Poirot, (because watching a hell ton of BBC was how I spent time with my family when I was a kid, and my very Southern Grandma freakin LOVED Hercule Poirot) So here is the best subplot of that show, which is David Suchet eating stuff.

And which doesn’t want to embed for some reason. Probs can’t embed more than one video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17antzzJrzQ

[enchantedtigress]

under the sun :) by Sevgi Durmaz

[rubykgrant]

When this health crisis is over, I am going to FORCE whatever movie-maker people to listen to me, because if we have to keep getting reboots/re-makes/sequels/spin-offs of every movie ever, they should at least be GOOD, and I am not even gonna be coy and try to humble-brag, I’ve had various ideas for movies like that since I was a kid, and I think other people would honestly enjoy it, I really think y’all would get a kick out of ‘em, so no more Miss Niceguy, when I don’t have to worry about germs (in such an extreme way), I’m just gonna make big posters that say “I have an idea for such-and-such, people will like it I swear” and I will make my thoughts actual things!

*90s VHS announcer voice* Coming who knows when to a theater near you-

Beetlejuice in Hawaii (Beetlejuice Sequel)

The Princess and Prince (Princess Bride Sequel)

Hocus Pocus 2

Practical Magic 2 (new major plot, but also adding some stuff from the book that was left out of the first movie)

The Iron Giant 2 (Listen, this isn’t plot-related, but just imagine this one part; the Giant has been slowly re-forming for several years, and has finally come back together, Hogarth goes to mee his friend in the woods, this is the first time Giant has seen Hogarth in about 3 years, he picks up the tiny teenager, and in a choked-with-emotion voice that resonates so deeply he says “Hogarth… you got so big”, because the Giant didn’t get to see Hogarth slowly grow-up, he just remembered the little boy he met that taught him how to love life, and this means a LOT to me OK)

(I don’t have a good title for it, BUT) a Home Alone movie about a girl who is house-sitting this big vacation home that is usually used in the summer but in the winter it is basically the hotel from the Shining only no ghosts, and some people break into it, so it is time to set some traps

New Back to the Future series featuring a McFly grandkid in a different time-line than previously seen

(Spin-Offs/Reboots)

A story inspired by Tall Tale, with various ladies from American folklore and real historic heroes

A story inspired by Explorers, with a group of girls who build a space ship that really works

Various Disney ANIMATED movies that aren’t sequels to existing stories, but instead have new plots from the same worlds; more Greek Mythology movies in the style of Hercules, more classic adventure stories given the sci-fi steampunk style of Treasure Planet, more 1001 Nights stories in the style of Aladdin, more stories about finding lost treasure and uncovering secrets in the style of Atlantis ect (time to chill on the live-action re-makes, I mean yeah they can be good, but we need a break)

Live-Action Pokemon Snap movie (similar to Detective Pikachu)

City of Ember (the book was so GOOD, and movie COULD have been GOOD, we just need to try AGAIN)

Clue

Alice in Wonderland

Tron (I think we can get more fun out of this concept)

Invasion of the Body-Snatchers (I want a small-town slow-build horror movie)

(this isn’t even my list of original ideas or stuff that is based on books that never got any attention, this is the handful of sequel/reboot stuff that could be actually half-way decent, and once I am free to roam around once again, I WILL get enough attention that at least a couple of these happen, DANG IT)

[mczenrath]

Headcanon; Time/Location of Agrabah

Ever since I started roleplaying Cassim back in 2014, I’ve been obsessed with ancient/post-classical Middle East & the Islamic Golden Age. Years later, I’m still researching. In the process, I became a lover of Arabic music, history, culture... & I’m also constantly raging at Sims for not having better Middle Eastern representation in their game. Seriously, wtf. Anyway, moving on... I’m not claiming this headcanon to be ACCURATE. I know some people like to place the time period during the Ottoman Empire & while I can see how that could work, I think my placement makes a bit more sense. The Ottoman Empire wasn’t as accepting of polytheistic beliefs during their reign & clearly, we see lots of proof of that in the movie/series. I mean, I’m no history wizard. This is just based on my personal research & observations from the movie/series. If you disagree with something, feel free to chime in. Time Period: 762 - 980 CE, Abbasid Caliphate  Location: Baghdad (Agrabah) & the surrounding empire (Seven Deserts) Fun side note: Agra (city in India) & Baghdad (city in Iraq)...combined together, they make ‘Agrabah’. 

Why 762 CE specifically? This was the year that the city of Baghdad was founded near the Sasanian capital city of Ctesiphon. Persian customs had been broadly adopted by the ruling elite, since the Sassanid empire had just ended in 651 CE. Persianate culture was a mixture of Persian & Islamic cultures that eventually underwent persification & became the dominant culture for centuries to come. During this point in time, Islam was on the rise, but was also co-existing with the traditional Persian religion- Zoroastrianism, as well as Hinduism, Christianity, & Judaism. Ethnic identities ranged from Arab to Persian & Turkish to Berber. This may be why we see multiple ethnicities & religious beliefs coinciding throughout the series. It varied between kingdoms, but some religions may have faced persecution. They were not, however, rejected. During this time, the empire stretched from the edges of India to the borders of Europe. This may also explain why Agrabah displayed a melting pot of people.  Why not BEFORE the 7th century? Because the position of ‘VIZIER’ originated under Abbasid rule, not before. Sultans, though appointed by the caliph, governed independent kingdoms. The vizier stood between sovereign & subjects, representing the former in all matters touching the latter. Grand viziers held authority over civil & military affairs, while enjoying the same powers as the sultan, except in the matter of the succession or the appointment of officials.

Arabian culture took off during the early Abbasid age, despite political issues. Arabs saved & spread Greek advances in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, anatomy, philosophy, the birth of ALCHEMY (chemistry), medicine, & more. Notably, they build the House of Wisdom, which housed a society of scientists & academics, a translation department, & a library that preserved the knowledge acquired by the Abbasids over the centuries. The House of Wisdom is actually where I drew some influence for the Land of the Living Sand.

Also, the Persian term for a priest in Zoroastrianism was “magi”. They were practitioners of magic, utilizing astronomy/astrology, alchemy, & other forms of knowledge. Zoroaster was an astronomer/sorcerer who was perceived by the Greeks to be the founder of the Magi & inventor of both astrology & magic, a meaning that still survives in the modern-day words "magic" & "magician". Basically, magic originated in Arabia before the Islamic age. Which would make sense why sorcerers like Jafar are still around (due to the previous empire), as well as deities like Chaos, genies (djinn), witches, & other magic users. 

The architecture during this time is also very similar to what we see in the film, as well. Persianate architecture made use of abundant symbolic geometry & repetitive forms, as well as surfaces that are richly decorated with glazed tiles, carved stucco, patterned brickwork, floral motifs, & calligraphy. In addition to historic gates, palaces, bridges, buildings & religious sites which highlight the highly developed supremacy of architecture, Persian gardens were also an example of symbolism & unique style. The gardens utilized the advanced Achaemenid knowledge of water technologies.

Additionally, until the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century, mamluk soldiers were often purchased as slaves. Their status was above that of ordinary slaves, as they were allowed to carry weapons & perform certain tasks. Historians agree that mamluks appeared to develop in Islamic societies beginning with the 9th century Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. And who do we hear referring to his undead soldier servants as “mamluks”??? Mozenrath.

So, do I think Disney’s writers & artists modeled Agrabah after Baghdad between the 7th-9th century? Yes. Especially when considering a line from Genie, “he faced the galloping hordes”. While the Mongol invasion (famously called the Siege of Baghdad) took place in 1258, leading up to that, Baghdad was under siege 7 separate times during Abbasid rule. Maybe this was a common thing at the time? Another thing about Baghdad during this time...it was BOOMING. It was a centre of science, culture, philosophy, invention, art, & trade. It was located near both the Tigris & Euphrates rivers, making it an ideal spot for food production that could sustain a large population. Some of the goods being traded through the city were ivory, soap, honey, & diamonds. People in Baghdad made & exported silk, glass, tiles, & paper. The central location & lively trade culture of the city made a lively exchange of ideas possible as well. 

And now my last & final reason why I think Disney’s Agrabah is set in Baghdad. There was a live-action film from 1940 called “The Thief in Baghdad”, which I believe Disney took a LOT of inspiration from. In the movie, there’s an evil vizier named Jafar & a thief named Abu, who finds a magic bottle containing a genie, which he uses to save the prince’s life & the princess from being married to the vizier. Abu also gets turned into a dog in this film, whereas in Disney he’s a thieving monkey that gets turned into an elephant. Anyway, since it all took place in Baghdad, I think this could be another hint as to where the location of Agrabah was meant to be. That & a lot of the stories in “1001 Nights” are set in Baghdad.  THE END. :) SORRY FOR THE LONG POST. Sources: X X X X X X X X X X X X