#Dr. Fennel

[angel-of-reckoning]

The Victory Star of Fate Retake Character Spotlight: Dr. Fennel

In the next installment of the series focusing on characters featured in The Victory Star of Fate Retake, a look at Dr. Fennel, the researcher into dreams.

Dr. Fennel is a researcher from the Unova region, who specializes in the study of dreams and the mysterious realm said to lay beyond them, known only as the “Dream World.” In the past, she was employed by Everton International to conduct her work at a laboratory near Striaton City, the Pokémon Energy Laboratory. However, due to an accident, the facility was destroyed and the ruined site became known as the Dreamyard.

Following this event, the truth of which was covered up by the company, Everton International brought Fennel to Whitegold City and stationed her aboard the offshore oil platform Nautilus One to continue her research. She is the lead scientist on the Dream Energy Project, Everton International’s efforts to harness the energy of the Dream World as a source of clean, limitless energy. In this capacity, Fennel is also tasked with working on the mysterious “Project A-PIx,” a secret development known only to her and a select group within Everton International’s upper echelon.

Fennel’s Pokémon partners are her Munna and Musharna, who assist her in her dream research.

[ninebaalart]

Dr. Fennel

[theersatzcowboy]

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Director: Robert Fuest

Cinematographer: Norman Warwick

Costume Designer: Elsa Fennell

Starring: Vincent Price and Virginia North

[fuckyeahpokemonyuri]

art by Vergolophus

source: https://twitter.com/vergolophus/status/1272663666194776065

[angeldespite]

jacob elordi as felix catton in saltburn (2023) dr. emerald fennell.

[thetravellinggourmet]

Dine with a view at SKY 22

Dine with a view at SKY 22

Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet TM Copyright all rights reserved The indomitable and irrepressible Travelling Gourmet TM dines with a view at… MARVELLOUS SKY 22 in Courtyard by Marriott. Located on the 22nd floor there is a cheerful spacious ambience with blue skies and abundant natural light. The contemporary space stuns with expansive floor-to-ceiling windows…

[thebibliosphere]

Do you have any thoughts/resources on the meds vs herbs/alt vs traditional debate? Only if you have them easily accessible, I don’t wan’t to cause trouble.

That is a very broad subject and one I have touched on numerous times as a chronically ill person who was also worked in holistic therapies for several years. (Side effect of being raised in an anti-medicine new age cult adjacent environment.)

In brief, I’m a firm believer that both have their place and can complement each other well when used appropriately.

The tl;dr version: I don’t believe enough people respect things like herbalism in the way they should because it is potent and not without side effects and too many people treat holistic as meaning harmless.

I see far too many people making herbal recommendations without either enough knowledge about interactions (either with other herbs or meds) or medical learning to be giving that kind of unsolicited advice.

For example, someone with IBS may find relief from fennel and peppermint tea and prefer it over having to take meds every day, but that same method may not apply to other forms of gastric distress (for example: peppermint can actively worsen acid reflux) or disease requiring greater medical intervention. Heck, the same may not even apply to someone else with IBS either. It depends on the individual and their needs.

I also believe that herbalism and things like essential oils need to be better regulated, especially the wellness mlm cults like doTerra and Young Living to name a few. But that’s a rant I’ve already covered numerous times and got harassed for by the wellness girlies.

[crookedteethed]

DEPRIVED barbarism (1)

Pairing: University!Coriolanus Snow x Mysterious!reader

Summary: Taking two incompatible oaths showed weakness, but that didn't add anything to the immorality of Coriolanus Snow. 

WARNING: 18+ SlightyDark! Coriolanus, SlightMean!Coriolanus Dacryphilia, Smut (p in v), Mind-fucking kink, reader is referred to as an "abomination", Fem reader, mentions of violence, (Kinda) enemies to lovers trope, Ocs, bullying

Authors note: Originally I wanted this to be one post, but I just decided to split it into two parts so it won't be so long. Going to post the second part sometime this week. Enjoy the read! ily babes <3 💗

Word count: 1.7k

An abomination. That's what they referred to you as. That's what he referred to you as. 

Coriolanus Snow was too proud of himself to admit that it hadn't been more than a joke, too self-conscious to let any of his peers get a sliver of who he was outside of university. Only the Grandma'am and Tigris got to see that part of him, the part of him that smiled and made attempts of sincerity (though that façade was shortly fleeting.). 

After all, Coriolanus was the son of General Crassus Snow. He was to be the future President of Panem (Grandma'am and Tigris had told him such so many times that he was starting to believe that he might have a chance at presidency someday); Coriolanus didn't have time to be making jokes with his peers. 

As much as Coriolanus liked daydreaming about being President someday, he knew dreaming was only for those who lacked control. For now, he was Coriolanus Snow, still the son of Crassus Snow, the tenth annual Hunger Games winner Snow. Coriolanus Snow, subject of Dr. Gaul. 

Being Dr. Gaul's study subject introduced the two of you, albeit, He wasn't sure if you two were ever formally introduced in the beginning. 

You just popped up one day in Dr. Gaul's laboratory, and after a week or two, Coriolanus deemed you a zit (this was before he deemed you an abomination). Zits shows up out of the blue and is hard to get rid them, and you don't want to pop it because it'll leave a blemish.

Coriolanus Was unsure if you were a student; the way you lingered around Dr. Gaul and the university made you seem like a ghost filled with dreaded longing. 

Coriolanus thought, if she were a ghost, she doesn't know she was dead yet. 

You weren't a ghost. Fennel Clearwillow, Coriolanus's occasional acquaintance, confirmed it. 

Coriolanus was studying in the archives when Dr. Gaul approached him alongside her: you. 

"Mr. Snow." Dr. Gaul greets. "Cramming your nose in a book during your substantial off day." She says, hands clasped behind her back and head held high. Dr. Gaul had this look on her face—like she knew something that you don't. At first, Coriolanus mistakes this look of all-knowing with the woman being out of her mind, but he would later conclude that Dr. Gaul is omniscient and a little omnipotent (and a little scary at times). 

"Dr, nothing's the matter with a little weekend studying," Coriolanus said, making sure to flash his pearly whites. 

You were there. Lingering behind the curve of Dr. Gaul's shoulder. So odd, yet compelling. 

"While the rest of your peers are out partying, drinking themselves to a stupor." Dr. Gaul states. 

You looked…clueless, Coriolanus thought. 

"The rest of my peers are morons. They wouldn't know how to serve the Capital well if there was another rebellion."  

It's like your brains had been sold separately or something. 

The thought of another war breaking out terrified Coriolanus, but at least this time he knew how to aim and shoot. 

This joke had been one of many self-deprecating ones. He earns a small smile from Dr. Gaul, which makes him feel pleased.  

“Mr. Snow I want you to meet my…” 

Latest creation? He thought. 

Dr. Gaul was a psychotic mutation-obsessed woman. Coriolanus was no stranger to this. He’d seen the snakes of various colors, the rabbit mutts, and even those stupid, stupid Mockingjay, all done by the hands of Dr. Volumnia Gaul. 

She’d already had a Frankenstein complex, messing with nature, so why not mutate humans next?

“My latest subject, Y/N Y/LN, alongside you, Y/N will also be studying under me.” Gaul said. 

Hmmp.

Dr. Gaul nearly pushed you into Coriolanus. You stopped by the tiptoes before you collided with Coriolanus’s broad chest. 

“Hello.” You say firmly. 

Coriolanus nods, too occupied studying your face. He would never admit it, but Coriolanus was too stunned to speak. This was his first time seeing your face up close and not hiding behind Dr. Gaul’s wild hair or burning in some dark corridor. 

Your skin hadn’t been muted with discoloration or any signs of stitching of other human body parts on you; you didn’t have that overall oddity most (if not all) Dr. Gaul’s mutation had.

If you had been created in a laboratory somewhere, Coriolanus was sure it had been an antique doll factory. 

You were like a porcelain doll, like the ones Tigris had played with growing up, which she would later have to pawn off during the war for three cans of pinto beans and a jug of milk. Before they were pawned, Tigris didn’t let Coriolanus touch her porcelain dolls, scared he’d break them with that negligence only a child could get away with. 

You extend your hand out, waiting for Coriolanus to accept and shake your palm, but he doesn’t. Coriolanus didn’t want to touch you. He was scared he’d put a scratch on you. 

You extract your hand, the slight smirk on your face fading. 

“It seems like Mr. Snow has already caught onto my intentions.” Dr. Gaul says. “You two will not be friends—Coriolanus, you know how much of a nuisance it is to have friends, don’t you? Especially in a competition.” 

“Competition?” You and Coriolanus say simultaneously. Coriolanus felt a strange feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach at the smile that appeared on Dr. Gaul’s face. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw you two into the arena.” I wouldn’t put that past her, Coriolanus thought. “Just think of the opportunity you two students have compared to the rest of the student body.” Gaul said. “How bad does that make me look? It’ll look like I’m just inviting anybody into our little secret society.” 

She was anybody. 

You scoff. 

 "I must assume the winner gets a permanent spot in this 'little secret society' then." Coriolanus said.

The winner would be Coriolanus since he was here first, obviously.

Dr. Gaul begins to nod, but she cuts herself off. "That part has been undecided, Mr. Snow; until further notice, I want to see how the two of you work with each other." 

Coriolanus concluded that Dr. Gaul must get off by watching the youth of Panem suffer. 

"I want the both of you to write a 6-page essay about what the punishment shall be if there were to be a second rebellion. It seems like the districts haven't quite learned their lesson, what would we do to deprive their barbarism?"  

Coriolanus's face dropped in realization. 

"Thank you, Mr. Snow, for the idea." Dr. Gaul grins. Dr. Gaul watches the bewilderment on both of her prodigy's faces; she's pleased with herself. "The paper is due this Monday, so there's no time to stand there so boggled." 

Before Volumnia Gaul leaves her two students to work, she says: "Two brilliant minds both wanting to study under one brilliant professor. This should be fun." 

Coriolanus could feel her shit-eating grin gloating through the archives as Dr. Gaul left. 

You were there again. 

Looking so clueless. 

The sight of you alone made Coriolanus's gut churn, but that bewildered look on your face gave him hope. This competition should be easy if you were as brainless as Coriolanus thought. 

But… 

If you were one of Dr. Gaul's mutated experiments, you indeed had an advantage. An advantage Coriolanus Snow lacked. 

Though the "competition" hadn't been set in stone, Coriolanus couldn't afford to let you win. 

Snow lands on top, Coriolanus affirmed, watching you from a distance as you roamed through the "Punishment in World History" section of the archives. 

Snow always lands on top. 

Two hours passed. 

Two hours in which you and Coriolanus hadn’t spoken a word to one another. The only sound came from the flip of a page in your textbooks or your pens squabbling over your papers. 

Coriolanus looked up at you occasionally. He wondered how you got your skin to look so soft. He wanted to touch you, just one poke. 

She can’t be that bad, an unrecognizable voice in his head said; this was his morality speaking. 

His thoughts meshed, creating one considerable thought of you and a second rebellion. 

He wondered if you would survive in a second rebellion; surely you wouldn’t; you’d shatter. And Coriolanus would have to save you from those barbaric districts. Though he didn’t mind having to save you, the thought of you being some damsel in distress made him more pleased to be around you. 

Coriolanus looked down at your paper. The two you decided to split the essay into three parts each. You’d been on your second page, going onto the third. Coriolanus had just decided what he wanted to put in the introductory paragraph. 

For two hours, what had he been doing?

You noticed his hostile yet imploring stares; you didn’t let it bother you until the second quarter of the hour came around. 

“Sir Stare-a-lot, if you want to win Gaul’s competition, this isn’t how you do it; I’m sure cheating is prohibited.” You said, eyes still on your paper, penned hand squibbing away.

Coriolanus scoffed like he would want to cheat off you. For the past two hours, you could've been writing nonsense onto your paper. 

"Like I could even read your chicken scratch handwriting from here." He spat. This makes you smirk. You snatch his paper quickly, ignorant of Coriolanus's pleas to "Give it back!" 

You scanned over his paper. 

Two sentences. He had two sentences, and the first sentence was the initial question rephrased. 

You laugh. 

"More like you can't read at all." You say. "You'd been staring at your books for two hours and this, is all you come up with? A district can come up with something better than this." 

Maybe it was your taunting laugh, your comparing his knowledge to someone as low as a district, or your control over him in the short time you two had been studying together that left Coriolanus Snow speechless. 

He couldn't think straight with you being around. Coriolanus excelled greatly at coming up with exciting ways to punish the districts for their wrongdoings. Still, with you sitting across from him with exquisite facial features and flawless skin, his mind drew a blank. 

Coriolanus needed to recuperate; he needed you out of the picture, and he needed to win. 

Part 2

[ninebaalart]

[misforgotten2]

The Dr. Pepper spinoff product Dr. Fennel didn’t fair as well.

American Home - December 1961

[bangchanbabygurl]

02: Safe Place { Pomegranates and Tulips }

Genre: Angst/Romance/BDSM/Smut/slightly introverted reader/ college reader/Surgeon Wonwoo/ book lover reader/cat lovers/DOM Wonwoo

Warnings: Explicit language/mention of domestic violence/mention of violence/alcohol abuse/mention of death/stalker/mentions of blood/drug abuse/smut scenes/dark mature themes/triggering scenes/traumatic experiences/mention of self-harm/mentions of eating disorders/mentions of SA

Word count: 718 words

╚» Now playing —» The Hand You Deal by Fennel Lily

I review the documents before returning them to Seungkwan, "Thank you, Y/N you are a lifesaver." Seungkwan said with a smile as he fixed the documents into the black folder. "So, are you joining us for the Christmas party?" He asked as I closed out the webpage of the computer. I shook my head,  "Parties aren't my thing, so to answer the question, no I will not be joining you, sorry." I said with a small smile.

Seungkwan lets out a small laugh, "Alright, miss can't keep her nose out of books; thank you for editing the documents Mingyu will be on my ass about them. I'll treat you to breakfast or your favorite ice cream on payday." Seungkwan says as he places the folder in Mingyu's office slot. I smile faintly as I gather my things and turn the lamp off, "I'll take you on that offer someday." I said.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" Seungkwan asked as he adjusted his messenger bag; I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Besides I only live two blocks away from here," I said; he sighed and nodded. "Okay, well see you Monday." He smiles and waves before walking to the parking lot. I wave back; a tired sigh escapes my lips. "Have a lovely night, Y/N. I hope you send in the new script on Sunday night. I'll be waiting," Mingyu said as he waved before jogging to a black BMW. "Goodnight, Y/N." Mingyu calls out from the window and waves one last time; I wave back.

I fix my coat and walk in the opposite direction; working for Kim's Winery, where the salary is worth it, has been helping my mind be at ease. Kim Mingyu gave me the position of manual scriptwriter; I'm in charge of getting the scripts for Ads, commercials, and venues written. Sometimes, Mingyu changes his mind more than every five minutes, causing my job to become a bit difficult. I met Seungkwan on the third week into the job; he's in charge of keeping track of the company's sales; he had returned from an overseas seal deal. He did a great job making me feel comfortable; sometimes, he helps my mind be at ease.

Sometimes, work isn't enough to keep my mind quiet; endless thoughts and questions of my childhood and family flood my mind every minute. My phone rings; it never rings unless it's Eunseo wondering if I arrived home. I answer the call, "Hello?" I felt my heart drop. "Y/N, oh, thank god. It's Dr. Cooper," I stopped in my tracks, "Dr. Cooper? What happened? Did something happen to Dylan?" I asked, feeling myself get swallowed by guilt. "No, it's none of that, Y/N. I've been trying to contact you, but your number has been changed." Dr. Cooper said; I let out a sigh of relief.

"Dr. Cooper, how did you find my number?" I asked, feeling paranoia rush through me, "I had to make sure that you were still alive, Y/N; it concerned me that your parents act like you don't exist." Dr. Cooper says. My heart aches, "How's Dylan? Is he okay?" I asked. "Dylan is well, he's grown Y/N. He's just turned eighteen and has been accepted to college. You have nothing to worry about him, although he does ask for you." Dr. Cooper says as I let out a sigh.

"Y/N, where are you? You haven't been taking your medication; you need to be treated, hun. It will get worse. Have you been struggling to stay focused and sleep?" She asked. I looked at the people walking, laughing, and living their happy moments. "Somewhere far and safe, take care of Dylan. Please, he needs you more than I do." I said before ending the call and block the number. I ran from my past, and I won't let it follow me here.

I walk up the stairs feeling tired; I slide the keypad up and unlock the apartment door. The lights were off, and Eunseo wasn't home yet, or she was staying the night at Hansol's.  I close the door and lock it; walking to my room, I become more tired as I lay on the bed. Today has been a strange day for me, and I hope no more strange days occur ever.

[weclassybouquetfun]

Everyone Gets Lost in SALTBURN.

Including me, as I've gloried in this film three times -enduring the annoying Academy aspect ratio format (writer/director/filmmaking genius Emerald Fennell explained this ratio was used to accommadate the squareness of the estate and to enhance close-ups).

I love films that are bold and audacious; ones that are polarizing and divisive because that means it has touched the audience - for good or for bad - they have been given food for thought. Now, you may savour it, or vomit it out but you will wolf it down. I don't see how anyone could look at this film and be bored.

TL;DR

WARNING: MORE SPOILERS THAN ROOMS IN SALTBURN

THE GOOD

EVERYTHING. Barry Keoghan owns every single frame of this film. He gets to use so many colours in his acting palette and while I don't have faith in the Academy, I hope that they nominate him at least.

Same goes for Archie Madekwe as Farleigh. He is the Tom Wambsgans of SALTBURN (complimentary). He's a hanger-on who hates the other hanger-on. Fennell could have just written him as one note - just nasty and cruel bully, but he had more dimensions than that.

We get a glimpse at how he hates that his mother has to beg (by way of Farleigh) for financial support. He could have just been someone who held the attitude of, "I've got mine, now get yours", but it bothers him that his mother is struggling. He hates that he lives a pampered life while the footmen are ignored. I especially love how he has no shame over being taken care of by the Cattons. Kicked out of 3 schools for blowing teachers? Oh, well. Sir James' connections will get him somewhere.

He sets up Oliver to karaoke to The Pet Shop Boys' "Rent" and when Oliver remarks, "Felix, I think this song is yours too." (a line that never failed to pull a reaction from me), Felix doesn't tuck his tail between his legs. He's not embarrased. No, he gladly takes the mic.

Then there is Rosamund Pike who is never not fantastic in everything. Elspeth is so droll, so cutting, yet so loveable.

Pike tosses out these lines that carry such humour in it, effortlessy. Like Farleigh, Elspeth is someone you probably should dislike - not batting an eye when discussing Pamela's death, judgmental, gossipy - but she, like Sir James are charming. Their obliviousness comes across as a mere quirk in their personality versus a deal-breaker.

The humour. This movie is so funny. What I appreciated though is that where most directors would put laughs to diffuse the preceeding scene, Fennell plays it straight. You are sat there without any quip or hammy performance to distract from Oliver drinking Felix's cummy bathwater and lapping the drain for good measure.

Or from Oliver and Venetia's menstrual blood swapping. Or grief stricken Oliver humping Felix's grave. The laughter, however comes from the audience. I've seen it three times so I've experienced three different audience reactions and I was surprised by how much people laughed (and gasped. Or closed their eyes), when to me it was serious bizness.

The first screening I attended had a Q&A with the film's composer, Anthony Willis, and he said that when he does panels with Emerald she always apologies to the audience for the pervisity. Why apologize, Emerald?! Talk your talk!

The only scene I could think of where humour was added to diffuse a scene was when Oliver kills Elspeth and he's draped over her trying (and failing) to put her limp arms around him. I think that was necessary so audiences can go into the end scene of him dancing victoriously through his ill-gotten estate.

-When Felix starts clueing in that Oliver lied. The way the unasked question where they pull up to Oliver's home. You can see that he's taken aback by a supposed addict would live there. Then you can tell the realization is falling on him when he spots the lawn being watered because what hardcore adcict would care about maintaining the lawn? But it's the "Gone Fishin'" sign that made him realize he's been duped. Jacob played it so well because it was very understated. Even the entire scene with Oliver's parents (played by Dorothy Atkinson who displayed that same fierce love of her child in "Pennyworth" and Shaun Dooley who's usually playing a tough nut.).

THE BAD

The bad actually has nothing to do with the film itself. It's the perception of Felix that Jacob Elordi and Emerald Fennell holds. They both paint Felix in the most terrible light with Elordi saying Felix is scarier than his character in EUPHORIA and Fennell calling him callous, misogynistic and racist. While I can see where she paints him as such in the film (leaving Oliver to walk his bike back to campus, not talking to the girl/s he's going to have it off with, just hitting her on the butt and walking off with her, having the very tone-deaf attitude of "not seeing race" by telling Farleigh that he doesn't care that he's "different" from them. But does that make him a truly awful person? Maybe it makes me an apologist because I can see how Felix's life of privilege makes him oblivious on how to treat people.

Fennell says her direction to Elordi was that Felix is a bad kisser and bad at sex because he never has to try; he doesn't need to impress. That makes sense because if one is wealthy and/or conventionally beautifully those things does the heavy lifting and grants you a ton of leeway. Since it works for him, why would he even think he needs to pivot on his behaviour?

I just don't see Felix being a terrible person. He ran interference for Oliver at the bar, he tried to get someone to hook Oliver up with a friend, he ditched the graduation party to support Oliver after the "death" of his father. Duncan was so crushed by Felix's death that he couldn't even close the curtains. Liam or Joshua (the Footmen Farleigh said Felix didn't know the names of) ran off crying after closing the curtains while Felix's body passed by. You would think if he was such a horrid person the staff wouldn't be so affected by his death. He pushed Oliver to stay for dinner at his parents house because he could see how much it meant to them to just have homemade SpagBol and cake.

He may be oblivious and has blindspots, but I'm not buying that he's abominable.

THE REST

-When Venetia is telling the story about the doppleganger, there's a window to the garden behind her and you see a man in a pink shirt walking past, then we cut to the reactions at the table to her story and Felix is wearing a pink shirt. Could it be Felix's doppleganger? A harbinger of his death in the garden? If we take Felix seriously, Saltburn is inhabited by Felix's dead granny. What's one more supernatural occurrence?

-In the credits are images that alludes to what has transpired: we see a spider because Venetia tells Oliver Sir James calls him Spider-Man because she skulks and she says he spins his web, she thinks he's more of a moth (I say he's a kitsune. He's a shapeshifting, beguiling trickster.).

There's a puppet on a string - and that has a dual meaning of the shoebox theatre of Catton family puppets that Felix examines when he first arrives at Saltburn and latter stops in front of at the end when he fixes their memorial rocks atops it; and also how Felix was ultimately a puppet master. There's also an ouroboros and a pair of glasses, which I loved seeing because Oliver sheds his glasses when he gets into Felix's circle. We eventually realize that they were merely an affectation. A costume he adorned to get in order to get into the character as humble, unassuming scholarship kid and shedding him once he was ensconced in Felix's circle.

-I ponder whether Felix truly considered Oliver a friend. Ewan Mitchell's Michael (the other asocial scholarship kid) warned Oliver that Felix would get bored with him. Venetia tells Oliver that she likes him better than the last one. Her words seemed like this is Felix's folly and he does this all the time and Oliver was merely another stray. Then we hear from Felix that a friend he invited had a fling with Venetia and it ruined his friendship. Maybe Felix doesn't get tired of these guys, but they make a mere (perceived) misstep and he ends the friendship. We see it almost happen when Felix yelled at Oliver for making a fuss about the state of his dorm room. Which is why Oliver deployed Operation Dead Dad - he needed a gambit in order to not lose Felix's friendship.

There were a few times where Felix could have ditched Oliver, but he didn't. If he's as flighty as people perceive him to be then I think he would have just made an excuse for Oliver to not attend the fancy dress party. Cancellation wasn't the only option. He could have just pulled an Elspeth and had Sir James make Oliver leave in the dead of the night.

Instead, even after everything he now knows about Oliver's deception, Felix looks crushed after their talk in the maze. His anger from earlier seemingly turned to sadness. Maybe his apparent dejection stemmed from what Oliver said to him: how he was just giving Felix what he wanted; thus (screw you Farleigh, "thus" is a good word) probably making Felix ponder whether everyone around him are playing roles - court jesters trying to appease Felix their king and no relationship he has with anyone outside his family is authentic.

Or maybe Felix had sexual interest in Oliver (because I don't think anyone had a romantic interest in each other in this film; sexual/carnal/opportunistic, yes)? It's powerful when someone obviously wants you. Even if you didn't have any prior interest in that person the, "What if?" or "Why not?" aspect comes into play and you want test how far it could go. Venetia told Oliver, "Felix doesn't like to share his toys. Even the ones he doesn't want to play with anymore." Maybe he just liked male attention, but had no intention of following through. I don't know. Maybe Oliver wasn't the only unreliable narrator.

"I wasn't in love with him."

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in April 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Spring on the Peninsula - Ery Shin 🧡 When I Arrived at the Castle - Emily Carroll 💛 Bloodline - Jenn Alexander 💚 Grey Dog - Elliott Gish 💙 Every Time You Hear That Song - Jenna Voris 💜 I'm in Love with the Villainess v. 2 - Inori and Hanagata ❤️ The Caravaggio Syndrome - Alessandro Giardino 🧡 Leather, Lace, and Locs - Anne Shade 💛 Firebugs - Nico Bulling 💙 I Married My Female Friend v.2 - Shio Usui 💜 The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray - Christine Calella 🌈 A Sweet Sting of Salt - Rose Sutherland ❤️ The Selected Shepherd: Poems - Reginald Shepherd 🧡 Rough Trade - Katrina Carrasco 💛 Aubrey McFadden is Never Getting Married - Georgia Beers 💚 Taming of a Rebel - Eada Friesian 💙 Dayspring - Anthony Oliveira 💜 The Titanic Survivors Book Club - Timothy Schaffert ❤️ Orphia And Eurydicius - Elyse John 🧡 The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers - Samuel Burr 💛 A Good Happy Girl - Marissa Higgins 💙 Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine - Nicole Melleby 💜 Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun 🌈 Women! In! Peril! - Jessie Ren Marshall

❤️ Blood City Rollers - V. P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill 🧡 The Prospects - KT Hoffman 💛 Crazy Like a Fox: Adventures in Schizophrenia - Christi Furnas 💚 WATCHNIGHT - Cyree Jarelle Johnson 💙 Love From The Sidelines - Tuesday Harper 💜 The Pleasure in Pain - Roxie Voorhees ❤️ Mal - Perla Zul 🧡 The Black Girl Survives in This One - Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell 💛 Darker by Four - June C.L. Tan 💙 Otherworldly - F.T. Lukens 💜 Hearts Still Beating - Brooke Archer 🌈 Tryst Six Venom - Penelope Douglas

❤️ Teenage Dirtbags - James Acker 🧡 The Heart Wants What It Wants - D.M. Batten 💛 Something Kindred by Ciera Burch 💚 Sheine Lende - Dr. Darcie Little Badger & Rovina Cai 💙 Rainbow Overalls - Maggie Fortuna 💜 Flowers for Dead Girls - Abigail Collins ❤️ Canto Contigo - Jonny Garza Villa

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[look-a-yandere-fandom-blog]

Ophelia's Flowers.

Dr. Stockill / Gender Neutral Reader

Fandom: The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.

No Spoilers.

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Ambiguous yan - can be read as platonic or romantic.

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Content Warning: Reader is gender neutral but is ‘feminine’ in appearance/attire; detailed as having long hair and wearing a dress.

Please proceed with caution if such descriptions may make you uncomfortable/dysphoric.

(If there’s anything else I need to add please let me know.)

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“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.”

Thin herbal leaves speckled by soft purple flowers join the wreath that lies upon your head.

“Pray you, love, remember.”

The doctor’s thin lips echo the immortal words of Shakespeare, whispered under his breath. The office is eerily silent and it let you hear every syllable.

“And there is pansies, that’s for thoughts…”

Indigo and yellow petals are laid in your hair. Tucked amongst the braids woven with a tenderness unfound in this damned building.

“There’s fennel for you, and columbines.”

The Ophelia Gallery has returned. One of the asylum’s yearly ventures: a show for the masses, or perhaps a warning to all the women who are just one misstep away from being thrown in to it. Locked away for some pitifully small offence.

“There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me.”

The little yellow specks on thin green stalks are added to the adornment. Stockill’s fingertips are wrapped around the stem; placing it carefully behind your ear.

“We may call it 'herb of grace' o' Sundays.”

Dr Stockill’s spindly fingertips curl around another stem, snapping it with the swiftness of a guillotine. He slides it into his waistcoat pocket, beside the stem of wilting violets.

“- Oh, you must wear your rue with a difference.”

A pair of nails presses into the skin under your chin, while the fingers they belong to tilt your head slowly. Dark eyes scan over his work; an artist searching for a spot on his canvas to add another stroke of colour.

"There’s a daisy. I would give you some violets,"

At the mention of those flowers, your gaze darts down to the wilting purple flowers in his waistcoat.

"But they withered all when my siste-"

Your eyes flick up; meeting his abyssal stare.

He pauses, before calmly correcting himself. The alteration smooth enough for the mistake to be ignored. Yet, it did not escape your notice.

"But they withered all when my father died."

He concludes his speaking as The Mad Ophelia, the illusion of her visage shedding from his voice. In her place, the true persona of The Callous Doctor Stockill.

With the silence of the room restored, you stand from your chair, assuming that this is your cue to leave. To join your fellow inmates outside in the crude display of the Ophelia Gallery.

But you barely take a few strides before you hear-

"I did not grant you permission to leave." The doctor's stern voice cloaks the sound of your footsteps.

In an instant, you stop in your tracks. You do not have the courage to turn around; do not have the courage to meet his eyes again.

As your nervous hands twirl and twist the overgrown strands of hair on your head, one of the flowers falls to the floor. Despite its weightlessness, the thud of it hitting the wooden planks is agonising.

Internally, you curse yourself. The cursing turns to anxiety. Anxiety to panic.

Racing thoughts worsen with every step the doctor takes towards you. Until he is directly behind you. His shadow blanketing your form.

"You will not be going out there." Stockill states calmly, while his spider-like manoeuvres return the fallen flower to its rightful place.

"Why not..?" The question leaves your lips before you can think to stop it.

There is a second of stillness.

"You are in no position to ask." The doctor replies firmly. He is the superintendent of this Asylum. He does not need to justify himself to a mere patient.

But soon, he takes a breath, admission bubbling in his throat. He wishes to confess with the fervour of a sinner to a priest. The words like a river battering against a breaking dam.

"Those people out there... the weak, depraved, people of this city... they do not deserve to look upon this."

The doctor divulges, his voice is quieter than you have ever heard it. His hands place themselves upon your shoulders, slowly turning you to face him. He is puzzled by his own wish to admit this all... but he does not have the will to stop himself.

"The women would be disconcerted and disgusted by you, while the men would care only for what lay beneath your robes." He continues as the light of the room hits your skin and illuminates his work.

His expression twitches ever so slightly, in what seems to be anger. Or maybe disgust? You wonder whether that look is directed at you, the people he was describing, or himself.

"And so, you will stay here." The doctor announces, his normal volume flaring up like a violent breeze. It nearly makes you jump.

"Here?" you repeat.

"Here. In my office. Or perhaps my laboratory should I need to venture down there." Stockill clarifies, a touch of irritation is his typically vacuous tone.

"Am I understood?"

The man's question is hardly that: a question. Instead, it is an extension of his command. A rhetorical statement, demanding compliance.

And, with a small nod in response, you comply.

The doctor's hands loosen their hold on your shoulders. You hadn't realised how harshly his nails were biting into your skin; forming dents in the fabric of your dress.

"Good." Dr. Stockill comments coldly. Yet, somehow, there's a touch of approval laced within.

After taking a final glance over your features; the ghostly white dress that hangs over your figure; and the flowers laden in your hair; he lets go. The creaking noise of wooden floorboards resounds as he leaves your side.

"Now, I have to fetch some supplies from elsewhere. Necessities for my work. I will be back shortly." He informs as he straightens the cuffs on his shirt. Stockill's earlier anger and disgust are replaced by an eerie calm, like vines covering a building; hiding it away, as though it had never existed in the first place.

The hinges cry with a mouse-ish squeak as the door opens, the doctor disappearing into the asylum's labyrinth of corridors.

He leaves the door unlocked.

It lay ajar. The latch not clicked into place. A move too foolish to be made by the precise and meticulous physician.

It leaves you with one conclusion: this is a test.

The door taunts you. Tugs on your sleeves. Nags you to leave... Urges you to run from this room, to the company and sanctuary of the other inmates, far from the constricting grasp of the doctor's web...

But, despite your fear, you remain.

You sit back down upon your chair.

You adjust the petals he laid in your hair.

And you listen to the muffled sounds of the Ophelia Gallery outside.

As you wait for him to return.

Just as the doctor knew you would.

_________________________________

[angeldespite]

saltburn (2023) dr. emerald fennell.

[bonefall]

Snowbird Ann here: x_x I have Fennel growing in my front yard. That stuff...it tastes like black licorice and it's stringy like celery. But when it goes dormant, it leaves stalks that would be great building materials. Med cat/builders could get a fresh stalk, soak it in water to make it bendy and shape it into whatever. If I remember I'll go out and snap a picture of the dormant Fennel tomorrow.

Fennel is actually suuuuuuuuper useful for dozens of reasons. It's related to parsley and has been naturalized all over the world because humans find it so useful.

The cats could use it for:

-Funerals This herb can be STINKY. This could absolutely be one of the funeral herbs that elders rub onto the deceased, especially since it's non-toxic.

-Cooking It's full of fiber meaning it can be a good supplement even for cats, if not consumed in excess. It's also got potassium, manganese, calcium... They can't taste sweet but that licorice-y flavor would come across just fine. It's actually used in sausages a lot.

-Alcohol If your Warriors drink responsibly. And know how to distill. Mead made from honey would still be easier but fennel was used for health tonics in the middle ages... and then eventually got used to make absinthe.

-Insect repellent This one's actually huge because the OTHER big bad bug buster is mint... and all mint is toxic to cats. This is a really good non-toxic insect repellent for warriors next to lavender.

-"Toothpaste" Not like, a PASTE but, a sort of... sticky mouthwash poultice. Fennel's actually super good for oral health, eliminates bad breath, and fights plaque buildup; and remember, Our Friends Mint & Co is toxic to cats. You can make it into an oil and help a warrior with a gum problem. It's especially good at fighting streptococcus, which is one of the most common infectious bacteria in wild cats.

-General medicinal purposes Helping clean eye infections is just one medicinal use, fennel is useful for all sorts of ailments. It's anti-inflammatory, it's antibacterial (but not as good as honey), can help with digestion...

Historically it's also been associated with helping to treat colic in babies and estrogen-related issues like menopause and milk production, which is actually NOT proven with modern studies... but I think the idea is just cool enough to hand wave the science away, I would use it just to have an herb for colicky kits. It's weird that colic has never shown up in canonical kits before!

But...

Building use?

Probably not. You've noticed it's stringy-- that's actually where fennel gets its name. Fennel = Foenum = Latin for Hay. It's more like hay in consistency than twine and would be too soft to build with.

For strong material, you're just gonna want plain old wood. Twigs, branches, anywhere you can find fennel you're also going to find bushes or trees that'll make better beams.

For twine? Skip the fennel entirely with its short stalks and just get some tall grass. Or, if you've got long-haired cats, they can make yarn out of shed fur if they collect enough of it. Better yet, if you've got access to flax? Then you're REALLY cooking with fire, that bad boy can be made into fabric, rope, clothing... Don't even get me STARTED on industrial hemp, you could weave reality itself out of that popstar. Paper, clothes, canvas, shampoo, lamp oil, rope, bombs, you want it? It's YOURS my friend--

Anyway

TL;DR stick to the herbal uses for fennel. You're better letting dormant fennel re-grow because it's better in the paws of your medcats than your warriors.