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arielxlazarus · 3 years

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I almost forgot about that fanfic appreciation week, but I wanted to at least do something for it! So here's a rec list for some of my favorite fics in the one piece fandom!

This list is not at all exhaustive btw (there's still loads of other fics in the fandom that I love), so please don't feel bad if you weren't included! Also if anyone wants more recommendations from me, you can check out my bookmarks on my ao3!

Who Knows (what could happen) by Chromi

Rating: T

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: For as long as he could remember, he had wanted to set out to sea as an adventurer. His father, unfortunately, dictated that he was to follow the family tradition and become a doctor instead.

Following a lifetime of hurt and sorrow at the hands of his family, he eventually breaks free and takes to the sea alone - determined to keep it that way. Fate has other ideas in store for him; fate crosses his path with Portgas D. Ace's, a brand new pirate.

And what does he hate more than pirates?

Nothing.

Or: from Sixis to the Moby Dick - the lives of the Spade pirates.

First Time by Chromi

Rating: E

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: "Because it is Ace, and it will only ever be Ace, that he wants to see like this, and he wants to be responsible for unravelling him down to his core and loving him to his very center."

In which Ace and Deuce go all the way for the first time.

@chromiwrites

Seabound by AnkhPosts

Rating: T

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Ace is a selkie, making one of his periodic stops on land to catch a breather and get some ridiculously tasty human food, maybe see some sights if there are any. His pelt is safely hidden, he'll stay a day or two at most and be on his way.

Deuce is a mer, alone on the sea and traveling as he pleases for the first time in his life, and while he might not be terribly interested in actually interacting with humans it's hard not to see them as fascinating.

Ace meets Deuce. Deuce meets Ace. Neither knows the other isn't human.

@ankhposts

Death is only the beginning by Chizyk

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: “Ankhreshet?” he whipped his head round at the sound of a raspy voice so fast he almost got whiplash. He could feel his body going completely cold as he saw the mummy’s empty eye sockets staring right at him.

@chizyk

I'm Still Here (part of a series) by theprodigypenguin

Rating: M

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace (also Izou/Sabo later in the series)

Summary: "When I do die, don't bother burying me in that empty grave. Put my body in a boat and set me out to sea. Let me sleep eternal on the ocean that my father loved so much; because before everything else in this world, I am a child of the sea, and when I die, I want to return to it. Put me in a boat and set it aflame so I can go down in the same fire I lived."

Forget-Me-Not Fall by theprodigypenguin

Rating: M

Pairing: Izou/Sabo

Summary: “Most of the nobles I’ve met tonight look meticulously put together. They look like they were built to portray a certain image paralleled a hundred times over. People who were copied and pasted. Flawless clothes, flawless faces, flawless makeup, flawless hair.”

“Not me though,” Sabo stated, and Izou hummed.

“It’s comforting.”

“Huh?”

Izou met Sabo’s eye. “Everyone else in this place hides their worst attributes with a mask they modified to fit their faces. They don’t seem to comprehend that those perfect masks only make their worst characteristics more pronounced and defined.” His expression was terribly gentle as his eyes wandered across Sabo’s face. “It’s comforting to be approached by someone not trying to be something else.”

Sabo tilted his head. “How do you know I’m not manipulating you like some common Goa aristocrat?”

Izou smiled. “There are a few reasons.”

@theprodigypenguin

A Light To Guide You Home by TheSkyIsMyHome

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: In a world that despises mutants, Ace lives purely to protect his little brother.

Until the flames inside him find their perfect match and opposite, and he doesn't know what to feel anymore.

The Phoenix's Mate by TheSkyIsMyHome

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Marco is a handsome man. Ace really can't be blamed for being attracted to him. Nobody minds, either.

But Marco isn't always a man. Ace still loves him regardless, and his sexual urges are catching up to that fact.

Marco indulges him, but he might just find himself enjoying it more than he thought he would.

@evvazi

ASL in Red (series) by Kereea

Rating: G-T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law (both asexual), Koala/Sabo, Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks/Benn Beckman, Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante/Aokiji | Kuzan, Roronoa Zoro/Sanji, and several other minor ones

Summary: In an alternate universe, forces conspired to put Ace, Sabo, and Luffy in the care of the Red Hair pirates as children.

The Grand Line would never know what hit it.

Mates (part of a series) by Deubatty

Rating: E

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Deuce just wanted to go searching for plants! A nice walk in the woods. Except, he ends up becoming the mate to a very persistent naga

His First Mate The Mermaid (part of a series) by Deubatty

Rating: T

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Instead of finding another person on Sixis, Ace finds a mermaid

@masked-writer

Being Human by MaiKusakabe

Rating: E (no smut)

Pairing: None (heavy focus on the platonic relationships between Marco, Whitebeard, and the rest of the crew as they form)

Summary: The line that differentiates human from object appears to be clear, but sometimes it blurs to the point where it is impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.

The Unknown Devil by MaiKusakabe

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Ace hadn’t expected his last week of imprisonment before his execution to be any different from all the years preceding it. Then again, he hadn’t expected to have Marco the Phoenix as a cellmate for that week, or that Marco’s presence would shake his bleak world so much.

Ripple Effect by MaiKusakabe

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: After the incident with Shanks, Garp didn't take Luffy to Dadan's, unaware of how much that would change the life of his other grandson.

@maisstories

To Build a Home by endlessblankpages

Rating: G

Pairing: None (heavy focus on the platonic relationships between the ASL bros and the Whitebeard Pirates)

Summary: The ASL pirates are used to being accused of crimes they didn't commit. But when they're accused of destroying a small village in the New World, it sends them hurtling toward a deadly confrontation with the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard. The results are not what they were expecting.

Persistence & The Impossible (part of a series) by dragonsfall

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: In order to keep himself from losing his job, Ace takes on an impossible story. Get an interview with the ever-elusive Phoenix. Guess he might as well kiss his job goodbye.

Self Discovery (part of a series) by dragonsfall

Rating: E

Pairing: Izou/Sabo (sort of, it's technically masturbation)

Summary: Sabo has been waiting for a day like this for a while but it doesn’t go quite how he planned it.

@clockworkpanic

A Breach of Intention by Depths

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: It was unspoken, but some pirate crews and mermaids had an unspoken solidarity. Pirates throw their enemies overboard, and the merfolk will take care of them.

mer!ace au

@leviathiane

Running on All Sixes by lunarshores

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace, minor Izou/Thatch

Summary: The Whitebeard gang might be one of the most influential in the city, but to Marco they're just his family. Though he sometimes wishes they'd just leave him alone, especially when Izo's playing matchmaker, and Ace is his usual oblivious self. When a brother betrays them, they'll have to fight to show why no one ever messes with their family.

nothing is impossible with you by lunarshores

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Five times Ace and Marco accidentally mixed their flames on accident and one time that was entirely on purpose.

@lunarshores

I Want You to Look at Me by shockandlock

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: One night, Marco is missing from dinner, so Ace decides to bring dinner to him. He's surprised to see Marco wearing glasses and now he can't stop thinking about the way he looks. Now with additional chapter(s) including more miscellaneous MarcoAce PWP!

To My Dear Fire (part of a series) by shockandlock

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Living in the city is a new thing for Ace. After being raised near a cozy coastal mountain town through his childhood, it's definitely a change of pace, but it doesn't help when he loses his new job after an unfortunate encounter with actor Marco Newgate. He just wants to live-- and meet his long time pen pal, Phoenix.

Marco knows that being an actor is hard, so he takes the little things when he can: writing his pen pal (and honestly one of his best friends) Fire Fist, flirting with the cute new waiter at his favorite café-- not that he has a chance after a disaster on social media. But maybe fate really does give him a second chance when Ace shows up at Four Emperor Studios...

@shockandlock

Uncharted Territory by silverwolf_fox

Rating: E

Pairing: Masked Deuce/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: This was by far one of Ace's most ridiculous ideas.

When Deuce keeps getting flustered everytime he tries to dominate Ace, they created an opportunity where he didn't have to be afraid of messing up.

Now he's free to do and try whatever he wants...

...so long as Ace doesn't wake up.

Watching the Sunrise (part of a series) by silverwolf_fox

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Many years have passed since Rouge gave up her life for her son’s...except she didn’t die, but she thinks Ace did. Living her life on Baterilla, she’s mourned each and every day until the morning she receives his bounty poster. She sets off immediately to find him, but finds their meeting isn’t as easy as she’d imagined.

@the-devil-fruit-tree

never shall i forget, how you climbed out of a dream by siojo

Rating: T

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: “Kaido,” Ace smirks, flames burning around his feet as he shifts in preparation for Kaido’s next attack, already trying to decide what he’s going to do in response. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? You’ve seemed to have been enjoying yourself here.”

“I thought you would be smarter than this, Portgas. You’ve never tried to fight another Yonko before, your bounty won’t matter much when you lose.”

Ace barks a laugh, his teeth bared in a facsimile of a grin, “You must have missed out on the brawl I had with Big Mom after she sent two of her daughters and a son for me to consider marrying. This is a bit more personal than that.”

@wordsdrippinginink

Reborn in Fire by aerle

Rating: M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Fireman Marco has earned the nickname 'the Phoenix' by saving numerous people from a certain death. After an accident however, he has to relearn to walk and gets a new job as arson inspector at a different fire station. There he gets confronted with a boy from his past, now all grown up and gorgeous.

Three's a Crowd, Four's a Double Date by aerle

Rating: M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace (main), Izou/Thatch (secondary)

Summary: "We're not dating," Marco said definitively. "That we're sharing a bed tonight is a total coincidence."

@aerle

Universal Dive by EmpressKira

Rating: M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Ace had been making his way through the city to go to one of his favorite cafes. Well, that was until this hole ripped in the sky and some pirate fell out with the flaming bird guy following. Getting targeted, he is dragged into a different world with pirates and everything defying the reality he is used to. Will he make it home? Will he go back when the time comes?

@empresskira

Blue moon (series) by de_Winter

Rating: T-M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Urban fantasy AU, werewolf Marco and witch Ace

Red Velvet by de_Winter

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: Ace already knew their routine by heart, just from observing them for a couple of mornings when he had early delivery, and from Izou’s daily long winded—and probably sexually frustrated—rants. Big Blond would come out of the bakery wearing a shirt too tight for him and too thin for the weather as soon as he was done setting up the tables inside the storefront, holding a take out cup and a small box in his big hands. They looked really, pleasantly big from where Ace was standing, and he honestly wished he wasn't standing that far away.

@dee-de-winter

We'll Look Back and Laugh at Ourselves by JuHuaTai

Rating: M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace, minor Gol D. Roger/Portgas D. Rouge

Summary: Between his new boyfriend and his workaholic boss, Marco felt like he was surrounded by family issues of the father and son dispute variety. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Or maybe he should've listened to the office gossip more. Maybe then he'd figure it out sooner.

Gratitude of the Phoenix (part of a series) by JuHuaTai

Rating: M

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: [Based on 'The Crane Wife' Folklore]

One day, he saved a bird from freezing to death in a trap. Then, a stranger saved him from suffering the same fate, and a request to stay for one night turned into having someone to fill the void left in the small cottage and in his heart ever since his brothers left.

These two incident doesn’t seem to be related to one another, but they both changed Ace’s life in ways he could never have imagined.

Watashitachi wa Roger kaizoku desu (we still stand proud) by stereden

Rating: T

Pairing: None (heavy focus on Buggy, Shanks, and Crocus)

Summary: The Roger Pirates disappeared after their Captain's death, and were happy enough to let the Marines forget about them.

Until the Marines decide to execute their Captain's son, that is.

@stereden

This Bites! by Xomniac

Rating: M

Pairing: None (heavy focus on a main character oc and the strawhat pirates)

Summary: Sea Kings, sea-sickness, sunburns, a 95% genocidal Navy and more than a million and one other assorted ways to die. It's official: Being inserted into an anime sucks ass... Buuut I guess it could be worse. I mean, look on the bright side: At least I'm sailing with the future king of the pirates.

A Fortune that Never Grows Old by imperialmint

Rating: E

Pairing: Marco the Phoenix/Portgas D. Ace

Summary: It's one thing to get butterflies in your stomach when you seen an attractive person but it's another thing entirely for Marco to want to stomp out a courtship ritual and lay foundations for a nest when he meets the navy's new (hot) secret weapon.

@imperialmint

Most of the authors on this list have many other excellent one piece fics I'd definitely suggest checking out! Enjoy your reading and try to show them all some love if you can!

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vital-information · 3 years

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How to Fiction Like a Grown-up

“in SKAM, everyone has a purposefully acknowledged percentage of sheer ignorance, things they understand and things they reeeeally don’t...this is how real life works. nobody is the ideologically flawless character, teaching the ideologically backwards character that they are Wrong About Everything. everyone is pulling everyone up, everyone is making an idiot of themselves, everyone is learning....with SKAM over and over again, communication is highlighted as the best way to solve any issue. it gives a range of issues, yeah, but in the end it teaches HOW to deal with new issues, not simply a list of behaviors not to emulate. it’s never ‘don’t be That Guy,’ it’s ‘everyone can be That Guy sometimes, it’s gonna happen, you’re gonna be ignorant about something, but here is how you overcome and deal with it...’” — uninterestiing

“We can only attribute the ease and pleasure with which we ramble from house to smithy, from cottage parlour to rectory garden, to the fact that George Eliot makes us share their lives, not in a spirit of condescension or of curiosity, but in a spirit of sympathy. She is no satirist. The movement of her mind was too slow and cumbersome to lend itself to comedy. But she gathers in her large grasp a great bunch of the main elements of human nature and groups them loosely together with a tolerant and wholesome understanding which, as one finds upon rereading, has not only kept her figures fresh and free, but has given them an unexpected hold upon our laughter and tears.” — Virginia Woolf, “George Eliot”

“TV’s long taught its audience to expect an outsized amount of drama where there might not be as much in reality, even if only to milk every storyline for what it’s worth. But on Ted Lasso, potential landmines like seething jealousy, secret lust and Rebecca’s scheming only fester for so long before the characters deal with it all like….well, adults.” — Caroline Framke, “For Your Reconsideration: Ted Lasso”

I told Miyazaki I love the "gratuitous motion" in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or they will sigh, or look in a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of time and place and who they are."We have a word for that in Japanese," he said. "It's called ma. Emptiness. It's there intentionally."Is that like the "pillow words" that separate phrases in Japanese poetry?"I don't think it's like the pillow word." He clapped his hands three or four times. "The time in between my clapping is ma. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it's just busyness, But if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension. If you just have constant tension at 80 degrees all the time you just get numb."Which helps explain why Miyazaki's films are more absorbing and involving than the frantic cheerful action in a lot of American animation. I asked him to explain that a little more."The people who make the movies are scared of silence, so they want to paper and plaster it over," he said. "They're worried that the audience will get bored. They might go up and get some popcorn.But just because it's 80 percent intense all the time doesn't mean the kids are going to bless you with their concentration. What really matters is the underlying emotions--that you never let go of those.What my friends and I have been trying to do since the 1970's is to try and quiet things down a little bit; don't just bombard them with noise and distraction. And to follow the path of children's emotions and feelings as we make a film. If you stay true to joy and astonishment and empathy you don't have to have violence and you don't have to have action. They'll follow you. This is our principle."He has been amused, he said, to see a lot of animation in live-action movies like "Spider-Man." “In a way now, live action is becoming part of that whole soup called animation. Animation has become a word that encompasses so much, and my animation is just a little tiny dot over in the corner. It's plenty for me. — Roger Ebert, “Hayao Miyzaki Interview”

“The pilot’s opening scene foreshadowed the kind of quiet impressionism that Friday Night Lights would embrace, again and again, throughout its five excellent seasons. It also foreshadowed the approach that you might call the “friendly panopticon”: Everyone, here, is seen. And everyone, here, is capable of seeing....There are minor characters and major ones in all this, certainly—it would be narrative anarchy without that—but FNL, much more than most shows that preceded it, took for granted the dignity of each character in its universe. It rejected sitcomic snobbery in favor of a broader embrace of its wide array of characters. It turned empathy into an aesthetic.” — Megan Garber, “Friday Night Lights Democratized TV Drama”

“But the problem with readers, the idea we're given of reading is that the model of a reader is the person watching a film, or watching television. So the greatest principle is, "I should sit here and I should be entertained." And the more classical model, which has been completely taken away, is the idea of a reader as an amateur musician. An amateur musician who sits at the piano, has a piece of music, which is the work, made by somebody they don't know, who they probably couldn't comprehend entirely, and they have to use their skills to play this piece of music. The greater the skill, the greater the gift that you give the artist and that the artist gives you. That's the incredibly unfashionable idea of reading. And yet when you practice reading, and you work at a text, it can only give you what you put into it. It's an old moral, but it's completely true.” Zadie Smith, “Bookworm: On Beauty”

“It pains me to have to introduce this lot with a couple of adjectives apiece, since, again, they all deserve about 12. These beautifully drawn characters just can't be reduced or pigeonholed so glibly. Where you're expecting an exaggerated comedy of town-and-country manners, pitting pious, suspicious in-laws against the worldly, patronising [career woman], Junebug courageously demurs, time and again: we get a real home, and real people in it, and what's laugh-out-loud funny about scene after scene is what's resolutely specific and true.” — Tim Robey, “A Small, Quiet Miracle”

Doesn't she worry at the lack of explosions? [Robinson] laughs. "There's something in my temperament . . . I have a problem with explosions in the sense that many very fine books are written about things that do, in fact, explode. But if the explosion is something that's supposed to make the novel interesting as opposed to being something that it's essentially about, I think it's very much to be avoided...It seems to me that the small drama of conversation and thought and reflection, that is so much more individual, so much less clichéd than - I mean when people set out on an adventure, I think 90 times out of 100, they've read about it in a brochure — Emma Brackes, “A Life in Writing: Marilynne Robinson”

#skam #hayao miyazaki #virginia woolf #george eliot #FNL #roger ebert #marilynne robinson #junebug #ted lasso #writing #litblr #film criticism #empathy

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plotbnuy · 3 years

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KarpReviews - The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Back when The Hunger Games became a huge phenomenon, I have to admit that it didn’t quite grab me like it did for many. The original film came out on March 23rd, 2012, followed by Catching Fire late next year. These films started a trend of dystopian novel movie adaptations, with Divergent coming out on March 21st 2014, and Maze Runner coming out on September 19th that same year. By the time Mockingjay: Part One released on November 21′s, right after Maze Runner, I’d become a little burnt out on these tales of children fighting for survival against an oppressive system meant to keep society under control. Despite reading the first two books in the series, I didn’t return for Mockingjay.

That is, until a few months ago. I decided to give the books another try, and to my delight I grew to really love and appreciate them. Katniss is a wonderful protagonist, surrounded by a surprisingly colorful and interesting cast of characters (even though it still features the classic love triangle trope.) While the first two books were rereads, going in blind into Mockingjay was a treat, and I felt the series had a wonderfully satisfying ending.

Imagine my delight, however, when I realized that there was a prequel to the series! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes features a much different entry in the story, taking place long before the events of the main series to highlight the tenth Hunger Games. In order to spice up what is comparatively an archaic and unpolished annual event, The Capitol has enlisted a large selection of students from an elite secondary school - simply referred to as “The Academy” - to mentor the children forced to fight in the arena! Who else should be chosen to be a mentor but a young Coriolanus Snow, hoping to become recognized and attain a university scholarship on his path to becoming President of Panem.

Yes, this entry puts us in the perspective of the infamous Coriolanus Snow, allowing us to see a little bit into what led to the events of the original Hunger Games novel. Not only does it flesh out Snow himself, but also how the titular event became the lavish, intricate, and audacious spectacle depicted during Katniss’s run in the arena. This allows this entry to differentiate itself immensely from the others, allowing it to feel fresh and new while it gives us a better look into the universe we’ve become a part of after three other novels and four films. With that being said, I want to dive deeper into what makes this particular entry so engaging.

While other entries in the series have a bit of a fluid structure, our story this time is split into very neat thirds: The events leading up to the games, the games themselves, and the aftermath. This time, we get to see the perspective of the games from the capitol’s eyes, as opposed to the districts. However, while the event is massively celebrated, with banquets, parties, tours, and intricate broadcasts during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, the 10th is much different. It’s much bleaker and more depressing, as tributes are treated like livestock, with no access to good food or proper shelter. Many citizens, District or Capitol, would rather ignore the barbaric event, only bothering to attend The Reaping before returning to daily life. There’s no reward for victory, beyond the singular tribute avoiding death, only to return to the poverty-stricken districts. Tributes die before even entering the arena, leading the games themselves to be swift and merciless.

Ultimately, this raw and bleak depiction of the games, combined with Capitol citizens not yet disillusioned by the grandeur of future games, still recovering from the war, is a perfect choice for this Capitol-centric prequel. It keeps the citizens of The Capitol that we spend most of our time with from being completely unsympathetic, and it allows for a much more engaging story. Even before the games themselves, many things happen that impact the story, allowing for a lot of tension as things lead up to the main event.

Speaking of the Hunger Games, this is the first time we get to enjoy them from outside of the arena itself. As the story follows our mentors, we get to watch from their perspective as spectators as the games commence in the arena. This event also happens to be the first where sponsors are allowed to affect the games, sending gifts for the tributes to possibly keep them alive. Since the mentors themselves have agency over the games, they never feel boring as you hope for the survival of our main character’s tribute. The aftermath of the games left me absolutely shocked, leading into a finale that felt unlike anything the series has had to offer before.

Even though Coriolanus Snow is designated as our main character, this story is truly given life by the people who surround him. Closest to him is Sejanus Plinth, a childhood friend who joins Snow in the tribute mentorship program as his classmate. At first, Sejanus is telegraphed as an old rival and a clear foil to Snow, and you suspect he’ll be something of an antagonist given the disdain Coriolanus seems to have for him. However, I was pleasantly surprised as the story paints a much more intricate picture of our main character’s best friend. Their relationship is one of the many highlights of this story, as even when Snow tries to distance himself, or otherwise shows dislike for Sejanus, their paths become forcibly intertwined, and it becomes unclear whether they will become bitter rivals or loyal comrades.

The real star of the show for me is Coriolanus’s tribute, a District 12 girl named Lucy Grey Baird. A member of the Covey, she’s a performer and singer who prides herself in her skill for entertainment. With both Panem and the reader as her audience, her personality and charm is utterly captivating, with an even sharper wit than Katniss. Despite the circumstances, she becomes fond of Coriolanus early on, a fact attributed to Snow being one of the few mentors that goes out of his way to forge a bond with his tribute. She leaves an impression from her very first scene, and every moment with her going forward is captivating and wonderful. Truly, if I had to give a single reason to read this book, it would be for Lucy Grey specifically. Even though her situation seems completely impossible, you can’t help but hope for her victory in the games.

Of course, there’s always room for a good antagonist, even in a story starring Coriolanus Snow. Casca Highbottom, dean of The Academy, is one of the main obstacles making Snow’s future so uneasy. The story says little about him at first, only that he isn’t Coriolanus’s biggest fan, and that he created the Hunger Games themselves. He’s hard to read as a threat, given his addiction to painkillers and somewhat contradictory dialogue. Truthfully, he’s not much of a villain.

Enter Doctor Volumnia Gaul. Serving as the head Gamemaker, as well as an instructor at the Capitol University, she spends a large amount of time with both Coriolanus and the other mentors. Specializing in the “muttations” that her labs create for the Capitol, she serves as something of a mentor herself for Snow, challenging his morals and shaping his ideals. She starts off as seeming like an ally, only for her to show just how dangerous she is. She has a blatant disregard for life itself, only just barely being grounded enough to not be entirely absurd. Her presence gives the story a lot of much-needed tension, and I found her to be absolutely riveting.

What impresses me the most about Songbirds and Snakes is how it expertly avoids delivering what could have easily come off as a tragic backstory intended to garner sympathy for Panem’s ruthless dictator. Instead, it cleverly highlights Coriolanus’s personality, nature, aspirations, and faults, adding to his character without ever trying to suggest that he’s misunderstood or redeemable. His downfall, while accelerated by his environment, can be attributed entirely to the choices he makes himself. Even when surrounded by good people who genuinely love and care for him, miles away from the capitol, he makes the choice to become who he is: a vile, treacherous, untrusting snake. Yet, despite knowing his fate, there was a part of me that hoped he would make the right choice anyway, making the end of his arc even more effective.

Suzanne Collins is a truly talented writer. Not only is the original trilogy a fantastic read, but she managed to craft a prequel that both builds the lore of the series and has a major impact on the story as a whole. The connecting tissue between this prequel and the rest of the series is solid, not only fleshing out the world explicitly, but leaving breadcrumbs for attentive fans to enjoy. Upon reading the final chapters, there was a particular scene I couldn’t get out of my head. It wasn’t one within the book itself, but one that harkened forward to Mockingjay. I can picture Coriolanus Snow, eyes focused on the television as the rebels broadcast another one of Katniss’s propaganda videos. He can tell she’s in District 12, walking amongst the rubble of the decimated mining town. He thinks to turn away from the image of the collapsed Justice building and broken town square... until he hears Katniss begin to sing. His blood runs ice cold, every hair on his body stands on end, and in a hoarse, mangled voice, he begins to wail. Every one of his past sins comes rushing back as Katniss Everdeen unwittingly deals the most devastating blow she could ever give to Coriolanus Snow. It’s a scene that remains completely theoretical, and yet it’s perhaps one of the most powerful images in the entire Hunger Games saga. If you’ve enjoyed the rest of the series, then I urge you to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

#the hunger games #hunger games #katniss everdeen #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #suzanne collins #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #book review

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theyre-just-blocks · 3 years

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What if I said I’m working on a Royalty AU?

I saw the concept of a royalty AU for the SMP and my brain just had to start thinking up of all kinds of things and now, several documents of planning, character references, timelines, war outlines, and plot ideas later, I’ve got a single chapter.

I don’t think I’ll post it to A03 or anything anytime soon because the whole thing is still a WIP but I’ll put a part of the chapter underneath the cut if you wanna get a sneak peek into it.

It loosely follows the events that happen in the smp, but I’ve changed several things to make this AU a little more of it’s own, separate of the story it’s based off of. So the characters and the character relationships/dynamics are pretty much the same, it’s just events are switched around a little.

I’m wary about starting it because I know I might not finish it, but I have so many ideas for it and so maybe I’ll have just enough motivation to finish this one arc.

Hope you enjoy the little snip bit!

Eret sighed, pacing back and forth in their office as they muttered under their breath, the scraping of their grand purple cloak just a little louder than the muttering and whispering.

In a few days time, all the families of the main Kingdoms would arrive in the SMP Kingdom to discuss terms of possible peace.

The thought made Eret shiver in both excitement and nervousness.

Most of the kings that Eret would meet with were no strangers to war. Unlike him and Emperor Schlatt, these kings had seen constant fighting between kingdoms for years. And though Eret and Schlatt were both new, younger kings, they still grew up during those tragic times, they still knew about the terrors of war. Eret ruled through a few years of war during the War of the Seasons and they knew Schlatt had fought as a knight through the war as well.

And though relatively peaceful now, the Badlands and the Redstone Kingdom used to be ruled with ruthless dictators before the current kings took the throne. Being a demon of sorts, King Bad had been around for a long while and would wage war on neighboring kingdoms just to have some fun. It was how he was able to expand his territory so quickly, consuming anything and everything in his path before Eret’s grandparents had to put a foot down during the Diamond War by offering information on the Antarctic Empire in exchange for King Bad’s promise to not expand any further.

True to his word, Bad took the information and used it against the Antarctic Empire to acquire the little resources of gold and gems that they had and continued to mess with the other kingdoms in evil fun before meeting King Skeppy who seemingly brought some sense to the demon. After their meeting, the Badlands backed off from war directly and instead focused on building up their kingdom in the new territory they acquired.

Meanwhile, the Redstone Kingdom was notorious for causing devastation and destruction due to it being ruled by Creepers, an explosive creature native to the Redstone Kingdom. They were known for being the spark to light the fires of war, destroying other kingdom’s monuments and blaming another for the doing. Several wars started because of them before Sam took the throne and vowed to try for peace, hiding his Kingdom away and watching as the others fought each other from a distance.

But even then, the rest of the kingdoms would force Sam’s hand into war, asking for resources, asking for help, and Sam had no choice but to listen and led the kingdoms a hand or two. It was how the kingdom grew into the absolute wealthy powerhouse it is now. Even if blood wasn’t spilled on their lands, they were just as guilty of bloodshed as everyone else.

And there was no one more guilty than the Antarctic Empire. With the rise of Emperor Philza and his twin sons, the Empire proved to be a brutal force to be reckoned with. What they lacked in territory and resources, they made up in strength and warriors.

So often they started wars in hope of expanding territories and so often would they fail to accomplish their goals in a way that was satisfying to Philza. But time and time again they started up fights and battles, usually with Philza and his son, Technoblade at the frontlines.

Manburg, on the other hand, was a newer Kingdom. It had broken from the SMP territory and fought for independence brutally before Eret’s grandparents gave up and moved resources to fight the Antarctic Empire instead, leaving them to build up their Kingdom on their own.

What had started out as “L’Manburg” quickly rose to power despite having such little territory. In wars they often teamed up with the Antarctic Empire, as the two shared the similar lust for expanding their territories.

Schlatt had come to power near the end of the Great War, called so due to the magnitude of the war. All the kingdoms had been involved with it, even the Badlands and Redstone Kingdom, each of them determined not to be wiped off the map.

Nobody said it, but everyone knew that Schlatt used the war to his advantage. He used his skills to gain power as the King, not earning the crown through inheritance, but rather through a silver tongue and perhaps a silver blade into the former King’s back. There wasn’t much proof though on the issue, but he got the throne and fought viciously in the war as a knight alongside his older sister, bringing great power to his kingdom and changing the name from ‘L’Manburg’ to just ‘Manburg’.

They were just coming out of the time of the Great War. A temporary truce had been called out between the five kingdoms, each of them too tired to continue and too low on resources to want to risk anything else. Marburg had the death of the Queen to worry about and the rest of the Kings had children to look after, as Eret believed sons had been born to both the Manburg and Antarctic Family during that time of war.

With a sigh, they rubbed their temples, stopping in their pacing. They knew that it was risky to stop all the fighting and hope for peace after the summit, but after about a year of relative peace between the five Kingdoms, they believed they had a shot.

For two weeks, the Kingdoms would interact and talk things out. Perhaps treaties and alliances could be made between them all after they spent that much time together. Eret had hope that things would go well, as it was a good thing that all Five Kings agreed to meet and bring their families to Eret’s castle to spend the two weeks in.

It showed a level of trust between them. It showed that the Kingdoms trusted Eret and each other just enough to agree to this Summit without thinking that it was some kind of trap.

“And if anything,” Eret muttered, looking up at a painting of their parents hanging behind their desk, “I’m sure they’re just as tired of war.”

They sighed and gave a light shake of their head. Everything had to go perfect, nothing could go wrong. There couldn’t be any unnecessary tension or fighting, or another war could be well on it’s way.

“My Majesty,” the voice of the head of Eret’s knights, Captain Puffy, pulled the Ruler out of their thoughts.

Turning around, Eret saw both Puffy and Hbomb, the highest ranking knights, kneeling before them in silver armor.

“Yes?” Eret asked, clearing their throat of the sounds of worry.

Standing, Puffy gave Eret an easy smile. “We’ve just gotten word that the Kings and their families are on their way to the Kingdom. The first should arrive two days from now.”

Nodding, Eret smiled, “Perfect, is everything in order?”

“We’re working on it,” Puffy answered, “but I can assure you that everything will be ready by the time they arrive. You’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Eret gave a sigh of relief, “Just what I wanted to hear. Thank you Puffy, thank you Hbomb,” the two nodded, “you are dismissed.”

The knights gave their Ruler a salute, a fist to the chest, before turning and taking their leave out of Eret’s office.

Eret’s smile faded as they exited. Walking slowly over to one of the large windows overlooking their expansive Kingdom, Eret stood with their hands behind their back, a single hope hanging from their lips,

“You’ll have nothing to worry about…”

#dream smp #dreamsmp #dsmp #royalty au #dream smp royalty au #dream smp fic #c!eret #eret #captain puffy #hbomb #l'manburg #antarctic empire #i'm doing this instead of school work guys #this is what my life has come to

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the-fae-folk · 3 years

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A Quiet Walk

“Ardri?” “Hmm?” They were out at the city’s edge again, wandering among the trees while still in sight of the towering city walls. Nod had told them that the Lord of Autumn had requested that they refrain from wandering too far from the city without some kind of guard or someone powerful enough to protect them if they were attacked by some fell monstrous Fae under the dominion of the Dark Fire. But though their host’s home was beautiful, and the parts of the city that hadn’t been touched by the invasion were pleasant and grand, it was like suffocating after a while. Ardri had lived in the forests and hills all his life and never seen cities nor even buildings until late into his journey. While Sam had lived in the Midwestern U.S. in a very small town surrounded on all sides by endless fields , low rolling hills, deep streams, and the occasional copse or even a mostly untouched woodland in the distance. Neither felt comfortable being told they couldn’t leave the confines of the high walls and opulent, decorated, buildings. Though, as Nod thoughtfully pointed out, the Lord of Autumn had only said that they not wander too far. Not that they actually couldn’t leave. And of course, their accompaniment only had to be someone powerful enough to protect them, but not necessarily some official officer from the guard or a bodyguard. So now the pair was comfortably strolling through the trees, accompanied by the Phoenix, who had happily come along with them when Sam asked it to. Though it did not, or perhaps could not speak, it seemed to understand what they said to it and make its thoughts known through expression. And it seemed to like Sam, which was a good thing, especially since the rest of the Folk in the city seemed to be a bit afraid of it. The fire from the great bird’s feathers did not burn or even set alight any of the trees, grass, or ferns they brushed against, instead sending little dancing wisps of golden flame into the air behind it, only to have them vanish away after a moment. “What are the crowns exactly? Where did they come from?” It was a fair question, thought Ardri. Most Faeries had some idea of the crowns or had heard of them at least. Though even then they were hardly ever explained. Once the old Faerie who had told him stories under the tree at the top of the hill had told him a bit about the four crowns of the Courts of Season. “Well,” he said, trying to remember the details as best he could. “The crowns of Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Spring are newer, but still very old. They were made just before the great wars, long before humankind was born or your world came to be, during the Golden Age of Faerie. Then they were lost and not found for a long time. And the ones who found them made new courts, the Courts of Season. It’s their power that lets the courts control the seasons, lets us dictate the turning of the the cycle, our courts extending our territory into your world so that you might share in the gifts of winter and spring and summer and autumn.” From the expression Sam was making, this was a very strange, though fascinating, idea. Ardri couldn’t help a small smile from inching onto his face as he continued. “They were made to house some of our strongest magic of the Golden Age, to bring prosperity and wonder to our people. But they were also a source of devastation in the wars. I suppose it depends on who uses them, and why. “As for the other crowns. Well the Crowns of Light are ancient, incredibly old. I don’t know their story, but maybe some other Faerie knows or has heard of it. The Crown of Shadow is from the time right after the Imprisoning War, when we were trying to rebuild our world. I don’t know why it was made, but its just as powerful as any of the three crowns of light, and is equal to all four of the crowns of seasons at once.” Sam thought about this. “Alright,” he said with a nod. “What about the one you’re seeking then? The First Crown?” With a shrug, Ardri glanced ahead of them to where the direction of their travels would lead them right back to the main path and out of the woods. “I know its the oldest. The first. It’s supposed to go all the way back to the very beginning of Faerie, maybe even before. But what it is, who made it, or even why they made it... has been forgotten. All we know is that it’s powerful enough to make whoever has it the King over all Faerie. Powerful enough to stop everything from being destroyed or consumed by the dark fire. At least, that’s what we hope. Its really our only hope.” They walked in silence for a while, Sam’s thoughts racing as he thought about the magical crowns of Faerie, and Ardri wondering what life might have been had he never needed to know or hear about the crowns or the great courts at all. If he’d just lingered forever in the forests of his home, dancing beneath the trees, swimming in the rivers, playing under the stars. But then... if he hadn’t gone on his journey to better Faerie in some way, if he hadn’t gotten caught up in the old and terrible consequences of days and deeds from before his time, he might never have ventured into the Human world... and never met Sam.

#ardri #sam #faerie #woods #forest #crowns of faerie #crowns #magical relics #golden age of faerie #dark fire #humanity #human

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nicolewrites · 4 years

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my heart, a spinning arrow

introspective thoughts led to this. i’m tired, but i need to write more claude.

Rating: T Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Characters: Claude von Riegan & Byleth Eisner & Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg Words: 3,203

After the Battle at Gronder Field, Claude contemplates the path that has led here and the one that leads forward.

AO3

The fire in the Knight’s Hall is almost burnt to embers. Claude takes a drink from his flask and stares into the flickering orange glow. The flask is almost empty and he pauses, placing it down on the table in front of him as he leans forward, resting his arms on his knees. He stabs the poker into the fire, flipping the log and rejuvenating the fading flames. He places the power back down on the table in front of him and pushes his hands through his hair, exhaling slowly.

He’s wearing only a loose beige shirt and simple trousers. He had dropped his armour off with the smith after the battle and hasn’t returned to pick it up yet. He pulls his hands back and stares at the white scars on his wrists, palms, and fingertips. They seem to glow against the darkness of his skin.

Years of archery have given him rough calluses and more than a few of his scars are from simple mishandling of sharp arrows in battle. He still hasn’t rid his hands of their tremors completely even after years of watching his hand-fletched arrows sink into throats and arms and chests. He’s a master of finding the small gaps in armour, but he wishes he wasn’t.

This isn’t what he had intended when he had come to Fódlan. He had intended to bolster relationships with the Kingdom and the Empire and the Alliance using tricks and pretty words to knock down barriers and open the continent to the world. He had intended to strip away stereotypes and build a new, better world.

Now, instead, he has the blood of his old classmates on his hands.

Claude had hoped, futilely, that Dimitri might just stay dead after the Empire captured Fhirdiad. Of course, he could never be so lucky.

The chilling words Dimitri had shrieked a Gronder, a perfect pinnacle of a madman, still echo in Claude’s ears. Gronder had been kill or be killed and the way that Dimitri had advanced made that clear enough. He had advanced without mercy and cut down soldiers clothed in red and yellow without even flinching. Dimitri’s strength had been formidable and his army was relentless and Claude had known that he could not leave the Kingdom’s king to his own efforts.

It had taken four arrows to even slow Dimitri down and Claude knows, sitting in front of the fire now, that the only reason he’s still alive is because the rest of Dimitri’s classmates had not been as crazy as him.

Dimitri, wounded as he was, never made it to Edelgard before the Adrestian Emperor retreated. According to Hilda, he had certainly pursued her after the battle. Edelgard had at least been smart enough to retreat when she had been defeated, but Claude could not say the same for the King of Faerghus.

He still remembers the way that Edelgard had looked at him when he had flown over her, arrow knocked in Failnaught and aimed in her general direction. He had called her lovely and she had told him to leave.

Claude’s first shot had missed, but his second hadn’t. Only his practiced flight maneuvers had saved his life against her supernatural counter abilities. It had only taken two more shots, one imbued with the true power of his Relic, to send Edelgard on the retreat.

Claude had had the shot for the final blow, a perfect chink in her armour to bury his yellow-fletched arrow, but he couldn’t unsee Edelgard standing in the Cathedral during their time at the academy. She would stare angrily at the statue of Saint Seiros as if it was the cause of all of her problems. Claude doesn’t think she ever knew that he had followed her.

He understands her more than he wants to admit: her anger at the church, at the systems of Fodlan, even her methods to an extent.

In Almyra, conquest is the way of the world. Lords fight and kill for shreds of land and power and brothers and sisters turn on each other for the chance to rule. Claude understands war. It has shadowed him his whole life, but that does not mean that he agrees with Edelgard’s methods.

He does not agree with the fact that it means they must bear arms against people they had once considered friends. He does not agree with the fact that it means that it was him, not some Imperial soldier, who had put Dimitri out of his misery. He will take this secret to his grave if he has too.

Hilda knows because she saw him take the shot and she has covered for him. Hilda claims that it had been a sick twist of fate when Dimitri had pursued Edelgard that had brought the King of Faerghus to his unfortunate end. Her eyes study his face every time she repeats the lie.

Claude should have let him go and get cut down by the Imperial Army. Instead, in some twisted sense of pity and righteousness, it had been an arrow fired from Failnaught that found Dimitri’s throat and put an end to the mad prince. He sees it as a clean ending to an unfortunate life and a neat way to usher Fódlan to a new future.

That does not mean he does not regret it.

He had dropped Failnaught immediately after taking the shot, disgusted with himself, and only Hilda’s insistence that they draw back to the rest of the army had saved him from getting swarmed over by Imperial soldiers. She had carried the Relic almost all the way back to command for him when he had been unable to lay his hands on it.

The flames crack in front of him, drawing him back to the present, and Dimitri’s voice echoes in his head again. Claude wonders if Edelgard knows what he has done. He wonders if she would congratulate him or scorn him for his actions. She would have no right to do either, he reasons with himself.

Not with the way she had left Bernadetta and Petra to die.

Claude himself had never been particularly close to Bernadetta, but she was a quick and accurate shot, he had known that from archery competitions back at the academy. Unfortunately for Bernadetta, Edelgard had been content to leave her on the centre hill to draw fire. Raphael hadn’t even made it all the way to the centre hill before the Empire set it aflame.

Raphael had returned to base after the battle with a stony expression and a bloodied and burned body clutched in his arms. Leonie had helped him bury her and had reported to Claude later that her fatal injuries had come from the explosion, not any of the attacks from the Kingdom or Alliance.

Petra had been quick enough at least to dodge the explosion on the centre hill, but her evasion had placed her right in Claude’s path. His stomach twists and he digs his nails into his scalp as he recalls the shadow of his wyvern falling over the Brigid Princess.

She had taught him to climb trees five years ago and he had taught her to fly on a wyvern. She had not been afraid of him at that moment and it had only been the live or die instinct he had cultivated in himself since he was a child that had let him loose the arrow.

Petra had taken the blow and from him and Claude had had an opening to finish the job, but he had been unable to shoot again. He could only remember the laughs they had shared through his misadventures of falling out of trees and their honest discussion about nature and the nature of gods. She had pulled back, wounded and bleeding, with wild eyes filled with a fear that made him sick to his stomach even now.

Claude wants to yank his own hair out in his frustration. He has been trying to reduce the appearance of Almyrans as war-thirsty villains and he knows that having the princess of a foreign nation be afraid of him will not help with that fact when it comes time for him to claim the throne from his father. It will not help his Fódlan relations either for his friends to see him as the thoughtless killer he looked like.

Although, with the way this war keeps panning out, Claude sometimes wonders if he’ll have any friends left at all at the end of the war. The Golden Deer, once innocent and chaotic and fun, are splintering, shattered by the burdens of the heavy war they’ve been fighting for five years. Claude can see it in all of them: the bone-deep weariness that accompanies every swing of a weapon and every new scar earned.

His friends from the Kingdom are already gone. Gronder Field had seen to that. Annette, apparently, was lost in the five years of in-fighting between the Kingdom Loyalists and the Faerghus Dukedom. Ashe was burned in the fires of Ailell when he fell with House Rowe. Mercedes had fallen to Ignatz’s arrows at Gronder. Sylvain had buckled under the force of Lysithea’s magic. Felix had met his end by Leonie’s spear.

Claude had shot Ingrid out of the sky and left her for Hilda to finish off.

Dedue had vanished into the chaos of the battle, but Claude is not hopeful. One man, alone, who is anger-addled and revenge-filled does not stand a hope against the might of the Empire.

Claude lifts his head, dropping his hands to his lap and stares, dead-eyed at the flickering fire in front of him. The Kingdom will have died with Dimitri. If he fails now, stumbles at Edelgard’s doorstep, then the Alliance will follow the Kingdom down, as history has always dictated.

He drinks from his flask quickly enough that he nearly chokes on the burn of the liquor as he tosses it back. He has run the flask dry by now, drinking away the grief he tries to stave off with a well-timed joke or a sarcastic comment. He wonders if anyone sees through him.

Lorenz, maybe, at the worst of times, and Hilda, perhaps, at his best.

Claude has never been good at dealing with death. As a child, his mother told him story after story to desensitize him to the horrors of combat and the worlds that both of his ancestors originated from. It never worked. Instead, he found himself pitying both sides and grieving for people he had never met. His compassion had never been beaten out of him, as hard as some of his step-siblings may have tried.

Maybe that is why it hurts so much, even hours or days or weeks later, to know that old classmates have fallen and will fall. Maybe that’s why his hands are still sticky with Dimitri’s blood even though he had given the king a death that did not prolong his suffering.

He wants to kill Edelgard. He wants to bury an arrow in her heart and have her fall down dead and he wants the war to be over, but Claude is tired of fighting. He wants to find Rhea and ask her all the questions burning on his tongue, to know the truth of the Church of Seiros and the Relics and the Crest system and the eternally mysterious Professor who rose from the dead after five years of “sleeping”.

It’s as if he summons her, just by thinking of her. Her green hair, as faint as starlight, catches his eye from the corner of the hall where she stands, just inside the door as if she’s waiting for an invitation.

Claude leans back on the couch, trying to hide his weariness as he shoots her a smile. “Teach,” he says in greeting.

She steps closer. “Mind if I join you?”

“Depends on if you brought a drink,” he jokes.

He’s not serious, but the professor pulls her own flask from her belt and tosses it to him as she crosses the room. Claude fumbles, almost dropping it, but he calms his shaky hands by the time she reaches him and sinks into the couch next to him, staring into the fire in the same way that he had.

Claude unscrews the top on the flask and takes a swig. Her liquor is cheaper than his own and he resists the urge to wince as he drinks. He lowers the flask from his mouth and hands it off to her. She drinks easily, without even the twitch of her eyebrow. Claude barely catches the monogrammed ‘JE’ on the bottom of the flask while she drinks and he knows then why it is so easy for her.

“It’s strange to see you without your armour,” she comments quietly, staring at her hands where she clutches the flask.

He studies her face. As always, she is hard to read, but he can at least see the grief that is heavy in her expression. When they had met, she had been a blank slate. Now, he knows her well enough to see the edges of pain that she so desperately tries to conceal.

“It needs fixing. Figured there was no point in delaying when we need to start planning on how we’re going to hit Fort Merceus.”

“Tomorrow,” she says, cutting him off.

He blinks. “What?”

“We can start planning tomorrow,” she finishes. “I don’t want to think about fighting anymore tonight.”

“You know, Teach,” he says, “I never thought you’d be the one to tell me to stop working.”

She lifts her head, narrowing her eyes at him. “I drop by your room almost every day to tell you to get a reasonable amount of sleep.”

“And how much of that is completely hypocritical?” he counters easily.

She doesn’t rise to his jab and takes another drink from her father’s flask. They’re both silent for a moment as she swallows and slowly screws the squeaking cap back onto the top of the flask. She places it down on the table in front of them with a dull thud and picks up the fire poker. She pushes on one of the logs until it crumbles with a hiss and there’s a puff of smoke before the fire starts to fall apart, returning to embers.

“I should have killed her today,” the professor says without prompting.

Claude knows who she’s talking about. “I had the shot and I didn’t take it,” he confesses.

She looks at him, her green eyes glowing silver from the warm light of the fire. She looks almost ethereal in the orange glow. She is stunningly beautiful and always has been, but since her transformation after the Sealed Forest, there is something starkly otherworldly and unsettling about the way that she looks.

“I never would have asked you to,” she admits simply.

“Then don’t attempt to carry the burden of that by yourself,” he argues.

She shakes her head. “No, Claude, when we get to Enbarr, I will kill Edelgard myself.”

She draws the hunting dagger that is at her side at all times and flips it in her hand casually. The hilt is roughly bound in well-worn leather, but the blade is polished steel. She has carried the blade for as long as he has known her, but he has never once seen her use it.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

The three words are simple and chilling. Claude hesitates on his reply long enough that she sheaths her knife and drums her fingers over her leg like she is nervous. She does not look at him. He is unsure of how to tell her that he feels the same. That he felt the same when he killed Dimitri just hours earlier.

In the quiet moment that extends between them, there are so many things he wants to say to her. He wants to tell her about all of his doubts about the Church. He wants to confess his true upbringing. He wants to show her the faded healing scars on his hands and wrists and say which ones were his fault and which were the fault of others.

“Are you afraid of dying?” he asks instead.

“No,” she replies immediately. “At least, not usually.” She flexes the fingers of one hand and Claude swears that they sparkle with yellow light for a moment, but it is probably a trick of the lighting.

“I’m terrified of dying,” he admits. “There is so much left to be done and if I die, where does that leave any of this?”

She looks at him and he is taken aback by the warmth that lingers in her eyes. “I will not let you die.”

His lips twitch at the sentiment. It’s reassuring to hear from her, the woman who is a one-man army all on her own, but even she can’t stop what might happen in the coming days, especially with the plan that has been floating in his brain for several weeks.

“What would the goddess think of such words?” he asks, knowing full well that she knows he does not believe in the goddess like most of his former classmates do.

“I am inclined to believe I have the goddess on my side,” she says simply.

She is still looking at him and he does not doubt her. He never has.

“Alright then, Teach,” he says, nodding. “No dying for me.”

“Claude.”

She touches his wrist and his hand turns into her touch instinctively. Her thumb skitters over the skin on the underside of his wrist and up over the exposed part of his palm. She traces a bruise and a bump on his palm from a few bad draws on the field today and a knick on his thumb from the reigns of his wyvern.

She squeezes his hand and he feels her reassurance and her nervousness in the touch. This is not about the future of the nation: this is about the future of two young people who are just trying to survive.

“Byleth.”

He doesn’t often use her name, forgoing it for the sake of an affectionate and familiar nickname, but the moment calls for it. He tightens his own grip on her hand and nudges his knee against hers. He admires, for a moment, the dark of his skin against the fairness of hers and wonders what it would be like to hold her completely.

“We will be defined by this war as long as we are alive,” she points out, staring at their joined hands. “But we needn’t let it write the path to our future.”

“You lead,” he suggests. “I’ll follow.” When she frowns, he squeezes her hand. “I trust you.”

They don’t talk about Gronder Field or Fort Merceus or much of anything for the rest of the night, but when Byleth finally peels herself away to get some sleep, Claude feels the warmth of her hand linger in his and he can almost imagine a future filled with light instead of one darkened by war and memories of the dying screams of old friends.

It’s a reassuring thought.

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hockeysweetheart · 4 years

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Discribe a movie Badly See if anyone gets it...

How it works there are 10 movies I wont give anything In the hashtags. 1-10 Movies I discribed badly. Number them 1 to 10 of what you think the movie I am talking about is ... Some might be a series so I’ll take the name of it. Just comment below

1.Two Canadians meet He lives in the Country The she is from the city. They met at the fair. They fall in love. She moves away. He builds a house. She falls in love with someone who was in the war they get engaged. She goes back to the country after she sees him. They fall in love again. Also the narator is telling his story to his wife with dementa. So she remembers.

2.Women who’s been nominated for many oscars has three possible baby daddies For her daughter . Now her daughter is due to get married and did some sneaking around invited all three so she can find out who her real father is to give her out. They randomally break out into songs and have 2 supporting Aunts who don’t know their friend slept with all these men. But are supportive even fall in love with the 2 when its windled down... This girl and her fiance sing a song on the beach and it’s a whole musical number... Its until the evening before the wedding she doesn’t know who the father is. All she wants is her father to give her away... Its greek to me...

3.Boy wants to be king. The only problem is his skechy evil Uncle wants to be king as well. But the Boys father is the king. So they both Hatch a plan to kill the father. The boy is like no know what did I do runs away. Is raised by 2 men with prob a few mental issues. The girl of his dreams comes and finds him doesn’t know its him at first they sing a love song ... then tells him that the kindom and the lands in charge of is fu**** up with the uncle in charge so the only way is if he retains his title because hes next in line.

4.Girl lives in a poor town. She is mocked about it. Becuase shes the Prettier Smarter then the others and Lives with an inventer who is strange. Oh the town are anti readers too. This guy who thinks he can move her to his side hit on her and wants to marry her. She is like ha not a chance. He father goes off to the invention fair and she is on her own which is normal. He runs into wolves his horse throws him under the bus He trespasses into this big house. Which is owned by someone who really needs to shave Who can only do so if he falls in love if he can’t find love by a certain point he will look this way forever . kidnaps him away She knows something is not right the horse takes her to the big house.. sees her father in a jail cell. The man who owns this place says if you take his place I’ll let him go but you stay. Okay because her father is old she takes the deal. But then he gives her an actual room in the house instead of the prision cell. Because shes pretty lets make her feel like home. Then she meets her maid, her dresser, the house keeper The mans of the house chief steward. and basically the entertainer. And a the house keepers child and the pet dog. And together they all come and show her this hairy man is not evil as he may seem they fall in love on their own however. He lefts her go be with her father who is sick. Still hairy man but he let her go because he loves her. And she goes back home realizes the man who wants to marry her has locked her ill father in a cell... throws her in too because she refuses to marry him. Goes and kill this hairy man with the whole freaking town. She gets out goes to the hairy man. But the dumb ass man who wants to marry her shot him. Hairy man almost dies but is saved when she kisses him...

5.They lived in a poor town. Once a year they get a chance for a few of them to become Royal. They have a team of Drunky, Perky , Stylish, who guide them to their guide to be royal. ...For a bit Until the day the evil dictator locks them in an escape room but says the only way you will live if you murder people you just met. And only one shell live and go home. Its a trap... Until this girl falls in love with this boy and evenually both of them are allowed to live because it would be slap in the face if no one came out alive. which they were gonna do because they love each other that much. Now the only problem is back home this guy loves the girl. So she must choose who to pick one shes been to hell and back with and a pretty boy who suddenly wants her... Oh and the evil Dictator hates her because she broke the rules... Forces her into marrage of this boy and expects them to have children to so he can be like pay back is bitch and throw the ones who surived the escape room for the first time ever two of them their child into the room. And be like the biggest you have zero control over this ever. But then he gets the idea to send them back into the escape room with other people who already escaped the room before hoping they would die this time only there is a plan to pick the lock and half get captured half are free... And these two lovers are seprated due to this. And she is a hot mess. And unknownly the plan to over take this evil dictator. So she agrees to do it because duh. But then when she gets her man back he trys to kill her and she trys to write him off but all she can think about is him and says I will kill this evil dictator if its the last thing I do. The man who wants her heart kills this girls sister and she is like easy choice learns to love the guy who tried to kill her again and they live happly ever after...

6. He was the trouble maker. She was a goody goody christian girl. Whos daddy was the pastor. One day they meet becuase she is volunteering and he is doing community serivce... as part of it he has to do this school play and he realizes he is crushing on her and he crushing on him. They fall in love. She changed his life to take a better path. Then he founds out she is sick doesn’t have very long to live. Goes to his father hes not talking to. Asks him for help because hes a doctor. And she gets treatment at home because his father agreed to help out. Anyways they kill two birds with one stone get Engaged and Married pretty fast. A few months later she died of her illness.

7. She has been home schooled her whole life. Moves to a new area and the parents decided to put her in high school. And she goes in and to be in this high school you can’t be a sad loner because there is no lunch room table for that your eating in the bathroom stall. So she becomes friends someone who has it out for the popular girls.. And uses the new girl to befriend the popular girls to get revenge on them.. One of them is Canadian... But she is after one guy who is an ex to the popular girl... they get back together and she is Jealous of them. Tells the boyfriend that shes cheating on him... and They have this boolk talking about everyone... And this girl wants this the ex but he doesn’t want her. she has this house party where the friends who put her up to this come by tell her off pretty much. then the popular girl walks in on the girl and boy talking.. also this girl becoming a part of the popular one she is sabotaging the popular girls in doing that she is making the popular one who wants to loose weight become fat girls new boyfriend tells her what she is eating makes her fat. and she is pissed when she finds this out and goes home angry puts her self in this book and tells the pricipal about it the next day Pin it on her friends and the new girl. Then she breaks into the copy room throws the copies shes made all over the school. While the girls are being talked to and everyone who is in this book sees what is written on them... Then they have this meeting in the gym and they say their feelings and the girl who put up the new girl to do everything tells everyone and then the popular girl gets hit by a bus and is okay but then the new girl says she wrote everything in that book and got in trouble for it and has to do some math thing for it gets grounded by her parents and her dad lets her go out she wins prom queen and bam shes liked again

8. A talking donkey finds a new owner in the middle of no where because he is to be sold. He befriends his new owner. Who doesn’t want him. and Then the king thought the donkey needed a friend and sent everyone who was un normal to this green dudes house to be firends with the donkey. Then Green dude is like one pet is enough. Goes to the king says give them to a reserve but he and the donkey have to save a princess in a tower and bring her back to the king to be married. This king has a sweet tooth because he took the legs off a ginger bread man... Anyways This donkey and green dude go on this adventure to save this princess. But shortly the green dude and princess fall in love. And are just over how annoying this Donkey is and this princess at sunset she turns green to and the donkey finds out they talk green dude gets mad then gets the king to get her princess. they are to married before sunset. Becuase she keeps her being green quiet... But then the donkey and green dude crash the wedding. Green dude admits to being in love with her and she feels the same and they get married. and once they are Married both are green...

9. This dude whos got beef with anyone better then him has more power. Wears all black his minons dressed in white. He is pissed his wife left him years ago after he learned she gave birth to twins one girl one boy. And it’s a world you don’t know your parents. Because they agree to fight because a robot and grown teddy bear and some alian guy help them realize they have more power then this guy... okay so its 1 girl 2 dudes after this girl and one of the dudes is a sibiling to this girl. She gets kidnaped by this dude whos got beef gets saved. Finds out that she is sibilings with this one of the dudes. The dude finds out this dude whos got beef also done so much evil is his father and he’s like I kissed my sister nooooooooooo... And they have a sibiling realtionship after that. Oh and dad wants the son to join the dark side....

10. This rich dude who owns a factory. Shut the doors until one day he is like I want to retire soon lets give it to a kid whos about 10. But before that happened he had an easter egg hunt and people who find the golden ones got a chance to tour his factory which has been closed for the longest time. Then this poor boy finds one. and Is meet in a creepy ally but this creepy dude saying he wants to know the secerts inside. The boy runs off. Home tells his family who cannot afford 4 beds. That they could go to the factory. He picks his grandfather who was bedridden can suddnely walk... And they are in there with a spoiled brat, A Kid who eats everything. A girl who chews gum. A kids obessed with tv. and Him a poor boy. And one by one they get taken off and these orange men sing a creepy ass song each one who gets “ lost”. And each area they are tested until one comes out. Tho this boy broke the rules he kept the secert that the owner of the joint said to keep to themselves. and Gives the favtory to him

#movies #told badly #discribing movies badly #discribing #why doesn't tumblr have a spell check yet #its 2020 #movie

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chiagappy · 4 years

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- A continuation from the previous au-

They had a long journey ahead of them, still the travel felt less fatiguing since they kept each other company. With the small fortune they both were able to carry and the sword Josuke had hidden underneath his cloak, Josuke and Rohan trailed through darkened woods and discovered a windy road headed through the outskirts of the town. They followed it for a few hours before retreating back to the forest in fear of the chance of being noticed.

As they both continued on their path, Josuke couldn't help but consider himself lucky that if it wasn't for Rohan he would have been murdered on the spot without exception. Even so, he doubts that he'd get a second chance after kidnapping the clairvoyant this time around; 'they might have already placed a bounty over my head by now', he thought to himself grimly.

Still the samurai hadn't regretted his decision, he managed to rescue Rohan from the imminent danger in the shrine, and especially now watching how content Rohan seemed to be with all native species of plants and animals surrounding them. They decided to take a break by a river bank that followed up to the mountains. If he had remembered correctly, he was told by the prisoner that all they have to do is cross over the mountain until then reach a small town outside the emperor's rule. This town was known to welcome refugees and foreigners, he needed to find a man named Avdol. He never received the prisoner's name but he can tell but his silver hair and blue eyes that he was a foreigner himself; as for his reason for being imprisoned he had broken a priceless artifact from the Shrine and was waiting for his comrade to pay for his release, but had given Josuke tips on how to sneak out undetected.

As much as Josuke wanted to reach the mountain as soon possible he knew that he couldn't force Rohan to push himself, more so with the injury, so he decides it would be best to salvage food for the both of them, but when he turns around to tell the clairvoyant, he sees that he had disappeared. In a panic, the samurai called out for him only to find Rohan crouched down by some nearby bushes collecting berries and herbs telling the taller man to be quiet before they get caught and how he was finding food for them; Leave it to Rohan to assess the situation they were in rather quickly.

Josuke should have suspected his lov- partner wasn't in any real danger but still he warns Rohan to stay close just to be sure. Rohan jokes that he's being treated like a child and that he could have survived out here longer than Josuke would have, as he watched Josuke pick some poison ivy next to him.

It wasn't an ideal situation to be in the woods during nightfall, so they both continued their trek and discovered a small tavern at the base of the mountain. Relieved to find a warm shelter before sunset, they both hurried to it without a second thought.

From the outside it looked pleasant, rustic and homey. Soft wooden planks and marble stones make up most of the building's outer structure. Although the windows were covered by curtains, they could see a soft glow of light illuminating and faintly hear a traditional melody playing from within. Enticing them to go in.

The tavern was cozier than anticipated, almost vacant, saved for the bartender cleaning a wine glass at the countertop and a worker wiping off the tables. It was safe to assume the bartender was in charge so both walked up to her and asked if she had a room available to stay in, informing her that they were simply travelers heading to the next town over. The bartender eyed them cautiously, her stern cobalt eyes looking over Josuke's for a rather long time before she gave a collected sigh and accepted their payment, warning them not to cause too much trouble as she called over her worker to take them to the guest room.

Josuke and Rohan never thought a woman with such beauty could be so intimidating but they assumed she must have dealt with suspicious people coming to her tavern frequently. On the other hand, her worker, Suzie Q, was delighted to have them as guests as she fawned over the two, telling them how much of a cute couple were. They both immediately became flushed, Josuke being the first to protest her claims before Rohan did, however Suzie Q had a strong suspicion about it and only giggled at them before she took her leave, leaving the two to mull over what she just said.

Were they actually a couple now? Sure they both eloped together, and shared a few kisses here and there but that was in the heat of the moment. They haven't done anything else beyond that. And besides, it wasn't like they knew how to go 'that far,' right? Then it finally dawns on the pair that they were alone in this room with nothing but a lantern and large futon with two pillows, creating just an awkward atmosphere for the two. After a brief moment of silence, Rohan was the first to speak and tells Josuke they should share the futon, how it would be warmer with the both of them there, while Josuke rejects it completely, insisting he can sleep on the floor with just a pillow. It wasn't that he was embarrassed he just respected Rohan's space and wanted him to get better.

Rohan rolled his eyes but didn't press him further, telling him he's headed for the restroom down the hallway.

By the time Rohan returned, Josuke was acting even more self-conscious, finding the idiot ruffling his own hair as if he was being tormented by an evil spirit or deep in his thoughts. Rohan had attended several ceremonies of marriage and read stories of romance in his studies before but he couldn't help but find Josuke's reaction rather charming. He would have never guessed the other man would be so vulnerable to love, not that it was surprising given he could read the other like an open book.

To save his love from his inner turmoil, Rohan pulls at Josuke's robe to come join him in the futon, insisting that he needs help with placing the new bandages on his wound. Josuke reluctantly followed afterwards.

Josuke made sure he was careful around Rohan as he delicately wrapped the bandages around his injury and chest, while trying his best not to ogle at Rohan's skin for so long. It was soft and if it wasn't for the wound marking his skin, Rohan would have been flawless. Unfortunately for him, Rohan had caught on to his lingering stares and leaned back against the samurai just to tease him, causing the taller one to gently push him away, and try to dress Rohan back. Of course, Rohan didn't make it easier on his behalf and decided to cling to him in retaliation and ended up pushing Josuke to lie on the futon.

The sight of Josuke's face was enough to make Rohan burst in laughter, he's never seen someone so red, almost like a freshly picked tomato while Josuke only pouted, looking away from the object of his torment while he tried to peel Rohan off of him. But the clairvoyant was very stubborn and after some struggle Josuke gave up, with a cheeky Rohan smirking triumphantly as he laid against his chest.

They spent the night talking about their past, about how Josuke and his mother joined the shrine, everything, and Josuke finally learns about Rohan's childhood. How Rohan was raised within the palace where Josuke's mother had once lived, Rohan's mother served as an oracle there before she was caught in an accident alongside her husband. Thankfully for the king, he had no worries as he discovered Rohan's gift early on and soon he was deemed a replacement for his mother. His parent's funeral was a short one, with only the king and a few royal subjects attending and offering condolences to the young child. He vaguely remembers spending his days in the palace with a pinked haired maid who would offer him sugary confections and journals during his private lessons and being prohibited from stepping outside. He was given his own room where he would offer his prophetic readings to the King and the nobles who requested his presence- extending to feudal lords and military dictators as well. He distinctly remembers the strong smell of cigars and alcohol that filled his room as he offered his readings. He always had to feign ignorance otherwise it would cause conflict, but he knew deep in his heart he wanted nothing more than to quit because he could sense how corrupted these individuals were. But for the sake of survival, he continued on.

Then he was sent out to various shrines to offer his services before arriving at the Kishibe Shrine to continue his studies, however not welcomed as the first son of the Kishibe household who lost his family but still the prophet whose purpose was to bring prosperity and wealth to the Shrine. Just a pawn to use, Rohan described bitterly to Josuke as he buried his head closer to him.

Josuke wasn't certain of what to say, instead he pulled Rohan closer, wrapping his arms around him tightly, reassuring him that he would never let that happen to him again. And on that note, they both fell asleep.

---

The bartender smiled to herself, as she walked past the couple's door and made her way back to the bar.

She couldn't quite place her finger on it, it must have been curiosity that made her keep a close eye on the pair- or maybe Suzie's eccentric chatter falling into eyeshot when she warned her to keep it down during the evenings.

She sat in one of the empty chairs by the countertop and pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her pocket. This man look awfully familiar to the photo she received earlier that day, recalling how two police officials visited her inn to warn her about a prisoner who kidnapped some priest, and before she was able to address it, Suzie appears right next her and looks over her shoulder to say,

"I'm surprised you didn't send them out tonight, considering the hefty bounty over their heads; you do know you could be suspected of treason for helping a criminal, right Lisa Lisa?"

"You act as if I'm doing this for the first time, but yes, I do. And I can tell that they are good people too."

Maybe she should offer them breakfast before they leave.

#josuhan #✒☮#the neighbors kept me up all night so I ended up writing this~#chia thoughts

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scgdoeswhat · 5 years

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Unpacking The Elementalists Finale

I’d like to dedicate this to my dear Kane anon (and other TE anons) who have been hitting my ask box up for the last several months. I’m sorry this took forever to get out and I know it doesn’t ease the fact that they ixnayed Kane, but hopefully this makes a little more sense of TE’s abrupt ending.

Without further ado...

I’ve been wanting to make this post since Book 2 Chapter 10, but life has been hectic. TE’s finale finally forced my hand and so here I am, with a bunch of theories, points, and thoughts I've had noted since the book came back from its hiatus. First off, now that TE is officially over (😭) we now know that the hiatus was primarily used to tie up all the loose story lines and to give us a tidy ending. The writing in the second half of the book was more solid, concise, and had a clear cut vision of what the writers wanted and where the plot was headed. As much as I hate to say it, the first half of the book may have been overly ambitious. They introduced the Moral Compass, potentially two villains in Kane and Alma, and a plethora of different storylines. I had a number of people tell me through the first five/six chapters of Book 2 that they were confused with the plot because it became too convoluted and hard to follow along. I think they introduced too many elements into the story, which dragged down the arc. Let’s break down some of these individually: The Moral Compass was something we were all excited to see implemented, because it gave us the potential to be an evil MC. In the end, we know it didn’t make much of a difference, save for dialogue and/or violent options. I think this was originally something intended to be greater than what it amounted to, and part of it is the limitations of the medium that the app is and simply, resources. This also ties into…. The plot involving Kane and Alma. I don’t believe having Kane as the Big Bad was supposed to be as defined as it ended up being. The two Sources were written far more ambiguous in the beginning, with the chance that depending on your choices, you could side with either one by the end of the book and/or series. The hiatus streamlined the plot, discarding elements that were difficult to pull off, including multiple MC point of views that may have held the possibility of being evil or choosing Kane, therefore placing Alma as the antagonist. In a narrative story app such as Choices (as opposed to Lovestruck, where the routes have the same players but different stories altogether), I just don’t think this advanced storytelling would have been doable. These plots are primarily linear, and MC being evil/with Kane/etc, it would present a different set of problems, including the fact that this becomes an entirely different story while there is supposed to be one solid ending. (For what it's worth, I enjoy the MC customizability of Choices more.) Looking at the group of friends, obviously Beckett was incredibly fleshed out while the others were not as much. I wanted to delve further into our friends’ backgrounds a bit more, and I think at the beginning of the book, we were on that path. Aster and her wood nymph family was a perfect example of table setting. We had two or three scenes before the hiatus to go to the forest, and I thought the Wand Wars and their involvement against Kane was slated to be more prominent. I think the writers had something bigger planned, but how would it all tie in if players started choosing the evil choices? Again, having too many choices causes a domino effect that makes it nearly impossible to navigate when the story is supposed to end with a particular goal in mind. The chapter where we can receive the wand was a symptom of ending the book early and I think the execution of the actual Wand Wars scene was lacking the emotional punch the initial introduction of it warranted. This is unfortunate because the setup they had in Book 1 made it seem much more violent, disastrous, and full of hate compared to what was shown (i.e. Attuned just being greedy bastards). We were introduced to Shreya's Serene & Sublime business and the potential of family disapproval and lack of support in the beginning, but everything was tied up with the gala chapter. Looking back, I was curious why it was so easy to get so many financial backers this early into the series, but knowing that TE only went for two books makes much more sense why we knew whether S&S succeeded or failed. (Tangent - for anyone who didn't secure backing, is S&S successful at the end of the book?) I think Griffin, his scholarship, and his decision between Natural Sciences and Thief was also slated to be a bigger subplot. We never met his parents, despite them being brought up very early in Book 1. If TE had gone the originally planned three or four books, I have no doubt his family would've been introduced and MC would have needed to help sway his parents (and the committee for the scholarship) whether Griffin continued on the NS or professional Thief path. Doing the Griffin scenes (even as platonic friends) influenced his standing for the scholarship and not doing them made him lose out to Amy, if I'm not mistaken. Question for everyone regarding Zeph and the Thief captaincy: Does he get it in everyone's playthrough? I wonder if the writers always planned for Zeph to get the captaincy or if Griff would have kept it depending on your playthrough if they had all four books to use. Another big plot point that resolved itself out of nowhere was Atlas and MC butting heads over their Sun Source mother. I was not a fan of this storyline at all. I felt like the disagreements between the siblings was unnecessary drama that came off as forced. They tried to explain Atlas' position, and I understood where they were coming from, but Atlas was very unreasonable with their constant “who cares about mom” shtick.

I think this was something that could have been more impactful if there weren't so many plotlines happening and more focus could have been given to it instead of a few screens of Atlas saying they were pissed off before storming away from MC. This was also a plotline that was directly influenced by the Kane/Alma decisions. If MC sides with Kane, it makes much more sense for MC and Atlas to be against each other as opposed to MC being good/siding with Alma.

Five major subplots were opened, but how do you seamlessly weave these elements into a 17-19 chapter book? In my opinion, you can't. Each time something new was introduced, I felt things were glossed over, despite big chunks of chapters being focused on whichever subplot the chapter was about. Throw in the romance and I think it is nearly impossible to resolve each aspect in a complete manner.

What also hurt was the pacing of the series. This was also seen in Book 1, where sometimes a chapter would span one or two days, only for a huge time jump to occur in the next chapter.

So many ideas could have been explored through the course of four books (which is what I believe they had planned), but all the different elements should have been introduced at different times. Instead, Book 2 was an amalgamation of so many ideas but not enough time, space, or resources to thoroughly hash out and have a satisfactory resolution. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it was having too much Beckett that hurt the series. He obviously kept the series afloat and was one of PB's biggest moneymakers in recent history. Despite the constant complaints on tumblr, people fail to realize that the ENTIRE online fandom (FB, IG, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Wiki) comprises maybe 0.5% - 2% of the ENTIRE player fan base. It only made sense that PB capitalized on him because their numbers dictated that the resources should be spent in that manner. The fallout from this was that Beckett was the only one who had his storyline relatively complete, and that was due to the spending power of everyone who romanced him. I think what hurt them the most was the multiple storylines and the indecision of which direction they wanted to go. They had a grand idea of the direction through Book 2 (and Book 3, let’s not lie here) but in-game mechanics and the type of game Choices is made it difficult to pull off. The app wasn’t the correct medium for what they envisioned. In my opinion, the overall story arc had the potential to be brilliant, but again, the app wasn't designed for the type of story the writers wanted to tell.

I also think the timing and having a very short turnaround hurt, as well. Players had high expectations and when you factor in the hype around the other books that were also released on Fridays, TE lost some of its sparkle. Most players didn’t get a chance to miss it for the regular 2-3 months we’ve been trained to wait for sequels. (I recognize that I’m an anomaly and the previous three sentences do not apply to me at all.)

Even with all this, I applaud the writing team for wanting to deliver a story that was worthy of a magical world. I love all the Pend Pals (‘Motley Crue’ for me), the familiars, the side characters, loved to hate the villains, and from someone who is not into Harry Potter lore at all, I was absolutely sucked into the magick universe that the writers built. (Metal Att for life ⚙!)

If TE does return in the future (and I REALLY hope it does), I think it will be even stronger than the first two books because the world building is complete. We know almost everything we need to know now. Instead of using a Book 3 to search for Sun Mama, the family is complete, MC and Atlas are attuned to all the elements, and there are so many open-ended questions that Book 2 left us.

If they implement a time jump where MC and the Pend Pals are all post grad/mid 20s, it also gives the writers a chance to move the story from the Young Adult genre to a more mature setting. We saw this in the later diamond scenes, where the writing appeared similar in their vividness (and coding in the final scene - THANK YOU, glorious writing team) to Open Heart, Bloodbound, and A Courtesan of Rome. This removes the restrictions placed on the group of being college kids, and therefore are almost fully developed with their magick, giving the possibility of moving the story out of a university setting.

If you've made it all the way here to the bottom, thank you for sticking with me and apologies for spelling/grammar since this has all been on my phone 😂 I think this comprises almost all my notes I've been keeping for the last 2 months. Feel free to agree or disagree; I just wanted to post my thoughts on this book and series that I love so much.

Now, I'm going to go back to my holiday (don't worry, I didn't write all of this while on vacay lol) and I'll try to answer asks when I have downtime.

#the elementalists #beckett harrington #shreya mistry #griffin langley #aster d'yew #playchoices #choices #beckett x mc #griffin x mc #shreya x mc #aster x mc #zeph hernandez #atlas ernhardt #te

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moonymauve · 4 years

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A short story with hidden references of History

Written on the day after the tragedy in the Port of Beirut...

When I was a child, there were no buildings made of glass, airplanes that soared the skies like birds, and houses built from the toughest of stone, instead there were trees that stretched from miles and miles, horses that galloped from one point to another, and caves that served as temporary haven. In human time, it would have been millennia ago, now forgotten and disregarded in history books. But to me, I remember everything—anything up to the point of my death. Of course, it would have been nice for my tale to end when I died, but destiny had other plans for me. After all, peace is not given to a murderer, even after death.

Now, I roamed the Earth, always on scene during chaos, and today was no different. A loud beeping snapped me from my train of thoughts, and I gazed at the watch that was strapped on my wrist. Lifting my left arm up, I read the numbers that illuminated on the tiny screen— 33.8938° N, 35.5018° E. They were the coordinates to my last garner, and with a flash of light, I was transported to my final destination.

One last collection,

One last tether.

One last time in the human world.

There I stood, in the streets that smelled clearly of the sea, and a mismatch of buildings—newly polished and deteriorating with age. Quickly, I hid behind one of the lesser occupied alleys, waiting for the clock to strike. For the many years I have done my job, my heart has never raced, nor has my mind thought about those that I collected; pity and empathy became foreign things to me, but it seemed that today was different after all. Without a warning, all at once, destiny gave me back my emotions.

After years of pondering, decades of constant working, and centuries of feeling nothing, on my last day, everything returned to me. My heart swelled as if it had been snatched from my chest, ripped apart and forcingly pushed back to its place over and over and over again; my legs weakened and I crashed on the dirty street, I could not feel anything else except the aching feeling as if my whole body was on fire; my eyes, which has held no sentiment nor excitement for hundreds of years, has finally released the tears I did not know they still had; and the mark on my forehead burned with anger.

“It hurts so much,” I whispered to myself, as I lowered my head and clutched the part of my chest where my heart should be. I could not fathom if these feelings were all that time and fate has suppressed from me, or if they were those of what my new collections will feel once it strikes.

“Did someone hurt you?” A voice spoke from above. For a few seconds, I thought it was the voice of God—I almost laughed. But I realized it was the innocent words of a child. Raising my head, I squinted at the sight of the little boy, not older than eight, in front of me. Although I was kneeling, this boy stood taller by only an inch. “Umi said that we must not cry in the streets.”

“Really? And why mustn’t we?” I spoke in his mother tongue, holding back the tears that choked me. Walking to my side, he sat and leaned his back on the wall behind us.

“Umi said that bad people might take advantage of us. They prey on weakness, you see. They have no sympathy or feelings. They are bad.” He fiddled with his hands as spoke. I could not help but notice his ragged and torn clothing, noxious odor, and dirty fingers that were acquired in his many hours under the sun and on the streets.

“Do you believe that? That there are bad people?” I ask, wiping my tear-stained face.

“I believe whatever Umi says,” he chimed.

“Well, do you believe what strangers say?” Fixing my posture, I attempted to hold back the whirlwind of conflict that brewed inside of me.

“No,” he quickly said. “But I’ll believe you.”

“Why? Do I look like Umi?” I joked.

“No! Umi is much prettier!” The little boy pouted as he motioned his head side-to-side. “I will believe you because you are brave enough to show your weakness outside. Umi said not many can do that, but if they could, then it means that there is goodness in their tummy.”

As I looked at the boy once more and as I faked my smile, I could no longer ignore the fact that the light in his heart was flickering, fading. He’s part of the collection.

The realization tore my entire being. In all my years, I have collected children, even babies, but I have not seen them in this view before.

“You should go back to Umi and your family,” I managed to say.

He shook his head and said, “I have no family. They went away when big black things fell from the sky and destroyed our house. Umi was inside too. I was the only one outside because I ran as far as I could when Umi shouted at me for my grades.”

I could not take it anymore. Must this really continue?

Swallowing the pain, I stood up and reached for the boy’s hand, “Would you like to walk with me?”

He smiled and followed. If only he knew who I was, or what I was; if only he knew what was about to happen; if only he knew where was I taking him, then perhaps he would have done what he had before—ran away as far as his tiny legs could.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

It seemed that in my final moments in this world, I would be doing what I have done to get here in the first place. Destiny was a cruel conniving entity.

Walking towards the warehouse, the boy and I only looked in front, we did not mind the onlookers, nor I, the cruel feeling in my gut, only the path that lay before us. As we neared it, my watch beeped. It was here. For one last time, I glanced at the boy, and he looked up at me with a smile. I swear I saw my little brother in his place. My little brother whom I sent to his death.

“I’m sorry, Abel.” My words were the last to be heard before a loud sound came from inside the warehouse. Soon, it released a gruesome explosion of fire and air that reached for miles on out.

When I opened my eyes, the boy was no longer there, nor were the people that were near the place. As I looked around, rubles upon rubles, and detached limbs upon corpses colored the scene. From afar, I could still see the light of the survivor’s hearts, but near, I could see nothing. It was not the first time I had seen such sight, but it felt as if I were the one that died, but in seventy-four times. Soon, tears flowed from the slit of my eyes once more.

“May Allah grant you eternal rest,” I whispered, closed my eyes and put my hands together. Once I opened them, the souls of the dead lined up before me. In front of them was the little boy I was with moments ago. As if he had not just gone through his end, he smiled at me.

“Where will we be going?” The boy asked, taking a look at the long line behind him.

“That is for me to know, and you to find out.” Crouching down, I saw my reflection in the pupils of his eyes.

I noticed it immediately. It was gone—my mark was gone. Reaching for my forehead, I touched the empty spot that was once embedded with my curse. When I felt nothing, I confirmed the end of my fate.

“Shall we?” I asked the line of souls in front of me. And with a flicker, we left the broken mess of buildings and roads.

In a few minutes, the setting we had just left will be shown all over the world, and their authorities would release the number of people that had died in the blast. People will mourn for strangers they have never once crossed paths with, and others will try to help the country recover. But at the end of the day, they will treat these losses as just numbers. Humans were always like that.

However, for me, it’s a different case. As I feel my soul be cleansed from the sins of my past, I remember the people I had helped to their deaths.

I remember the woman who died as she gave birth to her daughter.

I remember the man who saved his mother’s life in place for his.

I remember the politician who was shot in an airport after attempted to oust a dictator.

I remember the monarch who was beheaded using the device that he, himself, approved of.

I remember the innocent child who was killed by the police for the color of his skin.

I remember the chief who died by the hands of colonizers who wanted to claim his ancestors’ land.

I remember the unaware citizens who died moments ago because the explosion.

But most of all, I remember my brother who died by my own hands.

In my last moments, I pray to the God we fought for approval for. And as my soul reached the gates of its end, I exclaim, “Father, I have come home.”

#moony mauve #prose #port of beirut #explosion #death #the story of abel and cain #catholocism #what happens when we die #and what happens when we don't #short story

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writerandee · 5 years

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Stages of Love

Here it is, my first dive in to Richard Armitage real person stories. Please read, reblog and let me know what you think and if you’d like to be tagged for future chapters of this story!

Coffee. The life brightener, mood elevator, necessary rich brown liquid gold sustenance. Right now, this was all she needed and could focus on. By the time she left her apartment and finally reached her favorite local coffee shop, Roasters, to say she was late to her day getting started would’ve been an understatement. Her alarm didn’t go off and she didn’t have time for a proper shower. After some simple make up and a quick blow dry of her hair she was done with all the society dictated primping. She was headed to work, a book store she inherited from her grandfather after his passing. Her store was close to Roasters and she always preferred this for her necessary daily caffeine intake instead of the more mainstream Starbucks which would’ve been hugely inconvenient since the nearest one was 3 streets away and entirely not within walking distance from her apartment to her store. This mostly unknown coffee shop happened to be very old-world where you would find that most patrons were locals, repeat customers with the occasional traveler seeking something different and unknown in this tourist ridden beach town. The city of Galveston, Texas was once a bustling port of trade and leisure for the wealthy elite of the area, but those days have long since passed. All that’s left of that bygone era are a few scattered well maintained buildings from the turn of the century.

Walking in to the coffee shop she noticed the usual few people who made this their regular go to hang out and quick coffee stop. Many of them were regular shoppers at her own store. Coffee and books do go hand in hand she realized long ago. After a quick order of a large caramel vanilla macchiato she sat at an empty table to wait for her order to be called. Timothy, a local artist and historian who had known her since grade school spotted her from across the shop and made a quick dash to her table.

Ugh, him of all days, this is just the cherry on top of this morning disaster sundae.

“Hello Lillian! I thought I might find you here this morning.” All 5’8 of him from head to toe was revolting and completely woman repelling. The lack of hygiene and clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in months were definitely a turn off.

If he was a more intelligent man, he’d know not to speak to me until I’ve had coffee.

The expression on her face was one of pure annoyance and impatience.

“Yes Tim, I basically come here every morning, but you already know that.” Imbecile.

He’d probably ask her to dinner, movie or any of the other typical date like things he could come up with. He must have asked her out at least once a week for the past year. Her answer was always a resounding, no.

“Also, I know I’ve told you this for maybe the 100th time, but call me Lily. Lillian was my grandmother’s name and last time I checked I’m barely past 30.”

“There’s that sass I know and love.”

“ORDER FOR LILY!”

Saved by the barista. Thank you, heavens, above!

“Alright Tim well I must be heading to work now, books don’t sell themselves you know.” She started making a quick escape towards the door from Tim the leech when he suddenly blocked her path.

“One last thing Lil, the historical foundation is putting on a performance of The Crucible at the Opera House on Saturday, mainly for charity but the director has gotten someone famous to headline or sponsor or something, I don’t know. What time should I pick you up?”

“And just what makes you think I’d be interested in going with you?”

“Oh, I just so happen to know you won’t say no this time.”

“Really? What makes you so sure?”

“It’s the Crucible Lil. Don’t you still have the VHS copy of the movie from the 90’s, Daniel Day’ Lewis and Winona Ryder or something?”

She had to admit to herself, he had a point, this was a performance she wouldn’t want to miss but going with him as his date made her suddenly very nauseous.

“If I go with you, it is strictly and only as friends, not a date.”

“Alright, fine, just friends. For now.”

With that last overly creepy statement, Tim left the shop. Her mind was conflicted. How was she going to spend an entire performance sitting next to him if she could barely stomach just a few minutes in his presence? But she knew without a doubt this was a performance not to miss. With her coffee in hand she left the shop and made her way to her own book store a block around the corner.

Opening time was 9 a.m., but I guess today it will be more like 9:30.

The store really was more like home than her own apartment was. Opening the front door was one of the best parts of her day. Inhaling the scent of so many books made her soul come alive with anticipation to start another day for a business she was truly passionate about. She put her purse and keys away in the back office before making her way to the front checkout counter. She noticed the voicemail indicator light on the phone illuminated letting her know there was a new message.

Odd, we don’t normally get calls before opening.

She pressed play for the voicemail box and listened with curiosity. A friendly and excited woman’s voice played over the speaker.

“Lily Montgomery, this is Aubrey with the Historical Foundation. I’m sure by now you’ve heard there is to be a performance of The Crucible at the Opera House this Saturday. We are inquiring on if your store would like to set up a stand with books for sale about the Salem Witch Trials before the performance? Please return my call if this sounds like something you’d be interested in.”

Well it looks like I have another reason to go after all.

After taking stock of what books she had available and which ones she needed to do a quick order for, she returned Aubrey’s call to let her know she’d be more than happy to be involved with the pre-show.

The rest of the day was business as usual with the random student needing a book and lookers and browsers who didn’t know what they were searching for and didn’t need help but when they find it, they’ll let you know. These customers were always Lily’s favorites. It seemed like they usually picked a book based on their current life situation. He wants something more exciting. She wants something with drama and a good love story. Everyone’s reasons for being in her store were always different and that was something she looked forward to every day.

Once closing time came and went, she locked the front door and made her way to the back office to get her things ready to leave for the night. She checked her email quickly before leaving and noticed an email from Aubrey. It was an advertisement for ticket sales to The Crucible. Her store name was listed as a sponsor at the bottom. But what had caught and kept her eye and attention was a head shot of the most handsome man she had ever seen in the middle of the page.

“OPENING PRESENTATION BY RICHARD ARMITAGE.”

Included was a short bio about his various roles in cinema, television and on stage. It seemed he had played the lead role of John Proctor in a run of The Crucible in London a few years back.

Makes sense why he would be here for this.

He really was quite the intriguing specimen. His face was the picture of masculine perfection with a pair of intense aquiline eyes that could almost peer deep down to your very soul and reveal your innermost secrets, an impossibly regal nose and a magnificent jawline complete with the perfect amount of stubble. Oh, he was magnificent indeed. Her nerves were immediately set on fire. But this was merely a publicity picture. Surely the man wouldn’t be this alluring or captivating in person.

#richard armitage #real person fiction #richard armitage x OC

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flyingspinkicks · 6 years

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Chapter One: Wretched and Weary

🐉

Sweat drips from your brow as you scan the empty landscape. It’s a small lot but with enough care and love you could turn it into something something amazing. An arm raised as you wipe it down. Well time to start working on it. You pick up a shovel and start digging. The blade sinking deep into the head ground. You had to remove all the weeds and stone from the area first.

A good hour passes when you hear the sound of something repeatedly hitting the stone walk path behind you.

’Oh....Grandson what are you doing?‘

You turn to see a hunched back old man, a wooden cane in hand. His eyes looking past you and to the empty lot. A raised eyebrow following suit. You set aside the shovel and again wipe the brow from yourself.

“Oh hello grandfather! I’m uh.....Going to open a guild house. A place where people may rest and relax and enjoy a cup of tea.”

The old man stood silent, hand running through his beard.

‘Tea you say, hmm....No no no. This place will not do. Let me ask you child. Why do you want to build one? Where in your past dictates that you need to build a place like this?’

You’re taken aback by the question for a moment. Thinking back, what is your resolve.

“Well sir....Before I came here I was an adventurer, I was taught in the martial arts in the style of the open hand. I traveled through out the world, fighting for the good. Taking down dragons, demons, tyrants, and corruption. Every time I come back from my adventures I find myself weary and tired. Hoping to find a place i may rest my feet. That’s what i wanna do now!. There are tons of people who fight the good fight and they need a place to rest too.”

The man stayed silent once more before letting out a loud raucous laugh..

‘Eheeheehee. I see, you’re one of those ey? Hmm. Follow me. I want to show you something. Something that can help you in your endeavors more than this.....lot.’

Finishing up his sentence as he began to walk, not even looking back to you. A hand raised to beckon you closer. The two of you walked through Cotes, through cherry blossom trees, and through the area they called Little Tokyo. As you followed him you start to notice signs that greets you to the lake of the koi. Instead of heading straight to the lake though he leads you to a narrow street near of the banks of it.

‘Come come faster.’

He called as you turn towards another path and you see what he has taken you to. At the end of this street, behind it an inlet of the lake is a building, dilapidated and old. You could tell right away though that in its heyday. It was a magnificent building, a shining light in its history.

‘I had a dream like you did too once upon a time. I built this place, had people come through from all over, but as time change so do the people and the luster of a grand tea house fell out of favor. It lost its life, and I lost it and its name. But maybe.....If you give this old coot a chance. Take it off my hand, turn it around. Give it new life and a new name.‘

You two venture forward and pry open the boarded up doors. Dust filling the air when you do.

“Grandfather...I-I....I don’t know if I can accept something like this...”

You look around and notice that the place is huge. Two stories tall and overlooking the lake. It must be worth a fortune. You tried to hold it back but your face tells a different story.

‘I’m not going to just give it you willy nilly. I’m going to need insurance and assurance. Prove to me and then I will give you the deed.’

Maybe this could be something you could agree to. It just need some tender loving care right? You could this, not by yourself though. You need to find people to help you.

“Okay grandfather! I will take you up on your offer, What do you need of me?”

‘Clean this place up. If this is to be a place where your passion lies, you move remove all source of discord and chaos from it.’

“Understood!”

#isoladancingdragon #thedancingdragon #drabble #its beginning #ok ima make a follow up post to this

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toniwilder · 6 years

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Narrative Family Therapy in Thor

The following is an essay written regarding the application of family therapy techniques in a fictional setting:

In Marvel Studio’s 2011 film, Thor, the fantasy and super hero aspects of the film surround worth. While we hear the mantra, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor,” regarding the physical action of the film (respectively in relation to Thor’s legendary weapon Mjolnir), we also hear testaments from both our protagonist, Thor, and his brother-antagonist, Loki, of expressing a desire to be worthy in different, more abstract ways. The film follows their journeys to become worthy as heirs to their fathers’ throne, but, more importantly, worthy as sons.

The film splits equal time between Thor and Loki’s origins, along with their relationship with their father. On the day of Thor’s coronation, the enemies of his kingdom of Asgard break into a highly secure weapons vault. Later, it is revealed that Loki allowed the spies to enter the vault as a cunning and underhanded way to express to his father that Thor is not ready to rule the kingdom in his father Odin’s stead. Just as Loki expected, Thor’s temper gets the best of him. As a warrior, Thor has been taught and congratulated for being violent and brash. Odin chastises Thor for trying to instigate a war onto the rival kingdom, Jotunheim, and postpones the coronation temporarily.

The flame of Thor’s temper is further fanned when Thor decides to take his comrades of warriors to Jotunheim to threaten the rival king. Loki humors him lightly and expects Thor to get caught once again making brash plans, but not to actually conduct any true damage. Loki’s schemes to frame his brother in a poor light, though, are knocked aside when they arrive at Jotunheim before Odin can stop them. Thor attacks the kingdom and kills citizens in the false name of nationalism. The most important thing to gain from this fight, aside from Thor’s temper, is that, during the battle, Loki is grabbed by a Jotun frost giant. The Jotuns are a race of monsters to the Asgardians and a touch from one should have given Loki immediate frost bite. However, Loki’s skin turns Jotun frost giant blue instead. Loki, it turns out, is not Thor’s brother after all. He not only adopted, he is a Jotun.

There are various moments throughout the film that build up a clear picture of the negative implications associated with being a Jotun. To name only one example: The very opening prologue of the film is Odin telling young Thor and Loki a story of the Jotun. The first words spoken in the film are, “From the cold and darkness came the Frost Giants.” Odin describes Asgard as a “beacon of hope” in comparison to the monsters that they protected every realm from. A young Thor, maybe nine years old, exclaims, “When I'm king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all! Just as you did, father.”

Just by this prologue, we understand many instrumental aspects of the Asgardian culture. Jotun frost giants are not only less than Asgardians—they are feared, hated, and inhuman. They’re referred to as monsters more-so than their true designation. It’s deep-rooted racism that Odin implanted into both of his sons, and, even though he tells both Thor and Loki that they are both meant to be kings, he gets teary-eyed when faced with the pride he feels for Thor at his coronation and he constantly accents that Thor is first-born, along with being worthy. Now, taking this into consideration and layering Thor’s blatant inexperience as a ruler with the insistence that he must rule on top of Loki’s discovery that he is a monster, it is no wonder that Loki takes to his heritage in an extremely volatile and dangerous way.

Thor, Loki, and Thor’s friends are dragged back to Asgard by Odin before any more peace treaties can be ruined. Thor is then stripped of his power and title and banished to Earth with the task of becoming worthy so he can reclaim what Odin has taken from him. Odin does not explain what dictates worth, only that Thor is “unworthy of these realms [sic] unworthy of [his] title” and “unworthy of the loved ones [he has] betrayed.” It is with this cryptic and vague mission that he sends Thor to an unfamiliar world and turns him into a human. It’s also important to note that an human lifespan in relation to an Asgardian lifespan is minute and humans are incredibly weak in comparison. Odin could very well have sent Thor to his death in his show of temper that is comparable only to Thor’s temper while attacking the Jotun giants.

Odin’s inarticulate parenting only gets more volatile when Loki confronts him about his heritage. Loki’s first thought is that he might be cursed, because the thought of Odin housing a frost giant from infancy is so foreign to him. Loki goes on to describe himself in a multitude of self-deprecating ways (“I am the monster parents tell their children about at night.”) and Odin admits that he took Loki from a Jotun battle for future political leverage. When confronted with Odin using him, Loki lashes out and asks why Odin never told him. As a final nail in Loki’s identity coffin, Odin claims he wanted to “protect” Loki from the truth. It’s one of the last things Odin says before entering a coma, and solidifies the racism throughout the entire first portion of the film that being Jotun is something to be ashamed of and an identity that makes Loki unworthy of holding the throne of Asgard.

Ironically, Odin’s coma and Thor’s banishment now allow Loki to reign over the kingdom in their absence. It is in place of power that Loki schemes so that he can kill his birth father (which he succeeds in doing) and the rest of the Jotun race while keeping Thor banished. His hopes are resolutely defined in the final battle between Thor and Loki when Loki explains that his actions of genocide against the “race of monsters” will show Odin that he is the worthy son and true heir to the throne.

Thor’s worth is found when he protects his friends from Loki’s wrath and it is then that Thor is able to truly fight his adopted brother. Odin arrives at the end of the fight and saves the brothers from toppling over a cliff-face. It is in Loki’s final moments that he is rejected by his father for his attempt to make him proud. When Odin says Loki has not made him proud, Loki jumps over the side to kill himself.

Odin’s obsession with worth and his inability to explain to his sons the reasoning behind ruling, diplomacy, and what actually dictates that worth are what set this film in motion. It seems natural then that the therapeutic technique used for this family, minus the mother who is mostly absent from the main conflict, would be narrative therapy. So many of the problems within the family do surround worth, but semantically it’s no different if the word worth was replaced with the word character. By constantly undermining the character of Thor and Loki, Odin places the weight of every mistake they make onto them as people. It’s not temper that controls Thor, it’s Thor’s temper that ruined the entirety of the political atmosphere. It’s not heritage that Loki discovers, it’s that Loki discovers he, personally, is a manifestation of a monster that exists within the scope of that heritage. The two sons are unable to separate what aspects make up who they are from their actual, whole identity. It’s because of this that narrative therapy is the best fit for the conflicts shown in the film.

The first step in using narrative therapy with the family would be to start externalizing the problems. Already, the relationships among and surrounding this unit of three is extremely based in scape-goat tactics. Odin actually explaining himself would go a long way to giving both sons enough information to actually make decisions that are not based in unsure hopes of making their father proud. Loki explaining his lack of self-worth paired with Thor not understanding why Loki suddenly snaps, thus alleviating the blame that Loki places on Thor (since Loki believes that Thor knows Loki is unwell and does not care) would also help in clearing up a large amount of the misconceptions within the family dynamic. With all three perspectives now articulated, a motion can be made to interlink the three stories into the most objective story possible.

After removing blame and guilt from the equation, the situation can be assessed in an unbiased way while maintaining a path to achieve all the assumed goals. Odin can gain “worthy” sons by allowing Thor and Loki the autonomy to not be owned by their emotions and impulsivities. Thor and Loki also gain by achieving that autonomy and independence away from what their father deems as “worthy”. This technique allows Thor and Loki the freedom to exist as themselves, which is especially important given Loki’s new, learned origin.

Now that there is distance between identity and the problems within the family unit, the externalization can be viewed in various social, cultural, and political ways. The three can explore why Loki varies so much from the more violent Asgardian culture and what that means for him as a functioning individual within the unit. It’s important to understand the demonization and black and white thinking that Odin has imprinted onto his sons, especially in relation to other races. (Odin uses Earth as a punishment, and talks down to everyone who does not adhere to the strict societal expectations of the Asgardian culture.) This will call into account the racism associated with the Jotun and how Loki may or may not differ from these ideas that Odin has upheld. It requires a re-examination of past, less-problematic moments. By having the three look into the more positive aspects of Loki’s character, they can readdress the racism and temper relating to the Jotun held by all three, but especially by Thor. The negativity has now been changed into more meaningful and accepting ways (a drastic contrast to the constant affirmation seeking that code the relationships until this point).

From here, Odin, Thor, and Loki can explore futures utilizing more positive aspects of what they previously considered negative. Maybe Odin’s idea of using Loki to create a bridge between Asgard and Jotun is explored in a more culturally sensitive way and, instead of using Loki as leverage, it’s frame as being a learning experience that shows the race as being multi-faceted, thus allowing Loki to be multi-faceted as well. Loki no longer becomes Odin’s pawn, and the contentment in his role can connect to his ability to rule in Odin’s place should he ever need to. His worth is no longer connected to being on the throne, but to the skills that would make him a prospective ruler. Thor’s temper and warrior tendencies can also be examined in this same way as, instead of being volatile, as being a passionate jumpstarting position for Thor as a political figure. By turning his anger into passion and placing him in a position that truly focuses on doing what would be best for Asgard as a kingdom, Thor can also develop his skills as a ruler.

With future orientation in mind, it would be the hope that establishing connection through narrative therapy for the three would allow Loki the comfort to stay with his family instead of attempting to take his own life at the end of the film and that Asgard could be ruled without grand assumptions on the character of its throne’s heirs.

FOR MORE ON NARRATIVE THEORY, SEE THE POST A Look Into Narrative Theory

#film meta #thor #loki laufeyson #written pre-ragnarok #thor odinson #odin #essay #writing

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sinrau · 4 years

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(CNN) President Trump has repeatedly refused to commit to leave office peacefully if he loses the election. Instead he rails about voter fraud and a rigged election. His untruths and obstinacy are by now an old story, but they remain both dangerous to our democracy and maybe to our lives if the President continues on this path.

Many law enforcement and homeland security experts have raised the alarm about possible violence after a contested election. Nothing in the President’s words or behavior suggests that he will be a calming force or will leave the White House without a fight, either in the courthouse or the streets. We all know, after four years of this, that it’s a pretty good bet he will make a bad situation worse.

I share many of these worries. But I’m not expecting the worst. Not because Trump will have an attack of conscience — I don’t think he has a conscience. And not because he will put the country ahead of his own personal interests — that fantasy is no longer even debatable.

I simply assume, as you should, that if he loses next month, the President will put his own interests ahead of the country’s, as he always does. And that may actually guarantee a peaceful transition of power.

Donald J. Trump has a powerful survival instinct.

Recent news reports have exposed what a terrible businessman he is, over many decades. His presidency has been an international calamity, alienating our allies and empowering dictators and other enemies. America is stumbling through the worst pandemic in 100 years, with an economy that is teetering on the brink.

At the center of these tragedies is our President, a member of the survival Hall of Fame. He has survived multiple bankruptcies of his companies, massive legal judgments and a business instinct that can best be described as “How to lose money without even trying.”

But somehow, every time, after every colossal failure, he has always been able to repackage himself and sell the next version of Donald Trump to the public. Real estate developer. Casino mogul. Reality TV star. President of the United States.

This pattern has been noted by the President’s biographer Michael D’Antonio, who says that Trump in times of peril has always found a way to protect the thing he values most — his self-image. “It’s not success as others see it, or achievement as others define it,” D’Antonio told me recently. “What matters to him is the story he can tell himself, or sell to himself, in order to feel like he prevailed. That instinct is one of many that allows him second, third and fourth chances at escape and reinvention.”

And it’s those very instincts that may lead a defeated Trump to just leave town.

Trump is good at recognizing the personal risks he faces and staying one step ahead of his personal demise. That skill seems likely to kick in right about now, because Trump has a lot to be really worried about.

First, even if he pardons himself for all federal crimes, the state of New York and the district attorney of Manhattan are reportedly well along in investigations into his business practices. And since pardoning himself is not yet a tested constitutional right, the Department of Justice could drop a legal anvil on his head next year on multiple issues including obstruction of justice, tax fraud and defrauding the Treasury through payments to the Trump Organization.

The second worry is purely financial. He owes hundreds of millions of dollars, according to The New York Times. He will need some flexibility from his creditors and a new business venture to make that money quickly Paid speeches will help, but won’t generate a billion dollars.

Here’s where the survival instinct will kick in. What can Trump give prosecutors, creditors and potential investors to allow him to live his life freely and build the kind of media empire he so craves?

What he can give them is — wait for it — a peaceful transition of power. Freedom for peace.

To avoid violence in the streets, prosecutors of all stripes may decide it is in their — and the country’s — interest to cut a deal. Trump may agree to go quietly to save his own skin. There is the basis of the win-win.

And the same goes for creditors and investors. There is not a bank in the world whose shareholders would allow any renegotiation of credit terms with a man who’s promoting violence on the American streets and creating international instability in the capital markets. No one is going to bankroll the Trump media network if our cities are burning and Trump is lighting the match.

So, all sides in theory will have incentive to make a deal. As much as it might pain our new president, peace may be better for the country than revenge. The same goes for politicians of both parties and every institution involved with Trump.

In the end, the one thing that has severely damaged this country from Day One — Trump’s utter devotion to himself — may serve all of us in the end. We know he only cares about himself and will believe whatever he tells himself. That form of narcissism may just be the disease that allows all of us, especially our democracy, to survive this grave threat.

If Trump loses, he’ll take this deal

#IFTTT #WordPress

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