#got to see these in the Star Wars fashion exhibit

[subbing-for-clones]

The New Apprentice Part 5

Maul x sith!reader 

Word Count: 3135  

WARNINGS: Mentions of blood, remnants of a battle field and dead bodies, pining, fluff

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       When your transport touched down on Malachor you didn't feel the urge to run in exploration like you had exhibited with Corellia or Dathomir. You absolutely felt that familiar pull from the force, you were in the right place but you were still hesitant. When the door opened and the ramp hissed out you turned to your master for instruction.

"I cannot guide you here apprentice. You felt the call and now, you must answer it. I will follow but you must lead the way." He extended his arm out towards the horizon.

    Before continuing you reached down and removed your shoes wearing only the wrap from kicking the golden Zabrack’s horn. You took a deep breath and walked off of the ship with your eyes closed. A quiet gasp escaped your lips the second you felt the blackened rock underfoot. It was colder than you had expected. So much colder that it sent a chill up your spine and tapped into your anxiety. It was snuffed out when you felt a gentle pinging tug, deeper inside your belly than when you had felt it on Dathomir.

    You knew your eyes would be worthless and possibly even get in the way of this endeavor so you tore at the hem of your pants and fashioned a blindfold. As he said he would, Maul simply watched you, knowing your journey here would be much different than his own. Despite the fact he didn't really understand why you needed to be barefooted and blind.

    You led the way across the barren landscape only interrupted by the occasional black spire. Wind whipped around you. A vast crevice ripped through the rock in front of you and your master almost reached out to stop you from falling into it but you had come to a halt. Curling your toes around the edge. You felt the call come from the depths of this haunted place. Once you sensed it you gracefully leapt into the hellscape below followed by Maul.

      The air was stagnant, completely void of life. You felt like you had interrupted a deadly pantomime with the slightest twitch of your finger. Although you could not see the bodies that lay out before you, specks of residue that once were life force signatures permeated your senses. Light and dark.

"They're here master."

"You can feel them." It wasn't a question so much as an acknowledgement.

    You avoided the rougher terrain and the thousands of bodies expertly. In a way you could see them but it wasn't outlines so much as it was wavering hues.

"Were they Jedi?"

"Some of them, yes. Many of them, no. Malachor was a battlefield in the war between the Sith and the jedi, while our numbers were expansive."

    You felt the pulse of what you searched for nearby so you removed your blindfold to mourn all the lives had been lost or thrown away. Seeing now for the first time the true extent of the carnage. Many forms stood in what seemed like mid war cries or attack stances. Your brow furled in confusion.

"Many of them didn't fall to the saber or the attack of an opponent?"

"You are correct. The Sith hold a powerful weapon at the apex of our temple. One that has the ability to rob a vicinity of every ounce of life."

"So, no one won this battle.."

"Not this battle, everyone lost greatly. But it was our numbers that were permanently decimated before the rule of two was put into place." You nodded at his explanation. Staring into the ashen eyes of a Sith warrior frozen in battle with a jedi in front of you. You reached out and brushed a knuckle across his cheek. Your vision all but blacked while stars danced in front of them, your skin tingling. The pulse you felt stronger than ever.

"I WON’T LEAVE HER HERE!"....... your master's voice screamed. "Brother you must trust her. We have to leave … NOW." Savage surged forward trying to pull Maul along with him. They were missing limbs, dust kicking up underfoot.

Your eyes snapped open and fell upon the lord that stood before you.

"What did you see?" Maul asked from behind you.

"I... I don't know."

    The form of the man you had touched shifted in front of you as if life sprung from his soul once again. He reached to his side and took his second saber in his free hand. Dropping to his knee with ridged movements he held the two weapons out to you. You bowed your head to the warrior and accepted the gifts he offered to you.

    They felt light in your hands, much lighter than the one that hung from your belt. Their hum synced with your heartbeat.

"You must... extinguish...the fear.." his voice was wavering with a slight echo, growling almost as if it hurt to speak. You ignited the new blades, one stretching long and slim, the other half of its length and ever so slightly thicker. A wave of power washed over you, you were on the right path.

"The shadow.. cannot exist... without the light..." the warrior fell, his ashen body crumbling and drifted away in a wind that didn't blow as well as the remains of the jedi he was frozen in time with. Their dust intermingling in the air before falling to the bedrock. You removed the saber you had stollen and corrupted and let it fall to the earth.

    Your master sat in awe at what had played out before you both as you turned to face him. The ground started to shake unevenly, pebbles dancing across the land.

"We have to leave." He whispered harshly. "Now!" Maul pulled you out of your state, dragging you away until your feet caught up with your racing pulse. The two of you pounded your feet along the path you had come here on until the sky opened up above you. Maul jumped to the top before you could, shouting for you to follow. The opening shifted and started to close, panic in your master's eyes. You hadn’t exuded enough to make it to the opening and clung to a shelf just out of his grasp both of your arms reaching to one another.

"Master, I'm slipping I can't hold on." His eyes calmed.

"Darling let go. I've got you." You closed your eyes and released your grip trusting your master. You felt warmth from his force energy envelop your body as he lifted you out of the hole just as the crevasse closed behind you. Falling into his physical arms he held you tightly, protectively. You felt his relief ripple out of him and mix with your own.

    Heat flickered across your skin and you took a step back as he released you.

"What... what was that down there?" You stuttered. Maul pinched his chin with his finger and thumb, eyes down, in silence for a time.

"I honestly don't know. Nothing like that happened to me during my times in this place or on Korriban. Nor have I witnessed anything in its like. What I do know is that you got what you came for and were then in a way told to leave. I believe we must follow that last instruction and get back to Dathomir." You nodded in an apprehensive agreement and made your way back towards the ship just as the planet started to tremor again.

    You turned and took in the sight of Malachor one last time before your master closed the hatch and hurried to take off.

 ~~~~~

      It's like he was waiting for her. Like they weren't his blades, he was simply holding them for her. Extinguish the fear... what could that possibly mean. What will she bring down in this universe? Once the ship was positioned correctly, he made the jump to hyperspace. They had traveled two rotations to Corellia and another to get to Malachor. Three rotations.. what did she see in her vision when she first touched the fallen Sith?

    Maul stood and left the cockpit behind him wanting to give you some kind of guidance but he needed more information. He found you with your legs crossed sitting in the middle of the common area. Your eyes closed, feet still bare and your sabers resting in front of you.

    He sat behind you, his back lightly contacting yours. He relaxed and tried to extend his consciousness to meld with your own, this time purposeful. Maybe you could show him what you saw there. He couldn't reach you though, your mind was shut to everything around you. The only exception being a pinhole allowing the force itself inside but nothing else. He wouldn't force his way in. He could but he didn’t.

    Maul spent his time reading through the Holo-net News, limited strength training and occasionally trying to reach you to no avail. He tried to rest but found he couldn't. Insomnia back in full force without you. The restless sleep he was able to find was riddled with nightmares of Lotho Minor. He didn't realize exactly how strongly he had subconsciously come to rely on your presence. He growled in frustration both on what would be his third night without so much as an hour of uninterrupted rest and his attachment to you. He had never been attached to anything before. You had taken hold of him rather quickly.

    The familiar sound of the nav system indicating their arrival proved a comforting distraction as he guided the ship back to their camp. His apprentice's rancor Angel stomped out of the woods and finally your eyes opened.

"We're here already?"

"You've been meditating for the equivalency of three days now. We're you able to expand on your vision at all?"

"Not much but... well.. it's better that I show you."

    Maul watched as you stood and strode over to him. You took his hands and held them to your cheeks, taking another step towards him until your bodies were a breath apart. You felt the heat from his breath when you held him the same way you had directed him. Slowly drawing yourself forward and pressing your foreheads together, lips almost brushing. He trembled at the intimacy before figures danced in his mind.

    He saw what you had seen on Malachor. Him screaming for you and Savage denying access while you stood, arms raised holding something unseen back with the force. Savage made him leave you there. The two of them ran as well as they could to a destination he couldn't fathom until he no longer felt your force signature.

 ~~~~~

      When the shared experience ended you pulled your head away slightly and opened your eyes. His stare met your own and you could see a sadness in them. A regret of an action that hadn't yet come to pass.

"To predict one's own death is..." you cut him off.

"We don't know that that's what I saw. You know better than I that the future is not set in stone, we don't know what it means or what comes after."

    You released him and turned to the cooler to fetch some water. Finally feeling the effects of going three rotations in a deep meditative state.

"You are my Master and I your apprentice. I have already mentally prepared to give my life if it means you would live or if I should fail. Should that be what I saw."

    Maul tensed at your words, unwilling to accept this, he made his way for you.

"This... this is more than a master and his apprentice." He tenderly held the outside of your hip. "It has been since I took Savage to the nightsisters. You know it. I know it. I do not know what this is or what it will become but it's much more complicated than what you say."

    You laced your fingers with his and leaned back into him. Reaching your other hand up and tracing light touches around the base of his horns that sprouted from the back of his head. He gripped you tighter and nestled his face into the crook of your neck, his chest gently vibrating. "I will always keep you safe." He murmured.

    His usual mental armor had fallen away and although you didn't probe, it felt as if his thoughts pushed their way into your mind.

    Slowly...   gently... do not... devour her....

    Heat pooled in your lower abdomen and you whimpered. Turning into his hold you looked up into his glowing eyes, his pupils just starting to dilate. Cupping the nape of his neck you pulled his lips into yours. Lightly gliding them across his until you took hold in a passionate kiss. Maul groaned, had he ever felt this before? He couldn't remember if there ever was a time where he had.

    His hands and his lips acted in stark differences. His fingers held your hips hard enough you were sure their print would remain after his touch left. But his lips, his tongue; they danced gracefully almost meekly with your own. Your pulses hammered in your chests, faces flushed and nerves on fire.

    Not.. not yet...

    He delicately broke the connection between your mouths but your grasps remained. Struggling to catch your breath, he traced your jawline with his nail, gazing into you with adoration. "Patience." He whispered. "You haven't eaten in days." You chuckled and turned away to satisfy one of your hungers; cheeks still heated.

"Once you've satiated yourself bring your new sabers outside and we will verify that your blockage was in fact the jedi's weapon."

"Alright master." You replied, generously slathering butter on bread.

    He left you to it and exited the ship to stretch his legs. The kiss already feeling like it had only been a dream. He knew it was real though. Proven by a new found confidence in the air around you when you met him outside. New weapons in hand you ignited them. Maul did the same and took his ready position.

    Your forms were a night and day comparison to what they had been a few days previously. You dodged his attacks with intricate acrobatics and strong parries. Maul still got the better of you more than a few times but the difference was adamant.

"Well done. Much better. Still, lots of room for improvement but the simple switch in your weaponry has made an obvious change for the better." You bowed your head.

"Thank you master. I'm sure my abilities will be honed under your instruction."

"I have no doubt of that little one,” a mischievous glimmer twinkled in his eyes.

    You lifted your head to smile at him but something pricked at the back of your neck causing your hair to stand on end.

"Savage..." Maul whispered. "He's in pain."

    You wasted no time and made your way over to Angel, whispering something. He took off running towards the nightsister's encampment.

"I'm on it master. Its time he come home to us." You sat and closed your lids, taking over the mind of your beast and seeing clearly through his eyes.

"We will be in over our heads if we go to them directly and I personally don’t wish for the wrath of witches... if I can cause a large enough distraction for him to get to us..."

~~~~~

     The nightsister's camp was being ransacked by an enraged beast. Savage, covered in deep scratches and bloody bite marks could sense the familiarity as he stumbled out of the rocky fortress towards the barren clearing. "Angel?" The nightsisters had passed him without thought as they retreated into their temple to regroup. While they were out of sight Savage trusted his instincts and jumped onto the back of the beast, allowing it to whisk him away.

~~~~~

     When you could see they were almost to camp you opened your eyes and stood. Maul watched you closely but gave the both of you some space when Savage entered the camp on the back of Angel. He slid down the monster and made his way over to you. His body language gave off an air of awkwardness and his eyes were filled with regret.

"Young one... I'm so, so sor-."

    You launched yourself up into his arms, tightly wrapping your arms around his neck. Your feet dangled off the ground just below his knees. It took him a moment to get over his shock before he returned your embrace fervently, scrunching up his eyes.

"Please just... shut up. It's alright. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright." He set you down tenderly on the ground.

"I'm glad your back, YOU think I'm funny." You shot a playful glare over at your master who responded by coming up to your side and possessively running a finger down your spine before settling his palm across your lower back.

    Savage just glanced back and forth between the two of you, computing what had happened in the week he had been away.

"You two.. uh." Maul cut him off by turning on his heel with his hands behind his back looking at him over his shoulder.

"Some things have changed others have not Savage. What hasn't changed is that we will need an army to take our revenge and bring down the jedi. If my memory serves me correctly there are Weekquay pirates who can be paid to become loyal to our cause. Our next move is to acquire their services. We have much headway to cover. Your sister apprentice has made enough headway in her fighting skills to be battle ready.”

    Maul made his way back to the transport leaving Savage to blink at you slowly pointing at his brother's back with a confused look on his face. You giggled in response and linked your arm in his, waving goodbye to Angel possibly for the last time before boarding.

    It wasn't a long trip to the Sertar sector. It gave you enough time to excitedly fill in Savage on your experiences on Corellia and Malachor. Of course, he tried to ask about you and Maul under hushed breath but you only waggled your eyebrows at him. Eliciting a both a breathy chuckle followed by a slightly disgusted groan.

    Your master stayed in the cockpit most of the journey in thought. Thanking the Maker that you were on good terms with his brother, although he did have to fight occasional jealous pangs at your closeness. It was better that you two were friendly. When the planet Florrum came into view he readied the three of you for the next step of your adventure.

[bonnini]

Well I promised you a post about my bi Geoffrey Martewall headcanons so here it is guys <3

So…as I previously mentioned in a tag under one of @agapantoblu's posts, I've been half-seriously headcanoning Geoffrey Martewall a.k.a. the best character in the Hypervesum series as a clueless bisexual for... well, for some time. Let's say a year and a half. I've never bothered actually sharing these headcanons online because I didn't really have a clear idea for an actual argument in support of this claim of mine, but now I’m finally ready to put the all the reasons why I get extra-strong bisexual vibes from Geoffrey Martewall into words. Beware…it’s a lot of words :’’)

Exhibit A: Geoffrey and women

1.1. Geoffrey’s taste in women is just too good

Listen. LISTEN. Our man’s taste in women is IMPECCABLE: he could, as Brianna said herself, have chosen to take any young noble maiden as his wife, but he decided to go for a woman that 1) is a couple years older than him 2) is not noble at all and, you know, used to be just a poor paesant before coming to Châtel-Argent 3) already has a son who was fathered by a French knight to whom she was never married and that she had to raise as a teen single mom 4) at the time of their first meeting had a crush on his current worst enemy. LISTEN!!!!!!!! Geoffrey’s taste in women is suspiciously good, way too good, in fact, to be that of a medieval straight guy. I mean…Ian, a man who comes from the 21st century, fell for the textbook angelic maiden, while Geoffrey literally did not even bother looking around for some young blushing bride and just decided that the hot milf who threatened him with a pitchfork in book 2 was his first and best choice. What an Absolute Fucking King. This choice of his is, in my opinion, very telling of the kind of view he has of romance and women in general.

Which brings me to the next point, namely:

1.2. Geoffrey appears to have an attitude towards women and a view of womanhood that are significantly more modern than those of an average knight of his time

Is it just me or is Geoffrey actually the one with the most… modern mindset out of all the knights starring in the saga? There are a couple of specific scenes that kind of make me think of him as an outlier among his peers, and although some of those are definitely there for the purpose of showing us that Martewall is indeed a rather peculiar knight, others contribute to creating the picture of a character that is almost… out of place in the 13th century? 

Allow me to expand a bit further on the “Geoffrey and women” topic: we saw how chivalrous and respectful Geoffrey was towards an unconscious and injured Brianna. First he made sure her son was comfortable with him warming her up using his own body, and reassured him he meant no disrespect by removing her clothes; then, he proceeded to strip her in the most methodical and detached way possible, which let us know Geoffrey respects a woman’s body and modesty the way any proper, courteous medieval man would. But then there’s another, and in my opinion far more interesting, instance in which Geoffrey is seen interacting with a woman: I’m talking about his brief conversation with Blanche of Castile in book 3. Here we see 1) how Geoffrey treats women he is not attracted to (“not attracted to” as in: women he has no interest in romancing), and 2) to what degree he actually respects female authority. 

Our first introduction to Blanche is the scene in which Guillaume, Ian and Henri de Bar are talking about her right before the audience in Paris, during which we learn that the vast majority of noblemen do not take her opinions seriously and do not appreciate seeing her talk during political debates. Even Henri de Bar, although he does not mean to be insolent, raises an eyebrow at the thought of a woman participating in conversations that concern military strategy, while Guillaume seems almost amused at Ian’s heartfelt defence of her speeches. Which is why Geoffrey’s brief interaction with her stands out so much: when she starts talking about the war in England with him, he carefully listens to her as if she were just another male superior officer: he does not appear even slightly surprised by her competence, he does not try to dumb down the topic of discussion, he listens carefully to what she is saying, he offers his opinion only when she asks for it and he answers her questions in the most straightforward way possible. At no point during the conversation does he ever attempt to pull the condescending “with all due respect, madame…” to correct or contradict her statements. He is not in courteous knight mode, he is in soldier mode, and is unfazed by the fact that the one he is discussing logistics and war strategy with is a delicate looking princess.  Once again, the author is fleshing out Geoffrey’s character by having the protagonist and point of view character draw a direct comparison between him and other men. Martewall does not simply respect women as in “oh I’m a proper knight and I use my blade to protect defenceless maidens”, he actually, genuinely respects women. 

Which in my opinion is such an interesting facet of his values and personality: in the second half of book 2, Ian notices how thoroughly Harald Martewall managed to drill the code of chivalry into his son’s head, and remarks on the fact that the Martewalls are all perfect examples of the True Old School Knights. Both Harald and Geoffrey are the embodiment of the honourable, unyielding, upright warrior trope, and they perfectly fit the image we modern people conjure in our minds when we think of a knight of the Middle Ages. This specific aspect of Geoffrey’s set of values gives his character a strong, let’s say “old-fashioned” connotation, and yet said set of values seems to come from an internal source rather than rely on tradition and external rules. He, for example, got rid of his helm and shield when he saw his adversary in combat was not fully equipped, but he also willingly assisted the Dauphin in taking over England despite having previously sworn an oath of loyalty to John Plantagenet, since his sense of honour compelled him to aid the man who provided him with the help he needed to get his home back. Geoffrey is way more likely to base his choices on what his own moral compass compels him to do rather than resort to convention and tradition to tell right from wrong. This makes Geoffrey a perfect blend of both old and modern qualities, and in the context of his relationship with women he tends to lean quite heavily on his more modern side.  

Let’s go back to discussing his first introduction to Brianna for a second: he witnesses Brianna express her unrequited attraction to Ian, flirt with him and even mock-kiss him straight on the lips, and yet not only does that not make Geoffrey respect her any less, it also does not concern him at all later in book 3 when the story hints at the fact that he might have an interest in taking her as his wife. This is a rather unusual attitude! I mean, even the exuberant Etienne de Sancerre, who has shown an overt preference for feisty and confident women, grumbles and protests in jealousy when his wife Donna and Daniel greet each other with a hug while out in public, deeming the gesture to be inappropriate. What I’m trying to say here is that this is a man who is waaaaay ahead of his peers in regards to his view of women and womanhood, and who also appears to be very confident in his masculinity (so confident, in fact, that the thought of having to “put women in their place” never once crosses his mind), hence why I keep sensing the most excellent kind of bisexual vibes coming from him.

Exhibit B: Geoffrey and men

2.1 Jerome and Geoffrey’s friendship makes NO sense

And I mean it. Yes, we do read about Ian wondering how two people with such different sets of core values (ok maybe Jerome lacked core values all together lol) could have ever been friends, which means that yes, readers are in fact meant to notice how misguided Geoffrey is in his commitment to honour this bond of friendship and avenge Jerome’s death, but the more I think about this, the more I convince myself that this whole situation is, in fact…really weird.

Let’s start from the beginning: so, Geoffrey’s anger over Jerome’s death is the main source of conflict between him and Ian, and it puts the plot of book 2 in motion. Now, we never actually saw Geoffrey and Jerome talk to each other in book 1 (because at the time of its drafting the author had not yet planned on writing a sequel for it) so all the available details about their relationship (mind you, there aren’t that many) have to be gleaned from Geoffrey’s recollections present in book 2 and pieced back together in order to get a clearer picture. Another fact that should be noted is that we also never saw Jerome talk about Geoffrey (again, because Geoffrey wasn’t really that relevant to the plot of book 1): Geoffrey’s words are the only source available when it comes to trying to reconstruct what their interactions might have been like, which means that our perspective on their friendship is going to be inevitably, extremely one-sided. 

So here we go, book 2, chapter 5: Geoffrey has decided to abduct Ian and Daniel and drag them to his home in England to get some answers and avenge Jerome’s death and he currently has Ian at his mercy, so he immediately starts asking questions. He asks why he currently is not home, he asks why his brother has no knowledge of his whereabouts, he asks if his name really is Jean Marc de Ponthieu, and these are all very dangerous questions: they pose a real threat to Ian’s credibility. But then, when Geoffrey asks why Jerome was so certain he was an imposter, Ian breathes in relief, because that means Geoffrey knows nothing about the ambush in Couronne.

But. Wait a second.

How could Geoffrey possibly not know about Couronne? That’s how Derangale KNEW without a shadow of a doubt that Ian and Jean de Ponthieu were never the same person! Dude was busy forging incriminating letters left and right with Ponthieu’s help??? He was the one who helped Ponthieu and Renaud De Dammartin set Isabeau up to be assaulted by Claude de Dammartin??? Geoffrey explicitly says Jerome was obsessed with Ian, so Derangale must have talked his ear OFF with all his incessant rambling about him being an imposter…and Geoffrey did not bother asking him about the details of this weird doppelganger theory of his ONCE? We know how sharp and observant Geoffrey is. We know he is perceptive, and straightforward in voicing his opinions, and not easy to fool. We know he is the type of guy who likes to ask direct questions and get believable, clear answers in return, so he MUST have asked Jerome why he was so sure about the illegitimacy of Ian’s identity. How did Jerome answer? Did he make up a lie on the spot? Geoffrey is equipped with a very functional built-in anti-nonsense super-sensor (the one that allowed him to immediately spot all the places in which Ian’s deception and intentional gaslighting were coming off at their seams even after Ian had managed to convince Geoffrey’s own father that he was Jean de Ponthieu’s second-born son), so if that was the case – if Jerome had indeed tried to make up some story about why he knew who the real Jean de Ponthieu was – Geoffrey (in theory) would have easily been able to tell that he was being lied to. 

Do we then have to assume Jerome simply replied with “I just know”? Well…the text implies that this is the most plausible option: as Ian and Geoffrey’s heated conversation goes on, we realize that the only reason Geoffrey believes Ian to be an imposter is…because Jerome said so. And this, in my opinion, says a lot about both Geoffrey’s relationship with Derangale and his current emotional state. Let’s really think about what this little kidnapping stunt of his must look like from an outside perspective: Geoffrey just decided to abduct a man whose identity has been publicly confirmed by Guillaume de Ponthieu, one of the most powerful men on French soil, who also happens to be a relative of king Philippe Auguste (which means Ian has ties to the royal family as well lol???), who ALSO confirmed that Ian is the youngest Ponthieu brother and PERSONALLY BESTOWED the title of Faucon du Roi upon him. Geoffrey does not (currently) have a shred of proof against Ian: he just chose to believe that Ian is some random foreigner who has been allowed to pretend to be a nobleman and marry Isabeau de Montmayeur by the count of Ponthieu and the king of France because that’s what Jerome believed. Jerome stood alone in front of the entire French court, subjecting himself to ridicule, to denounce Ian as an imposter and Guillaume as a liar (and readers know he is 100% right, but look at this from the perspective of one of the characters who are not involved in this intrigue), which are such far-fetched, absurd, ludicrous accusations, even the closest of Jerome’s friends would have demanded at least some evidence in order to give his version of the story some credit. And yet Geoffrey, who has not been given even one crumb of information on the real Jean de Ponthieu’s actual political alignment, simply decided to stand with him against the rest of the world. 

And then, Ian starts answering Geoffrey’s questions by telling him all the vile things Jerome did to him, his family and his friends (while still carefully avoiding the Couronne topic): he tells him of his sadism, villany and criminal actions, and Geoffrey does not believe a single word of what he’s saying. He straight up calls all these accusations lies, and he urges Ian to stop insulting a knight of England his peer and a man of honour deserving of respect. Geoffrey refuses to listen to any negative remark Ian has to make and threatens him with violence when he insists on calling Jerome an unworthy man. “Jerome wasn’t a liar”, he says; “he was my friend, and you killed him”. This is exactly what I meant when I said their friendship strikes me as extremely weird: I mean come on, really? Derangale was a textbook piece of shit. He was violent, vengeful, and arrogant, and yet Geoffrey describes him as a “man of honour”??? It almost seems as if he and Ian are not even talking about the same person??? The sadistic felon Ian met in Cairs is nothing like the friend Geoffrey has such a high opinion of. Which can only mean one thing, namely that when he was with Geoffrey, Jerome was on his best behaviour. And in order to have adapted his behaviour to fit Geoffrey’s expectations of a good and honourable friend, Derangale must have had a very clear picture of the kind of person his “friend” was. Jerome knew Geoffrey would never have allowed all that malicious shit to happen under his watch, so he decided to keep all his plotting a secret from him. Geoffrey never was Jerome’s accomplice in aiding Renaud de Dammartin, Ferrand de Flandre and Jean de Ponthieu steal the Montmayeur fief for king John, and therefore has no reason to believe Ian’s words. 

There are two things about this situation that strike me as particularly weird. First of all: Derangale wasn’t just witholding information from Geoffrey, he was also hiding his true nature from him. And Geoffrey…never noticed? Geoffrey, who can usually smell bullshit and deception from a mile away, who has no difficulty in telling a man of honour from a felon, who normally would not bother wasting his time being friends with such an insufferable prick, never managed to guess the true nature of Jerome’s character? Huh??? And secondly: why exactly did Derangale ask for help from a guy he was so sure he would never have been able to turn into one of his accomplices he had to actively keep parts of himself and his plans hidden for months up to the battle in Bouvines? What we know, thanks to Harald Martewall, is that Jerome was the first to reach out to Geoffrey back in book 1: apparently, the two of them used to be friends as young boys, then stopped seeing each other for a couple of years until Derangale decided to pick up the phone and give him a call. Geoffrey was in England, minding his own business, when Jerome contacted him to ask if he was willing to join him in Béarne. He, as sir Harald recalls, “was busy raising a cavalry troop for Ferrand De Flandre, and wanted my last-born as champion in a tournament”. It is not difficult to guess why Derangale asked specifically for Geoffrey to join his faction. Martewall is, simply put, the baddest bitch in the area: he is easily the scariest and most skilled warrior out of all the knights we get to meet in the saga, and an experienced tournament champion is precisely what Jerome needs for the little show he has in plan for Béarne. What I really want to know here is: couldn’t Derangale have called for literally any other English knight to help him win? Why did he risk enrolling a guy he knew would never have approved of his schemes and totally could have kicked his ass if he ever found out about his misconduct? Couldn’t he have called for a couple more champions who would have been overjoyed at the opportunity of beating the shit out of all those French knights? Why did it have to be just him and Geoffrey against the ENTIRETY of Philippe Auguste’s lineup? Why was he so confident in his ability to manipulate Geoffrey? Oh AND. This is an information that is nowhere to be found in the actual books but it is something I asked the author to confirm because I was just too curious: Geoffrey…did not have fun in Béarne, like at all. He did not care for the show Jerome wanted to put on, he did not enjoy participating in that display of strength and superiority, and he was grumpier than usual during the whole ordeal. So our man Jerome basically decided to rely exclusively on Geoffrey’s excellence and made him travel all the way to Béarne instead of putting together a slightly larger faction of fellows who could have maybe shared his immoral cause (like hello?????? it’s literally JUST the two of them against ALL the French nobles competing at the tournament lmfao??? I mean ok girl!!! give us drama! give us spectacle!) despite knowing that 1) he would have had to completely alter his behaviour around him 2) he could never have explained to him why he knew with absolute certainty Ian was an imposter and 3) Geoffrey would have intensely disliked being at the centre of theatrics. Like…I get that Geoffrey is your most skilled friend when it comes to the art of jousting, but… his presence is also a bit too inconvenient in this context? I mean really? You didn’t know any other knights in the area who could have been available as champions? You had to call for Geoffrey? Specifically for him? Haha girl ok! (oh and you also saved some of the custom higher quality blades you had made for your squadron to arm Geoffrey? Ok! Oh and you decided to pick Geoffrey as the other leader of your special squadron? Girl Ok!!! The guy would leave your ass in less than a second if he ever found out about your awful crimes so keeping him at your side is quite the risky move, but you do you I guess).

And another thing is, not only did Geoffrey hate every second of that charade, he (and this is also information that I got directly from the author) was downright shocked at Derangale’s unprompted act of violence against the young count of Grandpré… that was something that caught him completely off guard and that left a bitter taste in his mouth. It makes total sense for Geoffrey to feel this way, that’s very in character for him. What actually, really surprises me is Geoffrey’s reaction at hearing Ian mention this particular incident. You were there, says Ian, you saw Derangale attempt to kill a friend of mine with your own two eyes, and yet you insist on threatening me for calling him a criminal and an assassin. And that’s what finally prompts Geoffrey to lay hands on him. He silences him with a slap so violent it almost makes him fall on the ground. Geoffrey reacted with anger and disbelief when Ian was describing him heinous crimes that he never witnessed and did not believe to be true, but only resorted to physical violence when Ian forced him to acknowledge and condemn an action he actually saw Jerome commit. This brief scene alone is enough for me to confidently conclude that Geoffrey is, there are no other words fit to describe his current emotional state, deep in DENIAL. He hears an uncomfortable truth he has no way of denying, he lets that send him into a violent rage, he acts that violence out and then he ends the whole conversation there. He just. Leaves. And he repeats the same exact pattern of behaviour a second time! Book 2, chapter 12: Martewall starts to interrogate Daniel, who tells him about Derangale’s first attempt at kidnapping Isabeau AND manages to have one of his own men confirm his story. Then Geoffrey becomes visibly agitated, to the point he inadvertently breaks the rod he brought to beat information out of his prisoner in fucking two, CHANGES THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION ON PURPOSE, and then when Daniel insists on bringing the conversation back to Derangale’s crimes he draws his sword, points it at him in another fit of anger and then! He LEAVES!! AGAIN!!! Bro???????????? You keep saying you “want the truth” and yet when you finally get it you cut the conversation off because you don’t like what you’re hearing? Hello???

“You insist on defending him only because you do not want to admit you have been lied to and manipulated by him”, this is what Daniel says to Martewall’s face, and the most articulate rebuttal he is able to come up with on the spot is “that is not true”. He absolutely did not expect to be confronted with such merciless answers, and he has no idea how to cope with Ian and Daniel ripping into the image of the good and honourable Jerome that only exists in his mind, so he just rejects anything negative they have to say and breaks things like a moody teenager.

His behaviour is extremely erratic. For the entirety of the first half of book 2, Geoffrey is clearly not his usual self. His own father tells him he does not recognize him anymore. And when Sir Harald confronts him and makes an attempt at urging him to release Daniel, Geoffrey reacts with something I would almost describe as a…temper tantrum? Sir Harald’s request for an explanation from his son is more than legit: after all, he just learned from Daniel that Geoffrey decided to kidnap a renowned nobleman on a whim, without any evidence of his supposed crimes, WITHIN THE BORDERS OF HIS FIEF IN FRENCH LANDS. That could get them in SERIOUS trouble with both his brother Guillaume de Ponthieu and Philippe Auguste himself, as Salisbury will later remark on. I mean, this action is not only dishonourable, as Sir Harald will be very quick to point out, but also extremely stupid. And Geoffrey is not stupid. Like, at all. He knows when to shut up, his rage is usually under check, he is not prone to acting out in anger or taking rash decisions. But here, Geoffrey is letting his emotions run rampant. His father is being perfectly reasonable, and he replies quite disrespectfully by stating that he is not a young boy anymore and that he will not allow for any reproach o interference on his part.

It should be noted that Geoffrey’s troubled state of mind is not solely the result of Jerome’s death. In fact, in chapter 12, Geoffrey makes it clear why he is so angry and frustrated. He lays out all of his reasons to his father:

“I’ve always done my duty and I lost my honour because of those to whom I owed my loyalty. I fought loyally until the very end, I paid my defeat with imprisonment, only to discover at my release that my name is associated to those of a friend deemed a felon and a king judged a coward; I return to my homeland and I end up on a list of traitors because of you! I am forced to be subject to the last two accusations, but the first…that one I intend to acquit myself from with any means necessary. At this point, I have already lost my dignity as a knight and you are the last person who can reproach me for it, since you are the one who dealt me the final blow”.

Geoffrey’s words reveal that he is also doing all of this for himself. He is now more desperate than ever to prove Jerome was always in the right, since this seems to be the only means of coping with the loss of his precious honour. The thought of having been friends with a felon of this magnitude is something Geoffrey could never, ever tolerate, because what would this say about him as a person? This explains the state of denial he currently is in: he has done something he would normally see as despicable by kidnapping Ian in his own lands, but he could excuse acting like a vulgar bandit if only he managed to force a confession out of Ian and avenge Jerome’s death (have I already mentioned Geoffrey has NO business being mad about Jerome meeting his demise at Ian’s hands? Dude was killed in fair combat. On a battlefield. Ian did not assassinate him or anything of that sort, there simply are NO good reasons as for why Geoffrey could ever want to “avenge” his friend’s death?? like there’s literally nothing to avenge here??? Lol???). And although Geoffrey is indeed defending Jerome’s honour because he feels that his crimes, if proven true, could reflect badly on himself, Geoffrey’s words still betray real attachment and a genuine feeling of affection for Jerome. Ian himself will later recognize their bond as valid by directly comparing it to the sentiment of friendship he shares with Daniel. At the time of Ian’s abduction, Geoffrey did not yet know that he would eventually be forced to fight yet another war once he’d finally reach his home: at that point in the story, Geoffrey’s motives for taking Ian and Daniel as prisoners had little to do with him wanting to gain back the honour he now feels his father tore from him by ordering him to side with him against their king. The primary motivation for his disreputable conduct in chapters 4 to 10 was, in my opinion, grief.

Another thing that I find extremely interesting and that in a way contradicts what I mentioned above about Geoffrey not being able to tolerate the thought of having been friends with a criminal, is that once he starts to come to terms with the proof of Jerome’s misconduct…he never disavows their friendship. What he says once he finally accepts Ian as his friend and lets go of Jerome’s obsession is: “I did everything in my power to honour our friendship, going even beyond common sense”. He never tries to claim they were never really friends or proclaim he wants to cut all ties with such a man. And towards the end of book 3, when Geoffrey and Ian are discussing what Ian’s exile really implicates and Ian is finally forced to admit he never was Jean de Ponthieu, Geoffrey all of a sudden brings Derangale into their conversation to reflect on how Jerome was right all along and how happy he is to learn that he at least did not lie to him about this one specific thing. Well, maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I was expecting him to focus on the sheer amount of lies he had been fed by…you know, Ian, the friend who happens to be alive and whom he is currently confronting. He does not even seem interested in asking Ian to explain himself, it is Ian who apologises to him, completely unprompted. They were having a conversation about Philippe Auguste and Guillaume de Ponthieu wielding the power to destroy his life, and after several beats of silence and intense consideration, what Geoffrey decided to say out loud was “I’m happy Jerome didn’t lie to me about you”? Ummmmmmm ok??????????? Lying to him certainly was not the worst thing Jerome has ever done? What about the many crimes he committed against Ian, his friends and his family? What I’m trying to say here is that Daniel’s argument about Geoffrey having been manipulated by Jerome must have cut deep, since here he is, bringing this up again. Derangale died more than two years ago, and Geoffrey already gave up on trying to redeem his honour and reputation, but he appears to be still in the middle of the process of learning to truly let him go. Dealing with the idea of having been deceived in such a cold way by a close friend to whom he though he owed unwavering loyalty is proving to be challenging. I might be delusional but I can only make sense of the fact Geoffrey brought Jerome into their conversation about Ian only to briefly touch on a strictly personal matter that concerned his own feelings and his private relationship with Ian’s old archenemy if I assume Geoffrey was, at this point in time, still dealing with some very intense and complicated feelings (….furthermore…………it doesn’t…really…make sense…for Geoffrey to be happy about Jerome telling him that Ian’s identity was a hoax…since the whole point of telling him that…was getting his help in destroying Ian and not really “being honest” with him…like…Geoffrey, love, why are you so desperately hanging on to these miniscule scraps of “““honest and genuine interactions”””, why do you still treasure this literal MICROSCOPIC CRUMB of “““sincerity””” on Jerome’s part…hello…………………???). Sorry but this whole Jerome/Geoffrey mess just exudes one-sided, unfulfilled and unacknowledged tenderness in copious amounts once you really start to read into it. My personal interpretation of the situation is that Geoffrey is having such a hard time trying to make sense of the extent of Derangale’s manipulation and condemning him as someone who was always undeserving of his friendship and devotion because he completely lacks the tools to properly analyse and interpret his own feelings on the matter.

2.2 Geoffrey and Ian vs Geoffrey and Jerome

I’m touching briefly on Ian and Geoffrey’s friendship dynamics in book 3 mainly because I think that their relationship will provide me with some good clues and parallels that could be of help in determining what Geoffrey was like when he was in Jerome’s company, since the third instalment in the series gives us such a wonderful and complete picture of the kind of friend Geoffrey is. Remember how Geoffrey immediately sided with Ian against Gant without asking for evidence against him and came to Ian’s rescue twice despite having very important businesses to attend to? Geoffrey has repeatedly shown that he has a tendency to be aggressively protective of his closest friends, to the point he has no problem resorting to extreme violence to ensure their safety (Ian, bleeding on the floor, gripping Geoffrey’s arm: “please tell me you took at least one of my assailants alive I’m going to need a witness???????” Geoffrey: “…” Ian: “…” The pile of corpses right behind them: “…” Geoffrey: “…sorry lol I kinda dealt with them in a bit of a heavy handed way” Ian: whimpers and collapses in his arms). Geoffrey’s attitude in regards to Ian’s enemies perfectly explains why he never had any qualms siding with Jerome against Ian despite the fact Derangale wasn’t telling him shit about the supposed evidence behind his outlandish claims. This is actually part of his regular pattern of behaviour: Geoffrey has consistently shown a thorough commitment towards undying trust and unconditional support through direct action. He might seem cold and aloof since he is never seen behave in an overtly friendly or approachable way when he is out in public (he also does not smile ONCE throughout the whole trilogy), but this right here is, in my opinion, a very affectionate man who is capable of forming true and intimate bonds with a handful of hand-picked men whose company he deeply treasures. Let’s talk about how Geoffrey U-turned at the speed of light to go back and help Ian corner Gant even though he was in the middle of carrying out an extremely important mission for Blanche of Castile. Let’s talk about how Derangale did not even have the time to fall to the ground after Ian delivered him the finishing blow, because Geoffrey literally teleported behind him to catch him, hoist him on his horse and take him to safety (let’s also talk about how Ian later found Derangale’s corpse among those of all the abandoned fallen soldiers the imperial army was not able to retrieve, and saw that his dead body had been laid on a shield with care, which means Geoffrey probably was the one responsible for preserving his dignity in death since we know for a fact he was there to hear Derangale’s last words and witness him die – I am literally about to start screaming please send help :)))))))). Do not let his grumpiness and harsh words fool you, Geoffrey is the most dedicated best friend another knight could ever ask for.

HOWEVER, the main difference between the two relationships I am comparing is that Geoffrey’s support of Ian is always unconditional, but never irrational in the same way his pursuit of revenge on Jerome’s behalf was, and at no point in the story does Geoffrey fail in evaluating Ian’s character or intentions. Furthermore, Ian’s gaslighting game was ON POINT in book 2, he was warping reality around Geoffrey like a damn magician, but Geoffrey never fully bought into his carefully crafted lies. And yet I am expected to believe that Derangale was such a skilled master manipulator he was able to conceal his true nature and agenda from Geoffrey for months? Hello??? PLEASE! Make it make sense!!! The ease with which Derangale was able to withold crucial information from him is extremely suspicious. Really? You mean to tell me Jerome Derangale had one of the least gullible people in the saga wrapped around his finger for years and never once slipped and misbehaved in front of him? Sorry I know at this point I must sound extremely redundant but Geoffrey’s selective blindness towards anything that concerns Derangale really is the weirdest thing ever, like, uh oh! Are you sure you didn’t catch any overly soft feelings for your bestie? So…I’m gonna say it: my theory on why Geoffrey’s behaviour was all over the place in the first chapters of book 2 is that he has always been completely unaware of the true nature and extent of his emotional attachment to Derangale, and this cluelessness of his contributed to worsening his already frustrated state. Furthermore, I also think Derangale must have noticed something was going on with Geoffrey and decided to use it to his advantage. Dude was a bit too confident, suspiciously confident in his ability to keep Geoffrey at his side without having to disclose any kind of compromising information.

In conclusion:

What I’m trying to say here is that I’m pretty convinced Geoffrey Martewall is not one of the straights. To sum all of this up, he:

-drinks astronomical amounts of his own extra strong brew of respect women juice on a daily basis

-has a tendency to get very attached to a few selected male friends who he then proceeds to protect with everything he has

-never noticed his old friend (👀) was lying to him, acted in a very out of character and erratic way for a while after his old friend’s (👀👀) death and was ready to commit actual crimes in an attempt to honour his old friend’s (👀👀👀) memory.

So. Yeah. The bi vibes are there. I would rather die than give up my Clueless Bisexual King Geoffrey Martewall headcanons! Sorry but a straight Geoffrey would make zero sense to me. Your honour can’t you see!!! this guy is WAY too cool not to be bi!!!

I rest my case.

P.S. I cannot BELIEVE I’m actually posting this monster on the day of the anniversary of the battle of Bouvines??? I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, at first I was really annoyed at the fact that putting this together was taking me weeks but then yesterday while I was editing I realized I would eventually be able to publish this on the very day Derangale died and Geoffrey was taken prisoner :’’) Perfect timing am I right?

[soranihimawari]

Leyenda Local

Beach volleyball was an avid part of yn's life. Even after they take a hiatus from the scene for a year to see what else life has to offer aside the invitation to join the national beach team in the past, meeting one popular indoor player was enough to make them consider going back to the sport they love.

Pairing: oikawa tooru x reader (can be considered gn!reader for use of they/them pronouns might edit it to use 'xi' pronounced like "chi" greek letter)

tagging: @oikawaandkuroostan, @smolbludandelions, @ats4mu, @m0nstergeneration20xx, @prettyy-kawa

word count: 1.3K

notes: translations are done below!

Bumping the old volleyball on your forearms as a form of exercise while walking seemed like a good idea at the time. You've been doing this for a little over an hour, practicing your overhead receiving techniques along with the passes you've come to be known for. The waves crash around your usual jogging route on the beaches by the sand court. You watch with envious eyes as the young men practiced together, yelling at each other in both Spanish and Portuguese at their teammates. Their racket was enough to cause you to pause your self-practice and wander up to the court. Four tall men stood out to you, and while their accents seemed foreign to you, you realized you were in the presence of the one the national and local sports fans called "Ninja Sho" and "Grand King," thus making you swallow nervously. You too had a name which was recognized in the local league albeit a bit earlier than their arrival to your home country.

Several hours later, you were still at the beach, wandering tiredly as you sat on the stone fence facing the street behind you. The nightlife of the clubs and bars cast a ring around your frame. You seemed a bit disappointed about not joining the volleyball men from that afternoon, although one member of the party stayed behind with someone else. Their conversation in a different language you haven't heard either:

"They've been staring at us since the last set," Hinata states. The red orange haired one shuddered as a response.

"I saw them when we met up shrimpy-chan," Oikawa states.

"Perhaps they'd like to play?" Hinata says nodding his head as he heard you bumping the ball on your arms.

Yet, that was hours ago. Currently, you breathe evenly while you stretch your calves out before you were joined by the one you observed being called, "Grand King." Nervous though you were not intimated much by his presence, his mahogany orbs glance at your welts on your arms.

"Quieres jugar conmigo?"

In his hands, he extends a volleyball to you. You blink in surprise, explaining the time is late, but you instinctively do not turn down a chance to play the sport you loved. As you two walk toward one of the courts, you speak to one another trying to get a feel for the other. He arches an eyebrow at you skeptically when you mentioned you were an all-around player and have been nominated on more than one occasion to participate in competitive leagues.

"Me llamaban leyenda cuando jugaba. mi amor por el juego nunca vaciló, no hasta hace poco. Mis médicos dijeron que había agravado mi lesión de rodilla en más de una ocasión, así que, como todos los buenos jugadores, tuve que parar. hoy mi rodilla estaba mejor, así que vine aquí para practicar algunos de mis pases, pero ver cómo juegan tú y tus amigos me dio ganas de intentarlo de nuevo,” you explain this as you walk with him to the courts. Your eyes may have been focused on the stars above, but your words have captured Oikawa Tooru’s undivided attention. You don’t notice how he glances at you in a curious perplexed fashion as you continue.

“El voleibol forma parte de mi vida hasta el punto en que es tan fundamental como comer o respirar ... jaja. lo siento, parecía divagar cuando me hiciste una pregunta tan simple,” you end your answer with an exasperated sigh. The bag on your shoulder drops to the border of the sand court. Thus this game of ‘king of of the court’ began between you and the foreigner with bouncy hair.

It wasn’t until you received and returned his monster serve, after you stretched your arms and cracked your neck. The act alone caused Oikawa to become a firm believer in not questioning the things you said. You just proved truth in the subtlest of ways with a shit-eating grin on your face. Your form when it was your turn to serve was exquisite even now despite your slight wince as you land on the soft mounds of sand. You might have made a service ace, but Oikawa knows and notices, but chooses to not say anything just yet. He realizes just how sharp your instincts are to chase the ball, following its trajectory all over the small court. Your digs are on par with some of his own team players in high school, hell even some of the ones he was travelling with at the moment.

The sand is kind to you as you land and give rise to your muscle memory gaining momentum in this sort of tug of war before you received one more brutal spike. You were breathing hard, yet so was your partner because for the first time in a long while you both felt evenly matched. There were no points to be playing for today. It was just an exhibition match as he had deemed it. Your heart beat rapidly as you sat down on the sand facing him and he did the same. Another bead of sweat trickles down the side of your face before you ask if perhaps both of you should call it a night. He hums and as he stands, he hands you a cell phone from his bag. You smirk behind the blue light, silently understanding why he passed you the phone; you press the numbers and the save button right after you take selfie.

“¿Te gustaría acompañarme a casa?”

At this, the grand king smiles when you hand his phone back to him.

The church bells ring in the surrounding neighborhood and seeing how late in the evening it actually is, your new friend escorts you to where you live.

“Aqui es donde vivo,” you say in your home dialect’s accent. Of all things for Oikawa’s brain to focus on after playing against you at the beach and having fun, he focuses on how your voice sounds like a smooth symphony to him. You reach into your pocket to fish out your keys and give the nice young man from Japan (as you’d out) a soft smile.

“Gracias por acompañarme a casa.”

“No problemo,” he says. Mind you, he doesn’t let you know how in the brief hours he had known you, you’ve managed to make him develop a playground crush on the mystery person named, “YN, venti-dos anos: leyenda local (del voleibol).”

“Buenas noches Oikawa Tooru,” you said with a nod.

“Buenas noches,” he says with a chuckle.

Inside the elevator of your building, he unlocks his phone, opening the contacts book. There he scrolls until he finds your photo, biting his bottom lip whilst a chortle escapes his throat.

“Leyenda,” he reads to himself. He shakes his head as he exits the building, grinning like he just played the best game in his life (up to that point).

FLASH FORWARD:

Tokyo, JPN, 2021 Olympics: GOLD MEDAL QUALIFIER

“And with this win, Team Argentina advances to the next round. Tomorrow night, they go up against Team Japan for the gold!” the announcers were excitedly talking about the game you had stood in the crowds to watch.

Indoor volleyball matches were the same, yet different to you, but you understood the appeal. Your boyfriend’s number had been painted on the right side of your cheek throughout the entirety of the games he was a part of. A few of the Olympic spectators noticed who you were since their favorite international star had made headlines in the local news channels reportedly he was seeing someone just by the way he makes a small cross over his heart after an interview. It was a sign he made recalling the first of many promises after your injury took you out of playing for good. Nevertheless, you persisted and eventually earned a spot (and title) of sports rehab specialist back home.

As blurred photos of you at his matches increased in the last two and a half years, bystanders would know (and recall) that you two were made for each other. Passerbys and the occasional fans of both you and him took note to how you kept each other performing at your personal best. Besides, if you think about it, a high-calliber player and his equally high-calliber significant other would eventually be caught stealing congratulatory kisses and warm embraces pre and post-match. This afternoon’s match was the first time the news and sports journalist columns finally got a clear photo of the person whom the captain of the Argentine team makes a silent reference to: your hair draped loosely over your shoulders and you wear the colors of your lover’s team in your outfit. You wave first then yell with the crowds jumping with your fist in the air as the players respectfully thank the attendees for coming.

The cameras were focused on both you and Oikawa when you watch Oikawa’s eyes finally find you in the stands and with a solid triumphant point with one hand to you and the other on his chest, you couldn’t stop the sensation of pride coursing through your veins. Afterall, Oikawa Tooru said this to you after making the national Olympic team:

“Si ya no puedes jugar, ganaré para los dos mi querido.”

Translations below!

Quieres jugar conmigo: would you like to play with me?

Me llamaban leyenda cuando jugaba. mi amor por el juego nunca vaciló, no hasta hace poco. Mis médicos dijeron que había agravado mi lesión de rodilla en más de una ocasión, así que, como todos los buenos jugadores, tuve que parar. hoy mi rodilla estaba mejor, así que vine aquí para practicar algunos de mis pases, pero ver cómo juegan tú y tus amigos me dio ganas de intentarlo de nuevo. El voleibol forma parte de mi vida hasta el punto en que es tan fundamental como comer o respirar ... jaja. lo siento, parecía divagar cuando me hiciste una pregunta tan simple.

they called me Legend when i played. my love for the game never wavered, not until recently. my doctors said i had aggravated my knee injury on more than one occasion, so like all good players, i had to stop. today my knee was feeling better, so i came here to pratice some of my passes, but watching how you and your friends play made me want to try again. volleyball is part of my life to the point where it is as essential as eating or breathing... haha. sorry, i seemed to ramble when you asked me such a simple question.

Te guestaria acompanare a casa?: would you like to escort/walk me home

YN, venti-dos anos, Leyenda Local: YN, 22 years old, local legend

Aqu dondes vivo: this is where i live.

Gracias por acompanarme a casa: thank you for walking me home

Buenas noches: good night

Sí ya no puedes jugar, ganaré para los dos mi querido: if you cannot play, then I will win for both of us.

[milo-my-beloved]

chapter six of stupid things!

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Wylan and Jesper took a cab home, leaving Kaz and Inej to find their own way home and a very disgruntled Matthias to deal with them. They giggled the entire way back to Jesper’s apartment, imagining increasingly ridiculous and complex methods that Nina’s boyfriend might come up with to get the two to go home.

Wylan insists on paying for the taxi, since Jesper had declared that he should stay the night. They tumble through the door, laughing at the possibility of Matthias locking their friends in an aquarium overnight, and collapse onto the couch, Wylan’s head cradled on Jesper’s chest.

“We should get up,” Jesper says, not moving. “Put pajamas on, or something.”

Wylan just snuggles closer to his chest. “Will you put a movie on?”

Jes smiles down at the sleepy man cuddled up to him and runs his hands through his curls. “Sure thing, sunshine. But I’m picking.”

By the time the opening credits of Star Wars have finished, Wylan is quietly snoring against Jesper’s chest. By the time the Death Star explodes, Jesper has followed suit, both of them pressed against each other, only visible thanks to the full moon outside the window.

{o0o}

One of the things Jesper loves the most about Wylan is the mystery that surrounds him. The only person he’s met that is more skilled at dodging questions is Kaz, and that’s half of his personality. Wylan is nowhere near as good at lying, but Jesper doesn’t push it when he clearly doesn’t want to answer a question. With anyone else he might have, but he really doesn’t want to lose the man who he’s grown so attached to.

Maybe Drunk Jesper has made one good decision. But that’s about it.

One of the few things that Jesper has managed to figure out about his boyfriend is that he’s secretly rich, and embarrassed about it. He always wears quality clothes - soft, cashmere jumpers and dress shirts and fancy shoes - and he insists on paying for a lot of things they do together, but he always blushes whenever Jesper teases him for it.

Actually, Wylan blushes quite a lot. It’s one of Jesper’s favourite things about him.

When they wake up on Saturday morning to the sunlight streaming through the window, they’re still packed tightly together. Jesper’s arm is stiff from being curled protectively around Wylan, who has apparently spent the night drooling on Jesper’s shirt.

If it was anyone else, it would be disgusting, but Jesper finds it strangely endearing.

“Morning, sunshine,” he greets, smiling to himself as Wylan yawns and stretches. “How did you sleep?”

He mumbles an unintelligible response against Jesper’s chest before turning and burying his face back into the crook of his arm. Jesper laughs quietly, but he brings his hand up to cup Wylan’s head and gently strokes his hair.

“For all that drool you’ve managed to get on my chest, you’d better plan an excellent date,” Jesper teases, but Wylan doesn’t respond, already fast asleep again.

{o0o}

Wylan has never been a fan of surprises. Everything in his life has always been planned; from his wardrobe to his meals to what he is supposed to be in life. That’s why he messages the group chat on Wednesday with his plans, rather than leaving it as a surprise like everyone else seems so fond of doing.

Wylan: I know what we’re doing on Friday :D

Inej: and you’re gonna tell us???

Wylan: yes :DDD

Kaz: unheard of

Wylan: I got us tickets to the new exhibit at Ketterdam Museum!!!

Jesper: wat

Inej: awesome! what’s it on?

Wylan: fossils, I think :)

Jesper: there better be a gift shop

He smiles to himself, looking down at his phone as he checks the museum website. Huh. There is a gift shop.

{o0o}

Kaz and Inej mention something vague about going to dinner before meeting them at the museum, so Wylan and Jesper make their own way. Wylan calls them a taxi, smiling to himself as Jesper complains about their friends the entire way there.

“All I’m saying is that it’s rude!” he exclaims, flapping his arms about for emphasis. “It’s called a ‘double date’ for a reason, there’s supposed to be two couples there.”

Wylan hums noncommittally.

“If they were just getting a different ride there then I guess I could understand that, but to go out for dinner first? That’s, like, a whole activity that they’re doing without us!”

“You’re here,” the driver interrupts as they pull up to the front of the museum building.

“Thank you,” Wylan says, handing over the money. “And Jes, how about we go out for dinner afterwards? Just us, I mean.”

Jesper pouts as he climbs out the car. “I already ate.”

“I’m sure you can find room,” Wylan replies, rolling his eyes fondly. “Look, there’s Kaz and Inej.”

Sure enough, their two friends are waiting on the steps outside the museum, huddled together with Kaz’s cane propped up beside them. Inej spots them as they start to approach and stands up, waving frantically to catch their attention while Kaz shakes his head at her antics.

Wylan tugs the corner of Jesper’s sleeve, waving back with his other hand. “Come on!”

Jesper rolls his eyes. “Can we just pretend we don’t know them and go get food now?”

“I thought you ate already?”

“Oh, piss off.”

Wylan grins widely when they finally reach them, brandishing the four tickets in front of him like magician asking ‘is this your card?’ Jesper snatches one out of his hand before anyone gets the chance, Kaz and Inej taking theirs in a much more dignified fashion.

For all their excited chatter as they head towards the entrance, Jesper has to admit, a trip to a museum has never been on his list of dream dates. Or vaguely acceptable dates. Or a day out with his friends. At best, he decides, he might have gone on a school field trip, but mostly only to get out of doing much work for a day.

The foyer of the building is impressive, even by his standards, but he still doesn’t feel nearly as excited as Inej or Wylan. (It’s hard to tell what Kaz is feeling at any given moment, but Jesper is fairly sure he has never seen him excited.) It’s only after they hand their tickets over to a kind attendant and round the corner that Jesper stops in his tracks and stares ahead, his mouth wide open.

“Is that… a dinosaur?” he asks, completely rooted to the spot.

No one bothers dignifying his question with a response, all of them too busy staring at the huge creature standing before them. Of course, it is just bones, but there is still something incredible about being so close to an animal that has been dead for millions of years.

Of all of them, Wylan seems to be the least affected.

“It’s the first T-rex to be displayed in Ketterdam for over a hundred years!” he exclaims in a hushed tone, smiling at the awed expressions on his friends’ faces. “I think his name is Titus.”

“Woah,” Inej says, stepping towards it. “It’s huge!”

“Twelve feet tall,” Wylan responds with a smile.

“How come you know so much already?” Kaz asks, his eyes wandering around the rest of the room.

“I booked the tickets, remember. I looked at the website.”

“Kaz!” Inej exclaims, grabbing his gloved hand and pointing across the room with her other hand. “Look, they have an interactive section.”

Even as the other two disappear around a corner, Wylan and Jesper stay rooted to the spot. It takes a few minutes for Jesper to get over his original shock of being face-to-face with a twelve-foot tall dinosaur, but when he does, he practically starts vibrating on the spot.

“Wy, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me we were gonna see actual dinosaurs! This is so freaking cool,” he exclaims, slowly walking around Titus to get a better look at his side.

“I did!” Wylan protests, smiling at the look of awe on Jesper’s face. “I told you the exhibit is on fossils.”

“I thought we were gonna go see a load of musty rocks with weird shapes in them, not a T-rex!”

Wylan just laughs, squeezing Jesper’s hand. “I didn’t know you were such a fan of dinosaurs.”

“Come on, man,” Jesper protests. “Jurassic Park is one of my favourite movies of all time.”

“Hopefully, these ones don’t come to life,” Wylan quips, and Jesper giggles, dragging him around the rest of the exhibit.

{o0o}

After Jesper has read every single piece of information there is to read (in a range of funny voices) to Wylan, and every corner of the museum has been explored, they decide it’s time to call it quits.

“Shall I call a cab?” Kaz asks as they head towards the museum entrance.

“Not for us,” Wylan replies, squeezing Jesper’s hand. “We’re gonna stay out in town for a while longer.”

“Alright,” he says, fishing his phone out of his pocket and stepping away as he calls the taxi company.

Inej smiles at them, bringing them both into a tight hug. “Thanks for organising this, Wylan! I had fun.”

He blushes. “It was my pleasure. I’ll say goodbye to you now, though - I just need the toilet before we go.”

“See you next week,” she replies, squeezing them both tightly before pulling away.

“Bye,” he says, before turning to Jesper. “Go and wait with them - I’ll only be five minutes.”

“Alright,” Jesper replies, kissing the top of his head. “You better not leave me for too long, though. It’s rude to keep your hot date waiting.”

“Is it, now?” Wylan laughs, turning away and hurrying down the corridor. He heads in the right direction until they are out of sight, before doubling back the way he came and darting into the gift shop instead.

It only takes a minute or two of browsing before he grabs what he’s looking for. He takes it to the counter, smiling, rummaging through his jacket for his wallet.

“Is this all, sir?” the lady behind the till asks.

“Yes, thank you. It’s a present for my boyfriend,” he replies, blushing slightly.

She smiles warmly, her eyes crinkling. “That’s so sweet! Here, if it’s a gift, I’ll wrap it up for you.”

Wylan watches as she deftly wraps it in orange wrapping paper, humming to herself as she works. “Thank you.”

He hands over the right amount of kruge as she passes him the wrapped gift, which he slides into his inside pocket.

“I hope he likes it, sweetie.”

“Me too,” he replies, thanking her again as he rushes out the door to meet back up with Jesper.

{o0o}

They end up going to a fish and chip shop and finding a bench in a nearby park to sit on while they eat.

“Wy, these have to be the best chips I’ve ever eaten,” Jesper declares, still chewing.

“I can tell,” Wylan remarks, raising an eyebrow at the (bordering lewd) noises Jesper makes while eating. “Oh, by the way, I got you something.”

Jesper’s head snaps up. “Dessert?”

“No,” Wylan laughs, fishing the small parcel out of his pocket. “I got you a present.”

Jesper swallows the food in his mouth and wipes his greasy hands on his jeans before carefully taking the parcel from Wylan. He unwraps it gently, laughing when he realises what it is.

“So there was a gift shop after all. When did you get this?”

“When I said I needed the loo,” Wylan admits, wringing his hands in his lap.

Jesper turns the fridge magnet over in his hands, running his fingers over the writing. ‘I survived a T-rex encounter!’

“Thank you,” he says, suddenly finding it a little hard to speak. “That’s really nice of you.”

Wylan shrugs. “It was like, five kruge. You don’t have to thank me.”

Jesper laughs, blinking away the wetness in his eyes as he leans over to whisper something in Wylan’s ear. “I have to tell you a secret though.”

Wylan frowns. “What?”

Jesper smiles down at him. “I don’t have a fridge,” he admits, giggling.

“Wha- how do you not have a fridge?”

He shrugs. “Jesper skills. Now shut up and kiss me.”

Wylan is more than happy to oblige.

tag list (ask to be added or removed!) :D

@hrtbreakprincess / @tooindecisivetopickaurl / @kazcoded / @saltyfortunes / @just2bubbly

[yourwannabekpopidol]

Project 15

Apprenticeship Program Name: Radio Campbuzz Project Name: RJ for Rangdhonu and script writer for shows Program Date: Fall 2017 – Fall 2018 Program Description: I joined this program when Kashfia Ma’am was the advisor for the program. She assigned me to a RJ position for a weekly show called, “Rangdhonu”. And I had to write the script for the show as well. What I had to do was be a host for the show and the show is about pop culture and entertainment. So we had to talk about any new update on Hollywood and Bollywood. Program Justification: What the show provided was to let the students know about any pop culture and to let them enjoy some entertainment before going back to class. There were other shows but this show made me realize how fun it is to be a RJ. Due to this show, I was even awarded the best RJ in Radio Campbuzz of Spring 2018. Program Name: Rangdhonu. Program Time: Every Wednesday from 12 pm to 1 pm.

Picture 1: This is me before the show of Rangdhonu at the station.

Picture 2: This is the poster that declared that Nabeela apu and I were the host of the show, Rangdhonu, on social media.

Picture 3: This was the award and the certificate of me winning the best RJ.

Script for the 5th Rangdhonu show: Written by: Wangkhem Thonglen

Link 1

Sonam Kapoor ties the knot! Celebrity marriages are always the talk of the town, especially when it is the much-awaited wedding of one of Bollywood's most beloved stars, Sonam Kapoor. In an event of grand celebrations, Sonam Kapoor has finally tied the knot last Tuesday, May 8, with her long-time boyfriend Anand Ahuja. For those who don't know, Anand Ahuja is a businessman who has founded his own fashion brand named Bhane. His Delhi-based business has made him quite successful despite his young age, and fans know him well for always being addressed fondly in Sonam's online posts. The couple is active on social media, and has never failed to win hearts through their messages of adoration and love. Radio Cambuzz wishes the couple a happy conjugal life!

SaRa May 12 marked the grand opening of SaRa's first showroom in Mirpur. The fashion house made a huge statement with endorsements from stars like Sara Zaker, Oyshee, Shahtaj, Pritom, Xefer, Azim, Doyel and many others. They were present during the opening, along with the owner S.M Khaled.

RABINDRA FESTIVALS AROUND THE COUNTRY The celebration of 157th birth anniversary of Tagore in Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka. Artistes performed in a programme by Jayita Rabindra Sangeet Shomillon Porishod in Mymensingh. Artistes did a cultural show in Rabindra Mela, Channel i premises, Dhaka. Artistes from Bangladesh and India performed in Rabindra Festival in Shelaidah Kuthibari, Kushtia. Also Sirajganj.

30 years of BAMBA - More than just bands After a break of almost four years, Bangladesh Musical Bands Association, better known as BAMBA, recently arranged a mega concert, 'BAMBA Live Chapter 1', in Dhaka. The turnout was huge, with the spacious hall room of the International Convention Centre, Bashundhara, filled to the brim with fans eager to get a glimpse of their favorite bands and listen to their all-time hits. 11 of the 27 bands under the umbrella of BAMBA, including Warfaze, Miles, Shunno, Aurthohin, Nemesis, Vikings, Feedback, Dalchhut, Maq O' Dhaka, Pentagon and Arbovirus performed at the concert. Star Showbiz recently invited BAMBA to participate at a roundtable discussion at The Daily Star Centre. Hamin Ahmed, President of BAMBA; Sheikh Monirul Alam Tipu, General Secretary; Fuad Naser Babu, Vice President; Maqsoodul Haque (Mac), Executive Committee Member; Mohammad Ali Shumon, Treasurer; and Doza Alan, CEO, SkyTracker Limited, took part in the roundtable discussion. It was facilitated by Star Showbiz Editor Rafi Hossain. The discussion focused on BAMBA's current activities and the way forward in the face of the challenges confronting our music industry.

Link 2

Zoe Saldana on the Hollywood Walk of Fame After smashing success as the alien warrior Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and more recently, Avengers: Infinity War, Zoe Saldana is on a path to eternal stardom, literally. She joins the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin and her co-actor Chris Pratt, by receiving her very own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Zoe Saldana took to Instagram to express her gratitude, saying she is blessed and honored to be a part of the history of Hollywood. “May this open more doors for Latinx and all other under-represented community!” she further stated. Zoe Saldana has also appeared in James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar and the recent Star Trek trilogy. Being a constant presence in blockbuster sci-fi and fantasy films, Zoe Saldana is expected to become a top name in this specific genre quite soon. 2018 71st Cannes Film Festival From Tuesday May 8th til Saturday May 19th. Australian actress Cate Blanchett has been named as the President of the Jury. Asghar Farhadi's psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Ricardo Darín, opened the festival and competes in the Main Competition section The Han Solo spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story touched down Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, bringing its cast and a full-sized Chewbacca to the French Riviera extravaganza. Director Ron Howard, wearing a hat that read “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” introduced his cast before the film’s international premiere at Cannes. Sonam Kapoor wows at the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival 2018. Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan once again stole the show as she walked the prestigious red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, this time in a stunning ultra-violet, blue and red gown that reflected the metamorphosis of a butterfly. History was made at this year's 71st  Cannes Film Festival on Saturday as 82 women, representing the limited number of women filmmakers selected over its more than seven-decade history, made a symbolic walk up the red carpet. The stars, filmmakers and other professionals ascended the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival, protesting for the solidarity of the women in the industry who are struggling for a voice, equal pay, as well as a safer work place. The five female members of this year's Cannes jury-- Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Ava DuVernay, Lea Seydoux and Burundian singer Khadja Nin, along with Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek and Marion Cotillard were among the group of women.

Link 3 Mim Mantasha Superstar in the making Winning the country's biggest pageant is not an ordinary feat. Mim Mantasha has won not just a crown, but also the hearts of millions. Awaiting a new journey, the Lux Channel i Superstar 2018 winner shares her story with The Daily Star. A final year student of Fine Arts at Jahangirnagar University, Mim has always been a creative and curious soul. She was an avid follower of the contest for a long time. This year, she finally took the decision to compete. Taking part in the competition was certainly not a cakewalk. “We went through vigorous training sessions. We did yoga in the mornings,” explains Mim.  Before the task rounds, the contestants went through fifteen days of training for ramp walk, acting, dancing, and many other skills. The photo shoots, acting, and improvisation rounds were Mim's favourite tasks in the competition. “I was nervous but in a scene, I got to convince people through my acting that my child was lost. I enjoyed it,” Mim smiles, adding that the competition was an overall memorable experience. Although she is highly enthusiastic about working in the media, she wants to take more preparations before doing so. She is now Lux Bangladesh's brand ambassador and has also won the opportunity to work on television and feature film projects of Impress Telefilm. Before hitting the silver screen, Mim wants to explore the world of television. Being a painter at heart, Mim also wants to continue painting and have her own exhibition in the future. Further to this, she intends to work for children who need special care. “I am in a fortunate position and it is our duty to take care of those in need.” says Mim. With great intentions, we hope Mim Mantasha excels at every step of her future endevours.

Link 4

Avengers Infinity War Review The plot itself is pretty simple. There are six stones that possess mystic powers and he/she who possesses all the stones is by default the most powerful being in the universe. Our Marvel superheroes must forget their own conflicts and join forces against Thanos to restore the fate of the universe and its inhabitants. Of course, watch the movie to know how things pan out. Avengers: Infinity War is the movie of movies, and let me tell you why. Most, if not all, the characters of the MCU are present in this film and bring their own flavour into the mix. Thor is mourning the loss of his home and hammer, Stark feels he needs to take a break from saving the world, Captain America is still out to bring justice the right way, and Hulk has no control over himself. I don't know what formula the Russo brothers have applied in their direction but I watched in awe how all the characters blended to deliver multiple storylines within a movie. Yes, I have also compared this movie to a mega three-hour episode of your daily soap opera. Avengers: Infinity War is the comprehensive Marvel movie; it is the beginning of an end. It lifts you, it hits you, and leaves you with a cliffhanger extraordinaire. See it to believe it and it'll still be unbelievable. By next weekend, Infinity War will top $1.78 billion and could sit around $1.8 billion, ensuring Marvel's year-to-date tally exceeds $3.1 billion by next Sunday.

Deadpool 2 Marketing Right off the bat, you see how Deadpool has scratched out the 20th Century Fox logo and put “TBD,” which is a sly allusion to the ongoing Disney/Fox (and Comcast?) merger drama. The content of the letter is exactly what you might expect from the Merc with a Mouth. Pop culture references, silly puns, bad language, and Ryan Reynolds bashing. Then, at the bottom, instead of the #ThanosDemandsYourSilence, we get #WadeWilsonDemandsYourSisterSorryStupidAutoCorrectSilence. See, you guys, it’s funny! And not at all trying too hard. Kidding aside, the marketing for “Deadpool 2” has been pretty top notch, but perhaps not as great as the first film. Recently, the film premiered a music video for the soundtrack featuring Celine Dion singing an over-the-top ballad while a high-heel-wearing Deadpool does an interpretive dance around the diva. It’s ridiculous and fun. And also, the most recent trailer seems to have struck a chord with fans, who are coming down off their ‘Infinity War’ high.

Link 5

Top 10 Hollywood Box Office Weekend 1. Avengers: Infinity War - $62,078,047 (Total Grossing – $548,090,150) 2. Life of the Party - $17,886,075 (New) 3. Breaking In - $17,630,285 (New) 4. Overboard - $9,864,415 5. A Quiet Place - $6,455,396 (Total Grossing - $169,608,030) 6. I Feel Pretty - $3,805,437 7. Rampage - $3,462,442 (Total Grossing - $89,827,105) 8. Tully - $2,248,945 9. Black Panther -  $2,077,207 (Total Grossing - $696,331,818) 10. RBG - $1,188,186

Billboard’s top 10 Hits 1. This Is America – Childish Gambino (New) 2. Nice For What – Drake (Last Week: 1) 3. God’s Plan – Drake 4. Psycho – Post Malone Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (Last Week: 2) 5. Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 6. The Middle – Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey 7. Look Alive – BlocBoy JB Featuring Drake 8. Never Be The Same – Camila Cabello 9. Perfect – Ed Sheeran (Last Week: 12) 10. No Tears Left To Cry – Ariana Grande Learning and reflections: This program made me realize the inner potential I had to be so extrovert and be a good host. I learned what to do or say after getting stuck during a live session. I have improved my speaking skills and the flow of a RJ host on how to talk and say because they have a different tone when it comes to a live session. I have taken all these skills from this program and I even got selected and did a short commercial video for Spice FM Radio. I also learned how to write a script for a radio show.

[hhoriginalworks]

if you're ever ready | f.w

warnings: small curse

The brittle January air was enough to make the faces of children red while chasing after one another, and it was certainly enough to make any sane person struggle to leave their warm bed.

You were perfectly sane- at least, in the sense that with the cold weather, you found yourself getting to the underground later and rushing out the door quicker. And, while the cool breezes were a large reason you ended up scolded early in the morning by your boss, there was also the fact you still had to remind yourself of small things. You had to remind yourself to not put on your velvet robes, to leave your wand in the bottom drawer of your dress, and mostly, to blend in.

It wasn't necessarily something you would consider unnatural for you- hiding the magical part of your life away neatly in the back of your closet and folded gently underneath your summer clothes. No, in fact, it was something you had mastered as a kid, but simply in reverse. With two muggleborn parents, you were given the lecture about hiding the muggle side of you at a very young age. You spent most of your summers playing futbol and attending summer school to learn about natural science and physics. Then, when September came around, you packed away your dreams to be an archeologist and forgot that part of your life. You supposed there was irony in it all.

Today was another day of rushing out the door and attempting to find some sort of routine in a world you hadn't been apart of in a long time. "Oh, watch out," you blurted, the words, unfortunately, coming out faster than you could move out of the way.

"Sorry- I didn't see you," the man apologized, his brown eyes scanning you for any injuries. There was something uncanny about him- you weren't entirely sure if it was his face, which was scattered with freckles in the same way the night sky was scattered with stars, or it was his unruly red hair. "I'm Fred, um, do we know each other?"

You snapped out of your mindless observation of the redhead, blushing furiously and checking your watch. "I'm sorry, sir, I have to make the 10:15 tour at the British Museum. I'd give you a galleon for the coffee stain, but I'm really late," you blabbered on, the wizarding phrase slipping out before you could stop yourself. "Send me your dry-cleaning bill, will you? Just give it to Sam at the museum- he'll find me. Thanks."

You left quicker than Fred could ask your name, but something about you made him think he already knew it. "Galleon," Fred mumbled to himself, running his calloused thumb over the golden coin that sat at the bottom of his pocket. "She's got to be a witch, but she's going to a muggle museum."

Fred stood in the middle of the crowded streets, his mind reeling and his feet leading back towards the way he came. By the time Fred had shaken the thoughts about you out of his mind, he found himself in front of a building that his dad used to take him often. The British Museum, a place of history and culture, at least, that's what his dad used to say before getting distracted by the ticket printer.

"Hello, um, am I too late for the 10:15 tour?" Fred asked, shifting his weight as the elderly man looked down at him from the help desk. "I am catching up with an old friend."

"For which exhibit, sir?"

Fred glances at the growing line behind him before leaning in closer to the elderly man. "Actually, sir, I- I ran into this girl on the street and she was rushing to get here after she spilled coffee on me. I don't really know what sort of tour she was talking about, but she mentioned Sam."

"Fred?" Fred turned towards the familiar voice, only to come face-to-face with you. Fred scanned you, noticing your oversized hoodie was replaced with the black blazer and a white button-up. "Fred? If you're here to drop off your vest, I can take it after my tour. Sam, I'll take him on my 10:15 tour."

"Oh, you're Sam, well, thanks," Fred beamed, hurrying away to catch up with you. "Your tour? You hardly mentioned that you were going to be my lovely tour guide of the, erm, what are we touring?"

"You didn't mention uprooting your entire day to take my tour," you joked, matching Fred's lighthearted tone. "We are touring the exhibits that display history's underlying tones of love and passion. It's actually pretty interesting- have you been here before?"

Fred thought back to when his dad used to take him and his siblings out one at a time to muggle museums to give his mum a break and to have father-son time.  "Is this your way of asking if I come here a lot? Because I imagine employee-visitor flirting is frown upon," Fred teased, clutching his hands behind his back. "But, I'll make an exception for you."

"Actually, for this tour, it is encouraged," you laughed, a shot of confidence running through your body. "I don't think I mentioned by name- I'm y/n y/l/n."

Fred smiled, racking his mind to see if there was anything familiar about your name. "So, where did you go to secondary school?"

"Nope," you replied, straightening your uniform as the two of you neared where the start of the tour was. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Oh, um, yeah, I have- my dad stopped taking me after I almost got the two of us banned," Fred replied hurriedly, eying the crowd of visitors and tourists waiting on the tour to start. "Now, it's your turn to answer."

"Can't, love, I'm on the clock now." You shot the boy a wink and stepped in front of the small crowd, reciting your scripted welcome before leading the group towards the first exhibit.

Fred shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about you that he couldn't get enough of. Fred faded towards the back of the crowd, watching you in a memorized fashion as you talked about the exhibit with a familiar spark in your eyes. "Y/N from third-year muggle studies," Fred mumbled to himself, suddenly remember how you used to be the first person to raise your hand and present your essays with excitement that matched his dad's.

The tour went quickly from there, ending in a room filled with vintage coins and various paper notes. "This is the last stop on our tour, and I encourage you to check out our numerous other exhibits. Thank you so much, and I hope you enjoyed this tour," you breathed, your mouth dry from answering the endless questions from a young girl and her sister. "Don't forget to check out the World War I coin with an engraving from Frank to Nellie. Thanks again!"

Fred slowly made his way back to your side, a knowing smile still on his lips. "So, your turn, y/n. Where did you go for secondary school?"

"A boarding school in Scotland- hardly anything famous," you replied naturally, the answer still the same as when your muggle friends asked you over the summer. "My mum and dad went there, so they practically insisted."

"Oh, interesting, I went to a school in Scotland, too," Fred beamed. "What house were you?"

"Oh, I was in- wait, what?"

"I was a Gryffindor, but I always thought I would be such a good Ravenclaw. I'm the genius of the family, except maybe Perce, but he was more of a Slytherin," Fred rambled on, a smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth. "You strike me as a Ravenclaw, or perhaps, Hufflepuff. I know you aren't a Slytherin- you haven't got the look to you."

You let out a breath you hadn't been knowingly holding. It was rare nowadays you came across another wizard or witch- you made sure it was a rare occasion. "I'm sorry, Fred, I have to go get ready for my next tour," you managed to say, moving away from Fred when he grabbed onto your wrist gently.

"I was joking about the Slytherin thing," Fred spoke up, hurt written on his face as you pulled away from him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not what you think I am- not anymore," you whispered before maneuvering your way through the crowd, losing the redhead and allowing yourself to take a moment to stop and breathe.

However, Fred Weasley was a hard man to get away from. With a head above the crowd and determination that wasn't to match, Fred Weasley was quick to figure out where you went. And, like a persistent puppy, he found himself following not far behind.

"Are you okay?" Fred finally asked after lurking a safe distance away. A part of him wanted to give you the space that you clearly needed, but another part of him was curious about what you said. "I was going to leave, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first."

You nodded your head, his words surprisingly soothing and more gentle than you remember. "Fred, I'm not a witch, so whatever you thought was happening between us isn't happening," you blurted, the words you wanted to say mixing amongst each other as you spoke. "What I mean is- I don't know. I just- damn it, I'm such an idiot. You were wearing an orange vest and the ugliest pair of matching dress shoes- how could I not know?"

Fred leaned against the way, close enough you could see him out of your peripheral vision if you tried (you did). "I happen to like these shoes- George, my twin, has a matching pair in green. Now those are ugly."

You stifled a laugh, reminding yourself that whatever was happening was a bad idea. "I'm a muggle- just so you know."

"You weren't."

"But I am now."

"Well, I'm a wizard- just so you know," Fred quipped, matching your tone.

"You always were," you mimicked, attempting to keep the corners of your mouth turned down.

"And I am now- wait, that doesn't work, does it?" Fred chuckled, running a  pale hand through his messy hair. You hated to admit it, but it was a handsome move, and you couldn't help but swoon a little.

"No, it doesn't. I like you, Fred, which is crazy since I met you this morning, but it's true-"

"Great, y/n, because I like you too," Fred interrupted, knowing that the dreaded 'but' was bound to follow if he didn't. "Well, since that is all that is needed to be said, I'll pick you up from your place at-"

It was your turn to interrupt, "I'm not going out with you- I don't want to get sucked back into the world of magic. I have kept away from it all for two years, and I don't plan on going back now, or maybe even ever."

"Maybe?"

You shook your head at the redhead's hopeful look, knowing that he wasn't getting what you were trying to hint at. "I don't like magic anymore, Fred. I don't think I ever really liked magic, but the-the war. Muggles have horrific wars, but I never saw it up close like I did at the Battle of Hogwarts. I-I don't think my place is there anymore."

"You fought?" Fred asked the question more to himself than to you, trying to remember the hundreds of grieving faces that rested in the Great Hall at the end of it all.

"I did, and I killed. I killed, Fred. I watched the light leave their eyes, and I justified it by saying they would've done it to me-"

"They would've- you did what you had to do."

"But I didn't want to- I wanted to be twenty. I wanted to go to pubs and lie to bartenders that I was old enough to drink. I wanted to travel. I wanted to dance with my friends to music at 3 am. I didn't want to fight for my life. Fred, you grew up with magic, right?"

Fred looked down at his hand, processing your words. His family was so close to Harry that he never really thought about the years of youth he lost to thinking about the war. Of course, he had his business, which revolved around bringing brightness to such a dark time, but still he never just enjoyed being young once he joined the order. "Yeah, I'm a pureblood- not that it matters to me."

You smiled and let your fingers brush against his. "I grew up with two muggleborn parents, and I got to live an entirely different life when I wasn't at Hogwarts. You've always had magic, and I've always had another place to go if I didn't want magic. I don't want magic, Fred. I don't want to go back to using magic for mundane purposes after I did horrible things with it."

"But what happened- what you did- shouldn't taint something that is a part of you. Magic isn't good or bad- it's just there to be used," Fred urged, grabbing your hand. "Let me take you out on one date just to see where things go, and I promise there'll be no magic."

"Fred, I know that whatever we do, I'll just fall for you," you breathed slowly, letting the pads of his fingers tickle the back of your hand. "I can't make you give up magic, Fred. And, right now, I'm not willing to give up this life to be with you. I'm sorry."

Fred was sorry too, his hand releasing yours. He didn't know what to expect walking into the museum, but it certainly wasn't this. He wanted to be mad at you for not even trying to see where things go, but he couldn't. He knew that if it came down to it- he wouldn't give up magic to be with you. So, he smiled the exact same smile he gave you that morning, and he left.

And, when he left, you were left with nothing but the ghost of his touch and a small paper business card with the words, 'if you're ever ready.'

[kyberled]

Send '🤔' and I'll name three ways I think our muses could meet one another. If you can't see the emoji send the phrase 'thinking x3' instead! || ACCEPTING

@squarehammered​ asked:

🤔 - ways our muses can meet, for Rachel!

I mean, they’re both child soldiers in intergalactic wars. I can totally see them getting on well. They have very different philosophies, but their experiences might be similar. They could get along. Or, at the very least, understand each other. That’s sometimes all you can ask for. 

As for how they met… There are a couple options. First: Jedi come to Earth. This is a bit of a cop-out, but it’s a possibility. Space-travel and all. Second is Rachel is in space. How did she get there? I don’t know. I’m neither a bear cop, nor a space cop. 

Exhibit A:

(Yes, I know I’m dating myself here.) 

Anyway, some more detailed answers: 

Let’s say the kids stumble across some alien tech. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Animorphs, given that’s how it all starts. Maybe it’s some kind of transmitter. Maybe it’s a ship. If it’s the former, Rachel could call out for help in the war. Yes, she loved fighting, but they got into some pretty rough patches. They’re just kids. Sometimes you just need a hand. Yes, Braig is also a kid, but he’s a kid who’s a trained combatant with weird psychic powers and an army behind him. It helps. 

Inversely, like I said before, maybe she goes to him. Maybe it’s the ship, not the transmitter. Let’s jettison Rachel into space, shall we? That can’t possibly go wrong. Refer again to exhibit A. Maybe Rachel crashes the ship in the GFFA after accidentally activating the hyperdrive. She winds up on a strange planet and lashes out in typical Rachel fashion. The Jedi are dispatched to deal with this strange new threat, and… It’s just a scared teenage girl. Who can shapeshift. And has a lust for blood. 

Okay, not a great situation, but that’s what Jedi are for. They can handle it. And then it’s a matter of trying to get Rachel home safe. 

… Unless, of course, she doesn’t WANT to go home. I mean, think about it. This is Rachel. Rachel, who said repeatedly she wouldn’t know how to return to civilian life once the war with the Yeerks was over. Rachel, who volunteered for a suicide mission because she didn’t think she knew how to live in peace anymore. Maybe it’s no accident that she sends herself off planet. Maybe after Earth was saved, she, like she predicted, didn’t know how to adapt. She knows there are wars being fought beyond the stars. Maybe she got into a ship and launched herself off - either she would find something new to fight for, or she would die, but either would be preferable to her than trying to readjust to a world that no longer needed the Animorphs. 

A world that no longer needed the soldier she’d become. 

Maybe she shows up during the Clone Wars and meets my tiny son; maybe she shows up during the Imperial war and meets him as an adult. Who knows? But Rachel left her home planet to find her home state of being: A girl at war.

[ayameakuma]

Hi, guys!

So, this is one of my many ideas for fanfics (seriously, they are breeding like rabbits inside my head) and I need your opinion on whether you would like to read something like this (it helps me decide if the fanfic idea is worth it or not when friends or other people give their thoughts on it).

Fair warning: This idea may trigger some people because it involves breaking 2 ships from 2 different fandoms that people like very much from what I have seen. I DO NOT INTENT TO START SOME SHIPPING WAR HERE. If this annoys you or you just don't like it, be polite about it, ok? I cannot control what my anime/cartoon infested brain cooks up for a new fanfic. (GOD KNOWS I have TRIED to control them)

Either way, here is a brief explanation of the idea and some explanation on why I chose the pairing(s):

First off, this is a crossover between Miraculous Ladybug and Soul Eater. Marinette, who at the beginning of the story is a 13 years old girl, is the only daughter of Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng. Sabine is a Meister - who is very proficient in wielding a variety of weapons - and Tom is her multi-form weapon. The Cheng Clan is - or better said was - very famous in the world for their weapon wielding abilities and for their assassination capabilities, which some even say that were on par with the Star Clan's.

Marinette, however, was kept away from the weapon/meister world by her parents because they wished she would be able to live the normal life they couldn't. But, that did not last long. Around her 10th birthday, Marinette started exhibiting Meister-like skills, and not normal ones either (you can't convince me that the only ones that show the signs of belonging to one of the side of the spectrum are just the weapon, the meisters must also have like early signs of Awakening as a meister too, right?): heightened sense for danger, her body moving on its own when she feels unsafe/sees someone in need of help, and, the strangest one yet, possessing knowledge of how to use a certain object as a weapon in situations that need such expertise (like, knowing how to and where to wound a wolf with just a throw of a sharp rock/a stab of a pocket knife, in order to protect a classmate of hers). These skills brought her more bad than good. For showing such dangerous skills, she was bullied, called weird or even accused of being a "killer in becoming" (kids are stupid and cruel, let's just leave it at that).

Two years pass, during which her signs of awakening as a Meister become more pronounced. Marinette, who never complained about the bullying to her parents, has had enough and tells them what the kids in her school put her through. Hearing this, Tom and Sabine make their decision and, at the age of 12, Marinette Dupain-Cheng becomes one of the newest students at DWMA.

Here, she meets Adrien Agreste, the son of Gabriel Agreste. Adrien is still a model here and is a weapon. His father, Gabriel, was known as one of DWMA most talented students as a Meister and currently is a top fashion designer, his dream of becoming the Meister that made the next Death Scythe now unattainable due to the premature death of his partner and wife, Emily.

Marinette falls for Adrien, who was LITERALLY the first person - besides her parents - that treated Marinette like a human being and not a ticking bomb in the last 2 years. She decides to become the best Meister she can be and become Adrien's pair and possibly his significant other along the way. Her first female friend in Death City, Alya, supports her with all her might and tried helps Marinette get Adrien's attention. The two are also helped by Nino, Adrien's first friend at DWMA, and Alya's Weapon Partner.

One year later, she finally gathers up her courage to ask him to become a meister-weapon pair with her. Things should go smoothly from here on, right? Wrong. Adrien refuses her and, unknowingly, breaks her heart. Depressed, she ends up crying and questioning her worth over the next week, loosing more and more sleep.

A few days after, she ends up being incredibly late for one class that will have the students make pairs for a "pretend fight" as not only to help them with their partnership (for those who already have partners chosen), but also to observe their performance in a more controlled environment before sending them out to collect the Kishin souls.

Along her there is another student who end up just as late as she is, that student being Soul "Eater" Evans. The two, who never really spoke before (besides the morning greetings or just small insignificant chats) are now put to fight as a Meister-Weapon Pair for this only class.

Durring the class, however, something unexpected happened, and, now, by Lord Death's word, the two have to give their partnership a chance by becoming temporary partners for the rest of the school year. Will Marinette and Soul's partnership end up being a success or an utter failure?

ALRIGHT! So, the above is a short summary of like the first 2 chapters, maybe. And as you can see I already changed a LOT of things from the original setting of Soul Eater. (I have nothing planned on how to input the kwami here but... I WILL come up with something, hopefully) Why? Don't ask me. I have zero ideea how this became a thing in my brain and maybe I will have a more clear idea as to why over time. For now, let's leave that as "it just works and that is it".

Now, as you read I have put Marinette and Soul as a (temporary) Meister and Weapon pair, but their relationship before this arrangement is more inspired from my own life. I basically was in the same class for 1 year with this boy, and, besides the group project and greetings, we have never talked at all. One day we just start talking because we were bored and that boy basically became one of my best friends in like 5 minutes. It is this muted chemistry that only clicks for you once you actually interact with that person in a non-official setting or just happens over the course of the debate of one subject that you both like.

Also, yes, I think that Soul and Marinette will be a good romantic (or maybe platonic) couple too. And since, Soul becomes Marinette's weapon, Adrien becomes Maka's.

Now, to explain why these two Meister-Weapon pairs work:

1.Soul and Marinette (Sonette - the name of the ship - given by my best friend who told me I should post this here)

Due to being bullied, Marinette is very shy in general and the only time she becomes more assertive is during battle, even though the confidence/assertiveness dosen't last long. Remember this is a world in which Mari never got to be Ladybug, and because of this, here she is more meek and dosen't know her own value, nor does she have any self-confidence acquired due to responsibilities such as superheroing or being class president. She also didn't have a lot of friends in school before DWMA, a fact that may end up creating situations in which she is very much overwhelmed because someone did a very nice gesture towards her or she may even end up taking blame for thing that were not her fault at all. As such, someone like Soul, who is confident, could balance out Mari very well, besides the fact that LITTLE MARI NEEDS SUPPORT, GODDAMN IT. She needs someone to reamind her she has worth and get her out of her comfort zone in order to give her a push in a better direction. (In other words: Marinette Protection Squad Assemble!)

As for Soul... well, Soul is stubborn. I think that it will do him well to have someone he needs to look after since it will show Soul's gentle side more. Besides this, Soul is still the same Soul we know and love. Personally, I think that these little changes in a character while still maintaining the canon personality can actually make them seem more alive and it makes character development moments more significant in comparison to the original because we see a new side of that character that the canon did not delve into too much.

2. Maka and Adrien

Look, I love Maka and Soul's dynamics and the same can be said about Mari and Adrien's (if only blondie had a back bone *me being salty about the Lila phases*).

But you can't really say that Maka isn't reckless or that Adrien is not a spineless coward most of the time (hate you too, Gabriel, since it is your fault for this).

Why I think they are good for each other?

Well, Maka could learn to be more attentive towards other people and less reckless. Seriously, there is a fine line between courage and recklessness, and Maka seems to need to learn how to discern between the two. Adrien could be good for this since, in this fanfic, he is more or less naive af and needs to be guided by someone other than his father. Maka, in trying to help Adrien, ends up helping herself to some extent and due to Adrien's stained relationship with his father maybe she will even give her own father, Spirit, a chance to mend their own relationship. (It is just a possibility that I could see after pairing them up)

As for Adrien? Well, in this fanfic idea, at least until Maka gets into his mind, Adrien is not better than a doll for his father to play with. Gabriel controls everything than happens in his life. And since here he is not Chat Noir, the only little escape he has is the school, but even that is conditioned by his grades: "If you do not continue to have exemplary results in your school work, then I see no need for you to continue going there." - Gabriel, at some point in the story probably

His father even chose his own partner based on the level of soul compatibility they have together. Basically, Adrien has no voice of his own.

Maka could help him, simply put because she is reckless. Without Soul there, Maka needs to be told what is a good idea and what isn't, even more so when she is not capable of seeing the answer herself. And so, Adrien has to take a stand and say things with his own mouth. He will end up finding his own voice because he has Maka there. (I low key believe if Marinette was his partner, she will have a lots of problems trying to get Adrien to disagree with her, mainly due to her shyness and feelings for Adrien, but that is just me)

Maka and Adrien even have a similar house situation: they both have only one parent remaining that they dislike (no matter how internalized Adrien's dislike is), but they handle it differently which could be a good influence on the other: while Adrien is obedient to a fault to Gabriel because he wants to please his father in hope that Gabriel won't abandon him for not being enough, Maka defies her father due to her dislike for him and for the fact that he exhibits a perverse behaviour while still saying he is in love with Maka's mom (this pissed me off very much about Spirit but at the same time, give him a chance Maka, look at him; he is pitiful)

And this concludes my rant/ depiction of my fanfic idea.

Again, if you don't like it, that is fine. If you do, that is fine too. I just want to ask you: do you think it is worth writing? Would you read something like this if I did wrote and posted it?

Thank you for your time! Bye!😊

[augustmoon259]

For I shall already have forgotten you CHAPTER 7: TRICK, OR TREAT?

Madeline wakes up and reaches for her phone laying on the nightstand. It’s 8 am. As her awareness returns to her, she sees Bucky and Kumarie playing together. Madeline’s lips quirk up as she gives both of them a quick pet on the head before going to start her day.

After brushing her teeth, Madeline heads to the kitchen. She expected to see Alfred there, as he had told her that he was an early riser. Contrary to Madeline’s expectations, Alfred was nowhere to be found. It had only been 20 minutes since she woke up, so Madeline decided to cook breakfast for her and Alfred.

Madeline wiped sweat off her forehead as she observed the results of her labor: fluffy pancakes topped with butter and maple syrup, crispy strips of bacon, wholesome fruit parfaits,  and freshly made coffee. Madeline’s stomach growled, but it would have to wait until she found Alfred.

It was almost 9:30 now but still there was no sign of the house’s owner. Madeline surmised that Alfred was still sleeping in his room. She felt a pang of guilt at the thought that he had gone to sleep late because of her. Madeline made her way to Alfred’s room. She was just about to knock on his door when it opened from inside.

“Hey Maddie…” Alfred yawned as he greeted Madeline. “What’s up...? Is it morning time already....?”

“Oh! Yes! I was just about to wake you up actually. I made breakfast.”

Alfred seemed to be more alert after he heard her statement.

“Woah! You made breakfast?! Now I gotta hurry up and eat it!”

He rushes off, leaving Madeline feeling bemused. Alfred is already sitting at the dining table when she returns to the kitchen, making her wonder if he even took the time to brush his teeth.

As if he read her mind, Alfred beams as he remarks, “Don’t worry! I brushed my teeth! Now let’s dig in!”

Alfred grabs his fork and chews on a large bite of his pancakes. His eyes widen as he prepares to eat another.

“Wow, this tastes amazing! You’re a great cook Maddie!”

Madeline blushes as she plays with her food.

“No problem Al...Consider this thanks for helping me after my nightmare yesterday..."

There’s a gasp from Alfred as he momentarily stops eating.

“No way! You called me Al! You’ve been calling me Alfred up until now!”

“Well, yeah...You already call me Maddie, so I might as well call you by a nickname too, right?”

“Yay! Mission: Become Friends with Maddie has officially been completed!” Alfred stands up and does a short victory dance before sitting back down. “And you don’t have to worry about yesterday. That’s what friends do!”

Madeline’s heart felt light as she and Alfred continued to talk and enjoy breakfast together.

When they finished, Alfred was ready to start the day.

“Okay Maddie! You know the costume I asked you to get? You can go put it on now! We’re gonna be in costume all day!”

So Madeline went to do exactly that. Half an hour later, as she finished dressing herself, she examined her reflection in the mirror. Madeline had braided her hair into a pair of 3-strand braids, one on each side of her head. She wore an open-fronted gown which laced closed across a kirtle. The outer fabric matched the red of her bodice, while the rest was white. Madeline’s skirt went down to her mid-calf, underneath which she wore white leggings and black old-fashioned buckle shoes. To complete her look, she wore a long red hooded cloak and carried an empty wicker basket.

Satisfied with her appearance, Madeline made her way to Alfred’s room for the second time that day. As before, when she was prepared to knock, he startled her by opening the door first.

“Maddie! Can you guess what I am?”

Alfred wore pants that were tattered at the edges; his shirt was in a similar condition, frayed at the bottom. Alfred’s bright blonde hair was covered by a brown wig and his face obscured by a wolf mask. The upper half of his face could no longer be seen; Alfred’s cerulean eyes stared at her through his mask. A wolf pelt was thrown around his shoulders. Madeline spotted wolf ears on top of his head and a fluffy tail behind him.

“Hm...Are you...the Big Bad Wolf?”

“That’s right! I am! Isn’t it just great we ended up in matching costumes?”

“But Al, don’t you like heroes? The Big Bad Wolf isn’t exactly a hero..."

Alfred gives her a sly wink in return. “You’ll just have to find out why I chose this costume then, huh?”

He checks the time on his phone.

“Let’s see...It’s about eleven, so we have some time before our first stop of the day.” Alfred looks up and grins at her. “Do you want to visit my favorite cafe?”

The two of them had a great time visiting museums, going on scavenger hunts, taking pictures with others in costume, and more.

The highlight of Madeline’s day so far was the National Air and Space Museum. Alfred loved space, so it was unsurprising that he would take her there. Some of the Star Wars costumes impressed her, almost as much as the actual museum exhibitions themselves. They had taken a break afterwards to eat the food they had bought at the cafe: Halloween themed foods like bat tortilla chips with mango salsa, spider pizzas, pumpkin deviled eggs, etc.

Finally, it was time for the last event of the day, the Night of the Living Zoo at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

The zoo was decked out in Halloween decorations: lights, skeletons, witches, and cobwebs. There were a range of spectacular performances, from fire eaters to jugglers. Alfred and Madeline met dancing dinosaurs, Jessie and James from Team Rocket, and even had the chance to spectate a wedding (it wasn’t real of course).

Alfred was incredibly enthusiastic when they visited the animal exhibits.

“Maddie! Look! Caiman lizards! Sleeping on that rock! They’re super chilling, together! Buddies!”

“Oh hey, look at those turtles! It’s a turtle party! Turtle party, turtle party, who’s got the pizza for a turtle party?!”

“Look at this one! Hm, what’re they called? ...Rock hyrax? Nah, I’m calling him Mr. Cheeks...Oh no! Mr. Cheeks doesn’t look very happy with me!”

If the night had ended there, Madeline would have been satisfied. She didn’t know what could possibly top Alfred’s amusing commentary.

She and Alfred ended up in the crowd that was gathered around a stage. The stage, previously used for band performances and live karaoke, was now the platform for the last event of the night, the Halloween costume contest. The announcer explained that there were several categories, ranging from the “most unique” costume to “best duo”.

Unlike the other categories, wherein contestants would line up on stage and the audience could cast their vote for best costume, the duo category required a story. In other words, the duos have to create a short narrative and perform it in front of the audience. The “best duo” were judged not only on the originality of their costumes, but how well they performed together.

Madeline was extremely nervous. She knew that she and Alfred would be competing together, but not like this!

“Alfred, what do we do? We don’t have a story!”

“Maddie, it’s okay! I got a plan. All you have to do is act like your usual self.”

“But-”

“Trust me!”

Without his mask, Alfred’s puppy dog eyes, combined with his ears and tail, made Madeline capitulate.

“Okay. I trust you.”

Alfred smiled one of his enigmatic smiles and disappeared somewhere alone. Madeline wrung her hands together as other duos performed. She and Alfred were the last to go, and soon it would be their turn.

The announcement that it was now time for them to perform startled Madeline out of her trance. She was surprised to see the appearance of the stage. Projection technology had transformed it from a normal outdoor stage to a tranquil forest...and did she hear the sound of chirping birds? Buzzing insects, croaking frogs, and bubbling brooks?

Puzzled, but mustering up her courage, Madeline stepped out onto the stage. Reminding herself of the fairytales she grew up on, she pretended that she was Red Riding Hood herself. Madeline twirled her skirt and hummed. She pretended to walk and pick up flowers to place in her basket. She sat down and closed her eyes, as if resting underneath a tree.

With her eyes shut and the ambient noises of nature, Madeline could believe she was actually in a forest. There was no crowd watching her, just her and the trees.

Moments passed before she felt like something was...poking her face? Could it be Alfred? She jerked her eyes open and stared at what was disturbing her rest.

It was Alfred, but he was on all fours as he scrambled away from her. He put as much distance as he could between the two of them.

Madeline reached her hands out to stop him from escaping altogether.

“Wait! I didn’t mean to scare you! I’m sorry!”

Alfred paused. He was growling softly and looked like he would run away again. Madeline approached him slowly, until she was close enough to touch him. She rested her hand on his head, and Alfred stopped growling.

Madeline lowered herself to give Alfred a hug. She felt the moment when Alfred hugged her back. She removed her arms to look at Alfred. He was no longer on all fours, but kneeling like her.

“Do you have a name?”

Alfred shook his head.

“Well, my name is Madeline. Do you mind if I call you Wolf?”

He nodded.

“Wolf, do you want to be friends?”

Alfred nods again.

“Alright Wolf. Since we’re friends, let’s not be afraid of each other, okay? Here, let me hug you again.”

So Madeline did. This time, Alfred accepted her hug readily.

“Friends care about each other. They show that they care about each other by doing things like that.”

As she was preparing to stand up, Alfred grabbed the hem of her skirt. Madeline watched as he dug his hands into one of his pants pockets to search for something. From Alfred’s pocket emerged a single yellow dandelion.

He offered the dandelion to her unsurely. She stared at it before clasping her hands around his to take it. Madeline placed it behind her right ear.

“Thank you Wolf. Now come on! Let’s explore the forest together.”

She held his hand as they left the stage.

They won the contest.

Madeline was happy they did, but after their performance, she had not stopped rambling and questioning Alfred. Did he plan all of this? How’d he know she’d react that way? Alfred would laugh and tell her that he “knew she could do it!”. She’d be mad at him for putting her on the spot like that, but they did get a free pair of tickets for admission to Six Flags...

When all was said and done, it had been a memorable night for Madeline. People had even asked for autographs from her! Madeline was thankful Alfred had made this the best Halloween she’d ever had.

[weepylucifer]

small excerpt of something i’m writing!!

The vines were thickest towards the back of the cave, a verdant green affair that didn’t look quite… real, almost stylized, like vines in a videogame rather than real life plants. They were almost as thick as a man’s forearm, and the shape of the last person trapped here was suggested rather than seen. I had trouble hacking them off without potentially injuring the sleeper, so Nightingale said, “Allow me,” and disintegrated them using some at-least-fifth-order spell. I had half an eye on the other sleepers who were slowly coming to, so I left him to it until he called my name.

“Peter,” he said, and there was a sudden tension to his voice that worried me, “I’m afraid we have another problem.”

He had unearthed the whole man - I have to assume - by now, and was looking at him with a hard-to-read expression. There was almost some disdain in it, certainly a load of dismay.

“Sir?” I asked.

“This is another sort of glamour here, some seducere variant,” he explained, “or another fae. It cannot possibly be what it looks like.”

This surprised me, seeing as I wasn’t feeling anything at all weird - no vestigia, nothing. By the looks of it, this was another ordinary bloke sleeping here, another result of a dodgy deal with the fae. But I decided to defer to Nightingale’s expertise. “How so?” I asked.

“For the sake of convenience,” Nightingale said, “Could you please describe to me what you are seeing here?” He gestured at the sleeping man and there was some undercurrent of something in his voice, something badly repressed there, and my concern and confusion mounted. Still, I obliged.

“I’m seeing a white male, early or mid-fourties by the looks of him,” I started my description. “Dark hair, sort of unkempt, sort of a gaunt look to him. He has a mole or birthmark on his neck, here.” I tapped my own thoat in the corresponding place. “He is wearing what appears to be hiking gear, pretty old, that is to say old-fashioned but well-maintained. He must’ve been laid up here for quite some time. Boots, like army boots, like the pair you have. Grey canvas jacket, or maybe it’s khaki.” Hard to tell in this light.

If anything, my description seemed to surprise Nightingale even more. “Yes, that is… that seems to correspond with what I’m seeing.” He shook his head. “I was expecting for you to be seeing… something else.”

“Like what?” I don’t get impatient with my governor often, but I have to admit I was starting to hate how tongue-tied he was being.

“Probably a woman,” he said cryptically. “Anyway, this cannot be what it appears to be, seeing as I know this person, and he’s been dead for quite awhile.”

Ah. Well, shit. And here I’d been so glad already that this situation had gone over without any fighting. I wanted to ask Nightingale who it was, but he beat me to it before I could so much as open my mouth.

“Right,” he said. “Let’s get it over with. Stand back, I’ll try to wake him.”

Before I could think to argue, or even make up my mind about what alternative action to argue for, Nightingale gripped his staff tightly, got down on one knee and used his free hand to shake the sleeper by the shoulder.

The man was slower to rouse than any of the others we’d found; he murmured something, a hand coming up to swat in the vague direction of Nightingale’s, but after a minute, his heavy eyelids fluttered open.

Voice thick with sleep, the stranger slurred, “Thomas?”

Nightingale straightened, took two steps back and huffed out through his nose. “Don’t even attempt it.”

The stranger blinked, evidently confused, and then, with surprising speed, he lunged to his feet. I admit I flinched.

The stranger’s legs were trembling, he was shaky with the effort of keeping himself upright after laying prone here for god knows how long. Hair fell into his eyes as he leveled a wild-eyed gaze at my governor.

“Get away!” he shouted, his voice hoarse. “You’re that fae again. You’re a shape-changer, aren’t you? How dare you appear to me like this?”

Nightingale raised an eyebrow. “I should be asking you these questions.”

“You’re not Thomas. Thomas fell at Ettersberg.”

“What?” Nightingale crossed his arms; it was almost funny how indignant he sounded. “No, it’s you who died.”

Jesus Christ, I thought, Ettersberg again. It’s always fucking Ettersberg, isn’t it? Unbelievable, really, how much my life was being affected by a place I’d never been to and had no desire to visit.

“Nonsense,” the stranger ground out harshly. “We… we had no word, there was, there was no way anyone on the ground got out.”

Nightingale was drumming his fingers against the tip of his cane, as much proof of his pique as I’d ever seen him exhibit. “And yet here I am.”

“That’s… no. You’re not Thomas.”

“It is you who isn’t what you profess to be.” I was seeing just how tired Nightingale was growing of this back and forth. Whoever, whatever this was pretending to be one of his old war buddies, it had him careening towards the end of his tether.

“I am exactly what I profess to be,” the stranger claimed. He took a deep breath. “In 1930, in November, I was visiting you while you were staying at the consulate in Lahore. We sat in the gardens, under the stars, and you said to me that you wouldn’t mind if–”

Nightingale cut him off with a sharp wave of his hand. “You could easily pluck that from my memories.”

I had been watching the exchange, I must admit, with my mouth slightly agape. Now I saw an opportune moment to cut in. “Sir,” I said. “He claims to be someone from the old Folly, right?”

“That’s right,” Nightingale replied at the same time as the stranger asked, “Who’s that?” like he was just now noticing me for the first time.

“My apprentice,” Nightingale introduced me. “Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of him.”

I found that a little bit of an odd thing to say, but I was also flattered at the show of trust.

“An apprentice?” The stranger snorted. “Yeah, bullshit. My Thomas doesn’t have an apprentice, and no desire to take one either.”

I ignored him for the time being. “Sir, as for proving his identity, one way or the other,” I suggested, “could you recognize his signare? Is it possible to fake that?”

Nightingale looked at me in the way he does when I hit on something he hasn’t considered before. “Not that I know of.” He beckoned towards the stranger and demanded, in one of his rare militaristic tones, “Right. Werelight, please.”

“You too,” the stranger said through clenched teeth.

“While we’re at it,” Nightingale said with a nod and they both held their palms out, and conjured a werelight each.

Now, I’d like to say I’m familiar enough with Nightingale’s signare from all this time spent around him watching him work his magic. The stranger’s was entirely new: like a gust of fresh air through a recently opened window (I thought I could even feel a hint of the curtains blowing in the sudden breeze, white and starched), a hand skimming over cool tiles, the sound of something bubbling in a beaker, and a hint of pine that weirdly seemed to correspond with a component of Nightingale’s own signare, like two pieces of something coming together.

The stranger gaped. “It’s really you. You’re really here, you… you’ve found me.”

I glanced from him to Nightingale, who seemed to have frozen solid. His staff clattered loudly as it hit the ground. And I swear, I have never ever seen this purely indescribable look on my governor’s face.

“David.”

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Worm asks

Have you tried to give D&D alignments to The Travelers yet, and if not how would you classify them?

Hmm.

Trickster: True neutral

Sundancer: Neutral good

Ballistic: Chaotic neutral

Genesis: ???

Noelle: Lawful? good

Oliver: Chaotic nerd

Gurer’f abguvat vaqvfchgnoyl njshy tbvat guebhtu, ohg V’q qrsvavgryl yvxr gb frr yrff uvagvat znxr vg guebhtu gur fperravat gb Xevk

Sharks: Fher guvat. V’ir orra ehaavat bss gur vqrn gung vs vg’f va gur sbezng bs na ubarfg dhrfgvba, va beqre gb nibvq nabgure Fpragyrff Zna vapvqrag, ohg V pna svarghar vg vs crbcyr jnag?

As usual, translate here.

While you’re checking out all the Simurgh fanart, you should listen to this theme someone made for her: (google Simurgh Husr, first result. Hopefully sharks can just replace this with the actual link) Same person who made that Leviathan theme linked way back.

https://soundcloud.com/user-371879520/simurgh

This was really nice. I like how it does sound like a good melody while at the same time exhibiting some of the pattern-defying nature of the tune. 🙂

I think you miiiight have jumped to conclusions from an ask that simply asked you if you could list the Traveler’s cape and civilian names. Miiight have. Also, I’m pretty sure most of them where refered to by their civilian names in previous arcs.

It’s certainly possible.

It’s not so much that I jumped to the conclusion as that the ask opened my eyes to the possibility of it, which I hadn’t considered before. From there, I had to reevaluate things and consider how things would change if it turned out I had gotten the two mixed up. Ultimately I think I’d prefer for Cody to be Ballistic, but I’m still not sure either way (even with this ask heavily implying it’s Luke).

As for names, most of their names did show up (all the more reason for an ask about matching names to capes being kind of odd if it wasn’t trying to set me thinking of something), but I can’t recall Ballistic’s being one of them. But you know how my memory can be.

That smurf song you posted definitely says “dab dab dab” several times, despite the video being uploaded to YouTube in 2009, and the song supposedly being from 1978. So that’s suspicious as hell.

I… think that has to be the bits where it actually says “tramp, tramp, tramp på en smurf” (“stomp, stomp, stomp on a smurf”).

Either way, now we’re all forced to consider the concept of the Smurfs dabbing, so thanks for that. 😛

“Dragonberry” was Scarfgirl’s old character on City of Heroes, a MMORPG with a superhero theme that no longer exists. I know you’re not reading the chapter comments, but if you ever go back to read the early ones, you’ll see that quite a lot of the early readers were City of Heroes players who had an interest in superhero fiction. That’s why Scarfgirl’s art is signed “Dragonberry”, because it’s how people knew her back then.

Ah, interesting. Fun to hear a little about the fandom’s early history. 🙂

I’ve had many names, myself. Once upon a time I used to make a different name, if not more, for just about every site I was on. One of the names that stuck with me the most was Elementarion, which I used in the game Godville and a few other places (not every Elementarion that comes up on Google now is me, though), because I found long-time friends while using that name.

Though for some reason I wonder why 😛, nobody seemed to want to type it out every time they wanted to mention me. I’ve been called almost every short form of Elementarion there is. El was the most common (made watching Stranger Things kinda odd the first time around, even though I’d long abandoned the name), but I’ve been called Ele, Elem, Eleme, Elemen, Element…

A couple other highlights I remember were Hiatus (in a browser game I don’t remember the name of), OldHeavens (NewGrounds) and Barbute (ArmorGames).

It wasn’t until I came up with Krix Jace, later Krixwell Jace, that I started stabilizing my name.

1. Do you think people ever submit misleading questions just to fuck with you?

Some, probably. And that might be a good thing — if there are some asks that deliberately imply things that are wrong, it makes it harder to trust accidental implications of things that are right.

2. Have you ever noticed that Danny and Eidolon have never been in a scene together?

Hmmmmmm 🤔

Still no Travelers interlude… do you still think you’ll get one, or has this dashed your hopes?

Ahaha

Yeah, no, I’m counting this as everything I asked for and more. 😛

Sharks:

http://www.nospoiler.com/y/WenCYI_Bn7I

Sent in by “ewerwqer”. “Simurgh Scream” by person257 Don’t… Open it with headphones on. Trust me. Don’t.

I’m scared.

*disconnects his headphones*

…not as bad as the description sounded, but yeah, probably a good idea to not use headphones. It’s a well put-together bit of mind noise, nice work. 🙂

Worm fanart

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By Winkle92

Oooh, there are more of these? Awesome! They’re all going in my backgrounds folder.

I love how Behemoth just kinda peeks around the corner of the image border. It’s okay, don’t be shy!

(Also I just discovered I can do slideshows. Neat.)

K6BD ask

My favorite part is the Master of Aesthetic saying “she is an idiot, and a loathsome schemer!” and YISUN is all “YEP, YOU GOT THAT ONE RIGHT 😀 😀 :D”. With Aesma standing right there.

YISUN is the type of person who has “precious trash babies” in every fandom they’re in. 😛

I feel like you all need to know, even if you don’t care about MLP:FiM, that the final episode of the show proved us all wrong.

The show’s resident Skitter is not Queen Chrysalis, the villainous, scheming ruler of a hive full of insect ponies.

Nor is it Twilight Sparkle, the mainest character and socially awkward brainiac who leads a team of five other main characters and always does her research if she can.

No, because of this one episode, it becomes clear:

It’s Rarity.

…

Okay, that’s just a joke, Twilight is still the best fit among the Mane Six, but Rarity using spiders for her fashion did immediately make me think of Taylor.

Twilight – Taylor

Applejack – Brian

Rainbow Dash – Rachel

Rarity – Lisa

Fluttershy – Alec??

Pinkie Pie – Aisha??

(Spike – Shatterbird??????)

K6BD patron comments

1. “What happened to Hansa” is addressed in the Prim story so that’s still out there if you want to know.

Ahh. That would explain why it was left unexplained in Aesma, aside from acting as a noodle incident if you haven’t read Prim.

2. As you observed, the word “demon” has appeared very rarely in the comic, outside of epic title drops & an instance where drunk Allison used it in place of “devil”. It’s used in some of the bonus texts but without a clear definition. Can you speculate further on what it might mean?

The priests seem to call Aesma a demon in the sense of a being of evil, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a definition that’s relevant to the comic’s title (and what appears to be Allison’s “name” in some sense, though the Demiurges do seem to have misinterpreted other parts of the prophecy and Zoss didn’t unambiguously use it as a name). It may be more about inner demons, Allison killing her fears, doubts and insecurities as she grows into the role of a king/queen of the cosmos. Six billion might be hyperbole, in that case, but still.

Alternatively, the prophecy and name might actually refer to Zaid, who could easily end up being the final villain of this thing even if he’s not actually Zoss’ intended successor. In that case, “six billion demons” might refer to humans, if Zaid gets really nasty with his own species. We know very little about Zaid’s base personality beyond “kinda sleazy boyfriend”, so a lot of developments are plausible on that front.

Though there are other parts of the prophecy, as well as illustrations, that do fairly clearly indicate Kill Six Billion Demons is Allison and will be flanked by White Chain and Ciocie, so it referring to Zaid is unlikely.

3. I think the author once said that there are still Aesma-worshippers active in Throne. What do you think they’re like and what would she think of them?

(Somehow the flesh sellars come to mind.)

Well, clearly they’d be Slytherins, if they understand her teachings. Aesma might treat them as ants, if she were still around, but bask in their adoration.

4. Kalpa — a Hindu / Buddhist concept meaning a really fucking long time. Besides in the story you just read, the term has also appeared in the comic at least once so far.

Good to know. I think I kind of just assumed it was Throne’s equivalent of a year, however long it might be.

5. Panopticon — a prison design envisioned by philospopher Jeremy Bentham, allowing all prisoners to be observed from a central point.

Makes sense. When I read it in Aesma’s story, the word’s construction was clear enough that I figured out what it was immediately, before I finished reading the sentence. It very clearly means a place from which to see everything.

6. Root — penis.

Yeah, I figured that one out. 😛

7. To offset the unfortunate scarcity of Cio in your life lately, here’s some of the old concept art:

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(The quantity of arms was somewhat uncertain.)

Oooh.

Her arms and legs look so spidery here. I suppose that might be why she was introduced with the Coat of Arms.

Can Skitter control her?

8. Not related to K6BD but Abaddon has also been working on a tabletop mecha RPG and here’s the very nice cover art:

Ooh, you’re right, this looks very nice. It kind of gives me a K6BD x Steven Universe x Star Wars vibe. And a little bit of RWBY with that one guy that reminds me of Tyrian. I can definitely see the resemblance between this an K6BD in terms of character design style, despite the genre shift.

I particularly like the blonde in the lower left.

In the interest of transparency, I should also mention that the patron has said he probably won’t sponsor full liveblogs of any of the other bonus texts, but has sent me a few recommendations and links to some of the ones I’ve passed (besides Prim). I might read some of those on my own time, though, especially the second Aesma story. If I do, I will of course let you know and discuss any particularly notable observations.

Between: PB7

[cinema-tv-etc]

Elizabeth Taylor and the Myth of Blue Eye Shadow

By Rae Nudson As the actress sped around Rome wearing her makeup from the film Cleopatra, women everywhere embraced a bold look with a complicated history.

In Rome in 1962, one of the biggest movie stars in the world got ready for work. On a regular day, if there ever was one for Elizabeth Taylor, that meant she would do her own makeup. At $1 million, Taylor was earning the highest salary for a female actor ever at that time, and the film she was making, Cleopatra, was one of the most expensive in Hollywood’s short history, with a budget of $44 million. The original makeup artist for the film, Alberto De Rossi, became ill early on in the long, long filming process. So, as she often did in her pictures, Elizabeth did her makeup herself.

In the film, she appears on screen in a bright blue dress with a leopard print coat; she wears an emerald green floor length gown; she wears nothing but a sheet. No matter the costume, her eyes—those big, beautiful, moneymaking blue eyes—were framed in thick cat eye liner with blue shadow from her lashes to her eyebrows. Elizabeth had seen what De Rossi did and was able to copy it, likely drawing on her years of experience protecting and creating her image, and knew just what shade of blue made the whites of eyes look whiter and irises bluer.

She often kept that blue eye shadow on after she left set for the day, sometimes on dates with Richard Burton, who played Mark Antony, during the period when their love affair became front page news around the world. These pictures helped spark a makeup trend. “Elizabeth Taylor made the public want to buy what she already had to give,” said William Mann, author of How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood. Her eyes are one reason she was famous. Her relationships with men were another. But what really made Elizabeth a star was Elizabeth—her authentic-seeming honesty, the control she had over her life outside of the Hollywood studio system, and her wild, irrepressible charm.

No one else could be Elizabeth Taylor on yachts with her men and her jewels, but you could at least wear the same makeup.

*

Highly visible cosmetics, like Taylor’s blue eye shadow, have a fractured history both in England, where she was born, and in the United States, where she started working as an actress after her family moved to Los Angeles in 1939. During periods including the Victorian era, women in the U.S. and England were condemned for wearing obviously painted faces, wrote historian Madeleine Marsh in her book Compacts and Cosmetics. According to Marsh, the rise of Christianity brought with it an attitude that using cosmetics was a sinful luxury that falsified the work of god. Obvious makeup went in and out of fashion: white face paint and exaggerated rouge indicated aristocracy for both men and women around the late 1500s and 1700s, and then fell out of favor once again. Marsh wrote that women could get away with wearing makeup so long as it wasn’t obvious—only if women needed it to fit strict conventions of beauty, which tended to be centered on white women. A rise in the manufacturing and availability of cosmetics in the 1910s and 1920s in the U.S. and images of actresses like Theda Bara—who spawned the “vamp” look of dark eye and lip makeup—prompted more obvious makeup trends like bold lips. But women who participated in more visible makeup, like flappers, were often not viewed as respectable.

Blue eye shadow does anything but look natural. There’s no way to hide that you’re wearing makeup if your eye shadow is electric blue, just as there’s nowhere to hide in the world when you step out with it on. Elizabeth particularly embodies this—she couldn’t hide from her fame and was known for embracing glamour.

In one of Elizabeth’s less popular films, The Driver’s Seat, she puts on blue eye shadow with a tiny makeup brush, thinner and shorter than her finger. You can’t see where she dips the brush, so the color appears as if it’s springing from her pores. Looking off screen, Elizabeth’s hand is steady as she quickly puts color on her eyes, giving the impression she has done this many times before. To watch her feels voyeuristic, the viewer becoming a part of a long tradition of sneaking around to learn the secrets of womanly trade.

A short clip of this scene showed up on YouTube in 2011, and celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic posted it on Instagram in 2016, sparking a small flurry of discussion on the Internet about how Elizabeth Taylor did her makeup, showing the lingering fervor for her glamour even five years after she died.

This scene is literally depicting the work of putting on makeup, but Taylor still makes it look effortless. The makeup brush acts as an extension of her hand; a coy peek over her sunglasses when she finishes seems natural.

Putting makeup on in public had generally been taboo for women since ancient Rome, until after World War II in the U.S., when using a powder compact became a status symbol. So women mostly shared and discussed cosmetics with female family members or other women in the know to pass down beauty secrets. Part of keeping makeup application hidden from the outside world was to hide the effort it took to exist as a woman in public, Autumn Whitefield-Madrano wrote in her book Face Value. But Elizabeth’s beauty embodied the ease women are supposed to display even while doing the work it takes to become a made-up woman.

*

In a world where women are often flattened to the images and roles they represent, a woman in control of her makeup—or lack thereof—is more in control of her life. But blue eye shadow has become pop culture shorthand for a woman who has too much power and too little control over it. Blue eye shadow is sometimes used to indicate a crazy woman, a witch, or a bitch (and Elizabeth has been viewed as all of those, and more).

Elaine (Samantha Robinson) in Anna Biller’s 2016 film The Love Witch uses sex and love spells to make men fall in love with her and then kill them when she tires of them. Elaine exhibits extreme narcissism, craving affection and attention from men and punishing them when they don’t live up to her unrealistic ideals. She tries to embody men’s fantasies, and part of that is in the way she looks: long black hair, lacy lingerie, and bright blue eye shadow. Her femininity is exaggerated as she becomes the perfect archetype of a seductress. Her spells are so strong, and she is so captivating, that men feel overcome by their love for her. But when they don’t live up to her own fantasies, it ends in death.

This deadly explosion of feminine power is also depicted in Cleopatra. As the young queen of Egypt, Cleopatra falls in love with Julius Caesar, the most powerful man in ancient Rome. Her love seems genuine, but it’s also advantageous to have his power on her side. After Caesar is assassinated, one of his generals, Mark Antony, declares his love for Cleopatra. Together, Antony and Cleopatra try to unite Rome and Egypt. They fail, and commit suicide. Throughout it all, Cleopatra emphasizes her sexuality and power through her clothing and makeup. Blue eye shadow again represents a woman who uses her particularly female power as a sexual being and a queen, and then loses control of where that power takes her.

*

The real Cleopatra is often believed to have worn blue eye shadow, a notion bolstered in part by Elizabeth’s portrayal of her in the film. Madelaine Marsh wrote that Cleopatra wore a blue-black on her upper lids, and green at the bottom. Historian Andrew Hardy wrote that it’s likely Cleopatra’s eye makeup wasn’t blue at all. Eye makeup in ancient Egypt was most commonly green or grey because of the minerals malachite and galena that were used to make it, according to Classic Beauty: The History of Makeup by Gabriela Hernandez.

Autumn Whitefield-Madrano quotes in Face Value a woman who describes bright makeup as associated with childhood; Marsh shares a similar sentiment: “For little girls, experimenting with lipstick and eye shadow is part of the initiation ceremony into a grown-up world … and whatever your age, playing with makeup is fun.” William Mann speculated that Elizabeth wore her makeup from the set of Cleopatra out after work because she liked it, and there may be nothing more to it than that. But it also allowed Elizabeth to emphasize her childlike playfulness, even though she was a mature woman. “To understand Elizabeth—she was like a little girl. She still had the innocence and the spirit of adventure that a little girl would have,” Mann said.

By the time she made Cleopatra, Elizabeth had been married four times, become a widow once, had three children, and adopted a fourth while she was filming. She had survived an abusive marriage and had been working, and helping to support her family, since she was nine. But people still viewed her as childish and innocent.

Elizabeth was not meek; she worked to control her life and stuck up for herself from the time she was fifteen, when she walked out of Louis B. Mayer’s office during one of his tirades and refused to apologize to him. She had a million-dollar salary for Cleopatra because she worked with her agent to get it on her own, outside of the structure of a film studio. Using blue eye shadow allowed her to be seen as fierce and innocent at once.

In her obituary in the New York Times, Cleopatra director Joseph Mankiewicz described seeing Elizabeth for the first time when she was eighteen years old: “She was the most incredible vision of loveliness I have ever seen in my life,” he said. “And she was sheer innocence.” Fierceness allowed her to make money on her terms; sexuality behind the veneer of innocence is often what she was selling.

To embrace makeup is to embrace certain contradictions: using cosmetics to look natural or being seen as a decorative object while taking control of that decoration. Often being a woman in public is to live in those in-between spaces, and becoming comfortable with makeup, for those who choose to wear it, is in part to grapple with those conflicts. Simultaneously seductive and subversive, blue eye shadow is particularly emblematic of this push and pull. Elizabeth turned to blue eye shadow throughout her life, harnessing its power to focus on her most valuable physical attributes: her eyes, but also her womanhood. By using it to make up her face, she created the life she wanted—as an actor, a star, and a woman.

https://hazlitt.net/feature/elizabeth-taylor-and-myth-blue-eye-shadow

[vagabondanon]

For posterity; Grand Summoners X KLK Collaboration Limited Time Side Story

Spoilers ahead for Kill La Kill itself, the Side story in GS, and shockingly Kill La Kill: If. An overview of a story only available for a limited time.

It may be surprising to many, if not practically all fans of the show, that Kill la Kill: if was not the first video game story to star a certain pair of scissor crossed sisters (that I might care too much about and will continue to obsess over any and all content for, which led me to downloading a gacha game and grinding for days to level them and their equipment for no other reason than it was them.), and a handful of their closest compatriots/equipment options. Kill La Kill was featured in a (relatively) short crossover story in Good Smile’s mobile game “Grand Summoners”. In it you could (eventually when the event was rerun and all content was put out on the NA version) spend Gems/”alchemy stones” to “summon” Ryuko, Satsuki, and Mako as units. Senketsu, Junketsu, Guts, Mako’s two star fight club uniform, Mako’s brass knuckle, Ryuko’s scissor blade, Bakuzan, Mako’s fight club baseball bat, and the completed Rending Scissors (titled “The Snippity Snips” for some as yet unknown, but probably awful, reasons) as support “Equips” that can be carried by any unit with compatible sized/typed slots. Sukuyo Mankanshoku’s croquettes also featured as a consumable item that dropped as mission loot for minor stat buffs if consumed by your four unit squad before any mission. (Equipment refresh 2% faster, base skill refresh 2% faster).

While the stats themselves are interesting as they provide direct numerical valuation of everything listed above in terms of what they can do Offensively, Defensively, etc the story itself is the focus of this post. Because it turns out that out of everybody that knew about it nobody else cared enough to preserve it in whole. (And as I have learned from experience, if you like something save it. Before you wake up one morning and find 1/3 of it has been deleted off the face of the earth) And it could only be accessed for a limited time before it was removed, and again basically nobody seems to either know or care that it actually had more than just pixelated cameos at all. (KLK game marketing tho, for real. Twice now.)

So I present a record for the Library, Grand summoners X KLK, a “too long, I can’t read it anymore anyway, so tell me what happened”; I got you.

(”Stickers” were given for log in streaks that you can post as the only form of communication in multiplayer modes/lobbys.)

The story opens with two of the GS main characters, Rayas and his possible love interest(?, that is at times vague) Mira, out hunting a monster that purportedly had a vitality so high it was unkillable. Upon finally finding the thing the monster hunters as a group had corralled into a forest they are interrupted by a flash of white light. That drops Ryuko, Satsuki, and Mako in full combat readiness between them and the monster.

(Lower right stickers are Rayas and Mira. Our characters on this wild ride.) 

Confusion ensues all around.

The monster runs off to escape, but not before Senketsu (and Satsuki somehow) could "feel” the monster was empowered by Life Fibers. Ryuko blames Satsuki and becomes suspicious of her involvement because of their presence there. (Ryuko constantly tries to pick up the fight they, per Mako, had been having before they got dragged in. What fight? No idea. Fight club Mako is there, but the post fight club Ryuko and Satsuki are not. Except Ryuko can be upgraded to full Kisaragi. How? No idea.) Satsuki refutes being responsible. She also talks down to everyone. (For reasons somewhat unknown.) In KLK fashion the conversations that follow dip into the absurd. Satsuki's text font is so large at times her lines broke the speech box (though this seems to have been fixed in the cutscenes that can be downloaded today as record provided for beating it while the event was on), before going off in search of answers/on the hunt. Ryuko insults the kinda gary-stu mc by calling him “a geezer” (He claims to only be 25 in shocked response), demands he not gawk at her by minding his own business, and ran off after Satsuki. Mako follows Ryuko to keep from being left behind.

Leaving the GS MCs to give confused ellipses laden speech not sure what just happened, and this continues throughout the story.

(Interesting line from them though, the girls officially have 0 magic in full Kamui. So life fibers confirmed as entirely nature/science/organic based/origin? If this story has any weight.)

Also apparently Satsuki is so in tune with/knowledgeable of Fibers she can sense them. Or maybe Junketsu could. It isn’t specified how Satsuki is picking up what Senketsu is without being able to hear him. The “Life Fiber resonance” as it is called guides them either way. The chase leads deep into a forest/jungle full of dense vegetation (which in the missions slows them down leading to loads of fights against mobs of fiber altered orcs, monsters, and human bandits that get stronger the further they go. All controlled by life fibers.)

Ryuko doesn't know what the word vegetation means.

Mako took a nap as they waited for the GS MCs to catch up so they could get some answers as to where they were, and what they could be facing, after Satsuki points out they are not on Earth.

Between remarks during the missions themselves and in the cutscenes the cast attempts to figure what the Fibers are doing when they link up again. They figure life fibers can't break space or time (when weak, or not an OLF, as we learn in KLK: if) so no teleporting or time travel without magic at that time. So chase is deemed possible, but “so long as a single cell of a randomly infused organism exists the whole can regenerate” leading to more grueling fights the deeper they go toward the “source”. Over the same missions Ryuko butts heads with Mira, pointing to a dislike of tsunderes, as she hates when people are not upfront with her. Cast notes that they have similar voices as they argue eventually, but over time they find common ground to drop hostilities after the discussion.

When they reach the big monster again the GS MCs offer to fight it first, they are obliged. Ryuko actually wants to fight Kaiju though to the point she is actively looking forward to fighting giant monsters. Mako from the beginning thinks “Monster Land” is a theme park as she roots everyone on (she is a support character with buffs/healing equipment). Satsuki wishes to see how “magic” works, and if its effective. During the missions leading up to and including the boss fight Ryuko is confronted on if she would do “what it takes” as things ramp up in seriousness, to which she confirms that she has no issues killing targets to win if necessary. As you go through missions which involve mowing humanoids down by the dozen.

(Did not expect that, but given her life it's reasonable to expect that no Kiryuins have truly clean hands. I don’t suspect she has actually killed anyone before. Though that might not be for lack of trying, or simply lack of caring for opponents after any particularly nasty beat downs that may or may not have been shown to us when she reached high school in flashback.)

The first main boss (of two) is a giant quadrupedal demon like monster (”Betelgeuse” model in game colored differently) with spines on its body, altered seemingly loosely based on Senketsu. They share Yellow Orange “eyes”, some shapes, majority body coloration, and it possesses red clawed feet/hands/spines. Guarded by three dire wolves. (battle oddly enough took place in a desert canyon map, not forest as the cutscenes show they should have been in. Probably just a copy paste of the boss's regular arena.)

Once it is weakened/dropped Ryuko uses Sen'i Sōshitsu, but Senketsu fails to absorb the life fibers in it. The cast notes they see strings beyond the edge of the screen (which we can’t) and corpse though, which (likely) led from it to the true final boss that appears from there shortly afterword.

The final boss was a giant green bipedal monster with a vertical mouth that splits its face, which is based on a bright red boss in the main story (Beta-3), which was artificially created by one of the in game story factions through magi-tech. So one of those surviving living war machines likely got picked by Life fibers as a host in this new world they found themselves. It was powered by “Magically enhanced Life fibers” of some sort. (The battle itself was particularly difficult because the character's “top” ability, “Arts”, are powered by a substance called “Battle Ether” that is generated while in combat by using base moves. In this battle there was a substantial decrees in Battle ether production, likely trying to mimic the monster absorbing all free energy around it. Both Bio, or magically.)

This was also another boss fight that took place in an arena that shouldn't be there as it was inside a lab like structure full of green circuit looking lines over all the surfaces. Again likely because that was the “original” boss's arena. Once it is defeated it drops to the forest floor and reverts into a pile of fibers like the OLF in the show when its core got cut, just red instead of orange.

Mira and Ryuko have a moment ribbing “Ms. President”. Rayas just wants to know what is going on. (He won’t really understand it all.)

Satsuki can somehow read/anticipate people's wills, and life fibers exhibit a will through “vibrations in their strings” (Banshi vibrate? Wut.). She reads the vibrations by stabbing her sword down into the mass and holding the hilt.

Satsuki proclaims the life fibers were made to “fix seams” and somehow activates the monster's magic-infused life-fiber corpse to repair a hole in space and time itself. The monster was figured to be what likely dragged them all there in the first place through that hole to provide fibers from their Kamui it wanted. The hole in reality is propped open until they all passed through back to their own world where it is fixed permanently. After which the GS characters proclaim them immensely brave for literally running into a hole in reality without any hesitation.

Thus ended the Side Story.

Not sure who who wrote the script so its hard to tell how much of their given words are “true to cannon”. But it was credited as involving Nakashima who was directly on hand to make the first long explanation promo video on the JP YT channel. Who honestly knows at this point. But time wise it must have been made during production of KLK: if, which leads back to some very interesting consistent points.

Per KLK if: Life Fibers can in fact fuck with space, time, and reality itself. Though this is a power Satsuki was unaware of, (consistent with GS side story) even if she was the catalyst for initiating it in IF’s case through Junketsu's link to the OLF. Junketsu being Ragyo’s original “final” Kamui this was likely a function Ragyo prepared for her life after Earth. It would explain why she was so willing to give up the planet and everyone on it instead of seeking to rule it at least, she could literally just create her own reality and be its true god. Per how KLK: if ends by dumping “existences/minds” back to true reality at different times through the flashes of white light, with only the faintest of memories in the strongest of minds involved, they also very likely explained how this GS story can both feature fight club Mako and not change official “canon”. Or at least I thought it couldn't, before If once again set down that Life Fibers are the most powerful force in existence basically making up the “fabric of reality” itself on a whim.

Is the GS story retroactively canon if IF is canon?

Did Nakashima use the GS story as a test bed for KLK:IF ideas he had in the works?

Will we see more reality hopping for even more spin off stories?

Can these two finally have a happy reality as a couple?

:Shrug:

If you want to see all almost 30 minutes of prerendered cutscenes that remains for yourself in all their limited animation, and honestly somewhat questionably translated/proofread, glory I recorded them and threw that here: https://youtu.be/s3FneXNL8eQ

(Apologies for any sounds on top of the game’s already exceptionally loud music. I have never recorded from android before, I have no idea how to mute mics in the Google games app thing, and it picked up some air con being funky near the middle for a sec.)

[katherinelhughes]

Ireland Impressions

I just returned yesterday from a five-day trip to Ireland with my daughter, Isabelle.  She is applying to grad schools, and this last summer I let her know that I had AAdvantage miles that needed to be used.  I thought she might use them to travel to interviews, but it turns out that in the world of Biology, the schools pay for prospective students to come interview.  I realized yet again that I chose a difficult field--as a free-lance professional violinist, I’ve gotten used to paying to play, so to speak...  Anyway, she suggested that we take a trip to Ireland.  She works in a lab with someone who had gone there on his honeymoon, and he had very enthusiastically recommended that she go.

Without going into a lot of detail, Isabelle had a run-in with a virulent virus (I know that’s redundant) in September.  The virus caused some frightening seizures which resulted in two hospitalizations.  We weren’t sure that we would be able to go on our trip, scheduled for the end of November.  So when Isabelle got the okay from her doctors, it was excellent news, in many ways.

We had held off making hotel reservations, but fortunately the end of November is off-season in Ireland.  Ordinarily I would have done a lot of research to decide where to visit and where to stay, but the last-minute nature of our planning made that impossible.  Maybe the more spontaneous approach to this adventure made it more satisfying.  Also, thanks to crowd-sourced reviews of everything on the internet, gone are the days of toting guidebooks around.  Our last big trip was to Munich and environs--eight years ago--and we definitely did that the old-fashioned way. 

Okay, I’ll get on with it.  We actually had five full days in Ireland, bookended by two days of travel.  The airline travel was unremarkable, which might be remarkable, now that I think of it.  Our plan was to spend one night in Dublin, two nights in Galway, one night in Cork, and the last night back in Dublin.

Day One: Dublin

Our hotel was just south of the River Liffey in the City Centre.  We took a cab there from the airport and dropped off our suitcases so we could immediately start exploring.  On our way to see the library at Trinity College, we ran across a cool exhibit of art books at a gallery.  A good start.  At the library we learned that only a facsimile of the Book of Kells (the famous medieval manuscript) would be on display that week.  Not a big deal, especially since the library itself was awe-inspiring.  I overheard someone saying something about Harry Potter, and we learned that they had shot a library scene there.  It was also featured in one of the later Star Wars movies.  Did that make it more meaningful to me?  I’m almost ashamed to admit that it may have...  We also visited the Guinness Storehouse in the early evening.  It’s described as a “brewery experience”.  A bit too theme-parkish for my taste, but I definitely know more about the process of brewing beer in huge quantities!  The top floor bar where we had our complimentary pint has a 360 degree view of the city.  We had two great meals that day, both at pubs.  I have a much different impression of what pub food is now--many vegetarian and even vegan options.

Day Two: Dublin to Galway

A few days before our trip, I literally awoke in a cold sweat about driving on the left side of the road.  My colleague Catherine had given this advice, to be used as a mantra: drive on the left and look to the right.  We were picking up the rental car, and I would be the only driver--Isabelle isn’t able to drive for six months from the time of the last seizure.  The weather was pretty intense--driving rain and wind.  I thought it was charming that so many people apologized for the weather.  We had escaped just before a big snow in Chicago, so I kept assuring folks that we had seen worse!  The driving challenge turned out to be my position on the right side of the car.  It took me an entire day of Isabelle saying “Mom, you’re over the line!” to get used to centering the car in my lane.  Driving on the left side wasn’t as weird as I had thought it would be.  And I think the roundabouts are brilliant.  They keep traffic flowing, and cause fewer accidents than traffic lights.

We had breakfast/early lunch at Tyrrellspass Castle, and continued on to another castle at Tullamore--Charleville.  Evidently, they have an annual music festival there called Castlepalooza.  They were shooting a rock video when we arrived, and we weren’t able to go in, but the drive up to it was downright magical.  That was a word that kept popping into my head over and over.  The rain and temperate climate cause the vegetation to be green, even in late November.  That, along with the mist and ancient trees, conjured up images of fairy tale enchanted forests.

We decided that we would go directly to the Cliffs of Moher since it looked like it would be rainy the following day.  The drive up there was pretty harrowing.  We were on rural roads that narrowed without much notice, and I was still trying to hone my new driving skills.  What a reward when we arrived though!  The cliffs at the edge of the Atlantic are ruggedly breathtaking.  Because it was off-season and relatively late in the day, there were very few tourists.  And there were sheep grazing right next to the trails--even a proverbial black sheep.  They are the “Shaun the Sheep” type with the black faces, and both Isabelle and I are big fans.  It’s too bad that today I started thinking about the fact that they are livestock and not pets...

When I started the car at the Cliffs, two warning lights came on.  We looked them up--Electronic Stabilization Control and Emission Control.  I figured we could make it to Galway, but we knew we would have to address the issue the next day.  Thankfully, we did get there with no trouble.  Our hotel was once again in the City Centre.  About a block away was a Christmas market with food stalls and some carnival rides.  Before we left home, I had wondered how commercial Christmas would be in Ireland.  We learned that decorations generally go up a day after Halloween, so I guess that the US isn’t the only place that extends the holiday to last over two months.  But to us, everything looked so quaint suspended over cobblestone streets.  There is also an upscale Irish department store, Brown Thomas, that does some wackily inventive holiday windows.  In Galway, one featured a male mannequin with an owl’s head.  We had another great dinner--excellent farm to table food and a vegan local beer.

Day Three: Galway

We finally had a chance to sleep in!  Then, unfortunately, we had to drop the car at an Enterprise-approved car repair facility for diagnosis.  It was very close to the City Centre, so we walked to the Fisheries Watchtower (museum) and the Galway Museum.  The wind was fierce--equal to anything I’ve experienced in Chicago, but that weather was over by 2 PM or so.  At the museum, we learned about the ancient and more recent history of the city, including the Irish uprising against the British.  I know through 23andMe that my DNA makeup is 41% British and Irish, the largest percentage in the mix.  23andMe doesn’t specify English, Scottish, Welsh, or Irish--I’m probably all of the above.  We're pretty sure that the Hughes name comes from Wales, and our background is pretty thoroughly Protestant.  I grew up with the impression that the Reformation was a positive thing, and that the Protestants held the moral high ground.  But in this phase of my political thinking, my belief is that religious differences have most often been used to justify` the lust for power and the control of natural resources and goods.  I also just finished an amazing book on the trip--”Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire” by Kurt Andersen.  The US was founded by some pretty crazy Protestants, and I can’t take much pride in the ways that they behaved.  Anyway, the visit to Ireland has led me to wonder what my ancestors’ political roles were in these struggles for independence.

We had savory pie for lunch--mine was kale and wild mushroom, locally sourced again, with spelt flour crust.  Isabelle and I agreed that it was our favorite meal of the trip.  We had to go back to the car repair place, and they informed us that we needed to get a replacement vehicle.  This gave us the opportunity to talk with the lovely young woman from the Enterprise facility in Galway, the longest conversation we had with any local on the trip.  The replacement car was newer and better, and they gave us a free day’s rental, so it was a win-win-win situation!  We briefly visited the gorgeous Galway Cathedral where a nice man let us in even though they had just officially closed.  We also heard some Irish traditional music, and ate at yet another farm to table restaurant.  Incidentally, the prices were really reasonable compared to Chicago prices for similar food.

Day Four: Galway to Cork

Isabelle figured that Limerick would be a great place to stop on our way to Cork.  We ended up spending much more time there than we had planned.  After a great mocha (my first time trying oat milk) and breakfast, we went exploring.  There was a mostly ruined castle, King John’s Castle, that had an excellent museum component that inspired more rumination on the conflicts between the different factions in the British Isles.  And very nearby was the 850 year old Cathedral of St. Mary.  Very impressive to us Americans when we’re inside a building with that kind of history...

We decided to visit Blarney Castle on our way to Cork, and it was much more captivating, and much less touristy than I had imagined.  As we approached the castle on foot, we passed signs that read “90 minutes to the Blarney Stone”, “60 minutes to the Blarney Stone” etc.  We were once again grateful that we were there in the off-season.  Our wait to kiss the Blarney Stone was...0 minutes!  Yes, we did it.  There are many stories about the Stone, but the most common is that it gives you the gift of gab, and not in a good way.  But I figure I can use the gift of gab--everyone always tells me that I’m too quiet and very private.  Wow--it may already be working, since I’m writing this long involved post about our vacation!  Surrounding the castle is a gorgeous park that is truly a botanical garden, including a poison garden.  That traditionally would have had medicinal plants that “will either kill you or cure you.”  There were huge redwoods, oversized rhubarb plants, a spectacular fern garden with waterfall--magical, you might say!

We went on to Cork, found our B & B, and went into the City Centre for another excellent meal.  We wandered around, figuring out what we wanted to do there the next morning.  There was a large courtyard with a light display called “Glow” that was set to open the next day.  Also a ferris wheel that seems to be a standard part of a Christmas market--who knew?  Our B & B was pretty cool, but the woman who ran it seemed disappointed that we hadn’t opted for the breakfast part of the equation.  We had our sights set on a coffee place we had seen on our reconnaissance mission...

Day Five: Cork to Dublin

We did go to the Bean and Leaf, and it was very near to the English Market that we planned to visit.  The English Market is a covered food market that houses a huge variety of fresh grocery items.  We wondered about the origins of the name, and found out that the English or Protestant Corporation that ran Cork untl the mid 1800′s founded it.  It catered to a wealthy clientele while the Irish Market catered to the working class folk.  Now, everyone goes there, and they have all of the super-trendy foods that you would find in an upscale grocery store in the states.  We bought a few things there, walked around a bit more, and got in the car to head to our last big adventure. 

Almost as ubiquitous as the sheep on the hillsides were the rainbows.  We saw a few every day that we were driving, including a couple of double rainbows.  The conditions were perfect--light rain, followed by the sun breaking through the clouds.  Now I understand the whole leprechaun and pot of gold at the end of the rainbow image.  They seem so...magical!

I think it was the vinyl record store we checked out in Cork that got us onto the subject of rock operas.  On our next car ride we listened to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”.  It was one of the few times we listened to music in the car.  Most of the time the British-accented Google Maps lady was telling us where to go--”take the slip-road on the left.”  Thank goodness for Google Maps!  It would have been difficult to navigate all of those one-way streets with me driving on the left, using an old-fashioned map...  Anyway, it was a pretty long stretch on a main road to get us to our next destination: the Wicklow Mountains at Glendalough.  The same mountain range extends into Dublin where they’re called the Dublin Mountains.  It was astoundingly beautiful there--and the smells were so fresh and fragrant.  We hiked a very short trail that took about 50 minutes, but it gave us the flavor of the park.  We had lunch at the Glendalough Hotel.  And that reminds me--many of our servers, especially in the Dublin area, were young Eastern Europeans.  Evidently, Ireland is a very popular place to look for better job opportunities, and a better life in general.  We did remark on the fact that we saw very few people of color though.  I want to find out why that is the case.  It does make me wonder about ethnic and religious homogeneity.  Would I have felt such an affinity for Ireland if I weren’t white and culturally Christian?  

On the way down the mountain and back to Dublin, we listened to “Thick as a Brick” by Jethro Tull.  Isabelle had never heard it before.  I thought it had an appropriately Celtic feel, and was loosely in the rock opera genre.  We listened to a few Irish artists as we were making our way back into Dublin in Friday evening traffic.  We checked into our last hotel, did a bit of last-minute souvenir shopping, and ate at a pub with live music.  The two musicians played mostly traditional Irish music, but also included a few American tunes.  It was kind of a fitting transition since we would be heading to the airport in the morning.

I am so grateful that Isabelle was well enough that we could make this trip.  She was a great traveling companion, and our energy levels were very well matched.  We shared a similar idea of the optimum balance between planning and spontaneity.  I’m not sure how to wrap this up except to say: Travel with your adult children!  Go to Ireland in the off-season!  Enjoy the rainbows!

[xenadd]

Hi, I will be visiting a Guo Pei fashion exhibition on Halloween. Since you're a freelance costumier, I have a question: Have you ever been to a fashion exhibition, or a costume exhibition (like for Star Wars or another movie)? If so, which ones have you been to, was it based on a fashion style/subculture/historical era/item or about a specific fashion designer? And what did you think of your experience there (maybe including your favourite outfit in the exhibition; photos are optional)?

Ooh, I love Guo Pei, i’m so jealous you’ll get to go to an exhibition and take an up close look at all of those beautiful things.

I have been to many exhibitions of all sorts over my entire life. I grew up in Edinburgh, and have been living in London for eight years, so my access has always been great and I probably wouldn’t even be able to remember half of them never mind find pictures.

Costume specific exhibitions are pretty much non-existent here - I believe the Power of Costume is going on international tour at some point but I haven’t heard/gone looking for details recently. I think that my first film/tv exhibition which included costumes was a Star Trek exhibition that visited the City Art Centr back home. I don’t even know how old I was so I don’t remember anything beyond getting to go on the TOS transporter pad bc my dad’s work gave us advance access. Also the key ring I picked out still have on my keys.

The Star Wars exhibition came to the City Art Centre a few months before Attack of the Clones came out. Once aotc came out they revealed loads of props and Maquettes and art from that film. As I remember they had a whole floor of costumes from across the OT and TPM. That was a wildly formative exhibition for me bc by that time I was already deeply immersing myself in film, film production and beginning to consider costume as An Actual Thing To Do.

My first explicitly fashion exhibition was the Vivienne Westwood retrospective at the V&A. That was another formative one - it was a couple of years later? Maybe 2005 (there used to be a specialist fashion book shop off oxford street that I remember visiting on a visit to London in 2005 and there’s where I got my copy of Dressing a Galaxy - I don’t remember if that was the same trip as the Westwood exhibition or if it was our one previous trip.) (unfortunately that bookshop disappeared about two years later.) Prior to that, fashion wasn’t of any interest to me and we were going bc my mum loves Westwood. Everything changed after that.

Then there are exhibitions that incorporate fashion, dress or costume into them. The National Museum in Edinburgh had an incredibly moving exhibition in the Romanoffs when I was around 17 - I remember most of us were pretty much sobbing by the end, it was very well (if manipulatively) curated. I thiiiink that included some court dress and other garments - and Russian court dress was *chef’s kiss* the most exquisite. (I also remember seeing a gown that belonged to Catherine the Great on a trip to Russia and it being the most minbogglingly tiny yet huge and extravagant thing.) (Royal dress is a v interesting area bc it largely wasn’t thought to preserve garments proper until the late c19th, so anything completely or vaguely complete is incredible.)

Also exhibitions focused on subcultures or art movements or eras. there was a mad exhibition at the V&A on London in the ‘60’s that I didn’t particularly like but was v. Interesting and obviously fashion was a HUGE component in ‘60’s youth culture. There was a fantastic exhibition years and years ago about surrealism that crossed every media and form, and that was a big influence on my recognising the intersection between art, fashion, media, costume and the body. Exhibitions on wider issues or cultures that address every aspect of culture are v satisfying being all of these things are interlinked and informed.

There are standing fashion museums - the fashion museum in Bath is notable and has a wonderful historical exhibition, and obviously the V&A has an incredible and vast fashion AND costume exhibition. Unfortunately whenever I’ve been to the Met in NY their fashion section has been shut between exhibitions (and when I was there last week I didn’t go to the catholic exhibition bc I have Opinions and also was tired.) I also particularly adored my visit to the standing World of Wearable Art exhibition in New Zealand, it was wildly inspiring. (Laugh - Victoria’s secret has a permanent exhibition floor in their nyc 5th Avenue (?) store which was both hilarious and awful.)

Mmm… these days, i’mm much fussier now about exhibitions that I visit. In part bc of money and energy, but also bc I am now educated and aware of fashion academia and debates surrounding curation, presentation and intersectionality. And, tbh, a lot of fashion exhibitions are Bad bc everything is trying to be a blockbuster (think the Alexander McQueen exhibition which was both incredible but also very very fraught, with all sorts of issues and debates and was wildly revised for it’s London tenure.) Last year’s Balenciaga exhibition at the V&A was a particularly fascinating example of the whole mess of fashion curation as it is in this weird transitional state - there was no flow, no narrative, it was difficult to follow and the main space that the V&A has started using for its temporary exhibition is, tbh, weird and lacklustre (and weirdly old Fashion? I don’t like it.) BUT. They actually utilised technology and processes to fully reveal the incredible methodologies used by balenciaga, with x-rays, toilets recreating and demonstrating construction etc etc. It was incredible and fascinating. But then also you went upstairs and were like… what? Bc it was just a bunch of contemporary fashion with the vaguest allusions to balenciaga’s work. The reason that they did this was so that they could pull out a lot of pieces that they haven’t been able to exhibit for a very long time, but it was narratively defunct, a weird use of space and frustrating for the visitor. It was both a blockbuster exhibition and something more intimate and educational (and therefore fulfilling), and ultimately kind of failed at everything even whilst succeeding at everything.

I’ve just not been enjoying v&a’s curation for a while? I am very interested in how the FIDM is pushing their costume exhibitions and how they have been embracing that and also making it accessible both in terms of runs and in terms of the actual dressing and putting together of their exhibitions. But it’s going to be a v long time before I ever get to visit.

I don’t think this is the answer you were after? Honestly, I could talk for hours and days and weeks about fashion and costume and cultural exhibitions I’ve been to. There are also things like fashion photography exhibitions, costume pop ups (like at events or cons or cinemas or window displays or whatever) (and honestly, a well dressed window is an incredible beautiful thing as important as an exhibition; there’s a reason why it’s a big mega bucks industry.) This is too broad a question and my favourite things depend on my mood both at the exhibition and when remembering it, what kind of exhibition (fashion, film/media, cultural, historical, etc etc etc.) if there’s anything more specific you would like to ask, by all means ask! I hope you have an amazing time at Guo Pei!

EDIT: I lied!! I went to the commes des garçon exhibition at the Met last year! I loved it and I was frustrated by it in equal measure, though I Saw What They Were Doing. HOnestly I had a more fulfilling time at the Native Fashion Now exhibition and the Native American Musuem.

EDIT EDIT: actually, I just remembered, one of my favourite little costume specific exhibitions was at Haddon Hall a few years back which was a selection of costumes from across every screen adaptation of Jane Eyre. Haddon Hall (a Tudor manse) is BASICALLY Thornfield and has been used in most if not all adaptations of the novel. It’s also one of my favourite historical houses (and is privately owned and resided in!) and Jane Eyre has been my favourite novel since I was 8. Historical costume on screen is inherently fascinating bc it reflects more when the production was made than the historical period it’s recreating, no matter how ‘accurate’. So seeing all of these different costumes of ostensibly the same characters in ostensibly the same period was both fascinating and pleasing and made me really really happy. It was just in the gallery and the hallway, I think, so v small but I think I made my friends wait three hours as a cooed over them all. THAT is my favourite exhibition because it is utilising space and setting and actually Doing Something with great ease and simplicity. It wasn’t trying to be abruptly clever or a blockbuster or anything. I loved it. If you search through my Jane Eyre tag I think you should find pics.

[disneykathy]

DISNEY WORLD

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

This is the other park I get lost in. I’ve been there a dozen times or more but it still feels like the Moving Island in “Lost”: “Wasn’t Africa to the left of Dinoland? How can I be in Asia? Where’s the damn big tree?? I can’t see the tree!!”

Never fear...when you first enter, you have no choice but to walk straight to the first “land” of this park: Discovery island:

Directly in front of you will be the weenie for this park: The Tree Of Life! It’s huge!

No...it’s not real! C’mon, sane up.

The “tree” is a 145 foot high sculpture of an African Baobab tree. Wander around the tree, under passages and through the Discovery Island Trails. Besides seeing some interesting real-life animals, you’ll see that the “Tree of Life” aka the “BFT”, (use your imagination), has 135 detailed animal carvings in its wood. They are amazing. Please take time to explore. You just got here-you can still feel your feet.

Under the BFT, in its roots, is a theater. This is where you will find the attraction: “It’s Tough to be a Bug”.

If you have a fear of bugs, take heed: although no real insects are involved in this production, it does evoke creepy crawly bugginess. The waiting area is an underground lair with the constant sound of chirping and buzzing. And the show does evoke a few fun special effects that make most of us laugh, but, if you are creepa-phobic, these effects may shoot you right through the wall. Just sayin’.

The show is a 3D movie with characters from “A Bugs Life” who will introduce you to the life of bugs and their importance in our little Earth lives. It’s fun. You can sit. It’s air-conditioned (actually TOO air conditioned).

And for those with a phobia, really, you’ll be fine... (spiders, roaches and bees, oh my!!!).

If you stay in the Animal Kingdom until dark, come back to Discovery Island and stand in front of the BFT. Once it’s dark, they do a new projection like show on the tree that is stunning! I had no idea they did this the last time I was there, and just happened to be passing... I was like “what the hell goes on with that tree?? There were all flashy lights coming out of its limbs- I thought I was having a stroke!

Pandora-The World of Avatar:

It’s beautiful! This newest area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom is gorgeous! If you’ve seen the movie Avatar, you’ll be completely amazed at how they captured the topography and flora of Pandora. If you haven’t seen the film, you’ll be confused. Just go with it.

Avatar Flight of Passage

If you didn’t fast pass this ride, enjoy your day standing in line.

I’d love to say “it’s worth it”. It’s not. Nothing is worth waiting in line for 4 hours. Nothing. If Elvis and John Lennon cane back from the dead to jam with Billy Joel, Elton John and Bruce Springsteen, I wouldn’t wait in line 4 hours.

However, it’s a great ride. This is a 3D flight simulator taking you on your Banshee and swooping over landscapes of Pandora. It’s only 5 minutes but it’s a memorable 5 minutes!

Warning: there are warning all along the queue area about thinking twice if you’re not healthy. Hey Disney-none of us are. I actually thought of not riding because of the excessive warnings. But...

The truth is, if you can ride “Soarin’” without getting extremely dizzy, having a coronary or bursting an aneurysm, you’ll be swell. Only dif here is, you are riding on something similar to a Star Wars speeder bike? It doesn’t actually go anywhere, just moves to simulate what’s happening on the screen. You are in a crouched position. So, if you have neck or back issues, you may want to rethink.

Na’vi River Journey

Your boat takes you on a river journey through Pandora at night. Again, if you haven’t seen the film, most if the trees, plants, animals, bugs in pandora are bioluminescent-a fancy word meaning that they light up at night in psychedelic colors. So, this ride is like floating through a college dorm room in 1968.

Rivers of light

Again, if you are going to be in Animal Kingdom after dark, you might want to get a fast pass for the Rivers of Light show. There are multiple viewing areas for this light show-one entrance is by The Voyage of the Little Mermaid theater And the other is by Expedition Everest.

I hear it’s a beautiful attraction. I haven’t seen it. It’s like, late, and my feet hurt and I’ve seen enough cool stuff to last me. But, if your still bright and bushy tailed, by all means, go. And let me know how it was.

Africa:

I love the atmosphere here. It really feels like you are visiting an African Village (I say that like I’ve ever been anywhere near a real African Village...). The village is called “Harambe” which I think means “spend money” in Swahili. There are some really interesting shops and food stops here-linger awhile...

Kilimanjaro Safaris:

You should have a fast pass for this excursion. You should also go first thing in the morning; the animals are much more active and visible before the heat of the day. They, as opposed to us, have common sense.

For this ride you will board large Jeeps and a driver will take you over muddy rut filled roads and over creaky rope bridges through a variety of African ecosystems where you will see indigenous animals. It’s a wonderful experience.

Last time I rode, 2 long horned Bongos blocked our way And we had to sit and wait until the mood hit them to wander off. And a Rhino jogged next to the Jeep, a little closer than my comfort zone approved of.

Lions, giraffes, crocs, gnus ...you’ll see them all with a steady stream of comments from the driver. You’ll love it.

Warning: pee first. The ruts are deep and the ride is long.

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail/Wild Africa Trek

This section is right next to the Safari. It’s a walk through African nature trail where you can spend some leisure time really experiencing the animals. And you will get a close up view of the gorillas! I have an obsession with Silver Back Gorillas And will spend quite some time in this area photographing them. Unless it’s 90 degrees, then I photograph whatever lurks in the A/C.

Festival of the Lion King

This is a theater production where they re-enact the film with all the songs...it’s full of color and pageantry and people love it but I can sit in my house and watch the movie in the a/c without having to spend a gazillion bucks on a one day pass, so I am not a fan. But what do I know??

Asia: this area is also beautiful and evocative. Lots of photo ops to take advantage of.

Expedition Everest- I hate roller coasters, but I love this one! I love the theming in the queue, I love the speed, the yeti and even the drops. It doesn’t feel as wild as it looks, and it’s a smooth ride. If you can keep your eyes open, there’s lots to see.

Again: there are all the standard warnings. I had no problem and I am a major chicken with a bad stomach...so only you know you. Chose wisely.

Kali River Rapids- the signs read “You will get wet”. They should read “You will get soaked to your undies!”.

Kali River Rapids is a wild rapids ride that takes you down a raging Indian River. The theming revolves around an illegal mining/logging camp that you will come upon, showing the decimation of the forest.

You won’t notice this at all because you’ll be praying that the raft turns in your favor and drowns the guy across from you instead. I have ridden this a few times and have never not gotten soaked.

It’s a fun ride and it feels great to get wet in the heat of the day. However, it doesn’t feel great to still be squishing in your jeans 2 hours later or freezing while eating lunch in the A/C! So... don’t wear denim jeans, or, better yet, wear your poncho!

Maharajah Jungle Trek- this is similar to the wild Africa Trek, but with Asian animals-duh. The tigers are the Star of this walking tour and you’ll see them up close and personal. The theming of this Trek is lovely-you’re in an ancient ruin of a Hindi temple.

Up! A Great Bird Adventure:

This is a wild bird show like any other bird show you’ve ever seen except for two things:

1-it stars characters from the movie “Up”

2- it’s outside in Florida so, even though the partial roof keeps you out if direct sun and there are a few large fans, you will still be hot. Unless you go on a cool day, I’d say you can skip this and not live your life in regret.

Dinoland: -

The theming here is just...weird. When it first opened it had a sort of Paleontological bent with fossil beds and some Dino bone exhibits. Then Disney realized that people on vacation don’t care bout science, so they changed the theming to...

Weirder. Now the idea is: this is one of those tacky roadside attractions you’d find on Route 66 in the 50s or 60s. Run by “Chester and Hester”, this two bit Dino-Rama themed low rent stop over features two old fashioned carnival rides - the Primeval Whirl and the Triceratops Spin. The first ride being a small roller coaster and the second is the Dumbo the Flying Elephant Ride with triceratops (triceratops’? Triceratopses?). There are also carnival games and a tacky roadside shop and restaurant. Unless you are with desperate little ones, I’d walk through to pick up the atmosphere and Keep walking.

The real attraction here is Dinosaur!- the ride. This is a dark ride in an enhanced motion vehicle through the Cretaceous period to capture a Dino...And time is of the essence because you have to find said Dino before the great extinction comet hits!

This is a fun trip with lots of bumps, quick turns and jolts..with a few true honest thrills. It is a not to be missed e-ticket ride.

I just rode it and came away unbroken. But, if you have back or neck issues I’d think about skipping it. And, again, use the facilities first.

The Boneyard, which you should save til the end of the visit, is a play area for the kiddies: there are bones to dig up, slides, ropes and climbs and all kinds of stuff to work out any energy they’ve stored up. (You want them to sleep tonight, right?). There are only a few sitting spots for parents/grandparents though. I guess Disney thought we’d be running around sharing joy with our precious darlings. They guessed wrong. They need more seats. And wine.

Well, if you followed my order... and there’s no reason you needed to... you’re done with Disney World!!! Now go back to your room and relax...cuz tomorrow you’re probably spending the day at Universal Studios! ThenThe World of Harry Potter...then Sea World...And Legoland...then of course you’ll have to take the fam to the beach... maybe Clearwater... then you might as well spend a day at Busch Gardens...wait!

You didn’t tour Kennedy Space Center??