#i'm obsessed with this. it's like one of those shakespeare ''not sure if this is in the text bc it was in colloquial discourse'' situations

[lesamis]

mary shelley is really so extraordinary. "little england" & "little englandism" became an entire political discourse in the late 1800s (best as i can tell from c. 1870 onwards) & denoted those - often, not always, anti-imperial - thinkers who advocated for economic isolationism and wanted to limit the british empire's expansion, administration, and aggression, maintaining that england was best when contained to its own borders. the term is still in use - nowadays in brexit contexts - and was throughout the entire twentieth century.

it is also, in much the same sense in which it'd come to be used fifty years after the novel's publication, somehow in The Last Man - which shelley finished writing in 1826.

The plague was in London! Fools that we were not long ago to have foreseen this. We wept over the ruin of the boundless continents of the east, and the desolation of the western world; while we fancied that the little channel between our island and the rest of the earth was to preserve us alive among the dead. It were no mighty leap methinks from Calais to Dover. The eye easily discerns the sister land; they were united once; and the little path that runs between looks in a map but as a trodden footway through high grass. Yet this small interval was to save us: the sea was to rise a wall of adamant—without, disease and misery—within, a shelter from evil, a nook of the garden of paradise—a particle of celestial soil, which no evil could invade—truly we were wise in our generation, to imagine all these things! But we are awake now. The plague is in London; the air of England is tainted, and her sons and daughters strew the unwholesome earth. And now, the sea, late our defence, seems our prison bound; hemmed in by its gulphs, we shall die like the famished inhabitants of a besieged town. Other nations have a fellowship in death; but we, shut out from all neighbourhood, must bury our own dead, and little England become a wide, wide tomb.

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[kiwiana-writes]

20 question for fic writers

Thanks @stereopticons and @welcometololaland for the tags, even if it is distracting me from hockey lmaooooo

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

221. No, that's not a typo.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

729,286! However there's a few collabs in there, per my spreadsheet where I obsessively track these things my *personal* wordcount for works on AO3 is 600,080 (so I guess I crossed 600k with this morning's kinktober! That's fun.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now it's Red, White & Royal Blue. I still have my toes in Schitt's Creek, and I've written for Happiest Season and The Last of Us on AO3 as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) [Red, White, & Royal Blue] - the actor AU, aka MJ Nerds Out About Shakespeare For 65,000 Words. And y'all love it, apparently 😅

We always walked a very thin line [Happiest Season] - It remains forever fascinating to me that my rage-fuelled fuck-that-ending thing I smashed out in like 3 hours after watching that film is still the most-kudosed work in the entire fandom. I guess other people shared my annoyance lol.

We were supposed to find this [Red, White, & Royal Blue] - The soulmates/solemates fic and my first fic in this fandom??? That somehow blew all my SC fics out of the water kudos-wise??? Go figure lmao.

Meet me out at the end of my rope [Schitt's Creek] - angstapalooza, my beloved.

When you care enough to send the very best [Schitt's Creek] - this being in the top five (and my second-highest SC fic) is eternally fascinating to me. A fully epistolary fic with Patrick as a greeting card writer for Hallmark?? I mean sure, it's a cute concept, but this is another one of those 'wrote it in an afternoon and y'all love it apparently' fics.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely! Sometimes I feel bad that my responses aren't always, like, enough. But I massively appreciate people taking the time to comment so I'm always gonna respond!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably the one that ends with MCD lmaooooo

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most everything I write has a happy ending, but it's probably the RWRB Actor AU? Both the end of the main story and the epilogue end on massive joy

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah. Particularly kink stuff (please be cool on tomorrow's y'all) but also some massively panphobic bullshit on some Schitt's Creek fics. And one or two people who have beef with me lmao. I'm liberal with my use of the 'delete comment' button haha.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

It's been said about me that I might write a bit of smut from time to time, yes. (Though, contrary to my reputation, especially in SC, E-rated is actually only 37% of my total works.) The filthy-yet-tender kind. The let's-examine-where-kinks-come-from kind. The sex-positive kind. The let-people-be-horny-freaks kind.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't, but I would if the right idea presented itself!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of...

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! My partner in crime @ships-to-sail and I have co-written two uhhhhhh somewhat tonally different fics: The afterlife fic that was a huge treatise on grief and how the people in our lives shape us, and the one where Patrick is a snowman who comes to life complete with sparkly Twilight dildo dick. Something something range.

The Jake/Rachel series has each individual fic as a solo write, but the series is an internally consistent collaboration with @sarahlevys

And there have been a few projects where I've written a section or a chapter as part of a larger collaborative work: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Don't have one. I love a whole bunch for a whole bunch of different reasons.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Technically I guess the series is a WIP, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever get to the end of the show for kink!verse. (Never say never 😭 but right now I can't see it happening.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Fuck off stop making me be nice about myself.

Um, character voice? Both dialogue and narration. I think I'm good at getting a handle on the way characters speak and think, and when I'm on my epistolary bullshit I tend to put a lot of thought into how they text etc as well (for fandoms where we don't see that in canon haha).

Also I'm apparently really good at making readers feel their feelings. Love y'all ❤️

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot lol. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's a reason y'all keep seeing me thank @ships-to-sail for the outline on anything with any substance.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Not opposed to it, but have a horror of google translate fail. So beyond, like, a word here or there, I wouldn't do it unless I could reach out to a fluent speaker and make sure it's right. My second language is functionally useless to me in a fandom context lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

HP. Fuck JKR for tainting all my memories of that time.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Hey remember my answer to #1? That makes this mean.

I have a different answer every time. Been a bit dysphoric lately so today I'm gonna say it's nonbinary Alexis Rose lol.

Tried to skip people I'd seen have done it or been tagged already but was probably unsuccessful, sorry if some of y'all are feeling spammed: @affectionatelyrs @celeritas2997  @daisymae-12 @happiness-of-the-pursuit @heartitinthesilence @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @hypnostheory @inexplicablymine @myheartalivewrites @sherryvalli @smc-27 @tintagel-or-cockleshells and anyone who wants to play ❤️

[coffeeandkhun]

Traumerei's possible Peter Pan syndrome

Lo Po Bia Traumerei is such an interesting villain. It's been foreshadowed since the season 1 that he'll play a big role in the story of TOG. In this post, I'm talking about his name and the possible impact on the story. There will be spoiler from the whole webtoon, just to be warned.

Traumerei has got his name from Kinderszenen, a set of piano movements written by a German composer Robert Scumann in 1830's.

Kinderszenen includes 13 pieces of music - just like there were 13 irregulars climbing the tower before the Arlene & V -incident happened. Kinderszenen means "Scenes from Childhood" and movement no. 7, Träumerei, is one of the most famous pieces by this famous romantic era composer.

Träumerei means either dreams or reverie, but Traumerei WE know is not a day dreamer or an innocent, playful man like his name would suggest. He's a resentful and distrusting tyrant. More than that, he is overly obsessed about being able to control others and is constantly testing their obedience, complaining bitterly about how he's "used to being betrayed", like his own behavior had nothing to do about why this happens.

There is another word Träumerei reminds us, that is trauma, although the etymology is different. Word trauma has it's origin in Ancient Greek, and means a physical wound or damage. Today, when talking about trauma, we usually don't mean a psycical wound however, but a mental one.

To this point, we have learned that Traumerei has nightmares he can't remember - memories that are probably somehow linked to Baam or his parents, because he started to have those nigtmares only after hearing about his existence. He also had a habit of feeding his memories to the monster Leviathan, the very reason why he can't remember.

Leviathan is a biblical sea serpent, a dragon or a devil, and is sometimes associated with the cardinal sin of envy - as is the color green.

“O beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” - William Shakespeare

It could be the memories and/or emotions he fed to Leviathan are related to something he committed in his jealousy, maybe something parellel to what happened between Wang Wang, Nen Neya, Yasratcha and him. In s3 c111, after sending Wang Wang away, he says: "I felt something I haven't felt in a long time... from a mere creature... but I've gotten rid of it, so it's fine now." We don't hear what exactly he felt, so we can only guess, if it was envy or something else.

It's possible that Traumerei used to be different, but there really was a traumatic betrayal that changed him, like he keeps suggesting. Or then he's more like those people in the real world who find it difficult to accept that people around them mature. They feel betrayed and jealous when their friends, who are now married, have children and/or a career, are not ready to have online gaming all-nighthers with them just about any time they want.

In Jungian Psychology, there is an term for an individual, who, just like Peter Pan, refuses to mentally grow up and meet the responsibilites of the adult life - puer aeternus.

“…remains too long in adolescent psychology; that is, all those characteristics that are normal in a youth of seventeen or eighteen are continued into later life, coupled in most cases with too great a dependence on the mother.” - Marie-Louis von Franz

From his own point of view, Traumerei could be just a child bullied by everyone. Just like a cliché teenager, he's also easily bored and prone to mood-swings. We don't know about his mother (he never answers when Nen Neya asks, unfortunately), but we know that he has a somewhat dependant relationship with Jahad, "the Father".

Whatever Traumerei gave away to Leviathan, we can be quite sure that these were not the best and most beautiful memories of his life, but the worst and most traumatic ones. Getting those memories back might change him or destroy him - we don't know yet, but I would guess it's the latter. I personally find it difficult to see his cruelty could somehow be atoned - because unlike Yasratcha, who was dominated by him, he "made" himself and keeps only accusing others. I might be wrong, and we'll see when the story evolves. But even in TOG world of morally gray characters, Traumerei is on his own level of darkness.

[litany-writes]

9 people you want to know better :D

tagged by @songsofsomnia, ty!! no pressure tags: @athenswrites, @shakespeare-smoocher, @like-pilot-lights, @windowgirlpoems, @theartisttoyourmuse, and anyone else that wants to join!!!

current read

words of radiance by brandon sanderson!!! it's the second book in the stormlight archives series and it is SO SO SO good and i've been too busy to sit down and finish it recently but the worldbuilding, the characters, just AAAA everything it's a masterpiece

most recent song

100 bad days by AJR. I may be cringe but I am free, it's catchy alright?? I'm a pop music girlie it's not my fault

currently watching

formula 1: drive to survive i understand the fandom has (understandably) mixed feelings on the show, especially some of the characterizations, but i love the drama and it's well-produced. been watching the 2023 season live as well, i promise i'm not one of those dts anti-max bandwagons <3

current fic i'm reading

also f1, rlly outing myself today but i just finished reading sunday morning; holding you till noon by autumnapricot on ao3. pt 2 to a MASTERFUL lestappen office au; if you like that kinda thing i highly recommend it. 10/10 shenanigans, tomfoolery, and chaos.

next on my to watch list

the PJO show coming out next month!!!!!! gonna watch it w the bf <3 I don't rlly watch a ton of shows in general but I am SO hyped for this one. it's gonna be good. i can feel it in my bones.

current obsession

...formula 1, if that wasn't clear yet. not sure how i got this far in life without knowing about the 20 most dramatic people ever in their silly little car-go-fast sport, but i sure am enjoying it now. watched yesterday's literal circus GP live w my bestie who was there definitely 100% totally of her free will, and i've been subjecting my bf to all of my dumb little rants about it too !!!

[pirepoumon]

still thinking about the venue choice local queer (as in, content about queer people, relationships, transition, etc. regardless of who created it) performances essay i want to write. but i don't know what my point is and i can't write without one.

consistently the warehouse stagings of weirder shows by local arts juggernauts, no matter the theme, are specifically leveraging the sense of intimacy that only a couple rows deep of in-the-round gym chair seating can provide. KYS is the first, imo, of the modern local renaissance and they did it with horror - but even their straight titus andronicus was in Play's (gay bar) warehouse, back when they didn't have their own. the woman in black was a stunning (mostly) two man show, also not queer*.

contrasting as one from ky opera and the woman in black is a large part of what got me thinking about this anyway - the former is a gorgeous two singer opera which was staged in the opera's warehouse, the bar in their library, the organization's history on the walls in the same non-advertising, scrapbook way that is a casual private kind of public, like family photos in a living room. in the post-performance talk the director (who is, in fact, heading ATL but took on his first opera direction this show) talked about the choice to stage it here not only as the intimacy of the physical facts of the space - its size, the stage and seating sharing a floor without demarcation or elevation change - but the intimacy of being in the opera's home, home office and home rehearsal space.

the opera's warehouse is located on magazine street - eighth and magazine, where you can see the great asphalt canyon of the ninth street divide from their parking lot. no preserved facades, no whiskey row art installations, no tourism advertising, just the living legacy of carving the black west end from the city center via the bulldozing and highway-building policies of our 20th century city government. it feels othered, because it is other-than, but i do think that sense of home the opera spoke to is palpable, even if i refrain from pretending i can judge the "authenticity" of a "feeling" of an organization.

ky shakes' hometurf shows haven't been queer, as discussed above, but their shakespeare in dance ballet collaboration shocked me to tears with the public dramatization of both heterosexual and homosexual desire on stage, for free, in the park, all those years ago. and so still it hits that when i walk to their shelby street warehouse for their seasonal halloween show, their private home i have come to visit only blocks away from their public one, i do believe it when Matt Wallace tells me this is YOUR kentucky shakespeare.

it is beyond the scope of this essay i'm not writing to address the similarly your louisville orchestra tagline-obsessed, uh, LO, but that line lands solely in the context of teddy abrams' revival of the making music program in local elementary schools, in its tour of the entire state from east to west that parallels the now-standard miniature parks (and library) tour of kentucky shakes.

there are other considerations, like price (it's easier to swallow KY shakes being ours when its main season is fully free; the opera, reaching out beautifully, is still exceptionally expensive without student tix). the geographical designation in these organization's names are practical to distinguish from other ones elsewhere, sure, but it is essential to their revival**. there are two ways for something to belong to a group whose sole commonality is geographical residence: to invite people in, or to go to their community wherever they are; arts organizations who most embody their own vision of belonging to/serving their neighbors will and must do both.

well i guess this has to be part one because this is basically the perfect setup for re-explaining why the highview mob boss sligo newcastle from the extremely mediocre play the kiss me curse at highview arts center is essentially the pinnacle of local theater ethos. but i am out of time

[flowertrigger]

Desert Island Discs

Tagged by @jamilas-pen and @a-noble-dragon @saraminia 🤍

You're stranded on a desert island, but you can pick eight recordings, a book and a luxury item to have with you. You get the complete works of Shakespeare and the Bible/other appropriate religious or philosophical book as a 'freebie'. The luxury item must be inanimate and of no use in escaping the island or allowing communication from outside. What do you take? Say as much or as little as you like about why you made those picks

Please know this was so hard!! At first I thought 'recordings' meant whole albums and then I read your list and was very wrong 😅

Recordings

Jimmy Eat World - A Praise Chorus This isn’t my all time favourite JEW song but it is still very much loved and it's a really fun song to sing along to, has a great beat, is motivational and I can listen to it over and over - all qualities I think would be important if I’m stuck on a desert island.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody A song with multiple genres, also fun to sing along to, and goes for six minutes? Yes plz.

Erik Satie - Gymnopédies A melancholic piece of music for when my brain is tired of listening to words. It’s beautiful to listen to if you concentrate on it but also something to have on that’s not invasive just to quell silence without even realising. I'll lay on the beach and ponder about life and when the hell I'm going to be rescued.

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way I love the rhythm of this song and I can see myself dancing in the sand to it.

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables - Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser specifically this version. The beginning is so fun to watch. Their voices together are beautiful and powerful. I watch it multiple times every time I come across it. And I need some show tunes to get me through my days.

Taking Back Sunday - There’s No ‘I’ In Team My favourite TBS song. I’m not sure I’ll ever grow out of being an emo kid and to me the album this song is from is genre defining.

Noah Reid - Runaway Obviously I have to have an olreid tune and this is one of those songs that I can listen to over and over and it feels new each time.

Of Monsters and Men - Crystals This is another song that I can just have on repeat and it feels like it’s scratching an itch in my ear. I think it’s the rhythm section - so bold, but also the melody is just pretty and relaxing. Also a great sing along song.

Book

The Faraway Tree Series - Enid Blyton I think this was harder than the songs. Mainly because I can't think of a book I've read more than once in the recent past. But when I was a kid I was obsessed with this series, in particular The Folk Of The Faraway Tree and reread it so many times I could recite pages of it verbatim. This would be a nice easy, escapism read.

Luxury Item

Does an entire bed and all it's accoutrements count as one thing? If not then I'll just take the doona, because I can't sleep if it's cold and I'd imagine that a deserted island would be quite cool at night. Also I can use it as a tent like thing during the day and hopefully it'll cover me from creepy crawlies at night too.

This was v fun to think about!

I'll no pressure tag @ramonaflow @stargazer56 @carolrain @tyfinn if they want to play 🏝️

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

i really wish you'd stop talking about Yudkowski

But I have so much to say about Yudkowski! (Meanwhile, I wrote about 500 words this evening and didn't mention him at all.)

I haven't talked about Yudkowski much in a while, but that's just because I'm not as obsessed as I was back in 2011-12. I still think about his stuff all the time, and I don't talk about it because "The Sequences" are no longer relevant, they're no longer fresh in my mind. Like, if you know a lot about A. E. Housman, you don't spend hours and hours obsessing over he who is not named every time you listen to a Housman poem (or even Treasure Island, for that matter), and it's not that A. E. Housman is one of my favorite poets; I just listen to a lot of poetry, and it's often the case that a poem will remind me of Something I read in college.

Once I stop thinking about things on a day-to-day basis, they stop being "fresh," in the sense that I've subconsciously edited them into a chunk of (sometimes very well-indexed) memory that can be drawn on whenever I want to. I've learned a lot of cool stuff about Drama 200 level Shakespeare classes since I graduated, but I don't think about or talk about them much anymore because they're "old" now.

(The same thing happens to Yudkowsky -- I'm pretty sure I read all of The Sequences when I was in college, probably took them in some sense "seriously," then quit thinking about them for 4 years or so, and then re-read them, and thought about them a bit more, and now that's old too. I've just blocked out most of the stuff I learned during those years, and the fact that I learned anything doesn't mean much at this point, since I've forgotten most of the details.)

My response to this wouldn't be "ooh, The Sequences are irrelevant now," but "ooh, let's revisit them and see what old Yud has to say!" After all, this is the internet! I could go back and pick up the same old stories again with only a minimum of time or effort. I could literally re-read the parts I've forgotten in between visiting their web pages.

[haladriel]

Thanks for the tag, @tairona-is-taken! I don't have a full ten fics to hand (let alone in Tolkien alone) but I'll post my little gaggle of five. Most of them are one or two chapters only because I previously couldn't plan a story for toffee (my new haladriel one represents Serious Progress).

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway 💜

1. Consciousness.

Voices... electronic, without ambience. 

The television is on. John is home.

It’s late. Sofa, beneath the soles of my feet… leather, smooth. Weather-worn. Mellow. Like John. (Scientia Somnis, or that time I tried to stream-of-consciousness Sherlock-bloody-Holmes. Originally Sherlocked @bakerstreetbe)

2. ‘Bolly?’

His voice was quiet, still holding a hint of the cocksure authority the guarded brace as a shield and which Gene wore over himself like his broad-shouldered coat. (Promised You A Miracle, @quattrohunt, waiting for Lazarus)

3. ‘DI Drake and I will investigate as soon as possible, sir.’

‘Ah yes! The two lovebirds. Are you honestly sure you can concentrate, Hunt? We can’t have the work being compromised, you know’.

Alex looked up from her paperwork, her expression startled, mildly offended, then quietly flirtatious. Gene coughed.

‘We make it work, sir’. (Drake and Hunt)

4. ‘Sherlock…!’

John’s yell echoes off the hard faces on the shards of concrete in his head. His broken, chisel-split head.

Rough pavement against his cheek. The distant cry of London’s sirens. The metallic squeak of a hospital trolley. 

‘Oh god, Sherlock…’

A builder’s radio plays a familiar song. One of his mother’s favourites. Tortoiseshell stretching horizontal in front of his eyes; a bunch of pink and yellow flowers resting on the front seat. 

An earsplitting crack thunders through a large pane of glass.

‘When are you gonna come down?’

He groans. Rubs his eyes and pushes himself up off the paved floor. 

‘When are you going to land…’ (The Yellow Brick Road, ambitious Life On Mars / Sherlock crossover fuelled by my serious 70s music obsession) And last but not least, for my fellow haladriels... 5. ‘What do you think of Donne, anyway?’

‘I admire how brazen he is. He doesn’t hide from the truths of the world.’ 

The boy nodded. ‘Like sex.’ 

‘And lust.’

‘Death.’ 

‘And power.’ She blew lightly across the foam. ‘All of those. Marlowe’s the same. Frankly, he beat Shakespeare for having the biggest balls. He was there first. And he and Donne weren’t as popular, so took more liberties.’ She paused. 'Although Marlowe's thematic panache probably got him killed.'  (The Sun Rising, my Mairon/Galadriel university AU. A few lines in as I've quoted the beginning beginning very recently.)

*Bonus!* From my first ever attempt at ficwriting, for Julie Bertagna's wonderful Exodus trilogy: 6. The fox pads towards her. 

It pauses, hesitant. ‘Mara?’ His husky voice, the same as ever, rings across the cyberspace between them. Mara’s heart leaps in her chest. ‘Yes,’ she whispers, ‘yes–’ She runs the last few paces to stand in front of him. His eyes are shining with a wild fire. Even in fox-form they are beautiful. 

‘Give me a second,’ he murmurs softly. A miniature tornado smothers the image of the cyberfox, which dissolves into a pixellated mass. After a few seconds the cyberswirl settles, the electronic matter rearranging into a well-known face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm ninety-nine percent sure I'm one of the last to join this bandwagon so won't tag any new folk, but please do feel free, anyone.

[soul-dwelling]

Thoughts on the concept of a unlicensed continuation of a story that isn't a "fanfic". I know this sounds like a weird question, but I guess it is possible to write a story without being an author of the original material, without engadging with it in a "fan" way. Like Goethes Faust was an adaption of an old legend and I'm not sure if the german guy had a room full of Faust memorobilia lol

Right, there's Faust, as well as how creators like Homer, Shakespeare, and so on took already well-known or cult favorite legends, stories, and history and turned those into new tales (Odyssey, Hamlet).

Or, Percy Jackson.

I don't have much of an answer, aside from that this prompts a question about when someone is engaging with the original material in a "fan" way. It doesn't just have to be merch. I mean, sure, I do buy, collect, or received as gifts merchandise related to those works (Edgar Allan Poe action figure). But being a "fan" also means I pick up relevant books and research as I need them. Even if I'm not making fan art or writing fan fics, my "fan" way of engaging with the text is sometimes just talking and analyzing it.

My fan engagement tends to be more academic sometimes...which then gets complicated when you have an academic field of studies like "fan studies" that is itself about how fans engage with content, but that's an oroboros I can't cut apart.

I think "fan way" in writing or illustrating depends on whether what you create is more like a continuation (some of Gaiman's stuff, or like I said Percy Jackson), or it has to be a work so old that someone writing or making a new version isn't seen as a fan but as just re-making an old story (remaking Christian bible stories, remaking Greek and Roman legends). And tone is part of it, too. If you keep making in-jokes and Easter eggs, you don't think it's a "serious" work, you think it's for fans.

And then there is "fan way" that is used disparagingly whenever a work tries to expand on representation--which, to emphasize, is just utter bigoted bullshit. Star Trek seems like a likely example, given how Kirk and Spock led to so much development of LGBTQ+ fan content. You'll get people angry about any expanded representation and disparage it as like fan fic...when it's about making sure your fiction reflects your present reality. But now you have Trek itself including LGBTQ+ characters and relationships amongst its main characters, which is great! So, that's a "fan way" that works in creating content!

...But then I try to sit through Star Trek content like like Lower Decks, which comes off as just "bad fanfic" (forced jokes, forced Easter eggs, overly obsessed with making sense of details from earlier iterations that just don't need to be explained). Or, I try to read Ian Flynn's runs on Sonic the Hedgehog, and instead of thinking, "Oh, this is an official continuation and an official adaptation," I keep thinking, "Ugh, why are we over-explaining stuff like this is a fanfic, just focus on story and stop trying to 'fix' the setting." And seeing as Flynn comes out of fan creation work, I don't know how much of my annoyance has to do with how much storytelling has changed after fan fics got more and more popular in the early 2000s to now, where now those storytelling tropes are normalized in larger pop culture and just one common storytelling tool, and how much of it is me just not liking these elements, not because they come from fan fiction but because, even if they didn't come from fan fics, they are still poorly constructed tropes that lead to bad results in storytelling.

[notmuchtoconceal]

This is going nowhere.

I'm spelling it out, but you're not listening,.

Your troubled schooldays. How you're conflicted about marriage. Your denial of death. The unfounded guilt. Abnormal sexuality.

18 years of denial.

A whole universe of fantasy in that thick skull of yours. A skull teeming with agents of repression. Blind children clutching photos in the dark. Pale freaks, goggle-eyed from watching home movies on loop.

The term is complicated grief. But it's simple, isn't it?

A young girl. Her parents don't get along. She blames herself, as all children do. Then daddy dies. What's a girl to do? Deny that daddy died. Denied who daddy was. What seven year old actually knows who their parents are, anyway? So she obsesses and obsesses over this fantasy dad, propping up her make-believe with scraps. Scraps of a happy life that never was. Scraps of a happy life that never existed.

WAKE UP.

Your dad wasn't a hero. He wasn't your knight in shining armor.

[ [

He was a human being. You never knew him. And you never will.

The dad walking around inside your head isn't even a ghost. He never existed. A Frankenstein's monster. A child's fantasy.

But you're alive. Your mother is alive. She's not the monster you make her out to be. You need to live your life. Cheryl.

...

You've been with me for so long.

I always will be.

...

[[[ ]]]]

\ Why did you have to die?

It wasn't my fault.

Someone has to take the blame.

Forget me.

[[[ ]]]

/ Dad.

You are a hero.

The man who died? That wasn't my father.

That isn't who I remember. Those memories are all I have.

You're all I have.

... I'm not even a ghost?

| ((( )))

|

/ ... /

aha haha

sweetie

daddy?

i love my daddy

/ . / You'll be careful...?

Sure.

Harry.

We've said enough. Let's just...

Sweetie, don't film this.

You know this has nothing to do with you.

Even though mom and dad don't love each other anymore, we'll always love you. And we always will.

\ . \

Action.

Come on, girls! Introduce yourselves!

I'm Michelle. And I'm Midwich High's Prom Queen.

And our next star ... ?

haha I'm Lisa. I'm a nurse.

And I'm Harry Mason!

Famous author and seducer of Prom Queens and Nurses!

Can we be in your next book?

Suuuure.

Can you dedicate it to us?

Nope. Dedications are always to my wife and daughter.

It's only fair.

Ahahahahahaha

woooooaaah

\ . \ You piece of shit. When are you gonna bring in some real money.

[ ]

You think your crap is Shakespeare? Your piece of shit novels?

NOBODY EVEN READS THEM!

[ ]

BE A MAN!

COME ON FIGHT BACK!

You're pathetic.

To think I used to hang off your every word!

DICKLESS WASTE OF SPACE

...

.

.

/ . /

, , ,

,

,

What the hell are ya filmin me for?

Am I suppsoed to dance for ya?

ya ya hey hey hey hey

' ] [

GAGH

Be a good girl for daddy, get him another drink, will ya?

NOW

GIMME A DAMN BEER

no i wonder i drink with a family like this...

. ,.

,

.

,

|

This.

This is it?

After all we've said, all we've discussed...

You honestly believe ... that your father was abducted by aliens?

It made more sense when you were talking about cults and demons!

This whole town... It's really a giant spaceship :D

[[[ ]]]

James?

Wrong day again?

See you tomorrow, James.

]]] [[[

One of my couples therapy patients.

Haven't seen his wife in a while...

Where were we?

(woof-woof-woof)

My mother was a bitch.

((( ))) )))((( ((()))

Go on. I'm listening.

[dangerous-advantage]

fanfiction trope asks >:) (evil smile) there was only one bed, hurt no comfort, major character death, omegaverse

ohohohoho... well

There was only one bed.

i'm... impartial to this trope. i think with a lot of tropes, there's always gonna be time when it works for you and time when it doesn't. really, it depends on the context.

i don't actively seek this one out in a fic, but if it's in a work I like, generally, i don't mind it. if the author plays it in an irritating or stupid way, or (god forbid) uses second-hand embarrassment... ugh. that i can't stand.

but like... it can also be played in a lot of ways i really like (repressed, touch-starved characters with this trope? chef's kiss, honestly) so imma have to go with neutral.

Hurt/No Comfort.

i am a slut for some good hurt/comfort, but man, oh man, good hurt/no comfort?? godDAMN it's good.

what really sells this for me is the ending. with really sad fics, i can kinda be wary going in, but usually, i end up really liking them when i reach the end.

there are a few caveats to this. first, i can only do so much hurt/no comfort at one time before i have to "cleanse my palate" with some hurt/comfort (i'm not really a fluff reader, but i don't dislike it or anything). also when the hurt/no comfort dips into trauma porn territory or really hardcore/fucked-up shit, i'm out.

hurt/no comfort inhabits this really specific niche where if it's good, it's probably straight up shakespeare, and if it's bad, it's really bad. you just have to be good a differentiating between the two going into it, and also be really specific about what you want from a hurt/no comfort story. it's not really a trope i'd read just to chill out or pass the time. when i seek out hurt/no comfort, it's a deliberate choice, often with deliberate things i'm looking for in mind.

with that, i'd have to say love it, but not obsessively. when i'm looking for it, and when it isn't trashfire garbage, it's good. otherwise, i'm not interested.

Major Character Death

once again: you have to be careful with this one, but when it's done right, it's usually the best thing you'll ever read. i'm pretty impervious to major character death by now, but this trope had made me cry before, and every single time, it fucking earned it.

when i'm gonna read a fic with major character death, i want to know what i'm getting into, but it certainly won't scare me away. i won't say this is something i seek out, but i do think when it's handled well, it can be reaaallly good.

so like it for this one.

Omegaverse

really pulling the heavy hitters out for this one, huh? well.

there was a point in time where i was pretty into this trope. those days are behind me now for the most part, but i will say: i don't hate it. i don't seek it out either.

i do like certain concepts within the trope, especially when authors expand upon and better them. a lot of omegaverse stuff can be kinda repetitive, but i do remember certain instances where authors "defied the genre" by expanding on and exploring in-universe concepts.

i remember there was one in a past fandom with a heavy emphasis on scenting and platonic affection, as well as gender roles (which is something that i don't understand why more omegaverse writers don't explore more? i mean, the trope is literally defined by genders, there's so much there beyond just surface level assumptions.)

i really liked how they wrote it and used the traits of the genre to further the story in an interesting way (mostly to stir up drama between the characters, but the politics of it were really interesting.)

there are a lot of things i didn't (and still don't) like about the trope, so it's kinda touch-and-go. nowadays, i'm not opposed to reading omegaverse stuff, but i won't do it just because it's omegaverse. if it seems interesting and the plot is good, sure! why not.

however, this trope can turn me away very easily from a story, even if i like the premise, when it's not handled correctly. i have very specific things i like, and a lot of things i dislike. so i'd say it depends completely on the fic with this one. overall, neutral.

[burnmywholelifedown]

Hi it’s your Santa Swiftie here!!! I’m so excited to get to make you something for the holiday season, but first, I need some info/get to know you better!

Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do on your free time?

Do you have a favorite word?

What's your top 5 Taylor Swift albums?

Favorite Taylor swift mv? Favorite photoshoot?

Pick 13 Taylor songs you like!

What kind of music you like besides Taylor?

If you had to pick 5 songs to describe yourself which ones would you choose?

Who were your most listened artists on Spotify?

I know this is a lot lol, so take your time to answer it all! I hope you have a great week and a lovely December! 🎄🧑🏻‍🎄🎁❄️🎅🏻

hey there!! I'm so excited 😊 Thank you so much for your patience while I was getting over my illness! My blog runs on a queue but I don't use a queue tag so I'm sure that didn't help your concern that messages weren't going through. I'm finally feeling better and able to answer all your questions. One thing you should know about me is that I don't pick favorites so you're going to get some lists lol.

Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do on your free time?

I do have hobbies! Like many Taylor fans I love to write songs. It's such a fun creative outlet. I also am an avid reader. I read a lot of classics back in the day (and almost became an English major) but after college I've been reading more romance and fantasy books. I haven't been brave enough to venture into Brandon Sanderson territory but we'll get there. I needed to give my brain a bit of a break after all the reading for school.

Do you have a favorite word?

Oh my gosh thank you for this! A word I have loved since middle school is ephemeral. I think it just sounds so soft almost like it's fading away. And it's about such an angsty concept. For my Latin class we wrote a tradgedy called Ephemora. It was the most fun thing ever.

What's your top 5 Taylor Swift albums?

Mkay this question is so unbelievably rude. Right after Midnights came out?? How the heck am I supposed to rank albums at a time like this??? For you I shall do my best:

In no particular order - folkmore, midnights, Speak Now, Red TV, reputation

But debut is a close 6

Favorite Taylor swift mv?

OOTW, IKYWT, Cardigan, Blank Space, Love Story, ATW short film of course

Favorite photoshoot?

If we're going to talk album photoshoots I'm obsessed with the midnights, RED TV, rep and Lover ones.

Here are a few more I really enjoyed:

EW 2019

Glamour UK 2015

Fashion Magazine 2015

Glamour UK 2013

People Magazine 2010

USA Today Newspaper 2010

Pick 13 Taylor songs you like!

Cold As You

Illicit affairs

Cardigan

Ivy

Mastermind

YOYOK

TTDS

DBATC

Dress

Wonderland

The Moment I Knew

Enchanted

Breathe

What kind of music you like besides Taylor?

I tend to listen to singer-songwriters that write acoustic-esque pop. Oh and I also listen to some musicals. I was mostly a theatre kid because I loved classical theatre like Shakespeare but I fell in love with some musicals along the way as well.

If you had to pick 5 songs to describe yourself which ones would you choose?

Damn this is a tough one. I'm really bad at limitations so you're getting more than 5:

Why am I like this? - Orla Gartland

Colorado - Reneé Rapp

Pity Party - Cate

The List - Maisie Peters

Personal Best - Maisie Peters

Girls - girl in red

Kintsugi - Gabrielle Aplin

mirrorball - Taylor Swift

homecoming queen? Kelsea Ballerini

Walk In The Park - Kelsea Ballerini

Being Alive - Company OBC

Growing Sideways - Noah Kahan

Hold The Girl - Rina Sawayama

Who were your most listened artists on Spotify?

I know we're supposed to get videos for the people that we listened to the most but I don't know how to access those so in no particular order here are some artists I listened to this year: Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Maisie Peters, Reneé Rapp, Gabrielle Aplin, Kelsea Ballerini, Conan Gray, Demi Lovato (love their new album!!), Halsey, Rosie Darling, Gracie Abrams, Cate, Abby Holiday, Lizzy McAlpine, Griff, P!nk, James Bay

I hope all this info helps 😊

[diavolosthots]

Felt like crying, so I came to you, my friend! Mc and Mammon went out shopping, specifically to buy gifts for his brothers, as an apology. When they get back home they are met with hostility. They berate Mammon until Mc screams at them to shut up, then rips into each of them for their treatment of Mammon. Then finishes with "Don't expect Mammon to stay here when he can live with me in the humanworld. I'm done with you. Mammon, lets go, you deserve better, love" and leaves w/ Mammon. Thank you!

You came to me because you felt like crying and that gives me two (2) things to think about. 1.) I'm apparently someone who people see as a tissue? 2.) My angst is just THAT good. Also! Apparently today is rain on Mammon day and I'm here for it not me avoiding my exam to write these things

Warning: uh.... Angst?

Soul-Searching (MAMMON X GN!READER ft. THE BROTHERS)

“You know, I’m proud of you for suggesting this.” Truly, you were. Mammon was your favorite and you felt for him, but you also completely understood where his brothers came from. At first, it honestly annoyed you as well; the constant stealing, the lying… You tried blaming it on his avatar, but even then it doesn’t explain the lying that comes with it. However, you do realize that it’s a habit and it’s a habit that is hard to fix, so instead of constantly getting onto him like the rest, you tried to understand him a bit more and give him some life advice. So far, you have managed to get Mammon to give back all the things he has recently taken from his brothers, and some of them even got an apology. You’ll be working on how to properly apologize, though, because oof, that was a mess. 

And now? Now you managed to take a small trip with him downtown to at least attempt to make things better. Mammon is now, or at least today, using his own money to buy some things that his brothers would be fond of: a new vinyl player for Lucifer (non-cursed), a new Ruri-chan t-shirt for Leviathan, a neck pillow for Satan because lord knows he has some cramps back there with the way he leans over and down to read his books. Then some perfume for Asmodeus that he had been swooning about, a gift card to Beel’s favorite restaurant for the glutton, and a heated blanket for Belphie. You were proud, truly, that Mammon wanted to do this. As a matter of fact, he was the one who suggested it. “Maybe… uh.. I could… ya know… buy somethin’ they like” is what he said. You were just excited and agreed to help. 

Now you were going back to the house with a few shopping bags and ice cream almost fully eaten. You paid for the ice cream, as a way to reward Mammon, and you’re sure he’s secretly thanking you for that because some of these items truly did burn a hole into his credit card, which is partially his fault. “Lucifer deserves more than some random vinyl player.” his words, not yours. Also “satan needs one of them neck pillows that massage it, too!” again, his words. So yeah, some money was definitely spent on these items, but… once again, you were proud. “I think they’ll love everything, Mam. They’d be fools if they didn’t.” Hearing you say that made Mammon feel a lot better, honestly, and a small rush of confidence came to the surface “Ya betcha they will! Nothin’ but the best from the Great Mammon!” You just laughed. 

However, upon arrival, it was a different sight. As a matter of fact, you barely made it through the door before Beel was grumbling something about Mammon eating his custard, which is true, but it’s just a custard? “MAAMMMOONNN!!” and then there was Lucifer who appeared so fast you wondered if he was even real. He went on a whole rant about how irresponsible Mammon is and how another bill came in the mail that talks about Mammon’s debt. Satan and Belphegor teamed up to show empty hands, which left both you and Mammon confused, but then “do you see anything here? No? That’s because you sold our belongings, Mammon!” Mammon can be lucky that Leviathan was still holed up in his room because he just remembered that he also, at some point in the past, sold one of Levi’s figures. Asmodeus came last and honestly he wasn’t mad, he was just annoyed. “I saw you go through my things, Mammon. Nothing was taken, but it was still so incredibly rude!” 

Next followed a screaming match which was basically just Mammon trying to defend himself, trying to show the bags and apologize, but none of them would have it. It irritated you. Yes, they had every right to be mad because personal belongings should stay with their owner(s), but at the same time, they didn’t even give Mammon a chance to explain, especially after he’s been holding the bags up and attempting to apologize. “You’re so stupid, Mammon” “StupidMammon” “so irresponsible. You know better than that. Do you need another time out session, Mammon?” “I can’t believe you’d go through my stuff again!” by now your eyes were twitching and the voices echoing off the walls surely didn’t help your case. One more word and you’d snap, surely, especially since Mammon’s hand is now shaking and you grabbing it did nothing at all. “We would be better off without you.”

Ah yes, there it is. The final straw. The amount of anger boiling inside you right now isn’t even manageable anymore and you’re surprised that Satan, as the Avatar of Wrath, has yet to notice it. “Shut up! Shut up, Shut up, Shut up! All of you!” You yanked Mammon behind you, almost protectively and Belphegor found the need to laugh at it. “Really? You’re going to protect him?” Oh, there. That’s your first victim. “Are you really that dense, Belphegor, or is sleep still clouding your brain cells? That is your brother you’re currently making fun of and I don’t know about you, but I was taught that family sticks together, blood related or by choice. So how about you get your head out of dreamland, take this stupid heated blanket that he bought for you, as an apology, and wake up for a second.” yes, you did throw the bag at him and then you pointed your finger at Beel. You’d regret later on that you’re tearing into him as well because Beel means well at the end of the day, but still, he was also part of this. 

“You’re my least worry, Beel. Honestly you’re too caught up in your burgers and brawns to care for a second that your brother tries very hard to be liked by all of you. Sad, really.” you threw the card at him too. As a matter of fact, you threw all of the bags right in front of them. “And then Asmo.. oh my God, first of all, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Shocker, I know. If you were half as empathetic toward your family as you are obsessed with yourself, maybe you wouldn’t feel the need to always go party and drink your life away. Oh, I’m sorry, did that hit just a little too hard? Can’t be harder than the hangovers you wake up with on a regular basis.” You glared at him before turning your attention to Satan. “Honestly, if you weren’t such a baby inside I may actually be scared of you. You always complain about how stupid he is, how he needs to just learn, but you? What do you do all day? You hole yourself up in your room and read about worlds that you wish you could enter. News flash: you’d die before you had the chance to say hello. People don’t like self-proclaimed assholes. Mammon IS smart. He’s very talented, too, but you’re too far up in Shakespeare’s ass that you fail to realize that everyone has knowledge in different fields of life. Give me a break.” 

Satan was about to retort but you already moved on to Levi. “and you! Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for you wallowing in self-pity and fake depression, you would have absolutely no personality traits. What are you again? The Avatar of Envy? How about instead of being envious of others’ accomplishments, you actually start working on yourself. It’s truly pathetic that a couple millenia old demon’s only purpose in life is ramen and self inflicted emotional pain. Seriously, what are you? A pitiful loner? I can’t even begin to empathize with you in any way, shape, or form.” Your blood was boiling right now and maybe if they hadn’t attacked Mammon like they did, you would’ve felt bad about Levi’s sad face right now, but there was still one person left to deal with.”

“And you… beautiful, responsible, way-too-good-for-you older brother, Lucifer.” He’s been glaring at you this whole time, arms crossed over his chest but you stood your ground. You’re not quite sure how you managed, but you did. “You call yourself the best, the most responsible. You constantly say this family would fall apart without you, but that’s not it, is it? I think you’re just lonely. You force these six to be by you, to respect you and borderline worship you. Not because you deserve it…” you chuckled, shaking your head, “no. You’re just so sad that Daddy and Michael left you, mocked you, that you turned your sadness into anger and took it out on these six, but especially Mammon. Why? Because you see yourself in him. You call him your favorite brother, but it’s not because he actually is… he just reminds you of everything you used to be: fun, reckless, and feeling. Now you’re just cold, mean, and bitter. Don’t bother calling yourself the mighty first because without him you would be neither. Maybe if you pulled that stick out of your arse and actually tried to get to know your brothers, maybe you wouldn’t be so lonely all the time. Family, right? That’s what you want. How about you start acting like one.” 

You shook your head after that, grabbing Mammon’s hand and kicking the bags in front of you before dragging Mammon back out the door. “Those are for you, by the way. Not that you deserve them, but they’re Mammon’s way of apologizing for all the things you accused him of the minute he set foot into the house. Have fun. We’re going to the castle and, if we’re lucky, to a real home.” 

[ifthiswingscouldfly]

Ikemen vampire Dating headcanons 🍃🌼

| Part 2|

ft. Charles-Henry sanson

Warning⚠: This post contains sexual activities if you're under 16 please don't read.

Osamu Dazai

Positive Side:

- Love to write stories about you.

- Always trying to make you happy.

- He will make you laugh until your stomach hurt.

- He will take naps on your thighs.

- Playful and thoughtful.

- He will give you the best advices.

- ready to throw a joke to make you laugh.

- Get really dreamy when he is drunk.

Negative Side:

- He doesn't take anything serious I mean if you're the type of girl that need a serious relationship Dazai isn't the one for you.

- He will take A VERY LONG time to open up and talk about his past.

- You can't predict his mood.

- Hide many secrets from you.

- You can say that he is like onions you should cut him layer by layer until you reach the end.

- Edging you with everything he does especially in bed.

- literally if he feel jealous he wouldn't admit that.

- Another moody man.

Issac Newton

Positive Side:

- Caring and Sweet.

- Love to explain physical equation to you.

- In love with your smile، hair and Butt.

- Ready to kiss you but he is really shy to ask for a kiss.

- He will give you his body and soul.

- Love to cuddle with you especially when he is tired feeling how you're warm and mushy.

- He is really sweet behind doors and warm.

Issac know your worst treat and his too so he believes that no body is perfect.

Negative Side:

- At the beginning of your relationship he didn't understand his feelings well.

- He can be stubborn sometimes.

- Possessive.... possessive.

- Shy and awkward.

- Sometimes he will say weird stuff to you and when you ask him to repeat he feel like it’s not useful anymore so he will ignore your ask.

- Always feeling jealous over you.

- Angry issues But not like Theo.

- Literally he is bad with words he can't explain his feelings with words so he prefer physical affection more than words.

Jean D'ark

Positive Side:

- Honestly I can see him desperately protects you.

- He is so cute and get shy every time you kiss him.

- In love with your waist and thighs during love making .

- Very affection behind doors.

- Want to take you to the gun store but he is afraid of your reaction.

- Fond of your warmth، how you make him feel safe and loved.

- Secretly thoughtful and wise you'll probably find this side useful when you need advice.

- He will let you know everything happen with him during the day or he wouldn't hide anything from you.

Negative Side:

- He can be naive especially at the beginning of your intimate relationship.

- Shy.

- When he get enthusiastic he will become physically rough.

- Will think dark thoughts so you should comfort him and tell him that you understand him.

- Some days he will be like " I don't deserve you y/n I'm a monster!" and here you should let him know how much you love him.

- He is tough must of the time on himself so please comfort him🥺.

- INSECURE to the moon and back.

- Can be sensitive but will never show it.

William Shakespeare

Positive Side:

- Love to share his writings with you.

- He will ask you to act in his play.

- Love to kiss your forehead.

- Very fond of your hair and warmth.

- His romantic style are really old-fashioned you'll feel like you're in a romantic/drama movie.

- He will write poems for you and you only.

- In love with your cheeks when it get red.

- Love to rest his head on your shoulder and hold your hands 7/24 you should get used on it.

Negative Side:

- He can be insecure sometimes even though he wouldn't show it.

- Get really jealous especially when you're around Comte and Leonardo.

- POSSESSIVE.

- Sometimes he will stalk you just to make sure you won't betray him.

- He will hide things from you.

- Your relationship with William need lots of ignorance of course when you can't understand him.

- STAY AWAY FROM THE MANSION'S SUITORS.

- If he feel like you're busy helping the suitors of the mansion he will lock you in his vella.

- Sometimes he need you to reassure him quite A LOT.

Le Comte de st.German

Positive Side:

- Love to spoil you so much...I mean his love language is gift giving.

- New Dresses Everyday.

- " Are you busy ma chérie? Ha you aren't! what about buying a new dress for you today?".

- He will take you to every city he visited.

- He can understand you easily also he is caring and sweet.

- Gentle in the street and beast between sheets.

- Love to dance with you alone in his room.

- Noble parties where you'll meet all his business friends.

- Very fond of bathing together.

- Generous and protective.

Negative Side:

- He can be mysterious at the beginning of your relationship.

- He wouldn't tell you about his jealousy and possessiveness over you.

- Some days when he get too busy he will forget to take care of you.

- If you did something that bothered him he wouldn't tell you.

- He is the type that ignore anything that you do/say if he doesn't like it. he would be like "oh chérie what did you do/say?" and when you will start to explain he will ignore again.

- He is a little bet moody.

- Will make you feel jealous without realizing.

- Busy man.

Sebastian

Positive Side:

- He will cook your favorite meal.

- Love to kiss your hands and forehead.

- He didn't had lots of relationships but definitely he knows what every girl need in a relationship.

- He would teach you to become better with home stuff like cleaning etc...

- Warm and sweet.

- He is a hard-worker.

- Serious and responsible.

- Supportive and understanding.

Negative Side:

- Can be assertive quite a lot.

- He doesn't really know how to enjoy his time.

- Messy if you want to start your intimate relationship with.

- Can be needy sometimes.

- Very strict.

- Dry humor.

- Obsessed with the suitor's life especially Napoleon.

- Sometimes he will indulge himself and start ignoring you.

Charles-Henry Sanson

Positive Side:

- Ready to cuddle 7/24.

- Love everything about you. your hair، your body، your blood، your laugh، your smile etc...

- Would never cheat.

- Very loyal but don't expect him to open up so fast.

- If he start to kiss you he would never stop. He will corner you and kiss you until you feel breathless.

- He is always with you every where and anywhere.... literally any place you go he will appeare there like your shadow.

- Will buy you a lot of gifts. If you like books or you're one of those who love music or you enjoy food he will shower you with what you love.

- Love to hold you and if you weren't near to him you'll find him searching for your hands.

- Very affection behind the doors and in public.

Negative Side:

- He is very clingy and doesn't even know what personal space is.

- He don't care about your personal space at all you'll find him stalking and watching you without your permission.

He can be a stalker but not in a bad way.

- Will take a long time to open up but that doesn't mean he didn't trust you.

- Can manipulated easily so you should take care of him.

- FLIRTY... literally he will flirt with any girl in front of you to make you feel jealous.

- Insecure... he think that you will leave him for someone better.

- Bad possessive want you all to himself.

"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"~"

[thatsuhboldchoice]

i am obsessed with the rsc genderswapped taming

i was honestly unsure going in even though i love a good gender swap bc shrew can be so hard to watch

i was curious but did kinda think it could be a cluster

it's so gender dependent but obviously that was the entire point

i mean right off the bat it demonstrates why i love genderswaps to begin with bc all of the sudden the women who have been confined to these vary narrow types of roles just get to explode and interpret a much fuller range of their humanity

gremia is a goddamn scene stealer

trania is having way too much fun

claire price has my entire heart as petruchia

i want to personally strangle petruchio with my bare hands in 90% of productions

but everything happening here i love

100% emphasizes petruchio as a misfit

her little vocal break whenever she says her father is dead

katherine seems way more low key but also that may be my own gender bias coming out where a man behaving badly i don't judge as harshly?

like a usual female kate yells and throws something and i'm like she's amped up whereas a man does it and my brain goes sure okay

that was a observation i made throughout the entire show

like something i noticed about how i was responding to it

even though it's set up as a matriarchy, coming to it through a patriachial lens, the women never do seem as threatening?

like there are certain simple lines that come out of the traditionally male characters mouths that are just SO cruel without them even trying

but here it seemed less vicious?

for example the "taming" scenes were played with very little humor and with katherine actually incredibly distressed

and i felt that for sure

but the humiliation still didn't cut as deep?

(as much as i loved it overall though i do think there was maybe something missing in the development of the kate and petruchia relationship? like one scene towards the end that maybe needed to sit somewhere else tonally...bc i didn't fully believe that he was "tamed " aka he was just going along with stuff to stop the poor treatment, but i also didn't really catch the moment when he (or her) truly caught a case of the feelings for each other...but they still played it like that at the end...not that those are the only two interpretations)

but then that last speech!!!

all context all world building all pretense aside

hearing these words said by a man: "I am ashamed that [men] are so simple / To offer war where they should kneel for peace; / Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway, / When they are bound to serve, love and obey. / Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth, / Unapt to toil and trouble in the world, / But that our soft conditions and our hearts / Should well agree with our external parts?"

was goddamn revolutionary

like holy shit i had a religious experience during this final monologue

AND THEN because man is used gender neutrally so often in english...it reads as everyone being soft and weak and that we are ALL froward and unable worms, our lances are but straws

we are just soft and squishy humans who fight too much (esp. men)

my hearing of this final monologue is forever changed

GODDAMN SHAKESPEARE STOP BEING RELEVANT

(also i cannot believe they made no cuts i mean Good For Them but my goodness)