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ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her · 1 year

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So I finished The Faithless a bit ago and I've been putting off writing about it because, to my great disappointment, I didn't like it very much. I don't think it's necessarily bad by it's own merits (mostly), but as a sequel to The Unbroken, it was deeply disappointing. Spoilers to follow.

So there were a couple of things that I didn't love back when I first read the Unbroken. I thought the use of Unremarkable Queerness was a disappointing missed opportunity, that an exploration of the differences in cultural attitudes towards sex and gender would've enriched the book's thesis as well as Touraine's own journey as a queer woman raised under one culture reconnecting with the one she was stolen from. I also thought that, while using magic to represent culture - and specifically to use Luca's hunger for Shal magic as a critique of "well-intentioned" cultural appropriation, and Balladaire's lack of magic to represent the way culture is flattened by Empire - was a strong choice, choosing to make magic the exclusive domain of religion created the implication, deliberate or otherwise, that what was really wrong with Balladaire was that they'd turned their back on their traditional faith, which was not a message I cared for. All that being said, I found these issues pretty easy to ignore, because the book had a much more powerful central idea to explore, and its examination of a stolen, abused, indoctrinated victim of colonialism reconnecting with her homeland, as well as its exploration of the ways even genuinely kind-hearted and well-meaning colonialists inflict monumental atrocities, were extremely compelling. The Unbroken had ideas to share, question to pose and answer, and a message powerful enough to render my critiques inconsequential.

The same cannot be said for The Faithless. Based on the framing of the book, I expected to get an exploration of the political relationship between a colonizing nation and it's newly independent ex-colony. I thought we might get some examination of the difficulty of establishing international credibility for a new nation, of arranging favorable partnerships and trade deals in a world where you are seen as not just potentially unstable and with little of value economically, but as literal lesser people. I expected whatever approach it took to this framing device, it would be sharp, incisive, and timely. But it wasn't. Ultimately, the framing device was just a framing device, and the majority of the page count was spent on trying to learn the truth about Balladairen magic and Luca's bid to keep the throne, with the question of economic and political relations hung entirely on whether she or her uncle ended up in charge.

There were some details which gestured at the kind of themes that I'd been looking forward to, but the key words there are "details" and "gestured". Touraine's uncomfortable socializing with Balladairen nobles; cool, we already knew that! How does that discomfort affect her ability as an ambassador to make favorable connections and advance the interests of the people she represents? Don't know, she doesn't really try, beyond reminding Luca occasionally that her interest in getting Luca on the throne isn't altruistic. There's a Balladairen revolutionary movement born of economic disenfranchisement and the fear of free Shalans "stealing" resources. Okay that's interesting! What does their organizational structure look like? How many people can they mobilize? What are their economic and political aims, what's their plan for enacting it? How does Touraine feel about a bunch of people who share many of the same grievances as her people, but that unjustly blame her people for their problems? Don't know, none of that comes up. Their only plot function is to try to kill Luca and make her paranoid about her uncle. There's the Droitist school system that traumatized and conditioned Touraine! They take down one school, but acknowledge that it's a problem that can't be solved on an individual level. What kind of systemic changes need to be made? What obstacles are there? How can they be overcome or subverted? All of that gets pushed firmly onto the "once I'm queen" plate. I could go on. Ultimately, the elements that should have been the core of the story and themes become backdrop to a personal drama between Luca, Nicholas, Touraine, and Sabine. And it's functional enough, but it doesn't have anywhere near the originality or emotional resonance or drive that the plot of the previous book did.

Also, without a strong plot to take center stage, my nitpicks took up more of my attention, and the continuation of the story exacerbated some of the problems I had with them. With regards to unremarkable queerness: the central struggle of this book is over who is going to take over the throne of a hereditary monarchy. Am I supposed to believe that the fact that Luca regularly has sex with different partners, has no interest in getting a consort, and has no blood heir, compared to her uncle, who has a recognized blood heir, is of no consequence in a power struggle over a hereditary monarchy? And if there are cultural values or structure that make that a non issue, I would love to see them explored! I'd be fascinated to know where they come from and how they impact the rest of society! The conflation of magic, culture, and religion didn't end up going the direction I was concerned about, but it also became extremely muddy about what exactly it was trying to say. We learn that Balladairen magic still exists amongst the commons, but we also learn that the large scale type of magic that ensured good harvests was powered by human sacrifice, which is something that no one, including our antagonists, want to resume. So if Balladaire killed its religion for good, justifiable reasons, how does that square with the previous book's presentation as magic being a deeply integral part of culture, with its theft or suppression being an act of near genocide? It muddies the waters, and it ends up feeling like the author wanted to just treat this book as more conventional speculative fantasy fiction rather than a continuation of the themes explored in the first book. Ultimately, I think, that's what I'm really disappointed about. I came to The Faithless excited for a continuation of the deep exploration of colonialism in The Unbroken, and I got a much less grounded piece of speculative fantasy fiction.

#magic of the lost #the faithless #the unbroken #magic of the lost critical #the faithless critical #the unbroken critical #the wlw review

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winxrewrite · 6 months

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asking for Critique on my winx club secret of the lost kingdom rewrite!

this is just the first draft so there are a few things ive changed, mainly in the girls character arcs

i feel like i didn't change enough but at the same time i tried keeping what i liked which ended up being allot.

BASE OUTLINE:

Chapter 1: Graduation Blues

The Winx and Specialists graduate, becoming legal guardian fairies.

Bloom is the only one without a clear path, feeling left behind and uncertain about finding her parents.

Daphne is unreachable, and Faragonda can't provide much information.

Bloom returns to Gardenia with little direction.Each Winx member pursues their post-graduation path: Flora takes a part-time teaching assistant job in Linphea. Musa goes back to Melody to further her music career. Tecna becomes the new guardian fairy of Zenith. Aisha faces loneliness in Andros. Stella tackles Solaria's issues.

Chapter 2 : Bloom's Desolation

Bloom feels increasingly isolated as everyone moves on.

Mitzy's progress intensifies Bloom's sense of stagnation.

Bloom has a recurring dream with a fading Daphne.

Bloom wakes up determined, calls the Winx to regroup.

She has a lead on finding her parents and needs their help.

The Winx and Specialists gather on Domino.

Chapter 4 : The book of fate

Bloom uses Daphne's mask to find the library.

They encounter challenges, including a giant bird.

The Winx claim the bird and find the Book of Fate.

Daphne fully fades; her powers go to Oritel's sword.

Ancestral witches awaken, sensing the Winx.

Mandragora is summoned, stealing Daphne's spark.

Chapter 5 : Invasion of Alfea

Mandragora invades Alfea, causing significant damage.

Pixies arrive to help in the restoration.

The Winx share the prophecy with Faragonda.

The Winx get permission to go to Obsidian.

They gain a portal and arrive with the Specialists.

Dark energy of Obsidian affects the Winx but not the Specialists.

Chapter 6: The Obsidian

The Winx face illusions tailored to each of them.

The Winx regroup at the resting place of the ancestral witches.

Ancestral witches mock them and attack.

Aisha, Tecna, Stella, Flora, and Musa succumb to Obsidian's dark energy.

Bloom remains immune to Obsidian's dark energy.

The ancestral witches attempt to manipulate Bloom into breaking the sword.

Bloom fights back, risking her powers.

Using Enchantix energy, Bloom frees her father.

Bloom loses Enchantix and transforms back into her base form. The ancestor witches try going after her father, she then took the blow for him. Killing her instantly.

Daphne appears and possesses Bloom.

Chapter 7 : Reincarnation

Oritel and Daphne engage in a fierce battle.

The witches summon Mandragora.

Daphne defeats Mandragora alongside oritel.

Obsidian is destroyed, saving Domino.

Chapter 8 : Aftermath and Reflection

Daphne merges with Bloom's powers and moves on.

Bloom feels a mix of relief and uselessness.

We get a few flashes of resolutions for the girls.

A celebration ball is held in Domino.

Bartleby hints at more challenges for the Winx.

#writing #winx club #art #winx bloom #winx stella #winx flora #winx musa #enchantix #magic winx #winx club rewrite #winx club secret of the lost kingdom rewrite #writers on tumblr #creative writing #writers #criticism welcome

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waywardsalt · 1 month

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my recording of finally beating the caelid divine tower godskin apostle :)

#it worked :) finally just had to convert it to mov #elden ring #my post #the godskin apostles are def one of my favorite bosses with the fallingstar beast and the mounted knight bosses i like to run directly at #i def got mad lucky with the critical and the bloody slash + hemorrhage combo #ignore my insane dodgerolling i level endurance the most to accommodate it and my attack spamming and this was like my 20th attempt #anyways premiere footage of how i tend to play elden ring minus everything else i usually have equipped with flasks and any magic #the theme for the godskin apostles is so cool too i really love the early bit where the vocals take over for a few seconds #i think i play this game like its cuphead with heals. i can take like three hits max so dodging is my best defense #also offense is my best defense. dont need to block an attack if theyre dead before they can hit you #also didnt pick up those lost runes bc it was 0 runes dw abt it #also this is nothing near a flex or anything its just a combine celebration of beating this guy and learning to record it

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kiwisandpearls · 8 months

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is it weird that I sympathise way more with the PB girls than the Magia Union girls? Like don’t get me wrong, many of their actions inexcusable but I definitely get where the girls are coming from with their anger towards Kamihama magical girls. Like Kamihama for a while, had an abundance of witches, and while they were stronger you could easily go to a coordinator, and with the abundance of witches you could hunt for more grief seeds. Not only that, but they were prevented from becoming witches due to the Doppel system. PB girls on the other hand couldn’t do any of that.

idk, just the way the Magia Union girls (more specifically Iroha) preach about hope and holding hands to Yuna, the girl who had to watch multiple magical girls die in front of her, it kinda feels like their sweeping Yuna’s (kinda justifiable) anger under the rug.

#Like I know Iroha says their gonna make the system be available #for all magical girls #But still #I don’t wanna say Iroha is privileged #I don’t think she is #I mean she lost her sister for a bit and struggled with her identity as well #but the way she constantly tells Yuna “we just have to hold hands!!”#Feels super hollow to me lol #idk maybe I read through the arc wrong #Magia Record #magia record arc 2 #promised blood #kamihama magia union #magia Record critical #I guess idk

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no-more-tales-tavern · 7 months

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Sinful 5A: Laudna waking Romeo the day after her wedding to Imogen ... still in her dress.

Bonus points for Imogen telepathically encouraging Laudna.

Sinful Gifs: 5A

Romeo was not unfamiliar with the sensation of being woken to his cock smothered in the heavenly embrace of soft and pillowy tits, but it was certainly a surprising one considering he distinctly remembered returning to his room alone the night before. And, considering the slight chill he felt from that heavenly embrace, he had a feeling he knew exactly who it was.

“Laudna…what are you doing here…~?”

The dark-skinned knight slowly sat up in his bed, blinking away the last of his sleep, to lock eyes with the phantasmally gorgeous woman kneeling on his bed, her plump and soft—if a bit chilled from undeath—breasts pumping up and down his shaft with frenetic eagerness. He wasn’t exactly sure how she’d managed to undress him without he knowing, and he figured he’d rather not ask.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Romeo~?” the gothic daydream of a warlock purred in reply, leaning in close to plant a smooch to the tip of his cock as it rose between her breasts—an action that made him shiver and groan with desire. “I just woke up~ and I’m eager for my breakfast~ I hope you have plenty of cream for me~”

The half-dark-elf groaned and gripped the bedsheets to either side of him, struggling best he could not to let instinct overtake him. “Shouldn’t you be with Imogen right now~? You two god married literally yesterday~!”

As he said that, there was a spark of amusement in the corpse bride’s eyes, and she planted another smooch to the tip of his cock. “Who do you think sent me over here~?” she cooed playfully, her tongue flicking over his tip before pulling back to shoot him a wink. “Say hi, Imogen~”

Hi~ a singsong voice suddenly jingled in the back of Romeo’s mind. Are you enjoying my wife, Romeo~? Don’t worry about making a mess of her~ I’ll be there soon to help her out~

And with that, any restraint Romeo might’ve been holding onto fell away, and he let his head roll back with a deep and lustful groan, hot and thick cum erupting up from his cock to shoot over Laudna’s face, over her neck, and between her breasts. The gothic sorceress gasped with delight and moaned, biting her lip at the sudden warmth, and Romeo heard a similar moan in his mind as well.

Mmm~ oh yeah, I’ll be there very soon~

#a twisted tale (nsft snippet)#exandria is for lovers (critical role)#a gothic daydream (laudna)#lost in a lavender haze (imogen temult)#a tavern regular (oc muse)#atoning for his mother's sins (romeo lestrange)#an even more magical world (harry potter au)

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the-woman-upstairs · 8 months

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Reading Mister Magic right after Dead Eleven just solidified to me how much influence creepypasta has over modern horror across all mediums.

#this is not a complaint by the way #the same year Skinamarink came out too #horror #mister magic #dead eleven #just something i find interesting #both books examine how lost media and urban legends mixed with conservative relgious zealotry #serve to impede the growth of future generations #plus it’s nice that all three heavily criticize the obsession with nostalgia #anyway on to Fever House now curious to see how this one goes

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chaosgenasi · 2 years

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the desire to see milo again & let them study the potions of possibility/residuum vs the fear that bells hells could be tracked to the krook house

#basil.ramblings #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #cause we ended the episode right before bh decided where they're headed. and i miss them #we know otohan knew about eshteross bc of her mind dive but. hmm #ashton being nervous for milo/anni & bells hells notifying hexum that they lost a friend makes Me nervous #especially bc hexum seems to be a main part of paragon's call supply chain. so i feel like she and otohan & maybe even ludinus #have had conversations. which makes me very eyes for whoever hired the nobodies bc they might know more about everything #also i just think it'd be funny if milo studies the residuum & looks at ashton like. that's u skjdfh #especially bc ashton being made of some sort of residuum varient kinda makes sense if they 'traveled' from issylra to hellcatch #via nexus / leyline which are the like the veins of arcane magic & what makes it possible in exandria #this spiraled i just wanna see milo again #i do think it would be sick if we get combat in/a battle map of the krook house if hexum or otohan send their people there

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drakonovisny · 1 year

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am i supposed to take this seriously after all the shit she's said and done before?

lmao

#she's better than the other templars! she thinks that it's ok to magically lobotomize mages only sometimes #and she's so so pretty and cool! everyone just can't stop noting her beauty and amazingness #and she's very brave for standing up to authority figures for what she believes is right even if it means she can lose everything #not like that stupid adrian girl who wants freedom ''but doesn't even understand what it means''#how could she be so dumb to demand for magical lobotomy to be abolished completely and advocate for everyone already subjected to be cured?#and she's so short and her red curly hair is funny!#plus she can't even think for herself sometimes‚ she just stands next to fiona ''like an accessory'' during the conclave #and she's so explosive‚ it's so foolish and short-sighted of her to stand up to her oppressors #clearly she's just a lost child like the rest of the mages who want to separate!#of course rhys is the most reasonable among them so he feels like an outcast #after being thrown in the dungeons for 4 days without food and water he knows that there's no middle path with the templars #but he just doesn't want anyone to get hurt :((((#and instead of doing anything he keeps shaking his head in disapproval and criticizes everyone #but not evangeline because she's so so pretty and actually a good templar!#adrian is angry at him because she's jealous!#not because he keeps ridiculing everything she does and refuses to support her time after time #when she keeps supporting him without question even after he deliberately broke her trust several times already #and of course by the end of everything her blind rage has taken her too far and she betrays rhys #because people like her who are ready to fight for their freedom are ''radicals'' and those are ruthless and insane #it's all adrian's fault that wynne's perfectly sound plan of slowly reforming the circle under the divine's guidance hasn't worked #it's not like that plan would have crumbled the moment templars realized they're losing authority #and they would've pushed the chantry to revoke the changes #because all of the mages' rights and freedoms could be stripped down on a whim as long as they don't have the means to protect them #and as a cherry on top after everything that happened rhys joined the centrist fraternity!#fucking hell #all of the main characters in this book suck #excluding cole #cole did nothing wrong <3 #i'll need to take a break and read a different book before subjective myself to the remaining two novels written by g*id*r #sorry for the rant this book is making me froth at the mouth

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perenlop · 1 year

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i love how the worldbuilding in season 1 of mlp is done omg. i love that the world and seasons are all managed by ponies, that sorta gets less emphasis in later seasons from what i see. i just thought it extended to rainbow dash’s clouds or the royal sisters with the sun and moon, but nah they physically change the seasons and are in charge of the weather. its super cute i love it

#it really lends itself to that cute fantasy feel. like this isnt just our world but w ponies its got actual magic in all kinds of ways #also i love how twilight is characterized soooo much ik ive said that but shes so cute in season 1 #i like how shes more of an awkward dork and again thats kinda lost in later seasons #which i get bc shes had character development and becomes an alicorn so people love and respect her so thats not bad #but like its charming in season 1. actually all of season 1 has been super charming so far #ive seen ppl complain that she has to be shoved into the episodes somehow to have them make sense so she can write her letters #but like i love her so more twilight is good twilight #it feels so earnest and fun and has so much love and care put into it #like you can tell lauren faust cared a lot about this show and how much of her childhood made it in #im enjoying this season a lot like the only episode i didnt care for was the zecora one #but honestly zecora just feels off to me as a character overall like the way shes written feels. weird #so thats sadly a ‘’this is the whole show’’ problem then a season 1 problem #oh ig i criticized the trixie episode too but like besides the weird framing that episode is also fun so eh #and any trixie is good trixie shes one of my faces so idc #echoed voice #mlp liveblog

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pencilofawesomeness · 2 years

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For the bingo: Mavis, Cana, Freed, and Mirajane

MAVIS

I love how she's perfectly capable of committing war crimes, even before she got cursed.

CANA

She was simultaneously the most sane person in her age group at Fairy Tail and also messed up. She is such an MVP. Would have loved to see her play the Big Sister more.

FREED

This dude obviously has A Backstory, and bits we see are so tantalizing. Alas, he somehow got stuck bouncing between being the responsible bean and being some sort of weird comic relief, Juvia-style. Not to mention he was robbed of a proper arc, even though though it had a great beginning set up.

MIRAJANE

I think about her way too often. She has such a great set-up, even if the execution was befuddling. I want to give her a hug and sit her down for a talk at the same time. It is almost amazing how much time she gets to progress so little.

#ask game #character bingo #when it comes to ft I exist on that top row ngl #great characters with great arc potentials #but so little follow through #i'm just here in a corner shaking them #until all those angsty bits fall out of their pockets #it's funny how all four of these characters are repressed af #and that barely gets touched on in canon #cana is drinking the this is fine juice #literally and metaphorically #mavis kinda literally had DID but we don't talk about that #not to mention that she was super down with murder and black magic #moral good?#nah she was an angry cinnamon roll ready to kill god for her friends #freed has the self confidence of a wet paper bag #super smart but he chooses to dunk his critical thinking skills in the toilet around supposed authority #he had such a great moment at the end of the BoFT arc but then he kinda regressed #and mirajane been wearing personas her entire FT career #we lost the real mirajane to the fire #honey sweety please stop pretending to be what you think people want you to be #and also slow down before I put you in the war crimes category #even though she's kinda already there #I say with love #anyways I can ramble more but I'm also all over the place so #yeah

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zincbot · 1 year

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i'm absolutely lost but managed to start calamity

#critical role calamity #halfway thru episode one! brennan always blows it away setting tone with the very first character intro #what a scene #i can not wait for things to devolve to match that nightmare #this is my first critical role thing and i was shocked by the production quality of the intro?? like damn #the ad break in the middle was crazy too it's just a pretty stark contrast with dimension 20.#i guess they came into popularity in completely different ways #when i say i'm lost i mean i'm completely caught up on everything dimension 20 And worlds beyond number #so i'm at a loss. checked out la by night and dnd chaos briefly but decided to buckle down and finally watch calamitu #can't wait to see this whole magic city get fucking destroyed #i've been seeing people post about calamity for so long ok i know the deal but i'm excited

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iamthekarmapolice · 5 months

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mic the snare's deep discog dive on coldplay.....they were my favorurite band in the whole world between 2010 and late 2011 and this video is bringing back so many memories. their music meant so fucking much to me

#i'll defend their first 4 albums with my life. they're good and there's nothing wrong with being earnest and sincere!!!#the rock critics were all suffering from irony poisoning then thats their personal problem #but then everything they've released after that with the exception of 'charlie brown' 'hurts like heaven' and 'magic' is trash. t r a s h #the reason i lost interest late 2011 was because thats when 'every teardrop is a waterfall' and 'paradise' dropped and they sucked #also i was really into lotr around the same time so in my head coldplay kind of soundtracks a lot of lotr #i can't hear 'lost' without thinking about aragon #music is such a time machine their music really makes me feel like it's 2011. so many small moments i can remember so vividly

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no-more-tales-tavern · 9 months

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@freeusemuses sent: "Sinful gifs 1A: Now it's Imogen's turn to "cheat" on Laudna during her wedding. Doing the same thing to Romeo that Laudna did."

Sinful Gifs: 1A

Even when he knew this was coming, Romeo still found himself groaning and at a total loss of control. He gripped the foyer table behind him with a white-knuckled grip, holding back groans as he felt the gorgeous lavender-haired beauty bob back and forth along the length of his cock.

"Fucking hell, Imogen~" the paladin murmured, sighing as his head dropped low—his gaze locking with her electric-violet eyes staring so wantonly up at him. "Fuck~ you keep this up, and I'm gonna assume you want me to join you and Laudna for the wedding night~"

The gorgeous bride hummed around his cock before slowly pulling back with a pop, licking her lips as she pumped his shaft with a hand idly. "Well I can't say that, because that would ruin the surprise~"

Romeo's eyes widened, and his cock throbbed hard in the lusty country girl's hand in response. "Fuck~ you're not serious~ are you~?" he murmured, holding back groans as she continued steadily pumping his cock, her lips returning to sucking his tip. Sucking him off during the reception was one thing, but...

Imogen smirked up at him, going deep down on his cock again, then releasing him with another lewd gasp. "Ah~ oh, I'm serious~" she murmured, her eyes staring deep into his as she pumped his shaft. "Laudna and I both want you there~ we want to spend our wedding night with the man we both love~ and have him knock us both up on the same night~"

Romeo swallowed hard, his cock throbbing harder at Imogen's plans. Shaking his head, he turned away from her to glance back towards the reception room, and froze as he saw Laudna staring back at him. The beautiful gothic bride locked eyes with him, desire burning in her smoldering gaze, and she nodded to him—clearly, hearing everything Imogen had said through their link.

It was too much for him to take, and with a lustful groan, Romeo threw his head back and bucked his hips, showering Imogen before him in his thick, hot cum, coaxing a delightfully cry to fall from her lips.

Tonight was going to be a long one, for sure~

#a twisted tale (nsft snippet)#exandria is for lovers (critical role)#an even more magical world (harry potter au)#lost in a lavender haze (imogen temult)#a gothic daydream (laudna)#a tavern regular (oc muse)#atoning for his mother's sins (romeo lestrange)

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caramel-ribbons · 1 year

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I love how the Titan isn’t a God; he’s a father who has used his power to try and communicate with the girl who has shown nothing but love and compassion towards his son. She wears the Bad girl coven shirt. There’s a Hooty piece where he’s missing an eye. Her last words to her son are “I loaf you” because she knows he likes bread puns. The Titan has more in common with witches and humans than he does with the immortalized version Belos created.

I love how Belos intentionally turned the Titan into this Godlike figure because he’s a colonizer. White colonizers thrusted their religious beliefs onto the people they deemed lesser. They actively took over entire continents and actively stole from and killed people because of their perceived superiority. Belos thinks he’s better than the witches, and so he stole the magic from the Titan, appointed himself its ruler, and attempted genocide against the witches of the Boiling Isles.

And I love how Luz saves the day, not because she was a chosen one with some innate power, but because she’d proven to the Titan that she deserved power.

“Almost as if the world wanted to hide them from me.”

“Almost like the Titan himself didn’t want me to have that knowledge.”

Because he didn’t. Because the Titan knew Belos didn’t have good intentions. But she showed the glyphs to Luz. He chose to show his power to her because he knew she would use it for good, and she did. Unlike Belos, Luz appreciated the culture of the Demon Realm and she learned to love the people of the Boiling Isles, including King, in a matter of months. Belos was there for centuries and yet he never bothered to treat the Boiling Isles with any respect. Why should he earn the Titan’s power when he can’t even respect her or any of the beings she shelters?

I’ve seen a few people (mainly on Twitter), reducing all of this to a “deus ex machina” or, “another cult metaphor”, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about respect. Respect of land and the people who occupy it. It’s about respecting people enough to understand them and their culture without forcing your own beliefs onto them. More than simply being an obvious criticism of the witch trials and the Catholics responsible for them, it’s also a criticism of people who use religion as an excuse to hurt people. Belos used the Titan as a substitute for his own God and then weaponized her against her own people, while Luz treated her offspring with nothing but love and respect.

Luz won because she loved and looked after the Titan’s son and thus, loved her. Belos lost because he didn’t even bother to learn anything about King, his Dad, or the people he protected.

Edit: A really nice commenter reminded me it was the Puritains and not the Catholics who were responsible for the witch trials. Thank you for that. Message still stands but just keep that in mind.

#it’s perfect #the owl house #owl house #toh #belos #the titan #luz noceda #watching and dreaming #i’m gonna miss this show

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elodieunderglass · 1 year

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the first chapter of Moby Dick rewritten in tiresome modern idiom

CHAPTER 1. Loomings.

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - it's none of your business how many - being mostly broke, and bored with the land part of the world, I thought I would sail around a little and look at the watery part of the world. I'm probably the most mentally healthy person you know. Whenever I feel my face getting grim; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself accidentally reading the ads in the window of funeral homes, and following funeral processions through traffic; and especially when I'm hangry, and only my extremely strong moral principles stop me from deliberately going out in public and methodically slapping people's earbuds out - then I know it's high time to get to sea, ASAP. This is my substitute for getting in fights. I'm too mentally healthy to kill myself; I quietly and considerately put myself on a ship and sail myself away instead. There is nothing surprising in this. Everyone feels exactly the same way, and if they don't, they're lying.

You think I'm lying? Exhibit A: a city. Go to your local coastal city. Everyone is looking at the water. They drive over from other neighborhoods just to come to the water. They make a day of it. They're not doing anything, they're just staring at the ocean. Why? Is it because they all work office jobs? No! Here come more of them! They cram themselves up to the edge of the water and stare at it. WHAT DO THEY WANT? WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING AT. Perhaps the ships themselves all packed together, each one with several compasses on it, creates some kind of critical mass - all of the small compass-magnets on all the ships in the harbor combining into one really big magnetic field - and the people get sucked into the field and trapped there. That's science.

Exhibit 2: the countryside with lakes in it. Every path you follow in the countryside brings you to some water, such as a stream. There is magic in it. If you take your standard fool with ADHD dissociating in the middle of a supermarket and put them outside and give them a shove, they'll automatically lead you to water (if there is any nearby) (try it). Another good experiment to try is to get lost in the great American desert in a caravan supplied with a metaphysical professor! Try it in the great American desert at home!

Yes, as everyone knows, meditation and water are a match made in heaven. Married forever. That's science.

Here's an artist who wants to paint you the dreamiest, most enchanting landscape. What does he put in it? Trees, meadow, cows, a cottage with smoke coming from the chimney, obviously. He will probably put a path in it and make lots of triangular mountains in rows and have them be different shades of blue (naturally.) But there's gotta be a stream in it. Go visit the prairies in June, and wade for forty miles through knee-deep through tiger lilies. What's missing from this picture? Water!

If Niagara Falls was made of sand instead of water, would you travel your thousand miles to see it? Why would a guy given a handful of cash have trouble deciding whether to buy a coat (which he needed) or go to the beach? Why are all the best, healthiest, sexiest and most mentally healthy people obsessed with the sea? (You get me.) When you were first on a boat, did you not succumb to VIBES? Consider ancient Persia. Consider ancient Greece. They understood about vibes, and also gods.

SURELY ALL OF THIS IS NOT WITHOUT MEANING.

And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus, who because he could not grasp the tormenting, mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all! You get me! You understand it now.

Now, when I say that I am in the habit of going to sea whenever I get weird, don't you dare imply that I buy a ticket and get on a boat. I have never had money in my life. How dare you. Anyway I don't go as a passenger - that's bougie, and something boring people do. Passengers never have a good time. And although my C.V. is incredible - I go to sea SO MUCH, you guys, I have lots of experience - I don't go as a boss, or a cook. That sounds like far too much work. Hard work. Disgusting, respectable, bougie, and far too responsible. I can literally only look after myself. Do not ask me to look after ships or shit. In fact, I have only a vague idea of what a ship is. There's so many different kinds of ships - don't get me started and DO NOT GET INVOLVED. Also, I'm allergic to glory.

It's kind of attractive to go as a cook. I mean, I'm allergic to glory and there's some glory attached to the position of the ship's cook, but, like, you're not management-track and so it's still credible. But I don't really want to cook (say) roast chicken. I really fucking love to eat roast chicken. I'm one of the best at doing it actually. I really appreciate when people go out of their way to butter, season, baste and roast a chicken for me. Picture a roast chicken and I am Looking Respectfully at it. Maybe something more, maybe I'm worshipping it. Don't make this weird. If you want to get weird about my relationship with roasted chicken, why aren't you getting weird about the ancient Egyptians? They ate roasted hippos (look it up) and the pyramids were basically pizza ovens. So it's pretty hypocritical to think that I'm being weird about roasted chicken when I've never made mummies out of chickens or built a religious pizza oven dedicated to honoring them: check and mate, haters.

Anyway - I like to go to sea as a manual laborer. A simple sailor. Salt of the earth… er… sea. Yeah, true: as a job it sucks. They make you jump around, order you around, treat you like shit. They expect you to jump around the boat like a grasshopper. And yes, at first, this sucks. It's degrading, especially if you come from a middle-class family. Worse, it's awful if you've already had some kind of professional job before signing on to be the dirt on the boss's boots - like, if you went to college and worked as a teacher and actually got kids to pay attention to you, really feeling this connection to work/teaching/identity or some shit, and now you are just literally the scum on this captain's boots, in the lowest possible job in the world. It hurts! It hurts your dignity. But the hurt, and also the dignity, both wear off in time.

So what if some old bastard sea captain orders me - ME! - to get a broom and sweep down the decks? What does that indignity amount to, compared to the shit in the Bible, compared to the shit in the news, compared to the shit everyone else has to take. Do you think the archangel Gabriel thinks anything the less of me, because I promptly and respectfully obey that old hunks in that particular instance? Who ain’t a slave? Tell me that. We're all just serfs under capitalism, right, so why not just be honest about it: I prefer the honesty. Anyway, however the old sea captains may order me about - slapping and punching of course - I have the satisfaction of knowing that it's the same experience everyone else on Earth has, but more honest. Everyone else in the world is being served the exact same way. Either in a physical or a metaphysical way - sometimes people get the shit beaten out of them in person, sometimes online, sometimes emotionally, it happens to you in EVERY JOB, you sign on to get pushed around and slapped in the teeth: so the point is that when you're a sailor, it's a clean and honest slap. All the workers of the world share the same universal slap to the face that gets passed round, one slap passed all 'round the chain, like paying it forward, but it's a slap; and we should all accept this Universal Slap as the price of living, and then offer each other healing back massages, brother to brother, and slap each other and then kissed the places we slapped, and be happy.

I could examine that but I'm not going to.

Anyway: I always go to sea as a sailor. I've said that already. You're welcome. BUT THE POINT IS, they pay you. If you're a passenger, they don't pay you, at least, not that I've ever heard of [citation needed] (do they pay passengers?? Is there a job I can get where I can be a passenger and get paid?? Look this up.) Yeah so passengers have to pay. And there is all the difference in the world between paying and being paid. The act of paying is perhaps the most uncomfortable infliction that the two orchard thieves entailed upon us. (That's Adam and Eve. You get it.) But BEING PAID. GETTING PAID IS THE BEST. NOTHING COMPARES TO GETTING PAID. EVERYONE LOVES THAT SHIT. Which is surprising, since we also apparently believe that money is the root of all evil, and isn't there something in the bible about "no rich people can get into heaven," right? And yet it's universal, literally everyone loves payday. Ah! How cheerfully we send ourselves to hell.

Finally, I always go to sea as a sailor (I've said this already) because it's FRESH AIR AND EXERCISE. Okay so think about ships. Normally, bosses stand on the "bridge" thing, and because we're sailing a boat, the nose is going into the wind and the butt part of the boat is at the back. That's how wind works. But if you think about it, winds usually go in one direction more than other directions (unless the men have been eating beans and farting: it's Pythagoras, look it up) SO if you're a boss standing on the boss-deck, the wind is blowing FROM the sailors TOWARDS you, and YOU ARE ACTUALLY BREATHING THE AIR THAT SAILORS ALREADY BREATHED. The boss THINKS he breathes it first, but he doesn't. He gets the air at the BACK of the boat and sailors get the air at the FRONT. So it's better to be at the front of the boat (sailor) for health reasons. This is a metaphor for life and work, etc.

But I have smelled the sea lots of times as a paid sailor and WHY I should decide to go on a whaling expedition - ok so you know how there's an invisible police officer of the Fates who has me under constant surveillance, who secretly dogs me, and influences me in some unaccountable way? YOU get me. You know him. "The poor FBI agent tasked with reading my search engine history" YOU GET ME. Anyway, "Ishmael, why, after having a perfectly well-reasoned, and very smart of you, part-time job as a spontaneous random sailor, did you decide to escalate that to joining a WHALING EXPEDITION, which is worse in every way?" Well, ask my fucking secret FBI agent, he can answer better than anyone else. Including me. You get me. Also, obviously, this was predestined, part of the Universe's Grand Programme for its talent show, which was all scheduled way before our time. The concept of sending me on the whaling voyage comes in as a kind of interlude or solo between the main performances of the Universe's great talent show. I bet it was advertised llike,

"PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF THE UNITED STATES EMBROILED IN ONGOING LEGAL DISPUTE.

Whaling voyage by some guy called Ishmael.

BLOODY BATTLE IN AFGHANISTAN."

Like a commercial break in between the big acts. A filler episode. Lightens the load for everyone else. Though I can't explain why the stage managers - the Fates - chose such a shitty role for me, a WHALING VOYAGE of all things, when it feels like others were given magnificent parts in high tragedies, and short and easy parts in genteel comedies, and jolly parts in farces - it seems a little unreasonable at first. Why doth Ishmael get shat upon, etc. But then I think about all the circumstances, the plot points and motivations that were cunningly presented to me under various disguises - FBI agents, bouts of random hanger, gay awakenings, you get me - and you can see that actually, I was set up. And worse, between them all, these Fates and Circumstances conspired to make me believe it was all my own choice and good judgment. Is Free Will an illusion? Are my decisions bad? We will NEVER know because I, Ishmael, am just a little guy that the Universe plays head games with.

One of the ways the Universe tricked me into starring in this performance and then mocking me for it was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself (whaling expeditions usually contain whales.) Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity. Then of course, if you have a whale, you have the wild and distant seas where the whale rolls around with his body-the-size-of-an-island; the dangers and nameless perils of the whale; whales are also found in interesting places I haven't seen; this all tipped me over the edge. Maybe normal people could've resisted, but I am tormented with an everlasting itch for obscurity. I hate everyone else's oceans. I want the forbidden seas.

You know The Horrors? Of course you do. You might be surprised that I, the most mentally healthy person you've ever met, a person who is self-aware enough to go to sea when they're at their fucking limits, a guy who likes fresh air and manual labor and normal things, is familiar with The Horrors. Well, you'd be surprised. I know what's good, I'm an extrovert. But I'm still quick to perceive The Horrors. And how I deal with the horrors is a very extroverted thing: I'm social with them, if they'll let me. It's smart to be on good terms with The Horrors. You should always be on good terms with your permanent neighbors. That's how extroverts deal with The Horrors, and I recommend it.

I think that's enough explanation for why I welcomed the whaling voyage. The great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open, and in the wild figments of imagination that pushed me into doing it, the whales came marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah. They marched into my innermost soul in endless processions and occupied it, you see, I was quite helpless under this occupation - I consented to the haunting and the whales marched in to haunt me - and amidst them all was one grand shrouded white phantom, like a snowy mountain in the air.

You get it.

You know how it is, with whales.

(read the actual first chapter of Moby Dick here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm)

#mody bick

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