#might make a second post detailing the role of the previous kings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lin-nin · 3 years

Text

Tribulation & Tenderness - Chapter 3

Ship: Main Technoblade x Reader, some Dream x Reader

Plot: You're a princess in a Kingdom suffering a years long famine. In a desperate attempt to help your people, you accept one simple offer: Marriage to the crown prince of a neighboring kingdom. Anything to help your people survive. Surely it can't be too bad, can it?

Chapter List: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Disclaimer: Cross-posted on Wattpad (discontinued) and Ao3. This is based off of everyone's CHARACTERS. I do not write fanfic based off the actual people.

Chapter 3: Deceit

< | Previous Chapter Your parents had managed to keep their pleasant composure while they talked to the King. You, eventually, had broken eye contact with the Prince. Technoblade, as you found out at some point through the conversation. The air felt tense and you really just wanted to get away. It wasn't like you could just walk out, though. So you stood, looking at your parents and shifting rather restlessly.

Your mother finally clapped her hands together, brown eyes focusing on you with a level of seriousness you didn't want to question. "Be a dear and show Prince Technoblade around, maybe to his room for the next couple of days?" It was phrased like a question, but you knew it was not. Plus something about the way she said Technoblade's name was a worry. You nodded, stepping down and looking expectantly towards the pink haired man.

Once he approached, you offered a smile. You were at least versed well enough in diplomacy and hospitality to hide the fact that he was even more terrifying beside you. His height didn't help. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Prince Technoblade. I'm Princess-" You began as you led him down the halls, away from where you were pretty sure you just heard your father's voice raise.

"Techno. Just Techno," He had interrupted you, voice plain. Monotone. You blanched a little, peering at him in your peripheral. You simply nodded, finishing your introduction. He simply nodded at you, letting the pair of you lapse into silence. The only sound was your shoes on tile, and the occasional sound of his swords hitting one another.

"So… are you liking it here so far?" You started after a few moments, resisting the urge to twiddle your thumbs. You sneaked another glance over to him, trying to guage his reaction. Yet the damn skull plastered to his face prevented that. Here you thought Dream was hard to read.

"From what I've seen it's not awful here." Another empty response. You tried to not huff in frustration. You were supposed to be married to him? How the hell were you going to be sure he wasn't going to cut you down at any moment?

"Right. Just arrived here." You continued to lead him through the halls, letting silence fall again. You would point out important rooms every now and then, and he would reply as plainly as he did every other time. It was incredibly difficult to handle and work with. It didn’t really encourage you to speak to him for too long. You supposed that was something you would have to get over. You would deal with it after your marriage was concrete.

“This is where you’ll be staying for the next few days. Uh, you obviously aren’t stuck in here! You can come and go as you please. I can come back by before dinner, if you would like?” You stammered awkwardly. The combination of the intimidation Techno carried, combined with you just not knowing how to act was a mess. You could hear him exhale, lips twitching just the slightest. Was he… laughing at you?

You resisted every urge to pout, though an embarrassed heat rose to your cheeks. “That’d be… nice,” He relented. You swore you could hear amusement hiding in that monotone voice. Was it already getting easier to read him? You would take it, though. If you were, it would make your future rather easy to deal with.

“Right. Alright. Okay, I’ll… I’ll see you then.” You fumbled out words, raising your hand for a little farewell wave before you turned. You had to resist your urge to run down the hallway, well aware of his lingering gaze on your back. However, once you heard the door click shut, you let your feet carry you as fast as possible without running. He was far too intimidating for your liking, and you were pretty sure it was one of the reasons your parents were so upset.

Speaking of, as you approached the throne room once more, you could still hear their raised voices. Even your mother. You paused outside the closed doors, pressing your ear to the thick wood. It was hard to hear through the material, and you could only catch an occasional word. A few mentions of the word ‘lie’, as well as ‘wrong prince’. You could feel the tension from out here, and you had absolutely no desire to go in there. Whatever they were arguing over, you didn’t want to know. You would much rather stay out here. Or somewhere.

An utterance of your name brought you back to the situation, making you glance over your shoulder. George stood there, looking tired in a way but still offering you that soft smile. As he almost always did. “George,” you had started out softly, lips pursed. You pulled yourself away from the door, and to his side. He was always good at stealing you away from tense moments.

“Walk and talk.” Was his simple reply as he led you along. You didn’t even need to think twice about falling into step beside him. It was natural, something the two of you had done many times before. Just as natural was the destination. The gardens were where the two of you had many talks in the past. Was it where the two of you would have your final talks together?

The thought brought an uncomfortable pang to your chest. You loved George. Very dearly. You had always grown up close, even with differing roles and responsibilities. The thought of leaving him did hurt, but it was always inevitable to an extent. He would be King one day, so you wouldn’t always be able to see him. Evidently, you would be Queen one day. Life was funny sometimes in the way things played out.

“They’re upset. What did I miss? I thought this betrothal was a good thing?” You finally breached the heavy silence with the question. You looked to him for guidance, eyebrows furrowing. He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes.

“Technoblade wasn’t the prince they had in mind when they accepted the offer,” George finally replied after a few moments of thought. Oh. That would make some sense. That raised even more questions, though. Were they able to be answered?

“There was another crown prince?”

“Yes. I don’t know too much, but he was my age. We don’t keep too close tabs on the kingdom, so we were only vaguely aware of Technoblade’s reputation. We do not know when the… change happened. You were not supposed to marry this prince. Our parents feel deceived.” You listened to him intently as he spoke, and you could only sigh.

“I assume his reputation is not… a good one.” George nodded in response to your statement. You sighed, turning your gaze to the flowers nearby. You reached out, fingers running over the petals. “I don’t need to know the details. I already made the agreement, and I stand by it. Our people need help.”

His hand gently came to rest upon your shoulder, concern in his eyes. “Is it what you want, though? You could change your mind, there’s a life for you here as well.” He reasoned with you and you paused. Your thumb ran over the petal of the flower slowly, feeling the softness of it. The fragility. Too much pressure and it would break and tear. Sometimes you felt like the delicate pink flower. You tilted it, eyeing the thorns hiding along the stem. Perhaps you were a flower, but not this one. You were not dangerous, you had no thorns.

“I don’t know if I was set for a life here. I’ll never know. I need to do this, though. Leaving might be good for me.” You dropped the flower, turning to George once more. You smiled over to him, and he returned it. Though it didn’t reach his eyes like his normal smile. This one held a touch of melancholy to it.

He approached you, holding his arms out for a hug. You didn’t need to give a second thought, finding your way into his hold. It was comforting, the way he squeezed you tight against him. “If that is what you want, I won’t stop you. Just know there’ll always be a place for you here, should anything happen.” He murmured into your hair, and you simply nodded.

He rubbed at your back gently, letting the hug linger before the both of you pulled back. “You know I’ll always write to you. I’ll have many letters to write. I think I’ll head for the library for now though. I want to get my mind off of things,” You grasped his hands, squeezing them tightly. You needed to think, and calm your frazzled nerves. Too much was going on, and you had no idea if you should be worried about the deceit taking place. Techno didn’t seem too awful. Right?

Next Chapter | >

#dream #dreamwastaken #dream x reader #technoblade #technoblade x reader #reader insert #kingdom au #dream team #dream smp #sleepy bois inc #sleepy bois family #t&t

282 notes · View notes

otterskin · 3 years

Text

Dumb Details From the Loki Trailer I noticed but then got too serious about

First - apparently it’s not a trailer, so I guess we’ll get ‘Trailer 1′ later? ‘Exclusive Clip’ hardly seems accurate, but hey, I’m not Disney’s marketing division. I wouldn’t live in a shoebox if I was.

Dumb detail no. 1:

Owen Wilson’s jacket is...weird. Look closely.

And another shot:

Yeah...his jacket has a ‘reversed collar’. It’s a cut-out rather than cloth folding on top. Huh. What a strange design choice. What could it mean?

I’ve no idea, but that I watched the trailer enough times to notice this should concern you.

Detail No. 2

In this scene, we see what we can presume to be President Loki’s ‘Throne’. Notice the candy-canes. This is a Santa Claus throne, presumably from some mall Santa. This whole place might be in a mall, judging by the stuff in it.

But the Loki in this shot is not President Loki. Notice that he’s wearing brown pants, a thin brown tie, and the beige shirt he’s seen wearing in other parts of the trailer after he's apparently joined the TVA. President Loki wears black pants, a green vest and a wide green tie with a golden clip that resembles Loki’s little chevron he always has (more on that later).

So it would seem that Loki might meet President Loki here. President Loki might even be addressing him at the end of the trailer. It’s possible that his minions turn on him because there’s two Lokis and they don’t know which is the ‘imposter’.

Speaking of, there’s a minion with bicycle handlebars grafted to a football helmet here, likely meant to resemble Loki. I dig it. There’s also cans of food scattered among the rubbish here. Makes sense that food production is non-existent since everyone has resorted to wearing license plates and spoons. Love how tattered the whole aesthetic is.

This reminds me of the opening Michael Waldron’s script ‘Worst Guy of All Time’, which featured a similar post-apocalyptic setting after the ‘worst guy’ ruins everything and makes himself king of the ashes. That’s likely what’s happened here, but I hope that Loki isn’t anything like Logan Paul, who was the inspiration for that title character.

Ah, the mysterious female character watching a meteor shower WAY TOO CLOSE UP. But my eyes are drawn to one thing...

What is that oblong object with a shiny handle? Could it be...

A sword? I do love swords. Did you know there’s a bunch of pictures of me in the stock photos for ‘Fencing?’ That’s my cred for loving swords.

I suspect that this female character will be an amalgamation of Amora (shudder) and Sylvie and an alternate Loki of some kind. This sword is currently in her possession, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it or another timeline version of it becomes the Loki Show’s Loki′s weapon.

Loki has lacked a ‘weapon of his own’ in the MCU for quite some time. I mean, yes, he has his little knives, but they are many and disposable and something he chose for himself, rather than the two legendary weapons wielded by Odin and Thor, Gungnir and Mjolnir. In fact, throughout his appearances, Loki has seemed to want such a thing of his own - he briefly had Gungnir, and then the Gungnir-like scepter, and even tried to lift Mjolnir.

One might ask why Odin would’ve overlooked such an obvious show of favouritism. Why give Thor a storied weapon and leave Loki empty-handed? Heck, even Hela had the Necroblade.

In Thor 1, we might’ve assumed that the Casket of Ancient Winters was perhaps intended one day to be given to Loki, as it is shown with Mjolnir in the Vault and thus connected to it and the children who would inherit it. But in the comics, Odin did have another weapon of storied history put away for his second son: Gram the Sword.

It was locked for eons by Odin in a special vault which required five keys to be opened, and it was meant to be for Loki if he be worthy.[2] The five keys were infused by Odin with the powers of "journeys", "endurance", "secrets", "new beginnings", and "brotherhood", respectively.[3]

The sword, like everything else in comics, has a complicated history full of take-backs and twists, but let’s just leave it at ‘it’s a representation of Loki’s worthiness and belonging in the trifecta with Odin and Thor as a King of Asgard’. It gives him ‘equality’.

In the original mythology, it’s wielded by Sigurd to kill the dragon Fafnir, and the only relation it has to Loki is that Loki is partially responsible for Fafnir existing in the first place (my username is nod to this myth by the by. Sorry Ottär.) But hey, maybe that means we’re getting a dragon? The Fafnir would be very cool.

Or it could just be a bit of rebar in this mining quarry.

Then again...it appears somewhere else...

It’s easier to see in motion, but that’s a sword swinging on this person’s back.

So the hooded figure is this lady...shall we call her Amylkie? Does that mean she’s the antagonist of this show? Well...maybe, but I suspect the true antagonist is foreshadowed here -

So, what’s going on here? A young girl (Young Amylkie? Some other TVA prisoner that the guard is watching over? An oracle, A Norn, or a kid who wandered off from the tour group in a basilica somewhere?) She’s giving Mobius M. Mobius a...piece of chocolate. Maybe he saw a Dementor, I dunno. I suspect it’ll be a MacGuffin of some kind later. He looks pretty concerned here, which contrasts with his ‘another day at the office’ blaséness when dealing with Loki. But of course this is the eye-catcher:

So, Norse Mythology. It’s been Christiannized. You can thank Snorri Sturluson for that, but you can google all about him later. Let’s just say that he made many Norse figures into equivalents for Christian ones. Baldur is Jesus, pure and a sacrificial lamb who dies for a greater good. And the devil is...Loki. Something the Marvel comics and the MCU have continued.

Here we have a devil, dressed in green and with a distinct shape on his chest:

Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...

Ah. I’d say that cinches it. This is meant to be Loki. If you look at the devil’s hair, it also resembles Loki’s, being shoulder-length and black.

So, what’s devil-Loki doing? Laying an egg? Trying out a foot massager? For a second I thought it was a moon, but we see the moon over his left shoulder, amongst the stars. Which means this is - probably the Earth.

...Dammit; I live there.

So Earth is barren and being devoured by flames, likely caused by this Loki sitting atop of it (in a throne, no less). Aw gee, things look pretty bad, don’t they?

But wait - what’s that? Under the Earth (and, possibly, under the earth)?

It’s a plant. A shoot, to be exact.

Back to Ragnarok for a second. Ragnarok isn’t the apocalypse (something we see a lot of in this trailer - all of it seems to be exploring the end of days). Ragnarok is the fire meant to wipe out the old and fertilize the ground for the new. And after the gods have died, what happens? Well, Baldur emerges from Hel, one of the only surviving gods (hmm, seems him dying worked out, didn’t it?). He’s joined by Líf and Lífþrasir, who are the new first man and woman, who’s names mean ‘Life’ and who are pictured, usually, with plants and new life. It is they who are tasked who growing a new Yggdrasil after the destruction of the old. The previous first man and woman are Ask and Embla, meaning Ash Tree and Vine/Elm tree, so there’s a theme there.

So a new sprout, possibly a tree, growing out of the destruction of the old.

This fits with Loki’s role as understood in mythology. He checks the arrogance of the gods, including when they tried to achieve immortality (sorry, Baldur, nothing personal), and that keeps the gods at their best. After Loki is imprisoned, the gods become weak, unhelpful and foolish, and Yggdrasil starts to rot. Eventually Loki escapes and returns along with Surtur (who also resembles this figure) to burn it all to the ground. This is also referenced in Thor:Ragnarok, with Loki releasing Surtur in the Vault, a place of thematic importance to Loki and one that represents the hidden secrets and sins of Asgard). You could say Ragnarok continued into Infinity War, where Loki played an important part in aiding Thanos’ destruction, giving up the stone to protect his brother and essentially dooming the rest of the universe - but also ultimately leading to its salvation, even if, like Myth Loki, he wasn’t around to see it.

So, we see Amylkie literally start a fire in the trailer -

- in fact, this whole trailer is awash in flame -

It’s fire, fire everywhere and she’s setting them!

It’s possible Amylkie’s our big bad, but I think there’s a chance she’s either a red herring, or, much like how Loki ‘worked’ with Thanos in The Avengers, she is the pawn of a greater foe -

- a Loki bent on destruction, for some reason or other. The TVA is obviously aware that this is the case, and it seems like they might be trying to ‘fight fire with fire’ by enlisting one Loki to combat another. The villain could be President Loki, since there's evidence of 2 Lokis in that scene - or maybe that's one of many Lokis, and the Big Bad Loki is being played by Hugh Grant as Old Loki. In any case, it would appear that Loki will be coming face-to-face with the worst versions of himself, and many of them. And, if I’m right about this scene:

...Loki will likely eventually discover that even his ‘good’ timeline ended in the destruction of his people and home, plus his own gruesome and torturous death. Although I think the TVA will keep that from him, and just show him the happy parts in an effort to inspire ‘good behaviour’. Until Loki inevitably discovers the rest of how that timeline played out and realize he’s been lied to. I don’t imagine he’ll take that very well...

Damn, even our ‘hero’ Loki is burning stuff down! Does this mean that Loki is doomed, always meant to be an avatar of death and toasty destruction?

Well...let’s go back to that stained glass.

Hmmm...wait...I know that weird horny shape...

And there’s something else...the bottom of the Earth is being lit up, and not by fire. Light appears to be coming off this little plant.

What colour is this plant again? That’s right, green. Green is the colour of new life and growth and change and...hang on, I’ve heard that before, too...

Hang on hang on HANG ON... let me have a look at the shape again.

That’s...a letter. An L? For Loki? Like in the title sequence?

Wait...no, a different letter. An older letter. After all, Loki is old Norse. How do you spell his name in that again?

ᛚᛟᚲ ᛁ -

And ENHANCE on that third letter!

This, my friends, is a Kenaz/Kaunaz, or what would become 'K' in our alphabet. It is also known as the 'Loki Rune' (and the Ulcer Rune, for some reason. I suspect Odin understands why). It’s used to spell his name, but is also used on his own to represent him. Heck, it's even his Superman 'S' in the comics:

Runes are more than letters - they are symbols for concepts. So what else does it mean?

Primarly, it means ‘torch’.

And also ‘knowledge’ (ken). As well as ‘growth, change, the search for truth, decay, arrogance, elitism, feminine, kinship and creativity.’

...Okay, that’s a lot, but you have to admit it fits.

More specifically, it means ‘Mastery of the Fire’. As in, someone who has learned to tame fire so that it is helpful, not harmful. To bring light and, symbolically, knowledge.

There’s another way Loki’s been associated with fire - in the Wagner Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold, the opera that inspired much the Thor films’ aesthetic and certainly their helmets, Loki is called ‘Loge’, which means ‘Fire’. He’s usually dressed to match, too -

Many trickster figures are associated with fire. They are usually called ‘Fire-bringers’ - See: Raven, Lucifer, Prometheus, etc. They are often complex figures with a foot in different worlds, but who nonetheless help mankind with the gift of ‘fire’ - although they usually pay for it, and tend to be self-destructive.

(Side note. Lucifer means light-bringer, which is what luciferase is named after. Because it glows. Which is helpful in labs. In case someone needed to know that.)

Moving from a destructive fire-starter to a fire-bringer seems like a great character arc for Loki to take, especially given his rehabilitation in pop culture, the comics, and even wider culture. Loki has gone from being seen as an evil, deviant, destructive character to one who’s seen as a patron of the arts and creativity, of stories rather than lies. Heck, some scholars of Norse Mythology even posit that he’s the closet thing to a protagonist Norse Mythology has, so I guess that backfired, Snorri!). Being dressed in green and with the sprout clearly also being stylized after his Kaunaz, there’s foreshadowing that he’ll be capable of growing good things even out of ashes.

So, to sum up: Being ‘Satan’ sounds pretty bad, but with a little letter re-arranging like we see in the title sequence, you can be...

...practically a saint. Maybe even a saviour.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

#loki #trailer #details #meta #theories #theory #explanation #thor #tva #santa #devil #snorri sturluson whinging #christmas #fire #kaunaz #loki trailer

260 notes · View notes

darthkruge · 3 years

Note

heyy Megan, I'm trying to do a character study on Anakin but im finding very limited information online. what do you think are some of his worst and best traits? his personality, humor and like his values? thank you so much,, hope you have a good day/night

omg hi!! thank you for asking me!!

*cracks knuckles* let’s get into it

anakin skywalker character analysis

best traits:

intelligence, overall skill, curiosity

anakin was building droids from scraps when he was a child. he spoke huttese and basic from a young age, as well. he’s an insane battle strategist, wonderfully skilled in battle/with a lightsaber, and incredible pilot! he can pick up new skills quickly, as well. i’m just gonna link this post by @chokemeanakin bc it just sums it up real nice.. but yes smart boy love him

compassion, capacity for emotions, empathy, understanding

anakin feels things deeply. i’ve talked about this a lot before lol. but yeah he is frequently in conflict over the sheer weight of the emotions he carries. further, as a jedi, this is not something his peers could relate to. but he always tries to be there for his friends and would do anything to ease their pain. and i think that anakin seeks to understand others. he’s spent so much of his life feeling alone and like no one related to him; he wants to know how other people work, feel, and think.

loyalty, friendship, caring

anakin is so fucking loyal to those he loves. and, tying into my previous point, he loves deeply. he cares, he always has. he treats droids as humans and forms attachments, even though they may be forbidden. he held onto that need for love, for connection even after he joined the order. and he would defend those he loves til the very end...

selflessness, protectiveness, bravery

anakin would literally dive headfirst into danger to save someone he loves. he doesn’t care about hurting himself or honestly whatever happens to him, as long as those he cares for are safe.

worst traits:

impulsivity, recklessness

i think we’ve all seen anakin be a bit impulsive at times... sometimes, he just doesn’t think everything through. this is especially clear when someone he loves is in danger. anakin’s lost so many people that when he’s faced with the threat of losing another, his judgment can become clouded.

insecurity, jealousy, fear

anakin is frequently jealous, which stems from his insecurities. he was probably conflicted a lot; brought into the order as a young child and told he was the chosen one. the weight of the galaxy was placed on his shoulders and, yet, he was held back in classes as a padawan, he didn’t make rank (canonically). i think these things are what allowed palpatine to manipulate him; palpatine knew anakin was afraid, insecure, and, yet, arrogant (my next point dw). he tapped into this and because anakin and the council did not have much mutual trust (aside from like obi-wan), it was easier to get to him. especially because palpatine used anakin’s fear of losing padme and his unborn children to do so. fuck palpatine bro-

arrogance

yes, anakin was insecure. yes, he was also arrogant. let me explain myself. he occassionally rushes into things without thinking, thinking he can handle them. i think a lot of this stems from being told he was the chosen one from such a young age. that title combined with his skill?! it makes sense he’d internalize it. i am now going to stop myself before i rant about how the gifted education system is a fuckfest. this is coming from someone who spent years in that program. anyway-

personality/overall rant about his life/motivations:

i think i summed up a lot of his personality within the best and worst traits because i got ahead of myself but im going to say some more!! i think a lot of anakin’s personality is dependent on his deep capacity for emotions. you can see that throughout ROTS, he was conflicted almost all the time. he grew up as a slave and all he wanted was to protect his mother. he built droids to help her and competed in podraces to tryand get them anything that could help.

then, he was taken to the order. suddenly, all these amazing traits he has make sense!! but then the person who’s supposed to train him (qui-gon) dies after anakin’s only known him for a short period of time. anakin’s attachment issues are abundant (i don’t think i need to explain that one) so of course he grows close to obi-wan! but obi-wan was trying to be strong for anakin. even though obi-wan struggled himself with attachment, he tried to be strong and put up a front as a “good” jedi for anakin to look up to. while this was helpful, anakin probably just felt more conflicted, as no one in his life could relate to the bredth of emotions he felt. this caused him to be more introverted and withdrawn (i talk about that in this post)

then, he loses his mother, she dies in his arms. the only person he’d wanted to protect from a young age, who he left to join the jedi, dies in his arms. he blames himself for this, thinking he should have gotten there faster, should have done something more. he probably also blamed the jedi, to at least some extent. why do these powers matter if they can’t save the people he loves? i believe he acted out of anger, killing the tuskens, because (at least to some degree) of the jedi. instead of teaching him how to express his emotions (pain, fear, loss, grief, etc.), they train him. to some degree, he might think all he’s good for is these skills. so he acts out of anger, slaughtering them.

and then finally he finds someone who loves him in the way he wants to be loved. padme stays by his side, even after he killed the tuskens. she sees the good in him and treats him as a man, not a prophecy. but once again, this motif of fear remains! he has to hide this love, one of the only pure and good things in his life! he has to live in fear every second of every day because, if the council finds out that he found happiness and love, everything is ruined.

but then he starts getting the vision’s that padme will die. and not just padme, now his unborn children could die, too. the one thing he has that is good and purely his could now be ripped away. he knew he was helpless, knew there was nothing he could do to stop it by himself. the council isn’t that helpful, telling him to learn to let it go with the force. while that might help any other jedi, it just pushed anakin away. he would never be able to just surrender and let go to the force, not when the life of his entire family is at risk!

and he finds palpatine, someonoe who has spent years trying to manipulate him. but palpatine is smart, he’s cunning. anakin didn’t know what the real intentions were and, truly, he probably didn’t want to know. he was blinded by his fear and if anything could save padme, he would do it. then the council try to get him to spy on palpatine. again, conflict. anakin’s loyalty is repeatedly questioned and pushed and prodded, he was probably so confused! he didn’t know who to trust. but, when you combine the current situation with his backstory with who he is and what he cares about, it makes sense why it all happened.

this is what i mean when i say conflict. he was pulled in a million directions constantly. and we all know how his story ends and i don’t want to cry so i’m not gonna detail it...

also: i’m not saying any of this excuses all of his choices, but it does explain them.

humor:

lowkey a dork

he is. and i love that about him. you can see this in the way he flirts with padme sometimes... like floating the pear to her and the whole “i don’t like sand” thing. he’s a fucking dork. can’t exactly blame him nor do i hold it against him! he didn’t have many close friends growing up and he was like pining for padme for years so it’s not like he spent that time creating a playbook

he’s also witty!

i think this comes with his intelligence; he’s witty and he’s quick. example: “general grievous, you’re shorter than i expected.” i mean he’s no sass-king obi-wan kenobi but anakin definitely can hold his own in a verbal sparring match!

also i headcanon him as having horrible puns but loving them!

values:

love, friendship, connections

at his core, anakin just wants to find someone who understands him and his emotions. who can relate to him. he wants those connections; in fact, he actively seeks them out. love is a key part of his identity. i talk about this in this post about his love languages so imma just link it there!

success, validation

tying into his determination, anakin wants to do well! he pushes himself and i think he’s a perfectionist, too. you can see this in the way he holds himself as a general; he doesn’t slack off, doesn’t not care. he understands the responsibility he has in that role and he takes it seriously! and just in his overall skill level, even though he was a bit of a child-prodigy, he clearly spent a long time training. he probably also had some imposter syndrome going on and was constantly trying to prove his worth.

----

uhh yeah i think i got everything?? yes?? he’s so complex and i legit love him immensely. doing character analysis for anakin is my favorite thing in the entire universe! if anyone has anything they want to add, please feel free!!

#anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker character analysis #anakin character analysis #this is a rant i apologize #anakin thoughts #character analysis

106 notes · View notes

wonhaebunny · 4 years

Text

small(ish) bkg-centric drabble vaguely inspired by sif’s fic and featuring one of my discarded ocs from blackugou!! open below to keep reading some bamf bkg!

before i get started on the drabble let met give y’all some context about the oc, as his quirk plays a pretty important role in the drabble!! his name is hioki, and he’s in class 1-b. his quirk allows him to project the memories of a person he’s touching into the mind of another person he’s touching. so if he’s holding two people’s hands, he can project memories of the first person into the second person’s head. the sharing of memories involves of not only visuals, but also what the person was feeling at the time; touch, noise, smell, emotions. they project the memory as if the viewer is experiencing it themselves.

hioki does not have to view the memories he’s projecting to other people. he can view them too if he wants, but he can also just project them from one person’s mind into the other’s without having to experience any of it himself.

okay so that’s my oc, let’s get into it!!

tws for vomit, and what could (??) be construed as a panic attack? i’ll tag it just in case. this revolves around kamino, but there’s not too much detail about it. this drabble is… kind of not monoma friendly. people had some pretty strong emotions about it in the server. but he’s not a completely shitty person, and i personally did not write him to be a terrible character; he’s just annoying :’) katsuki is pretty ooc here too, but it’s based off another hc i have (that i’ll be posting sometime soon hsfsdf)

it’s lunchtime, and all the students are piled into the cafeteria. once again, there’s a small crowd forming in the center of the big hall, where monoma has once again decided to start taunting 1-a, mainly bakugou. the onlookers are a mix between annoyed at the disturbance and vaguely amused by monoma’s shenanigans. hioki stands at the side, watching with vague irritation. this is somewhat of a daily occurrence, though, so he doesn’t bother interfering. after all, if there’s one thing bakugou is known to hate, it’s people trying to help him.

it takes all of five minutes before monoma makes his first obligatory kamino comment. katsuki stiffens, the way he always does, but to his credit does nothing more than glare at his katsudon venomously. they all wait for monoma to finish, but the guy is laying it on thick today. normally it’s just one or two jabs about bakugou’s being pathetic, or weak, or the cause of all might’s end. whatever, there’s always something. but today he’s brutal, getting personal and downright cruel with his comments. he seems to focus in on the topic of kamino today, seeming to sense bakugou’s bad mood and increasingly furious eyes.

as it goes on, bakugou grows tenser, eyes darkening with something a little unfamiliar that sets the surrounding students on edge. kirishima and the others are already trying to shove monoma away, some of them patting at bakugou’s shoulders in useless attempts to soothe him. bakugou is too busy staring monoma down to even bat their hands away, which speaks volumes of his anger.

he stares for a long time, watches as monoma rambles on carelessly. it’s a little unnerving, because by now he’d be yelling. fuck, if it was anyone else, they’d probably be crying by now with how mean monoma is being. but bakugou, uncharacteristically, just stares.

then, so smoothly most of the surrounding students miss it, katsuki’s gaze snaps to hioki’s. said student flinches back at the intensity of the stare, and bakugou just looks at him like he’s dissecting him mentally. then, he opens his mouth. “hioki, right?” he says, words quiet but still managing to cut through monoma’s impassioned rantings like a hot knife through butter.

monoma falters.

katsuki’s lips slowly, ever so subtly, twist up into a predatory smirk that has hioki recoiling instantly.

“u-um.” hioki says.

katsuki sits up in his seat slightly, abandoning the food he’d been prodding at.

“you’ve got an interesting quirk… hioki-kun."

hioki swallows.

monoma, who stands forgotten at the side, looks baffled and somewhat disconcerted at the smile that’s slowly stretching across katsuki’s face. the entire cafeteria has hushed down by now at this new development.

normally, monoma’s interactions with bakugou are easy. annoying at worst, entertaining at best. typically a mixture of the two. monoma pokes, bakugou snarls, the cycle keeps going.

this, however.

this is new.

"say, hioki-kun. would you lend us your quirk for a moment?” bakugou asks. his voice is quiet, musing, and absolutely terrifying in its gentleness. hioki opens his mouth, before closing it again.

bakugou katsuki knows his name, and his quirk, too? they’ve never talked a day in their lives. as far as hioki’s concerned, bakugou’s never even looked in his direction. the guy can’t even remember his own friends’ names on a good day. and yet here he is, looking at hioki with a placid smile, asking for his quirk.

“i-um. what?” hioki says. his voice cracks rather embarrassingly. no one laughs. (they don’t blame him for his fear.)

even bakugou’s own friends have backed off at this point, watching the trio in muted apprehension. the blonde just chuckles softly.

“no, it’s just. monoma seemed so very adamant that he could fare better than me in the real world.” he stresses the word out with an exaggerated pout, turning sharp eyes to monoma, who shrinks back slightly. “and hioki-kun’s quirk seems… very convenient. that is, if you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is?”

monoma seems to consider this for a moment, looking completely out of his depths in this new situation. he knows how to deal with an irritable bakugou, a grumpy one, a furious one. but a calm one? he’s lost.

nonetheless, the clear challenge in bakugou’s tone has him puffing his chest out in indignance. “what, like it’d be hard?” he jeers, stepping forward. “come on, hioki, let’s get this over with!"

he holds his hand out roughly in the other’s direction, narrowed eyes glued to katsuki’s serenely twinkling ones.

"i-i really don’t think-” hioki stutters, looking between the two of them desperately as if waiting for one of them to announce that this is all a big joke.

neither of them do.

“would you, hioki-kun?” bakugou asks kindly, extending a hand to the other, palm upturned in waiting. “you don’t have to, of course. but it would be… ah. entertaining, for lack of a better word.”

monoma seems to grow even more irate at the indirect jab. hioki helplessly steps up to place each of his hands in one of the others’ waiting ones.

“monoma.” bakugou says, eyes going cold and smile fading slightly. “i’m giving you a last chance to back out. don’t embarrass yourself more than you already have.” his words are serious this time, devoid of any of the light humour that had been lacing them the previous few minutes.

monoma, ever the stubborn mule, just scoffs. "calm down, you delinquent. acting so superior, as if we haven’t faced hardships like you.“

bakugou tilts his head slightly, examining the other.

then, he shrugs.

"okay. hioki-kun, if you would?”

hioki nods hastily, hands already sweating in their grasps. the entire cafeteria watches, rapt, as his eyes close and his hands start to glow a faint, silvery blue.

“oh, and hioki-kun? i think it’d be best if you didn’t witness these ones.” bakugou murmurs, eyes already slipping shut. hioki, palms already clammy and trembling slightly, doesn’t question how the blonde seems to know his quirk in such explicit detail. instead, he just nods again.

“okay.” he whispers. the blue turns stronger, until their connected hands glow a bright white, veins visible behind illuminated skin. the room goes pin-drop silent. they watch as bakugou sits, eyes shut and expression serene. monoma is frowning, brows furrowed and lips twisted in a petulant scowl.

they watch as the white grows brighter, and brighter still.

they watch as monoma’s scowl drops, free hand clenching against his side.

as his expression flickers, twisting into something unreadable and ugly.

then, unmistakably, his breath hitches.

his mouth opens slightly, sucking in a ragged, shallow breath. poor hioki’s hand is turning red under his quickly tightening grip as monoma’s entire body seems to curl forward slightly.

the entire time, bakugou sits. expression unchanging, small, bitter smile still lingering on his face.

monoma’s breathing picks up further, closed eyes scrunching and expression twisting further into sheer terror. his free hand is clenched so tightly in his pant leg that his fingers are turning white.

bakugou’s eyes slip open finally. he watches monoma’s trembling form with detached coolness, eyes gleaming with a silvery sheen that signals the workings of hioki’s quirk. “i think that’s enough, hioki-kun.” he says finally, voice impossibly soft. “thank you.”

the glow of their hands fades away, but monoma doesn’t stop trembling. his breaths are coming in reedy gasps at this point, lips curled back to bare his teeth in a picture of sheer terror as he curls into himself.

bakugou just watches, eyes still glinting with slowly-fading flecks of white. slowly, he lifts his hand from hioki’s and picks up the milk carton at his table. he sips from it idly, leaning back to watch monoma’s still-heaving form with an unreadable expression.

it seems that lunch rush had at some point and reported the disturbance to the teachers, because it’s at this point that a teacher finally storms in.

vlad king pushes to the center of the throng. "what is going on here?“ he demands, before his eyes fall on monoma’s shaking figure.

"what happened to him?"

he turns around, scanning the crowd before his eyes land on katsuki, who’s still watching monoma boredly as he sips at his milk.

"what happened?” he demands again. “someone answer me. monoma, what’s wrong?” he turns to his student, whose rasping breaths are growing louder progressively, and touches his shoulder. at the contact, monoma’s entire body jolts away, eyes finally snapping open with wild panic.

then, the entire student body and vlad king watch with bated breath as monoma jerks away, turns around, and throws up over his own shoes.

vlad king curses loudly, turning back to katsuki. the blonde just blinks at him placidly, and the teacher growls, before his eyes fall on a wide-eyed hioki who still stands in the centre of the circle. “hioki. explain.” he says sharply. hioki sucks in a fearful breath.

“um. monoma was. he was teasing bakugou-kun. and then bakugou-kun asked me to, uh. use my quirk. on the two of them. i don’t know what exactly he showed monoma, though.”

he wrings his fingers anxiously, as they turn their attention back to a retching monoma. vlad king turns to stare at bakugou sharply.

“you.” he says furiously. “principal’s office. now. i hope your little game was worth it.”

the blonde seems wholly unbothered.

“it very much was, thank you sensei.” he responds, smiling cheerfully as he pushes from his seat and brushes past vlad king out the cafeteria, still holding his milk carton.

#i didn't want to add the ending here?#bc it's already so long #and it devolved int a mixture of crack and monoma redemption?#but very badly done #and when i say badly done i mean worse than this shit ^^#anyways :|#bunny's drabbles

205 notes · View notes

scribbleseas · 4 years

Text

The Indignant Pawn, Chapter VI: The Importance of Pluck

Description: You are Y/n Y/l/n- formerly known as Princess Helena, the runaway princess.

You're an assassin for hire who only agrees to find the worst of London's criminals at the business end of your knife; until a mysterious woman hires you to end the likes of Ciel Phantomhive, the King of the Underworld. You find yourself trading your weapons for your abandoned family crest in order to infiltrate his home as none other than Princess Marie-Louise, your twin sister. What's to happen when you find that the young Earl is more than a callous businessman?

OVERALL STORY WARNINGS: sexual assault, objectification, misogyny, death, detailed description of blood/gore, detailed description of murder, lying, impersonation, theft, weapons, detailed panic attacks and flashbacks, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Author’s Note: Hi! Thank you so much for enjoying this story so far! I can’t wait to take you down this wild road with this cast of characters. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the story warnings, please don’t hesitate to contact me! Please note that the warnings are subject to change by each chapter.

-Dan

⇠ PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER ⇢

. . .

FEBRUARY 14TH, 1892

LONDON, ENGLAND

“Y/n!” Andrea’s calloused hands pulled you into a tight bear hug, causing you to stumble forward, uncoordinated by the sudden movement of the door and her springing towards you and Autumn. Reluctantly, you melted into the embrace from the sole reminder that this was the same woman that showed you the separation between your traumatic childhood and reclaiming this facade. Not to mention, a few phrases of conversational Spanish.

“Buena noches, Andrea,” (Good evening, Andrea) you greeted halfheartedly, your foul mood having yet to completely subside from the front of your mind. Without Doña’s need to meddle, you never would have needed to leave the warmth of the guest quarters in the middle of the night in the first place. The mission was completely under your control- the objective remaining as crystal clear as it was on day one. Killing Lord Phantomhive was not nearly the challenge your subconscious was making it out to be.

“¿Dónde está Doña?” (Where is Doña?) You asked once Andrea released you and motioned towards the reins that you clutched in your hand. Asking for the location of a local stable would have been next on your course of action. However, she seemed to know exactly where to keep Autumn for the time being.

“Inside...still waiting for you. Diego will show you the way,” the woman gestured to the familiar man as he crossed his arms in the doorframe. The same playful smirk tugged at his lips, suggesting that he heard some kind of joke that he didn’t dare repeat. Andrea started off with Autumn in tow, the horse’s tail flicking back and forth lethargically.

“The dress hugs tight,” Diego commented patronizingly as he led you through the hall. You could tell by his comment that Diego was only trying to provoke your outrage, no matter how you tried to keep your face neutral. Of course, the dress fit your frame better- you were eating three meals a day alongside some form of an extravagant dessert. There was no shame in enjoying good food while it was available to you.

“You’re one to talk,” you glared at Diego’s back as he walked. His black trench coat was tied around his lean frame tightly, the bottom shifting with each step that he took. The outline of his gun holster was clearly fastened around his waist beneath the coat. There was nothing more ridiculous than the thought of a man like Diego having the morality to murder someone. But you supposed if that was the case, he wouldn’t affiliate with women such as Doña- or yourself.

“Doña, she arrives,” Diego stopped short before a small living room. The vicinity was warmed by a tame fire in the fireplace, the orange hue painting the rest of the room. As the rest of the rooms were, this room was notably empty- save for two sofas and a single table between them.

The lady herself, Doña, occupied the middle of one of the couches, nursing a rum-spiked coffee, her thin fingers wrapped around the thin stem of the glass. The scent of the over-proofed rum drifted about the room, causing you to cringe. You’d never understand why Spaniards preferred their coffee with hard liquor mixed in- according to Andrea, the combination was called a carajillo.

“Lovely,” Doña’s painted lips spread into a satisfied grin, the corners of her mouth pulling upwards. “Sit Y/n. Sit,” she said, patting the cushion next to her with a free hand. You made it a point to sit in the middle of the empty sofa across from her, your hands smoothing over your petticoats as you regarded the light ecru Doña wore. The majority of the top layer was made of tulle so to create a softer ambiance to oppose her burgundy lip color- such as a shade that was forbidden for royalty, or any self-respecting woman.

“I’ll go help Carmen with the...bebé,” Diego cringed as the sound of Doña’s wailing child sounded from the floor above. “Excuse me.”

“I haven’t all night, Doña,” you snapped impetuously as you watched the woman’s face, contemplative as she listened to her daughter sob. You heard Carmen seethe ‘¿Por qué no podemos ponerla en adopción ya?’ and in response, Diego only laughed. Andrea was still putting your horse away, but the sobbing would likely stop the second she entered the baby’s line of sight.

“If only you had the same sense of urgency in completing the mission I assigned a month ago,” Doña took a long drink of her carajillo, her face twisting at the taste. “Did you not guarantee me seven days at most?”

In a fit of haughtiness, you had made a claim that went something along those lines. After all, the longest you spent on one mission before this one, was waiting for the servant rotation of Agatha Tolton to switch in your favor. The woman was rarely alone and you preferred to only kill your targets during a mission.

“There are unforeseen obstacles inside the estate,” you lied. In truth, you spent plenty of time alone with the Earl- three meals a day and occasionally, time in the foyer at night. Hiding your dagger in the folds of a nightgown and stabbing him wasn’t out of your capabilities and yet, you were postponing it for the comfortable treatment- even if it was all stolen from Marie’s identity.

“Unforeseen obstacles in the estate,” Doña repeated, unfazed by your lie. “What sort of obstacles could possibly be new to you?”

“There’s something...uncertain about his butler,” this concern nagged the back of your mind from the moment you got there. From the second he greeted you in flawless German and subtly as each day passed on. Despite being the head butler of the estate, he was too capable at some points- always being prepared when you and the Earl requested tea or hot chocolate in the dead of night, answering questions that you purposely keep from saying. His speed.

“Sebastian Michaelis?” Doña’s frown deepened, making her look at least five years older. Creases from constant scowling marred the corners of her lips and between her symmetrical eyebrows. “We discussed his role in Phantomhive’s life. You said-” her accent butchered the Earl’s name, turning the i into an e, which resulted in his name sounding more like Phantomheave, rather than Phantomhive.

“Doña, I’m aware of what I told you,” you hissed as she brought the flute of spiked coffee to her lips and drank again. “I said that he wouldn’t present an obstacle to my objective.”

“And yet?” She asked, goading your temper, tempting you to take the drink out of her hands and dump the rest of its steaming contents down her nightgown. Your fingers curled into fists, as you compelled yourself to stay seated on the couch. Your nails dug into the flesh of your palm, the sensation tolerable, but something to focus on, nevertheless.

“And yet, I’m reassessing my strategy because of him,” you lied. Sebastian made for a decent excuse, above all of his other uses.

A brief moment of silence passed before she asked, “must I eliminate him for you, Y/n? It would be a shame to need to aid my hired killer-...almost as distressing as wasting a handsome face such as his, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Looks have nothing to do with anything, Doña,” you ignored the turn of her curt grin while she finished off the rest of her carajillo with a sigh. She put the empty glass on the low table that sat in between the two of you, the bottom landing with a soft clink. “If I have to kill Sebastian Michaelis, I will do it myself.”

“We can share tactics with you,” Diego offered from the side of the room, where he and Carmen were standing. The baby had stopped wailing several minutes ago, moments after Andrea returned from putting your horse away. “You seem as if you need many,” he teased, sharing a patronizing laugh with Doña. At your glare, his face sobered, although a smile seemed to taunt the corners of his lips.

“Your tactics,” you scoffed, “what skill does it take to pull the trigger of a gun?” You could recall the weight of the handgun you had used at fourteen, successfully killing two men within minutes of each other. How could Diego pride his reliance on a weapon?

“You bitch! You’ll, you’re going to bloody p--” James screamed, glowering at you as he struggled to get his fumbling hands in place. But he was too slow. He fell to the ground, blood beginning to blossom near his lower ribs.

“You’re a clever one, Princess,” Diego chuckled, showing the palms of his hands in defeat. “I might ask you for tactics for how you look so detached,” he quipped, shaking his shoulders to create an animated shiver.

“Princesa de Hielo,” Carmen mumbled, which caused Doña to laugh again, the effects of rum beginning to seep into her cold personage. Her deep brown eyes settled back on you, hardening as you met her gaze. Eye contact was quite a fragile social concept- you weren’t confident with Spanish customs, but in Germany, it expressed attentiveness but in excess it expressed pride.

“The two of you...go retrieve Y/n’s horse. She’s souring the atmosphere,” Doña shifted on the couch to turn her back to you, and the liquid in her glass flute hit the side and slid down again. There wasn’t much to the drink when you sat down in the first place and now, the glass was nearly empty.

Doña waited for Diego and Carmen to leave before she lazily got to her feet and stood before you, her expression sobering as if she hadn’t finished off her drink. With her proximity, you could smell the faint tinge of rum from her lips. “And as for you- I want him dead. I don’t care how it’s done- simply finish him off and you’ll have your compensation. Do you understand?”

Her pupils were nearly swallowed whole by her umber irises, the threat in them ever-present.

. . .

FEBRUARY 15TH, 1892

LONDON, ENGLAND

Within the first few minutes of riding back to the Phantomhive Estate, snow began to fall, dropping from the clouds in fat flurries that rolled down your neck and made it nearly impossible to see fifteen feet in front of you. The wind whistled in your ears as you encouraged Autumn to continue her steady gait, even as the snow began to stick on the cobblestone streets of the city.

The distance from the manor to the heart of the city was sizable without the beginnings of a blizzard, but the horse’s hesitation, as well as your own, had severely delayed your arrival time. In fact, by the time you were scaling the wall of the manor, the sun was beginning to ascend the horizon, starting the day as the snow continued to pile and stick. Your fingers were numb since you had to remove your thick gloves to properly cling to the stones that jutted out of the main house’s foundation, leaving them vulnerable to the sharp surfaces and cold air. You were lucky that your quarters were located on the second floor, but that wouldn’t matter if Mey-Rin found the room empty upon entering to wake you.

The moment you reached the window beside your bed, you swung one leg over the still and then the other, reveling in the fact that you had, in fact, managed to return before Mey-Rin entered to wake you. Your trembling hands made messy work of tearing off the sides of the gown that were pinned to the stays on your coset, letting each piece of your riding habit fall carelessly to the floorboards until you were left standing in your corset that sat over your white shift- the base of any dress. Unlacing it was never this challenging when you sported middle-class clothing articles, leaving you to tug at the strands that kept the constrictive item together as several pairs of footsteps began to grow closer to the closed door of your quarters.

Your front teeth sunk into the inside of your lip as your descent into panic worsened with each passing second, fruitlessly attempting to untie the knots that you had secured yourself. Clearly, you had made some kind of mistake in re-dressing yourself prior to leaving for Doña’s new home.

This was exactly what you had feared.

“And you absolutely certain she isn’t here, Mey-Rin?” Sebastian’s posh voice questioned, moments before the door swung open, revealing you half-dressed and positioned in front of your open window. Mey-Rin and Sebastian were behind the Earl, the maid’s eyes glassy as if she was about to cry, and the butler’s face completely impassive, like a statue’s. Instantaneously, the Earl’s gaze fled to the ceiling, the floor, anywhere as long as it wasn’t on you.

Your hands fell to your sides and in the most delayed reaction, you exclaimed, “raus!” (out!). You turned your back to the doorway and hugged yourself.

“I believe she is far from missing, thank you,” the Earl’s voice was steadier than you would have anticipated, “my apologies, Your Highness,” the sound of rapid steps that implied his and Sebastian’s departure down the corridor followed as you released a weak exhale.

“I came to wake you and you were missin’, yes you were,” Mey-Rin said . “I assumed the worst, I’m sorry Your Highness.” she asked for permission to undo the thick knots that you couldn’t undo. You nodded once, facing her as she nimbly undid each one. “The young master is going to want to know where you were off to...he was awfully concerned havin’ just returned from Lady Elizabeth’s…” if Mey-Rin wasn’t paid to fuss over you, you might’ve pitied her.

“I love the snow. I wanted to be outside on my own- I thought I could return before you notice I went out,” you explained, the lie was on the tip of your tongue from the moment you fell behind your plan. Mey-Rin breathed a sigh of relief and began to properly lace the corset and fasten a new stomacher, this one was a deep shade of red, resembling claret with its notes of magenta. The rest of the gown matched the shade.

“The snow is much prettier here in the countryside," Mey-Rin agreed as she continue to prepare you for the rest of the day; twisting your hair into another tight bun, brushes of powder over your face and shoulders and gentle hands of rogue on the apples of your cheeks. Within several strokes of a brush, your familiar blemishes disappeared- like a wave of a magic wand.

Each step from your room to the main dining room maximized the nostalgic pit in your stomach. You sat to the Earl’s side at the breakfast table, as per usual. He was uncharacteristically quiet, leisurely lifting his steaming cup of tea to his lips and taking a long drink, his eye having yet to properly leave you. Lord Phantomhive did well to remind you of Governess Lydia and the countless instances you were scolded by the woman after an unbearably long silence.

As a grown woman, you were too old for this.

“Lord Phantomhive-” you started, only to be swiftly interrupted by the loud clunk that punctuated when he aggressively returned his teacup to its saucer on the table. Droplets of tea ran down the porcelain and pooled on the small dish. What waste.

His voice was fatally calm and as per usual, each word was punctuated to the syllable. “I am entrusted with your life, Your Highness. I thought it was clear that you aren’t to leave this estate unaccompanied without myself or Sebastian,” he said, “My duty to Her Majesty is to protect you to the extent of my capabilities and beyond that.”

“I was within the perimeter of this estate!” You countered, your hand pausing as you were about to spread a healthy bit of margarine over the head of a muffin, that Sebastian had decapitated for you. Instead, the continent fell from the smooth blade of your knife in a heap before you began to spread it. “If that is your grievance with this morning, then your contention is certainly misplaced. It should not be a crime for me to wish to be outside. Alone.”

“Your Highness, there is a death threat over your head. Your going outside unaccompanied is a point of contention for me, yes,” the Earl said, as if this information should have been obvious. Granted it made logical sense- defenseless royalty needed to remain within lines of defense, however, you posed as a needy princess who was unacquainted with the concept of no. “If you are so fascinated with snow, a commonality in your home country, then you might wait to ask-”

“Thank you for your concern,” you intervened icily, aware that you had waged a losing battle from the moment you protested. “Keep in mind that it’s quite easy for the walls of this mansion to grow dull, My Lord.”

. . .

FEBRUARY 17TH, 1892

LONDON, ENGLAND

The world outside of the windows was blank- completely grey and white. For the third day in a row, you were trapped indoors, hiding from the dense blizzard and idly roaming the layout of the estate. Every single room was familiar to you now- studied not once, but multiple times, making it simple for you to find the source of the rich violin that reverberated throughout the second floor of the mansion. Each step you grew closer to the frantic melody, vaguely aware of how clumsily you moved from the haste of your curiosity. The dramatic violin picked up, growing louder, steadier and more urgent the closer you came. The violin belonged to a special place within your battered heart- the noise caused goosebumps to erupt up and down your arms, despite the plentiful warmth that generated throughout the manor.

From under the closed door, a metronome prudently clicked away and your fingers immediately tapped against your petticoat in response, corresponding with it as your eyes stared into the painted wood of the door in front of you, your dominant hand resting on the gold knob.

One and a two, one and a two, one and a two...

The piece was executed flawlessly- until a new passage began and gradually fell behind the tics of the metronome and your fingers as they continuously tapped your skirt. It wasn’t long until the instrument abruptly paused, leaving the mansion to silence once again.

“Your technique leaves much to be desired, which is why you fell behind. Perhaps a proper audience might motivate you, sir,” Sebastian suggested, his voice muffled by the door. You were in the process of turning back to the library to continue the book you had abandoned to stretch your legs, but instead, Sebastian opened the door behind you.

“Your Highness, it would be a privilege for my master to entertain you with his most recent selection: J.S Bach’s Partita for Violin Solo,” Sebastian explained, forgoing his typical use of German, “it would be terribly rude to allow you to listen from outside as he would otherwise have it,” he said pointedly, showing you to a plush loveseat as the Earl stood, his violin and bow poised in hand while he glowered at the score on the music stand in front of him.

“I appreciate it,” you took the offered seat and watched as Sebastian started the metronome once again and pushed up his glasses, which seemed special to his role as a tutor.

“Again, from the twelfth line. This time, perhaps watch your spiccato and left hand articulation- the aim is to hear every note unequivocally, yet remain up to speed,” Sebastian said, but you suspected that the Earl had properly tuned him out in order to prepare to lift the violin and prepare to play again.

Your gaze was drawn to his fingers as they danced along the neck of the violin, pressing and moving every second with the tact of a seasoned player. In the light, the gems on his rings winked as the light’s perspective on them changed as he played. It was mesmerizing in a sense, watching the Earl focus on one task entirely. His eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, drawing closer together during more difficult areas of the piece. You watched his expression remain the same during each time he ran through the section that Sebastian requested as he slowly worked through the tense parts until the butler excused himself in order to begin the preparations for supper.

“Have you played for long?” you asked, watching as he loosened the string of his bow and began to wipe it with a small, neatly folded cloth.

“About four years now, I believe,” he cautiously laid the bow and the violin to rest in their case. “Do you play?”

“No,” you said, without thinking. “I am much more partial to the harp- my sister played the violin,” you attempted to maintain the neutrality in your face upon recognizing your mistake. Marie was a mediocre violinist, which meant that the proper answer would have been ‘yes, but not quite so well’. Instead, you implied that Marie was a harpist and the missing, presumably dead princess played the violin. It was a fact that the royal family did not understand until you had left and there was no one playing the harp in the castle. However, it was not common knowledge that either princess had proficiency with the harp in the first place.

He wouldn’t catch such an inconspicuous mistake.

“The harp,” Lord Phantomhive mused, as if the thought amused him. “Fitting, I reckon.”

Frankly, you couldn’t remember the last time you touched the delicate strings of a harp, the sensation of their vibrations against your fingertips. As a girl, it was the only outlet that you could express yourself without breaking any rules- for the most part, at least.

. . .

The thick blankets of puffy snow on the ground made it so even the postage arrived late that evening, since roads leading to the countryside out of the city had yet to be cleared. Thus, the Earl flipped through the Westminster Review and you pretended to consciously read the English Woman’s Journal post-supper, between taking turns in a slow-moving chess game, rather than reading through the news at the breakfast table.

You absentmindedly fiddled with the corner of the thin printed paper as you instead watched the Earl regard the ornate chess set that sat in the middle of you, his side black and yours white. For the second time that day, you were met with his face of complete thought and focus- even if the game was already won on his part.

Frankly, the Earl was an aggressive player and you weren’t accustomed to someone who played sharply and meticulously at once. Not to mention, the last time you played chess, you were about twelve and huddled up in layers of clothing inside, attempting to stay warm in the conman’s measly shack as the two of you hid from the winter that nipped at your noses. “Checkmate,” he sounded as if he was much too accustomed to saying it. The smug tilt of his head merely exaggerated the false humility of his.

Even though you expected him to make that exact move, your shoulders slumped anyway as you huffed impertinently. You were never the best at losing graceful; not in the castle, not with the conman and certainly not by yourself. Especially coming off of your second loss that night.

“This evening was the first as well as the last time I’m playing chess as your opponent, Lord Phantomhive,” you rolled your eyes, tentatively scoffing as you began to reset the board, abandoning the newspaper entirely.

“Competitive, Your Highness?”

“Everyone is,” you responded, “the nature of humanity is to win; be it a war, or a simple game of chess. I despise any loss and I’m certain you feel the same, My Lord,” you ignored the piqued quirk of his eyebrow to properly finish setting the pieces to their starting square.

“I do fit the requisites by simply being anyone- or a human, at the very least,” Lord Phantomhive seemed almost too amused by the statement- and the entendre went above your head. What was the alternative to not being human? You weren’t one to believe in anything you could not see and if there in fact, gods and demons among civilization, surely you might have attracted one, given the life you led. However, you didn’t entertain the thought beyond a stoic chuckle. “Why don’t we begin the next round, best out of five?” he suggested.

“You’re only after the satisfaction of winning five matches against me. Two ought to be plenty,” you accused, not that you blamed him. If your strategic mind could translate to ornate pieces on a board as it did with your profession, then you would happily play the Earl time and time again simply to win.

“Fine, then. Why don’t you choose the next game?” Lord Phantomhive gestured lazily towards the armoire that stood against the wall. Sebastian opened it earlier to retrieve the chess pieces from their velvet box and among the shelves were several boxes of games- several produced by the Funtom Company. Picking one of those would be nearly an instantaneous loss, considering he had a hand in creating it. You decided to settle on a classic and gingerly pulled the box that was labeled draughts.

Draughts was an easier game in comparison to chess- while each had clear winning objectives, draughts was a straightforward game- capture the opponent’s pieces with your own. Each had equal strength until later in the game, whereas chess was a complex strategic war from the start. Playing draughts, there was much less room for error as games ought to be. Besides, you took pleasure in watching the Earl struggling to move pieces with equal power across the board while you played checkers countless of times against the conman and his friends, on the occasion.

Before you could finish the rest of your newspaper (the poetry bit was rather strenuous to get through), one of your double-stacked pieces- a king- double jumped his, decisively ending the first game of checkers of the night. “I thought you would show more of a fight, My Lord,” you scooped a victorious hunk out of the cheesecake that Sebastian delivered minutes prior. The rich Quark cheese was sweet, marrying the tart raspberry compote that was drizzled on top, syrupy in nature as it pooled around the remnants of the cake slice.

“Chess and draughts require different sets of strategies,” Lord Phantomhive responded, feigning nonchalance so as to take the loss civilly but nevertheless, he wore his frustration on his tightly pursed lips and a lack of eye contact which he normally provided in excess. “I’d bet I could win the next round now that I’m...acquainted with your style of playing.”

“Fine,” you aquised, “one last round for tonight because I simply must see you defeated again.”

. . .

FEBRUARY 24TH, 1892

LONDON, ENGLAND

If this pedal harp had eyes, it would have glared at you from across the music room. It was taller than you- glorious and intimidating, the dozens of strings perhaps daring you to pluck at them. The column was made of solid gold and with Lord Phantomhive’s fortune, you could assume that it was as genuine as the rest of the novelties that lived among the estate. This harp was perhaps the most intricate one you had ever laid eyes on, besting the rich mahogany instrument that you learned on as a girl. It was mandatory for the princesses of Schleswig-Holstein to practice womanly, demere hobbies and paradoxically, Marie was by far the worst violinist in Europe in spite of displaying every other desirable trait a young princess could wish to emote.

You were the most gifted musician out of the four heirs to the German throne, which was a fact that Governess Lydia preferred to keep to herself. Nobody needed to know that it was Glücksburg Castle’s Devil Child who was producing fiercely beautiful Mozart concertos from the confinement of her quarters after a good repremandment for misbehavior.

“My master requested this pedal harp to be handcrafted for you by George W. Lyon and Patrick Healy, the founders of Lyon and Healy- an overseas company that qualifies as the cornerstone of quality instrument creation. He corresponded closely with the two men over the past week,” you could hear Sebastian’s overly saccharine simper, even as you closely inspected the floral engravings that decorated the harp’s crown, straight down to its foot. The golden column must have been polished recently but even so, it couldn’t completely outshine the work that was put into styling the harp’s wooden soundboard and the neck, which was its signature concave top. “I do hope it's to your satisfaction- the Lord Phantomhive was eager to present it himself, however-”

“He is occupied with hosting his emergent business meeting,” you interrupted haphazardly. The Earl wouldn’t care about the Funtom Company once he was dead and besides, you couldn’t seem to find out why water damage within a single cacao refinery was such a major issue. There were dozens of cacao refineries that Lord Phantomhive funded- nosing through his official documents had told you so. “Well...think nothing of it, I suppose.”

“Of course,” Sebastian bowed, his hand over his heart, “your leniency is much appreciated, Your Highness.”

“I would appreciate being left to my own about now,” your fingertips brushed over a red string, which indicated that it was a C. On the harp, the strings were colored, indicating different notes and as if in a trance, you were tempted to play more of them as Sebastian left the room.

The blue strings were F strings, A string was the string in the middle of the groups of three, if your memory served you well. It had been about a decade since you last touched one with the intent to sit down and play. You doubted you could, the longer you stared at the abundance of strings and yet, you claimed the upholstered chair behind it anyhow, sitting down. You cautiously pulled the harp back towards you until you found its balance point and allowed it to rest gently against your chest- practically weightless.

Your the rest of your body seemed to recognize this more than your mind as you subconsciously repositioned the front of the harp to angle it. You could hear Lydia’s seething tone telling you to keep your arms “Halten Sie Ihre Arme in einem Winkel von 45 Grad zur Senkrechten!” (Keep your arms 45 degrees from the vertical!) properly from your body, your wrists curving gently towards the strings.

Playing the harp was your escape as a child and there you were, once again in need of an escape. Being in a strenuous position with no clear course of action...maybe you hadn’t grown nearly as much as you thought you had.

Or at all.

The back of your neck provided an affirmative stab, causing you to bite your bottom lip, paying the chapped skin over it no mind. Ignoring the reality of the situation, did you well- it chased away nightmares, the interrupting thoughts and ironically, you were sitting before an instrument that used to help you do just that. Except, all it was doing for you then was stir thoughts and memories that could have used to remain secluded for at least one more day.

“Mozart himself would have treasured your talent, dear girl,” Ida, one of the many maids that were assigned to prepare your sister for important events said. She was tying the back of Marie’s dress from the back, the satin laces a deep abrugene to match the rest of the garment. For young girls, clothing was quite simple- pinafores, dresses, sensible flats or boots. You weren’t introduced to the horrors of training crinolines and corsets until it was the year you went missing and stayed that way.

“It was nothing, Ida,” Marie-Louise yawned, extending her hand out to another maid, Lotte for her to slide a lace glove onto it, pulling it up to reach her forearm. The team of three maids worked around her like bees in a hive, hovering and flitting about, making useless conversation to please a girl who was nowhere near half of their age. “Music comes easy to me.”

No, it didn’t. The extent of Marie’s musical ability was to pick up a violin and brandish the bow, only to force the poor instrument to squeal about a few noises before she gave up. Marie liked everything to come easy to her- she liked to be a natural talent, a prodigy with anything she attempted.

Music came easily to you, but within the walls of Glücksburg Castle, all you knew how to accomplish was wreak havoc and delay plans. It didn’t make sense for music to come easily to you and so, no one believed you, no matter what you said or how you said it.

“They ought to organize a recital for you, Your Highness. Her Majesty would adore hearing you play,” Lotte suggested with a smile that seemed forced- like clothespins were pinching the corners of her lips and cheeks in place.

“Why do that when Mr. Brahms and Mr. Strauss performed for us already?” You couldn’t help but interject, their words irking you as you stood on the other side of the large quarters- in front of your own separate vanity and armoire. Two other maids, Emery and Katharina were assigned to you were also whisking around you like overeager bees, but they didn’t bother to coddle your self esteem. You appreciated that they did their job and silently at that. Nothing could convince you to forget the disappointment that furrowed their faces when they learned that they would be tended to you instead of your mother or your sister. They were treated with stiff contempt from the minute they introduced themselves in lieu of it. “They’re musical geniuses and you’re a princess.”

A lying princess, at that.

You were asked to remain looking forward while Emery caked your face and neck in thick powder and rouge and Katharina tied a chain of pearls around it. It was the exact ensemble that your sister’s team was assembling for her, except Ida and Lotte were much less time-efficient. The point was, Marie-Louise was free to face and glare at the side of your head, her seven-year-old mind trying to formulate a witty, yet tactful response.

“You’re a princess as well, Helena,” Marie-Louise hissed, “but you just can’t ever be normal and act like one.” It always had to come down to that, didn’t it.

“Just when did Governess Lydia teach us to lie in Etiquette Class?” You turned to your sister, which was admittedly, the equivalent of staring at a scowling mirage of yourself, who seemed to be on the verge of shedding frustrated tears. Satisfaction bloomed in your chest. “I must have properly missed such a lesson, considering everybody seems to abide by it.”

“Please, that is quite enough, miss. Supper is nearing and we wouldn’t want to present you both late. Poor form is unbecoming,” Ida, the most experienced maid only scolded you in the process of intervening. That was to be expected.

You didn’t respond and simply allowed Emery to part and braid your hair into a tight bun as Katharina secured your boots in tense silence. Most of your life up to that point was in tense, furthering silence anyway and yet, the royal family had the audacity to be surprised when you fled.

Supper was always the same. Your older brothers, Albert and Christian sat prudently on one side of the table, you and Marie-Louise were across from them and your mother was absent, visiting the Hampton Court Palace to see the Royal School of Needlework to its opening, since she was its first president. While she was one of the most active people in the royal family in charity work, her duty as a mother ended the moment she pushed the twins out of her womb.

“Helena,” Christian said, acting as if he had lived through the many experiences of a king in only sixteen years. “Your Royal Guard came looking for you in the cricket field this morning- again. Where were you off to today?”

“I was with Hanna,” you lied, puncturing the rough exterior of the sausage on your plate with the tip of your knife before properly slicing it. In truth, you hid yourself in the stables because the animals were better company that anyone on castle grounds. “We were-”

“When did Governess Lydia teach us to lie in Etiquette Class?” Marie-Louise mimicked your words from prior, purposely making a mockery of your voice as she scrunched her nose. “Thora went out to sit with the pigs and the filth, Christle,” she explained employing the frankly bothersome, nicknames that your grandmother started.

Christian ignored her and instead gave your father a long look, trying to get him to instead chastise you but to no avail. His Majesty was much too occupied with attempting to stab a piece of sausage whilst reading a letter. Kingly duties- and this was what your older brothers wished to embody.

“It’s getting cold. If you’re so compelled to ignore your duties, may as well do it safely,” Christian mumbed gruffly, causing Albert to snicker in turn. Albert had the right of it as you fought a grin, setting your utensils down to signify that you were finished with your meal- the tips of your fork and knife met on an angle at the top of your plate, similar to a triangle.

“Very well, Christle,” you stood up from your chair, breaking the code of the highest ranking individual needing to finish his meal before anyone else left the dining table. In which case, that would be your father who was still satisfying himself with a serving of knödeln- potato dumplings. He mouthed each word that he read because it was likely written in French or English. “I ought to go to amuse myself, then.”

You showed yourself back to your quarters, Ida’s pleas for you to return to the meal and properly wait for His Majesty to end it. You hesitated in front of the closed door, the impertinent anger from your sister’s mere existence returned in seconds, causing you to impulsively go to the games room, where the harp was kept, and do exactly as you were forbidden to.

You were forbidden from playing while Marie-Louise was occupied elsewhere- a rule that Lydia had threatened you over. But the moment that servants understood that it was your mastery that filled the castle corridors, they would detest it. Marie-Louise could live with being a little less affable in their eyes and even if she could not…

Some deserved not to.

You opened your eyes, unconscious to when they had closed. Your fingers froze, the skin on them raw and burning familiarly, your wrists protesting the angle you held them at. Your hands trembled having expertly recalled the daringly simple melody of Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, but before you could try to recall some piece by Liszt (the name was lost to you), Mey-Rin entered which was likely for the better. You were prepared to sit on that chair until your fingers bled, in spite of what it made you recall.

“Lunch is about ready,” Mey-Rin’s eyes were red and bleary, but you made no effort to question it, thankful that she refrained from commenting on your playing. “Are you feelin’ alright ma’am? You’ve gone a bit red.”

“Yes, thank you. I might’ve overexerted myself,” you suggested, which was true. Your head pounded the moment you tried to stand.

“Why don’t I bring it all up to your room,” she offered, “you just rest.” She briefly looked down at her boots, presumably checking the laces because tripping was quite a common occurrence for her. How the fragile antiques that Lord Phantomhive collected remained whole was beyond you when the only maid was a clumsy and slightly gullible...täuschen, or half-wit, as the conman might’ve said. But in this case, she had a point. Nothing sounded more appealing than having lunch alone in your room- without his (snarky) Lordship.

. . .

There were no time constraints at the estate- absolutely none that told you when you could play or when you couldn’t.

This was exactly how you found yourself before the harp once after your nightly routine concluded. You were pulling the harp back to lean on your shoulder like a woman possessed, hungry for control of some kind. Whether it be dragging the blade of a knife across your victim’s throat or more realistically, pulling the strings of a brilliant instrument that must have cost half of a fortune to commission. Besides, if you killed Lord Phantomhive, you would have to leave before having at least a few more chances to make the beautiful instrument sing.

The hour called for something demure, rather than you experimenting with what your muscle memory could or could not conjure. You immediately began with Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major once again, willing your gaze to remain on your hands, actively fighting off any intersecting train of thought while you played. You focused on every flick of your wrists, the shift of your slipper on the pedals all while your hands knew exactly where they needed to be and when.

At least they did before the shrill vibrato of a violin interjected the alto hum made by your harp. It came from the next room over, the Earl’s office, no less clearer than it would have been from a few feet in front of you. The violin took the melody that you willingly surrendered for the sake of keeping the piece uncluttered and subtle, as it was intended to be.

This was how Lydia wanted an accompaniment between you and Marie to play out- you vaguely recalled the sheet music that she painfully attempted to teach her. Clearly, your counterpart was never able to grasp the music well enough and the accompaniment never took place- even after you embarrassed her that night. After your father dismissed your siblings, she came to the music room and had an... entirely becoming temper tantrum in your face- such a display would have ended with you being locked in a closet for several hours. Ida simply escorted her back to the quarters you shared and made her a glass of chamomile tea to calm her down.

As the piece came to a mutual decrescendo, it slowly faded away, ending with a soft glissando. It was unlike Lord Phantomhive to give you the last word without so much as the irked look or in this case, an irked trill.

Tags:

#ciel phantomhive x reader #ciel x reader #black butler #black butler fanfic #strangers to lovers #anime fanfiction #murder #angst #historical fiction #historical romance #victorian era #the indignant pawn

62 notes · View notes

undertalethingems · 4 years

Text

glitterycowboyalientoad replied to your post “Ight I know its late but I gotta know. Sans and Paps aren't boss...”

Toriel and asgore are NOT the only boss momsters in the game. When monsters live a few seconds after death, they are bos monsters. Almost all main characters are boss monsters. Asriel, asgore, toriel, sans, papyrus, undyne...

Er, no--I guess I should have emphasized it more that the only monsters whose actual souls we see after their bodies dissolve are Toriel and Asgore. The others manage to hold on, but I think it has more to do with them being main characters with relevance to the plot than anything else. We don’t see their souls linger after they die, and I think that’s the key difference.

This was why Alphys tried to use Determination to get monsters ‘ souls to last longer--the problem is that a normal monster’s soul can’t exist separately from its body.

Not to mention that just before the fight with Asriel, Alphys talks about no longer chasing furry boss monsters, and meeting a cute fish. If they were all boss monsters, why even mention it?

Again, I think if there were more boss monsters, it would be stated by other characters in the game. Like, someone in Snowdin might comment that ‘for a boss monster, Papyrus is kind of silly and doesn’t get much respect, but then, neither does the king...’, and someone--Monster Kid, probably--would almost certainly talk about Undyne being a boss monster if she was one. The others also don’t comment on seeing or meeting any humans before you, which, if they were immortal boss monsters, they likely would have, but that’s maybe a little more circumstantial. But it also seems odd that they would all be born around the same time, after the previous humans all fell and died--for the odds of that happening to make sense, boss monsters wouldn’t be all that rare.

Details make a difference, and the fact no one else is named as or has features that boss monsters are specifically mentioned to have, suggests there are no other boss monsters besides Toriel and Asgore. The other characters are ‘bosses’ in the same way sans is a ‘judge’--it’s not actually something said in-game, but an external term applied by fans to describe their role in the game’s narrative.

#glitterycowboyalientoad #undertalethingem chats #character analysis #it feels wrong to say only a certain type of monster is special and powerful enough to be important to the story <:/#and a powerful monster isn't necessarily a boss monster automatically >>

167 notes · View notes

beneaththetangles · 3 years

Photo

Reader’s Corner: SAO Project Alicization, Evangelion ANIMA, and Cooking with Fluffy Friends

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 2, Vol. 3

Recently, I introduced my sister to the Ascendance series, and she’s hooked. As she gobbles her way through the novels from Part 2, I’ve been rereading them to keep up with her questions and comments. And I have to say, I really like this volume in particular. In some ways, it’s a filler novel, sandwiched between the rising tensions of volume two and the approaching climax in volume four. Myne sells off rights to the paper ink, completes the first printing press (finally!), finishes sets of playing cards for the orphanage, and cooks up some new sweets recipes in the interim. Nothing incredibly unique, but it’s the small details about Myne’s life that I love—including her banter with Benno and Ferdinand, of which there is much in this volume. Of course, it’s not all easy reading. Now that nobles know about Myne’s wealth of mana, she’s in more danger than ever before; and the arrival of a *certain* blue priest sends the whole temple into a panic. But whether you’re reading for the tension or the sweetness, you’ll definitely find something to love in this volume. At least, I did—even on my second read. ~ sleepminusminus

Ascendance of a Bookworm is published by J-Novel Club, which offers a free preview.

Sword Art Online: Project Alicization, Vol. 2

Volume two of Project Alicization picks up right where the initial one left off, with Kirito waking up in a digital world and meeting his new friend, Eugeo. He discovers that Alice has been taken by the Integrity Knight, but the next day, he and Eugen also can’t find Selka, the latter’s friend and sister to Alice. Elsewhere, Asuna and the OG gang try to figure out where Kirito’s body is after he went unconscious. It seems foul play and deception are afoot with Rath, the company who created this new game. Volume two keeps the action going at a frenetic pace, but it struggles with the same issues as the previous one. There is too much dialogue about how souls work in the game, in addition to other non-essential details. Some will enjoy the heavy focus on detail in this volume as with the previous, but this reviewer finds that SAO tries a little too hard to explain itself instead of moving the story along. I am, however, enjoying the new characters and plot as well as basking in Kirito’s bravery, so I continue to look forward to the next part of the series to see what happens next! ~ Samuru

Sword Art Online: Project Alicization is published by Yen Press.*

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends, Vol. 1 (light novel)

After her engagement to a pathetic prince is dissolved because of a malicious plot, Laeticia regains memories of her past life as a Japanese woman who loves animals and cooking. From there, she accepts an offer to become a figurehead queen in a neighboring country, and not wanting to bother the king—who has become distrustful of women—she lives apart from him in a villa with various servants and, of course, fluffy animals. There’s actually quite a lot more than just slice-of-life cooking here, as volume one presents nefarious noble plots Laetitia has to deal with, which adds drama to the story. Also, there is a bit of a fun element to the romance aspect, because while the king doesn’t quite want to meet his wife-in-name-only in person…well, he is the King of Wolfvarte, so maybe he can approach her incognito in a, let’s say, fluffier form? There are other neat fantastical elements here, and, of course, plenty of cooking and petting animals, making this was a fun story that I would love to read more of. ~ stardf29

Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating, I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends, Vol. 1 is published by Cross Infinite World.

Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA, Vol. 1

The Evangelion franchise has birthed several alternate universe (AU) series since its initial inception—two of which we’ve covered in this column in recent months—but ANIMA, originally serialized in Japan between 2008 and 2013, is distinctive both for being a light novel entry and in its ambition, functioning as a direct line from the original series if it has gone the direction of Shinji avoiding Human Instrumentality and now, three years later, dealing with a new threat, while bringing along most of the remaining characters from the series as well. Little time is spent exploring school life, as noted by the author himself in the volume’s extensive extras, with the action begining almost immediately and continuing in an unrelenting manner. Much like the final stretch of the anime, challenges occur one after another, barely leaving readers time to breathe. At once, the novel is a thrill because of this structure, as well as in how KHARA and Ikuto Yamashita reenvision NERV and the world it protects in light of the changes that come with Shinji’s altered decision and three years of maturation, while keeping tone and characterization consistent with its predecessor, and also disappointing because it doesn’t allow room for much growth for its characters. That’s not to say that Shinji, Rei, especially Asuka, and all the rest, haven’t developed greatly in the preceding three years, and readers are invited to witness these changes throughout volume one, but little growth occurs throughout the course of these some-300 pages. There is a much heavier focus on the sci-fi elements of the story, which will delight many fans, especially those who are interested in how technology in this universe works and how it’s progressed, but which will also serve to confuse others. ~ Twwk

Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA is published by Seven Seas.

Your Lie in April, Vol. 6

Continuing my re-read during the month of April, I completed volume six, which continues the story of Kousei as he’s told that he will be accompany Kaori to a recital event. Unbeknownst to her, she selects a song that screams Kousei’s Mom, leading to a volume that forces Kousei to confront his unresolved feelings with his late mother, for whom he never allowed himself to. He just bottled his emotions deep inside. Other events occurs as well, including a deeper dive which the volume takes into his mother’s friend Hiroko Seto, and Kaori all but admitting to Watari that she likes Kousei; yet at the core of these chapters, as with the entire series, this is Kousei’s story. And let’s be real—it’s not a happy-go-lucky tale, filled with highs and almost as many lows as this teenager grapples with heavy emotional baggage from his late, abusive mother. Re-reading Your Lie in April has been a good exercise, helping me see different things I may have missed before. I posted more extensive thoughts on this volume on Twitter, if you’d like to explore this weighty selection in more detail. ~ MDMRN

Your Lie in April is published by Kodansha.

Skip Beat, Vol. 18

This, this is what I follow Skip Beat for. Following the “Dark Moon” and “Suddenly, a Love Story” segments, which were long and mediocre, volume 18 features a short arc focusing on a new character and his interactions with Kyoko, who isn’t relegated to a damsel in distress as she had been previously. Returning to her Love Me section job, Kyoko is given a special assignment to assist Kuu Hizuri, a Hollywood star returning to Japan, and who has some connection to Ren beyond having played the same role in the Dark Moon drama. Coming off as a brash, arrogant type, Kuu soon appears to be very intentional in how and why he’s picking on Kyoko, and turns out to be quite an engaging character. Kuu’s actions bring out treasured qualities in both Kyoko and Ren, the latter of whom has been near-insufferable in his insecurity. A brisk read, volume 18 advances the narrative, continues to have fun with the idea of celebrity, and deepens the backgrounds that connect the series leads as it gets Skip Beat back on track—a most welcome volume, indeed. ~ Twwk

Skip Beat is published by Viz.*

=====

Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Ascendance of a Bookworm #Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen #Sword Art Online: Project Alicization #Since I Was Abandoned After Reincarnating I Will Cook With My Fluffy Friends #Tenseisaki de Suterareta no de Mofumofutachi to Oryouri Shimasu: Okazari Ouhi wa My Pace ni Saikyou desu #Neon Genesis Evangelion ANIMA #Evangelion: ANIMA #Your Lie in April #Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso #Skip Beat!#Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: sleepminusminus #Author: Samuru #Author: stardf29 #Author: TWWK #Author: MDMRN

6 notes · View notes

interestarticles · 3 years

Text

Best Movies Of The Year 1980 - Top 20 Films Of 1980

What Are The Best Movies Of The Year 1980?

From New York to Los Angeles this is a question that will get a different answer from every person you ask. There were some great films in the 1980s, and 1980 started the decade off with a bang as a year full of innovation in every way throughout all of society, and it was the start of some exciting new techniques, technologies, and ideas in the film industry in particular with many movies from the year 1980 introducing revolutionary and pioneering cinematic visions. Many people think that some of the best 80s movies of the decade came out in 1980. In this article post, we will go through our top picks for the 20 best movies of 1980, you might be surprised to find out which movies made it on the list! 1) Kramer vs. Kramer In 1980, "Kramer vs. Kramer" was released and became a huge success at the box office. The movie starred Meryl Streep as Joanna Kramer, Dustin Hoffman as Ted Kramer, Jane Alexander as Marylin Jaffe-Jenson, and Justin Henry as Billy Kramer. This film won five Academy Awards in 1981 including Best Picture of 1979 or 1980. It also received nominations for best director (Robert Benton), best actor (Dustin Hoffman), and best-adapted screenplay based on another work (Erica Mann). It is now considered one of the most significant Hollywood films ever made about divorce because it provides nuance to both sides of an argument. 2) The Shining This iconic horror classic film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall was released in 1980. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. The film has been ranked a number of times as one of the best horror movies ever made and is now considered to be one of Kubrick's best films. It was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actor in Leading Role--Jack Nicholson) and won none at the time. The Shining also received nominations for Best Director - Stanley Kubrick), Best Adapted Screenplay--Steven Spielberg/Stanley Kubrick). Its reputation grew over time, eventually earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. 3) Being There Hal Ashby himself had been nominated for an Academy Award in 1971 with directing The Last Detail. It is a film that could be classified as both comedy and drama, but the emphasis on this 1980 release lies more on its comedic aspects. While it was not one of the most acclaimed films when it came out, many now consider Being There to be a classic film about society's relationship with television at the time. It offers commentary on economic inequality and how people are often reduced to simple archetypes who can easily fit into neat narratives for consumption purposes. 4) Time Bandits Time Bandits, a 1980 British fantasy film about adventure, was co-written by Terry Gilliam. It stars Sean Connery and John Cleese as well as Shelley Duvall and Ralph Richardson. Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm. Peter Vaughan and David Warner are also featured. It is a whimsical kids' movie with the fantasy adventure of time travel that has been ranked as one of the best movies ever made by many critics. Gilliam has referred to time bandits as first in his "Trilogy of Imagination", which includes Brazil (1985), and then The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (88). They all revolve around the "craziness and incoherence of our society, and the desire for escape through every means. These films all focus on the struggles and attempts to escape through imagination. Brazil is seen through the eyes of a young man, Time Bandits through a child's eyes, and Munchausen through an old man's eyes. Time Bandits, in particular, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. 5) Pennies from Heaven Quite a departure from his previous work, this film is much more lighthearted and comedic than the serious dramas of The Miracle Worker or Bonnie and Clyde. The plot revolves around Arthur Parker (Steve Martin), whose life becomes increasingly chaotic as he tries to juggle two jobs, an impending child custody battle for his daughter, and a demanding girlfriend who wants him to give up one job so that they can have some time together. 6) Airplane! This Leslie Nielsen instant comedy classic was one of the highest-grossing movies of 1980. The movie is about an airplane crew that must find a way to land their plane after food poisoning breaks out on board and the pilots become incapacitated, with only two inexperienced passengers who happen to be a doctor (Robert Hays) and a flight attendant (Julie Hagerty) qualified to land the plane. Airplane! was one of the most successful films at theaters in 1980 It had more than $83 million worth of ticket sales by year's end - it became one of Leslie Nielsen's most popular roles ever The film also helped launch Robert Hays' career as a leading man, though he later found greater success playing comedic supporting characters before retiring from acting. 7) The Empire Strikes Back One of the most famous of the 1980s movies, The Empire Strikes Back is remembered for its numerous plot twists and turns as well as introducing fan-favorite Yoda The film features Mark Hamill reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in this second installment of George Lucas' Star Wars series and it was the first star wars to be released on VHS. Featuring a mixture of live-action footage with high-quality animation from Japanese company Toho, it became one of the best critically acclaimed movies ever. In 1997, it won an American Film Institute award for being among the top 100 films since 1941. 8) Raging Bull 1980 was a strong year for movies, and Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull is one of the most acclaimed action films to be released that year. It stars Robert De Niro in an Academy Award-winning performance as new york boxer Jake La Motta, who has a turbulent affair with Kim Basinger's Vickie. The film depicts how new york boxing served as both his escape from domestic abuse but also led him on a self-destruction path. In addition to being nominated for ten Oscars (including best picture), it won two including best actor for Robert de Niro and best director awards respectively. Released by United Artists, the movie has ranked among the top 100 American Films ever made according to AFI rankings. This release is considered one of the best films of the 80s by many critics. 9) Kagemusha One of the most interesting and well-made movies that 1980 has to offer, Kagemusha tells the story of a warlord who is critically injured and after being buried alive. The movie was directed by Akira Kurosawa and stars Tatsuya Nakadai in one of his best performances ever as both warrior leader Katsuyori Shibata and an imposter named Shingen Yashida. Released in Japan on April 20th, 1980, it became the second-highest-grossing film at the Japanese box office just behind The Return of Godzilla (1984). Kagemusha made its international debut at Cannes Film Festival's Directors Fortnight where it won two major awards: Special Jury Prize for Best Direction and Grand Prix du Festival International du Film - Art. 10) The Gods Must Be Crazy Part comedy, part drama, The Gods Must Be Crazy is a timeless classic. Released in 1980, the film follows Xi (N!xau), an out-of-touch bushman who lives happily with his family until he encounters Coca Cola for the first time and it changes their world forever. The premise of this movie makes us laugh because we can relate to how much more comfortable life was before modern society became so intricate that things like Coke began infiltrating every aspect of our lives. We're drawn into Xi's story as he goes from living peacefully with his tribe to being thrust into a completely different reality when they start hunting down any remaining cases of coca-cola at stores all over town! It also touches on some deeper themes such as the cultural modern world where his customs and rituals mean nothing. Xi's journey is our own as we watch the culture clash of modern society, with all its good intentions and never-ending thirst for new things to consume, come into contact with a simpler time that has long since passed by. The humorous film release was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but lost out to Italy’s Cinema Paradiso (1988). 11) Caddyshack Released in 1980 this classic comedy film by Harold Ramis is widely considered one of the funniest movies ever made by fans and critics alike. It features an amazing comedic all-star ensemble cast, including Chevy Chase as a rich playboy who turns caddie in order to get girls; Ted Knight as Judge Smails, who wants to keep his country club memberships exclusive and prestigious; Rodney Dangerfield as Ty Webb, a millionaire golfer-cum-caddy who has been banned from all other golf courses for being too good. Also featuring Bill Murray as Carl Spackler, the groundskeeper at Bushwood Country Club whose only goal seems to be killing off gophers with any weapon he can devise (including explosives); Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan, a young man hired by Judge Smails's daughter (Castle) to caddy for him; and Brian Doyle-Murray as Lou Loomis, the club's ultra-snobby head professional. 12) The Blues Brothers Another instant classic 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers are best known for its 1980 car chases. Starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Joliet Jake & Elwood Blues respectively, the two brothers who perform a blues show before being arrested by police. They break out of jail with their friends to save an orphanage from foreclosure through satanic cult leader sheik Abdul Khadaffi's "Elvis-Is-King" rally in Chicago Illinois on Mothers Day 1980 at noon. The film has been praised by audiences and critics alike for its music, screenplay, and performances but criticized for its lack of character development (most likely due to budget constraints). This was even acknowledged during production when director John Landis told cast members not to act too much because "no one is going to see this movie." The 1980 car chases are iconic and highly regarded by film critics. One of the most memorable moments in 1980 was when Elwood Blues while driving his 1980 Chevy Malibu, spots a cat on the front fender as he's being chased by police officers from Illinois State Troopers who try to arrest him for not wearing seat belts (the law at that time). The chase ends with Jake & Elwood crashing into an old man sitting atop a 1980 Chevy Monte Carlo. After striking them, the cops then swerve quickly around their fallen comrade before continuing after our heroes. 13) 9 To 5 9 to 5 (listed in the opening credits as Nine to Five) is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Colin Higgins, who wrote the screenplay with Patricia Resnick. It stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton as three working women who live out their fantasies of getting even with and overthrowing the company's autocratic, "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot" boss, played by Dabney Coleman. The film grossed over $103.9 million and is the 20th-highest-grossing comedy film. As a star vehicle for Parton—already established as a successful singer, musician, and songwriter—it launched her permanently into mainstream popular culture. A television series of the same name based on the film ran for five seasons, and a musical version of the film (also titled 9 to 5), with new songs written by Parton, opened on Broadway on April 30, 2009. 9 to 5 is number 74 on the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest Movies" and has an 83% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. 14) Smokey And The Bandit 2 Smokey and the Bandit 2 Is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason, And Dom DeLuise. This film is a sequel to 1977's film Smokey and the Bandit. The original release of the film was in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Bo "Bandit", Darville (Burt Reynolds), and Cledus "Snowman," Snow (Jerry Reed) transport an elephant to the GOP National Convention. Sheriff Buford T. Justice, Jackie Gleason (Jackie Gleason), is once more in hot pursuit. 15) Superman 2 Superman II, a 1980 superhero movie directed by Richard Lester, is written by Mario Puzo, David, and Leslie Newman and is based on a story by Puzo about the DC Comics character Superman. It features Gene Hackman and Terence Stamp, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, and Sarah Douglas. The film was first released in Australia and Europe on December 4, 1980. It was also released in other countries during 1981. Megasound is a high-impact surround sound system that's similar to Sensurround and was used for select premiere Superman II engagements. The Salkinds decided in 1977 that they would simultaneously film Superman and its sequel. Principal photography began in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. There were tensions between Richard Donner, the original director, and the producers. It was decided to stop filming the sequel (of which 75 percent was already completed) and instead finish the first film. After the December 1978 release of Superman, Donner was fired from his post as director and was replaced by Lester. Many cast members and crew members declined to return following Donner's firing. Lester was officially acknowledged as the director. Principal photography resumed in September 1979 and ended in March 1980. Film critics gave the film positive reviews, praising the performances of Reeve, Stamp, and Hackman as well as the visual effects and humor. The film grossed $190million against a $54 million production budget. 16) Friday The 13th Friday the 13th, 1980 American slasher movie, is directed and produced by Sean S. Cunningham. Written by Victor Miller, it stars Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King. The plot centers on a group of teenager camp counselors, who are each murdered by an unknown killer as they attempt to reopen an abandoned summer camp. Cunningham, inspired by John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) success, put out an advertisement in Variety to sell the film. Miller was still writing the screenplay. Filming began in New York City after casting the film. It was shot in New Jersey during summer 1979 on an estimated budget of $550,000. The finished film was the subject of a bidding war. Paramount Pictures won domestic distribution rights while Warner Bros. Pictures took European rights. Friday the 13th, which was released on May 9, 1980, was a huge box office hit, earning $59.8 million globally. The film received mixed reviews, some praised its cinematography, score, and performances while others criticized it for depicting graphic violence. It was the first independent film of its type to be distributed in the U.S. by major studios. The film's box office success led it to many sequels, a crossover film with A Nightmare on Elm Street, and a reboot of the series in 2009. 17) Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is a 1980 space opera film directed and produced by Mike Hodges. It was based on Alex Raymond's King Features comic strip. The film stars Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson as well as Max von Sydow, Max von Sydow, Max von Sydow, and Topol. Topol is supported by Timothy Dalton and Mariangela Melato. Peter Wyngarde plays the role of Peter Wyngarde. The film features Flash Gordon (Jones), a star quarterback, and his friends Dale Arden and Hans Zarkov (Topol), as they unify the warring factions on the planet Mongo to resist the oppression by Ming the Merciless (von Sydow), a man who wants to destroy Earth. Producer Dino De Laurentiis had been involved in two comic book adaptations: Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella (both 1968). He had also previously worked on Danger. De Laurentiis declined a George Lucas directorial offer, a Star Wars version directed by Federico Fellini was also rejected. De Laurentiis hired Nicolas Roeg as director and Enter the Dragon writer Michael Allin as the lead developer on the film. They were replaced in 1977 by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and Hodges, who had written De Laurentiis’ remake of King Kong, this was due to Roeg's dissatisfaction. Flash Gordon was mostly shot in England, with several soundstages at Elstree Studios and Shepperton Studios. It uses a camp style that is similar to the 1960s TV series Batman, which Semple created. Jones quit the film before principal photography was overdue to a dispute between De Laurentiis and Jones. Much of Jones's dialogue was dubbed by Peter Marinker. The documentary Life After Flash examines the main subjects of Jones' departure and his career after it was released. It is known for its Queen-inspired musical score, which features orchestral sections by Howard Blake. Flash Gordon was a box-office success in Italy and the United Kingdom, but it did poorly in other markets. The film received generally positive reviews upon its initial release and has since developed a large cult following. There have been many attempts at sequels or reboots, but none of them have ever made it to production. 18) Cheech & Chong's Next Movie Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, a 1980 comedy film by Tommy Chong, is the second feature-length Cheech & Chong project, after Up in Smoke. It was released by Universal Pictures. Cheech and Chong go on a mission: siphon gasoline to their neighbor's car. They then continue their day. Cheech works at a movie theater, while Chong looks for something to smoke (a roach). Then Chong revs up his indoor motorcycle and plays loud rock music that disrupts the neighborhood. Cheech is fired and the couple goes to Donna, Cheech's girlfriend, and welfare officer. Cheech seduces Donna over her objections and gets her in trouble with her boss. 19) Coal Miner's Daughter Coal Miner's Daughter, a 1980 American musical biographical film, was directed by Michael Apted and based on a screenplay by Tom Rickman. The film follows Loretta Lynn's rise to stardom as a country singer, starting in her teen years with a poor family. The film is based on Lynn's 1976 biography by George Vecsey. Read the full article

#BestFilmsOf1980 #BestMoviesOfTheYear1980 #BestMoviesOfTheYear1980-Top20FilmsOf1980 #movies1980 #Top20FilmsOf1980

2 notes · View notes

raven-nacht · 4 years

Text

The Owl House: Final theories before the Season 1 finale:

I’m still standing by the majority of my previous theory, outside that the actual person who administered the curse to Eda seems to be Lilith, rather than Mr. Blight. I’m still convinced he helped her do it though, simply because the curse is so potent and present despite Eda being so powerful, that I believe the reason she can’t break it is it’s a mix of magics from Lilith (feathers via potions) and Mr. Blight (mud via abominations). If the guess I had that the picture was Mrs. Blight is correct, he still had motive to help get Eda out of jealousy, similar to Lilith. (Also, just note, the “reveal” of Lilith’s actions simply consisted of her saying “why were you so easy to curse?” and then us seeing it was her as the shadow, so with this little detail given, I’m fully convinced there is some twist still to be had, like my guesses.)

Anyways, some other bits I wanted to get out there. Firstly, I’m pretty sure that Mr. Blight is the head of the Abomination Coven and thus the de-facto second-hand to Emperor Belos.

I’m also pretty sure that this last episode is going to be a narrative mirror to the first episode, with Luz breaking into the Emperor’s castle covertly, albeit this time unfortunately without Eda. Narrative tropes and the fact that Lilith has been the only consistently referenced “villain” in the show so far make me think that Luz’s main “personal triumph” in this episode will be her defeating Lilith (thus letting the “apprentice” avenge the “master”). Lilith almost certainly will then be kicked out of the Coven and stripped of her rank for that too and then head on the run, but I don’t think she’ll make up with Eda. (This also sets the stage for the Blights to move in and fill the role of “actively seen villain going after the protagonists” that Lilith formerly occupied, but yeah.) Anyways though, after defeating Lilith, my assumption is that Luz then gets outclassed or caught by Belos. At that point, I’m assuming we’ll get another mirror to the first episode wherein Luz inspires other people to action, like the varying citizens she’s met and befriended, and that seems to turn the tide in Luz’s favor or at least let her get to and maybe help Eda. I’m unsure how that’ll play out, but I’m guessing finally that Luz somehow finally gets sent home (to mirror how Eda tried to send her off in the first episode) and that the door potentially gets destroyed for the sake of a cliffhanger. If that happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if King goes with her too, but yeah.

I know I’m not the first to guess that Belos is human either btw, but I do support it simply since his needing to consume magic for power (up to and including him potentially siphoning all the magic off the Titan itself’s magic sack by building his castle by its heart) and his having a special room of treasures guarded by the Warden that only a human can enter makes no sense otherwise.

My last big guess for the whole series is that we’re underestimating the importance in this society of blood and, more specifically, “pure-blooded-ness”. Mechanically, we know that the heart is what gives them magic and so that feels like a big hint in its own right, but there are other clues. We know that the Blight’s seem to have an extremely high-value reputation and only seem to want to associate with witches of “similar value”, for example.

I’ve pointed out this “pure-blood” fixation in my previous post, but there’s some more consequences likely to come for its inclusion. Firstly, I think this will fully be the reason her family end up not supporting Amity dating Luz. Elsewhere, I’m pretty sure that if/when Belos gets revealed as a human, this will be at least a decent part for why the other witches in power would turn against him and try to put themselves in charge (I’m still guessing Mr. Blight would hear this faction on that note).

Another thing that seems to be important for the references to “pure-blooded-ness” is hair color and the family’s house animal (usually birds, so far). I’ve already pointed out the hair color in the previous theory, but my roommate pointed out some things that got me thinking a lot more about the animal themes. For example, they pointed this picture out to me:

We get to see here that Belos’ actual-seeming right hand is wearing a snow owl mask. With this, I am almost completely certain that the person in the mask is either a Blight or a Clawthorne. You might be wondering how we got to Eda’s family, so let me explain. So far in the show, only two families seem to have been highlighted to have very prominent hair colors that run in the family; being the Blights and the Clawthornes. (One hair color is green and one is red btw which is really interesting and would almost seem to put these families at odds because those are opposite colors on the color wheel, but yeah.) The point being though, that I think the two birds we’ve seen most so far, owls and ravens; correspond to the respective families as well, like the colors seem to.

Back to the snow owl-masked figure though, I’m currently guessing that it’s Mrs. Blight (mainly because I think Mr. Blight is busy elsewhere with his Coven) and that the Owl is actually the Blight-family animal, which will be the biggest tip-off to Eda’s curse being a collaborative effort of some kind (and also that concurrently, the Raven is the Clawthorne-family animal). This being the case would explain why Lilith uses ravens and also explain the irregularity between how someone who uses ravens would somehow curse someone to becoming an owl, since that doesn’t make much sense otherwise. (It also aligns more on brand with the show and all its Harry Potter references just because the name “Clawthorne” reminds me a lot of “Ravenclaw”, which would mean off names alone and putting aside all character knowledge, I would’ve thought Eda would be more likely to have a Raven-motif than an Owl-motif.)

Now, I will admit it could be the opposite alignment of animals and Lilith could’ve picked up the raven when she dyed her hair, but I’m still leaning towards the above theory more. If it is the opposite though, I wanna say that the snow owl-mask wearer is almost certainly a Clawthorne, probably one of Eda’s parents, and that explains Lilith’s line at the end of Agony Of A Witch saying that “Eda was finally home”. (Again though; this seems less likely to me since I think Eda and Lilith were probably orphans living in a family manor somewhere, but yeah).

Anyways, that’s the majority of the theories and predictions I’ve had with thinking it over the past few days and re-watching the series, I haven’t followed other people’s theories so sorry if this has already all been said elsewhere coincidentally, but feel free to let me know if this gave you any ideas. :)

#the owl house #owl house #owl house theory #eda clawthorne #emperor belos

20 notes · View notes

therachelperspective · 3 years

Photo

TV | Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

This review has sat in my drafts for over a year. (It’s been a weird year, don’t judge me). Although I had a few notes sufficient enough to write a review from and could have probably have finished and posted something by now, I will honestly say that I have pondered Penny Dreadful this entire period of time. Even as I watch other series and take part in other media, every so often my mind wanders back to Penny Dreadful. Whether the show intrigued me or irked me has not entirely been decided, to the point where I am almost feel hastened to watch the show again with more attentiveness. But, just as I feel about Marvel’s Iron Fist series, I’m not sure I want to endure some of the more vexing qualities of Penny Dreadful a second time around (though I sadly will for Iron Fist as I once again attempt to complete the entire Defenders collection).

Let’s see what I can make of my long-stored memories.

Penny Dreadful derives its name from what is essentially Victorian England’s version of a comic book, typically with narratives of crime or violence. As per Britannica, these eight-page installments – also called “dime novels” or “bloods” – were carelessly written second-rate works full of gory themes. While I wouldn’t say the series to be careless or second-rate, it definitely hits the crime, violence, and horror right on the nose to give its namesake proper honor.

Set in the late 1800s, Penny Dreadful bears resemblance to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in that it includes characters from various works of classic literature, though Penny Dreadful sticks to the obvious era of Victorian Gothic. Although its main characters Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), and Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) were created for the show, its supporting cast are directly named after major literary characters – Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his Creature (Rory Kinnear), as well as brief appearances throughout by Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Dr. Henry Jekyll (sadly, while the science is included, Jekyll’s own counterpart Hyde was not), Dracula, and Justine (from The Misfortunes of Virtue). It has been discussed online that the character of Malcolm is based on famed adventurer Allan Quartermain from King Solomon’s Mines and, by name, obviously a derivative of Mina Murray’s father from Dracula; however, he was not mentioned in the novel. Similarly, Vanessa Ives is said to be based on Mina’s best friend Lucy Westenra. Furthermore, the story arc of Brona, who then becomes “Lily Frankenstein,” shares obvious similarities to that of the Bride of Frankenstein.

The rich inspiration from classic literature is what initially drew me to watch Penny Dreadful, along with the hype I read when it was initially released in 2014. Despite the fact that I am typically not one for horror-based film or television, I undertook the task regardless. Per my usual reasoning (I swear I write this in everything and I apologize lol), I wanted to discover for myself if it was truly as great as the critics say. And dare I say, it was actually true for the first season. I remember posting something on Instagram stating how I understood the public interest in the show and that I was excited to continue on. While it has no doubt been some time since I’ve viewed the material, I distinctly remember my personal fascination dwindle shortly thereafter. Had I any sort of ability to abandon the media I try to consume, it might have caused me to not finish the show. But alas, I’m one of those hopefuls that thinks maybe it will get better. Plus, can you really say you watched something if you didn’t watch the entire thing? My answer: no. Must watch it all to have a proper opinion!

Wherein the first season focuses primarily on finding a kidnapped Mina Murray, with tolerable amounts of arc for Frankenstein, his creature, the mysterious Ethan Chandler, and Dorian Gray... the latter seasons revolving around witches and “nightcomers” (season two), and Dracula (season three) – as well as the constant battles between Frankenstein’s scientist vs. his creations, the dragged out uncovering of Ethan’s background, and Dorian’s inability to keep it in his pants – just didn’t seem to have the same charm to me as the initial season. Maybe it was the story? Were these the best “big bads” writers could come up with? I suppose, yes, considering the source material of that particular period, there’s only so much to work with. But to have the first season’s enemy be simply a vampire and the third season’s Dracula, it seems to me like missed opportunity (like using Dracula in his actual storyline) or they were really just recycling material. You used vampires once already; was doing it again with one buffer season in between really your only option?

Other nagging details that truthfully somewhat prevent me from watching the series again include things like: how much of Vanessa’s “dialogue” actually includes Eva Green’s ability to make guttural sounds; how certain arcs overwhelmed the series (like Frankenstein’s Creature and Lily, though kudos to Penny Dreadful for exploring their thoughts/feelings that other films or shows have not), compared to others tales that were not fleshed out enough; characters from literature left me wanting more, even if I did already know their mythos (Dorian, for example, was merely only a brief glimpse at his portrait, no explanation of its mysticism); and lastly, Lily’s entire story felt too much for me. While I admire the show’s portrayal of feminism, body autonomy, and a sense of sisterhood amongst Lily and her “army,” her approach to these topics also felt preachy and eventually fell more into a “savior” complex. I can understand the rediscovery of life as a newly reanimated human, re-comprehending life and death, not allowing any man to “own” her purely based on his say-so... but the way the show writers approached it was not my favorite. Billie Piper was great in her role, but towards the end of her arc, I was bored with Lily’s endeavors.

My biggest pet peeve surrounding this show, however, was actual a very random detail – Ethan and Brona (Lily, in her previous life) had a very intense relationship during the first season before she succumbs to illness. How is it, despite both of their prominence in the show and their respective arcs, as well as mutual acquaintances with other characters, that Ethan never ever crossed paths with Lily at all once she was reborn? Was it because he would obviously recognize her as Brona and writers didn’t know how to incorporate that detail into the show? Was it because they wanted Lily to remain purely a character in Frankenstein’s and Dorian’s arcs? Someone please answer this for me, because it drives me nuts.

All in all, Penny Dreadful started strong and I did enjoy it at first, but its subsequent seasons and finale felt less than spectacular. What was once an enjoyable suspenseful thriller turned into a psychological drama looking to interpret everyone’s personal issues and traumas rather than working together for a common, supernatural cause. Where the first season saw everyone as a collective group, I feel the show slowly but surely lost its charm by increasing their solo arcs without much interaction amongst everyone as a whole. It’s not to say that they never spoke to one another (Ethan and Lily being the exception), but their interactivity became increasingly minimal. I will give writers some credit in that, for some characters, this solitude reflected their emotions and was necessary for their arc. But maybe I just believe the show was better when the ensemble was a more cohesive whole.

#tv #television #tv show #television show #penny dreadful #eva green #josh hartnett #vanessa ives #ethan chandler #dracula #dorian gray #frankenstein #bride of frankenstein

5 notes · View notes

mithrilwren · 4 years

Text

The Great CritRole Fic Stats Roundup - Caleb/Jester

What is this project?

I’ve always been curious about what drives people to write about particular pairings, and how the popularity of pairings in fic evolves over time. Critical Role - with its smorgasbord of shipping combinations, healthy writing community, and predictable airing schedule - presents a fascinating opportunity to actually take a look at those patterns! For example, can we figure out the key, defining moments for a pairing just by looking at how much fic was posted after particular episodes aired? Well, I wrote a simple Ao3 HTML scraper to try and find out exactly that! (See this FAQ post for more on my data collection/analysis methodology.)

Previous Posts: Beau/Jester, Fjord/Caduceus, Caleb/Essek, Beau/Yasha

The Raw Data

Total Fics Posted: 500

First Fic Posted: Jan 14, 2018 - Cleansed by sabinelagrande. This fic was posted three days after the first episode of CR2 aired. Well done, you funky innovator!

Total Kudos: 53158

Total Comments: 8309

Comment/Hit Ratio: 0.015

Week By Week Analysis

[The graph below details the # of fics posted each week, aggregated from Fri-Thurs and associated with the preceding episode’s air date.]

The anon who suggested this pairing described Widojest as a “dark horse” in terms of CR2 pairings, and the data really does support that description! With very few-to-no fics for the two for most of the first year of the campaign, popularity rapidly rose in the middle of the pirate arc, and numbers have stayed fairly consistent ever since, placing Widojest solidly within the top 5 for total number of fics by pairing.

Unlike the previous four pairings I’ve looked at - where spikes tended to match up with very obvious, ‘big’ moments between characters - Widojest’s rise in popularity seems to have been more subtle. Weeks I was expecting to have caused a stir were quiet (eg. the waltz from early campaign days) while episodes that seemed relatively light on interaction had huge numbers! I was perplexed! And intrigued! Let’s dig in!

1. Week of Dec 6, 2018 - The Diver’s Grave (and Dec 13, 208 - The Stowaway)

This data point confused me more than any other I’ve looked at so far, for any pairing (including ones I haven’t posted yet). Why here? Why now? Why the sudden interest in this pairing over this episode and the next, after so little for the first half of the campaign?

I scoured this episode for clues - I skimmed the wiki, the episode transcript, the youtube sparknotes, and couldn’t find any significant interaction between Caleb and Jester. I went next to the fics themselves, trying to find a common thread or theme between the summaries, but besides some hurt/comfort from two epiosdes of dangerous combat back-to-back, there wasn’t much similar between the 20-30 fics published during this time frame. I was lost! So finally, I turned to Tumblr, looking through Widojest posts from late 2018 to see if I could pinpoint what brought people to this pairing, at this particular time.

My conclusion? It wasn’t a big moment in The Diver’s Grave, but a number of smaller moments in the episodes leading up to it. Things like Caleb’s blush in Episode 36 - and Liam’s subsequent Talks Machina discussion of the same - after Jester attempts CPR on Caleb, or their discussion of whether or not Jester still has a crush on Fjord in Episode 42 (two episodes before this one). So, my best guess? This initial spike was the culmination of a long bubbling pool of ‘wait, but actually...’ that finally spilled over.

Past this point we see consistent numbers week to week, on average. Popularity rises as we head out of the pirate arc and into the beginning of the Xhorhas arc, though numbers begin to dip during the extended Obann chase/dungeon crawl.

2. Week of Jul 4, 2019 - Hiatus after The King’s Cage

Hello, Widojest Week 2019, riding in with a vengeance! The event spread over this week and the next, and resulted in huge tallies for both. Yet again (as we saw with Beau/Yasha and Beau/Jester) content creation weeks work.

3. Week of Jul 25, 2019 - Clay and Dust

Eagle buddies! In this episode, we get some cute aerial alone time with Caleb and Jester, though unfortunately, neither could talk at the time - apparently, polymorph doesn’t teach you eagle language :). Again, I looked to the fics themselves to see if I missed something, just in case. My impression is that there might have been some chatter in the Widojest server that contributed to the spike? Someone actually raised a similar suggestion about the Shadowgast server on that pairing’s analysis post, but as a person who is deathly afraid of group chats - on a ship-agnostic level - I don’t have a good way to verify most hypotheses that involve Discord. (But I’m very, very open to hearing from anyone with insider knowledge!)

4. Week of Sep 5, 2019 - A Tangled Web

Finally, a straightforward week, phew! Not withstanding the effect of Widojest Week 2019, this pairing showed some signs of slowing in the latter half of 2019, but was quickly revived (revivified?) by a very sweet shopping trip that featured gift giving, affirmations of mutual support, and Caleb’s ambiguous “I’ll tell you later” after a very long, very significant Look(tm) between the two.

5. Week of Sep 26, 2019 - Through the Trees

Dual bird polymorphing make a second appearance in this list! Another week that doesn’t have a huge amount of Caleb/Jester development, though I see more chittering about the Widojest server in the summaries, so I may just have to accept that things were afoot beyond my ken for much of this ship’s history, and leave it at that :) We all love a good mystery!

6. Week of Dec 19, 2019 - Winter Hiatus

Another themed week, this time Widojest Secret Santa, and something I can unambiguously attribute to the Discord server at last, hurrah! It’s nice to end this uncertainty-filled post on a confident note :)

This was definitely the most challenging analysis I’ve done so far, but perhaps Widojest is the exception that proves the rule! If this pairing illustrates anything, it’s that love doesn’t have to come from big, obvious moments, but can live happily in the small, in-between moments as well, and that’s fascinating in its own way.

#critical role #cr meta #widojest #cr fic stats roundup #i probably spent more time on this than on the previous four posts combined #I DID MY DUE DILIGENCE #and i hope it isn't unsatisfying for not being straightfoward as the previous posts #this ship's history is way more complicated than i anticipated!

115 notes · View notes

irandrura · 4 years

Text

I will aim for three posts, I think, trying to give some general feelings on Three Houses after completing one route (Azure Moon). This post will be on world and plot, and will have a mixture of things I liked and things I thought could be improved. The second one will be on characters and will be mostly positive. The third one will be a grab bag of other thoughts on mechanics, tone, where I think 3H fits into the series’ overall trajectory, and other things that occur to me.

It’s also worth noting that at this point I think I’ll grant myself license to read spoilers for the other routes. This is mainly because I don’t think it’s reasonable to need to play dozens more hours, many of which just repeat content I’ve already done, in order to get a full picture of the plot. That said, I realise that reading a wiki and skimming the odd chapter transcript are not substitutes for the experience of actually playing a route, so I will not make any judgement on the other three routes in terms of quality. I do intend to play at least Crimson Flower and Verdant Wind at some point, and that should be a richer experience than just reading, but I probably won’t start another forty-to-fifty hour journey straight away.

So, world and plot!

I think worldbuilding is one of Three Houses’ strengths, and is definitely a big step up after Fates and Awakening. Fódlan’s worldbuilding is not perfect, and sometimes has a few cringeworthy elements – in particular the King Lear references in the Alliance are a bit cheesy – but for the most part it successfully presents itself as a rich, interesting world, containing diverse cultures, and a complex history.

The sense of history is particularly important to me, especially compared to the last few games. I’m glad that the game goes to some effort to give Adrestia, Faerghus, and Leicester a sense of a shared past, full of rivalries and alliances. I can imagine setting other stories at different points in Fódlan’s history – Loog’s revolt, the occupation of Brigid and invasion of Dagda, the Almyran invasion, etc. – and those stories still being interesting and fun to play. I can imagine using Fódlan, perhaps centuries in the past, perhaps in the future, as a D&D campaign setting and it being quite interesting. That to me is a sign of good worldbuilding. If the world could easily play host to many different stories, not just the one I’m currently playing, then it can probably stand on its own quite well. This contrasts strongly with, say, Nohr and Hoshido, which felt like they were really just built for Corrin’s adventure.

I also appreciate that it’s not just ancient history that matters, but also the twenty years or so before the game begins. The heroes did not burst on to the scene ex nihilo, but all come out of particular historical situations. Events like the Insurrection of the Seven or the Tragedy of Duscur give you context for what happens in the game. The heroes generally have parents and families, and those families are relevant. They all come from somewhere, and while the details often aren’t described, what you get is enough to start imagining their home lives, and what might be going on elsewhere in the world. I really liked that and felt it was missing from the last few games. Can you imagine asking most of the Shepherds about their familes, or about the lands where they grew up?

Similarly, the range of visible cultures is one that I quite appreciate. Even outside Fódlan itself, mentions of Dagda, Brigid, Sreng, and Almyra help to make the world feel populated. That’s only the other regions that we know much about: there’s also Morfis, Albinea, and Mach, so the world is clearly quite large. Further, these different regions all have some noticeable cultural traits: the people of Brigid are animists and believe in many spirits, the Almyrans are a warrior culture and seem vaguely Persian, and so on. Within Fódlan there are visible differences as well, so the titular three houses are nicely differentiated.

The role of crests in shaping the continent also appealed to me. I believe I commented before that it reminds me of Birthright, an AD&D setting from the 90s that I have a soft spot for. While crests aren’t quite as powerful as Birthright’s bloodlines and don’t have exactly the same effects, the idea of aristocrats with real superpowers passed down in the bloodline, but which if abused can twist people into horrible monsters, was quite reminiscent of that setting. It’s a premise I’ve always found relatively intriguing, and I like that Three Houses does spend a little while exploring the social stratification that crests have produced. There are some interesting marriage politics going on because of crests; that’s really fun for me. Nonetheless I think the game also takes the right approach by not making crests too overpowering, and by firmly asserting that a person’s worth is not dependent on whether they have a crest or not. If it hadn’t done that, crests might have had some uncomfortable implications.

That said if I have one quibble it would be etymological. I understand that the Empire is vaguely Germano-Nordic, Leicester is vaguely English, and Faerghus is Franco-Celtic, but these aren’t always incredibly consistent, and names can sometimes be a bit surprising. The name ‘Dimitri’, for instance, stands out as being slightly out of place. I suppose its origin, ‘Demetrius’, is a Latin name and thus appropriate enough, but today I hear ‘Dimitri’ as Slavic, which doesn’t fit the established pattern for Faerghus. Still, this is a minor quibble.

The one exception to my general praise for the worldbuilding is the church, which I think is a huge mess. Maybe another route fleshes this out, but from what I played, it is extremely unclear to me how the church actually works. Was there a previous archbishop, or has Rhea been succeeding herself over and over, changing her name each time? How has the church been involved in history? We’ve had the occasional mention of cardinals, possibly with secret identities, but they’re entirely invisible and don’t seem to do anything. I would have liked more details on the church and how it fits into Fódlan’s history, because right now it feels like the anomaly, to me.

Moving on to the plot…

This had a number of issues, in my opinion.

Azure Moon was very much Dimitri’s story. In some ways I like that Byleth is simply not very important to the story. You are not the hero; you are the hero’s mentor. Byleth is more active than, say, Mark was in Blazing Sword, but still fades into the background compared to the true protagonist. However, I have to stand by the judgement that Dimitri’s redemption was too fast, and it probably would have been better to drop some of the church-related content for this route and spend more time exploring the characters and relationships that are at the heart of this story. Azure Moon is about Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Annette, and probably Ingrid at the core: this rising generation of Faerghus nobility, with the long shadow of the past over them, struggling to overcome the sins of yesteryear and the cycle of revenge in order to build a better world. This story is good and I liked it, but a bit more polish and focus could have made it shine.

In terms of actual events, though, I have to say that a lot of things in the story didn’t make a lot of sense. The most obvious case is probably the rematch at Gronder Field. I understand the desire for a three-way battle there as adults, a rematch that contrasts dramatically with the mock battle they fought as students. However, as cool as the scene is, I don’t feel the set-up for it made a lot of sense: in particular Claude and Dimitri have no reason to fight each other. Dimitri might still be bloodthirsty and vengeance-obsessed, but that should translate to a charge straight at Edelgard, and Claude seems cunning enough to let that happen without getting in the way. There might surely have been better ways to set up a conflict there, especially since the writers have the get-out-of-jail-free card of a faction of evil shapeshifters trying to foment conflict. All you need is for a few Slitherers to deliver false messages or instigate a skirmish or two to start a battle based on a tragic misunderstanding.

Similarly, my confusion at the Leicester Alliance disbanding and the Kingdom absorbing the Empire remains present. I can guess that they wanted every route to end with Fódlan united into a single realm, but in this particular story it seemed strange, given how much the story had focused on freeing Faerghus from Imperial occupation and on defeating Edelgard. Dimitri’s ambitions were personal, rather than the grand schemes to reorganise Fódlan politically that both Edelgard and Claude have.

I wonder if there might be an unspoken cultural difference here? As someone from a Western European background, I am quite comfortable with the idea that many different nations can rightly exist on the same continent, and see coexisting self-determining territories as a quite good result; but perhaps in Japan it might be more natural to think that “an empire divided longs to unite”? The game begins with the territories of the ancient Adrestian Empire split into three nations now. Perhaps, like Warring States of either China or Japan, they must be united back into one? Three Houses to parallel Three Kingdoms, perhaps? The Japanese title of the game does not mention Three Houses, to be fair, but the title is an allusion to classical Chinese poetry, so I wonder what assumptions or resonances might be in the background.

Moving along, the logistics of war in general stood out to me as rather odd. I can’t tell whether you’re supposed to be canonically returning the entire army to the monastery in between every battle or not, but even if you’re not, you march all over the continent with very little regard for things like plausible logistics. Invading the Empire, winning a battle at Gronder, and then stopping to run all the way back up to Fhirdiad and liberate it in a single battle seemed particularly odd, especially when you also somehow make time to visit Arianrhod way out in the west. I wouldn’t be that strict about this in most games, but Three Houses does have that lovely detailed map and shows coloured lines with armies moving around, so I felt that it drew attention to one of its own weak points. Here I think the game contrasts negatively with the Tellius pair, which also feature a bunch of continent-wide wars, but generally seem to avoid bizarre logistics.

Finally, let’s talk about the ending. As I mentioned in one of the linked posts above, I was a bit surprised that there was no resolution to the Slitherers subplot in this arc. I liked the scene where Dimitri asks Edelgard why she did all of this before the final battle, but unfortunately they just talk about ideals. If I were Edelgard I might have mentioned the part where I did all this at the behest of – while also hoping to turn on and destroy – a faction of evil subterranean wizards who have been fomenting conflict throughout all of Fódlan’s history. I might also have mentioned the part where I believe the Church of Seiros is run by a different faction of ancient immortal manipulators, since that also seems key to understanding why Edelgard thought such drastic measures were necessary.

Perhaps that didn’t come up because if Edelgard were to mention those motives, it would quickly become apparent that she has already achieved most of her goals, and there is no more reason to fight. By the time of Edelgard and Dimitri’s fateful meeting, the Slitherers have already been defeated (albeit inadvertently, when we killed Arundel), the Church of Seiros is already shattered, Fódlan is close to being reunited under one government, and both we and Edelgard know that Dimitri wants to establish a more participatory and egalitarian form of government that should resolve some of Edelgard’s worries about crests. If Edelgard were the utilitarian fighting for the greater good that she portrays herself as, she could simply surrender, arrange the sort of peace treaty that Dimitri clearly wants, share all her knowledge with Dimitri and Byleth, and work for a brighter future together.

The final cutscene was thus quite striking to me. By ‘Light and Shadow’, it is extremely clear that the war is over. Even if Edelgard were somehow to successfully kill Dimitri, she would be killed immediately afterwards, and no good could come of it. But Edelgard cannot surrender. It is the one thing she cannot do, that she will never do. After the heart of the story was Dimitri’s redemption, and his painful struggle to turn away from his crimes and start anew, it seems appropriate to draw this line between them.

Both Dimitri and Edelgard did terrible things: he from vengeful passion, she from sincere belief it was for the best. But he could change his ways, grow, and find a new beginning. She never could. At the midpoint of Azure Moon, Byleth offers Dimitri his hand, and taking that hand and accepting help is the point at which Dimitri’s redemption begins. At the end, Dimitri, having learned this lesson, offers Edelgard his hand… but she does not take it.

There were plenty of places where I thought the plot could be improved, in terms of time, pacing, focus, and even practical things like why certain battles happen or how troops get there. But ultimately the story worked for me, I think, because the emotions worked. I can excuse a lot of nonsense if I care about the characters and the emotions resonate. I would rather do that than have a story that makes perfect logistical sense, but in which all the characters are flat and boring.

Next time I’ll talk more about supports and all the other characters.

4 notes · View notes