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literary-illuminati · 2 months

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2024 Book Review #14 – And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

This book I basically came across by chance. Or, well, not exactly chance, but I’d never even heard of it before until I checked what Tchaikovsky books my local library system had copies of and saw it. Which in a sense is a terrible way to come into this – it’s an incredibly dramatic swerve from any of Tchaikovsky’s other stuff that I’ve read – but coming in totally blind pretty much worked, I think. Genuinely very fun read.

The story follows Harry Bodie, a children’s TV presenter facing down middle age with a career that’s never really lived up to expectations. Somewhat desperately, he signs on to a tabloid-ish program about digging into the family tree, hoping to use the residual fame of his grandmother and her fairly famous and successful series of postwar children’s fantasy novels as a career boost. Instead he gets his face rubbed in the fact that his great-grandmother is only recorded as an indigent madwoman, and the famous author was born in a sanitarium. That the famous Underhill stories were, in fact, based in large part on delusions told as childhood fables and family histories.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the stories turn out to be less delusional than previously reported. Bodie is in quick succession accosted by a faun, approached by a suspicious PI, and kidnapped by a surprisingly moneyed fan-club-cum-occult-coven. Soon enough he’s getting his first taste of Underhill first hand – or, at least, what’s left of it after a century and change of economizing and entropy.

I’m on record as being fairly dismissive about the whole category of ‘stories about stories’, and I guess I need to eat my words a bit because I actually really enjoyed this. To an extent that’s probably just because it doesn’t get too meta – storyland is a work of deliberate artifice, the stories themselves don’t shape the world or do magic, it just generally never tries to get too cute or didactic about it – but still. This is a book where the hero at one point describes his situation as ‘Five Nights at Aslan’s’ so there’s no real principled distinction for me to cut here. One of the main characters is literally a folklorist.

Though, it’s less about stories than one specific story in particular. The unremarkable schlub plucked out of their mundane life and told that they’re special, that they’re the hero or the true heir and possess some inherent numinous essence that makes them the most important person in the world. This is a terribly appealing story, and one Harry feels the lure of very keenly – he’s self-aware enough to say quite clearly that he goes back to the frozen, decaying world full of half-dead monsters less out of morality or rationality than simply because it was a place where he mattered, for good or ill.

It’s probably not reading too deeply into the book’s themes to note that the story is a lure in a fairly literal sense, or that the true heir is destined to ‘save’ the world by being hollowed out and possessed by those who came before them.

Of course as much as this is in conversation with Narnia et al, it owes at least as much to whole genre of ‘what is nostalgic children’s property, but fucked up?’ creepypasta. Fairyland is choked with fungal growths and creepy, staticy not-snow. The scampering, troublemaking faun is miserable and worn out with bad knees. The Best Of All Dogs is a rotting, terrifying hellhound. There’s even a titanic evil scary clown. Aesthetically the book owes far more to r/nosleep than Lewis Carroll.

Harry himself is an absolute delight as a main character. By which I mean he just sucks so bad, but in very mundane and endearing ways. Who among us can not relate on some level to a failing middle-aged actor who always made a point of not trading on his family name but is secretly pretty resentful it hasn’t helped him more? He refuses the call to adventure then decides his life’s kind of shit and he’d rather get stabbed to death by goblins, so he comes crawling back and begs for a second chance. He’s left a glowing magic sword that will defeat all enemies, but it’s stuck in the body of one of his kidnappers so he just runs screaming and it spends the rest of the book in an evidence locker somewhere. I love him.

I really have no idea to what degree it was intentional, but it also does rather muse me that – okay, you know the standard bit of feminist media analysis where male characters are the actors, while female characters are generally walking set decoration and plot devices? It really deeply amuses me that Harry spends the better part of the story as a magical blood bank getting led around or terrified and awaiting rescue, whereas Seitchman (our counterfeit PI/folklorist) repeatedly forces herself into things through obsessive research skills and a complete disregard for her own safety (and at one point an enthusiastic if unpracticed willingness to sword people). Though to be clear this was mostly amusing to me because it was absolutely never highlighted or commented upon.

This is probably the first book I’ve read that’s recent enough to be set during lockdown without really being a COVID novel, if that makes sense? You could set this the year before or the year after without really losing much, and it lacks the ‘this was written in quarantine’ vibe of a lot of books I read last year. But it definitely adds a sense of specificity and timeliness to it that I rather enjoyed.

So yeah, do not open it expecting anything like Children of Time, but good book!

#book review #and put away childish things #adrian tchaikovsky #sff #urban fantasy #novella

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cosmosis · 1 year

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s. todoroki - fantasy + hybrid au (pt. 1)

inspired slightly by @willowser ‘s dragon king bakugo story

Bred specifically for both supernatural beauty and terminal murder, Shouto Todoroki grew to realize that he is no longer human, but a beast. Hybrid breeders intricately crafted him to be the perfect specimen; a high-end snow leopard with the killing instincts of a true carnivore, but the aesthetics of a misunderstood prince.

Which is exactly what he was.

Shouto was property, his existence only being for entertainment of the King, and to kill. Every day of his life was spent either within the cold bars of a cage, or the bloodstained colosseum where he fought for his life. All will only see the surface of Shouto; a well-bred, lethal animal. Not a human in the slightest, not a person in the slightest.

Yet, he can speak, he can observe, and he can change his appearance to resemble man.

. . .

Caught for stealing fruit from a man, the royal guards of the King took you by arms to be mercilessly thrown into the colosseum. Despite your foul screams and curses for freedom, you were forced through the massive gates of the area, left with nothing but your pride, and a pocket knife.

You were tossed in, and immediately, you scrambled back towards the now closed gates, two guards grinning at you with malicious smirks. Through your claws and pries to open the gates, the two men took their leave, leaving you for dead.

You could hear the cheers and cries of numerous townspeople echoing as you turn around, gazing towards the distant other end of the arena. A dark shadow casts over the opposing end of you, and you can only see two feline eyes.

A deep, ferocious growl omits across from you, coursing a violent chill down your spice. You hear the soft paws of an animal, and all you can do is clutch your pocket knife for comfort.

The beast slowly, steadily steps forward into the light of the sun, finally illuminating himself to your gaze.

The way the leopard pierces you with his gaze, the way he slowly paces around you in a circle makes you feel as though you’re being hunted, that you’re the prey destined to die.

The sheer size of the leopard scares you, and you’re almost certain that you would lose if you tried to defend yourself against him. The claws, the glare, and the teeth say it all for you.

The crowd all suddenly goes silent as the giant leopard pauses in front of you, as if they all know what’s about to happen next. Anticipation rises, and all the audience seems to want to leap out of their seats.

You can feel the leopards’ gaze as you clutch your knife with shaky hands, and he looks directly into your own eyes.

You freeze, and you see all the untended wounds and scratches on the animal. Though his fur coat shines silver, there’s a bleak sag to it that you can only see if you squint. Despite the lingering feeling of death nearby, you cannot help but have sympathy for the creature.

He just looks so sad, and so very miserable.

You drop your knife to the ground with a ‘clank’, taking a deep breath to yourself.

Despite all the fear that you feel, you let out your hand in front of the beast, urging him to sniff at your hand like you would a stray cat. Because that’s what he is; a cat.

The leopard surprisingly flinches, sensing no threat to your hand, yet still ogling at your tiny hand like he doesn’t know what to do with it.

The crowd’s so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

“You sniff it, y’know?“ You mutter, so kindly, so softly.

Shouto understands, and he hears you. There’s no knife on you, no harm to you. Should he listen?

He does.

Ever-so-slowly, the leopard takes a step forward, looking hesitant to smell your hand. Eventually though, he does, pressing his wet nose to your hand to sniff at the soft skin of your knuckles.

His previously ferocious eyes dilate at your scent, and Shouto starts getting deeper into it, discreetly, shyly rubbing his face all over your hand, and even your wrists. He’s never smelled something so sweet, and so wonderful. You’re too kind to be real, too lovely to even possibly be human, a species that Shouto believes to be cruel, foul, and malicious.

Murmurs start to file through the crowd, and there’s a confused, unsatisfied energy in the air. Where is the fight, the bloodshed?

You peer upwards at the King’s viewing balcony, noticing the royal discreetly speak to a few guards. Shouto continues to rub himself onto you, and you take that as gentle permission to scratch his head.

From there, he just melts, provided with the affection and love he’s been craving so long for- a starved man in front of a platter of food.

“Alright, missy, we’re gonna have to take it over from here.“

You hear the voices of the guards from earlier, and instantly, you scowl in pure disgust. Both guards host spears in their hands, and the giant metal gates slowly swing open.

“Step away from the beast!“

One of the guards barks at you, and you’re frozen, unsure of what to do.

“I said, step away!“

One guard takes initiative, charging towards you with a metal spear in clutch. You surge back to save yourself from the guard, and you regretfully tear your hand from Shouto.

Just as a guard manages to meet his spear with your heart, Shouto snarls unlike you’ve ever heard before, shattering the wooden bar of the spear with his jaws. The guard cowers away, and Shouto pounces for him, scratching the guard’s face enough to draw blood. You gasp in horror, and Shouto spots the very obviously open gate behind the remaining guard.

You almost think that Shouto goes to bite your arm off when he mouths the sleeve of your dress, growling and tugging at you towards the open gates. Frantically, Shouto tugs you, then looks at his own back, seemingly ushering you to quickly!!! get onto his back.

It takes you a moment to realize, but you quickly scramble onto Shouto’s back, desperately gripping his fur coat to keep yourself from tumbling off.

Instantly, Shouto takes the queue to run, as fast as he ever has before; for freedom, for the chance to escape this hellhole. The leopard charges for the gates at full speed, and you curl yourself into Shouto’s back, pressing your cheek against his fur.

Both you and leopard burst through the gates, escaping the shouts of all the audience, and the curses of the guards. Shouto runs off, dashing through the townsmarket and crashing through numerous carts and tents filled with goods.

At last, you see the distant flutter of trees, and you hesitantly turn around, ensuring yourself that no guards have managed to follow the two of you. There isn’t, and you huff a sigh of relief as Shouto slows his run into the forest.

#shouto todoroki #todoroki #shouto #todoroki shouto #todoroki x reader #shouto x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #reader insert #fluff #fantasy au #hybrid au #bnha #mha #cosmosis-writes ₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎

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cuddlepilefics · 5 months

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SKZ Season Greetings - 6

Winter Wonderland

Bundling up in multiple layers of clothes to ward off the cold, Chan and Changbin got ready to take a trip to the store. They didn’t feel like going anywhere and also knew how contagious their illness was but they didn’t really have a choice, since everyone they knew was either sick too or busy with end of the year schedules. To make sure they didn’t spread their germs and ruin anyone else’s Christmas, they put on masks and pulled their scarfs up over the lower halves of their faces. It also helped to disguise their identities because as much as they loved Stay, they didn’t have the energy to interact with people right now. How come they hadn’t thought of stocking their dorms up earlier? They were usually well prepared long before flu season hit, so they’d be able to recover and return to their schedules quickly but this year, it had completely passed them by.

Almost as soon as the pair exited their dorm, it started to snow once again. They were lucky as it wasn’t as windy anymore and the snowflakes peacefully floated around them. It barely mattered how cold it was because the sight was so serene, it distracted them from everything else. That didn’t last long though and Chan already felt himself grow short of breath after only walking a couple of blocks. His ribs felt sore from hours of coughing and breathing seemed to require all his energy reserves. “Are you okay, hyung?”, Changbin spoke up eventually, having listened to the Aussie’s ragged breathing for a few minutes. Although Chan nodded, he slowed down significantly, his breaths dampening the mask in front of his lips, causing it to grow cold. The rapper grew worried when Chan came to a halt, one gloved hand on his chest as he coughed into his mask.

Bracing himself against a streetlight, Chan panted: “’m okay. Jus’ a little lightheaded.” Changbin hurriedly wrapped one arm around the leader’s waist, so he’d be able to catch him if he ended up fainting. Luckily, it didn’t come to that, the dark spots in Chan’s vision eventually fading though he remained a little unsteady on his feet. Changbin linked their arms to keep him from falling when they continued to walk. He couldn’t help but feel like the entire outing had been a huge mistake already and they hadn’t even made it to the store yet. Why did they decide to walk anyway? They could’ve just called a cab.

When they started to pass the first few well-decorated store fronts, Changbin remembered why they had walked there. The sight combined with the light snowfall around them was truly aesthetic and time seemed to stand still for a little while because they weren’t used to having the time to just leisurely stroll past the stores and look at the decorations. Knowing how much Felix would love it, the rapper pulled out his phone and snapped a bunch of pictures to share with his dongsaeng later. With his hands numb and trembling from the cold, he struggled to get the camera to focus but eventually got a few decent pictures.

“Would you mind if we got a cab on the way back”, Chan asked hesitantly, “My legs feel kinda weak and I’m not sure I’ll make it all the way back while carrying bags.” – “We’ll most definitely call a cab to drive us back to the dorm”, the rapper agreed as they entered the grocery store, “Just please don’t faint on me while we’re out in public. You almost gave me a heart attack earlier.” Giving an embarrassed laugh, Chan adjusted his mask and muttered: “Let’s just get this over with quick.”

They weren’t as quick as Chan would’ve liked, partly because he was still a little wobbly on his feet and partly because the warm air had made Changbin’s nose run behind his mask, making his eyes water to the point he could barely see where he was going. Hearing a wet sneeze behind him, Chan turned and realized that his dongsaeng had come to a halt, afraid he’d run into things as he pitched forward again. “Let’s add masks to the list”, Changbin sniffled miserably, “I’m so taking this one off the second we get out of here.” The leader cringed in sympathy as he placed a few boxes of tissues into their cart before also adding a pack of masks. As they continued, Chan took the other’s hand to guide him through they aisles. The Aussie was shocked just how busy it was but people were probably doing their Christmas shopping and preparing for the celebrations only a couple of days away. He wished their plans were as enjoyable because they most definitely weren’t off to celebrate. They’d either be stuck at their dorm miserably sick or trying to catch up to the tightest possible schedules that had to be postponed due to their illness.

Though it was overwhelming being stuck in such a crowed while being unwell, the buzz of shoppers actually worked in their favor. Chan and Changbin could easily blend in, everyone too hectic and focused on their shopping lists to regard them with more than a short glance. The longer they kept walking, the more Chan started to lean his weight onto the cart afraid his knees would buckle from how jelly-like they felt. When they finally found the shelves filled with canned soup, Changbin started to load cans upon cans into their cart. His head hurt the more he strained his eyes to read what was in those cans, so he eventually just started placing random ones into their cart, making sure Chan held onto it with both hands because the older looked ready to topple over.

Hearing the Aussie’s strained cough, Changbin turned and rested a hand on the leader’s back. “Maybe you wanna go outside already”, the rapper offered, “Take off that mask, get some fresh air and once you’ve caught your breath, you could call us a cab. I’ll grab more cough drops and check out as quickly as I can, yeah? Will you make it outside without collapsing?” Chan nodded urgently, letting go of their cart. Despite the mask, he pulled his scarf up further as he pushed through the crowed, trying to get out of the store fast.

Leaning his back against the building’s wall, Chan ripped off his mask and buried his face into his scarf as he kept coughing. His throat burned and eyes watered but he already felt like he could breathe a little easier now that the mask was gone. It took a couple of minutes for the fit to taper off and when it did, it left him winded, needing to catch his breath. When he finally felt like he had enough air to talk, Chan pulled out his phone and called a cab to take them home. They’d have to wait a little while but that was still better than having to walk all the way back, especially with their heavy shopping bags.

When Changbin exited the store, carrying both shopping bags in one hand and two steaming paper cups in the other, it didn’t take him long to spot Chan. The Aussie’s slumped posture easily giving him away despite the scarf and hat concealing his face. Setting down the shopping bags, Changbin urgently thrust the paper cups into Chan’s hands and tugged off his mask, so he could cup both of his over his mouth and nose to catch a rough sounding sneeze. “Bless you”, Chan commented softly but the rapper only twisted to the side again, stumbling a little as he sneezed the repeatedly.

Giving a wet sniffle, Changbin straightened back up but didn’t dare remove his hands. Luckily, Chan was quick to open one of the tissue packs they had just bought and handed his dongsaeng one, so he could clean himself up. “I got us some hot chocolate to sip on the way back”, Changbin muttered, nodding towards the paper cups. His voice was scruffy, throat still irritated from the force of his sneezes. Handing the younger one of the cups, Chan wrapped his cold hands around the other and smiled: “Great thinking. I was starting to feel a little chilled, so thanks.” – “Gosh, we’re a mess”, Changbin laughed tiredly as he raised the cup to his lips. He really hoped their cab would be there soon.

Chan was exhausted, barely clinging to consciousness as he rested against Changbin’s side. The Aussie could tell his fever was up, the trip having taken more out of him than he had expected. His dongsaeng had deliberately given him the lighter bag to carry, so he wouldn’t feel useless but wouldn’t strain himself too much either. “We’re here, hyung”, Changbin rasped, he too drained but glad to be back. The rapper stumbled a little as he climbed out of the cab, while Chan sleepily paid for their ride before following the younger. It was a struggle to get their shopping bags all the way to their friends’ dorm but they managed, impatiently waiting for someone to open the door for them as their own hands were too shaky to punch in the code.

“Need sit”, was all Chan managed to get out when Minho opened the door. The leader’s face had been drained of all color and his bag slid down his arm before hitting the ground. Though shocked, Minho was quick to wrap his arms around Chan and guide the stumbling Aussie to the living room. Plopping down on the couch, Chan pulled his scarf up as he started to cough, the sound chesty and breathless. Seungmin took a seat next to the oldest, firmly rubbing his back through the thick coat he was still wearing, while Minho removed the leader’s boots.

Hyunjin and Jisung had joined Changbin, picking up Chan’s shopping bag and helping their hyung unpack the groceries. When they were done, Hyunjin fetched Chan a glass of water, frowning that the Aussie could only go a couple of seconds without coughing. While the pair had been gone, Felix and Jeongin had set up a humidifier on the coffee table but so far it didn’t seem to help much. “How’s everyone?”, Changbin asked tiredly, “Did we miss anything while we were out?” – “Not really”, Jisung shrugged, storing away the cans of soup, “Most of us are a lot more functional after getting some rest and having medicine. Felix isn’t doing too great. He was better for a little while, so him and Jeongin made some preparations, like the humidifiers, doing a load of laundry and so on but it seemed to have been too much for Lixxie. His fever spiked again, so right now, he’s lying down in his room. Innie is with him trying to bring his fever down but he needed some space. The living room was too stuffy.”

Though his limbs were leaden, Changbin dragged his feet on, making his way to the dancer’s room at a painfully slow pace. His heart ached even more than his muscles when he slipped into the darkened room, making eye contact with Jeongin, who sat on the edge of the bed, dabbing a cold washcloth against Felix’ burning forehead. Hearing someone enter, the Aussie looked up, his eyes watering when he spotted Changbin. “Hey sunshine”, the rapper smiled sadly, trading places with Jeongin. The maknae quietly went back to the living room, curling up with Chan, while Changbin pulled out his phone to show Felix the pictures they had taken, whispering: “While we were out, I got you something that I was pretty sure would cheer you up a little. Look, it’s a true winter wonderland out there.”

#fanfic #fluff #comfort #fanfiction #sickfic #stray kids #sick #skz #snz

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curdledmelk · 1 year

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I know they’re brothers in the movie but it made me think Steddie thoughts:

Eddie is Heat Miser (hell, fire, loud, hot headed) Steve is Snow Miser (icy/bitchy, known for aesthetics, (has a beautiful sadness to him but that’s more Steve being Wintertime as a concept)). And I hear the But Steve is Yellow, Um Steve is a Yellow Blue Character while Eddie is a Blue Yellow Character. I know people see all the black and go ah yes he must be the cold months man but No! That’s a man who gets cold easily, would rather be sweaty and warm than be cold and shivering. He’s Summer in the way blacktop asphalt burns your feet, the way s’mores marshmallows burn to a crisp. Steve is winter in how the snow is so bright it hurts your eyes, the soft glow of Christmas lights around the neighborhood, and glow of a lit fireplace. Eddie is the promise of adventure that summer inspires and Steve is the domestic introspection that winter brings and together their love is the rebirth of spring and the plentiful harvest of fall.

#steddie #steddie thoughts #these two queers have taken up a significant portion of my brain #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #gay

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synergysilhouette · 6 months

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Brainstorming my own idea for "Kingdom of the Sun"

Originally conceived as an epic musical on par with "The Lion King" before becoming the buddy comedy "The Emperor's New Groove," KOTS suffered a lot of story issues that prevented the film from being made with the original intentions--though with my own details.

Our protagonists: Emperor Manco and the peasant Capac, heteropaternal fraternal twins, which is a pretty way of saying they're twins with different fathers--plus they were born 10 days apart. Yes, it's possible, and in order for them to look alike, they both take traits from their mother, who plays a role in this. Manco was raised by the temperamental and emotional Emperor Sayri (think King Triton), and after his wife died, he found it difficult to look at Kuzco, who looked so much like her, instead leaving his care in his advisor, Amaru. As such, Manco grows up spoiled by his people, though develops Amaru's warped view of power, especially after Sayri's death, which also leaves a hole in Manco's heart that he's desperate to fill, making it easy for his mother figure to manipulate him. Capac, on the other hand, is raised by his kind and caring father and kind stepmother, and is much more humble and insecure in contrast, being shy and ventures to the capitol in order to appeal to the cold-hearted emperor about helping his people, who he's been neglecting for the most part. He can also talk to animals, supposedly because of his pure heart, as well as being physically stronger than Manco (though Manco is smarter and more acrobatic); I don't see either of them as scrawny like Kuzco. When they meet, Manco is amused by him, and they trade places, but this turns sour when Manco realizes that Capac is much happier than he is. He inadvertently makes people upset with him due to his entitled and bratty attitude, making him more insecure and believing his father never really loved him. This embitters him to decidedly ruin Capac's life so they can both be miserable, though when Capac's family embraces Manco anyway, it makes him break down. I also like the idea that Manco's aesthetics are reds/oranges while Capac's are blues/greens.

2. Our Antagonist--Amaru, the royal advisor. She's lived for a LONG time, something that Manco (despite his arrogance) has noticed, accurately deducing that she takes advantage of the fact that no one knows much about her life by "dying" every few decades and returning as her own daughter. However, he sees this as an "old woman's game" and leaves her to it, deciding he could always fire her if she became too senile. Amaru grew up with a power-hungry mother and a royal magician for a father, so her destiny was sealed as she learned the magical dark arts, as well as the human dark arts of manipulation, breaking Manco's spirit to make him her puppet. When he and Capac switch places, she quickly realizes the change in him and blackmails Capac by threatening to out him as a sorceror who killed Manco and took his form. She's able to summon shadow monsters that can take human form, and could easily make it look like he actually did kill Manco. Once again in control, she vows to plunge the world into eternal night in order to restore her youth, which she says was wrongfully taken from her due to her ambitious family, and that she will rule the empire. She also plans to do this by inciting a civil war against "Manco" and replace him as head of the empire. I'm thinking "Queen Raveena" energy here (if you've seen "Snow White and the Huntsman): scary, cold, and calculating, though she does have fleeting moments of sympathy. Part of me imagines she has a lover--maybe a silver fox like King Magnifico with a bubbly personality like Wiggums. He supports her thirst for power, though often maneuvers things so that people are imprisoned (or banished) rather than killed.

3. The love interests--I really enjoyed Malina as Kuzco's love interest/foil in TENS, so I imagine Capac has someone like that in his corner when he becomes temporary emperor. Named Cavillace, she's a studious noble in the emperor's court who became disillusioned with Manco's cruelty, but begins to fall for "him" when the kingdom begins to take a positive turn. She doesn't trust Amaru whatsoever, but Capac's innocence and Manco's disregard of Amaru makes Cavillace believe that perhaps her feelings are misguided, and Amaru manipulates her by guit-tripping her and saying that Cavillace doesn't like her because she wants her job (and to be with "Manco"). At the end of the film, Capac and Manco decide to keep their lives switched, with only those close to them knowing, and Capac and Cavillace get married. Along with Malina, I think she'd be a mix of Princess Jasmine and Belle.

Manco's love interest, on the other hand, is a bit more vibrant. Similar to how intimate John Smith and Pocahontas were, Manco is a bit more intimate with his love interest (Chasca). She's, beautiful, sassy, clever and very self-involved, which makes Manco fall head-over-heels in love with him. Chasca reciprocates his interest, though she's taken off-guard with how emotionally fragile he is. Eventually she comes to love his dual nature, and helps him overthrow Amaru without exposing his own identity. When Manco retires to life as a peasant, Chasca does not; she convinces Capac to send them money to live off of, and while Manco rejects (most of) it, he has no issue letting Chasca keep it to further her desire for luxury. They end the movie in a boyfriend-girlfriend position. I imagine her a lot like Chel from "The Road to El Dorado" since i kinda ship her and Kuzco.

4. The resolution--I imagine the twins have a sort of "Twitches" thing going on; Manco is active during the day while Capac works best at night, plus it's a neat characterization to have the schemer a day person and the nice guy a night person. When Amaru thinks she has defeated them, she uses their innate magical powers to cause a permanent solar eclipse, strengthening the shadows while preventing the sun from escaping. When the brothers break free, they team up with their loves to defeat her, using their magic to reverse the eclipse and wither the beautiful Amaru to dust (I was thinking of turning her to stone to prevent a copy of Mother Gothel, but I wasn't sure how to implement that). If she does have a lover in this, he's banished, and her family is stripped of their status (I like the idea that she comes from a big family like Yzma did).

5. The songs. What classic Disney film would be complete without them? Okay, a few, but you get my point. Anyway, I imagine that either the Anderson-Lopez team or Lin-Manuel Miranda would do the music, as I love their work with Disney. I wasn't really impressed with what I heard from the OG tracks. Let's keep "Snuff Out the Light," though. (And BTW, if Manco and Capac had different VAs, I imagine they're both strong singers, though perhaps one is better than the other.)

The Sun King--Half-creation story, half-intro to Manco's life, I imagine this cover the legacy of the empire as well as his own mixed bag of a past, with him trying to hide any pain he feels via an upbeat number.

Moonlight--Essentially an Inca version of "Go the Distance," I see Capac singing this song as he travels to the capitol in hopes of seeing the emperor and helping his family.

The Last Night--When Manco and Capac decide to trade places, they tell themselves (and each other) that this is the last night they're unsatisfied, the last night they feel powerless and/or bored, the last night when they look in the mirror and can't see their full reflection--the last night of not having a brother. It's tender and powerful, maybe with some "Prince of Egypt" vibes in there.

I'm Better--Manco is feeling rather hurt and put off by the fact that no one really likes him when he pretends to be Capac, finding that the Capac is much more selfless, albeit sometimes at his own expense. Manco deides early on not to mimic his twin's behavior, and instead decides to be himself--and ruin Capac's own happiness.

Beguiled--A longer romantic song made of two parts: Manco and Chasca's upbeat song, something in the vein of "Rhythm of the Tambourine" and Capac and Cavillache's sweeter, cuter song, akin to "Something There."

Snuff out the Light--Essentially the same as it was originally, with the main exception being that Cavillache sees her singing this song and is abruptly captured, and this song is present-tense, happening as Amaru sings it rather than her just plotting things out.

Part of Me--Again, a longer song in my mind, a Broadway-esque song on par with "For Good" and "Let It Go (Reprise)." Manco and Capac use their powers to defeat Supai and the eclipse, erasing Amaru's shadows and turning her to dust. The brothers reflect on how different their lives are, and resolve to stay swapped for a while, if not forever.

These are just my ideas for now, subject to change! Lemme know if you have any questions or concerns about my idea

#disney #disney animation #kuzco #yzma #the emperor's new groove #el dorado #chel #the road to el dorado #dreamworks #dreamworks animation #wicked #the prince of egypt

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thatscarletflycatcher · 2 years

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As a Christian in the Southern Hemisphere, what are some Advent or Christmas traditions that are specific to the season where you live? In Northern countries, so many "Christmas" traditions are tied to it being a Wintertime celebration, so I've always wondered what it's like on the other side of the globe!

Oh *rubs hands* where to begin?

I think much of the aesthetics, at least in advertising and decoration aren't that much different; we are just more likely to use plastic rather than real pine for garlands, trees, etc, we put up lights and mangers and nativity plays, fake snow, all that sort of stuff. We eat a lot of high calories food like beef and lamb (sometimes turkey for a lighter option), puddings and panettone and nougat of all kinds, ice cream, hard cider, you get the gist).

But there are some things I think are pretty specific to Christmas in this latitude.

One is that the calendar year, the liturgical year, and the school year come to an end close to each other, which gives it a sense of things accelerating towards an end, and enhances a lot the liturgical readings (at least of the Catholic Church) about God's visit and the end of the world; but because it is summer it is a rather hopeful and light close (?) and the promise of the beginning of something new and better.

There's also the flowers! Jacarandas are in bloom till around the first half of Advent, so it does feel at times like nature is dressing up for the liturgical season:

December is full on the time for gardenias, and the smell of the flowers will follow you anywhere. It is pretty common to see many street vendors pop up:

Close to Christmas and until Epiphany (as we sort of give away gifts on both days) there's extensive street markets for toys and clothing; when I was a little kid I thought that was where the Wise Men shopped for gifts and it made me very excited XD

I think the closeness to summer makes it a bit more relaxed, from what I can tell through what I hear from Christmas-in-Winter people in the webs; people are looking forward to the summer holidays and shopping is a different kind of miserable if you hate the heat, but at least it isn't cold and dark and wet. And I cannot emphasize how much better it is when you are not forced to listen to Maria Carey on repeat XD

Speaking of which, music! We don't much go caroling, but it is common to have choir concerts in December, specially in churches, with both carols and secular Christmas songs (honorable mention to that time a choir sung the theme of Civilization IV. Sometimes living in Uruguay is amusing). The most known carols are either Spanish (campanas de Belén, los peces en el río) or German (Stille Nacht, Adeste Fideles) in origin, although a set of Carols and a Mass composed by Ariel Ramírez, an Argentinian composer, in the 60s, are hugely popular as well: they are known as Misa Criolla and Navidad Nuestra. This for Uruguay specifically; countries like Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay have some carols of their own that I love to pieces (Tutaina Tuturumá, Niño Lindo, Dos Trocitos de Madera). In general, again, because of summer, most Christmas music in the radio and shops is blended with summer hits. It's been a while since I was out and about a lot in December, but the succession would be something like Feliz Navidad-Lola Si Si-Under the Sun-When Love Takes Over-El Burrito Sabanero and so on and so forth.

That's all I can think of now :D ah, we get fireworks too, although they are becoming controversial as of late because of pets, and some municipalities have banned them, so that seems like it will change soon.

#ask #stellaluna33 #Christmas #thank you!

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atopvisenyashill · 11 months

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that post about how cregan/jace shippers are sexist and that “they think two men together isn’t cheating on baela….which is something alright” is just unfiltered homophobic reasoning for disliking a ship being reblogged thru this fandom uncritically lmao.

“two men together isn’t cheating on baela” as in, there is no possible way for cregan and jace to get married or for jace to properly end his engagement to baela to marry a man, because men cannot marry men and a crown prince certainly cannot publically take up with another man in lieu of having heirs. cregan/jace takes a situation that is straight up “jace cheats on baela” to “jace finds out he likes men and it complicates his whole life” and people specifically define it as “not cheating” because it’s this feeling of “if they make you cheat, it’s not cheating.”

gay couples have been forced to “cheat” for literally thousands of years, and have been labeled as untrustworthy, incapable of love and only lust specifically because every queer relationship until recent history was often “cheating” and ignoring that just so you can dunk on a ship you dislike is homophobic. like, you simply cannot conflate jace having an affair with a woman to jace falling in love with a man, those are different situations socially, culturally, and legally, that is the baseline of how homophobia works. the fact that jace/cregan is fundamentally a different dynamic bc it’s two men cannot be denied just bc you dislike the ship. obviously having an affair is cheating no matter what the context, but the same way that like, naerys having emotional affairs bc she’s being abused isn’t the same “cheating” bc she has no social power, jace falling in love with a man is treated as “not cheating” bc jace and cregan do not have the social, cultural, or legal ability to be together the way a man and a woman can. it’s also wildly homophobic to get mad about an incredibly obscure ship online that a bunch of gays glomped onto in a series that is wildly heterosexual. like,,,, what does my preferring the idea that jace is bisexual and falls in love with a man have on you, sara snow, the show, or the books? honestly???

YOU HAVE CANON. that is the thing, no matter how i feel about it as a queer person, heterosexuals always get canon, they always get the win in the end, they always get the pretty romantic shots and the aesthetics and the power and the storylines and they get to be the heroes and the hidden princes and what do i get?? i get loras tyrell, who in the books may or may not be dead after watching his lover get kinslayed by a shadow, and who gets religiously tortured for his sexuality until he blows up in the show. i get oberyn and ellaria, one of whom gets their head smashed in and the other of whom gets to retire to be a widow for the rest of her life. in fire & blood i get rhaena, who spends her life miserable and then dies alone. you get sara and baela and jaehaerys and alysanne and every aegon and rhaenyra and alicent and sansa and arya and jon and dany - except when she’s using her handmaiden as a living vibrator and dreaming about men of course - and tyrion and cersei and jaime and brienne and and and and

IF I WANT JACE IF I WANT ONE CHARACTER WHO DOES IT HURT? seriously, but fuck you if you think that little “it’s still cheating if it’s jace-cregan ya know, you misogynists” is some sort of progressive, non homophobic stance. it is legal to discriminate against me in the united states and my very existence is considered a threat to children, i will take jace, a character i relate to, and i will rub my gay little hands all over him in fandom because THAT IS ALL I WILL EVER HAVE and you can fucking sit there and drink your juice box about it.

#hotd #house of the dragon #jacaerys targaryen #cregan stark #jacegan #i am literally shaking with anger that i had to see that. y’all have no goddamn empathy for us queers huh #can’t even ship stuff in fandom without y’all deciding we’re actually evil sexists who hate women for wanting to see ourselves in our media.#getting on my soap box #me shit talking people in the tags #like if u don’t even like jace what the fuck do you care if i want him to be bisexual???

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