#tha prince blog

[dervampireprince]

Hey I know your really cool and i do not mean this in a bad way but in one of your newer posts for a "m4f audio" and in the tags you put "male reader" which,,,you know,,,,kinda,,yeah you know what I mean

WHOOPS so i use xkit to save tag bundles for me so when i then make a new post i just click one button and it adds like 20 tags at once for me and then i delete the ones that don't apply to this post and i just missed that one out, it's gone now.

[alpaca-clouds]

Explaining Solarpunk With The Help Of Princess Mononoke

Recently I was asked to write an essay about Solarpunk - and especially the "punk" of Solarpunk and how it is used to tell stories - for a German publication that will be released later this year. Originally someone else had been asked to write an essay, but the publishers were not happy with that essay, becuase that essay very much focused just on the history, and worse, on the history in "the west". So, I did what I already do in this blog over and over: Ramble about Solarpunk. Though for that essay I tried to get it a bit scientific sounding. ;)

I did talk about the history of the genre, too, and about how the punk genre came to be. But with Solarpunk I especially talked about the influence of Hayao Miyazaki and Ursula K. LeGuin. And while discussing how those stories influenced Solarpunk as a genre, I realized one thing: The most Solarpunk Ghibli movie is Princess Mononoke. In fact, that movie is so Solarpunk, that I think it can be used to explain the genre more than anything. And that is despite the fact that this movie is not science fiction, but set in the Japan of the 14th century.

Because, well... I will repeat: No, Solarpunk does not necessarily need to be a SciFi setting. You can write a story that is fundamentally Solarpunk in almost any setting.

Now, let me talk a moment about Princess Mononoke, for everyone who has not watched the movie (at least in a while):

Princess Mononoke is the story of Ashitaka, the prince of the Emishi (one of the technically erased indigenous cultures of Japan). After his village gets attacked by a corrupted god, he travels west to find one of the last mountain gods in the hope that this god can heal him. Before he finds the god, however, he gets drawn into the conflict between a settleman calling itself Irontown and the minor gods of nature living around it. The gods try to bring down Irontown, which is lead by Lady Eboshi, as the iron extraction is destroying nature and with it the gods themselves, too. On the side of the gods, there is also San, a girl who had been abandoned in the forest by her parents and was taken in by the wolf gods. Ashitaka finds, that he will have to help both sides to find a peaceful solution.

Now, the movie is very interesting from so many Solarpunk aspects.

The central conflict is very much a conflict between men and nature, but one where both sides are shown with a lot of nuance. As well as having some aspects that a lot of people tend to overlook - like the importance of Ashitaka's perspective as an indigenous man.

Now, the movie could have been quite simple, but Miyazaki chose to not make it that way. Because the quite interesting point is, that Irontown is filled with people from the Untouchable Caste of Japanese society. (Because yes, Japan has a Caste system - untouchables exist to this day.) Untouchables were prostitutes, people who worked certain other jobs like mortician, sick people and such. And Eboshi is a former prostitute, who knew of this and decided to fill her town with only other untouchables, often rescuing them from abject poverty. And she does care about them. She wants to help those people. She just does not see the value in the nature she is destroying compared to the value she can create for herself and her people by selling weapons.

The mythology shown in the movie, rather than depicting classic Shinto mythology, actually is build more around what we know about pre-Shinto Japanese mythology, which has a lot more animalistic gods than what it evolved to with Shinto.

And again, the very interesting aspect that a lot of people ignore is that Ashitaka is indigenous. He is not Japanese, he is Emishi - he is from a culture that the Japanese culture (that came from Chinese and Korean colonialism of the Japanese islands) eradicated. But within the world of the movie some Emishi have survived and have hidden in the mountains.

Which brings me to the point that actually makes me say, that this is the most Solarpunk movie: The ending. Because the ending of the movie is, that both sides decide that they will need to find a way for both of them to live. And they will learn that with Ashitaka staying with the people of Irontown and helping them live together with nature.

Because the movie quite clearly says: Yes, the methods that Eboshi choses are wrong. But her goals - helping those people outcast by normal society - are still good ones. And there has to be a way that these people can live a good life at this place surrounded by this ancient nature without being antagonistic towards it.

Now, of course the movie leaves in a very open end. It does not say whether they manage and how they manage. But they at least try.

And I think that is what makes this movie so inherently Solarpunk: The mixture of those themes. The indigenous culture. The nature and its protection. And the survival of those outcasts. That is a lot of themes - and it is the themes that I think are at the very core of what Solarpunk should be.

Again... I keep harping on this in this blog, but I will say it again: No, Solarpunk is not an aesthetic. It is about themes and content. Which is exactly why so many of the stories people will tell you about when you ask them about it, are not very SciFi in fact - and not at all fitting with the tumblr aesthetic. They are a lot more like Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä. And... Well, I think that this is something people really should take more to heart. Allow for it to be more thematic - rather than necessarily fitting with the aesthetic.

[ancientgreekyuri]

this has nothing to do with my selfship but i want it on my blog so im posting it anyways... a situation where pat and achilles are forced to interact with theseus 🙏🏽 from a scrapped fic where he would've shown them around elysium's library.

Being that his contract previously kept him bound to the dank House of Hades, Achilles never saw much of King Theseus. Despite this, he was aware of a great many rumors surrounding the man. Some say to ensure Asterius' safe passage into Elysium, Theseus spent several days or nights at the lord's desk, ranting and raving, telling irrelevant stories, until an irritated Hades caved in and gave him all he demanded. 

Other rumors stated that the King was a son of Poseidon (or something close to that), and he acquired the Minotaur through that godly connection, though this action supposedly caused him to fall out of the Earthshaker’ favour. “There’s another rumor being spread. Claiming that the Lord Hades lost a bet to King Theseus, and won the Minotaur as a prize.” Achilles had his head rested on his beloved’s lap, while Patroclus wove slender fingers through his blonde hair. “That’s a new one,” replied Patroclus, “I’ve heard something similar. But it claimed that it was the Minotaur who bested Hades, and he asked to be placed within Elysium to humiliate his rival for all eternity.” Achilles snorted at that. The King was… well. He was rather odd. He was not like most heroes, who would gladly slay a beast then never speak of it again (unless, of course, it was to brag of their greatest achievements). It was obvious from what few interactions Achilles had with Theseus how deeply he cared for the bull. He bought his rival passage into the blessed realms, crafted an arena in both of their honours, and now fights by his side for all eternity.

All this would imply that there is something deeper to King Theseus- something hidden beneath his golden bluster. Most of the time, however, it seemed as if the man really laid it all out on the surface. Either way, no one really understood why the Minotaur stayed with the king. Zagreus himself even concluded that Asterius did not owe anything to Theseus at this point. Achilles had his own  suspicions about the true source of that dedication, but no real leads on the matter just yet… “You’re curious about them, aren’t you, Achilles?” Pat gave Achilles a small smile. While he held  no love for the king, he did enjoy indulging Achilles’ interest to an extent.  “Why don’t you ask King Theseus himself, then…?” “Ahaha, yes! You’re welcome to ask me anything, Great Achilles!” 

Achilles startled off of Patroclus' lap, and Pat, in turn, fell over onto his side. Before them stood King Theseus, his stance wide in the same way he presented himself within the arena. Despite his larger than life personality, Theseus seemed quite small away from the splendor of the arena. He truly was no taller than Prince Zagreus- a fact Achilles always seemed to forget.

As usual, he'd barged into Pat's glade unannounced. Most of the time when he did this he was quick to run off towards wherever he needed to be, but the perfectly timed mention of his name captured his attention. (Patroclus scowled: it was one thing to be interrupted by Zagreus, who was only ever polite and had even helped to reunite him with his Achilles… but Theseus was nothing but a nuisance.) “King Theseus,” Achilles hummed while readjusting himself, “To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” “Aha, well!” Theseus cleared his throat, “I am on my way to visit Asterius! He is currently at the library, no doubt reading up on the great works of writers and scholars from across the land! …Or he is reading a fantasy novel. Regardless, the bull's taste in literature is always impeccable!!"

"If that's the case, King Theseus, I kindly ask that you be on your way,"sighed Patroclus, "My Achilles and I still have much catching up to do, and I'm certain any questions he has can wait. Can't they, Achilles?"

"Ah, yes. I agree that another time would be preferable. Would you mind dismissing yourself, King?"

King Theseus appeared thoughtful for a moment, taking their place request into deep consideration. Then, he spoke: "Yes, actually, I would mind!!"

Theseus sat on his knees before the two Myrmidons, his blue eyes glittering. "Achilles! I, Theseus, Greatest King of Athens, humbly request a sparring match against Asterius and myself!"

“Well, erm…”, Achilles smiled his usual tense smile at Theseus; he didn’t have any real dislike for the champion (unlike his beloved), but that didn’t change the fact that he was truly too much for one person to deal with (unless that one person was the Bull of Minos, who dealt with the king “loudly and often,” according to Pat), “I’m not sure if I have much interest in sparring with you, King Theseus.”

At that, the king’s eyes widened, quickly becoming tear-filled and cloudy.  “Why?! Do you think I’m too weak to be of any use to you? I am undefeated in the arena! That daemon and his foul, cheating ways don’t-”

“Peace, King Theseus. It is no comment on your martial skills. I simply do not have the interest in battle I once did." while Achilles tried his best to sound comforting, his voice teetered right on the edge of sounding baffled instead.  Patroclus had mentioned that Theseus cried easily, but Achilles had unestimated the king’s crying skills all the same. 

“Ah, well…” the king wiped away his tears, “Yes, that is… hmph!  I won’t say I understand, but I do respect such a thing! Somewhat.”

He beamed a bright smile at Achilles, already recovered from the sobbing he was surely about to do. “I propose unto you a new offer; a tour of Elysium’s premises!  You should know, Great Achilles, that one of my many duties as champion is to act as a guide for shades who have only recently entered the blessed fields! I doubt you’ve seen much of the realm just yet, especially as you spend most of your time with your brother-in-arms, who seems to prefer wallowing within this glade!"

“I do not wallow.” Pat rolled his eyes. “I merely have little interest in this land of empty-headed fools.”

“Hmph. Well then! Achilles!!” Theseus reached forward to grab the warrior’s hand within his own . “Shall we leave now? Other than the library, there’s a lovely little garden area that I think you will find enchanting! And many other lovely little shops and eateries and the likes! It could be just us two and Asterius, yes? I must say, I am afraid your companion here will turn our journey sour.”

Patroclus grabbed Achilles’ other hand, holding it firmly as he glared at the much shorter man. “My Achilles would not agree to such a thing. You’re being presumptuous, as always.”

 "You are the one who's being presumptuous, Patchouli!!" 

"Patchouli?"

"Patroclus," Achilles firmly corrected, "I wouldn't be opposed to your suggestion, King Theseus. But-" Achilles gave Theseus a stern look before he could gloat, "You have to be polite towards my beloved. And… " Achilles gently held Pat's hand, rubbing it with his thumb, "that also means you can't purposely provoke him, love.”

"My one source of entertainment in this cold, hard world, and you're taking it away from me. Fine."  

"Ahaha, splendid! I must go to Asterius, but I shall return momentarily for our tour! I shan’t keep you waiting long- this, I promise!!" Theseus gave a half-crazed laugh before bouncing back up and onto his feet, then running out the opposite door of the glade before either Myrmidon had a chance to speak. 

"Achilles… why did you say yes to him?" Patroclus pinched his temple; just the idea of spending more time with Theseus of all people was giving him a headache.

"It has a chance to be  enjoyable experience, yes?” Achilles’ clasped his hands together. “And besides, I am curious about his relationship with the bull. It will be a good learning opportunity, if nothing else.” "I suppose we'll see once he returns."

With a sigh, Patroclus laid on Elysium’s soft moss. With luck, Theseus would soon forget all about his whole tour plans… somehow, however, he had a sense that for once the king’s memory would hold firm, and in some days or nights he and Achilles would find themselves being dragged halfway across Elysium.

[myyoungroyalsblog]

Blogs that have created magnificent Young Royals drawings and that you should definitely check out🫶 (gonna add an artwork from each that I love as well)

@kidovna

@loren91

@chemdoodles

@rafascosmic

@maybemacdc

@party-crown-prince-of-sweden

[todaystarot]

Just like the fs pack too

I'm so done and tired with all these bs🙄

Especially all the people who's so obsessed with their fs this and fs that, when will he/she come? This month/year? What time and date?? And asking all that bullshit

Like bruh, stfu

How can people don't work their inner child, inner teen, inner trauma and love themselves until universe see you're ready and send your fs alignment ???

That's not how its work when you're obsessed and waiting for your fs to save you like a prince w a white horse saving you from the bad dragon like in disneyland😔

Oof I wrote such a long answer to this, but it got deleted because I got a like,, I am taking this as a sign to shorten my answer.

I honestly feel like your expression of this is unnecessarily mean, but I completely understand your frustration, especially if you are a reader.

I personally don’t really care too much future spouse readings either, because the only one I am interested in is mine lol. I do think it could be worse though.

Most people asking those questions are either bored or have already worked through major issues they were recently facing or battling.

You constantly learn and heal of course, but it’s okay if they wanna relax with learning about their future spouse.

I personally hate self, shadow and ‘how to heal’ - or something along those lines - readings because I can learn and go through my issues myself and usually people cannot read my energy properly either. Surely, there’s people who can relate to that in one way or another.

Considering everything though, you probably mean those obsessed ones who read future spouse pacs everyday right? And ask the same question several times to the point it’s unhealthy just to make sure everyone says the right answer.

To be fair with you, they most probably have an addictive personality.. meaning they get addicted to things easily. - though, you can work on this. I am not defending those who actively damage their health on purpose. -

In a community like this they were set up to fail.

Think about it, there’s a few type of tarot readers.

1 Those who genuinely adore and have an interest in tarot, understand it deeply due to studying it a lot or having experience.

2 Those who learned tarot not as a hobby but to gain money, but they are still very sincere and studied before opening a blog or youtube channel in order to not mislead anyone.

3 Overly sweet tarot readers, who exaggerate in order to gain people’s trust, but at the end they just want money.

4 Tarot readers who ‘keep it real’ but in reality fake asf bc they lie in your readings because their mentality effects their intuition

5 Tarot readers who really like tarot, but it’s not their calling bc they are gifted in something else.

All of these people post pick a cards, or at the very least answer free questions, host games and giveaways. Obviously, I am not judging, I am obviously a part of this community.

The thing is, since these people have an addictive personality they read any pac that sounds interesting regardless of whatever reader it might be from.. they might like it and read more for more dopamine hits, they might dislike it.. and then they can’t complain because of ‘if it doesn’t resonate leave it.’ Sometimes, it actually doesn’t resonate, and at other times the reader just let their intuition be effected by unrelated things. They can’t complain, because they will be viewed as toxic. Tarot is meant to be taken as a grain of salt after all.. it’s one of the “rules” of it. Besides, if they hate then the reader might get harassed, which is irresponsible and bad. They might block and move on with their day, or potentially go and read more pacs to try and hit more of that fleeting pleasure of dopamine. Then eventually, because of consuming too much things they will be confused on what’s accurate and what’s not. They no longer can pick a card, picture, crystal, figure or number. You get the gist. So they go on to ask questions in games, on blogs that answer questions for free and so on.

You know, what’s the kicker though?

They don’t realise that the future spouse they read about 6 months ago and today are different.. until they do. And their new addiction will be asking about them.

So, ultimately, this is a much more deeper issue than just “oh this motherfucker is annoying”.

That’s why I personally don’t want to be mean to them, I don’t want to judge them because even if they are slowly self sabotaging there’s much more to them that I don’t know. Besides, we can never truly know who is obsessed. Maybe it’s their first time asking, out of boredom.. to “test” intuitive people or because they are starting to be interested in tarot. Thousands of people, thousands of reasons.

No snow flake is the same shape.

So, yeah future spouse questions annoy the hell out of me too sometimes but everyone is a little bit like them. Some people are obsessed with career readings, financial readings, school readings, self readings, 18+ readings, spiritual gifts/dr readings, future self readings, inner child and so on… At the end of the day, we all have a preference.

At the end of the day, we can be oceans and skies apart but we are in the same community.

I do like your comparison to ‘waiting for a prince’. It reminded me of how Fiona waited for prince charming her whole life just to end up with Shrek. She was happier though, so that’s neat.

Either way, I am not disagreeing with you, I just like discussions.

[decaydanceredacted]

u don’t know how obsessively i check this blog like every hour or two i justify it to myself to check again. i’m desperate foaming at the mouth for more every minute of the day. love u guys also admin i would kill to be u

i need current bilvy to give me a kiss on tha cheek then fuck my soul out of my body like fully so rough throwing me around b the whole time he’s j cooing at me and calling me his good boy, his little prince

also i don’t have a full redacted for this b i need more possessive and/or protective kink on here it’s what my low self esteem livessss for

-spiral anon

.

[popculturebuffet]

Batmarch Finale: Batman (1989) Review: At Long Last Joker Dancing on Parade Float

Hello all you happy batpeople and it's time for the finale of Batmarch! It's been a fun ride that really made me love the character again and it ends here with something i've been wanting to do since the start of this blog: IT's time to talk about Tim Burton's Batman, the 1989 classic blockbuster that created the first superhero movie boom, solidified the caped crusader as a dark brooding vigilante in the public eye, and gave us not one but two iconic scenes of joker dancing to prince music that live rent free in my head forevermore.

Batman took almost a decade to get going, with Producer Micheal Uslan, a comic book historian who taught a succesful course on comics as literature, wanting to take batman back to his earlier days as a mysterious figure of darkness. His timing was great as by the late 70's when he started his crusade for the caped crusader, Batman had been on a course back to those very roots thanks to the works of Neil Adams and Denny O'Neil. Comic fans ate up a darker batman and Batman returned to being a creature of the night.

The problem was for most audiences.. he was a creature of camp. While I adore the Adam West Batman, i'm honestly shocked i've only covered ONE episode of that gloriously goofy series, it left a mark on the character, with everyone assuming "Well that's what batman is". It's a common trait in comic book adaptations: TV and Movies reach a wide audience. It's why most people think Scott Summers is a plank of wood instead of a tatctical genius with a lot of baggage.

Thus studios either flat out rejected them or wanted a comedy in the vein of the adam wast show. Or rejected it for reasons like "It would be called Batman and Robin and we just had a film with robin in the name tha tbombed" or "It and Annie are both "from the funnie" pages and Annie just bombed (yet did INCREDIBLY well on home video)"

Thankfully the film got rescued as, with John "Giant Mechanical Spider Peters" getting on board, he suggested they do what they did with superman: promote the hell out of the film and the script they had and hope someone buys into the hype. Sure enough it worked as Warner Bros picked up the film and to my suprise they already owned DC Comics, the rights simply got sold off for the reasons film rights to properties often do

So Warner was eager to get the property back in house and profit off it.

With that it was time for a full script by Tom Mankiewicz who based it largely on Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers short but memorable run on Detective Comics I wasn't aware of till doing research for this review, but now happily own. Rogers was even brought on to do concept art. The script went through NINE revisions according to wikipedia, but all were based largely on tom's original. Directing wise Joe Dante and Wes Craven were both considered and i'd loved to see what their version of the film would've been like. Ivan Reitman also was, but wanted a comedy starring billl murray with the studio eyeing eddie murphy for robin.

Thankfully the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure lead Warner Bros to go with their new golden boy, who was just coming off production of another soon to be hit, Beetlejuice, Tim Burton, pictured here looking like Batman's goth best friend he takes in the batmobile to get him out of the house.

I'd pay so much to see that version of this movie.

Burton wasn't a comic fan , but upon getting the project was a fan of recent hits The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke, and was fascinated with what batman could be. Meanwhile Warner brought in Englehart himself to make a draft. Burton then brought in Sam Hamm, a rookie screenwriter and HUGE fan of the character who quickly proved to be the perfect fit, tightening up the screenplay: he removed Robin (something no one was sad about as he was a studio mandate), replaced Silver St Cloud (Bruce's love intrest during the Englehart Run) and Rupert Throne with Vicki Vale and Carl Grissom and the script was set.

So casting began. After a number of more traditional leads were considered, Burton went with Micheal Keaton at the suggestion of Peters, who felt Keaton has the tortured quality batman needed. It was a great call as he fit both sides: he was stoic and comanding as batman, but as bruce was perfectly absentminded, as if he was far away, yet still charastmatic and likeable. It was a good contrast and also made it easy to see why no one suspect this guy was batman.

Unfortuantely the fans.. were not pleased. Yes even then peopl ewere liable to throw hands over casting decisions before seeing them proper. I've not been imune to this: I liked Ben Affleck but wasn't sure he fit batman, only to be proven wrong when he was easily one of the saving graces of Batman V Superman and it's regretful he couldn't be batman in a better movie.

Fans worried that Keaton , who up to this point had mostly been in comedies, meant the film would be camp like the tv series and film again, to the point this MADE HEADLINES. The studio even breifly considered reasting, but burton held firm.

If your curious other actors considered were Pierce Brosnan (who had no intrest in doing a comic book movie), Mel Gibson (dodged a bullet there), Kevin Costner, Charlie Sheen (Another bullet dodged, too much tiger blood to be a bat man), Tom Selleck, Harrison Ford and Dennis Quaid. None of these really.. feel right, and it's burton's first choice before realizing Keaton was it , the green goblin himself Willam Dafoe, that woul'dve worked with what he was going for. None of these actors are bad, even sheen and gibson are good actors just..awful human beings, they just don't fit the part. Sheen in paticular feels like the worst timeline and I pity the earth that got saddled with frat bro batman.

Naturally every hero needs a good villian and while another row of talent was considered, the studio and Peters heavily pushed for Jack Nicholson over other competiors such as Brad Douriff, Tim Curry, and David Bowie, all versions of this film i'd LOVE to see in some other timeline. That said Nichelson was the perfect choice.

How they finally nailed him down is my faviorite story I found from the documentary: So Nicholson was open to it, liking the part but to lock it down wanted them to meet him for horseback riding. Burton , nature's perfect indoor kid, was naturally deeply uncomfortable on a horse and i'd pay good money to get the picture they claimed existed of Tim Burton on a horse with Jack Nicholson. I find it fascinating in of itself that Jack Nicholson rides horses and has a deep love of horses. That's a thing that fits, but just never occured to me. The most uncomfortbale horse ride ever netted him the part and Nicholson trusted burton completely on set and spoke highly of him in the documentary.

The final main cast addition came due to , of all the possile reasons, a horse riding accident. No it wasn't tim burton himself, but Sean Young, who'd been cast as Bruce's reporter love intrest Vicky Vale and had to bow out, replaced by Kim Bassinger.

Rounding out the cast we have Robert Whul as local reporter and only one digging into this batman case Knox, Cool School owner and operator Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, Pat Hingle as Comissioner Gordon, acting legend Jack Palance as crime boss and the joker's boss Carl Grissom, and Tracey Walter as Joker's NUMBER. ONE. GUY. Bob.

Promotion for the film was something unique. Nowadays we're used to big, omnipresent ad blitzes with our blockbusters, a huge swath of adds to let you know THIS FILM'S A COMIN. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THIS FILM. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR AMBVILENT ABOUT ARTHUR AND THE KING YOU WILL GET 20 ADDS FOR IT JACOB. THE HYPE MACHINE HATH SPOKEN.

To start Jon Peters helped cut a teaser trailer, wanting to get SOMETHING out to show that no, this wasn't going to be like the Adam West show stop calling me about it dennis. The trailer was only a minute and a half, had no music behind it, something I only found out, and is clearly just whatever clips they had that were ready. You can find it here. It's throughly intresting.

It also.. works. While it's only a short teaser, it gets across what this film is, shows both joker and batman enough to get hyped, all while not spoiling the film. Granted they probably didn't have enough footage yet TO do that but still, it's a well done teaser with only one or two bits feeling like their just.. thrown in there and given the time crunch to get this in front of a teast audence, I can salute that it's still works.

And it worked MASSIVELY. People bought tickets JUST to see this teaser, bootlegs of it sold like hot cakes. It was meant to get people hyped up for what this film actually was.. and it DID, erasing doubts Keaton wasn't batman and showing people just what they were getting.

Warner then went all in promoting the hell out of this film, to the point Marvel's she hulk did a parody of this where a new super heroine does a simliar add blitz: There was cereal, tiger games, merchandising of all kinds. It was a huge gamble as if the film failed to live up to the hype... it'd be a joke NOTHING could live down, would sink the careers of everyone involved from production on down, and possibly destroy warner.

Naturally though.. it didn't. The gamble paid off. It's almost like if you actually RELEASE a film and have faith in the creators, you'll make money. The film was a massive success leading to three more films in this series and a mind boggling 11 theatrical and 60+ total films JUST starring the batman. That's not getting into team movies.

So join me under the cut as we see if , after 35 years of excellence, this film still lives up to the hype in a genre now packed with classics.

Bat Class and Bat Style:

Starting out with the style of the film, it can't be overstated the sheer impact this film had on Gotham city as a place. Before this it was mostly a standard city, just more of a crime hole than most. It was weird reading some of that very Steve Englehart run I mentioned and seeing Gotham. .as a pretty standard metropolis, if not obviously THE metropolis.

Batman is where , to my shock, Gotham was first portrayed as this art deco 40's style hellscape, a city of old buildings with the crime built into it's very foundations: a city of frequent nights, heavy shadows and plenty of places for an up and coming here ot perch and brood. It's an atmosphere that almost feels consuming: you can't escape gotham and it won't let you. It's a monster as much of a city. Batman the Animated series would build on this, making this what gotham was: a city with it's dark history seeped into it's stone that feels massive and endless, like no matter how much batman does the city is almost too big for him to ever fully save.

The rest of the style is after the 40's, a nice nod to batman premiering JUST before they started in 1939. We have large flashes on the cameras, reporters in suits the like.

I also realized this wasn't just a cool style choice, it's a thematic one: Most of Gotham wears these types of clothes, fitting with how Gotham is: a city with a long proud history.. but one it finds itself stuck in. A lot of those men in suits are either helpless goverment types who WANT to make things better but can only do so much like Gordon or Dent, or outright corrupt men like the various mob bosses who control it from the shadow. Even Knox , who tries to go for the scoop, is stuck in the old behaviors of sexisim, hitting on his photographer and creative partner vicki a lot nad being a possesive dick about her romance when it's none of his damn buinsess.

The people who may actually change this city are the ones who come off more with the time: Bruce most of the time wears looser suits or , in one scene casual clothes. The one time he dosen't is to fit in at his own party, to blend in so well Knox and Vale don't even notice he was behind them for a whole scene. When he's himself he's awkward, but also kind and charming. When he's his truest self batman he's calm, intmidating and of course dressed in a lot of rubber. He dosen't fit with Gotham.. but by doing so he can change it for the better.

Vicki is diffrent, fitting in a bit better but her hair and styles tend more toward practical, often wearing her glasses which look neat. Wish I had a pair like that. She brushes off Knox's comments, dosen't want anyone taking ownership of her and rightly calls bruce out for ghosting her (Granted he's also right ot try and get her to stop for one minute so he can tell her she's batman). She's trying to change it more by simply finding the batman, but it's still someone diffrent.

Finally we have the Joker, who stylistically dosen't deviate greately as jack.. but once he becomes something else, he changes. he wears the suit sure... but it's a bright purple with a giant boutiner. He wears makeup, but it's barely covering and by the time of the art heist there more for a joke than actual cover. His attempts to fit in are really more a joke than an actual attempt. Napier never really fit in... he simply stopped putting on the pretense once he became the joker.

Joker's moderness also comes through in othe rways; his biggest scheme heavily involves the rise of cosmetics and the television, using his then modern Smilex adds to stow paranoia. He vandalizes classic art for funsies to a dope prince song. And for his final masterstroke he captalizes on the greedhead nature of the 80's: he correctly figures if you throw enough money at people they'll forgive anything, and throws a ton of money into the crowd in the film's best scene, capering and hamming it up as he prepares to kill them all by luring them into one place. It's telling that the only two places in the film itself Prince's songs show up are with the Joker, who embodies the excess of the 80's while still having his classic 40's born design.

And since we're talking about him...

The Devil in the Pale Moon Light

Nicholson's joker is fantastic. I wasn't big on him for a long time.. but I realized on rewatch it wasn't the performance. Nicholson fucking nails it, having that manic energy hid with a genial calm that makes a good joker to me, that sort of charisma where you geninely can't tell if you'll end the scene as his NUMBER. ONE. GUY. or with a bullet in the belly. He's hammy as hell when he wants to be, deathly calm when he wants to be, and the only one who truly understands himself always.

Nicholson's joker strikes me as a mad Performanceartist, an interpretation I like: his jokes are carefully crafted pieces always done for a terrified audience of some kind. Only one of his kills or crimes post putting a smile on that face dosen't have an audience, Grissom, and he STILL puts on a show for him, shooting him to opera music while giggling like a mad man. Every other crime is a big show, which isn't inconsitant for joker. Every joker has theater kid tendencies, this joker is just the one who has the most thespian energy.

His schemes are also fantastic, props to Burton and the writers: their the right mix of operartic performance art and ghastly crime. From defacing a museum for the attention, to the utterly brillaint smilex ad which parodies the hell out of 80's ad trends and is one of the best joker scenes in media, perfectly capturing his sort of scheme, this versions love of a good performance, and the time it was in. The poor editing and his "Chances are you already own some" and the laugh after.. it's genius. Every piece is great. I also love the pen stabbing which I didn't really pay much attention to before but the mimes, the awesome as hell outfit, the "Uncle bingo" line.. it's so damn fun and the mundanety of the stabbing, feather quill or not makes it a shocker

The two best though are the ones embeded on my mind from childhood to present day: THe art scene is awesome and I love the way he says lawrence, with him just getting into general dicking around shenanigans because it's fun, saving a picture because it's horrifying. I also love his dickish "date" with vicky where he just calls all her glamour photo's crap. You can tell Jack Nicholson is loving EVERY second of this. Granted who wouldn't love grooving to Party Man, which is a truly awesome song. Prince didn't half ass it for this album and while his inclusion is a clear studio mandate Tim Burton didn't seem enthused about in the documentary, Burton still made it work perfectly. It's really hard to not make prince work granted, but it's still flawlessly used.

My faviorite scene of the film though... is Trust aka "Jack nicholson fucking destroys while riding on a blimp" Those hand moves, his expressions, bob and lawrence's grins as they throw money, the banger that is Trust behind him. While Partyman is good and really fits Joker, Trust is a fun banger jam that fits the party atmosphere of Joker's final gambit. The sight of joker throwing money everywhere while mugging is just.. peak joker and one of the best moments of the character and in superhero cinema period.

While Nicholson's joker is mostly celebrated there are two big points of contention, two elephants in the room to tackle.

The first is the fact we get Joker's name at all, that we know anything about him before he became joker as a huge part of his mystique is being this mysterious murder clown who just.. fell in a vat one day and that's all we know before he started chasing batman.

I prefer his past to be a mystery, it adds to the charm and the terror of this guy... but on this watch I felt the Jack Napier version still really works. Nichson does a good job making both Jack and Joker feel like two very diffrent people: Jack was a fairly unambitious hood who WANTED to run everything, but had no real plans for it, content to screw the bosses mistress and be done with it. It's easy to buy into corrupt cop Eckhart's view Jack has no future.. because he didn't. The second Grissom found out what he was doing, he set Jack up to die. Jack ONLY escapes ace chemicals alive due to pure luck: Gordon got informed in time to take over and stop a potetial execution and Bob turned out to be the best guy ever and held said Gordon hostage to get batman to let Jack go. And even then Jack's own impulsiveness nearly killed him, falling into the vat. He's ONLY alive because of sheer luck and knowing a good back alley doctor using tools he got from a dentist who mysteriously died a few decades back.

Jack is an impulsive trainwreck.. the joker.. is Jack with all his inhibitions stripped.. and tha'ts why knowing Jack works. Jack was a pretty common hood: even the Wayne murder, we'll get to that shortly, was just buisness as usual. Jack had ambitious DREAMS, but seemed content to just wait for Grissom to die naturally then take his empire.

Joker by contrast is a mad artist: he sees gotham as his canvas, a toy to play with. He has all of jack's greed and drive, but none of his hesitance to act on it. He's impulsive but unlike jack, he thinks out his impulsive plans. He wants vicky kidnapped, but has his minons bring her, has a bunch of stuff ready and has a whole music video ready after. He barges in on her apartment but brings goons just in case. He's still impulsive enough to be the joker: He dosen't have a plan b for the parade, the pen stabbing comes off as "wouldn't this be neat let's do that", but it's still more than jack ever thought. Jack is truly gone: vestiges of him remain in his new self, he makes sure Grissom dies and wants to control gotham.. but he's now got the higher calling of mayhem: ruling gotham isn't because it's there.. it's because it's FUN. It works because it shows just how FAR joker can go, going from a midly high level enforcer, to a mad god whose only stopped by batman yanking hard enough. Jack works because, ala killing joke, it shows a mostly normal person becoming something far worse. The Joker has an origin and it informs him a bit.. but who jack was is gone by the joker and it's fascinating watching hwat he became.

So that brings us to the OTHER big change: Jack Napier killed Batman's parents. Now this one I agree was a bad idea: the tragedy of the wayne murders. .is that it was just some guy. Some random hood, sometimes named joe hill, shot two innocent people and doing so broke a child and created a bat. It being his future arch enemy feels contrived. Like IT HAD to be someone important because it was his destiny to be a vengeful orphan man! It can't have been just some guy it had to be a number one guy yes yes. It misses the point entirely and it just feels dumb and that reveal clouded my judgement. Jack on his own isn't bad but making him batman's parent's killer is just.. too much. That part sucks but everything ELSE about Uncle Bingo rules and one bad decision, that writer Sam Hamm swears wasn't his idea and came after it was in Burton's hands so blame accordingly, shoudln't negate such a fine performance.

Let's Get Nuts

Speaking of fine performances, let's talk about the Batman of the hour himself. While I went Joker first, Keaton's batman is awesome and has gotten it's due praise over the last few years.

Ironically a lot of what fans hated about him, his everyman looks and not being "muscular" are what make this bruce work. Much like Robert Pattinson's brilliant turn after, this is a Bruce who doesn't really socialize. Unlike Pattinsons he does put in the bare minimum, throwing parties and such... but it's clear while bruce is a known philanthropist, he's not really a big name figure in gotham beyond that. He's an inconspcious guy, so much that Vicky and Knox dont' even notice him or realize it is him. And that suits what he does great: he's so nondescript that once people start looking for batman they won't look there.

Not tha this secret identity being in danger is a big issue at first: Batman's experinced here, but also early enough he's just a myth: Only Knox thinks he's real and even he has no idea what this guy looks like. The criminals know, but both bruce and batman are unknowns at first and prefer it this way.

Bruce is a kind, gentle, down to earth guy: he quickly wins Vicki Vale over.. simply by showing an intrest in her work. It's subtly contrasted with the other two men in her life: Knox first notices her legs, hits on her mildly agresively and is a possesive tool, while Joker outright claims her and tries to kill bruce for stepping on his territory. Bruce wins Vicky over.. because he sees her as a PERSON and not boobs or a prize to be one. Basinger and Keaton have really great chemistry and while the two don't get a ton of scenes together, you see why Bruce takes to her so quickly.. and why he pushe sher away. His war on crime is ALL he has, and he dosen't want her getting caught in it, ironically taking away the agency that brought him to her. It's only when he realizes HOW much she means that he tries to open up. Then a clown shoots him but you know , thems the breka. It's telling when Alfred, to finally break this will they or won't they stalemate, brings her down he's not the least bit mad and is honest with Vicki and continues seeing her.. until she didn't come back for the sequel but that's a review for another day. A christmas day.

I bring up the relatoinship because it's what defines bruce, and while romances can be rushed in these movies.. this one works and fleshes bruce out. It creates a nice divide between the man he thinks he should be, the creatue of the night who scares a cowardly and superstitious lot, who dosen't flinch in any situation and is always calm.. with the all too human bruce who simply dosen't want to be alone. Well he has alfred but he can't rely on his dad forever.

As batman.. there isn't a ton to talk about as he's mostly stoic and badass. Keaton does a really good job of that.. but there's not a ton of expression other than "scowling and it's only in his final confrontation with the joker, his parents murderer he really emotes with pure unyielding rage. It's not bad.

There is one aspect that needs to be talked about though: This batman.. kills. It's a divisive idea as by this point batman's no killing rule was in place... but it's one I get Burton not using. He and those around him based this film on the earliest works, and in those.. Batman had no issue killing if he had to.

It works for me largely because Batman isn't wontonly killing: he uses the machine guns primarily to clear the way and presumibly, like the dark knight returns which is where Burton probably got the machine gun, their likely rubber bullets. The only person he truly tries to kill repeadetly is Jack. Not at the plant, as while it's said he drops him .. it really dosen't come off that way. It's left ambigious if batman did it on purpose or simply COULDN'T hold onto jack much longer. The only person Batman truly wants dead.. is the man who created him. Any other kills are mostly just life or death struggles. I prefer batman not to kill... but one who does so judciously still fits the character.

Finally before we move on we have the way his origin's done: While I said I didn't like the jack part the film tries to treat this as some big mystery.. with the problem being even in a post adam west pre burton world.. most people probably knew batman's parents were dead. It works to a point, but out of all the things in the film.. it feels like padding. We know why he's doing this, we're just waiting for Vicky to catch up and i'd be fine with that but ther'es juts.. nothing really added. She finds out his parents died. A matter of public record he didn't really bury. The only shocking reveal she finds is who killed his parents, which while a decen tswerve, couldv'e been hidden until the reveal. It just.. pads the film slightly, but not so much it obstructs it

The People of Gotham

Now for our side cast. Starting with our third lead we have Vicky Vale, she of the 80's hair, neat glasses and inconstient spelling in this review. Kim Bassinger does a great job with the character and they do TRY to flesh her out: she's been both a war reporter and a fashion photographer, is great at her career and while enamored with Bruce only takes his shit so far.

That being said while I do LIKE Vicky, it's largely down to the performance: Bassinger is a talented actress and i'd like to see her in more films. I mean i've only seen her in this, Wayne's World 2 and bits of Cool World. She did fine in all three, it's just clear she has talent and I hope to see her make a comeback if she wants. She makes a character given just enough sparkle.

That being said... plot wise.. Vicky's just there for exposition and as an object. They give her some depth, being a former war photographer, but the film's unintrested in exploring her as a person, instead having her explore bruce.

And get put in danger three diffrent times. I mean she only gets kidnapped once but it feels like she's mostly there to get scared or romance bruce. The romance plot IS important as it fleshes Bruce out as a person... but it's telling it's mostly to flesh HIM out. Vicky and him have chemistry.. but again that's because her actress is that good. I can kinda see why she didn't want to return for the sequel, and feel bad that her replacement of sorts got way more with her character. Vicky.. deserved better.

Onto Alexander Knox, who is probably confusing those of you who haven't seen the film. Knox is a reporter and is intended as mild comic relief at times. In practice he's aged like fine cheese on a sidewalk covered in radioactive ants and pudding. His first words upon seeing Vicky "Hello Legs"

He then offers to do nudes and in general just.. tends to hit on her often, while she clearly just wants to work with him and is only putting up with her bullshit because she's so clearly used to sexist bullshit and come ons at this point. I DO think some of this is intetional as there's a contrast in how he greets her and how Bruce greets her: Knox recognizes her work, but is mostly interested in

While Bruce you know.. sees her as a person. That said Knox.. is also creepily posessive, telling her not to go out with bruce, not getting what she sees in him, and clearly being jealous. He's just kinda there to set up that batman's been a thing and is mostly seen as a myth then ceases to be relevant but sticks around the film anyway. He does go after some guys with a baseball bat but it's too little too late.

Finally out of our heroes side, we have Alfred. Micheal Gogh dosen't get a ton to do, but really owns the roll, giving you the impression of a man who simply dosen't want to see his surrogate son spend his whole life in a cave. he says as much outright but you can see just how HAPPY he is that Bruce has Vicky and how much he dosen't want him to loose her. He dosen't get to do much.. but his one big action was a source of contention for Sam Hamm, as it was added after. Alfred takes Vicky to the batcave. In Hamm's words "That would be his last day of employment"

Alfred... is Bruce's dad. Not biologically, that we know of, but he raised Bruce. Even by this point in the comics it was clear Alfred was just as much a faithful retainer as he was Bruce's dad. Bruce would get mad about something like this.. but he'd never fire Alfred as a snap judgement, especially when Bruce WAS GOING TO TELL VICKY ANYWAY. Alfred likely knew this. All Alfred did was eliminate a step. It wasn't like Alfred invited his acapella group, the Alfredpellas, down there.

We then have Alicia. Alicia dosen't get much to do as this script REALLY wasn't intrested in women but is intresting. My friend Jess the Vampire pointed out when we watched this she's kind of a proto harley quinn: someone deeply intrested in the Joker despite how he abuses her. At first it's fairly equal: Jack gives her attention Grissom isn't and him becoming joker shocks her but isn't bad. Then he horribly scars her as an art piece, and abandons her for Vicky and the sheer trauma causes her to throw herself off a building. It's a tragic story as she didn't relaly do anything wrong, she just had bad taste in men: first Grissom then Jack then Joker. It's not as layered as poor harley, but it's a good first draft and adds to what a monster Joker is. He just makes her into his horrifying art then throws her away when he's done.

Finally out of the major characters we have Bob. Bob is a quiet MVP in this film, Jack's best friend and #2 and Joker's Number. One. Guy.

What I hadn't noticed before is even pre joker.. Bob is LOYAL to Jack. He gets Eckhart not to shoot jack, and most importantly saves Jack from Batman at Ace Chemicals, holding Gordon hostage. From the go he's invauable to his bestie, helping make up for Jack's impulsivness. And while Jack just kinda shrugs, as he tends to, Joker recognizes this. He instantly makes Bob his NUMBER. ONE. GUY. and unlike grissom, who only said it in jest and as a veiled threat, Joker really seems to mean it. He has Bob stalk vicky for him, lure her to the musuem, all creepy shit sure but all stuff Joker needs vitally done and trusts Bob to do without any ulterior motive. And he does. Bob's also just fun: he capers a lot during partyman and is one of the best parts of Trust, his expression as he's throwing money gives me life. It also makes his death tragic. Bob was not a good guy, again he stalked a woman because he was told to.. but he was loyal and friendly.. and joker kills him simply because he got pissed off. His death is, fitting the joker, hilarious, just the casual way he asks for a gunt hen shoots bob with it, but it's a sad end to a NUMBER. ONE. GUY.

The rest of the side cast.. is pretty one note. Gordon is just the police chief, something that carries over to most other versions we've seen on film, Dark Knight being the exception. He has a great moment at ace chemicals but does fuck all the rest of the film except light up the bat signal. Harvey Dent is there to set up a future role that never comes for Billy Dee Williams. Grissom is memorable thanks to Jack Palance's delivery of "NUMBER. ONE. GUY. ", but otherwise is just a standard gangster man. The rest of the cast is mostly there to do plot and they do do it well but don't do much else.

Conclusion: And with that Bat March comes to a belated end. I enjoyed this review as it made me take a close look at a film I loved... and ended up loving it MORE. Batman has rough edges, some due to age some due to simply being one of the earlier comic book movies, but it' sstill damn good even today. It's a classic, a fun ride with banger performances, a lot of detail and deft direction from Burton. If you haven't watched it in a while, please do. If you have.. well do anyway it's that good.

Thanks for reading and thanks for enjoying batmarch

[juliafied]

I posted 1,725 times in 2022

51 posts created (3%)

1,674 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@hexcore-juggler

@hanarinhightown

@nerdierholler

@miindli

@viscariadraws

I tagged 616 of my posts in 2022

#mutuals write - 102 posts

#q - 97 posts

#arcane - 78 posts

#fic rec - 57 posts

#thanzag - 57 posts

#fenris - 43 posts

#hades game - 40 posts

#fenhawke - 31 posts

#♥️♥️♥️ - 28 posts

#vi - 28 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#hawke frequently writing letters to varric to keep him updated with every last thing of course claiming it's only for his story fodder (lie)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

what a drag to love you like I do

Fandom: Hades

Pairing: Thanatos/Zagreus

Rating: Teen

Chapter(s): 1/?

Words: 3317

AO3

Summary:

"You're all it takes for me to break a promise, silly me to fall in love with you."

All the times Thanatos didn't realize he was falling in love with his best friend, until it was too late.

Thanatos is four, or four hundred – the mortal years mean little to the chthonic gods and denizens of the Underworld, but he feels very young yet, compared to Nyx’s eternity – when the prince is born. He does not know what a birthing entails, and when he hears the little god’s wails echo through the halls of the House he tugs on his mother’s skirts to ask if this is how he came to be also, and whether it is very painful to be born.

Nyx laughs quietly, lips closed in a secret smile. “No, my child. You were plucked from Darkness itself and appeared as you are.”

A story he has heard before, and he is too young yet to question it. Another wail begins, and he tugs a little harder on the velvet in his hand. Nyx glances towards the king and queen’s chambers.

“Our queen’s mortal blood runs strong, but worry not, my child. The new prince is not in pain.”

Soon, the halls quiet once more, and Thanatos lets his hand slip down the velvet to his side. His mother watches the doors to the royal chambers, her own hand worrying at the gold trim of her gown.

The door flies open and the usually thunderous Lord Hades emerges, a terrible look in his Styx-red eyes. The wail that comes from the room now is one of anguish, a sound that no child can make.

“Go find your brother, Thanatos,” his mother says, clipped and stern.

“But—”

“Please,” and Thanatos is suddenly afraid, for he has never heard his mother’s voice tremble. She quickly flattens her cool palm over his hair, a habitual gesture meant to tame the wispy white tendrils and comfort at once, but it is not comforting now. “Go.”

She hesitates, then in a swirl of skirts, she is gone.

--

Though the birth of the prince is Thanatos’ first brush with his own purpose, he has yet to meet its finality. So, Zagreus lives, but the queen vanishes, her memory becoming more of a shade to Thanatos than any of the ones that wander the House. Thanatos senses his twin’s jealousy at Nyx’s divided attention, but he finds himself more than happy to play brother to the prince. The House even starts calling him Nyx’s child, and some grow to believe this. Thanatos does not. Though he does not remember her face, Thanatos still remembers the echoes of the queen’s wails through the halls of the House of Hades.

He does not find it difficult to share everything with Zagreus, toys, sweets, stories, secrets. Even Mort, though Zagreus always carefully tucks him under Thanatos’ pillow just before they both fall asleep on the rug next to Thanatos’ bed in his mother’s room, tiny wooden hydras and shiny metal tops scattered about. Thanatos sees the question in Zagreus’ eyes when eventually Megara comes along to play, too old now for such games but indulging them after they tug on the tip of her fledgling wing enough times. As Battie battles Mort, the prince almost asks.

 Why didn’t Nyx make one for me?

Battie wins, and the question doesn’t leave his lips. Zagreus has never been one to whine, and his face brightens soon after, once he brings the hydra into the fight, wooden bones rattling. It’s good, because Thanatos doesn’t have an answer. But he remembers.

30 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

#4

Face to Face

Fandom: Hades

Pairing: Thanatos/Zagreus

Rating: Mature

Chapter(s): 1/4

Words: 1088

AO3

Summary:

Thanatos can't remember the last time he went on a date that wasn't with his email inbox, so Charon sets about rectifying the situation by making him a profile on a dating app. Sifting through guys who fish and tourists looking for one night stands, Thanatos comes across his childhood best friend, who he hasn't spoken to since their strange parting as teenagers. Thanzag modern AU, online dating.

Thanatos is swiping idly on the latest dating app when he spots him.

He can’t believe he let Charon convince him to make a profile - yes, he knows that’s that how his brother met Hermes, and he’s aware of how great they are together, and of course somewhere at the back of his mind he’d like to spend his nights doing something after work other than doom-scrolling until his too-exhausted eyes fall shut, but he’d been resistant.

But Charon had picked through Thanatos’ social media for some less moody pictures of him, gotten Hermes to take some more with a wink, and typed furiously away before shoving his phone back into his hands.

Thanatos, 25, consulting, looking for something (or someone) to do after work, read the description under a photo of him from university at some party or other, back in the days when he didn’t have to go on apps to meet people. He’d removed the “or someone” with a groan and a blush as Hermes’ eyebrows waggled in his direction.

It’d been fun, of course, to swipe through the app’s dubiously appealing offerings, silently judging some, reluctantly admiring others. There were the guys holding up some kind of fish in their pictures, the sunburnt ones “in Greece for 2 weeks, looking for fun”, the baristas, the artists, the lawyers.

It’d been fun, until he’d swiped right on a tanned, muscly guy who claimed to be manning a sailboat in Santorini for the summer, just to reveal Zagreus’ toothy grin and mismatched eyes, staring right at him.

Keep reading on AO3

33 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

#3

two shadows, reaching

Fandom: Hades, The Song of Achilles

Pairing: Achilles/Patroclus

Rating: Teen

Words: 980

AO3

The moment Achilles’ feet strike warm Elysium earth, his heart starts racing.

He passes through chamber upon chamber, cool waters of the Lethe threading through each one, shades armed with bows and spears and longswords wandering and whispering as he passes. He suspects these are the ones who have given Zagreus so much grief, but they do not bother him, for he is one of their own.

He has lingered too long in the House to feel himself young enough for such foolishness, but as he tears through the soft grass, his eyes fill with tears, and into his throat jumps up that old rage that he’d though long forgotten. He blinks them away, thinking instead of Patroclus as a boy, catching the figs that Achilles is juggling, eyes not those of an admirer but of a friend. Patroclus as a young man, shuddering into his arms in Scyros, lazy pleasure pooling in his collarbones, the soft skin of his neck.

Patroclus as the warrior he’d never been, the warrior Achilles had forced him to be, Achilles’ spear in his hand, Achilles’ armour on his back, Achilles’ death close behind him.

He stops to rest, his hands hitting cool stone, his knees soft grass, though he hasn’t felt physical exertion since he came to the Underworld. Can he be forgiven? The young prince had relayed Patroclus’ words to him, risk it all, he’d said. He can imagine Patroclus’ soft lips forming the words, lips he’d delighted in a thousand times, the way they’d laughed and spoke and chided him, even.

By the Gods, to hear his voice speak something new, to add to the ever-reverberating memories…

Achilles steels himself. He will face even his wrath, if it comes to it, his hatred, even though Zagreus has assured him otherwise. His indifference will sting more than Paris’ arrow through his chest, but he will face it, nonetheless.

Fear is for the weak.

More shades glance at him as he makes his way through this chamber, nudging one another as they whisper. How long has it been, he wonders, since he caused the carnage that won the war? Does Odysseus now find ways to enact his schemes amongst the exalted of Elysium? He’d sent Hector here himself, but had Paris, his own killer, followed yet? How many, of the shades around him, had been dispatched here by his own hand?

If Agamemnon walks the halls of Elysium, the old rage whispers, Achilles should like to send him to the depths of Tartarus himself.

But he is beholden to more pressing matters – as he approaches the golden gates that mark the entryways to the next chambers, a smaller passage opens in the lush hedge between them, and something in his heart tells him this is the way. He ducks down to push through, branches soft as he pushes them away from his hands, and then—

The smell of lichen fills his nose, earthy and perfumed, the kind that grows in warm caves fed by mountain air, though the space he enters is open and airy and bereft of stone, the light above not quite moon, not quite sun. The waters of the Lethe flow around a warrior’s statue obscured by tall greenery and fill the air with a familiar sweetness, like the smell of his clothes after being left out in the strong mountain sun.

Patroclus, his heart sings. On the islet up ahead, there is the sound of someone rising.

His feet do not so much pound off the earth as it propels him forward. He sees his full lips first, trembling but upturned, then the curve of his bronze cheek – the one he has stroked, and kissed, and brushed his own cheek against a thousand times. His hair remains long and dark and unruly, his shoulders strong and full as they were in life, or even in death.

And his eyes – grief and joy twinned, piercing through to Achilles’ heart, though he no longer has one, the heart that has always been Patroclus’ in life, in death, in afterlife.

“Patroclus,” Achilles says, and it is not enough, but his throat has closed to other words, so instead, he steps forward.

It is as if the world has opened up around them, when Patroclus takes Achilles in his arms, and they are up on that mountaintop once again, the wounds of their shared fate far away in both time and place. He cradles the back of Patroclus’ head, fingers tangling in the spot behind his ear where his hair never lies flat, tracing the shoulders that he has loved since they were thin and narrow, the muscles of his beautiful chest.

Something had broken within him that day when Patroclus’ body was dragged off the battlefield, divested of the armour that caused his death. He has had an eternity to dwell on the guilt that has eaten him from the inside, with only his duties in service to Lord Hades to distract him. But the wound seems small, in light of the gift that Zagreus has given him now. Whatever words there are to be said between them can now be spoken, and though he may never earn his forgiveness, he has an eternity to keep trying, and it is enough.

“Philtatos, my Patroclus,” he whispers again, and his lips meet his cheek, the conch of his ear, the pride of his brow, and finally his mouth. He tastes of the ambrosia that Zagreus has pressed into his hands, of figs so ripe the juice runs down his fingers, of his greatest dream and greatest regret, and of him. He who stood by him, and challenged him, and cherished him until his dying breath. His Patroclus, the best of the Myrmidons and of all people.

“Achilles,” his beloved pulls away to breathe in his ear, and he is made whole once again.

58 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#2

There have been a lot of arguments over the years about why we never find out Goncharov’s first name - the loss of his identity beyond Goncharov the hardened killer, etc - but in the last part of the film, when Katya leans in and whispers in his ear just as he’s dying at her feet, she must be saying his name.

In Russian, to address someone by their last name is very formal and even reinforces a hierarchy, like a professor addressing their students, symbolic of Katya being the authority, the mind and the drive behind their operation. Moreover, for most of the film, Katya and Goncharov’s attention is focused elsewhere than on the intimacy that they so clearly share, on the operation in which they are more like colleagues, and on Sofia and Andrey, but in death, Katya truly sees him as he is: the man she grew up with, her sweet Kolya or Seryezha or Valya.

And it’s not for us to know or see him in that way. We only get a glimpse. It’s emblematic of the one of the film’s themes: how utterly terrifying, difficult it is to be known, and loved anyway.

131 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

272 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[navy-enperrials]

Oc blog YAAA

Haaii!! so uh. oc blog. This is Navy, my oc. Let me explain some stuff!

Navy is N-Pacer’s (only slightly) younger brother. He was on team monarch before Prince. And when Prince joined he left to go to art school, of course staying in contact with the others.

Some info!!

Mains the undercover brella (yeesh)

Goes by he/him but won’t mind if you call him something else

Doesn’t understand how N-Pacer likes black tea. thinks it’s too bitter

May be a bit gay for Jr and Emp

Used to help Prince with homework

Asks I will and won’t accept

red: won’t green: will

Overly gory or violent asks

Nsfw asks (Navy is an adult but I am a minor)

Anything weird about him and Pacer

Weird Emperor simps

Ship asks (mainly with emp or jr but if anons get a bit 🏳️‍🌈 that’s fine too lmao)

General questions

Questions about other characters

Oc interactions

Magic anons

thas all have fun!!!

[heavenparkau1]

.....???: Good Day, ladies and gentlemen.

???: I would like to welcome all of you to this new blog.

???: As for me..The prince of Heaven. Prince philip but you may call me prince pip instead if you'll like!

Philip: And don't worry if you do anything wrong in this kingdom..it can always be an accident and you will be forgiven..

Philip: But there are still some few rules that must be followed to enter Heaven..as for tha-

...: Your majesty? My deepest apologies for coming in without knocking.. but I heard you talking to someone?

Philip: AHH-! P-pocket?

Pocket: Ohh! I'm very sorry for scaring you prince philip. But I was just a little worried if that is.

Philip: There's no need to apologise, my dearest friend.. but please make sure to knock next time, okay?

Pocket: Of course, your majesty!

Pocket: but may I ask, qere you talking to someone?

Pip: well, I was actually doing a small blog friend.

Pocket: Ah! A blog I see, could you explain me what exactly is a blog your majesty?

Philip: A blog is where you can show your experiences and maybe do other things as well..that's all I heard about it.

Philip: but I was willing to do a one thing. Maybe you want to be apart of this blog with me? If you wish of course.

Pocket: I wouldn't mind at all your majesty!

Philip: That's brilliant pocket! And the thing I was willing to do is do this thing called a QnA? It's where others can ask questions and we answer them! What would you say about that?

Pocket: well it does sound very interesting..I will gladly answer any questions if needed.

Philip: Thank you, my dear friend. Let's show everyone our experiences in heaven and the kingdom!

[chanelfunnell]

what i know, anon, from public wisdom is a fling of Meghan Markle with Dell Zotto. She was 30 and he was 23. I'd take it as good fitness session and a boost of self confidence. I don't bother about something outside of NHL and ice hockey topic. I think she has made herself a total unkempt home fool in her badly staged whining reality trashy series and had exposed her huge ego, delusion all gained by her 3rd husband and her real non photoshopped face and huge nose that she edits. So she has hurt only herself if she ordered to film Marketa in her privacy and I believe so based on Markle's hoke videos. Her little helper UK fashion editor is mad with her horrible fashion clash for crash with belly. There are serious criminal charges for it to film anybody dressing up in own privacy and distribute it.

Markle will be found as a sex pervert in proximity of her famous neighbours in any home search. I'd finish it here. It is not for my blog and a topic. I think all these ruling Windsors Mountbattens and their add ons are weird bunch of lazy posers.media seekers., Manipulation, victim players, corrupted idiots and fools taken for rides with charlatans. Car presenter rattled the cage with something what old mistress told him about Markle and naker body being paraded through the streets. Markle is nasty manipulator hold digga but it's about treatment of the women. Does it come from Camilla as old mistress trying to set up Marketa for a trap with her darling climber equarry with similar name Jonathan who can't keep to stay outside of the press? He has hired social media and buzzes to UK press and had JT. Lol. I don't go into their melee. I think old mistress can't get out of mags covers and cheap publicity but lacks any charity work. She is full of intrigue like Markle and she did it for Diana but they are all lazy, weird odd bunch of stupid tone deaf old farts naming themselves as generals or below average looking women gold diggas ruling to those weak men. We have two mad old farts trying to be our presidents again but i am glad to be USA with government full of experts in their fields than corrupted bunch of PR executives and a tour operator who has damaged their health and financial and police.,army system. They all sold to contractors and run cocaine parties bigger than Hunter. Markle is just plain US citizen Markle for me and us and no favour made to see her and her Prince whinge in the dishevelled look and different face than button nose on edited photos with heavy make up. We know she was unknown prior of her big trophy and athletes are smarter because they are natural hunters chasing the most prized trophy and medal but not other way round lol. The main ruling bunch are a bunch of weirdos, trashy like Meghan and so desperate to appear next to celebs and stars from. Oston to that London party that they are at the same trashy yet lazy let them eat cake level. Nothing to do with ice hockey. Sure Prince Harry copied Andrew Shaw's Spiderman's costume and he looks like an idiot so he copied her stay at UK aircraft carrier in NYC for his spying at our carrier in Hawaii but there is zero with ice hockey. So out of topic. Markle was not Wag and she is not a journo In this sport. Any bad things by MM have to be issued by M bLW and her team, UK has demanded tha that Sussexes are without any titles. If the king does it listen to his country he will face his own music as we are different country bit both use precedents in law and there was Edward vIII and there are human rights and rights of UK taxpayers . I don't pay them and I don't care. They are losers attracting losers thinking they are cover stars and above the law and us.rkld

Markle sponged $50 millions plus from UK tax payers money and she spat on them. Her children showed for monetary reasons in cheaply made dicy series with unkempt d list show girl. Aged Camilla poses with celebs and for mags bythe storm but lacks anything from brain cells of a gambler with messy life Evander Kane who is actually with claim to fame and hot look on his own, also smart PR to run hands on charity and his own biz..old Camilla thinks that she dishonours a young brainy beauty stating out of the press with certain Thompson or her nonsense like with Diana. M is calm and Meghan M perhaps to similar treatment like Kane's ex-wife after her multiple admission about suicide so Californian law triggered because Markle admitted she is unstable and a treat to her own life. I would stay away. They are a mix of Delusion bunch mixed with drugs apparently smuggled in party paraphernalia import by Kate Middleton's mother and an uncle from Netherlands, monitored over a year...I am glad I don't pay this check circus of not good lookers and no way Netflix cancelling good series for broadcasting this badly made home tapes of dishevelled deluded devils.

B) I plan numerous posts one about brown shoes of Tazer, female journos and wags but I am busy and lazy now. Also Blackhawks play terribly.

[angel-dust-addict]

Finally got everybody playin' along wit' tha blogs. Means I finally got a way ta keep track's everybody. At least, a few of us, anyway. Me, Cherri, Al, Husky, the new kid - Cypher or somethin' - and Prince Stolas, his boytoy Blitzø, an' his most unfortunate employee Moxxie. Dunno if everybody'll stick wit' it, but here's hopin'. If nothin' else, it'll be nice ta have somethin' on my feed on here that ain't dick pics an' porn. 'S what I get fa' followin' people from work, I guess, but I only got on here 'cause'a work. Vox an' Velvet an' their whole song an' dance about how we need ta raise our social media presence or whateva'. Like I care. Anyway, probably oughta wrap it up before I write somethin' Vox'll come afta' me for. Lookin' forward ta havin' some actually decent shit in my feed.

[moonreadingjournal]

Hello!!

I've been away from this blog for a while. I have still been reading. I need to double check what I last posted in this blog to know what I should write about.

But first I will like to share some books I recently bought, I love them all and I am almost done with one of them.

I will post some pictures but also the summary in the back of the books for all to know. Well workout further ado. (Pardon the pictures my iPhone broke and I am using my old blackberry in the meantime)

First we have Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I love queer books but as of right now I've only read with Gay characters. I especially like the enemies to lovers trope. I will confess too that one trope I particularly enjoy more is an enemies to lovers but one-sided enemies. When only one of them thinks they are rivals. That is not the case in this situation (I don’t think so). I'll put the summary because I suck at that:

"When his mother became president of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius - his image is pure millennial marketing gold of the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with an actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex/Henry altercation, U.S/British relations take a turn for the worse.

Heads of family and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?"

The second book I will be showcasing is Paris Daillencourt is about to crumble by Alexis Hall. I have to say I absolutely love this author, I still have to read A Lady for a Duke and Something Fabulous but the other two books I’ve read of his were amazing, the sequel to Boyfriend Material is definitely one of my top books for this year. There is something about Paris that completely screams Lucien (one of the main characters of the Boyfriend Material trilogy) but it is that they both kind of reek of lovable disasters. This is definitely the next book I will read after I am done with Red, White and Royal Blue. I will attach the summary:

“Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home.

Bur not only does he win week one’s challenge--he meets fellow contestant Tariq Hassan. Sure, he’s the competition, but he’s also cute and kind, with more confidence than Paris could ever hope to have. Still, neither his growing romance with Tariq nor his own impressive bakes can keep Paris’s fear of failure from spoiling his happiness. And when the show’s vicious fanbase confirms his worst anxieties, Paris’s confidence is torn apart quicker than tear-and-share bread.

But if Paris can find the strength to face his past, his future, and the chorus of hecklers that live in his brain, he’ll realize it’s the sweet things in life that he really deserves.”

I find this book so cute, it reminds me to Boyfriend and Husband Material, the way that Lucien and Oliver both have trauma and suffer a lot from sever self-deprecation, I love how both of them overcome everything and start to heal and find comfort in each other. I loved it, it made me have a nice, warm feeling inside and I think that this book will be along that same line. I cannot wait.

Speaking of nice, warm feelings, Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren. This cover gives me a nice, warm feeling. It feels like a feel good kind of romance (at least that is the first impression I get). I saw this book where I work at last year but we only got 4 books at that time and then they were gone. They never came back and they were sold out online too. It wasn’t until recently that we got them back and I was able to get one copy. I will add the summary: 

“Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her weeding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away. But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos--the first and only love of her life--the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world--growing from her gangly, bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating time lines between then and now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more--spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside San Francisco devouring books, sharing favourite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, Elliot will come to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.”

My third book is By a Thread by Lucy Score. This book reminds me a little bit to Me Before You by Jojo Moyes but less traumatizing. It is another Enemies to Lovers...I believe. But honestly the guy seems like a tsundere in denial to me and the girl a bit, I don’t know the word, not very girly but I can be wrong. Or maybe they are both tsunderes, like Kabakura-senpai and Hana-chan from Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. To be honest I grabbed it because I feel like there will be a lot of bickering, and I like that a lot too. I will attach the summary:

“DOMINIC

I got her fired. Okay, so I’d had a bad day and took it out on a bystander in a pizza shop. But there’s nothing demure about Ally Morales. She proves that on the first day of her new job, which just happens to be in my office...and I can’t fire her, because it’s my mother, the CEO, who hired her.

So maybe her colorful, annoying, inexplicably alluring personality brightens up the magazine’s offices that have felt like a prison for the past year. Maybe I like that she argues with me in front of the editorial staff. And maybe my after-hours fantasies are haunted by those brown eyes and that sharp tongue.

She’s working herself to death at half a dozen dead-end jobs for some secret reason she doesn’t feel like sharing with me. And I’m going to fix it all. Don’t accuse me of caring. She’s nothing more than a puzzle to be solved. If I can get her to quit working here, I can finally peel away all those layers. Then I can forget all about the dancing, beer-slinging brunette.

ALLY

Ha. Hold my beer, Charming”

She so calls him Prince Charming ironically.

I am pretty sure that I have already said this before but I am a sucker for beautiful covers. I saw this cover and wanted it the moment I saw it. Then I read the summary and wanted it so much more. It feels like the type of book that will break my heart while reading but hopefully will be worthwhile (one or both of the characters better not freaking die or I will never read again). 

“WAIT FOR ME...

Farleigh is just an orphanage. At least, that’s what the church would have the people believe, but beautiful orphans Nox and fae-touched Amaris know better. They are commodities for sale, available for purchase by the highest bidder. So when the madame of a notorious brothel in a far-off city offers a king’s ransom to purchase Amaris, Nox ends up taking her place, while Amaris is drawn away to the mountains, home of mysterious assassins. 

Even as they take up new lives and identities, Nox and Amaris never forget one thing: they will stop at nothing to reunite. But the threat of war looms overhead, and the two are inevitably swept into a conflict between human and fae, magic and mundane. With strange new alliances, untested powers, and a bond that neither time nor distance could possibly break, the fate of the realms lies in the hands of two orphans--and the love they hold for each other.”

This kind of story reminds me of The Lonely Hearts Hotel... but with a good, happy ending.

I totally wrote down the summaries of 5 books but I really don’t care, I am bad at summarizing and reviewing books, even when I try. Though, it will be nice if someone sees this post and decides to buy any of the books that I put. 

I have a book on the mail coming later this month actually, it is Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan. It is the sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess, when I get it and read it they will definitely go in my top books of the year. I did put that I will read the Alexis Hall book after Red, White and Royal Blue. But when I get that  I will more than likely leave it. 

I will check what I have posted before and then put on here stuff that I have read between posts. Hope you like it.

[mishmosh-chaos]

Dance With The Dragon || Daemon Targaryen x Fem!Reader Oneshot ||

A/N: Hi! You don't know me, but that doesn't matter 😄 What matters is I got hooked on HotD and that crazy-but-kinda-adorable-because-of-it Daemon Targaryen madman and I couldn't focus on any of my other WIP's (yes, I write with my main blog, too) until I got this out of my head 😅 Sorry if this sucks big time, but oh well, here it is anyway!

(English is not my main language, so please don't mind any mistake you might stumble upon!)

Your head began to pound as yet another loud cheer pierce your ears, and the air reeked with the mixture of sweat, blood and horse manure, only intensifying that pounding. You despised being here, dragged by your father to another tournament for gods only know what reason it was organized. You certainly didn't bother to remember.

You damn well knew why your father always insisted to drag you and your sisters to this events, even if he never openly said it. He so much hoped that any of you would catcht the eye of some high Lord or a like as a potential for marriage. And you, as being the oldest of the three, were his highest hope for it, which only made you hate these events more.

Not being ablet to stand the noise and the smell any longer, you stand up and hasty start to leave, not paying the slightest attention to the scornful stare from your father following your every step. You just had to get away from here and all this commotion.

The more you advanced away from the tournament it was easier to breath, but you didn't stop, you kept going until you were absolutely sure that not even the slightest sound of the crowd was reaching you any longer.

Slowing down, you become aware of your surroundings and notice a stone bench a few steps away, sittuated in the shade of a tall tree. Walking to it, you sit down closing your eyes, and take a deep breath.

You knew that you can't stay her for very long, but right in this moment, no matter how short it might be, you appreciated this blissful silence around you, with nothing but gentle whistle of wind occasionaly caressing your skin.

Not even a minute later that same gentle wind carry a strong male voice your way disturbing your peace „Are you lost, my Lady?“

„Do I look lost?“ you hiss back keeping your eyes closed, hoping that who ever it was would recognize the annoyance in your voice and just leave you be.

„Are you always this impolite when someone offers help?“ he speaks again, your frustration skyrocketing realizing that this person wasn't about to leave any time soon.

„And are you always this pestering and can't understand when someone wishes to be left alone!?“ you almost yell standing up and furiously turning around, only to get your breath caught as you instantly recognize the man standing in front of you.

No other than Daemon Targaryen turned out to be the person you just raised your voice at. You've been dying for a chance to even speak to him, praying to every god known to you for him to show up at any of these boring tournaments since the first one you got dragged to. He was your silent suffering, the star of your wildest dreams, and now when your prayers have finally been answered, you end up yelling in frustration at him. How wonderful.

„I've been called many things,“ he starts to speak, his violet eyes curiously observing you „but pestering... I believe it hasn't happened till now.“

„There's first time for everything.“ you blurt out in response, instantly cursing inside for being unable to control that damn tougue of yours. And if you continue like this, you will be lucky if you leave this place alive.

To your surprise, Daemon laughs amused „You are absolutely right, can't argue there.“

Interesting you think to yourself, maybe you haven't messed up completely yet and there is still a chance to come out of this with some kind of success.

„I'm glad the Prince agrees, even though my words might of sounded a bit harsh.“ you say humbly and lower your gaze hoping to sooth the previous damage even more by doing so.

„The truth usually is harsh. But that's no reason not to say it.“ Slowly rising your head, you meet his firm gaze and he adds with a sneer smirk „Mostly.“

Unable to control yourself, again, you snort averting your look „Everyone deserve a dose of harsh truth sometimes, no matter the rank of heritage they might belong to.“

Oh for the love of it, that damn tongue of yours has really over did it this time. If there was any chance before to salvage this, it was absolutely and unquestionably ruined now.

Taking a deep breath, you boldly look back at him, ready to suffer whatever consequences for your words.  But once again, you get utmost surprised seeing his face.

There was no trace of anger or anything negative on it, not at all. Instead, his violet eyes darkened, and he was staring at you with admiration and unhindered desire in them.

„Interesting thought, Lady...“

„I- Y/N, my Prince.“ It took you a moment to find your voice, being hyptnotized by his intense stare.

„Lady Y/N.“ he smiles and bows his head in curteous nod. „And I would love to stay and hear more about it, but duty calls so, unfortunately, I must bid you farewell.“

„But ofcourse, my Prince, do not let me keep you away from more important things.“ you return the bow, barely managing to hide the sorrow out of your voice knowing your time with him has come to an end so suddenly.

„Just one more thing before I leave.“

„My Prince?“ you question back intrigued.

„I assume you are here for the tournament, am I right?“

„That is correct.“ you reply short.

„So why are you hiding here then?“ he inquires curiously.

„To be honest, my Prince, I got bored and just needed a change of scenery.“

„Ah, what a shame to hear this,“ he begins sounding dissapointed „as I was about to participate in the tournament myself, and the presence of your beauty there would be much...encouraging. “

You couldn't believe your ears! Was this really happening? Was the rogue Prince really sweet talking and thought of you as worthy and interesting enough to try and win you over? Not that you needed much of his sweet talk, you were alraedy screaming internally just from this unexpected encounter of yours.

„Oh, You are?“ you decide to play along without hesitation „Well that changes everything then.“

„It does?“

„Ofcourse it does, my Prince.“

„And how so, Lady Y/N?“ he asks genuinely interested.

You smile mischievously „The Dragon is about to enter the game, and I wouldn't want to miss that for the world.“

„In that case, you should better hurry back so you don't miss the whole show.“

By they way that he spoke and stared at you, there was no longer any doubt that he was interested in you. A lot.

„Indeed I should.“ you say, but not wanting to miss this opportunity to strenghten your chances, you speak again „But, before I leave, If it's not to bold of me, may I ask a favore from my Prince?“

„A favore?“ he repeats, and you could clearly notice curiosity in his voice.

„Oh, don't worry, it's nothing much.“ you say with a shy smile „It's just – I hope you will honor me with the promise to save a victory dance for me at the celebration later.“

„And what makes you so sure I will be victorious?“ he speak back with a laugh.

„How could I not be sure? After all, who could be more successful than the Dragon himself.“

You watch amused as his eyes sparkle, turning his intense stare to a lustful one „Be careful what you desire for, Lady Y/N. Haven't anyone warn you not to tease the dragon? They are known to be...unpredictable. And they tend to bite.“

„Oh,I'm well aware of it, my Prince.“ you say using your most charming voice and slowly begin to walk. Briefly pausing your steps beside him, your turn and lean your head slightly towards him, smile and add enticingly „In fact, I'm counting on it.“

You walk away then with satisfied smirk on your face, leaving entranced Daemon behind, feeling his hungry lustful stare following you. You might not be sure where this will lead to or how it might end, but you were absolutely certain in one thing: tonight, you will be dancing with the dragon - literally and figuratively.

[random-mha-thoughts]

Bad Boy (Todoroki x Reader)

Pairing: Todoroki x Reader

Genre: Angst to fluff, and a lil spice ;), No quirk!AU

Summary: You finally get to see your childhood friend Shouto after years of being separated only to find out he’s completely changed.

BGM: “Younger” by Ruel

Word count: 2,781

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog​ @bunnythepipsqueak​

a/n: God this photo fucked me up good when I first saw it.

I saw this picture on my search for images for my last Todo post aaaaand yeah, pretty self explanatory. I got to thinking, what if this poor baby finally snapped one day and was like "FUCK ENDEAVOR AND HIS ENTIRE PROGRAM, IM NOBODY'S MASTERPIECE" and he went the complete opposite direction. So enjoy a little bit of OOC Todoroki and a bit of a longer post than my usual stuff!

I’m really really sorry about not updating in the past few days.  I was really swamped by college work and studying, and I was mentally exhausted and physically tired every day.  Today wasn’t my day and I almost had a breakdown because a lot of things piled up in me, but I had to pull myself together somehow.  Hopefully, after this week, I’ll go back to a somewhat regular posting schedule.  Thanks for being patient with me guys, I really appreciate it :)

When my mom told me Shouto will be going to the same high school as me, I was expecting the same buttoned-up, shy, good boy from elementary school.  Oh boy, was I wrong.

The boy I bump into in the hallway definitely looks like Shouto, but the only thing that's the same is his mismatched hair and eyes.  Everything else about him was much different.  His entire energy was different, even from the fraction of a second I focused on his face.

"Shouto?" I call when he's about to brush past me.

I don't think he's expecting someone to know him on the first day, pausing and looking down curiously.

The most shocking feature of all is the scar on his left side, a red blotch that covers the left side of his face, starkly contrasting his brilliant turquoise eye; a single ray of light in a scarlet sky.

As I'm gaping at the puckered skin, his eyebrows furrowing at my face as recognition slowly dawns on him.  "(Y/n)?"

I'm relieved that he at least remembers me.  "Yeah, hey."  I don't really know what to do now.  My first instinct is to hug him, but something tells me he isn't a fan of that sort of thing anymore.  There's a coldness between us that's thick as a knife.  "How have you been?"

"Fine," he answers curtly.  His hands are stuffed into his pockets, leaning back in a way that seems uncharacteristic of him and more like a ruffian.

Does his not want to talk to me?  I don't blame him, I haven't been in his life for a good eight years.  "How are your parents?"

His jaw clenches.  "Fine."

Oh.  I struck a nerve.  "Do you wanna catch up at lunch?  What class are you in?"

"1-A."  Overjoyed that we share the same class, I'm about to open my mouth, but he interjects, "But I don't think we should talk."  That was the last thing he said before he strolls past me.

I'm stunned, following his receding back through the sea of students.  I guess I shouldn't have brought up his parents when I know it's a sensitive topic, but I didn't know what else to say.  And it's probably awkward to see someone you used to be close to talk to you again, but the least he could've been is polite.  That's saying something, because Shouto was always the polite child.

Something is terribly wrong here.

Shouto has definitely changed since we were younger.  He's become a delinquent.

He never even shows up to class.  After our little encounter, he was slumped in his seat until the teacher finished role call, then he just got up and walked out in the middle of class and never came back.  In all the days after that, his seat remained empty even at the beginning of the day.

At first, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  What if he happened to get sick and had to stay home?  Then I saw his signature mismatched tuft of hair walking back home in the school yard, and I knew he was skipping.

After a whole two weeks passed of him skipping, I had enough.  The Shouto I know would never cut class even if his life depended on it.  During lunch, I went looking for him in the group of other delinquent kids in the back of the school.

"Todoroki?" the ash-blond ringleader ruffles his hair and scoffs, "Idiot must be off somewhere by himself like the damn loner he is.  He picked a fight with me and I almost beat his ass into oblivion!"

I ball my fists up, more angry at Shouto than the group of boys eyeing me like a pack of wolves.  "You guys are useless," I mumble, about to turn away from them.

"Aww, is he your boyfriend, sweetie?" the honey blond with a black streak in his hair smoothly wraps an arm around me.  "He probably doesn't care about you, you deserve someone else who'll give you his time."

"Fuck off, who said you can touch me?"  I shove his arm away and step back.

"Calm down there," the red head with sharp teeth taunts with a smirk, "You're getting a bit defensive.  You sure you don't need help looking for your little prince?"

"I'm fine on my own, thanks," I huff, turning around to go look for Shouto elsewhere.

"Maybe I'll come with you," the overly-friendly boy blocks my way again.  "If he's not your boyfriend, maybe we can get together sometime?"

"Not interested.  Out of my way, Pikachu reject."  I try to side-step him, but the leader grabs the back of my collar and whips me around so I'm face to face with his bared teeth.

"You're a bit rude, aren't you?  Should I pull your head out your ass for you?"  His crimson eyes glare his murderous intent into me.

I hold my ground, the anger against my irresponsible friend more powerful than any fear of this hothead possibly hurting me.  "Don't act so tough if your talk is cheap."

He cracks his knuckles without breaking eye contact with me.  "I'll show you cheap talk.  Try waking up next week after I'm done with you!" he snarls.

I mirror his expression.  I don't mind throwing hands at this guy if I have to, blood rushing through me to prepare for the fist fight.  "I dare you-!"

"Enough, (Y/n)."

I can feel his presence right behind me even though he doesn't physically touch me.

Scarlet eyes shift behind me.  "Took you long enough, hot shot.  Your friend has just as much spunk as you, I'll kick both your asses!"

"I'd like to see you try, Bakugou," Shouto responds coldly.  "We both know who'd win."  Keeping his gaze locked on the aggressive male, he harshly grabs my arm and hauls me away.  "Let's go."

I'm fuming with anger when we're back inside the building.  I turn on him when he finally releases me, but he's already starting down the hall.  "Don't walk away from me!  We need to talk!"  I stomp over, following him to an abandoned classroom.  "What the hell is wrong with you?!  First of all, you were a real ass when I talked to you last week.  Second of all, you're not even coming to class like you should.  And now you're already picking fights with that idiot out there?  What's gotten into you Shouto?!"

"You were about to get into a fight as well.  You should thank me," he comments coldly, slipping into a desk with books open on top.

"I could've handled it just fine without you!  The only reason I was even there talking to them was because I was looking for you!"  I hover over him, glaring down so he can tell how angry I am.  "You'e skipped class all week, this isn't like you at all!  How are you supposed to catch-?"

One glance down the the open books shows all the material we've been going over in class.  He's already caught up to today's lesson, writing notes in his book and ignoring my presence.  The entire setup makes me angrier.  "I don't understand you, Shouto.  What kind of act are you trying to pull?  You're not a delinquent, why are you trying to act like one for everyone else?   Or is this all because you're just trying to ignore me?"

His pencil stops moving and it slams down onto the desk.  "A lot happened since you left, (Y/n)," the boy responds.  His quivering voice indicates restriction of intense emotion.

The hurt is apparent across his entire face, calming me down.  My gaze lingers on the left side of his features, over the eye that somehow looks perpetually sad.  "How did you get that scar, Shouto?"

The boy's eyebrows furrow.  "My father never let up on me after you left, and he got worse.  My mother couldn't handle fighting him on her own anymore.  One day, she snapped, told me how unsightly my left side was, and pouring boiling water over my face."  His large hand gingerly covers his reddened skin.  "And my bastard father put her in a mental institution after that.  He did this."

My heart aches for my childhood friend, the boy I took care of and listened to all his problems.  I can't imagine how much pain Rei was going through.  For her to have lost it, she must've held such a heavy burden.  When I had to move away, I felt so guilty about leaving him with all his troubles.  He had no one else to reach out to and it was snatched from him.  There wasn't a day I stopped thinking and worrying over him.  I reach to take his hand and offer comfort.  "Shou-"

Shouto bolts up from his seat, his taller figure hunching over mine, features screwed up in distaste.  "You weren't there when I needed you most."

I'm taken back, hurt more than anything.  "It's not my fault, we were so much younger, I didn't have a choice but to go with my parents."

A dark chuckle erupts from his lips, dismissing my excuses.  "It's fine.  It happened, I've learned to deal with it."

I'm about to blow my top with this kid.  "Yeah, you've dealt really well, haven't you?" I roll my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

My mouth gapes, letting out a sputtered scoff.  "You're kidding.  Just look at you!  You're pretending to be someone you're not!  You and I both know you were never the bad boy type when we were kids.  You're the slightly awkward, naturally smart, driven, hardworking-"

"I was only those things because my father forced them on me," he passes by me, crossing his arms.  "I don't want to be anything that bastard wants anymore.  And if you can't see that, then we were never friends in the first place."

That's a stab in the chest.  How can he say that we were never friends when we used to do everything together?  A surge of fury rushing through me, I grab his arm to keep him from moving any farther.  "You love watching superhero cartoons, your favorite was All Might.  Sometimes, you're so damn lazy that instead of doing homework when you came home, you would sneak in a nap before your dad came home to see you slacking off.  Your favorite food in the entire world is cold soba.  You don't like extremely sweet desserts.  You've always been insecure about how strange your mismatched hair and eyes look, but I always had to assure you that you're still the most handsome guy in our class."

Shouto halfway turns around to look at me.

"If we weren't friends, why do I know so much about you?"  I take another bold step towards him, softening at the underlying pain etched into his features.  "I know you always hated the way your dad expects so much from you.  The only thing you ever wanted in your childhood was to be normal.  The pressure finally crumbled down on you and your mom, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you through it.  But you shouldn't abandon everything that you are.  You took after your mom more than your dad; you're sometimes a sassy son of a bitch, but you're kind and have a deep respect for people you admire.  You have a natural sense of humor that you don't even know you have.  You care about the people you're close to, you only struggle with communicating how you feel sometimes."

His lips part slightly, processing everything I just showered onto him.  Guilt eventually creeps up on him, choosing to rub the back of his neck.  "You...always did know just what to say."

I smirk and engulf him into my long-awaited hug.  "Who else would put you back in your place?"

His arms hesitantly wrap around my body, the act of sharing body warmth strange yet familiar to him.  It's a small victory, but I'm relieved that we're back on speaking terms.  I'm ready to resume protecting him as I should.

Shouto shifts in our embrace.  "You said...I struggle with telling people how I feel...?" he mumbles sheepishly near my ear.

My boy perks with confusion.  "Yeah, even when we first-"

"Would it suffice if..."

Before I can turn to search his face for what he could be implying, his grip around me loosens as he pulls back to look at me, one of his warm hands resting against my cheek.  His face looms right in front of me, my breath catching in surprise, before he presses his lips to mine softly.  The weightlessness in my stomach is unmistakable.

As quick and unexpected as it came, it also left, Shouto's half lidded gaze resting on me from a small distance away.  All I can do is stare off dazed, still trying to process what just happened.

He leans back against the nearest desk in the front row.  "I guess I should've asked first."  I can see his cheeks and his ears turn almost as flushed as the color of his hair despite his hand covering half his face to hide it.  "But it was the only way I can think to get my point across without stumbling over words."

My heart still flutters trying to recover back to normal, my knees shaking as I lean against the teacher's desk for stability.  I resist the urge to touch my lips like a shocked schoolgirl, but I'm still trying to process the whole thing.  "You know," I cough, "We did already kiss when we were like...five, so this wasn't really our first.  But I don't usually count that-"

The intense color fades from his face almost at once, a darkness creeping into his gaze.  "Then," he pins me back into the desk, hands on both sides of the wood to trap me, "I shouldn't have any qualms about doing it again."

Contrasting from his strong setup, his next kiss is still shy and hesitant.  After exchanging a couple more tentative lip-caresses that still make my head spin, he's gotten his feet wet enough to go harder, establishing a rhythm between us.  As his kisses intensify, his hands reach up to cup both sides of my nape, fingers tangling in my hair desperately and tilting my head up for a better angle.  My own hands grasp the collar of his uniform, pulling him closer into the heat of the moment.

His body pushes me practically into sitting on top of the desk, moving one of his knees between my legs as he lets ones of his hands roam down to grip my waist.  The sudden tug elicits a minute gasp, allowing Shouto to nip at my bottom lip before tugging my head back to trail soft kisses down my jaw.  My fingers thread through his soft locks, letting him massage my neck with his mouth.

"W-Where did you learn all this?" I breathe out unsteadily, my breath refusing to return.

He straightens up and captures my lips in another slow kiss.  "You'll never know."  Another one.  "I've admittedly imagined this for a while."  The next kiss is much deeper, a hum vibrating from his chest as his fingers dig into my side again.  "You're special, so dear."  His mumbles between kisses become more incoherent as his kisses become messy.

"Shouto."  I finally manage to push him away for me to breathe and calm my dizzy head.  Both of us are panting.  His half-lidded eyes and flushed face tempt me, but the fear of someone walking by suddenly alerts in my mind.  "Someone might see us.  Besides, isn't there something you need to say?"

His brow lifts.  "I'm...sorry for being rude to you last week."

"That was needed, too," I chuckle, "But there's something else."

Confusion crosses his features.  "Have I done something else wrong?"

My hands slide down to grip his hands.  "Don't you need to ask me to date you officially?"

The tint of rose on his cheeks intensifies a shade.  "I thought it was clear already..."

Another chuckle bubbles from my lips and I lean up to kiss his warm cheek.  "I'll let it pass because I want to date you too."  His face begins to light up in joy, but I push off from the desk and tow him out of the room.  "But you have to start coming to class again."

Shouto catches up to keep pace with me and presses a kiss to my forehead.  "Done."

"And you need to see a therapist, Mr. Bad Boy."

He breaks out into a smile at that nickname.  "I'll think about it."