#their names are hyphenated and are more. titles

[secondsonaym]

Not sure how relevant to the AU they'd be but. i caved and gave the sin crowns original bearers.

[gloomwitchwrites]

(I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but here goes nothing)

For Imagines and What Ifs, how do you think the 141 men would react to you wanting to keep your last name after you got married?

Would be they be chill about having separate names? Would they be hurt that you don't want their last name? Would they suggest a hyphenated last name as a compromise? Or (my personal fave) would they change their last name instead?

Greetings, anon! You absolutely submitted a request correctly! I adore this idea. I love thinking about any of these men as married men and what they're like in that regard. I can easily see this prompt having angst and fluff. What I would like to do is answer the last half of the prompt. Those are four distinct questions, and four distinct ideas, and I think each of them matches to one of the 141 guys in turn. That is how I would like to tackle this request (if you don't mind).

I'm sure my selections might not match up with everyone's opinion but that's why fanfiction is so wonderful. We can all have different ideas and HCs and they are all valid in their own way.

Enjoy!! I had so much fun with this one!! Presented in four drabbles.

For the masterlist and how to submit your own request, click HERE

Task Force 141 x Reader

Content & Warnings: established relationship, fluff, light angst, married life

Word Count: 400

ao3 // taglist // main masterlist // imagines & what if masterlist

John "Soap" MacTavish

“You don’t want to take my last name?” He sounds hurt, and that breaks your heart.

“It’s not personal, Johnny. I’ve earned my title.”

“I know,” he says softly. “You worked hard. But—” Johnny sighs and rubs his chin. He glances away, clearly growing agitated.

“I love you,” you murmur, kissing his cheek.

Johnny melts a bit, kissing you back. “I’d like to call you Mrs. MacTavish.”

“And you can,” you reply softly. “Sometimes.”

“Like when?”

You need to turn his mood around. Leaning in, you playfully nip at his bottom lip. “When we’re alone. In the bedroom.”

Johnny grins.

John Price

“We need to talk about this, John. I feel like you’re avoiding the conversation.”

John’s tea mug pauses just before reaching his lips. “Avoiding what conversation?”

“About me keeping my last name,” you reply, crossing your arms

John sighs and places the mug on the counter. “You can do what you want.”

“Does it not upset you?” you ask cautiously.

“Not upset, love,” he says softly. “You’re a grown woman. I’ll respect what you want.”

You step up to him, one hand pressed to his waist. “Sure about that?”

John leans forward, stealing a kiss. “I’m more than sure, love.”

Simon "Ghost" Riley

“I don’t want to change my last name, Simon. It’s…special to me.”

Simon stands stoic and calm. He understands. Names are important. They carry memory. Sometimes good ones. Sometimes bad.

“That’s your choice,” replies Simon slowly.

“You’re not upset?”

“I’ll respect whatever you decide.”

Your sigh of relief is soft and calming. This has been a burden for you.

“What if I take your last name?”

You frown. “What?”

Simon repeats the question.

“You want that?”

“I do,” answers Simon firmly.

Names are important. Names carry memory.

Riley is Simon’s father's name. It would be a relief to shed it.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

“How do you feel about a compromise?” Kyle asks softly. “Instead of us keeping our last names.”

It’s a conversation the two of you have had repeatedly after saying “I do.” You want to keep your last name, and while Kyle respects it, you sense he’s not entirely happy about it.

“A compromise? What are you thinking?”

“Hyphenate them.”

“Really?” you laugh.

“Yeah,” he grins. “My name first or yours. Doesn’t matter. A bit of both of us.”

You rest your head against his shoulder. “I can see it.”

“Be the same for our kids.”

“I like it,” you reply.

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[userbru]

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[petermorwood]

Wow-Wow Sauce

For @redwineand12gaugeshells... :->

In fact that bottled sauce (and nervousnigels) no longer exists, and in any case its principal ingredients of (squints) horseradish and mustard are way off base.

Wow Wow sauce was meant to go with boiled beef, and since a major ingredient was the meat's broth *, it was more like a pan gravy made at the end of cooking, than something intended to go into / come out of a jar in the preserves cupboard.

* 1817 was well before stock / bouillon cubes, however "portable soup" was a Known Thing and could be a possible alternative. The recipe is specific about using fresh broth, but here's how to make portable soup, because You Never Know.

Real Wow Wow sauce had no hyphen, no sulphur, no saltpetre and definitely no grated wahoonie, though some "real" ingredients of the Discworld version - mangoes, figs, asafoetida, anchovy - suggest Terry was taking inspiration from labels in his own kitchen, such as those on HP Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce and Yorkshire Relish.

*****

Dr Kitchiner's "The Cook's Oracle" is available online from Gutenberg (the 1833 American adaptation) as well as a PDF of the 1822 UK Third edition from Internet Archive.

Here's his recipe - whose title, for extra interest, includes the original name for what became "Bully Beef":

The good doctor's "pickled cucumbers" would have been vinegared like cornichons or gherkins, not brined like dill pickles. In addition, pickled walnuts are easier to find than they used to be; even the Tesco supermarket chain carries them...

...as well as mushroom ketchup.

You'd probably still need to make the other herb vinegars and the shallot wine (based on dry sherry), but those are easy, just a matter of steeping the herbs in the liquid for a week or so then straining off and bottling the flavoured fluid.

Another useful ingredient for period cooking is anchovy sauce, which is less, er, emphatic than full-on anchovy essence. You could always scale up if you like the taste.

This also has the advantage of being a pleasant - if you like fishiness - sauce in its own right; try a teaspoonful in a tablespoonful of EV olive oil then tossed with hot pasta. Yum...!

This one's from the same company as the mushroom ketchup and the packing clearly emphasises their "period-ness" (is that a word?) The anchovy sauce is a bit harder to find, but well worth tracking down.

*****

Finally, here's a Youtube short of Wow Wow sauce being made and sampled. It looks entirely acceptable, like a cross between a thin chutney and a thick sauce, and would be, to use Dr Kitchiner's own word, "piquante".

As a side-note, that by-play with tinned corned beef was a bit pointless, since its texture and flavour are both utterly unlike beef that's been slowly, gently boiled (simmered, TBH) with halved onions, carrots, root veggies etc.

Use shin or silverside; the magic tenderiser for those cheap cuts is Time (or a pressure cooker) - though you can also add a sprig or two of Thyme if you want...

[coloursflyaway]

fic prompt if youre interested: charles is hanging out by himself and accidentally meets 2 other ghosts and finds out they got married in the afterlife and absolutely goes crazy over it bc hes like you can get married in the afterlife?? ghost weddings exist??? should *i* propose to edwin???? and he cannot stop thinking about it and one day he's just like "edwin, do you think we should get married?" and edwin is like charles wtf?

Hi! It took some time, but here's the fic ♥

Because My Heart And His Are The Same

Pairing: Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.000

Read on AO3

“Let's get married”, he tells Edwin, quickly crossing the distance between the mirror and the desk, and this gets a reaction at last, Edwin’s head whipping up to stare at him. “That’s what we have to do. I talked to the witness and her husband, and I’ll tell you about the case later, but they got married when they were dead, because the whole Til Death Do Us Part thing, that should work the other way around too, right? Like, if we are already dead and we get married, then there is nothing left to part us. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Charles and Edwin get married before they even know they are in love. (They find out twenty years later.)

“...and once we had met, it was almost like destiny. It took maybe a few weeks, but after that, we both knew that we were it for each other. Soulmates, I guess you could call it. Sometimes, I wonder if being dead just makes it easier to decide these things, like life falling away allows you to focus on the important things.”

Marian, the witness Charles set out to interview and got completely sidetracked by, looks over to the man next to her, and her eyes are so warm and so soft and so grateful that it does something to Charles’ head and chest that he isn’t sure he likes. Something is growing there, caught between happiness and jealousy and, mixed in between, the feeling he occasionally gets when he looks at Edwin.

For a fleeting, almost unnoticeable moment, he wishes Edwin was here, without knowing why. Apart from the fact, of course, that he usually wants Edwin there with him.

“And we ended up thinking how to go on from that, because I would like to move on at some point in the future, but I would never be able to leave Sebastian. It wouldn’t be Heaven without him there, if that is where I will be going, and it would be Hell for him. Seb’s always been a romantic, or so he tells me, and he came up with an idea that was so strange that we figured it might work.”

Another smile, another look, a nod from Sebastian, and the feeling in Charles’ chest pulses, presses against his ribs like it is trying to break free.

“You see”, Marian continues, “Til Death Do Us Part, when you promise that alive, that means you will be parted once you’ve died. So, Seb figured, if that is true, then Death might not be able to part us if we get married when we’re already dead. Of course, here’s no guarantee that it’ll work, but then again, it can’t hurt to try either. So, eight weeks after we met, we went to find a priest that could see ghosts and we got married.”

She reaches out to take her husband’s hand, but by now, Charles’ mind is reeling to the point where he barely notices it, where the smitten expression on her face can’t fan the emotions blooming in his chest any more. They’re still there, and might stay for a long time, but at the moment, they just don’t matter.

“And that’s the story how I ended up with such an overly-long, hyphenated name. I don’t mind it, though, I wear it with pride, since it’s ours, and-”

Marian is about to launch into another bit of their story, and usually, Charles would be glad to listen – he, just like Sebastian, is a romantic at heart, always has been – but he can’t, not now. Not when he might just have received the most important bit of information since he first listened to The Special’s self-titled album in 1987. A proper revelation, this might be.

Because it makes sense. If marriage is something that can only be broken by death, then getting married after you have died should make it unbreakable. Right?

“I have to go”, he blurts out, then adds, both to be polite and because he really, truly means it, “but thank you. Like, seriously. Thank you so much.”

“Edwin! Edwin, come here!”, Charles yells out even before he has fully come through the mirror, too excited to hold onto the words for a second longer, “We have to do something!”

There’s a moment of silence, which means that Edwin is absolutely not moving, like he should be, then, “Do what, Charles? You seem quite flustered. Did something happen with the witness?”

Edwin isn’t even looking up from where he is bent over the desk, studying an artefact or reading a book, obviously not understanding the seriousness of the situation at all. It should be exasperating, but Charles only feels fond, the affection blossoming in his chest enough to cut through the excitement.

“Get married”, he tells Edwin, quickly crossing the distance between the mirror and the desk, and this gets a reaction at last, Edwin’s head whipping up to stare at him. “That’s what we have to do. I talked to the witness and her husband, and I’ll tell you about the case later, but they got married when they were dead, because the whole Til Death Do Us Part thing, that should work the other way around too, right? Like, if we are already dead and we get married, then there is nothing left to part us. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Charles feels the idea buzzing through his body like he remembers caffeine doing when he was still alive, making him rock on his heels, fingers tangling and untangling, even if Edwin is still only staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open.

“...we can’t get married”, Edwin finally answers, slow and soft, like he is still piecing the words together, like he is still navigating his thoughts even as he is speaking them. “We are… both boys.”

Sometimes, he forgets how different Edwin’s time was; sometimes, he forgets that even as they have become part of a new era, one in which neither of them has ever lived, it usually takes Edwin longer to catch up with how things have changed.

“Get with the times, Edwin!”, Charles tells him, grinning, because for once, he is the brains, and he is the one who has done his research before coming here. “It’s 2006! We can go to the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain or South Africa. I’ll even let you choose. We could do a little honeymoon-like vacation after that, too! The only thing we have to do is find some kind of official there who can see ghosts, and voila! Married.”

It’s so easy, it’s such a great idea, Edwin just has to realise it. And he will, Charles is certain of it. After all, Edwin is brilliant.

“But-”, Edwin breathes out, and there is another moment of silence, one that somehow feels breathless, feels heavy with emotion that Charles cannot place; something momentous, terrifying, life-changing. “….you would want to marry me?”

“Of course.” It’s the easiest question in the world to answer, even if Edwin asks it like it should be impossible to do so; it’s Edwin, it’s an extra bit of hope for them to stay together, like they should, have to, will. “You’re my best mate. I don’t wanna leave you ever, so it makes sense, doesn’t it? Doesn’t have to be romantic, not to us. But if Death ever does catch us, we’ll be able to go, absolutely not, death can’t part us, it’s the thing that brought us together. Brills, right?”

And there is another pause, just as breathless, just as life-changing; Edwin drops his gaze, and when he answers, his voice is soft in a different, a hopeful way.

“Yes. You’re right. That would be brills, indeed.”

They’re on the rooftop, watching the sun rise, because the agency feels crowded with Niko and Crystal sleeping on the couch, and Edwin’s hand is in his, just where it belongs.

They haven’t had much time to themselves lately, so this feels like a treat, a few peaceful hours they have carved out to just be with each other, enjoy these strange, beautifully changed circumstances of their relationship. Because they are beautiful, Charles thinks as he strokes his thumb across Edwin’s knuckles; they are beautiful because being with Edwin always is, always has been, because they were meant to be friends for three decades and they are meant to be much more for the rest of their existence, because he loves Edwin the most of all, and always will.

“We should do this more often, coming up here”, Edwin says softly into the light of the morning sun, and his voice feels like a balm on every scratch on Charles’ soul. “It really is quite pretty. And I have always loved the sunrise.”

And I have always loved you, Charles wants to say, but doesn’t; he doesn’t have to, Edwin knows.

He’s right, too: the city is just waking up underneath them, dawn is painting the sky pink and peach, the clouds scattered across it like sea foam. It reminds Charles of South Africa, of watching the sunrise on the beach there, and…

“Oh, God”, Charles blurts out before he has had a second to think, half-laughing, and knows Edwin is looking at him with one perfect eyebrow raised without turning his head. “Oh God, I just realised something. Edwin. I kind of figured you were my boyfriend now, or something, but you’re not. I can’t believe I forgot about that. You’re my husband.”

And he’s laughing, because how do you forget about being married to the love of your afterlife? And yet, how do you not, when you’ve only fallen in love with him two decades after marrying him?

It takes Edwin a second, but then he joins Charles, hand tightening around his fingers, and there is something so precious about Edwin’s laughter, especially when it sounds like this, carefree and incredulous and happy, that Charles thinks he might be falling in love with him all over again.

“If it’s any consolation, Charles, I had forgotten about it, too”, Edwin tells him once their laughter has died down, a smile still on his plush lips; Charles almost kisses it off them. “Even if it was quite a beautiful wedding.”

“It was.” It had been warm and sunny and quick, just them and a lovely older woman, a kiss to Edwin’s cheek and a lie about being too timid for public affection, a long walk on the beach afterwards and the elation of a little bit more hope that they would never have to part. “We should do it again.”

“What?”

“Get married.” He’s only had the thought for a split second, and yet Charles can almost see it in his mind: a proper ceremony this time, with Crystal and Niko there, writing vows and kissing Edwin senseless after he says I do, and meaning it differently this time, still meaning it the same way as the first time, too. “We should get married again. Marry me again?”

The question startles a surprised sound from Edwin, something in between a laugh and a gasp, and his eyes are as wide as they were the first time Charles proposed it. Proposed to him.

“But we have permission to stay here now”, Edwin counters, soft and warm and intrigued; his fingers tighten around Charles’ and Charles wants to slide a ring on one of them and never see Edwin without it again.

“I know. Doesn’t make me want to marry you any less”, he tells Edwin and can’t help but smile, can’t help but let the excitement, the love colour every word of it. “There’s so many more countries we could go to now, and there are no records of it anywhere, so we could get married in each one of them. I want to marry you on a beach and in a church and on top of the highest building we can find. And if that stupid department ever changes its mind, and Death finds us, we can tell her, she can’t split us apart, because-”

“-because death is the thing that brought us together.”

“Exactly.” Charles smiles, touched that Edwin remembered his words from back then, and is fairly certain that, if Edwin still had blood flowing through his body, he would be blushing. “A dozen times, at least.”

It takes a moment, but it is one Charles doesn’t mind waiting for, because then Edwin says, “Alright. I’ll marry you. Again.”

“And again?”

“And again”, Edwin replies, soft and sweet, and Charles loves him, then adds, “And then again, if you want to. Husband.”

And this time, Charles gives in, wouldn’t know how to stop himself, and kisses the love and the surprise and the happiness right off Edwin’s lips, and thinks about how they’ll taste after having said their vows the next time, and the one after that, and the one after that, too.

And clutches Edwin closer, and thinks, and the one after that, as well.

And kisses that thought onto Edwin’s lips, too.

[deluxewhump]

Pride of Princes

A standalone story in the Blackmuir Reign verse ~150 years before Therrin Blackmuir takes the throne. This story is complete, around 12k words. This is part one.

CW: fantasy setting with a monarchy, fantasy politics, fantasy religious tensions, pressure to convert, torture, beatings, burning, threat of execution, imprisonment, defiant whumpee, forced/arranged marriage, polygamy, sex, court drama 

Characters and terms:

King Thyran Blackmuir (tie-run) 55- Therrin’s great great grandpa. Has ruled 30 yrs at this time and recently suffered an illness (stroke)

Prince Aedric Blackmuir (A-drick, strong A sound) 32 - the eldest prince and heir. Has one brother Cedric and two peaceweaver brides, Esther and Miline. Has one child with Esther, 6yo Esti. 

Roan Barrowfen (Row-n, rhymes with shown) 28- noble-born second son of Randall Barrowfen, of the easterly reaches. Given (unwillingly) as a peaceweaver to Aedric 

Tercet The new official religion being implemented by the Blackmuir crown. (Also a term in poetry, but here it's the name of a religion lol) The Tercet has three sections of religious importance that focus on commerce, agriculture, and the sanctity of law (the monarchy). 

Peace-weaver (Old English: freothwebbe)- Anglo-Saxon tradition of marrying women to an enemy tribe in hopes of mingling bloodlines and encouraging future peace between the groups. Peaceweavers here are specifically matched to smooth over a current conflict in the region, and not the same designation as matches to strengthen alliances or procure wealth. I prefer it as one word, not hyphenated.

Other notes: 

Title from The Wanderer.

Polygamy is encouraged for royalty at this time in the Blackmuir rule, if they are peaceweaver matches. Peaceweavers can be any level of nobility, but the first bride's children are typically the only ones recognized as viable heirs, unless they do not bear one or the heirs do not survive, and then it goes down the line to the second spouse. As you can imagine this causes lots of problems, but not in this story. 

This is loosely inspired by the history/legend of Saint Juliana by Cynewulf, as told in the Exeter book. 

_

1.

Prince Aedric was fast asleep when he was roused by Juliana, a timid handmaiden of his first bride, Esther. She never entered Aedric’s chambers, certainly not without invitation, or her mistress’s presence. 

“Prince Aedrick,” she said, giving a hurried bow. Her head was uncovered, her hair in two mussed braids as if for sleep. 

Aedric cast his eyes about the room for signs that something was amiss. He heard nothing from the open door of his chamber, or from the eastern window that caused any alarm. The fire was still burning in the hearth. He could not have been asleep for more than a few hours. 

“Juliana,” he said sharply. “Esther? Esti?”

“Are both well, sire. I don’t come on her behalf.”

“Then why? What is it?”

The girl pursed her lips and looked behind her, as if someone might be standing in the doorway in pursuit. “I wish to tell you something, but I fear it is not my place.”

Aedric sat up further in bed, his head still thick with sleep. “It must be important, to wake me in the middle of the night. Have out with it.”

“I only mean to serve you and my lady’s interests.”

“…Yes, Juliana. I know. I’ll… make sure there are no repercussions.”

She nodded solemnly. That had been her concern. “I was not told to come to you.”

“I understand. What is it?”

“The lord from the far reaches. He arrived this afternoon.”

Aedric frowned. He’d been recently betrothed. It was to be his third peaceweaver match, and the first to be male. The match was the youngest son of a Barrowfen from the easterly reaches, that wild and unforgiving marshland he’d visited as a boy and never had any desire to visit again. The reaches were an insular and stubborn region of his father’s vast kingdom that had caused some difficulty of late, but Lord Barrowfen was prompt with the annual taxes, and receptive to the new religious order.

But if his new betrothed had arrived in the afternoon, why had he not been called to meet him? Why had he not been sent to him directly, as Esther and Miline had been? He asked Juliana as much.

“The king. He is speaking to him now, in the Oath Hall. He is displeased.”

“Why?”

Juliana shifted her weight, nervously twisting at a small silver ring on her right hand. “He is refusing the Tercet, my lord. It’s caused some trouble.”

Aedric shook his head. “Why has he come all this way,  just to protest when he got here?”

“I-I don’t know, sire. I don’t think he wanted to come.”

Aedric raised his brows. 

“I know nothing more than this. I only wanted you to be aware. They’re very displeased with him, my prince.”

“Go,” he said, throwing off his covers. “I need to dress.”

She hesitated, wringing her fingers bloodless.

“Your name will not be mentioned,” he assured her. “Go.”

_

Aedric wondered if he’d ever been in the Oath Hall at such an hour. Every brazier was lit, casting jumping shadows on the high stone walls. His father sat elevated on his dais, attended by two knights, his favorite Tercet cleric in robes of snowy white, and several members of his court. 

Aedric’s eyes swept over them in turn. All had turned to watch him enter, and soon their eyes turned to their king to gauge his reaction to the prince’s intrusion. 

“It’s late, Aedric,” came Thyran Blackmuir’s weakened voice from his throne. A sudden illness had struck him before spring’s last snowmelt, and he had not been the same since. 

“Indeed it is, Your Grace,” Aedric answered. “What matter could not wait until after we had all slept and breakfasted?”

At the base of the dais stood a young man in modest clothing, unmoving, with his gaze fixed on the stones beneath his feet. Aedric gave him a wide berth as he approached, looking to see if this was the peaceweaver he’d been sent a portrait of in the initial negotiations. It appeared to be. He was of a similar height as Aedric, and though he could only see his bowed profile, it seemed to be the Barrowfen from the picture — Roan, was his name, or else it was someone strikingly similar. The portrait had looked promising.

He was of a similar age as Aedric as well, highborn, and unrelentingly beautiful, with dark hair and green-brown eyes, high easterly cheekbones, and a particular, intriguing smile that Aedric hoped was not just the flattery of the artist, but a look the subject had worn while sitting for the sketch.

“Hello,” he said, standing to the nobleman’s right, a safe six feet of distance between them. 

Roan Barrowfen gave him the barest glance, looking up without lifting his head. Their eyes met for only a moment and he returned them to the floor, his jaw set in something between determination and fear. Aedric was mildly stung by the sheer disregard of the exchange, a disregard he was unaccustomed to. 

“Is this my new peaceweaver, then?” Aedric asked, addressing his father. “Is this Roan Barrowfen?”

“It is,” the king answered wearily, his left eye now permanently drooping like a melting clay doll. 

“Why was I not sent for?” he asked, in front of the men of court, the cleric, and the knights. “Surely there must be some reason I was not sent to greet him upon his arrival?”

“Sit,” bade his father. 

“I prefer to stand, Your Grace.”

Aedric was nothing if not a loyal firstborn son, but he was not as docile as he might be. He tried to remain respectful to his father, the king, especially in front of members of court, but he would not be seen as a mincing puppet, either. And the king could be stubborn.

Of late, that concern had flagged. His father was not the man he was the year before, or the thirty years of his rule before that. He sometimes lost his train of thought, or his words entirely, and spent much of his days in bed. 

“Your betrothed has insisted on an act of….of  treason since his… arrival,” managed the King. 

Cleric Alfonsus looked down from the dais at Roan Barrowfen with a disdainful sort of pity. 

“What treason is that?”

The King motioned at his cleric, inviting him to speak and save him the trouble.  

“Lord Barrowfen maintains the false gods of the easterly reaches,” explained the cleric in a smooth voice, still powerful enough to project. Aedric admitted his unnervingly blue eyes and unrelenting gaze gave him an air of authority. His arms were folded together in the white fabric of his robes of office, hiding his hands, which Aedric thought was another apt metaphor. “He has denounced the Tercet, and by extension, the authority of the King.”

Aedric could have laughed. The Tercet was a fledgling religion, breeding in several pockets of the north for only two generations before gaining fast favor these last ten years. When he was a boy, no one had even spoken of the Tercet, the three-deity trident of land, commerce, and law. It was about as relevant as whoever this easterly man’s far-flung gods might be. And now it was treason to refuse them?

 “I’m sure this is a thing being done on principle,” he said amiably, opening his hands toward his father and the cleric. Even the knights were looking at him. “A well-intentioned principle, at that. Your Grace, is not the point of a peaceweaver to make peace? Peace is not something that can be expected upon arrival, or overnight.”

“The terms were clear,” answered the cleric, speaking over Aedric’s last word. “Randall Barrowfen sent a letter with his son. He knew this might happen, and in it he outlines his sincerest regrets, along with fealty to the Tercet and the king. His son’s life, if not as a peaceweaver, can be of some use as a forfeit.”

Aedric made a sour face. “Forfeit? To be an example, you mean? That is the perfect opposite of the goal we have in making this arrangement.”

The cleric continued. “Rejection of the Tercet directly undermines-”

“Your Grace,” Aedric cut him off, addressing his father. “This is mad. Put a swift end to it.”

With some difficulty, the King adjusted in his straight backed throne, a simple and elegant design of carved wood meant as an homage to humility and efficiency. “Your Esther and…Miline are worthy brides, Aedric. They are peaceweavers, and they are Muirish now. They serve a purpose. This…” he waved a hand irritably, “open dissent is not something I can ignore. I will not have a hostile…. traitor at my table. Bearing…. our name.”

“Hostile traitor,” Aedric echoed in disbelief. He wondered, not for the first time since his illness, if those were his father’s words, or repeated words of Cleric Afonsus.  “Has he spoken of any plans to murder any of us in our sleep?”

“No,” said the nobleman in question. Aedric turned to him, surprised he’d spoken. “But I will not abandon my gods for you. Or for the king.”

A murmur of offense broke out among the men in attendance. 

“I am a theurgist for the gods of our land,” he continued, looking up at Aedric with his head still slightly bowed. His eyes looked greener in the light of the braziers, and he had a high color on his cheeks that Aedric couldn’t discern between a sign of good health or the start of a fever. “I will serve my gods, and my gods alone.”

“A theurgist. You conjure your gods?”

“On behalf of others,” he answered. “As much as it is in my ability to do so. And if they answer.”

“And where are they at this moment?” he asked quietly, directed only to the foreigner. He meant it in a friendly, exasperated sort of jest, but Roan Barrowfen dropped his eyes like it had been a taunt.

Aedric set his jaw and looked back to the dais. “Give me the night, Your Grace. Let me speak to him privately, as I expected to do upon his arrival.”

“When you arrived,” said the king, “I had just sentenced him to the holding cells. He will….await there. Await his…ah,” he struggled for the word. “His trial.”

A pit of dismay formed in Aedric’s stomach. They had only exchanged one letter, but it had been promising. Roan Barrowfen was clearly well versed in his letters, and well spoken. He’d seemed modestly eager for the arrangement. Had he not realized he would have to, at least publicly, lay down his gods and his theurgic practices to do so? Another thought— had he even written the letter? Had he come of his own free will at all?

Aedric wished he could speak his true mind to his father, but there were lines he knew better than to cross in the Oath Hall.

“He will have a chance to recant, Aedric,” said the King, as if he were placating Aedric when he was a petulant child, over some small matter. “He will have many chances.”

He thought the wording of that promise to be ominous. Many chances? Did they intend to harm him in hopes of eliciting it, like a confession from a criminal? A highborn? Betrothed to the prince? Roan Barrowfen seemed to take the same meaning from the words. His chest rose and fell with noticeably faster breaths, but he did not move a single muscle. Aedric felt a sharp pang of protective sympathy towards this stranger he’d so been looking forward to meeting. 

“I ask you to reconsider this,” he appealed again. “It’s highly reactionary, Your Grace, for naught but some words.”

The king only motioned weakly to the knights, who came forward and took the prisoner under each arm, leading him away. He stumbled, but caught his footing and went willingly. Aedric stood rooted to the spot as the King rose from the throne. Others followed, and Oath Hall began to empty. 

Cleric Alfonsus stepped down from the dais carefully so as not to trip over his robes. He fixed Aedric with his deliberate gaze. “Naught but some words,” he repeated as he passed him. It felt like an admonition. 

The following morning, Prince Aedric learned that the trial was set for a full month away. Roan Barrowfen’s noble status required three representatives from his home to travel to the Muirkeep to sit on the jury. Aedric knew this would influence the outcome, but he was not confident it would be in the way he’d like. Lord Barrowfen himself had condemned his son with that letter, to appease the king. Whoever came from the reaches was likely prepared to do the same.

The final decision would be the king’s, but that would undoubtedly be influenced by the clerics, as it was a religious matter. That was a fact that had been concerning him of late— more and more seemed to fall to the discretion of the Tercet leaders, namely Cleric Alfonsus. 

After speaking with his father to no avail, he did the other thing in his power. He went down to the cells. 

Next

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 9 thoughts

whew! i had a busy day so it's nice to unwind with some scully and mulder time. although by the end of the episode i didn't feel very unwound tbh. it was still time spent with the babygirls, so i can't complain.

so we start with some volcano research. my only note here was "i know a geologist" which is true! shoutout to my one professor. you were chill but i hated that class.

there's a dead guy in the volcano which tbh doesn't seem too surprising... i mean volcanoes are very deadly. but it seems to be one of the dudes involved with the project so that's weird because why would he go down there?

there's this stream going on of the inside volcano and something is disrupting it... hate to see a streamer interrupted :(

then we had the title sequence but for some reason i was wondering, do you think if they got married they'd hyphenate their names... scully-mulder... mulder-scully... does it roll off the tongue? hmm...

so firewalker (the title of our episode) is a robot that goes into the volcano. noted.

here i wrote "holy fuck scully is beautiful". all she was doing was standing there but man.

the scientist who has come to them requesting help is like, this lead scientist named trepkos started this project, and scully says "i always heard he was brilliant", which raises the question: why is scully keeping up with volcano science? nerd

at this point the visiting scientist was explaining how he and trepkos had a professional breakup kinda thing and i'm very sorry for them but i genuinely could not take my eyes off of scully. hope they work it out or whatever. i have bigger priorities.

she wants to get out there and investigate but mulder says "i don't think it's a good idea for you to go" AUGHHH. i am wailing and tearing my shirt. she says that she's fine!!! really!!!

and he has this look on his face that says "i cannot tell this woman what to do, even after she just woke up from a coma, and i never will be able to" and he's very right in that regard

HELICOPTER TIME! mulder is such a gentleman helping her climb out

she has very messy hair at this point and the scientist seems a lot more concerned about his equipment than the fate of the people trapped inside the compound and she seems so thrown off by this

next we have some BIG ASS FLASHLIGHTS!!!! WOOHOO

at this point i made a note that i think i might have been going feral because mulder also looked SO good prowling around that creepy base. and i don't take back my observation but i will psychoanalyze it a bit later. reluctantly.

a creepy dude is hanging around the corner. OH SHOOT he tries to bash mulder's head in and he is MAD "do you always greet people this way?" LMAOOO he took it personally

the other scientists in the base seem to regard the missing trepkos as a threat... hmm...

i really like this jesse character, who is a student and is here to do some research with her advisor

mulder asks for the data on the research trepkos has been doing and she says he destroyed his field journals and computer discs. ahh, computer discs. my old friends. i used to have some games on discs when i was a kid. positive memories.

mulder sees scribbled in some of the notes trepkos didn't destroy that he had written about a "new life form" which honestly kinda happens a lot. like people are always discovering new life forms but the gag is they're beetles. everyday we find new species of beetle. they just won't stop coming. so i'm thinking, well they wanted this to be all dramatic, but statistically it's probably just a volcano beetle this guy found.

mulder and scully have an exchange and again i'm distracted by her freckles but she says he's being paranoid and i'm like. yeah that's kinda his whole deal. mulder being paranoid is like a fork spotted in the kitchen.

so the other scientist who was checking on his equipment was, at this point, killed by trepkos. with a rope. and we get the great closed captions "(neck cracks) (body thuds on ground)" which were very descriptive of the whole process

mulder and scully are having a science based argument on the probability of a silicon-based life form and it was really funny to me because it was a nerd off. and frankly i wouldn't go into a science debate with a doctor but mulder is going full steam ahead. it's getting heated and i'm like damn does this ever lead to them kissing because i can see it happening. anyway she's like no trepkos did not discover a silicon-based life form (spoiler alert: he did)

he's looking around like damn. i'm glad she's back but she's such a pain in my ass <3

scully goes to talk to jesse by knocking on her door and asking to chat and then not waiting for an answer and coming in because that is my girl!!!

jesse says trepkos stopped taking his pills that treat his bipolar disorder and he started being weird, saying they polluted his mind and that she was "polluting his body" which has... implications i prefer not to think about?

(why must we make erotic the bond between a student and their thesis advisor? there is no stronger connection! but. not in this way, tv writers, not in this way. i mean Maybe it wasn't meant that way but it seemed like it was)

mulder is streaming the descent into madness of trepkos because he recorded his ramblings which is probably what my friends on my private story think each time i post. but he's going on about finding a silicon-based life form.

this whole time one of the scientists has been very noticeably coughing and losing his voice and i knew it was gonna go somewhere but all of a sudden he collapses. and mulder yells for scully who is undergoing her shift to Doctor Mode. but we see his neck... pulsate? is that the best word to describe it? augh i don't want to even think about it so we'll leave it there

(jesse was also looking super suspicious but i liked her...)

anyway they put the sick guy on a stretcher and he's down and out until he isn't, and now he's making a RUN for it. he runs and runs and falls in a ditch until a THING takes over his body and explodes. i thought it was a worm at first and it was sososo gross i started sweating. i do not like body horror. the things i endure for these two.

so scully's doing some testing and she's like, yeah this is a silicon-based fungus. and poor jesse is having a nervous breakdown because she has been in this base for 8 months and she just wants to go HOME but now they have to quarantine and i felt so bad for her.

then i remembered the line about her "polluting his body" and things were adding up... and they were NOT looking good for her... no... i cannot do this...

scully's really worried about jesse which is justified because this poor girl is freaking out. but mulder is really worried about scully! he wants to go look for trepkos and he's making excuses why she shouldn't come and finally settles on the need to autopsy the body which he seems to both genuinely believe and also say to keep her back at the base

she knows he's being protective so she says "i'm here and i'm not going anywhere" which is sweet but girl you were in a coma. they had your gravestone made. you are lucky he has not put you in bubblewrap entirely. you can't blame the man for needing you to be safe!!!!

he says he's counting on her and grabs her shoulder with some heavily lingering eye contact that, when i see in gif form, i will surely slam the reblog button upon because. good lord.

jesse is talking to the other guy and he says something like "do what we said" and i'm thinking oh man, they're gonna try to get mulder (spoiler alert: they did not quite do that)

the guy is like "you need a guide to go get trepkos" and i'm even MORE suspicious but his reasoning kind of does make sense- it is a volcano maze, after all- still, when mulder goes with him i was tense

BUT THEN he immediately gets shot with a FLARE GUN? which i did NOT see coming. and trepkos emerges from the back of the volcano caves all burned and wild-looking.

he's covering the newly dead body with gasoline and mulder's asking why he's trying to kill him twice when we see the parasite wriggle in his neck (GAG) so then he shoots him with ANOTHER flare to burn up the evil creature. and he's explaining how if you're exposed to the parasite's spores you're gonna be sick...

and scully is back at the base with jesse... who was exposed... so she's not going to be safe...

and we see jesse in her room gagging and convulsing... oh man... it's not looking good....

trepkos is not letting mulder leave, but mulder does not give a fuck LMAO he says "you're gonna have to shoot me then" and goes to walk out... this man was really thinking "they are NOT gonna take scully from me again" and i know that is exactly right!!!!!

NOOOO the lights go off in the compound........... NOOOOO JESSE ATTACK.....

she's handcuffing her and scully together!!!!!! but scully was smart enough to get her behind a door really fast before jesse collapses and the fungus explodes...... but the handcuffs... was the door open a crack?? was it enough to get her infected???!?!?

mulder BURSTS in to see her handcuffed and she keeps repeating "i'm okay, i'm okay" but he must be so shocked because he asks "you alright?" and gently cups her face and at this point i wanted to do some powerful screaming to let out the things i was feeling

we see trepkos come in and look at jesse's body and he says that he told her how this experience would change her life... and i'm getting callbacks to when mulder told scully it would be a nice trip to the forest, but then the whole evil bugs thing happened in s1 ep20... and i am filled with a deep sadness...

so the duo has been sentenced to a month long quarantine, which i'm sure had to absolutely drive them wild. but i think my mutual wrote a fic on this subject so i just simply have no choice but to go read it now! and i assume that, since there are more seasons, the spores did not actually infect them

(and mulder, who was earlier suggesting time off for scully, must be some mix of terrified that any day now the symptoms will start showing and the end will be near, deeply satisfied that she has been forced into getting rest and healing like he wished, and regretting his words that she should take a break, because here she is taking a break. with him. and they're driving each other crazy)

we see trepkos hiking back into the volcano maze with jesse's body and it was actually really sad :(

overall a good episode, another one in the vein of s1 eps 8 and 20 where there is some sort of contagion and we must figure out from where it started and to whom it has gone... but the formula in these episodes keeps me on the edge of my seat and allows for a convergence of doctor scully and protective mulder, two things i am deeply invested in seeing. and seeing mulder try and keep her away from the case after her whole incident made me emo as hell!!!! he is never going to let her out of his sight again unless he has to go keep her safe by finding the wild man in the volcano!!!!!! and even that backfired!!!! ugh my heart!!!!! i love them so deeply!!!

rip my girl jesse i thought u were rad in the brief time we knew each other

[allzelemonz]

Red Dead Redemption Scenarios: Taking their surname

Pronouns: None Mentioned Physical Sex: None Mentioned Rating: T/Violence Warnings: Fluff, weddings, marraige, homophobia doesn’t exist in this one

Abe:

When you decided to get married Abe wasn’t exactly sure who the naming stuff would go. He’d happily take your name, happily see you take his, happily hyphenate or mix them with you. But he was a little overjoyed when you said you wanted to take his name.

His heart skipped and he hid a blush from you. “That’s real nice of ya. Are ya sure though?”

It wasn’t until you were there and filling out the paperwork that it really settled in and he couldn’t stop staring at you. The wedding was one thing, one very great thing, but it was the fact that you were writing your name accompanied by his surname on an official document that really got him. It’s not just your friends and family recognising you know, it’s the banks and the state too. If he ever has his own ranch there is no denying that it’ll be yours too. You’re together, in all aspects.

Bill Williamson:

He couldn’t speak for a moment. He didn’t really look at you either, just stared off into nothing as he processed what you told him. The wedding isn’t too far away, he assumed you’d keep your own name. It’s not like you’re changing anything legally because the legal system isn’t exactly welcoming to robbers and such. But you’re an outlaw in your own right with your own name and reputation, all of that would be thrown out of whack. He tried to picture your bounty posters saying ‘Williamson’ instead of your own surname. He kind of liked the thought. You could run a gang together, a real Williamson Gang.

“I think-I think that sounds nice.” Bill nods along, smiling from ear to ear as he takes your hand. “Real nice.”

So when you gained traction, when word got around that you’re a Williamson, he got excited. He smiled when he saw bounty posters of you now, just for a minute before he ripped them down. There is one he kept, it’s a shared poster for the two of you that calls you ‘The Williamsons’. He keeps it with him and hangs it up somewhere at every new camp.

Charles Smith: 

He was a little surprised. His name is quite common, he always thought you’d rather have something more unique. Maybe a hyphen or a combination. Nonetheless, he smiles and hugs you with a few kisses here and there. Hearing it when you got married made his heart swell. Even the more teasing jokes around camp in which the others of the gangs would call you by his name made him smile a little.

Colm O’Driscoll: 

He expected it. Who wouldn’t want to connect themselves to such a powerful man, to the Colm O’Driscoll. Most people already called you ‘O’Driscoll’ or ‘O’Driscoll Dog’ or something like that anyway, so you might as well make it official. Colm wasn’t one to wait for a wedding or anything, he started calling you his spouse and by his own name as soon as you said you wanted it. You did have a wedding, a true O’Driscoll wedding with whiskey and robbing and brawls among the boys. But in Colm’s mind you were always his, always a real O’Driscoll, not just a member of his gang. The boys make sure to show you some proper respect now, utilizing your new name with the proper respectful titles. Colm likes to call you that too, he loves calling you by his name.

Kieran Duffy: 

He wanted to take your name, he just never told you. He thinks of himself as a bit of bad luck so he wanted to take your name to try and be a little better. But when you told him that you wanted to take his name he accepted.

“I-I mean, if ya really want ta.” He smiles, face going red. “Ya don’t have ta, ya really don’t. I mean, I’m happy that-”

You have to put a hand on his shoulder and give him a small kiss to get him to stop.

“I want to.” You say, softly smiling at the blushing stable boy. “I think it sounds nice.”

Kieran nods. “I-I like it.”

You had an outlaw’s wedding with the gang. Dutch was the first person to call you a Duffy. Javier made a joke accompanied by a hug to show he was kidding around. Kieran still couldn’t convince himself after a week had passed. You find him muttering your new name sometimes, daydreaming while he brushes the horses.

Micah Bell: 

He never doubted it for a second. He’s been talking about it ever since you agreed to get married, dropping little titles and such that referred to you as a Bell. He has no doubt in his mind that you want everyone to know you’re his just as much as he does. When he finds old bounty posters of yours he’ll sometimes cross out your former name and write ‘Bell’ in big letters, as long as he has something to write with. It’s just another way to link you to him and he loves it.

(if you wanna have kids read the next part; no mention of how you get a kid so you can think of adoption/birth/whatever)

You knew from the second you became a Bell that you’d have to name a kid after him. He loves that you have that name link and he will pester you until he has a kid and their name is Micah Bell IV. At this point he doesn’t care what the sex is, Micah works for both, as long as they can grow up to handle a gun and make the two of you proud.

Sean MacGuire: 

He knows how to write one singular thing, his name. Lenny was kind enough to teach him how to write yours as well. Ever since then, he doodles your name with his. Simple little sketchings of your name followed by the proud MacGuire. Sometimes he draws hearts around it. So when you decided to get married he was worried you wouldn’t want to take it. He’d be happy just to call you his, but he was so ecstatic when you first called yourself MacGuire as a little joke.

“Do ya mean tha’, love?” He laughs lightly. “Ya wanna be a MacGuire?”

You nod. “Of course, Sean.”

“Well, well.” He grins. “It’s a proud name but I think ya can live up ta it!”

He told you all about his family, every last thing he could think of.

“Ya gotta know the history if yer gonna be a MacGuire, love.”

[coquelicoq]

Jiang Li's family tree and familial terms of address in The Double

I'm making this guide for my own reference because there were several family relationships in The Double that I misinterpreted at first based on how they were translated in the English subs, so I've gone back and compared to the Chinese subs. I'm also hoping it will be helpful to people wanting to write fic in English! What little I know about Chinese terms of address has largely been gleaned from other tumblr users' posts predating this show, and I'll link to my sources.

The only significant potential spoiler is some basic biographical information about Jiang Li’s older sibling, who is not directly mentioned until episode 26 but whose existence can be inferred from the fact that Jiang Li is referred to as Second Lady Jiang.

I am basing all of this solely on the drama, not the novel it was adapted from.

Apologies in advance for any inconsistencies in the pinyin punctuation (hyphen vs. apostrophe vs. space vs. smooshed together); it varies widely across sources and I don't think I have a clear enough understanding of the nuances to be confident I'm being consistent in applying the conventions, but I'm including the hanzi as well as an English translation (if the translation is in quotation marks it’s from the subs, usually Viki but not always). Also apologies if I messed up any of the hanzi. I welcome corrections and insights from those with more knowledge!!

I'm referring to Jiang Li in the present tense here for convenience, but since she's dead for the majority of the show, when I say "Jiang Li calls so-and-so xyz," of course it's almost always actually Xue Fangfei acting as Jiang Li who's doing that.

Each image is of that character's first appearance, when the hanzi for their name is given. The hanzi and any other caption are transcribed in alt text.

Jiang Li

Jiang Li (姜梨), aka Jiang Ruoyu (姜若雨), is the second child and second daughter of Jiang Yuanbai. She’s his only child with his first wife, Ye Zhenzhen.

According to this title card, her given name is Ruoyu and her courtesy name is A'Li (阿梨). This means that in this universe, people are given courtesy names in childhood rather than upon maturity. No one ever calls her or refers to her as Ruoyu that I noticed.

She is 18 or thereabouts (she was sent away from the family 10 years ago at age 8).

She has an older sister, Jiang Yue, a younger sister, Jiang Ruoyao, and a younger brother, Jiang Bingji. More about them below.

Sometimes in the subs she's referred to as the eldest daughter or the firstborn. For instance, when Ji Shuran says in episode 7 梨儿终究是我家嫡女, the Viki subs give "Li'er is the firstborn." Another example is in episode 5; someone in the crowd at Jiang Ruoyao's coming-of-age ceremony refers to Jiang Li as Jiang Yuanbai's 嫡长之女, which Viki translates as "eldest daughter". I think this might be a mistranslation. She's not the eldest daughter, but she is the eldest legitimate daughter (born to a legal wife rather than a concubine). In episode 6, Jiang Li refers to herself as 嫡女, and that time it's translated as "legitimate daughter" (Jiang Ruoyao also refers to herself as the same thing in episode 26, and it's "legitimate daughter" there as well). In episodes 26 and 32, Jiang Li is referred to as 姜家的嫡娘子, translated as "legitimate daughter of the Jiang family". The character 嫡, di, means "legal wife" or "child of legal wife" and also is one of the characters in the title of the novel The Double was based on, 嫡嫁千金 (Marriage of the Di Daughter).

She was accused of fratricide and attempted matricide at age 8 when she was blamed for her stepmother's miscarriage.

As the second daughter of a noble family, she is referred to outside the family as Jiang-er'niangzi (姜二娘子, “Second Lady Jiang”, or sometimes translated as "Miss Jiang"). Family servants call her niangzi or er’niangzi (translated in direct address as "my lady"). (Note that Tong'er calls Jiang Li niangzi but tends to call Xue Fangfei jiejie (姐姐, older sister) when they're alone.)

Peers who are close to her, like her school friend Liu Xu and her (slightly) older male cousins Jiang Jingrui and Ye Shijie, call her Jiang Li in the earlier episodes and eventually start calling her A'Li as they become closer.

Her younger sister Jiang Ruoyao and younger cousin Jiang Yu'e call her er'jie (二姐, older sister, second in the birth order; subs often translate this as “Li” even though they’re not actually using her name at all) or er'jiejie. Her younger brother calls her jiejie.

People in her family who are older than her call her A'Li (阿梨], "A" being an affectionate/familiar prefix and "Li" being her given name) or Li'er (梨儿, "er" being an affectionate/familiar suffix). Most people who call her one of these things (including Xue Fangfei, her paternal family, her mother, and her mom’s friend Liu-furen) call her Li’er, while her maternal family (other than her mother) tends to call her A’Li. Her maternal cousin Ye Shijie calls her/refers to her as both Li’er and A’Li, though I noticed him using Li’er more often.

Her paternal grandmother calls her Li'er, haizi (孩子, child), and er’yatou (二丫头, literally second girl). The latter two are generally given in the subs as Li or Li’er.

Her aunt (her father’s younger brother’s wife) calls her wo de hao zhinu (我的好侄女, “my dear niece”) at one point when she's feeling particularly appreciative.

Note that while some people close to Jiang Li call her A'Li (阿梨), when Su-guogong calls (Xue Fangfei as) Jiang Li A'Li, the Chinese subs use 阿狸 (different "li" character). They are pronounced identically, but the latter is the way that Xue Fangfei’s given name, Xue Li, is spelled (薛狸).

Paternal family (Jiang jia 姜家)

Parents

Jiang Yuanbai (姜元柏) is the current head of the noble Jiang family and a high-ranking minister in the imperial court.

His title is Jiang-xiangguo 姜相国, translated as "Grand Chancellor" or "Secretariat Director", depending on the subs.

Xiangguo is a more general honorific that is used for some other ministers as well. His position more specifically seems to be zhongshuling (中书令, “Secretariat Director” or “Chief Secretary”) and taishi (太师, “Grand Preceptor”).

The emperor calls him (and other officials) qing (卿, noble, minister). He also refers to him at least once as laoshi (老师, teacher).

Servants call him zhujun (主君, translated as “my lord” when in direct address).

Jiang Li calls him fuqin (父亲, formal term for "father"). I don't think Xue-Fangfei-as-Jiang-Li ever calls him die (爹, less formal term for "father") at any point, but that is presumably what Jiang Li called him as a child, since he refers to himself as diedie in a flashback when she’s young.

His brothers call him da’ge (大哥, older brother, first in the birth order). His sister-in-law (Jiang Yuanping's wife) also calls him da'ge.

Jiang Jingrui and Jiang Yu'e call him da’bofu (大伯父, father’s older brother, first in the birth order, "Uncle").

Hi wife Ji Shuran calls him fujun (夫君, husband).

He and his brothers share a generation name (one shared character in the given name of each descendant of the same generation), 元, yuan. However, they don’t appear to have continued the tradition in the next generation, because Jiang Jingrui's and Jiang Bingji's names don't share a character. At first I thought at least the girls shared a character, because Jiang Li (whose given name is Ruoyu) and her sister Jiang Ruoyao both have 若, Ruo, but their older sister and their uncle’s daughter don’t have that character in their names, so I guess not.

Ye Zhenzhen (叶珍珍) was Jiang Li's mother.

She died when Jiang Li was a baby, at least six months after giving birth.

She was Jiang Yuanbai's furen (夫人), his official wife (as opposed to a concubine).

When Jiang Li talks about her, she refers to her as a'niang (阿娘, mother) or shengmu (生母, birth mother).

Xue Fangfei addresses her as Ye-furen in her head/when praying to her.

Her younger brother Ye Mingyu calls her Zhenzhen-jie (珍珍姐).

Ji Shuran (季淑然) is Jiang Li's stepmother.

She is Jiang Yuanbai's current furen. Jiang Yuanbai married her after Ye Zhenzhen died.

She's over 30 and probably under 40.

She's the mother of Jiang Ruoyao and Jiang Bingji, who call her niang. Jiang Ruoyao sometimes calls her or refers to her as muqin.

She's referred to as Jiang-furen (姜夫人, “Madam Jiang”) by those outside the family (women keep their own surname when they get married, but when honorifics are used, they're attached to the husband's surname). At one point she refers to herself as Jiang jia de zhumu (姜家的主母, "madam of the Jiang family").

Her husband and the family servants call her furen.

Jiang Li calls her muqin (母亲, formal term for "mother"). In flashbacks, like when she miscarries and when Jiang Li refuses to go home with her maternal grandmother, young Jiang Li calls her niang. She’s sometimes referred to as Jiang Li’s houmu (后母, stepmother).

Consort Li, her younger sister, calls her jiejie.

The Marquis of Ningyuan calls her xiangguo-furen (xiangguo being her husband’s court title).

Jiang Jingrui calls her da’bomu (大伯母, wife of da’bofu). Jiang Yu'e calls her bomu ("Auntie Shuran").

Her husband's younger brother Jiang Yuanping calls her saozi (嫂子, sister-in-law).

Before her marriage, as the eldest child/daughter of the Ji family, she was called Ji-da’niangzi.

Paternal grandparents

Jiang Yuanbai's mother is referred to as Jiang-lao'furen (姜老夫人, "old Madam Jiang").

She was Jiang Yuanbai’s father's furen. Her husband also had at least one concubine.

Jiang Li and her siblings and paternal cousins call her zumu (祖母, father's mother, "Grandmother").

Her two sons and her husband's son from a concubine call her muqin.

Members of her household, including her daughters-in-law, refer to her as lao’furen.

[Not pictured because he never appears onscreen] Jiang Yuanbai's father, who's deceased, is referred to a few times.

Tong’er refers to him as Jiang-lao’taigong (姜老太公, “Old Master Jiang”).

Jiang Li refers to him as zufu (祖父, “Grandfather”).

His widow refers to him as taigong (太公, grandfather, “Old Master Jiang”) in the context of Jiang Li. She addresses him as lao’Jiang at one point.

Paternal aunts and uncles

Jiang Yuanping (姜元平) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger brother from the same mother and father.

Jiang Li calls him er'shu (二叔, father’s younger brother, second in the birth order; “ Second Uncle Jiang”).

His son Jiang Jingrui calls him die (爹, "Father").

Jiang Yuanping’s wife's surname is Lu (卢).

Jiang Li calls her er'shumu (二叔母, wife of er'shu; “Second Auntie Lu”). Interestingly, all the tumblr guides I’ve seen say the wife of your father’s younger brother would be shenmu, not shumu, but she is clearly saying shu according to the subs, and shumu is in the dictionary.

Her husband calls her furen (translated as "My Lady" or "my dear"); her son calls her niang ("Mother").

Jiang Yuanxing (姜元兴) is Jiang Yuanbai's younger half-brother; they have the same dad, but his mom was their dad's concubine.

Jiang Li calls him san'shu (三叔, father’s younger brother, third in the birth order; “Third Uncle Jiang”).

Jiang Yuanxing’s wife's surname is Yang (杨).

Jiang Lu calls her san'shumu (三叔母, wife of san'shu; “Third Auntie Yang”).

Siblings

Jiang Yue (姜月) is Jiang Yuanbai’s oldest child and Jiang Li’s older sister. She was born to a maid (so, not the furen). This means that while she is the oldest child, she's not the oldest "legitimate" child.

She’s not directly mentioned until episode 26 (unless I missed something), so I won’t say anything else about her, to avoid spoilers.

Jiang Ruoyao (姜若瑶) is Ji Shuran's oldest child, Jiang Li's younger sister, and the third child and third daughter of Jiang Yuanbai.

She can't be much younger than Jiang Li, possibly two years younger at most would be my guess? I can't remember if they ever say her age. She has a coming of age ceremony in one of the early episodes.

Jiang Li calls her san'mei (三妹, literally "third younger sister", which refers to her position in the birth order as the third daughter of the Jiang family, rather than meaning that she's the third youngest of Jiang Li's younger sisters (Jiang Li only has one younger sister)).

She calls Jiang Li er’jie (二姐, older sister, second in the birth order; subs translate this as just “Li”).

Her parents call her Yao’er.

Those outside the family call her Jiang-san'niangzi (姜三娘子, “Third Lady Jiang”). Family servants call her niangzi or san’niangzi.

Jiang Bingji (姜丙吉) is Ji Shuran's second child, Jiang Li's younger brother, and the fourth child and only son of Jiang Yuanbai.

He was born after Ji Shuran’s miscarriage (source: he refers to the fetus as gege (哥哥, older brother), meaning it would have been born before him). This means he’s less than 10 years old, since the miscarriage/Jiang Li’s exile was 10 years ago.

Jiang Li doesn't have a lot of interaction with him, but in his intro she calls him didi (弟弟, little brother) and he calls her jiejie (姐姐, big sister).

Family servants call him xiao'gongzi (小公子, "Young Master").

Paternal cousins

Jiang Jingrui (姜景睿) is Jiang Yuanping's son.

Jiang Li calls him tangxiong (堂兄, older paternal male cousin, i.e., son of father’s brother, older than her) the first time they meet, which causes him to accuse her of not being Jiang Li because it's too formal. Jiang Yu’e also calls him tangxiong.

Jiang Li's childhood nickname for him was xiao'Ruirui (小睿睿). In the present she mostly calls him Jiang Jingrui.

Liu Xu refers to him as Jiang Li’s gege.

He calls Jiang Li “Jiang Li” and sometimes refers to her as Li'er.

Those outside the family call him Jiang-gongzi (姜公子, “Mr. Jiang”).

Jiang Yu'e (姜玉娥) is Jiang Yuanxing's daughter.

This was something that I didn't pick up on for a while: She and Jiang Li refer to each other (and others refer to them) as sisters (Jiang Li calls her si'mei (四妹, fourth younger sister) and she calls Jiang Li er'jie), but they're actually cousins; their dads are brothers.

Jiang Jingrui also calls her si’mei.

She has a lower position in the family because her dad's mom was not the furen but a concubine.

As the fourth daughter of the Jiang family (though again, not the fourth daughter of Jiang Yuanbei; she's the fourth girl born to the previous generation of Jiang sons), I think she's addressed by those outside the family as Jiang-si’niangzi (四三娘子, “Fourth Lady Jiang”).

Jiang family servants

Tong’er (桐儿) is Jiang Li’s maid.

Sun-mama (孙妈妈, “senior maidservant Sun” or "Madam Sun") is Ji Shuran’s maid.

[Not pictured because I never saw a title card for her] Zhang-popo (张婆婆, “maidservant Zhang”) is Jiang-lao’furen’s maid.

Maternal family (Ye jia 叶家)

Maternal grandmother

Ye Zhenzhen’s mother is referred to as Ye-lao’furen (叶老夫人, “Old Madam Ye” or “Old Mrs. Ye”).

Jiang Li calls her wai’zumu (外祖母, mother’s mother, “Grandmother”).

Maternal aunts and uncles

Ye Mingxuan (叶明轩) is Ye Zhenzhen's brother, the second oldest son in the family.

Jiang Li calls him er'jiu (二舅, mother’s brother, second in the birth order).

Ye Mingxuan’s older brother (Ye Shijie’s dad) and father are dead, making him the current head of the family.

It’s unclear if he’s Ye Zhenzhen’s older or younger brother. Because the term for a mother’s brother is the same whether the brother is older or younger than the mother (jiu), it’s impossible to tell from what Jiang Li calls him. I’m listening for other times someone else calls him something that could give a hint to this, but the only thing I’ve found is Jiang Yuanbai calling him something translated as brother-in-law, qingjia xiongdi (亲家兄弟), but xiongdi in my understanding refers generally to brothers and doesn’t specify older or younger. I don’t think there are any flashbacks in which Ye Zhenzhen talks to or about him. And we can infer that the birth order terms used for the men in this family do not include the women, because we know Ye Mingyu, who is referred to as third uncle and so must be the third son, actually must be the fourth child overall (assuming there aren't any other Ye daughters), because Ye Zhenzhen calls him younger brother, which means he has three older siblings (the two sons who are older than him, plus Ye Zhenzhen). So we know that Ye Mingxuan is second in the birth order of sons specifically, but he could have one or more older sisters as well.

Ye Mingxuan's wife’s surname is Zhuo (卓).

Jiang Li calls her er’jiumu (二舅母, wife of er’jiu).

I assume she's called Ye-furen (叶夫人) by those outside the family but haven't encountered it in my rewatch yet.

Ye Mingyu (叶明煜) is Ye Zhenzhen's younger brother, the third oldest son in the family.

Jiang Li calls him san'jiu (三舅, mother’s brother, third in the birth order).

He refers to Ye Zhenzhen as Zhenzhen-jie. In his flashback of her getting married in episode 15, she calls him san’di (三弟, third younger brother, meaning younger brother who’s the third son; it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s the third of her younger brothers. She does have three brothers, but it’s possible one or both of the other two are older than her; see above).

The clerk in his family’s store calls him san’lang (三郎, “Third Master”).

Ye Jia’er calls him san’shu and I assume Ye Shijie does as well, since in both cases he’s the younger brother of their fathers.

Maternal cousins

Ye Shengxuan (叶圣宣), courtesy name Shijie (世杰), is the son of the oldest (now deceased, and I never caught a name if it was given) son of the previous generation of the Ye family. (Source: Ye Mingxuan introduces himself as Ye Shijie’s er’shu, meaning he’s second in the birth order and the younger brother of Ye Shijie’s dad, so Ye Shijie's dad must be first in the birth order.)

Jiang Li calls him biaoge (表哥, term for an older male cousin when you're related through one or both of your mothers (so, one of his parents is your mom's sibling and/or one of your parents is his mom's sibling. In this case, Jiang Li's mom is his father's sister)). Jiang Jingrui refers to him as Jiang Li’s biaoxiong (表兄, another term for an older male maternal cousin).

He calls Jiang Li Li'er, A’Li, or Jiang Li.

Jiang Jingrui calls him Shijie or biaoge, though he is not Jiang Jingrui's maternal cousin (he is the maternal cousin of Jiang Li, Jiang Jingrui's paternal cousin).

People who aren’t close to him call him Ye-gongzi (叶公子) or Ye-longjun (叶郎君), both translated as “Mr. Ye”.

Ye Jia’er (叶嘉儿) is Ye Mingxuan's daughter.

Jiang Li calls her biaojie (表姐, term for an older female cousin when you’re related through one or both of your mothers) or Jia’er-biaojie.

She calls Jiang Li biaomei (表妹, younger female maternal cousin).

The clerk in the family store calls her Jia’er-niangzi (嘉儿娘子; in this case the “er” is part of her given name, rather than the “er” meaning “second”).

I assume people not associated with the family call her Ye-niangzi, but I haven’t come across that yet in my rewatch.

Ye family servants

[Not pictured because I didn't see a title card for her] Li-mama (李妈妈, “Madam Li”) is Ye-furen's maid.

I'll update the above as my rewatch continues, so watch this space!

[maeumverse]

FRAGMENT (stylized as FRAG;MENT) is a fictional, six-member Japanese-Korean boy group under WANDER STUDIO, a fictional Japan-based subsidiary of HYBE labels. The group made their debut on April 18, 2024 with their EP “I Passed You On A Warm Spring Day; We Shared Nothing But A Glance” and lead single INFINITE CYNICISM. Prior to their debut, they garnered attention for their producer, fictional former NEWS member HIGUCHI TSUBASA, and for their lineup that contained familiar faces from the jpop and kpop industries. Their debut was met with immediate success, peaking at number one on the Oricon singles chart.

The group was first introduced in mid 2023 through a series of cryptic Instagram posts collaging the past experiences of the members and encouraging fan speculation of the future group members. As the group’s name and concept were finalized and revealed to the public, they faced scrutiny for their similarities to other HYBE boy groups, especially ENHYPEN. Their use of semicolons in the group name and album title was thought to be a direct copy and paste of Enhypen’s hyphens. The darker tones of their singular music video so far and their supernatural concept based on kitsune and gumiho mythology were two more steps too far. One thing still-unnamed Fragment fans will do is fight Engenes. It’s the most excitement they’ve had since they were guessing who would be in the group from cryptic Instagram posts. The other thing they’ll do is argue that Tsubasa and the rest of their production team do, in fact, know how to use a semicolon.

MEMBERS

TAKEMOTO AKIRA (2000) — Leader, former member of project kpop group 1V1. Introduced first with:

A shooting star — His defunct personal Instagram user, @.akirakira, where kirakira is the Japanese onomatopoeia for sparkles. A still from Dance Dance Revolution — Arguably his favorite video game. One of his character traits from Last Act into 1V1.

The Dotonbori Glico billboard — A landmark of his hometown, Osaka.

NISHIKAWA RYUJI (2001) — Former member of coed jpop group MAKE MY WAY. Introduced third with:

A series of arrows pointing west — The first character of his surname, which helped define Make My Way’s group name as well.

A honeycomb — Part of the title of Make My Way’s disbandment song, Mitsu no Aji (Taste of Honey). 

A lot of dogs — His back-up career plan to be a veterinarian, which he mentioned many times while in Make My Way.

MOON JINWOO (2002) — Center, former member of 1V1. Introduced sixth with:

The constellation Pleiades — His past experience as a Pledis Entertainment trainee.

The number 10 — His final rank on Last Act, the survival show that formed 1V1.

A game over screen — The title of 1V1’s first and last album.

MORI KAKERU (2002) — Former member of MAKE MY WAY. Introduced second with:

The Shibuya Scramble Crossing — The filming location of his first music video with Make My Way.

Silver accents — His representative color while in Make My Way.

A stock photo of a person running — The first character of his given name, meaning to run.

YONEZAWA DAIKI (2003) — Former JOHNNY’S JR. member. Introduced fifth with:

A samurai and a ninja — His participation in Johnny’s Jr. groups 7 MEN SAMURAI and SHONEN NINJA.

ASL for the letter D — The hand motion he uses alongside his catchphrase, “Oneechan, don’t you think I’m cute?”

Fujippi — The mascot of Shizuoka Prefecture, where he was born.

HEO HYUN (2003) — Former YG Entertainment trainee, part of the fan-made SILVER BOYS group. Introduced fourth with:

The number nine in a treasure chest — His participation in survival shows MIXNINE and YG TREASURE BOX, where he was eliminated twice.

A turtle — He has three pet turtles. It was part of his personality on YGTB.

The lyrics to TVXQ’s Hug — The last song he performed on Mixnine before his elimination.

DISCOGRAPHY

I Passed You On A Warm Spring Day; We Shared Nothing But A Glance — EP, 2024

[familyabolisher]

In “Professing Criticism,” Guillory concludes an essay titled “On the Permanent Crisis of Graduate Education” by pointing to the rise of venues that accommodate the kinds of criticism that the university cannot. “These are sites (for the most part) of intellectual exchange on the internet, new versions of ‘little magazines,’ such as n+1, or of journals such as The Point, as well as the now vast proliferation of blogs on cultural matters, some of which host high-level exchanges,” he writes. “Such sites disclose the widespread desire for an engagement with literature and culture that is more serious than the habits of mass consumption and that demands new genres and forms of discourse.” He does not develop the point further. Yet one suspects, given what such magazines and blogs can afford to pay, that any prospective contributor will have to hold a job, or several. Here one catches a sudden glimpse of a future in which the Scholar-Critic kaleidoscopes into many hyphenated identities: the Critic-Copy Editor, the Critic-Community Organizer, the Critic-Assistant, the Critic-Amazon Warehouse Associate-Uber Driver. (I leave to one side the Critic of Independent Means and the Critic Who Married Into Money.)

This new kind of critic may write for one of the magazines that Guillory names. But there’s no reason to restrict ourselves to such venues. It is not unusual to stumble upon an essay on Goodreads or Substack that is just as perceptive as academic or journalistic essays, which, no matter how many rounds of revision they undergo, reflect the déformation professionnelle of their respective spheres. Nor should we limit the domain of criticism to writing. Anyone who has taught students knows that the best critiques are often produced in the classroom, through conversations in which one is trying to demonstrate how a poem or a novel works to many different readers, few of whom aspire to write or to join the professoriat.

Early in “Professing Criticism,” Guillory writes that I. A. Richards regarded criticism “as a practice in which every reader of literature was engaged.” But a different proposition presents itself: If everybody is a critic, then no one is. The idea recalls Guillory’s ending to “Cultural Capital,” in which he walks his reader through a thought experiment that Karl Marx undertook in “The German Ideology.” Under the communist organization of society, Marx speculates, eliminating the division of labor will also eliminate the distinction that accrues to artists—writers, painters, sculptors, composers, actors, critics, and other producers of “unique labors.” The utopian horizon of aesthetic production is the disappearance of the painter, the writer, the actor, the composer, and the critic—or, rather, the disappearance of painting, writing, and so on as autonomous domains. In this world, there would be no professional critics, only people who engage in criticism as one activity among many.

“Cultural producers would still compete to have their products read, studied, looked at, heard, lived in, sung, worn, and would still accumulate cultural capital in the form of ‘prestige’ or fame,” Guillory writes. But it would not matter whether you published criticism in the form of a Goodreads review or a magazine article; whether criticism was transmitted through the written word or the spoken one, in the form of podcasts or public lectures; whether the object of criticism was a novel, a film, a show, a song, a dance, a painting, a dress. All that would matter would be the logic of the critic’s thought, the pleasure of her style, the persuasiveness of her judgments, and the education imparted through her words. The result would be to liberate criticism from the institutions of the materially advantaged, allowing it to overflow into the activities of daily life.

[feelsl1kemagic]

Feels Like Magic: Winx Rewrite World Info Part 2.

Next up for world lore! Names!

The reason a lot of magicals have names that coincide with their powers is because parents name their children after something they hope they get the magic for. It's basically a way of asking Magic itself to bless your child with magic of their own.

It's a tradition that has gone on and on through the beginning of times on Flaemterna.

There are parents who give their children ordinary names as they don't mind if their child gets magic or not. If they do, wonderful, if they don't, that's fine too! There are many things those with magic can do.

Another thing about names is middle names. Back in the Ancient and Medieval Magical Times, those with any kind of noble blood had middle names, and it was tradition that any child they had also got middle names. It was done to show others that you were worthy of being gifted magic twice because you had two names and two times the chance of Magic blessing you and your children.

This practice fell out in the more modern times, and it became a trend of anyone and everyone getting to have middle names no matter if they were or are of noble blood.

You may have noticed that some of the girls have middle names so I'll explain whether this was done because of blood or because of trend.

• Bloom, of course, has a middle name because she is a High Princess. She actually has two! Because Mike and Vanessa didn't want to change her name, but they wanted to at least give her a name they picked. Thus, she was given the middle name Allison by Mike and Vanessa. Many of the older generations think this helped play a part in why she is so powerful. If you missed it in the redesigns, here is her full name: Bloom Allison Charlotte Gardner-Feniatare.

•Stella, is another with a middle name because of her royal blood as a High Princess herself. Her full name is Stella Celeste Solevega, and when her parents divorced, she hyphenated her last name to Stella Celeste Solevega-Aylandra.

•Flora has a middle name, even though her family hasn't been part of the nobility for a long time. Some of her ancestors were Dukes and Duchesses, but her family renounced their nobility so that their children and children's children could choose whatever occupation they wanted without it looking disgraceful for someone of their position. Even though her family is no longer nobility, they still get respect from other nobles because they weren't disgraced or anything like that. Many admired the "sacrifce". I'll make another post purely about each girl's family history, but this is a bit of it. Flora's full name is Flora Carmen Thorngrove.

•Musa, she does not have a middle name, though she is nobility, but because her dad ran away to marry her mother, her father was disowned though it was he who gave away his claim to the throne. To show he was no longer nobility, Ho-Boe took out his middle name from his name and refused to give Musa one. So her full name is Musa Lu-Maestri.

•Tecna, though in the comics and show she is a princess, she is not in my rewrite. She is a normal citizen of Zenith who ends up bringing her family into a position of nobility because of her having magic despite her having an artificial heart. Others who had needed artificial hearts ended up not having magic, but Tecna was an abnormality. It fascinated the High Kingdom Royalty to the point that she and her family were given higher positions in the kingdom. Even though she is mow considered nobility, she still does not have a middle name since her parents didn't think it was necessary. So her full name is Tecna Synthwave.

For this post, I'm only doing season one characters I have already done redesigns for. So next is the Trix.

•Icy, she actually does have noble blood in her, but her family ended up losing their titles in disgrace. She doesn't know why as it's a secret her family has held on to for decades. Though they are disgraced, she was still given a middle name. Her full name is Icelyn Eira Bélaboreas.

•Darcy, she is low nobility. Her family has only ever been Lords and Ladies, though they did desire to become more. It just never happened. Her full name is Darcelle Belladonna Blackwell.

•Stormy is not nobility, but she does have a nickname as her family jumped on the trend. Her full name is Stormella Corentine Burzyński.

[userbru]

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[leveloneandup]

The US women’s national soccer team will defend its title as world champions this summer at the FIFA Women‘s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament will also mark the first time the US Women’s National Team will play with equal pay to the US Men’s National Team. This watershed moment was a goal of rɘ―inc, the lifestyle brand co-founded by USWNT members Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe and former member Meghan Klingenberg.

Pentagram has continued its ongoing collaboration with rɘ―inc with its latest collection, Written in the Stars, inspired by the World Cup and the trailblazing members of the USWNT. The campaign celebrates athletes, artists and activists who are making a constellation of change, illuminating the path forward, and finding their destiny. (And when teams win the World Cup, they receive a badge with stars—can the two-time US champions get their third star?)

The branding reimagines the rɘ―inc logo as a constellation, playing off the hyphen in the mark with a network of lines that are used to build different graphics. These include a “2023” that links the brand’s guiding principles—activism, reinvention, defying expectations, and more—in an interconnected system that visualizes equity and unity, and a group of great players globally coming together as one.

A new insignia mirrors the logo with the games’ location flipped upside down, a play on Down Under. The collection also features a variety of interpretations on the starry theme in collabs with independent designers and makers like Ryoko Rain, UN/DN, USSF, Bkr and Storied Hats.

The Pentagram team curated a special color palette for the line, giving each color a playful name that ties into women’s soccer, like “Mrs. Graham’s Green,” a tribute to Helen Graham Matthews, who founded one of the first female soccer teams in 1881; “Ranger Rose,” after Beverly Ranger, the Jamaican former footballer who helped grow the game in Germany; and “Allez Gold,” a play on the French yell for “go,” and the USWNT win at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, where the crowds also chanted “equal pay!”

[masked-alien-lesbian]

What are some headcanons for your OCs x LIs?

Oooo...I really need to find one of those lists things so that people can ask me about Hana x Raelyn and Verity x Aislinn.

Hana Lee x Raelyn Lee

Raelyn's birthday: December 22nd (Fun fact: despite being twins, Riley was born several minutes before Raelyn on December 21st making her a Sagittarius while Raelyn is a Capricorn) Which is just ammo for Riley to tease Raelyn all the time with lol. Hana is a Pisces making Raelyn a perfect match for her.

I headcanon that their relationship progressed much faster than it did in the series. In the series, MC is competing for the Prince's hand and could potentially romance 2 other guys as well as Hana, so I could see Hana being more wary about MC's feelings for her. But in my hc, Raelyn is an OC made solely for Hana. For Raelyn, there's no one else but Hana so that devotion captured Hana's attention and she was able to fall for Raelyn faster than canon.

The Lee Children: Jasmine Lee and Juniper Lee 6 years apart

Raelyn low key really would like to not be a duke/chess. They don't like the fancy outfits, all the balls and galas, and playing nice to backstabbing nobles but feels obligated by their sister to help get Cordonia on the right track, to give Hana the fancy life she only ever known and a good life for their daughters. Hana catches on and the two have a serious talk about their future. Once their children are almost adults, they pass the duchy title to them and live more simply, and are much happier off.

Aislinn Tanaka x Verity Wright

Star signs: Aislinn is a Cancer and Verity a Virgo.

After getting married they decided to share a hyphenated last name: Tanaka-Wright

There are bars specifically for vampires that humans in the know can go to donate blood either the normal way, the same way you donate blood at a blood drive or in a more intimate way, veins straight to the vampire's mouth. When Aislinn learns of the existence of these bars, she gets jealous, lol. Although Verity is the vampire, Aislinn can be a little more territorial. Verity explains that they only buy their blood stock from there, and rarely ever drink straight from the source, and since meeting Aislinn, they only drink from blood bags, since drinking straight from a human is an erotic experience. If it was completely up to Aislinn, Verity would only drink from her but Verity needs more blood than is healthy to drink from one human so she is fine with Verity drinking from donated blood from time to time but absolutely loves when Verity feeds from her.

Child free lifestyle: They both would be open to adopting a child if the other really wanted kids but they both are very busy people and end up preferring to spend all their free time and love on each other instead. Perhaps a child may fall into their laps in a century or so, or maybe not, who knows 🤭. Their lives are happy, full and complete without children anyway.

Thanks for the ask! Feel free to ask more specific questions if you want! I love talking to you guys! 🫶🏽

[thechaseofspades]

An essay about the best Disney TVA shows today

So Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is Disney TVA's newest hit. If you follow me, you know how much I love this show. There's so much good about it that I couldn't possibly cover all of it. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how similar it is to another relatively new DTVA show that just happens to be premiering its second season soon...

Now, I recognize the irony here. The LES and Brighton are probably the exact opposite settings. I should know. I live in a town just like Brighton. There's lots of corn here. Please help.

But beyond that surface level contrast, these shows hit a lot of the same concepts, but take them in different directions to fit the tone and setting. Let's discuss...

Spoilers for both shows. The spoilers start out light but by the end I'm just spilling all the beans. Please watch the shows.

continues under the break

1. Regular girl meets unlikely non-human best friend and that's literally the title of the show

Probably the most obvious comparison. Heck, you could probably boil down any Disney property ever to that description if you try hard enough.

But, the similarities between DD and Scratch might as well end there, as they bring completely different characters to the table. Still worth getting out of the way here. I promise the rest of this post has more substance. Wait where are you going come back

2. Human best friend(s)

I've talked already about how I'm a big fan of Casey. As far as I know, she's a completely original character not found anywhere in the comics. She might be an amalgamation of other comic characters but I'm not sure. Either way, huge props for nailing it with her and making her feel like a natural fit.

So what do we know about Casey? Her biggest fixation, something we see the second we meet her, is her social media savviness. While Lunella can invent an app that warps space and time, Casey works best with the apps that already exist. Remind you of anybody?

Now, I'm not on the Andrea bandwagon quite yet. She's definitely had her positive moments, namely the Christmas episode, but overall I don't categorize her in the "best friend" tier quite yet.

I bring her up because we can bring in another contrast between elements and how these sho was use similar concepts for different results. While Andrea's social media exploits are all about herself, Casey cares more about getting Moon Girl on the map, both helping out her best friend and doing a good deed. I'm glad we've gotten to a point where the social media savvy tween/teen can be a positive trait finally.

But I want to highlight the other side of Casey, and the part that makes it so intriguing to me that Lucase has been a central focus in this show. She may have the skills of Andrea, but she reminds me so much more of another of Molly's friends...

Who did Molly McGee meet to become her first real friend and de facto best friend who she then spent the rest of the show developing that friendship??

"Mazel Tov, Libby!" is my favorite episode of The Ghost and Molly McGee, and it's gonna be hard to top. Libby is my favorite character in that show and seeing her struggling and eventually breaking just hit me so hard. So when Molly and Libby came out of it better than ever, it proved how strong their bond truly was.

Casey blends Andrea's social media savviness with Libby's irl social awkwardness and difficulty at making friends. And Lunella to an even greater extent as seen in the sleepover. But together, Lucase bring out the best in each other, the same way that Molly and Libby do in their own show.

Also shoutout to Libby and Casey for being Jewish Latina DTVA girls with hyphenated last names and Bat Mitzvah centric episodes. Maybe should have led with that parallel.

To be continued in a reblog so don't go anywhere... (link to part 2 if it's not already attached to this post)