#though at the end all girls are like the rose bride etc etc i also think thats an aspect of it

[liquidstar]

maybe im overthinking, but do you ever think abt how in episode 1, utena justifies wearing the boys uniform by saying its not against the rules? while this was clearly a "gotcha" moment against that stuffy teacher, i feel like it also shows how shes still functioning within the parameters of the ohtori system. like, yeah, shes being rebellious, but its a form of rebellion that isnt actually revolutionary- shes still following the rules propagating the structure built around the patriarchal prince, shes just doing it in the "opposite" way of whats expected, but shes not actually fighting it. though, of course, even this much deviance still tries to get corrected... its still not against the rules. i feel like from the beginning we're told aspiring to princedom isn't a noble goal, and that utena is still part of the system as long as she pursues it

[horse-girl-anthy]

From Translation Project: Revolutionary Girl Utena Script Collection Part 1

Episode 22 Nemuro Memorial Hall Those one hundred boys buried (alt trans: immured) in the basement of the Nemuro Memorial Hall are revealed as the one hundred Duelists. They have neither names nor individuality (alt trans: personality), and were engaged in an unknown project. And as expected (alt trans: Sure enough), Akio is the “Ends of the World” who pulls the strings on them all. It seems that Ohtori Academy is governed (alt trans: influenced, controlled) by a special principle (alt trans: force, power, law, axiom) that is unbound by time and space. So, what is it? What is the principle (alt trans: force) that rules this school? The key (alt trans: important factor) is weakness. There are many things in common between imagination (alt trans: imaginary images) – such as dreams, memories, etc. - and visual works (alt trans: creations). They share the same grammar (alt trans; structural rules). (I believe that if we solve the equation (alt trans: formula) for it, we’d surprise ourselves by being able to dismantle reality.) Though once chosen by the “Ends of the World”, in the end, the unsuccessful Duelist was unable to reach the castle where eternity exists, and has yet to acquire the power of Dios. And that Duelist who faltered is Mikage Souji. A young man who prides himself on being perfect, yet cannot surpass Tenjou Utena. A Faust seduced by a Mephistopheles (original japanese Mephisto) named Ohtori Akio. Mikage Souji is not his real name. Woven into that false name is his lingering love for Tokiko*. He is unaware (alt trans: oblivious) of his weakness. * The character 時 is shared between Tokiko and Souji. Souji borrowed the character from Tokiko’s name to incorporate it into his false name. The stage called Ohtori Academy is an imaginary environment (alt trans: landscape, setting, backdrop) in which everything revolves around weakness. (notation 軸axis - An axis is an invisible line around which an object rotates, or spins. Centered around weakness) (That being said, there are symbols that often appear in the story that are unknown even to the scriptwriter. Just what on earth is this thing (alternatively replace ' this thing' with the finger icon)?! This “finger icon”? (laugh)) "My sister was called away by the Board. I imagine she probably won't be back until evening." Chida Mamiya must have known about the “relationship” between his sister Tokiko and Akio. "I'll be sure to tell my sister that you are worried about me." On top of that, Mamiya sees right through Professor Nemuro's feelings and weakness and gives a spiteful response. Or perhaps holding himself aloof from his much admired Professor Nemuro is the flip side of his feelings. Even here, the Rose Bride is a symbol for when the cruelty of reality is known. First, what does the flip side of affection mean? Women have a tendency to "want to know if someone is interested," while men have a tendency to "want to make some kind of approach" to someone they're interested in. Even when making an approach, some people are embarrassed to take straightforward, positive action, so they do the opposite to gauge the reaction. Some people take action by being "kind," while others are "deliberately mean," and the flip side of affection falls into the latter category. Not only do they have a hard time expressing their feelings of love, but they may also say or do things that alienate the other person. In other words, if you like someone but are unable to express your feelings honestly and end up bullying or being cold towards them, that is the "flip side of love."

[onewholivesinloops]

made an anthy bingo and i went by vibes bc i'm very dumb so it's victimized characters that i can easily draw parallels between them and anthy in my mind, but i guess if i had to put the criteria into words it’s characters who tend to be victims of abuse (even better if this abuse is of a patriarchal and misogynistic nature) who present themselves as cheerful, docile, and proper etc etc but are actually secretly doing problematic stuff behind the scenes as a means of lashing out and/or some other end goal, have some level of control over the story, and sometimes there's an abusive akio figure behind them who's driving their actions and pressuring them to be complicit in whatever they're doing due to their abuse, though the akio figure in question also doesn't always have to be physically present bc the consequences of their abuse can be enough on its own and manifests itself more as a specter after they’re gone. they’re also homosexual, have some kind of metanarrative and fail to live up to the expectations of womanhood or have some kind of gender fuckery going on. bonus points if they’re the character who embodies the failures of a flawed system responsible for victimizing and traumatizing people the best in their series. not all of the characters i picked meet everything i listed but as long as they check a solid amount of them that’s good enough.

if you’re wondering why so many rgu girls are there, remember that they say in the show “all girls are like the rose bride” (i wasn’t actually going to do it but i needed to fill some of the empty space and my friend enabled me, blame her) so i basically went with the ones who serve as foils to anthy the most.

[princeoftheroses]

Since you want asks, PLSSSE I want your Utena TH0ughts. WHAT is your favourite black rose episode? actually how do you feel about the black rose arc in GENERAL

black rose arc, black rose arc, oh black rose arc!!! by you adding how do i feel about the arc in general you are unleashed me to make a long post giving my very disorganized thoughts about this arc.

a couple of people call it a filler arc? i guess technically it is because it does not directly contribute to the main storyline and it wasn't in the manga and also the ending of the arc sort of makes it so the whole arc kind of didn't happen???

but also i think if a person labeled it as a filler arc they are kind of missing the point?? even if it doesn't contribute to the main plot (which it absolutely DOES but i'll get to that) it adds so much nuance to the characters of utena.

you get to see side characters and how they tick!! some of which like kozue and shiori become very important later as they become miki and ruka's rose brides in the akio arc! (side note : what was up with ruka he just kind of showed up and disappeared lmaooo)

also, it adds to akio! (tw warning for only the next paragraph, i'm talking about akio so you can except me talking about grooming and abuse)

not only is this where akio is introduced, but he is always so omnipresent. it was ... honestly really terrifying to see how chill he acts with utena here. of course the real grooming begins in the akio arc but you can see how he starts here. how he kind of builds himself as anthy's cool older brother that utena can trust and ask for advice for... but we the audience know that he CANNOT be trusted as even know we see him being shady af in the background. i really feel like if we skipped straight from the first arc to akio arc a lot of the creepiness of akio would not have been realized because of ... just how NORMAL he akio acts to utena. he's charming, he's smart, and he overall is somebody utena SHOULD be able to trust bc we should all be able to trust an immediate family member of a best friend , but of course the world doesn't really work that way. anyway akio tangent over because BOOOOOO akio (he honestly terrifies me so much because of how many predators like that exist and you can meet without realizing their intentions)

BACK TO BLACK ROSE ARC

one of the main reasons i feel like this isn't a filler arc, at least not in the traditional sense of the phrase, is because it builds a lot character relationships. something that i didn't like when i first watched revolutionary girl utena but now is one of my FAVORITE things is that for a while we don't really get a straight forward utena/anthy episode. because their relationship doesn't need to build in an episode, it just slowly builds over time. we just see these two causally existing and they just start to trust each other.

in the akio arc we get to see just how close utena/anthy have gotten over the series because of their late night conversations. like how if the black rose arc didn't exist akio wouldn't have been as impactful, if the black rose arc didn't exist it would feel more sudden how close utena/anthy have grown imo.

this arc adds a lot to the world as well. as long as the students stay inside of school they will not grow. dead people wander the halls thinking that they are still alive. these two facts contribute a lot to utena theorizing and analysis (mainly, the ideas that ohtori exists within a plain of frozen time literally because of anthy's magic and metaphorically because the cast is very cozy in their coffin) and i could not thank this arc for that enough. not only are these very cool ideas that may or may not have inspired elements in my own story (i can neither confirm or deny that one of my oc story is heavily inspired by utena) but they just add so many layers!

this arc also felt necessary because of the new duelists??? if we went straight from the first arc to the akio arc then it would've kinda gotten very tiring to see the student council constantly duel and lose to utena (with the exception of touga's sole victory to utena in the first arc before she duels him again and wins) but these new duelists possessed by the black rose are very interesting!

if i did have to make a compliant about this arc, though, i will say that at times the stories felt very disconnected to each other. while it was very funny for utena to not even know who keiko was when she dueled her, it would've been nice if sometimes the arc of the black rose duelist intertwined more with utena. as the arc goes on, the student council is on alert and is trying to figure out where the black rose is coming from, but they never really try to ask utena about it and utena never really tries to get involved? she just is chill until she gets the note to go to the duel arena to fight the black rose duelist. i don't really have a solution on how to fix this? maybe have the student council member that the black rose duelist takes the sword from be more involved? idk.

the villain of this arc mikage also really fascinates me??? i... really like him??? but not even as a villain ... i just really pity him. the realization he has in his duel with utena that everything he has been doing is for nothing because mamiya is already dead .. that always really hit me? the horror in his voice when he starts to recall the truth in his false memories.... for some reason, this is one of the most terrifying parts of the show for me. the realization that something you were doing, something you were doing that might've been awful but you were doing it because of somebody you care about deeply and love, it was all for nought. how much time he has wasted...

even before his duel with utena, there's this moment when after he got punched by utena he says something like "if she hadn't seen my duelist ring and challenged me to a duel, she could've killed me" or something like that, he's just so pathetic and i feel very bad for him but at the same time am too disconnected to him to truly feel empathy for him... that's some TOP TIER shit

overall, this part of the show is one of my favorites. the only part i like more is the last few episodes because it makes me very emotional.

NOW FOR THE SPECIFICS

favorite black rose duelist: honestly? wakaba. the girl deserves it this is stress relief for her. not only is this duel very emotional as i don't think we've ever seen utena refuse to duel somebody (at least not in the way that she does in this episode) but just the SHEER emotion.

i'm a real sucker for fighting the person you care about the most which is why the dark signer arc in yugioh 5ds is the best yugioh arc and this just really takes the cake in this arc. utena always shows concern for the black rose duelist because they are clearly people in pain who were not able to properly duel with their grief which let mikage manipulate them, but it's taken to a new level here.

the way that after the duel is completed, wakaba comes home to her empty dorm where saionji used to be but now isn't always gets me. she's just such a lonely girl and that's never really resolved for her. a lot of the other duelists have a optimist note to end on (kozue asking miki for a milkshake, shiori and juri saying hello to each other as they walk past, keiko being friends with nanami again, etc.) which is why the fact that wakaba is more alone now then she is ever... it is a feeling i can relate to an almost embarrassing amount.

favorite episode: COWBELL OF HAPPINESS, NANAMI TURNS INTO A COW-

ANTHY YOU GLORIOUS TROLL-

favorite episode that isn't cowbell of happiness: i'm very torn between the landscape scaped by kozue and thorns of death. shiori and kozue are both very interesting characters that i like a lot. but i'm going to go with thorns of death for now, as while i really like the landscape scaped by kozue, i think my preferred miki/kozue episode is their episode in the akio arc. meanwhile i like thorns of death way more than i liked whispers in the arc (mostly because i just do not really care that much for ruka, but azure paler than the sky was a banger and he was in that?) i just loved the feeling of seeing shiori the girl juri loves so much and juri's reaction to seeing her. the way my heart was wrenched when black rose shiori mocks juri... it really did hit different. but the hopeful ending did make me feel a lot better. i do like the way that juri out of all the student council members is the one closest to self actualization and this really sets that up even if there is still a bumpy road until then.

honorary mention: the boys of the black rose and kanae as a black rose duelist are both really great. i feel like if this wasn't the arc opener it would've had more room to stretch its legs and show how horrific it could've been. kanae is a girl i feel really bad about and similar to wakaba, i don't really think her episode was a very optimistic ending for her especially since akio probably killed her later in the show?

honestly the minute akip appeared on screen, engaged to a girl who HASN'T EVEN GRADUATED and is also emotionally manipulating her so much and having his little sister manipulate her too... throw the whole man away

tl;dr - the black rose arc is very good and i like it a lot, the ending of the arc really fucks me up, somebody give mikage & all the black rose duelists therapy, throw akio in the garbage, and this show probably exists in some sort of time loop / frozen time space as a metaphor for the whole coffin thing but you can probbaly find people smarter than me talking about that.

oh and go rewatch cowbell of happiness it's great

[softyoongiionly]

NSFW A-Z List (Mama Mia! Jungkook)

***This contains smut, 18+ only please***

“Aqua told me you all had some questions for me so, I had my assistant fax me the prompt and, I’m really hoping she didn’t read it because, these are filthy ha. I hope you all enjoy yourselves.” 

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex):

“It kind of depends on the situation but, if I just had sex, I’m in a good mood. If Y/N and I are in the bed, I make sure I change the sheets and, I make sure she’s cleaned up and, feeling good too. Sometimes we like to talk about it. A bit of pillow talk is always great. PILLOWW TALK! Do you guys remember that song by that one dude in one direction? Great song. It’s like he left one direction and, immediately needed to say the word fuck and sing about sex.” 

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s):

“This is a weird question. I like my abs? I guess? I mean I spent like a million hours in the gym trying to tone up and stuff so, it’s definitely the only thing that stands out.” 

“Y/N is the by far the most beautiful woman on the planet so, it’s a little hard to pin point one specific part of her I like the most. If I had to choose, I would say her eyes. Sometimes she looks at me and, I suddenly forget all three languages I speak. She takes my breath away. Literally, who is she looking at like that? Me? Does she value my life at all? Is she trying to kill me? Probably. I love her :-)” 

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person):

“Cum...I don’t really know what I’m supposed to talk about in this section so, I’m just gonna say- yes?? Is that the right answer?” 

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self-explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs):

“One time, when Y/N was away on business, I jerked off so much in one day, I sprained my hand. I guess that isn’t dirty but, it is embarrassing. I’d probably do it again though, I’m so spoiled that I forgot what’s its like to go without sex.” 

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?):

“Yikes this question is a little hard for me to answer. Before meeting Y/N, I had a lot of different partners. After finding out my half-brother tried to steal my recipe, I got really down on myself. I felt really empty and, I spent a lot of time partying and, hooking up with random people. I don’t really know how many if I’m being honest. It was a lot though. After awhile I kind of snapped out of it and, realized I needed to deal with my issues head on so, after a bit of therapy, I was doing a lot better. Sexually, I’ve had a lot of experience but, intimacy? That’s a lot newer for me. And let me tell you my dudes, nothing is sexier than being with someone who truly loves and cares for you. I don’t make the rules.” 

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual):

“Missionary. Listen, I know it’s a boring answer but, I’m a sucker for passion what can I say? I like watching her face and, seeing all the little expressions she makes, especially right when I first push inside of her. Also, it’s the best position for her to scratch up my back and, I really love when she does that.” 

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc):

“I don’t really find a lot of things to laugh about during sex but, I’m sure it’s happened at some point. Sex is kind of a serious thing for me now but, I wouldn’t stay serious if something funny happened because, sometimes funny things do happen. When they do, we laugh but, then I’m right back in the moment again. Y/N and I mess around a lot in our daily lives so, I like to use sex as a way to show her how serious I am about her and, our relationship.” 

H = Hair (How well-groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.):

“I got laser hair removal like 3 years ago. Yes, it’s possible to get it done in sensitive areas but, it’s crazy expensive. Or so I’ve heard, I’m not gonna lie to you, my idea of expensive and, other people’s idea of expensive are probably a little different. But yeah, I got it all lasered off so, it doesn’t really grow there anymore. I keep my face shaved too but, my arms and legs are free to grow all the hair they want.” 

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…):

“With Y/N, I’m a little bit of a hopeless romantic, I can’t lie. I love all of that cheesy shit. Rose petals on the bed? Yes. Wine and chocolate on the shores of our private beach? At least twice a week. Leaving Y/N little post it notes all over our villa that contain all the things I love about her? Duh. I AM A SAP. I AM A MESS. I can’t help myself. My father collects first edition classic novels and, for Valentine’s Day, I had him send me the contact of his distributor so, I could buy Y/N the first edition of The Princess Bride. It’s one of her favorites. It was only $1,400 so, I definitely got a good deal. I also had a custom gown imported from France and, a prince-like outfit made for me. What do princes even wear? What is that called? Tights? I don’t know but, I looked like a goddamn Disney prince by the time I was done getting ready. I rented a different villa out for the weekend and, my interior designer decorated it like a medieval castle. We spent the weekend playing prince and princess and, it was probably one of the best weekends of my life. So to answer your question: Yes, I am romantic.”

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon):

“I only really touch myself when Y/N is away. Her and I have a pretty consistent sex life so, we have sex almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day. I don’t really have a need for it anymore and, it doesn’t feel nearly as good as sex with Y/N.”

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks):

“I have a few. I’m really sensitive to smells so, if Y/N smells good, I can’t keep my hands off of her. She has this one perfume from Gucci that I love so much. I can get hard just from the smell; it’s kind of pathetic honestly. I love  having sex outside too. It’s a good thing we have a private strip of the beach because, if we had neighbors nearby, they would hate us ha. I have a cashmere picnic blanket that we take down there a few times a week and, we always end up making love on it. Yes, I said making love. Get over it. Oh and, if Y/N says anything about my muscles or how strong I am? Instant turn on. I think I have a praise kink? Is that what it’s called? I love Y/N’s panties too. Lace, silk, cotton, clean or dirty; I don’t discriminate, just put them in my mouth. Lol, this is getting dirty…sorry Aqua.”

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do):

“I already kind of answered this but, sex on the beach or sex on our balcony are probably my top two.”

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going):

“I feel like I answered this one too because, I just talked about my kinks but, I would say my motivation is to get my girl off right? I get off easily. I have a beautiful woman all over me, saying dirty things in my ear… I mean, my orgasm is guaranteed. Y/N doesn’t take a long time to cum anymore because; I know how to please my woman but, I still want her to feel good. I want to see her let go and, let someone else take care of her for a change. She works so hard. I want to show her what a good woman she is. I want to show her how much I love her.”

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs):

“Threesomes, anal and, I’m pretty sure this is everyone’s answer but, bodily fluids belong in the toilet.”

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc):

“Yes.”

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? Etc.):

“Both. Sometimes I want to draw it out and, let her feel every inch of me but, sometimes I want to fuck so hard we are both sore the next day. It’s all amazing either way.”

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.):

“I love quickies. They are great in the afternoon when she and I have things to do but, we still want each other. They would get old after a while though so, we usually do both. It’s very rare that we just have a quickie and, nothing else but, sometimes it happens. Ever since we moved to Greece, we try to always make time for each other but, we both get busy from time to time.”

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.):

“I’m game to experiment a little bit but, Y/N and I have been together awhile. We’ve tried a few different things but, sex with her is so amazing, I don’t feel the need to experiment that much anymore.”

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…):

“I can last forever if I need to. Like I said, my orgasm is an easy thing to obtain with a woman like Y/N so, my focus is making sure she’s feeling it too. I can go for multiple rounds too, I mean it’s hard not to. Have you seen her? We have sex all night sometimes. I hope she finishes her conference call soon, I’m really starting to miss her…”

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?):

“Y/N owns a very tasteful collection of dildos made out of rose quartz and jade. I use them on her sometimes between rounds but, I don’t know how often she uses them beyond that. I don’t own any toys but, I do spend quite a bit of money on new lingerie for Y/N. She has an entire armoire for all of her outfits. Oh, we have gold handcuffs too. We take turns using them on each other.”

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease):

“Y/N has a really sensitive spot on her neck and, she’s really tender around her waist so, sometimes I come up beyond her and, brush my lips against her throat and, tickle her. She’s told me it turns her on immediately so, I like to play with her a little bit. We both tease each other a lot though, especially during phone meetings. One time, I was on a 4 way call with my investors and, she sucked my dick through the entire thing. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack but, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cum a little harder that time. Maybe that’s another kink of mine…”

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make):

“We live on a private piece of land so; we can be as loud as we want. I’m only loud when things are getting intense but, even still I’m not screaming at the top of my lungs. She isn’t crazy loud either but, I do try my hardest to get her to scream my name every now and again. Just for fun.”

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice):

“Y/N and I are in the process of buying an island in the Caribbean and, sometimes I get turned on when she talks about how much money we both have. I’m sorry, I know it’s a dick move but, it’s the truth. I donate millions to charity every year, I swear.”

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words):

“I’m like 7 inches I think? When I’m hard it’s probably like 8 or 9. I’m not sharing any more than that ha.”

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?):

“Pretty high. Unless I’m really sick or really busy.”

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards):

“If we’ve been going for multiple rounds, I’m pretty exhausted by the end of it but, I don’t just fall asleep. I don’t want to leave the bed afterwards though. I just want to cuddle with Y/N until we both pass out. If it’s during the day and, we’ve only gone once or twice, I’m not tired at all.”

“Aqua wanted me to dedicate this to @gldnrecs​ and, @bulletproofbirdy​. She says you guys are the best and, apparently you have a sweet spot for me. So, I guess I’ll dedicate this to you too ha. I hope you liked it.”

[hiddendreamer67]

Original Character List

I present to you, something Legendary! 😄 It’s so cute, like, oh my gosh, heh, hi! 

Guess what- I have Original Characters now! I’m listing them here to introduce you guys to the handful that exist already, because later I’m going to reblog a prompt list or two and I’m hoping to write some oneshots/drabbles with them to help my with character, plot, and world development. ☺️ 

Btw this world is totally gonna have gt elements but ironically everyone I’ve created so far is human-sized!  😅 And also I’m putting this list under a cut so that as I add people I can list them here as well. (And disclaimer, this is my initial ideas for these peeps, they still have the potential to evolve and change).

Human Characters

Prince Valentine, I think youngest son? - One of the princes in the TBD main human kingdom. The fae and mortals have been in an everlasting state of unrest and war for a long time now, and Valentine gets the idea to try out diplomacy. He hears of Garth/Cam’s friendship and decides to send them out since clearly they know what they’re doing! (They don’t.) Valentine is very energetic and a bit air-headed, he’s also ignorant in a lot of viewpoints because he was raised to believe fae are wild beasts and wants to control them. Later on he’ll get better and realize “Hey fae are people too...ish.” His family thinks his diplomacy mission is foolish but don’t care because he’s not sticking his own neck out.

Cornelius, prince’s main adviser- This wizard(?) is pretty much the only one in the entire castle who actually believes in this diplomacy mission and also is the only one keeping an eye on Valentine. He basically makes sure Garth and Cam are equipped with enough knowledge to not immediately die and helps filter missions as best he can.

Noemi, witch at the edge of the woods- She lives at a different edge than the Thornton family. I don’t know a lot about her yet except that she’s a mostly self-taught witch with a best fae friend (girlfriend?) named Witch Hazel. 

(I think the Thornton family all live in a house on the edge of town near a forest that was -recently?- inhabited by some of the flower fae)

Perth Thornton, father- Not much developed for him yet.

Marabelle Thornton, mother - Not much developed for her either! But both parents are at least alive.

Quill Thornton, eldest son - Perfect boy, start child, parent’s favorite. Sometimes siblings are jealous of him because of attention but they love him too because this guy is obnoxious in there’s not really a reason to hate him. The strong, brotherly type who volunteers around town to help others and is a good leader but listens more than he speaks. Fae relations unclear, I think flower fae generally like him too but idk how he feels about fae.

Bentley Thornton, second oldest son - He’s a good boy too, wants to be an academic but that’s not really in the family line of work. He’s more concerned w/ logistics than the rest of his family which can turn him into a frustrated/stressed wreck since he’s just trying to keep everything in check and good lord why am I the only rational sibling. Flower fae call him Sparrow because his heart always speeds up like a lil’ bird when they’re around since he’s naturally weary.

Garth Thornton, middle child - He’s the main character human, or he’s intended to be. He’s snarky. Spent a long while as the youngest kid and especially now that there’s a new baby he gets sorta left to his own devices, so naturally he ended up accidentally befriending a fae named Cam in the woods. He’s generally distrustful of fae and can feel like the only normal one who gets thrown or tugged into magical dangerous adventures. Flower fae call him Germ- that’s a fun story. ;) 

Posie Thornton, newborn baby sister -  She’s adorable and a baby. Flower fae call her Bud or Blossom because they love her and want her to be one of them so they basically lowkey made her an honorary flower. 

Fae Characters

So an important note: I haven’t fully developed all of the creatures and beings in this universe (feel free to ask if there’s any certain types or categories afoot & where they’d fall), but basically one category is the fae, who basically encompass all natural spirits and come in a variety of physical forms & sizes. There’s a lot of lore w/ fae in play but a big one is Names have power so you gotta use some sort of nickname.

The Winter Vale, King of Winter- Vale is a very powerful fae, controlling all of the winter court. He’s cold-hearted and a real awful dude. He has a few children he repeatedly neglects (@Thistle) and is known for stealing away flower fae to be his stolen brides and bring a spot of color to his chilly domain until inevitably they fade or he gets bored or they run away. Oof. 

Gaia, Queen of Spring- This is the mother of all flower fae; basically, Gaia slept around with pretty much every male fae and that’s why there are a million daughters. She did this because normally Spring can be weaker than Winter, but in large numbers she grew in power and children are more affiliated with whatever parent has more royal blood (so even if she weds a winter, the child will fall in the Spring Court). 

Flower Fae- lil’ bit o’ lore

The flower fae are a sub-branch of Fae; flower fae are all sisters, and they each call each other by a given flower name. They’re basically a lil’ cult of children; by nature, flower fae are curious and giggly and love to play games. Also flower fae are independent beings in that they can have their own outlooks on thing like, say, their opinion on mortals, but inherently they all share this sort of sisterly bond and are inclined to view other sisters fondly. (That comes into play especially w/ sisters spread across the globe, which should not be a thing b/c they thrive on togetherness but yeah some flower fae are kinda everywhere now? Also they aren’t immortal as in they’ve existed forever, they are born from a garden thing and they do have an age order and idk how many are in existence currently but they’re only limited in number by the amount of flower names I can discover. No way in hell have I characterized them all yet.)

Camellia (Cam), flower fae- This is my main girl, she’s the one who somehow manages to befriend Garth and sneak her way into his stony heart. Cam is the youngest of the flower fae when we meet her. She grows attached to Garth and basically becomes an overexcited puppy going on adventures. She’s occasionally viewed as a lil’ sister until she pulls some powerful magic out and everyone’s like “oh yeah nvm she can hold her own”. She’s easily distracted especially when it comes to being serious or mortal affairs. Also she’s got some natural weaknesses like cold and iron are not good for her so she turns a jittery mess in cities and a sleepy mess in the snow.

Uva Ursi, flower fae- She’s a lot more bristly than flower fae are typically known for (at least from Garth’s perspective), but she means well. Was separated from several of her sisters a long time ago but adapted well to the cold. Has a little bit of control over winter elements, due to her relations with The Winter Vale. She was his bride to replace Nightshade and certainly has a complicated past and somehow ended up in the desert for a bit.

Nightshade, flower fae- A previous flower fae gone rogue/evil, basically she was a bride to Vale and managed to escape but went insane. She’s now an assassin and I don’t know all the details but is very encouraging of getting flower fae to join her... cause? Basically it’s a rebel flower fae group who just want to mess life up for others and get vengeance.

Baby’s Breath, flower fae- The true infant of the sisterhood; she’s born after Camellia and is the epitome of ‘baby’. 

Thistle, flower fae- Daughter of Vale and Gaia (King of Winter and Queen of Spring). She is the only flower fae who actually falls into the Winter Court, and as such is accepted by neither. Has SEVERE daddy issues because her father will never accept or love her. But, on a more surface level note, she’s a mischievous little sprite who’s very sarcastic and snarky.

Rose, flower fae- She is the. First. Flower fae, and will never let you forget it. There is a whole clan of ‘roses’ (Primrose, Petite rose, Tea rose, etc.) but Rose is THE Rose. She’s very vain, and thinks she’s mom’s favorite; that might actually be true. Rose does love her sisters but she is not nearly as devoted to them all as is typical of flower fae.

Lily, flower fae- She’s another original flower fae who has a clan of her own  (Tiger Lily, Calla Lily, etc.) but is not nearly as iconic as Rose. She does tend to be a good motherly figure for the flower fae still in the home garden, especially since Gaia is not an attentive mother. At the very least she’s a responsible older sister.

Witch Hazel, flower fae- Hazel found the human witch Noemi and pretty much instantly fell in love (romantically or platonically tbd), so much so that she decided to leave the flower fae sisterhood behind to stay permanently with Noemi and only occasionally comes back to visit. She’s very sweet and a bit uneducated but still wants to do whatever she can to help her witch succeed.

Azalea, flower fae- Way down the road, this is Bentley’s fae girlfriend! In the meantime though, she’s an older sister of Cam’s who’s a bit of a brash, sassy personality but she means well. Is actually a bit nervous about the idea of Cam going into the world of mortals.

...I think that’s everything? Kinda info dumped there, I hope this was at least interesting for some of you. Thank you for reading this list! Feel free to send me any questions you have or let me know if something was unclear!

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Hey I was just wondering on your interpretation of Jonerys in the books? Because according to the bad leaks we will get Jon killing Dany, but in the book version its pretty clear that these two will marry and I don't necessarily see how those two things jive with each other, unless we get a literal repeat of the Azor Ahai/Nissa Nissa bs with them🤷🏼‍♀️ Thoughts? Because I have given up hope for the show and need some reassurance on the books after reading all of them plus the history books,,

Look, anon. Even in the fucking show these two have been paralleled to death - in a way that inextricably links their lives together, as seen here and here and here. When you learn that when Ian McElhinney (Barristan Selmy) confronted D&D about how he thought it was too early to kill off his character, it made them want to kill him more, out of spite… it makes it pretty clear what D&D are doing.

In their effort to adhere to shock and subversion… they’ve left mounds of unused foreshadowing all over the place (I’m still working on a master post of unused foreshadowing and plot elements). As you might’ve guessed, Jonerys foreshadowing is among those casualties - such as Dany mentioning she may have to enter in a political marriage at the end of season 6 before setting sail for Westeros, or the four different instances that challenge Dany’s belief that she can’t have children, that her family hasn’t seen its end, and that Longclaw will go to Jon’s children after him. As of right now, none of the leaks indicate that any of this meant anything other than dialogue filler. If it was never intended to amount to anything, then the writers should not have included these lines at all, especially in a show that was cut down from ten episodes to seven. Way, way too much emphasis was put on challenging the notion Daenerys can’t have children. It’s what a good writer might call ‘trimming the fat’ from the story, otherwise, it does nothing but muddy up the story unnecessarily.

Jonerys aside, D&D have killed so much foreshadowing in the series just to make a shocking ending (which by the way, makes no sense at all). I was flabbergasted when I read this quote from 2013:

When I asked Benioff and Weiss if it was possible to infer any overall intentionality to the upcoming 10 episodes, they sneered. “Themes are for eighth-grade book reports,” Benioff told me.

Uh, what?

As you may have seen, I already recently covered why Jon shouldn’t care so much about the incest aspect - in the comments I received, there was a great point about how Jon has borderline romantic feelings toward his cousin Arya (who he believes is his half-sister), tending to think of her when he wonders what his love interest’s (Ygritte) body looks like under all those clothes. In the original outline for the series, Jon and Arya were supposed to end up together or at least be involved in a love triangle with Tyrion.

As you see, in the books, Daenerys has already been groomed for the reality of being wedded to her brother, so her nephew won’t be some grand depature from this. She’s a dragonrider, and if the shows are to be believed, Jon will be, too - and if the majority of fans are to be believed, then there might be something magical about Targaryen blood that makes them different or unique or magical, hence the incest.

When you look at just how finely crafted this book series by GRRM is… it makes it really hard to believe that he’d throw out all of his foreshadowing for shock value.

“It’s easy to do things that are shocking or unexpected, but they have to grow out of characters. They have to grow out of situations. Otherwise, it’s just being shocking for being shocking.”—George R. R. Martin

I think we can all agree that season eight of Game of Thrones is all about futility, shock, nihilism. So, check out this quote:

Q: Early on, one critic described the TV series as bleak and embodying a nihilistic worldview, another bemoaned its “lack of moral signposts.” Have you ever worried that there’s some validity to that criticism?

A: No. That particular criticism is completely invalid. Actually, I think it’s moronic. My worldview is anything but nihilistic.—George R. R. Martin

It was George who said we’d get a bittersweet ending, not D&D. It was George who said he wanted a LotR-style ending, not D&D.

While there are many conflicting quotes out there about GRRM’s ending vs. D&D’s… This recent article published right after episode 3 had some interesting lines:

“Of course you have an emotional reaction. I mean, would I prefer they do it exactly the way I did it? Sure. It can also be… traumatic. Because sometimes their creative vision and your creative vision don’t match, and you get the famous creative differences thing — that leads to a lot of conflict.”—George R. R. Martin

My interpretation currently is that yes, Jonerys is real in the books…

(just as it was in the fucking show until they decided to abandon all preestablished groundwork and foundation) …and has been thoroughly foreshadowed - and not in a tragic way.

First of all, the series is called ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ - while this stands for many things from literal to metaphorical, I’d say it absolutely encompasses Jon and Dany. I have some very unpopular ideas that ice actually represents Daenerys and fire, Jon. Whether or not I’m right about that, we have some hints that Jon will ultimately accept his Targaryen identity…

Subtle clue about who he is, in one of his true house’s colors:

“The next time I see you, you’ll be all in black.”Jon forced himself to smile back. “It was always my color.”

He idolizes historical Targaryens:

“Daeren Targaryen was only fourteen when he conquered Dorne,” Jon said. The Young Dragon was one of his heroes.

He’d pretend to be Targaryens while playing as a child:

“I’m Prince Aemon the Dragonknight,” Jon would call out.

For Daenerys, we get this curious line:

“Mother of dragons, bride of fire…”

Bride could also be metaphorical in some way, sure, but let’s just say it’s literal. Jon is the dragon, the fire.

Okay, so for the books, I’ll try to hit the bullet points:

First and foremost, the pair are incredibly similar, both stepping into positions of rule after immersing themselves into a foreign culture, adapting to their way of life before making allies. Both Jon and Daenerys make grave mistakes while wielding power, and they learn from their mistakes. They’re being shaped into rulers.

Both fall in love, yet still feel alone:

“Her captain slept beside her, yet she was alone.” / "Even with Ygritte sleeping beside him, he felt alone.“

Daenerys dreams of her lover:

“It was never Jorah Mormont she dreamed of; her lover was always younger and more comely, though his face remained a shifting shadow.”

Jon is described as a shadow:

“A shadow half-seen behind a fluttering curtain.” / “He would be condemned to be an outsider, the silent man standing in the shadows”

Daenerys also dreams of life as a wife and mother:

“In her dream they had been man and wife, simple folk who lived a simple life in a tall stone house with a red door.”

Both dream of children they will never have:

“I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms.” / "I will never have a little girl.“

From Jon’s first chapter, there are hints that Benjen knows his identity and that family might someday be important to Jon:

"You don’t know what you’re asking, Jon. The Night’s Watch is a sworn brotherhood. We have no families. None of us will ever father sons. Our wife is duty. Our mistress is honor. You are a boy of fourteen, not a man, not yet. Until you have known a woman, you cannot understand what you would be giving up.”

“I don’t care about that!” Jon said hotly.

“You might, if you knew what it meant,” Benjen said. “If you knew what the oath would cost you, you might be less eager to pay the price, son.”

We have those quotes from Maester Aemon, that hint that Jon might choose love or a child over duty:

“What is honor compared to a woman’s love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms … or the memory of a brother’s smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.”

While yes, Aemon hints that it is both glory and tragedy, we’re coming off a long, long line of tragic Targaryen love stories - the difference here being that one of these Targaryens is out to break the wheel that destroyed so many of these star-crossed, doomed Targaryens loves (Rhaegar/Lyanna, Duncan/Jenny, Daemon/Daenerys, Aemon/Naerys, etc).

Blue roses are linked to Lyanna Stark or even House Stark in general. In a vision, Daenerys sees:

“A blue flower grew from a chink in a wall of ice, and filled the air with sweetness.”

Meanwhile, there is foreshadowing that Dany will help Jon’s effort against the white walkers with lines like these:

“He might as well wish for another thousand men, and maybe a dragon or three.”

Daenerys, herself, has a weird moment with some ants while she wakes in the Dothraki Sea, brushing them off of her body as they swarm over a wall:

“To them these tumbledown stones must loom as huge as the Wall of Westeros. The biggest wall in all the world, her brother Viserys used to say, as proud as if he’d built it himself.”

Around the same time, Jon is killed, whispering to his wolf:

“Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. He gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold…

Meanwhile, after ‘opening her third eye’ with some berries, Daenerys hears the call of a wolf all the way over in Essos:

“Off in the distance, a wolf howled. The sound made her feel sad and lonely.”

We can extrapolate that this is, in fact, Ghost… as first, there don’t seem to be wolves in the Dothraki Sea, but also this line from Bran also provides context:

“Here in the chill damp darkness of the tomb his third eye had finally opened. He could reach Summer whenever he wanted, and once he had even touched Ghost and talked to Jon.”

Now that we know Jon’s true name (at least according to the show), this curious line from Daenerys also hints she might marry Jon:

“A crown should not sit easy on the head. One of her royal forebears had said that, once. Some Aegon, but which one? Five Aegons had ruled the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. There would have been a sixth, but the Usurper’s dogs had murdered her brother’s son when he was still a babe at the breast. If he had lived, I might have married him.”

Meanwhile, Jon is infatuated with Val, a woman who sounds an awful lot like a precursor to Daenerys, who is a warrior woman with silver-pale hair… Jon is also reminded of Val’s hips and breasts and that she’s 'well made for whelping children’…

“The light of the half-moon turned Vals honey-blond hair a pale silver and left her cheeks as white as snow. She took a deep breath. The air tastes sweet.”

“Lonely and lovely and lethal, Jon Snow reflected, and I might have had her.”

“A warrior princess, he decided, not some willowy creature who sits up in a tower, brushing her hair and waiting for some knight to rescue her.”

As for GRRM, he told a helpful clue to director Alan Taylor circa season one of Game of Thrones:

“Anyways, he alluded to the fact that Jon and Dany were the point, kind of. That, at the time, there was a huge, vast array of characters, and Jon was a lowly, you know, bastard son. So it wasn’t clear to us at the time, but he did sort of say things that made it clear that the meeting and the convergence of Jon and Dany were sort of the point of the series. So, I was happy that a big step forward was taken in the episode I got to do this season is where he has fallen for her both, you know, emotionally and politically I think.”

But that’s not all. I did write a meta about the mother goddess Danu and her parallels with Dany - and this, to me, rings much more true to who Daenerys is in the books rather than whatever impostor is parading around in Dany’s skin on screen in season eight.

There is a lot of proof that GRRM puts a LOT of thought and detail into his books - even down to the Starks ‘howling’ and ‘growling’ and the Lannisters ‘roaring’. I’ve uncovered a cool trend where many of the names he assigns to characters reflect their numerological gemstone house colors - and the names he chooses all shed some light on the characters they are given to, such as Bran meaning ‘raven’ or Sandor meaning ‘defender of man’ or Gendry meaning ‘son-in-law’.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about these things, and I just cannot see GRRM throwing out all of his foreshadowing or all of the clever little things he’s been hinting at since book once, all for the sake of shock value or subverting expectations… That’s not his style and he speaks out against it.

Bearing that in mind, the clear mad queen is Cersei, who shares virtually every parallel to Aerys Targaryen - the way she tortures parent and child chained just out of reach from one another, the way torture sexually excites her, the way she was tortured into madness, and straight down to her wildfire use. Daenerys better fits the archetype of an anti-hero rather than a straight villain. With only two books left and still no signs of madness… I just don’t see it going down this way in the books.

As for whatever just happened with Daenerys, I’ve been given a compelling argument that in the books, as she squares off with (f)Aegon Targaryen, or, Young Griff, in an effort to expose the Mummer’s Dragon, she might accidentally set off these wildfire traps that make her look just like her father, and perhaps she even goes a little mad with grief.

Especially considering that ASOIAF is so heavily based on Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, which share countless parallels, such as:

Norn (White foxes)  → The Others (White walkers)

Sithi (Dawn children) → Singers (Children of the forest)

Witchwood  → Weirwood

The Storm King → Night’s King

Ineluki → Azor Ahai

Sorrow → Lightbringer

Black iron → Dragonglass

Nisse → Nissa Nissa

Hayholt Castle → Winterfell Castle

Green Angel Tower → Winterfell Crypts

Simon Snowlock (secret heritage) → Jon Snow

Princess Miriamele (disguised as a boy) → Arya Stark

Warring brothers King Elias/Josua → Stannis/Renly

Tailed star → Red comet

Black priest Pryrates → Red priest Melisandre

Daenerys is suspected to be the Princess Maegwin figure, a woman who “is forced to watch as forces conquer her people and is eventually driven to madness in her desperation to save them.”

You make a good point about Fire & Blood and ASOIAF prehistory, too. Aside from the doomed Targaryen love stories I mentioned earlier, we get another history book that basically gives us a rundown of various Targaryen ladies who never got to be queen. I’d say this book has a strong feminist message - and might even hint that the last vestige of House Targaryen just might accomplish what her foremothers could not - finally becoming the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a clip from the man, himself, about Dany:

“From my mother’s stories, I always had this kind of sense that I was like disinherited royalty. Here was this dock that my great-grandfather built - it wasn’t ours anymore. Here was this house that my mother had been born in - we didn’t own this house anymore. We didn’t own any house, we had an apartment. So it was like, ugh, I came from greatness - like Dany! And I will take back what is mine with Fire and Blood! I think on some level, that must’ve gotten to me.”—George R. R. Martin

I could be wrong about all of this, of course… but that’s my current take. 🤷

[thefloatingstone]

Y'know what? Give us the long answer. Have fun with it. Go wild.

The full title of the show is “Revolutionary Girl Utena”. It has 39 episodes and was released in 1997. The series director, Kunihiko Ikuhara, previously worked on the anime version of Sailor Moon, and was the main force behind turning Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from simple team partners into a romantic lesbian couple, turning Sailor Uranus from an androgynous person who changed gender at will into a masculine lesbian, and Sailor Neptune from a borderline “background character” into a character in her own right, motivated by her romance with Sailor Uranus.

Revolutionary Girl Utena was originally an idea to have a Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune spin-off show until somebody told Ikuhara that the story he wanted to tell wouldn’t make sense with those characters. Instead, he decided to make the Utena anime. The anime IS based on a manga which had not yet concluded at the time of the anime’s creation, but the anime deviates from its source material in the extremes.

SO! Revolutionary Girl Utena!!

I am going to answer “What is it about?” with 2 answers because both are true but just giving you the plot summary doesn’t actually tell you shit about what the show is….about.

Answer 1:

We open with what appears to be a fairy tale. Long ago, there was a young princess whose parents had recently died and she was very sad. One day, a beautiful prince smelling of roses came to her, and told her “Beautiful princess who holds up alone in such sadness, never lose that nobility even when you are grown”. He then gives her a ring with a rose crest on it and promises they’ll meet again. The fairy story ends with “That’s all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that she decided to become a prince too. But was that really such a good idea?”

The story follows 14 year old Tenjou Utena. She attends the prestigious Ohtori Academy with her best friend, the rather unremarkable Wakaba. (Basically think the “Magical Girl Trope” of Sailor Moon and her “best friend” character Naru. Utena is doing the trope on purpose). Utena says she enrolled in the school because it has the same rose crest as its symbol as the ring she has, which was given to her by “a prince” long ago, and she hopes to meet him again one day.

Utena is admired by practically every person in school, both girls AND boys. The boys admire her as a very talented athlete, specializing in basketball and playing on the boy’s team, and the girls admire her because she’s a girl who comes to school wearing the boys’ uniform (even though it doesn’t resemble any of the boys’ uniforms), refers to herself with the male “Boku” rather than the feminine “Watashi” and for her self confidence and energetic and positive personality, as well as her disregard for authority figures (like the teacher who confronts her for wearing “inappropriate” clothing, pointing out that the student rule book only says students have to wear the inform. Not that they have to wear the specific gendered uniform)

The story follows Utena, as she accidentally, while trying to defend her best friend Wakaba, getting involved in a “game” which involves the 4 members of the school’s student council, Juri, Saionji, Miki and the council president, Touga. The game involves a mysterious dueling arena in the middle of the forest which can only be accessed by people who have a rose crest ring, that looks exactly like Utena’s childhood ring. There, they duel in sword fights as an upside down figment of a castle looms over them. The winner of a duel becomes “engaged” to the female student, “Anthy Himemiya” who is called “The Rose Bride”. The Rose Bride gives her current fiance the power to use “The Sword of Dios” which she pulls from her chest, and the duelists believe that the one who is engaged to the rose bride can eventually enter the castle in the sky, wherein lies the power to revolutionise the world. Each member of the Student council believes this to be something completely different, each one of them thinking it will change their current situation in the real world into one they wish. One believes the castle contains the ability to create “True Friendship”, another “The ability to create miracles” another “A return to purity” etc etc.

Utena, who wins the duel in the first episode and ends up accidentally engaged to Anthy, has no interest in the castle or the rose bride or any of this dueling stuff. But she sees Anthy as a girl in distress, played around with and handed back and forth between people to use, and so Utena decides to, effectively, become Anthy’s “Prince Charming” to rescue the fair maiden in distress. Anthy is a very demure, introverted, and ultimately strange girl. She and Utena share a dorm together as is apparently Utena’s right as her “fiance”, and Utena starts building a friendship with Anthy, as well as learning what all these duels actually are, what is inside the castle, what IS the “power to revolutionise the world” and how she can save Anthy from this twisted game.

So…. that’s what the STORY of Utena is about…. but that has nothing to do with what Utena’s about…

Answer 2:

Utena is, at its core, about MANY strong themes, but to pick one out to talk about first, it’s about the human psyche. And I know that sounds like pretentious garbage but hear me out;

Utena is about how human  beings will trap themselves in their own destructive behaviours, constantly going round and round and round about something they can’t change in their life and their desire to change the OUTSIDE world to fulfill something that has gone wrong on the INSIDE of them. Every character believes the world to be a certain way, and what they believe the world is like means they can never achieve happiness or what they truly want, but none of the characters realise the ONLY way for them to be happy, TRULY happy, is in fact to let go of the desires and hang ups and psychological barriers that are keeping them trapped in unhappiness.

Utena is a 39 episode show talking in extensive detail “This is why you’re so fucked up”. And it pulls NO punches. Dealing with subjects like abuse, incest, rape, manipulation, sexual awakening, homosexuality, unrequited feelings, projecting your wants and desires onto other people, the list goes on.

The OTHER major theme of Utena is, and again I am not being pretentious here, this is what the show is about, the oppression of not only women, but of toxic beliefs surrounding what women’s roles in life “should” be, and how society as a whole uses this oppression and, frankly, abuse, to further people’s own desires and wants, and how society and those most toxic parts of it, try and break and bend women’s empowerment into something “more desirable” with complete disregard for how women in question actually FEEL about this supposed “place” they should be filling. It draws strong parallels between personal, one on one abuse, and a larger problem with women’s treatment of society as a whole.

And the OTHER other major theme of Utena, is sexuality as a whole. Not just Utena’s but literally every single character. The show is about sexual awakening (which is why the main characters are 14 but look older) and all the psychological hang-ups that comes with it, and how it shapes your opinion of the world and, in turn, how the world tries its best to shape YOU into something it WANTS you to be, rather than what you are. Female sexuality, Lesbian sexuality, Bisexuality, Sexual repulsion, Sex used as a weapon to control others, Sex as a metaphor for adulthood. Utena is an entire thesis on human sexuality, the form it takes in different individuals, the freedom it offers, as well as how predators use sexual attraction in terrible terrible ways to control others through manipulation, adoration, or domination.

The show is about trauma, both personal as well as on a societal level. it’s about abuse. It’s about what abuse turns people into. It’s about shutting off who you really are so tightly that NOBODY is able to pull it out. It’s about how being naive and “pure” is incredibly damaging, both to yourself and those you care about. It’s about confronting reality. It’s about confronting the adult world. It’s about breaking cycles. Both the ones we keep ourselves in which are self destructive, as well as the ones caused by abuse.

The OTHER thing Utena is about is “Speaking all of its plot, character motivations, themes, and story in metaphor so thick you need to be a psychology student to figure out half of this shit”

The first time I watched the show, I didn’t understand the ending AT ALL. And it took scouring the MANY essays written by people smarter than me on https://ohtori.nu/analysis/introduction.html for me to not only fully grasp what the ending was trying to say, but also literally 60% of the show which went completely over my head because I was 22 and a lot of the more adult themes was something I just didn’t pick up on, or fell into a complete trap with, thinking the same as the overly naive Utena, rather than understanding the reality of the situations and story.

My favourite scene to use as an example is in episode 5, where Miki runs into his twin sister Kozue in the school’s music room.

Miki had just finished telling Utena how he and his sister Kozue use to play the piano together, but something happened and Kozue refuses to play the piano with him any more. He and Kozue use to be very close in many ways, but these days Kozue has greatly distanced herself from him, and is very obviously slutting around the school, something Miki is disgusted in. It makes him want to distance himself from her all the more while also enraging him on a personal level. He has discovered, however, that Anthy (the Rose Bride) is very talented at playing the piano, and he hears in her playing something he feels he’s lost with his sister. Something calm and innocent which is no longer there between him and his twin. And he falls in love with Anthy.

He runs into Kozue as he goes to play the piano. He bumps into her unexpectedly. Her shirt is unbuttoned, her necktie undone, and she visibly adjusts her skirt. Inside the music room we see Touga, notorious school playboy, leaning idly against the windowsill, his own shirt unbuttoned.

Miki enters the room because he was intending to play the piano. Then THIS conversation happens;

This is one of the more obvious ones. But in case it wasn’t clear;

Neither of them are talking about playing the piano.

So take what I just told you about this situation… Read that info again…. THEN look at what they’re saying to each other… THEN look at how the show has chosen to place its camera angles.

Miki and his sister Kozue use to be very close, but have grown distant due to some event (which Miki says involves playing the piano. But that’s what Miki says). Miki yearns for when he and his sister use to be very close. a… “More innocent and pure” time… His sister has apparently completely embraced her sexuality, whereas Miki obviously sees her openly being slutty as extremely enraging and something he finds repulsive. He sees Anthy has in her the “purity and innocence” he lost with his sister. He falls in love with Anthy.

He runs into Kozue. She gives him…. THAT look. Up close and personal. When Miki speaks to her first, the camera ZOOMS back. Far away. a Great distance. Kozue asks him “Are you here to get me to play again?” She says, pointedly adjusting her skirt as she does so. She’s framed as towering over him. “I don’t have any more hope for you.” Miki dismisses her, as her presence looms over him.

They use to “play” together before they became distant. Kozue teases him about how he must miss playing with her. He scoffs. He’s no longer interested in her. They’re not talking about pianos.

Every single scene, exchange of dialogue, ever camera angle, every pose, every micro expression, every character’s body language, every bizarre visual or item that seems out of place in every shot… EVERYTHING in this show is a metaphor, or a hint, or a double meaning, or talking about something completely different than what they’re talking about.

Every second of this show is like this. If you wanna watch it… you’re gonna have to pay attention. Idly just letting it play while you take in the pretty visuals, and you’re not gonna understand one moment of what’s really being said, or shown.

And finally, everything that Utena is about, is in its intro’s lyrics. In fact the intro’s visuals all actually give away the entire story. But you know what? I can TELL you that because it is so heavy in symbolism and double meaning that even if I tell you that STRAIGHT OUT… you’re not gonna be able to understand what the hell it means until you reach the final episode.

Lets live with good grace and style.(just a long long time)Even if the two of us are ever torn apart…(let go of me)Take my revolution

In a sunlit schoolyard (garden), We took each other by the handDrawing close for comfort, we both swore:Never again would we ever fall in love.(Every time)

In that photograph of us, standing cheek-to-cheek,A touch of loneliness fills our smiling faces. (Revolution)

Even though we dream, even though we cry, even though we hurt ourselves, Reality keeps on approaching frantically,

I want to find my place, the worth of my existenceThe person I’ve been until nowAnd find the strength to throw it all away. Strip down to nothing at all.Become like rose petals blowing free

Even if the two of us are ever torn apartI swear to you, I will change the world.

[ilyasandbox]

Is Revolutionary Girl Utena a Deconstruction? It’s complicated.

I’ll just be dumping my thoughts here. I may revise them if I read a bit more of Derrida’s stuff. I’ve seen a number of videos and rants by other anime fans complaining about someone else’s application of the word “deconstruction” to anime shows like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Evangelion, etc, while citing RGU (Utena) as one of the few shows to “deconstruct its tropes.” It is somewhat amusing to see hardlined stances on this issue, because Derrida of all people would definitely have wanted his own theories to be set in stone (might need to watch my use of irony). 

It leads me to wonder if RGU is even deconstructionist, and if not that then what would it be instead? Maybe it will be helpful to look at what deconstruction is, based on my own perspective, one that can’t be considered a meta-stance or objective. Honestly, a show would have to do a bit more than just take apart its tropes, analyse, and commentate on them. This, as some of you may know, is just criticism. Critical analysis involves taking apart the components of a story, analysing, and commenting on them. This is not exactly the same as a deconstruction. A deconstruction involves identifying specific binary opposites looking closely at them, and failing to find meaning or objective direction. 

Binary opposition is thought to give meaning in structuralist theory, while post structuralism serves to undermine this opposition arguing that instead binary opposites be seen as “different” an utterly neutral term with no stakes and no favor. 

The binary opposites, male and female, deconstructed by Derrida himself, remains an important aspect of feminism, and in fact this deconstruction may be mentioned and explored in RGU, but I don’t really think that comprises the primary focus of the show. The binary opposites, control vs liberty, seem to take prevalence in RGU, and as original TV series nears it’s end there really isn’t much of a deconstructivist stance to be seen. Control is almost always painted in a negative light, and the ultimate resolution of the show, that is Anthy telling off Akio and liberating herself, seems to heavily favor the latter option. Utena doesn’t save Anthy by simply taking her by the arm, out of her situation. That would have replaced one controlled structure with another, albeit more benign one. 

Utena saves Anthy by inspiring in her the courage necessary for independence, and the important point is that Utena is not present when Anthy finally stands up for herself, and essentially frees herself from her bounds. 

Perhaps there is a separate binary opposition present, although it’s not exactly clear to me. This might be, prince vs witch. The narrative is sort of presented as, Akio the prince, falls from grace because of the witch. The fact that Utena, also the prince, saves the witch rather than killing her, could be seen as a deconstruction of this opposition, as it would obviously no longer exist. The image of the prince is also called into question. Utena, not being male embodies the prince not through her own nobility, class, or patriarchal identity, but through her heroism and sacrifice. This has been further commented on by scholars. 

So is the show a deconstruction? Tbh it’s complicated, though I would argue that the final resolution of the show is more revisionist than it is deconstructivist. The prince is a pink haired girl, the villain is another image of the prince (patriarchy), and the salvation of the rose bride is her own liberty and independence. Offering and arguing for a better alternative is not the same as french philosophers throwing their hands in the air and announcing their failure to find meaning in the opposition. 

Feel free to comment, disagree, add input. 

[theantibridezilla]

Playing with Color...a Crash Course on Hair

I’ve loved playing with color and hair since I was a kid. I was the one who was constantly trying to put my Barbies’ (or rather Christie as Barbies were rare around my house) and other dolls’ hair into complicated styles. Fast forward to when I was old enough to have my autonomy recognized, and I was always interested in seeing what I could do with my hair.

The first time I ever wore extensions was in college and it was a safety net as much as a cute style. I got braids because I wasn’t sure what kind of hair stylists I would find near my university and I didn’t want to take chances. And then I fell in love with extensions and wore them all the time. Then in my mid 20s I went natural and decided that if I wanted to play with texture or color, I would wear extensions, otherwise, I’d embrace my own curl.

And this year, now that I’m a WAHM who isn’t working with conservative clients anymore, I’ve decided to be more adventurous and take risks when it comes to fashion, makeup and hair. So, to that end, I bought this really cute lavender purple wig from Amazon at the beginning of the year, but I put off really playing with it until now. And after a few tweaks, it turned into this super cute style that—although I wouldn’t rock all the time—would make a great alternative on days when I want to be unique.

This got me thinking about how many brides might turn to extensions to help achieve a hairstyle on their big day. But for a lot of people, extensions and wigs can be intimidating if you’ve never worn them. So, to that end, here’s a crash course on wigs. And as a frame of reference, while I normally wear full lace human hair wigs, this purple girl is a synthetic lace front. For the curious, I love fantasy colors, but a color like this isn’t something I’d wear all the time, so a cheapie synthetic is a smarter option.

Unless you go with a custom unit, all stock wigs need to be tweaked

As an example this girl I’m wearing has gone through three rounds of customization. 

When I first bought her, she was ridiculously long. So I trimmed about five to six inches off the back and she’s still sitting at mid back length.

This girl came with about three inches of lace front that was set as a free part—meaning you can part it in any direction you prefer. But I love a deep side part, usually on my right side. So to “force” the part, I tweezed the frontal portion to create this clean part.

Normally, if you order from a better brand/store, you can specify lace colors, even for stock units. But when you order from Amazon and it’s this cheap (less than $40), you get whatever they give you. So, if you’re not “nude” that lace is going to be a big “look at me sign”. To make it look more believable, I used foundation on the underside of the wig to make it better match my color.

With this particular wig, she’s a tad big. So, even though there are adjustable straps to help tighten her down, she’s still a little loose on me. To the point that you could clearly see a space between my head and the wig. So, I sewed a piece of elastic (like what you can buy in fabric stores for making waistbands, etc) into the cap to give me a snugger fit.

Also something I’ve never experienced with a wig was the fact that this was made in such a way that the front hairline sort of stands up like someone lightly teased the hair. In theory it would be cute. But since I don’t glue my wigs down (I like my edges and I have adhesive sensitivities), you could clearly see my sideburns where the wig isn’t attached because the hair had too much height and fell at an awkward place. So, I took a large barrel curling iron (~2 inches) and on a low heat setting (220F to 240F because it’s synthetic and synthetics typically can’t handle heat) gently pressed it onto the front hairline to make it lay down.

Synthetic wigs can be shiny so I used dry shampoo to help create more texture and minimize shine.

If you’re comfortable doing your own hair, all of these types of adjustments are easy to do and can take you as little as an hour total. If you’re not, find a friend who’s good at hair or take your wig/extensions to a stylist who can hook you up.

Although I didn’t do it with this wig, I normally also do a serious cut and color as well. And the color process usually includes bleaching to lift the hair and then a rinse to deposit color. But don’t use bleach on synthetic hair, it’ll damage it!!! I’ve covered these processes before so if you want more info on the basics of hair coloring, head on over to my Overtone or Clairol articles.

Full disclosure because I’m not much of a photo editor normally. But this particular wig, even though it looks undetectable under natural light photography (pic above) and to the naked eye, has a hairline that looks like a beacon when you use a ring light. So, even after all the customizing I did, because I don’t glue my wigs and the front hairline fit is a tad funky, it left a pretty serious line of demarcation. So, I had to go in and clean up that line on my ring light pics because it was ridiculously unsightly.

And since I decided to be adventurous with this wig, I also wanted to do a playful makeup look that hyped up that aspect. So, I created this fun rose gold and purple look that’s also way outside of my comfort zone. I amped up the eyes and placed three (yes three!) different type of highlights to create that high wattage effect you see. Even though this is way bolder than I would normally go, it’s also pretty wearable. I ended up having to run errands after I finished my makeup and got a few compliments for the hour I was out. Full makeup details are below.

And if you’re in love with this wig and want to make it your own, head on over to Amazon and go shopping.

(In the pic above you can see how the hair seems lifted from the roots. That’s the awkward tease effect I was talking about earlier. In the pic below you see that I was able to force the hair to submit with my curling iron.)

Full Makeup Details

Primer: E.L.F. Cosmetics Antioxidant Booster Drops + IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Lines Serum Foundation: Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation in 420 Brows: NYX Cosmetics Love Contours All Palette Dark Eyeshadow Pan Brow Contour: E.L.F. Cosmetics Complete Coverage Concealer in Dark Eyeshadow: Morphe 35P Plum Pleasers Palette (all over lid base + dark purple), Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette (inner upper lid red-brown shade), Stila Glitter & Glow in Tulip Twinkle (outer shimmer shade), Pixi Beauty Fairy Dust (discontinued—inner shimmer), Naked Cosmetics in Sierra Nevada SN #02 (inner corners), top secret shade (lower lash line) Eye Liner: E.L.F. Cosmetics Cream Liner in Black Lashes: Kawaii Girl Cosmetics Odaiba Under Eye + Contour Concealer: L.A. Girl Cosmetics HD Pro Concealer in Orange, IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye in Deep Rich, and Kevyn Aucoin Etherealist Super Natural Concealer in Deep EC 08 Contour: Black Radiance True Complexion Contour Powder Palette in Medium to Dark Setting Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder in Deep Blush: Kevyn Aucoin Neo-Blush in Sunset Bronzer: Buxom Cosmetics Divine Goddess in Athena & NYX Cosmetics Strobe of Genius Highlight: Kevyn Aucoin  Neo-Limelight in Ibiza Lips: Sara Happ The Pink Slip Lip Slip

Full disclosure: I’m an influencer for Kevyn Aucoin, Pixi Beauty, and e.l.f. Cosmetics. I am also the owner/founder of Kawaii Girl Cosmetics. Occasionally I post affiliate links so I may receive compensation on some of my posts.

[starwarsfan249]

Day 3: RAIN

A/N: I’m sorry. You’ll know why.

Gray’s face lit up at the glorious vision in front of him. Erza was in a beautiful white wedding dress, smiling at him. The dress looked like freshly fallen snow that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottom. Her veil covered her face in a thin layer of lace, barely hiding the blushing bride expression of bliss and happiness that graced her. Her hands wrapped in milky silk clutched her bouquet of scarlet roses and sapphire irises tighter out of nervousness. A few strands of fiery hair slipped out of her braid framing her face. Her brown eyes flitted shyly around, completely out of character for the ‘Great Titania’. Never mind a bride, she looked like an angel. He expected snowy white wings to sprout from her back at any second and that she would fly away into the cloudy sky. He nearly blushed at the sight, he could’ve kissed her right there, but stopped himself, it wouldn't have been acceptable.

He settled for giving her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, ignoring the small aching in his heart. She smiled back and mouthed a ‘thanks’ before turning her gaze to her husband to be.

He was sharply dressed in an indigo suit with a crimson tie to match the hair of his bride. His blue hair smartly slicked back, revealing shining eyes, one with a red mark over it.

Jellal smiled down at Erza, their eyes met then dashed away shyly, before settling on eachother once again. He took her hand in his, whispering a tender, “I love you.” Then they both looked to Makarov as a sign to start the service.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two mages in holy matrimony.”  Gray  stopped listening after that, it upset him too much to hear the words. He could only watch the proceedings, the exchange of vows, rings, etc. It took everything in him not to break down and cry from the hurt he experienced watching how happy Erza was with someone other than him. The fact, though, is that she was happy, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he ruined that happiness by doing anything stupid because of his emotions, so he tried to block them out.

Despite they persisted. He found himself settling into imagining a different reality where he was brave enough to stand up and object to the marriage. Where he took Erza’s hands in his and looked into her beautiful eyes and told her he loved her. That he had loved her from the beginning.

He imagined that in a miraculous world she would say those words back to him. He would take her into his arms and lean their heads close until…

“I’ve known both of you for a long time, and both of you are good kids. I wish only happiness and love for your journey together through life.” Makarov’s tearful words cut into Grays daydreams. He snapped back to the present where his face was stiff from the smile plastered on it, and his heart still ached from the love that would never be returned.

“There is only one thing left to do. I now pronounce you man and wife.” He finally broke, tears of joy streaming down his face. He barely managed to blubber out a “Youb bay khissd da bribe” before words were lost to him completely.

Jellal and Erza met eyes, wrapping their arms around each other, bringing their faces close, closer, closer.

Gray knew he should look away, but his body wouldn’t move, it’s like some part of him wanted his heart broken.

Their lips met fitting together like they’d belonged with each other from the beginning of time. Hands moved into hair as Erza was dipped back deepening the kiss. They were truly in love and happy, and that knowledge shattered the ice mage’s heart to pieces.

At that moment rain started to pour from the sky, breaking apart the kiss. Gray felt the wetness on his cheeks, but some of the drops were warm compared to others. He wiped away the wetness from his eyes, feeling the warm drops in his hands. It was at that moment he realized he was crying, tears mixing in with the rain. He kept staring at his hands, the world around him fading.

He barely even heard an exasperated Juvia shout, “This wasn’t Juvia, Juvia is happy for you two, and Juvia is also happy that a potential love interest close to Gray-Sama is out of the picture!”

Why was he crying, of course he was sad, but he should be happy. Right? Erza was happy. He’d promised himself to be happy for her. If she loved Jellal, and she did, that should be enough. He should be keeping the tears in, but they kept streaming down his face. He was glad the rain had came, or else Erza would’ve seen his tears.

He dropped his hands willing the tears to disappear as he linked arms with Lucy, who was the maid of honor to his best man, and walked down the aisle. The procession slowly walked out following the newlywed, glowing, Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez.

Gray looked away trying not to watch the happiness and pretend like his heart didn’t hurt terribly.

…

The hours passed by in a blur. The dinner, which Gray was sure was delicious, was put in his mouth emotionlessly. That was paired with dinner conversation, which he was sure was interesting, between the members of the wedding party including himself, Natsu, Lucy, Juvia, Wendy, Midnight, Laxus, Kagura, Millianna and others. That was followed by cutting the cake, strawberry of course, which he again was sure was delicious, but he didn’t taste anything except bitter shame as he chewed and swallowed.

Those events had finally brought him to the end of the night, the dancing. The tears had thankfully stopped flowing when they’d went under the tent for the reception, but the rain hadn’t. He could still hear it pattering on the tent roof, and if he squinted outside he could see the streaks against the darkness. He thought that it was almost like the rain could feel his emotions.

He mulled over these and other thoughts as music blasted around him. This part of the night had consisted of avoiding Juvia and turning down other woman who tried to dance with him. Now he was actively looking away from the dance floor since Jellal and Erza were dancing. Again. He just couldn’t look at the two of them together.

Lucy had noticed this a while ago, and instead of asking him what was wrong had gave him a knowing look and a hug. She was the only one that had known about his crush on Erza. Lucy was the only one he could trust that he knew wouldn’t make fun of him and be there for him as a friend. The celestial mage had made sure to try and cheer him up all night, and it had worked a little, but he had shooed her off a while ago telling her to go dance with Natsu.

He was ready for the night to be over so he could go and try to sort out his feelings, somehow, when a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see the woman on his mind.

She was practically glowing as she stood in front of him, at some point her braid had come undone and was cupping her face gently making her look even more beautiful than before the wedding started. He couldn’t help the blush that creeped onto his face, turning away quickly to hide it.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she joked, “but it almost seems like you’ve been avoiding me.”

“Sorry about that, I was trying to hide from Juvia and my other various fangirls.”

“That’s okay, I found you now. Would you do me the honor of a dance? I’ve danced with everyone else, even Wendy and Laxus. It’s your turn now.”

Gray glanced around looking to see if Jellal was nearby, he wasn’t, so Gray made the choice he knew would hurt him even more. “Of course.” He smiled taking her hand and leading her to the dancefloor.

He placed his hands tentatively on her waist and she placed hers on his shoulders moving side to side while the song morphed into a slow one. They said nothing for a while until Erza spoke up, “Speaking of Juvia, are you ever going to confess to her?”

He nearly choked, sputtering stupidly, “Uh, um, I.” A blush coated his cheeks, he wanted to say that he loved her not Juvia, but he bit back the words. “I don’t love Juvia. There’s someone else I like, no I love, but there’s no way we could ever be together and she doesn’t love me back.”

“Who is it?” Erza went into matchmaker mode (learned from spending too much time around Mirajane of course) as they spun around amongst the other couples. “Lucy? Mirajane? Levy? Meredy? Kagura? Oh I know-”

He quickly cut her off before her guesses could get to far out, “It’s none of them, trust me, you would never guess who it is.”

“Secret crush aside aside shouldn’t you give Juvia a chance? She really does love and care about you. You said it yourself that you could never be with this other person, you should move on.”

He sighed as he spun her, “I wish it was that easy, I love her so much it hurts to see her happy with someone other than me at her side.”

Erza stopped the spinning and looked him straight in the eyes. “Listen Gray, you’ve always been there for me ever since you saw me crying by the river. You stood by me and protected me on countless missions before and after the formation of Team Natsu. In the Tower of Heaven I heard from Happy how you fought off that owl to get to me. After the Nirvana incident Natsu told me how you fought to stop Racer and I saw you prevent Lyon from maiming me, for which I am eternally grateful. We talked and laughed during the Grand Magic Games. You challenged me into doing the right thing and helping the villagers on Galuna Island. You carried me after I was injured. I love you. My first friend in Fairy Tail and the friend I will carry in my heart until the end. I want you to do what you believe will ensure you happiness. No matter who it is,” she cupped his cheek, “I want you to tell them you love them right now. You’ll feel much better, and if they reject you I’ll be here with a bucket of strawberry ice cream.”

Gray almost laughed at the situation. Here the girl he loved was telling him to express his feelings. If Erza knew it was her, she would be singing a different tune. He really didn’t want to confess, but it was better than living with this secret in his crumbling, fading, breaking, cruelly and twistedly in love heart.

He swung them back into the dance. “I did protect you all those times Erza, and I always thought it was because I cared about you as a friend. At the Tower of Heaven I remembered the feelings of loneliness when I first saw you by the river and my heart broke, I couldn’t let you ever be alone again. During the Nirvana incident I kept picturing you getting maimed or dying right before my eyes and there was nothing I feared more, I had to do everything so that you could live. I loved easing the pressure and expectations of winning while talking with during the games, and when I thought I was going to lose, I imagined how you’d probably already won and knew I couldn’t let you one-up me like that. On Galuna Island I knew your heart was crying out to help the people and that you just needed a push. I carried you because I couldn’t let you lie on the ground and I didn’t want anyone else to be close to you for all that time.” He could barely get the words out at this point, if he said them, everything would change. He couldn’t turn back now, but his mind urged him to. It urged him to abort.

He finally took a deep breath spinning Erza into a dip. “You asked me who I loved. It’s.. it’s. It’s you. I love you.” He watched her face turn shocked as he pulled her up out of the dip. “I loved you since the river bank, but I never felt I could tell you. Sorry that the time I worked up my courage had to be the worst time anyone could ever confess. All day I’ve been avoiding you because it hurts so much to see you happy with Jellal. I…”

He shifted to take her hands in his, a single tear falling down his face and onto them. “I’m sorry that I ruined your wedding with this. I guess I also ruined our friendship too, huh? Well I’m glad you at least get to know the truth. I’ll get out now, don’t worry about seeing me ever again. I know it would be too awkward, so I’ll stay out of your life.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, barely there, a ghost of a love that could’ve been. He dropped her hands giving her one last lopsided smile. “Goodbye Erza. Thanks for everything. I’m sorry that I ever knew you and that it came to this, but I would repeat it all again, because I really, truly, heartbreakingly love you.” With that he walked away, leaving behind the shocked bride.

“Wow, I am a jerk, aren’t I, “ he whispered to no one in particular. He started laughing maniacally, the laughs soon turning into sobs as he ran away. Away from his feelings, away from Lucy and his other friends who called out to him as he ran, away from Jellal, away from the wedding, and away from Erza. His legs kept carrying him along as he passed people on the street giving him weird looks.

Tears streamed down his face, mixing with those from the sky, his sobs adding to the thunderous roars of outrage from the clouds, the spiking of his hurting heart in time with the lightning.

He finally stopped running at a place that looked familiar to him. Wiping his eyes, he realized it was the river, where these cursed feelings had started. He knelt on the ground, screaming at the sky, the Gods, the Fates, whatever higher being had cursed him, his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

“Take this hurt away!” Over and over again this shout was heard. A cry of desperation, a shout of anger, a ballad of agony.

Gray shouted until he could no longer, and cried, until that too was taken away from him. He collapsed to the ground exhausted. His eyes drooped no matter how hard he fought.

Before he succumbed to unconsciousness, he managed one last agonizing sentence, “It hurts so much to love the girl with scarlet hair, please take it all away”.

…

It was sad for the boy, that he’d run out so soon, for if he’d stayed even a few moments longer he might’ve heard the words whispered by the girl of his dreams.

“I always loved you too, but I thought I was the only one.” This secret floated out into the air getting caught by the wind and rain, blown away like all the others of secret loves. “That’s why I married Jellal, I loved you more, but at least I knew he would return my love. If only you told me years ago. I gave up on you then, but now..” A gripping pain tugged at her heart causing her to fall to her knees, clutching her chest.

“Take this hurt away,” she whispered over and over again, too low for her friends that had rushed over to hear.

She collapsed to the ground consciousness leaving her. She managed to choke out one last sentence. A sentence of love, of could-have-beens, of heartbreak, a sentence connected to the boy she loved. “It hurts so much to love the boy made of ice, please take it all away,” and with that everything was black.

[myfandomrambles]

ADHD & Autistic Doctor

(Doctor Character Study part 2e)

An Analysis of the doctor through the view of him having ASD & ADHD part 5. I want to thank @browneyesandpinstripes Parenthesis denotes the source of a material. Brackets are an aside comment.

10th Doctor:

Ten is hyperactive even when he is at his lowest point. He has still had very strong presentations of his neruodiverngence even though he is a very social and considered one of the most “human/normal” doctors. Even in his human form, he retains much of these behaviours. Showing that even when he isn’t a time lord much of the neruodiverngence stays with him. (TV: Human Nature / The Family of Blood)

Special Interest/stimming with his little machines (TV: Blink, TV: Partners in Crime, TV: Utopia, TV; The Sound of The Drums)

Always rambling from the get-go.  ( TV the Christmas invasion). You can also see this often when he is thinking but it will drift around a bit on the subject ( TV: Smith and Jones). Continues this behaviour of going on tangents and missing the point of things ( TV: Human Nature, TV: Blink, TV: The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky)  

Rambling combined with not getting social things get you lines like “I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones. Huh? Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in” (TV: School Reunion)

Will ramble sometimes even to himself  (TV: The Girl In the Fireplace)

Rambles/info dumps about the year they arrived in and ends up talking about his thumb (TV: Tooth and Claw)

Distracted by small things, like stopping fighting monsters killing the whole human race to talk to rose about his hair. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)

Doesn't quite know the proper time to talk, or handle the situation when dealing with Reinette rambling and the getting distracted while fighting the enemy. (TV: The Girl in the Fireplace) Also when Donna is sucked in, he gets distracted by why she's there. He then starts to ramble on saying a bunch of stuff his brain definitely working faster than his common sense (TV: The Runaway Bride). We see this again when the doctor says “ It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of, Am I being rude again?” The doctor misses the social cue and his mouth moves faster than his brain so he has to check for roses perception. The doctor says a little before then "Well, they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy" (TV: Tooth and Claw) Another example is when the doctor says, “Conglomeration, that’s what I said!” Jack replies “You’re supposed to say sorry.” (TV: Utopia) Again here he needs prompting from jack to realise what is the appropriate social response. Talks about why they haven’t taken Reinette’s body parts right in front of her (TV: The Girl in The Fireplace). Oblivious to jack and Martha's feelings for him (TV: The Sound of The Drums)

He never stands still often running about the TARDIS hitting things with mallets and jumping around to make it fly.  (TV: The Stolen Earth)

Extremely impulsive, this is often combined with a need to be brave. Deciding to stay in danger because its whats there (TV: The Impossible Planet) Choosing to fly down an air shaft to protect river on the flimsy evidence that she had a screwdriver that was his (TV: Forest of The Dead) He eats out of the jam jar not really thinking about if he should or not. (TV: Fear Her) Jumping through the time portal when he knows he can not come back (TV: The Girl in The Fireplace)

Climbs on things he shouldn't sometimes to make a point. (TV: The Evolution of the Daleks) Lays back on chairs sprawled out in a way that is not particularly appropriate (TV: Partners in Crime) Sitting and standing awkwardly (TV: Utopia)

Experiences sensory/info overload saying “Oh my head, My head” holding his head. (TV: Tooth and Claw)

Echolalia “So, physics. Physics eh? Physics. Physics. Physics! Physics. Physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics, physics.”  “No. Good for you.  Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith.” (TV: School Reunion ) “You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania” (TV: The Girl in The Fireplace)

Disorganized throws his coat around everywhere (TV: The Girl in The Fireplace)

Doesn’t get turns of phrase, and missing points. Donna says;“Don’t tell me the TARDIS has gone”  The Doctor Replies“Okay” Donna then asks”So where is it?” A confused Doctor answeres,“You.. told me not to tell you?” (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)  Another example; “Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?” (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

Possible sensory issues with pears (TV: Human Nature). Always wear the same 2-3 suites possible for sensory issues and a sense of normalcy.

Starts having a meltdown until Donna brings him back down (TV: Partners in Crime)

11th doctor

A very stereotypically ADHD and autistic character. An awkward, socially oblivious obviously strange character. His characteristic truly shines through but are definitely augmented by his C-PTSD and his struggles with identity carried over from ten.

Constantly twirling and jumping while flying the TARDIS or messing around underneath always having to be active (TV: The Doctor's Wife, TV: The Impossible Astronaut, TV: The Vampires of Venice, TV: Dinosaurs on Spaceship etc.)

Impulsivity is very true with this doctor. He calls theAatraxi back without truly thinking it through, in this case, it worked out fine because he was as scary as he thought he was (TV: The Eleventh Hour) He runs out of the TARDIS to see a little girl without checking out where he is properly on a whim (TV: The Beast Below). Follows vampires just running away without telling the others (TV: The Vampires of Venice). Lands inside a pirate ship because he felt like it. (TV: The Curse of The Black Spot). He sits at the president's desk in the oval office (TV: The Impossible Astronaut) Impulsive wastes time and changes his clothes when he should be trying to stay alive (TV: Let’s Kill Hitler)

Like all the doctors he will talk fast and skip around often ending u talking mostly to himself. (TV: The Time of The Angel's, TV: The Curse of The Black Spot)  He’s aware he does it but still has trouble stopping it “Crikey, Charlie, look at that. Ooo, I know someone who'd love to have a look at that. And the Ponds. Mustn't forget the Ponds, Neffy. Haven't seen them in ages. I'm riffing. People usually stop me when I'm riffing or carry on without me. That's also an option.” (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

Talks to himself while working through things (TV: Vincent and The Doctor)

Incapable of sitting still constantly restless (TV: The Impossible Astronaut, TV The Power of Three, TV: The Lodger, TV: Vincent and The Doctor)

Sometimes completely zone into something and misses what people say. (TV: The Time of the Angels)

Hyperfocus on single things causing him to agitate those around him, and miss what's going on (TV: Vincent and The Doctor)  So focused on one thing Amy has to help him actually remember to run. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

Often distracted to the point of misplacing his companion (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)

Can try and be helpful and empathetic but can sometimes end up worsening things as he struggles with understanding the other people's reactions.

Sensory issues with food. Apples, bacon, eggs yoghurt, beans. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)

Dyspraxia, Trips and slides while running ( TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

Obsessive behaviour and hyper fixation on The Impossible Girl mystery to the point of it is all he can think of (TV: The Bells of Saint John)

Oblivious to how social interaction should work. Struggles with volume and often considered odd (TV: The Lodger). Just talking to Clara about random stuff while dressed as a monk (TV: The Bells of Saint John)

No sense of time (TV: The Lodger)

[cathygeha]

REVIEW:

This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman

Bow Street Bachelors #1

Reading the book description I was taken back to reading a book my father shared with me – a book in which a woman in need of a husband also went to a prison to find a condemned man to marry. The two books diverged from there though neither husband actually bit the dust by the end of the book they starred in. Both men were definitely more than the bride expected and both were fallen in love with by their wives before the end of the stories.

In this book we have wealthy Georgiana “Georgie” Caversteed being hounded by despicable cousin Josiah. He wants her money and isn’t planning to take no for an answer. Thus, the reason for the marriage of convenience. Georgie has plenty of money but no desire to wed the men in the ton that she has met already. There was a frisson of interest when Georgie met Benedict “Ben” Wylde but she realized that it was NOT real since...he was a dirty prisoner...until she experienced the same feeling when she ran into Benedict at a ball the next time.

This book had the two falling for one another slowly while they also spent time trying to solve a case Benedict and his friends were working on for Bow Street. There is a side story of Georgie’s sister Juliet and Simeon and the lead into the idea that either Seb or Alex, Benedict’s friends, will get their stories in books to come. The book did not stand out to me as something new or different but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in the series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

Book-buy link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250305961

SUMMARY:

Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?

Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?

EXCERPT:

Chapter 1.

London, March 1816.

There were worse places to find a husband than Newgate Prison.

Of course there were.

It was just that, at present, Georgie couldn’t think of any.

“Georgiana Caversteed, this is a terrible idea.” Georgie frowned at her burly companion, Pieter Smit,

as the nondescript carriage he’d summoned to convey them to London’s most notorious jail rocked to a halt on the cobbled street. The salt-weathered Dutchman always used her full name whenever he disapproved of some- thing she was doing. Which was often.

“Your father would turn in his watery grave if he knew what you were about.”

That was undoubtedly true. Until three days ago, en- listing a husband from amongst the ranks of London’s most dangerous criminals had not featured prominently on her list of life goals. But desperate times called for des- perate measures. Or, in this case, for a desperate felon about to be hanged. A felon she would marry before the night was through.

Georgie peered out into the rain-drizzled street, then up, up the near-windowless walls. They rose into the mist, five stories high, a vast expanse of brickwork, bleak and unpromising. A church bell tolled somewhere in the darkness, a forlorn clang like a death knell. Her stomach knotted with a grim sense of foreboding.

Was she really going to go through with this? It had seemed a good plan, in the safety of Grosvenor Square. The perfect way to thwart Cousin Josiah once and for all. She stepped from the carriage, ducked her head against the rain, and followed Pieter under a vast arched gate. Her heart hammered at the audacity of what she planned. They’d taken the same route as condemned prisoners on the way to Tyburn tree, only in reverse. West to east, from the rarefied social strata of Mayfair through gradu- ally rougher and bleaker neighborhoods, Holborn and St. Giles, to this miserable place where the dregs of humanity had been incarcerated. Georgie felt as if she were nearing her own execution.

She shook off the pervasive aura of doom and straight- ened her spine. This was her choice. However unpalat- able the next few minutes might be, the alternative was far worse. Better a temporary marriage to a murderous, unwashed criminal than a lifetime of misery with Josiah. They crossed the deserted outer courtyard, and Georgie cleared her throat, trying not to inhale the foul-smelling air that seeped from the very pores of the building. “You have it all arranged? They are expecting us?”

Pieter nodded. “Aye. I’ve greased the wheels with yer blunt, my girl. The proctor and the ordinary are both bent as copper shillings. Used to having their palms greased, those two, the greedy bastards.”

Her father’s right-hand man had never minced words

in front of her, and Georgie appreciated his bluntness. So few people in the ton ever said what they really meant. Pieter’s honesty was refreshing. He’d been her father’s man for twenty years before she’d even been born. A case of mumps had prevented him from accompanying Wil- liam Caversteed on his last, fateful voyage, and Georgie had often thought that if Pieter had been with her father, maybe he’d still be alive. Little things like squalls, ship- wrecks, and attacks from Barbary pirates would be mere inconveniences to a man like Pieter Smit.

In the five years since Papa’s death, Pieter’s steadfast loyalty had been dedicated to William’s daughters, and Georgie loved the gruff, hulking manservant like a second father. He would see her through this madcap scheme— even if he disapproved.

She tugged the hood of her cloak down to stave off the drizzle. This place was filled with murderers, highway- men, forgers, and thieves. Poor wretches slated to die, or those “lucky” few whose sentences had been commuted to transportation. Yet in her own way, she was equally desperate.

“You are sure that this man is to be hanged tomorrow?” Pieter nodded grimly as he rapped on a wooden door.

“I am. A low sort he is, by all accounts.”

She shouldn’t ask, didn’t want to know too much about the man whose name she was purchasing. A man whose death would spell her own freedom. She would be wed and widowed within twenty-four hours.

From This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman. Copyright © 2019 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Author Bio:

Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of historical romances, including her RITA® nominated Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, and the novels in the Secrets & Spies series To Steal a Heart, A Raven’s Heart, and A Counterfeit Heart. When not writing novels that feature feisty, intelligent heroines and sexy, snarky heroes you want to both strangle and kiss, Kate works as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several popular TV shows in the UK. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England. Follow her on Twitter to learn more.

This Earl of Mine Blog Tour Q&A

Q: What inspired you to write This Earl of Mine?

A: Most of my books are inspired by real historical events, but for the adventure subplot in This Earl of Mine I was looking up something completely different, fell down a research rabbit hole, and stumbled upon an outlandish plot to rescue Napoleon from exile on Saint Helena using a submarine! I’d had no idea submersibles were even in use in the Regency, but a little digging soon revealed a tale far stranger than fiction—with plenty of smugglers, spies, and underhand skullduggery thrown in. Of course, then my writer brain couldn’t help but wonder WHAT IF . . .?

What if someone loyal to Napoleon stole the plans for the submarine from the Admiralty? And what if London’s fledgling police force, The Bow Street Runners, were tasked with finding the vessel and foiling the scheme?

The main plot, of course, is the romantic one between shipping heiress Georgie Caversteed and Bow Street Runner Benedict Wylde. They try to piece together the clues, while trying to ignore the inconvenient attraction that sparks between them. (Spoiler alert: they succeed at the former, and fail miserably at the latter!)

Q: Is there one thing you would like readers to take away from this story?

A: You mean apart from a new appreciation of early19th century submarine development?! Why, yes! I firmly believe in happy-ever-afters for everyone, and while none of my characters may be perfect, they’re certainly perfect for each other. A successful romance should be a true partnership between equals, with love, respect, humor, and kindness. I hope that’s what readers see develop between Georgie and Benedict.

Q: Where do you go or what resources do you use to make sure your novels are historically correct? 

A: I have quite a bit of overall historical knowledge from my life as an antiques appraiser and auctioneer; I’ve handled plenty of Regency-era artifacts, like scent bottles, reticules, clothes, letters, furniture etc. And I’ve visited (and lived in) plenty of historic houses when I lived in England. So I have a pretty good idea what that world is like when I’m describing it. I do lots of random research online too, though. I suspect I’m on a secret CIA watchlist because of my weird internet browsing history, which currently includes such gems as: ‘does Prussic acid smell like almonds?’ ‘18th century jewel heists,’ and ‘chloroform, first use.’

Q: Did you learn anything surprising while researching for this novel?

A: Apart from the crazy submarine plot, I found out what the chapel of Newgate prison looked like in 1816, discovered more about the founding of London’s first true police force, the Bow Street Runners, and found a new book boyfriend in the wonderfully roguish Benedict Wylde!

Q: Describe the hero and heroine of This Earl of Mine in three words each.

A: Georgie is resourceful, determined, and curious. Benedict is amusing, loyal and scoundrelly!

Q: What was the hardest scene to write in This Earl of Mine? Your favorite?

A: My favorite scene was the sexy banter between Benedict and Georgie as they listen to the terrible poetry written by Juliet’s fiancé. Almost every sentence is a double entendre, and Benedict is shameless in trying to say something utterly inappropriate to make Georgie laugh, and I just giggle every time I think of it. I hope readers can feel the ridiculously flirtatious, slow-burn teasing in that scene. Yum!

The hardest was the sexy scene inside the tiny submarine. It’s a confined space, and I had to think about the technicalities of which body part was where, and whether they had enough space to do the scandalous things I wanted them to do. (Of course they did!)

Q: Why do you write historical romance? 

A: Because it can be total escapism. A reader can travel back in time to a different world and encounter situations that just don’t happen today. As a writer I like the challenge presented by the historical parameters; lots of great conflicts arise because of social, cultural, or economic factors. Plus, there are so many real historical adventures out there just waiting to be discovered. . .

Q: Is there another particular author that inspires you or that you enjoy reading? 

A: SO MANY AUTHORS! Laura Kinsale, Connie Brockway (As you Desire is a favorite), Loretta Chase, Judith McNaught, Anne Stuart, Joanna Bourne, Tessa Dare, Eloisa James, Suzan Elizabeth Philips, Julie Garwood, Galen Foley, Kerrigan Byrne, Julia Quinn, Beverly Jenkins, Alyssa Cole, Joanna Shupe, Johanna Lindsey, J.R Ward, Janet Evanovich, Georgette Heyer, Mary Renault, Jane Austen, E.M Forster, Leo Tolstoy, P.G. Wodehouse, Antoine de Saint Exupery, Jean M. Auel, Gabriel Garcia Marquez,  . . . Ok. I’ll stop now. But there are plenty more.

Q: What’s next for the Bow Street Bachelors?

A: Two more books! Those bad boys Alex Harland and Sebastien Wolff each get their own adventure and I can’t wait for everyone to read them! Alex meets his match in half-French jewel thief Emmy Danvers –AKA The Nightjar­– in To Catch an Earl, (Bow Street Bachelors #2). And Seb gets a sexy cat-and-mouse game of his own when he’s forced to protect the infuriating Anya Denisova – a feisty Russian Princess who’s faked her own death in The Princess and The Rogue, (Bow Street Bachelors #3).

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: Only that if you haven’t already preordered This Earl Of Mine, the paperback is currently at a special preorder price of $6.79, so snap it up in time for the release day, October 29th! Happy reading everyone!

Book-buy link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250305961

[happyweddingblogs]

Bridal Health Regime Before The Wedding

Well, congratulations on your engagement! The wedding preparation time starts from here and there is a lot to be done in all these months until the D-Day. A lot of arrangements such as your wedding venue, wedding invitations, wedding outfits, wedding decor & catering, wedding jewelry and what not have to be taken care. But, is that all about your wedding or are we missing on something here? Yes, absolutely we are missing on the most important part of your wedding preparation and that is your beauty regime, until the D-Day arrives.

Every girl wants to look her best in her wedding gown. For that curvaceous body you really need to work hard. So, brides-to-be, it’s not just your venue, invitations, wedding dress, decor and food that needs your attention. But, you have something very important to take care before you set to say “I do” to your partner. You need to spare time for yourself, to practice self-care, to de-stress yourself so that you can look your best at your wedding. Remember, your wedding photos last forever, make sure you look your best in your photos. And, for that perfect look you need to have a daily health regime, which will help you have that perfect and curvaceous body at your wedding events. So, keeping your wedding day as a deadline, you need to start your regime now as the clock has already started ticking.

Below is a wedding health regime which every bride-to-be should follow for getting into perfect shape and look her best in her wedding gown at her wedding:

Get good night sleep

“Sleep is the best meditation.” ~ Dalai Lama

It’s a very famous quote, sleep is the best meditation and it is true to all extents. Researches shows that sleep has emerged as the third pillar of health—along with a healthy diet and exercise. Sleep is very important for many reasons such as while in sleep, we produce the highest amounts of natural human growth hormone (HGH) that is responsible for creating and regenerating new cells of all our body tissues including hair, muscles, and skin. Moreover, the only time our brain can repair and reorganize itself is when we are asleep. Also, our breath is relaxed during sleep, which reduces stress by calming our central nervous system. Of course, we all know less stress means less production of cortisol.

I am sure you now know all the benefits of sleeping, so it’s time to change your habits completely and get more and more good night sleep. It is essential that you sleep at least 7-8 hours to get best results. This process you should start at least one year ahead of your wedding. Not getting enough sleep can leave you with dark circles, and believe you me it will ruin your wedding pictures completely. So, leave your phone aside and start hitting your bed dot on time. Sleeping too late at night is as good as not sleeping at all.

Eat healthy

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” ~Jim Rohn

Some brides immediately after getting their wedding dates in hand start dieting to get into the perfect shape. However, they do not particularly possess any knowledge about those diet plans, they kind of starve themselves to get that perfect body shape, which is not good at all. I am sorry to say. Eating healthy is very important step to have not only perfect skin, but also the perfect shape to fit into the most beautiful gown in the world on the day of your wedding. Remember, when I say eat healthy it does not mean you have to compromise on food. You don’t have to look skinny on your wedding. If you will starve yourself in the name of eating healthy, you will basically be breaking down and binge, regaining the weight which you lose like this as soon as you stop dieting and end up feeling bad about yourself.

Basically, you have to start to eat healthy. And this process should start just a year before your wedding. You have to eat healthy, avoid processed food, control sugar intake, say no to junk food and aerated drinks instead have lots of juices, fruits, veggies, meat (in moderation), fish (as fish are good in omega 3, which is good for skin). Munching on and off is not good for your health. Stop that habit at the earliest. Eat healthy (sugar-free!) meal or snack every three to four hours in a day.

Fitness (Exercise & Yoga)

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” ~ Plato

To get into that perfect shape you need to follow a fitness regime, which can includes exercise, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, gyming, power yoga etc. However, if you’re lucky enough to have a trainer on the wedding payroll besides your wedding planner, caterer, and florist, it will be easy. Basically, here you have to try and test for initial week which one works well you have. You should have your diet plan along with an exercise plan. Moreover, if you are a person who get bore of routine exercises then its better you try a combination of exercise + yoga + swimming + running + cycling for a week. Make specific strategies and follow them. The most important thing is to be disciplined, meaning you have to follow means follow without breaking your routine.

Work on your upper body

“Fitness is like a relationship. You can’t cheat and expect it to work.” ~ Anonymous

Your upper body is equally important part of the whole system as when you will wear your wedding gown whether a backless or strapless, you would want every wedding photo to be wonderful and flattering. That is why it is important to incorporate upper-body strength training into your workouts. Working out your upper back and chest is not only for muscle-defining, but also it will help your posture. For upper body try out rows, cable pull-downs, push-ups, triceps, low-seated rows etc. Start working on your upper body at least 6 months before your wedding to look your best in your wedding gown.

Limit your sugar intake

“Everybody’s got their poison, and mine is sugar.” ~ Derrick Rose

It is not going to be easy though, especially when you’ve got a major sweet tooth. But the fact remains, removing sugar will help brides-to-be lose weight and keep their skin clearer, plump, and fresh-looking, and these are the things they want on their wedding day. No matter how hard it is to control your pangs for sugar, you have to control. And most importantly, limiting sugar intake also controls stress levels and help you to concentrate more clearly. You should start this practice before 6 month of your wedding.

Say no to booze

“I’m very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful.” ~ Jim Carrey

Now, is the time to say no to alcohol. Once you ban booze, you’ll automatically start to de-bloat, which means you are all set to look beautiful in your wedding gown. If you think it doesn’t make sense to you then let me tell you that the top areas are for sugar and the lower body is for alcohol storage. Because, alcohol metabolizes as estrogen, which settle themselves in our lower abdominal area and hence one of the major reason for obesity.

To conclude…

Follow all these steps mentioned above and look your best at your wedding. You can also check out our article on “Bridal Beauty Regime Before The Wedding” to explore more details.

Happy Wedding…

[unhallowedarts]

A couple weeks back I asked the internet for help finding something to read, and man did the internet pull through! This is a masterpost of answers I got. If you’re tagged in it, it’s just so I can tell you this: thank you for responding! I got some recommendations I’ve already read, some that have been on my list for ages, some I’ve never heard of before and am excited to have learned about! It was fun seeing such a variety, and now I have a nice list here to come back to next time! If you’re wondering which I ended up reading, the answer is actually that my wife reminded me that I’d been meaning to read Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, so I played favorites and took that suggestion. But I just finished it, so, I’ll try to pick one of these for the next thing!

@metalpannda​ answered: John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series.

@vivaciouscactus​ answered: Jewels of the Rebellion is one of my favorite fantasy novels. Its only $3 on Amazon, too.

@theneuroknight​ answered: The Fionavar Tapestry. Recommended by a friend. Not sure what I think of it yet. You might like.

@rabiastudies​ reblogged this from suchprettypride and added:

The Catcher in the Rye

@janeandthehivequeen​ reblogged this and added:

The giver series by Lois Lowry maybe? It’s kind of quiet fantasy, the plot can’t really be described as action at all. Death does enter the plot at one point but it doesn’t dwell on it. You can start at any book in the series and read any of them as a stand-alone as well.

But like, everyone has read that so you probably already have too lol

Oh, there’s the princess bride, which is hilarious and fantasy. There’s action but it’s not action packed, and it’s self-aware and campy and fun. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s like that, but with a very self-aware frame narrative.

Howl’s Moving Castle is like a subversion of different fantasy tropes, also very funny and also relatively light-hearted. The main character has been turned into an old lady so there’s little action.

@jannhpps​ reblogged this from youthbookreview and added:

Little Women by Louise May Alcott is one of my favorites.

@linguist25  reblogged this and added:

I have few palate cleanser books for you @suchprettypride. You might like….

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A Room with a View by E.M. Forster

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Roz Chast (Illustrations)

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

The Two Princesses of Bamarre (The Two Princesses of Bamarre #1) by Gail Carson Levine

The Unicorn Sonata by Peter S. Beagle

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 by Linda Medley, Jane Yolen

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories by Kelly Link etc.

The Wizard’s Promise (The Hanna Duology #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Spirit’s Key by Edith Cohn

Alistair Grim’s Odditorium (Odditorium #1) by Gregory Funaro (Goodreads Author), Vivienne To (Illustrator)

Magical: An Anthology of Fantasy, Fairy Tales, and Other Magical Fiction by Kelly Ann Jacobson etc.

Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School #1) by Jen Calonita

Cranky Ladies of History by Tehani Croft Wessely etc.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix

The Marvels by Brian Selznick

As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Topper (Topper #1) by Thorne Smith

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by W.B. Yeats

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Foxheart by Claire Legrand (Goodreads Author), Jaime Zollars (Goodreads Author)(Illustrations)

My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1)  by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton (Goodreads Author), Jodi Meadows

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Arabian Nights by Anonymous, Richard Francis Burton (Translator)

The 10th Kingdom by Kathryn Wesley

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland #1-2) by Lewis Carroll

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain

Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1) by L.M. Montgomery

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (Folktales) by Robin McKinley

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie Bucket #1) by Roald Dahl

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

East by Edith Pattou

I hope one of these books serves as a good in-between read. Happy reading to you!

@12minutestomidnight​ reblogged this and added:

This book is pretty well-known, but if you haven’t yet read it: try Kafka on the shore by Haruki Murakami. It’s fantasy, and it’s a contemporary book - so it might be post-modern, though I’m not sure what counts as a post-modern book to you.

@readingbooksinisrael​ reblogged this and added:

I just took out a bunch of Edward Eager books because I needed exactly what you are talking about. They are children’s books about groups of kids who suddenly find magic. They are all great.

Recommended reading order:

Half-Magic-summer of 1924, four kids find a magic coin on the ground that only grants wishes in halves.

Magic By the Lake-summer of 1925, same four kids go to vacation at a summer house near a lake, and find a talking turtle who can grant wishes

Knight’s Castle-the children of the four in the two previous books have to spend a summer together, and end up adventuring much of it when they are turned tiny

The Time Garden-same children go vacation at a summer house near a lake with a thyme garden. they discover the thyme can take them through time

Seven-Day Magic-five kids from a different universe discover a book that takes them on hazardous adventures when they make a wish on it

Magic or Not?-two kids move to a new neighborhood during the summer, and discover a wishing well and try to do Good Deeds

The Well-Wishers-same kids come upon a magic desk, and immediately lose it to the bully of the street

And these sound generic, but they’re not, and every chapter is action-packed, and the characters are great. If you like E. Nesbit’s books, these are based on those. And the illustrations are great! (at least in my copies)

@anassarhenisch​ reblogged this and added:

Orlando by Virginia Woolf - Modern, not post-modern, with a definite fantasy slant and slower pace; about an Elizabethan immortal who slides between genders Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon - About a twelve-year-old girl auditioning to be the Wicked Witch of a castle, with a fair bit of whimsy and humour; fast-paced because it’s a kids’ book but it doesn’t feel frantic in the same vein, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, about a princess who volunteers as a Dragon’s Princess because it’s the only accepted role that allows her independence Uprooted by Naomi Novik - slow burn of a fantasy, occasionally creepy and with fast sections and side character deaths, but the focus is on friendship and saving the kingdom and fighting evil Robin McKinley’s fairy tale retellings if you’re looking for something big, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, which is basically Austen does fantasy; there are deaths and depression but again, I wouldn’t say they’re the focus; it’s two wizards fighting Napoleon, reinventing magic, and messing with forces they can’t control

[dyemelikeasunset]

Naf, what are your favorite animes/mangas? Also, happy new year!! :)

Happy new year!! 

So I had an old list of my favorite anime/manga but it’s a bit outdated so I’m gonna make a new one. Yeah!

(this is a long as fuck post, apologies!)

Comics/Manga:

Otoyomegatari (eng: Bride’s Story): so I know this series is already pretty renowned but IT’S JUST SO GORGEOUS. The detail and research that goes into this series is so! frickin’! good!! The characters are subtle but full of personality, the humor is delivered in a very human way, the pacing is slow and gentle but full of interest, the story telling is refined. And the cultures are not demonized?? While there are “outsider” perspectives everyone works realistically within the confines of their societies and it’s really respectful. The age gap of the main couple (the groom is 12 and the bride is 20) has so much potential to be squicky but it’s healthy and not framed in any gross way. I love the way the series jumps to different areas and explores small arcs outside the main storyline, all staying within the theme of cultural marriages. Among these side stories, there is one with a majority dark-skinned cast, and the main characters are these carefree and fun-loving twin girls who are so much fun to read about! There’s also another story with a healthy polyamorous story that is, again, actually very accurate!! (Some people could argue it’s “platonic” but the way it’s executed really, really drips with romance lmao.) Highly suggest this series!!

Boku no Hero Academia (eng:My Hero Academy): I’ve completely fallen into the BnHA pit. I didn’t expect to like this series THIS MUCH but it is really, reeaaalllyyy damn good. I’ve never read a shounen series that had so much thought and good editing put into it. Like, it has incredible reread value! There’re a lot of small jokes (like single-panel but still very effective! jokes), unbelievable attention to detail, and it’s very obvious the characters were all worked out before the story was kicked off. The pacing is great, the momentum never feels sacrificed, yet there are still good chunks for breathing and emotional development. The characters are all very well-written even if they’re not “likeable,” you always have someone to root for, and the superpowers are refreshingly executed. The action is fucking FANTASTIC, and the story itself is intriguing with a lot of emotional impact without becoming hamfisted. There are still some issues with it, especially with the small amount of female characters and some unneeded romance undertones, but overall those criticisms do stay as “undertones” and probably weren’t done intentionally. A lot of the potential “fanservice scenes” are usually subverted in a hilarious way

Gakuen Babysitters (eng: School Babysitters): OOH BOY. This one’s a story about a high school with a daycare attached to it (mainly for the teachers’ kids). The main character is a high school student with a toddler-age younger brother, they’re new to this school and have to meet all the other kids… who are fucking adorable. All the toddlers at the daycare are really fleshed out, they all have set personalities and aren’t unrealistically angelic and some are bratty and most are CUTE AF, and they all have their moments to shine. Sometimes the characters border on caricatures or one-note jokes, but it works well for comedy and is generally kept fresh. There’re also some typical romance-y things but they’re totally glazed over in favor of the toddler-plots and YES A STORY WHERE KIDS AREN’T USED AS A PLOT DEVICE TO MAKE SOMEONE MORE ROMANTICALLY APPEALING AND seriously this series is SO CUTE you all should read it.

Bokura no Hentai (eng: Our Transformations): the “hentai” here is “transformations” not porn lmao. Anyway this series is about three kids who meet through an online “cross-dressing” community. The main character is actually a trans girl!! The other two mains are both cis, one gay one straight. The straight boy does say homo/transphobic things at the beginning but properly apologizes for his actions later. The series also deals with death in the family, mental illness and recovery, gender (obviously) as well as gender expectations and even addresses hypersexuality as a result of trauma. That being said, there is a heavy warning on this series for noncon situations and molestation. However it’s thankfully not treated in a romantic or rose-tinted way in the least. Some of the character growth is a little sudden (esp straight cis boy, I felt his turnaround was too fast and drastic) and some of the endgame couples (or implied couples) have some meh undertones, but overall a good story.The series is finished now and ended on a pretty good note, but the epilogue is incredibly sad. I suggest maybe not reading the very last chapter if you’re in a bad place mentally right now.

Kase-san: If you’re looking for feel-good wlw media, Kase-san is the shit. It’s sooo sugary and sweet, but still has good character growth and story development. It generally deals with real-world teenager stuff, but the couple is very healthy and progresses at a realistic but still romantic pace. Warnings for intense butterflies lmao this series is seriously so gentle and high-school romance-y in the best way. The biggest surprise is how the main girl grew on me so much? Like I have a huge pet peeve for cookie-cutter protagonists, but Yamada has so much personality and strengths! Even though the story is told from her perspective and generally follows her pining after the titular love interest, Kase, there are enough glimpses into Kase’s personality and motivations too (which helps to balance things out), and just Yamada herself is very vibrant and sweet! This series puts me in such a good mood

Tamen Di Gushi (eng: Their Story): Another good wlw series! I know this series is already pretty popular on Tumblr, but if anyone was still on the fence about it, I really think you should give it a shot. The romance is sweet and adorable but what really gets me is the HUMOR. The gags in this series are fucking out of this world, I can’t explain it well but the timing, expressions, and circumstances are SO FUNNY and the artist pulls it off so well!! I always look forward to the updates just because they’re so funny

Anime:

Idolm@ster: ugh don’t even talk to me about this one it’s a total guilty pleasure but all the characters and even the sides are GREAT (I love the faceless president lmao). It’s a story about a start-up idol agency, and how all the adults are working to help each of the girls become famous. It was originally a video game (with some questionable content) but the anime is REALLY GOOD and very endearing and each of the girls has a moment to shine and grow. The songs are cute and the dances and performances are so rewarding to see esp after all the characters go through, and UGH It’s all so adorable, esp 2nd season. I love this show.[A NOTE: don’t watch the movie. Just don’t. It’s awful. Bad production value, unnecessary drama, A USELESS SIDEPLOT ABOUT A GIRL LOSING WEIGHT it’s awful don’t do it.]

Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls: New cast of idols, new agency, very different pacing. The beginning 7 episodes are a little hard to get through, but after that first trudge, the quality skyrockets. I actually think there were some things I enjoyed more about CG than the original im@s– there’s a bigger focus on the actual work they do (like their idol theming), company politics, and a MUCH BETTER VILLAIN introduced in the second season. This series doesn’t focus as much on each individual character, but the ones that do get development really hit home strong.

Escaflowne: one of the first animes I ever watched when they were dubbing it in fox kids. I rewatched the subbed anime when I got older and I gotta say it’s really lasts the test of time. Aside from the geek factors (high fantasy!! tarot cards!! dragons! MAGIC MECHS!!) the story and characters are really great. The main character, Hitomi, is just such a strong baby who’s never outshined by the other characters. She goes through a lot and still is allowed to feel vulnerability, it never quite feels like she has to “prove” herself worthy of being a hero just “because she’s a girl” etc, she’s allowed to be strong and courageous while also weak and in need of help, very multi-layered! And that’s only the main girl HAHA don’t even get me started on the other characters.Some of the later story can be a little weird? There’s some weird real-world references and one of the characters has an interesting(?) gender issue. I don’t personally know how I feel about it but it’s worth having a mild precaution to anyone thinking of going into this series.