#un-masquerade arc

[steely-eyedmissileman]

The Vampire Diaries, Ep. 2x07

Masquerade

boring title. that aside, this episode was the most engrossing episode of the vampire diaries i've seen in a while. my notes are a bit thin on the ground because i was too busy actually watching the fucking episode for once.

caroline knows the difference between elena and katherine. i have a question about this, actually. shouldn't it be really easy for vampires to tell the difference. elena has a heartbeat and she breathes and she has blood running through her veins. katherine doesn't. if you have superhuman senses, shouldn't it be really fucking easy to tell the difference between a vampire and a human. unless vampires aren't that different from humans. in which cas, i'll be disappointed, but i wish someone would fucking tell me!

katherine's going to kill people at the masquerade ball (by people, she means everyone). stefan's going to kill katherine. katherine has an evil bonnie now.

jeremy's going to help kill katherine. ht is here!!!! he has secret arm stakes, which i adore! god, i miss ht. he's not in the show enough anymore.

matt has to go make tyler kill him. elena's not going to the party. ht's not going to the party. he's going to stay home with jenna and make sure elena is okay.

i feel like this plan to kill katherine isn't going to work. why do i feel like this isn't going to work? because i understand the arc of a twenty-two episode season.

we then have a moment that made me laugh so hard i almost hyperventilated and died. i'll let the notes take this one: 'ian somerhalder and paul wesley are two very attractive men how did they make them so un-hot in suits'

i don't want matt to die, and i'm beginning to get worried that he will. why did they do that with jeremy's hair? why are there so many bad covers of 80s songs?

katherine kills a girl in front of stefan in the middle of this party. why is this always happening?

meanwhile, elena is sneaking out to go figure out what's going on, even after ht told her not to. this is not a good idea.

at the party, bonnie and jeremy are bonding. i love a potential friendship between these two, which would be very nice. both of them need more ties to the larger group. both of them are fairly isolated, and they won't be able to evolve as characters without additional connections.

caroline looks fucking beautiful. she has become a much more interesting character since becoming a vampire. caroline successfully tricks katherine into the room, and she gets a wonderful evil laugh moment. she's really come into her own since she was turned, and it's a joy to watch. damon and caroline have a wonderful 'hello katherine' 'goodbye katherine' moment. it's lovely to see these two characters, who are arguably katherine's biggest victims in mystic falls, take back some agency and fight against katherine.

elena has found bonnie and jeremy and she's worried that her friends will get killed because of her. jeremy makes an excellent point: 'it's not just you anymore, elena.' and he's right. a lot of the plot is about elena, but all the other characters have also been harmed. everyone has the right to decide how to handle their own lives and elena is going to have to relinquish her desire for control. then katherine is stabbed, and elena starts bleeding. elena gets hurt when katherine does. to quote my notes, 'this is bad this is real bad.'

there's another witch at the party. bonnie's going to go find her. and do what? we simply don't know.

meanwhile, matt is provoking tyler. caroline enters just in time to save matt. however, the girl who fell down the stairs a couple episodes ago (her name is sarah, my girlfriend has told me) attacks tyler too. he shoves her off him, but she hits her head on the desk and dies. this party has a very high body count. and tyler's a werewolf now.

upstairs, katherine is turning the brothers against each other in the hopes that they'll attack each other. and she thinks it's funny. the spell gets removed, and then no one stabs katherine.

caroline is covering up tyler's situation because she's a good friend and a good person.

bonnie confronts the other witch: 'when i gave you the stone, how did i know i could trust you?' the other witch reveals that she is a bennett cousin. she also tells bonnie to embrace her role in the supernatural. 'unlike me, you're one of the good ones, bonnie. the middle is exactly where you need to be.' i'm hoping that this will help bonnie embrace her role in the narrative and stop the morality policing that she has been doing constantly.

unfortunately, it becomes clear that bonnie and jeremy are going to get together. i fucking hate it.

elena isn't getting back together with stefan because she doesn't feel safe.

damon puts katherine in the tomb, 'where you should have been all along.' death is too good for katherine.

elena gets kidnapped by a masked man.

holy shit, y'all, this was an episode.

[askevilnug]

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[neuxue]

I love how you write about Nynaeve (I have not read books 12-14) and she was amazing in 11, and I love her but also, she has bad things that I don't like to think about her. I feel like she's a hypocrite shaming the PoV guy and making Lan lead troops even though he hates when men die & its his responsibility. Also she thinks Masema's right & her dress is male gaze, but she yells at him to make him feel guilty to get her a ship. And maybe she's a gold digger? Would you mind reassuring me?

Oh man. So first, foremost, and always: you do not need anyone’s permission to like (or dislike) a fictional character. You do not need good reasons to like (or dislike) a fictional character. You can like a character despite their flaws. You can like a character because of their flaws. You can dislike a character who has never done anything wrong in their life. You can like (or dislike) a character without justifying yourself for doing so.

All of the negative things you mention about Nynaeve are arguably accurate to some degree (I mean, I’m not entirely sure where gold digger is coming from, but aside from that). But this is where I get so frustrated with the trend in parts of fandom right now of ‘you’re only allowed to like things that are 100% pure and unproblematic’ because a character having flaws shouldn’t make someone feel like they can’t like them. (Again, it’s absolutely fine if those flaws make that character unlikeable for you; your lines in the sand are your own. But you shouldn’t be made to feel guilty or uncertain about liking a character just because they — gasp! — have some flaws).

Yes, Nynaeve has flaws. She’s loyal, brave, determined, empathetic almost to a fault. She’s also hypocritical, insecure, judgemental, and painfully un-self-aware. She’s complicated, she’s messy, she’s flawed, she’s human.

And at least for me, that’s a part of why I do like her as a character. These aren’t just little token quirks masquerading as flaws, edges sanded down to make them palatable, brushed aside as soon as she needs a heroic moment. Instead these are fundamental parts of her, just as her better qualities are. It’s part of what makes her character development and growth so interesting, because these are some very real things she has to actually work through and with and around. And some of these, she doesn’t completely solve (at least by book 11), which again makes her arc feel richer, to me. Because it’s not just about ticking a series of ‘overcame this flaw’ boxes.

Like, take her hypocrisy. Yes, it’s definitely an aspect of her character, but it stems largely — as I think it does in a lot of people — not from malice or arrogance but from insecurity. It’s so easy to, when you dislike or are afraid of something in yourself, project it onto others instead, notice those qualities in them, and dislike or judge them for it. It’s a method of denial, of distancing yourself from that thing you don’t want to face, of... confronting it externally to shield yourself from a similar attack being levelled against this vulnerable part of yourself. And so for Nynaeve, it’s about gradually acknowledging some of those insecurities, and recognising her own fears, and learning herself, and coming to terms with what she sees. That’s what gives us moments like her breaking her block — it’s beautiful in part because there’s so much that builds up to it, and a lot of that comes from letting those flaws have their place. 

As for the whole Golden Crane thing she sets up with Lan... this one’s complicated, which is probably a large part of why I personally like it so much. It plays right into a whole tangle of questions of agency and autonomy: if Lan has the right to choose to ride alone to his death, do those who Nynaeve recruits not also have the right to choose to ride alongside him? And what is permitted, when the purpose is to save a life? Lan is functionally suicidal but at least part of that is due to the effects of the Warder bond breaking (and another part due to being conditioned since childhood to see his own life as meaningless beyond giving it for his fallen nation), so Nynaeve’s now in the position of choosing between: preventing Lan from going at all (impinging on his autonomy and causing him further pain and distress), letting him go alone as he wishes (which would likely result in his death), or letting him go but providing him as much assistance as she can (involving some trickery and circumventing part of his wishes). What’s the right choice, then? Is there one? (Tangentially, we actually play in this space a fair bit in WoT — Elayne’s bonding of Birgitte is another good example. Is it the ethical choice, given the circumstances? Up to you!). These are some complicated questions of ethics, in a pretty high-stakes situation! And you can decide for yourself whether she’s right or wrong to do as she did, but I will say for her that her intentions are good. 

I don’t have much to say on the Masema thing, honestly — I personally deal with it by just... accepting that I’m not always going to agree with the characters or the narrative on everything relating to gender, which is fine. But I also think it’s another thing that plays into some of Nynaeve’s insecurities: she’s trying to find her place in the world, and some of that includes how she relates to her own femininity. She comes from a place with certain attitudes and values, and she felt like she had to express (or not express) that aspect of herself in a particular way, and part of finding her place in this much wider world is figuring out what she actually wants there, and there’s some discomfort as she adjusts to that, because some of it feels shameful when it comes up against those attitudes and values she was raised with. It’s again about insecurity and becoming more comfortable with who she is, but it’s not exactly a smooth path. Also that whole conversation with Masema is just Extremely Stressful, and Nynaeve deals with stress by being stubborn and angry at the world, so.

Anyway, specifics aside, my point very much remains: it’s okay to like flawed characters! The flaws can be a large part of what makes them interesting — not just their existence, but the way that character deals with or learns from or grows past or around those flaws. Ultimately it’s up to you whether the things you don’t like outweigh the things you do, and it’s okay to have to think through that and decide what you’re comfortable with, but I really cannot emphasise enough: it’s okay to like flawed characters. I mean, we’re all flawed people, right?

[cardest]

France playlist

When in France, I wear no pants!

This is my French playlist. It’s one that I am very proud of. It took me several months of researching, listening, finding, playing records to gather over 400 songs. But, France. What a country! This playlist could go as far as 500 songs. 

Hit play: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1-CHRTel_bBjdT_DAHLrnvX

There is an endless amount of talent from this part of the world. From across many decades the songs just keep coming. Incredible. Une région tellement incroyable pour la musique. Here is a list I created. It took me many months to compile.

**Updated April 19, 2021** ** indicated new additions to this playlist.

FRANCE 001 Panther Theme Song (Original Version) - Panther Theme Song 002 Gojira -  L'Enfant Sauvage 003 Therion -  Initials B.B 004 Fantomas -  Page 1 [6 Frames] 005 Kraftwerk - Tour De France Etape 1 006 Alcest -  Les Voyages De L'Âme 007 Serge Gainsbourg - Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas 008 Fantomas -  Page 2 [7 Frames] 009 Sabina - Viva LAmour 010 Rammstein - Fruhling in Paris 011 Jacques Dutronc - Paris séveille 012 Léo Ferré - Paris cest une idée 013 Aosoth  - Temple Of Knowledge 014 Joe dassin - Les Champs Élysées 015 Iron Maiden -  Murders In The Rue Morgue 016 Grace Jones - Libertango (Ive Seen That Face Before) 017 ARISTIDE BRUANT - A Batignolles 018 Magma - Merci (Ki Ïahl Ö Lïahk) 019 WIRE - French Film Blurred 020 Duran Duran - A view to a Kill 021 Fantomas -  Page 3 [17 Frames] 022 Karl Heinz Schaefer - Les gants blancs du diable 023 The Cure  - How Beautiful You Are 024 Ovtrenoir - Outrenoir 025 Apocalyptica -  Through Paris in a Sportscar 026 Henry Mancini - Mambo Parisienne 027 Madonna  -Justify My hate 028 Patachou - Rendez-vous de Paname 029 Grand Guignol Orchestra - Un trop plein de rouge   ** 030 ZAZ - Sous le ciel de Paris 031 Patrick Juvet - Paris By Night 032 Gojira -  Silvera 033 Roger Roger - Sans Queue ni Tete 034 Modern Talking - Bells Of Paris 035 TOMBS - Once Falls the Guillotine 036 Popera Cosmic - Les Esclaves   ** 037 Fantomas -  Page 5 [7 Frames] 038 Sael - I Searched For The End Of The Spiral 039 Blancmange - Dont Tell Me 040 Thunderball - Thunderball (Main Title) 041 France Gall - Ella Elle La 042 Henry Apocalypse de Jean Premier temps - Titre-révélation 043 Merrimack - Arousing Wombs in Nine Angles Pleroma 044 Perturbator -  She Moves Like a Knife 045 Fantomas - Page 6 [26 Frames] 046 John Cale  - Half Past France 047 Queensryche - Last Time In Paris 048 Deathspell Omega -  Abscission 049 QUEEN -  PRINCES OF THE UNIVERSE (Highlander) 050 David Bowie - Heroes - Chante En Francais 051 Berlin - Metro 052 April March - Chick Habit 053 Alcest -  Je Suis D'Ailleurs 054 Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Slipped Disc 055 Black Devil -  Follow Me (Instrumental) 056 Jacqueline François - Ce Jour La A Paris 057 Duo Tata - Paris nous aime 058 Boogalox - chez les ye-ye 059 Necrowretch - Ripping Souls Of Sinners 060 Fantomas -  Page 9 [11 Frames] 061 Thunderball OST - Chateau Flight 062 Heldon - Les soucoupes volantes vertes 063 Chene Noir - La musique des amants   ** 064 B.F.G - Paris 065 Jet Vegas - PARIS 066 Cloven Hoof - Notre Dame (A Sultans Ransom ) 067 Moondog - Paris 068 Serge Gainsbourg - Shu Ba Du Ba Loo Ba 069 Treponem Pal - Renegade (french version) 070 THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK  - Bring Back The Night 071 Fantomas -  Page 10 [15 Frames] 072 Elton John - Paris 073 Malcolm McLaren - Jazz is Paris 074 Jean-Claude Vannier - L'enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes 075 Fantomas -  Charade 076 DÉLUGE - Appâts 077 Berurier noir - Salut à toi 078 Sweet - The Six Teens 079 Les Discrets -  Effet De Nuit 080 David Bowie - Station To Station (French Single Edit) 081 Vanessa Paradis - Joe Le Taxi France 082 Fantomas - Page 11 [10 Frames] 083 Little River Band - Seine City 084 Loudblast - Cross the Threshold  * 085 Dokken - Paris is Burning 086 BLUT AUS NORD - Epitome II 087 Pixies - Alec Eiffel 088 Army of Lovers - Ballrooms Of Versailles 089 Metal Urbain - Paris Maquis 090 Hante. - Nobodys Watching (feat. Marble Slave & Fragrance) 091 Jonathan Richman - Give Paris One More Chance 092 Un Monstre à Paris - La Seine OST 093 Sheena Easton - Weekend In Paris 094 Domenico Modugno - Un sicilien à Paris 095 Amelie OST - Lautre valse dAmélie 096 Queen - Killer Queen 097 Jean Ferrat - Un enfant quitte Paris 098 Trini Lopez - Made In Paris 099 Anathema - Parisienne Moonlight 100 Mike Patton - Jean Claude Vannier - Browning 101 Tygers Of Pan Tang - Paris By Air 102 The Angels - Storm The Bastille 103 April March - La Chanson de Prevert 104 UK Subs - Party in Paris 105 Fantomas -  Page 14 [4 Frames] 106 Marie-France  - Déréglée 107 Therion - Poupée De Cire, Poupée the Son 108 Grant Lee Phillips  - Mona Lisa 109 Obsequiae -  L'amour dont sui espris 110 erge Gainsbourg -  Qui est "in" qui est "out" 111 SABINA - TOUJOURS 112 Pierre & Bastien - Pilule pour mec 113 Vulcain - Ebony 114 Fantomas -  Page 15 [22 Frames] 115 Don Ellis - theme from the French Connection 116 Jean Yanne - Coït 117 Trust - Par Compromission 118 David Bowie - Rosalyn 119 Alain Goraguer -  Deshominisation (II) 120 Fantomas -  Page 16 [11 Frames] 121 Michel Magne - Route de nuit 122 Fantomas - Page 17 [14 Frames] 123 R.E.M. - Talk About The Passion 124 Sortilège - Civilisation Perdue 125 Zoot Sims Quartet - Evening in Paris 126 Madeline - Im Madeline 127 Sapho - Train de Paris 128 Hobbs' Angel Of Death -  Marie Antoinette 129 Carpenter Brut - Turbo Killer 130 Fantomas - Page 18 [20 Frames] 131 Kraftwerk -  Tour De France Etape 2 132 Huata - Diving In A Swamp 133 Brigitte Fontaine -  Areski_Depuis 134 Dark Moor - Maid Of Orleans 135 Joan of Arc  - Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes 136 Arcade Fire - Joan of Arc 137 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Maid Of Orleans 138 Tom Waits - Cemetery Polka 139 Fantomas -  Page 19 [21 Frames] 140 Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm 141 Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 10 142 Charles Aznavour - Desormais 143 Monolithe - Anechoic Aberration 144 The DUBROVNIKS - French Revolution 145 Iron Maiden - Montsegur 146 Joey Starr - JArrive 147 Nino Ferrer - Le Sud 148 IQ - Dans Le Parc Du Chateau Noir 149 Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes Ame Debout 150 Fantomas  - OST main theme 151 Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers 152 La Femme - Sur la planche 153 Deerhoof - Fête Dadieu 154 Johnny Hallyday - Souvenirs souvenirs 155 Joan Jett - French Song 156 PIL - Cest La Vie 157 Arkhon Infaustus - Amphessatamine Nexion 158 Spektr - Teratology 159 Jacqueline Taïeb - 7 Heures Du Matin 160 Kylie Minogue  - Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi 161 Dillinger Escape Plan - Farewell Mona Lisa 162 TELEPHONE - Un autre monde 163 Indochine - Laventurier 164 Les Démons de Minuit - Images 165 Benjamin Biolay - Lyon presquîle 166 Fantomas - Page 21 [11 Frames] 167 The Police - Hungry for You (Jaurais Toujours Faim de Toi) 168 Army Of Lovers - Crucified 169 Arcturus -  La Masquerade Infernale 170 Arcturus -  Master Of Disguise 171 mio - mao 172 Yves Montand - Les Canuts 173 Alcest -  Percées De Lumière 174 ZEN ZILA - Les Invisibles 175 Mike Patton - Ford Mustang (Serge Gainsbourg Cover) 176 Asphodèle - Gueules Crasses 177 Rage - French Bourree 178 Raison D'etre -  Auto-dafe 179 Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight 180 Fantomas -  Page 22 [7 Frames] 181 Henri Renaud - Venez Donc Chez Moi   ** 182 Mary Bell - Band-Aid Baby 183 Sébastien Tellier - La Ritournelle 184 Debussy & Wright - Claudine (In a french cafe) 185 ELEND - Nocturne 186 Les Lèvres Rouges (Daughters of Darkness) - Theme from film 187 Tristania -  Heretique 188 Marseille sans bateau   - Nicoletta   189 Tino Rossi - Marseille mon pays 190 Bagarre générale -  Furvent 191 Henry Mancini & His Orchestra - French  Provincial   * 192 The Angels - Marseilles 193 Deftones - Riviére 194 Claude François - Le temps que jarrive à Marseille 195 Tais - toi Marseille paroles 196 Elton John - I'm Still Standing 197 The Stranglers - Nice in Nice 198 Motörhead -  Coup De Grace 199 Fantomas -  Page 23 [17 Frames] 200 Igorrr -  ieuD 201 Therion -  Polichinelle 202 Obsequiae -  Des Oge Mais Quer Eu Trobar 203 Alain Goraguer -  La Femme 204 Talking Heads - Psycho Killer 205 Lafayette Afro Band - Malik 206 Putumayo French Cafe. Georges Brassens - Je MSuis Fait Tout Petit 207 La Femme - Elle ne taime pas 208 Benighted - Versipellis 209 Fantomas -  Page 24 [19 Frames] 210 Abigail - Je Taime 211 Bill wyman - je suis un rockstar 212 Françoise Hardy - Comment te dire adieu 213 Burgundian court (middle XIV) - Tourdion 214 Carnivale en Coal - Entrez le carnaval 215 Melissa Auf Der Maur -  Taste You (French Version) 216 Death In June -  C'est Un Rêve 217 Chris Cornell - Cant Change Me (French Version) 218 Cortex - Troupeau bleu 219 Eddie Vartan - Tatoo Strip Tease    ** 220 Iggy Pop - Je Sais Que Tu Sais 221 Les Darlings  - Le Tourbillon 222 King Diamond - The Trees Have Eyes 223 Joni Mitchell - In France They Kiss On Main Street 224 Lovage - Pit Stop (take me home) (/w Mike Patton) 225 Billy Idol - Eyes Without A Face 226 Mick Harvey - Intoxicated Man 227 Vulcain - Rock 'n Roll Secours 228 Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly    - To France 229 Serge Gainsbourg - Overseas Telegram 230 Fantomas - Page 25 [34 Frames] 231 Ponctuation - La re´alite´ me suffit 232 Gloria - You had it all     ** 233 The Adicts - Viva La Revolution 234 Ataraxie - Dread the Villains 235 The Stranglers - La Folie 236 weird al yankovic - Genius in France 237 Secret Chiefs 3 - La Chanson de Jacky 238 Sonic Youth - French Tickler 239 The Reels    - La Mer 240 Fabienne DelSol -  Vilaines Filles Mauvais Garcons 241 camera silens    - pour la gloire 242 Charles de Goal - exposition 243 City of Lost Children & Angelo Badalamenti - Lexecution (The City of Lost Children OST) 244 Blondie - Sunday Girl 245 Fairport Convention - Si tu dois partir 246 Fantomas -  Page 26 [7 Frames] 247 Hippie Hippie Hourrah -  Jacques Dutronc 248 Mars Red Sky - Strong Reflection 249 Rita Mitsouko - Cest comme ça 250 Mike Patton, Jean-Claude Vannier Chansons D'Amour 251 The Faces - Ooh La La 252 The Algorithm - Trojans 253 Magma - Da Zeuhl wortz Mekanik 254 Fantomas -  Page 27 [15 Frames] 255 Iggy Pop - La Javanaise 256 Brigitte Bardot - Ne Me Laisse Pas L'Aimer 257 Corpus Delicti - Saraband 258 Frank Zappa - In France 259 Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains - La Ve´rite´ 260 Year Of No Light - L'angoisse du veilleur de nuit d'autoroute les soirs d'alarme à accident 261 Pere Ubu - Non-alignment Pact 262 Georgia Satellites - Mon Cheri 263 The Limiñanas - Prisunic 264 Martin Dupont - Inside Out 265 Sanseverino - Mal ô Mains 266 Andre Poppe - La Polka Du Roi 267 The Fixx - Cameras In Paris 268 Regarde Les Hommes Tomber - The Renegade Son 269 Asterix - Intro 270 Michel Magne - Tamouré 271 Maurice Jarre - The Paris Waltz 272 Celeste -  Les mains brisées comme leurs souvenirs 273 Fantomas -  Page 28 [20 Frames] 274 Fabienne DelSol -  Le Roi Des Fourmis 275 Gary McFarland/Gabor Szaro - Simpatico    ** 276 Blue Oyster Cult - Les Invisibles 277 Refused - Françafrique 278 Iggy Pop - Les Feuilles Mortes 279 Fabulous Trobadors - Toulouse est sarrazine 280 Loudblast - Manifesto   ** 281 Drei Oklok - Les petits vauriens 282 Sektemtum  - Aut Caesar Aut Nihil 283 Les Discrets - Virée Nocturne 284 La Femme - Sphynx 285 Elend - Le Dévoreur 286 Daft Punk  - Around the world    ** 287 KUKL with Bjork - France (A Mutual Thrill) 288 Fantomas -  Page 29 [39 Frames] 289 Charlotte Leslie - Les Filles CEst Fait (Pour Faire LAmour) 290 Kreator - Under The Guillotine 291 ABBA - Voulez-Vous 292 Agathe ou Christie - Laume 293 Anna Karina - Rollergirl 294 Diamanda Galás -  Sono L'Antichristo 295 Blondie - French Kissin in the USA 296 Pere Ubu - Final Solution 297 Alber Jupiter - Fangs [We Are Just Floating in Space] 298 La Fraction - Aussi Long Sera Le Chemin 299 Nightmare - Prowler in the Night 300 SERGE GAINSBOURG - Aéroplanes 301 Ravel - Arithmétique 302 Temple Of Baal - Dead Cult 303 Volkor X - This Means War 304 Iggy Pop - Les Passantes 305 Fantomas - Page 12 [31 Frames] 306 Anorexia Nervosa  - Codex Veritas 307 Gojira - The heaviest matter of the universe 308 Prince - Raspberry Beret 309 Les Rita Mitsouko - Marcia Baila 310 Igorrr - Camel Dancefloor 311 the Conchords  -  Foux Da Fa Fa 312 Jef Gilson - Enfin    *** 313 Burzum -  The Portal 314 Misanthrope - Visionnaire 315 April March - Laisse Tomber les Filles 316 The Stranglers - Goodbye Toulouse 317 Magma - De Futura 318 NIGHT - Déliant ses Lacets 319 Jean-Luc Ponty - Sunday Walk   ** 320 Perez Prado - Paris 321 Vosegus - Honore les Dieux 322 Les demoiselles de Rochefort - Le pont transbordeur 323 Vladimir Cosma Pebbles and Bubbles 324 Edith Piaf - Sous le ciel de Paris 325 Schizo - Schizo (And the Little Girl) 326 La Toya Jackson, Moulin Rouge Cast - A Paris Les Femmes Ressemblent A Des Fleu 327 Departure Chandelier  - Forever Faithful to the Emperor 328 The Liminanas - Migas 2000 329 Adam And The Ants -  Young Parisians 330 Asmodée - Black Drop Journey 331 Les joyaux de la princesse - Le petit garçon 332 Melvins -  Joan Of Arc 333 H Bomb - Coup De Metal 334 Malicorne - L'écolier assassin 335 Donald Byrd - Parisian Thoroughfare 336 Thin Lizzy - Parisienne Walkways 337 Miles Davis / Art Blakey & The MEssengers - Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud  ** 338 Monarch - A Look At TomorrowMass Death and Destruction 339 Georges Brassens  -   Les copains d´abord 340 EARTHA KITT - UNDER THE BRIDGES OF PARIS 341 Blaspheme - Vivre libre 342 KaS Product - Sober 343 Mike Patton - Jean Claude Vannier -  Corpse Flower 344 Tony Allen - On Fire 345 Funerarium - Prayer For The Dead 346 SVART CROWN - Thermageddon 347 Alan Stivell - Tri Martolod 348 Les Misérables - Le bagne, pitié pitié (French) 349 The Great Old Ones - The Omniscient 350 Henry Mancini - Bateau Mouche 351 Style Counci l - Down In The Seine 352 Begin Says - Arbeit 353 Husker Du - Eiffel Tower High 354 Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To My Lovely 355 Cécilia - Chocolat 356 Cradle of Filth - The Death of Love 357 ZARAH LEANDER - CABARET PARIS 358 David Bowie -  Speed of Life 359 Celine Gillain - Fight or Flight 360 Kosmos - Revelations Le Voyage 361 Bernard Parmegiani - Pop Eclectic 362 Dominique Laurent, Pinok Et Matho - L'Appel de la Terre 363 Pharoah Sanders - Love Is Here 364 SLIFT - UMMON 365 HANGMAN'S CHAIR - CUT UP KIDS 366 Les Baxter - The Clown On The Eiffel Tower 367 Throane - Plus Une Main A Mordre 368 John Zorn - Bateau Ivre 369 Mezzanotte - Midnight 370 GONG  - You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever 371 Klone - Breach 372 Les Calamités -  Toutes les nuits 373 John Cale - Paris 1919 374 Alcest - Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles 375 Heldon - MVC II 376 Aluk Todolo - V 377 Moving Gelatine Plates - Funny Doll 378 Alesia Cosmos  -  H-Co 379 Caravelli - Metamorphose Demientelle 380 Martial Solal joue Michel Magne - Organique 381 Cerrone - The Real World The Collector 382 The Nathan Davis Quintet -  The Hip Walk 383 Fantomas -  Page 30 [2 Frames] 384 Monsieur Goraguer - Sexy Dracula (Instrumental) 385 Orquesta De Las Nubes - El Orden Del Azar 386 Francoise Hardy - Tous Les Garcons et Les Filles 387 Pierre Eliane - Isadora Duncan (A Quoi Tu Penses Quand Tu Danses) 388 Rémy Couvez - Rêve de Voyage 389 Rush - Bastille Day 390 Doris Laïze - For Ever 391 Mr Bungle - Carousel 392 Coleman Hawkins - The Hawk in Paris   ** 393 VUUR - Reunite! - Paris 394 Guy Lafitte - Jambo!   ** 395 Prince - kiss 396 My Dying Bride - De Sade Soliliquoy 397 Francisco Semprun & Michel Christodoulides - Ebullition 398 Hacride - Act Of God 399 Jane Birkin - Lolita Go Home 400 The Doors  - End of the Night 401 Bernard Estardy - Cha tatch ka (La Formule du Baron) 402 Ennio Morricone - Peur sur la Ville OST 403 SOGGY - Waiting for the War 404 Birds in a Row - I don't dance 405 Miles Davis - Sur l'autoroute (BOF Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) 406 Michel Legrand -  Legrand Jazz   ** 407 Anna - Rien rien j'disais ça comme ça 408 VOUS AUTRES - Onde 409 Les Marquisis - Shape the Wheel (feat. Rémy Kapriélan) 410 Iron Maiden - The Longest Day 411 Satan - Toutes Ces Horreurs 412 Jean-Pierre Decerf - Light Flight 413 Delicatessen OST Carlos D'Alessio - Tika Tika Walk 414 Richard Pinhas - Rhizosphere Sequent 415 Hexvessel - Dues to the Dolmen 416 Guy Skornik - Lile de Paques 417 Crown - Illumination 418 Ferat 80 - La Bilan 419 TERRITOIRE- sourd 420 Year of no light - Tocsin 421 Klone -  The Dreamer's Hideaway 422 Christophe - Les Mots Blues 423 IGORR - Cheval 424 Me Solar - Qui seme le rent recoltele 425 Pierre Eliane - Ou Que Tu Ailles 426 Lalo Schiffrin - Marquis de Sade    ** 427 Les compagnons de la chanson - Bleu, les jours heureux 428 Georges Brassens - La Parapluie   ** 429 Albert Marcœur - Appalderie   ** 430 Cenotaphe - Entre quatre cierges de cire et de sang   ** 431 Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene, Pt. 2   ** 432 Heldon -  Ouais, marchais, mieux qu'en 68   433 Daft Punk - Get Lucky    ** 434 End of Data - Sarah 435 Musique Expérimentale - Volumes 436 Deathspell Omega - Synarchy of moleten bones 437 Serge Gainsbourg - L'hôtel particulier (BOF "Melody Nelson") 438 Magma- Kobaïa 439 Jo Moutet & Strawberrie's Pot - "...comme un pot de fraises 440 Nino Nardini · Roger Roger - Jungle Obsession ** 441 Richard Pinhas - Paris: Beautiful May 442 François Bayle - Jeîta pt.2 443 Deluge - Soufre 444 Trust - Certitude, Solitude 445 Sortilège - La Hargne Des Tordus 446 Macabre - The Black Knight 447 Red Noise - Caka Slow / Vertebrate Twist ** 448 Eider Stellaire - Tetra   ** 449 Gojira - Born for one thing    ** 450 Jean-Claude Vannier - Chasser La Bête Noire 451 Celtic Frost - Into crypt of rays 452 Hexvessel - Journey to Carnac   ** 453 Kraftwerk - Tour de France (Etape 3) 454 IGORR - Au Revoir 455 Megadeth -  A Tout le Monde 666 The Pink Panther Theme - Reprise

[morathor]

Ladies of Darkness 41/?

"So.  You know how.  I used to try to find an aquifer?" "*beat, deepest of sighs* Yeahh?" "Okay, I'm going to indulge in a little bit of symbolism here.  And like, you know, Arakiel's real pissed.  And so--" "I swear to god--" "Instead of an aquifer--" "I SWEAR TO GOD--" "Arakiel's gonna search... for lava.  And bring it to the surface." "...thank god, it could have been WAY stupider."

Hey hey it's a newwwww Ladies of Darkness!  That thing!  @ladiesofdarkness!  That I like!  It, has, been, a, while!  I had to relisten to the last few minutes of the previous episode to kind of.  Get back into the swing of it.  But it's good, I'm good, I'm following.  I have been practicing following podcasts, actually!  Like, legit I have gotten so much better in the past couple of months at just like... processing podcast audio.  ANYWAY.

We start by.  Checking the party's goth/jock balance.  Making sure we got enough of each.  Turns out they brought a lot of goth, but also a super-jock in the form of Charlie so it's probably okay.  And once they've got that all sorted out they are right into combat.  First up is Charlie, because Charlie is always first, she's got ridiculous high initiative rolls.  Steph did some nerd flexing over how stupid high her initiative stat is.  Anyway Charlie/Valoel gives a big speech, handing out bonus dice like cheap candy at Halloween, and ALSO flies up on Paimon to do ultimate murder flames to the face.  So that's a thing.  Valoel pitches in with wind punches, always nice.  And Arakiel does a lava thing.  Lava is always useful, if you want to destroy things.  Which Arakiel does, right now, so that works out.  Samael and Layla Help Out In Ways.  

So they keep at that for a bit, Paimon attempts to draw them into his abyss, mixed success there, also gets wind punched.  And then Arakiel gets in a crotch-shot.  With lava!  At this point Samael suggest that maybe thye need to focus on seeling Paimon, because destruction is probably not on the table, although Steph is kind of.  "Can we still hit him with the volcano though?"  So they do that, and they get Paimon back into the abyss and close the portal.  And it feels kind of... short?  Like, this whole fight is fourty minutes, two thirds of the episode, but it feels like it went by so quickly!

And... so... then... what's next?  Well, Samael is like, some of the demons and undead and what not that were coming out of the abyss got away, might need to deal with that.  Valoel is on board.  Arakiel, though, is still struggling.  Like, now that the fight is over (for now), they're having to get back to Feeling Things.  It's hard, having feelings.  Vahkiel's like, "Well I promised I'd let myself be exorcised anyway, so I can go to the abyss and see if your friends that Paimon ate can be.  Un-eaten?"  Also Mary-Margaret shows up and cannot read the room for SHIT.  But she's also like, "Hey, so, here's what I've learned about the abyss, in my magic studies--remember my magic I've been studying?--if those people, you are looking for, actually still exist, you can pull them OUT of the abyss, without going INTO the abyss to look for them, so let's do it THAT way."  And there's a little more arguing, but eventually they do settle on, they'll all stick around, and keep looking through magic, and helping people.  Because, fallen or not, they're angels.  Helping is what they're meant to do.

And that's it!  That's the entiiiiiiiire Demon the Fallen arc, of Ladies of Darkness.  They are still planning on starting Vampire the Masquerade later this year; I'm very excited for that, to see what sorts of great new characters and great new stories these characters come up with.  I'll be honest, I thought they might have changed their plans and decided to end it here--and I couldn't blame them, burnout happens, and if they do change their plans later down the road I wouldn't blame them for that either, but for now!  I am excited!

[cromulentbookreview]

What We Do in the New Orleans Shadows

♪ Long before the Superdome / Where the saints of football play / Lived a city that the damned call home / Hear their hellish roundelay / New Orleans! Home of pirates, drunks and whores / New Orleans! Tacky, overpriced souvenir stores / / If you want to go to hell, you should take a trip / To the Sodom and Gomorrah on the Mississip / New Orleans / Stinking, rotten, vomiting vile... New Orleans! / Putrid, brackish, maggoty, foul / New Orleans! ♪ 

And by that, I mean: The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh!

My sincerest apologies to the city of New Orleans, which I hear is quite lovely. I’d like to go there someday, but only when I can be assured that I, as a female, am considered a human being with rights in the State of Louisiana. Anyway, whenever I think of New Orleans, all I can hear in my head is the song from A Streetcar Named Marge. And then I think about beignets. Mmm. And how I never learned French, instead I spent all my time learning German, which is useless, unless you’re hoping to eavesdrop on German tourists (a note to German tourists: Rede keinen Scheiß, es gibt Amerikaner die dich verstehen können. Ihr kränkte uns...)

Anyway, on to The Beautiful. 

New Orleans! 1872! The crinoline is out and bustles are in! Corsets continue to be the worst! The Gilded Age is just getting started (even though the book won’t be published for another year) and Belle Époque is big in France! Imperialism is everything! Ulysses S. Grant is drinking whiskey under his desk! Meanwhile,  seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau has fled her life as a dressmaker at one of the finest ateliers in Paris to join a convent in New Orleans. As you do when shit happens. Luckily, Celine made a friend on the boat ride over - Pippa, another girl fleeing shitty circumstances in favor of life in a convent. Once in New Orleans, both girls are enchanted by the city, and I absolutely have to hand it to Renée Ahdieh for knowing how to capture a setting. The way she describes it, you can practically smell the city of New Orleans. Especially the food. Dear God, the food. Mmm. 

I missed ALA Annual last year when it was held in New Orleans (and by “missed” I mean “couldn’t afford to go”) and just reading this book made me kick myself for not going. 

Back to Celine, though. The whole point of going to live at the Ursuline Convent of New Orleans is for her to lay low and find herself a good husband so she can escape the aforementioned shit that went down in Paris. Pippa has the same goal, though she is way more focused on the “finding a good husband” thing than Celine is. One day, while selling bric-a-brac to raise money for the convent, a strange woman named Odette compliments Celine on her sewing skills. Once she learns that Celine is a dressmaker, Odette immediately commissions Celine to make her a dress for a masquerade ball. Because, of course, it’s Mardi Gras. In fictionland, it’s never not Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Anyway, Odette is high up in some shady New Orleanian society called La Cour des Lions which seems to be full of hyper-beautiful people with all sorts of special skills. La Cour des Lions is led by the mysterious and largely absent Comte de Saint Germain, and is rumored to be embedded pretty deep in local politics and business. While on her way to fit Odette for her dress, Celine, accompanied by Pippa, encounters the comte’s nephew and heir, the absolutely gorgeous Sebastian St. Germain, as he mercilessly beats an unarmed man in an alleyway for reasons that are never made clear. (Seriously, we never do find out for sure why he was beating up some dude in an alley, at least, not in the ARC text). 

Also, I like to imagine that Bastian looks like Taika Waititi.

Also I’d like to imagine he has Taika Waititi’s accent. 

When Celine encounters Bastian again at Odette’s club, they quickly go from being complete strangers to head over heels in love. Because teenagers. But that’s all interrupted when Pippa stumbles upon the body of a girl drained of all her blood. Suddenly the police are involved, led by rival love interest, Michael Grimaldi, who happens to be a former childhood friend of Bastien, and thus, the future love triangle is established.

Also, if you haven’t already guessed by now (I mean, the presence of the Comte de St Germain is a pretty big hint) La Cour des Lions are vampires. Because somehow, even though New Orleans averages a total of 216 sunny days per year, vampires live there.

Maybe Laszlo is onto something, there.

Still, vampires live there, sticking to the indoors and shadows (or managing to daywalk like Colin Robinson or something. Not sure as the book does specify that sunlight does kill these vampires...).  La Cour des Lions are in a centuries long feud with something called the Brotherhood, who are....I’ll let you guess.

Did you guess?

Oh, come on.

You know. 

I’ll give you a hint.

Yes, because warewolves and vampires go together like...warewolves and vampires, honestly why not.

So we’ve got all this going down with Celine smack dab in the middle. Now there’s a serial killer on the loose and they seem to be fascinated with Celine in particular...

So! The Beautiful. It’s a return to the YA vampire genre, so...yay? I dunno, vampires just aren’t my thing. Twilight was huge when I was in high school and college and I tried reading it, but...euch. No. Honestly, outside of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the O.G. Dracula, and What We Do in the Shadows, vampire stories just don’t do anything for me. I never bought into the idea of exchanging a mortal life with sunshine and never committing murder for one in which you can never go out during the day and have to murder people for food. Plus, immortality sounds like it really sucks. Who wants to outlive their whole family? Their friends? Literally everybody you’ve ever known? Immortality means having to watch all of your pets die, over and over again, forever. Yeah, no thanks. Not to mention the fact that, after a few decades without aging, people will start to notice. “Hey, it’s been thirty years, why do you still look like you’re 18 do you have a disease or something?” 

Yeah, I’d rather have my limited time and then be reincarnated. I like that idea way better than being ageless and alive forever and ever. Didn’t any of you read Tuck Everlasting? Winnie made the right choice, you guys.

So while the setting and the writing for The Beautiful are fantastic, as soon as the story brought vampires in, my brain just switched into “eeeehhh” mode. I also have a hard time with romances where the two love interests go from “hey person I just met” to “I love you and will die for you” very quickly. Again, not really my thing. Most of the problems I had with this book just stemmed from my own biases. YA Vampire romances just aren’t my thing. What We Do in the Shadows (movie and TV series!) is more my thing. 

HOWEVER.

Just because something is not my thing, doesn’t mean it’s not your thing. If YA paranormal romances featuring vampires and warewolves running around late 19th century New Orleans sounds like your jam, then in all likelihood, you will really love The Beautiful and I recommend you go and get it when it comes out. Remember: I’m just an idiot with a tumblr account, just because I’m meh on a certain book doesn’t mean it won’t be your new favorite thing ever. I’ll admit, if Renée Ahdieh wrote a New Orleans travel guide, I’d read it in a heartbeat because holy shit she knows how to transport you to a time and place. 

Have at it, YA Paranormal Vampire Romance fans. I’ll be over here, watching What We do in the Shadows. 

RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone fond of YA Paranormal Vampire Romances (see above), fans of historical fiction, anyone looking for something cool set in New Orleans

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Anybody not fond of YA Paranormal Vampire Romances.

RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2019

RATING: 3/5

VAMPIRE RATING:

[hetaliaweekinreview]

Week of 9/9/2018 - 9/15/2018 USUK!

Total fics: 39

FFN: 8

AO3: 31

fanfiction.net :

Silence by Pyb World 

—El silencio es la forma más elocuente de mentir —leyó Arthur y resopló con indignación—. Qué estupidez más grande; que no quiera hablar sobre algo no quiere decir que esté mintiendo. Alfred sonrió y le quitó su cuaderno de apuntes: —El silencio guarda secretos. AU Humanos.

Rated: T - Spanish - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 7 - Words: 69,635 - [England/Britain, America] N. Italy, Germany

Cardverse: If you're gone by susarian 

"If you are gone, what am I supposed to do?" Cardverse Hetalia contains a slight bit of yaoi and violence. Update every two days.

Rated: T - English - Fantasy/Friendship - Chapters: 18 - Words: 24,793 - [England/Britain, America] Japan, China

dulu dan sekarang by Cinerraria

Alfred menyukai benda yang baru, sementara Arthur memuja masa lalu. [drabble]

Rated: K+ - Indonesian - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,071 - [England/Britain, America] - Complete

Enemigo mío by Steel Mermaid

Estados Unidos ha recibido el informe del Escuadrón 731 por parte de Japón, comenzando un camino siniestro contra sí mismo y envenenándose desde adentro para alimentar su enfermedad junto con un proyecto siniestro que lo llevará al límite. One-shot. Leve UKUS. Ambientado en el proyecto MK Ultra. Guerra Fría.

Rated: T - Spanish - Drama/Horror - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,701 - [America, England/Britain] - Complete

补偿恋爱 by lena891125clover

众所皆知，仲夏夜之梦是场喜剧。 一个仲夏的夜晚，受妖精捉弄而陷入迷恋的人们，和最后所有人都得偿所愿的结局。 而同样人尽皆知的，伊卡洛斯是场悲剧。 一个阳光普照的日子，受囚多年重见阳光的少年，以及他无人不晓的坠落。 亚瑟对阿尔弗雷德的单恋便是如此，生于莎翁的仲夏，却以希腊悲剧作结。 一直到那个将世界翻转的夜晚，他才发觉，即使夏日已逝，故事却还未到尾声。 一个做错事的人与假装错误未曾发生的人，在下一个夏日里，两人的心思将去往何方。

Rated: M - Chinese - Romance - Chapters: 8 - Words: 22,591 -  [America, England/Britain]

What a Shame is Love! by Igirisuisaqueen

When a group of rebels, including the spunky Alfred, attempt to steal from Crown Prince Arthur, what will happen? Add in the fact that Alfred is totally crushing on Arthur and you have the drama of the century. (First fic on this website.) Rated T for safety. There's a little bit of violence. USUK.

Rated: T - English - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 3 - Words: 2,051 - [England/Britain, America]

The return of the Queen by gxgirl-93 

For 15 years the Kingdom of Spades has been missing their Queen. The King has never given up hope that his love will one day return to him and their Kingdom. But what happens when he does return with no memory of being a Queen, but instead a country. USUK, one sided FRUK

Rated: T - English - Romance/Fantasy - Chapters: 9 - Words: 25,435 - [America, England/Britain] France

Masquerade by moonlighten 

The Kirklands have been supervillains for generations. They're rich, powerful, and no superhero has ever been able to defeat them. Until now. Maybe. If he ever manages to control his powers properly and learn a little subtlety, then the newest superhero on the scene might have a fighting chance, at least. (Superhero AU; America/England, Scotland/France, Wales/Romano.)

Rated: T - English - Crime/Mystery - Chapters: 9 - Words: 22,670 - [America, England/Britain] [Scotland, France]

archiveofourown.org :

Cardverse: If you're gone by Susarian

"If you are gone, what am I supposed to do?" Cardverse Hetalia contains a slight bit of yaoi and violence. Update every two days. This is set in an alternate universe.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: America/England (Hetalia), China & Japan (Hetalia), China/South Korea (Hetalia), North Korea/South Korea (Hetalia), Japan/South Korea (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Japan (Hetalia), South Korea (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Macau (Hetalia), North Korea (Hetalia), Taiwan (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), Liechtenstein (Hetalia), Belarus (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Cardverse, Major Illness, Alternate Universe

Language: English

成人限定 by Violaoi

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia:Axis Power

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Language: 中文

Recording by antagochigo

In which Arthur finds out about his roommates part time job...

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, USUK - Freeform, AmericaxEngland - Freeform

Language: English

Spades by motoroilfreeway

The Kingdom of Spades is in current need of a queen. For Alfred Jones though, its current reigning King, he thinks he can rule the kingdom just fine on his own with a Jack who doesn’t stop with pushing him into marriage interviews, hoping to change his King’s mind. That is, until a man comes along, brought ashore by the waves. We’ll see how this goes from there.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Portugal (Hetalia)

Additional Tags:, Cardverse

Language: English

dulu dan sekarang by Cineraria

Alfred menyukai benda yang baru, sementara Arthur memuja masa lalu. [drabble]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: semi canon, platonic, Drabble

Language: Bahasa Indonesia

Tiene Sith by ChemiToo

Betrayed and exiled, one of the Fae finds himself in the care of a rather peculiar human and his brother. Rating subject to change, maybe possibly.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Fandoms: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Celtic Mythology

Relationships: America/England (Hetalia), Past France/england

Characters: America (Hetalia: Axis Powers), England (Hetalia: Axis Powers), Canada (Hetalia: Axis Powers), France (Hetalia: Axis Powers)

Additional Tags: Celtic Mythology & Folklore

We're Only Liars (But We're The Best) by ForLoveOfLiberTea

No Matter What by Miscellaneous_Ink

“Every morning, someone walked up and down Matthias’ street playing the violin, as though trying to wake the quiet neighborhood up with song. It was a beautiful song that belonged to an even more beautiful man.” – Matthias Køhler has only ever wanted two things: to be loved, and to be able to love himself. Perhaps, the mystery man would be able to help him with that.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Hong Kong/Iceland (Hetalia), China/Russia (Hetalia), Austria/Prussia (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: Denmark (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Iceland (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), Sweden (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags:, Punk!Norway, trans!Denmark, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Transphobia, I AM NOT A TRANSPHOBE I AM FTM MYSELF, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Nor is kickass at the violin, Den plays piano like a boss, Gender Dysphoria, Body Dysphoria, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Happy Ending, Prostitution, Tattoos, Piercings, sub!Denmark, dom!Norway, because I like NorDen more >:) ehehehehe, DenNor, NorDen, Denmark has freckles, Fin is supportive, So is Sve, Awesome Trio (Hetalia), Nordics, Nordic 5 - Freeform, Unrequited Love, True Love, Cute, Iceland is being Iceland, Ice and Nor are prostitutes, But they aren’t by the end,:D, Denmark is a smol child

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 4 of the No Matter What series

Hearts can heal by extrastellar

João and Cheng get married, at long last. And Antonio? Antonio tells everyone that Tim couldn’t make it to the wedding, not mentioning their bad fight and that Tim had been sleeping at his sister’s place for two weeks already

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Netherlands/Spain (Hetalia), Macau/Portugal (Hetalia), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Austria/Prussia (Hetalia), France/Scotland (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: Spain (Hetalia), Netherlands (Hetalia), Belgium (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Macau (Hetalia), Portugal (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), France (Hetalia)

Additional Tags:, Alternate Universe - Human, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, Fights, How Do I Tag, Breaking Up & Making Up

Language:English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 3 of the Hetalia Rare Pairs series

Demonic Romeo by Pastaaddict

A demon and an angel meet in battle and a forbidden love blossoms but how long before the wrong people find out and both are put in danger?

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Major Character Death

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relation ships: America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), South Italy/Spain (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Finland/Sweden (Hetalia), Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), implied France (Hetalia)/Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc

Characters:America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Lithuania (Hetalia), Latvia (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), Iceland (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Devil and Angel brothers, Starcrossed Lovers, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Character Death, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net under same name, more tags may be added

Language: English

Chasing the Moon by Anubis_2701

The efforts made by Matthias and his crew to rescue their friends have resulted in them being imprisoned. Trapped and unable to negotiate, some among them may have to strike hard bargains with their rebel captors in order to win their own freedom.

Lukas and Emilia have fought tooth and nail to get to the resistance, and fought even more to restore order within its ranks. But with their vital secret hanging in the hands of a group of criminals, their future looks more uncertain than ever.

Lovino and Feliciano have struggled to keep their identities concealed for years. With the secret of their birth out between the two, their bond is stronger than ever. But with the arrival of a talented mercenary on Rela seeking the great bounty on their heads, the two may be forced to abandon their place of sanctuary to evade capture.

As empires begin to fall and death spreads like a plague, only the brave bother to keep going.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Bulgaria/Romania (Hetalia)

Characters: Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Female Lithuania (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Svalbard (Hetalia), Female Iceland (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), Kazakhstan (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Taiwan (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), Romania (Hetalia), Bulgaria (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), Sweden (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Egypt (Hetalia), Seborga (Hetalia), Female Germany (Hetalia), Turkey (Hetalia), Peru (Hetalia), Belarus (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Original Characters, Background & Cameo Characters

Additional Tags: Space Opera, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Pirates, Bounty Hunters, Rebels, Sequel, LGBTQ+ characters, Explicit Language, Telekinesis, Elemental Magic, Mind Manipulation, Healing, Rape/Non-con Elements, Aged-Up Character(s), De-Aged Character(s), Guerrilla Warfare, Rescue Missions, Slavery, Sexual Slavery, Assassins & Hitmen, POV Multiple, Snow, Past Child Abuse, Terminal Illnesses, Secret Identity, Military Training, Strong Female Characters, Original Universe, Lore - Freeform, Buckle up motherfuckers because this has the s l o w e s t o f b u r n s, who ever thought i would write enough of this shit for a sequel, Not me that's for sure

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 2 of the Hunting the Stars series

[coffee-queen-lair]

Winners of the Villainous!OC

Now that the stream ended, it is time for the to announce the winners of the contest. 

3rd place winner is: Ms. Blueberry created by @lightpudding

2nd place: Qu!nn by @harlynstein

and 1st place: The Prophet created by: AltoAnimator (in deviantart!)

AND SURPRISE! 

Runner-Ups: 

- Kenever by @pony-broni

- Midnight/Virus by @nerdy-ghoul22 and

- Useless by @princessaflor

The awards for the winners goes like this: 

First place will get a drawing for each mod (Mug, Pon and Harly) of YOUR OC! Meaning you’ll get three complete, clean, line and colored drawings.

Second will get two line drawings along with choosing WHO will draw for the contestant. (for example: choosing two of the mods of this blog)

Third place will get a single sketch drawing along with choosing who will draw for the contestant (choosing one of the three mods of this blog)

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The runner ups will be awarded along with the winners that their characters will be in the un-masquerade arc and mayyybe interact with the fellow main characters!

 It is recommended to contact with @skithepengi6 to discuss if there anything more to add with your OCs as well as how your characters will react towards another and etc. 

In conclusion, thank you all for waiting almost a good year for this. I apologize if this is not up to your expectation and I want to congratulate the winners of the contest. You all have been lovely people and I’m thrilled to talk more with you! The blog will officially continue!

- Mod Mug

[yoursassybookwormfriend]

Book review anyone?

So I read a book called The Chosen by Taran Matharu. It’s the first book of the Contenders series, there are only two books out as of now. ...Anyhizzle I decided to review it because I like reviewing things and talking and books. I’m gonna go into quite a few spoilers after the “keep reading” line, so first my un-spoiler review: 

It was good. Pretty good. A solid 8/10 I’d say. So if you don’t know this book, it starts with the main character, Cade Carter (Carter Kane anyone? No? Just me?). He was framed for stealing a bunch of laptops and sentenced to a year in an alternative school. Then he wakes up somewhere entirely different, on a ledge above a monster, with barely anything to defend himself with. The first bit of the book switches between the present, where Cade is fighting for his life on another planet, and the past, where he makes friends and foes at the alternative school. The past clashes with the present as a handful of kids from the alternative school are also on the planet, and they struggle to stick together so that they can survive. 

SPOILER WARNING: this has a LOT of major spoilers but if you want you can hear my thoughts throughout the book. 

Alright so here are my thoughts (more or less) in plot order: 

1: Cade Carter is Indian, so when he tries to say that he didn’t steal the laptops they don’t believe him. Different bits throughout the book show how he’s treated differently because of being Indian. Nice representation, tackles rascism well as far as I can see. Though I’m white as milk so if I’m misinformed on something please correct me.

2: you add a kid with a rumor that he killed someone? Yeah he killed someone, but not in the way you think, obviously. Otherwise he’s probably be in juvie, and I know how minor plot twists like this go. Anyway Eric is nice and I trust him.

3: Spex: My parents are super religious and sent me here because I was straying from “the path” 

    Me: Gay. Make him gay. Taran please make him gay.

    Taran: makes it because Spex was out with a girl drinking beer. 

    Me: You could have just made him gay. You really could have. It was right there. 

4: Scott’s a good character I like him. Yoshi’s (not from super mario brothers) pretty cool. Jim beat Spex up under Finch’s orders, I don’t trust him when Finch is here. Gobbler is just Finch’s cronie, no real dimensions. Finch is a frickin’ brat. Go die Finch. 

5: Wow. Cade is just. Well he’s just a nerd. Like so supremely nerdy. 

6: Quintus is the best I freaking love him. Protect my little deaf Roman baby. 

7: Amber, Grace, Bea and Trix. Very good I love them (also some female characters, the alternative school is boys only). Ugh Amber is gonna be Cade’s love interest. Why. Also aroace Cade is the only Cade, ok?

8: Yiss! My girl Amber just freaking burning Finch and Gobbler again and again, like daaang you go girl. Show Finch he’s a butt. Show Gobbler you’re ten times as strong as him. Also training montage, but like book form. 

9: Finch left with the Witchcraft abandoning them to near-certain death. Wow I really hate Finch right now.

10: I thought Quintus was leaving. I was not ready for the words “Quintus’ pale, naked ass”. Turns out he went skinny-dipping.

11: Boss battle is here, and in one corner we’ve got 100 odd “vipers”, giant monsters described as “piranha-chimps”. In the other we’ve got 6 juvenile delinquents, 4 field hocky players, and one Roman legionary, with some swords and make shift defenses. Eric sacrificed himself for the team, expected, while Jim died to save Spex’s life, which was the best end to his arc. Gobbler died so quickly and I was like ??? I had no time to process. 

12: This deserves a point all to it’s own. The author does something nearly unforgivable. Spex dies. WHY??? Kill idk Bea or something not Spex!!! Jim died to save Spex’s life, you can’t kill him off after! Also there’s supposed to be a bit in which Spex reflects on what Jim did to him and how Jim saved him. Also I HEAVILY headcannoned Spex as lgbtq+, and still clung to him being gay. I loved Spex’s character, Bea and Trix don’t serve much purpose, let one of them die in Spex’s place. 

13: How fitting that Abaddon is 13. A hologram of a little girl controlled by a billions of years-old immortal being from the beginning of time. The name Abaddon is over-used, but I can forgive that. Abaddon explains that he created Earth for a game with 21 others from the “pantheon”, and they fight in a game in which they battle their planets against each other. The planet at the bottom of the leaderboard for too long gets destroyed, and that being has to start a new planet for the games. Earth is at the bottom of the leaderboard, getting threatened with destruction. Actually pretty interesting. 

14: Again, this needs a point to it’s own. Idk if this is a real problem or if I’m too nit-picky. So Abaddon is masquerading as what looks like a stereotypical sweet little girl to “set Cade at ease” right? Obviously that just makes it creepier. Abaddon, being an all-powerful primordial being, has no gender that we know of. So Cade refers to Abaddon with they/them pronouns. This is all good and well but Cade refers to the hologram with she/her pronouns, as well as calling it a girl. The freaking hologram. Like what??? So you end up getting lines like “The little girl paused and Abaddon clapped her little hands”. It just doesn’t sound right, given that Abaddon is a genderless being and last time I checked, holograms don’t tend to have gender, unless it is a hologram of a real life person with gender. I just wish they kept it to they/them pronouns. Also I love villains that look harmless and cute.

[aurakaura]

Zen Flow Cardists 32 (Arc 2 Final)

(Kuzima) “Nightmare Claw, I have no plan of losing this battle”, (Lukai) “Neither do I Ocean Star”. Our attacks clashed but they kept pushing to try and over come the other, I used my Dive Tackle to trick him into using his Despair Shield. Dolphera and Dakaigon kept tackling and slashing at each other to try and give either me or Kuzima the advantage. I used my Ocean Arena Card which caused Kuima to use both his Dusk Pulse and Night Claw but with the arena Dolphera pulled off dodging both at the cost of the arena. He was now down to one card which was where I wanted him, (Kuzima) “Dakaigon try and break through with Meteor Blast”. (Lukai) “Sorry but you just set your defeat in stone use Whirlpool Shield” I pulled off guarding the attack. “Now end this with Fin slasher” Kuzima saw that he was about to lose and just accepted it. (Official) “Ladies and gentlemen with two rounds to one Lukai is our new Champions Castle Cardist Tournament Winner”.

Sheiko, Kura, Ikaruki and Jessikao all came over to congratulate me, I could not believe I finally won against Kuzima. I was about to offer a handshake then. (Kuzima) “Congratulations you over came me, I no longer need this mask”, I couldn’t believe it, from his eyes I remembered him as a prodigy Cardist who once defeated my father at a Castle tournament. (Kura) “So you are the son of the those two wealthy people”, I was shocked by what Kura said as I remembered the couple who asked if we had seen their son. (Kuzima) “Yes they made my life hell and I abandoned them to become the masked Dark type master, Lukai I wanted to lose to someone to be reborn..thank you”. I shook his hand but I was not sure how to react to his actions especially after seeing his parents worrying, but if they made him suffer the Masqueradous reign of terror made sense. I wen’t over to accept the trophy and I was still amazed I finally proved my worth as a cardist, father I hope you are well.

After the celebration I wen’t back to my place with everyone as we wanted to celebrate un masking all of the masqueradous. (Ikaruki) “Do you think they will go back to causing more trouble?”, (Sheiko) “I doubt it as long as Kuzima is in charge as like he said he wanted to be freed from his masked persona”. We stayed up late reminiscing about all the battles we had together and how far we all had come from when we first met. Eventually it was time to go to sleep, my journey seemed like it was over....nah it was just starting as I made it to the top of the mountain and now it was time to fight to keep my position whether I have to face friends or foes. 

[askevilnug]

If you like If you like Nug begging for mercy, please consider donating to our Patreon and Ko-Fi.  (The special effect of the text belongs to: @pony-broni! )

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[askevilnug]

(I wonder what's in that letter~) 

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[askevilnug]

HUGE SHOUT OUT TO our first patron, Koacutie! check out her tumblr!

If you like evil men in coats, please consider donating to our Patreon and Ko-Fi.

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[askevilnug]

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