#actually I think jes has a concept like this already

[beggingwolf]

the two straight/"one-of-them-is-a-girl" fic concepts I'm considering are both ones in which the still-a-guy player is desperately, life-ruiningly in love with the girl player (as is right, true, and delicious to me) buuuuuuut I do have to say I really think I'm selling myself short on a lovesick girl player concept.

sorry but the idea of girl!sid who has trained her whole life to be the NHL's exception (and to one day be a CAPTAIN, no less) getting to pittsburgh after a horrible, gnarly first season—where no man on that team respected her—and preparing to fight for her right to the captaincy... but LO! out of the mist appears a gangly russian boy with wavy hair and soft, downturned eyes and a tentative shyness but also a gregarous laugh... and absolutely everything in sid's life gets derailed

#actually I think jes has a concept like this already #but I digress: it's Good #actually with the discussion of divorce fic how about we go divorced!geno x woman!sid & sid becomes geno's rebound And It Will Destroy Them

[elliottjpg]

OCs de La Quête d'Ewilan

Ewilan's Quest OCs

Hey guys, guess who has two new children!!! (well, one and a half. Ewel has actually been hanging out in the back of my mind for a couple years.)

Luce: Shadowalker apprentice (kinda like a ninja but not really)

Ewelliottan: Analyst, a scholar studying the theory of magic (because she is crap at the practice)

///

Luce, expliquant le concept de greffe à Ewel: Par exemple, Jorune Aénandra avait une greffe qui le rendait nyctalope. Ewelliottan, sans réfléchir: JE SAVAIS BIEN QUE C'ÉTAIT UNE SALOPE!!!!!! Luce: Luce, sortant un carnet et un crayon: Fascinant. Dis-m'en plus.

Ewelliottan: Sur une échelle de "Non mais allô quoi" à "Tu es triste? Arrête", comment tu te sens aujourd'hui? Luce: Quelque part entre "Coup d'boule, rien à faire" et "Il est lent, ce lait"; mais pour donner une réponse définitive je dirais "Mange tes morts". Et toi Ewel? Ewelliottan: Un bon "Macron, explosion." Salim: Je croyais comprendre le français, visiblement j'avais tort.

///

(More character info in English under the cut!)

I'm aware that most people familiar with Ewilan's Quest speak French, but I am writing this in English for accessibility reasons. For folks who don't know the books: it is set in Gwendalavir, a country in a world parallel to Earth. Shadowalkers are an elusive guild of ninja-like people with a strong focus on freedom and communion with nature. Designers are people who have the gift of Drawing, which allows them to temporarily will things into existence.

This is set some ten to fifteen years after the events of the last book; Gwendalavir has tied economical and cultural relations with France thanks to Bruno Vignol. Most Alavirians are aware of the existence of the other world, and although unrealistic, for plot reason the existence of Gwendalavir is more or less common knowledge on Earth.

Luce Pezal

He's a Shadowalker apprentice, Salim's apprentice specifically (I wasn't gonna give him to a canon character at first, but I didn't feel like creating a whole-ass OC to be his master, so Salim now has to deal with him.) He is a very cheerful and friendly guy, with a rather nonchalant demeanour - he has elevated not giving a fuck to an art form.

He grew up in Al-Vor in a family of merchants, moved to the capital Al-Jeit to try and do something with his life, did a lot of small jobs trying to find something he liked, and ended up working as a stable boy in the stable that Salim frequents. Luce has always been fascinated by Earth, and latched onto Salim the second he heard he was from there. After some time Salim realized that Luce had the potential to make a good shadowalker, and offered to take him as an apprentice.

Their master/student relationship is a little unusual, as 1) they are both adults with only a 10 years difference, 2) they were already friends before Luce became a shadowalker, and 3) Luce's friendliness and nonchalance look like disrespect toward his master (they aren't). He knew close to nothing about shadowalkers before meeting Salim, so he is utterly unfazed about the fact that his master, great-master and great-great-master are all legends in the guild's eyes.

Luce highly dislikes fighting (although he fights very well); unfortunately for him, he is often targeted by thugs who think he'll be an easy mark because of his missing right hand (he was born without one). He'll avoid blades as much as possible, preferring to fight bare-handed or use cunning instead. He is great at sleight of hand and lockpicking.

He's around 20-23 years old, and he's gay.

Ewelliottan "Ewel" Ar'son

Ewelliottan was born on Earth to a French mother and an Alavirian father. Her parents own a convenience store. She went to Gwendalavir on a study program, and decided to stay there to study the gift of Drawing and become an analyst. She has a very small affinity for Drawing, but far from enough to be a proper analyst, so she compensates it with encyclopedic knowledge of Drawing theory. She is fascinated by all Drawing-adjacent unexplained phenomena, like hiatuses, the Eye of Otolep, the history of Al-Jeit and Al-Poll, variations of the gift, etc. If she could study Mathieu Gil'Sayan under a microscope she would.

She's seen as eccentric by her colleagues; she can spend weeks nose-deep in books in the depth of the Al-Jeit Academy's library, and talk anyone's ears off about Merwyn Ril'Avalon (in time she'll become the country's leading expert on him). Rather than doing analyses of Designers' gifts, she works as a researcher. She occasionally gives conferences or classes, and her students find her either riveting, or boring as hell, with no in-between.

She has some Faëls in her ancestry; the only consequences are slightly pointed ears and a tendency to tan very quickly. When she was little she wanted to become a shadowalker; she thought that her Faël blood would give her an advantage, but it turns out it very much doesn't, and she hates exercising.

She's a little older than Luce, by 3 or 5 years (I haven't decided yet). She's bisexual, and non-binary, in a "none gender with left girl" kind of way.

(There's a few other pics of her here!)

Luce and Ewel

Luce and Ewelliottan met on a solo mission as part of Luce's training. Salim had met Ewel through his wife Ewilan, who frequents the Academy in her Sentinel job. He found out that Ewel was going to Al-Far to give a conference, so he offered Luce's services as an escort for the trip, as the roads and the city aren't safe. Knowing Luce's fascination for Earth, and Ewel's origins, he thought they would get along well. What he hadn't expected was for them to come back with friendship bracelets, three hundred inside jokes, and probably a blood pact.

While Luce is not supposed to share shadowalker knowledge with anyone outside of the guild, he does tell Ewel a lot about his training, in exchange for knowledge about the other world. Ewel taught Luce Earth slang, and Salim is both confused and mortified because he hasn't set foot on Earth in like twenty years and doesn't understand anything they're saying.

#la quête d'ewilan #ewilan's quest #les mondes d'ewilan #le pacte des marchombres #pierre bottero #gwendalavir #my ocs #blorbo from my brain #ewelliottan ar'son #luce pezal

[beevean]

Do any of the Curse of Darkness adaptations say that Dracula deliberately pitted Hector against Isaac?

It just occurred to me that it would make sense for Dracula to do that (after all, one Devil Forgemaster is easier to deal with than two working in tandem, should one of them turn against him). But I haven’t read any of the CoD adaptations, so I don’t know if any of them used that idea. It would be chilling if any of them explored that.

Actually no!

Personally I'm not too sure that deliberately pitting them against each other would be more convenient to Dracula than having them be coordinated: imagine conducting a war, and having to rely on two bickering teenagers :P But in canon it's a moot point, because it's implied that Dracula simply praised Hector as the more talented one.

PtR gives us this:

"Good for you that you can judge our Lord’s deeds… It’s not bad for my position. But I will not tolerate any disservice and betrayal towards Him."

"Take a look at this pathetic sight, my Lord, my broken sword used as a cane. My body is the proof of your expectations for him. Please ridicule me, scold me: next time, I will do whatever it takes."

(for context, Hector defeated Isaac by slashing his legs, and he didn't even have the courtesy of finishing him off, forcing him to deal with the consequences)

The second line pretty much sums up how Dracula saw his two Devil Forgemasters. Isaac knows, or at the very least believes, that Dracula would have expected Hector to win because he's the stronger one, and the proof is in how he utterly humiliated Isaac.

Speaking of Dracula:

“What did he wish from me, that he even rebelled…? Unforgiveness is my nature. The more precious things are, the more they resist and are lost…”

Another translation of that line is "So is one dear, so is one wrested away".

Dracula considers Hector precious. My first interpretation is that he's also thinking about Alucard, who opposed his father roughly at the same time... But make of this what you will.

The MF manga focuses a lot more on Isaac's insecurity of not being as good as Hector, but again, we don't really see much of how the two were treated.

Something to note is that while it was Isaac who warned Dracula that Trevor Belmont was becoming a concern...

... Dracula sent Hector instead, and left Isaac in the castle.

The implication is that Dracula trusted Hector, and only Hector, with the troublesome task of killing the Belmont.

Obviously Drac wants his best Devil Forgemaster back, and so he orders Isaac and his underlings to find out what happened to him - indirectly dooming himself in the process, because without Hector and Isaac protecting him, Trevor and his friends easily steamrolled through the castle. Neither Isaac and his underlings are happy with this, but while the former's protests got immediately shut down by Dracula, the latter are free to talk among themeselves.

It's nice that these guys think Isaac alone could do the job, but I don't know what they were expecting, shittalking Dracula and touching Isaac's sorest spot within earshot :P

This scene becomes outright hilarious in Japanese, because that "the Count favored Lord Hector that much" line is slightly different:

In context it does mean the same thing, but the verb used is 可愛がる, which...

Again. Make of this what you will.

(in case you're wondering, there are other verbs that express the concept of unfairly favoring someone, that don't imply... this.)

And just to cap it all off:

And there it is. There is no canon indication that Dracula played games with his Devil Forgemasters. He just liked Hector more than Isaac.

Interestingly, Isaac is not the first rival in CV who suffers from jealousy issues (Hugh Baldwin and Maxim Kishin come to mind, mostly the former), but in his case, the topic barely comes up, and it's never mentioned in the game proper - in fact, the opposite sentiment is said.

I'm okay with this, because he has already a lot on his plate, and he doesn't need to hate Hector out of jealousy: the betrayal is good reason enough. But it's implied that these negative feelings made him easy prey to the Curse.

#castlevania #curse of darkness #isaac laforeze #since i focused a lot on him #........ should i tag hecula because man some lines

[romatique]

hi lina! i sent jes a message ab a day ago and it's all ab astrology. if u have time and it doesn't bother u, i hope u could give ur two cents ab it ^^

my bestfriend for 14 years, know nothing about ATEEZ [ i just found out that she won an ATZ album to a "BTS ALBUM GIVEAWAY" so she's not completely unaware of them ] recently gave me her birth time and out of curiosity, I put it up with my bias' (hwa) chart and in my interpretation, if these two meet— idk... IM A FAN

8h mars overlay

1h mars overlay

7h vertex

11h moon overlay

6h moon overlay

virgo-juno conjunction

juno-juno conjunction

asc-sun conjunction

moon-sun conjunction

mars-moon conjunction

mars trine moon

mercury trine venus (both ways)

mars trine venus

*attached below is a pic of their composite chart*

these r the placements that i feel are very strong and important to relationships. but idk, i could just be reaching and maybe im just a delusional bestfriend and fan but im not even kidding when i say she *almost* always match the seonghwa ideal type and fs readings VERY WELL that it almost always creep me out and even question my sanity bc it was just so random (somehow).

so yeah, that's basically it. im actually not so very much deep into astrology YET. i already asked her ab her thoughts on this, and she just said "everything will workout if it's meant to be" then followed it up with "or baka masyado ka lang oa sa interpretation, baka kapag nagkita kame niyan pumikit pa siya heheh POGI-POGI NIYAN" implying that she doesn't think it's impossible for them to cross paths but also doesn't believe that there would be something, that he's too good- looking, and that I AM JUST REACHING LMAO

I HOPE I DIDNT BORE U BC OF THAT LONG ASS MESSAGE LMAO. this is me asking for ur 2 cents btw lol i just want to know if i am interpreting things properly or... im just reaching.

THANK U IN ADVANCE, LINA!

hello sweetheart! you didn’t bore me at all~ i absolutely adore jes and i’m happy she sent you to me.

i know a lot of people have that “delusional” concept in their heads. i’m ngl, i’m lowkey like that too, i try to stand on a realistic ground, especially for readings. but i do believe that, in some way, celebrities could end up with potential fans aswell.

someone (i don’t quite remember who rn, i’ll make sure to check after i post this) posted once that bangchan’s fs is also a fan, for example. that happens more often than we could ever imagine. some celebrities even prefer it that way (let’s say they like the attention, not in a negative way, they just like being cared for)

in astrology, not everything’s perfect, of course. so even if their charts don’t match perfectly, that’s still a good sign. if you never bleed, you never grow and etc. it’s important to have a few negative sides to every relationship, as long as it’s not abusive! cause if not, how will we know what works and what doesn’t?

so, i read your whole message and the chart you sent as well. and i LOVE the earth energy right here. stable, grounded, and there’s also an open-minded side to the relationship with the gemini mars in the 10th house. could mean a foreigner, someone who’s into literature, or has an academic life, opposite to seonghwa’s which makes sense since he’s a cancer moon conjunct rising. he NEEDS that, haha.

i’d say: you’re completely fine on having your own opinions on it! she seems like she has her own life to handle so i believe that this won’t get in her way. as she said, if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.

don’t worry, you’re definitely not crazy haha. i was like this with my boyfriend before we started dating. but i just wanna let you know to not live like your life depends on it, just let it be~~ who knows? maybe someday their paths could cross, maybe not. let’s wait and see 🫶🏻

thanks for the ask again, love 🥹💞

#astrology #ateez #seonghwa #no but fr #sometimes it happens yk? #and it’s alright #if it’s meant to be it’ll be

[chimeriquement]

Annelise in a ball gown. That's it. That's the post.

Hey there! So, I watched Disenchanted and it made me want to draw a concept art for Annelise, so… here she is!

So, if you were in my Twitter circle, you must be thinking: “oh, finally”. If you weren’t, you may ask: who the heck is Annelise?

Well, I’m working, at a very slow pace for now (since my main focus is on The Stories of the Boys I Loved), on a Cinderella-themed Visual Novel, inspired by the Princess Maker series (although the project is meant to be more VN-ish and story-driven; the integration of a stats system that define a large variety of endings is what I decided to steal from this game series). Annelise is the Cinderella in question.

So, I created this character four years ago and planned on making a game involving her; but I never actually started this project. And although I have already drawn Annelise in the past (with… various designs), I never made a “concept art”, meant to be a tool to develop the actual game. So, it’s somehow the first official Annelise I draw?

So, regarding this dress, this is (you can guess it) the ball gown she wears at the ball (if she even goes… all according to her stats!). Yet, Annelise will have several way to get a dress and, therefore, she could wear different dresses at the ball according to how she gets the dress. For instance, a character who will get involved in the game is a tailor: there will be ways for Annelise to get the dress from him. Yet, this concept art is meant to be the dress she gets from her fairy godmother. So, since Annelise is blonde, I didn’t want to go to the “blue-dress” cliché, although it suits the “glass slipper” theme. A good colour to contrast blonde with is purple (yes, I can’t draw for the sake of me, but for some reason, I know a thing or two about colour theory). I thought putting more pink and making the dress a blueish green or a greenish blue couldn’t be a bad idea, and I’ll admit she looks cute! Maybe a bit young (Annelise is supposed to be 21; she looks a bit like a teenager), but I really love the softness of her face here though (which kinda fits to be honest: the criteria for Annelise to meet her fairy godmother is to have fairly high kindness at this point in game).

Yeah, so, for those who need to catch up because they aren’t in my Twitter circle, Annelise is going to have seven stats to determine her endings:

- Charm: Annelise is beautiful for now; but when beauty fades, only true charm remains. By raising this stat, Annelise will develop this “je-ne-sais-quoi” that’ll make her stand out from other equally beautiful girls. - Logic: Annelise can get some big brain energy, which will help to quickly analyse a situation to find practical and effective solutions. - Rheotric: There is a difference between being right and being able to persuade others that you are. Play on words, overly-complicated grammar that makes you sound intelligent and makes your ideas look sophisticated, anacoluths or hypotyposers, these are the tools raising this stat will give Annelise. - Manners: Although Annelise is a noble, she doesn’t know as much about decorum as she should at her age, since she was raised more as a maid rather than a lady, due to her father’s death. Yet, she can catch up! - Willpower: Annelise has dreams of independence, of discovering the world… But what good is a dream if you don’t have the willpower to make it true? - Kindness: Annelise is empathetic by nature. Yet, it takes actions to turn this empathy into kidness. - Faith: Annelise has dreams and hopes, and she’ll need faith to carry on believing in them when times are rough.

And from these stats, a variety of different destinies await Annelise: opera soprano, scholar, married to the prince charming, just leaving her toxic household to finally discover the world… and many others!

But I guess I’ve been rambling enough about Annelise, and that I should go back to my own little corner to flesh out things more.

Also, if you’re interested by this concept, there exists an excellent (and that’s an understatement) visual novel entitled Cinders which might interest you: I discovered it after having created the concept for Annelise and Cinders’s not exactly the same. But God, it is good: you play as Cinders, the developers’ interpretation as Cinderella, you can pursue different suitors, make different things happen (in a darker tone: for instance, you might succeed in poisoning your stepmother; such a thought would never occur to Annelise). Even in terms of gameplay, although Annelise is more stat-focused than Cinders, it relies a lot on choices like Cinders, which only relies on choices (in contrast with the Princess Maker series, Annelise can’t just use some item to raise one of her stats!). So, I’m not saying playing Cinders is like playing what I have in mind for Annelise because, well, first, there wouldn’t be any point in making a bad knock-off of Cinders, but also, I don’t want to explore ambiguous morality like Cinders do and focus on different themes (patriotism, impostor syndrome, gaslighting, Pygmalion’s myth, to name a few).

So, it’s been a long post, but I’m kinda happy to be able to write more about my process! Most of my projects require to be kept spoiler-free to be fully appreciated, but I feel like Annelise’s charm is less about the plot than building your own Annelise to get her to a unique destiny (and there is no huge plot twist to expect from this story, I swear, no ending in which Annelise, for some weird reason, dates her stepmother)! And because everyone knows Cinderella's story, prepare to get a lot of info about the slow development of this ambitious game!

Toodles!

#visual novel #vndev #indiegame #progress report

[electricbluebutterflies]

Helnik + meeting the “family” (crows found family vibes…)

Or, in which none of the Crows actually want to go ice skating but Nina is Like That. Pretty sure I've never written the other babes before so fingers crossed my characterization is okay? Modern AU, PG-ish, also on ao3.

There are only so many ways this could go wrong. Matthias is pretty sure he’s about to find all of them.

Nina had seemed like a minor miracle when they met a few months ago, which is objectively a weird thing to say about someone who accidentally ran over his foot with her moped but at least it was an accident and she decided that was enough reason to insert herself into his life on some vague justification that two broken bones meant she owed him a bunch of favors and… honestly he’s not sure how that turned into a sorta relationship where they make out on his couch a lot but haven’t discussed feelings, but it did. And one of the perks, if he’s honest with himself, is that there is no intimidating family on her side to eventually meet.

Or, well, not one she’s related to by blood or legal technicalities. That may make this worse.

What Nina has, instead of a more traditional family-of-origin situation, is a squad of misfits who… as Matthias understands the situation, and it was a little hard to focus given she thought this was an okay conversation to have while both of them were minimally clothed, had originally formed without her and dragged her into the fold during a brief time she worked with one of them. The former coworker, the way Nina tells it, is all the people skills of the group; the other two are harder to socialize and can’t figure out the concept of mutual pining, and-

Point being, Matthias has heard too many stories about these people to not want to meet them, and it was at least partially his idea, something something it would be nice for all of the main elements of Nina’s life to integrate and he’s not trying to claim space that isn’t his but if her friends are going to hate him he’d like to know now, and-

Nina, enthusiastic disaster that she is, decided ice skating would be a low-pressure activity. Nina will somehow not get blamed for any of this. He’d hate her if he wasn’t falling in love with her.

He gets there early and isn’t totally sure what he’s keeping an eye out for – Nina herself runs perpetually ten minutes late for everything, and trying to get adequate physical descriptions of her friends out of her was a losing battle, she wasn’t even sure how many people were along for the ride here and-

After what seems like half a lifetime but is really more like five minutes, a couple who look around his age approaches – holding hands, Matthias points out in his mind, trying to judge anyone else’s relationship status is mean and he’s trying to do better but these two are obviously a thing – and he vaguely remembers Nina saying something about one of her people having a flamboyant fashion sense and-

“Matthias, yeah?” the one who lines up with that description says. The aesthetic is glam-rock meets steampunk and Matthias is honestly not sure how anyone can look at themselves in a mirror and still go outside in that many colors at once, but somehow it’s working, and-

“Yeah. I didn’t catch names, Nina was kinda…”

“Trying to protect you from us. Or us from you, I’m not sure-“

“Jes-“ the presumed boyfriend says, and this one has kicked-puppy energy and Matthias may already have a favorite in the group even though he hasn’t met the others yet and-

“Yeah, sorry. I’m Jesper, this is Wylan, Kaz and Inej are probably fighting in her car right now and-“

“Sounds fun,” Matthias mutters, wondering what he’s gotten himself into. His own social circle is limited, to put it politely; he didn’t go back home after his stint in the military, and he has a dog and who needs more than that, and-

“They’re great, really, but I think Nina picked this activity to torture them and nobody can say no to her so…”

“I’ve noticed.”

“She showed us the antlers she put on your dog. Even animals aren’t immune.”

Matthias likes this part of the group, he decides. Jesper doesn’t seem able to shut up and the idea of him and Nina in the same space given their overlapping tendencies… this one is the former coworker, Matthias figures out without asking, and a rambling story about the people one encounters while tending bar on major holidays confirms it, and-

Nina herself is the next to show up, looking gorgeous as ever and yeah Matthias is developing feelings alright, and she’s not subtle with the PDA and he’d let her do anything, and-

“Did our cryptids bail on us?” she asks, turning her attention to Jesper. “Or are they…”

“Always safer not to know. If they’re late, there’s reasons.”

Nina gives the rest of the group an annoyed look. “Is this even an okay activity for… I should’ve asked, I really should’ve-“

“They’re going to be clinging to each other anyways. And probably the wall. I’m not worried. If they even show up.”

“How damn hard is it to text people, I swear to-“

Her voice cuts off as Jesper switches back into an even louder mode of enthusiasm, waving to someone in the distance. Matthias turns and sees what must be the missing people approaching, this duo a little harder to read as a couple but there’s definitely some kind of connection going on there, and he’s left standing still while Nina and Jesper decide to meet their other friends halfway, him and the stray boyfriend and-

“How long have you been involved in this…”

“Close to a year,” Wylan shrugs. “And I’m not used to all of them at once either.”

“Is that supposed to be reassuring?”

“Some families are hard to integrate into. I don’t know. You’re here. That’s at least a chance.”

A chance for what, Matthias isn’t sure, but-

The other two – Kaz and Inej, he reminds himself, attaching names – join the circle and both seem to eye him like prey, eyes searching separately for weakness. Matthias isn’t scared of them, exactly, but he feels like he should be, and-

“So you’re the one Nina tried to kill?” Inej asks, and there’s something almost playful in her voice that he can’t place.

“She ran over my foot. Total accident.”

“Welcome. I wouldn’t say we require scars, but…”

“Nina hasn’t brought any of her flings into the fray,” Kaz adds, decidedly more guarded. “First time for everything. If we all survive this.”

“There are only so many places I can take you people in December,” Nina points out, arms crossed under her chest in a way that is just unfair in public. “None of us have ever gotten kicked out of a pop-up ice rink, so I thought…”

“First time for everything,” Kaz repeats. “Now, are we doing this or not?”

Matthias would like to think he has an advantage over the rest of the group – he grew up in that part of Minnesota, played hockey in high school and everything – and sure enough, even though it’s been a few years since he’s been on skates, he’s still at least decent. Nina is anything but, and she clings to him in a way that even he can justify because otherwise she’ll hit the ground every thirty seconds, but she’s clearly enjoying herself. The others…

Matthias doesn’t know them yet. It may be years before he feels like he knows them. He wants that time. He wants to see what they’re all like in a more comfortable environment – it is made clear that none of them thought this outing was a good idea, with the possible exception of poor Wylan who apparently has some boundary issues and a need for attention that the others are trying to help him minimize and live beyond – and maybe next time they’ll get that. Maybe next time…

“Having fun?” Nina asks after a while, leaning up to kiss Matthias’s cheek.

“Yeah. I am.”

“They like you.”

“You sure?”

“It’s been half an hour and no one’s threatened you yet. They like you.”

“Next time we should do something where we can bring Sigyn.”

“Do you really want my friends around your dog?”

“Who can say no to her?”

Nina smiles, and she glows sometimes and it’s captivating. “No wonder I get along with her, we’re so similar…”

“You’re cuter,” Matthias says, kissing the top of her head.

“I’ve been compared to worse. And she is a winter dog…”

“Next time it snows we could do… something. All of us.”

“I can’t believe it, you’re actually suggesting activities that involve other people, I have corrupted you.”

“Just a little.”

If this is what he’s gotten into, he thinks, maybe they’ll be okay.

#ebf writes fic #helnik

[waterberry-strawmelon]

finally watched rottmnt movie! i’ll put my thoughts below the cut lol

so basically, i...just kinda thought it was okay? nothing great, unfortunately? it obviously had some great moments, but i think the arc of the movie as a whole was hindered by a couple key things:

1. it was kinda just Leo: The Movie. and i didnt really dig that. i think it would’ve made a much stronger story if they’d had ALL the turtles grow in some kind of way, but all of them stayed static except for Leo.

2. and even if people WERE clamoring for a Leo-centric movie for some reason, his movie arc is LITERALLY AN OBSTACLE HE’S ALREADY OVERCOME IN THE MAIN SERIES. IT’S LITERALLY A POINT OF GROWTH FOR HIM TO STOP BEING SO ARROGANT ALL THE TIME AND WORK AS A TEAM. THEY ALREADY RESOLVED THIS?!?!?!?! ASJHCFJKNHKGMH. just...why????

3. i’ve heard people saying that the creative team was pressured to make this as appealing as possible even to tmnt fans who maybe didnt actually watch Rise, but in the end it that means we lose a LOT of what made the Rise characterizations and writing so great in the series itself. the writing isn’t as snappy or quirky; maybe these writers are just more suited for writing serialized stories instead of a feature-length story, and that’s fine! or maybe they felt the need/were pressured to tone down some of the more Rise-specific narrative style, if that makes any sense. (small example that i feel reflects this vibe: the moment where they finally call themselves the teenage mutant ninja turtles. it was a running gag in the show to never actually claim that name for themselves in that exact order, and so when they finally do, it feels almost inauthentic, because i think that running gag helped re-inforce the whole theme this series was going for in terms of separating this iteration of the Turtles from the past iterations and really stepping out and making their own way. that’s the joy of the Rise series, honestly, is how unafraid they are to make their OWN world with these characters without diverging completely from the source material.) And i couldn’t help but feel the stark absence of the typical Rise running jokes/catch phrases/references in the movie. that’s something i love so much about the show: the careful attention to detail in maintaining continuity and continuing/resolving past gags. they literally only said “hot soup!” twice in this movie. and i feel like that’s really, really indicative of the whole vibe of it, honestly. it just lacks the explosive energy that makes the show so great. :(

as for a couple key things i did like:

the animation was obviously gorgeous, just as it is in the main series, too. seriously, rottmnt has forever spoiled me for tv series animation. and i did really like what they did with the Krang! THIS part certainly felt like how the series normally runs—taking a traditional TMNT concept and breathing fresh, new life into it, making it take on a different form so it’s unique to THIS tmnt universe. i love it!!

they went out of their way to devote time to donnie’s softshell! ahhhhhh!!!!!!! i love it!!!!!! (tho i think a majority of donnie’s dialogue was missing a little.... je ne sais quois. the donnie-ness, if you will. his snark often felt either too dry, or not quite witty enough—never in the sweet spot that it’d hit in the show. but maybe im just being nitpicky and other fans didn’t really find a problem with it!)

the escape pods just as a general concept were fucking GREAT. (tho here’s another negative, oops: i feel like donnie’s tech didn’t feature in the movie NEARLY as much as it does in the show, precisely because of how this was trying to still have watch value even for non-Rise fans. i mean, the number of times donnie’s been without a battle shell and just called one to him remotely, and yet somehow that couldn’t happen this time? am i missing something here or.....?)

all in all, it was definitely enjoyable, but i’d say it has MUCH lower re-watch value than the show does for me. i think what’s the most telling, though, is how i teared up and had goose-bumps for the entire final fifteen minutes during the Rise series finale, during the absolutely GORGEOUS Shredder fight scene—which was even better than the final battle in the movie, imo (though the fight scenes in the film still looked fucking amazing). i truly loved the emotional catharsis at the end of the movie, and mikey’s big savior moment was well-executed, too (huge shout out to the movie soundtrack which really helped drive the tension and emotion in critical scenes like this!), but all in all, i guess i’ve just got one thing to say to sum up how i’m feeling:

i never thought i’d prefer leo’s odachi over his katana.

#(and obviously that goes for all their weapons from the show: #raph's tonfas; mikey's kusari fundo; and ESPECIALLY donnie's techbo. god i missed his techbo SO FUCKING MUCH IN THIS MOVIE!!!!!! #the techbo and the battle shell (and i guess his mystic goggles) are pretty much the defining pieces of donnie tech throughout the entire #Rise series!!!!!) #i think it's also really telling that the brothers never switch up their little nicknames like they do so often in the show #no Angelo or Leon in sight. sigh. #but yeah! overall i'd say i did actually like the movie #i know this post seems more negative than positive #and i think it's only cuz i went into it expecting to be blown away #and so in the end i just came out of it more disappointed than i'd hoped for. but that's okay! #all in all it's really not bad at all! it's good even! just not the most id' wanted out of a rottmnt movie. that's all. #anyway go watch the series if ur looking for a new show to get into! it's on netflix + paramount plus #it's got great humor and beautiful animation #all around good chill vibes :) #doesnt take a lot of investment (im here more for the character interactions and outstanding character writing than the plot anyway. #the plot can often (tho not always!) leave a lil something to be desired but its not the end of the world!) #mine #rottmnt #tmnt #just some thoughts

[evaxoxoblog]

23/2/24

Hi, it's been a bit longer than usual since my last post. The last week has been good, and I had a great time with my friends last week. I might be seeing them tomorrow but the weather looks awful so we'll see (we were planning on having a picnic).

Stuff has been a bit weird with my other friend. She says she wants space but her actions say otherwise. That's as far as I'm going to get into it, but I just know I shouldn't interact with her yet, for her sake as well as mine. All I've really thought I could do is pray that she is going to be okay soon. I'm not even religious, but if there is something that can bring her happiness across the universe or whatever, I might as well try it. I think I feel like this because, even though she has been a bit of a shit friend, I still love her so much, and I don't think I will ever stop loving her. That's just how it is.

On to a fun topic, my albums arrived today! i ordered Oddinary (skz), Easy (le sserafim) and Layover (v) two weeks ago and they got shipped on the 19th bc it was a preorder. I think I already said this.

for oddinary I got the random version and I got the red edition!!! i also pulled hyunjin (3rd time now my luck is so good wtf) and changbin, which I've been hoping for for SO long (and it's actually rlly funny bc I was talking to my friend about who I would like to pull and I said changbin- we were talking about this bc we were learning the verb conjugations for 'to pull' in french: "je voudrais tirer changbin"), and then Han's ID card (omgomgomgomgomgomgomg). I also got the Felix miniposter (aaaaaaaaa).

for easy I got the 3rd concept (the pink one, I forgot the name) which is probably my favourite :D and I pulled sakura which for some reason I knew I would get her (???)

and then for layover i pulled v (that's so crazy omg) and I got the 2nd version bc it is gorgeous and I adore it. if you are planning on getting it pls do because it is like 100000000000 x better in physical, you can just tell so much work has been put into all of it and its so lovely. there is a letter included too which is all in Korean so imma try to translate that soon (its going to take so long even with the google image translator omd) but it's such a sweet thing aaaaa.

anyway, me and my delulu ass friend have started sending each other snapchat pics "from" skz members which really really isn't helping our current condition (she's literally 'mrs bang' in my contacts) but I think chrizztopher would be proud sooo :)

x eva

#stray kids #blog

[oddygaul]

The Algebraist

After I read my first Culture book a few years back, I was so enthralled that I then proceeded to immediately devour the rest in a three-month span. I absolutely loved the books, the setting and worldbuilding, the casually-tossed about Grand Space Ideas, Banks’ extra-as-fuck prose, the obtuse plot structures... and so was genuinely upset when I found out one of my new favorite authors had recently died at 59. I decided that after finishing the remaining Culture books, I’d take a break and leave the rest of Banks' work for later, so as to space it out a bit and create the illusion of having new releases. Well, it’s been a couple years, and I’ve already re-read Look to Windward, so I went ahead and dug into The Algebraist.

When I got to the space warlord who'd had his greatest enemy’s decapitated head put on life support and installed upside down on his ceiling to use as a punching bag, I started to get the feeling I was slipping into an old pair of comfortable shoes. When our protagonist first goes to visit his uncle, who has turned himself into a walrus for reasons that are never expounded on using a technology that’s never explained, I knew I’d truly made it home.

An excerpt; Slovius, the protagonist’s uncle, is trying and failing to raise his walrus body to a sitting position in his space jacuzzi, and has refused help from his butler Guime:

'Slovius turned his head round as he said this, trying to look at Guime, but only succeeded in causing himself to slip further back into the liquid, so that he was even more horizontal than he had been before he started. He slapped at the pool surface, splashing. “There! See what you’ve done?” He sighed mightily and lay back in the wallowing waves, apparently exhausted, staring straight ahead. “You may adjust me, Guime, as you wish,” he said dully, sounding resigned.'

The mental image of a walrus with a thousand yard stare of resignation being picked up and adjusted like a misbehaving cat… I live for this.

Ahh, I missed Banks’ style. There’s a certain je ne sais quoi to the way he worldbuilds. His ideas are so grand, and every tidbit feels as though it could be explored in a full story; and yet, you never know how much he’s actually going to dole out to you. Sometimes, a detail is mentioned only in passing, leaving the reader to wonder; sometimes, an idea is brought up by the characters and only later turns out to be a central concept of the story; and sometimes, Banks will just up and go off on a two page long tangent, and give you a history lesson on the rise and fall of some imagined stellar civilization that’ll never come up in the story again. You can tell Banks was the kind of writer that kept a notepad around to jot down all his cool ideas, and occasionally it feels like he just went “Ah, shit, this isn’t really relevant to the story, but I don’t know what other story it could fit into. Better just throw it in here anyway to be safe”. I can easily see how these asides could be huge turn-offs for a lot of readers, but they’re my absolute favorite. If unabashed exposition and paragraph long sentences are wrong, I don’t want to be right.

On the note of making sure a cool idea gets its due somewhere - maybe it’s because I had read Look to Windward again relatively recently, but the whole idea of the Dwellers, Seers and delves instantly jumped out at me as Banks wanting to revisit the (very ancillary to the actual plot) airsphere segments from that book. As I made it through the story, the differences continued piling up (if anything, the Dwellers are more like what would happen if the Affront from Excession had Culture-level tech), but I think the base similarity remains: a scholar, specially augmented to be able to survive in the gaseous, entirely airborne environs of a much older race, spending time living amongst and communicating with them to tap the knowledge of a civilization that measures time on a scale of billions of years. Maybe it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that I see it this way; I always felt that the Uagen Zlepe subplot in Look was sort of a missed opportunity, given how interesting the premise was.

Although I guess when you think about it, an entire seven-chapter subplot ultimately leading to nothing more than sick worldbuilding and a cosmic sense of insignificance is the ultimate Banks Lore Tangent, isn't it?

Despite being written by Banks and taking place in a sci-fi setting, The Algebraist is explicitly set outside of the Culture universe. Knowing that, it was interesting to see what Banks chose to keep and what to leave out, what themes are still touched on and what ideas are different. Even though the Mercatoria doesn’t have god-level AIs or infinite resources, average citizens here still have access to some pretty out-there tech - being able to fully alter the makeup of one’s body to another species at a whim, for example, isn’t something you see commonly in other sci-fi. Still, the existence of scarcity (both economic and resource), a power structure that the characters must abide by, and, hell, an extant sense of mortality all have big effects on how the characters are written. In particular, I think these differences make Fassin Taak Banks’ most sufferable protagonist yet.

Look, I get why the protagonists in the Culture series are the way they are - given the way the Culture works as a society, it genuinely tracks that most of its citizens would be, at some level, kind of entitled, petulant, and capricious. Banks knows this, and is writing those characters with intentionality; I’d say investigating the idea of morally grey or unlikable protagonists is one of the throughlines of the Culture series, really. Still, I always think it’s interesting that often the most relatable characters in a given Culture novel are drones.

Fassin, meanwhile, feels a lot more grounded and approachable. He’s still a pretty privileged guy, having come from a Seer family and thus placed on a fast track to a cushy job in affluent society, but my man has a past, he’s been through some shit, he has interiority. I think the moment that made me realize how differently I saw Fassin was when we find out he’s actually a double agent, working to aid the cause of the Beyonders against what he feels is tyranny against AI. Hell, even the fact that he’s in a ceremonial arranged engagement for his family’s benefit, going along with it as a smokescreen for his real goals - it’s nothing earth-shattering in a vacuum, but it really puts into sharp relief how differently Culture characters are written, and how much of a challenge it must be to write a character conflict when the setting essentially demands it be purely internal.

I don’t think one approach is better than the other - they’re serving different purposes entirely. It was just pretty cool to see such a new side of Banks, since all my previous experience with him was within one series, and realize I have a lot more in store for me than I even thought. Knowing that he has multiple different modes / voices that are so distinct makes me excited to keep going with his other work, especially (eventually) the more grounded, non-M stuff.

#will's media thoughts / virtual brain repository #books #the algebraist

[gracie-bird]

Show business royalty: ‘Josie & Grace’ explores friendship between Baker and Kelly.

In September 2020, the Morris Museum mounted an outdoor production of “Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play,” starring Tymisha Harris as singer, dancer, actress and activist Josephine Baker. And this weekend — producing an indoor play for the first time since the start of the pandemic, at its Bickford Theatre — the museum is once again presenting Harris as Baker, in “Josie & Grace: A Mostly Historical Cabaret Dream Play.”

This isn’t a prequel or a sequel. “Josie & Grace” offers a complementary view of Harris, focusing on her longtime friendship with Grace Kelly, the Academy Award-winning actress who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco and became a princess. While the first play told the story of Baker’s entire life, from childhood, this one shows her only from the early ’50s (when she was already an established star) through the end of her life in the mid-’70s. But like that play, it gives a sense of her struggles and triumphs, and showcases Harris’ ability to sing in a commanding, Baker-esque style.

Kelly is first shown as an aspiring, little-known actress, attending a performance by Baker in New York. She is really just a star-struck fan. But after Baker storms out of her after-show dinner at the Stork Club, infuriated because of the poor service she receives as a black woman, Kelly leaves, too, and the two strike up a friendship.

Harris said after the show — onstage, after taking her bows — that the show is still in its workshop phase. Its biggest current flaw, I think, has to do with the next part of the show. Baker and Kelly, in their next scene together, are shown as fast friends. Beyond mentioning that Kelly had become successful as an actress (and had had affairs with some of her leading men), the play doesn’t really show how they got from Phase 1 (Baker’s a star and Kelly, 23 years younger, is a show-business neophyte) to their warm, sisterly Phase 2.

In any event, the good vibes don’t last for long. The relationship is strained when Baker is not invited to Kelly’s royal wedding. They remain estranged for years, writing polite letters but not actually seeing each other.

But they do eventually reconcile, and Kelly explains that since Baker had been “branded” a communist by the press, Rainier couldn’t afford, politically, to invite her. Baker remains suspicious, though, that racism had something to do with it, and is angry at Kelly for not taking a stand.

Kelly notes that she is always sitting back while Baker is always charging forward, which seems about right; Kelly may be a real princess, but it’s Baker who seems like a queen. (On the other hand, Kelly has a bit of a rebellious streak, too, which helps to explain why she idolized Baker in the first place.)

Baker lets bygones stay bygones, though, and they remain friends. Kelly even provides financial support for Baker, who has developed a desperate need for it. Their bond remains strong for the rest of Baker’s life.

As in “Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play,” Harris exudes diva-like charisma as Baker. Joining her and Comeau in the cast is Stephen Lima, who is never seen but is heard as several characters, including Rainier, Alfred Hitchcock (who directed Kelly in three films) and Kelly’s father.

Songs include the anthemic “Non, je ne regrette rien” (“I Regret Nothing”); catchy 20th century gems such as “I’m Feeling Like a Million,” “I Can’t Get Started” and “True Love”; and Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’ ” (which Baker did, in fact, sing, and which was also featured in “Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play”).

Aradhana Tiwari directed, and Michael Marinaccio and Tod Kimbro (who worked on “Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play” as well) are credited with the concept, story and script. Kimbro also wrote the play’s two original songs.

In the show’s program, the creative team notes that not much is really known about the friendship between Baker and Kelly beyond that it was deep and long-lasting. To their credit, they have created a play about it that rings true, and certainly seems consistent with everything we know about Baker.

Source: NJ Arts.

Tickets available on this link.

#grace kelly #princess grace #josephine baker #josie & grace #theatre #play #2022

[cybernaght]

Guardian rewatch: Episode 5

I thought this would be a shorter recap. Ha!

Every now and then throughout this show we are getting CGI wide shots of the Dragon City, mostly establishing the time of day. They have three settings: nighttime, daytime, and sunset/sunrise. While quality-wise those wide shots would not feel out of place in a video game from ten years ago, with buildings looking all rubbery, I actually really like this sunset sky. I also appreciate that they firmly establish that this is city is not, in fact, a real place. I almost wish the architecture was a little bit less familiar, but making the city look truly otherworldly here would make location scouting much harder. As it happens, the buildings on the forefront have a very 60’s art deco revival inspired feeling, and there are some distinctively neoclassical buildings peppered around as well. We can also see that the roads are very wide, and generally there is a hint of Stalinist grandioseness about the downtown. Unfortunately, it looks nothing like the locations and sets the characters are running in; we also get a feeling that the Dragon City is very large, which is not entirely consistent with the very few locations that were available when shooting the series. This shot does, however, remind me the city I grew up in (Moscow).

The actual plot of the episode centres around Huang Linqi and his fiancé, Li Jiaqi, going missing - it will be important, because their disastrous wedding will produce the most Clark Kent moment that Shen Wei will ever have. We also meet the parents of the couple, who are stinking rich and extremely unpleasant. It also introduces us to Butler Wu (Wu Tian’en) and his son, who will become important in later episodes. Butler Wu is not actually the villain of the piece, despite this shot clearly telling us otherwise. 

Back at the university, Shen Wei is having a morning tea with his dean. He holding his teacup with almost god-like elegance, very close to actually covering his mouth when he drinks, which is extremely old-fashioned. This is in stark contrast with him brazenly and un-gentlemanly showing his ankles. 

Shen Wei is asked to move off campus, because, apparently, having a chief of the special task force showing up at your office is bad for the reputation. Since the professor does not look surprised, and states that he has already found a flat, I’m guessing that he was clever enough to have predicted this turn of events, and used it to secure the place a breath away from Zhao Yunlan. It is up to speculation as to when he started scouting for an apartment: it could not have been more than a few weeks since he met Zhao Yunlan, and finding a flat can take a while. 

At the SID office, we are treated to a lovely moment between the team members, crowding around Lin Jin’s new invention: a popcorn-specific microwave.

It’s very sweet to see the team indulge in some nonsense outside of their case work, made even better by Wang Zheng being there. The fact that Zhao Yunlan is on board with his department’s time and resources being spent on a popcorn maker only makes this scene better. He is crouching on the table, because chairs are for the weak.

After inspecting the crime scene, Zhao Yunlan is spending some time outside chatting to Buttler Wu, and comments on Li Jiaqi’s good looks, since Zhao Yunlan is a man who can appreciate beauty.

As Xiao Guo is awe-struck at his boss’ ability to note someone’s prettiness from a distance, Chu Shuzhi literally rolls his eyes calling those “instincts of a beast”, and Zhao Yunlan fails to reprimand him for the remark, because… fair enough. Very fair enough. It’s hard not to relate to Zhao Yunlan, a self-admitted bi disaster. 

Shen Wei is being shown his new apartment. He does not even look around it, staring instead at Zhao Yunlan’s front door across the hall from him.

Moving here is a completely senseless thing to do. How on earth is he planning to hide his Hei Pao Shi persona while being a next door neighbour to the chief of SID? My conclusion is that from a character stand-point, it’s nothing but an act of desperate devotion; from a narrative stand-point, this codifies that their relationship is about to get very intimate indeed. 

The SID members are interrogating Buttler Wu: as is often the case, instead of bringing him in, like they did with Shen Wei, they hijack a cafe nearby to have a more relaxed conversation. As they talk, Shen Wei is making his way past the cafe, which both Wu Tian'en and Shen Wei notice. 

Shen Wei proceed to follow Butler Wu, who calls him out on it. This leads to a removal of his glasses so epic it warrants a jump-cut to close-up, on top of the dutch angle used mere seconds prior to it.

Instantly recognizing Shen Wei as Hei Pao Shi, Wu Tian’en sinks to his knees in reverence. Again, fair enough. After having a brief conversation about their shared history, Shen Wei states that Butler Wu is not allowed to lay a hand on Zhao Yunlan. 

“Chief Zhao? You’re stalking him?” 

“You don’t need to know more.”

That is not a no. Mostly because that is a yes. 

Shen Wei promises to not take Wu Tian’en away before the man resolves his current problems, adding that he hopes his old acquaintance won’t have any regrets when that happens. As Shen Wei walks away, he muses “Then how much time is there left for me?” 

(And I have to fight an uncomfortable sinking feeling in my stomach, which is occurring a lot as I rewatch those series.) 

The same evening at the SID offices the team is struggling with the case so much Da Qing suggests asking Hei Pao Shi’s help. Zhao Yunlan bristles at the idea, and… calls Shen Wei instead. Of course he does.

To be fair, he does so to check whether the other man is stalking him, but he also calls him by his given name rather Professor Shen, reinforcing that he makes this enquiry as a friend, not at as the chief of the Special Investigations Department. 

During the phone call Shen Wei is absentmindedly playing with the corner of the publication he is reading. 

While Yunlan does not deny that he still thinks Shen Wei is potentially up to something dodgy, he still proceeds to ask his advice on the case. This continues the dynamic from the previous episode: it’s not that Yunlan is completely blind, it’s just that he trusts Shen Wei regardless of the secrets he might be hiding. 

Moving on, here’s what I have to say on he topic of bad CGI. There are several reasons in the world for a piece of visual media to have a poor quality computer animation. It could be laziness, or it could be absence of imagination, both of which are inexcusable. It also could be absence of funds, as is the case with the Guardian. And, honestly, I am alright with that. It’s not their fault, and I would much rather see this drama as it is - bad CGI and all - than none at all. 

And, the quality of CGI here has energy similar to Live Action Sailor Moon (PGSM), which I honestly find both nostalgic and endearing. 

That show also has a talking cat, but it’s performed by a literal plush toy on strings, so Guardian certainly wins here.

While Huang Linqi and Li Jiaqi are being kept together (possibly in an alternate dimension, seeing as how they have emerged from the lake completely dry), they talk through their relationship issues, and the audience finds itself with a sugar-sweet take on the arranged marriage/strangers to lovers trope. I feel a little bit bad about their disaster wedding now. 

At the same time, Xiao Jun and Wu Tian’en’s story is a tiny echo of Shen Wei end Je Zun: the son thinks his dad left him to fend for himself when he was young and vulnerable, and distrusts the very concept of love because of that perceived abandonment. Unlike Je Zun however, he stops to have an actual conversation, which ultimately forces him to quit his senseless act of revenge, and make the first step on the path of reconciliation and redemption. This is Guardian telling us that communication skills do, in fact, matter. 

He also drops this bombshell of a line, which hurts my heart a lot.

“In the face of death every love in the world is mere foam”

On an entirely separate note, I am very glad that the actor who plays Butler Wu is wearing nice thick knee pads. 

They are very visible, and they make a little “boing” when he hits the ground, but the actor has to fall to his knees twice in this episode, both times on hard surfaces, one of which is literal gravel, and I’m happy that the production is being considerate of their actors’ physical well-being. 

While this episode does not mark the first time Zhao Yunlan is being understanding to the Undergrounders in pain, this is the first time anti-Unvergrounder bigotry is explicitly framed in a negative light. The two evil businessmen, who cast a child aside just because he has special powers, are shown as unquestionably in the wrong. Xiao Jun is lightly scolded for his rash actions, but he is not brought back to SID in cuffs, and he is not immediately given away to Hei Pao Shi. Far from that: he is brought in softly, to spend some time at his dying father’s side. 

As Butler Wu slipping away, we once more see Guo Changcheng being recklessly heroic, as he is prepared to use the Longevity Dial to share his life force. Instead of letting him do it, Zhao Yunlan snatches the Hallow away and decides to perform this particular miracle himself. This is the same man who will later sacrifice his eyesight to bring people’s lives back. Bai Yu’s acting in that moment is utterly phenomenal, showing a whole range of emotion from horror to determination to dismay in mere seconds. 

Hei Pao Shi teleports in, and, without a preamble, scolds Zhao Yunlan (the first episode in the series-long “don’t touch the Hallows” saga), and then asks him whether it’s worth shortening his life for an Undergrounder. This is in equal parts a provocation and a test, because I’m fairly certain that Shen Wei was going to save Wu Tian’en anyway. 

As SID members beg Hei Pao Shi to save Butler Wu in perfect unison, Zhao Yunlan states that a person is a person, regardless of their origin. Shen Wei notes inwardly that SID had changed, and, as expected, heals Butler Wu, while Yunlan stares at his power with relief and awe.

Since I have talked about the wide shot of the Dragon City, let’s talk about its counterpart in the Underworld. 

I have failed to notice before that there appears to be a vast city next to the volcano river, some way away from the royal Palace, looming over it. Geographically, this makes little sense: we will see characters leave the Palace and instantly end up in a city square throughout the series, but I still really enjoy this wide shot. It is also interesting to see the architecture of the place. It is somewhere between (western) medieval abodes and futuristic shipment container blocks, with living spaces built on top of each other, crammed-in, and unpleasant. I also love the lighting here, contrasting blue and red.

Hallows random power #n: projecting their brethren. Imagine how useful it would be if they also did that for the Brush and the Lantern.

The next day, Zhao Yunlan and Da Qing are on a leisurely morning jog, while Yunlan is wearing bottoms that my partner refers to as “sheggings” (as in, shorts + leggings)

They are talking about Shen Wei, naturally. In my head-canon, Zhao Yunlan is driving his colleagues nuts because can’t help himself but bring the good professor up every goddamn minute of every goddamn day.

As they turn the corner to go home, they bump into the subject of discussion, who informs them that he moved into the building, and leaves abruptly looking more than slightly pleased with himself. 

Finally, we are treated to Guo Changcheng’s surveillance exam. I don’t know why he thought this outfit would make him look less conspicuous. 

Eventually, the SID will learn that some of their staff members don’t have to be fighters or detectives. In Xiao Guo, they have found the heart of their team, and that is enough. 

Next up, Episode 6: The Coat Zhao Yunlan Will Buy

—

PS: I have mentioned earlier, that I have a sinking feeling as I watch Guardian, and I would like to elaborate on that. You see, I am very scared of flying. It’s an irrational fear, but it is the one I nonetheless have. There is a very specific feeling I get just as the plane starts gaining speed on the runway: there is joy, because at the end of this journey they is something to look forward to (my parents’ hugs, a drink with a friend, a favourite place, a new city to explore), but there is also a painful anticipation, as I brace for the moment the aircraft will tilt upwards, knowing that I will be pushed back into my chair by gravity, battling against an onslaught of a panic attack, shaking, learning to breathe, fighting with everything I have to keep my heart rate down. Watching Guardian from the beginning, knowing where the story is going, mirrors that feeling perfectly.

PPS: The following conversation happened with my partner as I way typing this recap.

My partner: Do you think Shen Wei ever wears sheggings?

Me: Sweetie, I think he would rather die. 

#guardian #shen wei #zhao yunlan #weilan #rewatch #recap #please help I can't stop rambling

[balkanballad]

esc 2021 fashion review. category: everything that sparkles isn’t necessarily a great outfit

after the introduction and 🥀 category, this time the category consists of most outfits that sparkled, so let’s take a look: 

Australia

I was thinking about putting them into the first category, but I like Montaigne too much to do that, so she starts off this category. guess what, yes, it’s a lot and yes, I would not have put all of that accessory on, but I also think that it suits her and I enjoy the technicolour reference when looking at the background dancers because it does make sense with the song and whole performance, so that’s cool. I still would have lost all the chains and crystals.

Greece

she also definitely could have made it to my least favourite outfits, but it also sparkles a lot (for no reason and that doesn’t save the look), so this outfit sits in this category as well. I think I would have done everything different here. how cool would a pantsuit have been? a casual one, black and white, with a wide leg.. it would have been so easy to find a good outfit that fits her and the song and yet they went for this. I’m not a fan of this Tinky Winky look; the cut outs are weird and random, I don’t like the boots that have a different colour and weird length, nothing, I like nothing really. and no comment about the background dancers, I think the picture says enough.

Moldova

and on to the girls that kind of started this category in my mind: the silver (sparkle) girls. Moldova’s look out of them four was probably my least favourite, but they are honestly all so similar that it’s hard for me to even distinguish them. Natalia, however, had the worst hairstyle. also, the shirtless dancers wearing jackets... but no shirts... I simply don’t understand that. and glasses inside! Rafal was maybe a fan, but I am not. the song was so easy to pair with outfits that follow the sugar/sweet theme and it would have been more impressive this year. this Helene Fischer does Let’s dance is sadly not it.

Malta

this is the third time that I am saying it, but I don’t like the boots. the dress is alright and I think the silver dress fits Je Me Casse the best, although I have also seen the outfit that they picked for her on tape performance and it looked so much more interesting. the background dancers’ outfits go well with the silver, not necessarily with the fringe, but it’s an alright combination and overall it is probably my favourite choice out of the silver girls.

Albania

one of my absolute pet peeves are beige tights with open shoes, I absolutely hate to see it. I don’t mind the bodysuit, I do however wonder why the sparkle fringe was picked when she wears long hair, that must have been a mess to get all that hair out of it afterwards. this silver choice was out of them the personal biggest disappointment to me because I like the song the best and I imagined a dress similar to the ones that she wore in the video, something flowing on stage, dark red maybe, something deeper, more powerful than this look.

Cyprus

I appreciate the background dancers and their looks, I appreciate following the song theme and concept with the looks, but the main look is also not my personal favourite. I would use the word messy again and the tights pet peeve I already mentioned before.

Austria

here I just wonder why does it sparkle? the only explanation that I have is that they wanted to go for the youth priest wants to go to eurovision, but also has to play the villain in a cheap musical production later that night. if that was the goal, congratulations, if not, then yes, I would have gotten rid of that long, sparkly coat.

Latvia

I don’t have anything that bothers me about Samanta’s outfit. I like the slit, the colour is pretty, I also don’t mind the sparkles, but the background dancers have horrible outfits. they don’t go with her outfit at all. the colours are even slightly off, the visors make no sense and look bad and cheap, they really ruined it for me. in those greenscreen bodysuit they also could have joined Greece.

Sweden

with them my first reaction was disappointment again. I didn’t like the gloves and preferred the actual nf performance suit, but the more often I watch it, the less I dislike it. I probably would have still went without the necklace, but I really like the rings. a big plus with this performance were the background dancers. their black outfits go very well with Tusse’s suit and the even have a similar flowy cut to them. so, it was fun to watch them perform together because they all matched nicely. 

Macedonia

the counterpart to Vincent’s villain part in that cheap musical or: the darkling and the sun summoner. but here I enjoyed the sparkle! this was a nice surprise to me. I like the fact that he was alone there on the stage and completely let the chest piece shine. I think that fits the song. I only would have lost the bracelet(s), but that’s a tiny thing and this is still my favourite in this category. if it sparkles, make it count and worth it.

#j. talks #eurovision #as always feel free to let me know how you girlies feel

[redleavesinthewind]

Okay so everyone is freaking out about the French dub. Very much understandable. I’m freaking out about the French dub. For a lot of different reasons. I’m not French but I’ve grown up with the language, and I basically consider it my second first language, so here are my thoughts on it. A lot of this is very subjective. I might see it like this, and it’s the way I understand and interpret specific words, but that doesn’t mean everyone does. Also, this is a long post, so buckle up.

First off, I’ve never thought about how in French they’d call the Empty le Vide. And this might not make sense to anyone but me, but when I say the word vide, I actually feel emptiness in it. The concept is hidden in the word, vide is emptiness, and I just think that’s really cool.

Now, in the English version Cas says, a thing strong enough to stop Billie. In the French dub it’s une chose suffisamment forte qui la mettrait hors d’état de te nuire. hors d’état de te nuire. Roughly translates to uncapable of hurting you. Cas specifically wants to protect Dean. I’m already dead at this point but this is only the beginning.

Then we have true happiness and bonheur intense. True happiness is vague, somehow, but bonheur intense? It might not be as strong as true happiness, but it’s much more tangible. True happiness is like an unachievable dream, but being intensely happy is more in the realm of possibility.

Took that burden, that curse. Accepté ce fardeau, cette malédiction. Wanna be sad now? The word accepté kind of drives home the fact that Cas has at this point accepted that he’s gonna die. Also, the word malédiction had a similar effect than Vide. For one, it just feels evil, and then also, the word evil (mal) is just in there. Like, yes, this deal was just evil.

What my true happiness would look like, que ça pourrait être, ce bonheur intense que je n’ai jamais connu de ma vie. Insisting on the fact that Cas has never felt intense happiness ever in his life. 

The one thing I want is something I know I can’t have, la seule et unique chose que je veux, je sais pertinemment que je ne peux pas l’avoir. Dean isn’t just the only thing he wants, he’s unique. UNIQUE! So that was the good thing. Pertinemment means without doubt. It’s just much more insisted on that Cas has never been truly happy and that he doesn’t believe that he can be. But also Cas seems much more sure about all of it, because they took out the think in I think I know now, plus they made it understand.

Happiness isn’t in the having, Il ne s’agit pas de vouloir le bonheur. Wanting happiness. It’s not avoir, it’s vouloir. Wanting happiness. And the It’s in just saying it, d’exprimer son bonheur. Exprimer doesn’t only mean saying. It means expressing. And that is much stronger than saying.

They translated broken with fracassé. And I don’t know how to make you understand how damn different that word is. First off the verb fracasser means smash, as in he would fall and smash to the ground. Now the adjective fracassé means in pieces after having fallen down. I’m just trying not to freak out at this point. Also, instead of destructive, it’s autodestructeur, self-destructive.

It’s not. c’est faux. Instead of just telling Dean that he’s not all those things he thinks he is, Cas says that he’s wrong for thinking it. That others seeing Dean as angry and destructive and broken are just plain wrong. Additionally instead of saying Everyone who knows you sees it, it’s pour tous ceux qui te connaissent bien c’est évident. C’est évident means it’s obvious. 

Cas used dévoué instead of selfless. Devoted

Knowing you has changed me, tu as bouleversé ma vie. Bouleversé doesn’t just mean changed, it means Dean has taken Cas’ life and turned it upside down, shook it around and left it in chaos. In this case, that chaos would be free will. 

Cared about the world because of you, si j’ai autant aimé ce monde, c’est uniquement grâce a toi. Again with the unique. Also, instead of caring for the world, Cas loves the world. And another thing, grâce a toi. Thanks to you

Again, instead of you changed me, tu m’as transformé. It’s just stronger.

And now the little detail that has forever changed my life. Ne me fais pas ça. Ne me fais pas ça. Ne me fais pas ça. Don’t do this to me. How am I supposed to just go on normally with my life now. How?

Anyway that’s it. Other things I wanna say about it, 1) The name Castiel sounds really pretty in French and 2) I usually hate dubs, but come on, just look at this. THIS. Also Cas’ voice sounds nice.

#spn #french dub #despair #just my thoughts on it #nothing else to see here #it’s just so much better somehow #but that could only he because I understand the language #also #did i just make this instead of watching lectures? #maybe #was it worth it? #définitivement oui #bryony talks

[belleandkurtbastian]

Okay, more awake now. Time for thoughts on Skam France Season 5.

(Note: I will be translating “personnes en situation de handicap” as “disabled people”, the term preferred within my social spheres over “people with disabilities”. I will also be translating “sourd” and “surdité”, as they relate to Arthur, as “deaf” and “deafness” respectively. I understand that these terms have social and community meanings that some may or may not consider as applying to Arthur, but the translation is already fuzzy due to different community boundaries cross-linguistically.)

Background: I’ve watched Skam S3-4, and Skam France S3-4 before this.

Of the those 5 seasons, I think Skam France S5 is the best-constructed. The tone, pacing, and content is the best-realised. I think Skam S3 will always be the favourite in my mind, for personal reasons, but I find it hard to say that Skam S3 is “better” than Skam FR S5.

So, getting into it:

First: the Skam France writers clearly do well unshackled from the expectation of imitation. They don’t have source material to adapt here, so it’s a wholly new series, and they take that to their advantage. My problems with S3 and S4, where they were changing and moving things from the original in ways that I considered a pure downgrade? Not a factor here.

Okay, the actual content: it’s pretty rare to see later-in-life disabilities represented. Like, you’ll get people who are terminally ill, and you’ll get people who were disabled from birth or since early childhood, but it’s so rare that media actually follows the story of someone BECOMING disabled, and I really appreciate that.

And my God, they packed a lot into those 10 episodes. They have the entire “between two worlds” thing, brief discussions of language around disability, treatment of the differing needs of different disabled people and communities, medical interventions, pressure around medical intervention from parents and medical staff, the use of a variety of assistive devices (two different types of hearing aids, cochlear implants, live transcription apps), Arthur learning LSF, Arthur getting his sign name...

And that’s all just kind of peripheral stuff to the overall story of Arthur accepting and owning his deafness.

I want to talk in particular about the point where Arthur tells Noée “je ne suis pas entendant” (”I am not a hearing person”), because that scene has me a little conflicted. I get that rhetorically, it’s a powerful scene, and he then spends the next several clips without his hearing aids in. But it bugs me a LITTLE, purely because Arthur had already been owning the label “sourd” for a couple of episodes before this, at school, and socially in general. The way that the declaration is played as this Big Thing™ doesn’t really fit with the way that Arthur had been describing himself before.

But I guess it’s a community thing. I’m not sure if Arthur had owned his deafness to any other D/deaf people before that. And that “pas entendant” and “sourd” are different nuances.

I don’t know. I like the arc overall, even here, it just felt a little... muddied. Maybe the intent came through better to others, and to D/deaf/HoH people.

Briefly, the D/deaf characters within the show. We only really get introduced to two. There are several background characters, but we focus on Noée and Camille.

First of all, Noée. I like her. I think she’s a very realistic character, and she’s clearly there to guide both Arthur AND the audience into the community, but without a full hand-holding lead. The romantic subplot... Eh, the whole “cheating on Alexia” part makes me uncomfortable, but the actual development felt very organic and earned, and it really sold the “entre deux mondes” concept well. I think that the lack of a firm resolution at the end of the season is fine. It works narratively and rhetorically, with Arthur still feeling somewhat “entre deux mondes”.

And then Camille. Honestly, I’m surprised that Skam France introduced an LGBTQ+ deaf character. Arthur already had Alexia, his bi girlfriend, and it would have been SUPER easy for the writers to justify not adding any more queer characters around Arthur. I am *not* objecting to this turn, though. While most of the disabled characters I know on TV are queer, that’s more to do with the media I watch, rather than some grand representation win.

Anyway, Camille is a fine character. I think he’s the most... “we need a character who fills this role” character (a go-between for Arthur/Noée and the designated “you’re an idiot” guy for the season) that the show has had so far, but I think he’s a fine character. His relationship with Mika? We don’t see much of it, at all, but I think that works considering who those characters are in relation to the rest of the main cast. Camille’s sexuality and relationships aren’t important to Arthur’s story, but they’re still *there* in the show.

And then all the social stuff with Arthur’s friends. I think this was handled... well, by the show. Less well by the characters...

But the tension between them, and the overall discontent... It felt less dramatic than Lucas’ and Imane’s seasons’ tension. And I know some people wouldn’t like that, but I do. I think that they played into the “well-meaning friends don’t know what to do” thing well, without excusing Arthur’s friends’ actions, and also without the absolute feeling of despair and emptiness that Lucas and Imane got into at a certain point in their seasons (ditto, Isak and Sana).

They draw that weird parallel to Lucas’ secrets, too. And like... first of all, the whole “We don’t keep secrets” thing is laughable considering that Lucas’ season was only a year ago. But secondly, is this just going to be a thing now? Anything after an Isak’s season will be compared to the Isak’s problems? Like with the Sana/Isak (Imane/Lucas) conversation in S4?

Anyway, that’s kind of a nitpick.

I really liked Skam France S5.

Oh, and I finally figured out how to watch it: French subs, English transcript. Only took me three seasons :P

#.n #.text #skam france #skam fr

[unproduciblesmackdown]

prompt time

April 15th: Do you work? If so, what is that like for you? Are you open about being autistic at work? Alternatively, how open are you about being autistic? Do you tell a lot of people? Or just a select few? How do people normally react when you tell them? If you don’t tell people, then why?

speaking of "i think rote tasks are okay b/c i can just be listening to something else / thinking about whatever while i knock out whatever tasks" thinking of some post about stuff like, "i had a job stocking shelves and that was actually fine, but it was just the other bullshit that starts to make jobs unbearable" truly lol like, well, in Theory......and dealing with other people, like, customers or coworkers or managers / whoever is just like. absolutely just a case by case basis whether anyone's concerned with treating you with basic respect, so who doesn't love that lmao. but of course, some people Do choose to just treat the people around them like people and not choose antagonism every day, and sometimes i have like, Work Friends & Allies lmao, there was one friend from my longtime first job whomst just became Normal Friends lmao i.e. we hung out outside of work even, she and her sister and my brother and i were all Coworkers and Pals lmao, now Twitter Mutual Friends due to not being in the same place smh. but also it took a while of actually working together to hit it off, b/c not only am i just slow at making friends / warming up to anyone, but work as sometimes this Social Performance / Masking marathon lmao, so it's less like, time for epic rapport with anyone rn......but then of course, on the other hand, even with coworkers it's been like, ah, the je ne hate quoi of [people picking up on a someone being nd as "oh i dislike / have contempt for Their Vibe"] is partially in operation lol. where sometimes that involves people being more Outright rude or something, but other times is more the Quiet Exclusion sort of approach like, appreciate that. felt sort of like experimental evidence of "i kind of had more defenses in place for people to at least Simply Ignore Me in school or possibly accept whatever niche i had b/c i could Have that niche of like, i'm finishing my work asap & then just reading, which, At Work you know it's like, busy work On Principle even if things are slow or you've finished whatever (although lmao. did also just read at that first job, where often there wasn't a manager around or many coworkers) and also i was the Kid Who Drew which never came up much at jobs and probably wasn't as interesting as when everyone's like in third grade, and like, i figured people wouldn't think i was """smart""" if it's outside Academic Zone where i get good grades and stuff lmfao and yeah sometimes coworkers would graciously imply they thought i was pretty dumb like (: yeah thanks, way to be Normal to your coworker lmao. maybe at this point Needless To Say i never told anyone workwise i'm autistic, did not trust anyone with that, even just informally re: coworkers (although twitter mutual former coworker friend has access to that info now i guess lmao) like, maybe Only if i was having a convo with someone i knew was chill i could mention like, info re: myself that *i* know has to do with my being autistic lmao but, i can't think of any specific incidences of my doing that. although then there was that factor that could override it, aka at one job where i had lgbtq coworkers where like, we weren't outright talking about it lol, but Attuned to the Vibes and like, people would be cool about That lol which kind of overrode like oh you're weird or whatever in that case, although also yknow, there were ppl who were just generally cool anyways so. but even with that it's Still like, the rest of a job's bullshit is just........and the inconsistency........smh

but anyways lol also i guess just in general i don't tell people i'm autistic unless it's like, we have a personal relationship, it's someone i'm not always masking around / Not Being Myself, which kinda goes hand in hand with me being able to trust them some & that they already like a version of me that is somewhat Actual. and also that, yknow, it's a situation where i don't feel like person will tell it to other people who i'd prefer not to know, like, there'd be stuff i'd feel i Could tell a chill coworker b/c i feel Matter Of Factly about it, but then it's like, but do i also expect them to not tell anyone else whatever thing. and again shoutout to the time i mentioned i'm autistic in conversation with a friendly acquaintance b/c the concept of being autistic was relevant and they immediately launched into like dismissive "well, probably everyone can relate to Something about being autistic, also do any of us know what being autistic is? so" like clearly meaning "you don't Seem Autistic(tm) to me, so that's ridiculous" lmfao like if there's anything, i love to be dismissed, i love to not be listened to. so there's that as well lol. that was probably the most recent time i've mentioned i'm autistic In Person, but like. still of course it's been like, there's people i know Now who also know i'm autistic and it's gone fine and non [anyone reacting like That lmao] b/c you know, personally knowing & liking & vibing with someone so it's fine and just like Sharing Personal Info to connect, vs "i'm gonna tell someone this & they either treat you weirdly or worse or just dismiss it" like. nah

#30daysofautismacceptance #2021

[sceptilemasterr]

Defenders of the Flame (TE Rewrite) Act 1, Scene 11 - The Girl in the Mirror

Title: Defenders of the Flame (A CIU Screenplay)

Main Pairings: Shreya x F!MC, Beckett x F!Atlas

Other Pairings: N/A

Genre: Full Rewrite (The Elementalists, Book 1)

Rating: PG-13 for violence, blood, swearing, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: After a dark conversation, Fiora finally opens up to the others about the mysterious reflection she has been seeing.

Previous Scene: New Routine

Masterlist: Link

INT. FLETCHLY HALL - LOUNGE - NIGHT

The Pend Pals, now including Beckett, are gathered in the Fletchly Hall lounge for a study session. Beckett is sitting near a podium similar to the one Dr. Religast uses in her Stoicheal Theory class. A diagram of various stoicheal techniques and theories is displayed above it, which only Beckett himself seems to be paying attention to; his Grogue sits on the podium, trying to shoot down the display with his metal pebbles. Fiora and Shreya’s Lumians sit perched atop the ceiling light, sleeping contentedly, while their owners sit side-by-side on a couch, engaged in rapt conversation. Zeph lays on his back on the floor, playing one-handed catch with a sphere of water he had conjured as Ishi tries in vain to flash-freeze it with his breath. Griffin pages through a textbook on his lap, frowning at one particular page. His own companion, a Talpea (a cross between a mole and a rabbit) named MUGU, is trying and failing to dig through the carpet.  Suddenly, one of Ishi’s ice blasts misses Zeph’s water sphere and hits Griffin’s leg.

GRIFFIN: Ow! Hey, what was that?

ZEPH: Sorry! That was Ishi. Ishi, no!

Ishi whines and walks away from Griffin. Shreya looks over at Griffin and Zeph.

SHREYA: Hey, be glad it was just ice and not fire. Our element is much stronger, I must say.

ZEPH: What, still sore about losing to me ten duels in a row this week?

SHREYA: Okay, that isn’t fair. Everyone knows water overpowers fire. You had the advantage!

ZEPH: Then why did you keep challenging me?

SHREYA: Because I wanted to win!

GRIFFIN: C’mon. All Attunements have their pros and cons. Don’t think there’s one that’s necessarily better than the others.

ZEPH: I dunno, maybe not in terms of power, but personality? Metal-Atts leave a lot to be desired.

BECKETT: I heard that, you know. Besides, I’m the only one here who has already thoroughly studied everything. Is anyone else going to use this study session to actually, well, study?

The others exchange glances.

SHREYA: Apparently not. Come on, Beckett, join us! That display isn’t going anywhere, after all.

BECKETT’S GROGUE: Croak!

FIORA: See? Even he agrees!

BECKETT: Hmm, very well. But only if you all promise to get through at least another two lectures’ worth of concepts by the end of the night.

ZEPH: It’s a deal.

Beckett takes a seat in an armchair near the others.

BECKETT: If we’re speaking of Attunements and personalities, such things have only minor effects on one another at best. True, certain personality types are more or less common among certain Attunements, but nothing is absolute.

ZEPH: I dunno, you and Dr. Rallah sure both seem to have the stiff, uptight, boring routine down pretty well--

Beckett’s Grogue lets out a loud croak and launches a stream of pellets right at Zeph’s forehead.

ZEPH: Ow! Hey!

The rest of the group dissolves into laughter. After a moment, Zeph joins in as well.

BECKETT: Frankly, even I will admit that her lecturing style leaves much to be desired.

SHREYA: Wow, this from you, of all people? I am shocked!

GRIFFIN: I mean, all the Earth-Atts I’ve ever met have been pretty friendly and outgoing, but that might just be because I only hang out with friendly people to begin with.

SHREYA (shrugs): Seems sensible enough to me.

FIORA: Okay, hang on... but what about the Wood-Atts? They don’t have a mean bone in their body. Every single one of them is a nature-loving, friendly, peaceful, hippie-type! Even Dr. Kontos!

The room suddenly goes quiet. Everyone except Fiora exchange uncomfortable glances with one another.

FIORA: ...What? It’s the truth! I mean, Shreya, you’ve met Aster, she’s so--

SHREYA (uncharacteristically serious): Not Aster. Someone... else.

Fiora scans the room. Everyone has serious, downcast expressions on their faces as they stare at her.

GRIFFIN (gently): Fiora... surely you’ve heard of... the Dread, right?

Fiora looks over at Shreya, realizing that this is something she should know, but doesn’t. Shreya gives her a subtle nod.

FIORA: I... uh, yes? But I don’t know much--

GRIFFIN: He was a Wood-Att.

Fiora continues to stare, puzzled, at Griffin. Zeph picks up the slack:

ZEPH: Fiora... the Dread was the worst mass-murdering criminal of the last century. He killed hundreds. Some even say thousands.

Fiora shudders.

FIORA: And... he was…

GRIFFIN: A Wood-Attuned. That’s right. Listen, Fiora... do you remember the Primal Force for Wood?

Fiora thinks for a moment.

FIORA (muttering): Light... Gravity... Motion… (louder) Oh! Life, isn’t it?

Beckett nods.

BECKETT: That’s right. And you can imagine why that particular Attunement would be so dangerous in the hands of someone such as the Dread.

GRIFFIN: You’ve noticed with your own fire, right? Attuneds can’t just create their element, but erase it as well. Now, imagine a murdering psychopath with that kind of power over life itself.

FIORA (uneasily): I can imagine. But how could a Wood-Att become that... that... horrible?

ZEPH: Exactly. Our Attunements don’t make us who we are. It’s our choices. And some people... well... choose awful things.

FIORA: I guess. But, I mean, he’s gone now, right? What happened to him?

The others all exchange another glance.

SHREYA: Honestly? No one really knows. I mean, he was obviously stopped, but as for how? No idea.

GRIFFIN: That’s right. Growing up, he was just a story our parents told us to scare us into doing what we were told. Y’know, “If you don’t eat your peas, the Dread will get you!” That kind of thing.

BECKETT: Ugh, please don’t remind me of that. It was my parents’ excuse for essentially everything.

FIORA (sarcastically): Sounds like amazing parenting right there.

BECKETT: Unfortunately, it was a very real possibility. The Dread--or, to use his real name, Raife Highmore--had a horrifying tendency to target children. No one knows why.

FIORA (terrified): O-kay, enough creepy murderer stories for me, thank you. This guy’s from forever ago, right? He’s gone now?

Zeph creeps closer to Fiora, and says in a mock-spooky voice:

ZEPH: Ah, Fiora, he’s gone for now. But one day, he shall return... and then, he will be out for BLOOD!

Zeph claps his hands in front of Fiora’s face, startling her. She shrieks and falls over, landing flat on her back on the ground. Zeph and Griffin laugh uproariously.

ZEPH: Wow, Fiora, you really fell for that one!

GRIFFIN: Nice one, Zeph!

He and Zeph high-five. Fiora frowns.

FIORA: Oh, ha ha, very funny. Look, I just…

As she looks around the room, desperate for a change in subject, her gaze alights on a mirror in one corner of the room. She flinches back in shock when she spots her silver-haired reflection looking back at her. Fiora rubs her eyes, and in the time it takes her to do so, the strange reflection is gone, replaced by her normal one.

FIORA: Hey, guys... does anyone see anything weird in that mirror there?

She points to the mirror. Everyone follows her gaze curiously.

SHREYA: Nothing but my lovely face, why?

GRIFFIN: I don’t see anything…

BECKETT: It’s simply a mirror.

ZEPH: What, did y’see something there?

FIORA: I mean... it’s gone now. But for a moment, I saw a weird version of myself. Basically the same, but with silver hair and a different expression. Is that normal? Have any of you seen something like that here?

Beckett frowns in puzzlement. He looks to Griffin, who shrugs.

GRIFFIN: Beats me. Weird reflection, you say?

FIORA: Exactly. A weird reflection. I even saw it in--

She stops herself when she realizes she was about to accidentally reveal her origins to the group.

FIORA: Uh, saw it in another mirror. Somewhere before I started at Penderghast... and then again, during the Test of Attunement. It... she... looked just like me, but wasn’t matching my expression or movements. And her hair was silvery.

She absently tugs on a few strands of her own red hair. Griffin frowns.

GRIFFIN: Can’t say I’ve heard of anything like that before. You’re sure you saw it, right? It couldn’t have been some kind of illusion?

Fiora shakes her head.

FIORA: Don’t think so. It sure looked real. You’re sure this isn’t some kind of normal thing that happens in this place?

SHREYA: I haven’t heard of anything like that, either.

Beckett abruptly stands up and starts walking back toward the projection in the corner.

BECKETT: You can continue discussing this phenomenon if you wish. I, however, shall begin my own research into this event. Perhaps I can uncover some insight during my ample free time.

ZEPH: Wait, “ample free time?” Since when? With all of our classes, we’ve got--

BECKETT: You mean to tell me you haven’t completed all of the assigned homework for the entire quarter yet? Nor read each and every textbook twice by now? Hmph.

Zeph visibly shrinks in his seat, embarrassed. Griffin rolls his eyes.

GRIFFIN: Seriously, Beckett? It’s not a competition.

BECKETT (genuinely confused): I did not mean it that way. I apologize. I only meant that, as I have plenty of time available to me, I am best suited to investigating this “strange reflection” that Fiora mentioned.

FIORA: Well, whatever the reason, thanks, Beckett. Hopefully you can find some explanation. It’s kinda creeping me out…

BECKETT (smiles): Naturally. Happy to assist, Fiora. Isn’t that part of friendship, after all?

FIORA: You’re right about that. Thanks!

Shreya yawns, stretching her arms out widely.

SHREYA: Well, I’m not sure about the rest of you, but... (yawns) ...je suis fatigue. Fiora, care to walk back to our room with me?

FIORA: Sounds like a plan, Shreya!

BECKETT: Wait! What about your promise? Two more lectures’ worth of concepts, do you recall?

SHREYA: Please, Beckett. A mademoiselle like myself needs her beauty rest, non? We shall review more of our lectures tomorrow. I promise!

Beckett starts to object, then sighs.

BECKETT: Very well. But I assure you, I will be holding you to it!

SHREYA: Of course you will. Goodnight, all of you!

FIORA: Night!

Everyone says their goodbyes. When it’s Zeph’s turn, however:

ZEPH: Have a romantic night, you two!

Shreya splutters with surprise as Fiora stares at him like a deer in headlights.

SHREYA: What-- what could that possibly-- I don’t-- excuse you--

FIORA (simultaneously): Wait a sec-- no-- we’re not-- hold on--

Zeph breaks down into laughter. After a moment, he stops laughing and simply looks at the two girls with a knowing smirk.

ZEPH: Have fun…

Shreya and Fiora look at each other awkwardly.

FIORA: Uh... right. I’ll just... go now.

SHREYA: Goodnight, Zeph.

The two of them leave the lounge. Zeph stares after them, then turns to look at Griffin.

ZEPH: Ah, young love... am I right, or am I right?

GRIFFIN (shrugs): Who knows?

_______________________

Scene Notes: At long last, we find out about the Dread in this version. Since all of the “super-Attunements” from canon were wrapped into the Primal Forces here, Blood became the Life Primal Attunement, thus making Raife a Wood-Att. Terrifying how the most kind and gentle Attunement can be twisted so far... but as Griffin said, it’s all about our Choices. (See what I did there...?)

Timeline: November 23rd! Still in the ES time jump.

_______________________

Next: Unexpected Saviors

CIU Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @endlesshero1122 @bbaba-yagaa @acidsugar0 @shaylan211 @griselda1121 @acanthisorbis @marmolady

DotF/Elementalists Tag List:

#defenders of the flame #datf #the elementalists rewrite #choices the elementalists #choices stories you play #csyp #fanfic #ciu project #choices interconnected universe #fiora luxen #shreya mistry #beckett harrington #zeph hernandez #griffin langley #raife highmore #shreya x mc #wlw #i just realized grogue is one letter off from grogu #idk what that means but it amuses me