#his name was a delightful reference and the character delivered on that

[raraeavesmoriendi]

I just finished last night and I have some questions for people who have read mike bockoven’s fantasticland -

[for those who have not:

- take a climate change-charged hurricane that’s the worst noaa has seen in recent memory and the first to hit daytona beach since 1960

- throw it at a Not-Disney-World Florida theme park with major national nostalgia, where a bunch of the Not-Disney College Program kids and some adult staff have opted to get paid extra to stay inside the park through the storm to prevent looting

- watch as people trapped within the park for more than a month - still with plenty of food and water, mind you - lose their minds, fragment into factions, and begin going full battle royale/lord of the flies on each other

- tell the whole thing testimonial style with different witnesses interviewed each chapter, a la World War Z, with some insanely unreliable narrators to boot

if that sounds like your kind of horror novel, give it a go. it’s not perfect (especially when they call the factions ‘tribes,’ which. yikes.) but I tore through it in like, two days.]

okay, questions below, spoilers for the novel:

1. …is the pirate who comforted the little boy who was evacuating, in interview three with the kansas city dad, Brock Hockley? am I reading too much into that?

like. I don’t remember that we ever get a description of him, so I don’t know about the “weird beard/mustache thing” the dad describes, but just. the emphasis put on “I’d like to shake his hand. I might even give him a hug.” feels so purposeful. part of me wonders if that’s supposed to add some further hindsight horror to what happened in the park and then his prison interview. he says early that he found making little kids happy a fulfilling and rewarding part of his job as a character actor in the park, and we know other people found him charismatic enough to follow, not just because they were scared but bc he could have these moments of surface-level charm or rationality (the code, etc.)

idk, I just thought it felt a bit too one-off to read it as Just Some Guy. but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I could be wrong.

2. we never get any hint as to the identity of the warthog couple, right? I remember the FNG found their masks discarded outside the World Circus, they’re first mentioned in the book as hanging around/inside the circus, and the guy from the Dreamland Hotel interview talks about still getting postcards from them whenever he moves (scariest part of the whole book for me ngl), so we can assume they were walked out with the rest of the survivors. I just wasn’t sure if there was anything else to do with them that I missed.

I’m still thinking about the fact that they turned the Dreamland lobby into a torture theater. like… who was that for? just for them, or did they have an audience? probably not, right? since they weren’t affiliated with anyone? but still. also, who were they taking there, just people they could pick off???

hmm. I wonder if any casualties thought to be faction-related were actually theirs.

3. in Travis’s interview (the guy with the body camera), do we know who the girl is that they found in the crawlspace of the employee locker room? the one whispering “Mommy” over and over? there were enough survivors left that she could be someone we didn’t encounter before, but I just thought I’d check that there wasn’t some other interview where someone describes a girl running off to hide. the Anonymous shopgirl mentioned one of the girls disappeared during the cannon raid on Pirate turf with the Deadpool soldiers before they turned on each other, so I wondered if it could be her.

4. Brock in his interview mentions that Sam Garlieck’s people were terrorizing others during the power outage in the storm shelter, specifically mentioning an instance of sexual assault. does anyone else corroborate this in their interview? Adam Jakes sounds skeptical, saying his research would have turned that up by now, but the only people we really hear from about that period are Sam himself (obviously an unreliable narrator, like, duh) and Stuart Dietz, who mentioned that Sam definitely killed Maria Flynn. did anyone see any other mentions of this anywhere, or did we just move straight out of the storm shelters and never talk about them again once we get to the park? is this just Brock being an unreliable narrator himself to justify how things went down? (but then why would he need to be, when Bryce definitely died?? although he himself says that wasn’t as big a motivator as people writing about him want it to be, so maybe that’s moot)

5. not really a question just an observation: Stuart Dietz, the maintenance guy/Mole Man, is the only person to get two interviews in the entire novel. Not Sam, not Jill, not Brock. I don’t know, I just find that really interesting why he was selected to come back twice. I know part of it is to describe the botched demolition, but I’m also wondering what effect it has on the novel that the only person we hear from multiple times is an older dude from one of the pointedly non-aggressive factions.

6. in looking through posts already in the tag, I don’t quite follow some readers’ comments that there was an attempt at a “cell phones bad!!” message here. I feel like every time it’s come up, it’s been shown by Adam Jakes (author stand-in) to be minimizing what really happened and looking for an easy scapegoat. I don’t think that was part of the intended story at all, I think it’s just been stated over and over as people using an excuse to not think themselves capable of similar violence. just wanted to put that out there.

anyway. one of my favorite things about novels with multi-witness perspectives is finding threads that leave off in one person’s story and pick up in another, so I’m going through my digital copy and highlighting all the places two different interviews tie together (Austin’s fate, the guy who botched branding Adrienne as part of his Pirate initiation, etc.)

if anyone else has noticed anything interesting, I’m all ears 👀

#fantasticland #mike bockoven #horror novels #it’s been a while that I’ve been so taken by a book that I stop to write a post about it #especially when I have housekeeping chores looming over my shoulder #glenn guignol is my favorite to no one’s surprise #his name was a delightful reference and the character delivered on that #if I had to do the v thing the novel calls out and over-identify with a faction it would be the Freaks #bc I feel like I’ve had to build myself up to be scarier than I was to be left alone at various times when I was younger #so that would be my strategy too v likely #although then I would have to grapple with if it only spread further panic and hysteria so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[writingquestionsanswered]

i'm writing a fantasy book and i have a lot of sort of nameless guards and soldiers in it. like i have these higher ranking soldiers who are named and relevant and they all have a team of nameless guards with them pretty much always. in my first draft i've often found that it gets kind of annoying when i constantly have to repeat "one of the guards" and "the other guard" and "the remaining guard" and phrases like that. at the same time i don't want to start giving them all names since they're not that relevant individually and it's a fantasy so there's already some words and names to remember so i don't want to bog it down with ones that aren't all that important. sorry this is so long but essentially do you have any advice or ideas on how to differentiate between nameless guards without being too repetitive and without introducing a bunch of new names?

Repetitive Reference of Background Character Group

"Background characters" (aka "tertiary characters") are a fundamental part of storytelling. They populate the worlds of our stories, giving them depth and authenticity, and often they perform necessary but minor functions like driving our character's bus, locking their cell door in a dungeon, or delivering drinks to their table with a timely joke during an awkward dinner date.

When we have recurring background characters, such as a nameless mob of guards or lackeys surrounding a more important character, it can feel like they're being overused... especially when you have to use a generalized term like "the guard" to refer to them all.

There are a few things you can do to dial it back, but first, here's an example paragraph we can play with:

"Bring us the prisoner," Sir Bellamy said, gesturing to one of the guards. A trio of guards left the room and returned a moment later with Lord Peckham in tow. He was forced to kneel, and Sir Bellamy responded with a sneering grin before waving the guards away. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked, delighted when he saw Lord Peckham shiver with fear. Several guards pointed and snickered. One of the guards nudged him with the toe of his boot. "Answer 'im already!" "I... I confess... I do not know." A few of the guards hissed in disbelief. "Truly?" Sir Bellamy asked, his voice dazzling with amusement as he traded looks with the head of his guard. "Could you really be so unaware of the goings on in your own household?" The guard to Lord Peckham's right slapped the back of his head to prompt him to answer. "I do not know of what you speak," he answered, voice shaking.

This example features seven references to the background guard group, which is a lot. Let's see what we can do with that...

1 - Try to Eliminate Some Uses - When we have a recurring group of background characters, it can be tempting to constantly refer to them when they're on the page. We want to remind the reader they are there, but this often translates in a lot of unnecessary references. So, the first thing you'll want to do is see if you can go through and eliminate some of the uses. For example:

"Bring us the prisoner," Sir Bellamy said, gesturing to one of the guards. A trio of guards left the room and returned a moment later with Lord Peckham in tow. He was forced to kneel, and Sir Bellamy responded with a sneering grin before waving the guards away.

We can easily eliminate two of the three references here. If a trio of guards leaves the room when Bellamy says, "Bring us the prisoner," it's not necessary to clarify that this question is directed to the guards. If he says, "Bring us the prisoner," and a trio of guards leaves the room and returns a moment later with said prisoner, it's obvious that's who the order was directed toward. Also, waving the guards away is a throw away action. It doesn't accomplish anything important because it doesn't really matter where the guards are in relation to Lord Bellamy in this scene. And, it's also mentioned later that there are guards on either side of him, so it's a confusing action anyway.

2 - Don't Be Afraid of Naming the Occasional Background Character - While we never want to go overboard with characters in a story, it's really more that we don't want to load up our story with unnecessary characters. But if you have a recurring background character, such as a teacher, a few people in a group of high school friends, or a few soldiers in a group of city guards, it actually works to your benefit to give two or three proper names. Not only does this cut down on the generalized references, but it also adds depth and authenticity to the group instead of letting them be a completely nameless, faceless mass of people. And when these characters are named because they occasionally say or do things that matter, they're not unnecessary. They serve a purpose. And this is fairly common in genre fiction, especially in fantasy. For example, there are over 400 named characters in George R.R. Martin's book A Game of Thrones. Many of these characters are just background folks who occasionally say or do things that matter in the story.

So, back to our example, we have the following two lines:

One of the guards nudged him with the toe of his boot. "Answer 'im already!"

And

Sir Bellamy asked, his voice dazzling with amusement as he traded looks with the head of his guard.

What if we gave the head of guard a name? Let's call him Sir Hugh.

So, now it is Sir Hugh who nudged the prisoner with his boot, and who Sir Bellamy trades a look with.

3 - Adopt a Few Sensory Nicknames - In addition to actually naming two or three people in the group, you can give one or two a "sensory name," or in other words a name that relates to a sensory feature about them (how they look, sound, smell, etc.) as a way of helping differentiate a character without actually naming them. So, let's say that among Sir Bellamy's guards there's strapping redhead, so let's refer to him as "Big Red." Since this nickname comes with mental imagery, it's easy to remember.

Now, let's re-write the excerpt using all of the above:

"Bring us the prisoner," Sir Bellamy boomed. A trio of guards left the room and returned a moment later with Lord Peckham in tow. He was forced to kneel, and Sir Bellamy responded with a sneering grin. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked, delighted when he saw Lord Peckham shiver with fear. Several guards pointed and snickered. Sir Hugh nudged him with the toe of his boot. "Answer 'im already!" "I... I confess... I do not know." A few of the guards hissed in disbelief. "Truly?" Sir Bellamy asked, his voice dazzling with amusement as he traded looks with Sir Hugh. "Could you really be so unaware of the goings on in your own household?" Big Red slapped the back of Lord Peckham's head to prompt him to answer. "I do not know of what you speak," he answered, voice shaking.

Five of seven instances of "the guard" have been eliminated.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

#wqaadvice

[cyanide-latte]

TWSTfic: little grave flower

Summary: How Chrysanthos Shroud got his name

Word count: 1881

Warnings: just family fluff (don't let the title fool you)

I referenced this character detail in this post and I'd already had this ficlet written last week so I thought I'd deliver. Also yes, if enough people are curious I'll make a post just about Ilias and Kallisto to explain them a bit and their relationship.

—————

The baby was awake.

Ilias sat up in bed at once, blearily trying to rub his eyes. He hadn't heard crying or fussing, just sounds he knew were coming from the basinet and indicated his son wasn't asleep any more. Taking a second to collect himself, he glanced at his wife and was relieved to see that though she was starting to stir, she wasn't awake yet.

A smile stole over his face in the low light of their room. Reaching over, he brushed flyaway strands of hair from Kallisto’s face as gently as he could. Maybe she could get a little more sleep if he was able to quiet the kid. Whispering a soft “I love you”, he drew away and slid out of bed to make his way to the basinet. And despite his tiredness, despite adjusting to being a first-time dad, Ilias felt wrapped in a peaceful sense of bliss. Perhaps when people talked about “treasuring the little moments”, they were referring to things like this, where the world was at rest as he soothed the two people in his life he loved more than anything.

As he drew nearer, he spied the gentle blue glow coming from the basinet, the telltale sign of the Shroud family hair his child had inherited. At times, Ilias felt wretched when he looked at the baby; he'd hoped and prayed that perhaps his son would be spared the family curse, that maybe the burden and the generational trauma would pass by for once. Kallisto deserved it for all the joy she'd brought him, and their son deserved it as well, because he was innocent. But fate could be cruel. Few knew that better than Ilias.

All the same, in this moment, he was happy and he continued to smile as he bent down over the basinet to look at the baby. They still hadn't figured out a name for him—Kallisto’s grandmother, Thalia, had actually encouraged them letting the right name come in its own time instead of rushing to name the baby—but that was alright by Ilias. They had plenty of time to figure it out and they never ran out of terms of endearment to refer to him with in the meantime. And given that Kallisto had put him in one of those outfits for bed that more closely resembled a pillowcase—according to Thalia, the sense of having his limbs safely contained in a small space would be familiar and comforting and make it easier for the little guy to sleep through the night—Ilias knew exactly which term of endearment it brought to mind.

“Hey, little starfish,” he whispered.

The baby had been glancing all around while he'd cooed, taking in everything he could see, but when he heard his father speak to him, he immediately looked to him. He blinked dark blue eyes so perfectly like his mother's as recognition dawned, and then, to Ilias’s astonishment and delight, there was a smile. The first smile, followed immediately by a delighted babble.

And without warning, the baby’s hair changed.

By default, all Shroud family members had hair like blue flames. It was vaguely translucent at the ends and warm to the touch, and usually had already manifested at birth. When angry, the hair would turn a vibrant, alarming red-orange and give off waves of heat, looking and acting more like true fire and just as capable of burning anyone who got too close. And, when bashful or expressing feelings of love and adoration, the strands of hair began to glow a gentle, beautiful pink color from the ends inward to the roots.

That his son’s hair would change colors was something Ilias had expected and wasn't bothered by.

But what hit him and left him gaping in shock was that the baby’s hair turned a bright yellow-gold.

For a second, the infant made another happy babble, smile growing bigger as he kicked and flailed his limbs. Then he seemed to realize that his father was no longer smiling but making an odd, open-mouthed expression, and he blinked again, his own smile dropping into a look of puzzlement as his hair turned back to a normal blue.

Ilias, who had only been a father for roughly two months but had spent most of his life well-read, was given to having long philosophical debates, and had his own special magic the family suspected was passed along that once had originated with the oracles of the Age of the Gods, expressed in all his wisdom the single sentiment that came to mind.

“Huh??”

His son, evidently as baffled by his behavior, echoed the sentiment in his own way with a small but emphatic sound. Ilias struggled to get the gears in his head turning again, frowned ponderously, then held up a single finger at the baby.

“One sec, kiddo,” he said, before straightening up and half-twisting as he looked back to the bed, raising his voice to just slightly above normal volume. “Honey…?”

Kallisto let out a groan, turned over, and managed to croak a drowsy, “Mmwhatizzit…?”

“Well, uh…” he paused for a second, looking back down into the basinet at the curious blue eyes watching him. The baby let out another coo at getting some attention back, and Ilias went on, “Something, er, happened? With our little butterball here?”

“Don't call him a butterball, I was called butterball my entire childhood going into middle school,” she said, still sounding foggy and out of it.

“Our little pumpkin then, our peach dumpling, the tater-tot, whatever you wanna call him,” he amended quickly, waving his hand as if it could dissipate the issue. “Something happened just now, something very…not normal.”

There was a rustle behind him as Kallisto sat up in bed and when she spoke again, she sounded more alert, a young mother worried for her child. “Is he alright? What is it? Bring him to me.”

Reaching down, Ilias scooped up their baby. His newfound confusion wasn't improving, but the utter and total trust in those huge blue eyes spurred a need to be worthy of such trust.

“Come on buddy,” he murmured, bringing his son up to rest against his shoulder. “Let's go see Mom.”

Arms wrapped carefully around the squirming, precious bundle he carried, Ilias crossed back to the bed, catching his wife's gaze as she watched them. She was sitting up straighter, and lifted her arms as he reached the edge of the bed and propped up one of his knees on it.

“Hey,” he said to the baby, gently adjusting his grip so he could turn him to see Kallisto. “Look. You see Mom? You wanna go to Mom?”

“Hi, sweetie,” Kallisto spoke in her “baby” voice, smiling as she picked up the vibe. “Come to Mommy?”

The baby turned at the sound of her voice, but Ilias didn't need to see his face; the sudden shriek of delight and the flailing arms was enough. He watched as Kallisto’s face lit up with sudden wonder and joy, and knew this was the second smile.

And then that little head of hair immediately turned yellow-gold again as he squirmed to try to reach his mother, letting out another excited little shriek.

To her credit, Kallisto readily took their son in her arms, though she did let out a very stunned “oh”. The baby didn't seem bothered; he nuzzled against her shoulder and neck, hair still glowing like a small midmorning sun.

“You got him?” Ilias asked, sliding back into the bed next to her.

Kallisto nodded, looking dazed, one of her hands absently stroking their son’s bright hair. “It's- it's yellow.” She stared at Ilias, mouth working soundlessly for a moment, before she finally asked, “This isn't…normal? For a Shroud?”

He shook his head. “I've never heard of our hair turning that color before. Didn't even know it could.”

For a long time, neither of them spoke. Kallisto continued to hold the baby like she was trying to soothe him, until he turned in her arms and spotted Ilias again. Immediately he began swinging his arms and straining to get to his father, and Ilias took him almost automatically, tucking him against his shoulder again. That small head nestled close and there was a tiny, contented little sigh as he settled.

“Guess we'll figure this out as we go along,” he said, to reassure himself as much as anything.

“Isn't that what we've been doing~?” Kallisto asked, her tone lightly teasing as she flashed him that coy smile that even now still made his heart thud hard against his ribcage. She inched a little closer and her expression softened to one of loving amazement as she reached out and stroked the baby's hair again. “He's beautiful,” she said, not for the first time and definitely not for the last. “Look at him, Ilias. Our boy.” She hummed in thought for a moment, then remarked, “He almost looks like chrysanthemums.”

Her fingers stilled in the baby's hair almost the moment the words left her mouth and Ilias went rigid. At once they looked at each other and a single shared thought shot between them like a bolt of lightning striking home, the same thing coming out of both their mouths.

“Chrysanthos!”

The baby squirmed a little, likely a bit startled by the dual exclamation, his hair briefly flickering with wisps of blue.

“Ilias, that's it!” Kallisto said breathlessly, her eyes bright, not even a hint of tiredness showing. “That's his name!”

Ilias lifted his son off his shoulder and slightly up above his head. He craned his neck back so he could look up and he smiled. “How ‘bout it, buddy?” he crooned. “Are you Chrys? Our little flower boy?”

The baby smiled again and this time managed to get one of his chubby, swaddled fists up to his mouth, kicking his legs. His mother reached up, standing on her knees, and tenderly gathered him into her arms from behind, holding him close.

“Chrysanthos,” she said, as if somehow she could make up for weeks of him not being named by saying it with all the love and intent she held now. “It feels fitting, doesn't it?”

Ilias fought back a sudden urge to shed tears of gratitude and happiness. He knew what she meant, that their son should be named for a flower associated with death and funerary customs, a respectful deference to being born into the Shroud family. How many people would see the beauty in it from the start? He wasn't sure, but he doubted if he would ever have found another partner like her. Watching her hold their child—Chrysanthos—he felt another overwhelming surge of love for them both, for this little moment he might have missed had he not woken and checked on Chrys when he did. It was so overwhelming it was a wonder he didn't drown in the feeling, though he knew he would do so happily. They were his entire world. What better thing could there be to lose himself in?

He leaned over, wrapping his arms around them both despite Chrys's immediate tiny grumble at being caught in the middle, and pressed his lips against his wife’s forehead in a slow kiss, closing his eyes.

“It's perfect,” he answered. “So is he.”

———————

Taglist: @ramshacklerumble @simons-twsted-children @tixdixl @inmateofthemind @blithesharem @rainesol @theleechyskrunkly @thehollowwriter (if you want to be added to my taglist lmk!)

#pls forgive me i wrote this on my phone and it's not my best writing but I love this ship and this family and wanted to share #TWSTfic #TWST OCs #my OCs #Chrysanthos Shroud #Ilias Shroud #Kallisto Shroud #my writing #one day i may post my OC fics to AO3. maybe #Disney TWST #TWST #Twisted Wonderland #fanfiction #Cyanide speaks

[ziskeyt]

Ziv's GanLink Fic Rec List

I miss the days of actual reclists passed around communities, so I'm making one of my own. All of these are fics I've read, liked, and think you may also like if you like Ganondorf/Link. This is not exhaustive, of course. Please feel free to reblog and add your favourites!

Long Fic (80,000+)

no matter what by wouldyouknowmore Rated: E Words: 81,825

The return of the Calamity has been foretold. And while the peoples of Hyrule are united in their preparations to oppose it, there are some who believe the current king of the Gerudo would best be kept under watchful eyes, if for no other reason than his name. Fearing for his people’s wellbeing if he doesn’t comply, and all too familiar with the legends of his ancient predecessors, Ganon willingly places himself in Hylian protective custody until the threat of the Calamity has passed. He’s resigned to a lonely, unpleasant stay at Hyrule Castle, until he meets the Hylian royal guard assigned to protect him. Sir Link surpasses his every expectation from day one, fiercely loyal and courageous to a fault, uncaring of the suspicions that surround Ganon—not to mention incredibly charming. But as they grow closer, Ganon can’t help but wonder if their fates will tear them apart again before this is all over.

Ziv's Thoughts: This is a fun fic with some really excellent and delightful characterizations of both Ganon and Link. It's dealing with an interesting "What if" premise of the world pre-calamity in BotW, and delivers it well. The weight of what might happen to him is heavy on Ganondorf, but the relationship he builds with Link is just so, so sweet. *Update: The sequel is currently being uploaded:

What Remains by wouldyouknowmore Rated: E Words: WIP

A hundred-year sleep and a complete loss of memory aren’t enough to keep Link from finishing the job he’d left undone. The Calamity is sealed. The worst is over. They’ve even managed to come out of this ordeal without grievous injury, Link and the princess both—even Ganondorf, whose survival should have been impossible. They’re here now, though, and safe. But as Link very quickly comes to understand, safe doesn’t necessarily mean whole. His head’s a jumbled up mess these days, but he’s determined to push through it all the same, to figure out this whole After situation. It’s just, getting swept up in Ganon’s very intense presence isn’t really conducive to him thinking straight…

——————

Sands of Time by tirsynni Rated: T Words: 103,445

Link awakens in the desert with no idea how he got there, to encounter his worst enemy…except it was the King of the Gerudo, not the King of Evil, he faced.

Ziv’s Thoughts: An excellent read. Link wakes up in the desert many years after the events of Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of time, only, he’s in a different time yet again. The story has a very fairy tale-esque feeling to it, which is quite fun to read. There are a lot of references to different Zelda games, and different Links, and it’s pretty cool how they are implemented. Ganondorf here is pretty compelling as a King trying for the best for his people in what feels like an increasingly impossible situation. Link is also just a wonderful little gremlin who only talks when he decides it is needed, and has fun with keeping quiet otherwise a number of times.

——————

Medium Fic (20,000 - 80,000)

Little Souls in Blistered Light by hedgerowhag Rated: E Words: 58,970

The battle between the Calamity and the Princess's knight never took place. The Master Sword remains with Link, waiting to complete their shared duty. Five years pass and Link meets a stranger who is also searching for the Calamity to finally bring this story to an end.

Ziv's Thoughts: This story is just so, so good. I loved the journey they went on together, how Ganon is trying so hard to keep Link at a distance in the beginning, and how that changed entirely in the end. The character and world building in this is just delicious. I love Link here so, so much. And, of course, Ganon as such a sad guilty man. He tries so hard. There's some really beautiful messaging throughout and I loved the way Hedge wove it through so consistently. What is not to love from the GanLink salesman himself? amid sand and stone we stood by Eremji (handsfullofdust) Rated: E Words: 30,086

Ten thousand years ago Hylia and the Warrior of Light raised an army to defeat Ganon. Link means to finish the job once and for all. The beast dies on the grassy plains, leaking ichor into the dirt. It stinks powerfully of death, as though the very end of all things has been distilled down into one being that’s been left to rot in this fallow field.

Ziv's Thoughts: This reads like a fairy tale. It reminds me of how I felt when I read Deathless by Cat Valente for the first time. Kind of like being transported to this other place sideways of here and misty and full of possibility. It’s just a wonderful journey, and the conclusion feels right and kind of ethereal. It fits very well with the general setting of the games, but almost gentler and yet the pain is more visceral at the same time. I love the strength of love in this, it’s just so much, so beautiful.

——————

one hundred years past 🔒 by tciddaemina Rated: E Words: 38,545

He wakes a blank slate, a living body in an empty tomb. Water laps at his skin, glowing ever so faintly, pooled around him on the dais, and as he opens his eyes it slowly begins to drain away, the blue glow fading from the room second by second until it is dim and dark. (Something is wrong.) Link wakes up a century early. It changes everything.

Ziv's Thoughts: I really enjoy this fic, and yes you do need an Ao3 account to read it. It's a fun adventure into what might happen if Link were to awaken in the desert somehow, barely any memory but he recognizes Ganondorf and eventually gets more and more memories back. It deals with a growing corruption, the building toward Ganon falling into evil. Good read. A note, if you're like me and dislike this trope, it is mentioned that Ganon has increased stamina as the Gerudo men were upon a time supposed to father a new generation. But it's a passing mention and not an actual thing in this story.

——————

signs of radiance 🔒 by tciddaemina Rated: E Words: 24,883

There is a feeling of profound calm, as Ganondorf steps into the temple. He should be feeling something like terror, maybe even something like anticipation, a mixed dread and desperate hope that would threaten to make his breath catch, make his hands curl tight at his sides. There's none of it. He takes one deep breath, and then another, slow, even, taking a slow step forward. He's past being hopeful, he's past being desperate, and the doom he's trying to avert is too ruinous a thing to make him fear any price he might have to pay. Weeks, months now, he's been searching for the entrance to this temple, scouring scrolls of rotting papyrus for even the hint of its existence, for the faintest chance it might even be real.

It is real, and he's found it.

Ganondorf makes a deal with a creature that might be a god, and then he does it again, and then again.

Ziv’s thoughts: In this story, Ganon knows that there is a curse upon his kingdom, and he can feel coming seemingly for him and he goes to seek out help. Link is Link, but also a creature, a godling, something more. The story actually doesn’t have much Link in it in terms of the action, this is a Ganondorf-centric story and it’s a good read. Again, tciddaemina’s fics are locked to users so just log in.

———

Short Fic: (up to 20,000)

a kiss for luck by wouldyouknowmore Rated: M Words: 9,279

Vah Naboris is all that stands between Link and his final showdown with the Calamity, and at long last, he’s found a way into Gerudo Town. It just involves posing as his own great-something-granddaughter, the plucky little heroine intent on finishing what her ancestor, the fallen Hylian Champion, had started. And lucky for him, King Ganondorf believes it. Now he just has to survive his last Divine Beast, and he’s set. … Well. He supposes also has to survive the charming, attractive Gerudo king’s (very welcome) attentions without blowing his own cover, but surely he can manage that, too, right? (So, yeah. He’s fucked.)

Ziv’s Thoughts: Link’s voice in this is just a delight to read, he’s such a disaster but he’s trying his best — Ganon just has no qualms with making him flustered and playing up on an understandable misunderstanding. This one works with the idea of what if Breath of the Wild, but there’s a Ganondorf who is also King of the Gerudo while the calamity is raging? Though, it is much more about the character study/misunderstanding between him and Link.

——————

The Crown Jewel by Nicxan Rated: G Words: 5,028

A Gerudo that makes jewelry for a living is shocked when a Hylian man moves into a Gerudo Village.

Ziv's Thoughts: This is a really cute fic. It is not set in any particular timeline/game. Just an adorable story of a Link who finds his way to Gerudo town and Ganondorf falls for him, but through the eyes of a jewellery merchant in the city. It's a nice perspective.

——————

Let Me Hold You, Like a Hostage by hedgerowhag Rated: E Words: 12,071

It almost seems obligatory that the Princess must be kidnapped. It would be a shame if her decoy was captured instead.

Ziv's Thoughts: If you're looking for a fun, shorter, raunchy fic this one has you covered. It's another pre-calamity fic, and this time Link is taken hostage by the Gerudo under the mistaken impression he is the princess. They hold him to get information and, in the process, he ends up sleeping with Ganon a number of times and is an entire gremlin about it.

#ganlink fic #fic reclist #loz #long post #ganlink fic recs #reclists aren't really the best for tumblr but well!! #i've seen longer posts so whatever #formatting was a pain in the butt #i'm sorry if i'm missing any you really like #but i am serious just make a reblog and add it

[bookofjin]

Further history of Goguryeo (WS100)

[With the parallel account in LS54]

[WS100]

Gong's great grandson Weigong likewise could see from birth. People considered him to resemble his great grandfather Gong, and for that reason named him as Weigong. In Gaogouli they refer to resembling each other as “Wei”. Weigong likewise was brave and strong, and at ease with bow and horse. In the middle of Wei's Zhengshi [240 – 249], he entered to rob Anping in Liaoxi, and was routed by the Inspector of You province, Muqiu Jian.

His great-great-grandson was Yifuli. Li's son was Zhao. In the time of Emperor Lie [329 – 337], he and the Murong clan attacked and struck each other. 4th Year of Jianguo [341 AD], Murong Yuanzhen led the multitudes to invade them. He entered through the southern pass, fought at Mudi and greatly routed Zhao's army. He exploited the victory for a long advance, and thereupon entered Wandu. Zhao fled and ran away on a single horse. Yuanzhen dug up Zhao's father's tomb, and carried off his corpse, he also carried off his mother and wife, precious treasure, men and women, more than 50 000 people. He burnt his palace houses, destroyed Wandu City, and turned back. Afterwards, Zhao dispatched envoys to come to court. They were hindered and cut off by robbers and foes, and were unable to arrive from [him]. Zhao later was killed by Baiji [Baekje].

In the time of Shizu, Zhao's great-grandson Lian first dispatched an envoy to [the General who] Calms the East to offer a petition to tribute the things of the region, and also to request the state's taboo [characters]. Shizu was delighted with their earnest sincerity. He decreed to send down the imperial lineage's external names and taboos to their state. He dispatched the Outer Staff Cavalier Attendant Gentleman Li Ao to designate Lian Chief Controller of the Various Army Affairs of Liaohai, General who Conquers the East, Acting Central Gentleman Commander who Protects the Eastern Barbarians, State-Founding Duke of Liaodong commandery, and King of Gaogouli.

Ao arrived at his residence at Pingrang [i.e. Pyongyang] City, and inquired into their region's affairs. He stated: South-east of the Liao, more than a thousand li, east until Zha City, south until the Lesser Sea, north until old Fuyu. The population and households has tripled since the time of Former Wei. Their land is 2 000 li from east to west, and more than 1 000 li from north to south. The people have all sprung from the land. They go along with the mountains and valleys, and live there. Fore clothes they use cloth, silk and hides. The native farmland is meagre and poor. Their silk-work and farming are insufficient to provide for themselves, and for that reason their people are modest with food and drink. Their customs are joyful [?], they are fond of singing and dancing. At night, men and women crowd together for entertainment without ranking of the noble and the humble. However when cleaning and purifying they enjoy themselves. Their king is fond of arranging palace buildings. His named officials have the titles of Yeshe, Taishe, Great Brother, and Junior Brother. On their heads they wear twisted style, shaped like a conical cap, and on the sides they insert bird feathers, noble and humble each proportionally. If standing up, they turn back with folded hands. When they kneel to do obeisance, they trail one foot. They travel on foot like they are running. They always use the 10th Month to worship Heaven, and within the state there is a great assembly. At their public gatherings, their clothes and dress area always brocaded and embroidered, with gold and silver as decorations. They are fond of squatting and crouching. When eating they use trays and low tables. They produce a three foot [tall] horse, they state it was originally ridden by Zhumeng, and the horse breed as a result has come down [from it?]. After, tribute was sent soon after each other, annually they delivered 200 jin yellow gold and 400 jin white silver.

At the time Feng Wentong [the final ruler of Northern Yan] led the multitudes to run to them [in 436 AD], Shizu dispatched the Cavalier in Regular Attendance Feng Bo with a decree to Lian ordering him to send off Wentong. Lian sent up a letter claiming he undertook to serve the royal reforms together with Wentong, and in the end did not sent him off. Shizu was furious, and wished to go and chastise him. Hte King of Leping, Pi, and others debated waiting and launch it later. Shizu therefore desisted, and Wentong also soon after was killed by Lian.

Later Empress Dowager Wenming, as Xianzu's Six Palces were not yet made ready, counselled Lian to make him recommend his daughter. Lian offered a petition, stating his daughter was already married, and beseech to use his younger brother's daughter in response to the directive. The imperial court allowed it, and therefore dispatched the King of Anle, Zhen, the Master of Writing, Li Fu, and others to reach the border and send off the gifts.

Lian was tricked by the advise of his left and right, stating that the imperial court formerly had intermarried with the Feng clan, but then not much later wiped out their state. The lessons of Yin were not remote, they ought to just then conveniently decline it. Lian thereupon sent up a letter falsely claiming the girl had died. The imperial court suspected him of concealing trickery, and again dispatched the Provisional Cavalier in Regular Attendance Cheng Jun to sternly call him to account, and if the girl really was dead, attend to select in replacement [someone] gentle of his lineage. Lian stated that if the Son of Heaven forgave his previous errors, he would respectfully undertake to serve the decree. It happened that Xianzu collapsed, and he therefore desisted.

[LS54]

Yiyimo died, his son Weigong was installed. Weigong was brave and strong, at ease with saddles and horses, and good at shooting and hunting. Wei's 2nd Year of Jingchu [238 AD], they dispatched the Grand Tutor, Sima King Xuan [i.e. Sima Yi], to lead the multitudes and chastise Gongsun Yuan. Weigong dispatched the Master of Account and Great Assigner in command of a thousand troops to help the army. 3rd Year of Zhengshi [242 AD], Weigong robbed Xi'an and Jiaping. 5th Year [244 AD], the Insepctor of You province, Muqiu Jian, in command of ten thousand people, set out from Xuantu to chastise Weigong. Weigong in command of 20 000 foot and horse confronted the army, and there was a great battle at Feiliu. Weigong fled in defeat. Jian's army pursued until Xian. They hung up their chariots, bound their horses, and climbed Wandu Mountain. They slaughtered those that were in the capital, the cut off heads and captives numbered more than ten thousand. Weigong only brought along his wife and children to run far away. 6th Year [245 AD], Jian again chastised him. Weigong lightly brought along the various Assigners to run to Woju. Jian sent General Wang Qi to pursue him. He cut across Woju for more than a thousand li, arrived in the southern regions of Sushen, and carved a rock to record his merits. He again reached Wandu Mountain, inscribed the walls of Bunai, and then turned back. After that, they again communicated with the Central Xia.

In the chaos of Jin's Yongjia era [307 – 313], the Xianbei Murong Hui occupied Daji City in Changli, Emperor Yuan conferred on him Inspector of Ping province. The King of Gouli, Yifuli, frequently robbed Liaodong, and Hui was not able to put it in order.

Fuli died, his son Liu was installed in replacement. Emperor Kang's 1st Year of Jianyuan [343 AD], Murong Hui's son Huang led troops to invade him. Liu fought with him, was greatly defeated, and ran and fled on a single horse. Huang exploited the victory to pursue until Wandu, burnt his palace houses, and seized more than 50 000 boys to return home.

Xiaowu's 10th Year of Taiyuan [385 AD], Gouli attacked Liaodong and Xuantu commanderies. Murong Chui of Later Yan dispatched his younger brother Nong to invade Gouli, he restored the two commanderies. Chui died, his son Bao was installed. He used the King of Gouli, An, as Shepherd of Ping province, and ennobled him King of the two states of Liaodong and Daifang. An started to set up the offices of Senior Clerk, Marshal, and Army Advisor, and afterwards roughly had Liaodong commandery.

Arriving at his grandson, Gaolian, he in the middle of Emperor An of Jin's Yixi era [405 – 418], first offered a petition to exchange tribute and duties.

[SuiS081]

Gaoli's ancestor sprung from Fuyu. The King of Fuyu once obtained the daughter of Hebo, and following that had her shut up inside a room. She was followed by the sun's light, which shone on her. She felt it and consequently became pregnant. She gave birth to a large, and there was a boy who broke the shell and came out. His name was Zhumeng. Fuyu's ministers, since Zhumeng had not been born by a person, all requested to kill him. The king did not heed them. Growing up, because he accompanied on hunts, he caught normally a large amount, and they again requested to kill him. His mother reported it to Zhumeng, and Zhumeng abandoned Fuyu and fled south-east. He came to one great river, deep and impossible to cross. Zhumong said:

I am truly the maternal grandson of Hebo, and the son of the son. Now there are difficulties, and pursuing troops are about to catch up. How about getting to cross?

And so fish and turtles piled up and completed a bridge, and Zhumong thereupon crossed. The pursuing riders did not mange to ferry over, and turned back.

Zhumeng established a state which he himself titled Gaogouli, and he used Gao as his clan name. When Zhumeng died, his son Luda inherited. Arriving at his grandson Molai, he raised troops and thereupon annexed Fuyu. Arriving at his descendant Weigong, in the middle of Wei's Zhengshi era [240 – 249], he entered to rob Xi'anping, Guanqiu Jian resisted and routed him. Weigong's great-great-grandson's son was called Emperor Zhaolie. He was routed by the Murong clan, who consequently entered Wandu and burnt his palace houses, took a great amount of plunder, and turned back. Emperor Zhaolie was later killed by Baiji. His great-grandson Lian dispatched envoys to Later Wei.

#ws100 #ls54

[misc-obeyme]

A Star For You

I personally LOVED this event. I really feel like the writing was dramatically above most of the other events I've experienced so far (other than birthday events and HDD). I enjoyed it so much, I felt like writing an entire post about it! I just have a lot of feelings and opinions and I need to get it out of my system.

SPOILERS AND SCREENSHOTS BELOW!

I'm so glad they're going with this new thing where they focus on a single character like they normally do for the birthday events. The birthday events are so much better and more fun, in my opinion, so if this is the new formula, I hope they stick with it. It's a lot more satisfying than the weird events where they try to fit everyone in and you don't really get to have much of an interaction with anyone.

I also thought it was interesting how they had Satan as the focus, but then Diavolo was sort of the secondary focus. And because of that you get to see them interact more than I think I've ever experienced so far. (I haven't played Season 4 yet, though.)

So I enjoyed that the two of them got to really interact with MC, but I was also very interested in the interactions they had with each other.

The best part is that there was just as much silliness as always and all the characters (except the three new ones, I think...) were still present and involved. Some of them certainly had more screen time than others, of course. But it felt more like how it does in the main story when an arc is focused on only a handful of characters and you don't see the rest of them as much.

Asmo was especially being himself in this event, I'm pretty sure he referred to himself as Princess Asmo three different times. The rest of the brothers really delivered the humor that makes me enjoy this game so much without taking away from the main event story.

There were so many instances of Asmo delivering lines that cracked me the hell up:

I mean, I am grateful for his existence.

It was Beel.

Mammon was also participating in his usual money obsessed shenanigans, which is always delightful in my opinion.

I love him.

And I just LOVED this interaction between him and MC (my MC's name is Ciaran).

The Mammon and MC dynamic is as excellent as always.

But really the meat and potatoes of this event was the key route. And I'm a little confused about why they even bother with the normal route? Sometimes the normal route has something amusing going on, but I kind of felt like this one was really not satisfying at all. I assume everybody does the key route anyway, but if for some reason you didn't, that ending would have been really anticlimactic. I realize the whole purpose of the key route is to get people to pay money for more AP and battles and such, but it's still annoying. I say, as I give in to the gimmick without hesitation. Anyway moving on.

I LOVED Diavolo in this event. I can only describe him as being princely and benevolent. Like what! When he gave MC his stars, I nearly lost my mind. He was so sweet about it, too. Diavolo's childlike wonder is adorable, of course, but I like it when he's a little more on the side of being a dynamic leader and showing how much he cares about doing the right thing.

Though earlier in the event he said this:

LIKE OKAY.

And then of course we have Satan. I was kind of neutral about Satan in the beginning of my Obey Me journey, but he grew on me over time. Though while I'm not obsessed with him (like I am with some of the other characters), I am fond of him, so I enjoyed getting some more insight into him. He has one of his angry wrathful episodes in the keyed route. Normally I'm like hmm was whatever it was worth the dramatics? But I was touched that he loses it because he's angry with his brothers for trying to use MC to win the festival.

Then he locks himself in his room for a while to calm down and MC goes to talk to him after getting the stars from Diavolo. And he said some stuff that made me sad because it makes me think he doesn't like himself very much. And then I got to thinking about it and it makes sense. In the main story he's so obsessed with not being like Lucifer and MC has to help him work through a lot of that. But that doesn't mean he's come to accept himself.

Like c'mon, man, you're bumming me out. :(

BUT he does cheer up of course because MC makes everything better and then he starts saying stuff like this:

So you know, it all worked out in the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this event. It was sweet and the star theme is something I am SO into. The art on the cards for the event is so good!

I'm currently still trying to pull one elusive wizard grandpa in the Nightmare event, but I'm not giving up hope.

In the meantime, here are some more screenshots that were taken from this event purely for their comedic value:

Breakin' the fourth wall a bit there, Levi.

I don't know what it is about Simeon saying "lost the plot" that I find so funny, but here we are.

Just MC choosing chaos again.

He's got a point.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me event #a star for you obey me event #obey me analysis #obey me satan #obey me diavolo #obey me screenshots #just some thoughts #misc rambles #misc talks about characters #misc talks about events #i apologize in advance for this randomness

[once-upon-a-stolas]

Lots to talk about today, so let’s get right into it!

Today’s post actually spans two separate incidents. The first happens on July 7th, in which we see that Blitzo’s taken a nonlethal, but rather nasty shot to the abdomen. He brushes it off, comparing himself to Rain from his beloved Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, but Stolas is immediately beside himself with worry, asking if he’s alright and swearing he’d be by his side already if he weren’t in a meeting. Literally. He’s so worked up that he curses here, something we rarely see him do on the Instagrams, then or now. He promises he’ll be there as soon as said meeting is over; if this were a more serious incident, his behavior suggests he might have run right out of it on the spot.

But Blitzo insists he’s fine and Stolas, though still unhappy and clearly concerned, accepts that. This is a vastly, vastly different character than the one we met in Murder Family, happily coercing a monthly sexual bargain out of Blitzo as he cheerfully, coldly watched him dodge gunfire. 

Later on, we see that Stolas has taken sick. Commentors suggest that Blitzo might have poisoned his coffee or, less tastefully -- this was all happening during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic -- that he has coronavirus. But it’s just a simple flu. Blitzo is openly concerned, and promises that “we’ll send you something.” The “we’ll” in this case could refer to himself and Loona, but more likely refers to I.M.P. as a whole, which is a nice little touch. Before!Stolas’s relationship with Blitzo’s coworkers was always a beautiful thing to watch flourish, but as of this writing, it’s next to nonexistent in the show.

Either way, Blitzo won’t be coming over because he doesn’t want to get sick or “bird snot” on him. I like their little “No offense,” “None taken,” exchange here. It’s brief, it’s small, but it’s comfortable and familiar.

The next day, we get to see how Blitzo delivers the package. True to form, he hurls it through Stolas’s closed window, startling a Stolas who’s midway through a mouthful of soup. With the inconsistent way Stolas is written currently, it’s hard to say exactly how he would react to this, but this is Before!Stolas and he’s absolutely delighted. He thanks Blitzo warmly, and the next time we see him, he’s feeling much better, and he’s dropped by the I.M.P. office with iced coffee.

Now, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this, and it’s not the first time Blitzo has been less than impressed with Stolas intruding on his workplace. This is still Stolas being bad at boundaries, and if this characterization were the one we saw in the show, it would have to be dealt with at some point. Despite this, Blitzo’s not visibly fighting back disgust, he’s not tolerating Stolas’s presence because the grimoire’s on the line (it’s not here), and he’s not, as he does in the show, telling Stolas in no uncertain terms not to touch him. He’s not even as angry as he was the last time this happened. He just thanks him for the coffee and says he’s too busy to drop everything and entertain Stolas, to which Stolas replies with a line of sad emojis, but doesn’t otherwise argue. Blitzo then suggests Stolas call him later, which the latter cheerfully accepts. 

To me, this is lovely. These are two characters who care whether the other is happy, whether the other is healthy. They’re becoming more accustomed to each other’s quirks and they’re growing a little closer with every post. These are some of the posts that modern day Stolitz proponents tend to fall back on first when defending the ship, but this Stolas and Blitzo -- these two characters in the fumbling early stages of a gentle, awkward romance, sending each other care packages -- had about as much in common with present day Blitzo and Stolas as a Nerf gun has with an elephant rifle. They’re just very different characters that happen to have the same names and faces.

Can present day Stolas and Blitzo ever hope to reach this kind of dynamic? I don’t think so, I don’t think it will feel as organic, but that’s not really the point of this blog.

The point is that for a brief time several years ago, in a very different iteration of the characters, Blitzo and Stolas were kind to each other. They took care of each other.

And that’s how love should be.

#Stolas #Blitzo #Helluva Boss #vivziepop critical

[normal-thoughts-official]

Window to the Soul

Wyll's story, growth, and mental health issues as seen from his own eyes. Literally.

Written for @thekindredcollective's Wyllstravaganza prompt 13: Redemption.

WARNING: This story deals with Wyll's issues of depersonalization, particularly with his tendency to refer to himself as "the Blade" instead of a person. Paired with his line about how he wanted MC to know him as the Blade and not Wyll Ravengard, I interpret this tendency as one of the many ways in which Wyll dehumanizes himself (like how no one can ever be collateral damage instead of himself, how he cares so deeply about everyone except himself, etc), by seeing himself as a hero figure and an object rather than a person. So, there is one excerpt in which Wyll refers to himself as "the blade" and uses the word "it" to refer to himself. To be clear, my intent here is to show how bad his mental state is at that point, because Wyll deserves better, NOT to dehumanize him myself. But I'm leaving a warning if it's a trigger for anyone, especially Black people who might be triggered by seeing a Black character refer to himself that way. This particular excerpt will be marked by a "~" instead of the normal "*"s of the rest, in case anyone wants to skip it.

The boy with stars in his eyes ran across the shore, successful as always in his eternal mission to find wonder in the world. “Papa, papa!” he said, “I saw a mermaid!”.

In every corner, a new discovery lit them further up. Mermaids. Shells. The sea, the breeze. Each greeted with a new exclamation and a wider smile, as he met his very first love: the world, and his city.

*

The son with scars over his eyes clawed at his own throat, trying to speak past the sounds of his own choking. He had tried everything. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t write, couldn’t show him. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t stop crying.

Couldn’t do anything other than nod and obey when he heard the most fateful word of his life.

“Go.”

*

The Blade of Frontiers, with fire in his eyes, slashed his way across the Sword Coast, getting rid of devils, wrongdoers, and the unjust. He delighted in seeing towns get a little livelier and a little better when he left than they had been before he arrived, and savored the relief he felt at seeing that he was still worthy of some people’s trust.

The world was still full of wonders, even if most of them weren’t for him.

*

The Blade, dull in the eyes, felt himself at odds with the sharpness of his blade. He still didn’t regret it, but - so much has been lost. He no longer had a city. A family. Friends. Dance partners. Sometimes, it felt like everything that made him human had been stolen away.

But if he wasn’t human, what was he? He refused to be a fiend.

The answer was glaringly obvious. Right there in his name - for he no longer had the right to call himself by the name his father gave him, so Blade of Frontiers would have to do.

If he couldn’t be himself again, a weapon he’d become.

~

The blade, with a tracker for an eye, never stayed. Its care, like its blasts, was best delivered from a distance. Anything that caught its eye could catch hers, and it’d never be forgiven if it hurt those it was meant to protect, just because it wanted to feel a comforting touch again.

It blasted, and cleaved, and slashed, and bled.

And then it left.

~

The farce with a tadpole in his eye couldn’t help but stay in the Grove. He was helping, he reasoned. They needed help.

Besides, soon it wouldn’t matter anyway. The tadpole was a death sentence, and a quick one, too. He didn’t risk staying, not really. So he could, maybe, have a place to come back to for the last days of his life. Children to play with, to teach. One last group of people to ensure the safety of, while he hunted down his new mark and prepared to die.

He just had to make sure he’d be far away from the Grove before he officially became an “it” again.

*

The warlock with kindness in his eyes sheathed his blade. He would not hurt those he was meant to protect. If that meant he would be the one hurt instead, so be it.

He always liked the idea of being a shield better than a blade, anyway.

*

The monster with the Hells in his eye stayed at the edge of the party, observing the piece of the sea that touched their little camp.

It was still just as wonderful as the first time, even if a lot more lonely.

*

“I won’t pester you for details, but believe me, I will be there by your side, whatever comes.”

“I’m glad you saw me for who I am. And - and I think I can see you for who you really are, too. A hero.”

“You may look like a devil, but you’re one of the most noble men I’ve ever met.”

And Wyll, with tears in his eyes, for once felt right.

#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii #wyll ravengard #wyllstravaganza2024

[flecks-of-stardust]

an excuse to talk about my lot. short descriptions of the main 8 below the cut:

(nick)names listed in order of where they show up in the poll

innocence: main character, can't let go of the past but can't face the future either. wracked by grief and guilt, has zero idea of what they're doing at any given moment. generally quiet and scared, but very caring and surprisingly vicious when threatened

des: bright and bubbly and generally the emotional one of the lot. bold, confident, extremely affectionate, maybe a little too dependent on his friends. did not take silver's death well and it haunts everything she's done since then

night: cool, calm, level headed, sometimes overly rational. caring but serious, generally the last to speak but the quickest to bring good, concrete ideas to the table. it prefers not to think about the past unless strictly necessary

silver: a ghost of the past. cheerful and gentle, very curious about everything, sometimes to his own detriment. not very outspoken, but a good listener. a paragon of joy and light, now extinguished

prayer: cheeky and excitable, constantly laughing about one thing or another. playful and adoring, but sometimes struggles to shift back to being more serious when needed. took silver's death poorly

grace: stubborn and a little grouchy, but means well and would give everything for those he cares about. a bit sharp and rough around the edges, and a bit too blunt, but never in ways that are intended to be cruel. took silver's death poorly

moth: the most sidelined of the crew, and the oldest. calm, but not as serious as night. soft spoken but firm when needed. cares deeply for sair senior, and spends most of sair time worrying about them. took silver's death and the subsequent fallout poorly

day: would have been innocence's senior, is more like innocence's precursor. wise and respected, softly adored many things about the world she was delivered into. graciously accepted her own end, but fought as fiercely as she could for innocence's personhood. has never stopped loving innocence

also for 'non-OC iterator' i'm generally referring to the rest of innocence's local group and suns and shit. canon iterators i guess? also good luck picking a side character lmao i so rarely talk about those

#is this a good idea? eh. but i'm bored #the nichest poll ever #IWSY

[threecheersforinking]

Suzume: Anime Movie Review

Spoiler-free!

Hi! It’s been a while, I’m very excited to be returning to this blog after a hiatus to share my spoiler-free thoughts on the movie Suzume, or Suzume no Tojimari, by Makoto Shinkai!

To sum up the plot, Suzume is about a teen girl named Suzume who comes across a mysterious man in her hometown seeking ruins within which he hopes to find a door. She decides to accompany him on his journey throughout Japan and is introduced to a whole world of magical doors that must be closed, lest a mysterious harmful beast be released into the world.

I’m someone who has been following the development of this movie closely for years, and when early visuals of the film were released, director Shinkai stated that he created this movie to showcase the beauty and culture of various lesser-known areas of Japan. I had this in mind throughout watching this movie, and I can confidently say he delivers. There’s regional dialect used, references to certain cuisines only eaten in specific provinces, and really beautiful landscape shots of each location the characters visit.

Suzume herself is a delightful protagonist that clearly stands out and is different from the other protagonist characters in the prior movies. She feels very real and genuine, and her flaws make her relatable and believable.

As for the actual plot content, there is quite a lot going on in this movie. Shinkai’s earlier works were often criticized for being “style over substance”, but on the first watch I felt like Suzume had almost too much substance? This movie is definitely the most fantasy-like out of all of the recent Shinkai films, Your Name and Weathering with You. While those other two have mystical elements and magic, their mythology is relatively simple and alluded to vaguely. Suzume faces these mystical creatures and elements a lot more head-on, and in my opinion it was a shaky execution. I really liked the fantasy elements and creatures we were introduced to, but wished there was more time to expand on them.

Another positive though is that this film is surprisingly very funny. Your Name and Weathering with You definitely have their fair share of chuckle-y moments, but Suzume is the only one out of these that I genuinely would consider a comedy in its own right. There’s a lot of fantastic visual gags, one-liners, and repeated jokes throughout the film that I really enjoyed and am excited to re-experience on a rewatch.

Overall I do think I prefer the other two films, but it’s really difficult not to when each passing film will be inevitably compared to the others. I still really did enjoy watching it though, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes anime fantasy movies and comedies. If you’re a fan of the other two movies, you should definitely still give this one a shot. The familiar elements and charm that make these movies so lovable are absolutely present in Suzume as well.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

#anime #anime review blog #suzume #suzume no tojimari #anime recommendation #spoiler free #no spoilers

[laissezferre]

notes on a fic

ok so i don't usually do this. however i wanted there to be a place where i could put all the easter eggs in @vandrawsing and i's reverse bang collab just for my own benefit. under the cut are references, allusions, comments, and general notes on Francis and the Frog Prince. (best viewed on desktop in my blog theme)

chapter 1

Once upon a time in a swamp in the forest, there lived a frog named James. Not Hops or Croak or anything more suited to a frog, no; this particular frog believed in a great many things, the greatest of which was that how one seemed was infinitely more important than how one was. -- reference to The Hobbit. "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell... it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

“I don’t know, old boy,” said the duck named Duckdy. -- truly delighted how everyone seems to enjoy "duckdy". i thought it was too on the nose, but then just went ham in the end. i do what i want!

May Bear and Stars keep you safe; fare thee well!” -- if animals in the forest had a "god", i think it would be in the form of a bear

And with that, the bear-witch disappeared, as quickly as James’s sire had left after he was spawned. -- heh, fuck u lord gambier

“I put it to you that there is nothing as easy as being a prince. They go about their days wearing what they like, eating what they like—and all they need ever do is smile and then everyone will love them. Is that not the perfect life, Duckdy?" -- james dahling! he just wants to be loved!

“God’s teeth!” the rider exclaimed. “Is something wrong, master?” “I think a bird shat on my head.” -- i read some writing advice some time ago that a character's first delivered line must bear weight and say something about their character. this is francis and jopson's :D

He buried his wet nose into the warm wool, breathing in its pleasant, heady smell. So calm and pliant was he that when the satchel opened he had not noticed it at once. -- jeames likes how frauncis smells. it's very comforting for him!

“What in God’s name is happening here!” -- this is james' line in the show, but i gave it to francis as a kind of reciprocation

“By my troth, we are quite alone.” -- i looked up famous shakespeare quotes and i believe 'by my troth' came from much ado about nothing

The man was much older than his servant. His thin red hair had streaks of white at the temples. -- V and i discussed what francis' hair situation would be in this fic. and they said that they preferred to illustrate francis as a redhead with white streaks.

What sorcery is this? -- meme time!

“—must take it to the castle, surely. See if the physic can make head or tail of it. -- 'physic', shakespeare once again, from macbeth

Until that instance, James had not known that it was possible to be looked at but not seen—and James dearly loved being seen. -- episode 8, "a man like me will do amazing things to be seen".

chapter 2

James looked down at the rest of his body and saw himself clad in the finest clothes he had ever seen. -- james's clothes here were inspired directly by V's preliminary sketch during the claims phase of the bang

“How—what—who are you?” he demanded, and James, still reeling from boundless joy, could only say, “Why, I am beautiful!” -- from les mis, in the chapter where a grown up cosette looks in the mirror and realises that yeah she's hot

Once upon a time, in a kingdom called Fitzjames, there lived a prince named James. -- figured that a story within a story was the most efficient way for james to deliver his bullshit

With nothing but his royal dagger on hand and his loyal duck at his trail, Prince James left the castle under the cover of early dawn. -- actually a call-forward to chapter 4, when a heartbroken james leaves the castle under the cover of early dawn

“Cartography,” Jopson put in. “I am to be a royal cartographer—like Sir Francis.” -- i considered many occupations for francis here. scholar first, then an astronomer to be more specific, and then settled on cartographer bc this period had gorgeous maps.

They showed such a chart to James then, a draft map of the merchant isle of Sabine. -- y'all know sabine

Something of that must have moved Sir Francis, for he smiled and slowly blinked his eyes, like James had seen felines do. -- francis is described as having cat-like characteristics several times in the fic

Whatever James could think of, it would appear on himself the very next day — fitted doublets with leafy brocade, silky hoses in juno pink, stunning shoes of cattail leather. -- V was adamant that i vividly described all of james's clothes :D

“—miracle that he found the time, what with all the voyages he enlists in. I rather think he’s applied to the next one by now. We are all very glad for him, truly. And for you too as well, Your Highness. ‘True love’, ha! And at his age. Who knew?” -- this character was originally ned little, but after a bit more thinking i realised that nah ned wouldnt be this cringe

“Well, that is no trouble at all! You may take Francis’s instruction.” -- sophia has been matchmaking francis since time immemorial. what a good sport!

“Don’t leave,” James said, as feeble as a newborn bird. -- james and his abandonment issues, he is baby!

“Oh,” he croaked. He cleared his throat and looked away in embarrassment. “Well then—um—as you wish.” -- as you wish!!! from the princess bride

“You are a natural, my prince.” -- i assigned james a pet name for different people in his life. he is 'old boy' to duckdy, 'dear fellow' to sophia, and 'my prince' to francis.

“A bee,” Sir Francis said, lifting his hand so James might inspect it. “My family’s crest. Diligentia fortunae matrix, as we like to say. -- the bee is from the flag that the terror crew designed in 1840 for capt crozier. the flag's motto: diligentia fortunae matrix, or "success is born out of hard work".

“Be valiant, bold, and loyal. Be thou a knight in the name of the Bear!” -- actual words said during a knighting, "be thou a knight in the name of the king."

There were swords on the ceiling. And mirrors on the walls! And with each swirl of a lady’s skirt it seemed to multiply a hundred-fold in the hundred looking-glasses watching over the milieu. -- the mirrors and sword chandeliers (as illustrated by V) are the decorations aboard hms terror in the erebus and terror ball of 1841, hobart. "The mode adopted in lighting the supper room was inimitable, for, independent of numerous chandeliers formed of swords and cutlasses neatly fixed, holding hundreds of wax lights, there were arranged all round the sides numerous small mirrors, each containing two lights, which reflected double forming the most brilliant light that could possibly be conceived."

Just then, a churlish man with a forehead taking up half his face made his approach. -- i was not sure how to describe sebastian armesto so i brought up a picture of him and yeah, that was my first impression :D

James watched with fascination as Sir Francis placed a doting hand upon Evans’s shoulder, the boy looking up at him adoringly. -- "No ship's boys, Evans." "Sir, please." (pat) "You'll be with me."

“Ah, then it is my own company that pleases you!” “Yours and none other.” -- bruh i was blushing when i typed this up, i didnt think francis capable of flirting so well

James’s hair was plaited with green ribbon -- ribbons on the hair were part of medieval fashion, but for women. this was a way of calling back to "the dress".

“Your prince desires you—” he croaked— “to cease your flattery and dance with me instead.” -- a little slip from james's subconscious here. your prince desires you. period.

Now, there were many things about James that had ceased when he had become human, but one enduring quality was that he made up in perseverance what he might want in sense -- reference to irl james fitzjames's actual words about himself in a letter to john barrow, 1844

Oh, but he would leave His Majesty had he known that his regular trump was here! There is much we must speak of, Frank. -- letter from james clark ross to francis beaufort, 1841. "Crozier hopes to be held in your kind remembrance he is a regular trump."

James paced back and forth on the gravel path until his feet made a long furrow on the ground. -- i wanted to match this closely with the cairn scene, so yes i put them on a gravel path to match even the sounds.

“I’m a fake, an imposter; I’m a failure of a prince.” “I challenge anyone in court to tally up your virtues and then call you a fake... It only makes you a man.” “I didn't know any of that.” -- precisely

“That is the very issue, Francis. I am not.” “You are not—what are you not, James?” “A man!” -- missed opportunity for trans james, i know i know

He turned slowly towards Francis, every part of himself heavy with dread. Even the very sockets of his teeth ached. -- episode 8, "I'm tired all the time, no matter what the hour. And I'm bleeding out of the sockets of my teeth now."

chapter 3

James let out a groan and threw himself aggressively onto the nearest fainting bench. -- a reference to fainting couches from a later period. chairs with cushions weren't a thing yet in the middle ages, so fainting bench it is.

“How is it that you could draw me without having ever seen me?” “‘Tis very simple, of course. I had only to envision to myself what a perfect prince should look like, therefrom your face and form came to me in a dream.” -- i like to think this is how the real clements markham came to his idealised version of james fitzjames

“Aye, Prince James. They are to accompany you and provide other means of company should you be of the persuasion.” - george barrow you kinky fuck

“Good fortunes, Your Highness,” said Prince Hickey. -- an early hint of hickey's true identity. the real princes refer to james as 'prince james', as they are equal in rank, whilst hickey calls him 'your highness'.

“There are many things I wish to say to you, but now that I am in your presence I daren’t speak the words.” “Oh? Speak the words, Prince Hickey,” said James. “Of all I know in this world, and of this world I tell you, I doubt there is a gift on Earth that could still impress you. -- hickey interrogation scene, "Captain, I want to say something, but daren't speak the words." "Oh, speak the words, Mr.Hickey." "Of all I know in this world, and of this world I tell you, I I do not believe it is an animal we battle."

Instead pray accept this humble gift for your humble friend.” -- mofo had his eye on the prize all along!

He tried to show himself in good spirits, yet one glance from Francis reminded him that it was fruitless to misdirect one who knew him so well. -- episode 1, "I tell you, one glance from him I have to remind myself I'm not a fraud."

“May I see?” Francis said. “I might hurt you.” “I don’t mind.” -- "i'll take care of you." "it's rotten work." "not to me, not if it's you."

His eyes lingered on James’s crown, on the thin, milky substance that bled from the roots of his hair down to the back of his ears. - james's bloody, scurvy-ridden hairline but make it frog toxins

“The people there call it a steam bath,” Master Jopson had once said of a similar contraption. -- aka a turkish bath

“James, did anyone ever tell you that—um—that your tail was—an unusual size?” “What? No. Is it important?” “Not at all! Believe you me it is not the girth that counts but the way in which you wield it.” -- robin hood: men in tights, "This means you've always been my one true love because it's the right size!" "It's not the size that counts! It's how you use it!"

“Help me, Francis,” he begged. “Help me out of it.” -- reader, i was cackling! cackling, i tell you!

“Are you certain you can do that, James, hm? Are you certain?” -- the smut scene was supposed to be a dream sequence but V advocated that it be real, no regrets, 100% an improvement and waaay funnier than the original idea

A wild sound came from Francis then, a cross between a gasp and a kitten’s cry that punched out of him as he trembled. -- cat reference #2

One of his legs instantly shot out; Francis caught it deftly, then he pushed it back until both of James’s knees were sprawled at the waist. -- V had this idea of james's legs sprawled open bc it was the most comfortable position for him when he was a frog :D

He reached out and tugged at Francis’s shirtfront, pulling him down until only Francis’s hand was keeping their faces apart. -- if francis only put down his hand then they could've kissed and this story would have finished!

Francis heaved against his own hand, his breath streaming down onto James’s taut neck, like the cool touch of a spring wind, a fleeting caress. -- neck sensory overload but less euthanistic this time

Francis held James until the tremors waned, until his vision blurred, and a great, gentle peace descended. -- from goodsir's line in ep 1, idk why i appropriated it, "I have been there when souls have passed. A great peace descends."

James beamed lazily and pressed his nose back into the pillows. -- a callback to james smelling francis's hat. he just likes how he smells!

“Oh no, truly! Prithee stay there as long as you like, James. You are welcome at any time—” was what Francis had started to say, but James had only to extend his hand for Francis to quiet and come to him like a well-trained cat. -- cat reference #3

You are meant to be cherished, James -- an inversion from ep 1, "He is my second. Now, if something were to happen to me, you would be his second. You should cherish that man."

And I’m sure you believe as well that nothing else will do. -- from the failed proposal flashback, "That will not happen." "It must. Nothing else will do." "Well, then this will be the great tragedy of your life, Francis."

Please, take this compass as a wedding gift. -- look i'd just gotten a really nice compass replica from the royal museums greenwich and i really wanted to feature it in fic somehow

I never saw myself as a hero-knight, James -- oh you will honey

But I assumed then that for just one time I might have been—for you. -- ah for just ooonnee time, i will taaakkke the northwest passaaaagge

chapter 4

You see, in my struggle to compose a poem for you last night, I had left the taper ablaze. I am not harmed but for my eyebrows -- the real clements markham died from being overwhelmed by smoke when his bedclothes took fire from the candle while he was reading in bed

I am sure that Francis will not leave you wanting for too long. Fret not, he shall come upon it soon. He has had some practice after all.” -- savage sophia!

“Not long ago, Francis was the manner of a man who mourned every second on dry land... gone for months in the world’s most perilous corners, -- again from the failed proposal scene

When I heard that he was sending out his deputies to surveys instead of himself, I was more than impressed—I was relieved. For I knew that at last he had found a reason to stay, that reason being yourself of course... He would swing out in search of his stars... and neither I nor our offspring could ever convince him to simply stay. -- ww1 poet wilfred owen to siegfried sassoon, 1917, "You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but I shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze."

When James was but a mere frog, he had eaten something he ought not have. His belly had hurt for hours until he had spewed it out and rinsed its contents. -- i googled weird frog facts and simply had to put in this disturbing trivia

He reached out a trembling hand and picked off a spot of glue from the bottom of the cap, wherein an unseemly object had been attached. Francis’s very ring. -- like this

“My dear Prince James... I think you have made a horrible mistake.” -- reference to scene where sophia is crying as they wait to be let in to the naval meeting, "Oh, don't they know we can hear them? I have made a horrible mistake, Auntie."

Yet instead he was in his room, morbing the morning away. -- it's james's turn to morb! "I do know there hasn't been a single meal we've shared, a conversation when you weren't morbing on about what you're due."

A single tear ran down James’s cheek. -- baby...

“Avast that now, you fiend!” -- from ep 8, "Damn your eyes! It's your captain! Avast that now!"

In essence, Francis looked devilishly handsome. -- a parallel to james's transformation in chap 2, "In essence, James looked utterly princely."

“I’d seen the drawings—in the storybooks. Beanstalks. Giants. That sounded nice. -- reference to ep 10, "I'd seen the drawings in the weeklies. Oahu. Maui. That sounded nice."

I ain’t no fool. I’ve read all the stories -- a parallel to james's own false understanding of fairytales, "I am no fool. I have heard all the stories—I know how true love is found." james and hickey are both fascinated with stories yet they have vastly different take-aways from it which affect their life decisions.

this creature must be the magical goose in the fairytales, the one who lays golden eggs. -- i can't make hickey a villain-villain in my fics so i always resort to portraying him as having misconstrued something important and thus making mistakes bc of it. in my victorian detectives au, hickey mistakes francis as james fitzjames the detective, thereby abducting the wrong guy. in this au, he mistakes duckdy as the magical goose. i think it ties well with how in canon he misconstrues his own connection to the tunbaaq and assumes that he can tame it.

He paddled desperately away, creating enough distance for Francis and his horse to leap majestically in one big arc from the embankment to the water and come between them. -- hero-knight i tell you

And then you will bugger off, Master Hickey, lest the watchmen hear of your disrespect.” -- i didn't know what the police force was called in medieval times, so once again i looked up the useless guys in much ado about nothing

“Disrespect to who, eh?” “To James! Who remains the king’s guest. And to the king himself. -- again from hickey's interrogation, "Disrespect to who, sir?" "The girl!" "And now to me."

You have therefore committed several acts against the Crown: theft, calumny, brutality, kidnapping. -- again, "You have therefore committed several acts against the Articles: desertion dereliction of duty, insubordination, brutality disrespect."

Francis waded across the swamp towards James, like a moon to its planet, destined to approach and fall in orbit. -- "I spun round you a satellite for a month, etc etc"

“Do you not yet know?” “Tell me.” “I had to see you. That’s all.” -- callback to chapter 1, and also episode 8, "James had not known that it was possible to be looked at but not seen—and James dearly loved being seen."

“But Francis... I’m not a prince anymore.” “No, you’re just James. And that’s just perfectly fine.” -- these were the ending notes from V's original prompt. i liked them so much that i was determined to end the fic in the exact same way!

#the terror #yes i am shamelessly tagging #authors notes

[yr-obedt-cicero]

Can we hear a little bit about Little Phil? I've been having a hard time finding information about him :((

Philip Hamilton II was born on the 1st or 2nd of June, 1802. According to his biographer son, Allan McLane Hamilton, his birthday was on the 2nd, while his New York Herald obituary as well as his grave claims it to be the 1st. He was the youngest of Alexander Hamilton's and Elizabeth ‘Schuyler’ Hamilton's children. He was named in memory of his oldest brother, Philip Hamilton, whom died a year prior to his birth on the 24th of November, after a fatal duel with George I. Eacker caused after an aggressive encounter at the Park Theater.

(Philip Hamilton II in 1880)

In a letter from Hamilton to Elizabeth, dated; October, 1803, Hamilton passingly mentions of one year old Phil;

“I shall be glad to find that my dear little Philip is weaned, if circumstances have rendered it prudent. It is of importance to me to rest quietly in your bosom. Adieu my beloved.”

(source)

Phil was only two years old when his father would die from a duel between him and Aaron Burr on the 12th of July, 1804. Probably due to his young age, he was not present at his father's funeral, as reported only Alexander Jr, James, John, and William were there;

“On the stage erected in the portico of Trinity Church, Mr. Gouverneur Morris, having four of General Hamilton’s sons, the eldest about sixteen and the youngest about six years of age, with him, rose and delivered to the immense concourse in front an extemporary Oration,”

(source)

While lacking not only the memories of his father, Phil also lacked a decently wealthy childhood unlike his brothers and sisters. Due to his father's death at his earlier beginning stages of life, Phil grew up with a rather unfortunate childhood. With his widowed mother's poverty without the support of her husband, McLane says Phil “was denied those advantages accorded to his elder brothers, and had, in every sense, to make his own way.”

Because of the substandard situation the family was knee deep in due to their father's abrupt death, Phil, unlike all of his brothers, never made it to college. He was instead taught by his older brother, James Alexander Hamilton, who had attended the same college as AH, King's college. (Now Columbia college).

October 28, 1828, Elizabeth wrote to Timothy Pickering requesting for information about property promised to help support her children now that Phil II had come of age, twenty seven years old;

“My youngest son has come of age, it will be doing me a particular favor, if you can make me some statement, respecting the property the gentlemen of your city were so kind as to make my children as a Remembrance of their father as I am entirely unacquainted with [...] who is the agent, also what your suppose is the balance.”

(source)

Phil was described as being a very kindhearted and happy man. He was known for a witty yet lighthearted sense of humor, and being very cheerful and sympathetic. But also old fashioned for his time, and researchful.

Allan McLane recalled his father as;

“a delightful man, of pleasing personality, a keen sense of humor, and a harmless kind of wit, which led him everlastingly to chaff his sons, but never to hurt our feelings.”

(source)

Phil was described in his later life by the New York Herald as;

“a man of merry mood, brimming over with anecdotes of the olden days, when the earth was to him fresh and golden. The new has no such charm for him as the old. He loves old houses, old trees, old books, old wine and old friends.”

(source)

He was even described as being very charitable, and was highly respected and adored, also a very affectionate father despite him never truly knowing his own. As the Poughkeepsie Eagle-News says in a newspaper dated the 10th of July, 1884;

“Philip Hamilton's many beautiful traits of character are too well known to be referred in detail. His kindness of heart brought him in contact with the poor and needy, and he gave them advice and help of substantial kind. No one was too humble or too poorly dressed for him to stop and chat with, and his venerable head was familiar to everyone. He was particularly fond of children, and it was his habit to fill his pockets with bright small coins or candies when he went out to give to them. He was unostentatious about his charities, and in fact about everything he did, was a courteous, high-minded gentleman of the old school. His navy associations had given him a cheeriness, and his conversation had the true flavor of the sea.”

(source)

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Phil became very successful in his career and future. Phil's son described his career as “a hard, up-hill professional life,” with legal clients that included a “very great” number of the poor, especially sailors, and much of his time “given up to unselfish acts.” Phil had practiced Law in New York, and served as an assistant United States Attorney under his older brother, James, during the 1830s. As a prosecutor, he also achieved a notable success in his trial and conviction of the pirate, Charles Gibbs — Gibbs was then after sentenced to death for the murder of a ship's captain, and mate, and was hanged on the 22nd of April, 1831.

In 1842, Phil, at age 40, married Rebecca McLane, and together the two had two sons, Louis (July 21, 1844 - November 27, 1868) and Allan McLane Hamilton (October 6, 1848 - November 23, 1919). She was the daughter of Louis McLane, whom his grandson was named after, the 10th Treasury Secretary. Allan McLane wrote in his memoir, Recollections of an Alienist and said of his mother that “she sang and played delightfully, and was exceedingly bright,”

(Allan, age three, and his older brother Louis, age eight, 1851)

Later in 1851, during the California Gold Rush, (The California Gold Rush, lasted from 1848 to 1855, it was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California) Phil moved to San Francisco to practice law as a partner of his wife's brother, Robert Milligan McLane — Though Phil returned to New York just after one or two years. Phil not only just practiced Law, but his cases and clients were usually in admiralty cases, (Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private parties operating or using ocean-going ships.) Amongst his clients included Commodore Silas H. Stringham, and pirate Gibbs as mentioned previously. 

In 1861, the American Civil War sparked. Allan took part from 1861, until 1863, in “repeated drillings, and marchings in the Rochester Home Guards, a sort of Boy Scout organisation.” While his older brother in July of 1866 became a captain, and was the youngest officer of his rank in the regular service, in the newly formed 7th U.S. Cavalry, which was under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

Though unfortunately, November 27th, 1868, Louis, age twenty four, was killed while leading the first charge of the troops in Custer's attack, at the Battle of Washita River. The battle plan placed Louis's squadron in the center of the formation, to charge the encampment while mounted. He marshalled his squadron “in splendid style right up to the enemy's lodges,” where he “fell dead from his horse, shot through the heart by a bullet from a Lancaster rifle” in the hands of a combatant concealed in a wigwam. A surgeon later wrote that the “ball entered about five inches below the left nipple, and emerged near inferior angle of right scapula. Death was instantaneous.”

Allan describes his brothers death as;

“His death was, of course, a crushing blow to my father and mother, for their hopes were, naturally, centered upon their first born, who certainly in many ways reflected the inheritance of the great genius of his grandfather, Alexander Hamilton.”

(source)

(Captain Louis McLane Hamilton, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument)

The family would suffer another death when Eliza Hamilton Holly, Phil's older sister, died October 17, 1859. She seems to have been the one to hold many of her father's papers after her mother passed, as the remaining brothers, Alexander Jr, James, John Church, and Phil, struggled to come to a satisfactory conclusion about her will and inheritance. During this family debate, Alexander Jr had apparently taken off with some of his father's documents without any explanation. As Phil expressed his annoyance with this when in 1859, Phil created a calendar of letters written by his father that Holly had been holding. Each description is of a letter, but one to Alexander Hamilton from Sarah Alexander, Lady Stirling, dated; the 26th of June, 1801, Phil remarks that it had been “taken by my brother Alexr Hamilton from the house of my sister E H Holly immediately after her death without any colour of right or authority.”

After the Civil War ended in 1865, Phil became a Judge Advocate of the Naval Retiring Board, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Though thereafter, he was said to carry on a very quiet life.

Phil was also said to have been a “mild abolitionist” according to his son Allan. Phil assisted the Underground Railroad (The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada.) in the escape of at least one slave by concealing the fugitive in his cellar until he could safely resume his travel to Canada, as Allan says;

“I recall this very well, for my brother and I saw a very black and ragged man in the cellar who was being fed by my father himself, and kept until such time as he could safely resume his journey. The mystery of why he was in our house, for which no explanation was given at the time, impressed us then intensely, and our imaginings, it is needless to say, ran riot. After President Lincoln’s great proclamation we were told all, but it was not until after my father’s death in 1884 that Mr. Dana referred in the Sun to the latter’s many acts of self-sacrificing kindness in this direction.”

(source)

(Photos of Allan McLane)

July 9, 1884, Philip Hamilton II died, “comparatively poor,” in Poughkeepsie, New York.

(Philip and Rebecca McLane Hamilton's home in Poughkeepsie, New York.)

#amrev #american history #american revolution #civil war #philip hamilton ii #louis mclane hamilton #allan mclane hamilton #rebecca mclane hamilton #hamilchildren #history #hamilton family #hamilton children #hamilkids #hamilton kids #queries #sincerely anonymous #cicero's history lessons #biography

[prince-toffee]

My review of Rise of the Beasts

It was... okay. I liked like 70% of it. We're inching- we're inching closer and closer to that perfect Transformers movie, but we're not there yet. I gotta say I liked Bumblebee (2018) more but that's not really fair to say because it's my favourite movie of all time, because it was the first time we had proof that live action Transformers movies can be good, the first time that they made a genuine effort and were created by decent human beings. So, this movie can't beat that in my mind. Overall, I'd give this film a 6.5 out of 10

Spoilers obvi

Not sure how to structure this, so I'll just go chronologically through the film and say whatever pops into my head. The opening is fun. Scourge is terrifying. I kind of love that he dispatches Apelink pretty much effortlessly, it's so disheartening and horrifying and it really tells the audience that the main characters are screwed. Look, the bar is so so SO low so when we see Primal sad when Apelink transfers the leadership over to him, you're like ‘Oh my God, there are people, that's great’. Voice acting in general is great, Peter Dinklage sounds great as Scourge. Ron Pearlman as Primal is phenomenal.

There wasn't much depth to Scourge, he's just evil for the sake of being evil, but he's good at being evil for the sake of being evil, but honestly I’m kind of disappointed because I thought I heard Steven Capel Jr say he wanted the villain to not just be plain evil, so I think some scenes could have been cut out. Unicron mentions that Scourge, Nightbird, and Battletrap are survivors of a world he consumed, but... why? Why did he pick them? I thought Scourge was like in a Silver Surfer situation like ‘hey don't eat my world and I'll lead you to other worlds’ and that's why he keeps serving Unicron to protect his home, that way there is a parallel there between OP and Scourge, they both want to go back to and protect their home, Scourge is what OP could be if not for the character arc he embarks on. Which would have been great. But we didn't really get that. But you have no idea how happy I was to hear that OP was getting a character arc, like I said the bar is on the floor.

Now... a major gripe here:... I noticed a plot hole. So, the Maximals use the Transwarp Key to escape through space and time and go back in time to earth, right? Airazor mentions she's from their ‘past and future’ and Primal mentions that he was named after Optimus. So, they are from the future. So... how does Scourge know them? How does Unicron know them? Shouldn't they be like WTF this weird energy signature just appeared, what is this? Who are these people? An easy fix would have been if Scourge and Co grab onto the ship and follow them through the portal and they get lost along the way somewhere in space that's why they're not on earth from the get go and then they are drawn to the planet by the key being activated and then once they get the key they call Unicron from their future by opening a portal through time.

Human stuff is good. Humans are bearable. Humans have never been better. I actually found myself tearing up at the scenes between Noah and Chris. The Sonic and Tails reference was cute. Calling Mirage Knuckles was extremely adorable too.

I have to admit when the Autobots first appear on screen I got so excited. Loved Arcee, Liza Koshy did a really good job, I really wasn't expecting her to deliver the lines so perfectly, I love the G1/Energon design. Especially the shade of pink they use for her visor it's delightful. I like this interpretation of Arcee, she's like a tech-head, she sounds like a strategist, very much G1/Animated personality. The dynamics between the Autobots are really fun. I love the fact that they actually like each other and are friends.

References to Bee (2018) are much appreciated, thank you.

Mirage is great, love him, a new fan favourite for me, he's funny, he's adorable, he sincere, Pete Davidson did a damn good job. Formula One G1 reference was fun, but that was one of those instances where the CGI wasn't great. His relationship with Noah makes the film alongside with OP's arc.

I like the reasoning behind the Autobots needing him, him being a thief and all that. I like that the humans serve a purpose and it all brilliantly ties in together. I think that the first act is the tightest by far.

So, a new concept introduced in this film is that bots can transform into any vehicle they want no matter the size, that's cool, explains the mass-shifting for others like Shockwave and Megatron, I know some people might have a problem with that, but I actually thought it was fine.

Apart from Prime (show) this is Peter Cullen's best performance yet as Optimus. Love that he distrusts humans and doesn't care for them much at the beginning, I love the guilt and shame that he feels for pretty much losing the war and getting his Autobots stranded on a backwater planet I love all of those scenes with Optimus.

Would have loved to see that deleted scene with OP killing Transit and hunting Decepticons and dumping their bodies into the Hudson, that sets the perfect tone for his journey and the mental state that he's in.

But on the other hand I like the fact that without this scene the Decepticons haven't made it to earth yet, not diminishing Bee’s victory at the end of the last film.

Humans don't see the beacon, that's cool. Explains why the police don't just show up right away.

Those BayFrenzy-looking things, hate them, once again that Bayverse garbage from the producers is leaking in. There's a lot of good stuff from Steven Caple Jr here to counterbalance that. And all the best stuff from this movie comes from him and his personal rewrites from what I can tell from his interviews. But that God damn Bayhem still pokes its head out from time to time. Like... every villain gets decapitated and is murdered gruesomely. It's completely unnecessary. It doesn't allow for these villains to grow in later sequels which is unfortunate. Stratosphere coughs up an engine, whatever, at least it wasn't a fart joke. Like I said; the bar is on the floor.

The museum fight is fun, it's good, entertaining, we can actually see what's happening. The Terrorcons are formidable. ‘Primus would be ashamed’ what a great quote. Great one liners from Scourge, you can tell that he's a psycho and that he enjoys being a psycho, good stuff.

I wish Nightbird and Battletrap talked more, I wish they had a Shatter/Dropkick relationship. Just something you know? They hate each other / they love each other / they hate but they respect each other / they are plotting against each other. Just something. Anything. But at least they look great, and unique, and you can tell them apart. The voice acting is really good, especially for Nightbird.

I love that OP wants the Transwarp Key to go home, while Noah wants to destroy it, all that stuff makes for fascinating conflict, I really love that. But it makes you wonder though why the Maximals didn't destroy the key themselves. Maybe it can't be destroyed only split, or they secretly hoped they could use it to travel the universe again one day to protect and shepherd different planets as that is their role in this continuity stated by Primal.

OP is furious over the death of Bee, his son, and that's great, the guilt he feels, that shame of losing the war, stranding his Autobots on a planet he doesn’t recognise, the same actions that lead to Bee dying, it's all excellent.

Bee being in a coma gives OP further motivation to get back to Cybertron, every event in this movie is really just hitting him over the head saying ‘you should have never come here’ ‘it's all your fault’.

We meet Wheeljack, he's still ugly, still looks like Urkel, but I actually love him, he's adorable, he actually reminds me a little bit of Earthspark Wheeljack, so I really liked him for like the three scenes he was in, there wasn't really a point to him, he doesn't do anything techy, but he was fun. Paying respect to Peru culture was delightful. The Maximals having a relationship with the indigenous native people is so heart-warming and so joyful to watch. One thing I love about this movie is that they avoid the Chariots of the Gods bullshit, Primal says ‘we cannot take credit for human ingenuity’ this movie gives so much respect and props to indigenous people and poc, it's wonderful. You know a white person did not write that.

I wanted more of the Maximals, because I mean the title is ‘Rise of the BEASTS’. but they kind of stand as the perfect link between the Autobots and the humans, they represent that techno-organic bond, the theme of coexistence, they represent what OP could be and becomes, so they serve their purpose in the movie perfectly fine, but still, wish they were kind of more important. Everyone's voices sound great, it all fits, I would love to hear more of these voice actors.

The Peru battle is good. OP is pissed and I love that, when Scourge is around he can't keep a cool head because of the emotional turmoil he feels inside after losing Bumblebee, I love that he finally feels emotions and isn't just monotone all the time.

Now, Scourge has some weird trackers that corrupt you and turn you evil, so... why doesn't he use them all the time? At least say he only has one, or it costs something to produce them, that's why he can't use them all the time. I guess also the reason is he enjoys killing his victims with his own hands, it's a sport to him.

I wish we had more emotional scenes with Airazor so that when she dies it would have had a bigger impact on us. It's sad, because you're getting to see Primal and Airazor as friends, but only for a little bit and it's sad because you see him crush her chest, but the transformers films still have the same problem of cutting to humans reacting dramatically to the dramatic thing happening rather than showing us it. And if it's too horrifying to focus on her chest caving in, focus on Primal’s sorrowful face or on Airazor’s face as she dies as the light leaves her eyes. Either or.

I think the movie really shines in its first and second act, and the third act is kind of the weakest. I think the third act suffers from generic Avengers faceless army syndrome. It looks great. When these CGI people are fighting in a CGI world it works and it looks like everything fits, but still it's very generic.

Also, a small rant incoming, when Mirage knocks Scourge’s ‘mask’ off, we cut away from Scourge, we see he pick up the mask and we dramatically reveal... what? Nothing. Is it Bayverse OP, because becoming a psychopath was his arc in those movies, no it's not because it's the same producers working on these films so there's no way we could make fun of the Bay films, those films bought them seven different beach houses they think that they are good films. So, is it someone OP knows from his past? No. Is it at least an Easter egg for fans, is the G1 Scourge? Is it RID 2001 Scourage? Is it Cybertron (show) Scourge? Nope! It’s just some guy. He's nobody. So many missed opportunities.

That moment with Mirage protecting Noah, the conversation with his brother, it's all super emotional and phenomenally acted by Anthony Ramos. All good stuff.

The suit CGI is unfortunately not great. I did like the whole homage to Daniel’s suit from The Transformers The Movie 1986 and to Kicker/Sari’s suit from Energy/Animated.

I wish the temptation of Unicron would last a bit longer, like maybe we see OP being tempted with a vision of his greatest desires, like he's back on Cybertron with Elita, the war is over, Megatron is defeated, you know? Just do something more with it.

Overall, I liked Bumblebee more, but it's okay I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10

#transformers rise of the beasts #transformers #spoilers #Transformers rise of the beasts spoilers

[joanainthegardensofbabylon]

November 4th,

I'm gonna share with you all my reactions when I first listened to midnights. I was sharing all in real time in my 🐦 account, but I just have my friends, and unfortunately they're not swifities 🫠 BUT they're listening to taylor a LOT because of me, they all know my favorite songs lmao. I hope you all have a great day🤎

💙✨ MIDNIGHTS REVIEW 💙✨

Track 1- Lavender Haze

From the track name, clearly there is a parallel between this track with our beloved Track 6 from Lover, "I Think He Knows". The bridge is very sensual, It's really nice and smooth to be heard and answers some things that the media/fans questions her. I liked.

Track 2- Maroon

Sounds a LOT like KOMH 🖤/ Clean 💙. She said that there's no vault tracks from the other eras, but I was willing that this track was written around those 🥲 (especially bc she talks about pouring wine, reference to "Dress" and about dancing barefoot in NYC, can be ref of Cornelia Street and DWOHT) OMG F*CK the person brought CARNATIONS thinking they were roses 🥲 I'm sure It's a metaphor for being dead,bc carnations are consider funeral flowers.

Track 3- Anti-Hero

It parallels several verses of "The Archer", I heard about 3 times bc I'm in SHOCK with this song. It hurts. And also reminds me a little of "right where you left me" and "this is me trying". She knew SO MUCH leaving this song as a single. Extremely identifiable FVCK 🫥 When she's intensifying the "s" in "agrees", sounds like the hiss of a 🐍, hello reputation...

AND I LOVE the music video, SO MUCH EASTER EGGS 😰😰 blondie you're AMAZING. When she points "it's me, hi, i'm the problem it's me at tea time everybody agrees" and it parallels Alice in Wonderland, it’s genius. Especially because Alice comes in time for tea to talk to the Mad Hatter, and that was a problem. This song quotes so many fairytales, wow. I think It's a way to dissociate from the reality, that's why you're an Anti-Hero 🫠

Track 4- Snow on The Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey)

IT SOUNDS LIKE "Illicit Affairs"!!! I listened the extended version, and this song exales and smells like Lana. Absolut masterpiece. Weird but f*cking beautiful, like snow on the beach 😉

Track 5- You're On Your Own, Kid

This track is a lot relatable, feels like she knows me (I can say this about ALL her songs lol). It has SO MANY REFERENCES!!! "MAATHP", "TIWWCHNT" are examples. The fact that she was a kid delivering her demos to executives in a parking lot. The bullyings she suffered at school, the e.d. It hit's me so much, It's a beautiful sad track. Thank you darling 🥺

Track 6- Midnight Rain

This track feels purple blueish. Again I feel like "MAATHP" is referenced. It sounds similar like "Renegade" (definitely an Aaron Dessner production lmao thanks it's amazing/i love this song SO MUCH). Tay pls tell me that you're referencing "Daylight/Champagne Problems"...And I know who you're talking about hahahaha I LOVE THIS TRACK!!!!!!!

Track 7- Question...?

BLONDIE I FELT THE "Out Of The Woods" REFERENCE 🥵 This track makes so much sense, she mixes past and present, so cool. So many tracks I can make a parallel, i LOVE it!

Track 8- Vigilante Shit

It's my favorite. Tastes like victory and revenge. I felt the parallel between "I Did Something Bad" and "mad woman". It sounds like "I Know Places". It makes so much sense she's messing with me I'm in love with this track. "Lately I've been dressing for revenge/ Don't get sad, get even"

Track 9- Bejeweled ⭐️

ITS A MATCH! Our beloved "mirrorball" it's grateful for this turnaround. The music video is so perfect, I'm DEFINITELY ready for Speak Now TV✨

Track 10- Labyrinth

It reminds me a lot of "The Archer" again, as if it were a twist on the character of our darling track 5. What a delight to be able to listen to this song 💙 It hurts, of course, but it feels good. There's a million songs that remind me of this track, but are too many references for my swifitie head lmao 🤣. I know "this is me trying" and definitely labyrinth likes this song 🥹

Track 11- Karma

I laughed when I first listened to LMAO SO GOOD!!! I don't think It's necessary to talk about this track, It's self explanatory. "ME!" it's happy rn, have a sister to share the references. JOE ALWYN FIGHT WITH ME 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Track 12- Sweet Nothing 🥹

"I spy with my little tired eye" show us the pureness and youthful love of them. William Bowery I'm your fan, your songs always feels like home. It's confy, It's warming. It's a beautiful lyric track 🥺 she's expressing to us and him all her deep sensations and feelings. He is her soulmate. I can't express how I admire this song in english, even though I'm fluent. We have some words in Portuguese that unfortunately cannot be translated to the real meaning of what is this song. Wow.

Track 13- Mastermind

WOW TAYLOR!! I have NO words ENOUGH to tell you all what this song brings to THE WORLD ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The bridge simply caused me a breakdown 🫠 Sad sad sad sad sad but so relatable. I felt this punch in my whole body. When she points that he knows all along, we knew it too. You're a mastermind blondie, and he as well 😭❤️

⭐️BONUS TRACKS⭐️

(personally my favorites from the whole album)

TRACK 14- The Great War

Aaron, you knew what you're doing. IT'S SPECTACULAR!!! Imo, should be in the normal version of the album, i'm gonna call it the sister of ivy ✨ hahahaha 🤣 Amazing bonus track, so worthy to be listened, really. A f*cking beloved lyric masterpiece. Taylor, you're a superhuman😍

TRACK 15- Bigger Than The Whole Sky

F*ck f^ck f^ck f%ck WTF I'M F&CKING SOBBING RN 😭🥲 so strong, so so sad and wonderful. "this is me trying/august" girlies are lying on the floor rn. The lyrics, the production, everything about this track It's so well done.

TRACK 16- Paris

B*TCH YOU'RE referencing DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS????!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAA BLONDIE YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN IT'S A LOT OF EASTER EGGS JUST FOR ONE FANDOM 🥵🥵🥵🥵 PLS LISTEN TO THIS TRACK, It smells like CROISSANT AND THE BREEZE IN A LAVANDER FIELD

TRACK 17- High Infidelity

Wait...April 29...TIWWCF launched...😳😳😳😳 she's not joking. Just a couple days before THE met gala, yes, THE ONE "flashback when you met me, your buzz cut and my hair bleached" 😶‍🌫️ I'm SPEECHLESS 😶

TRACK 18- Glitch

4 A.M. GIRL I JUMPED WITH THIS TRANSITION LMAO 😭...waiT....1290 days before today = 10/21/2016 😳🫠 F*CKKKKKKKKK TAAAAAY AND JOOOOOEEE I'M PICKING THE REFERENCES FROM GORGEOUS AND READY FOR IT... HOW DOES IT FEELS TO BE A MUSE JOE ALWYN, YOU KNOW YOU WON RAWR THE MAN IS SPARKLING THE MAN IS ON FIREEEEE

TRACK 19 - Would've, Could've, Should've ⭐️❤️‍🩹💔

I have to tell, It's my favorite song from Midnights. I am a truly speak now girlie, and I'm 19 and relate to this song. It's so personal and raw, I felt her despite and regret and PAIN. I cry so hard with this track. It feels like there's something stuck on my throat 🫥. It's definitely the most sad/desperate/ traumatic song/bridge she's ever done. I love this song, but it hurts too much. If I see this man one day, he's gonna beg me for forgive (and taylor, our special person). I'm sending you hugs and lots of love dear Taylor, really.

TRACK 20- Dear Reader ❣️

It's the perfect last track. A whole story. A whole album. The end (but not really, 'cause life's still there). She closed the album with a work of ART. Really, truly sad. But beautiful. It seems like a continuation of the speech she gave at NYU, it makes sense. It was very worth being able to listen and enjoy Midnights. I appreciate and thank you (Tay) with my whole soul for writing this song. It's a real and delicious hug. You, my dearest Taylor Swift, are a RARE person. You have a pure heart and an enlightened soul.

With all the Love,

Joana (@joanainthegardensofbabylon)

#swifitie #taylor swift #midnights #midnights review #wouldve couldve shouldve #lavender haze #anti hero #joe alywn #william bowery #jack antonoff #aaron dessner #midnight rain #you're on your own kid #labyrinth #bejeweled #andrea swift #taylornation

[marble-mountain]

Cycles of Norse Mythology by Glenn Searfoss

About the Book:

These stories are old, old as the Behmer Wold and seldom in life has there been such a brewing...

Cycles of Norse Mythology captures the passion, cruelty, and heroism of an ancient world. Encompassing Odin’s relentless pursuit of wisdom across the nine worlds, Gullveig’s malicious death at the hands of the Æsir that sparks a brutal war with the Vanir, Thor’s battles against the giants of Jotunheim, the tragedy of Volund, the many devious machinations of Loki, and the inescapable events of Ragnarök, this lyrical re-imagining of the Norse myths presents the gripping adventures of the Norse gods and their foes in a style to delight modern readers of all ages.

A detailed glossary provides a quick reference to the meaning behind names and terms used in the book. A Source Reference is included for persons who want to delve deeper into the study of Norse mythology.

Reviews:

“Searfoss brilliantly captures the voice of ancient Norse myths through a stunning writing style and characters who deliver astonishing tales about the time of gods and creation. The tales are divided into cycles, with the events occurring based around themes of prophecy, victory, vengeance, premonitions, Ragnarok, and the relationship between gods and men. The stories are brought to life with well-crafted details and vivid characters as Searfoss reimaginines the beginnings of well-known Norse characters. Several of the characters featured include Loki, Thor, Freyja, Sif, and Odin, each of whose origins are explored as well as their victories and struggles.” 

~ Elizabeth Konkel, Seattle Book Review

Full Review

“There are many stories about the Norse realm. Only a few are common and easily accessible. Glenn Searfoss gives readers access to more than just the common ones. The reader gets more dimensions with regards to the characters in the fictional universe. This book is a rewrite of the stories on Norse mythology with a fresh voice and packed with exciting tid bits. The book offers a revamped look at all the suffering, victories and battles of the characters in Norse mythology accompanied by a glossary for a better reading experience.” 

~ Literary Titan

Full Review

Buy the Book – Amazon, Bookshop.org

About the Author:

Engaging storytelling transports the reader to a different time/place/viewpoint and encourages their exploration of a subject.

A professional writer of 30+ years, Glenn Searfoss has authored numerous technical manuals, as well as books in the arenas of computer science, natural history, science fiction, and mythology.

Glenn lives with his wife in a turn-of-the-century, brick farm house in Colorado, USA. When not busy making a living, he gardens, works on the house (there is always something to work on with an old house), reads classic and not-so-classic literature and does research for new book projects.

Edda's and Sagas of the Northland recount epic struggles for control of the world. In this land lost amid the cycles of time, canny gods battle shrewd giants, while valiant heroes struggle against honorable foes. Comprised of over 100 stories, Cycles of Norse Mythology takes the reader on a thrilling exploration of the Norse Universe as the Gods and Giants are exposed in their complex interactions. From creation of the world to its violent ending, this comprehensive re-imagining breathes life and modern relevance into the Norse gods and their foes. Cycles of Norse Mythology is the culmination of 16 years intensive study of Norse myths that involved consuming research literature and story compilations published from the late 1700's to the present. Through engaging, lyrical storytelling, this work presents the author's interpretation of the subject matter. It is frustratingly easy to find out what happened to Odin, Thor, and Loki at Ragnarök, but not the other participants in the battle, nor the goddesses and the animals that populated their world. Delving into this world prompted the inevitable who, what, where, and why questions, which required more background and more tales from earlier in the mythology. So, the scope of this work lengthened over the years to encompass the entire breadth of Norse Mythology.

[kursed-arcana]

Takeuchi Naoko's Chocolate Christmas Review

Chocolate Christmas is an adorable romantic comedy that feels in tune with classic rom coms such as You Got Mail and classic Christmas movies, while also having that delightful Takeuchi touch. Reading this is a real treat, considering it was her first published work.

The two leads are actually in love with eachother without knowing it. After spending a lonely Christmas eve listening to the radio Ryoujo happens to catch the debut broadcast of a lonely hearts style show, Choclate Night. Learning that the DJ, Choco,a lso feels alone and that it's his birthday, she decides to deliver a Christmas cake to him and proclaims herself his first fan. Over the next year l, she regularly listens to his program and sets out to bring love to others, much like him. The story then picks up with her getting a job at the same radio station as him, hoping to meet him. She has fallen on love with the man herself, and her cake and declaration last Christmas ignited the same feelings in his heart. Without knowing it the two are drawn together, both in their everyday school life and their life at the station, all without initially realizing who the other person is.

Does this mysterious type of love ring any golden bells?(read the story for the reference!) That's right it plays out similarly to the initial love story of Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon! If you're a fan of the dynamic between Uasagi and Mamo them you'll probably be a fan of this story. Much like how sailor moon begins with them bickering, yet being drawn to eachother, so too does this love story.

Their status as the person special to the other, isn't revealed at the same, leading to some great romantic tension as they impact eachother in significant ways. Ryouko and Choco (real name Keiki) continue to influence eachothers behavior and build eachother up into better versions of themselves. By the end of the series, they have both developed a new found appreciation for eachother, Christmas Eve and the Chocolate Night program,

What can I say other then Takeuchi truly has that special gift to write a compelling romance. Its a shame she hasn't released a true blue long running rom com. This is a great holiday read and is sure to illicit feelings of satisfaction in her eternal fanbase.

Her art is as stellar as ever, and her character designs attractive and fashionable. There's not much to dislike in the story that gave this book its name.

I do recommend reading it carefully though. The fan translation available on mangadex is a little shaky in some spots and I think the dialogue was switched for the two leads on page 53 of one of the abailable translarions. At least it appears to be in the wrong word bubbles to me. I also recommend temporarily switching to a alternate translatiom due to the fact page 5 is missing from one, and instead features a page from near the end of the manga in its place. However I believe the fan translation is overall better on on the other. I would say the sites hosting the translations I recommend using but I don't think that's allowed.

Fingers crossed that we one day get an official release or an anime movie!

Now to briefly mention the second story in this vollume release. Wink rain is a fun bonus but I honestly don't have a lot to say. It's not bad, but it didn't really resonate with me personally. Part of my issue with it is the 2 fantranslations I found for it both appear to have a fair amount a faults. Or maybe it's just the way the story unfolds that sometimes makes things a little confusing. I found it less rom com, more teen angst over being the third wheel ina. Friend group after two parties get together. There is a love story unfolding for the main girl but it kind of ends anticlimactically. Or it felt that way to me due to the fan scanlation.

It's definitely worth a quick read regardless. It has great art as usual and cute characters!

#takeuchi naoko #naoko takeuchi #Chocolate Christmas #shoujo #romance #romcom #rom com #romantic comedy #nora ephron #christmas #christmas eve #ryouko honda #sailor moon #manga #shojo #hershey bar #hershey #chocolate #christmas story #you've got mail #christmas bells #manga review #review #analysis #christmas reading