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iamthenightcolormeblack · 3 years

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My Thoughts on Pride & Prejudice 2005: Style over Substance

Kicking off my Pride and Prejudice adaptation review series with the most popular of all the adaptations: the 2005 movie. This film stars Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy.

1. GENERAL THINGS I LIKED

The cinematography and the soundtrack. Every shot is a painting, especially with the gorgeous landscape scenery. The music is beautiful and dreamy; I have listened to the soundtrack more times than I've watched the film. Both the cinematography and the soundtrack effectively transport the viewer back to the film's romanticized version of "the past," when life was simpler and people lived slower lives, waiting for their Mr. Darcy to sweep them off their feet.

Originality. The film takes a unique approach to the story by focusing mainly on the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth and emphasizing how the natural surroundings reflect the characters' mental state/emotions (pouring rain during the first proposal and stormy skies when Elizabeth hurries home after Lydia runs away). Though one can disagree with the creative changes made, I like how this film isn't just a remake of what came before it.

Elizabeth's walks through the countryside. The film expresses her desire for freedom through her countryside walks. For instance, the Netherfield walk is shocking to Caroline Bingley because it demonstrates Elizabeth's independence.

The comedic parts are great thanks to the creative additions made. For example, the "excellent boiled potatoes" joke isn't in the book, but it perfectly exemplifies Mr. Collins' poor social skills and pretentiousness, as he tries to make an overly formal comment about an otherwise mundane dish.

2. THE CASTING

The acting is good, although I don't always agree with how the characters are portrayed.

Keira Knightley. I like how she's the right age for Elizabeth, who is around 20-21 years old; Knightley was around 19-20 when she played Elizabeth, plus she has gorgeous eyes. She perfectly conveys the pride, confidence, and biting wit of Elizabeth, as she holds her head high in an imperious manner and has a direct, piercing gaze. However, I don't like how this version chooses to simplify Elizabeth's character into that of "free-spirited nonconformist tomboy," who is a nature-lover and runs to the countryside to console herself when things get tough (ex. running to the lake after rejecting Mr. Collins). This is a contrast to the Elizabeth Bennet as presented to us in the book, who acts like a typical "lady" for the sake of her social reputation; she mostly keeps her thoughts to herself except when talking to Jane or Darcy. Elizabeth is powerful not because she rejects society outright; it is because she does not submit to societal pressure to marry and makes her own choices (ex. rejecting Mr. Collins).

Matthew Macfadyen. His Darcy is cold, aloof, and remote, yet shows signs of a rich inner life and unrequited yearning for Elizabeth as a soulmate. I like how this version shows Elizabeth peeling away his cold exterior like the layers of an onion, until his heart of gold is revealed. While I think Macfadyen is a good actor, I disagree with the interpretation of Darcy solely being a lonely introvert, as it neglects his primary character flaw of pride.

Tom Hollander's Mr. Collins. Probably the best casting, as he perfectly portrays the bumbling awkwardness of the character and is more sympathetic than the gross Mr. Collins in the 1995 BBC miniseries. He is short, has a nasally voice and officious manner that makes him annoying yet fun to watch.

Simon Woods as Mr. Bingley. He's so friendly and eager to please, like the character is in the book.

Rosamund Pike's Jane Bennet. Utterly angelic and motherly, need I say more? The perfect antidote to Elizabeth's savagery.

Rupert Friend's Mr. Wickham. Handsome and dashing in a red soldier's uniform. It's easy to see how a girl would fall for him and ignore his debauchery, but also obvious that he is deceptive. For instance, he keeps claiming that he is insignificant and unnoticed, when he basks in the attention of Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia.

3. OVERALL CHARACTER AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT

Since this is a movie, character development is a challenge, and the film relies on changes of outward appearance/dialogue to show character growth. For instance, we get to see Darcy's change from cold and remote into warm and loving, while Elizabeth admits that "she was wrong" about Darcy and slowly comes to respect him.

The first half (beginning to Darcy's proposal) is great because it effectively introduces the audience to the cast of characters (the family, Darcy, Bingley, Caroline, Wickham, and Mr. Collins). It also contains all the comedic parts and sets up the conflicts that drive the story. Overall, this half is more faithful to the novel because it has the social satire aspects of the story and sticks to the key plot points while developing the characters.

The second half is rather lackluster compared to the first because it focuses solely on resolving the plot points introduced in the first half. This part of the book contains important events for Elizabeth's character development (getting the letter, visiting Pemberley, dealing with the fallout from Lydia's elopement), but the film rushes through them to get Elizabeth and Darcy married. Instead of focusing on how Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice of Darcy and starts to love him, the film relies on aesthetic shots of flickering candles/landscapes to serve as quick transitions between the scenes. Though we have plenty of evidence that Darcy loves Elizabeth, we don't see much evidence that the love is mutual until the second proposal, only that Elizabeth starts to see him as a friend.

Another reason I don't like the second half of the film as much as the first half is the reduced dialogue. This second half has a lot of quiet moments devoted to nature scenery/Elizabeth staring in the mirror. Reducing the dialogue, with the exception of the letter scene, doesn't make sense because the plot/action of Pride and Prejudice is furthered through the conversations the characters have (after all, wealthy Regency women likely spent much time indoors/making social calls). While one can argue that the reduced dialogue is meant to show that Elizabeth is reflecting on her mistaken prejudice, without access to Elizabeth's interior thoughts, the audience doesn't get to see Elizabeth actively confronting her false assumptions about Darcy, unlike in the book, where she says out loud to herself: "Until this moment, I never knew myself."

Notable Scenes From the First Half of the Film:

The opening scene. It sets the tone for the whole movie with the beginning shot of a field at dawn, which ties in nicely with the second proposal scene near the end. By presenting Elizabeth by herself reading a book, it communicates to the audience that Elizabeth is "not like other girls," and it shows the imperfect, yet loving family dynamics of the Bennet household.

Elizabeth roasting Darcy after he dismisses her as "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me." During a conversation the Bennet family has with Darcy and Bingley, Mrs. Bennet commits a social gaffe when talking about Jane's many admirers and how one sent her poetry. Elizabeth saves the situation by commenting that bad poetry can kill love, and Darcy comments that he regards poetry as "the food of love" and asks how to "encourage affection." I like that the film included this little exchange from the book (although it takes place while Elizabeth is visiting a sick Jane at Netherfield, and not during the first ball), since it was skipped over in the 1995 miniseries. The best part is Elizabeth's sick burn: "Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable," which is made even better when she walks away from him with a triumphant smile on her face.

The famous Hand Flex. After Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage (by holding her hand) so she and Jane can head back home, he glances longingly at her before wringing the hand with which he touched hers. It's an important hint of his growing love for her, as well as his struggle to repress those feelings. This is a wonderful bit of character development as it reveals that Darcy has a heart.

Mr. Collins having a meal with the Bennet family. The awkwardness is palpable as Mr. Collins tries to show off his social skills and give pro tips on charming ladies. This is all topped off with this amazing comedic joke: "These are excellent boiled potatoes. Many years since I've had such an exemplary vegetable." Another brilliant bit: after Lydia cannot contain her laughter, Lizzy, after giving her father a mischievous side-eye, slaps Lydia on the back to hide her laughter. Best line besides the excellent boiled potatoes: "Believe me, no one would suspect your manners to be rehearsed."

The Netherfield Ball dance between Darcy and Elizabeth. It is staged like a clash of personalities in the beginning, while the creative filming technique of separating the couple apart from the crowd of dancers foreshadows the budding relationship between them. I also like how sarcastic the dialogue is--Elizabeth is trying to win a battle of wits with Darcy but he successfully avoids her traps while reminding her that she doesn't truly know him and cannot make judgements about his personality.

Mr. Collins trying to introduce himself to Darcy. It's so comical because of the significant height difference between Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy (Collins is dwarfed by Darcy). The height difference effectively represents the significant difference in social status between the two men and makes Collins, with his pomposity, look ridiculous as he fancies himself part of the nobility but cannot properly introduce himself.

Mr. Collins' proposal--one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Mr. Collins clumsily tries to flatter Elizabeth with a tiny flower, and it gets even funnier when he so obviously misreads Elizabeth's disinterest and outright exasperation (he doesn't understand that no means no!). After Mr. Collins bends down on one knee to propose to Elizabeth, the film emphasizes Elizabeth's towering presence over Collins to show that the two are a mismatch. The fact that the proposal takes place in the messy dining room reflects Collins' view of marriage as a business matter that he wants to get done with quickly, since the location of the proposal is not very romantic.

Elizabeth roasting Darcy yet again at Rosings Park. Elizabeth eagerly recounts to Colonel Fitzwilliam Darcy's impolite manners at the first ball; Darcy confesses that "I do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before." I like how the nervous and quiet delivery of that line shows to the audience that Darcy is an introvert, and it shows that he's an honest person, since he abhors "disguise of every sort." The scene effectively highlights Elizabeth's prejudice towards Darcy as the audience feels pity for him when Elizabeth tells him to practice.

"This is a charming house." During this scene, Darcy visits Elizabeth while she is alone and awkwardly attempts to make conversation with her. Macfadyen is a master of body language; Darcy says little but expresses a lot (ex. the nervous fiddling with his gloves). He tries to express his feelings for Elizabeth but gives up and abruptly walks out of the room.

The first proposal. What a climactic scene (but not very faithful to the book)! The music, thunder, and rain perfectly complement the volcano of emotions that erupts when Darcy cannot repress his feelings any longer. This scene has some of the best sexual tension ever; the two get closer to each other until they almost kiss. While this scene is great to an objective viewer, I don't like that the modified dialogue changes the original meaning of this scene (more about this later).

The letter. Elizabeth has a moment of introspection when she is forced to question her judgment, and Darcy delivers his letter. I like the shot of Darcy riding farther and farther away from Elizabeth, signaling that he is becoming increasingly out of her reach.

Notable Scenes from the Second Half of the Film:

Aunt and Uncle Gardiner arrive right after Elizabeth comes back from Rosings and they take her away to a vacation. I didn't like how they were introduced too quickly; I was thinking to myself "how did they get there and where did they come from?" Luckily we are treated to more glorious shots of the English countryside (the one with them under a large oak tree is my favorite).

Visiting Pemberley. I was puzzled by why Elizabeth laughs as soon as she sees Pemberley for the first time because in the book she was in complete awe of it. Also it doesn't make sense why she would touch his expensive stuff it's not her house...or is it? The good thing is that the embarrassment the two have upon meeting each other again is definitely palpable. Georgiana is sweet, but a little less shy than she was in the book.

Darcy smiles! After introducing Georgiana to Elizabeth, he smiles for a brief time at Elizabeth, and she smiles back. It's a great moment showing how Elizabeth has drawn out his goodness, and indicates that Darcy has transformed for Elizabeth. She also starts seeing him as a friend and her prejudice against him seems to have reversed in this moment of mutual recognition.

Lydia's elopement. Keira Knightley's fake cry was off-putting. Then Darcy only talks to her for a little bit and doesn't help her much (unlike in the book, where he asked her to sit down and got her some wine to make her feel better). I don't know why the aunt and uncle are in this scene because it's very important in developing Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship. In the book, the two are alone, and Elizabeth choosing to tell Darcy about Lydia's elopement is a sign that she trusts him, while Darcy's concern for Elizabeth further confirms that he still loves her. This extremely brief scene flickers quickly, and it takes only a few seconds before Elizabeth is crying in her carriage, while the sky is dark and ominous.

Bingley rehearsing his proposal with Darcy. This added scene, which is not in the book, is so funny because of how Darcy roleplays Jane, while Bingley has so much anxiety about her not accepting him. It's a nice glimpse into their friendship and it's also funny because Bingley is getting proposal advice from someone who failed very miserably at proposing.

Sunrise on the Moors. Another objectively beautiful and romantic scene that is definitely not faithful to the book. The two meet each other in a field in their nightgowns and profess their love to each other while blessed by the rising sun.

4. MAJOR FLAWS; OR, HOW THE FILM DIVERGES FROM THE BOOK

In earlier book adaptation reviews, I stated that I welcomed creative changes as long as they reflected what was already in the book (ex. literary elements and character development) or the author's intent, since film and books are different mediums and some storytelling techniques that work in books may not work on film. This movie is undoubtedly well-known for its creative changes, especially in terms of historical setting and dialogue. While these creative changes entertain the audience, I feel that they change the meaning of the story as presented by the book.

Here's the biggest issue I have with the movie: Darcy has no pride. The film interprets his "pride" as a misconception strangers get from Darcy's cold manner and inconsiderate remarks, but in the book he is an arrogant person who views his social inferiors as beneath him and treats them poorly. In the movie, his whole character is fashioned in the modern image of the "sensitive man," who is kind and considerate if only the outside world would appreciate his uniqueness. Thus, Elizabeth's prejudice against him is entirely without merit. While making Darcy a more sympathetic person highlights how wrong Elizabeth's prejudice is, the fact is that both of them have "pride and prejudice." Some fans have commented that Darcy is like a sad puppy at times. It's hard to see how he's a good match for this Elizabeth's fiery spirit, only that he wouldn't infringe upon her freedom to roam. A lot of YouTube comments I read were people expressing their desire to "hug Darcy" or console him after Elizabeth rejects him; this doesn't make sense because Darcy is an unsympathetic character until he is forced to change in order to earn Elizabeth's love. Apart from becoming kinder to Elizabeth and the Gardiners, Darcy never really changes in the movie; he still remains a socially awkward introvert.

The re-interpretation of Pride and Prejudice as purely a romantic novel: The emphasis on romance means that the other elements of the book--the social criticism, secondary characters and the dialogue--are de-emphasized for the sake of the romance between Elizabeth and Darcy.

The film's approach to the story echoes Charlotte Bronte's criticism of the novel: "And what did I find [in Pride and Prejudice]? ... a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but no glance of a bright, vivid physiognomy, no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen, in their elegant but confined homes." This version of Pride and Prejudice utilizes Romantic elements not in the book (ex. the storms, the landscapes) to increase the passion that the characters feel but cannot express.

Pride and Prejudice is perceived as a "boring" book because much of the drama takes place indoors (ex. Darcy's first proposal is in Mr. Collin's home), whereas in the film, there is greater emphasis on the natural scenery in keeping with its Romantic interpretation (lots of the "open country" that Charlotte Bronte desired). While the landscape scenes are beautiful, locating the action indoors, in the grand houses of the nobility, emphasizes the repressive, tradition-based nature of Regency Era society that Austen criticized (in a subtle way). These houses reinforce social hierarchy, for instance; the interior of Rosings Park is showy and stifling because it it represents Lady Catherine De Bourgh's wealth and power over those around her. Locating most of the scenes indoors visually represents the "confined and unvarying" lives of Regency era women and makes Elizabeth Bennet's independent streak much more significant.

Some of the social constraints that Elizabeth and Darcy face are removed. For example, Elizabeth is much more direct in her criticisms of others (ex. the "barely tolerable" insult), whereas in the book she largely confines these criticisms to her intimate friends such as Jane and Charlotte Lucas. While this effectively shows how badass she is, Elizabeth likely would not have taunted Darcy in such a direct way, as it would have been considered impolite and likely harmed her social reputation in a society governed by rigid adherence to social etiquette. And of course, Darcy likely would not have been walking around the English countryside in an open-chested shirt although we may have Colin Firth's wet shirt to blame for that. The importance of following etiquette rules is shown when Darcy offends the whole village by refusing to dance with anyone during the first ball. As a woman in a patriarchal society, it would have been even more important for Elizabeth to follow the rules, as her social reputation was important to her chances of making a good marriage. By de-emphasizing the rigid social norms that govern the characters, the obstacles to Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage are less significant, and it seems that the only thing standing in the way of their being together is Elizabeth's unreasonable hatred of Darcy.

Also, in many of Austen's novels, the hometowns of her heroines and its inhabitants are their own characters; the power of gossip in determining one's social reputation for the "marriage market" is de-emphasized in the film. In Pride and Prejudice, a major reason Elizabeth doesn't discover Wickham's bad character at first is because of the "general approbation of the neighborhood" and social popularity he has in Hertfordshire. After Lydia elopes, the family is in a bad situation with regards to marriage prospects because the village had "generally proved [the Bennets] to be marked out for misfortune." In the film, the role of the village is relegated to that of a place for entertainment and nothing more.

Others have noted that the film also exaggerates the social divide between Elizabeth and Darcy by turning the Bennet family into peasant farm-owners who have messy hair and wear plain, homespun clothing. This justifies Darcy's social prejudice against the Bennets, which undercuts Austen's message of morals, actions, and treatment of others being a better indicator of character than class rank (the rich people in this book, with the exception of Darcy, Georgiana and Bingley, are shown to be lazy or plain ridiculous). While Darcy may be richer than Elizabeth, and have better connections, they are both members of the gentry--after all, they do not have to work to maintain their lifestyles. Instead, we are presented with a conventional rags-to-riches story, where our poor but virtuous heroine is rewarded with a rich Prince Charming who takes her away from the squalor of her home to his great big palace.

Ultimately, the story is changed into an argument for love, specifically the passionate kind, triumphing over all; Elizabeth overcomes her hatred of men as "humorless poppycocks" to be with Darcy. Near the end, Mary reads out of a book claiming that a lady should give in to her passions and surrender to love, which doesn't make sense as the marriage based entirely on passion (Lydia and Wickham) is shown to be less than ideal.

While Austen does believe in following one's heart (ex. Persuasion, where Anne Elliot regrets rejecting Captain Wentworth because of his lower social status), others have commented that she presents the ideal relationship as a balance between mind and heart. Charlotte's practical marriage to Mr. Collins represents the traditional view of marriage as an "economic proposition," it is entirely logical and calculated, whereas Lydia and Wickham's marriage is the other emotional extreme, motivated entirely by sexual infatuation. Before Elizabeth acknowledges her love for Darcy, she must respect him as her intellectual equal. Here's the passage from the book where Elizabeth realizes she loves Darcy: "She now began to comprehend that he was exactly the man, who in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved, and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance." Elizabeth's decision to marry Darcy is not only a result of her heart's desire, but it comes after she does some thinking and concludes they are compatible and would be able to live with each other on a day-to-day basis.

Something else I find ironic is the director's (Joe Wright's) claim that he aimed for realism in the film, given that Austen already depicted Regency era life realistically by focusing on social norms, class, and wealth:

The director, in his quest for "realism," features the messy environment of the Bennet household, which doesn't make sense given that they are still relatively wealthy (when defending herself, Elizabeth tells Lady Catherine that she is "a gentleman's daughter"). Also, they have servants to clean things up, so why would the house be in a constant state of disarray?

Lastly, how is the second proposal scene is "realistic?" It is a moment of "psychic communication" between Darcy and Elizabeth which is out of character for the book. They both "can't sleep" and walked, in the words of Wikipedia, "across the moors" to see each other ok this seriously reminds me of Wuthering Heights. The scene is powerful because every woman wants to be told that "you have bewitched me body and soul" but "realistically," this doesn't happen (and this line isn't in the book either).

"REALISM" IS THE REASON WHY WE FUSS OVER HISTORICAL ACCURACY!!! HISTORICAL ACCURACY ALLOWS PERIOD DRAMAS TO BE REALISTIC!!!!

If the characters wore historically accurate clothing (different from the loosely inspired, modernized dresses/hair in the film), it would have emphasized the lack of freedom women had in Regency Era society and reinforced the importance of following social norms to succeed in a patriarchal society.

Bad Script Changes:

This film is known for its modernized script, which makes it easier for a mainstream audience to watch the movie. However, it also changes depictions of the characters in ways that undercut the meaning of the book.

Elizabeth Bennet, man-hater:

"Oh, they [men] are far too easy to judge. Humorless poppycocks, in my limited experience."

"And which of the painted peacocks is Mr. Bingley?"

"Men are either eaten up with arrogance or stupidity. And if they're amiable they're so easily led that they have no minds of their own whatsoever...No, they bring nothing but heartache."

I know these snarky comments are fun and reinforce the modern perception of Elizabeth Bennet as a feminist heroine. However, book Elizabeth doesn't rail against men as a whole; she just wants to find love rather than be forced into an advantageous marriage. Her idea that marriage should be based on love and respect, along with her unwillingness to compromise on that ideal, is what makes her revolutionary, not her complete apathy towards the opposite sex.

"Don't you dare judge me!" While it foreshadows Elizabeth's flawed judgment, this outburst is out of character for Charlotte Lucas, who in the book is level-headed and makes practical decisions. As with the majority of the bad script changes, it is too modern and doesn't fit with the 19th century style language used elsewhere in the script.

Darcy's lack of pride is shown in the modified lines of the first proposal (which were hard to catch because they were spoken super fast):

"I can bear it no longer. The past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you. I had to see you. I've fought against my better judgment, my family's expectation, the inferiority of your birth, my rank and circumstance, all those things, but I'm willing to put them aside and ask you to end my agony. I love you. Most ardently."

These lines completely change the meaning of the first proposal. Apart from the famous opening lines ("In vain I have struggled. It will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you"), Austen makes clear that Darcy still regards his higher social position and Elizabeth's inferior connections as obstacles to their marriage. His first proposal to Elizabeth is a means of getting rid of the suffering that his unrequited love has forced upon him; he still does not accept Elizabeth as his equal, which is why she rejects him in the first place. Clearly he is not "willing to put [social norms] aside" when it comes to "his sense of her inferiority." The modified lines also make Darcy much more romantic by having him state that he came to Rosings to see Elizabeth; the book does not specify that this is the case; he just came on a routine visit to see his aunt and Elizabeth happened to be there. As I said earlier, Elizabeth in the book rejects Darcy because of his lack of respect for her, but in the film, he seems to show nothing but respect for her. They even have an almost-kiss, which doesn't make sense given that she hates him so intensely at this point in the novel.

"He's so, he's so...rich." Elizabeth utters these when trying and failing to find a reason not to visit Pemberley. This declaration does not make sense because Elizabeth has formed in the very least a grudging respect for Mr. Darcy; without access to her internal thoughts, one might take this line as evidence that she still hates Mr. Darcy.

“Just leave me alone!!!” After confronting Lady Catherine, Elizabeth flees to her room to find some alone time. This doesn’t suit Elizabeth’s character because 1) she acts like a temperamental teenager and 2) she is estranged from her family. In the book she gets closer to her family after Darcy’s first proposal, not the other way round. In some JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) articles I read about Pride and Prejudice, the authors observed that Elizabeth isn’t concerned about her family early in the novel; her motivations are largely self-centered, she keeps her head above their foolishness and doesn’t have intimate relationships with anyone in her family with the exception of her father and Jane. Only after she receives the criticisms of her family’s behavior from Mr. Darcy does she look out for her family; for example, by advising her father not to let Lydia go to Brighton (and she becomes right about it harming her family’s reputation). The film also makes Elizabeth even more isolated from her family by omitting the fact that she tells Jane about what happened between her and Darcy. Elizabeth learning to care for her family is an important part of her growth which the film omits.

5. CONCLUSION

I still think this film is worth watching, even though as a purist I disagree with the creative changes made, namely the emphasis on the romance over the social comedy. It is obvious that the screenwriter/director didn't strive to replicate the book exactly and aimed for a romantic re-interpretation.

The film has had a positive impact since it introduced a lot of people to Jane Austen, including me.

Here’s my story: when the movie aired on TV, my mother, who is a 1995 die-hard, started ranting about her hate for this version, so I picked up the book so that I could watch and compare.

As a romance movie it is excellent, because it has plenty of sexual tension and quotable romantic lines, along with a couple we can root for. The set design, music, and set design also make watching the movie an experience. It's very easy to love this movie just for the cottage core aesthetics (although aesthetics cannot cover up the flaws of this film).

On a side note, I find it funny that the Wikipedia article for this film states that it "failed to have the cultural influence" of the 1995 BBC miniseries. In fact, many people my age (17 or 18 years old) who have read the book consider this movie the definitive version of Pride and Prejudice and some don't even know that the 1995 miniseries exists!

Whether you love or hate this film, all I ask is that you don't call it Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

@colonelfitzwilliams @appleinducedsleep @obscurelittlebird @austengivesmeserotonin @princesssarisa @dahlia-coccinea @firawren @cobaltzosia

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epicspheal · 3 years

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( this is gonna be long super sorry!!!) I have some Thoughts™ about Lusamine cause I'm conflicted. I love Lusamine as a character. And by that i mean I love to hate her. Rich white woman that's probably from Kalos( France) abuses her children, constantly gaslight them to make her the victim, and etc. It doesn't matter if she gone crazy, she's still an abuser.

The reason USUM boils my blood at times is because it goes the route of " oh yeah I wanted to save everyone" route which completely glosses over the fact that she abused and controlled her children for so long to the point of them both running away. And this one is purely headcanon in my part, cause I doubt Nintendo intended this, but she is, again, a rich white woman in comparison to the majority poc Alola. Is it infuriating how they welcomed her( well, at least on the front) after everything she's done? Yes. Is it a sad reality? Also yes. But it I'm still gonna complain. It also seems that Lillie and Gladion forgave her so easily? Of course, they have their own right to feel however they feel about their mother( especially if there was genuine good memories prior everything that happened), but like???? Idk it rubs me the wrong way.

But here's where I'm conflicted. Pokemon masters have shown a redeemed Lusamine. I understand masters is it's own thing, but also it's really interesting cause when you think about it, out of the Bad Parents Club, she's kinda the most likely to get that???( Other than Rose). Like by the end of SM, she finally acknowledge Lillie, and maybe going to Kanto will also mean getting therapy, which could lead to the Redeemed Lusamine we see in Masters( and what USUM were trying to sell). I personally feel like the other two, Giovanni and Ghetsis, are too far gone. So, like, Lusamine has a chance. But I hate her. I made an oc with the goal of at one point throwing hands with Lusamine for a REASON( other than parallels with her own life but that's different). Also when you take into account what lead her to this point, you kinda understand ( NOT JUSTIFY) her decent into madness. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they really should have portrayed her "redemption" better( putting quotations in redemption cause we don't know if she fully learned her lesson or not).

Okay that's all. Super sorry this got very long, I just have many Thoughts ™.

Hi there @ihopethisendswell! Oh boy Gen 7's story is not my favorite for multiple reasons and the shift between SM and USUM's handling of Lusamine was a big one. Like honestly if they truly wanted to redeem Lusamine USUM should've been a sequel rather than retelling because that way a few years would've passed, Lillie and Gladion could've healed on their own and Lusamine could've gotten some time to get herself together and maybe earn a redemption. But honestly I didn't want Lusamine to be redeemed. Let her rot in the "crappy parents" brigade with Giovanni and Ghetsis. I've said this before in a previous ask that I already didn't care for the Aether Family Plot to begin with but I at least enjoyed finally having the main villain be a woman and her being just absolutely a piece of crap too. I I don't like that they tried to redeem they chose her, and in such a haphazard way. Let the women be irredeemly evil. We need to see more of that in fiction. Unrestrained cruelty knows no gender.

But then again Lusamine's writing flops just fall in line with other issues Gamefreak has with writing female characters. Right in step with "Let's make Lillie, the one female child character whose been cursed with a crappy parent be the only helpless, passive one to the point of pretty much being the load while Silver, N and her own brother Gladion who also have shitty parents get to have more agency and fight to them. Because girls are the only ones who can be damsels and boys have to be tough."

Oh and I can't forget "Let's make Professor Burnet mostly irrelevant to the plots of SM despite her field of research being the most valuable concerning the whole research plot. Can't have a female researcher be useful" As you can see I have a lot of gripes with the gen 7 plot.

But your point about how Lusamine was handled in the majority POC region of Alola is probably my biggest issue with the Aether family. Because I really didn't care for the fact that the blonde family took up so much presence and importance in the story at the expense of the POC characters who were actually born and raised in the region. Like there was two whole plotlines of the Hau trying to live with the burden of being a Kahuna's grandson and Kukui trying to show pride in his home region by creating league while also not stepping on the traditions that make Alola's island challenge so sacred and special but we don't get to see it because it's the Aether Family show. Gamefreak has had a rather prevalent issue in writing when it comes to balancing story plotlines in general, but Gen 7's botched handling really stood out to me. The Alolans had really interesting stories that I wish had of gotten more prominence rather than being shoved off to the side like they were in canon. I hope whenever we get gen 7 remakes they add more depth to Hau, Kukui, Guzma, Acerola, and Hapu's stories because their stories as natives deserve as much attention as Lillie being able to find her confidence. Finally there should've definitely been a "press x to punch Lusamine's lights out" option in game. Like you I made alolan champion OC specifically just straight up give Lusamine a black eye. Yeah it meant aging her up to around 17 instead of the canon protags age of 11. so she could have more force behind that punch but it was worth it :D

#lusamine #pokemon sm #pokemon usum #ask epic spheal

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petra-realsnk · 3 years

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Petra squad Headcanons I love them ! + some Rivetra

Sorry for answering so late! I’ve been so invested in writing that I barely can keep up with asks. I really do appreciate them, though 🥺💕

Petra’s squad headcons + Rivetra (sfw)

Edith Bisset (26-30 yrs old - she/her - 178cm)

- She was Petra’s age when first introduced. Her personality and appearance were heavily inspired by Hitch, although she has many more things in common with Petra. If they were in a modern au, they would surely be besties! These two enjoy shit-talking a little bit too much.

- She and Hugo were some of the first friends Petra made after being resurrected. They decided to transfer from the military police after being heavily deceived by its structure and realizing how much more they could bring into their society by joining their Survey Corps instead.

- Edith comes from a middle-class family in Wall Rose. Her father is a successful fabric seller, but his relationship with her daughter was somewhat conflictive, so she enlisted as soon as her age permitted it.

- She’s the mom of the squad with Petra, doing a fantastic job keeping the younger members at bay when their leader is gone. Her mature yet teasy personality makes her one of my favorites tbh. Edith would be that mean girl you’re afraid of until you get to meet her and realize she’s not mean at all. (She would roast you, though, but that’s just her sense of humor.)

- Her skills are awe-inspiring for someone who’s not an Ackerman. That’s why she was initially named second in command until Petra decided to split that position with Hugo as well.

- She solved a lot of cases while working on the Military Police. Her intelligence and deductive capabilities are some of the aspects that make her a valuable soldier.

Hugo Herrman (25-29 yrs old - he/him - 191cm)

- Cinnamon roll. He deserves all the rights. He tried to date Edith, but she ignored him (she kind of regrets it now). He comes from a modest family originally from Wall Maria. After he joined the Military Police, they were able to move inside Wall Rose. He was infinitely grateful for that decision after the fall happened. God knows if they would’ve survived otherwise.

- He has the most chill personality in the squad and behaves as an observer most of the time. His professional ethics and skills match with those of Edith, who is one of his best friends.

He’s a little bit of a “what if Marco was an adult man with a beard” character. Hugo is much more assertive, though.

- He and Petra bonded over their shared sweet nature.

- Irina had a big fat crush on him, but who wouldn’t? He’s probably one of the hottest members of the Corps. Unluckily, he’s too old for most of them.

Irina Moldovan (18-22 yrs old - she/her - 156 cm)

- The daughter of a Doctor who volunteered to tend the injured of the Survey Corps. Irina’s dad had a significant impact on her, and her peers greatly value her medical skills. She worked with Hange a couple of times before officially joining the explorers. Now, she still helps them during the shifter tests. Irina has probably tended everyone at this point, which means she knows A LOT OF SECRETS. Thank god she’s not that much interested in gossiping.

- She has the craziest personality. Irina is spontaneous, witty, and accidentally hilarious all at once. However, she tends to be a little bit clueless when it comes to reading between the lines. Nathaniel could flirt with her for hours, and the girl would never get a hint. He eventually gave up. Which is a lot coming from him.

- Evelyn often has to take care of her since she tends to neglect herself a bit whenever she focuses too much on something. Queen of hyper-fixating with Hange. You wouldn’t want to get trapped in a conversation with both of them.

-She’s a hugger while sleeping. Everybody knows that whoever ends up on her side is about to get squished into the realms of Hypnos. Nathaniel didn’t inform Levi about this for fun. The result was tragic, but he still laughs about it.

Nathaniel Brzenski (19-23 yrs old - he/him - 180cm)

-Flirtatious Himbo. Much more intelligent and emotionally mature than it might seem at first. He’s a bisexual mess who won’t stop trying to seduce everything that breathes.

- Sadly, he was the scapegoat child of the Brzenski family, a rich dynasty who had been investing in the army for decades. Of course, he grew with all the commodities, becoming the pretty rich boy who partied a little bit too much. His attitude was considered humiliating by his peers, who preferred his sister Rico, who became somewhat of the star child after joining the Garrisons. Finally, he gave in to the pressure and joined the Military Police, later changing to the Survey Corps still in hopes to regain the respect of his family.

- He excels at hand-to-hand combat.

- He was partially responsible for bringing together Petra’s squad with the 104th. This boy will approach everyone and make sure everyone stays friends, even at the expense of making himself the common annoyance.

- He’s not successful with women despite his nice looks. This is mostly because of his child-like behavior, although he would do much better if he showed his true self more often.

-He tried to hit on Levi more than once, and Petra watched in amusement each time.

Evelyn Lefebre (19-23 yrs old - she/her - 169)

- She’s one of the most balanced members of the squad, especially among its young members. Her family owns a small goldsmith workshop in Stohess that suffered greatly from the crisis provoked by the fall of Wall Maria. As a result, Evelyn decided to join the Military Police to help her family pay their debts. Like all the women in her family, she has a great passion for craftsmanship, giving her an excellent eye for detail.

- Tsundere.

- The first time Nathaniel flirted with her as a trainee, she actually took him seriously. She developed a crush for like 15 min before she saw him doing the same with Irina. Since then, Evelyn has shared a love-hate relationship with him. She finds his himbo self both endearing and exasperating and feels somewhat embarrassed over the fact that she stills harbors feelings for him.

- She’s that one girl who was described as “really mature for her age” and would probably describe herself as such.

- Don’t try to fight her. She will find a way to win even if she’s wrong. In this sense, she’s a little bit like Edith, with whom she gets along well. These two have EGOS in different ways. It would be terrifying if they got angry with each other. Nathaniel would find it hot.

- She’s the only one in the squad who can properly cook aside from Hugo.

Sabah Fadel (Ackerman) (20-24 yrs old - they/them - 153 cm)

- A long-lost member of the Ackerman clan. They lost their sister during the fall of Wall Maria due to an unfortunate intervention of Rico Brzenska. This led to a lot of resentment towards her and the Brzenski family, which made their first encounter with Nathaniel a little bit tense. Of course, he ended up becoming their best friend somehow. (Read full backstory here.)

- Everybody simps for them because they’re impossibly cool. When they joined the Survey Corps, Mikasa went into an existential crisis because nobody aside from Levi had ever equalized her skills.

- Serious, confident af, will call out and make you bite the dust 100%. Somehow, they’re dorky when you get to know them.

- Babysits everyone when they’re drunk, especially Evelyn and Irina.

- They have a stamp collection. Talking about their interests is a great way to get to know them.

Rivetra + Squad:

- Edith and Hugo were the first ones to suspect something was going on. They started to hang out with Petra before she became their leader and quickly realized how close she seemed to be with Levi. The moment they found out they were together, Edith couldn’t wait to scream, “I KNEW IT!” They’re totally professional about it but secretly wish to be able to tease her.

- The rest of the squad was a little bit louder about it, especially Irina and Nathaniel, who made sexual jokes when they weren’t around. It was certainly something to think about that pair together. They seemed total opposites from the outside.

- Levi was mortified when everybody found about their affair. He slowly got accustomed to it, but every time he approached her squad cringes at the thought. On the other hand, Petra got defensive whenever someone addressed the matter. Nathaniel once joked about it and ended up training until he nearly collapsed. Petra seldom applies harsh discipline, but whenever she does, it’s much worse than Levi.

- Levi and Petra like to make their squads compete during training. They can get really petty about it. They have fun roasting each other teams while hyping their own. Their units ended up realizing this, not that they can complain anyway…

#rivetra #digging up a grave #petra ral #levi ackerman #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot #levi x petra #writer asks #asks #rivapeto #rivetra hc #ao3fic #Petra squad

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linkspooky · 3 years

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hey, can you share your thoughts and opinions on dazai osamu's no longer human?(just the book and not in connection with bsd) i read it, i liked it, but i couldnt really relate to it. so im wondering if i should read the setting sun or not. what do you think abt this book?

I don’t think books really need to be relatable to be impactful, but context can help you understand it. In general my advice is the best way to understand a book is to read more books like it. Always, read more books.

Sure, I can write a repsonse to the text though. The book, not the anime. (Ignore the picture of Dazai, he’s just there to look cute.)

The biggest and most important idea in No Longer Human (Ningen Shikakku). The most literal translation of the title being (人間失格) "Disqualified From Being Human. I bring this up, because use of the character in the title has specific meaning.

人 (hito) : human, person 人間 (ningen): human Generally speaking, 人 is used for people, while 人間 is used for humans as a taxonomic classification.

Much like English, the fact that a person is a human is usually a given, because in our world, we call those who are humane “people,” and only humans can be humane. Just like you wouldn’t usually count humans with “three humans” and say “three people” instead, the usual way to count three humans in Japanese would also be 三人 instead of 三人間. “Human society” is 人間社会, etc.

Or to shorten 人 (hito) : human, person 人間 (ningen): human, biological.

So, there’s an extra nuannce there in the translation. The title of the book uses “ningen” as in the sense of taxonomical classification. So, it’s like saying “disqualified from being considered as a part of the human species.”

I go this far in my intro because most consider Dazai’s work to be a response to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, (he name drops both Dostoevsky and the novel itself). Both of these novels portray society as a whole as an antagonistic force to one individual, who is considered an outsider to that same society. There’s a lot of similarities between the protagonists, both Raksolnikov and Yozo are terminally ill, show signs of mental illness, and both are characters who show incredible self-awareness and moments of self reflection while at the same time being unable to connect to the feelings or identify with the people around them in any healthy way.

To connect back to my little rant on the translation of the title though, what could disqualify a person from being considered a human being? Well, they could commit a crime for instance. Then they’d be classified as a crimminal.

Both protagonists of both novels are crimminals in a sense. However, that’s about where the similarities end. NLH is centrally about the main characters egoism. Society matters so little in NLH, society is just something that hangs ominously in the background to the outsider.

Now there’s another novel by Dostoevsky that similiarly is recorded in a journal format, and is mainly about the main characters Ego. Notes from Underground is considered to be one of Dos’s first existentialist novels. Existentialism (to oversimplify) in a sense of what does existing in this world mean?

That’s why I say the central conflict is not with society itself, but rather within the character’s own head. The outsiders of society only exist within their own heads. Their main challenge is not to grapple with society, morality and law like Raskolnikov but rather to figure out what is inside their own heads and what they live for.

Which is why the protagonists of both novels are terrible egoists. Their main personality trait is their egocentrism, or rather their inability or unwillingness to try to see or understand the feelings or experiences of others. They are first person narrators who only see the world from their own point of view, but they are not objectve narrators. The only thing they can see, the only thing they can relate to, the only thing they can convey is their feelings to the reader.

F. Scott Fitzgerald writes a similiar novel from a similiar point of view in This Side of Paraidse, which shows the journey of one young man born into a rich family who grows up to not only lose the love of his life, but also to squander all his fortunes at the end of the story. However, Fitzgerald drops all pretense on what the story is about. The chapter titles are things like, the romantic egoist, the egoist considers, narcissus off duty, all the way to the egoist becomes a personage.

The book ends like this.

He stretched out his arms to the crystalline, radiant sky.

“I know myself,” he cried, “but that is all.”

It’s an egoists journey to developing a personality. To way oversimplify again, ego is yourself that exists in your own head, personage is what you show to others. At the end of This Side of Paradise, the main character gains himself, while at the end of NLH the protagonist loses himself. It’s the same journey but in reverse, it’s a net loss, it’s tragic.

NLH, This Side of Paradise, and Notes from the Underground are all about egoists who are aware of their own feelings, but aren’t aware of the feelings of others. They’re all ridiculously self absorbed individuals. That’s actually, like, the unreliable narrator trick of the novel.

Yozo is sympathetic yes, he’s an outsider to society, but at the same time Yozo is not the helpless, miserable victim he portrays himself as. He is not the victim to a cruel society, one he comes from a place of privilege and two he becomes a perpetrator. Hence, the whole... crime and punishment allusions. It’s this added complexity to Yozo that’s what makes the book as brilliant as it is. Yozo is someone who is both victim and perpetrator, but he only sees himself as a victim and the story he tells paints him exclusively as a victim.

But Yozo’s central problem isn’t society its himself. His conflict and greatest obstacle is always his own ego. The reason we read the book biographically, is because we see him grow up, or rather fail to grow up. As a kid he is sympathetic, as an adult he’s a pretty serial user of people.

Yozo constantly asks for sympathy, but at the same time he’s not really one to sympathize with others. When he tries to commit suicide with a woman, he reports these events with no remorse at all.

I removed my coat andput it in the same spot.

We entered the water together.

She died. I was saved.

He seems real broken up about it.

That’s also a pattern that repeats again and again with Yozo. If you want to see the real nature of Yozo’s character you should see how he treats both women and children. They exist to make him happy, to soothe his misery, and when they don’t he leaves them.

Like, out of context. What does this sound like.

What a holy thing uncorrupted virginity is, I thought.

I had never slept with a virgin, a girl younger than myself. I’d marry her.

The few times we do meet outside characters we see that Yozo is someone referred to as a crimminal, but refers to himself as a victim.

“Don’t be cheeky now, I for one have never been tied up like a common crimminal the way you have.”

I was taken aback. Horiki at heart did not treat me like a fully human being.

If you read No Longer Human as a response to Crime and Punishment, you could even read the many women that Yozo falls into flings with and then promptly abandons as a response to Raskolnikov and Sonya. For Yozo, each woman he meets is his Sonya, they are meant to redeem him and bring him peace, and whn they don’t he leaves. Yozo someone missing the point that, Raskolnikov loved Sonya because he sympathized with her circumstances and suffering while Yozo really only ever cares about his own suffering.

To bring the discussion back to Notes from the Underground. It’s a story divided into two parts, that really doesn’t work without the second part of the story. In the first part, as we are just fed the main character’s thoughts he looks like some kind of revolutionary philosopher. Then in the second we follow the character though a day in his life and he’s just sort of... socially awkward. He’s not some brilliant thinker, he’s just an outsider who can’t connect with others, like Yozo. The second part is necessary to underwrite the first because in the first part of the journal he looks like a champion, and in the second he’s just pathetic. He’s just some guy. Notes from the Underground also has one of my favorite lines in all of fiction.

"They won't let me ... I can't be good!" I managed to articulate; then I went to the sofa, fell on it face downwards, and sobbed on it for a quarter of an hour in genuine hysterics. She came close to me, put her arms round me and stayed motionless in that position.

The protagonist encounters a young prostitute name Liza, he tries to save her at first, but then turns around and starts to treat her terribly and has a mental breakdown in front of her that ends in this line. She finds him pitiable, and comforts him in that moment.

However, after this moment of comfort he then he goes back to treating her terribly once more. He yells at her, and she grows tired of him. He pays her and she leaves and that’s the end of that relationship.

See it’s a moment that’s simultaneously, a moment of human connection, but also it shows how the protagonist regards other people and why he can’t connect to them. If you only use other people to comfort your loneliness, you’re going to end up alone either way. The same way the Narrator uses Liza, Yozo chronically uses women.

However, at the same time.

“They won’t let me... I can’t be good.”

Is what I consider the most striking lines in all of fiction. It is both an avoidance or responsibility, and at the same time an utterance of the baisc human desire to be good. It's always everyone else's fault, the problem is with other people. Yet both Narrator, and Yozo want to be good people, they want to connect with others.

Yozo and the Narrator are crimminals. They are bad people. (A person who has committed a crime isn’t necessarily a bad person but..) However, being a crimminal does not disqualify you as a human being. They are still people who are suffering. The secondary goal of a novel like Crime and Punishment is to show St. Petersburg as a city where everyone is human, and everyone suffers, good and bad people alike. Yozo and the Narrator are miserable, and there’s humanity in that misery. You don’t have to even connect to their feelings, isn’t it bad to see a person suffering? Doesn’t that elicit an emotional response because nobody wants to see other people suffering and in pain. That’s the basic humanity in these characters. Yozo and Narrator aren’t inhuman. They’re just like... normal people. They are anxious, avoidant. They are terminally insecure. They’re socially awkward. They understand themselves better than other people. Those are all just normal human sentiments shared by everyone, it’s just Yozo and Narrator are so egocentric they act like they’re the only people in the world.

Yet the same, just like the moment Liza sympathized with a man who treated her terribly and only saw her as a prostitute, people still sympathize with miserable people and want to ease the suffering of others. That’s why Dazai writes stories for miserable people.

I am writing a tired story for young readers,

not because I want to be different,

or because I am unconcerned with young readers’ tastes.

I write it rather because I know it will please them.

Young readers are tired and old themselves these days,

and my story can bring them no discomfort and no surprises.

It is a story for those who have lost hope.

(Osamu Dazai, Of Women)

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tomorrowsdrama · 3 years

Text

2020 Year in Thirst Pt. 2

Sometimes, I will watch a drama for the plot/premise/substance and be rewarded with a surprise hottie, and it’s the best feeling ever! It’s like finding money in your pocket that you didn’t know about. The following list of dramas can be described as:

Came for the plot, was rewarded with a surprising side of thirst

1. Flower of Evil

Brief Summary: Lee Jun Ki plays Baek Hee Sung and Moon Chae Won plays Cha Ji Won, his wife who is also a detective. What Ji Won doesn’t know is that her husband, Hee Sung, is actually Hyun Soo, a man on the run from a murder that he did not commit and also a suspected accomplice to a series of murders committed by his father in the past. Oh yeah, his dad secretly tried to groom him into being his protege/murder partner. Because of how he was raised, HS believes that he has no emotions and is simply putting on an act as the perfect husband and father. His “parents” are in on the ruse and are actually the ones who forced him into assuming their comatose son’s identity. Anyway, of course things from the past start to catch up with HS and his wife is somehow assigned to investigating his old murder case. She of course feels betrayed, but also conflicted as she discovers her husband is not who he said he was and a prime murder suspect. Things get even more complicated as the real murderer re-appears with fabulous long hair and tries to frame HS for the murders. In between all of this are delicious make outs between the couple and at least one instance where they banged so hard, HS was wiped out the next morning.

Surprise Thirst Factor: I checked out this drama fully expecting to drop it because the promos were so misleading and unappealing. But boy was I in for a pleasant surprise! Not only was the drama super addicting, it also had some nice eye candy in the form of Lee Jun Ki being a completely unrealistic house husband who satisfies in the housework (The man cooks and does the laundry!), childcare, and bedroom and Kim Ji Hoon’s glorious mane of beauty making viewers have a moral crisis over lusting after a homicidal maniac (who turned out to be a real loser without murder daddy around to clean up his mess. It’s ok, we’ll always have his hair).

Yes, work that hair honey. It’s the only good thing you’ve got going on for you (the character, not Kim Ji Hoon)

The chemistry between Lee Jun Ki and Moon Chae Won was fire and the make out scenes were soo believable. Like yes, these two beautiful people are really into being married to each other and understandably want to make out all the time.

He’s the primary caretaker for their daughter and it’s just *swoons.* Not all thirst traps come in the form of sexy abs (although I would not mind if he wanted to flash some).

2. Six Flying Dragons

Brief Summary: The story of young Yi Bang Won (who later becomes King Taejong) and the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. As short as it sounds, that really is an accurate summary of the drama haha.

Surprise Thirst Factor: I started watching this drama because I heard it was a great sageuk and I’m a big fan of Yoo Ah In. Even though I’m a fan of his acting, Yoo Ah In doesn’t necessarily get my hormones raging so I wasn’t expecting to be so thirsty while watching Six Flying Dragons. But then. BUT THEN. Byun Yo Han showed up in all his scruffy tortured deadly killer glory and my hormones woke up and said hi, hello, who are you, what’s your name, what’s your sign, can I get your number? The deadlier and more tortured his character got, the sexier he became to me. Sorry Yoo Ah In, you’ll always be my acting boo, but Byun Yo Han’s got my thirst. Byun Yo Han looks so good when he's sad and/or covered in blood, it makes me feel like a sadist for thinking that I wouldn’t mind if the drama made his character cry some more.

3. Ever Night S1

Brief Summary: As a child, Ning Que witnessed his entire household get massacred because of a prophecy that the child of Hades will be born from the house and bring about the Eternal Night. Somehow, he managed to escape and was the lone survivor. He finds a baby buried in a pile of dead bodies as he’s fleeing and names her Sang Sang. The two orphans grow up inseparable from each other and do whatever it takes to survive in the harsh, cruel world. Ning Que earns money by becoming a deadly mercenary and Sang Sang takes care of the household affairs. At one point, Ning Que becomes a disciple of the powerful Fu Zi and somehow gets entangled in the struggles between the Holy Sect and Demon Sect. A bunch of beautiful women fall for Ning Que, and the drama tries its hardest to convince us that he has chemistry with and reciprocates the feelings of one of them (i.e. Mo Shan Shan), but anybody who was even half paying attention knows that the only one for Ning Que is Sang Sang. They are the OTP of all OTPs and take “ride or die” to a whole other level. Oh also, their height difference is the stuff manga dreams are made of. Ning Que is a “good guy” but also not a “good guy” in the sense that he is not above doing whatever it takes to seek revenge and is only out for himself and Sang Sang (and later, his older brothers and sisters from the academy).

Surprise Thirst Factor: Chen Feiyu is an attractive person but I could not in good conscience thirst after him because he was literally born in the year 2000. It did not help that he was only 18 when he filmed Ever Night and looked every bit his age. My thirst may have no shame, but it does have its own set of principles and one of those principles is thou shalt not lust after those born in the new millennium! Luckily for me, Second Brother is played by Dylan Kuo who is a beautiful, elegant, tall man

and Brother Chao is exactly the type of rugged and manly that I am into.

(you don’t have to be)

who looks better when wet

AHEM. Yeah.

Sixth Brother is also not so bad with his scanty pounding work attire,

4. Novoland: Eagle Flag

Brief Summary: Asule is the prince of a tribe in the grasslands who is held as a royal guest (i.e. hostage) in the Eastland Empire. There he meets his two future best friends, Yu Ran, a free spirited princess who is descended from a race of bird people, and Ji Ye, an emo neglected/shunned son of a concubine who is probably the best fighter in the empire. Ji Ye loves Yu Ran who is a ball of sunshine to his Johnny Raincloud dark emo self. Yu Ran loves Ji Ye back. Asule loves both his friends and will do anything to protect them. The world decides to fuck over best friends Asule, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran for no reason as they try their best to just live a peaceful life away from all the political scheming and fighting.

Surprise Thirst-worthiness: I was completely content with enjoying Eagle Flag purely for its story and substance. It’s seriously a wonderful, yet heartbreaking drama and the scale of the production is amazing. No cheap $10 costumes here. Also, the direction is beautiful/artistic and not the run of mill “let’s shoot it and complete it as fast as we can.” The two main actors were cute, but not really my type. Then the drama decided to give Ji Ye the “Sexy Bloody Tormented Killer Makeover” and all of a sudden your girl was rushing to MDL to check Chen Ruo Xuan’s birthday and calculating his age. I am simple, predictable, and consistent when it comes to my thirst and give a character some scruff, long hair, angst, and some bloodlust and I’m all yours. I am literally:

Is it wrong that when Ji Ye showed up looking like this ready to kill his mother’s torturer

I thought, yes, can we have him kill another?

5. Run On

Brief Summary: Im Siwan plays Ki Seon Geom, a national track runner from a rich family who is a bit of an oddball and marches to his own beat. Although his words can sometimes be construed as rude since he has no filter, they are also completely honest and have no hidden meaning. He also has his own personal code that he lives by and he will stick to it no matter how negatively it may impact himself. He meets Oh Mi Joo, a translator with her own strange quirks and sparks fly as Mi Joo is assigned to be his interpreter.

Surprise Thirst-worthiness: I kind of watched this drama by accident. I had read about Im Siwan starring in a new drama but nothing I saw from the description or promos for Run On appealed to me. Nor did it give me any information about what the drama would be about. Then one day, I just happened to be browsing Netflix for something to play in the background and decided on Run on since I thought I wouldn’t be that invested. What a happy accident that turned out to be because I’m so in love with this drama right now. This is a case where the thirst does not stem from the character’s physical appearance, but from the intensity/charisma the actor brings to the character and the character himself. Ki Seon Geom is so odd, but so appealing at the same time and Im Siwan is so magnetic in the role. Prior to Run On, Im Siwan wasn’t really my type physically. In fact, I always scratched my head whenever people called him handsome in dramas (I know, I know, forgive me). So color me shocked when I found myself swooning all over Im Siwan in the second episode of Run On. Now, it’s like I have “Im Siwan is attractive” glasses on and he looks attractive in everything to me. I want to gobble up all the dramas he’s been in.

#flower of evil #lee jun ki #six flying dragons #byun yo han #ever night #novoland eagle flag #run on #jtbc run on #im siwan #kdrama #cdrama

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mrs-nate-humphrey · 3 years

Text

So not to be dramatic, but if you could get a degree in discourse-ology, the topic of my master’s thesis would definitely be “Which political candidates did the characters of the CW’s Gossip Girl (2007-2012) support?” I’m doing this in order from most to least obvious, and considering both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

[ little ivy interjection here: i haven’t changed ANYTHING, except adding a screencap of the title + the submission, because that made me laugh & more people deserve to see it, and putting this under a read more because that’s how i generally try & organise stuff on this blog. so this submission is exactly as it was when i received it! also while we’re at it, anon, this MADE my day.]

Blair Waldorf: “Hillary Clinton is one of my role models. I do not break treaties, you ass!” (04x13) There’s no question that Blair would go hard for Hillary in 2016, she praised her on multiple occasions throughout the series. Blair’s a classic American neoliberal, third wave Democrat-type: she’s decently progressive when it comes to social policies, and would be decidedly supportive of causes like gay marriage, racial equity, and women’s reproductive rights, but she’s still very much in favor of maintaining the status quo when it comes to capitalism and the hegemonic structure of power that, lets face it, heavily favors her own class interests. To use the American healthcare system as an example: Blair would have been all for the Affordable Care Act, and is largely supportive of the idea of creating a public option - but single payer, nationalized health care? It just wouldn't work in a country like the United States for “X” reason (although the real reason, deep down, is that she doesn’t want to see her tax rate go up in any meaningful way). So she’s thoroughly for Clinton in both the 2016 primaries and the general election, she maybe even comes out with a line of high-end “I’m With Her” merchandise if she’s still CEO of Waldorf Designs, and is personally heartbroken when Clinton loses.

Flash forward to the 2020 primaries. Blairhates Donald Trump, like emotionally, viscerally hates him - his misogyny, his incompetence, and his blatant tackiness are a direct repudiation of her beliefs, and the fact that he’s representing Manhattan society and the Upper East Side to the world in such a godawful way is frankly embarrassing. So in a certain sense, her strategy, like frankly many Americans at the time going into the 2020 Democratic primaries is, “Which one of these candidates has the greatest chance at beating Donald Trump?” I see Blair being rather conflicted at first, but ultimately going for either Amy Klobuchar or Kamala Harris. She has a certain admiration for Elizabeth Warren given her professional background, but her policies are a bit too progressive for someone like Blair. Buttigeg is fine, but not especially thrilling. Biden, quite frankly, doesn’t seem like he has any real chance at winning, although I think he’d be Blair’s third choice after Harris and Klobuchar. I can see her leaning more towards Harris ultimately - although, after the “Amy Klobuchar throws staplers at her interns!!” rumors start spreading, Blair cannot help but, at a personal level, kind of respect her for that. When Biden unexpectedly takes South Carolina and then the Democratic nomination, Blair is a bit disappointed, but not overly so, and quickly marshals her financial resources into supporting and fundraising for him for the remainder of the election. At least it’s not Sanders - or Bloomberg. As a New Yorker, of course Blair’s opinion is “Fuck Michael Bloomberg”.

Chuck Bass: Now here’s where it gets interesting. Chuck, as you said, isn’t stupid - there’s no way he falls for the “build the wall” crap or any of Trump’s rhetoric, he knows it’s a bullshit farce and sees right through it. But you know what he definitely is? Deeply greedy and deeply selfish. I’m hardly the first person to point this out, but Chuck Bass is, in many ways, the fictional equivalent of the Donald Trumps and Michael Bloombergs and Brett Kavanaughs of the world - new money billionaire who inherited his wealth from his father working in the real estate industry, who despite his lack of business acumen and deeply problematic history with women, has managed to coast through life failing upwards with absolutely no social or legal accountability? I mean, back in 2010, Forbes Magazine actually did a real interview with the fictional Chuck Bass in which they outright compare him to Donald Trump. I couldn’t tell you if the Gossip Girl writers meant to write Chuck as their Trump analogue - I mean, they did invite Jared and Ivanka onto the show, after all - but the parallels are just too strong to ignore. All of which is to say, not only did Chuck Bass vote for Donald Trump, he held exclusive political fundraisers for him and was probably a substantial donor to his campaign. Now, did Chuck distance himself publicly over time as the political climate became increasingly caustic and public sentiment towards Trump plummeted even further? Perhaps, perhaps not. It really depends on if the board of Bass Industries felt like being connected to Trump was a liability or an asset - but privately, I imagine Chuck once again voted for him in 2020, because the one policy Donald Trump did effectively execute during his tenure in office was massive tax cuts for billionaires, and for someone like Chuck Bass, that’s the only political policy that really matters. He wouldn’t wear a red hat and wouldn’t be caught dead within sniffing distance of a MAGA rally and the hoi polloi, but dude is basically the image of what the kind of rich conservatives backing the Trump administration for personal gain look like. On the off chance that the distastefulness of it all got to be a little much for even Chuck post-2016, perhaps he might switch his vote to Bloomberg. But I highly doubt Chuck would be politically invested in anything other than his own wallet to such an extent that he wouldn’t vote for Trump, no matter how much it would no doubt completely infuriate Blair.

Dan Humphrey: As the unofficial king of the hipsters, Dan has been a Sanders supporter since before it was cool. Seriously, Bernie Sanders appeals to Dan intrinsically on every level - his policies, his rhetoric, even his aesthetic - the rumpled old man with wild hair wearing mittens and railing against the upper class is the sort of thing that’s basically political catnip for someone like Dan Humphrey. Not only would Dan vote for Sanders in both the 2016 and 2020 primaries, he’d go out and be one of the celebrities campaigning for him. This would definitely lead to him butting heads with Blair, and she would no doubt call him out on supporting someone like Sanders when Dan himself is now a millionaire, who made his money from writing stories about the upper class. The fact that in 2017 he apparently gets married to Serena, a billionaire heiress, and may or may not have been engaged to her back in 2016 when the Democratic primaries were happening might cause him a bit of cognitive dissonance, but really, just because he’s climbed up the socio-economic ladder now doesn’t mean his values have really changed, have they? (Debatable.) In any case, in both the 2016 and 2020 general elections, Dan would definitely vote for Clinton and Biden respectively - although he’d be significantly more disgruntled about it than Blair would be switching from Harris to Biden. I don’t think Dan would be a “Bernie bro” in the way that term is used, but he’d definitely chafe against Clinton’s past policy decisions, and would probably make some snippy Tweets about her during the election. Nevertheless, once it became clear that Trump was going to be the Republican nominee and was a serious threat, I think Dan would change his tone and start encouraging his fans and followers to vote for Clinton. Likewise, in 2020, Dan would probably become one of the Sanders supporters doing outreach for Biden, having become more politically pragmatic following the experience of living under the Trump administration.

Vanessa Abrams: Much like Dan, Vanessa is a progressive, although unlike Dan, Vanessa’s activism is more focused around specific issues and less around specific politicians. I can see Dan and Vanessa being in roughly the same place in 2016, and given that the only real choices were between Sanders and Clinton in the primaries (RIP to Martin O'Malley), Vanessa would no doubt go for Sanders. Whereas Dan might campaign for Sanders directly however, Vanessa would instead focus her time and resources around advocacy for specific causes that are important to her, like climate change and racial justice, and would probably use her platform as a filmmaker and documentarian to advance those causes. I could very much see her getting involved with movements like Black Lives Matter and organizations like the Sunrise Movement, and taking part in protests, marches, and sit-ins. When the 2020 Democratic primaries come around, I could see her possibly switching from Sanders to Warren for a while (and Dan would definitely argue with her about it if she did), but I can also see her switching back to Sanders after Warren amended her support for single-payer, “Medicare for All”. She’d definitely vote for Clinton and Biden in the generals, but not enthusiastically.

Nate Archibald: For someone whose family business is politics and who, in 2017, is apparently a candidate in the New York City mayoral election, Nate seems to be rather removed from politics. As Vanessa puts it in 02x19, “The only thing Nate’s ever voted for is American Idol.” Still, as Editor-in-Chief of The Spectator, Nate kind of has to have an opinion, and in that respect, I see him gravitating towards the type of center-left “establishment” candidates that he and his family would no doubt have close ties with. In the Gossip Girl universe, the Vanderbilts are portrayed as being a lot like the Kennedys, and I think Nate’s policies as a mayoral candidate would really reflect that. In 2016, he would vote for Hillary Clinton in both the primaries and the generals without much of a second thought - after all, she’s the obvious choice, and there’s no way a candidate like Donald Trump could actually beat her, right? Actually, optimistically, maybe that’s why Nate decides to jump into the mayoral race in 2017 - previously, he had been for all intents and purposes politically apathetic, but seeing someone as genuinely vile as Donald Trump ascend to the office of the presidency stirs him out of that apathy, and he wants to make a positive difference in the only way an incredibly privileged white man from a politically prominent family knows how. So he runs as a Kennedy-esque center left candidate, further left of someone like Hillary Clinton, but more moderate than someone like Elizabeth Warren - sort of like Kamala Harris, now that I think about it. I have no idea if he would actually be able to beat Bill de Blasio given the major incumbency advantage de Blasio would have, but who knows. Come the 2020 Democratic primaries, I think Nate would probably just vote for whoever he believed was most likely to beat Donald Trump. I don’t see him having any sort of clear preference - maybe he would gravitate towards Biden on the basis of him being the most established candidate, or maybe he would gravitate towards Harris on the basis of her campaigning as the “moderate progressive” candidate. I could also seeing him liking Andrew Yang, come to think of it. In any case, he would most definitely support Joe Biden in the generals. How involved he’d be in supporting him really depends on whether or not Nate actually gets elected to mayor - if he was the mayor, he’d definitely endorse him and probably donate to him, but I think he’d be too wrapped up in his own political responsibilities to really do much more than that. If, however, he lost the election and was still the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectator, I can see Nate getting more involved alongside the rest of his family, officially endorsing him in The Spectator, hosting political fundraisers for him, and maybe even campaigning for him. The Vanderbilts in the Gossip Girl universe (I have no idea what the family’s actual political beliefs are in real life) definitely seem to me like they’d be Biden supporters, and I imagine they’d use their political clout to try and get Biden in, and more importantly, Trump out.

Serena van der Woodsen: Oh Serena. Look, she knows it’s important, okay? It’s just, she’s been really busy lately, and she doesn’t really like to think about politics, and hey, remember that fundraiser she did with her mom for last month’s philanthropic cause du jour? Serena’s a Democrat, vaguely, but if you tried to really pin her down on her political beliefs she’d probably just change the topic. So who does she vote for in 2016? The truth is, she doesn’t. Not in the primaries, not in the general, not at all. She meant to, okay, Blair’s definitely been pestering her to send in her mail-in-ballot for weeks, but she just got distracted and forgot. Serena really strikes me as the kind of person who doesn’t enjoy thinking or talking about politics, save for perhaps a few specific issues, and she has a sense that everything will work itself out eventually and she doesn’t really need to participate. And then the 2016 election happens, and holy shit, she didn’t vote. Blair and Dan might have spent early 2016 bickering with each other over Clinton versus Sanders, but the one thing they can definitely agree on is “What the fuck, Serena?!?!” They both reminded her like, a million times, how could she possibly forget?! Serena feels really bad about it - she didn’t think it was such a big deal, she didn’t think Donald Trump could actually win! - and so she starts overcompensating whenever the topic of politics comes up, maybe even joins Vanessa at a few protests and marches, even though she’s still sort of clueless about the actual issues at hand. She does vote in the 2018 midterms, although only in the general election - straight blue ticket, all the way down. She takes a picture of herself at the voting booth wearing an “I Voted!” sticker and posts it on Instagram, tagging both Dan and Blair in the post (who already voted weeks ago using mail-in ballots, but it’s the thought that counts). Flash forward to 2020, and she really needs to make a decision about who to vote for in the primaries… but there’s just so many choices. Everything seems so scary and stressful and real in a way now that it didn’t back in 2016, and she can’t just ignore it and assume things will work out for the best like she did back then. So who does she vote for? Well, Serena always wins, so she votes for Biden. Conspiratorially, both Dan and Blair privately wonder if her voting for Biden isn’t on some cosmic level the reason for his unexpected victory, even if they know there’s no logical way that’s possible, right? But it would be such a Serena thing to do… In any case, Serena’s just happy her candidate won, and would probably host political fundraisers for him with her mom’s circle of philanthropic friends. Assuming she and Dan are still married at this point, she offers to help him do political outreach to Sanders supporters to get them to vote for Biden, which he sweetly dissuades her from given that most Sanders supporters would probably dislike her on principle.

So that’s how, in my opinion, the main cast would vote, ordered roughly in how confident I am about that analysis. You could make the argument that perhaps some characters would vote or act differently based on whether or not they’re dating or married at the time - like, would Chuck openly fundraise for Trump when Blair is a dyed-in-the-wool Clinton supporter if they’re married? (He totally would.) But I tried to consider them purely on the merits of their personalities and values, and not on the particularities of their situations at the time (with the exception of Nate, just because him being in office or not would obviously make a huge difference in regards to how politically involved he’s going to be).

I wish I put as much effort into my actual university essays as I did on Gossip Girl political analysis.

#meta #gossip girl #anon you're literally a legend #i cannot believe you submitted this to my little blog when you could've like......#sent it in to vox or something #it's just SO good?#also honestly 'i wish i put as much effort into uni as i did into gg meta' is like #THE BRAND on my blog so #*raises a glass* cheers!#i don't even have words i just think you're objectively correct about ALL of this #gg politics #submission #i am LITERALLY flattered to receive this gem thank you so much?#no no flattered is the wrong word: honoured is better #but i really appreciate it is all

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ac3id · 4 years

Text

Selfish [ii/iii]

Pairings: Yandere!Miruko ( Usagiyama Rumi ) x fem!reader

Warnings: y/n's life goes📉,alcohol consumption, harassment, uses of aphrodisiacs, dom!Rumi consensual smut

[a/n:dm us if you want to be added or removed from our taglist]

Summary: You are satisfied with your life, as a successful lawyer, you’re rich and powerful. Your life never boring as you often visit foreign countries with your friends, of course until you meet Miruko the Rabbit Hero one day in the court. A conflict between your boss and her end in the court and pique her interest when you manage to win the case. Miruko is selfish, and she must have you, she’ll not stop until she has you. She may along the way ruin your life so the only person you have is her. Miruko really doesn't care, she’s selfish.

word count: 2.9k

part i, ii, iii

masterlist

The frantic ringing of your cell phone woke you up from your sleep.You frowned thinking it was your alarm clock waking you up for another tiring day. You brought the device to your face and squinted as the bright light illuminated the darkroom and stung your eyes.

"What?" you said as you recognized the caller I.D, it displayed your boss's name and you groaned. Picking up the call you placed it to your ear and immediately regretted it.

"L/N," he snarled into the phone and you almost flinched. Your mind started going about all the reasons for him to be calling you at this hour.

Did he found out about me slacking? In the end, you couldn't find a reason.

"Yes? Sir?" you ask, "Don't play innocent now! Why did you do it? Do you realize what could have happened if the Mayor had died? How much did they pay you?" he screamed into the phone and your face paled.

"What do you mean? I-" "Oh! Don't start now!!" he cut you off, sweat was rolling from your forehead despite the chillness of the air conditioning. You felt sick. An urge to throw up your dinner propelled you. Your boss continued to explain how you had leaked confidential information about the Mayor's whereabouts for a secret meeting. Your firm was the only one who had this information, it was only given to a trusted few- including you.

Your boss informed that a few villains had attacked the Mayor and when interrogated about how they knew about the meeting, they answered that a woman by 'Y/N L/N' had told them about it. This was, obviously, false. The night the villains reported about meeting with you- you were with Neo (more like Miruko) at the gala. It could not have been you.

Confident, you blurt out your response. "It was not me! I was with Neo on Saturday night. The annual Pro-Hero meet. I was with him the entire time! I'm being set up!" there was a pause from his side and you hear a sigh.

"That must be true, Y/N." He called you by your name, finally. "I trust you, you would never do this to us. There will an inspection. You'll be called anytime now. I called to warn you. I have known you for five years! There is no way it was you! Do you have any ideas about who could be setting you up?"

His voice was softer as he spoke and a wave of relief hit you. "I don't know, sir. Could be anyone who does not like me, could also be someone from the firm!" you exclaimed, "You're correct. Listen, Y/N, you'll be fine. We will get you out of here, okay?" he continued and both of you talked about the potential suspects for about ten minutes and ended the call.

Sleep came scarcely it felt as if you had only closed your eyes for ten minutes and the birds had started chirping welcoming a new day. You got up on your bed and palmed your temples the anxiety from the night started to build up again. You ran to the washroom as you hovered over the toilet seat and emptied your stomach vomiting. You felt sick. Even though you knew that you weren't at fault the nervousness of getting sued still built up bad.

You started cleaning up and heard your phone ring. You knew why they had called.

"Hello? Y/N L/N?" a feminine voice greeted you, "Yes, that's me, good morning." you greeted despite how bitter your mouth felt. "Good morning to you too. Can you come down to the station ASAP? It's for a case." she asked. "It's for a case?"

"I cannot disclose the details via call, we will tell you as soon as you arrive, good day." she hung up the call and you scoffed, you continued with your routine and made your way down to the station.

They sat you down in an integration room, you had been here before but this time it was different. You were not with client this time.

"Hello, L/N," It was Lee David, the bastard hated you. All the time at trial, the suspect he brought back was proven not guilty due to your courtesy. Seeing you sitting down, minutes away from getting sued brought him great satisfaction.

"Hello, Mr.Lee," you greeted him with a bitchy smile which he returned. "You look like shit." You continued signaling to his messy hair and sleep-deprived eyes. "What's with the new hair? Did you shed your skin, you snake?" he glared at you and you laughed. "That was a very bad one Mr.Lee,"

"Enough, let's get down to business." Another inspector came they asked you questions and you answered truthfully.

Maybe it was that luck was not on your hand that day because, in the end, you were charged with breach of contract and had to pay your entire life's worth to the Government.

How did this happen? When the detectives called Neo to confirm your alibi, he confessed that you did attend the gala with him but the entire night he did not know your whereabouts. That was no lie, you were with Miruko. But you couldn't have disclosed that or what the two of you were doing together. So, you sat and watched as your whole life fell apart.

Every day became harder after your fall. Your friends 'left', your firm fired you. You couldn't even afford your apartment anymore! You lived with a college friend who still cared about, drank away all your worries. You had reached the rock bottom. Nothing could have been worse than this.

Oh boy, you were wrong.

It was another one of those nights were you drank away your worries and down at a park thinking about better days. It was late, you did not notice the thugs who were surrounding you until you felt a hand on your shoulder. You quickly turned back to be greeted with an ugly face smiling down at you.

"It's late miss, why don't you come with us? We will take care of you. It's quite dangerous for women like yourself to be alone now, right?"

He turned to his friends behind him and started giggling, your blood grew cold as his grip tightened on your shoulder.

"No, I am fine." You tried swatting his hand away but it wouldn't budge, "C'mon now, princess. Come with us! we'll show ya' a great time."

"What's going on over there?" A familiar voice calls out and everyone whips their heads to the source. Miruko stands, glaring at the men and you feel the leader's grip fall from your shoulder. She was in her joggers, probably out on a run.

They knew better than to mess with Miruko.

"Hey, you there? Are you okay?" Miruko runs up to where you were sitting, you stand up as she approaches. A small gasp leaves her when she recognizes you.

"Y/N," she starts, "How are you- I heard what happened and I can not help but blame my-"

"Thanks for scaring those guys off."

Maybe it was Miruko fault, maybe it was not. You did not care anymore.

"Y/N," she called out sternly trying to look at your face but you turned away. There was a pause, silence, and then she placed two fingers under your chin and pulled your face to face her. She wore a soft expression which made you groan internally. You didn't need her pity.

"Listen,-" "It's not your fault!" you exclaimed before she could start.

"Please don't." Miruko sighed as she let go of your face, "Where are you going to stay tonight?" she asked.

"At my friend's place," "How far is it from here?"

"An hour." Miruko frowned, "Stay over at mine, you're in no shape to travel alone for an hour." she says pointing out to your red cheeks still intoxicated. She was right if you left now there was no guarantee you wouldn't run into weirdos from before.

"Fine." You say as you follow Miruko.

Miruko's place wasn't far. She lived in a gated community very much like you did before your life went upside down. You followed her into the kitchen where she put down a glass of water for you.

"It's late, you should sleep. I'll be arranging the guest room. Just come upstairs after you've...drank the water.." It was an awkward sentence to say.

You followed her instructions as you gulped the water slightly cringing at the taste. You walked up the penthouse and saw Miruko standing in front of the guest room scrolling through her phone. She turned to you as she saw you approach her, "I have kept some comfortable clothes you can sleep in," she said scanning your body you almost thought she was checking you out (she was) until you realized you were wearing jeans. "Yeah, um, thank you again. Miruko."

"Rumi, call me Rumi, Y/N."

"Right, Rumi."

You wished her goodnight and changed out of your clothes into the large shirt and shorts she had presented out for you. You got into the bed, switched off the lights, and drifted off to sleep. After what felt like minutes you were awoken again.

"Hot," you whispered. You felt hot all over your body, you discarded yourself of the large shirt and shorts. Left in a spaghetti top and your panties you kicked your blanket and tried to go back to sleep but your mind felt hazy.

You felt your clit throb with need, you couldn't take it anymore.

You open the door to Miruko's bedroom. You feel yourself get wetter when you find sleeping on her bed, glowing under the moonlight.

You climb on her bed and make your way to straddle her left thigh

You tried to relax your breathing as you find yourself shamelessly grinding on her thigh, trying desperately to get yourself off and make the pain go away. This was embarrassing

you leaned down to softly kiss her neck, you let your hand go under her robe, tracing her abs, your breath hot against her neck. You feel her stir under you she slowly opens her eyes. Her red eyes ran over your body taking in your desperate figure. You panties wet, clinging to your cunt and nipples hard under the thin tank top you wore. You realize she had woken up and stopped grinding against her, embarrassed you look away from her bringing your trembling fingers from her body,

"I am sorry, I don't know wh-"

"Continue."

"What?" you were confused, your brows knit together as you look back at Miruko. Her face is stern, she is looking up at you with a glare, her gaze makes your clit throb and you try your best to not act on instinct.

"I said." she pauses and pushes her leg harder between your legs, applying pressure on your clit and you let out a soft moan.

"Continue, fuck yourself. Give me a show."

her voice was deeper, it sent shivers down your spine. Your face heated up as you started grinding yourself against her thigh again small whimpers escaping.

Under you, Miruko smirked, the aphrodisiac she had given you had worked.

She lets out the quietest moan as she watched you fuck yourself on her thigh. Her gaze so intense you felt the tips of your ears burning.

You brush your lips against hers, Miroku kisses you passionately, gently, softly, wanting to be as tender with you as possible. Your lips molding perfectly together. You bite her bottom lip softly, trailing kisses down her neck, tugging on the ends of her hair slightly to make her head go back, allowing you more access.

"So impatient today, huh?" she purred, her hand resting on your hip, urging you to go on. You panted in response, clutching her leg between your thighs

A soft whimper escapes from you making her grip tighten on your hip, definitely leaving bruises, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. The flimsy material of your panties allows you to feel the defined muscles of her thigh as your clit grounds into it.

You pull away from her neck to grind down harder. she can feel your arousal seeping to her thigh.

You began leaving kisses down the valley of her toned breasts, slowly lapping your tongue and sucking on the skin around her nipples. You attach your lips to her right nipple, rolling your tongue on the bud and sucking harshly as you continued to grind yourself against her. You shivered at the stimulation your clit received from the friction of her muscles, feeling your arousal dampening the cotton of your panties, her head went back a moan escaping her lips.

You whimpered, the noise fueling you on moving your hips faster. Miruko looked up at you in awe, there was something so needy about you as you rode her thigh, your pleas, and whines, making her clit throb with arousal.

You place your arms over her shoulders and begins to rock you back and forth on her thigh, gently encouraging you with soft strokes to your skin.

You close your eyes, head rolling back as your hips stutter, the wet soft slapping of your skin against hers bringing you much closer to your climax.

Miruko piercing eyes never left your body. Her grip on your waist getting tighter, "Go harder, sugar. I wanna see you cum." You nodded and quickened your pace.

Your grip tightens on her shoulders as you prepared yourself for the intense wave of pleasure.

Within seconds, an orgasm washed over you like a wave. You continued to ride it out grinding yourself on her thigh. Your grinding slowing down and eventually coming to a stop. Both of you were panting. You looked down to see the mess you made on her thigh.

''Mommy, p-please take care of me'' you sobbed, tears pricking around the corner your eyes. The way you were addressing turned her on. You were so desperate.

''It hurts'' your voice cracked which broke Miruko's heart she underestimated the dose of the drugs she had given you.

"Is my pretty girl horny?" you sobbed in response making her move your panties to the side, letting her finger move up your folds collecting your arousal. She groaned softly. "Fuck I've barely touched you, sugar and you're already soaked."

"I-I want m-more." it was nothing more than a mere whisper with a sob.

She discards your drenched panties and strips off her robe and gently lays you onto your back, lining your cunt up to hers. She looks up at you, a smile playing around her lips. The look on her face made you drool further for her, your thighs rubbing together in an attempt to soothe your intense heat

You lie pliantly beneath her, your hair splayed beneath her, making you look angelic.

"you ready, sugar?" she asked, gazing at you as she straddled your waist. you nodded jolts of pleasure running up your spine in anticipation.

She grinds her pussy down onto yours, she chokes out a moan, her eyes rolling back as your juices intermingle.

Your clits rubbed against each other. You moaning softly underneath her drove her wild. It fueled her desire, causing her to grip your hips and grind into you harder, panting wildly pressing you further into her mattress. Every thrust against your sensitive cunt an electric charge shoots through your body.

Your moans are loud and obscene as your wet pussy rubs over hers. "Oh, yeah, mommy! Harder! Right there, fuck!" you screamed, throwing you head back and moaning.

"Shit," she whispered and growled, "Like that, sugar?"

"Ah, fuck, right there," you moan, gripping the sheets beneath you. Miroku pants, reveling in the sight beneath her; your spread legs in between hers, your hardened nipples and back arching at the slightest movements.

"My pretty girl. You look so cute like this," she grinds her cunt against yours faster, her tits bounce with every thrust. The pitch of her moans growing higher. Both of your moans fill the room. You tremble beneath her as she fastens her pace again

You pull her in close, your lips claiming hers in a hot kiss. You explored every part of Miruko's mouth, feeling her soft lips against yours. you bit her bottom lip as the erotic and lewd noises of your cunts rubbing against each other fill your ears.

"Ahhh -fuck-mommy," you scream in between kisses. she pulls away to look at you moaning and whining. she moved a few strands of loose hair, biting her lip and putting her hands on either side of your head to help her increase her pace.

You both groan out, your hands clasping her arm as she grinds forward quicker and harder.

"Dirty girl... feels so fucking good," she breathes out, increasing her pace to a medium as she throws her head back in ecstasy.

"shit... I'm close mommy, so close," you whimper, your lips parted as her pace quickens. her head is slightly thrown back, moaning into oblivion as her orgasm comes closer. "God, cum for me, sugar," she groans, her grip on your leg getting tighter.

Your back arches one last time before your orgasm rolls like powerful waves through your body, making you tremble beneath Miruko's frame.

"You did so well for me, my precious girl. Always so good for me."

her hands find your hips and her brows scrunch together and her lips opening with soft pants. Riding her orgasm as you tremble with the aftershocks of yours.

Honestly, she just wanted you to cum again. You looked so hot while doing so, she wanted to see you doing it — she wanted to see your pretty face in pleasure, and your eyes rolled back. she wanted to hear you moan while watching you do it, too.

"Thank you," you murmur, your lips just barely brushing against hers. you sigh heavily, chest heaving as she kisses you back.

"It’s all right."

You slump down next to Miruko and drift off, Miruko watches you sleep as she smiles to herself. Her plan had worked.

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hollywoods-golden-age-imagines · 3 years

Text

A forbidden/secret romance with King Mongkut would include~

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- Forbidden? Nothing is forbidden from the King of Siam! Well, that's what he likes to think anyway. In actuality, that’s not exactly true.

- While the King is able to do; and does, pretty much whatever he pleases, there are still certain unspoken rules that even he must acknowledge exist. One of those rules being that the King of Siam should not be seen fraternizing with peasant girls; least of all in a “more than friendly” way.

- And yet, there you were, pretty as can be …and the daughter of the man he bought his gardens trees from.

- He first saw you as you were helping your father deliver his newest order. He liked you almost immediately and from that moment on, he knew; in some way, he had to have you.

- So he goes out and has his servant introduce the two of you. He enjoys your nervousness, he likes the way you glance up shyly at him and say your polite little greeting.

- He takes you on a walk around the gardens as your father continues his work, telling you about his plans for future areas and bragging about how magnificent it will be.

- At some point, you inform him that a certain phase of his plane isn’t possible, explaining that if he were to try it, it would kill the plants immediately.

- He looks at you with a scowl and for a moment you’re terrified that you’ve done something terribly wrong, but then he “asks” about another area of the garden; one that fits the type of environment you’d explained would be needed, and his smile returns as you agree that it would be the perfect place; complimenting him on his decision.

- When you’ve returned to the front gates, he stops you and your father before you leave, informing the two of you that he’d like to have you return the next day. As he’s walking away, he confirms that he wants you to return and with a wave of his hand, you’re both dismissed.

- And so you return. And then you return again …and again …and again, until finally, he confronts you with the idea of you taking a room in his home to be his “garden manager”. He refuses to take no for an answer, even as you try to explain that your father would be better suited and soon enough you’re living in his palace.

- In the beginning, every now and again he would have his servants call upon you and it would always scare the hell out of you because you’d assume you were in trouble. That fear would dissipate the moment you arrived in his room and he’d merely ask you a bunch of questions and make conversation, prolonging your meaningless visit for as long as he could.

- Once you’ve been there for a little while, you’ll begin to get more comfortable, especially after you figure out that he seems to find your lack of knowledge about kingdom life and being around a king amusing.

- He’ll always demand that people leave you two alone when you’re in his room/office or walking the grounds, etc. He hates being interrupted when you’re together.

- There’s this internal conflict inside of him. On one hand, he knows that he cares for you more than he’s ever truly thought possible. On the other hand, he knows he shouldn’t be feeling this way and that if his people knew, they would surely lose; at least, a little respect for him.

- He tries to keep himself from admitting his feelings for you and giving in but it is truly difficult.

- The sexual tension between the two of you is palpable. In some moments, you feel as though if you raised your hand between you, there’d be a current there, a force that binds you.

- Your relationship is a slow burn, especially before the two of you kiss for the first time. There’s countless moments where you have that will they, won’t they sort of interaction and you both expect something to happen but it just doesn’t.

- Artful seduction. Picture this: you enter his room, he is lying on the floor in a sultry position, his shirt is open wider or completely missing, he gazes at you with fire in his eyes. That’s one of the few times he’s tried to “subtly” proposition you though you probably didn’t fully catch on.

- We all know that he’s a fairly blunt man who just does as he pleases. When he’s had enough toying around, he’ll just kiss you or flat out tell you that he “wants you”.

- He never outright tells you exactly how he feels about you but you can see it in his eyes and the way he acts with you: how he touches and kisses you, etc. He doesn’t admit his affections or feelings to many people so it isn’t just you.

- I’m just saying, if you come from another country than he falls for you even harder and makes the excuse that the time you spend with each other is him consulting you on foreign matters.

- At least one of his wives know what's going on; especially if he asks them to come and get you constantly or if you spend a lot of time with them. They obviously aren’t upset by it, they actually sort of like that he’s taken by someone so humble and kind.

- The palace is big and he rules with an iron fist so it isn’t likely that a ton of people will catch the two of you in the act. You can be with each other with little risk.

- A lot of people will wonder how you can sway him so much. They don’t understand how he relents so easily and does as you ask.

- He has to somewhat hide exactly how much he enjoys your praise, not wanting people to catch on to the fact that your opinion means more to him than anyone else’s.

- Gifts. He may not be able to be at your side, touching you constantly or in public but the bracelet of his that he has given you can be.

- He’s a very jealous man so try to avoid other men when you’re around him, even if they’re just your friends. He’ll make a point to interject himself into your conversation, making passive aggressive comments or doing something that alludes to his new dislike of them. You’ll definitely be questioned about it later that day.

- After he gets jealous, he’ll call you to his side and purposefully keep you near so that you aren’t around that other person. He wants you to prove to him that you still favor him above anybody else.

- Spending countless nights in his room and disappearing to your own early in the morning.

- He enjoys the way you speak and behave, it’s so different from the women he’s used to. All the different slang and habits that you've picked up over the years really interest him.

- Swift, strong and passionate kisses.

- Sometimes you’ll just be pulled into some secluded area and caught in a searing kiss before you even realize it.

- Purposefully placed hands. People don’t take notice but you do, the way his hands move to rest on the curve of your waist or hip or slide to the small of your back.

- Emotion filled glances. It’s enough to make you feel like you’re drowning; or burning, alive.

- Having dinner with him, his dining room is usually empty anyway.

- One by one, his wives and servants will begin to see what’s happening but none dare to say anything; at least not to him.

- He goes with you to visit your father/family, scoping out your home or your fathers shop as only a rich person can, finding interest in little things; different innovations or tools, because he’s never had to use any of them before.

- After a while, he decides that he’s sure that he wants to keep you with him forever so he finally expresses his true feelings for you. He tells you confidently, as though he expects you to automatically return his affections, but on the inside he’s still nervous.

- In the end, it really doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, if he wants to “keep you” he will, regardless of anyone opinions. He’s only ever really married out of convenience and for beauty and while he’s grown to care for all his brides, he truly loves you. Because of that, nothing in the world could stop him.

#the king and i imagine #the king and i headcanons #the king and i headcanon #the king and i imagines #king mongkut imagine #king mongkut headcanons #king mongkut headcanon #king mongkut imagines #50s movie imagine #1950s movie imagines #1950s movie imagine #1950s movie headcanons #1950s movie headcanon #50s movie headcanons #50s movie imagines #50s movie headcanon

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letterboxd · 3 years

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Bridging the Gap.

Filmmaker So Yun Um highlights ten underrated Asian American and Pacific Islander films set against the backdrop of America.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has many film lovers seeking to celebrate Asian American cinema. Beyond Minari, Always Be My Maybe and Crazy Rich Asians, there are dozens of films that depict the Asian American experience. In choosing to focus on ten of the lesser-seen, I contemplated the notion of what defines AAPI cinema.

For me, it goes deeper than films that have been directed by, or star, Asian American and Pacific artists. Having watched a wide selection of Asian American films, I can firmly say our cinema, no matter the genre, puts Asian Americans at the forefront on both sides of the camera. I believe the essence of Asian American cinema was born out of resourcefulness, mining themes and ideas that distinctly bridge the gap between Asian and American culture. These films tell stories that explore the vast differences between the two, and the ways in which they coexist, whether comfortably or uncomfortably.

In selecting these ten underrated AAPI films, I searched deep to find stories with uncompromising vision and character; stories about Asians that could only be told within, and against the backdrop of, America. These ten films highlight intimate, distinct and unfiltered experiences mostly unseen at our local multiplexes: family and cultural obligations, generational and cultural gaps, and raw, mostly obscured views of American life.

Chan is Missing (1982) Directed by Wayne Wang, written by Isaac Cronin and Wayne Wang

There would be no Asian American independent cinema without Wayne Wang’s Chan is Missing. Shot on black-and-white film, this striking noir follows Jo, a San Franciscan cab driver, and his nephew, Steve, as they track down the titular Chan after he disappears with their money. Wang’s unpredictable directing career spans neighborhood intrigues, rom-coms and family movies; alongside which, he has kept a strong focus on Asian American stories (he helmed the adaptation of Amy Tan’s generational bestseller, The Joy Luck Club).

In Chan is Missing, for the first time on screen, we get to finally see an “ABC” (American-Born Chinese) story from the source, with an all-access pass to the often misunderstood terrain and people of Chinatown. It’s the tightness of the plot and the authenticity of its characters that make this movie such a classic. Even after 40 years, Chan Is Missing doesn’t feel dated—its laugh-out-loud dialogue (they actually utter the word “FOB”!) and moody tone capture why Chinatown continues to be an enigma. Spoilers: Chinatown runs by its own rules.

Available on DVD via Indiepix Films.

Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) Directed by Justin Lin, written by Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin and Fabian Marquez

Justin Lin’s directorial debut film is a visionary portrait of Asian Americans that’s still relevant two decades on. Since its release in the early aughts, there has yet to be a film that explores the nuances and complexities of the average Southern-California Asian American teen like this film does. Better Luck Tomorrow focuses on a group of Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime. It’s loosely based on four Sunny Hills High School students and the real-life murder of Stuart Tay, a teenager from the OC.

With its depiction of overachieving A+ students who are also foul-mouthed, drug-taking kids, this film was the launching pad for many iconic Asian American actors today—Sung Kang from the Fast and Furious franchise, John Cho (Star Trek) and my personal favorite, Jason Tobin, star of the Warrior TV series. (It’s entertaining to see the seeds of the Fast and Furious series planted in this film in the character of Han, played by Sung Kang, before the explosion of the franchise: one of the characters mutters, “Rumors about us came and went fast and furious”—and the rest is history.)

Better Luck Tomorrow still stands as the most iconic film to capture the suburban Asian American teen existence in all its good, bad and ugly light. “I was part of a movement,” Tobin recalled in this GQ oral history of the film, “and it was a culmination of all the battles I had fought before that to get Asian faces on the big screen.”

Available to stream and rent on multiple platforms.

The Grace Lee Project (2005) Directed by Grace Lee

If you’re an Asian American who grew up in California or New York, chances are, you know at least two Grace Lees in your life. But growing up in Missouri, Korean American filmmaker Grace Lee was the only one she knew with her name. She soon discovers that with the name comes a certain stereotype, that of the “good” Asian—quiet, well-behaved and a hard worker. Lee goes on a quest to interview a wide range of women who have the same name and soon discover if this wildly common stereotype is true.

Lee’s witty, autobiographical documentary is effortlessly funny and insightful. The Grace Lee Project dives deep into identity politics to reveal that sometimes, a name is simply a name. This was the start of Grace Lee’s journey as a filmmaker and she continues to be an important voice in not just the documentary space but in narrative stories as well.

Streaming on Kanopy.

Saving Face (2004) Written and directed by Alice Wu

Alice Wu’s Saving Face is a timeless queer love story. Produced by none other than Will Smith (yes, that Will Smith), Saving Face follows a Chinese American lesbian woman and her traditional mother (played by Michelle Krusiec and Joan Chen, respectively) as both battle with their reluctance to go against cultural expectations and reveal their secret loves. It’s part family drama, part rom-com, exploring expectations specific to Asian women across generations.

While most Asian American films focus on familial obligations through the point of view of the children of immigrants, Wu’s film considers the conflicts of both daughter and mother. For Asian Americans, it’s a tale as old as time but with a twist that shows that no matter how old you get, you still have to, unfortunately, fight to be who you are. I also highly recommend Wu’s spiritual sequel, The Half of It, on Netflix.

Streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

In Between Days (‘방황의 날들’, 2007) Directed by So Yong Kim, written by Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim

So Yong Kim’s debut feature, In Between Days, follows Jiseon Kim, a Korean teen immigrant, who falls in love with her best friend while navigating the challenges of living in a new country. Director Kim is a masterful storyteller and captures life as it should be seen: unfiltered and trivial at times, but using the mundane to find cinematic magic.

I like to categorize So Yong Kim’s work as a showcase of extreme intimacy. Her story features painfully delicate characters and moments so real, you’ll wonder how any of these scenes could be fiction. There’s a sense of vulnerability and loneliness that fills the air as Jiseon struggles to assimilate to a new country, replete with toxic relationships, self-sabotage and unrelenting jealousy. So Yong Kim’s work is so painfully real, it hurts to watch.

Available on Kanopy and Amazon.

Ping Pong Playa (2007) Directed by Jessica Yu, written by Jimmy Tsai and Jessica Yu

There are two things that embody countless Asian American men’s experience: their love for basketball, and their love of rap music. Ping Pong Playa covers both, and is exactly the kind of Asian American comedy I’ve been waiting for! Christopher “C-Dub” Wang (played by co-writer Jimmy Tsai) is a wannabe baller and a supreme slacker who has to step up to the plate when his family’s business and ping-pong-champion reputation is on the line. In addition to being centered around an Asian family, the core of the film rivals any other low-brow, underdog sport film.

Laugh-out-loud hilarious, this is Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu’s first narrative feature, following a groundbreaking career full of daring documentaries (her Oscar was for this portrait of writer Mark O’Brien, who spent much of his life in an iron lung). Seeing C-Dub as an NBA-loving slacker turned ping-pong playa felt validating; it showed that even if you’re a lazy and immature Asian, you can always find something to succeed at.

Streaming on Tubi, and for rent on Amazon and iTunes.

In Football We Trust (2015) Directed by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn

While Salt Lake City, Utah, is seen as predominantly a white Mormon town, it in fact has the largest population of Pacific Islanders in the US mainland, due to the strength of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ proselytizing in the Pacific. The documentary In Football We Trust follows four Polynesian high-school students, as they chase their lifelong dream of attaining professional recruitment. Told in moments of adolescence, the film follows the greatest challenges for these four young men, as they chase their dreams while trying to grow up.

In no time, they’re faced with the harsh reality that just maybe, football isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. As much as their hefty attributes and builds serve as their greatest advantages, these boys’ cultural and familial obligations become both their greatest motivations and, possibly, their downfall. Filmed over the span of four years, first time filmmakers Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn chronicle the NFL hopefuls as they navigate the pressure to balance dreams and family to win a golden ticket out of gang violence and poverty.

Streaming on Kanopy, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

Spa Night (2016) Written and directed by Andrew Ahn

In his directorial debut, Andrew Ahn perfectly captures a specific corner of Los Angeles’ Koreatown. Spa Night’s focus is David, a closeted Korean American teenager who takes a job at a Korean spa to help his struggling family, and then discovers an underground world of gay sex. You may recognize Joe Seo as the goofy bully in the Netflix hit show Cobra Kai, but it’s Spa Night where you can see him truly shine—he won Sundance’s US Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance.

Seo delivers a powerfully restrained performance, exploring the burden of hiding your true self from your family. Spa Night is more than a coming out story, it’s also about the broken American dream that so many immigrants experience. Ahn’s direction is finely tuned, honing in on the specificity of Koreatown. It is an acutely queer story of second-gen Asian Americans, where coming out is never really about just you, but also your family.

Streaming on Kanopy, and for rent on various VOD platforms.

Punching at the Sun (2006) Directed by Tanuj Chopra, written by Tanuj Chopra and Hart Eddy

Mameet is young, angry and has always lived in the shadow of his basketball-legend brother, Sanjay. When Sanjay is suddenly killed during a robbery at the family store, Mameet spirals and takes his anger out on anyone and everyone. Coping with loss at a young age is hard enough, but Punching at the Sun mixes in the specific anxieties of being a South-Asian man amidst the backdrop of post-9/11 America. In doing so, the film addresses the difficulty of juggling teenage angst and immigrant identity—Mameet is not afforded the option to express his anger and grief.

Cathartic and emotionally validating, this is a simple yet nuanced slice-of-life story that conveys the heaviness of growing up with the weight of the world on our shoulders. In Mameet’s case, thank goodness, he ultimately shares some of that burden with his comical friends and knit-tight family.

Available to rent on Vimeo.

Meet the Patels (2014) Directed by Ravi Patel and Geeta Patel, written by Ravi Patel, Matthew Hamachek, Billy McMillin, and Geeta Patel

In the romantic documentary Meet the Patels, Ravi Patel is a dutiful first-gen son whose parents are continually nagging him to marry a nice Indian girl. With Ravi's sister Geeta Patel co-directing and co-writing, and his parents in the frame, his film (and true-life story) are indeed a family affair. What starts as his journey to find a wife to make his family happy becomes an enlightening intro to Indian culture and modern love—think dating apps, weddings and a Patel Matrimonial Convention (gotta see it to believe).

Humorous as it is outrageously charming, Meet the Patels ultimately shows the struggles and cultural expectations most immigrant offspring face, on top of the million other obstacles of trying to find your one and only true love in this mad, mad world.

Streaming on various platforms.

Related content

Ten Underrated Asian American & Pacific Islander Films, a Letterboxd list

Best Asian American Films: So Yun Um’s list

Debbie Chang’s comprehensive Asian American film canon list (also features Asian-Canadian, Asian-British and other diaspora)

Bellamy’s list of feature-length films directed by Asian Americans

Follow So on Letterboxd

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life-rewritten · 4 years

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Psycho but it’s okay- Fairy tales and their foreshadowing Part 3(Blue Beard, Othello, Wizard of Oz)

To Kill or Not To Kill

Note by the author: I feel like the momentum of PBIO is slowly reducing. The episodes so far have been incredible but I can see us losing steam and enthusiasm because of the back and forth still going on with our couple. Right now things are very heightened due to the conflict with the brothers and the supposed return of Moon Young’s mum but lately it’s been difficult to analyse that without repeating the same themes over and over again. Nevertheless here is a very short (well shorter than what I normally do) analytical post analysing the show so far and the theme this time is the murder of women! Enjoy.

Bluebeard was first mentioned in episode 6, the title of the episode focused on Bluebeard’s secret. The fairy tale of Bluebeard although chilling actually has a happy ending. The young girl gets rescued by her family from her serial killer husband. In Psycho it’s okay many characters are shown to see the story of Bluebeard in different perspectives of the other characters. Moon Young sees it as the girl who is traumatised and almost killed by Blue beard because of her curiosity and uncovering the truth that all his wives were killed by him, Sang Tae sees it as a sad story about why Bluebeard kept on marrying women because of loneliness and wanting to be loved, and Moon Young’s dad sees it from Bluebeard’s perspective for the reason for why he killed the women and his wife.

Park O Ran, the patient in the hospital has taken up a sinister role as Moon Young’s mother, she reads the book by her mother and constantly hums the song that haunts both Moon Young and her father. She mentions the next tale, the story about Othello a general who was misled into killing his wife because of lies and manipulation from the outside. She is seeing it from the point of Moon Young’s mum who she believes was unfairly killed and seen wrongly by society and the family she loves. Moon Young’s father is plagued with guilt and at the same time fear that he killed his wife, and follows the perspective of Othello who was overcome with jealousy and insecurity in why he killed his wife and everyone around him. Moon Young is like the innocent wife of Othello as well because she is the victim in this whole manipulation and game between Lago, Cassio and Othello. Her caring and trusting nature leads her to being hurt.

Lastly the name of the book Moon Young’s mother writes is called The murder of the wicked witch of the west. The wicked witch of the west is found in the fairy tale The wizard of oz. It’s interesting when you analyse the story as the story focuses on a young girl who ends up being the down fall of witch because she was manipulated by the wizard and others to do so. Again from Moon Young’s mother’s perspective she is the victim, the wicked witch was feared because she had green skin. (This will later parallel with Blue beard and his own insecurities about his blue coloured beard), she is seen as wicked because of this, people don’t notice that the reason she wants Dorothy’s downfall is because Dorothy’s house fell on her sister and killed her, and they stole her red shoes. They took someone precious from her and stole her things. This is very similar to Moon Young’s mother who is protective of her family and is determined to get rid of any one who tries to take them away. Dorothy ends up using water mistakenly killing the witch and she then realises that real person society worshipped, the wizard is not even powerful or real. He’s just a manipulator behind the scenes.

All these stories have the themes of women being killed unfairly, and being viewed as something they are not. The interesting thing about these stories is that there are themes and imagery that stand out and so when the characters see the stories in a different way it’s shadowing their own internal strife and struggles. Mostly these 3 stories together help piece together the traumatic connection between Moon Young and her real family, her flashbacks and trauma with her mother who seems cold and is seen as monster/witch, her fear and the abuse suffered by her father who seems to have been convinced and manipulated into thinking she’s a monster and her self who has been groomed to be like her mother but is curious and desperate to be a good witch not a bad one. The story also leaves clues again to foreshadowing clues, such as Moon Young’s father being the one to cause her mother to die, Moon Young having a role in it, Moon Young finding out about a murder of another woman in the basement that still haunts her till this day (just like Bluebeard’s bride did) and Gang Tae’s link to danger because of being connected to wanting to free her.

In a way Gang Tae finds a way to play a role in all of these fairy tales if you see it in a different way. He could be the brother that came to save the girl from Bluebeard and helped her run away. He could be the Cassio in the story of Othello, the loyal fair general who Othello becomes manipulated into jealousy against, Or he can be the good witch Glinda that offers Dorothy (Moon Young) a chance at freedom and a chance to see the wizard or he could also be the wizard who is actually weaker than how he’s viewed by everyone in Oz. Either way Gang Tae plays the role of the saviour again in these roles willing to help save Moon Young whilst also being hurt by society if he gets to know her or if she uncovers his truth.

(The way I see it we can see characters in Othello like this; we can Othello as Moon Young’s father, Lago as Society and Othello’s wife as Moon Young’s mother- that way it tells the story that from her point of view Moon Young’s mother feels betrayed that her husband was manipulated by society’s norms and others into thinking she was a monster and killing her. Or you can see it in this way Othello- Moon Young’s mother, Othello’s wife- Moon Young, Cassio- Gang Tae Lago-Society/Father- In this way Moon Young’s mother kills Moon Young’s spirit because she was jealous of her daughter being taken by Gang Tae when he arrived at the castle and her father as Lago because he ends up causing all of them to be killed by his selfishness and coldness. Or society because Moon Young’s mum doesn’t want anyone to take her daughter from her because she feels alone by how she is viewed by society for her illness and it drives her to being jealous when Gang Tae shows up)

The themes of these stories then follow the ideas of people feeling alienated by societal norms and their desperate attempts to not be alone as mentioned by Sang Tae who relates to this because he views his Autism as the blue beard of Bluebeard or green skin of the wicked witch . Moon Young’s is her ASPD that she was either born with or groomed with that makes people see her as a monster and take her feelings for granted. Her mother might have been the same as well. In a way the way Society views things that are different i.e. mental health causes these characters to be alienated and desperate to not lose the people who finally come into their lives. Moon Young’s mum adamant need to keep her alone in the castle by twisting her mind, Moon Young wanting Gang Tae by her side and Sang Tae’s own dependency on Gang Tae. The next themes also focuses on curiosity/ the need to uncover the secrets, which ends up being a downfall of the characters in these stories. Moon Young is like the bride in Bluebeard who’s curiosity leads her to breaking her promise and seeing the truth about her husband, she is traumatised by this scene but is later freed from it. Just like her curiosity with Gang Tae when they were younger leads to her realising how much of a monster her mother can be, and if we are still on that theory, it could be the catalyst for why Gang Tae’s mum ended up being murdered or why her mother ended up being killed.

The last themes mentioned is manipulation of people being a reason for why innocent people get hurt. In Bluebeard we are shown through Moon Young’s father that the reason why Bluebeard kills his wife is because she looked like an angel but she was manipulating him into thinking so, she was always a monster who didn’t love the man but wanted his riches. In Othello, Othello is led to believe that his wife is unfaithful and is driven to madness by jealousy when in reality it was all manipulation by Lago who is jealous of Cassio. And Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is manipulated by society that the wicked witch is evil, and also is manipulated by them to believing the powers of the wizard when in reality he’s just a fake behind the curtain. She had the powers all along when she was given the red shoes. In this show Manipulation causes issues for the people, whether it causes massive fall outs like when Sang Tae felt manipulated by Gang Tae’s lies and his own perspective of his memories, or when Moon Young felt manipulated by her mother to run away from Gang Tae because she’ll never have someone who loves her for who she is. Manipulation comes at a cost for these people who feel alone and isolated by the world and it leads them to losing it and making choices which end up hurting everyone in the progress.

(I also wanted to mention the water Dorothy uses to kill the witch, I mentioned in my previous posts that there is memory of a woman drowning and Moon Young watching the woman drown, and there’s a woman who was thrown of a balcony that was kept in the basement who Moon Young saw. The woman who was drowning could be Moon Young’s mother, because the song she sings to her Dear Clementine is also about a woman who drowns. )

So to Kill or Not to Kill? Was it right that Moon Young’s mother got killed, are we being manipulated by others to think she was evil when she might be just like Moon Young and have a disorder causing her to be perceived that way. Did the father have any right to want to kill Moon Young? Is Gang Tae right in the way he views her and treats her because he feels she has no emotions? (This one is complete bull by the way, the way he treats her is not okay. End of.) Are these women in the right or are they in the wrong and should they be treated like monsters and killed? Should they be alone? We all know the title of the show disagrees. It’s okay to not be okay. These people have every right to be loved, and be treated properly. They are still humans.

#psycho but it's okay #pbio #psycho but its okay #it's okay to not be okay #it's ok to not be ok #kdrama #netflix #kdramanet #analysis #fvete

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byorder-fanfic · 3 years

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Love Thyself, Then Thy Neighbour

Summary: Linda Montgomery is tired of living for everyone but herself. It may not be holy, but it is hers.

Word count: 1957

Warnings: Swearing, LOTS of talk about religion and Church, war, hospital and blood mentioned

Author’s Note: I really hate the misogyny in the way Linda was written and I think that sometimes the fandom demonises her as a bitch for her religious beliefs, so I wanted to try and make her a bit more sympathetic. Hope you like it xx

One thing that being brought up in a strict Catholic home is that Linda leant not all rules were written in the big book. The most important rule was that women didn't work. Her mother would huff and puff when she was eighteen and desperate for work, saying that being a wife was work enough. Keep his belly full and his balls empty became the second most used phrase in her house after Amen. Linda Montgomery kept her face straight as her mother introduced her to nice, young Catholic suitors who she would take one good look over and ask whether they supported Miss Pankhurst and her plight for women's enfranchisement. Her mother would tut and her father would bury his head in the palm of his hand, as another man was scared away to the next young girl. Linda was a radical- Linda was wrong. So, when she met another devout woman at a local meeting for WSPU, she immediately trailed along to the Church that could possibly allow such beliefs alongside the teachings of Christ. The Quaker priest welcomed her with open arms, saying he was thankful to help her cast away the false idols she had been brought up with. Her mother spat at Linda's shoes, saying she had condemned the family by falling into an ecclesial community. Was this the love thy neighbour teaching that each holier than thou figure preached? So, Linda got a flat with Dorothy Evans (the woman who'd brought her to the Church) and attended that service on Sunday, then woke up before the Sun to get to work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Saturday sometimes too, if they needed a girl to work an extra shift.

That was another unspoken rule, even amongst the Quakers. If a woman was to find work, as rare as that would be, there were only two professions deemed suitable for good Christian women: teaching and nursing. Now, Linda had never been fond of children, so nursing it was. She had romanced the idea of it all throughout training, cooing over her baby blue uniform in the mirror that matched her eyes and thanking God for her ability to help others. It was no menial task, she would never say that. With the drunkards that gained injury after injury to the horrors of the Spanish influenza, on top of the everyday maladies that she guided to a hospital bed and patiently listened to her patients as they told her their stories. With those that noticed her silver cross that she always wore proudly over her uniform, she'd been invited to sit by their bedside and pray alongside them. Eventually she'd learned a couple of appropriate Bible verses to encourage and uplift, sometimes even writing them down if they wanted a more permanent influence. Then the War happened. The called it Great- she couldn't agree. Dorothy and her had both decided right from the start that knitting socks and lighting candles would not be enough for them. They packed up their nurses uniforms and followed the soldiers as they marched over to France. Romance was lost in the makeshift hospitals set up over thick mud that got their long dresses turning brown. Linda learned not to care; there were worst things that ended up on her aprons and managed to soak back through her clothes, turning her skin pinkish. As soon as she got home, she burnt her nurses uniform. She wanted to keep it at first, as a reminder of all that she'd lived through, but no matter how many times she washed and scrubbed until her hands were a familiar pink raw, the smell of blood never washed away. The photos stayed, as mementos to remind her that the Lord saved her, that he was with her still in the sleepless nights and the guilt that plagued her soul.

Instead of returning to the hospital before the Sun woke up on Monday, Linda found work at the only home she knew. The Church offered all kind of charity and volunteer work for her, but she was also employed as an accountant-cross-secretary role. She was good with numbers. She never knew that before. Nurse Montgomery was gone, but Linda Montgomery was proud and faithful and working still. She was twenty six and made sure to use her well-earned right by attending each and every campaign that her local area had to offer, voting according to her beliefs whenever an opportunity was open. Linda clung to it, to her faith, to her work with all she had. She had to make herself right in the Lord's eyes, had to make all those lives lost and unsavable soldiers that she'd pray with till their soul extinguished like a candle, she had to make it worth it. It had to mean something. So, when Linda saw a strange man stumble into the Church one Friday night, looking over to the empty rows of pews with hesitance and fear etched in every line in his face, she knew what she had to do. He was a handsome man, she couldn't deny it. Maybe it was that which piqued her interest.

Excusing herself from the desk (although the priest was getting on and hardly even heard her) she walked down to meet this tall man in a bulky grey coat that still hadn't figured out he was supposed to sit on the pews.

"Hello there sir, are you alright?" She asked, polite and smiling. He looked up at the sound of her voice, although he didn't have to look far as she was quite the bit smaller than him. His eyes trailed up and down. Linda pulled her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, feeling her face go the same colour as her clothes. She didn't wear baby blue any more, even if it matched her eyes. This man had a soldier's haircut, shaved at the sides, and the rest of it was slicked back out of his nervous-looking face, a moustache presiding over his top lip.

"Um...yeah, well," he sounded a little gruff, although that was probably in part to his thick accent that Linda couldn't quite point her finger on. "Well, this is embarrassing. I thought this was supposed to be a Church, see, so I thought I'd come on in, but...uh, I, um, didn't mean to intrude. I'll leave you be."

"This is a Church," she said it quickly, before he could turn around to leave.

"It is, hey?" He chuckled a little to himself, rubbing the back if his neck. "Sorry, I thought there'd be a confession booth or something. They have that in St Oswald's."

"They have confessionals in Catholic Churches, this is a Quaker Church." She kept a smile on her face, although she heard the bitter voice of her mother ringing in her ears. Ecclesial. Pagan. Damned. "But if you need to talk, you're welcome to take a seat. I'm not a priest, but I can try my best to help."

She gestured to the pew, and the man ever so ungracefully set himself down, tucking his coat behind his hips. She sat in the pew in front of him, turning on her side so that she could face him. He, however, seemed to only be interested on the floor.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"No, don't call me sir." He shook his head, looking up as he held his hand up too. "Arthur's the name, Arthur Shelby."

"I'm Linda Montgomery," she shook his hand demurely, not sure if the ragged-looking man was really the gentleman he presented himself as.

"Montgomery?" He smiled as if there was something funny about that. "That's a proper lady's name, that is. Bet your husband's a rich man or somethin'."

"I don't have a husband," she told him, showing off her bare ring finger. It never seemed important.

"How come?" He scrunched up his face as if in genuine confusion. "A lovely lady like yourself should have a man eating out the palm of ya hand."

"Work and war," she explained simply, shaking her shoulders as if it meant nothing. "I was a nurse. Never had time for it."

"Now you have no man but Jesus, right?"

"Something like that." Linda moved a hand over, reaching onto his. There was a point to this conversation, one she was keen to getting back to. "Why are you here, Arthur?"

My, um, aunt always comes here when she needs, I dunno...clarity, I guess? I used to go too," he stumbled through his words, clearing his throat at odd moments as she tried to figure out how to get his heart into words. "I loved the hymns. But then the war happened, and I have all this shit in my head. Can't get rid of it either, cause I'm still a soldier. Still a fuckin' soldier."

His hands shook under Linda's own, and she was quick to realise the cracks in his lips and bruises under his pale eyes were a clear sign of withdrawal symptoms.

"Arthur, you aren't at war anymore," She said gently, rubbing his calloused hands soothingly. His wide eyes looked up at only her and she felt it stir a sermon in her. "You can find peace, I swear it. I know you've just quit drinking." His brow creased in shock, but he didn't dispute it. "The temptation you feel will be difficult to fight, but once that battle is over, you won't have to fight anymore."

"Work, love, work. I have to."

"Fuck work." She surprised even herself with her bold statement that was hastily followed with a look over her shoulder to see the aged priest nodding off in the back room. "There's a lot of things that aren't written in the Bible, Arthur, but that doesn't mean they aren't Gospel truth. The most important thing is that you have to love thyself before you can love thy neighbour. Once you help yourself, get yourself out of the darkness you're in, you'll find a way out, a way to better things."

There was a pause for a moment in which Linda could see the conflict in Arthur's eyes between blind faith in a woman he'd just met, and doubt in his own abilities.

"You're an angel," he whispered. He leaned forward and she half expected him to kiss her, although she didn't move her head back. Rather, when his hands rested onto her cheek, she moved forward ever so slightly, watching his adoring look with a little smile on her pink painted lips. "I think the Lord sent me to this fuckin' Quaker Church for a reason, Linda. I think He knew I'd meet the pretty blonde cherub woman who knew just what to say to stop me from reaching a bottle again."

"You give me too much credit," she warned.

"No, love, no. No one's ever said I could have a redemption. It feels good to be believed in."

"There's a temperance group here," Linda started rubbing circles in his hand. "Would you like to join? I work at the Church so you can pop in and see me afterwards, tell me if the Lord sent you in the right direction."

He laughed a lot at that, eyebrow cocked.

"You want to see me again, huh?" He said it like a dare, something amusing in the words.

"What would be so crazy about that?"

Bold words weren't usually Linda's forte, but she'd chased after work, the Church and a good life. Why couldn't she chase after this handsome man the Lord delivered to her?

#linda shelby #linda Shelby fanfiction #linda Shelby fanfic #Arthur shelby #peaky blinders fanfiction #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fic #peaky blinders fluff

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amethystpath-writes · 3 years

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A Gentle Blade Part 24

Part 23 here

3,190 words on this one. I think the last update explains why this one is as long as it is. Up for the reveal? *wiggles eyebrows*

@tears-and-lilies

******

Leera woke on her own, presumably at night, though she couldn't tell. She felt as though she'd barely slept. Her head had still been on Kastion's shoulder and she smiled slightly before realizing the corners of her mouth were wet. She lifted her head in a hurry, looking to the shoulder she had previously been laying on. There was a dark circle on the prince's shirt.

She considered waking him up now, but decided embarrassingly that she should wait until her drool spot was dried up. How humiliating would that be? Extremely.

But why? Surely a prince drooled, too. Leera was almost sure if the roles had been reversed then it would be she who had a wet spot on her shoulder. But he was a prince, and this was the problem. She was lost in the idea of him being a prince, of him being the stuckup, rich king at dinner. Poised and insulting. Make no mistake. Be inhuman. Kastion wasn't that kind of prince. Kastion was Kastion.

Sure, drool was still disgusting, whether it came from a prince's mouth or an assassin's. But it wasn't so humiliating to Leera now that she acknowledged whose shoulder she drooled on. Not a prince's, but Kastion's.

Would Leera ever feel fully comfortable with him being a prince? Enough to hear the title and not fall into a pit of previous trauma? It will take some time, she thought, but it's achievable. After their conversation last night, she felt better about it- whatever it was.

Were they in a relationship now? If they were, what did that mean? Leera supposed it meant nothing more than it already did. They enjoyed one another's company, but what would happen once they escaped? Kastion had responsibilities. He would have to return home and tend to his father while also helping his mother make decisions for their kingdom. Where would that leave Leera? She would live as she did before, hopping between inns and barns, finding a new warm place to sleep every night. She would scrounge up papers and ink to post notices on town boards so that someone would hopefully hire her.

That brought up an entirely new question. If she didn't- the thought was difficult. If she didn't become a queen, would she return to being an assassin? Leera figured she would try to. After all, she still wished to rid the world of evil men and women. She would just have to be sure to not get caught. Leera could have completed at least two contracts by now if she hadn't been caught. Then again, would anyone ever hire her now that she already had been captured?

Too many conflicts were arising in the assassin's mind. Soon they would make her go mad, as if she hadn't been already. With a laugh, Leera tried to imagine this was all a dream. At what moment would she have fallen asleep if it was a dream? Before the capture, surely. Or maybe not. Maybe she really was captured and it was Kastion which was the dream. A hallucination.

It was now that the prince stirred. Leera watched as his eyes became open and he blinked away his sleepiness. "You're already awake," he said gruffly. He yawned, covering his long mouth with a hand. Leera only acknowledged the action because she always did the same thing when she yawned, even if no one was around. It was something she picked up from her uncle.

"I am," She peered at his shoulder. The drool was nearly gone, thankfully, and he didn't seem to notice it. "Haven't been for awfully long, but long enough to notice your snores."

His eyes widened. "I snore?" He asked it as if he were horrified. It made Leera laugh.

"It was a joke, but it was entertaining to see your reaction."

Kastion lightly threw his shoulder into hers with a smile. "Suppose I'll have to find something else to jest you about."

She smiled back, but otherwise stayed silent. Now that Kastion was awake, all of the questions Leera thought up before were returning.

Today, Kastion would reveal himself to the queen. He would ask for her presence and ears and then he would put the ring on, telling her who he really was. And hopefully Rennera would remember that holding a prince prisoner was a likely cause for a war. But then-

"Kastion, you can't demand my release," Leera said.

"Why can't- oh."

Neither one of them thought of it before, but Leera truly was the queen's property. Seeing as she killed the king, she was a criminal of the lands. Rennera owned the assassin just as she owned everyone else here except for the prince.

"The only way for me to be released is by escaping or by you stealing me from her. The latter will cause a war." Before he could respond, Leera continued, "And I will not allow you to start a war over me. Get out of here yourself, and I'll find my own way out."

"Leera-"

She interrupted, already knowing he would say something stupid, something sweet. "No. You'll leave me. Do what is best for your kingdom, not me."

The two of them remained silent for some more time. Kastion, flipping through idea after idea, only discovering that most of them would not work. Leera, wondering how she would escape someday on her own. Maybe she wouldn't escape, but she could live with that if Kastion was safe in his own lands.

"Be my queen," Kastion said suddenly, the idea just dawning on him. He pulled Dogars' ring out of his pocket, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. "Take this and hide it somewhere on your person."

Leera shook her head. "Then you won't have proof of your status."

"I do. In my trousers that they stole away."

"And if they burnt your trousers?"

Kastion laughed full-heartily. "Well it's not made of wood. They'd have a rough time accidentally burning it in a fire."

***

Crooked shoved Kastion's shoulder towards the queen's door. He nodded at the bounty hunter to knock, and Kastion did.

Upon hearing Rennera's voice, Crooked called out, "It's the fish breeder. He wishes to have your private audience. Do you accept?"

The queen did accept, and so Crooked pushed the door open then pushed the prisoner in as well. Kastion noticed the guard taking in his noble- rather, royal- clothing, and thought that soon enough Crooked might be wearing them himself. Just another thing to deal with when he returned to Thharewood. It seemed war was bound to happen no matter what he and Leera did to avoid it. So why not go ahead and 'steal' the assassin?

"Close the door, my future king."

Kastion obeyed, even latching the door shut to satisfy his own worry that Crooked might bash in when he revealed himself as the Prince of Thharewood, if he even did it here.

"Now, what is it you wished to talk to me about? I don't suppose the assassin revealed herself as my spy, did she? The emissary did a better job at it than her."

He ignored her casual taunts. Rennera didn't know nearly as much as he did, and she would realize that soon. "I need my clothes back." Kastion's voice was a bit harsher than he intended, but it was mostly because the moment scared him. As often as he thought about it, he never considered what words he would use, what he would say in order to not offend Rennera.

"Those dirty rags you wore for- who knows how long? Why should you need those back?" The queen sat on her bed, her legs undoubtedly tucked beneath her dress as it was billowed out.

"To support the truth I know you will not believe."

Rennera smiled something wicked. She had darker lipstick on today than usual. The usual ruby red was now almost black and her teeth contrasted greatly next to them. "And what's that?"

"I think it will be better that you see it rather than hear it."

"My future king, I am intrigued. You should tell me before I lose patience and decide to do something more fun than wait for a truth you already think faulty."

"I'll tell you something more believable now, then," Kastion said and strode towards the bed. He sat on the very edge, not even enough that his whole bottom was rested. He whispered, "Every man and woman that works in this palace served happily for your last husband, didn't they?"

The queen felt the shift in his tone. Even as he was serious before, he was more so now. She nodded at him.

Kastion pointed to the door. "The man standing outside that door has an agenda of his own. I know why you want to marry me. I have proven to be a greater weakness than yourself and you value that image because of the former king. You want to appear stronger than who you marry."

He continued to explain what Crooked told him not so many days ago when Kastion had poisoned himself. About how the guard thought the queen fancied Leera, and how it even made sense because of the past king's abuse. Rennera loved Leera for killing the queen's abuser. He further explained how Crooked wished to be the next king and tried convincing Kastion to hand over the title when he received it.

At the end of Kastion's report, the queen said, referring to herself loving the assassin, "That is ridiculous!" The bounty hunter urged her to quiet down as Crooked was still on the other side of the door. It's why Kastion came to sit beside Rennera and began to whisper before, so that no one outside of this room could hear.

"I can help you," Kastion told her. "But I need you, or someone, to take me to my trousers. Unless you trust my every word, I need this. It's for both of our goods."

"You suppose you could stop a greedy man in a high position?" The queen tutted, shifting beneath her dress. "You might be my future king, but you were a bounty hunter, and a fisherman before that, my dear. You are not capable of destroying a throne and crown."

Fine. "I guarantee you that as a prince of a nation in these lands, I am perfectly capable of assisting in a political matter."

Truth be told, Kastion didn't intend on assisting Queen Rennera, but if it helped him and Leera escape unscathed, he would mutter any lie necessary.

Of course, Rennera did not believe the man in front of her was a prince. How could he be? He wore rags and came as a bounty hunter. What royalty would ever pretend to be anything other than royalty? Nevertheless, the queen escorted Kastion out of her room and to Servant's Circle, where servants of the palace completed many duties, one duty included cleaning very worn clothes, such as the bounty hunter's before he was changed into a king's clothing for dinner.

Kastion had to scavenge through various piles of stinky clothing like a cat trying to find a mouse in a thick stack of garbage. After many wasted minutes, he found his trousers in the last mass of cloth. They were more rank now than they were as he wore them, which was surprising given how he'd worn them for several weeks. It didn't matter how they smelled, it was the golden circle he fiddled with in the pocket of the pants he held now that mattered. He pulled the ring out, held it in front of his and Rennera's eyes.

"Thharewood," he said. "That is my home. That is my kingdom. It was to be Leera's as well before you kidnapped her. She has a ring just as well as I, if you need further proof."

Rennera didn't dare deny her eyes. The ring in front of her was true; gold with the royal seal of Thharewood on top like a stamp. It didn't necessarily mean Sir Guard was a prince, but perhaps he was a knight of a higher authoritative lord. It was in the nickname after all. Sir Guard. 'Sir' as in knight.

"You sought to marry an assassin?"

"I didn't know she was one," he lied. "It is the reason why I took up a false identity, why I brought her back when I found her in the woods. Anger," Kastion explained. "Anger like nothing else. But I can stop her from pursuing that flimsy occupation of hers if you only return her to me." This was the quickest lie the prince ever came up with, and he was afraid Rennera would sense it. So, he spit out a truth. "I am Kastion of Thharewood, the only male heir to King Gulldis and Queen Mofrin."

The queen squinted at him. "And your sisters names? Harvin mentioned the prince having sisters."

Harvin. Kastion guessed this was the guard he called 'Crooked'. It made sense. Crooked did mention Thharewood before the other nobles showed up to the first dinner.

Before he thought this, though, he immediately answered with his sisters' names. Rennera was obviously testing his truth telling. If he'd hesitated before answering, had to think about it first, she would have thought him a liar despite having the royal seal.

"I cannot just..." Rennera trailed off. She couldn't let Sir Gu- Prince Kastion- go. She'd already announced to every important figure in the lands that he was to be her next husband. Allowing him to leave would destroy every bit of the image she made. Not to mention it might make her a target. Rennera imprisoned a prince and his supposed fiancé. That wasn't something to be looked over, whether she was aware of it or not. And Leera killed the queen's husband. If she let the assassin out of the palace, it would appear that Rennera had gone soft. No, no it wasn't possible. But then if she refused to let Kastion out, a war would begin. The emissary from dinner was from Thharewood and he would have recognized his own prince. And if she did allow Kastion to leave, and not Leera, he would start a war on his own.

Surprisingly, she admitted the lot of these thoughts to Kastion once they returned to her bedroom. It was too late to prevent the servants from uttering what they saw and heard, about the reveal, in the Circle. But, the two royals could discuss pressing conflicts elsewhere, in a place where there were no prying ears besides Harvin's, and he couldn't hear whispers through a wooden door.

"You shouldn't worry about weakness if you take solace in my kingdom." Kastion then promised he would aid Rennera should she need it, and she would.

Rennera shook her head, feeling a bout of stressed tears in her eyes. "I can't. I don't- I don't know what to do. If what you said about the guard is true...what if he is just as bad as Loel?" In this moment, Rennera realized that she didn't trust Kastion to be any less abusive. Who would turn their loved one in to a queen- a queen that clearly tortured her subjects- just because of anger? Then again, Rennera wasn't exactly mad that Leera killed her king. Maybe Rennera was just as bad as everyone surrounding her.

"Follow behind me and Leera when we leave," Kastion said. The further this conversation went, the more willing he was to actually fulfill his promises. Perhaps taking the queen in wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps if she did come with then he could teach her how to listen to her people, since it's what Rennera truly aspired to do. But how could he possibly teach her such a concept when it was he who was a coward within his own rule? Kastion's people wanted violence and he didn't deliver. He hired an assassin, which was more than violent enough in his mind, but likely wouldn't be for them.

But it was okay. They could all take this one step at a time. The most important thing right now was that Kastion return home and that Leera be safe. They could figure out the rest later.

The queen proved her aspirations when she said, "The two of you are free to leave. I will occupy the guards so that they do not guard your cell as I take you back." She breathed. "But I must stay. I can't- It's not right for me to leave when I..." Rennera wasn't sure what to say. Really, she didn't even know how she felt. Nonetheless she settled for saying, "I am the queen of Misenian, and I should be here for my people. Even if I can't help them, I should at least be a leader enough that I suffer with them."

***

Rennera led Kastion to the cell after giving a short word to Crooked, urging him to gather all of the Guard in the Servant's Circle. It wasn't a suitable place for guards and they would undoubtedly question her notions, but she needed to do this. Rennera needed to redeem her actions. She was cruel because she was scared, and it wasn't fair. And she didn't think this because Kastion was a prince, but she could admit that it aided in her decision. How much further could this all go?

"Leera," Kastion said as soon as he reached the cell door. "We're leaving. Come on."

The assassin looked up bewildered, and her eyes widened as she noticed the queen standing behind Kastion. "Wha- You're serious?" She wasn't sure who the question was directed at. Either one, she supposed.

It was unbelievable- that Rennera would let them go. There were so many ways for this plan to go wrong, more so than there were for them to go right.

Leera looked up and to her left where chains dangled. I am dreaming. I have to be. She was still drooling on Kastion's shoulder unknowingly, wasn't she?

"My guards have been gathered in an unproblematic area," Rennera began, watching Leera's confusion morph into an odd, possible joy. "I will take you two to the stables and from there you are on your own. I wish there is more I could do for you, especially given how terrible I have been. The words will mean nothing, but I have never felt more remorse in my life. I pray the gods will not be so merciful as we usually pray they will be. I do not deserve it."

Kastion hardly listened. His only goal was to pull Leera from the floor onto her feet. He did this, and when she stood, he paused.

Certainly he wasn't about to cry, he thought to himself, but he was. His eyes stung, along with his nose. How he'd ever come to love an assassin in the dungeons...he did know. Most wouldn't. It would have been so unbelievable that most would have denied it, but Kastion couldn't. Leera was worth loving. There was no questioning that concept.

"We're free, Leera."

******

Part 25 here

#leera and rennera #part 24 #kastion #sir guard #identity reveal #royalty #royal v royal #royal whumpee #royal whumper #assassin whump #original series #a gentle blade

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astoriias · 4 years

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{ cisgender woman, she/her } ❝ Thank god women learned to whisper / though I crave a megaphone. ❞ huh, who’s CAITRIONA BALFE? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually ASTORIA MALFOY (NEÉ GREENGRASS). she is a 47 year old PUREBLOOD witch who is CHIEF WARLOCK OF THE WIZENGAMOT. she is known for being JUDGEMENTAL, DISHONEST, COLD, RIGID, and CALLOUS but also PRACTICAL, DRIVEN, INNOVATIVE, STEADFAST and DISCIPLINED, so that must be why she always reminds me of the song TOMORROW - MINER and BLACK LEATHER BRIEFCASES, THE CLICK OF HIGH HEELS ON TILE FLOORS, THE LINGERING TASTE OF FAIRY FLOSS, BURGUNDY NAIL POLISH, AND PEARL HAIR PINS. i hear she is aligned with NO ONE so be sure to keep an eye on her.

BIO

Cursed with a blood malediction that left her and her parents preoccupied with maintaining her health throughout early childhood, Astoria grew up without direction, without passion, and without much to do or think about other than staying alive. She did what she was told and completed what was asked of her by her parents: mostly swallowing thick potions that made her head spin and remaining in bed when all she wanted to do was tumble through the lush gardens of the Greengrass estate and scrape her knees like other children. As she grew older and defied Healers’ expectations — making it past 5, then 10, then 15 — Astoria grew weary of the half-life she’d been prescribed. At Hogwarts, she followed her sister Daphne into Slytherin because she didn’t know where else to go.

It took Astoria almost a year at Hogwarts before she would speak up in class or acknowledge anyone with more than a handful of words — and each time she did her heartbeat would quicken, her face would flush. If she was called on by a professor and — Merlin forbid — got the answer wrong, her eyes would fill with tears, her gaze would shift to the floor, and she wouldn’t be able to breathe. One day, outside her second-year Transfiguration class, an annoying boy named Colin saw her heavy breathing and told her about panic attacks — Astoria’s irrational fear of social situations and new people now made sense.

That same annoying boy became her close friend not long after. It was a month into study sessions by the Black Lake that Astoria Greengrass learned that her Colin, the boy who kept a camera slung around his neck at all times and was so nice to her, was Colin Creevey, yes, that Colin Creevey, who was petrified by a Basilisk a year prior for being MUGGLEBORN. Astoria found that didn’t bother her very much. Sure, she never advertised that they were friends and didn’t freely associate with Colin in public places, but he understood her position or in the very least, didn’t protest it. She even got him to join Herbology club — though she insisted that they enter and exit the greenhouse at different times and never spoke directly, his presence was a comforting balm.

Colin tried to get her to join up with the student resistance that was brewing in her third year — but Astoria knew she wasn’t the type to stir up such trouble. She couldn’t stand with the muggleborns and blood traitors no matter how right they were; she couldn’t risk losing her family. Unlike those in Dumbledore’s Army, Astoria didn’t see this conflict in terms of black and white, good vs. evil — there were plenty of others like her, struggling to find themselves in the midst of conflict, battling tradition and family expectations. She kept out of Umbridge’s way during that time. Kept out of her father’s way during that time — while he had no Dark Mark to speak of, his entrepreneurial hands passed cursed objects and ingredients for poisons to any Dark Lord-aligned wix who wanted them.

Through her friendship with Colin and her time in Herbology Club, Astoria learned she was a talented witch in her own right. Formed an identity outside of being the sick girl everyone doted on. Quietly realized that her muggleborn classmates — despite what her pureblood indoctrination taught her — were fully-fledged human beings. To someone who didn’t grow up feeling trapped in the (sometimes socially constructed) confines of a blood illness, perhaps her time in Herbology Club wouldn’t seem so transformative. But for Astoria, it was everything.

Nowadays, Astoria is still defying life expectancy estimations and is perhaps best known for her robust political career. She joined the Ministry as a pupil/intern in its Wizengamot Instruction in Magical Law Program (W.I.M.P.), and in the span of twenty-five years has climbed the ranks to barrister’s assistant, barrister, then Wizengamot member, and finally, the youngest Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot in the last hundred years. She is extremely opinionated about the runnings of the legislature and judiciary, and her past two years as Chief Warlock have been marked by her love for procedure, due process, and fairness -- essentially meaning trials are very thorough and very focused on making sure the Ministry doesn’t overstep its bounds.

BLOOD MALEDICTION

i’m truly on my bullshit and this needs its own section..........,,,,, i’m sorry

I originally started writing Astoria out of pure spite — it enraged and continues to enrage me that all we’re given about this woman is a few lines about her and an off-page (or off-stage, I guess, but Cursed Child is its own beast) death. It makes me mad that she is only defined by her role as a mother and wife to Scorpius and Draco, that she doesn’t get her own ambitions and a life of her own. The racist and sexist underpinnings of the blood malediction/Maledictus concept are par the course for JK but still, bad!

And while I can’t choose for Astoria to have this particular chronic illness and completely divorce it from those origins, I can at least eschew parts of it I don’t like and give a Astoria a rich and fulfilling life with a chronic/potentially terminal illness — not in spite of the blood curse, but because those of us with illnesses and disabilities are people with rich and fulfilling lives, wants, desires, and ambitions.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I try to be really careful about ableist language when I describe this blood malediction and its effects on Astoria’s life — I think that there is so much to explore regarding chronic illness and what, exactly, we constitute as ‘health’ — but I know that I can fall into the traps of my own internalized ableism. If there are terms or concepts here that make players uncomfortable and/or have harmful effects, let me know! I’m happy to make changes.

So anyway!

— origins of the blood malediction

I don’t have this fully worked out, but I think the Greengrass blood malediction stretches back a good ten generations to a very vindictive-in-her-righteous-cause-Muggleborn-witch cursing the family for their refusal to let her marry their son. It’s not limited to just the girls in the family, because I hate that, but it does affect at least one child per generation, so long as the family continues to marry exclusively purebloods — which they have continued to do, not knowing that their bigotry (though in some cases, real love!) is the reason for the curse’s spread. Astoria’s parents mistakenly believed that since the last few cases of the curse had cropped up in different branches of the Greengrass family — distant cousins living on the Continent — that their children would be spared.

— astoria’s symptoms and treatment

Since it’s a blood curse, I figure Astoria’s symptoms manifest as issues both with her blood and with her cardiovascular system at large. I’d compare it to haemophilia. Her blood itself is thin and cannot clot without healing spells and thickening potions, meaning that nosebleeds are frequent, bruising is easy, and bad cuts can be fatal. She’s at high risk for internal bleeding in her joints, and a big — though often unvoiced fear — of hers is a brain aneurysm that ruptures into a haemorrhage.

(miscarriage tw) These symptoms have waxed and waned her entire life, with particular incidents that have brought her close to death; an accident falling from the garden wall at five, a wayward spell hitting her across the face in second-year DADA, trying for a child. She doesn’t regret that last one — not at all — though it was five weeks after her miscarriage before she was able to stand unassisted, and her Healer’s face when she said “I strongly advise you to not have any more children” haunts her to this day. Scorpius’s birth, possible due to a wonderful surrogate, was alternatively the happiest day of her life. (end miscarriage tw)

Then there come the potions — a barrage of them, to be taken at specific times of day, with extras if she’s bleeding externally or feeling pain in particular areas — that come with side effects like exhaustion, headaches, and nausea. She visits St. Mungo’s once every three months to ensure that the potions are working as intended and has learned to accept her Healers chastising her for the times she skips parts of the regimen or pushes herself too far physically.

PERSONALITY

astoria!!! my love. clearly i have a lot of thoughts and Feelings about her lol,,,,,,,

there isn’t any world or timeline in which astoria would be rushing to join the death eaters -- lol, i’ve always envisioned her being extremely inquisitive and Critical of other people, their motivations, their methods -- this makes her extremely Good at Lawyering and Suspicious of Bullshit. i also have always thought that it was important for her to make a muggleborn friend or two just to really hammer the point home that pureblood nonsense is just that.

still, again, she’s not really motivated by niceness, she doesn’t have a bleeding-heart-sense-of-empathy, she’s kind of snarky and mean. her friends describe her as an acquired taste.

has a massive sweet tooth. her family is regularly concerned she does not eat enough vegetables.

adores her son. just, absolutely thinks he can do no wrong. she and draco agree that most parents think their child is the most perfect and amazing child in the world, but scorpius actually is the most perfect and amazing child in the world, so.

a note on astoria and draco: i think draco doesn’t treat her with pity or kid gloves, and has never underestimated her capacity to get shit done in light of her blood curse. and they have an honesty and rapport with each other that astoria hasn’t been able to cultivate with anyone else. they may not be very great people but they’re great partners and great parents. i luv them ok bye

STATS

GENERAL

name. astoria céline malfoy (née greengrass)

nickname. aster (reserved for use by her sister only!)

birthdate. 1 january 1982

place of birth. greengrass residence via midwifery

family. daphne greengrass (sister), draco malfoy (husband), scorpius malfoy (son)

residence. malfoy manor, wiltshire

occupation. chief warlock of the wizengamot

gender identity. woman

romantic orientation. biromantic

sexuality. bisexual

blood status. pureblood

relationship status. married

pets. a scottish terrier named hades

HOGWARTS / MAGIC

house. slytherin

extracurriculars/leadership. herbology club

allegiance. neutral/no one

n.e.w.t. grades charms (o), transfiguration (o), herbology (o), d.a.d.a (a), potions (a), arithmancy, astronomy (o), history of magic (a), ancient runes (e).

wand. willow, nine inches, unicorn hair core

boggart. tbd

patronus. also tbd! my brain hurts

magical strengths. nonverbal casting, herbology, transfiguration, ancient runes

magical weaknesses. flying, defensive spells, domestic spells

#potterintro #////this is so long #i regret nothing

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 5 years

Note

You mentioned before that Jason is Selina’s favorite bat child. Why is that and where do the others fall on the spectrum of being likable to Selina?

g o d thank you for this opportunity to revisit something that I didn’t get to do before my old blog got deleted.

(this is... not going to answer the second question, fyi. it might not even strictly answer the first one. but.)

the new Robin likes her.

the new Robin, who looks so much like the old one that it nearly gave Selina a heart attack the first time she saw him. same mop of black hair, same scrap of a mask, same green pixie boots and bare legs that the night air had bedecked with goose bumps. little Dickie hasn’t looked like that in years, of course; she’s watched him grow up, practically a man now, in his own mind at least. she’s heard he’s in a new city, using a new name, leaving all this Robin stuff behind.

so who is this?

a new ward, the Bat says, and that’s all she’s going to get by way of explanation. it’s all she needs. the man wears hope poorly, like it doesn’t fit right and he’s ashamed of owning it in the first place, but she always notices when he does. he’s excited about this, wants so badly for it to work. he’s lonely; this isn’t news.

the new kid, whoever he is, he’s already taken a shine to her. whenever she bumps into the Dynamic Duo he seems genuinely happy to see her, calls her “ma’am” and “miss” and even “Miss Catwoman.” unfailingly polite, no matter the circumstances - “evening, ma’am” as he crashes through a skylight hot on her trail, “it’s cold tonight, isn’t it, miss?” as they huddle under the same gargoyle to keep out of the rain, “heya, Miss Catwoman” when she finds herself handcuffed in the Batmobile in the least fun way.

she pokes around, biding her time, grabbing snippets of information where she can. Jason Todd, straight out of Crime Alley, acting like he was raised right when he most certainly wasn’t. it makes sense, doesn’t it? she knows kids like him, grew up around kids like him, was a kid like him growing up in Alleytown. scrappy, struggling, smart in a way that only leads to trouble.

she can see it, even from a distance, the conflict brewing across the months and years. no matter how happy he is to play the part and wear the mask, Jason is different than Dick and Bruce. no rich parents or cheerful circus folks to shelter this one; he has his own ideas about how the world is and what will work. he won’t be content to chase down the superstitious, cowardly lot, not forever. he wants change, something more permanent than sending people off to prisons that never seem to hold for more than a few months.

it’s not his fault, but the boy has disaster looming over him. Selina’s not sure Bruce can see it, is even less sure he’d understand it. there are nights she checks in on her girls, the women working the dark street corners, and finds Jason is already there, swapping stories with the teenage prostitutes. he doesn’t look so much like Dick anymore; puberty has hit him hard and made him taller, wider, a brick shithouse of a boy compared to his acrobatic big brother. he still greets her with a cheery hey, Miss Kyle. just keeping an eye on things.

Bruce let him in on that little secret, and he’s been insufferable about it ever since. she isn’t mad, can’t be mad, when she knows he’s made a habit of this. keeping an eye on things means keeping an eye on men, making sure the girls are safe and getting paid fairly, distracting any of Gotham’s finest if they come knocking. she wonders if the Bat knows he’s here, how much Jason tells him, how accountable they are to each other. she knows so little about their interior lives, exactly enough to be worried.

and wouldn’t you know it - now he’s dead.

he’s dead, and Bruce is a mess, and Selina can’t figure out what happened, he was just alive, didn’t she just see him, he didn’t deserve this, just a boy, a good kid, a good kid no matter what anyone says. wasn’t he just telling her about his essay for his English class, about the symbolism of seasons in A Separate Peace? he was so excited about that paper; did he ever get to hand it in? before he died, before the Joker killed him, the Joker who’s been in and out of Arkham more times than anyone can count, the Joker who shot Batgirl earlier that very year, the Joker who sort of proves the point, doesn’t he? maybe Jason was right, maybe the Bat’s not doing enough.

but he keeps going like he always does; within a year there’s yet another Robin, and then another Batgirl, and a Spoiler too. must be crowded in the Batcave.

all of Gotham’s getting smaller, it seems. there’s a new name, a new mask, a Red Hood. she hears snippets and whispers about him, something something, duffel bag full of heads, etc. the Bat’s already hunting him down, but Selina’s got her own sources, her own back alleys of information. he’s rough, this Red Hood, but she’s heard his ideas somewhere before. he’s not trying to topple Gotham’s drug trade, only control, keep it away from kids and schools. and the working girls say he’s never anything but courteous when they cross his path.

Selina finds him in exactly the kind of safe house Bruce would have taught him to set up, with the exception of the wall full of guns. mask discarded, face beaten bloody. whoever he was fighting tonight, they won. she doesn’t ask if it was the Bat or Nightwing or one of the new sidekicks; she doesn’t say anything at all until he does.

hey, Selina, he says, like he’s been expecting her all this time, and she wonders if she should have tried to track him down sooner.

what happened to Miss Kyle? she asks, and he grins (split lip and a missing tooth; if Bruce did this she’s going to skin him).

sorry, my bad. heya, Miss Kyle. he moves an inch, clutches at his ribs, hisses through the pain. how’ve you been?

they’re not allies, exactly. she’s not aiding and abetting anything; she’s not taking sides but when the chips are down she is, nominally, on Bruce’s. but she checks in on him sometimes, and never flinches when she comes home and finds him groaning on her couch.

sorry, Selina, this was closer-

I understand, Jason. don’t touch any of my leftovers in the fridge, but the pantry is up for grabs. don’t get blood on my linens. try to be gone by morning.

I was never here.

and then somehow, impossible, he’s on speaking terms with the family again. more or less. usually. except when he does something, or Bruce does something, or they both do, and they’re too stubborn to do anything about it but start a fight and do some things they’ll both regret. she’s in too deep at this point to pretend that she’s not invested - ten years? eighty? hard to say, the way they blur, she sometimes wonders how accurately she’s remembering her own implausible life, but she’s certain that she loves Bruce. loves him but doesn’t have to like every part of him, lets him know exactly what she thinks about him feuding with his own children.

Jason still shows up on her couch sometimes. and she still hears about him from time to time, from a new wave of girls. Holly couldn’t stop talking about him the other day, said he helped her out when a prospective client turned mean and then walked her home, even split some Chinese takeout. Selina tries to thank him for it later and he shrugs it off, says he’s always happy to do Batman’s job for him.

Selina doesn’t play favorites. she tries to keep to the edges of the latest Bat-nonsense, has enough of her own problems to be dealing with. but the old Robin likes her, and she likes him back. he needs a little more than all the others.

#selina kyle #jason todd #enbyfish

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long-cosmos-overhead · 4 years

Text

Elrond x Reader - My Heart Part 1

Prompt: Elrond x Reader. Elrond and Reader are already thing. But when time comes for Elrond to go for Valinor, she breaks up with him saying that she never really loved him, that it was just for fun. But of course she is lying. The only reason she did that is because she didn't wanted to hurt neither Elrond nor Celebrian. Because she knew that if he choose Celebrian he would feel guilty because he is braking Reader's heart, but if he choose Reader he would break Celrebrian's heart. So she choose something which she thought was best. But the thing she didn't count and she got to knew that after Elrond has passed for Valinor, was that she got pregnant with Elrond's child. She had given birth and it was son. She named him Elros in honor of Elrond's brother, she always told good things about Elrond to him. But eventually when time for his decision has come (to be man or elf.) Reader gave him advice to be from the race of elves so he could meet his father. Eventually Reader and Elros go for Valinor, where they meet with Elrond. Elrond assumes that her son was her boyfriend, and that she had broken up with him because of Elros. At first Elrond is cold to reader, and they get in to argument where she says to him that Elros is his son. He was taken aback by that so he didn't reacted at first, but Reader run away from him, because she didn't wanted him to get even angrier than he was. At that point she suffers really hard heart break, so she falls sick.

Light breeze drifted through the window creating a pleasant chill to the bedroom you resided in with your lover. The sheets that covered the bed soaked up the suns rays and it’s golden hues began to stretch onto the silver and gold that stood proudly around the room. It was a good day in terms of scenery in fact you would’ve deemed it a treat to look out the window over Rivendell but you were sick to your stomach in worry and conflict. Elrond would soon make his journey to Valinor and needed a wife. Elrond would have to choose between you or Celebrain.

You and Celebrain has been close since you were elleths you told each other secrets and occasionally got in a bit of trouble together. Years passed and you both remained almost inseparable. You loved Elrond so dearly but you couldn’t break your closest friends heart. Your mind was at war with itself one part of you tugging one way and the other tugging another. It couldn’t continue much longer.

The sun had since risen up to be level with the window lighting up the room almost fully when you felt Elrond stir next to you. The bedsheets rustled as he stirred. Usually you’d take advantage of his sleeping figure, his features relaxed and no longer harassed by the chores of the day but you feared one look at him would reduce you to tears. You pretended to be asleep closing your eyes and softening your breathing willing for the cogs in your mind to stop whirring for just a day.

“Good morning meleth nin.” His words sounded so sweet and loving it cut you deeper than any blade could ever touch and the gentle kiss pressed against your cheek made you whimper. You loved this man with each fibre of your being he was truely perfect but you knew as much as you feared letting him go, that he could not be yours at the expense of another. You almost didn’t notice his arms snake around your waist you were in too deep to surface.

“Y/n, Mellon, would you acompany me for a walk around the gardens?” Celebrain asked gently knocking your arm just enough to let it swing by your side. Celebrain has always held such beauty it astounded you, you were and still are sometimes jealous of how surreal she looks. Not to mention her wisdom and kindness. She was a true queen unlike you. The thoughts that flooded into your head at each step you took around the gardens made you truely believe Elrond deserved her. “There was a bird here today in the early hours, the poor thing got stuck in a thorn bush and scraped its wing it was a relief we got to it in time.” You didn’t process what Celebrain was saying you only stared into her eyes and the moment you did you knew you could not break her heart.

“Elrond I wish to speak to you.” Your heart was beating so rapidly you feared you may faint. Seeing the slight worry yet adoration in his eyes almost made you cry, you hadn’t even told him and already your heart was beginning to shatter. You looked up at him taking in his beauty for the last time. His hair lay across his shoulders perfectly and his eyes were orbs of pure warmth, their colour never ceasing to capture your thoughts stealing them all away to focus on each detail of his ethereal eyes. You must’ve been staring in sorrow for quite some time as Elrond gently put a soft hand upon your cheek worriedly studying your expression. You drew in a deep breath looking back you weren’t sure why maybe to relax yourself, maybe to release the tight knots in your body or maybe as a reminder to keep yourself grounded.

“I can’t,” You intended your voice to come out strong and harsh but all that came was a mere whisper.

“Y/n what’s wrong?” You tried so hard to block out his voice laced with worry towards you for he didn’t know he was breaking your heart more.

“I can’t go on with this, Elrond, with us.” You swallowed thickly you couldn’t look him in the eyes not after what you said you were sure if you did you’d take it all back crashing into his arms apologising over and over until your voice was broken beyond repair.

“What?” His voice asked so dejected and confused.

“Elrond I can’t stay with you in this relationship.” Impossibly repeating your lies hurt more than the first time.

“I can be a better lover, I can stop working so much I’ll spend more time with you Y/n please you know I’d give up my crown, my honour for you for I am at your mercy I beg you do not leave my side I shall wilt like a flower in the winter. Please meleth.” Heading the desperation flood through his voice almost made you give in. For a second you almost did but the poisonous thoughts flooding your mind stopped you. You would never be a queen and what kind of friend would you be if you married at their expense. You knew if you weren’t firm it would only be more painful if you didn’t end your false confession soon you would break.

“I never loved you Elrond, I only ever loved the riches, the power, the gifts that came through you. My affections towards you were false right from the start but now I am fulfilled in desire I no longer need you. It was all for pleasure not of endearment.” Elrond hoped and prayed you lied, that it was all just a joke and you would return to Rivendell, to your home, to his arms. Years went by and he swore that day all of Middle Earth heard his heart break right in two.

In the time you had left Elrond you became pregnant. Each day you wished and cried for your lost love, deep down you knew he wouldn’t find it in his heart to forgive you despite every word being nothing but a lie. The pregnancy was hard each day you were alone and tired plagued with fatigue, morning sickness and pains. Eventually you gave birth, after long hours, to the most beautiful boy in Middle Earth and the moment you held him in your arms you knew you would give anything for his happiness.

“Mama mama.” Elros giggled at your feet, the ends of his clothes turning a brownish earthy colour. The day was damp and morning dew coated the land. It was late autumn, leaves had turned to a crisp and weather was becoming harsher you made sure you and Elros were kitted out for the upcoming winter. You scooped Elros up into your embrace gently kissing his forehead your grip creasing his clothes ever so slightly. He handed you a little flower no bigger than the palm of his hand looking at you expectantly waiting for your reaction. “It’s beautiful Elros.” You smiled even on sad days like these your son could bring a smile to your face. Elros’ face curved into a smile letting out a warm giggle.

Elros was strange in looks taking a little from you and a little from Elrond to the point of looking like his own person. His eyes he stole from his father those captivating eyes that haunted your memory so stubbornly were now his beauty to claim. His hair was also Elronds, soft silky brown hair that never knotted or spoiled. While brushing his hair you were rather envious his hair was nothing short of perfect. His nose and smile was yours whenever you smiled so did Elros even if he didn’t know why you were smiling, it was beautiful his lips curved the exact way yours did. Elros was the envy of elves. You knew you were so lucky to have such a beautiful, well behaved son.

The sun was now setting igniting the sky in such unfathomable beauty Elros had since been bathed and fed thankfully he enjoyed being clean unlike a few other Ellons. “Do you want to hear a story Elros?” You sat your little one on your lap. He clapped and smiled settling down his tiredness finally catching up to him after a long day of running around.

“Which story do you want to hear?” You shifted in the chair allowing yourself and Elros to get comfortable.

“Ada.” He bounced lightly on your lap swaying the ends of your robes uplifting dust from the floor that sparkled like diamonds in the orange hues.

“Your Ada was a strong and smart elf. He rode into battle with soldiers to keep the women and little elves safe at home.” You paused talking of Elrond always managed to break your heart. The last look in his eyes of pain and anguish never left your mind his heart was broken and so is yours. “He was also kind giving food and love to other elves as well.” Elros was beginning to drift off, his eyelids slowly sinking over his eyes. “One day you’ll be as big and strong as Ada.” You whispered giving Elros one last kiss on the forehead. Your fingers weaved through his hair feeling the same texture as you did all those years ago.

It was a warm night one you remembered well, Elrond was cuddled into your side. A lengthy meeting about Rivendell had tired his mood, he came to you irritated and worn out wordlessly slotting himself by your side wanting nothing less than your comfort. You had never seen such vulnerability in Elrond before in truth you were unsure of how to lift his spirits until you remembered one trick your mother used to do. Silently, you removed his crown gently weaving your fingers through his hair. He loved it finding all the tension reside upon your touch. He fell asleep one arm across your stomach wishing you’d stay forever.

Seasons mixed into one another but time was generous, your beauty never resided or faltered you aged flawlessly seemingly you slipped through the gaps of time graciously forgotten. Elros was fully grown standing around a foot taller than you and wise beyond his years. His time for the decision had since come his voice unfaltering when he spoke to you of being an elf. You were thrilled and truely you would’ve been if he had chosen man over elf. Your time and his had come to sail to Valinor, to seek more knowledge and adventure in another land. The journey was calm and the sights were ethereal you never denied the beauty of Valinor but you were taken aback every inch left nothing more to be desired.

How beautiful the sky was colours of all sorts mixed in an explosion of stardust. The trees stood so proudly their green leaves swaying together in sync creating a pleasant rustling that appeased the ear. The grass greener than any you had ever seen, wildflowers sprouting out in clusters and mountains greater than giants sat in the evening sky.

“Y/n?” Your awe was replaced with a washing sense of anxiety. A chill ran through your bones and the colour quickly drained your face. A voice you wished and dreaded to hear sounded so familiar yet foreign you began to question your sanity. Your body turned around completely moving for itself against your will. Your eyes met the figure of the man you had missed so painfully since you left him. His hair parted neatly, thick strands resting upon his shoulders. His hands knitted together in anxiousness and a little anger and his eyes glazed over in disbelief. Everything about him made you want to turn against your better judgment and run into his arms crying apology after apology. You never knew the true extent of how much you missed Elrond until now.

@kasuomikori I can’t feel my fingers 💕💖💕💖💕💕

#elrond x reader angst #elrond x reader #elrond imagine #elrond angst #ansgt #elrond ansgt imagine #ask #request #the hobbit #elrond

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