Tartarugadepelucia08 - Sem Título

Princess Kaguya of the Moon

so while i was in japan i stumbled upon a pop up alien and space museum/art gallery (if you can’t find a thing in tokyo, it probably doesn’t exist) and there were these gorgeous feudal paintings of the tale of the bamboo cutter and it’s a very good story but

what if

it went

a little

differently?

kaguya is the princess of the moon. she is a young child, gangly thin limbs and a plump mouth permanently set in a stubborn pout. she is a beautiful child, even by the moon’s standards, with her cold opal eyes and hair the same deep black as the void of space. she is an unruly, irritable child. she runs from the priestesses who attempt to teach her her duties, and steps on the feet of little princes from far away stars that her parents parade in front of her. she can’t be soothed by sweets, by soft toys, by pretty songs. she is a being of constant want, and nothing in the whole of space seems to satisfy her.

kaguya does not love the moon as she should. she does not find beauty in it’s silvery, iridescent ground, nor in the pools beneath its surface that glint like mercury. she finds her citizens stuffy and annoying, and all the people from the stars think they’re better than them just because they shine a little brighter. it makes kaguya cross – the sun shines brightest of all, and the only beings that still reside on it is a great monster of a dragon that no one dares cross.

the priestesses try to entice her to learn this portion of her duties at least, but she runs from them and plugs her ears and does not listen. there are times when the sun and moon cross paths, and when they do the great dragon of the sun attempts to gobble them up whole. it is only by praying to the god tsukuyomi and erecting a barrier that the royal family can protect their home from the sun dragon.

it is kaguya’s most sacred duty, and she has no interest in it.

she’s simultaneously bored by her home and insulted when others find it lacking, and this contrary rational might be distressing to the logic of an adult, but kaguya is not an adult. she is a child, and being contrary is her prerogative.

she is walking through in the courtyard behind a palace when a shooting star passes her by, then circles back again. it’s s such a little thing, it must have been traveling for a very long time, because it’s burned down so it’s only about half as big as kaguya. this means the star is very old. “child,” the falling star says, voice ancient and crackling, “why are you sad?”

“i am not sad,” she answers, but as soon as she says that she knows it’s a lie, and tears prick at her eyes. “i am always lonely, though i am surrounded by people. i am always bored, though there are many things to entertain me. i am always angry, though there is nothing wrong. i am sad because i am a piece that does not fit.”

“maybe you are simply a piece that belongs to a different puzzle,” the falling star says, “come, climb onto me, and i will i take you somewhere new.”

“will it be better?” she asks.

if a falling star could shrug this one would, but it can’t so it doesn’t. “it will be different.”

different sounds better to kaguya. she agrees, not bothering to say goodbye to her parents or her people, does not take one last look at the beauty of the moon’s surface. instead she climbs onto the falling star, her skin thick enough that she does not feel its burn, and rides it all the way down, until it is a star no longer and only a falling rock, until she goes tumbling onto a whole new planet, and as she falls she thinks that this new planet looks very green.

~

there is an old man called taketori no okina. he lives alone in a great bamboo field, and every day he wakes up at dawn and cuts bamboo until dusk, then he goes home and eats and sleeps and wakes up in the morning to do it all again. when he was a young man, taketori no okina fell in love with a samurai who had laughter lines around his mouth and strong hands, who taught him how to wield blades with a strength and skill that could cut down the strongest soldiers. but taketori no okina only uses it to harvest bamboo. the samurai was engaged to the daughter of a respectable family, and so he left. he left his village not long after the samurai, unable to be there alone in the place where they used to be together.  taketori no okina’s heart was so full of love for his samurai that he could not bear to love another, and so he never did.

he is awoken in the middle of the night by a bang that shakes his home and nearly deafens him. he stumbles outside, and a couple miles into his field he sees smoke. he goes running for it, concerns about fire and war – they’re in a time of peace now, but they weren’t always – rushing through his mind as he stumbles through. when he reaches the source, it’s to find his bamboo flattened in a ten foot wide circle and a little girl lying in the center. he falls to his knees beside her and carefully picks her up, cradling her in his arms. she’s pale, like she doesn’t spend enough time in the sun, and has long black hair. her thin chest rises and falls with her deep breaths, and he is relieved that she’s alive. “little girl,” he says, “you must wake up and tell me if you are all right.”

she opens her eyes, two pearls set in her delicate face. “i am well,” she says, and smiles at him. she curls into him, setting her head against his chest, “you are warm. i will stay with you, for you are warm and have a kind face.”

she falls asleep once more, a hand clutching something laying across her stomach and her other hand fisted into his robe. taketori no okina looks at this little girl and feels his heart expand, until it’s straining against his rib cage. he loves his samurai as much as he always has, but now his heart is bigger. it’s made room so he can fill it with love for this little girl, and so he does.

he carries her to his home and settles her into his bed. it’s a small bed, meant only for one, and she is a little thing, but he does not wish to crowd her, so takes the floor. tomorrow he will build her a bed and take her to market and show her the hot springs near the mountain. for now he falls asleep listening to her soft breathing with a smile.

the next morning he wakes up to her sitting on the floor by his side, running her fingers over a pockmarked stone. “what is that?”

“it is all that is left of my friend. she was once a great star but she fell, as all great stars must. she carried me here because i was sad. but now i am sad that she is gone.”

“that’s all right,” taketori no okina says, and she blinks down at him. no one had ever told her that it was okay that she was sad before. “she was very special, so we must put her in a very special place.”

he gets up and builds a ledge across the window with a platform just big enough for the stone to fit. he lifts her up so that she can set what’s left of her friend on it herself. “now she can see you and sky she came from at the same time, and you will always be able to see her.”

“she cannot see anything anymore,” she says, but she likes the idea of it, the sentiment. she feels less sad at her loss now, although she can’t say why, since nothing has changed.

once he has set her back on her feet she looks up at him and says, “i am kaguya. what shall i call you?”

“they call me taketori no okina,” he pushes a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, “you may call me whatever you like.”

she wrinkles her nose at that name. it is too long, and too formal. if she is to call him that, then he might as well call her princess kaguya, and she might as well not have left the moon at all. “i will call you oyaji,” she declares, and it’s not a term she’d used even with her father on the moon, but for this old man who built her a shelf and carried her home and had large, rough hands that touch her gently, she thinks it fits.

~

kaguya quite likes the new planet and her new father. he is man who’s spent a lifetime working and doing little else. he has a tidy savings that he cheerfully depletes on her; he buys her colorful kimonos for her to wear when he walks her to market, and functional kosodes for the days she spends playing in the river and darting through the bamboo forests. he tells her stories at night, of his samurai, of the emperor, and when he exhausts his reservoir of stories about this land, he tells her the tales of other ones – the fire-rats of china, the buddha of india, and when he even those run out he tells her of dragons, of a magical island called horai.

she loves these stories, and she loves him. there are days when she is sad and cross, and on those days oyaji kisses her forehead and tucks the blanket around her shoulder and brings her something spicy from the market for dinner. oyaji just lets her be sad or angry when she wants to be, and because of that kaguya finds that now she gets sad less and less, that more often than not she’s …. happy.

she notices the special care oyaji takes when he talks of samurai, and sees the strength and power in his limbs when he cuts bamboo, and decides she would like to be strong like the samurai in his stories, like oyaji is himself. so she asks and asks, and he’s worried that it’s too dangerous for her. but oyaji loves her like she’s his own flesh and blood, and is unable to deny her anything.

kaguya grows up. she grows up on stories of far off lands and magic, she grows up on warm, simple food made by someone who loves her, she grows up learning to wield blades with the same brute efficiency as oyaji. kaguya grows up beautiful. her skin is darker now that she dances in the sun’s rays, her hair is long and fine, and her eyes are as they’ve always been – pale and beautiful, small versions of the moon she was born on. she moves with a steadied grace that only a deadly woman can master and has the whipcord strength of body from days working in the bamboo fields alongside her father, but all the delicate features of the princess she was born as.

they were left alone when she was a child, when oyaji took her hand and guided her to meat stalls and cloth sellers and bought sparkly combs for her to wear in her hair. but kaguya is a child no longer. she is a young woman, and tales of her beauty spread far and wide. just as when she was a child and princes from far off stars came to court her, now princes come from far off lands. as a child she stepped on their feet, and as a woman she wishes to take her shiny blades and cut them from navel to neck. but she is not a princess here, she is the poor daughter of a poor bamboo cutter, and must act accordingly. she can’t go slicing up arrogant suitors who believe they are entitled to her, no matter how much she would like to.

the most persistent are five princes from lands far from here. she requests a betrothal gift from each of them, and says she will marry the first to return.

from the first prince, she requests the stone begging bowl of buddha.

from the second prince, she requests a jeweled branch from horai.

from the third prince, she requests a fire-rat robe.

from the fourth prince, she requests a cowry shell born of swallows.

from the fifth prince, she requests a colored jewel from a dragon’s neck.

off they go to fulfill her impossible requests, and kaguya rests easy knowing that they will not return, or if they do they will return empty handed.

but this is not the end.

Continuar lendo

ShanaStoryteller’s Retold Fairytales Masterpost

To be updated as new stories are added. Last updated on: 2/1/2020

Prince Aladdin A retelling of Aladdin. Jasmine becomes a powerful sorceress, and Aladdin becomes a true prince in a land far from Agrabah.

Cinderella: Redo A retelling of Cinderella. The stepsisters and Cinderella band together to survive their mother’s abusive treatment.

General Li Mulan A retelling of Mulan. Instead of going to war to save her father, Mulan is raised by her mother and grandmother and goes to war to secure a marriage with her wealthy classmate, Ping. Then she meets Shang.

he’s the beauty; she’s the beast A retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. The witch wants to take control of the kingdom, but young Prince Adam won’t let her. So she curses him to be a beast on the inside, and with the ability to see people as they truly are. When arrogant, selfish Belle shows up at his door, he finds her hideous.

what’s a fire and how does it - what’s the word? - burn A retelling of The Little Mermaid. Ariel discovers she has her own magical powers, and seeks out her grandmother Amphitrite to learn how to control them.

look at me - i will never pass for a perfect bride  A retelling of Mulan. Shang meets Mulan before the draft, and she’s already a great warrior trained by her father. When she shows up in his camp pretending to be a man, he keeps her secret.

my what a guy, gaston!  A retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is noble’s son who befriends the young Prince Adam, and falls in love with him. When he find out that a beast has killed the royal family and taken over the castle, he abandons his noble upbringing and becomes a hunter so that he can one day avenge the prince’s death.

the gifts of beauty and song A retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent is the good fairy, and the three faeries that raise Aurora are the bad ones. They raise Aurora to be a dark, heartless fae. To save Aurora and the human realm, Maleficent steals Prince Philip and trades him to the Elf King for a young elf servant.

I wonder why each little bird has a someone to sing to A retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and a companion piece to the gifts of beauty and song. Human Prince Philip finds his place in the Elf Realm, and also falls in love with its prince, Eli.

they call her maid maleen A retelling of Maid Maleen. Once the queen dies, the king can no longer stand to look at his daughter, the Princess Maleen. She becomes a servant in the palace, and her father remarries and has new children to take the throne. Then Prince Wolfgang visits the palace and falls for the opinionated servant who brings him his meals.

Princess Kaguya of the Moon A retelling of The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter. Kaguya runs from her home of the moon to earth, where she becomes the beloved daughter of a bamboo cutter. She grows up beautiful, and princes from all across the land seek her hand. None of them make an impression, until the Emperor visits.

looking around here you think - sure, she’s got everything A retelling of The Little Mermaid. Ariel is the prince of the Atlantica, and heir to the seven seas because the trident chose him when he was just a toddler. Except Ariel is actually a trans girl who’s worried the trident will reject her if it knows she’s a girl, since it rejected all of her sisters. first version here.

paint heaven and anger the gods A retelling inspired by the Miss Hokusai trailer. Kana is the daughter of Juro, a famous painter who paints beautiful things. She tries to paint like her father, but instead discovers how to do something else: how to paint things with power.

sound the drums of war A retelling of Pocahontas. Instead of fighting to preserve an uneven peace between her tribe and the pale people, she instead leads them into war. Supporting her are her dear friends Kokoum and Nakoma.

where will they live? A retelling of the stories of selkies and swan maidens. A swan maiden throws off her cloak of feathers, runs a pub in Dublin, and falls in love with a mysterious woman in a grey silk dress.

she is the snow queen A retelling of The Snow Queen. Gerda is on a quest to find her best friend Kai, and Madhubala is on a quest to find her lost Summer Queen. Along the way, they find each other.

Let Down Your Hair A retelling of Rapunzel. Gothel intends to give Rapunzel to her sister, known as the Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe. But thanks to Rapunzel’s mother consuming Gothel’s magic lettuce, Rapunzel has magical powers of her own, which means Gothel must raise her as her own daughter.

Red Robin Hood A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood. There’s a sickness sweeping through the village, but their king won’t give them medicine. So Robin dons her red cloak and goes to find some. 

Fox Sister A retelling of The Fox Sister. Yeon-saeng is born a kumiho, a fox demon, and struggles to control her painful, gnawing hunger for human hearts. 

The Frog Prince A retelling of The Frog Prince. Halim has been in love with Prince Darius since he was a little boy, and he doesn’t think that’s ever going to change. Aneksi is the daughter of the pharaoh, and thinks being a foreign bride sounds like an adventure. 

Baroness Marian A retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood. Sequel to Red Robin Hood. Robin goes to a fancy party to steal things, and comes across the captivating Baroness Marian - or Maid Marian, as her friends call her. [n/s/f/w]

A Garden of Secrets A retelling of The Secret Garden. The garden is older than it appears, and has a conscious of it’s own. 

A City Girl A retelling of Mulan. After her father moves their family to the capital to serve as an adviser to the emperor, Mulan learns everything she can about fighting and strategy, and ends up teaching it to a boy who gets up before dawn to practice.

click here for the most recent version of this post

i walk into starbucks and order a pumpkin spice latte with 13 shots of espresso. i tell the barista that i intend to transcend humanity and become a god. i ask for no whip cream

since there’s apparently some sort of confusion on the matter (read: people are idiots)

Is this the lion King?

Take my hand! I'll save you!

here are a few things that could help if you’re looking to get into comics because it’s very confusing at first (and every moment after)

the dcu guide lists characters’ appearances in chronological order

comicvine lists every appearance of a character

comicstorian is a youtube channel that summarizes comic arcs/character origins in short, easy to understand videos

lornahs has a lot of good character reading lists, dc & marvel

comic book reading orders has reading orders for almost all events & characters, dc & marvel

r/DCcomics’ wiki has a large recommended reading page & a newbies section for people looking to start reading for the first time

comic book herald has a list of reading guides as well as a where to start with current dc & a beginner’s guide to comics

the dc database has a recommended reading section

comics back issues has a list of reading orders as well as their guide to comics for new readers

and if you’re looking to get into lanterns, be sure to give my own, comparatively puny rec page a look!

good luck!

Moaliel??!?!!

Find your REAL Angel name

• First two letters of your last name • First vowel of your first name • Third letter of your middle name (or parent’s first name if you don’t have a middle name • Last consonant of your last name • Add IEL or EL to the end!

shoutout to my brother for setting me up for this

Humans Catalogue Everything

We are the most chaotic but somehow the most organized species, and its baffling to the Xenosapien species.

As such, here is master list of everything to date for my humans are space orcs. I'll group everything by their protagonists. (Each individual section is in it's own chronological order)

1. Danger Days: A Tale of Human Steve

Aliens and the Art of Human Practicality

Dying Like a Human

No One Politically Faux Pas Like a Human

Danger Days: A Valentine's Tale

Jewel No More, Part 1

Jewel No More, Part 2

Jewel No More, Part 3

The Human Line

2. Carl's Guide to Life: An Aliens Struggle

It's a Human Thing

The Human Game

The Human's Guide to Deja Vu

Humans and Their Possessive Ways

That Human Spirit of Competition

The Distance Between Stars

3. The Terran Trouble Makers, Crossover

The Human Art of Tradition

Valentine's Day

4. The Journals of Horusavina, Homosapiologist and Honorary Human

Aliens and the Mental Health of Their Humans

Aliens and the Art of Being Human

Aliens and the Joys of Human Restraint

Aliens and the Fallout of The Gift

Aliens and the Art of Comfort

Aliens and the Art of Appeasement

Aliens, and the undiscovered Power of Humans

Aliens and the Art of Found Family

5. Underhill and Through the Ship

True Heart of a Coward

Underhill and Through the Ship to Joseph's Realm We Go

The Interview

The Funny Thing About Vent Crawler Joe

6. What Doesn't Kill You, Makes you Bill

Sturdy

The Telltale Bill

Notes About One Name Bill

7. Miscellaneous Notes

Bizarre Human Triggers

Slang Translations

Symbols of War

Personal Thoughts

Humans Bond With Everything

Humans are Sometimes a Hazard to Themselves

Intergalactic Lycanthropy

Identity

Coffee Pot Problems

8. Foxhat Tacos, Space Trucker

Beyond the Last Station

Beyond the Last Station Two: First Contact Boogaloo

Beyond the Last Station 3: I Find Myself in You

9. Space Orcs and the Little Robot that Could

Part One

Part Two

10. Assorted Writings

Jump City Phantoms

A, Fuck That, of Humans

11. Space Bee in the Bonnet

The Human Rules

I'M DOING AN EXPERIMENT

To prove something to a friend, please

REBLOG IF YOU THINK ASEXUALS BELONG IN LGBTQ+ SPACES

LIKE IF YOU THINK ASEXUALS DON’T BELONG IN LGBTQ+ SPACES