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horizon-verizon · 4 months ago

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Sometimes I feel like when people use the argument that Stannis is “the rightful heir because the Baratheons overthrew the Targaryens…”, I feel like they’re kinda missing the point or at least like, being purposefully obtuse just because they might not like Targaryens or believe that the better a warrior/larger army you have = better fit to rule.

I could argue that just because something is stolen doesn’t necessarily make it legitimate. The same way people KNOW that Cersei stole the throne from Robert, and Joffrey isn’t the “rightful” heir, could use the same logic against Robert and Stannis. Robert stole the throne, he’s technically a usurper, so in that case is there a “rightful” heir? Is Stannis the “rightful heir” or is he just next in line for the throne?

I don’t know, that’s just some thoughts I’ve had, I could be way off base though

So I wrote about what "usurper" means for Westerosi society/simplified EU "feudal" societies HERE.

"rightful heir" is a cultural phrase more to define how, by custom or by "law", "deserves" the throne. "Fit to rule", can overlap with this, but it is not an equal synonym. Just bc you have more soldiers, doesn't mean that you are "fit" to rule, but if you use said army and you won...you are a "legitimate" ruler.

FIRST -- if there had been no suspicion thrown on Cersei's kids, Stannis wouldn't have gone out of his way to try to take the throne and thus he'd be 4th in line behind Cersei's kids...as he technically still is during the War of Five Kings.

SECOND -- The thing with (mostly) successful overthrows of the past monarch is that....this is enough to establish the new, replacement ruling house as the "legitimate" ruling house...bc they won. It's weird, I suggest you read the post I'm linking.

Anyway, Cersei "stealing"--if we read how lines of succession of Westeros are customarily done--would be her "stealing" from Stannis, nor Robert. this is IF it were ever exposed that her kids were not Robert's, which it never was. Usurpations are a circumstance of force and greed or self-interested ambition or self preservation or, rarely, trying to steer the state into an envisioned "future"/"new world" come at force...not black and white "justice". I'm saying the ethical value of the motivation(s) behind usurping a sovereignty are not as moral as people sometimes want to believe or tout/misinform. You find this out while reading ASoIaF, when in the 80s-90s (remember this is when this series was first published) GRRM subverts the tale of the morally righteous ruler who supplants the evil ruling tyrant. Robert could have been the pure-driven knight who banishes the "dragon"...but we question how "good" or fit for rulership he really is when we get to know him and see what sort of priorities he has that are indicative of what sort of hierarchial society the lives and is a beneficiary of.

He regularly cheats on and beats his wife--a juxtaposition of the good, silent, behaviorally "pure" queen consort who supports her husband's every move or draws inspiration from the masses to follow them AND the her motives/relationship w/Robert show a darker, realer side to noble marriages in terms of the inequality. He cosigns on the rape and murder of a woman for power and in hatred for the past dynasty's "dragon" prince that began with a slight to his masculinity. He wants to continue to destroy that last vestige of the "dragon" family, its children (those who are one of the most vulnerable humans), not just bc he wishes to secure his seat but bc he genuinely sees them all, youngbloods and adults, as unworthy of mercy for descuring his sense of self--he dehumanizes them to do so. In a way, he reflects the past mad king in his excesses and malevolence that's only banked by his being more rational. It's even repeated and obvious with how we know Aerys raped and beat his sister-wife Rhaella/Dany, Rhaegar, & Viserys' mother but the Kingsguard didn't do anything bc she is essentially his property and they "legally" can't go against his wishes or prevent him from enacting his will...but rather serve him to carry out his will and preserve his ability to do so by protecting his life above all else unless he says otherwise. Robert, does he not do the same with Cersei, and is Jaime similarly unable to do anything for Cersei without inviting great risk to them both? He is not as unchecked as Aerys, but just as selfish and he still enables bad-to-evil actors around him and they do him AND the quality of that uncheckedness comes not from governmental checks for a protected realm but comes from other nobles moving in their self interests. Nothing really has existentialchanged with his rule expect he has a corrupt council and another person determining his bigger decisions bc how powerful they are, how much they have and can still supply his rule and maintain his seat (Tywin). And we see that partially shown in how a war immediately breaks out after he's killed/dead for the succession.

But despite all this, the "legal"/customary rules riles that he is "fit" for the throne bc he won. He is King/Monarch. Imagine if Dany and Viserys were dead, if FAegon and all the Blackfyres were gone...yes Robert would be rightful and he's established a new dynasty. If Dany comes back or any Targ scion, and they win, he's a usurper and not rightful.

So instead, the question more is: what makes a near absolute ruler "fit" to rule (and before modern scholars come for me, yes monarchies are not great, I'm talking abt the introspection of interrogating current sociopolitical systems...esp those where we see no potential for the rise of peasants or traders or a rise of "bourgeoise" insight...this is a noble-led story, so let off)? It can't just be cultural custom or law. Thus we are divided b/t what the society sees as "fit", how they define it and how rigid or flexible according to circumstance that really ("law" or an individual's actions) is VS what we the reader consider a fit leader. And why do we think so, from what moral, ideologies, or philosophical references do we vs the characters draw from?

All of this works to peel back the veneer of "order" and show just how messy governance can be, can get, etc. how cyclically violent it can be and esp without some sort of existentially higher purpose.

So absolutely, some of them are missing the point (bc idk what else beyong Stannis is rightful heir some say). In fact, they are really just perpetuating & reinternalizing feudal or authoritarian definitions of "deserving", "rightful", "fit", "blood=being", "(male/masculine/able-bodied)warrior = good/fit leader". Because they want absolute answers or a total shift into a new, closer to our own social "democratic" order...which yes people vote, but even the worth of that vote is not absolutely understood or substantial without political understanding and we're back to some sort of "square one".

Fire and Blood serves to highlight that and contextualize Dany through her ancestors and the Dance is a huge old question of "deserving" based on sexism. and to give us more clues-mysteries on the origins of dragons/the nature of the bond. These nobles who could be focusing on more important things and preserve the knowledge of the Others at least...not reject magic and instead maybe learn to use it and their ordinary weapons of war for good, mostly protective purposes. Instead, bc they (Targs [who also "rejected" magic when they rejected their women to assimilate] and other Westerosi houses) are the apex of their society by being nobles and are constantly trying to define lines of power, they fight for revenge and power. They can and do prey on relatively more socially vulnerable people.

#asoiaf asks to me #definitions #usurpation #usurper #asoiaf writing #asoiaf themes #asoiaf #existentialism

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mountain-in-springtime · 2 years ago

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i was tagged by my darling @loser-user-noaccuser (thanks for the tag love) so let’s go!

(i’m also gonna tag @takenbythelightfantastic @shutupdevvie and @myfriendtheghost but if you see this and i didn’t tag you, feel free to participate anyway!)

what book are you currently reading? i just started shady hollow: a murder mystery by juneau black. i’ve been meaning to read it for ages, so i’m excited to finally get around to it.

what’s your favorite movie you saw in theatres this year? this is really hard to pick because i did see a lot of films this year, most of them screenings of older movies. my top three are probably labyrinth, goodfellas, and rear window. i do feel that elvis deserves an honorable mention as well because i did really enjoy that and it made me cry multiple times.

what do you usually wear? it depends on the day. if i’m at home i just wear athletic tights and a t shirt, but if i’m going to class i’ll throw on a cardigan as well and sometimes wear jeans instead of tights.

how tall are you? i’m 5′3″

what’s your star sign? do you share a birthday with a celebrity or historical event? i’m a pisces! i also share a birthday with johnny cash and victor hugo (and i’m one day away from sharing one with george harrison)

do you go by your name or nickname? they’re pretty interchangeable tbh. some people call me mallorie, but just as many call me mal.

did you grow up to be what you wanted to be as a kid? yes and no. i think that who i am as a person is the type of individual that i’ve always been and wanted to be, but in the tangible sense of a career, lifestyle, etc., i’m still in a transitional period of my life and can’t say yet if i’ll reach the more material goals set by my childhood self.

are you in a relationship? if not who is your crush if you have one? i’m not in a relationship, and i don’t really have any crushes aside from my multiple famous/fictional/tumblr mutual babygirls.

what’s something you are good at vs something you are bad at? ever since i was a child, i’ve been pretty talented in the arts (singing, acting, visual art, etc.) and i did really well in school, but i am absolutely terrible at sports or really anything atheltic.

dogs or cats? both! although i don’t know if i could live without a dog.

if you draw/write or create in anyway what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you have created this year? it’s definitely this (technically unfinished) painting that i did of george harrison at the beginning of the year. i consider it one of my best works to date, and it was done at a time when i was really deep into a beatles phase so i think my love of the band and george really manifested into the work.

what’s something you’d like to create content for? oh my gosh there’s so many things. i’m really big into any kind of pop culture/media so i draw a lot of celebrities that i love and things like that. i’d really like to continue to make art that shows my love of the beatles, but i would like to branch out into making art for some of my other loves like john denver, gvf, and the muppets. i’d also love to give writing fanfic for any of the fandoms i’m in a try.

what’s something you are currently obsessed with? well i’m obviously obsessed with the beatles and gvf, but i also adore john denver, the solo works of all the beatles, the muppets, the simpsons, film (particularly old hollywood and 80s films), and a million other things. i’ve also been hyperfixating on seinfeld a bit lately bc that’s the show i’m currently watching.

what’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year? i think every year i convince myself that i’ll make new irl friends and finally have a full friend group or even get into a relationship, but that never really happens much. (although i am thankful for all of the darling friends i have made on tumblr. y’all mean so much to me.) i also went see paul mccartney in concert this year and while it was amazing and by no means disappointing, it didn’t hold the life-changing gravity that i thought it would, and it almost made me a bit sad because it reminded me how much time has passed since the beatles and that the people that i really care about won’t be around forever.

what’s a hidden talent of yours? i’m pretty good at impressions! i can do a lot of them, but some of my favorites are miss piggy, cher, bob dylan, chubby checker (specifically singing the twist), a ton of simpsons characters, jerry seinfeld and jimmy stewart. (the last two aren’t always great but they really make me laugh.)

are you religious? yes, but it’s a bit complicated. i was raised catholic, but i find that i don’t agree with all of the teachings of the catholic church, so now i’m trying to find where i stand in the religious community and where my beliefs and morals fit. it’s something i’m working on and figuring out as i go along.

what’s something that you wish to have at this moment? happiness, love, and peace

#thanks so much again to shae for the tag #this was so much fun #also sorry if i got too emotional or whatever #mal lore

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kitkatpancakestack · 3 years ago

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Thinking about that incredible Buck + Eddie set of the shooting with that Bobby quote about believing he was listening to Athena die: I knew what my life would feel like without you in it...

Which, first of all, rude as hell...But second, I'm sitting with what feels like a hard truth that of the two couples, it really is Buck and Eddie who might not survive losing the other. There's the Christopher of it all, so they would technically keep living. But. Bobby or Athena would of course be devastated to lose the other. They would grieve, it would be horrific. But ultimately, I don't worry that they wouldn't survive, wouldn't figure out how to live after, to move on and carry their grief.

I very much have that worry with Buck and Eddie. And I think this is one of the lessons they've got to learn before they can finally be together.

This is a nuanced take and not in any way a statement that Buddie is better or stronger, not at ALL. Not really the opposite, but they are certainly younger and it shows here. Because I don't think "we always wanted to go together" is the measure of a healthy relationship, certainly for anyone not in their literal 80s.

Something about Bobby, Athena, Eddie and Buck and how grief — learning to not just technically survive loss, but to live, to find and embrace happiness after unimaginable loss — is something that ties them all together. How they're each in different places with their grief. How Buck's root trauma is grief and he didn't even know it (until he was 30 damn years old).

So, the Bathena/Buddie parallels are of course unhinged and romantic, and they are also deep and complex as hell. And it's the differences between them is challenging and kind of upsetting me at the moment, and I needed to share my pain.

Thoughts?

**Disclaimer before I begin: this is not meant to be discourse about what ship is the top ship, or what makes one of the couples better than the other etc. As yrames put it, it is a nuanced take I'm using as a vehicle to compare/contrast these couples.

@yramesoruniverse I absolutely love this ask. It's actually a concept I think about all the time.

(First I want to link the gif set mentioned, bc the parallel still has my head spinning all these months later. I still can't get over the intention of it, the way we had to parallel the dialogue to Buck and Eddie. Oh, the implications.)

Alright, now, let's talk about grief:

I have thought a lot about what makes Buck and Eddie feel so different to me compared to the other couples. Because, absolutely, I agree with you, I don't think either of them would "survive" losing the other. And by this I mean, I don't think either of them would ever go on to live a fully fulfilled life. There are two sides of this, I think, a side that is inherently romantic, and then a side you mention that is a bit darker in its naivety. I know your ask mainly focuses on Bathena, but I want to parallel Buck and Eddie to the other couples on the show as well.

Our three main established couples on the show are Henren, Bathena, and Madney. I consider these to be strong and dynamic couples, built off trust and love and mutual understanding. I think the difference with these couples is, we can imagine the individuals in the pair as existing without the other. Of course, this isn't to say losing their partner would not absolutely devastate them, but I do believe each individual in our established couples would be able to, eventually, pick themselves up and move forward, and find a way to interact with life meaningfully again (I'm rethinking my stance on madney, though, given 5A, I was Worried about Chimney, whew)

I'll focus mostly on Bathena for the sake of brevity and to stay in line with your ask. Both Bobby and Athena had families and lives prior to their marriage to each other. Bobby was married to a woman he was deeply devoted to, and even Athena was deeply devoted to Michael, despite the rough patches in the relationship she ignored (edit: she also dealt with the loss of her first love, Emmett). I absolutely love Bobby and Athena together, that's my mom and dad, and I think they were definitely meant to find each other, and I think it would take serious time to move on from losing each other, but we have precedence that it is possible for them. They both have a blueprint, so to speak, for how to navigate that kind of intimate loss and move forward. This has a lot to do with age and experience.

I want to mention 9-1-1LS briefly, here, because actually, the closest couple in the 9-1-1 universe I can think of that most parallels Buck and Eddie in this sense is Grace and Judd. Just like with our boys at the 118, it is an unequivocal feeling I have that neither Grace nor Judd would "survive" losing each other, either. Grace and Judd are also a younger couple, and have not had the "loved and lost" experience that Bathena has, so it could be a factor of age and experience yet again. That said, I recall a scene in an episode of LS, when Grace and Judd were caught in a truck and sinking and Grace was stuck, and Judd was fully prepared to sink to the bottom of that lake with her rather than save himself. Barring the existence of Christopher, I could see that exact scene playing out with Buck and Eddie when I first watched it. It's interesting to me, and so I thought it worth mentioning, that there's something about the extent to which Grace and Judd have seamlessly interwoven their lives that mirrors Buck and Eddie.

Buck and Eddie are . . . impossible to label. Hard to articulate. In the one sense of the "Don't go where I can't follow" mold of their relationship, I think it's beautiful to be committed to someone to such an extent, to feel another person so vibrantly in every area of your life, that there's no comprehensible reality you could experience that they would not touch. You bring up an interesting point, though, when you mention this being a not-so-healthy component of a young relationship, and of course there is Christopher to consider in all of this as well.

I find it interesting, though, in the ways Buck and Eddie have both experienced loss. Individually and with each other. Buck's entire existence is rooted in grief, as you say, and his entire adult life as of recently has been trying to overcome this grief that shaped him. He hasn't had to hold his loved one dying in the street (not until 4x13 anyway) but he's experienced the loss of abandonment, again and again. Eddie, on the other hand, has experienced the loss of a partner. He watched Shannon die. He's had to figure out a way to move on from this, and yet we do see him actively being able to move on from this, and still there is the feeling in my gut that whispers if it was Buck, it would be different, and honestly maybe somebody else can hijack this post and tell me why because I can't explain it. Likewise, with Buck, when he is faced with the real possibility of losing Eddie at the well and after Eddie is shot, the reaction is unreal. It's almost concerning. The depth and intensity of emotion in those moments is visceral. Based off those alone you have to be wondering to yourself how would this man survive if Eddie died?

I don't know if it's something they could ever learn to deal with it. I don't know if that's a kind of grief they could ever overcome. Or, they would, to the extent that they are present and functional for Christopher, but maybe not much beyond that.

Anyway. I haven't meta'd this obscenely long in a while, but I have serious thoughts about grief and how it connects people, especially the 9-1-1 characters, and especially concerning parallels between buddie/bathena. I'd be interested to hear if anybody else also gets this feeling around buddie that they don't get around the other couples, and why they feel that way.

Thanks for the ask! Always a pleasure♥️

#kitkat answers asks #long meta #yramesuniverse #grief meta #lmao that's dark oh well #parallels

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kittyprincessofcats · 4 years ago

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RWBY Volume 8, Episode 13 (Worthy)

Well, wow. That sure was an episode that happened.

Thoughts under the cut.

Anyone who leaves spoilers for episode 14 on this will get blocked.

- First of all, I want to now talk about the spoiler I saw for this episode last week, to put the anger from my last post into context: After I had just finished watching episodes 8-12 and started writing my post about them, I went into one of the RWBY tags bc I’m dumb and saw a post that said (I don’t remember the exact words, but more or less): “I’m so glad Yang is finally dead, so now her fans can shut up about her and everyone can ship Blacksun instead.”

… Yeah. Imagine seeing that when you haven’t seen the actual episode and have no idea what really happened. I honestly completely panicked for a few minutes, before remembering I don’t actually know anything and this might just be a “Weiss gets impaled in Volume 5, but one episode later it turns out she’ll be fine” situation. So then I had to look up what actually happened to Yang, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to sleep. So, to the person who made that post: Fuck you. Not only did you freak people out for no reason (because come on, there’s no way falling into the void actually kills you – and even if it does, we at least definitely don’t know that for sure after episode 13), but even if Yang had actually died, it’s super shitty that your first reaction to a beloved queer character’s death would be “yay, now people can ship my m/f ship instead”. Like, I don’t care if you personally dislike Yang/ dislike Bumbleby/ prefer Blacksun – show a little bit of decency.

Phew. Sorry, I had to get that off my chest because it really made me angry. Now let’s get into the actual episode:

- “Worthy” as a title pretty much already made me predict that Cinder would succeed in her plan, since “you have to be worthy” was what Watts told her in his speech. She’s gotten the message and is now back to efficient plans – and while I love to see it, it also very much scares me when it comes to our heroes’ survival chances. The last time Cinder was doing well, we lost Pyrrha, so… help.

- And gosh, this whole episode was so intense! I feel like it mostly set up a bunch of very intense situations that are going to escalate in the last episode that I’m very much not ready for.

- I still think the whole central location between the worlds is really beautiful, if dangerous. (They should have specified to Ambrosius that they want handrails or something.)

- Nora using her hammer like a witch’s broom was amazing.

- I also loved the scene with Jaune and the people at the train station; that was really funny.

- The middle of the desert might not have been the best place for the exit. Didn’t the group consider that there might be a sandstorm or something else unpredictable out there? Couldn’t they have picked a better exit point?

- Cinder causing an explosion in the middle of the evacuation that throws multiple people into the void was bad and all – but it was still one hell of an entrance!

- I love that now that Cinder realized that she has to rely on teamwork, she’s suddenly being so nice to everyone. Apologizing to Neo, complimenting Watts on “tearing the kingdom apart with nothing but his intellect”, that soft “You deserve this, Arthur”, complimenting Team RWBY on their plan, thanking them for teaching her “one last lesson”. Yeah, maybe she’s just talking to Neo and Watts like this because she needs their help, and to Team RWBY because she’s confident she’ll win – but it’s still amazing to see the shift in her attitude and how she’s clearly changed her tactic.

- It’s insane to me that some people correctly predicted that Cinder would ask Jinn the last question based JUST on the fact that there’s a part in the opening where everyone else freezes in time while she walks past them. Holy hell! I love trying to guess stuff based on the intro, but I would have never thought that far.

- Cinder’s question to Jinn seems like a waste considering it was Jinn’s last question, but maybe it just seems that way to us as viewers because Jinn didn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know. Was it the right thing for Cinder to do? I don’t know, to be honest. Yes, it did give her the chance to ruin the heroes’ plans, but I have a feeling Salem won’t be happy about the question being gone. Pretty sure Salem was going to ask Jinn how to get the Beacon relic, and now she can’t do that. (Cinder ruining Salem’s plans for the beacon relic? Let that be foreshadowing, please.) I mean, maybe it’s worth it from Salem’s POV if it gets them the staff and then she’ll have 2 of the 4 relics – but they could have still gotten the staff later, while I don’t know if Salem has any plan B for the beacon relic. And I’m a little worried about Cinder now. I always thought that Salem wouldn’t kill Cinder no matter what, because she still needs the Fall Maiden for the beacon relic – but if she now has to wait another 100 years for the beacon relic anyway, I’m not sure if she’ll have a reason to keep Cinder alive. (And I’m still worried about that “Some lives will end much too soon” line playing over that scene of Cinder clutching her Grimm arm in the opening.) I also wonder if Cinder even knew that this was Jinn’s last question. Did Jinn even tell her that? Also, when will the 100 years even be up? Do the questions just reset every 100 years regardless of when they were used? So maybe we’re already at year 80 or something and will only have to wait 20 years?

- The cut from everyone at the central command place screaming to them being dead was kinda funny in a “very dark humour” way.

- When Harriet first jumped onto that ship with the bomb, I, like an idiot, thought that she was finally being sensible and trying to get the bomb as far away from Atlas and Mantle as possible, not that she was trying to still drop it on Mantle. She and Ironwood might as well be working for Salem’s team at this point, because they’re doing everything to help the villains’ plan. And the villains are even counting on it! Watts freed Ironwood from his cell and is piloting Harriet’s ship. Those two are just straight up helping Salem’s team in their attempts to… what was it? Save Atlas?

- Ironwood killing Jacques was awful and proves once again that Ironwood has zero morals left. And I didn’t like Jacques, but that was the kind of death that absolutely no one deserves. He had no way to escape or fight back, he was defenseless, locked up in a prison cell with nowhere to run – that’s not just a murder, that’s an execution without a trial. And Jacques wasn’t even a threat, he wasn’t in the way of any of Ironwood’s plans. Ironwood killed him literally just because he could. And no one who thinks they’re the good guy (and Ironwood still thinks he’s the good guy) should go around just killing people who aren’t even a threat.

- And then we have Yang falling into the void. Honestly, as heartbreaking as Blake’s sobs and anger are, I kind of love this from a “supreme angst, let’s see my faves suffer” perspective. That said, Yang better actually be fine or else.

- Actually, my prediction is that the rest of team RWBY will jump into the void to save Yang in the last episode. Because they’re all falling in the opening, and because “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall and fight for every life”. That’s pretty much the only prediction I feel somewhat confident about, for the rest I have no idea.

- I wonder if it would have been better if Penny had just gone through the doorway and gotten the staff to Vacuo. I get why she didn’t, because Yang just fell and her other friends were in danger… but at the same time, she was supposed to protect the population and the staff (and she has the maiden powers that I’m sure Cinder still wants). If she had just gotten out of there, at least the group in Vacuo would have had some help against the sandstorm and the Grimm. But then again, it would have also severely weakened Term RWBY’s chances against Cinder and Neo… it’s a tough call, really.

- “Why didn’t you just learn your lesson?” “Oh, Penny… I did.” Okay, but that’s the thing: She really did! Just not the lesson Penny wanted her to learn. And notice how Cinder called Penny by her first name again? She didn’t use to do that. I still think somewhere down the line Penny has earned her respect.

- I wonder if Penny’s technically weaker now because she’s human (?? is she??). She’s definitely not used to fighting without her robotic parts (as you can see when she tries to reach for her swords and realizes they’re not there anymore). I summoning those swords like she then did her semblance or another maiden power?

- Blake now has to choose between helping Ruby and helping Penny and Weiss – gosh, the suspense…

- I’m glad Vine at least finally tried to stop Harriet now! (Better late than never.) But I really wouldn’t blame Qrow and Robyn for crashing into their ship. It’s not like they had any way of knowing that Vine was trying to talk sense into Harriet. Also, Qrow crashing through Harriet’s windscreen was amazing.

- Winter and Ironwood are going to fight to the death and I’m so scared of it. (I just need Winter to survive, please…)

- When Weiss described the doorway as a “one-way ticket to Vacuo” last episode, I briefly wondered if that meant they wouldn’t be let back through, but then I brushed it aside and didn’t think about it too much anymore. Oh, damn. You really do have to be very specific with Ambrosius.

- I’m not even sure which location is the best to be in right now because they all seem very unsafe: Atlas and Mantle are unsafe because Atlas is falling, because Mantle might still get blown up by Harriet, and because Salem might still come back any time. The place between worlds is unsafe because of the void and because there’s a big fight happening right there. And Vacuo is unsafe because of the Grimm and the sandstorm. So really, they’re all awful for the civilians right now.

- And now I’m thinking the volume might actually end with the protagonists split into three groups as well: Team RWBY in the void (that they’ll spend Volume 9 finding their way back from), one half of the other characters in Vacuo (Oscar, Ren, Emerald, maybe more?), and the other half still in Atlas/Mantle (Qrow, Robyn, Marrow, Winter, maybe more).

- I’m super nervous about the last episode. I haven’t seen any spoilers at all so far, and I plan to keep it that way. I’ll probably completely ignore anything RWBY-related until next week because the anxiety would kill me otherwise. I’m really worried we’ll get a character death or even several. And ironically, my first prediction on who might die this Volume (Penny, Nora, Winter, Cinder) hasn’t changed all that much. I’m worried about Penny because she has the Maiden Powers and the staff, so Cinder will come after her (but I really think it would be an awful writing choice to kill her off after we just went through so much to save her). I’m very worried about Winter because she’s engaged in a duel to the death with a man who has a big canon that he just blew someone up with. I’m worried for Cinder because of the opening and because Salem might be pissed at her for using the last question. I’m worried for everyone who’s still on Atlas and might get blown up by the bomb (Qrow, Robyn, Marrow, Winter again). And I’m very worried for the characters who are in the in-between realm. Not so much Team RWBY, but I’m worried about Nora, Jaune, and Penny. So yeah, I’m pretty much worried about everyone and very much not ready. Now let me ignore RWBY’s existence for a week – or only reblog posts I already have saved as drafts – because it’s the only way I’ll know peace.

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hobidreams · 4 years ago

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Moonlit Throne historical clarifications/references

i want to accurately represent the history from the joseon era, but sometimes for the sake of story/ease of accessibility, things had to be minorly changed. the following is a list of creative choices/changes i make in the writing of Moonlit Throne, as well as further information about the history/culture that i’ve found through my own research 💓 i hope this can also provide some more context for those interested. this list is to be updated as the series progresses so i always recommend you read the latest drabble before checking for more info here for risk of spoilers. please correct me if i get any info wrong!!

for even more information about the world, check out the tag #moonlit history!

last updated: after drabble 43!

new information for the latest drabble will be under the moon.

king gwanghae - as mentioned in the line “gwanghae flow” & in the rest of the MV, Daechwita was inspired by this historical king & the movie about him. Moonlit Throne is not inspired by any king. any event that is similar is purely coincidental!

topknot - various sources state that only married men were allowed to wear their hair up, though this is often not the case in popular korean media. even though Yoongi is unmarried, i chose to pay homage to the daechwita MV & give him a topknot throughout the series. *** same goes for the blonde hair color!

months - traditionally, they followed the lunar calendar in the Joseon era. but i thought that that would be a bit difficult to explain for modern audiences so i am choosing to use the months/modern equivalents of dates.

yoongi’s scar - i am aware that Scarlet Heart Ryeo depicts the facial scar as a reason that someone could not become king. i haven’t found much on this in the way of historical sources, so it’s not a factor in my series!

uinyeo - aka. reader’s mom, and eventually reader herself. at the time, it was believed that women could not be treated by male doctors due to the shame of showing a man their body, even in a medical context. this position was generally occupied by a woman that was ranked below middle-class & commoner (think merchants/fishermen/etc.) as it was not a very desireable role. reader’s mom, Eun-a, is the head uinyeo, which is why she is called “su-uinyeo-nim” by others.

***i haven’t found any information that says men couldn’t be treated by women due to the Confucius beliefs, so at least in this story, reader helps out the male physicians from time to time.

eunuch - eunuchs were impotent or castrated men (had all or part of their genitals removed) who worked within the palace walls, serving and attending the royal family. they had their own hierarchy, like head eunuch, etc. it was possible for eunuchs to marry & have families of their own.

***Eunuch Kim has a 🍆! it’s just his testicles that were removed.

yoongi’s name - technically kings use temple names that end in jo or jong instead of their given names, but i’m keeping it as Yoongi!!

age - it’s revealed in the march 1858 drabble that Yoongi is officially turning 10 years old that year, but this is in Korean age. his birth year is 1849, which would make him 9 years old in age as we know it internationally. Korean tradition dictates that people age up at the start of the new year (Jan 1), not on their actual birthday. traditionally, they also add an extra year as they consider the baby 1 year old at birth, not 0 years old. to do the math, reader is two years older than him, which would make her born in 1847 & turning 12 that year!

*** the average life expectancy around that time was ~35-40, so their understanding of a teenager would be very different than ours, at least in terms of maturity. thus, even though the main characters are relatively young by today’s standards, i’ve written them to come off as older. UPDATED INFO: it seems court ladies could live up to rather elderly ages, even up to 70, so i’m not sure if the earlier statistic was just mainly for men.

birthdays - i couldn’t find any information about whether they celebrated the actual day of birth as well back then, only about 100 day milestones, etc. but it is part of Korean culture to celebrate the birthday in modern times, so i kept it in.

jeonha - similar to mama, this is how you refer to the king as an equivalent to “Your Majesty”. wangseja-jeonha is the full title for the crown prince. usually people just call him seja-jeonha.

women’s rights - how much freedom you have kind of depends on what rank you are. most of the upper court/noble ladies (yangban) are born & raised within the palace. they were very, very rarely allowed to leave (& if they were married off, then they would have to leave with like guards/people with them). it’s unfortunate but they were treated like property, passed off from father -> husband. from what i can gather, the lower ranked women (like the uinyeo) had a bit more liberty about going into town (or at least ive seen in media), mostly bc no one cared about them.... sad truth but truth nonetheless.

king’s authority - even though the king is the ruler of the entire land, he doesn’t have absolute authority over everything. generally kings in the joseon era had to listen to the advice of the court officials if they thought he was making the wrong choice.

Minister Choi’s execution - so actually there were several types of executions for people of different ranks. someone of Minister Choi’s status likely would have been given a less gruesome death via. poison (sasa or 사사). but i’m keeping it as a beheading to pay homage to the daechwita MV!

***i also came across an article that said only royal blood could be spilled on the palace grounds so i’m not 100% sure where the public execution square was located, only that there was one & it was separate from the palace. also a lot of dramas seem to ignore this rule, so i’m not sure.

perfume - this existed back then! along with cosmetics. they were a luxury item for mostly the upper class, but they definitely existed.

Queen Jeonghui’s birthday - fun fact! i borrowed this real life queen’s name first, for drabble 3. then i found out, it just so happens that her real birthday falls in November as well. it was a total coincidence haha.

OC’s outfit/hairstyle - this is what she would have worn!

palace - the layout of the series setting is loosely based off Gyeongbokgung Palace! if you look at the map, i’ve set the private gardens at #24 (though the position of the island is different than how it looks in the map. it’s instead from the right side going towards the left), Yoongi’s private residence is #25. reader is moved into #23. #26-28 are libraries, which includes the crown prince’s private library.

*** also the palace is much bigger than you might imagine so to get anywhere takes some time & a bit of walking!

jipgyeongdang (집경당) - #22 on the map. along with #23 (below), were traditionally houses for concubines & palace maids before Yoongi moved them.

hamhwadang (함화당) - #23 on the map. where reader lives post December 1868.

sanggung - the highest rank available for women who served the palace/royal family. a woman could become a “favored sanggung” if she slept with the king, but not a proper concubine. normally from the “commoner” class.

sangmin - “commoner” class. made up about 80% of joseon’s people. were the farmers, fishermen, laborers, etc. these were the people that paid taxes and were ruled over by the nobles!

cheonmin - the rank below commoner, described in English as “vulgar commoner.” the upper classes considered these people “unclean.” among their numbers were butchers, sex workers, performers, shoemakers, and yes, uinyeo. they were normally given little to no respect at all within society.

concubine - women that had the honor of sleeping with the king. concubines had their own ranks within them as the king usually had many (think around a dozen). more info.

town - from what i can gather, directly outside of the palace is a small town. if you think of the Daechwita MV, it’s like the town that Yoongi walks through when he has black hair. this is where mostly people of the middle/lower class, like sangmin & those below that, live.

chuseok - Korean harvest festival! it means “autumn evening with the brightest moon”. it’s usually celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. that would put it anywhere around sept 9-oct 2 in our modern calendar depending on the year!

yangban - these are the “ruling class” or gentry of the joseon era. generally means their families own land, are somewhat (or very) wealthy, and they are well-educated. (think Mr. Darcy, for a British equivalent)

why does no one recognize the prince in town? - with a lack of access to pictures & internet, it was common for the normal citizens of the country to not know what their monarchs looked like. generally to identify people & rank, they had to rely on appearance. gold was a color only reserved for royalty, so only the king & his sons could wear the royal robes with gold embroidery. once Yoongi takes off those robes, it’d be hard to identify him from among regular yangban!

jeon - these are bits of shrimp/vegetables/fish/other small things that are deep fried in egg batter!

nokdujeon - this is like a small, savory pancake made with, you guessed it, mung beans!

Chun-ja calling Eunuch Kim “Kim-nim” - look. i’ll be straight with you i have no idea how a commoner would refer to a eunuch. i’m flip-flopping between his title (which i also cannot figure out bc idk which of the 18 political ranks he would be, but not for lack of trying y’all T_T) & his name with the respectful -nim. so just to be safe, i’m going with it.

***i also am not 100% on this, but i believe Eunuchs rank higher than commoners because they work in the palace? which is why Eunuch Kim uses “-ssi” for her.

hangul & hanja - so the Korean alphabet as we know it is called hangul, and it was invented in 1443. in the past, they used to use hanja, Chinese characters, to write documents.

female literacy rate - as related to above, it was rare for women to be able to read/write even up until the late 19th century. they weren’t allowed to learn hanja at all & only around 4% could learn hangul. of those 4%, it was mostly noble women, who received good education to be better wives.

***books were then thus read aloud by those literate to crowds, so people could still enjoy stories.

face - the concept of “face” is very much rooted in Asian culture. in Korea, it’s called chemyon, & is basically related to your reputation + how others see you. you can lose, build, or gain face through your actions or what rumors of you spread. for example, if parents have children with bad grades, they + the child lose face. people should strive to do things to build their family’s honor & face up. i’ve experienced firsthand how people go to sometimes extreme lengths to “save face” as the term goes. basically, if you’re going to do something shameful, it’s better to do it where no one can see. (this concept isn’t going to have a huge influence in the series, at least not so far & i use it rather lightheartedly in October 1865 but i just thought that it’s really interesting + important to know about Asian culture!)

French expedition to Korea (Byeong-in yangyo) - in October 1866, the second French empire tried to invade Korea (or Joseon as it was called at the time) because the king at the time executed seven French missionaries. after several months of fighting, Korea won with only four soldiers killed & 3 wounded (compared to France: 3 killed, 35 wounded). Joseon was able to stay relatively isolated from all the other countries, continuing the practice of isolationism.

gossip - i couldn’t find any laws prohibiting people from talking about court going-ons/battles, though i would assume that it’s punishable if you’re doing it to talk badly about the king. but even if there were laws in place, word gets around, as word tends to do. therefore, i’ve given Eunuch Kim a bit more freedom in his letters.

royal funerals - it could actually take up to 5 months for the coffin to begin its journey to the resting tomb, but i’ve expedited the timeline for plot purposes!

coronations - these actually weren’t super common in Korea or Asia in general, but it did happen once in the 1700s for King Yeongjo. i’m using that as inspiration for Yoongi’s crowning.

*** also i couldn’t find info on the exact wording that King Yeongjo used when he announced his succession to his deceased brother’s body so... i took some creative license there.

gama - how yangban & up women travelled, carried by their servants. here’s a visual!

the royal engagement - actually, Beom-su would not have lived within the palace walls. she would have lived in a detached palace that was further away from the main palace, and there would be a whole procession where the king goes to her during their wedding rites. however, i’ve seen several dramas have the bride-to-be hang around a lot, which seems to be true because she would have had to learn the customs of the palace, so i’m not sure how much she would have been around realistically. i’ve just chosen not to address it, like the dramas do.

Beom-su’s name - i chose this name for her because of one of the possible hanja for beom: “犯”, which i would pair with the hanja “秀” for su. her name would basically mean excellent invasion, which i thought was a bit cruel, slightly humorous, & overall fitting. it is normally a masculine name though!

why are Beom-su’s father’s actions such a scandal? - so all the unmarried women living/working in the palace were considered the king’s property. he could sleep with them if he wanted to, but essentially they belonged to him. by laying hands on the maid, the minister committed a double sin because he not only was he assaulting someone, but he was infringing upon the king’s territory.

civil service exam (gwageo) - this is an exam issued every 3 years that any man, commoner rank & above, could take in order to enter into civil service. it’s what Jimin takes to enter into the court! i’m not sure what month these were held or if it was just at the king’s discretion (could not find much info)

more on eunuch kim & the re-marriage process

royal tombs - these were often quite far away from the actual palace but looking on maps, i found that there were a few tombs rather close to the palace that people could have conceivably travelled to within a day, over several long hours on horseback!

on natural disasters - yes, in history, natural disasters like floods/earthquakes/eclipses were said to be the king’s fault because he wasn’t a good enough ruler! things like this could seriously derail the people’s trust in the king and was a big cause of concern.

on Queen Jeonghui being in court meetings - i couldn’t find actual evidence that said the queen couldn’t be at these daily meetings between officials. in fact, the real life Empress Myeongseong in the ~1870s was pretty involved in politics and was quite interested in matters of law, etc. so, i’ve decided to allow Jeonghui to be present and address the ministers alongside Yoongi!

Chunaengjeon - i kind of explain more about this already in the drabble itself but if you’re curious, it’s the only solo court dance in the Joseon era and the highlight of the dance is a moment where the dancer mimics a bird perched on a flower and smiles :’) i thought it was fitting for these two. here’s a video of a performance that i used as reference!

janae - there were quite a few different terms for couples to call each other during this time. “janae” was meant to represent wife and is kind of their equivalent to our... “honey”? it was mostly used among the commoners/lower classes to convey affection and closeness. (aka eunuch kim continues to be the cutest)

on adopting a child as a eunuch - the readings i found say that eunuch kim’s children must be eunuchs themselves if he adopts them directly, but they don’t mention anything about this particular case of a eunuch marrying a widow, aka the child is not directly adopted by Eunuch Kim himself. so Han-jae will not be a eunuch when he grows up!

american invasion of korea (shinmiyangyo) - this is a true historical event, as i’ve mentioned in my author’s note for “June 1871.” Americans repeatedly violated Korean soveriegnty and invaded their land, resulting in many, many deaths for the Korean side. they were hoping this destruction would force Korea to accept the trade treaty. Korea did not, and eventually were able to chase the Americans out of their land a month later. the wikipedia page goes into greater detail if you’re interested, and is a quick overview of the situation.

seong-min’s living situation - as i’ve mentioned earlier with the whole Beom-su situation, i’ve chosen to not use the detached palace again for this engagement as dramas tend to do.

the wedding ceremony - similar to my reasoning about the detached palace, i’ve chosen to focus on only a few parts of the marriage rites while only briefly mentioning the rest. why? well, while i would LOVE to explain all the details and intricacies of such an incredible process, i feel like that would take a lot away from the heart of the story and be distracting, especially at such a critical stage. so i’ve explained what i can, and given brief overviews where i am able. ofc i adjusted the parading ceremony because of the change of the detached palace custom. if you’d like an easy-to-read source on the whole process, please check out this link! basically the MLT chapter depicts a tweaked vers of steps 5 and 6. 1-3 happened behind the scenes, and i mentioned #4 in the “summer 1871″ drabble.

chungin - our equivalent of “white collar” workers, or the upper-middle class. this rank was made up of low-level bureaucrats, accountants, physicians, etc. some royal servants would also be part of this rank because they’re allowed to enter the palace. there is an exam (chapkwa) to become this rank!

conception dreams (taemong) - as uinyeo-nim explains in the drabble, these dreams were often seen as omens of impending pregnancy. depending on what you see in your dream, there are different interpretations. possible symbols are animals, fruits, elements of nature, children, and jewels. eg. if you dreamed of fruits, it was often considered to be a sign of having a baby girl.

other conception myths - i know from my own experience that Asians often have a lot of superstitions regarding conception and pregnancy and medical things in general. however, i couldn’t find any specific conception myths for the time period in question (most of my research only uncovered superstitions for after you’re already pregnant), so i’ve taken some creative license here, using the conception dreams and current beliefs as inspiration!

on Queen Jeonghui calling oc “dear” - since I prefer not to use Y/N, ___, etc. for reader’s name and just generally avoid mentioning it, it’s nearly impossible for me to convey the tone with which Queen Jeonghui would’ve been calling OC in this chapter. in Korean, she would be saying “[name]-yah/ah” depending on the ending syllable of the name. adding that suffix to the end of a name conveys closeness and intimacy between people. I’ve chosen to substitute it for “dear” to make things sound more natural in English. it’s not an exact match, but it’ll have to do!

#moonlit throne #historical context

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gabrielitas · 3 years ago

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phew it's good to know i'm boy the only one super behind lmao

alright answering questions and asking some more because i have a funny little group of questions that mean nothing but i like to ask

alright so i do bias soonyoung 🙄🙄 didn't think you'd guess so early. i also like seokmin and minghao 🥴🤤 aLSO, WHY HAS SEUNGCHEOL BEEN LOOKING SO CUTE RECENTLY I CANT HANDLE 😩😩

outside of kpop i may or may not have had an emo phase (read: fall out boy, panic!at the disco, my chemical romance). i may or may not still listen emo music. i also LOVE CONAN GRAYYY. idk if he's still indie but i love indie too! probably one of my favorite genres though is classical (instrumental if you wanna get technical 🙄 been yelled at bc cLaSsiCaL iS a TiMe PeRiOd)

the best of us had emo phases ☝️ mine is a little longer lasting three years in middle school. due to this, fall out boy is one of my favorite artists! i’m also a big tchaikovsky fan, and i like doja cat a lot too!

in response to your question about 1518 strasbourg, this is when and where the dancing plague of 1518 happened dnsbsbshja. it's where the phrase "dance till you die" originated lmao. i think it'd be funny to witness this/take part in it. aside from that, id probably fuck with california in 1849 because the gold rush🧎‍♀️, france in the 1880s, or america in the 1980/1990s! i’m a history nerd courtesy of my father, so i choose all my time periods based off some of my favorite historical events! 1880s for architecture mostly, gold rush because lawlessness and the "wild west", and the 80s for the cold war :)

the night is beautiful if you take the time to live it. for me, my favorite time across the board is lunch time-12:00 ish to 3:00 just because the sun is highest and i feel happiest! i like the night when i go out on bike rides because i feel alive/ like i’m not wasting my teen years

GIRL IM NORTHEAST US TOO DJNSBSBSVABWB #goals lmao

i have 1 sister and she's super annoying🙄 i also have 2 cats and a dog (i consider them my siblings)

the most recent show i binged and finished was criminal minds, and i tried supernatural but it's just so bad i cant get past season 11. i’m working on hannibal right now!

the last book i really enjoyed was the summer i turned pretty! i’m a sucker for romance books 😩

questions i've got:

- do you have any siblings or pets?

- do you play any instruments?

- what's your favorite font?

- how many pillows and stuffed animals do you sleep with? (i have too many to count)

- would you rather live in an urban, suburban, or rural setting?

I FRIKIN KNEW U BIASED SOONYOUNG UR VIBES R SO HORANGHE I COULD JUST TELL and i gotta say ur the second person who’s had both minghao and soonyoung on ur bias list and i just find that so funny cuz they’re polar opposites to me (also u have impeccable taste with minghao that boy is my ult and has my whole heart) AND OMG RIGHT??? seungcheol needs to *CHILL*😤

omg yes conan gray😫 this is gonna sound whiny but heather was one of my favorite songs of his before it became a tiktok trend💅

and yes the best of us *did* have emo phases, mine lasted from late 8th grade into the first half of freshman year, so it was kinda short lived but it still happened lol

also, seeing tchaikovsky and doja cat next to each other in a sentence is so funny (but in a weird way i get it lol) i’m not the *biggest* classical/instrumental fan, but i have def used it as study music when songs with lyrics r just too distracting. back to doja tho!! have u listened to her new album?? do u have a fav song off of it? (i haven’t listened to all of it but i do have a couple that i rlly like)

omg how did i not recognize that u were talking abt the dancing plague!!!!!🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ idk if u watch buzzfeed unsolved or watcher but they have a series called puppet history and the episode on the dancing plague is one of my favorites! also omg yes another history nerd who knows abt history b/c of her dad!!!! i’m prob most knowledgeable abt wwii, the civil rights movement in the us, and the spanish civil war cuz those r my dads main interests and i was sat down in front of documentaries abt those topics at the age of like, 3 lol. and wanting to experience the wild west is such a perfect and iconic era to want to live in, and wanting to experience the cold war is so funny (b/c i’m sure the ppl who were living it without knowing the ending like us felt the exact opposite lol)

and yes the night is so beautiful when u just give it ur attention. like, on my birthday it was raining and i didn’t have school the next day (and my birthdays i’m may so it was pretty warm) so i just went outside at like, midnight ish and listened to the rain and crocheted and it was truly so nice 😫 also omg last year when covid had us all at home i went for a bike ride almost every day after school to just get out of my room and it was so nice!! it was my bike from when i was like, 12 but i’m 4’11 so i was still able to ride it without a problem lsnsksns

and yes pets r absolutely siblings, my cat prob acts more like s typical sibling than my two younger siblings do lsnsksns (srsly tho my cat is an asshole she fucked up my leg the other day cuz i gave her food late smh)

omg hun season 11?? how many seasons of that goddamn show r there??? i couldn’t get past episode 1😭 (i rlly only started watching it b/c of dean from gilmore girls sksnksns) the show i’m currently bingeing rn tho is downton abbey, as i’m sure u can tell from how much downton shit u had to scroll past to find my answer to ur last ask alskkskjsjs (i’m so so sorry 😭)

ooo that sounds like a rlly good book title, what was it abt? i just finished a secret history (which FUCKED ME UP MY GOD THERES A LOT OF MURDER) and i’m currently working on the sequel to my name is asher lev by chaim potok (who is one of my fav jewish/classic literature authors and also just a rlly good author in general)

for ur questions:

-yes i do have siblings! two younger (one four and a half years younger and one a little over nine years younger than me so i’m the oldest by quite a bit lol) and i do have a pet! my cat sweetie who is an asshole who i love very much

-i took piano for like a year in second grade but then third grade happened and i was rlly bad at math so my parents switched from paying for piano lessons to paying for math tutoring lessons and i now remember literally nothing from piano lessons sksnksns

-i,,, dont think i have a favorite font? i do like to write in cursive and have a collection of calligraphy pens that i bust out on special occasions so there’s that i guess lol

-ok i have two normal pillows, one chair/armrest/pillow thing (idk if that makes sense but that’s the only way i know how to describe it sksnksns), a body pillow, and a single stuffed bear that live on my bed

-ooo so this is difficult for me cuz i technically live in a suburb but we’re *right next* to a major city in my state (like i’m a 20ish min car ride from my states baseball stadium and a 20 min walk to the college of the major city) so this has kinda made me rlly like both? like, i like the quiet of the suburbs but i cant handle not being able to walk to the closest boba shop or movie theatre or bookshop but i also don’t rlly love the noise and lights that there are in the city at night. so idk sksnksns

what do u like more tho? the city or the suburbs? also since u asked the question i’m assuming u have a fav form and i’m now rlly interested in finding out what it is lol

goodnight!❤️ (or good morning if ur seeing this in the morning since i’m answering this at midnight lol)

#🐯 anon #caratanonevent3 #asked and answered

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musicallisto · 3 years ago

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Hi. I hope this ask doesn’t come off as hate or judgmental. I promise that is not my intent. But why do you say you’re from both France AND Spain when you said yourself you’ve lived in France your whole life? Just curious.

✧˖°࿐ well, I have both nationalities (ie. both passports), so in the eyes of international law I am a dual citizen. I have the right to vote in Spain and the only administrative difference I have with any other Spanish citizen is I don't have a DNI.

But if the legal argument is not enough for you (and it can be! given that the USA gives citizenship to anyone born on its soil regardless of actual culture/origin, and that I have a friend who has the Spanish passport without knowing a word of Spanish...); if we're looking at it from a more "organically cultural" standpoint: I'm fluent in Spanish, extremely close to my Spanish family, basically grew up on Spanish 80's cartoons... most of what I interacted with as a kid (Disney movies, Harry Potter books) was in Spanish. fun fact, when I started kindergarten my parents warned the teacher I spoke Spanish better than French and so my words may just be a blabbering mess but like, don't pay attention to her leave her with the Lincoln Logs. All the time I spent in Spain adds up to 2 consecutive years. Basically, Spain/Spanish culture is indissociable from my history and identity, and just as crucial as my French side. I jokingly often say I'm not 50% French and 50% Spanish, I'm 100% both because I'm bad at math like that 😎

However I understand where you're coming from. The formulation is a bit misleading; technically speaking I'm from France because that's where I was born and that's literally where I stem from, like a weed lol. but identity is impossible to limit to the boundaries of paperwork or physical origin. I have a friend who calls himself Greek because his dad is Greek and he's extremely attached to and knowledgeable about Greek culture, but he doesn't have the passport - well I still reckon he's Greek. It's a far cry from Americans (bc it's a typically US American behavior) who claim they're Italian or Irish because they had an ancestor who emigrated in like the 1830s. Heritage and belonging to a country/community are different; I'm of Cuban descent and never have I ever said I was Cuban because I'm absolutely not. Both my grandparents were Italian, but I've never said I was Italian - because I'm not. It's really all about how big an impact said country has had on your life and identity construction.

#anon #thank you for asking! it didn't come across as judgemental #and sorry i went on a tangent here. national identity is a subject i'm very passionate about #exactly because i've been getting questions like yours all my life (not rude but just plain curiosity)#and that's caused some amount of identity crises lol #really not the same experience as being mixed race because i'm thoroughly white - but olive once told me #the feeling of being 'stuck in the middle' and people telling me i don't rlly belong / 'but where are you from REALLY?'#(which isn't what your ask said at all anon i know that well! just comments i've gotten in general)#was relatable to her experience so i'm happy it resonates #france #spain #culture talks #c. tag

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mochi-marie · 4 years ago

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hello! I would like to request a haikyuu matchup please :D (I apologize in advance if I write too much aksjk hopefully it'll make it easier to match me up?)

1) I'm a straight female and use she/her pronouns

2) I'm about 5'6", have straight brown hair (my friend says it looks orange-ish in the sunlight??), brown eyes, and I've been told that I'm kinda pale (but unfortunately flush easily lol).

As for things that make me stand out, I have patches of eczema littered all over my skin. I have a few on my hands and wrists and even though ik they're not a good thing and of course would much prefer not having eczema, I kinda like that it makes me unique. I also have round glasses (my eyesight is extremely bad ㅠㅠ), wear a lot of black, and recently have been wearing this tan overcoat everytime I go out bc it's big and comfy. oh, and I've always loved black low-top converse!

I'm overweight so I'm kinda insecure about my physical appearance, but I've been dealing with it for so long that ig I've come to terms with it and have just accepted that this is how I am (but I have been trying to exercise... >_>)

3) I'm a gemini, istp-t, and enneagram type 5. I think I treat people how they treat me; if someone doesn't talk to me, I probably won't talk to them unless necessary, and if someone is very friendly and nice to me, I'll be a bit more open and talk more. I'm usually pretty reserved and go with the flow, but around people I'm more comfortable with I can be very sarcastic and playful. I'm kinda a mom/therapist friend. I'm very lazy and an expert procrastinater (I do what's necessary in the most efficient way possible, unless it's something that I enjoy).

Some things I enjoy: cooking & baking, arts & crafts, reading, sketching, 80s music, watching anime/tv/movies (especially crime, mystery, and thriller), and photography (as far as taking scenic photos with my phone goes lmao). idk if this counts as interests, but I'm planning on majoring in business administration and accounting. and as for my clothing style, I currently dress for comfort bc I'm always inside, but if I get a chance to redo my wardrobe I'd like to dress in a style more like dark academia/comfy casual? I have no idea if those are the right words to describe it 😅

4) I'm pretty sure my love language is physical touch, but I also really enjoy receiving spontaneous gifts or stuff I've been wanting (and money lmao I'm a big saver)! I've never been in a relationship, but I know I would definitely have to be friends with someone before even considering a serious romantic relationship, so I would ideally be comfortable around them already. I have a tendency to bottle up my emotions and I'm honestly a bit of a tsundere, so I think I might be shy in voicing my wants/initiating things. as for my type, I would prefer someone tall, mature but able to be playful and can take a joke (I sometimes use "idiot" as a term of endearment sksj I can be kinda mean sometimes tbh), patient since I'll take a while to open up, and ideally ambitious and willing to take initiative (bonus points if they're able to keep up with my sarcastic banter!)

5) I definitely like to sleep in, but if I need to wake up early and I can do so relatively easily. ig you could say I'm more of a night owl. I'm in a constant state of tiredness (possibly fatigued but idk) lol. I could technically live without music but would 100% prefer not to. my favorite song is "eyes without a face" by billy idol. I've never really thought about what my ideal first date would be, but I would like if it was well thought out and personal instead of the typical movie and dinner I suppose.

thank you so much for taking the time to do this!! I apologize again for writing so much 😅 hopefully you'll be able to have some fun writing, and I hope you're doing well! and no worries if you're unable to get to my matchup; please prioritize your wellbeing <3

𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: i had such a blast reading through this entire thing!!! thank you for writing this much, seriously — i love it, it makes it so much more interesting and easier on my part to find a match!! <3

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗢 𝗧𝗘𝗧𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗨

♡ . . . REASONINGS : filtering through the information, i have decided that, in my personal opinion, you are best paired with kuroo tetsurou!

starting off, the trench coat? comfy and casual dark academia fashion style? from looks alone, you seem like a pretty good match-up with kuroo. on the outside look in, i feel like you both would look like a really smart, cute, and sensible / mature couple! in all honesty, i think that kuroo would find your big glasses adorable ( and if you're prone to loosing them, he would find it sickeningly cute if you cling to him while you both searched for the glasses ). i imagine his breath hitches whenever his eyes lay on your figure in the setting sun, turning your hair into a pretty orange-brown shade that makes his heart beat a little bit faster. kuroo is used to being around more reserved people ( as he was once reserved, and now his best friend is rather reserved as well ), so becoming a friends-to-lovers dynamic would be easy. your playfulness and possible sarcasm seems to perfectly interact with his own, and considering some research about your enneagram and personality type, i think that your ( possible ) creativity and curiosity really intrigues him and keeps him curious and attentive with you. i feel that he might always be wondering what's going on in that pretty head of yours, curious to know what your next wonderful idea is or what your mind is thinking about. as an obvious friends-to-lovers trope, i think your relationship with kuroo would be very cute! i have a feeling that he'd love that your love language is physical connection, and would pick up on any ques if you're feeling cuddly and can't get the words out to ask for soft intimacy and cuddles! sarcastic banter? mature yet playful? i think your ideal type seems to perfectly match up with kuroo -- he would most definitely be able to take whatever playful insults you have to throw at him, and be able to throw some back. he knows when to be playful and understands if he ever goes too far, and will own up to any mistakes he may make. considering your hobbies and interests, i think your interest in crime shows / mystery and thriller movies / anime may really pique his interest, and he'd eventually be hooked right along side you. and he may not be the best in the world, but imagining the both of you together, baking or cooking something ( possibly late at night because of midnight cravings ) could be really cute!

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗-𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗦

♡ . . . staying up late at night and ending up heading into the kitchen together to make a midnight meal doesn't happen too often, but sometimes all you both need is a look at each other as your stomachs growl after a food-related ad on tv. ♡ . . . would absolutely make you feel like a queen all day and everyday if he can help it! will exercise with you if you would let him, and would celebrate all achievements with you; big or small! ♡ . . . kuroo is surprisingly one of the most thoughtful boyfriends, in my personal opinion! i feel like the dates would be well planned, memories eagerly waiting to be made! ♡ . . . the banter between you both is so cute!! it can be sarcastic, but it's never hostile, always playful and light, a smirk plastered onto his lips in a charmingly charismatic way! ♡ . . . stay-at-home-and-watching-a-show-dates!! whether it be wide-eyed and open-mouthed concentration on crime shows, or close-cuddling while watching some thriller or mystery shows / movies / animes!

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗

𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦

♡ . . . akaashi keiji, iwaizumi hajime, miya osamu, daichi sawamura

#boo.matches: anon 🍃

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zaritarazi · 4 years ago

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Does the hellfluencer baby have a teensy bit of an accent? Does Uncle Behrad lift them up high on his shoulders to make them laugh? Does Z keep all evidence of the baby away from social media? Is the baby's first stuffed animal a dragon? the people want to know

i feel like because only 1-3 of the people the baby have accents and they’re all so wildly different that she may at the ages of 3 or 4 have a little bit of a funny accent sometimes but not much. especially because let’s be honest, zari is the dominant talker here she probably sounds EXACTLY like her mom

i will tell you day 1 zari is like “okay here name is mitra” and john is like hey. can we not. name her after your pet dragon. and zari is like mithra isn’t a pet he is an ICON he is my ROCK he is all i have in this WORLD did i mention mithra is still alive? dragons live a long time just bc we didn’t see him onscreen doesn’t mean he isn’t there

john: if you name the baby mitra it implies that you made a baby with your dragon and not, i don’t know, with ME zari: iiiiiiiiii’m not seeing an issue with it

first of all behrad holding his little niece (nadia) like hey. quick question. if it’s 2023, am I four years old and nadia is ALSO a baby, or am i 25 years old. is zari technically only 13 right now. thank gd john was born in the 60s so he’s old enough to raise a child

john: i was born in the 80s behrad: oh. wow. you’ve had a stressful life, huh?

i feel like zari is actually using social media less even by the end of s5 like she’s still very much who she is but i feel like she cares more about her friends in real life and being a superhero than she does social media which is like. GROWTH. so by the time she’s holding a baby she like just idly takes a selfie with her and posts it like i don’t think she’ll ever stop posting she wants people to appreciate how good she looks but everyone remembers her more as someone who WAS really famous but suddenly every headline in 2047 is like ZARI TARAZI AND MYSTERY BABY?! and her mom is calling her like hey. your grandfather wants to know what happened. should i tell him you’re a time traveller or do you want to

THIS is a snow dragon and nadia ABSOLUTELY has it even though everyone is like zari don’t get anything white the baby is going to make a mess of it and zari is like PLEASE how messy can a baby BE

ava literally has to disconnect the wifi because he’s like you need to stop buying expensive newborn clothes she is going to grow out of them IMMEDIATELY and zari is like and?? ill just get her new clothes. and ava just kind of staring at her without speaking for 20 solid minutes until zari goes “so can you turn the wifi back on oooooor”

#lot headcanon #hellfluencer #hellstar #Anonymous #asks

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mothlover69 · 3 years ago

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⏳ for Asra and/or Eda? @fangedwife

@fangedwife hello and thank you!

⏳Modern/Medieval (depending on from what times the F/O originally is)

I'm gonna do both! Bc I'm weak for both of them :)

Under a read more cuz it's bout to get long oopsies

Asra

I'm picturing me walking down the street and bumping into this person with these bright tie dye 80s looking clothes, his white fluffy hair all messy and cute. We both awkwardly apologize for being so clumsy and then we just end up talking. I'm fascinated by his vibrant energy and I'm seriously wondering how I've never noticed him before because he is very noticeable. At some point the question comes up and I ask him what he does for a living.

"Oh, I'm a fortune teller," he says.

I cannot tell if he's joking or not, considering he's got a mischievous glint in his eye that seems to be permanent. So I'm just like haha dude okay. Eventually we go our separate ways and I'm kicking myself for not getting his name and number!

That is.... until a friend (Julian?) and I go to the carnival together. And we see a fortune tellers tent and decide to go in for shits and giggles, even though neither of us believe in that sort of thing

Guess who's in the tent. Yeah, it's Asra. His face lights up when he sees me, but he does his best to maintain his spooky mysterious aura. I sit, make some comment about how I didn't realize he was serious, to which he doesn't respond, only smirks. And he pulls out his tarot deck and does a three card reading for me.

"Ah, the card says you've recently met a handsome stranger. The next one states that you were always destined to meet them again, and soon." I only know a little bit about tarot, but it's enough to know that the cards he's pulled have nothing to do with what he's saying. "And with the third card, it seems it is in the stars that you must grab dinner with the stranger, or perhaps a soft pretzel if you've already eaten."

Obviously, I say yes to the date, though I make sure to let him know that he's absolutely ridiculous

Eda

Technically the owl house takes place in modern times, just in a different dimension soooo in gonna do a medieval au with her. She is a witch so it works!

There's me, a baker in a small town, just trying to make and sell bread and pastries. The town borders a forest, and guess who lives in a little cottage in the trees? Yeah, the witch Eda. Most people don't really like it when she comes to town, though they don't turn away her business. They're just... wary. A little cold towards her.

Not me, though. I've had a crush on her for years, and may have perhaps memorized her usual schedule for coming in to town, just so I can bake an extra loaf or cake or something that I give her for free. She's always friendly, and we usually have a pleasant conversation as I wrap up her order and place her gift in top. She doesn't always pay with money, but I don't mind. She does give me gifts in return, but truthfully, I just want to see her smile

At some point, Eda ends up taking in an orphan girl with a penchant for mischief named Luz. Luz sees how Eda and I interact, and takes it upon herself to come up with a plan to get us to go out. Her shenanigan ends up turning into a disaster, but the mayhem does bring Eda and me a little bit closer

We'll kiss eventually ;)

#ask #ask game #thanks so much!!#ship: hooty hoot hoot #ship: divining together

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locktobre · 4 years ago

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Ooh, your Princess Power soft reboot has me intrigued! Could you possibly expand on it more? Like how Kara and Corrine lose their powers, get new ones, and how Wes becomes a villain? I myself don't him because he LITERALLY revealed Kara's identity for views and that's. fricked up.- That PCS Anon

Sure, I can do that. I debated how deep to go into it, bc my Princess Power headcanons (like everything else) depend so heavily on a million other things, but hopefully this ended up semi-coherent. It also ends up fairly dark, as my Princess Power/Spy Squad backstory are some of the darkest headcanons I have. So fair warning for that. I’m not solid on some of this (I always say, it’s not canon until I actually put it in a fic), but as of now, here’s how it’s gonna go down:

Kara, Corinne & their powers

Kara and Corinne lose their powers for two reasons: 1) It makes sense to me that they would, and 2) It gets rid of the pet powers, too, which I need to happen bc I just think it’s beyond ridiculous that they got them in the first place. (Not Bruce’s, but I might get rid of him another way. We’ll see.) The Baron, whom I’ve named Charles, drank a potion, which I can buy as producing a permanent change. But the girls got their powers from a mutated butterfly, and somehow... it’s supposed to be equivalent? I don’t think so! So I have their powers start to fade some time after the movie, as their powers are actually tied to the butterfly’s life force, and it’s dying. Butterflies don’t live for very long on average (less than a year), and also having the butterfly die keeps anyone else from getting powers that way, since that was already a whole fiasco. (It’s a magical butterfly, but it’s given out powers 4 times, so that’s sapped it more than anything.)

Kara and Corinne have opposite reactions to this: Kara is horrified, and wants to find some way to get her powers back, but Corinne is sort of relieved, since without powers, they can go back to being normal. I think the high of being a superhero would wear off pretty quickly for Corinne, especially since she’s not competing with Kara anymore.

Kara, in her desperation, goes to see Charles and see how he got his powers, bc she will do anything to keep hers, at this point. The novelization says that Kara connects the butterfly to Charles, but as I pointed out in my post about it, she has absolutely no reason to do that, bc it makes no sense whatsoever. So since she doesn’t know where the magic butterfly came from, she goes to the guy she knows also got powers out of nowhere. I’m not sure what he would tell her, but even if he doesn’t say anything, she could still search his lab and maybe have Madison and Makayla reverse-engineer the potion (which I think would go badly, as they’re engineers, not chemists). Whatever the case, she ends up drinking that potion, and that combined with the last of the butterfly magic, produces... a mutation. I go back and forth on whether I want that mutation to be permanent, or if she can shift between butterfly and human forms, but that’s how she ends up. I’m thinking there may be some sort of chrysalis stage she goes through, bc I need her to be sidelined for Corinne’s power reset, but like I said, I’m still working on this.

Corinne is in some kind of lab accident (possibly in Madison and Makayla’s lab, or maybe in Windemere’s I3 branch), and ends up with her new powers. However, she takes this opportunity to say that her powers actually wore off for good, and essentially retires, which she feels comfortable with bc there are two other heroes running around with Kara now. She’s technically the strongest of all of them, so she’ll step in if they really need her, but she leaves the day-to-day stuff to them. She might stay in hero support with Violet, or she might just go back to her life for the most part.

Wes’ descent into villainy

This one has gone through a few different stages, and I honestly don’t know where I’m going to land with him. I’ll most likely give him a redemption arc at some point, but I’m gonna put him through the wringer first bc he is a weasel who outed Kara for no reason and I’m spiteful like that. And I’ve said before that I don’t think Kara was as unaffected by that as the movie would have us believe.

Anyway, with all that, I think his motivation stems from a combination of rejection from Kara, and goading from others. The rejection from Kara is not romantic, bc I’ve always thought of him as too old for her--he tries to pass himself off as a serious journalist in the movie, which wouldn’t work if he was a teenager, would it? So I think he’s like, 20--but like, she doesn’t want to be his friend anymore. She’d be cordial but not all buddy-buddy like she was before, and he’d be able to feel the difference.

So, there’s that, putting a wedge between them, and at that point, he’s got ppl whispering in his ear and enabling him, for their own purposes. Originally, this was going to be Charles, but I think Charles is just a smidge too goofy. He seems interested in power, but also like he would have no idea what to do with it if he had it. Like, you want to be king... why, exactly? What are you gonna do once you have the throne? He’s not exactly stupid (altho, I mean, I’d call having Bruce around stupid), but not like, cunning enough to manipulate someone in that way.

We’re gonna take a detour for a second to talk about Charles’ family and some backstory, since that will make this make more sense (I think). Bear with me.

Basil was the Baron before Charles, and also the head of Windemere’s branch of I3 (WI3). He had a good public face, but behind the scenes, he was a real shady bastard. WI3 is almost entirely corrupt due to his influence. He’s the reason Charles ended up as a villain. The reason Philip and Anne didn’t is that they got away from his influence.

Philip went to work in the USA in the late 80s, at LA’s branch of I3 (obviously, as per Spy Squad). Anne was also in LA in the 90s, having her secret relationship with Finn, and while Philip was aware of what she doing, he didn’t rat her out, in part bc he had his own relationship that resulted in a child. (Patricia wasn’t given up for adoption like Sloane was, but she was raised primarily by her mother, as per Marguerite’s wishes, which worked out pretty well for Philip’s situation. They were a way more casual relationship than Finn and Anne.) Anne eventually did return to Windemere, but her charity work and Camp Royalty actually kept her away for the most part. So Philip and Anne had long periods away from their father and his tyranny. They did try to get Charles away too, but Basil had a much tighter hold on him (as the eldest son and heir), and also Charles actually ended believing in Basil’s vision for their future, which Philip and Anne never did. (I’ll point out now that I do feel bad for Charles, and he may get a redemption arc at some point, too.)

Anyway, so Basil does a lot of shady shit. He has Wendy Marvin (mother of Lazslo, Madison, and Makayla) killed in 2006; she was an engineer at WI3 and didn’t like how they wanted to use her research, as she joined to help ppl, not hurt them. And soon after that she died in a fire in her lab. Two years later, her husband Lysander, dies in a similar “accident”; he was actually Kara’s doctor, and trying to determine the cause her mysterious illness.

While Basil did know that Lysander suspected foul play, he did not know that Lysander had actually approached Eleanor about it, wondering if she had seen Basil doing anything suspicious. (Everything the man did was suspicious, but she knows what he means.) After Lysander’s death, Eleanor puts the pieces together and realizes that yeah, Basil was doing something to Kara (most likely slowly poisoning her, as that’s what Lysander had thought). Kara’s about 9 years old at the time--not that it would be any better if she was older, but she’s really just an innocent little kid. (Incidentally, this mysterious illness is why Kara’s parents are so overprotective of her. They never find out what was causing it, or figure out how she got better.)

At this point, Eleanor decides she’s had enough, she’s watched her husband corrupt their son and drive their other two children away and she’s not been able to do anything about it (who would believe her? He’s a perfect gentleman, in public), so she decides to end it. She kills Basil, and then her self. (She would have happily gone to jail for putting the world out of his misery, but she knows that with his contacts at WI3, she’s on borrowed time as soon as he’s dead. And she wants to go out on her own terms.)

This actually lines up with where I put the events of Spy Squad, in 2008. Philip was already about to transfer to WI3, as per Basil’s wishes, to be his #2. But then, with his father dead, Philip actually ends up in charge of WI3, and his #2 is his father’s former right-hand man, Creighton Weaver. (Basil was going to try to get Philip back under his thumb, before his death. He had mostly tolerated him being in LA bc he didn’t need him in Windemere, but once that was no longer true, time to come home, son.) Weaver’s every bit the bastard that Basil was, and Philip can tell, but he has no proof. So Philip is in WI3, with nobody he can trust except Patricia and Lazslo, who ended up transferring with him. (Lazslo so he can be there for his sisters, Patricia bc she wants to be there for Lazslo. And also her dad, kind of.) He basically starts collecting any evidence he can on anybody at WI3, but doesn’t make a move, bc technically nobody is getting hurt (none of the shady research is being applied), and he wants to flush everyone out in one go, if he can.

Fast forward to the summer of 2015, and the events of Princess Power happen. WI3 is contacted to try to make sure that Charles can’t escape his cell, so they end up being one of the few who actually know what happened to him, due to the actual events leading up to the volcano’s eruption being pretty well covered up. Now, Weaver’s known for 7 years that Philip is trying to take him and his cohorts down, but he’s played dumb bc it’s been convenient. However, with Charles going full supervillain, Weaver decides it’s time to jump ship, so he and a bunch of the other most corrupt agents at WI3 basically leave to go be Charles’ henchmen. I’ve tried to come up with a more poetic name for their organization, but so far I only have Dunbar Loyalists--their ultimate goal, of course, being to put Charles on the throne of Windemere, by any means necessary.

However, as I said before, Charles is... not exactly the valiant leader they were looking for. He’s not the man his father was, that’s for sure, so Weaver’s the one actually calling the shots, bc he knows Charles isn’t up to it. And Charles is pretty fine with that, as long as they’re helping him. Makes things easier. (Incidentally, I think this will end up being the set-up to Charles’ redemption arc. Bc teaming up with them, and especially Weaver, is going to get him in way over his head, and I think he might decide at some point it’s not worth it. Especially if Philip and Anne ever end up in danger, bc I think they still do care for each other, even with everything that happened.)

So, to bring this all the way back around to Wes, since Charles isn’t really the type to be manipulative... Weaver certainly is. So I think he’s going to be the one to do it. He can push Wes’ buttons, tell him that no, Kara isn’t right to be mad at you for outing her. You were just doing what you had to do, for yourself, and that’s good. She thinks she’s so great just bc she has powers, you should get back at her, you should show her that you can be special, too. And I just happen to have the technology to make that happen. (Remember, the Loyalists are made up of at least some shady engineers.) So he gives Wes some kind of experimental super suit and sets him loose in the city to wreak havoc against Kara and her crew, mostly to keep everyone’s eyes on that while he does other stuff. Weaver is basically a puppet master for crime in Windemere lol.

And that’s about as much as have so far, which feels like a lot and also a little. I’m not sure how the whole thing will end, who will be redeemed, who might end up dying... Not sure. It could go a lot of different ways, but that’s for future me to decide. I hope that was at least somewhat interesting, even if it was also... very dark. I didn’t try to make it that way, but when dealing with superheroes and spies, it just kind of happens.

#mel irl #barbie babbles #anonymous #thanks for asking #brilliant echo: princess power #brilliant echo: spy squad #brilliant echo: dunbar family #lucie don't look #ask to tag #i said this was 8 miles long but it ended up being 14 miles sorry lads

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rebelwith0utacause · 4 years ago

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It’s 2 am, but it’s a music tag, so I’m doing it. Thanks @5sosofficial, sleep can wait ✌😌✌

Edit: it’s 4 am, and I’m a long-winded bitch, so everything goes under the line.

Right, so, first order of business, 20 songs on shuffle:

5SOS - Talk Fast

The Band CAMINO - Berenstein

Phillip Phillips - Miles

Nao - Bad Blood

You Me @ Six - Liquid Confidence (Nothing To Lose)

Yves Tumor - Noid

Patric Fiori - Que Tu Reviennes

Bigflo & Oli - Dommage

Dido - Hunter

Anarbor - Tasty

5SOS - Empty Wallets

TOOL - Vicarious

Roseburg, Kellin Quinn - RIP

Jack’s Mannequin - Dark Blue

While She Sleeps - I’VE SEEN IT ALL

OK Go - Another Set Of Issues

Galantis - Runaway (U & I)

Zayn - BoRdErSz

While She Sleeps - GATES OF PARADISE

Julie Zenatti - Si Je M’en Sors

10 songs I’ve been listening to in no particular order:

Architects - Gone With The Wind

X Ambasadors - Unconsolable

Onlychild - Teeth

Bring Me The Horizon - Teardrops

While She Sleeps - FAKERS PLAGUE

5SOS - Thin White Lies

Architects - Animals

ASL - Voodoo

Ina Wroldsen - Sea

Normandie - Holy Water

10 albums that influenced my taste and made me a music snob (with commentary):

1. Linkin Park - Meteora

I think I’ve already talked about this, but I was in my early teens when this album came out, and I had a classmate that liked rock(ish music) so I went to the local CD shop that sold burned CDs (we won’t talk about it, 90s and 00s Macedonia was in a different century than the rest of the world) and asked for something cool and rock, and they gave me this CD. Now, like the nosy music nerd I was, I decided to play it once before I gave him the CD. Long story short, loved it so much, ended up buying him a picture frame and keeping the CD for myself. The angst in Chester’s voice and the tiny electronic twists together with the dark tunes made my teenage years (and still do) bearable.

2. Kyo - Le Chemin

I was maybe 9 when I first heard these guys on TV and fell in love with the guy in the red shirt. This was around the time I started understanding a bit of French and it certainly helped when a few years later I found a copy of this baby in our local French Institute. I’ve been listening to a lot of French music throughout the years, but nothing compares to this album. It made me understand emotions in French if that makes sense. There’s always a dark undertone to every song and I love how Ben’s able to infuse his voice with enough desperation/anguish/urgency while still talking about love.

3. Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane

Early teens again, on a vacation in Montenegro, bought it from a shop right off the beach lmao. The cover looked dope, and it was 2 euros. Mainly bought it because I loved that there was Jane in the title, a male name in Macedonian, also the name of the guy I had a crush on. When I went back to camp, he played it for me and he liked it as well (he was an employee there and a biiiiiiiit older than me). Little did I know that the syncopation, the embellishments and the raw energy Adam sang with in (only) this album was gonna make me compare every pop album to this one for years to come. This is like IT for me when it comes to pop music, even if it’s not entirely pop.

4. Six Pack - Minut Cutanja

I was 13, my brother wasn’t at home, so I decided to raid his computer for music. “Borrowed” a lot of punk music and this album which was titled just Six Pack. I didn’t really listen to Serbian music (tbh, I turned my nose at it bcs I thought it was something older people did, or ppl with no taste), let’s just say that living in a post-Yugoslavia world as a kid was fkn weird (@httpsgfg might agree). But there’s this song called 2 Minuta Straha (2 Minutes of Fear) which served as a soft transition to punk (punk-rock) for me, and consequently heavier rock and metal. Like, it’s such a great album, and made me open to finding other ex-Yu bands that sounded modern before their time.

5. Opeth - Blackwater Park

It was late 2007 and I made my first friend in high school (other than the ppl I already knew). She was this goth type that had a brother in a band and she listened to a lot of the music he listened to. Long story short, she showed me Bleak and that was IT for me. Loved the oriental vibes, the distorted guitars and the growls so fkn much. To this day I’m a growl > scream girl, and Mikael Akerfeldt’s to blame. Like... his growl is so smooth and homogenous, I love it, and wait until you hear his clean vocals. Top that all off with the jazzy solos and acoustic-sounding guitars, just makes it all so perfect damn it!

6. Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold

2007-2009 was definitely my a7x moment. I started my journey with Waking The Fallen, but The White Album (self-titled) was the pivotal one for me. There’s just something about the complexity of the composition, like the drums are fkn vicious, the guitars are more technical but also more melodic and the lyrics are liakfjndjflsdkjn! It’s also the album The Rev wrote some of my all-time faves like Brompton Cocktail, Afterlife and Almost Easy, and in hindsight... no, don’t want to think about it. But yeah, it set the bar for modern metal music for me.

7. Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime

Now, where do I fkn start with this one. Found it in 2009 or 2010, the peak of my prog metal days and I was just blown away that someone thought to create banger sonics with a banger backstory. Queensryche (at least those bandmembers back then) were absolutely genius in their craft, and I’m just sad they never got to make another album similar in quality.

8. Alice In Chains - Dirt

Back in the day, I really hated grunge, and if I’m being honest, I still hate Nirvana with a passion, hated the fact that musically they weren’t the best but got so famous post-mortem. I mean it’s not their fault, it’s their fans’ fault for being such dicks lbr. But in 2010 I bit the bullet and played me some AIC. I was trying to broaden my horizons so to speak, and grunge was next in line. Layne’s vocals had me hook, line and sinker. I’ve been a fan ever since and I even gave Soundgarden and Pearl Jam a chance.

9. The Police - Synchronicity

My mom’s to blame for this, she’s always liked them, and I used to listen to a lot of ska-influenced music as a kid (I still love it today). I think Synchronicity was the peak of their musicianship as a band and it’s just such an evergreen album. Like... It doesn’t sound like something produced in 1983, yknow? Sting is a mf genius.

10. Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire

The beginning of the last decade was a weird time for me music-wise. I think I wanted to make myself appear more grown-up in the eyes of ppl, and I got a lot of shit for listening to metal. So I went in all sorts of directions, from grunge, to pop-rock (ATL, Paramore that kinda thing), post-rock radio hits and even a bit of minimalist classical music and instrumentals. I used to play classical guitar, so this wasn’t really anything new, but the minimalist subgenre definitely was. I think I could classify my taste as sounding modern/timeless, I really don’t like music that’s stuck in a certain decade, and this album, or more like the song Divenire because that’s the one I’ve played the most, is exactly it. I could be 80 and still listening to this, thinking it just got released. This man is a genius.

Alright, almost 2 hrs after I first started writing this, I’m tagging: @tigerteeff @pxrxmoore @karajaynetoday @wheniminouterspace @httpsgfg or anyone who wants to do it. I guess I missed a few albums, but it is what it is.

#music tag #misc

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kuronekonerochan · 5 years ago

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Cdramas I enjoyed and ranty rambles... (spoilers)

Apparently I have a new favorite cdrama ML type, and it's genius mastermind bastard on a scheming backstabbing world that is likely created by the same novel or scriptwriter. Ning Que (Ever Night), Fang Xian (Joy of Life) and Zhong Xin (Young Blood) are a joy to watch and I loved these dramas on the same "spirit" and their characters.

All these dramas had stronger and weaker points, if I could pick and choose, I liked the world and ruthlessness of NQ from EN S1, the OTP that is NQ and SS and the Us against the World vibe, plus the incredible soundtrack and the breathtaking panoramic shots, but S2 was such a production mess...it’s a pity bc I loved the theological turn of the novel and it doesn’t seem likely that after that trainwreck of s2 we’ll get a s3 to end the story (although yes, I admit it would always be difficult to translate to screen from where s1 ends in the book onward bc it’s such a drastic change). Having read the novel, it was funny to see people reacting to the events of s2.

The shift in the focus of the drama from the traditional wuxia, young martial arts lead and his wifey traveling the world, encountering new allies and foes and getting powered up, to religious and spiritual journey about the meaning of life, god, the world and different ideologies clashing in both literal fights and discussions as well as physical manifestations of divinity, mixed in with human subversion of values for petty personal goals...well although people seem understandably confused and not very happy about this 180º thematic turn, it’s not what they hated about the new season. From the comments I saw, what most ppl couldn’t stand were the same things ppl who read and liked the novel also hated: the horrible pacing, some of the cast changes that failed to convey the feeling that they were the same characters, and even though the budget was evidently lower than s1, the choices made where 80% of the scenes were pointless carriage shots, meeting shots, and most pointless of all Long Qing riding horses. Endless set ups of people talking boringly and then when the event that all that talk was leading up to happened, it was off screen and the result was told by some character in a conversation. You couldn’t care less about Tang and the war because all the characters that lived there and could die, like SS’s friends from the brothel, the gang, and even the generic ppl on the streets, none of this was shown...only 2 or 3 ppl talking alone somewhere at a time, talking about events that the viewer would never see. And it was confusing. I read the novel and even so I could barely follow what was happening (they did change a bunch of stuff). Enemies from 2 episodes ago were now allies and they were asking favors without any explanation and key plot points of main story arcs like Ye Hong Yu’s were just thrown out so casually it didn’t even register for me that THAT was happening. The whole Haitian part was also a mess. It was one of those concepts that is indeed hard to translate to screen, but as they did the whole SangSang being present but powerless thing well, the casting of Haitian was a fail. She was supposed to be an uncaring, poker faced goddess, but she also had to have a presence that made her feel powerful and frightening. This lifeless doll couldn't scare a fly, so the whole thing just felt pathetic and weird(er). (Also in the novel there’s this intense mental fight thing going on between her and NQ where she hardcore tortures him and slashes his d*ck off and he in turn keeps torturing her with erotic dreams and all this bc the natal bond means they can read each others minds and can’t keep each other out even if they wanted so it’s a constant exhausting mindgame between them. The drama tried to include some of that in like 2 eps near the end, but toning it down bc of rating and taking the mindreading concept out of it made it very disappointing to watch).

I love the witty sarcastic humor of Joy of Life, I’m not into tragic period cdramas but after so much cheesy lazy slapstick wuxia/xanxia dramas, one with the intelligent, non-stop sarcastic humorous dialogue and an ensemble of god damn talented actors, especially the older cast, headed by an absolutely brilliant performance by the main lead and a script and plot that is compelling, fast paced and never misses a beat...well this is a true gem and one of the best executed cdramas, on every aspect from technical aspects to directing to acting, that I have ever seen. I usually don’t like palace dramas, and this is not one of those, it is adventure and family and transmigration and a lot more, but it retains the core elements of those palace dramas, which is the scheming politics, the intrigue and the constant tension of being surrounded by enemies by all sides and having to mind every word and action because a single faux pas will get him killed. It’s in line with the kind of cnovels I love and would like to see drama adaptations for like Husband Be a Gentleman or Golden Stage, which isn’t much of a surprise since this is also a novel adaptation.

It is nearly perfect imo, but the harem aspect (even if tuned down from the novel) still drags it down and the (main) FL is a bore and honestly the least interesting of all the females in the drama (it doesn’t help that ZRY has better chemistry with one of the other actresses, which in the novel, since his character hits ALL of them, it would be fine, here, meh). This is also one of the rare situations where I like the drama better than the book (even with the issues regarding the lack of chemistry with the FL), bc Fang Xian in the novel is scarily ruthless...it’s the same author as Nightfall (aka Ever Night), but NQ is likable because of his bond to SangSang, the irrationality of the persecution they face from the zealots, and also the world, despite being harsh, features loyalty and unconditional love in the members of the Academy, for example, that make all the anti-hero/antagonist traits more bearable. FX in Joy of Life it’s a much more cynical and cunning character, scary even, and the environment is a pit of backstabbing snakes. He is the hero bc he’s the main character, but from any other perspective he can easily be the villain. Add to that my distaste of harem and him getting it on with like 6 or so ladies (to give them credit some of them are pretty awesome characters), the novel just wasn’t for me. But ZRY as FX? He’s just so cheeky and likable, and this drama has an amazing supporting cast. I enjoy watching them all interact with each other. I’m glad it’s getting a season 2 and so looking forward to it.

Young Blood I didn't even like that much in the beginning, it started out interesting but confusing and some of the cast (both acting and characters) were kind of weak, but it got better and it had a power couple as leads who were both smart and a joy to watch, plus the bromance dynamic between the smartass bastard and the righteous straight-faced dudes that Handsome Siblings wishes it had (that’s a whole other story, why HS didn’t work for me, but trust me, no offense to the actors in that, I found them charming in other things, but perhaps bc this script was just better, the boys here just did it better, it just flowed...I watched both dramas at the same time and it was weird thinking that those two should be what Handsome Siblings was trying to do). What annoyed me until the end was that out of the ensemble cast, only 3 of the characters (the smart ones) were given enough material to shine. Eventually the other 2 guys got their piece as well, but the girl from the second couple is unfortunately a waste of a character. They eventually tried to give her an arc, but she’s still mainly “the cute doll” and a foil for the 2nd male lead to have a romantic interest. She is given less screen time and she has no presence. I didn’t need her to be a “strong” woman. They do state that her strong suit is that she is so charming that ppl easily trust her, but I wanted to see her evolve, become smarter (the other two dumb-asses eventually get better from the beginning and grow as characters, but she seems stuck in her shallow one trait personality of “cute/kind”). This has nothing to do with the actress, she was perfectly fine, my issues are with the character and how she was utilized.

Unrelated, there is a weird thing in the last episode where a character just disappears, but not like, on purpose, it seems like the drama just forgot about him, or they forgot to shoot the actor near the other ones where he was supposed to be, lol.

Honestly, story wise and even in terms of production Young Blood is inferior to Ever night S1 and especially Joy of life, which was a tight drama, but since it ended up so much better than it started I really wanted to see what they could do with a 2nd season.

P.S: You know what is also my cdrama type? Genius himbo chaotic mess cutie pies, with “rage issue” but deep down caring relatives... and their “straight” faced besotted partners, I mean...

#cdrama #cdrama edit #young blood #ever night #ever night s2 #joy of life #the untamed #mo dao su zhi #young bloods #mo dao zu shi #cql #mine

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n-komas · 4 years ago

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Dear User, Thank you for waiting! We have found your perfect match! You’ve been paired with...

Koushi Sugawara!

sweet angel boy )-:

your #1 supporter hands-down

he praises your artwork like no tomorrow

even the ones you know aren’t the best

also setter twins <3

100% always down to help you practice + vice versa

he also likes to take you to karasuno practices as well and have mini practice matches with the team

the other karasuno boys respect you a lot as well

they always joke that you should dress up as suga instead and come to their matches to play for him instead

no but actually, he loves that you guys have that in common bc volleyball is so so important to him and it’s equally important to you as well

and since you play the same position you can relate to each other’s struggles and frustrations

OOO BUT BAKING !!!! IS A MUST

8/10 times you guys hang out, it ends in baking

some hits playlist playing in the back for noise

but so much genuine happiness and laughter coming from the both of you

you take baking together as a form of intimacy

a lot of secrets come out from the both of you when you’re baking

the atmosphere is perfect

it’s upbeat, friendly, calm, even if your secret is absolute chaos, the ambiance just makes everything feel leveled, so it’s your favorite time to share your innermost thoughts

probably a lot of cake baking. i see pastries and other things, but i see a lot of fruity cakes

anyways koushi was thrilled to find out you’re learning to play the ukulele

dunno if you were aware or not, but you will absolutely become his personal live performer

he makes you play for him when he’s sad, upset, or frustrated

even if it still sounds a bit off bc you’re not 100% ready yet

just you & your efforts is enough to calm him

he pretends to judge you for reading fanfics

but he secretly really loves hearing about them

he tried reading some on his own, but it felt weird to him

so he just makes you describe what you read in Great Detail

OH but anyways your sleepovers are Mwah~

so much fun

gaming of any sort all night

sometimes he sleeps over and you guys don’t even really talk, you’re just both in the same room on your own switches playing acnh

visiting each other’s island T^T

but not only that, he buys you the just dance games every year so that you guys can play w new songs at the sleepovers

a couple hours of him absolutely dominating at the game and beating you every single time

he’s literally so good at it for no reason whatsoever

sometimes though, very rarely, board games will be brought out

lots of anger and revenge plots

but all in good spirit <3

HE’D CO-PARENT A PLANT W YOU FOR SURE

on one of your target runs together, you saw this beautiful succulent and you wanted to regrow one on your own

so you cut a piece off to replant, and koushi had the idea of leaving it somewhere where you could both access it pretty easily so you could both take care of it

it’s in your backyard, which technically is easily for him to access

your parents and other friends know and love him, so it’d be a surprise to no one to just see him chilling in your backyard

cottagecore/angelcore would be so cute paired w him </3

i think that outside of school, sugawara would have a softer look, but not exactly softboy level

brighter pastel colors with 80s streetwear, i think

double soft themes, i think it’s a win

sometimes your outfits end up having matching color schemes and everyone in public thinks it’s a couple thing & that you meant to match

a lot of people mistake him as your boyfriend

you don’t really mind though

it’s not that you have feelings for him like that, but he makes you feel protected a lot, and you’d be honored for people to think that you were the one who won his heart

he’s had to pretend to be your boyfriend on multiple occasions

to scare away creeps, but also to get discounts

he once fake proposed to you at a restaurant JUST to get free dessert

was worth it though it was insanely good

plus it was hilarious to see how the people around you acted

BUT SOMEONE STARTED CRYING BC THEY WERE SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO AND IT MADE YOU FEEL SO BAD

A N Y W A Y S

koushi supports your interests to the fullest!

he had you read & explain his chart to him and he was genuinely blown away

you got him hooked on astrology

he sends you astrology posts on instagram (from the good acts don’t worry) at 2am

“lol me”

studio ghibli marathons <3

when they do special anniversary movie screenings for ghibli movies, koushi literally buys the tickets IMMEDIATELY without even telling you

you are going together and that’s the end of it

sugawara being the angel he is, he would offer to do the dishes for you whenever he’s over

he knows you hate it and he really doesnt mind bc its for his best bffie </3

suga also likes that youre really opinionated

it just ensures that youre a genuine person and honest with your feelings

on days when you’re a bit more moody than usual, koushi tries to give you space

he doesnt want to accidentally get you upset and have you snap at him

but he still sends you little texts to remind you that he loves you and to eat all three meals + drink water

he’s happy he gets to be his most genuine self around you and knows you do the same

Thank you for working with us! We hope you found satisfaction with your newfound bestie~ Honorary applicants we considered for the role were: KEIJI AKAASHI & TADASHI YAMAGUCHI. Thank you again for your time & we hope you enjoy your future lifelong friendship!~ Thank you for requesting!

for @dancing-in-the-rain54 ♡

#hq #haikyuu #haikyuu matchups #hq matchups #hq x reader #haikyuu x reader #sugawara

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