#actually several of these songs I originally thought of with other ships

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Do they keep a diary/a journal?

Mal - yes, actually. But no gross feelings stuff, ew. Just drawings. ...Of various levels of "disturbing". (Peak being begining of D2, of course)

Jay - nah. Better stuff to do. Also lowkey paranoid it'll be stolen.

Evie - yes, technically, multiple. She keeps one journal to jot down what was when done to any potions she's brewing (the correct scientific procedure), her fashion one, of course, for whatever designs she dreams of, and lastly, one to note down orders and payments for her shop.

Carlos - nah. He's got a collection of loose papers with important and "important" info on them. His cousins still keep finding them in Hell Hall. Jay has to move them from his parts of the room regularly. Mal found papers stuck in between her journal.

Uma - no. WAY more important shit to do, and she finds it way too sentimental. She keeps records of stuff important for the running of her crew, but doesn't consider it a journal, rather a public record.

Harry - yes. To the surprise if absolutely no one, the thing he writes most about is Uma. There are several original songs and poems for her as well. He wouldn't mind if she found it.

Gil - I wanna say yes, he tries. He's not very consistent though. The only thing he writes about is his friends and crewmates – he accidentally puts it down in the common space of the ship often, and most of the crewmates picked it up once. Cos, y'know. You see, you take. If they read it, they began blushing furiously under the excited "My friends are SO cool" Gil wrote and gave it back to him without a word.

Claudine - once she stops living with her father, yes, though it took some convincing. She doesn't write regularly, though, because she just doesn't know what to write, and is afraid of putting her thoughts on the paper. Later, she writes poems in letters so small it's illegible, since poetry masks the true self a bit.

Harriet - yes. She writes regularly, though not a lot of feelings stuff. She writes poems and vague stories draws whatever comes to her mind (mostly abstract stuff) and keeps it tightly locked up in her cabin, since that shit is DARK. Smee twins accidentally found it once and Sammy kept complaining they were afraid of her drawings for two weeks straight.

CJ - ...she tries to. It never lasts more than two days in row. But she adds new disjointed entry every time she's reminded that her older siblings do so. It's actually extremely disturbing in different way than Harriet's since she has ZERO ability to self-censor.

Freddie - two. One for music and one for dreams and card readings.

Celia - one. Dreams and Cards and Friends on the other side. Though, technically, both sisters share another one, written in cryptic code and abbreviations and moved from place to place with regularity but without a set schedule. This one is about secrets of the Isle residents, the ones they bother or dare to write down.

Dizzy - I wanna say yes, actual diary, feelings and all. To utter exasperation of all her older relatives.

Anthony - no, keeping tabs on the salon is enough, thank you.

Dulcia - look, my girl deserves a Burn Book.

Ginny - not really. If she absolutely NEEDS something noted down, she tells Anthony. Exception being medical notes at the Escape but she delegates paperwork away any time she can. Also, I feel like her handwriting is borderline illegible to anyone but her and the three people she shares mental disturbances with (Maddy, Anthony, Harriet)

Maddy - she keeps tabs on the Apothecary and like Evie, writes down the shit she's synthetising. It's only correct to do.

Ivy - Yeah she gets a burn book too. She deserves it <3. It's in one notebook with scraps from fashion magasines and and some kaligrams. (Again, that's a form of self-censure. Can't read it, so it isn't there.)

I think I ran out of Isle kids, so AKs (all regarding a diary):

Audrey - canonically she does, I have nothing else to add.

Ben - he tries to, but he doesn't manage to write regularly, what with being a CHILD KING and all. It's healthy for him tho. Took the habit from his mother.

Chad - I refuse to believe this boy has a diary. He views it as "useless" and "too feminine".

Jane - yes, actual diary full of feelings. Starting each entry with "dear diary". She locks it religiously though, since her mother can and will read it if give an oppurtunity to.

Ally - yes and frankly it should be studied and/or published (with different names for the sake of privacy, but i'd pay a lot to read a diary of Ally Liddel of Wonderland)

Lonnie - ...no. she tried to, few times, but never quite managed more than few entries in a row. She doesn't particularly like sitting still, and fancies the thought of someone actually reading what she thinks about certain stuff even less.

Jordan - ...she uses her blogs and vlogs as a diary. The more private ones. Not her Drama Channel.

[miyuskye]

Fake killing Blitzø anon here, back at it again:

Yeah, saying that it was cheap and a sign of failure was my point.

Because they already failed. The fanbase mayorily HATES Blitz's guts to the point of vitriol and constantly woob-ify Stolas. If they try to get them together when the fanbase still doesn't see anything good in Blitzø (after all Spindlewhores made such a thing as a “I hate Blitzø" party) there are several people who won't like Viv's new favorite literally fetishized ship. So they need a way to salvage it. But what way do they have to make Blitzø likeable again?

I do genuinely hope I'm wrong tho. But still it seems as the more likely posibility... And in line with what Viv would do. After all Look My Way was completely unnecessary, and was originally a song about Stolas and his relationship with his daughter. But of course, we needed more Owl Pain™.

Hey, hello there!

I think that if they see Blitz groveling on the ground and apologizing profusely to Stolas for the things the owl should apologize for, they will be content anyway.

I am actually pretty new to the fandom, so I don't know all the lore behind the songs, I didn't even know that Look my way was a fansong originally. That's also why at the beginning I didn't even notice all the woob-ification of Stolas. The part about their childhood was very random during my first watch too, and looking back at it, there's no reason to show just how pitiable Stolas is. He's got a pretty good life. It would be a different situation if, say, he was trying to conceive an heir but couldn't do so. That way he would have something serious to worry about (Paimon's reaction that was hinted during the flashback). But I digress.

Back to Blitz, I hope they won't fake kill him off just to make Stolas more pitiable (there's really no need) and to make the fandom like Blitz again... From what I've understood of The Vivzie Lore, she would be content if the people she thought did her wrong (but it was the other way around in truth, something that's mirroring the Stoliz situation both intentionally or unintentionally) came back to her and apologized profusely. Which, of course, is something normal intelligent irl people would never do lol so she projects and will make Blitz do it in her show (I hope I'm making sense).

So, Blitz could probably be compelled to grovel if he was faced with a near-death experience. I don't know if, when you said "fake killing" you meant from just a narrative standpoint (i.e. the audience thinks he's dead but he actually wasn't all along) or also from a plot point (he is killed and then resurrected with magic). In the first case, I would agree with you (even if I still hope they won't go through that route).

I hope the answer made sense, I just started rambling lol

[immoralimmortals]

Akatsuki Member Songs and Headcanons

I have had years to ruminate to myself on certain songs I listen to that get associated with certain Akatsuki. I'm gonna try to present some of these pairings in a comprehensive way for you guys.

I can 100% replicate this post several times over with different songs and explanations, so I most likely will. We will see! Songs are linked within the post.

Pain: Mr. FEAR by Siamés

This man wants to fix everything, and yet if you look deep enough, he is absolutely crumbling. He is the Mr. Fear, literally, to instill fear in order to bring what he dictates as peace. The song itself is simultaneously calm and chaotic. Despite how conflicted he ends up being, every single contradiction is still said as a command to the listener.

Standout lines:

I wish I had a faster therapy

I've come to mind control your needs

Just trust in me, my dear

Don't fight with me, my dear

Don't trust in me, my dear What cure is coming near?

Konan: Youth by Daughter

Youth, hope, suffering. She has experienced life in that order, and it has left her an angel in constant mourning. This song is, to me, the retrospective side of her, the part of Konan that is still a scared and hurt young lady, the place in her mind that inspires her to keep going for something better. I specifically associate this song more with her loss of Yahiko and the original Akatsuki than her actual childhood.

I could literally quote the whole song for her, so I recommend you listen if it seems interesting. Here's some painfully selected lyrics:

And if you're still breathing, you're the lucky ones 'Cause most of us are heaving through corrupted lungs

We are the reckless, we are the wild youth Chasing visions of our futures One day, we'll reveal the truth That one will die before he gets there

Collecting pictures from a flood that wrecked our home It was a flood that wrecked this home

Zetsu: Dangerous by Big Data

This song sort of changed my brain chemistry, both in general and about Zetsu. If you pair the (honestly very strange and parodic) music video with the content of the lyrics, it creates an idea of heightened awareness of insidious knowledge and, though it is meant about modern advertisements, I also take it about being spied on in general, being dangerous because of your knowledge of the world against you. When I started associating this song with Zetsu, I began seeing him more as an active character than one that merely is there. His spying has purpose, he has motives.

Standout lines:

You understand, they got a plan for us I bet you didn't know that I was dangerous

Nobody's listening when we're alone Nobody's listening, there's nobody listening, No one can hear us when we're alone No one can hear us, no, no one can hear us And I've gotta get out of here Sink down, into the dark

How could you know, how could you know? That those were my eyes Peepin' through the floor, it's like they know It's like they know I'm looking from the outside And creeping to the door, it's like they know

And especially if you're in a shipping mood:

It must be fate, I found a place for us I bet you didn't know someone could love you this much

Tobi/Obito: Dirty Imbecile by The Happy Fits

Being an Uchiha is hard, you know? The expectations, both from your clan and from everyone else... Obito really put the bar of achievement really high because he thought that's where he'd finally be respected, so much as acknowledged. This is a song about being much more deep down than the fool you seem to others, the righteous desire to be worth your many efforts.

Standout lines:

Damn this town and damn this city You never give me anything that I want No one seems to really care They're just wholly unaware Of all the blood and sweat I cry before dawn

Am I good? Is all I could enough for you? I'm so scared of when and where I'll find the truth

Count my little scars, I've got dozens down inside I come complete and invincible behind my dirty imbecile

Hidan: Nothing Personal by Night Riots

Relaxed yet vicious, I think this is a good pairing to think about how he must strut about, preaching of Jashin. You can't be better than him. He will always know better, be better, believe better. Self-centered prick. I adore his confidence.

Standout lyrics:

The center of the world is lonely me Float along through the catacombs The endless cycle, flesh to bones

I’ll be the king, you’ll be the filth I wash away Nothing personal, personal, personal I am the light, I am the truth, I am the way Nothing personal, personal, personal

I’ll take your crown, I’ll make it mine As you sulk your days away Numb yourself and think of me

Kakuzu: Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant

I highkey associate a lot of the themes from the Borderlands series with Kakuzu, featured songs included. This song is pretty self evident to me, overtly about how money motivates people. In my view of Kakuzu, he has crafted over his many decades of war and hardship this encompassing, compassionless worldview of why people do things. If you say "money is the only thing that matters" and you're older than like, a five year old who got their first dollar, you are going to have a strong and elaborate justification for it. It's a song about hard truths about humanity, some things that will never change and you need to accept without taking it personally.

Standout lyrics:

Oh there ain't no rest for the wicked Money don't grow on trees I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed There ain't nothing in this world for free Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back Though you know, I wish I could Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked Until we close our eyes for good

He made it clear he wasn't looking for a fight He said, "Give me all you've got, I want your money, not your life But if you try to make a move, I won't think twice" I told him, "You can have my cash, but first you know I gotta ask What made you want to live this kind of life?"

I saw a preacher man in cuffs, he'd taken money from the church He'd stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills But even still I can't say much because I know we're all the same Oh yes, we all seek out to satisfy those thrills

Deidara: Fear & Delight by The Correspondents

Brief aside: gorgeous music video, very skillfully made. Deidara would love it. Certainly a mastercraft of editing and camera tricks.

Dynamic, vibrant song. My partner has used this song as a pairing with another character, comparing the love interest in the song to courting something you really probably should not be. Deidara courts with destruction and death with absolute abandon. His art is beautiful. His art will hurt him. He's so, so okay with that.

In addition, I think this song describes really well how he approaches things that are novel and perhaps frighten him.

It is, again, literally the whole song but here's a couple of lines:

I'm a little boy that's gonna be getting his fingers burned But I can see this lesson's gotta, gotta, gotta be learned

In any case, my friends, it's too late Like a moth to light, like a beast to bait And I know the black widow eats its mate

I'm an innocent being seduced by your charms I'm a young boy tickled to death in your arms Your kisses taste like bitter almonds

Addiction pulling me to a grave end You're an enemy who I'm keen to defend Down the black hole of my lust I descend

Why is it that I'm keen to be devoured by you When there's the option of a love affair that's pure and true? I always choose the dungeon over the sea view

It's wrong but I want you tonight

Sasori: Body by Mother Mother

This guy hates every inch of his human body. As soon as he realized he could change himself, every cell of skin, every drop of blood, every breath of air was cursed. As long as he is flesh and bone, he suffers. This includes even the barest hint of humanity in the cylinder that is his heart. If he could get rid of it, he would. The body only exists to get in the way. He will break these confines.

It is. Yet again. Just the entire song that works for him. Here are a few lines:

Take my eyes, take them aside Take my face, and desecrate Arms and legs, get in the way Bodies break

'Cause I've grown tired of this body A cumbersome and heavy body I've grown tired of this body Fall apart without me, body

Kisame: Promiseland by Mika

It's no secret I adore thinking about Kisame's worldview, and I think this song is a wonderful insight into it. He is the definition of disillusioned, trying to find out what he can really depend upon, if anything. He has nothing to lose. He's already lost it all.

Standout lyrics:

Sold my soul, broke my bones, tell me, what did I get? Did my time, toed the line, ain't seen anything yet Strike me down to the ground, you know I've seen it before Make it hurt, I'll eat the dirt, I just don't care anymore

I kept my promise, man, show me the promiseland

And the whole world's bringing me down

One person's lie is just another man's truth We kept on running from the devil, but the devil was you Every time I see the light, I'm falling deeper in debt If I've never seen the good, how can it come to an end?

Itachi: The Villain I Appear to Be by Connor Spiotto and Molly Pease

Itachi puts his mission first before anyone's impression of him, even that of his beloved brother. However, he can still yearn for his understanding, his respect. The song reflects on doing the right thing without slowing down to explain, lest it be too late, and hoping the pieces may be put together later. Maybe it'll be in your favor, maybe not. That doesn't matter as much as the outcome of your actions.

Standout lyrics:

Nothin' left to do but Try to take the leap and follow through And that's exactly what I'll do

I don't plan on slowing Down, no I'll keep on going Even if you think I'm in the wrong

I know that's what I'm here for I don't wanna wait around anymore Even if you can't see The good inside me

I don't have the time to tell you Why I do the things that I do Just please hold on and soon you'll see That I'm not the villain I appear to be

And I know you think I'm crazy But I hope that maybe Now you'll see why I had to try

[enter-the-performapals]

@arcvmonth Day 18 D/D/D- Different Dimension Day!

Even though its a little late (because I wanted to color these lol) I wanted to talk about my Mermaid AU- concepted while I drew my big piece for Mermay this year! I was originally going to turn it into a series basing them on the En cards, but I didnt have time (maybe next year?)

This is a high fantasy AU, of course, and each of the stories happen around the same time-which Ill get into later. All of the Bracelet Girls, Dragon Boys and Zarc + Ray are in their 20's here, with romantic interactions between the expected couples (Fruit, Apple, FallenAngel, Predator, Genesis). All of the stories are unrelated but take place around the same time, with the the exception of the Genesis which takes several decades before.

Just slapping the word 'Mermaid' on a character and not basing them on a sea creature has never been an option for my autism brain, so I based the girls off of sea creatures I thought suited them!

Yuzu is based on a Betta fish- the only freshwater mermaid out of the five- mainly because I think theyre gorgeous with their lovely flowing tails, but also because theyre highly territorial, which I will get into later.

Rin-Rin is based off of one of my favorite sea creatures, the Lionfish. Bright and beautiful, but venomous and a ruthless predator. She's also Siren.

Ruri is based on a Parrotfish. Beautiful, iridescent scales and placid nature who live in coral reefs. Also, bird pun becuase I couldnt resist.

Serena is a Human-Mer hybrid whose based off an Angler fish. Scary creatures who use beautiful light not to illuminate their surroundings, but to draw in prey. She requires more oxygen than a normal mermaid, so like a mudfish, she can chill out near the surface of the sea and take in oxygen when she needs to.

Ray is based off of a Sea Angel, which is apparently a sea slug. It's pretty and I dont know much about it, which is the exact same thing I can say about my girl Ray.

Under the cut ill get into my thoughts for each of the AUs! Including a minific which kind of adds a little context to my piece from Mermay!

Ill go over all my ideas for the different storylines - marked by their ship- and at the end is minific! Sorry for any punctuation/spelling mistakes!

Genesisshipping:

Zarc is an apprentice boatsman on his first voyage on a big ship. After smashing into rocky bluffs, the boat he's on capsizes and falls into the ocean. Almost drowning, he is rescued at the brink of death by Ray, who takes him to an uninhabited island to bring him back to life. Over a year or so, the two fall in love and while Zarc does want to escape the island he beleives its futile and doesnt even try. Eventually a ship does come to rescue him, and he promises Ray that he'll make it back to the island one day to be with her.

After hes back on land, people ask him what happened, howd he survive, ect; he eventually lets slip that a mermaid saved him. This makes it around, and eventually wealthy prospectors hear. Entranced by money and power wished to him, he leads hunters to the island to capture Ray.

Thinking that hes back to start a life with her, Ray's shocked when other people come from the boat and try to capture her. Realising Zarc had sold her out, she escapes to the sea, never to be seen again. Realising the error of his ways, Zarc decides to stay on the island after the disgruntled hunters leave in an attempt to attone for his greed and to hopefully see Ray one more time.

Appleshipping:

Hugo had always heard tales about sirens in books and wanted to if they were real or not. After attempt of humours faliures to become part of an actual reputable ship crew, he falls in with some pirates who decide to take him out to the seas. On his maiden voyage, he is so nervous that he cant fall asleep on his first night. Thats when he hears it. A siren's song in the distance.

The rest of the crew asleep, he steals a rowboat to find the source of the singing. He finds it- the most beautiful girl hed ever seen, singing the most beautiful song hed ever heard. He falls head over heels for her at first sight.

While Rin just wanted a meal, she now has to put up with idiot pirate trying to woo her. She is severly displeased about it, and makes it known. Then she realises- this dude is a grade A idiot with the luck of god on his side and now has to live with a human taking up her favorite rock. Ridiculousness insues

FallenAngelShipping:

Ute grew up in a port town that had a great relationship with the fellow merfolk. He and Ruri grew up together, and eventually became a couple. One day, the village was raided by hunters, who both killed and captured the humans and merfolk, burning the town to the ground.

While hed somehow escaped from the raiders, he knows he has to break in to the enemy camp as they transport prisoners and set everyone free.

After weeks of planning and watching them from afar, he finds the perfect moment and storms the encampment, setting everyone free, including his best friend Shun and his lovely Ruri.

While they are displaced, remaining survivors help rebuild the city, and they try to rebuild their lives. Now with round the clock border security :)

Predatorshipping:

Joeri is a wealthy buisness man who found success selling various snake oils in his teens. Feeling bored of scamming people out of their cash, he goes to a beah town in an effort to refresh, regroup his thoughts, and figure out his next buisness move.

While walking a beach in the dead of night, he notices a glow coming from a little cave in the distance. Sneaking a peek, he notices Serena stting, resting, and his mind races. Mermaids are uncommon, but not unheard of but most people havent seen one, so what if he could show her off?

Practically smelling the money from the buisness opportunity, he approaches her. She startles, and draws a weapon on him. That night he tries to talk her down and using all of his sales knowledge and charisma, tries to get her to warm up to him.

While it ends up in faliure, the next night she is in the cave again. And he makes up his mind to convince her to join him, whether that be by convincing her with his words, or bribing her with anything he can get his hands on. He has a goal and wont stop until it's realised.

Fruitshipping:

Feeling wanderlust in his early teens, Yuya decides to dedicate his life to becoming an adventurer to see all the beautiful sights hes read about in his beloved father's old travel diaries. After about a decade of seeing what the continent has to offer, he takes a wrong turn (not the first time) and accidentally stumbles into a serene clearing blanketed in cherry tree blossoms nestled in between foothills. In awe, he explores the adorable little field, picking wild dasies as he goes, and spots a lake fed by mountains. As he investigates, he is jumpscared by a mermaid who warns him to leave immediately or face the consequences.

After a breif moment of shock, he starts to laugh. Yuzu is flabbergasted, as most humans would have fled at that point. He tells her that meeting a mermaid was always on his bucket list and that hes pleased to make her acquaintance, which leaves her even more shocked.

While she is standoffish at first, Yuya sets up camp near the water's edge to really drink in the scenery, subbornly telling an annoyed Yuzu that it was the best vantage point in the clearing.

While he'd oly planned to stay for a couple of days, as he talked to Yuzu- her sharing enchanting stories about the depths of the lake and the merfolk who lived there and in turn, her avidly listening to Yuya's travel stories- he decided to stay through the end of spring... and then summer... until eventually autumn's chill prompts him to eventually- begrudgingly- forces him to start packing up his temporary home.

Over the months the two talked and talked and became best friends. Through the wilting daisy chains they made, to the silly splash fights they shared on hot days, to almost sombre monitoring of deciduous leaves starting to fall as the lake theyd made memories in starts to slowly develop its winter shell, baring the aquatic from the terrestrial.

As they say their goodbyes, Yuya noticing Yuzu shivering slightly as she sits above the water, he promises her to come back in the spring with even more travel stories, handing her one of his earrings in a jesture of his vow. And she is overjoyed.

As they part ways, he catches her tightly gripping the blue crystal of his earring before she slips below the water, and he wishes that winter would just leave and never come back.

Over the winter, Yuya can't stop thinking of his time in the clearing. The curiosity that Yuzu would have for the camp meals he'd cook. The sparkle in her eye as he'd describe one of his adventures. Her concern over even the most miniscule of old wounds hed accrued over the years. Her witty remarks that never failed to get a laugh out of him. That no matter where he went, he'd always wonder what Yuzu would think if she'd been there with him.

As the weather started to turn from hail and snow to bright skies and sunshowers, he practically made a mad dash to the little clearing tucked away on the forgotten road near the foothills, hoping that the ice had melted in the area- if not for the whole pond, at least around the crude dock he'd put together to sit with Yuzu on, so close to where he'd set up camp.

As he approaced the sea of sakura, the blooming daisies, the grass rejuvenated after it winter hibernation, he noticed a figure waiting where she always was early in the mornings before he awoke, brushing her beautiful magenta tinged hair, facing toward the mountains in the distance.

He grinned and picked the prettiest of the wild daisies he could see on the bushes around him.

He was back home and couldn't be happier.

[runningatypufullspeed]

@vostokmcclellan you have no clue what you have just unleashed within me. You reap what you sow. You have asked, and you shall DEFINITELY receive

Intoduction to C,honny jash 🔥🔥🔥 (no way fire... like from *gets shot)

CLAPS HANDS TOGETHER OKAY. OKAY. so chonny jash is this really cool singer guy song cover man on YouTube he makes some really good goddamn music and if you like tally hall, will wood, lemon demon (all other alternative/indie music creators and bands) then you MIGHT like him.

I think his most popular work/the work that gets most people invested into his music in the first place would be his album CCCC (chonny’s charming chaos compendium) which is a cover album consisting of songs that were originally from tally hall before jash took the lyrics and the music and like. Molded it to fit his ocs. That’s the best way I can describe it.

The three main characters of this album would be Heart, Mind, and Soul, and people (including me) GO ABSOLUTELY NUTS OVER THEM jash’s writing and singing and like general music skills are so good if you want to get into this album I’d seriously consider checking out his mind electric video first (the twelve minute one, it has 3 songs in total and they all do a pretty good job of introducing all three characters respectively).

Not only is the music like REALLY FUCKING GOOD the entire. Differentiation between sepereate characters based off of jash's artistic skills thing + motifs/symbolism for each one is extremely well thought out and the relationships between the three of these guys are CRAZY and TOXIC and RIVETING and bottom line SUPER GODDAMN RELATABLE to the vast majority of those in his audience. I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy concept albums/piecing together a story based off of several songs for me it was certainly an arduous process but BOY was it rewarding.

The lore/message itself is mostly up to listener interpretation but I personally like to think of that album as being centered around how valuable self acceptance is, how important communication and understanding and empathy is in a relationship, learning to break free from the bars that society cages one within, and just general dealings/causations of psychological turmoil. I think that what I like the MOST about CCCC tho is how lax/free you can be with your interpretations. it allows a LOT of space for creative liberty and overall message variation, and I like that. I like that very much.

OH and if you enjoy witty lyricism/enjoy having a bunch of allusions that you can rabbit-hole yourself into then you’ll probably like chonny jash . His stuff is like a puzzle but in video/music form. Anyway chonny jash changed my life I think everybody should listen to and look at the lyrics of one of his songs at least once in their life this shit is so good

Tergun 🤤

AND . AND TRIGUN. TRIGUN ISN’T A VIDEO GAME it’S a space western anime. Well OKAY it was originally a manga from the 90s that got adapted into an anime in the late 90s and then ANOTHER newer anime in 2023 so it’s actually just a broad term for these 3 pieces of media .

This is very general btw and while all adaptations go about it in different ways all of them center around the same plot; humans completely NERFED earth so they sent out these ships in order to find another habitable planet, and this mission is called “project seeds”. Aboard these ships are a bunch of humans put into cold sleep but OBVIOUSLY they can’t survive without resources, so alongside the cold sleep people are these human-made organisms called “Plants” who produce the necessities + more that humans need to survive.

Still with me? Ok So everything’s all fine and dandy, but then suddenly due to an event that I cannot disclose because of spoiler related reasons these ships CRASH on a deserted sandy desolate planet, and the remaining humans are then forced to survive solely off of the remaining plants (since all the technology from the spacefaring age was lost in the crash).

Now that the worldbuilding stuff’s outta the way, the main character is this dude named Vash the Stampede who is constantly being chased and hunted down because of this CRAZY bounty he’s got on his head and this is where . The main themes of Trigun start to shine through. It’s about morality and the lives of other people, about the cycles of abuse that lead to why people do certain things and it dives quite deep into the psychological and philosophical aspects ESPECIALLY since this is like a “kill or be killed” world and the main character ALWAYS chooses NOT to kill, no matter what.

I started out with watching the newest adaptation (Trigun stampede) but there’s no right or wrong order to consume the three medias, so start with whichever one you’d like ,,,, assuming you do want to start watching it, anyway.

Judging from what little i know about ur interests, I think trigun would be more up your alley BUT ALSO chonny jash is so good ESPECIALLY CCCC AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ENJOY A SMALLER AMOUNT OF CHARACTERS COUGH COUGH COUGH but it's ultimately up to you, this is all assuming you'd wanna delve into anything in the first place. anyway yeah rant over . 👍

[msweebyness]

DuPont School for Monstrous Youths- Cute Ship Stuff

I was in a romancey type of mood, and this is what came out of it! Enjoy, ya’ll! As always, thanks to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27!

Due to them living fairly isolated in the mountains, yetis are used to things being fairly quiet. Because of this, Ivan is easily overwhelmed and starts to panic when things start to become hectic, crowded, or overly loud, but Mylene is able to soothe him, often by singing or just talking to him. They have a place they go to snuggle until he can properly calm down.

Mylene loves for Ivan to carry her places, whether it be in his arms, on his back, on his shoulder, etc. He doesn’t mind it as he likes being able to hold her, and in a way ensure her safety.

If you were to ask Kim his favorite thing to do with Ondine, the answer would be cuddles, cuddles and more cuddles! This boy is an absolute snugglebug and the two spend hours in each other’s rooms, hugging up on each other.

Ondine knows all of Kim’s favorite places to be scratched or pet, and uses this to calm him or cheer him up, or just to tell him he’s being an especially good boy!

Jean has written over thirty original songs and compositions dedicated to Austin T, who has heard every single one multiple times, and still never gets tired of them.

Austin T has never missed a show that Jean has performed in, and Jean has even convinced him to audition a few times, the two absolutely killing it as co-leads.

Every single song Rose and Juleka have ever performed onstage is a duet that they wrote together. Never ask them who has the better voice, because there will be a three-hour argument, with both trying to convince the other ‘your voice is way prettier than mine!’

Rose always keeps spare blood packs in her bag as snacks in case Juleka gets hungry or drained, and Juleka helps Rose do a thorough bone check to make sure she’s completely in tact before they go anywhere.

Denise always tries to pick something new for dates with Simon to help him venture out of his comfort zone and experience the more adventurous side of life. His favorite so far has been bungee jumping!

One of their favorite pastimes is to go on walks in the woods outside of school and talk about their day. It reminds Denise of their home, and Simon likes how peaceful and happy the forest makes his partner.

Alya actually has a great, bluesy singing voice and often lends it for backing vocals on Nino’s tracks. He saves every one she features on in multiple places and listens to them when he feels down or misses her.

Nino often serves as Alya’s cameraman when she films a story for her blog or the school news, which he doesn’t mind because he loves seeing how his girlfriend lights up when she’s in front of the camera.

Nathaniel loves to find unique lanterns and paint them with beautiful designs to give as gifts to Marc on their dates. They’re some of the Moth’s most precious possessions, and he saves each one to put on display in his room.

Marc often flies up to keep Nathaniel company during his guard shifts, bringing snacks and chatting with his boyfriend about their days while they watch the sun rise or fall.

One of Aurore’s favorite things she’s discovered on Earth is movies, no matter the genre. So Mireille makes it a goal to find at least three she’s never seen for each of their frequent movie night dates!

Mireille trusts Aurore so completely that she’s entirely comfortable with their girlfriend using her psychic powers on them. Aurore often looks into Mireille’s thoughts or connects their minds when she needs to calm down.

Zoé is the only one who can calm Cosette down and keep them from charging when they’re in a rage. Just hearing her voice is enough to stop it from goring someone who angered them.

Zoé has several pet scarabs that the two refer to as their ‘babies’. Cosette named half of them and usually has at least one hanging out with her.

Marinette, Adrien, Kagami and Luka alternate on who gets to pick the date destination. They always try to pick something the others may not have experienced before.

Marinette is probably responsible for 1/3 of her partners’ wardrobes at this point. She loves making gifts for them.

I love all these precious babies! Leave thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[sixohsixoheightfourtwo]

tag game: 9 questions for 9 people

tagged by @phneltwrites one million years ago (december 2023)

last song: Tell You (Today) (original 12'' vocal) - Loose Joints . this is a disco deep cut that I heard for the first time the other day on twitter. anyway . really really good. i invite you to check it out if you enjoy a bop. go here for an absolutely wild 16-minute version described by the uploadeder as 'super wigged out and funky'.

currently watching: cooking crush. pit babe. the sign. (not up to date on any of these . Sigh.) khun chai (almost finished. love ittt). ossan's love 2018 (listen .... it's good actually). 1670 netflix. Treme (super underrated series about new orleans recovering in the wake of hurricane katria)

three ships: restricting this to the thai bl context 1. I gotta say both jiutian and tinncharn made me absolutely wild in the last few months so i think i have to include filmjam/jamfilm, tho I don't really have any thoughts on them themselves, haven't really engaged with any extra content, i juuuuust think they made good shows. 2. earthmix is probably the ship that I've ended up thinking about the most .. . the lore.....the lore ... !!! i simply cannot comment on this. 3. again i am transfixed by the LORE for OFFGUN....... they've prevailed they've traversed they've grown so much. hopefully they can continue working together for years to come. also you know what sneaky extra one. 4. forcebook. they just have a nice vibe!!! i like it when they hug after doing an emotional scene!!!!!!!!! i liked it when they yelled about their love for each other on top of that bungee jumping tower so sue me!!!!!!!

favorite color: green green green of the sludgy / earthy / olivey tones. I am getting big into earthy orange / terracotta as well.

currently consuming: turkish tea & halva

first ship: ok . how deep we gonna go. stuff I was reading in my early teens. martin / rose from the redwall books. (redwall was the first thing i Ever read fanfic for.) will / bran from the dark is rising. There's a surprising amount of fanfic for them! marcus / esca the eagle of the ninth. tbh several of those rosemary sutcliff books have these VERY intense masculine warrior bonds and it was uhh a Lot to process.

relationship status: n/a

last movie: leos carax, mauvais sang / the night is young

currently working on: wine qualifications!!!!!! honestly not that hard you just have to learn a bunch of stuff & also learn a particular framework to apply it. but also. like anything where you take an exam. you CAN mess up. & also applying for jobs that will work around this.

tagging the last 9 people in my notifs who didn't already get tagged in the last meme @waltermeadows @sirtomksy @luckshiptoshore @toranj @errantpixxi @heathyr @officialhagfish @annmariethrush @smashlampjaw

[kmgkmg]

BACK TO US - BONUS. PLAYLIST BREAKDOWN

┊masterlist┊

for those that connect to music as deeply as i do, i thought it would be a good idea to make this post! diving deeper into my picks for the back to us playlist, all of the tracks are extremely intentional and you might not have even noticed their presence since i tried to weave them in naturally!

**below cut i give details about each track, spoilers included so i recommend reading once you've finished the series. long post (1.5k) since i included reasons + lyrics under the cut!**

first section: reuniting

✧ keeping tabs by niki: i can 100% see joshua listening to niki's music! her voice would match his really well imo and i could see him trying to harmonize with her voice as he was cleaning or smthn! while reader's emotions towards joshua aren't as strong as this song, it definitely has the same vibe!

you left without saying goodbye ---- i wish i never met you. you are the worst thing that i'm still keeping tabs on for some stupid reason. you were just being nice. now i fully believe you're out there somewhere also keeping tabs on how i might be feeling.

✧ sugarcoat (natty solo) by kiss of life: again this is veryyyyy joshua coded! when he recommended emotional oranges on summer vacation with vernon, i knew i had to add this track. the pop/rnb vibe is perfect. the lyric i included imo sums up how joshua came to his conclusions way too quick.

the image of me that you judged arbitrarily cannot be all

✧ haunt me by rini: this really describes the longing that they both felt for each other after joshua cut contact with reader.

thought i heard your voice, my favorite sound. was is somethin' there? ---- 'cause you haunt me, daily, nightly. get no peace of mind.

✧ still by jeff bernat: an artist that joshua has mentioned several times before! he's actually the person that got me into bernat's discography when i used to be a joshua/hoshi stan lol. another longing song (shocking to no one). goes over joshua's thoughts about getting past reader abandoning him :(

it's been a long time since we last spoke. i still wonder what you’re up to, after all that shit we've been through. ---- and there's probably people telling you that i’m doing fine, just taking my time. although it appears that i’m strong, it still hurts.

✧ not my job by flo: actually used lyrics of this song in 01. gentleman hong hahahaha. when reader asks joshua to tell the campers to knock it off with all the shipping, joshua says:

it's not my job to make you feel comfortable.

✧ summertime by flo: kinda inspired an interaction btwn reader and hoshi in 02. camper spirit when reader is like "i'm not going to let someone who deserted me ruin my summer."

second section: what are we?

✧ lemondrops by telana: the song that is behind it all!!!!!!!!!! i had no idea i was going to turn this into a series. it was originally going to be domestic fluff of reader giving joshua lemondrops so he could sing. but i mean hey, i gave credit where credits due, naming 06. popsicles and lemon drops after this song! just a very comforting song, one that definitely shows the dynamic between reader and joshua when they were close. the closeness that both of them miss.

✧ like i feel (feat. mereba) by xaiver omär: this song is LITERALLY about friends-to-lovers, i would be a fool to exclude it! kept this track on repeat while writing 11. taking inventory. joshua says to reader:

so, let me know if you feel how i feel. ---- also reader confesses with: i swear, i tried letting go of the feelings i had for you which is inspired by the song's lyrics of: swear i tried lettin' go ---- but i mean everything about this song is so good, esp this line: i feel a family of butterflies all in my gut, oh, and they're fluttering

✧ m.h. by yeek: just added this song for my own pleasure tbh, but one of the main repeating lines is definitely joshua's feelings towards reader when he starts hanging out with them more (around part 06/07)

i miss you when i see you no...(they) hit me with i love you.

✧ gotta get back (feat. pink sweat$) by p1harmony: another track i could see joshua singing along to

i know i'm not perfect, and i've hurt your heart before. so, i don't wanna make a promise i can't give. ---- never had someone make me feel all these ways before and now it seems that i can't get you out my mind. you got me hanging on to every word you say.

✧ all our time (feat. jae stephens) by xavier omär: summer breeeeze. perfect summertime song, could definitely see chan dancing to this for a dino danceology. and it would stick in reader's head after leaving pledis studios. would be the summer anthem for hoshi and reader.

✧ simple life by lexy panterra: nothing much lyrically, just a summertime vibes track.

✧ mornings (see you again) by alextbh: for the he/him readers! alextbh writes so many songs w a guy lover in mind, so i highly recommend checking his discography out.

been outta focus lately. all these images, playing in my head. i can't help it

✧ mess around by starchild & the new romantic: unable to think of a good description for this song so 👍

i know i shouldn't mess around, i shouldn't even hardly doubt you. i know i shouldn't fuss & fight, i shouldn't hardly run around you. all of these thoughts in my head...

✧ good life by otis kane x clay: this song is so smooth and incredibly joshua coded. kinda reminds me of niki's songs as well, vibe wise.

all the games aside then, i want you in my space. and now that you're in my world i'll never be the same.

✧ the chase by alextbh: no lyrics for this one, very sad if you listen to them but the vibe of the song regarding the instrumental and such fit the series!

✧ bamboo by ivy sole: another song in there for vibes, very much a summertime song!

✧ back to us (feat. julissa leilani) by jeremy passion: filo-american singer! idk if he's ever recommended his music, but i mean listen to it and it's just the embodiment of joshua's vibe into a song. obviously this song holds a lot of meaning for the series, it is literally the title! the song is more about a couple falling out of love, but this is based on vibessssssss! (it's a groovy little song, what can i say?)

✧ je t'adore (feat. ty senoj) by sylo: another song in the playlist for vibes. but again, very joshua coded imo! groovy pop is right up his alleyyyyy

third section: this is not a drill

✧ trust by thuy & rini: oh? rini makes a comeback? definitely a good song for explaining how reader and joshua slowly open up to each other, their need to build trust first.

baby, let your guard down. world's loud, we could shut it out. you can put ya trust in me if you choose. ---- how do i make you realize i'ma stick around if it's with you, you, you.

✧ ride with me by pink sweat$: a song joshua recommended in his 'beach drive' playlist on spotify! beach drive, perfect way to describe it. and when you think beach, you think summer, right? summer...summer camp? aha...

✧ blur by dhruv: joshua's double take cover remains iconic! and i really love dhruv's voice so i knew i wanted to add a song of his for sure! joshua's tweet in 08. another serious camper takes the first lyrics of the song:

the room tonight became a blur and all i could see was them you dancing.

✧ misfits' sunday by jooyoung: jooyoung's voice is perfect for a love story, i mean it fits all the moods. he usually does smooth rnb and although this is a newer sound he's been experimenting with, i thought the lyrics fit the series nicely!

we were young and naive nothing to worry. all the memories, fading with graphite scribbles. we grew too fast, a blink, slow talks.

✧ ore ore by sole: another track that i can't figure out how to describe...

love isn’t too far from us, love can handle everything.

✧ lucky by jason mraz & colbie caillat: tfw reader walks past joshua rehearsing with this song... (ahem, 10. what's your eta, anyone?)

lucky i'm in love with my best friend.

✧ angel 2 me (feat. jeff bernat) by mckay: jeff bernat feature, you know joshua would love this song and cover itttttt!

✧ ikaw lang by nobita: it's pretty established joshua loves filo artists, this would be a track he would play all the time. the title translates to only you.

oh, what a beautiful sight it is to look into your eyes. the way they sparkle, i cannot fathom. the way you look back at me, how brilliant they shine. heaven must be on earth. stars actually fall from the sky.

✧ 7pm (apple music home session) by joshua: joshua lulling reader to sleep with his guitar??? 🫠

at seven in my house, we'll sing both our lungs out and dance to the moonlight 'cause everything feels right.

✧ whether or not by gabe bondoc: the inclusion of gabe bondoc should be no surprise to a longtime carat! joshua loves his filo artists and i still remember this predebut vid of him singing some gabe bondoc!

i've dreamed a thousand dreams and still nothing compares to the feeling that you give me while you're standing here. i don't care if its fair.

[the-firebird69]

Watch "The Mummy - Official Trailer (HD)" on YouTube

And my husband is saying weird stuff you say doesn't matter if she was put there yesterday or today or thousands of years ago to you if she comes back after she disappears it was the other day but that's not the case and I believe that this is one of the supposed daughters or granddaughter it's in the family with Tutenkamen and she's there now and she was at fisherman's village yesterday and something happens to her and she disappears and it's happening to several of you and including Adam driver who is yes revives after a Star wars and he does yes disappear and comes back I'm just sitting in the pyramid for thousands of years. The thing is he's disappears for like a few days it was bummified for a thousands and people think it's a trick that helps them and Jesus supposedly faked his death using it but was in the tomb long before the year 0 and it is said to. But he did appear somewhere else so they thought he was gone and thought Dave was so what else and it works and he's the one doing it to other people too and himself and you know what and that's weird. She doesn't want to go and she doesn't like the idea and doesn't want to be revived but that's what happens cuz you got transferred into a different sarcophagya after she was revived and it did it because she's weird and thought she was ancient and she is but she was alive the whole time makes her a lot more dangerous so they put her back in and she's possessed after she escaped the original sarcophagya and there's a reason for it and it's kind of what she does to people and she's mean and it showed yesterday. And she'll pay for it and I'm going to get her back

Hera

I know you won't but it looks like you do and he'll pay for it he's laughing cuz people die just for saying it and so I'm not used to it and it really is how it goes and I see why and it might be because of what I'm talking about and he says probably that's a more reasonable answer it will probably 90% correct so I get that

Kathy's friend from westborough and yes me the money knows my name and he can't remember it's a weird one it's like Terry even different it's actually true

We approved this message to be published

Olympus

You can't go through the snow we will but this is how it is they get revived at the same time now they get shipped around and put back together and revives and it is very odd what happens is very strange even Trump's revival is bizarre because it's his head and his body comes back without being there because his original body was destroyed and the curse is renewed in the headless horseman movie with Johnny Depp and she knew it would work now but alternatives and the original body if he was in disappears and he ultimately dies people are not sure where and when but we know where it is and it is as general grievous so he doesn't get this original body back and he is seemingly in the lizard's body which is true when you see him as Adam driver he is not in the lizard yet and his body goes back in time and it's praying and he is entombed.

And what you people are doing by going to Egypt is messing with time and yourself and some of you do kill yourself

Thor Freya

Well we have a way of saying it and we did say it and it's really how I say it he says and he knows what it is and it's me and it's one of Carly Simon's songs cuz I hate that b**** she's nasty and he doesn't like her either she's sick literally she's really sick

Hera

Zues

[alfhildr-the-word-weaver]

As promised, here is the Nygmobblepot fanmix I mostly put together this fall. (See the end of the post for links.) I’ve come across a few very nice fanmixes for them, but not a lot of the ones I found had rock music, and since Nygmobblepot is such a hard rock sort of couple I felt like the need to make a more rock-heavy playlist for them. (Plus, it’s just the sort of music I listen to most often, and so these are the songs that come to mind for me.)

I focused mainly on their season 3 arc, especially the angst. I tried to put the songs in a sort of narrative order, so it starts out with songs that are a bit more focused on their love; Lydia is meant as the turning point where the Isabella murder happens and things start heading south, and the songs thereafter are more focused on their darker dynamic in the latter part of season 3 (though they’re all on the dark side; this is meant to be an angsty playlist). Not every song precisely follows this arc; Bloodfeather, for example, leans towards that darker side of things, but it also fits them so well that I wanted to open the playlist with it. I think it works as echoing the foreshadowing of their relationship in season 2 as well. 

1. *Bloodfeather by Highly Suspect: “In the name of love, I’ll follow you. And if my body’s dead and cold I died for you; in the name of love I’d kill for you.” “You’re fatal but I love who you are. Be my death or my forever; you’re my little bloodfeather.” (Our Penguin does tend to get his feathers bloodied... Granted, that’s not what a bloodfeather is, but the image does fit.)

2. Song 3 by Stone Sour: “If you take a step towards me, you will take my breath away, so I’ll keep you close and keep my secrets safe. No one else has ever loved me, no one else has ever tried, never understood how much I could take. There’s a darkness down inside me that I know we’ll both enjoy. Did I save you? 'Cause I know you saved me too.” 

3. I’m Not Alright by Shinedown: “All messed up and slightly twisted. Am I sick or am I gifted? Maybe it’s me, I'm just crazy; maybe I like that I’m not alright.” (Honestly this one fits Gotham in general--”all dressed up in a white straight jacket” is actually a very Jerome line--but I figured I probably wasn’t going to get around to making a general Gotham playlist and it suits Nygmobblepot’s mutual madness, I think.)

4. Little Monster by Royal Blood: “Hey little monster, where’ve you been hiding, and can I come this time? Heartache to heartache, I’m your wolf, I’m your man. I say run little monster, before you learn who I am.” 

5. Glycerine by Bush: “We live in a wheel where everyone steals, but when we rise it's like strawberry fields. I treated you bad; you bruised my face. Couldn't love you more, you’ve got a beautiful taste. It could have been easier on you, I couldn't change though I wanted to. Should’ve been easier by three; our old friend fear and you and me.” 

6. Possum Kingdom by Toadies: “I’m not gonna lie. I'll not be a gentleman. Behind the boathouse I'll show you my dark secret... Do you wanna die?” (I’ve heard and thought of many interpretations for this strange, dark love song, but somehow or another, they all seem to fit Nygmobblepot.)

7. *Lydia by Highly Suspect: “I am the hungry shark, fast and merciless. But the only girl that could talk to him just couldn't swim, tell me what's worse than this. Your eyes alive in pain, black tears don't hide in rain, and I tied you to the tracks; when I turned around, I heard the sound, I hit the ground, I know there's no turning back.” (It’s particularly interesting how Oswald circuitously killed Isabella with railroad tracks, echoing the old mustache-twirling villain trope of tying the damsel to the train tracks that this song also references. Although if Isabella had had the presence of mind to realize that even if her breaks were out, her steering wheel was still working, she probably wouldn’t be dead, but that’s a rant for another day.)

8. I Only Lie When I Love You by Royal Blood: (the title says most of it but) “Go ahead, pull the plug; broken finger, sticky trigger, now I can't get it off my chest... you know I’m up to something.”

9. Roll Me Under by Stone Temple Pilots: “Do you believe in something beautiful between chaos and the light?” (harks back to their earlier romance, but) “Roll me under, I'll pull the trigger for you. Do with me what you will. Hold me under, the water running over...” (harks forward to the first dock scene. Really I could’ve put this later in the mix but I also put it here to keep the hard/soft balance of the songs cycling back and forth just for auditory balance. Narratively it probably should’ve been #11.)

10. *House on Fire by Rise Against: “I’m in over my head and she's a high tide that keeps pushing me away. I thought we would build this together, but everything I touch just seems to break. Am I your sail or your anchor? Am I the calm or the hurricane?” “Till then I’ll hold you like a hand grenade. You touch me like a razor blade. I wish there was some other way, but no. Like a house on fire, we’re up in flames. I’ll burn here if that’s what it takes.”

11. Disarm by the Smashing Pumpkins: “Disarm you with a smile. Cut you like you want me to. The killer in me is the killer in you, my love. I used to be a little boy; so old in my shoes.” 

12. Say You’ll Haunt Me by Stone Sour: “I will give you everything to... say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me. I want to know I belong to you; say you'll haunt me. Little soft pulses in my dead, little souvenirs of secrets shared, little off guard and unprepared.” (Basically Ed to Oswald in s3e15.)

13. Let it Die by the Foo Fighters: “Did you ever think of me? You’re so considerate. Hearts gone cold and your hands were tied; why’d you have to go and let it die?” (To clarify, I don’t by any means want to suggest that the ship is dead by ending my playlist on this note; I still have hope for Nygmobblepot in season 5, and if nothing else I think season 4 very clearly showed that the ship didn’t die for good in season 3. I just love how powerful and raw Dave Grohl’s voice is at the end of this song and I wanted to let it linger, to let that sound be the note this playlist ended on. Like I said, it’s an angsty playlist.)

Here are links to the playlists. I made two because the songs I’ve marked with an asterisk all have the f-word in them; in the case of House on Fire, it’s only once, but it’s several times in Bloodfeather. If you’re alright with that, here is the playlist with the original, uncensored songs. 

If you would prefer clean versions, here is a version of the same playlist with clean versions of those three songs. 

Fun fact: there was no clean version of House on Fire by Rise against on youtube, so I made my own using a handy editing trick. I probably could also have made better versions of the clean edits of the two Highly Suspect songs (no offence to the original editors but they’re not perfectly smooth and Bloodfeather has a weird gap at the end) but I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. If you would like me to make different edits of those, though, let me know and I’d consider it. I should perhaps also mention that Possum Kingdom does use the name of Jesus, but as long as you read the singer’s request as sincere it’s not taking it in vain. But, I do admit that it could be interpreted that way, for the sake of fair warning. 

So, I hope you enjoy this dark, angsty, rocking season 3 Nygmobblepot playlist! Here’s to hopefully some great Nygmobblepot scenes in season 5.

[mc-lukanette]

Hear me out... Scarlet Lady AU, but it’s Lukanette

(takes place after “Captain Hardrock”)

Luka hunched over his guitar, only for another sting of pain to hit his back. He groaned, straightening up instead, but that somehow made the soreness even worse. Juleka chuckled at him from her place on her bed, having long since given up on moving her muscles at all and preferring to laze around.

He shot her a glare, but didn't comment so as to not encourage her. As he'd predicted, they were indeed sore from trying to stop the Liberty yesterday, his arms wordlessly complaining whenever he tried to do anything with them. He didn't regret it, but it'd also made making new songs a hassle, worsened by the fact that he'd very much gotten inspiration courtesy of Marinette.

After trying to ignore the soreness for around ten minutes, he heard a set of footsteps from above deck, from someone who was clearly heading down below. He knew they couldn't have been his mother - the signature "clack" of her boots sounded much different - but it also seemed somewhat familiar.

He realized it a bit too late, just in time for Marinette to get downstairs and pop her head into the room. "Hi!"

He sucked in a breath as subtly as possible, maintaining his poker face as he replied, "Hey."

"Hey," Juleka greeted, rotating her arm just enough to wave and clearly not wanting to put in more effort than that. She didn't even turn her head.

Luka chuckled. "Jule's busy today if you needed her for something."

"Shut up," she hissed. "It was your idea."

"Huh?" Marinette asked, looking back and forth between the two. "Oh! No, I was here to see Luka, actually—not that I'm not happy to see you too, Juleka! Just..." She grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

Marinette was there... to see him? Not his sister?

Luka glanced down, confirming that he was still wearing pants and therefore this wasn't a dream about to go horribly wrong.

Juleka's eyes flicked over to the two of them, her head having to actually move to do so. She squinted, like she was analyzing something, then groaned and slammed her hands down on the bed. She pushed herself up, clearly ignoring the way her body protested, then began her walk across the room.

Just before she reached the doorway, she leaned back to make eye contact with Marinette, warning her, "Careful with him. He's creaking like the floorboards."

Luka shot Juleka a glare, but she'd already zipped out of the room before he could blindly grab his pillow to throw at her.

For being so sore, you sure got away quickly, he thought, very much aware that she left because him being mushy with Marinette (also known as "normal and understandable because look at her") was "gross."

Marinette's eyes followed Juleka until the retreating footsteps could be heard moving up deck, then turned back to Luka. "Creaking?"

"Ah—" Well, there went any hope of avoiding that topic. "We used Chat's baton yesterday to stall the ship, but it was hard even with all seven of us. We're all still a little sore from it."

She furrowed a brow, like something had confused her, but then shook her head and replied, "Oh, that really does sound tough! I'm sorry I couldn't be there!"

"It's okay." He smiled reassuringly, remembering what he'd been told before. "You were the one who got Marigold there. She saved us."

Her cheeks turned pink and he vaguely wondered if it was obvious how cute he thought - knew - she was. She ducked her head, then did a small wiggle of her hips before abruptly looking back up at him. "Um—! That's actually what I came to talk you about? I mean—not Marigold—or her saving you—or me and Marigold—but—"

Luka snorted, lightly patting the spot on his bed next to him instead of replying. The familiar gesture caught her attention, her voice trailing off as she slowly made her way over to sit next to him. She toyed with her fringe, seeming to get her words in order, then turned to look at him.

"I never got to thank you," she said. When he tilted his head in confusion, she clarified, "I wouldn't have been able to call Marigold if you hadn't saved me."

He smiled warmly at her. "It was nothing, Marinette."

"No, really, you thought so quick!" she insisted, leaning towards him with her hands flat on the mattress to support herself. "And you stayed behind too to make sure Captain Hardrock was fooled! That was brave of you."

He leaned away, face flushing red as he tried to control the stupid grin on his face. "Thanks. You were really brave too, finding a way out to get Marigold's attention."

He didn't tell her that he purposefully didn't hide with her because the sound of his heartbeat would've given their hiding spot away.

Marinette beamed at him, but seemed to realize how close she'd been leaning and pulled back with a sheepish grin. Luka returned to his original position too, but flinched when his spine rejected the movement with a spike of pain. He let out a mix of a groan and a sigh, Marinette's brows raising in concern.

"I could give you a massage...?"

The headstock of Luka's guitar hit the bed as he jerked his head up, the instrument in his lap forgotten as he stared ahead at Marinette, eyes wide. She was looking back at him with a blank expression, like she hadn't fully realized what she'd said.

Then, it hit her, and he swore he saw her pigtails bounce up in shock as her face shifted to realization.

"I-I just—I mean—!" She flailed her arms at him. "See, my papa always does it for my maman and—when you groaned like that it reminded me of it—so—"

The fact that she'd compared his bones to those of an aging adult went ignored in favor of noticing that she hadn't even tried to take the offer back. His heart pounded like the inside of his body was a brand new drumset, and he could only utter a weak, "Okay," in reply.

She'd still been rambling at the time, but somehow his voice managed to break through. She paused mid-sentence, her mouth still open as she processed his answer. "...Really?"

He merely nodded, not trusting his voice to avoid cracking if he tried to respond.

"Oh. Um, alright, oh..." she mumbled to herself, clearly having not expected to get this far.

Luka felt the bed shift underneath him as Marinette maneuvered herself behind him, at which point it really hit him that she was seriously about to massage him. He leaned forward, mentally preparing himself, though was quickly reminded of the guitar still resting in his lap. He pulled it off and set it where Marinette had originally been sitting, resting his hands in front of himself afterward.

The silence dragged for a moment, and he could sense Marinette's eyes on him, as if she were debating with herself on how to go about massaging him. He opened his mouth to give her an out, but all manner of coherent speech left him as her hands pressed into his back, thin fingers sliding along his shoulders and squeezing. He sucked in a breath, oxygen having a hard time getting into a body already stuffed full of feelings.

It was heaven, and added several sheets worth of music that he desperately needed to write.

"I-is this alright?" she asked. "Am I doing well?"

He tried to reply, but all that left his mouth was a sound that was both inhuman and embarrassing. Pressing one hand into the mattress, he covered his mouth with the other, his face turning red as he briefly debated on living in the drawer underneath his bed in lieu of having a hole to crawl into.

He changed his mind. It was hell. She was doing amazing but that was the problem and it was hell.

Marinette giggled, the sound he made apparently being answer enough for her as she continued massaging him. Her embarrassment had left by that point and he couldn't help being jealous of it, as his own had doubled.

After a few seconds had passed, Marinette spoke up again, "So, ah..."

He wasn't sure if she genuinely had a question or was trying to spare him, but he'd take it either way. "Mm?"

"I was wondering. Since Jagged's your favorite singer, what do you think of XY?"

He let out another sound, less involuntary than the last at least, though it was still too high-pitched to make anyone believe that he wasn't affected by Marinette's motions. He cleared his throat, making sure he sounded as normal as possible before answering, "The flaws in his music stick out like his hair."

The hands on his back froze, Marinette snickering and then full-on laughing. "Oh, you think so too?"

He grinned like the fool he was, tempted to look back at her but feeling like it'd be rude. "Yeah. I can't stand his music."

"Me neither. It's so... bland and uninspired."

The mental image of them drop-kicking XY into the Seine together entered his mind, a blissful sigh escaping him just in time for Marinette to restart her massage.

"You're really passionate about music," she observed, almost sounding as if she'd been talking to herself. "It almost makes me wish I played an instrument."

"I can give you lessons," he blurted out, then immediately backpedaled with an, "if you want, anyway."

Her tone lightened. "Thanks. I might have to take you up on that. Just... not when I'm so busy."

He shrugged his shoulders, both of which already felt infinitely better under her touch. He could tell she wasn't lying, so he wasn't offended by the hesitance.

As her hands trailed down his back and he tried not to look as if every touch was sending his heart on tour, she hummed thoughtfully, like her body was there but her mind was elsewhere.

"...Hey," she called. He waited, knowing that there was something else, and she continued, "Have you ever... been stuck between songs?"

"Stuck between songs?" he echoed, trying to piece together what she meant.

"Yeah, like—" She made an unsure sound - unfortunately not an embarrassing one like his when she pressed into his lower back - then clarified, "—maybe there are a few songs you like, and it's hard picking your favorite? Or you have some songs you want to write, but don't know which one to go with?"

He got the distinct feeling that she wasn't talking about music, but it was adorable how she worded it in a way relating to his specialty so he could help her. He mulled over the question seriously, the most difficult task just being drawing enough focus away from her movements so he could answer her.

"A few times," he replied. "It all comes down to feeling then. My favorite song or the one I want to write could just be which one I'm curious about."

"What do you mean?"

"Well—" He blushed faintly, completely unaware that his metaphors were syncing with hers. "—a song that I want to know more about; to listen to over and over until I know it intro to outro. A song that makes me want to keep writing." He glanced over his shoulder at her, hoping the eye contact might help carry the meaning along. "I think those are the best kinds."

Her brows were furrowed in thought, as if he'd given her a hard equation that she was struggling to solve. He faced forward again to hide his smile when he noticed the spark of recognition in her eyes, like the metaphor had stuck and he'd actually helped her.

"I think I get it," she confirmed, the massage briefly stopping as she made idle circles on his back; still equally as distracting if he were honest. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could hear the smile in her voice as she said, "I like this one."

"What one?" he asked obliviously, though she didn't answer the question and pressed into his back again, making him squeak and forget his curiosity altogether.

The conversation ended there, lulling into something peaceful and comfortable. Luka actually found himself relaxing without much embarrassment, though there was still some pink to his face from his newfound crush giving him a massage. He just hoped he could make it through the rest of their time together without her realizing what a mess he was.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, Marinette noted casually, "Oh, I should do your arms next."

Luka's face burned. This girl was going to kill him.

[deaneverafter]

In a Million Memories

By Anastasie Denholm

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Everlie (OFC)

Chapter summary: Dean deals with a rainy day at the fire station, and ponders everything that's been happening.

Warnings: angst, loneliness, firefighter Dean, if that counts 🔥

Length: 561 words

Songs: I Made a Lovers Prayer by Gillian Welch, Foolish Love by Allman Brown

Series Table of Contents

Chapter Seven: I Made a Lovers Prayer

Dean woke up and felt more exhausted than he had going to bed. After his midnight revelation about his dreams, he thought he’d be able to have some peace. But the dreams hadn’t stopped. They kept coming. Dreams of old cases, flooding him with all those feelings again, dreams he couldn’t remember.

He didn’t know what to make of it. He kept trying to figure it out, but he had no answers. Could there have been a separate timeline, an altered one he’d left behind? Like the time Balthazar had prevented that ship from drowning and it had had severe consequences. Was there a world where he hadn’t had to shoulder everything alone, where someone loved him as much as whoever had taken those photos loved the Dean in them? That makes no sense, he shook his head. He was clearly too tired to even think.

He gulped down coffee as he drove to the fire station, his second cup of the morning. Do you dream of the ghost that one day you will become, for a thousand years, one thousand years? The voice from the CD crooned, and he thought that it was as if he was chasing a ghost.

He turned into the parking lot. It was starting to rain, but lightly. It would be a slow day, which was maybe a good thing. Maybe he’d have time for a nap. I made a lovers prayer. Then watched the sky, then wanted to cry. It’s only you and I. And how I try. Sang another voice, before getting cut off as he exited the car.

He logged in and, in the absence of any calls, sat down to eat the sandwich he’d picked up on the way in. He liked to cook his own meals these days, but this morning, he’d just been too tired. Another half an hour went by without a call, some of the other guys playing cards. He opted to lay down on the couch in the back instead, hoping some sleep would shake the tiredness. He put his headphones on and closed his eyes. In the night I whisper your name, wait for you to appear. In the night I hold you to me, and wait for you to appear.

When he woke, shaken awake by one of the other firemen, he realized his sleep hadn’t been as dream free as he’d hoped. But the dreams seemed clearer now. He thought he saw a mess of chocolate curls out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head, there was no one there, as he’d known there wouldn’t be. There weren’t any brunette firewomen at the station who kept their hair like that. Anyway, he’d known it wasn’t someone who was actually there. Because as he got ready to head out, he kept seeing a face, on the edges of his thoughts. A woman’s face. He didn’t know who she was, but he tried to place her. I love you, his heart said and startled him. He didn’t know her. He knew he’d forget all about her by the time he was fully awake. Like he kept forgetting. If he could just put a name to her face, maybe he wouldn’t forget. Maybe.

Foolish love. He heard the words as he took out his headphones and headed to the truck.

###

All rights to the characters and Supernatural belong to the original writers, but I've worked really hard on this, and I ask that this story please not be saved and/or copied to other places or sites.

Tagging: @deanwinchesterswitch, @siospins2

[dailyadventureprompts]

Planescape: Raiding Inspiration from Kaldheim

I’ve been on a planear kick lately, and with the new MTG set coming out soon, I figure it’d be a great Idea to dip over and pillage some ideas from their vaults. 

The results were.... less substantial than I originally thought, as several of their Norse derrived realms lacked any real, substantive lore and/or could be brushed off as “That’s just the feywild”. Still, this expedition wasn’t entirely fruitless, and we DMs can always use more inspiration, so here are the spoils of my plunder laid out for you  to pick over as you see fit. 

The Cosmos

Listen, LISTEN. Your humble author here is always a slut for the world tree,  and throw in some aurora based aesthetics and I’m simply done.   The Cosmos is Kaldheim’s take on the “world between worlds” astral sea type realm, and I think it’s an absolute win from a flavor perspective: The space between the branches of the worldtree filled with an aurora like light that’s impossible to move through unless you yourself are a creature of cosmos. This already fit with my “ Psychedelic Nebula” interpritation of the astral sea, and I’m immediately including the branches of an impossibly vast tree among all the usual scenery of dream palaces and fossilized gods.  I particularly like the idea of giant trees ( whether innocuous or not) or sections of roots growing up throughout the landscape ( often in places they should not be, such as underground) as a sign of the worldtree’s presence. 

Kaldheim’s multi-realm setup is also great fodder for spicing up your portals: 

Omengates are weakspots through which a person may move from one realm to another, but tend to occur in out of the way places, and require a specific set of actions to prime. This can be anything from singing a certain song while walking through an old stone arch, taking the wrong path in a forest at the certain time of day, or opening a door with a particular key made in another realm. While you likely need some lore to open such a portal, powerful mages can FORCE such gates open or seal them closed for good.   

Doomskars are violent collisions between the realms, accompanied by a seizmic disaster and a large, physical rift formed from one world into the next. They occur rarely on their own or can be caused by a mage recklessly forcing open a omengate, and are generally highly unstable. 

The material of the worldtree can grant safe and stable passage between realms, with charms made out of amber, elixirs made of sap, or ships made out of its timber allowing one to freely pass through the cosmos without being disoriented. Doors and other structures constructed of its wood can also provide safe passage, with some offshoots of the worldtree actually having gates carved directly into them. 

Axgard, Home of the Dwarves

I wasn’t particularly impressed with Kaldheim’s version of dwarves, as on the surface they seemed to be your classic “ axes and ale” archetype we’ve seen a million times before (Seriously, the name of the dwarf plane is AXGARD?) . That said, there were a few very interesting worldbuilding flourishes that I’d love to spin into something. 

The City of Eight Doors is said to be the greatest hall of the dwarvenkind, with moria style entrances that are impossible to get through hidden throughout the realm. Gilded with a seemingly endless gold and resounding with the sound of mighty tales being told (Dwarves in this setting are prolific scalds). If I were to use this, I wouldn’t make the city of Eight doors a static settlement, but a near mythic, valhalla like place that all dwarves aspire to get to. The hall itself resides hidden in the feywild, with the eight doors scattered around the multiverse in hidden or well secured places, and are capable of being moved if they are discovered/breached in order to protect the city.  All good things of dwarvendom dwell in the manifold halls, and it is said that if one’s story is spoken aloud within the halls your spirit will reside there forever.   I also ran the name through a dwarven translator or two and came up with the far more wieldy name of  Ker’Otteigurr

The Gold of Ker’Otteigurr is so plentiful that it’s worthless for the dwarves to use as money, who prefer to trade in practical iron ingots instead. This gold eminates from an endless molten lake in the depths of their fortress, and is prophesized to one day attract a titan who will destroy the city and devour all the gold. 

Dwarven Smiths spend their first hundred years of life perfecting their craft and making a weapon or piece of armor, which they inscribe with runes and keep on them as a sign of their mastery. They take on last names addressed to this item, and are seen as dishonored among crafters if it is lost or stolen. 

Immerstrum- The Sea of Fire

A hell dimension that takes the form of an archipeligo surrounded by a sea of oil and bubbling pitch, lit by no sun but the eternal thunderstorm in the sky. Demons sail burning longships to raid one another’s enclaves in an endless cycle of violence and carnage.  METAL. AS. FUCK. \m/. 

in all seriousness, Immerstrum is a great non-Abrahamic vision of hell that actually improves upon the whole “eternal blood war” thing that d&d’s been married to for years. The Demons here are infact imprisoned by barriers the gods put up around this dimension and are so terribly bored that they litterally have nothing else to do but kill eachother for eternity and rehash the pecking order all the time. There’s a lot of really interesting junk in this deathmetal feverdream: 

The gods who put up the barrier around the Immerstrum were in fact OUSTED by the current pantheon in their rise to power, and they took whatever artifact/ritual/process they used with them. The barrier is failing, and the demons are slipping through, nessessitating a search through all the cosmos to find a way to repair the barrier before the demons escape and begin to rampage across the realms once again. 

The Blodcrag is a massive volcano, filled with boiling blood rather than lava ( again, metal AF) that is revered by the demons of the immerstrum. Every drop of mortal blood they shed ( or is shed in their name) causes the blood within the mountian to rise by a proportional amount, and when it boils over, it transforms into new demons. Centuires of imprisonment have ensured the ranks of demons grow no larger, but if they were to be unleashed upon the multiverse it’s no doubt that there would be new legions pouring over the rim all the time. 

The Vaults of Hellir: where these demon-vikings stored all their loot, in a labrynth of chambers beneath the boiling sea. Caring nothing for the value of their treasure beyond what pain they can inflict by taking it, the demons have heaped these halls with all manner of artifact, riches, and tome of secrets. 

Karfell- The Wornaway World

A dead realm, with everything not yet swallowed by ice already starting to erode under lashing wave and biting storm. Karfell was once your classic fantasy kingdom until its ruler made a deal with a dark god to save his wealth and holdings from the spoils of war, cursing his realm and dooming his citizens to an eternity of undeath as drauger. 

Still driven by greed, the “last king” of Karfell searches his realm over for omengates, looking for places he can rip holes in reality with no regard for the damage he causes on either side. Through these Doomskars he  sends his drauger raiding, piling up their stone longships with loot before retreating back. 

Even before it fell to calamity, Karfell was known to be fabulously wealthy, its reputation spread through its habit of interplanar trading and raiding. Those most hardy treasurehunters seek out its frozen vaults to this day, clashing against the native undead and the astral-pirates who come to trade plunder and slaves with the glacial courts. 

Not all undead are created equal, as the curse that besets the people of Karfell slowly whittles them away till nothing is left but greed and obedience to their liege, becoming little better than frostbitten automota. The nobles of Karfell desperately seek to avoid this fate of drudgery, either by sleeping for years at a time in their glacial palaces or seeking out magic cures to fight the curse. Those that displease their rightful rulers are imprisoned in the ice and exposed to the howling wind, which quickly deprives them of their lives and eventual sentience. 

Skemfar- the Cosmic Rootbed

As I said before, one too many of Kaldheim’s planes ended up being too thematically thin to inspire much in me. To solve this issue, I combined a few of them and I think the result is actually pretty neat. 

The roots of the worldtree drift down through the omnipresent mist of Skemfar, finding their home among primeval forest and ancient battlefields half swallowed by bog. This is an eternal, dreamlike place, lit only by what little of the flickering cosmic auroralight can make it through the dense cloudcover. Traces of forgotten wars and lost civilizations are preserved here among the mire, remnants of eons past swallowed up by the origin of all existence. 

Colossal trees, transmuted from the bodies of defeated gods grow out of the mire. Though no comparison in size to the worldtree itself, these massive plants are large enough to host villages among their roots and boughs, populated by elves and stranger beings to revere these lost deities that now serve as their homes. Each tree retains an echo of the god imprisoned within it, so the fruit of a god associated with healing might make potent medicine, while the timber of a warrior god might be unbreakable save for blades blessed in their name. 

The shades of those cast adrift in the astral plane come to rest in Skemfar, retaining their knowledge of past lives but stripped of all passion, or desire even to be. They detachedly drift from place to place in small throngs, or hold quiet vigil over a particularly still stretch of wilderness. Oaths or powerful magic can compell these remnants into action, and one must be cautious that a lingering spirit is not infact a guardian simply awaiting the wrong trigger. 

Runes appear etched all over Skemfar, in the bark of trees, on the hidden side of cairn stones, on relics dredged from the mire. One could spend a lifetime studying these emergent scriptures, and many have, reporting their findings to be alternatingly esoteric and prophetic. 

Art 2

Art 3

Art 4

Art 5

[carewyncromwell]

🌌 Milky Way for all of your OCs

Whoo! This'll take a minute -- let's do this!

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Carewyn, as better explained here, is a fusion of my mum and myself as kids!

Jacob, as better explained here, was inspired by the stories my mum used to tell me about her late brother!

Erik was inspired largely by a friend of mine from high school who had this very cherubic face and also the largest, sassiest potty mouth of all of my friends. His name was also inspired by two of my favorite Broadway characters -- Erik from The Phantom of the Opera and Enjolras from Les Miserables (affectionately called “Apollo” in the book).

Ana came about because I thought an INFP Gryffindor could be a really fun contrast, but personality-wise, she really took influence from both myself and my dad as kids, since my dad’s a Gryffindor and I’m an INFP.

Farid, as better explained here, was inspired by both Newt and Jacob from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Yugi Mutou from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Jackson, as better explained here, was inspired by historical stage magician Harry Houdini!

Bat, as better explained here, was inspired by Garrett Denali from Twilight and Sirius Black, as well as other “Lancer” type figures like Ron Weasley and Jounouchi Katsuya from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Ru was an evolution of an idea I’d developed much earlier on of a serial killer kelpie that transforms into various forms to eat people, but over time, they developed a love of photography and film that’s largely like my own for film and television, and in doing so developed a much more sympathetic motivation and personality. Their particular feeling of isolation and wanting to be part of this world they could only watch from afar is a feeling I’ve felt off-and-on for years and evoked both Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ariel from The Little Mermaid, to me.

Ed’s brain spark largely came down to me thinking it’d be fun to have a 90′s style boy band (i.e. Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, 98 Degrees) in the Potterverse around the time when Harry and crew were at school. Backstory-wise, I took inspiration from Severus Snape, Andromeda Black-Tonks, and both Sirius and Regulus Black, and obviously Ed’s a Slytherin like Snape, Andromeda, and Regulus...but personality-wise Ed actually ended up taking some inspiration from Anna from Frozen! In fact, one of the character themes I chose for him as a child is a deleted song from Frozen that was originally going to be sung by Anna called More Than Just a Spare.

Desiree came about largely because of the creation of Jules Aquila @kathrynalicemc. His spontaneous, fantasy-loving personality was just so likable (largely because of how in-tune I was with it myself!), so when I was working on a character that I thought could be a fun contrast for someone like Jules, I settled on using my late stepmum as inspiration. I’m a very right-brained, sensitive, imaginative person like Jules, while my stepmum as a girl was a very left-brained, soft-spoken, modest, scientific, nerdy overachiever the way Desiree is. Like Desi as well, my stepmum had to find freedom and happiness by breaking away from her family and home and starting a new life apart from them. Desiree also ended up gaining flickers of my mum (who has always been very sensible and organized and shares a personality type -- ISTJ -- with Desi), as well as Elsa from Frozen, Luisa from Encanto, and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. Both Kath and I have also found amusement at how much Juliree resembles Aladdin/Jasmine from Aladdin, ship-wise, as well.

Eli was largely inspired by comic film actors Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, as well as Robin Williams and Fiyero from the musical Wicked. Like Robin did, Eli struggles with severe depression, but works hard to keep a smile on so as to make others happy, and like Fiyero, he was the sort to “tune in and drop out” at school from an academic perspective, but he’s actually a lot deeper emotionally than he seems from the outside. 

Bairn’s initial spark just came from me finding Brock O’Hurn and wanting to design a character that resembled him, honestly! 😂 I gotta thank @magical-retales for brainstorming a Renaissance-set storyline featuring Merlin, though...it was so much fun to take inspiration from different King Arthur storylines for Bairn’s character, like the Once and Future King series and Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. Bairn also took some cues from both Harry Potter and Charlie Weasley, being a Gryffindor orphan raised by uncaring Muggles with a longing for family and a love of nature and magical creatures!

Emoji Ask Game!

[chidoroki]

Isabella - 73584

I had a serious debate with myself over whether or not I wanted to sit down and spend my weekend writing another one of these praise posts. I was content with just doing one for each of the Fullscore Trio kids and ending it there.. but apparently I love this woman too much to just ignore her on her birthday. So here were are on September 9th with a list of all her best and my personal favorite moments as to why I believe she’s such a great character, antagonist and mother (yeah you heard me right). Considering she only shows up in the beginning and very end of the story, this post ended up longer than I originally anticipated, which just goes to show how many thoughts I really have about this woman. (for real, this rivals Ray’s post in terms of points but there’s far more words)

Since she also has some backstory and certain events differ between manga and anime (thanks to the second season), I’ll try to go in chronological order between both timelines instead of chapter by chapter, which might be a bit confusing as we’ll jump around the story a lot but just to bear with me as I try to makes sense of it all.

(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland & ch181.7, so if you haven’t read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I’m literally going from start to finish with this one last time. I promise.)

- I’m not sure how well she compares to Emma when it comes to athleticism, but Isabella seemed to have no trouble climbing up and down trees when she was younger.

- Not only that, but she managed to scale the wall by herself using a method that requires a fairly impressive jump. It’s also implied that this is how she climbs the wall again so many years later when chasing the soon-to-be escapees, which helps prove that even at an older age, she hasn’t lost her touch.

- Was chosen to undergo training to become a Mom, which required high test scores and the current mother’s recommendation. She accepted the offer in order to keep living and survive as human the demons couldn’t eat.

- Based on Sienna’s comment, is it fair to say Isabella is on par with the full score trio? I mean, the woman is basically flawless.

- She was practically untouchable during her time at headquarters while training too apparently. Mom positions are scarce so the environment where these ladies fight (physically/mentally/emotionally) to even snag that job is highly competitive, and yet Isabella never let anyone deter her from her goal of becoming a Mom, which probably led to the “Iron Lady” nickname she received now that I think about it.

- She was the youngest ever to be granted the Mom position at..what, 19? 20? Somewhere around there, but impressive nonetheless considering they’re forced to have a child, build up a strong, emotionless exterior and endure so much fear. (but my goodness, the woman doesn’t age at all. she looks just as good when the story actually starts as she did her when she was a bit younger)

- It became common knowledge among the Sisters that she was also very successful in the way she raised her children.

- Her success greatly benefited the farm, as she offered up countless high quality goods, which sounds terrible, I know, but believe me when I say she gave her best effort for her children. Even though she held the Mom position, the amount of power she actually had in this system was pretty minimal, especially with how much she valued her own life. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes or risky changes, so she settled with doing the most with what she was capable of. She provided her children with a normal lifestyle, not only to keep up the orphanage facade, but knowing that their lives would all be cut shorter than they anticipate. She gave them love in hopes that no one would ever have to feel the dread she felt after Leslie’s death and/or finding out the truth. She tried to delay that horrific fate by encouraging them to learn all they can (like teaching the trio about strategy and chess) so they could achieve higher tests scores and (unknowingly to them) add a couple more months or years onto their lives. Yes it was her job to raise these children to such high standards but she excelled at it for their sake too.

- And I know y’all will just throw Ray in my face like, “oh but he was her actual child and she treated him horribly/different.” Okay but deep down I don’t think she actually wanted to? When they both realized they were truly mother and son, Isabella couldn’t just dote on him and start treating him as such. I’m sure Ray wasn’t too fond of Isabella at this point in his life either, knowing that she sent several of his siblings away to get killed. They probably would’ve gotten along just fine in a perfect world, but since they were both aware of the hell they’re trapped living in, they emotionally distanced themselves and formed a business-like relationship as a result of Ray’s deal, which benefited them both in different ways. For Ray, it was more practical, with the obvious notion of living as long as possible along with obtaining various rewards and knowledge of the outside world. For Isabella, it helped emotionally by simply just ignoring their true relation. I believe if she clung to that realization, it would break the orphanage illusion and eventually wear down her “Iron Lady” exterior that she relies so heavily on.

- Like can you imagine how much you would have to harden your heart in order to quite literally walk children to their death every couple months for years on end and just move on like it’s completely normal? Now imagine how earth shattering it must be to think about doing the same to your actual child. All those years spent perfecting a fake smile and emotionless exterior like she was trained to have and her son shatters it in an instant. She becomes completely terrified about how he’s actually alive and in front of her right now and there’s nothing she can do to truly save him.. and yet she still recovers so damn quickly I can’t even comprehend it! But there’s still some sadness in those eyes. You can’t tell me otherwise. That one moment of weakness speaks volumes to me.

- So now with her general backstory FINALLY out of the way, we can finally start with ch01/ep01 and how her laugh is sweet and innocent. I say that because (all hidden emotions and motives aside) that’s exactly how she’s supposed to sound in this moment, not only to us but to the children as well.

- She of course checks Emma’s tracker a moment later but other than that I still think it’s a pretty genuine moment between the two.

- As previously stated, her ability to raise high quality children is unmatched, which is clear as day thanks to the fullscore trio.

- Despite their crazy level of intelligence, the trio has yet to win a simple game of chess against Isabella, even when teamed up.

- She treasures everything about the kids.

- She really cares about them, even when it’s time to send them off with a smile, which we know is thanks to her strong facade.

- But mother dearest isn’t really fine. She doesn’t like walking kids to their death, especially so young. But she can’t let them (or even herself) know that. She can’t show weakness, so she hums Leslie’s song, which is a tool she’s used for years in order to give herself strength.

- Don’t worry, I disliked her this moment happened too, just as the story intended. And here’s where her fantastic antagonist role begins for all the world to see.

- A true champ at jump scares.

- Acts completely calm the night after a couple of kids found out the secret of the farm.

- She uses the tracker in plain sight, sending whomever went to the gate last night a threatening but silent message.

- Correct Norman, that’s the “Iron Lady” for ya. Also the name of ch03 for us. Well, “The Iron Woman” but same difference.

- She switches from calculating and manipulative breeder to sweet and pleasant mother so quickly and effortlessly it’s incredible. Isabella even checked Emma’s pulse in this scene to see if she was acting normal.

- At this point she still had no idea who went to the gate (Ray didn’t tip her off yet, at least I don’t think so) but her guess couldn’t have been more precise. The level of fear she drives into both Emma and Norman was great too, but then again her presence is enough in any scene to give us chills.

- Notices her watchdog isn’t at his usual post and starts to get suspicious.

- Not only of him, Emma and Norman, but Don and Gilda as well, thus giving the five extra chores to finish in an attempt to slow down any escape planning, such as cleaning vacant rooms, organizing the pantry and inspecting spare linen.

- While the trio believes Isabella was being too soft and patient in finding her targets, she effectively catches them off guard by bringing in Krone for assistance. The trio soon realize they were actually preparing the sister’s new room and those mundane chores were just an excuse to buy time.

- Look at her, all smug. Checkmate indeed. (and totally not important, but her eyes are such pretty shades of purple)

- The sass and her no nonsense attitude.

- Immediately puts Krone in her place the moment she even thinks about shipping out the targets. Of course holding off on shipping the targets would benefit the farm, as it would produce higher quality merchandise as time passes, but plant 3 is run by Isabella and she’ll be damned if an assistant thinks they could waltz right in and decide her children’s fate.

- She check’s Emma tracker again despite her claim of knowing exactly who the targets might be. You can never be too careful.

- Her precious children managed to win a game of tag against Krone, which is still impressive considering the kind of training the sister has gone through, so kudos to her teachings.

- Knows right away that Krone was trying to take advantage, which allows Krone to realize that the opening she had to learn more about the children was all planned by Isabella herself. Her intimidating nature is enough to scare adults too.

- Reveals that Krone was mostly summoned in order to keep Ray in check after his failure.

- Despite the trust issue, Isabella still keeps up her end of the deal by requesting the items Ray asked for, thanks to the odd perks she had under Grandma Sarah which allowed her to order goods that weren’t on the supply list.

- This hug between her and Phil is just too cute not to mention.

- I imagine she makes this comment because she knows exactly how long a rope must be based off her own almost-escape.

- It’s just something about how this scene is framed alongside this dialogue that makes me think “oh, like mother, like son.”

- I blame her very thoughtful planning for my first big freak out when I watched season 1 blind, like ma’am that’s my favorite boy, please don’t.

- She conspires with Grandma Sarah in order to get rid of Krone for good, which renders the evidence sister just found out about the children’s escape completely useless. Sarah believes there might be some truth to it, but ultimately ignores it and puts her faith in Isabella’s ability of controlling the children & the situation.

- She then cuts Ray off and ends their six-year long deal, opting to control the situation herself from now on. Also, how she wanted to keep him around until the very end is kinda bittersweet. Does she mean as merchandise? Or because she wanted him to live as long as possible? Ah such a tricky little comment.

- She also tosses him across the room like a rag doll.

- Thank god for this panel existing and actually being adapted into the anime so I could hear it because I had absolutely no memory of her laughing in this moment.

- “She says it so nonchalantly,” Norman said once upon a time, and it’s still so frightening.

- As insane as her ideals seem given the circumstances, nothing she says here is really a lie.

- She has the strength to quite literally break a leg and that cracking noise still haunts me to this day.

- It wasn’t even a spur of the moment thing either. Isabella came fully prepared with bandages to fix up any injury she was willing to inflict and that thought alone is terrifying.

- Not only that, but she broke it so cleanly that Emma’s leg does indeed heal perfectly in the exact time frame she estimates. This entire moment is so unfairly impressive, like ma’am how dare you do this to Emma of all people.. like why couldn’t you at least use that kind of force to snap Peter’s neck instead or something?

- To make matters worse, she then reveals Norman’s shipment date. And it’s the following day, which sends the kids into a very understandable panic.

- Needless to say, November 2nd, 2045 was a very successful day in the life of Isabella. Woman was putting everyone in checkmate in ep08 and my anger on full blast.

- This sly smile she sends Ray’s way after announcing Norman’s shipment to the younger kids is so cruel.. it’s perfect.

- I can only imagine she asked about Ray’s whereabouts because she knew the boys were close friends and she hoped they would at least say goodbye to one another, but that’s just me.

- Puts an end to Norman’s parting words in such a simple and chilling matter.

- The way she just openly threatens Emma with others just out of earshot.

- Norman out here asking the real questions. If anything, I say she’s more “content” rather than happy. I don’t think she’s ever really thought about her own happiness, at least not often enough, hence the slight pause. This entire time she’s been focusing on how to make her children’s lives perfect, but for herself she just wants to survive in this hellish world they’re all living in.

- I’m honestly still not sure who’s final decision it is to send people to Lambda, either Isabella, Peter or someone else (honestly never bothered to check), but whether or not Isabella had any say in the matter, I’m sure she’s at least a little glad that Norman gets to live a bit longer? Perhaps that’s a stretch, but I’m putting the idea here anyway.

- I say this because I believe that’s part of the reason why she offered Emma a Mom recommendation, not only because our girl’s high test scores, but in hopes that she could live a longer life.

- Although she really stresses in an intimidation fashion how pointless Emma’s efforts are now that Norman’s “dead,” the cliff remains a major hazard and her leg is still bandaged up, Isabella still tries so hard to convince her to give up, like Ray has, in order for Emma to end her own suffering. It was the first instance during my blind watch-through were I started to get the hint that Isabella might actually care about her kids, and of course I know now it’s because she didn’t want Emma to experience the same pain she did after Leslie’s death.

- With Emma and Ray both broken, things went by rather smoothly for Isabella those last two months, though she continued to keep a close eye on them.

- Her humming is so soothing. And why it took me this long to bring up “Isabella’s Lullaby” is beyond me, but oh my god, that song and any other soundtrack that uses its melody is absolute perfection.

- Had enough sense to not let her guard down the final night, even though her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the idea counts.

- Though her caretaker side is focused on more during the fire, some motherly instincts do kick in as she instructs Gilda to get the babies from her room and lead everyone outside to safety. She was also concerned for Emma’s well being, hoping all the smoke didn’t get to her when the girl vanished. (i know you can argue “she’s only worried because they’re merchandise” which is fair but c’mon, i swear she’s not completely heartless)

- Took a hot minute (ahha) but Isabella eventually realized that the kids were actually escaping solely based on what they were wearing on their feet. I’m sure Emma’s discarded left ear was a big tip off too but to come to that conclusion by noticing the shoes they had on during all that chaos is surprising.

- She looks completely insane here but I always thought this shot of her was nicely animated with all the fire (or embers? sparks? whatever they are) flying around. The laugh she does before this is also a nice bonus. Oh, and she somehow managed to secure a radio from the room Don had locked.

- Figured the fifteen kids would head towards the bridge and called in headquarters to block it off.

- But when the children didn’t appear at the bridge, she just happened to know exactly where else they might try to cross the cliff.

- In the anime’s case, Isabella climbed the wall and ran there quick enough to engage in a stare down with Emma before she finally slid down.

- The moment I knew I was doomed.

- After the 15 kids successfully escaped, Isabella admits defeat, for she couldn’t really see how much her children have grown to outsmart her.

- This iconic quote, which conveys so much truth and sincerity. There were multiple occasions where she had to distance and restrain herself due to the system that controlled her, but the love she was able to show the children was genuine. If she wasn’t held back by the strict rules enforced by Mom position, I don’t doubt she would’ve treated Ray better or became far more emotional whenever a child had to leave for good or seriously injured, instead of donning a fake smile and being closed off.

- She realizes with this unspeakable loss in merchandise, the reputation she worked so hard to build up is meaningless now and that the farm no longer has any use for such an incompetent caretaker. She figures she’s as good as dead anyway now, so she wastes no time in actually helping the escapees by reclaiming the ropes to hide their exact method and route of escape, if only to grant the kids some extra time before the pursuers really locate them.

- She doesn’t act bitter as a result of her loss, instead choosing to wish the escapees luck with the future they grasped for themselves and care for the children that were left behind.

- She’s just so pretty y’all. Thank you anime.

- She was named “Best Antagonist” (and rightfully so!) back during the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning over Askeladd (Vinland Saga), Overhaul, (My Hero Academia), Garoua (One Punch Man,) & others.

(Post-season 1 spoilers ahead, even though the anime is completely finished at this point, but will be touching upon her special chapter more as well.)

- Completely owns up to her mistakes that caused the farm a massive loss in profitable goods and is ready to received whatever punishment necessary, which she expects to be death.

- Only.. she’s not being killed, she’s actually being promoted to Grandma. Though Isabella was directly responsible for the children’s escape, the blame ultimately falls on Sarah who couldn’t correctly control Isabella, thus leading the old lady to be shipped out in place of the goods Isabella lost.

- Peter also notes that the farm found more worth in Isabella than Sarah, so her past merits also played a part in sparing her life, as having a woman like Isabella in charge would surely produce the level of quality the farm needs.

- Isabella eventually accepts the promotion, though she can’t help but feel hesitant and shocked about the whole deal. This woman was ready to embrace death and finally be free from this cruel world, but now she has to witness not only more kids being shipped off, but moms and sisters in training as well (yay old chapter reviews coming in clutch).

- She could have very well just refused Peter’s offer, but we all know how much Isabella originally wanted to survive, so she doesn’t just accept because this man dangled a sense of freedom in her face, she also agreed so she could have the opportunity to help her children in any way her newfound power would allow her.

- Of course, her transition to Grandma happens a bit differently in the second season, but I will give some bittersweet thanks to the anime once more for the obvious but curse them for also having this entire scene dark as hell. Let me see her beauty darn it! I can only fix the lighting so much until it looks overexposed and bad again.

Anyways, Sarah is still alive at this point and taunts Isabella with the escapee’s lives just to see how she would react, which gave her a small sense of hope. Then some demons pay a visit later on and also ask if she would want to see the children one last time, but Isabella tells them that not only would she be too ashamed to face them but that they would manage to survive Grandma’s capture plan, which involved several men blowing up their shelter. It’s now clear to the demons that these children are special, and while Isabella agrees, it’s not for the same reason the demons think so. The demons believe the kids are special because of how they were raised to such a high quality. Isabella calls them special simply because they’re her children, just as any mother would.

- In the anime, it’s the demons who offer Isabella the Grandma deal if Sarah’s current plan were to fail (which it does) and she takes it and the freedom from Grace Field House without question. Do I still believe she had similar intentions to help out the children like she did in manga at this point? Of course.

- Not even a full month into her new job did she start preparing to help Emma & the others by considering who from the current Sisters she wanted to recruit to personally assist her destroy the farm entirely.

- A month later and Isabella had already decreased the number of shipments that took place at Grace Field, which obviously helps raise the quality of the children by default, but it also means less death and gives those kids a chance to live longer.

- She completely anticipated that Matilda, Jessica, Sienna & Scarlet were conspiring against her and caught them quite easily, as they were among the top scorers.

- Each had a fair chance at becoming Moms but with those positions limited, it was obvious to figure out they were trying to force Isabella’s seat open by creating some suspicious activity to place on her almost perfect record. Unfortunately for the girls, our new Grandma is too smart for her own good and I love it.

- The four women are apprehensive to join her insane plan to go against the farm, but Isabella assures them there’s no freedom if they follow the system’s rules and betray her. The harsh reality they’re all living in will continue unless they stop competing with one another and combine forces to defeat the true enemy.

- To persuade them further, Isabella mentions the children they all gave birth to are still alive, bringing out an array of emotions from the women that they each thought they had buried deep down.

- THIS! Just all of this is wonderful and shows just how much Isabella learned from her children who once defeated her.

- To fully gain the women’s trust, she gives them Ray’s farewell note that he originally left in order to bait Krone, as proof she won’t double-cross them at any point.

- I love the fact that she kept the note close to her because it acts just like all the other various toys and items she saved in her secret room back at plant 3. The original owners were all precious to her so she kept a piece of them behind to remember them in a place only she knew about. As I said before when mentioning her “I wish I could have just loved them normally” quote, all the love she had for her children had to be suppressed when she was under the system’s control, but that doesn’t mean she never cared. Because she did, and if I haven’t made at least that clear by now then I’m failing.

- Can her intentions and love for her children be any more clear? (possibly, i’m not done with this darn post yet. how you guys holding up? i’m going a little insane at this point.)

- Anyways! Second season didn’t make the rest of the story easy so apologies for any timeline mishaps as I switch between both anime and manga events from here on out.. like how in manga Isabella is informed of the escapee’s return to Grace Field via Peter, while the in the anime it’s her who helps lures them back with a fake transmission via the radio they stole.

- Just before Emma & the others do return to Grace Field on November 13, Isabella finally reaches out to the farm’s many other Sisters to recruit them. She waited until the right moment to inform them of her crazy takeover plan so Peter wouldn’t become suspicious from all of headquarters acting/thinking differently (you know, like how Emma kept the jailbreak plan under wraps until the night of). These ladies also feel a bit wary and even think of Isabella’s offer as a joke, but with some real, heartfelt encouragement, she manages to win over every single woman to her side.

- The moment when it was first revealed to us that she was not only still alive but was also promoted to Grandma is still so powerful.

- She snaps Nat’s finger back into place after Peter broke it. (and considering emma’s group infiltrates the farm right after this, i’m pretty sure that ch170 with rallying the sisters took place before this..i think?)

- Gave me a minor heart attack.

- *CLAPS FRANTICALLY!!!* The moment she truly won me over.


- While her betrayal against Peter in the manga is fantastic and quite possibly one of my favorite moments, the anime did give us a little something too. It shows Peter spewing utter nonsense to Emma about how she’s destined to fail, only for best girl to bite back with such a fantastic quote, and then Isabella drops the act and switches sides. While I agree Emma’s comeback is “wonderful,” it’s the English dub that completely wins me over in this scene by having Isabella comment “Now that’s my girl” instead, like bro.. hearing that makes me so happy.

- For real dude, you have several highly skilled women pointing guns at you, I think her betrayal is crystal clear.

- This is like the perfect example of how she had to conceal her feelings while bound by the system. She just misses these kids so much y’all but she can’t let her true emotions show yet.

- Having her call Peter a boy is beyond hilarious to me. Also, how she disagrees with him on so many levels is excellent, like how he believes in experimenting on kids and having the right to call yourself their parent just because you created them, while Isabella believes in raising and loving children normally and that you earn that parent title by actually being part of their lives. To be fair they both inflicted pain on kids (Nat’s finger/Emma’s leg) but Peter’s action was a mistake in itself. Isabella got frustrated back when Krone even threatened to ship out the kids who discovered the secret, so you can bet she’s probably pissed off at this boy for harming one of her kids on purpose.

- The best mother-daughter moment ever! It’s such a shame it never got truly animated since the second season decided not to give the children guns, but we get to see a small smile from Isabella after Emma decided to still call her “mom.”

- The anime never gave Peter the chance to run away, like he (somehow) managed to do in manga, so we had the chance to see someone actually shoot at him. Well, in his general direction at least. Isabella lands a perfect shot not even a full second after he pulls out that disc. Accuracy on point.

- Said this once or twice in the past in manga so I’m glad the anime brought it back.

- Remains cautious and keeps her gun raised at Peter when Emma approaches him and rightfully so considering he still had his knife hidden at this point.

- Refuses Emma’s offer to join the kids in the human world at first because she knows that her (& the sister’s) actions shouldn’t be forgiven so easily, but with some rather blunt sympathy from Ray and encouragement from her other children, she finally gives in.

- This entire post summed up in one image.

- She apologizes even though distancing herself from her kids and preparing them for death were just required of her role as a caretaker. She wouldn’t have done any of that in a normal world. (do i sound like a broken record yet? probably)

- The emotion you hear in her voice during this entire dub scene hits my heart in all the right places.

- She still thinks of Leslie after all this time and I think that’s real cute.

- Her protective nature is on full display when she protects Emma from this bastard of a demon. A truly surprising and heartbreaking moment, considering this is the woman who’s survival used to be her top and only priority in the past, but now doesn’t hesitate to give her life in order to save her kid (and by extension that small girl emma saved. also, major heart attack for me).

- Despite being critically injured, this woman still possess enough strength to hold back a demon twice her size. She doesn’t even pay any mind to its nonsense. Like the demon, people often think this is when redemption arc starts but I believe it started way back in ch37 when Isabella retrieved and hid the ropes the kids used to escape. Ever since she admitted defeat on the wall that night, she threw caution to the wind and began cheating the system in hopes to one day assist the kids achieve a brighter future. Despite all the work she’s done behind the scenes, Isabella believes there’s still so much more she can do to atone, so even though she’s already received the children’s forgiveness, she continues to assist them by jumping in and saving them directly from demons for once in her life.

- Ma’am it’s sweet you’re so concerned with their safety, but we should be asking you that question ya know? (but then again emma was the same way after she woke up from her coma).

- Knows that just apologizing and saving Emma isn’t enough to suddenly forgive all her actions and wants to do so much more for the children as a result. Even though I already acknowledged all her subtle and hidden moments, I wish we got to see her care for them more openly.

- I simply can not read through ch177 and not get emotional. No matter how hard I try, I always feel tears start to form in my eyes. Oh my god, how cruel that death can be this beautiful. It’s so unfair.

- *uses old chapter review because I’m too upset right now* “She apologizes for everything. For not treating him right and loving him as a mother normally would her own son. For making him despise his life so much and enduring so much pain that he thought the only escape was suicide.”

- “She leaves him with one last wish to protect everyone, and that completely breaks me because you know exactly how much they both care for their family. Not only would they literally die for their family, but they would live for them too if someone asked. Truly like mother, like son.” (aaaaaahhhhh)

- Her, umm.. ghost (along with Conny’s & Yuugo’s) help Ray reunite with Emma in 2049.

- All my tears aside, the anime did something right by actually keeping her ALIVE!

- Have you ever seen something so GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL in all your life?? This image is so powerful it literally tossed aside any salty feelings I had that night with how the second season ended. Seeing her like this grants me so much happiness y’all, it’s truly unbelievable. I still can’t get over it and hopefully I never will.

Okay, now I’m done, thank god. Sorry this is like ridiculously long, especially since she’s absent for sooo many chapters. Also find it so hilarious how drastic my opinion of her changed from the beginning to now, from “bitch” to “oh my god I love her so much.” I know people will always have opposing opinions whether she’s actually a good mother or not and that’s totally fine. Wasn’t trying to convince y’all of that either because yes, some of her actions are real unforgivable, but she was suffering under the farm system too and just followed through with what she was trained to do in order to survive, but while other Sisters fought to climb ranks and help themselves survive, Isabella ultimately wanted the best for her children. The more power she gained, the more risks she took and once the system crashed so did her facade.

An absolute queen.

[spkothdvldotmp3]

Interesting thought: we never actually here from the original Rose Red throughout all of OUAT(is), just her clones

Also interesting thought: Odin is the only suspect that gets her song all to herself, while the other three all have guest appearances from other characters

OKAY, this is actually one of my favorite things about the Mechs- it isn’t just about the story itself, but how the story is told. i have Many Thoughts on this, so sorry for the incoming rambling.

OUAT(IS) technically has several solos, like Old King Cole and Our Boy Jack, but the only solo sung by a real character is Cinders’ Song- and she’s the only character who survives the album (okay, so technically Briar Rose and the Mechs, who share a song, also survive, but that's a fun thing to think about too, that the only person to share a song with them here was also the only one to survive meeting them- not only survive, but be practically brought back to life because of these Harbingers of Death). But then, on the other end of the spectrum is her own wife, Rose Red. Rose never gets a chance to really live- her life was cut short by her kidnapping and subsequent murder at the hands of King Cole- and that's in parallel in her never getting a chance to tell her story. Every other player in the story gets to speak or sing something, but she’s locked away until literally the last few minutes. It really lends an air to the “the story can only be told by those who survive” vibe that i’m really into.

In contrast, in UDAD, nearly everyone has a solo- Ulysses has three, and each of the Suits has one of their own, because they all see themselves as the Main Character of the story (but of course, only Ulysses really is). (Also, side note, the way each of the Suits sings a melodic line from their own song in Torn Suits, because they’re sticking to their guns and refusing to compromise. The way each of the instruments cuts out with their deadly wounds. The way the bass is the last instrument playing because Ashes was the only one who knew what was happening and was really the mastermind behind it all, as well as the only survivor of the planet. Torn Suits is truly the Perfect Song, i could talk about it for hours.) However, neither Daedalus nor Hades/Ashes have solos- Ashes sings in Underworld Blues, and Daedalus doesn’t sing at all, and they’re the last two left alive at the end of the album (“the Suits lie dead or dying,” as Jonny narrates, and the fiction has that line about Daedalus’ complaining being annoying enough for Ashes to turn off the cameras, iirc). The thing about these two is that they’re pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and that secrecy reflects in their not taking as big a role in the story musically.

Then, in HNOC, i want to point out how lovely it is that when the Pendragons sing, they sing together, and the way their lines compliment each other in Gunfight with Guinevere’s fast high harmony and Lancelot’s lower, more steady line, because of LOVE is one of my most favorite things (although only Arthur appears in Boy’s Night Out The Hanged Man Rusts but really, it’s his mistake here that helps set the tragedy ball rolling, so it’s important that he be here alone). In this one, the solos belong to She Who Sings Empty Trail, Galahad, and Captain Mathea if we count The General’s presence as more of a cool harmony than a duet, who all sort of end up in a category i describe as “Leader Who is Trying Their Best But This Is a Ship of Tragedy And Sometimes You Have to Be Willing to Sacrifice Yourself for the Greater Good” (Empty Trail lady doesn’t actually sacrifice herself, unlike Galahad and Mathea, but i get the feeling she would. it’s about the vibes.) They don't have anyone else to rely on to help them make these heartwrenching decisions, and that's shown in the fact that they're literally singing alone- that's part of why that last verse of Holder of the GRAIL hits so hard, because it doesn't even have that sinister harmony, and it feels so much emptier for it.

Finally, in TBI, as you pointed out, Odin is the only one with a solo (unless you count The Void doing Red Signal, which could still technically work with all this, especially as Raph sings both the background vocals in RS and as Odin). Loki’s song is interrupted by Thor, Thor’s song features Odin, and during Sigyn’s song Loki joins in. And in this album, Odin’s the only one who actually knows really anything about what’s going on. But unlike Daedalus, who you could argue is in a similar position of Holding Knowledge in UDAD, Odin wants to be the center of attention, so she gets her own solo and butts into other people's numbers- she’s the All-Mother, she is the Serpent that Shall Poison the Sky and Boil the Sea, and this is her legacy... which makes it all the more important that it’s actually Thor who gets the last word in on their confrontation in Ragnarok IV, and then Loki and Sigyn have an entire duet after- she doesn’t get what she wants, not really.

i’m sorry this got so long and drawn out and i don’t even know if it makes any sense, but i have a lot of feelings about music and story analysis