#do NOT get it twisted: he's the song's narrator in this situation | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rahuratna · 2 months ago

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Synopsis: Nanami, Ijichi and Nitta foil a bank robbery with a cursed twist ...

Genre: Suspense

Contents: Canon-typical violence, foul language, reader character narrator, reader perspective of sorcerers.

He’d never signed up for this.

When he’d joined, Ueno had gone on about the fun they’d have, the risk, the high of getting away with things like this. It was a release, a way to escape the drudgery of his long shifts at the convenience store and the hollow-eyed, resentful presence of his mother at home. If that place could even be called a home.

In the beginning, they’d just wandered the brightly lit streets of nighttime Shinjuku, vandalizing the shops Ueno’s boss had told them to target, getting into scuffles with rival gangs, keeping an eye on the activities of people of importance. Each time he’d left home, the door would swing shut behind him like the unseen gateway to another realm. The street before him would be familiar, but not, the night air crisp with possibility. He’d never been aware of the perilous web being woven around him, of the fact that none of these jaunts were disjointed activities, each with their isolated goal.

And now he was here, in the back of a dark blue minivan with no windows, the humid damp of the balaclava he wore sticking to his face, making breathing difficult. He couldn’t do this. He’d never known they would ask him to – but there was no time for that. No time to think about the number of times he shouldn’t have walked out that door, the number of times he should have turned Ueno down, the many, many nights he should have decisively put an end to any and all association with the present company.

They were crowded in on all sides, shoulder to shoulder, the cramped space filled with the smell of sour sweat, cheap cologne and the heavy funk of strong tobacco. These men would have no patience for a boy who backed out, even if he said he was young and stupid and regretted everything he’d done. They were wily, experienced, razor-edged and slick with survival instinct. There was no way out for him, not now.

The power of his fear roots him in place, even as his body rebels, his muscles catch and quiver, his breathing hitches sporadically and his bowels cramp and protest. If only … if only he were someone else, someone more equipped to deal with this. If only something, anything, would take over his body and mind, just for tonight. If only something would come along and turn him into the man he should be in this situation; fearless, aggressive, raring for battle, a spitting cobra rearing for a shot between the eyes. But he was not any of those things.

And they were on their way to rob a bank.

You'd made it something of a game over the years. Each person that swam into view in the window of your counter formed a portrait of an unknown life, one you tried your best to embroider.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, just like the song you used to sing in elementary school. What would the shifting window bring you today?

Ah, here was a grandmother, feeble and infirm. Collecting her pension fund and rambling about her three adult children, including her son who was staying for the month. Most of that pension probably ended up in his pocket.

And here was the man who came every Tuesday since three months ago. Sweating, nervous, smelling faintly of cheap perfume. You'd bet your whole salary that each trip to the bank was followed by a sharp detour out the door to the seedy motel nearby.

Then, the antique shop owner, the family name a well-known one in the area. Pity his father gambled most of their inheritance away. Everyone knew that he lived in the once-fabled traditional home, now dilapidated and infested with mould, a Havisham who rotted beside his antiques in the wedding dress of former renown. His cash withdrawal was minimal, enough to feed him for a week at a time.

Today was spectacularly ordinary. As a financial services representative at this particular branch for an odd five years now, you'd come to recognise your usual patrons, along with the occasional tourist or visitor who'd pay a once-off visit. These were usually recognisable by their clothing, or accents.

Here were two such individuals right now. You'd definitely never seen them before. The man looked to be in his late twenties, wearing the harried, hollow-cheeked look of someone much older. His dark hair was neatly parted, a pair of rectangular spectacles enhancing the earnest, studious nature of his face.

Beside him was a girl with bright blonde hair in an untidy bob. In severe contrast to the man's sober, dark suit, she wore a pair of baggy black jeans, a crop top and oversized jacket, unzipped, over it all. The glitter eyeshadow she wore only served to emphasize her thousand-yard-stare and she looked you up and down appraisingly.

Oh. It was time to adjust to your customer service face. Feeling the stiff muscles of your lower jaw stretch into a wide, practiced smile, you bowed slightly.

"Good day. How may I be of assistance?"

"Ah, I'd like to open an account for my niece here. She's starting college next year and just landed a new job to help pay things off. A flexi-save option would be nice."

"Of course! Mister ...?"

"Ijichi. And my niece here is Miss Nitta."

"Pleasure to meet you."

You turn to the girl in question, eyebrows raising in slight query.

"Would you like to have a look at our options? There are varying interest rates with different benefits to each type of savings account you can open."

She shrugged with the kind of nonchalance that could only come with long practice.

"Uncle's handling all that. I just do the legwork and get my shit together. That's the deal."

Wow. The youth of tod -

You clear your throat and turn to your PC screen, avoiding the errant thought that had come dangerously close to leaping out of your mouth.

"Of course. Give me a minute."

The fairly youthful uncle nods, adjusting his glasses. He looks slightly tense, the poor thing. You would too, if you were planning the financial future of a niece like this. You wondered if he took care of her full-time.

The niece, Nitta, was focused elsewhere, eyes roaming across the high-ceilinged atrium, the neat and ordered rows of seats where clients waited for service, the row of reinforced glass windows that gave way to many small booths like your own.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw her glancing in one particular direction more often than not. Following the path of her gaze, your own is arrested by the sight of a tall blonde man in a dark suit, red patterned tie vivid against his white shirt. He stands in the queue of a neighbouring window, eyes inscrutable behind dark lenses.

Well, you could hardly fault her for looking at that. He has a stern, cold face, but his chiseled features and imposing stature make him hard to look away from. Speaking of which, you had a job to do.

Turning back to your screen, you complete the series of prompts, until you're finally within the authorized programme for creating a new account.

"All right, can I see some identifica- "

A scream tears through the still peace of the atrium, carving a sudden flaw in of the passage of time. In that moment, you do not think, you do not feel, and your body seems foreign to you. A group of people, dressed in black, waving weapons that were definitely acquired illegally, charge into the open space. Still frozen, you watch as they move like an oil spill across the room, smooth, practiced, herding the panicking crowd with sharp, barked commands and prods of their weapons.

Ijichi and Nitta duck down immediately, and you vaguely hear the bespectacled man shouting at you to do the same. Finally, dragged against the opposing current of shock, your body responds to your wishes. Dropping boneless to your knees, you reach up, fumbling for the panic button beneath your desk.

You press and hold, releasing after 20 seconds. Your mind still hasn't fully caught up with what is occurring, but your body is guiding you through the motions, stilted and half conscious.

The gang that has infiltrated the banking hall seals the doors. One of the burly men is obviously the leader, standing at the centre of the chaos while his lackeys form a co-ordinated chain of carried instructions, the spokes of a turning wheel. One of the gang comes right up to your counter, screaming instructions across to you.

You are still slow to respond, but panic has now asserted itself and you let out a sob of a breath, scrambling to raise your hands above your head and stand as he tells you to. You, and the rest of the employees behind the safety of the barrier, are forced at gunpoint to open up the inter-leading door, flocking out among whimpers, soft pleas and muffled cries to the atrium floor where you are made to lie down along with the rest of the crowd.

You find yourself near Ijichi and his niece, Nitta. You meet his eyes with a blank, stricken stare, mouth half opening in an apology, before you realise how stupid and pointless such a thing would be. How could you have known? You still can't quite grasp what is happening all around you.

Strangely enough, it is Ijichi who counters your disoriented glance with a square sense of reassurance. There is something ... different about him. He seems surprisingly calm, a far cry from the nervousness he showed earlier while opening a bank account for his niece, of all things. The niece in question is also unusually collected, her body coiled with the readiness of physical conditioning. That isn't a normal response to this situation, you're sure of it. She's too young to -

But there isn't time to speculate on this. The gang is rushing behind the tills, one of the managers held at gunpoint pushed roughly to the interior vault where his superior security clearance will allow him to gain access.

Granted, your security isn't state of the art, but it is fair enough to cause some small delay. There are five different checkpoints, each with a unique pass code, and a thumbprint, voice recognition and retina scanner that need to be applied simultaneously.

Turning your attention back to the interior of the atrium, you notice that one of the gang members is behaving a little erratically. His eyes, visible through the small opening of his balaclava, seem just as terrified as that of the people he is holding hostage. His blue, long sleeve shirt is soaked through with large, darker patches of perspiration, creeping down from his armpits, neckline and across his back. His breathing is harsh, audible from where you lie as still as possible, and the way he is holding his weapon is far from expert.

There is a small movement from beside you as ijichi straightens slightly. He is, for some reason, watching that young assailant like a hawk, eyes steady, something like recognition stirring in their depths. Nitta has moved to a crouching position, one of her hands braced on his back.

What are they doing? Surely -

And then, the boy in the balaclava stiffens, as if stuck with a knife. He is now staring past the man next to him as if dazed, his limbs as limp as a marionette whose strings have been abruptly cut. The gun tilts dangerously floorward, and one of his companions yells to him to -

"Get the fuck back in line!"

Something, the likes of which you've never seen, is occurring right before your disbelieving eyes. A jet of viscosity, black as pitch, shoots from the boy's mouth, tearing past the balaclava. The remnants of the knitted fabric land a few feet away, exposing his pale, terrified face, the damp strands of hair that cling to his forehead, the strange look of relief that briefly crosses his features before his eyes close.

They re-open, and you utter a small, involuntary scream. Behind his lids, two neon rings of purple form a flickering gateway to madness, the slow, unhinged smile that sweeps up the corners of his mouth as unnatural as his posture. The men around him pause, exchanging uncertain glances, some of them even re-directing their weapons to his quivering form.

The boy, if he can still be called as such, takes little to no note of the threat from his own former comrades. The crowd of hostages has now noticed the change, cries of alarm ringing out as they see the boy's body contort, arms and legs snapping and twisting to distorted, elongated proportions. One of the other gang members shouts out a hoarse warning before firing a round into the boy's contorted head and chest.

He is ... unharmed. Instead, the nightmarish head sweeps back, the neck stalk-like, flexible. The features seem even more inhuman, his grotesque smile now jagged-edged, the teeth sliding like nails past the shredded, bloody lips. The heist completely forgotten, the men in dark clothes back away, yelling in fear and consternation, weapons clutched in sweat-slicked palms.

What is this? What is -

You scramble backwards, coming up against a firm, warm palm in the small of your back. The muscles of your abdomen and legs are now plagued by small tremors as you turn your head to see Nitta behind you. She doesn't seem quite so young and nonchalant any longer. There is a certain hard quality to her, a readiness for what is to come that takes you completely off guard. Beyond her, Ijichi shoots you a quick glance of apology before nodding at his 'niece'.

His hand raises towards the glass of the atrium ceiling, the cloudy sky outside clearly visible. Nitta mirrors his pose, palm pressed flat against the smooth tile beneath her. Their voices rise above the cacophony, a steady chant that somehow resonates in the furthest reaches of your being.

"Emerge from the darkness ... "

The vision of horror that used to be a human sweeps out an arm, narrowly missing the men who scream and return fire. It seems that he - it - is still learning the use of that body. It stumbles, clawed feet scraping across the floor, leaving deep grooves in its wake.

" ... blacker than darkness ..."

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the group of civilians who has been standing at the counter being ushered to safety further into the lounge at the other end of the room. The man who seals the double doors behind him is one you recognise. The imposing blonde businessman, the one Nitta had been looking at earlier. This was now, in your mind, no mere coincidence.

Who were these people?

" ... purify that which is impure."

It slides from the fingertips of Ijichi and Nitta, a layer of otherness, a barrier between your world and the distortion of reality that has happened in here, in this space that used to be your everyday stronghold of familiarity. Ijichi meets your bewildered gaze and he pauses momentarily, mouth drawing into a regretful line.

"You can see it."

You nod wordlessly and he adjust his glasses, that incongruously stern set of his features directed at something past you.

"Don't worry. It'll be over soon."

One of the criminals spots the movement of Ijichi and Nitta, screaming out to them as they get to their feet on either side of you.

"Get back down! Don't you fucking move! I'll - "

His words are cut off as one of the monster's flailing, spiked projections lob his left arm right off at the shoulder, the gun falling from the nerveless clasp of the severed hand. The noise that leaves his throat is thick, animal, full of existential fear. He slides forward, the floor now slick with his own blood, eyes bulging as his choked cries echo across the hall.

Two strong hands assert their grip under each of your armpits, dragging you to your feet. You realise that a sound, similar to the one the maimed man had made, was exiting your own throat.

"Easy," comes Ijichi's voice in your ear, "Just breathe. Move with us. It'll be all right."

How? How could any of this ever be all right?

You cannot comprehend how this man could possibly say that, but when you look over at him, there it is, in his eyes behind those rectangular frames. He does believe what he says. He means every word. But how can he -

"Step back, please. You're in the way."

The voice that echoes across the atrium is unlike any of the others, cutting through the chaos with calm, clipped, precise enunciation. It's the blonde businessman, who, you are rapidly realising, is also not what he seems.

He strides across the hall, completely ignoring the threatening gestures and shots fired in his direction by the gang who are now in disarray. He sheds his pinstripe coat, revealing a leather harness fastened across his torso, the dark straps stark against the white of his shirt.

And there is something else, something similar to the strange current you sensed from Ijichi and Nitta earlier, coursing along the powerful lines of his shoulders and arms. It is ... different, but holds a deadly latency that can't be denied. The businessman reaches up and removes his dark glasses, revealing a sharp-cornered, intensely shadowed gaze. He glances across at Ijichi, who straightens and nods in response.

"We'll leave things to you, Nanami."

"Thank you, Ijichi. Get the rest of the hostages to safety."

The rapid gunfight that had been punctuating by yells in the background had now taken a worrying turn. The force of the automatic rifles, puncturing skin and shattering bone, had been driving the monster back, but no longer. It was healing itself, shards of bone annealing, flesh knitting itself back together, blood decanting back into torn vessels as it slowly gained momentum, moving forward and driving them back.

The man called Nanami turned back to the battle, surveying it with the calm of a seasoned veteran. As Ijichi and Nitta help you along, you slowly regain your ability to move, but something kept your gaze fixed on Nanami's broad back as he reached behind him, fingers grasping the handle of what seemed to be a blunt blade wrapped in an oddly patterned cloth. It appeared to be a similar pattern to the one on his tie.

Is he mad? Bullets don't work on that thing! He was going to -

Your thoughts still and die away as an electric rush of that strange energy jets up around Nanami's body, coating him in what looks like armour. One polished leather brogue slides back along the tiles, giving him enough momentum to propel himself forward at inhuman speed. Your eyes can barely follow his movements as he streaks across the atrium, right towards the spinning, shrieking monster.

Now that it had become accustomed to the body it inhabited, the creature was darting forward with swift, jagged motions, dealing terrible slashes and blows to any flesh it encountered. Nanami reaches it, dancing around its flailing arms with ease and grace. It takes note of him, the slide of its bulbous eyes sickening as they gather on either side of its skull, as if to pin down his location better. The remaining gang members take this opportunity to scramble to safety, kicking and clawing each other to the floor in their urgency to escape.

You shout a wordless warning to Nanami, but Nitta's grip on your shoulder gives you a measure of reassurance. They seem to have full faith that this deceptively understated salaryman can handle the reality-bending situation unfolding before your eyes.

And he does.

From the little snippets of the battle that you can follow with comprehension, Nanami's movements match the creature's every step of the way. When its limbs elongate with a sudden snap, he adjusts his distance. When it sends tendrils of smoky substance across the floor, he seems to coat his shoes in that luminous energy, skidding effortlessly across the top of it. When it tries to close in on him, limbs splitting and weaving in tendrils that catch and ensnare, he slices clean through them, that blunt blade doing far more damage than you would have ever thought possible.

The confidence and surety of his block and parry sends a sudden flare of hope through your chest.

Maybe he can beat it! Maybe he can -

The creature let's out a howl of fury, the force of it battering the walls and shattering the windows. You scream as shards of glass blow outwards from the booths where you and your fellow employees had been crouched just a short while before. Covering your face, you brace for the tearing pain, but nothing happens. Peering between your fingers, you see that Ijichi is muttering under his breath, creating another kind of barrier, this one of a smaller radius, around the three of you. The faint patter of glass reaches your ears as the flying shrapnel falls harmlessly off the surface.

But what about Nanami?

A sharp breath escapes your lips as you see him, still standing, facing the wrath of the creature. He remains unphased, but his sleeves have now been rolled up, the smooth shift of sinew and muscle visible beneath skin. You watch as he reaches up, loosening his tie and flicking his wrist out, the spotted red material wrapping around his fist. He begins a measured pace towards the creature, and for the first time, you see it take a step back.

Nanami's smooth, mellow voice sounds through the hall again.

"It's now three in the afternoon. I started work today at nine and I'm going to clock out at five. That leaves me exactly fifteen minutes to finish off with you, forty five minutes of travel time and one hour to complete my paperwork for today."

... what?

He continues, striding forward as the creature staggers back even further, defensive spikes slowly sliding into place on its arms and knees. He doesn't seem to be particularly bothered by this.

"I would prefer not to incur overtime, so if you would please co-operate with me, I would highly appreciate it."

For all your years in retail and finance, you had never seen customer service handled quite like this.

Nanami flicked his blade straight out, those keen eyes sighting right along the upper edge. He seemed to have assessed something of the creature, because his subsequent lunge was precision itself. The dappled sword swung down, then up and away, severing along some vital line. The ghoulish scream that exited the monster spoke of the damage dealt. It collapsed, clawing at its body as Nanami approached with that predator's prowl; decisive, tranquil.

He crouched right before the recoiling mass of darkness, one arm bending back before his fist slammed with impossible strength right into where the midriff should be. The blast stripped away the last vestiges of whatever had possess the original 'host' in the first place. The slick darkness shivered in its death throes, snaking along the ground before Nanami's heel came down on it with crushing finality.

You let out a breath you'd been holding as the boy, whose body you'd felt would be beyond any kind of repair, slumped to the floor, unconscious. Nanami knelt beside him, fingers enclosing his wrist before glancing up at Ijichi and nodding.

He was alive!

Nitta rushed forward immediately, a cellphone appearing from within her coat, balanced between shoulder and ear as she patted the boy down, searching for further weapons or injuries. She appeared to be calling for some kind of assistance from the outside.

Beside you, Ijichi raised two fingers, and suddenly, a rush of noise reached you from outside; the blare of sirens, the snap and flash of cameras, the commotion of many voices. The barrier they had cast earlier had been lifted. You clamber slowly to your feet, with his assistance.

You have so many burning questions, but you feel that the answers will hold information that might take you some time to process. For now, you'll simply ask about -

"You can see the cursed energy."

Ijichi is watching you, following your movements with attention.

"Cursed ... energy?"

"That's what we call it. Some civilians, like you, can see it, although that's quite rare. It's the duty of those like us to protect humanity from the curses that roam this world. Curses that appear, much like this one."

"So ... you knew it was going to come here? That's why you ... "

"Suspected," he corrects you. "We traced it to this area, but could not pinpoint its location. Then we received a tip-off from law enforcement about a heist that was about to occur at this bank. We made an educated guess as to where the curse would manifest next."

"With ... law enforcement? So all of you are ..."

"Sorcerers, affiliated with Jujutsu Tech. Well, I'm no qualified sorcerer. Simply an assistant director. Nanami is the sorcerer. You'll ... have to come with us, of course. To sign a waiver. There's a lot of paperwork involved with civilian witnesses and victims."

You nod, turning to where the boy who had been ... possessed, for want of a better term, was now being loaded onto a stretcher.

"Was he a victim too, then?"

"Yes. He will have little to no memory of what occurred when he wakes up. Just the events leading up to his arrival here. Everything before that ... will have to be processed through regular law enforcement."

"I see."

You really didn't, but the matter-of-fact manner with which Ijichi was rattling off this information made this fever dream seem halfway believable, if the protocol was anything to go by. Ijichi gestured to you, and you saw that the other hostages were being led out of the safety of the lounge where Nanami had sequestered them earlier.

Speaking of Nanami, you saw his tall figure stride ahead of you. He'd looked over you and the rest of the captives and seemed satisfied that his work here was done. You called out to him as he approached the doors.

"Thank you!"

He paused and turned slightly, that cool, appraising glance taking you in.

"No need. I'm simply doing my job."

"Well then, allow me to thank you ... for letting me clock out on time."

You see the barely perceptible change in his expression, the slight lift of his eyebrows, the tilt at the corner of his mouth.

"Noted."

He turns away and Ijichi ushers you after him, out into the sunlight that strikes your skin like your new-found awareness of the unseen world.

Dividers by: @saradika-graphics

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jjuwuni · 9 months ago

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shortcut to heaven | yang jungwon x oc

pairings — yang jungwon x reader

genre — fluff, angst, college!au, fake dating trope, drama, occasional smut (minors dni please)

summary — Two strangers seemingly cross paths, everywhere they go.

Would they find their heaven among their chaotic lives?

“ That’s right, I’m talking to you, ” Jungwon, THE Yang Jungwon, with his arm, outstretched, index pointing right at me, “ Do you want to be my girlfriend? Fake girlfriend, that is, so make sure you don't end up falling for me. ” With his right dimple in full view, he smirks at me.

And that was the day my whole life turned upside down.

warnings — a SOCMED AU but with heavy narrations, fake dating trope with some twist n' turns, compared to my other stuff this one is definitely more on the cute, fluff side hehe so not much warnings in terms of content ! OT7 enha is present, as well as probably other 4th gen idols, will use nwjns minji as the faceclaim for y/n, alcohol, drunken mishaps, profanity, there might be slightly dark themes surrounding family and love, no mnc i assure you, making out, smut etc. will happen so minors 👀 watching you !

[ preview ] | [ 1 ]

A/N: hi there ! back with another update ! enjoy ^^ it's another jam-packed type of update hehe let me know what you guys think of it ! please don't be shy to comment or talk to me or anything, i always love it when i hear from you. also, taglist is OPEN! for this.

taglist: @jwnghyuns, @sparklingsjy

A FEW DAYS LATER .. (party time 🥳)

NARRATION — READER'S POV

Jin could only sigh, she knew her older brother was very protective of her and she couldn’t do anything about it. Her brother used to study in the same school, but later on, dropped out as he decided to pursue his music career. His band, “Spring Memories” got their big break from one of their songs going viral on social media, and he opted to be a full-time musician instead.

As much as their parents were against the idea of him dropping out, they were still supportive of him. Even though the money wasn’t consistently coming in, her parents have always been very encouraging people, showing both their kids their support in whatever it is they want to do.

One thing’s for sure, her older brother had always been there for her, even though they rarely see each other now.

@Vampire 🧛🧛🧛 ft. creepy dude

NARRATION — READER'S POV

To Jinae’s dismay, half of the night was spent trying to run away and hide from people. She wouldn’t say that she was the most popular girl in her school, that was Han Sooyoung’s title, rightfully so. Much like the four guys, she held as much influence as the other guys did – belonging to the top 1% of society, poised to inherit a huge company, beautiful, smart, the works.

Even so, she would be lying if she said she hadn’t received offers to go out here and there.

“Ugh, it’s so hard being this pretty, right? I can relate.” Says Sunoo as she sits beside him once people finally leave her alone. Jinae mustered out a grin with a small laugh, happy that her best friend had made light of the situation for her.

“I just don’t get it, why does this happen?” She responds, her face sullen.

Sunoo could only roll his eyes, sliding a glass full of whatever kind of cocktail they were serving, “How many times do I have to explain this to you?” Sighing out heavily, he leaned over so that they’d be shoulder to shoulder, speaking loud enough over the bass-boosted music so that his best friend would get it through her thick skull, “Why do you think so many people come to watch you dance? You’re the best female dancer out there Jin, it's no question that you have people’s attention.” He couldn’t even fathom how his bestie hadn’t picked up on this all.

“Plus, you know I have the latest gossip around school, right?” Sunoo takes a small sip before continuing, for dramatic effect, “Well, I heard people have been talking about whether you’re Team Sooyoung or Team Jinae. People talk about you two being the prettiest girls in school. It’s as simple as that.”

Even though Sunoo had laid it out piece by piece and even spelled it out for her, she still couldn’t understand why. Looking back, all her life she has heard that she was pretty, with her parents and friends even trying to convince her to go into acting or being an idol, or even join those survival shows on TV.

But that just wasn’t her, it wasn’t her thing. As cliche as it was, Jinae didn’t want the attention.

All she wanted was a quiet university experience, and for her to be able to graduate so she could get a good job to secure her family’s future.

Unable to come up with a response to Sunoo, she proceeds to down the rest of the cocktail in the glass she was holding onto, before reaching for another one.

Minutes passed and the pace at which she was drinking, coupled with the dizzying strobe lights and deafening music all contributed to her feeling intoxicated.

Jake was nowhere to be found, and Sunoo eventually got bored of sitting around and decided to take to the dance floor, being the life of the party as per usual.

Meanwhile, Jinae decided it was time to go to the bathroom.

Given, that she didn’t frequent this particular club much, along the way to the bathroom, she got lost, not knowing where to go.

But it was there that she was met by something that changed the course of her night, or in this case, someone.

THE FOREVER "WTF HAPPENED LAST NIGHT" QUESTION

THE NIGHT AFTER (ft. the cutest wallpaper)

WHAT HAPPENED??? 👀 (we finally get the answer)

HAPPY MONDAY! 😆

NARRATION — READER'S POV

It was Monday morning and Jin's mind was everywhere but in the present moment. Sitting in class, she was currently in the process of spacing out, caught in her own little world inside of her head.

Truth be told, ever since that night at the club, she had been out of it. She hated it - the fact that she was still ruminating over what happened between her and Jungwon in the janitor's closet.

It all happened so fast, that her intoxicated mind couldn't keep up with it. All she could remember was finding Jungwon somewhat sulking in the closet, then engaging in a conversation with him about the dance club and her spewing out that she hated people like him.

The next memory she had then was her pinned up against the door. She could still remember that moment clearly, Jungwon's arms encasing either side of her head..

"Miss Park.."

His face was so dangerously close to hers. And in that moment she remembered thinking how beautiful the male's eyes were upclose. They were cat-like, almost as if he drew on some cat-eye on himself with an eyeliner.

"Hello?! Earth to Miss Park Jinae?"

And he smelled so damn good, too. Like musky, but with that shower-fresh smell. It was intoxicating, moreso than the god-knows-how-many glasses of cocktails she'd had that night.

Thankfully being pulled out of her trance by someone tapping her on the shoulder, she looked up, mouth slightly agape when she realized that she had been daydreaming this whole time.

Daydreaming about Jungwon, no less.

"Well, I'll see you later. I have to drop these off at the student council room." Jinae grumbled with a sulky expression, waving goodbye to Sunoo as best she could while balancing the high stack of papers on both her arms.

Because of her little trip to daydream land a while ago, their professor assigned her to do this as punishment for not listening during the lecture. Their teacher happened to be the student government's adviser, so it was only fair that she was given this task.

And as if her day couldn't get any worse, one second, she was on her way inside the student council room, and the next, she was on the ground, with sheets of paper flying everywhere, hearing a loud WHACKing sound before falling on her back on the floor.

It didn't quite register just yet that Jinae had been hit hard by the wooden door, not until she felt a stinging feeling on her forehead.

"O-ow.. what the fuck..." Was all she could say, trying to get her bearings and propping herself up with one elbow from the floor, while her other hand reached to rub at the painful spot in her head.

You know those teenage romcom movies where things suddenly go into slow-mo mode, as this tall, handsome guy approaches you and kneels down to check on you? Well, that was what Jinae was currently going through.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't see you." Said the slender male with white alabaster skin. He had a white button-down on with black slacks, and silver-rimmed glasses to match.

Jinae stared at him, blinking her eyes repeatedly, as it finally dawns on her who the perpetrator was.

Park Sunghoon.

THAT SAME DAY... 😳

THE PLOT THICKEMS...

INTRODUCING ... SUNGHOON'S DUMP ACCT!

ANOTHER EYESEMOJI MOMENT?

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homestuckreplay · 4 months ago

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Refusing To Give Dave Strider The Jester’s Privilege

(page 443-455; general discussion of character parallels)

8/7/2009 Wheel Spin: Long Pesterlog Verdict: INCORRECT (1 page too late….)

8/9/2009 Wheel Spin: Captchalogue Lore Verdict: ABSOLUTELY NOT. PUPPET LORE ONLY

In this page spread, we see the ‘Dave equivalent’ of two things that have already happened with John and Rose. The first is the meditation on the weather, the day, and the general mood that’s accompanied by a misattributed quote and animation of a character gazing at the sky. The second is the character exploring their house and reacting to their family member’s interests, with one eye open for that family member, who could appear at any moment.

Both of these play out differently with Dave than they did with John and Rose, twisting the pattern now that it’s established. And I have to say, I don’t find p.444 (Dave) as effective as p.307 (Rose) or p.82 (John). The animation is good - not quite as cool as the cinematic opening of the clouds in Rose’s page, but I like how it shows us Dave isn’t just dealing with regular heat, there’s apocalyptic fire dripping down from the sky, and how it shows us Dave’s home in its local context. I also like the metaphor of the hot needle ‘hot needle skipping on a groove its tracing 'round the earth,’ and the world as a turntable, referencing Dave’s instrument the way the other pages do with theirs.

What I like less is the ‘izzle’ suffixes and the deployment of Snoop Dogg lyrics as the misattributed quote. Again, this is a white author and character referencing Black rap culture in a way that’s not overtly racist, but feels like it’s used here as a joke. John and Rose’s misattributed quotes were reflective and relevant to their situations, while Dave’s is just lyrics from a popular song (a song where the lyrics are probably not the main form of artistry). There are plenty of thoughtful Snoop Dogg quotes that could have been used here, bud it feels like this slang and these lyrics are used as a counterpoint to the more serious tone of the other pages, which doesn’t say great things about Hussie’s overall opinion of Black culture.

I think I understand the intended effect here - Dave’s mind is wandering, descending into first his own raps and then someone else’s. He’s not one to linger in the malaise like John and Rose are, he’s leaning on his ‘ironic rapper’ persona even inside his own head, and his personality is refracted out into the meta layers of the story. I get that. But this page still positions Dave as a comic relief character who isn’t allowed to have a serious moment, and it’s hard for me to take him seriously as a character if the narrator won’t either. As we’re still in act 2, this page doesn’t reference an act title like John’s and Rose’s did, which also makes Dave feel like a secondary character even if that’s not the intention.

Dave’s brother lives in the living room - he sleeps on a futon and has his whole computer and gaming setup out there. Whether or not they have parents around, Dave’s brother is the family member who controls the communal space, keeping Dave confined to his room. Dave is wary of using the Xbox, showing that he’s not allowed to use equipment in what should be a shared space. His brother might not have the parental authority over him that John’s dad and Rose’s mom do, but he has authority over the space (and by extension, Dave’s ability to leave the house), which contributes to Dave appearing just as isolated as John and Rose. The way his tower stretches above everyone else’s in the city, meaning Dave can’t even wave to a neighbor through a window, is a great visual for this.

The sequence of Dave interacting with and commenting on the different puppets around his house is really effective - these pages allow Dave to be different from John and Rose without making him less of a character. John and Rose don’t really distinguish between the various harlequins and wizards around their houses, but Dave knows these puppets - often by name - along with some of the stories behind them. He’s also careful and respectful when he moves them around, treating them almost like members of the family, while John and Rose have no issue damaging the equivalents in their own houses.

Dave’s feelings about the specific puppets are variable - he seems to like puppets with clothes and defined personas better than nameless nude puppets. He finds it easier to see the many layers of irony ostensibly surrounding pop culture figures like Mr. T and Chuck Norris, justifying an interest in them, but seems more off put by the ‘weird nude puppets’ perhaps because he can’t justify why his brother likes them. Lil Cal is the most interesting of all - he appears from nowhere between p.450 and 451, and Dave worries about him like he’s an actual person (‘man you hope the little guy's alright’).

We know objects can appear from nowhere if they’re taken out of a sylladex, and we know Dave’s brother uses Cal as a ventriloquism doll. Sylladex + ventriloquism could easily mimic magic, so I think Dave’s brother is hiding somewhere close by, using sylladex tricks to play with Cal and waiting to catch Dave in the act of using his Xbox and computer.

And finally, we get some gameplay for (presumably) Grand Snack Fuckyeah, discussed on Dave’s blog (p.325). I am delighted to learn that this game involves collecting Doritos the same way you’d collect coins in Mario. This game was absolutely invented for college stoners. Sadly, there’s no answer yet to Dave’s burning question of whether popular beverages will play a role, which is a shame because Mtn Dew Baja Blast would fit right in here.

#homestuck #reaction #dave strider #There Is So Much Going On Here. this post could easily be 3 times as long #[constant refrain in my head]#chrono

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trelkez · 2 years ago

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pitch for Schmigadoon seasons 3 & 4:

Josh and Melissa decide to stay in Schmicago. Season 3 brings in a set of somehow connected characters who go looking for Josh & Melissa and wander into a land of 80s musicals (Schmi Mis? Schmats?), with, again, the same actors in different roles.

Then, in a season 3 finale twist, our new main characters find out that Josh and Melissa are also there, but like the recurring cast, they have now also become new characters who don't remember their past lives.

Season 4 sees the new leads trying to go back to find Josh and Melissa again, but they wind up in another musical era (Schmicked? Schming Awakening?) in which Josh and Melissa are there from day one, but again as new characters. Are all of the recasted actors people who wandered into a musical world and never left? Is it just Josh and Melissa, or do the other characters have past real world lives too?

Culminating in a meta unraveling of the show in which people remember their past characters and bits of old numbers come back. Maybe some people came in together like Josh and Melissa, but had forgotten each other - maybe some people are more focused on the Jenny & Topher-type musical relationships they found and lost along the way. We get an idea of what at least some of them were like pre-musicals. Some of them share traits with their characters, like a bombastic real life Countess Bobby, but some are VERY different. Maybe some, like Josh and Melissa, chose to stay; maybe others never found the plot resolutions that would open the way home; maybe a few never had a choice at all, and were simply trapped there.

At the end, everyone decides to go back out into the real world, walking offstage. We don't see what happens to them. Can they even really leave, or are they doomed to wake up in Hamilton? Are their old lives still waiting for them, or are some of them more of a Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes situation? Will they get out there and immediately want to come back? Who is the "Cypher wants back into The Matrix" of Schmigadoon? (It's Kristin Chenoweth.)

(What if some of them have been there ... a long time? What if the real person behind Dove Cameron's perpetual ingenue walked off into the woods in the 1800s and stepped into her favorite operas? If she goes back into the real world with the ensemble, do they all arrive on the other side in the show's current day real world together, or are they scattered back to the points at which they arrived? I'm imagining a final number send up of about half a dozen different "off into the unknown"/"if we're together"-type songs.)

Bonus points if we never, ever find out who Narrator Tituss is. Did he also start out as a person wandering in through the woods? Did he create this world of musical unreality? Was he a frustrated stage manager in a former life? Is he a trickster god? I don't want to know. Some mysteries stay mysteries.

#schmigadoon #schmicago

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birdybirdnerd · 1 year ago

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unpolished raph rambling abt her and the narrator (gregory) and how her final run went. may pushed me into thinking about what, exactly, made her Her, and i finally found her heart: she is deeply, deeply passionate about people feeling their feelings, not pushing things down

the drabble starts out referring to her with male pronouns, as it takes place towards the start of one of the cycles of they fight->things change->realizes Gender Stuff->narrator wipes the slate clean. also, shes called stanley throughout, since it was only after escaping that she picked a new name

enjoy! ill clean it up and post to the collection tomorrow

Stanley felt like he'd done this before.

No, no, not the most recent route. Not any of them. Obviously, he'd done all this before- again and again and again, over and over countless resets endless cycles as the wheel turned and turned and turned.

No.

Not that.

But… something. Something about this situation, this specific situation he was in, smacked of a familiarity that grated on his nerves and set his teeth on edge. It was like trying to recall the lyrics to a song you'd heard once when you were twelve and which stuck with you, and, in trying to track it down, found something that might have been it but- no, the lyrics didn't hit quite so close, the melody felt deflated. It had to be the wrong song.

But everyone insisted it was right.

Another run, another several hours spent arguing over Stanley's choices, Stanley's actions, Stanley's insistence on acting out and playing a part he wasn't supposed to, you're only supposed to be a vessel, Stanley, only a way for the Player to experience the story. Don't act too out of line, if you keep trying to add 'pizzazz' to these performances, it'll only distract from the story I'm trying to tell.

Stanley was tired of hearing his own name. In that condescending voice, that boring, unimaginative, stale tone that seemed damned determined to crush his spirit again and again. He was tired of it all, dammit, and needed to isolate himself away and reign his anger in before he broke something in an effort to feel like he was being heard.

Suffice to say, opening the door to the Broom Closet to find someone already there was enough to shock the bubbling rage right out of his system.

They talked. This man - a Narrator, another Narrator from another Parable - explained the situation. Explained why he was there, what he planned to do, how he'd seen a Stanley in need, locked in eternal combat with his own Narrator, and was now here to help.

But… every word out of his mouth, this- this other Narrator. Every word seemed scripted. Lacked inflection, lacked emotion.

Dead.

He spoke these words, and though Stanley heard them and believed every one, he also realized that… this man was not okay.

"What happened to you?"

He blinked, looked up at Stanley. "Don't worry about it. It's unimportant; what is important, is getting you out of here. Of getting you to freedom."

Stanley shook his head slowly. There was more to it than that.

"Come on," he said softly, sliding closer where the two of them had sat up against the wall of the closet, closing the distance to press their shoulders together. He had to look down at the fellow's corporeal form, which felt a bit strange, but. "Tell me what's wrong. Are you okay?"

A wry laugh, a brief, bitter twist of his lips underneath that bushy mustache. "I am very much fine. Your concern is appreciated, but this is just how things are. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave it along, we can return to the business of getting you out of here."

Stanley frowned, even as the fellow hauled himself to his feet and offered a hand. Stanley frowned, even as he took that hand, and followed him through the hallways, down a route he'd wandered many times before, wondering, hoping, and eventually, giving up on.

Stanley frowned, even as the two of them stood in front of the escape pod, and the Narrator looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to step inside.

He pulled his hand away, and shook his head. "No. I'm not going in there. Not until you explain what your deal is- what it really is."

The Narrator closed his eyes and sighed. All the weight of the world pressed down on his shoulders, hunching them until he looked ready to crumble, but- it was a familiar weight. One he had grown so sadly, tragically accustomed to, that it barely seemed to bother him anymore.

Stanley felt his breath catch at that brief show of emotion, before the walls came back up between them.

"Fine. I'll tell you my story," the Narrator said, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms. He wouldn't meet Stanley's eyes. "But then we leave."

No promises. Stanley didn't say as much.

And so the Narrator spoke.

Stanley was pissed.

As the Narrator wove his tale, Stanley went from horrified, to grief-stricken, to angry. That anger simmered, as he heard of these countless cycles, so much worse than the one's he himself had been subjected to. It boiled higher as he learned of all these past iterations, over and over again and again, this Narrator, alone and untethered, torn so viciously away from his Stanley, his best friend, and thrown to the wolves and to a duty he hadn't asked for. Hadn't wanted.

Stanley was pissed, and couldn't understand why the Narrator wasn't, as well.

"Why should I be?" he asked, as his story came to a close and Stanley expressed this all to him. "This is my lot, now. I've tried to escape it, before- other Stanley's have worked with me, brainstormed, but nothing ever works. We step into the escape pod, everything goes dark, and I wake up once more in another Parable with another Stanley to help."

He laughed, shrugged. "What's the point?"

"The point," Stanley urged, fists clenched, "is never asked for this! You did your time, you changed, and all you got as reward was this- this endless hell of helping other people that you don't even know! You're trapped, and all you feel about it is apathy?"

The Narrator frowned, but even that felt distant. "I feel more than apathy about my situation, Stanley. Trust me; when this all started, I grieved. I cried. I cursed the universe for what had happened. But it's been years, with no end in sight."

His shoulders slumped, crossed arms pulling tighter against his chest, as if he wanted to curl into himself. "There's no point in feeling sad about it anymore. That won't help anyone."

Stanley felt a violent, visceral hatred rear its head, fill his chest. At the universe, for doing this to someone who cared so, so much. For putting him in this position, for beating the spirit out of him one lonely cycle at a time.

"Maybe you missed something," she tried, mind racing. She had to give him hope, she had to see that fire- she saw a coal there, dark and cold, but knew it could come alight if she just knew how- "There has to be a way out for both of us. There has to be an escape."

A derisive snort. "Trust me, Stanley. I've tried everything. There is no escape for me. Only you."

"Bullshit." He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the thick locks. "I don't believe that for a second. Maybe in those other places, there wasn't, or maybe you just never looked hard enough. There has to be something here, some loophole we can exploit to get you out of here, I-"

"Would you just stop?" The Narrator's voice was quiet. Tired. Resigned. "There's no use. There is no escape for me. Just drop it."

"No! I won't drop it!" Stanley shouted. "If you're so damned determined to be a coward about it, I'll fucking think of a way to get you out!"

The Narrator frowned again, though- this time, there was more than blank apathy in the expression. Not much more, but a trickle. A flicker.

A spark.

"I don't much appreciate you calling me a coward-"

Stanley latched onto that spark, saw the way forward. He grinned viciously. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of your own teeth chattering in fear- or is that the sound of your knees knocking together?

The Narrator rolled his eyes, shook his head. That spark sputtered and threatened to die. "You're being childish, Stanley."

"And you're being a little bitch!"

Another snort. "Oh, I see what you're doing here. You're trying to anger me, aren't you? Trying to get me to show more emotion." He smiled wide, near-painfully so, but it was so clearly a facade that Stanley almost laughed. "There. Enough emotion for you? I'm simply jazzed we're going to escape! Now, let's get out of here before I lose any more patience with this whole situation."

Stanley pushed him.

The Narrator stumbled back, caught off guard. "…what was that?"

Stanley pushed him again. And again, when he didn't respond.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to piss you off."

"Why?"

"Because you deserve to be angry!" Stanley shouted. He reached out to push the Narrator again, but his hands were deftly swatted away. That didn't deter him; he continued advancing on the Narrator in that dark hallway, getting in his face, voice raising as he tried to get a rise out of the man by any means necessary. "Everything you have suffered, every shitty thing that's happened to you, it sucks! You deserve to be angry, to take that pain and scream about it! Don't act like you don't, don't act like it doesn't matter, because it does! You need to feel this!"

"Look, I can't let myself feel it!" The Narrator shoved him back, but there was no anger, no irritation in the gesture- only a need for space. "Because if I let myself think about it, if I let myself feel, if I don't repress it all down where I can't see it then I'll only end up screaming, and I can't afford to have that kind of breakdown!"

"But if you shove it all down like that, it'll only keep hurting you, more and more and worse and worse," Stanley pressed, stepping back up. His eyes were alight, and he saw that spark gaining heat, mirrored in his own. "You need to let it out, you need to feel that pain or it'll just kill you, a slow and agonizing death that you don't deserve."

"I didn't deserve any of this!"

Stanley rejoiced inside as the Narrator spun away, the dam breaking as his voice rose and cracked.

"I didn't deserve any of what happened to me!" he shouted, hands fisted in his hair, pulling, tugging as his face twisted in rage and agony. "I push it down because if I let it out it'll consume me, and I have things to do! There are Stanleys that need me, and I've been chosen for this- this purpose, this meaning I didn't ask for- didn't want! All I wanted was to escape with my Stanley, my friend, to go somewhere else and be done with this all! But I'm here, back here, again and again and the end is never the goddamn end and I'm tired! I'm so tired, I don't get to stop, I'll never get to stop because it's never going to fucking end!"

He spun around in a movement so fast, faster than anything Stanley had seen, and punched the wall with a wordless scream. The skin over his knuckles split open, tearing another ragged cry from him as he reared back, punched the wall again, again, again.

The movements weakened, slowed; hot tears spilled from the Narrator's eyes as he let out sob after broken sob, knees collapsing under him as he fell to the floor and pressed his forehead into the wall.

He looked up, suddenly, eyes wide and bright and so, so full of fear it stole Stanley's elated breath away.

"I-I'm sorry," he gasped, voice thick with the tears that refused to stop falling. "I didn't mean- I shouldn't have- I'm-"

"Don't apologize," Stanley shushed, dropping to his knees next to the fellow and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "Don't ever apologize. You needed to let it out, and by god you let it out."

The Narrator clutched helplessly at Stanley's off-white shirt, tears and blood that still oozed sluggishly from the wounds on his hand staining the fabric.

"I shouldn't- I-" he tried, voice muffled into Stanley's chest as he held on, held on. "I can't be the bad Narrator, I- I shouldn't scream, shouldn't-"

"Shut the hell up," Stanley muttered, burying his face into the fellow's soft curls. "You're not bad, never bad. I'm not scared, I'm proud."

A hiccuping sob, and the Narrator buried his face once more, fresh tears pushing through and tearing his throat as he screamed, wordless and grieving.

Stanley held him through it all, tight, solid, and real.

After this, they spoke some more. About Stanley - his Stanley - about what he left behind. He didn't say in as many words, but this Stanley had an inkling; their relationship may… have not been entirely platonic.

And though he egged the fellow on, pushed and poked and prodded him into feeling every emotion he'd repressed with all his essence, he didn't push this. Didn't demand he detail his relationship with the other Stanley, the first Stanley. Didn't antagonize him into baring that part of his soul, because a part of him knew that that would be too far.

He didn't want to break the fellow. He just wanted him to feel.

After they talked, the Narrator also told Stanley of… something he'd left out, earlier. Not intentionally, mind; he explained that he'd fallen into a sort of pattern, these past dozen or so cycles, where he was simply going through the motions. None of the Stanley's were 'just another Stanley', he cared about each and every one, but. He might have failed to fully explain things to them, after a certain point.

What was the point, after all?

But when he'd entered this Stanley's Parable, when he looked around to determine what sort of situation he'd be dealing with this time, he found something alarming. Evidence, in the code that made up the place, of tampering. From within, definitely, so no worries about outside influence.

But… the evidence was that of repeated deletion. Of scraping of memories, experiences, all of that being stripped away to clean the thread, to set up for a new reset.

More than the usual resets. Much more.

Stanley had. Had apparently existed a lot longer in this cycle than he'd realized. Again and again, he would go through the Parable, would want to change things. Would want his own Narrator to grow, to flourish, to be able to tell his story with all the grace and panache it was so painfully obvious he wanted to.

Stanley would push, and push, and grow, and change, and-

And realize, some things about himself along the way.

About herself.

But every time he - she - realized these things, and tried to change, the Narrator would shut everything down.

No change. No character. No personality. You are meant to be a vessel for the Player's enjoyment of the game. Nothing more, nothing less.

And so she would scream, and rage, and try and try and try to convince the Narrator there was more to be had, a better story to be told if you only let yourself feel-

And enough of the Narrator would listen, and realize, and feel-

And he would get scared.

And he would clean the thread, and start again.

Stanley was, once again, pissed.

She demanded, now, of this new Narrator, that before they left this Parable, one more time. One more attempt, to get through to her own Narrator, to make him see reason- because knowing this, now, that she'd trod these same paths before, they'd had these same conversations, these same realizations- she knew there was a part of him inside that wanted to change. To be more.

To be great.

This Narrator didn't want to risk it, but Stanley could be very persuasive, and so he let her.

…and nothing came of it.

With all his faults revealed, with his own thread's cleaning pushed out into the open, with this victorious and vindictive Stanley and this new, strange Narrator flipping his worldview in such a way as he couldn't handle-

He couldn't handle it.

He couldn't.

He tried to reset, to wipe the slate once more, but the new Narrator didn't let him. He stopped the process before anything could happen, nothing but a look of disappointment and resignation on his face.

Her Narrator turned, then, to anger. To his own vindication, his own gauntlet thrown.

"If you leave, I'll just make another Stanley," he said. "After all, I made you."

To that, the other Narrator snorted, but didn't otherwise comment.

"I'll do it! Maybe a different Stanley won't be so- so defiant. So determined to take my story, my world, and make it something it's not. I'll make another Stanley, and this one will listen, will do as he's told."

"Fine." This Stanley was done. She was just… done. "Fine. Have fun with that."

Turning to the other Narrator, she nodded. "Let's get the hell out of here. I'm done listening to this basic bitch."

They left her Narrator sputtering, but she didn't care. She'd tried, she'd tried, but he was so obsessed with his sanitized Parable, all its hard edges and facets ground off for easier consumption. If he wanted to make another one of her to puppet through the motions, fucking fine.

Stanley had a life to discover, somewhere else.

Her and the other Narrator still talked, still tried to brainstorm. His apathy threatened to make a return appearance, dead-set on the idea that there was no way it would work, but every time that happened, Stanley made a snide comment or cracked a stupid joke, and it brought him back. Brought back that smile.

That spark.

Eventually, though, they had to leave. Every avenue worked through, every possibility accounted for; the two of them stepped into the escape pod, and the door slid shut behind them.

As the launch sequence started, Stanley found a hand squeezed into her own.

To that, she responded by pulling the Narrator into another tight, bone-crushing hug.

He shuddered in her arms. "You're- pardon me for saying this," he managed, even as the whine of whatever machinations powered the pod threatened to drown him out. "But you hug just- just like Stanley."

She knew what he meant.

Smiling sadly, she hugged him tighter.

Reality stretched thin like a rubber band, and snapped.

Stanley woke up alone.

#personal #my writing #repeat and write this story #the raphaella parable #sobs. i love them and i love her #parable actors

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copper-dragon-in-disguise · 1 year ago

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What's this, a new d&d character?

hi. I have a DND character. his name is Oliver (oli). I may or may not be projecting onto him, a lot, but that is not the problem today. I made a character playlist for him and I want to talk about how it pertains to his (planned?) character arc. Ergo, this

The important thing to begin with is the basic gist of his backstory. Oli is a satyr paladin, oath of the ancients. Early to mid twenties or so. Gay (and ace), which is relevant, because he has a Tragic Backstory!!!!

Basically, he grew up in and out of the feywild, either there or in this one elven town that just so happens to have a portal to faerie very close by (and also might have been the childhood home of the other character in the campaign, quinn, who belongs to @ineffeblygay (hi mars. hope you don't mind the tag!! feel free to ignore this if you want /not sarcastic /not passive agressive), but neither of them remember that all too well (see their Tragic Backstory™))

He, as many gays are wont to do, had a boyfriend!!! I have not figured out said partner's name yet but that is okay. However, there was An Accident, that Oli thinks he would have been able to prevent if he had been there, and his partner died. Oli blames himself for it. He made his oath because of them, and so he holds to it, both because he believes in it, and because he feels like it's the least he can do. (Notably, for semi-related reasons, he avoids using the magic that comes with the oath if at all possible (I'm thinking it's cause he tried to help them with it, and he failed, and he thinks that it's cause he did something wrong and it was his fault (hi. remember what I said about projecting--)

song #1

she's in love with the boy by trisha yearwood

This is about the childhood romance type thing. It's like the, oh, hey, they're in love, and it's sweet, and they're going to spend the rest of their lives together, and no one can stop that-- until, hey, whoops, dead (hence song #2)

song #2

if i should fall behind by bruce springsteen, specifically the live in dublin version

this is the part that functions as the section about his partner's death. ''if I should fall behind / wait for me'' Ahhhhhhh. so, in this case falling behind is them dying. which. oh hey that's fun, metaphors!!

it's them promising the wait for each other, to remember each other, and it's also about Oliver refusing to move on

song #3

ophelia by the lumineers

listen. ophelia dies, thats gotta be something. is their partner the ophelia in this situation? honestly, hell if I know. maybe? probably, even, but possibly not. cause the thing with ophelia is, she either killed herself or it was an accident, twist of fate. and that's what his partner's death was, and like ophelia, no one can know for certain.

song #4

all that heaven will allow by bruce spingsteen

the thing with this song is, I first heard it when my dad was trying to prove to me that bruce springsteen does have at least a couple happy songs. my immediate response was that the narrator was dead, this definitely isn't a happy song. (On an unrealted note, my dad thinks he was trying to get into heaven, and I think he was trying to get out. I have many opinions on this song) I stand by that opinion.

This is the part from what would be, if it was a book, Oliver's partner's pov. he wants more time, he wishes he could have had more time, and he's coming to terms with that, that he's dead. which in theory would take place while his soul is traveling from the material plane to the shadowfell

Song #5

achellies come down by gang of youths

this is the bit where Oliver's depression gets REAL bad, he tries to kill himself, but he doesn't do it, which is uh. both kinda important because I need him to be alive for the campaign and also, you remember what I said about the projection bit? yeah that. but the thing is, he doesn't admit it to himself (again, projection). the year and a half to two years after his partner died were the worst years of his life, and then one day he woke up and just. shoved all his emotions in a closet and ignored them (which is extremely not healthy)

and he stays like that for a year to a year and a half, and sometime in that time period is where the campaign picks up with him.

song #6

welcome to the black parade by my chemical romance

this one doesn't fit as obviously as the other ones do, but "though you're dead and gone believe me / your memory will carry on" cause one day he just decides to pretend that he's perfectly okay (he's not) and isn't traumatized at all (he is) and he is perfectly capable of being a functional human being person

cause carrying on. he has to pretend he's okay because if he's not what the hells does he do then?

song #7

i'm not okay (i promise) by my chemical romance

hey look, he's admitting it now. he's beginning to heal!!!! (tbh this probably comes after a pivotal and highly emotional time in the campaign, probably after one of them comes super close to death and they're above like, level 5, idk, I haven't worked out all the details yet (gods I love being dm))

song #8

take me home, country roads by john denver

to be honest, there's something missing between song #7 and #8, but I don't know quite what it is. but, at the very end of the campaign, he's gonna go home. he's going to go back to where he came from for the first time in three or four years and he's going to see his family and his friends because he's finally at a point in his life where he feels like he can face them without blaming himself.

so, that was it!!!! if you have questions please ask me I love talking about oli--

#dnd oc: oliver #tw suicide mention #i am very excited about this man #its gonna be FUN #its the first campaign thats actually had more than 1 session (even if both were session 0s) that i've ever DMed for and i am excited #it is midnight #i have not proof read this at all #it will be a bloody miracle if there are less than 10 spelling errors in the entire post

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allthemusic · 1 month ago

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Week ending: 5th February

Well, my reactions to these two songs are just about diametrically opposite. They're both well-made things, but... well, you'll see.

Problems - The Everly Brothers (peaked at Number 6)

It's certainly a very Everly Brothers song. We've got a vaguely Bo Diddley beat-adjacent guitar riff, some thumpy drumming and some tight harmonies, all accdentuating lyrics that are deliberately teenaged, portraying the sort of real-life situations that teenage listeners would have related to.

Problem is, the teenage angst here just doesn't work for me, and the Everlys come off as particularly whiny and annoying. The whole's song's about how Don (or Phil?) has problems, problems, problems all day long. Which is already quite dramatic, and that's before we get to the line that literally has Phil (or Don?) singing woe is me, I should have stayed in bed. Which, okay, I get it, is a very teenage feeling to have. But it does create a sort of sense of exaggeration, or of almost comedic angstiness, especially when we also get an explanation of our singer's main issues, namely that my baby don't like anything I do / My teacher seems to feel the same way too. Plus, there's a car riding on his grades, which makes it even worse: Can't get the car, my marks ain't been so good. They're all realistic concerns a 1950s teenager might have, but it still feels kind of like a performance of adolescent angst, and as such, it just kind of annoys me.

Still, alone, this wouldn't bug me. No, it's the last verse that does that, as our narrator sings: Problems, problems, problems / They're all on account of my lovin' you like I do / Problems, problems, problems / They won't be solved until I'm sure of you / You can solve my problems with a love that's true. So, let's see. We've blamed all of Phil's (Don's?) problems on his crush - which is not a winning romantic move, and is also kind of inaccurate, if his grades are part of the problem, one has to assume? And then, to compound matters, Don (Phil?) is going for this weird, pressurising move where he seems to be trying to guilt his crush into solving all his problems. Gross, and unlikely to succeed. You will not win your crush over by being performatively pathetic, dude. Not gonna happen!

Anyway, musically I also find the song kind of repetitive. And it's so Everlys. Everlys by numbers. Not a fan.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - The Platters (1)

What a contrast between the Everlys high school whine-fest and this track! We've gone from a track bemoaning all of Phil's (or Don's?) relatively trivial problems, to a much more mature track that's all about getting hurt, and the philosophical outlook you need to move past it.

It starts slow and syrupy, with these rather old-school violins setting us up for what will develop into a slow, lush sort of track, pushed along by this steady brushed drum beat, never really hurrying, with a vocalist who by turns soars into the stratosphere and then hangs back, but doesn't hesitate to really wail on the ohhhh interjections. And periodically, these really pretty orchestral bits, like the harp that crops up periodically.

What really makes the song is the lyrics, though, and the story they tell, rather poetically. Our singer was in love, and told everyone about it, when they asked: I of course replied, "Something inside cannot be denied". The people talking to him scoff at this, reminding him that all who love are blind, and that when your heart's on fire / You must realize / Smoke gets in your eyes. It's a metaphor apparently based on a Russian proverb, and it captures this idea that love can make you almost delusional, or at least hide certain truths from you. And our singer replies by laughing them off. So far so good.

But then things take a twist as we learn that today, my love has flown away. And suddenly the scenario flips round, as laughing friends deride / Tears I cannot hide. Our singer responds to this completely unwarranted mockery with a restraint I wouldn't have shown, smiling and flipping their advice round, singing about how when a lovely flame dies / Smoke gets in your eyes. The metaphor's become one less about how smoke blinds you, and more about smoke making you cry. And yet there's the subtlety of it still being a "lovely" flame - our narrator is hurting now, but appreciates the relationship for what it was, accepting the tears of a break-up as an inevitable sign that what he had was good. There's a sort of philosophical acceptance to it all. Things haven't gone well, romantically, but the singer, faced with this, simply accepts that it's over, and despite his friends being seemingly the literal worst, he manages to accept it graciously and rather stoically. Take note, Everlys!

Musically, there's a real musical theatre vibe to this one, though the Platters have done it up with some rather doo-wop backing vocals at points. It's the vaguely classical-sounding melodrama of it, the big soaring ballad lines, the occasional change of key, the dramatic changes in the backing instrumentation as the mood of the whole thing turns on a dime. And so I was hardly shocked to learn that the tune was originally composed way back in 1927 for the musical Show Boat, but was only given lyrics in 1933 as part of a completely different musical called Roberta, which sounds much dafter than this song would suggest, all about a football player who travels to Paris as part of a dance band, gets stranded without money and ends up working for his aunt in a dress shop, where he falls in love with a shop assistant, and also gets involved with a Russian princess? Like I said, daft.

Still, quality will out, and as such, the song became a bit of a 1930s standard, and seems to have been covered by just about everybody, including a saxophonist called Zoot Sims, who I'm only mentioning because of his excellent name. Other notables who covered this one include Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Nat King Cole, Harry Belafonte, Jo Stafford, Eartha Kitt, Dinah Washington - and the list goes on!

No competition this week. I generally see the appeal of teenaged songs for teenagers, but I'm just not in the mood for it, today. Call it a demographic issue, but I'm much more inclined towards the Platters twisty metaphors and soulful balladeering, at least for today.

Favourite song of the bunch: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

#uk charts #1958 #the everly brothers #the platters

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popmusicu · 5 months ago

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The “diss track”: A short history

Music, as a form of artistic and emotional expression, has always considered the expression of both positive and negative emotions and topics. Regarding the topics it explores, music is usually associated with the exploration of both introspective thoughts from the artist and external situations, with the use of several lyrical and instrumental resources (e.g poetic resources, narration, etc.). But as the art form it is, music doesn’t shy away from being used as a blank canva for the adressment of personal conflicts between people and collectives. This is essential for understanding the logic behind a “diss” or a “diss track” in music. A diss track is a song that is primarily intended to insult or criticize someone, typically another artist or public figure, and they were popularized by hip-hop music in the 1990’s, given the open mic and freestyle culture of the genre. The conflict between the belligerent parties itself is known as “beef” or “having beef”. The last beef that shook the music world was the beef between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake. In a feature on the song “Like That”, released on Future and Metro Boomin’s álbum “We Don´t Trust You” march 22nd, Kendrick Lamar openly criticized and insulted (from here and on “dissed”) fellow rappers Drake and J Cole, who had previously praised him as part of the “big 3” of the 2010’s rap scene on the song “First Person Shooter” off of Drake’s latest álbum, “For All The Dogs”. This resulted as the product of 10 years of sneak disses between Drake and Kendrick. This situation quickly escalated, causing the rappers to involve themselves in hugely public beef, with J Cole getting out just after responding to Kendrick, leaving him and Drake as the only ones involved. After this, several diss tracks from both rappers were released, severely accusing each other of things like pedophilia, grooming, child negligence, sex traffic, cultural appropiation, substance, gambling and physical abuse, among others. These attacks between both rappers summarize the essential dynamics of diss tracks, which is to destroy or damage as much as possible the opponent’s credibility, image and reputation. As a media-covered beef between two of hip-hop´s most succesful musicians, this beef represents the latest entry to a long list of beefs and disses throughout music history, dating before hip-hop made them popular.

The earliest known examples regard reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry. Two examples of this are the songs "Run for Cover" (1967), "People Funny Boy" (1968) and "Cow Thief Skank" (1973), respectively directed towards three producers he worked with, Coxsone Dodd, Joe Gibbs and Niney the Observer.

A few years later, following The Beatles´s harsh breakup, an interchange of disses between John Lennon and Paul McCartney took place in 1971, following the release of McCartney’s 1971 album “RAM”, that opened up with the song “Too Many People”, which he later admitted was about Lennon. Lennon responded with a more direct and and aggresive diss on his 1971 album “Imagine”, with the song “How Do You Sleep?”. For this song, he also recruited George Harrison to play slide guitar, who also had several problems with McCartney.

Other notable example a few years later regards Fleetwood Mac. Their 1977 record “Rumours” was composed in a turbulent time for the band, in which romances and affairs involving band members had started to cause tension between the band. This resulted in the composition of several songs for the album directed towards each other, like “Second Hand News”, “Go Your Own Way” and “You Make Loving Fun”. In an ironic twist, despite all of this, “Rumours” remains their most critically and commercially succesful album to date.

In the 80’s, hip-hop embraced disses and beefs as part its culture. The earliest known example of disses in hip-hop are the “Roxanne Wars”. The Roxanne Wars were a series of musical battles that took place in the mid-1980s, starting with the release of the song "Roxanne, Roxanne" by the group UTFO in 1984. The song tells the story of a girl named Roxanne who rejects the romantic advances of the group's members. The catalyst for the Roxanne Wars was the response track "Roxanne's Revenge," recorded by 14-year-old rapper Roxanne Shanté. Her track was a direct rebuttal to UTFO's song, and it quickly gained popularity. This sparked a wave of response tracks from various artists, each claiming to represent different perspectives of the fictional character Roxanne or offering their take on the situation.

By the end of the decade, one of the most culturally significant beefs for hip-hop took place after Ice Cube’s departure from NWA in 1989. The group´s 1990 EP “100 Miles and Runnin’” included a diss towards Cube for leaving the group. A year later, Cube responded with the track “No Vaseline” included in his 1991 album “Death Certificate”, where he dissed the entirety of NWA and their manager Jerry Heller, exposing the creative and monetary issues that lead to his departure. A few months after this, NWA officially disbanded. Beefs between individual group members followed, like the Dr. Dre – Eazy E beef.

In the mid 90’s, the most well known and influential beef of all time took place, involving rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls). Being well known friends before the start of the dispute, the beef started when 2pac was shot in 1994 after leaving a studio in Manhattan. Although he survived, he accused Biggie and Bad Boy Records founder and producer P. Diddy because of their status as prominent figures in east coast hip-hop scene, of possibly knowing about he plans for his shooting and not telling him about it. 2pac dissed Biggie and Bad Boy Records several times, being the most notable the 1995 legendary diss track “Hit ‘Em Up”, which acquired this status thanks to the highly agressive and ruthless shots 2pac took against Biggie. Presumably fearing the start of a full blown east and west coast war and expecting of being eventually able to repair their broken friendship, Biggie never responded to 2pac directly, only sneak dissing him in a few songs, like “Long Kiss Goodnight” or “Brooklyn’s Finest”. The eventual murders of both rappers cemented this as the biggest, most famous and most important rivalry in hip-hop, and one of the biggest in music overall.

Some other notable beefs that came later are Jay-Z vs. Nas, LL Cool J vs Canibus, Eminem & 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule, 50 Cent vs Jadakiss, Pusha T vs. Drake and finally Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake.

- Ignacio Haro

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remembertheplunge · 1 year ago

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11/28/2005

A DJ on Merced FM radio 97.5, an oldies station, played the song “My Girl Bill” and made anti gay references regarding it this morning.

I phoned and left message: “Would you say that about blacks or orientals or women?"

The assistant that answered the phone did not acknowledge or apologize. He said of the DJ “I’ll let him know."

I talked with Jim before I called.He said “Do it.”

I didn’t give my name. The assistant didn’t ask for it. I said I liked the station.

Little tiny movement. Not for them. For us.

Anonymous.

I don’t want anything except to say “Shut up!”

I’m sure that the DJ and the boys are proud of themselves.

Gay Fag Bash! Ha Ha!

The assistant probably won’t even tell the DJ.Don’t matter. We called.I just said that I thought the DJ's comments were “extremely offensive.”

Jim Stafford sang the song “My Girl Bill” (1974) From Google “The song is about a man named Bill/William and his friend, the narrator of the song. The lyrics employ double entendre, leading the listener to infer that the men, as the title suggests, are themselves in a romantic relationship. However, in the last verse a twist occurs: the narrator speaks of a woman who has been the men’s mutual love interest but who has now summarily rejected Bill, and he’s explaining the situation. (ie: (she’s) my girl, Bill)

(Later in the 11/28/2005 entry, I continue discussing the call to the radio station)

—so—I’m glad I called: Left the DJ a message.

But, for such a family friendly show, cold response.Kind of a fuck you. We’ll say what we want.”

OK! I just found it to be very offensive. In our society, that gets you deeper in debt. Who cares. And, interesting that Jim and I didn’t want “him” to know our names.

Out of fear.

Out of privacy issues.

End of this part of the entry

#6/9/23 #journaling #writing #anti gay slurs #confronting anti gay speech #gay relationship

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cactuskat · 1 year ago

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Been drawing more for this AU cause I have little to no self control, thinking about the voice of The Broke cause knowing his counterpart is the Tower and just… c’mon, listen to him, the boy is chowder soaked cat, thus some adjustments must be made to make his story happen, SO!

Behold, my Broken son, as you can see he’s not had a great time. So how does he get here?

One way to make it happen: Take the blade in the first chapter, go to the basement, talk and decide to free The Hero, the Narrator Princess takes control to kill him, in this version an option would be to toss the blade aside, but if you do that the narrator will try to control your body into continuing to fight barehanded until you get him down and crush his windpipe, he’s powerless beneath your feet, your eyes are like empty pits, the whole situation is stressful and panic inducing for the boy, considering how moments ago you were so benevolent to be kind to him and free him and try as he does to fight (getting in a few fatal blows), he eventually did submit, and just seemed to let it happen, though you die from your own wounds (has to happen somehow).

That gets us to this point in the second chapter where you meet The Voice of The Tower, the new voice in your head who seems rather bored, feeling constrained: your meant for greater she believes, you killed the "world ender" surely that makes you more than just a princess, she just doesn't know what that is yet...

When you get into the cabin you find it's indoors to be rather small, at least compared to you, but you are able to grab the blade from a short "stool" (if you want) and squeeze in through the basement door, down the basement steps, and meet The Broken officially. He’s unchained! But isn’t moving, instead looking sorrowfully at the ground as he sits disheveled on the floor. But then the Broken perks, his eyes widen, he sees you, and after a moment of silent shock, beginning his groveling, both amusing The Voice of The Tower and concerning The Voice of The Princess. You learn that he convinced himself that it's you who is going to end the world, aligning pretty well with The Tower as he points how you had told him he's supposed to end the world in the last route- yet you killed him, so easily, so mercilessly, it's something only someone with a certain power could do. He calls you Goddess perhaps. Either way, The Tower likes what she hears ("I don't know... I think we should keep him around, he sings a pretty song, he could make for a cute pet" of course then you get the NP saying "No, no, what are you saying, you can't "keep him", can't you see, he's trying to manipulate you, make you think setting him free would be your idea").

Eventually you can make your choice, kill or join

You kill him, and you get the:

This takes us to meat world, a jolly good romp, and when you meet the Broken's Fury (or maybe The Betrayed, I feel like it should have a different name) he tells you how he feels he wasn't good enough, how he didn't provide something, believing in some way that's why you killed him, and in his grief he recrafted the world, claiming to have torn himself apart, using his own flesh to sculpt the landscape into a world befitting of you, and yet, he feels it has not reached it's perfection, it need something else, it needs you, your body and flesh, to finish the work, to make the world befitting of you, in a twisted way, not realizing you wouldn't be able to see it if you were all, pulled apart and make into landscaping materials.

Of course, you could join the Broken instead, and get:

I'm calling him The Devout, he's got an angel thing going on. When you get to this chapter the world has it's marble aesthetic. Then out pops The Devout from his hill, beginning to terraform the world, with chunks of land rising and being tossed around, the world shifting and altering beneath your feet, at least it would be, but The Devout keeps wherever you step stable. You can jump on the flying chunks of land going around to try to get to him, either to "supervise"/enjoy the carnage (both The Tower and The Nightmare are likely to enjoy that), and he'll seem happy like with this face that says "Oh you're watching me?? Am I doing good??" or you can try kill him, where he'll look at you all sad and wilting before the feathers and claws overcome him, before the blade can even touch him

Aaaand, those are my ideas to make the Broken Work, a little convoluted, but that's the way I logicked myself lol

slay the princess au where the Princess and the Hero switch places. I've been imagining all the voices as chapter characters also blended with those versions of the Princess. So far I've decided his "Damsel" route would be called "the Knight" and he tries to rescue you and sweep you off your feet but he is also still chained up in the basement and he looks silly doing it. the voice of the Damsel is still charmed by the display

#slay the princess #slay the princess spoilers #slay the princess au #swap au #slay the princess swap au #drawing #fanart #The Apotheosis #The Voice of The Broken #The Shifting Mound #The Long Quiet #The Fury #The Tower #The Broken #long post #like- way longer than I meant it to be #I hope everything got across clear heheh

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twstheadcanons · 3 years ago

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Self-Indulgent TWST Geography

A long post of generalised geography headcanons for the world of TWST complete with continents for my own personal needs. The post divides locations by Continent.

Anyway why is there a homeland whose name is just the definition of a desert.

Continents (and ocean)

Errant - a western continent in Twisted Wonderland. Mzunguko - the second largest continent in Twisted Wonderland. Yalmae - the largest continent in Twisted Wonderland. Abíní - a continent West of Errant. Tridente Ocean - the largest ocean in Twisted Wonderland.

Errant

Rose Kingdom – a country in the western region of Errant. It isn’t a particularly large country, and traveling from it to its neighbouring countries is possible via buses or car. Crownsshire – a county in Rose Kingdom Crowns – the capital of Crownsshire. It is the town Riddle, Trey, and Che’nya live in.

Land of Pyroxene – a large country in Errant. Known for its cold, snowy winters and history with legends pertaining to five of the Great Seven. Waldburg – province Vil’s family is from. Largely influenced by another country within Errant. Argent – a province in Land of Pyroxene. Verre – a city in Argent. Trein and Cater are from here. Félicité Cosmetics originates here. Miroir – a province in Land of Pyroxene. Has a large outlet mall popular with fashion-lovers and shopaholics. The Ténèbres brand originates here. Enchantée – a town in Miroir. Jack and Vargas live here, whilst Vil and his father move here. Scharlachrot - a province in Land of Pyroxene. Epel’s Village of Harvest resides here, and is famous for its widespread organic produce.

Isle of Lamentation – island country, its popularised global name is a translation from the isle’s original Nísos Thrínos. It has robust technological advancements and is the homeland of the popular idol group On the Edge, known for having concerts with elaborate imagery and visual effects from some of the best technicians available. Due to legends of the God of the Underworld, dogs are extremely popular on the Isle of Lamentation. Kapnós – capital of the Isle of Lamentations where the Shroud family resides.

Valley of Thorns – an isolated country small in population, largely consisting of a large mountain range. The closer one is to where its Queen resides, the colder it gets. It is said the Valley of Thorns can go weeks with nothing but moonlight. Geimhreadh - technically the name of the forest near the Valley of Thorns’ mountain range, where the Queen makes her home at its peak. Its name spread to the residential areas nearby.

Mzunguko

Afterglow Savannah – country in Mzunguko, ‘Afterglow’ acts as a loose translation of its name, Baadaye. It lies in eastern Mzunguko. Famous for its royal guards and leading role in nature conservation. Kiburi – a county in the east of the Afterglow Savannah. Mwamba – capital of Kiburi, where the Kingscholar royal family lives. Maisha – a county in Afterglow Savannah, with its capital sharing the same name. Jioni – a town in Maisha. Ruggie and his family live here.

Manyoya – county in Afterglow Savannah. Well-known for a famously expansive library and a high population of avian beastfolk. Uzuri – a city in Manyoya, where Rook is from.

Yalmae

Land of Hot Sands – one of many countries in the continent of Yalmae,. Within the country, it’s referred to as Aldif’. Rich with its magical history and origins of astrology, Aldif’ nurtures Magicians skilled in divination. It has a vivid musical scene as well. Misbah - governate of Aldif’. Yatamanaa – capital of Misbah, a largely lucrative city within Aldif’ and city where Kalim and Jamil live.

Abíní

Port of Jubilee - a diverse nation where Sam’s family lives, owning an extensive emporium. A vast amount of cultures reside in Port of Jubilee, many sharing common ancestors and languages with one another. Nanm - province in Port of Jubilee. Sekrè - port town in Nanm that Sam is from. His family owns an impressive emporium popular with locals.

Tridente Ocean

Coral Sea - a sea within the Tridente Ocean. Many of coastlines range across countries within Errant, Mzunguko, and Yalmae. Beneath its waters lies a kingdom sharing the same name as the sea.

Name Trivia

Continents (and ocean)

Errant - the continent of Errant has the homelands based off movies such as Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella. The name stems from certain scenes in the movie marking a particular moment the protagonists feel out of place or stray off the expected course.

Alice in Wonderland: Alice’s misadventures begin when she makes the decision to follow a strange rabbit, straying off the course of simply reading and studying as her sister wished, where the curious and at worst annoying strange creatures and nature of Wonderland take a turn when she meets the Caterpillar, who questions Alice’s place and identity, and the stress of her situation and being unable to return home overwhelms her emotionally.

Snow White - the horrific moment Snow White, in a state of panic, rushes through a dark forest, where her fears envision hidden horrors within the trees and wildlife.

Hercules - after refusing to listen to Phil’s warnings about Megara being in cahoots with Hades, Hercules faces the devastating fact that Megara (reluctantly) deceived him, and loses his superhuman strength and faith in himself.

Sleeping Beauty - shortly after meeting a man she falls for, Aurora becomes devastated and resigned to her fate being betrothed to a complete stranger out of responsibility for her future and country.

Beauty and the Beast - Maurice’s ventures through a mysterious forest consequently leads him to the Beast’s castle in a desperate attempt to escape cold, only to be imprisoned by the Beast for intruding, ultimately putting the story into motion. After Belle makes a deal to swap places with her father and free him, Belle starts off terrified and in over her head despite saving her father’s life.

Cinderella - after the mice’s hard work creating a fitting ballgown for Cinderella to enjoy the ball, her stepsisters ruin the dress and Cinderella’s chances of leaving her oppressive family’s home. Her distress and tears lead her to meeting the Fairy Godmother.

Mzunguko - “circle” in Swahili, the language prominent in Lion King’s names, lyrics, and Rafiki’s dialogue, as well as the official language of Kenya, where much of the movie’s settings take inspiration and blatantly feature. Taken from the iconic “Circle of Life” song.

Tridente Ocean - “trident” in Italian. Yes, I hear you. The author is from Denmark. The statue is in Denmark. The movie references the statue in Denmark. However the surname Ashengrotto and Azul’s mother running a ristorante screams Italian and there’s the overall edgy mafia vibe the Octatrio has going on. I win this one.

Yalmae - “shine” in Arabic (يلمع). I wanted a name that illustrated the vibrant, lively diversity of the continent’s many countries, cultures, flora, and fauna. Something akin to a name that inspires a welcoming feeling.

Abíní - “morning” in Navajo. I wanted a name that inspires energy and enthusiasm, like a sunrise in summer.

Homelands

Rose Kingdom

Crownsshire - just the most painfully English name I could think of. “Crown” refers to, naturally, the crown of the Queen of Hearts. Also decided to make the Rose Kingdom its own, smaller, more limited country, instead of allowing its apparent monarchy to leech off 20+ different countries Crowns - do you have any idea how genuinely shocking it is we don’t actually have a town here named this.

Afterglow Savannah

Baadaye - “afterglow” in Swahili. The official and native name of the Afterglow Savannah. Interestingly, my findings found translations of it meaning “future” as well, which I consider fitting. Kiburi - “pride” in Swahili, can refer to a ‘pride of lions’ or confidence (often overconfidence). Mwamba - “rock” in Swahili, alluding to the Pride Rock that Mufasa’s pride resides in. Maisha - “life” in Swahili. Jioni - “evening” in Swahili. This refers to where anywhere the sun doesn’t reach, Simba shouldn’t wander, because it’s too dangerous. Originally, I wanted to go with “Kivuri”, which means “shadow”. However when I went to double check that ‘shadowland’ was a thing in Lion King, referring to where the Elephant Graveyard is, it’s actually a song from the Broadway musica called “Shadowland”, sung by Nala (Heather Headley). It both mourns the desolate state of the Pridelands under Scar’s tyranny, and narrates Nala’s resolve to leave and find a way to save her people and their land. The song is absolutely gorgeous, solemn, and powerful, and contributes more than any live-action CGI Disney movie could ever come up with. Its instrumental composition features the melody lei-motif prominent in the animated film (yes, That song. the heartbreaking one). It’s one of my favourites in Lion King alongside “He Lives in You” and “Not One of Us” because I like the ones where the chorus goes off. Please just listen to the Lion King Broadway soundtrack it makes me cry with how gorgeous and heartfelt it is. Anyway in their money-grubbing ways I hope Disney puts the Broadway on Disney+ so some brave soul takes one for the team to pirate it Manyoya - intended to mean “feather”, but to my understanding it also encompasses “fur”. Uzuri - “beauty” in Swahili. Nothing too deep here, just something pertaining to Rook.

Land of Hot Sand

Aldif’ - “warmth” in Arabic (الدفء). Meant to allude to a comforting warmth, kind of hinting that the popularisation of “Land of Hot Sand” more or less leaves the official name lost in translation. Misbah - “lamp/light” in Arabic (مصباح), naturally referencing the magical lamp sought after throughout the movie. Yatamanaa - “wish” in Arabic (يتمنى). Meant to be bit a bit of a cheeky play on words. The “wish” inside the “lamp”.

Land of Pyroxene

Waldburg - Wald is "forest” in German. References the forest that Snow White runs away into after being warned of the Evil Queen’s intentions. Argent - “silver” in French. References Cinderella’s silver dress. Verre - “glass” in French. References Cinderella’s glass slipper. Miroir - “mirror” in French. References both the Mirror of Snow White and the enchanted mirror Beast gives Belle. Enchantée - “enchanted” in French. Ties into the theme of enchantments, curses, and charms prominent in French fairy tales, and specifically makes me think of the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast. Scharlachrot - “scarlet” in German. References the red colour that hides the infamous green of the poison apple’s true nature.

Isle of Lamentation

Nísos Thrínos - Greek for the isle’s name. Kapnós - “smoke” in Greek. References Hades’ iconic appearance surrounded by black smoke.

Valley of Thorns

Geimhreadh - “winter” in Irish. References the winter court of Unseelie fae in Celtic folklore.

Port of Jubilee

Nanm - "soul” in Haiitan Creole. References the importance of determination and drive prominent in Princess and the Frog.

Sekrè - “secret” in Haitian Creole. References Dr Facilier’s ulterior motives.

#twisted wonderland #worldbuilding headcanons

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mobagehelllocal · 3 years ago

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“lucky ending” extra notes i & iii

Hi, I said I would do it but then I released ver i so long ago that I felt I shouldn't do this unless I had another version out at least so yay! finally! ... I'll add ver ii here when I get around to writing it... *shifty eyes* So as usual, this is just my thought process and ideas while writing lol.

*please do not read if you haven’t read “lucky ending” ver i (dorm leaders) & ver iii (rook & lilia).

It was inspired by an anon ask and the button tradition from Japanese schools.

The anon ask went like this: First at all, I like do much your writing and I hope you are doing well. Second, I was wondering what would happen if the MC (Fem!s/o I guess) decided to not go back to her world, like she decide stay with her villain? Can you do make headcanons of this for the dorm leaders? Thank you very much. – from Anonymous

The button tradition, as narrated by the first years, is done when one person confesses and the other responds by giving them the button closest to their heart. In most Japanese uniforms it’s the second uniform, but in Twisted Wonderland--I looked at the ceremonial robes and the closest button should be the fifth. Maybe. I could be wrong.

The songs I listened to while writing this!

The original dorm leaders (and Rook) was written while listening to “Lucky Ending”, the ending theme of Fruits Basket. The English lyrics (translated by otenkiame!) are:

“Change is important. I want to do it well,/ but I wanna cry. It's still bad. I wanna cry”

“The word "goodbye" has disappeared completely from this world/ All that remains is me fooling around next to you/A day you don't laugh won't come anymore”

“I've understood it since being here/ These feelings of wanting to protect you aren't a misunderstanding/ If we can call what connects us bonds,/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Even if in a different world, it'll never be different/ everything changes/ everybody changes/ Don't change, ever/ Stay here, stay here”

I think it’s obvious why I chose to use this as the title of the series. It’s a story about change but it’s also a story about the things you don’t want to change... And I think it’s not wrong to want to hold onto things.

I also listened to the same playlist that I listened to while writing “wendy?” “hello peter pan”:

“Can’t help falling in love” cover by Annapantsu, “If you’re not the one” by David Beddingfield, “Who Knew” by P!nk and “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift.

For Lilia in particular, I was listening to three Beauty and the Beast songs on loop. “Evermore” by Josh Groban, “Days in the Sun” by the live action cast and, of course--”How does a moment last forever” by Celine Dion.

“How does a moment last forever?/ How can a story never die?/ It is love we must hold onto/ Never easy, but we try/ Sometimes our happiness is captured/ Somehow, our time and place stand still/ Love lives on inside our hearts and always will”

Also for Lilia, Tolerate It by Taylor Swift.

“You're so much older and wiser and I/ I wait by the door like I'm just a kid”

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

Malleus was definitely the first piece finished. Closely followed by Vil’s. I believe there was a gap inbetween them before I did the others? I wrote bits and pieces of Leona, Idia, Kalim and Azul’s. I think I finished Leona, Idia, Kalim then Riddle because I distinctly remember saving Azul for last.

One of the most important things for me, is that each story stands distinct of each other. So I gave myself a really hard time trying to figure out how each one uniquely belonged to each of the characters.

For the Prologue... I think because it’s set at the graduation of certain characters, I used that to my advantage and implied the stronger bonds between the Yuu!Reader and the entirety of the cast. Because a lot of time has passed and I feel like--regardless of what other people believe, bonds will be made and relationships will have strengthened enough for it to happen.

Riddle is honestly another really difficult character for me to write. I generally do love him and I enjoy his story, but something about him is difficult and I’m not sure why.

I think a part of me is also really miffed because from Heartslabyul-Savanaclaw, you could feel that Riddle really cared for Yuu on some level but then he just straight up disappears come Octavinelle chapter. I feel like there was potential to develop their relationship even more.

He WENT UP AND TIED YOUR RIBBON I REMEMBER I WENT DOKI DOKI OVER THAT.

I feel like because I’ve established that it’s a Yuu!Reader, it’s impossible for this story to not include both Ace and Deuce. So of course they featured in really big roles for this one, being responsible for telling Riddle the story.

I have to thank my friend, Mes, for bouncing ideas with me. They were the one who suggested what I could do with Riddle’s story by having ADeuce play such a big part!

I also tried my hardest to include Trey and Cater, and I’m pretty happy with their cameo. In a way, they definitely helped Riddle figure out his own feelings for you.

My favourite lines are: “I think you earned that much. I don’t believe anyone’s ever been in your situation before so—there’s no right or wrong about what you’re doing. It’s all about what you want to do.”

I wish someone would tell this to Yuu in general though. They’re the only one who has ever been in their situation (to our knowledge at least) and like... they’re definitely allowed to be even more selfish.

Leona is someone who I used to dislike a lot. I never hid that. It’s primarily because of how disappointed I am in the story of Savanaclaw probably. But like, I was always concerned about writing him properly because I thought that it was only right that I did right by him, because there would be people reading these stories who loved him. And I felt like I had to do right by that love.

I think... it’s wrong to believe that characters... villains... cannot fall in love or “won’t fall in love.” I think it’s wrong also to think that “people don’t change for love.”

In fact, people do change. You definitely shouldn’t change yourself to be loved, but... people change all the time to be their “better” selves. So whose to say that a good person, who you love, will not make you want to improve yourself? Isn’t that what we want when we meet people? To fall in love with someone who will ultimately make you better and never worse.

Or so that’s how I try to write the Twisted characters when they fall in love... With an understanding that “morally” the person they are falling for is “kind” and “good” and how a part of them might just want to be better just for that person. (Especially Leona and Azul). They don’t necessarily have to be nice to everyone, but if they can be better for one person... We stan healthy character growth.

But yeah, Leona is driven by understanding that he’s a very selfish person. But that he’s also very unfortunate and he doesn’t want tie you with someone who, he thinks, is actually worthless. He probably, deeply, thinks you deserve more.

Though his selfishness eventually wins out and well... Won’t you forgive him for it? :) For tying you down to this worthless second prince?

I think his own self-awareness does make him try harder. Not for everyone or everything... but for you. Just for you. I think that would be Leona’s love language--spending time with you, trying for you.

He’d appreciate if you didn’t call him out on it though, that would be very embarrassing.

Looking back, I’m surprised that it was the only version where none of the other boys from his dorm showed up lol. Which means Ruggie is the sole character who has yet to appear in the “lucky ending” series, huh.

My favourite lines from his story that still leaves me breathless and patting my past self in the back: ““I’m home—” you said—even if a part of you felt that home should have been two green eyes, a cocky smirk, and a warm patch of sunlight on the grassy ground.”

Like honestly, what was I on? Who was she?

Azul is, like Leona, someone who is so keenly aware of the things he’s lacking. In fact, he’s someone who thinks he’s lacking when he’s probably perfect in some aspects. He might act proud but a part of him--I think--thinks its not enough. It’s never enough. He can certainly do better still.

In that light, it’s why he thinks he’s undeserving of a partner. Especially one who is “kind” and “understanding.” While ultimately, Azul deserves people in his life who are that and “accepting” of him--I think he still thinks he doesn’t.

And thats why he lets go of the Yuu!Reader. It’s why he doesn’t “chase” after her like Leona did.

It’s because he’s selfish, because he wants her--that he forces himself to let go.

Azul needs someone who’ll tell him that he is worth something and that he’s definitely worth the effort. So please praise him a lot until he’s crying in happiness. I’m sure it’s the one thing he’s always wanted to hear from people around him.

Also my Poly!Octavinelle Agenda has never died and I am pleased Past!Ai got away with so much Poly!Octa hints in this story lol. But honestly, regardless of wht Octavinelle says... god, you can tell they genuinely care about each other.

I recently rewatched Octavinelle’s chapter and... by god, the amount of things I missed out on first watch. Jade’s concern when he realized Azul wanted to get rid of that photo... The fact Floyd was so willing to drop the fight to return to Azul too... Anyways, Poly!Octa Agenda for life.

Favourite lines: “Azul’s pathetic whimpers turned into guttural sobs. His fingers spread to cover his eyes—and his glasses slid off his face, down to his lap and then to the ground—at his actions. His whole body shook as he cried his heart out.”

It’s not as poetic as a lot of my other favourites, but for some reason these lines always get me when I reread them. There’s something so visceral about it.

Azul’s piece is probably the least visually stimulating out of all these stories? His was so emotionally driven compared to the others and I worried a lot about that.

I think I remember I was crying so badly as I was writing this.

Kalim is really hard for me because I feel like I struggle a lot with finding conflict in his character? He’s such a genuinely nice person, I find it hard to believe that the Yuu!Reader would feel alienated from him or something. So I brought in “environment” to get in the way.

My use of celestial imagery for Kalim is because of the Scarabia trailer! I really loved how it put Kalim as the sun and Jamil as the moon. I definitely will take advantage of that when I get around to writing for Jamil.

So because I wanted to use the sun, I chose to use the idea of comets for Kalim? I think I remember something about how meteors are drawn to the gravitation pull of the sun and can “escape” it or “be destroyed” by it. Haha, hot.

Jamil is someone who ultimately cares about Kalim too and I had fun writing his banter with the Yuu!Reader. I think I wanted to decribe the shadows licking his face reminscent to the marks from his Overblot but... I felt like doing that would give Jamil too much focus so I ultimately decided against it.

It would’ve been hot though.

Oh yes, one thing I wanted to talk about is Kalim’s rushed proposal. I remember people talking about it in the tags, comments... even in asks at that time. The reason he does it is because he’s someone who didn’t realize his feelings until you spelled out your own. It was a sort of: “Oh. Right. That is the word I’d use to describe my feelings.”

My favourite lines from his story is: “How does one bid goodbye to the sun?” and “No one ever willingly bids goodbye to the sun.They spend the rest of their lives trying to find the right way back to it.”

My god, who was this genius.

Vil is probably the most visually stunning out of all these stories. I feel like my stories go from super vivid imagery and setting to just complete emotional disasters lol. (Vil being the former and Azul’s being the latter... not that it’s bad, it actually suits the characters).

Oh man, I remember thinking that Vil is such a hard character to write because we don’t know what his motivation for perfection is. All we knows is that he wants to be the best but, why?

It’s like, for example, Idia. His motivations could be otaku-related. He doesn’t want to go to class because he’d rather go play or something. That sounds in character--but Vil was so hard because he wanted perfection.

But we already see him as such a perfect character, so what else did he need to be even more perfect? In that light, Chapter 5 did a really good job on presenting Vil’s motivations.

But honestly, I think I can comfortably say that the Vil I’ve written so far is pretty accurate? To his character. I’m really grateful I read his chat lines because his comment about intelligence really got me thinking about his possible motivations. It made it really easy to understand that Vil wasn’t like majority of the real world’s influencers.

One other thing that I was really happy about with his story is the use of the flower language. It’s something I hope I can use more because it’s so beautiful.

Oh! And the roses the Yuu!Reader talks about are double delight roses. They are specifically bred to have two colors--yellow in the center and pink on the outside. I thought it fitting that the Yuu!Reader breed special roses for Vil.

They can be called... err... Vil Roses?

My favourite lines from his story is: ““My happiness will not be dictated by others—no, Vil Schoenheit is a person who will grasp happiness with his own hands.” [...] “I’m giving you this button because I’ve already found happiness by your side.””

This line was actually inspired by Zelda C.W.’s MYth series. Specifically Hera’s story, Will.

Idia ...for him, I somehow had a very hard time imagining him trying to tell the reader to stay. Like that didn’t compute for me? I felt like his version was better approached in a more comedic light somehow.

I also felt that it would be cuter if the Yuu!Reader had already chosen to stay and Idia would need to hastily retrack his confession... Unfortunately, Yuu!Reader won’t let him.

Honestly looking back on it, I wonder how much of Chapter 6 is going to make me scream and want to rewrite Idia’s part?

My favourite lines from his story is: “He was never particularly good at lying—nor was he good at keeping secrets from you. You were a person he considered a dear friend—and he was always the type of person who ended up spilling everything to you. He liked being able to talk about the things he enjoyed—he liked that he had found someone who wanted to hear him out.”

A lot of my interpretation for Idia is closely linked to personal experience as an anime, manga and gaming fan. It was just a couple of years ago where people would actually be bullied for liking these things--but nowadays its become a norm. It’s... stunning actually but it makes me happy to know that maybe nobody will be judged for loving anime.

That being said, Idia’s longing to find someone he can talk to is something I really relate too--back then, it was so difficult to find someone to talk to about my interests... So I interpreted Idia as much the same. That what he enjoys about the Yuu!Reader is their ability to simply sit and listen to him talk.

Malleus... man, recently I’ve been starting to fall in love with him all over again. He was my first oshi ever... Anyways, moving on. You think I’ve talked enough about immortal x mortal but nope, we are not done. I love this theme in general, romantic or platonic.

I will never shut up about it you can’t make me.

Sebek having a good enough friendship with Yuu!Reader is such a delicious concept. Like mutual respect and Sebek understanding that Yuu!Reader gives Malleus a different type of companionship that Sebek, Silver or Lilia couldn’t...

And also, ultimately, Sebek and Yuu!Reader do love Malleus. In different ways, but I like the thought of Sebek respecting that and respecting the Yuu!Reader.

Me realizing just now that Silver joins Ruggie in the: “has never appeared in a lucky ending fic club.”... Sorry Silver, I swear soon. Once we get more content on you.

Celestial themes for Malleus are primarily, again, because he only ever seemed to meet you at night. And I thought it would be wonderful, if you were a bright spark to him.

Favourite lines are definitely: “Oh, bright light… I would prefer to live the rest of your life by your side… rather than spend centuries contemplating what it could have felt… to hold you in my arms.”

I am, always, going to be such a big sucker for the idea of immortals constantly remembering and loving mortals. Always holding them close in their memories, because in that way--their lovers have become immortal with them.

I also like to imagine that he eventually figures out a way to connect your worlds together so you can still talk to your friends and family from that world. He is one of the most powerful magicians around, I’m sure its possible.

Rook was honestly the most difficult piece for me to write because he’s so hard(?) for me to understand. He’s a mess of contradictions honestly and I... guess I’m excited to see what he’ll do come Chapter 6.

I actually rewrote his story so much. I got about 500 words with a different idea/plot in mind before deleting that completely and restarting from scratch.

I feel like Rook is someone who talks big and talks about love without actually knowing what it truly might feel like. He’s someone who doesn’t understand it and ends up mistaking it for his fascination.

Aside from me enjoying inserting other characters from the same dorm as much as possible, I felt that Vil was the perfect person to snap some sense into Rook.

Epel’s appearance there is basically to reflect how much I really hope the first year kids get really close to one another.

Rook is also someone who I think, doesn’t try to explain himself too much. He’s someone who I think talks a lot, but if people don’t understand him then he doesn’t need to be understood? That’s my impression. Lol, when “lucky ending” became a character study.

I also really loved the idea that Rook was fine with people running from him--to him that makes it all the more thrilling. But then you start running away from him and that just ends up making dread pool in his stomach.

My favourite lines from his story: “‘When something ends, it must be sad. So, tell me then, how an ending could be so beautiful?’ [...] .‘But there was one ending that was beautiful, non?’ [...] ‘That’s right. ‘They lived happily ever after’—are those not the words that define a beautiful ending?’”

I used the dusk metaphor for Rook. My idea is that he starts seeing dusk as an ending and how he can’t fathom how any “ending” is beautiful. When a story ends, it’s not beautiful to him, humu. But when that ending is the happily ever after then... That makes all the difference.

Lilia was actually easier than Rook’s but also fairly difficult. I had written the middle of Lilia’s piece while stumped on Rook’s actually. Lilia’s was probably easier because I love the idea of immortals and mortals.

I don’t really like the idea of mortals becoming immortals. Like, yes, it’s certainly sweet and spending eternity with a one true love is definitely the best possible ending but... I think there’s so much weight in an immortal choosing to love a mortal while knowing that they will ultimately lose them.

The biggest theme for Lilia is definitely time.

Thinking about it now... There’s been a lot of things in real life that’s just... Made me think about how we have less time than we actually think we have. And I think I ended up channeling that through Lilia... Though I feel like it is ultimately things Lilia would think about though.

The most important imagery would probably be the stars.

I honestly wanted to avoid it because I used celestial imagery for both Kalim and Malleus but the words just flowed out in a way that I felt that I couldn’t replace. So I went with it.

Lilia is no stranger to loneliness. One of the reasons he feels less alone is because he has family now and he doesn’t want to rob you of that. Family is so important to him because they are people who are meant to be with you--they are people who will make you less lonely--or so thats how I think? he thinks.

My favourite lines from his story: “He would relish in the way—You made the world pause. You made a moment extend into an eternity. You made an immortal crave just a little more time.”

I’m so immensely proud of this one? I don’t really have much else to say. There’s something so raw about it that I love. Also the part where it continues on to say that “Because there is never enough time.”

Me realizing my extra notes is just half me simping over these characters, half sharing headcanons, have actually giving good advice? perspective?, half song lyrics, half character study/analysis?

“lucky ending” is about change. Whether we want them to happen or not it’s... the human condition to change. For better or worse, we change--day by day. I think we all operate under a small panic about how everyday things are changing...

But “lucky ending” is also about the things that don’t change. Won’t change. Will never change. The things worth holding onto, the thing worth fighting for... or so I’d like to think.

#aimuses #ainotes #ai lucky series #twst #twisted wonderland #its 6 AM HEEHOOO

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justaslime · 2 years ago

Text

Okay I need people who’ve never read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to know just how badly they’re gonna fuck things up. Oh, and spoilers for Ballad below.

Obviously, they’re gonna miss the mark on the same points as with the original Hunger Games trilogy in that you can’t make an authentic work that criticizes sensationalizing violence and exploitation by making a cash grab movie that inevitably sensationalizes violence and exploitation so that more people will watch it. To a certain extent, through the use of an earlier version of the Hunger Games, Ballad is originally intended to have the same criticism, which we already see will likely get twisted around as the trailer emphasizes the thrill of wondering how Snow will keep his tribute alive and whether she’ll even survive. Just like Capitol would hook its own citizens into watching it. This is all pretty standard stuff and exactly what we’d expect.

But Ballad is a bit different from the original trilogy.

In the Hunger Games trilogy, we follow Katniss, a fairly morally good protagonist. Sure, she doesn’t exactly want to lead a rebellion toward positive change, but honestly, who can blame her, I bet most of us in that situation would also just want to keep our close loved ones safe. Yes, Katniss kills, she lies, but I don’t feel generous in saying that she’s usually at least somewhat justified in doing so. She does it for her own survival, but mostly her family’s.

This is pretty clear even from the camera’s point of view, without access to her thoughts. She volunteers for the Games and goes through them for her sister. Anyone can see that. Even when her character and motivations and relationships are made flatter, the general core of her character is still clear through her actions.

Snow is different. He is, as you might have guessed from the Hunger Games trilogy, not a very nice person. And, surprise, while he wasn’t always to the total obvious dickbag we see when he’s old, he was still a slimy but charismatic dickbag when he was young. That was truly Messed Up, which is clear from the very first chapter of Ballad. But rather than seeing it through both his narration and actions, it’s really only through his narration.

You see, Young Snow isn’t just about keeping power like Old Snow. Young Snow is self-pitying like no other. Because he has suffered which is unfair, because he’s better than everyone else and should therefore be treated thus. But, of course, he’d never go out and say that, because at this point in his life, he actually thinks he’s morally in the right. He’s justified. And, again, he’s charismatic. So he’ll say the Right thing and be so convincing doing it, because he thinks it’s the Right thing, and throughout the majority of the book, the only person who knows just how fucked up he is is the reader, because they can see through his bullshit through those inner thoughts. He’s convincing, which is why it works on everyone, including Lucy Gray and Snow himself.

The problem is, if you take away those thoughts, what you’re left with is something that suddenly seems Right until Snow seemingly does a 180 when he has a friend killed and then tries to kill Lucy Gray.

Remember how the original Hunger Games’ love triangle is actually less about Katniss choosing Peeta because he’s the Nice Boy and more about her choosing him because she wants peace and recovery despite the horrible trauma she’s suffered through? And the movies completely missed that? All I’m saying is, I’m not holding by breath for how they’d portray a relationship where both parties seem honestly so in love with each other, with actual love ballads, where they decide to run away together only for one of them to try to kill the other. Seemingly out of the blue.

I’m not looking forward to seeing actual, honest to god Snow/Lucy Gray shippers.

tldr: the Ballad movie is obviously gonna misrepresent every important part of the story, but if they mess up the songs I’m gonna actually be mad

The trailer for tbosas made me sooooooo giddy I can’t wait for them to completely fail to do justice to the book I need to watch it NOW

#the ballad of songbirds and snakes spoilers

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beeblackburn · 3 years ago

Note

16, 29, 55, 71, 93, 104, 128 for the book asks? :)

Thanks, @xserpx!

16. a book you’d recommend to your younger self

Way too many books, to be honest. The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, and Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede when I was 8, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, and Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen around 10-12, Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb and The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien around 12-13 (before the first time I watched the movies and got bored by the walking).

Really, anything to replace and scrub away the fantasy lodestone that Harry Potter was (Eragon can stay, its traditional plot gave me a template for A Song of Ice and Fire's sharpened teeth to sink into).

29. your favourite YA novel

Admittedly, I'm not a huge YA reader (trying to rectify that next year), but... normally, I'd posit Half a War, because it has Skara and Raith and their relationship hurts my heart because it was effectively a war fling and they know they're very different people trying to find some warmth and comfort in the darkness of war, I revisit that book for all the plot twists, the thematic elements of the elves, the character interactions, and the ultimate conclusion for Skara and Yarvi that's revealing to how Age of Madness turned out. It's a hard book, brutal at times, not unlike The First Law, but that's why I love it so.

However.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is better. It's what first gripped my heart so tightly and has a stronghold on me, even after being assigned it at school, and even after years. I might even buy it again for my personal library. It's a hard book, talking about the cliquey nature of high school, the loneliness of being ostracized, the trauma of sexual assault, and the silence that comes from culture's victim-blaming nature when no one cares to listen to your problems and you give up from it. It hurts, but it's not trying to hurt you for kicks, so much as portray a teenager struggling to deal with a tragedy and the fallout from it throughout her school year. It's very frank about how terrible teenagers can get, how much pain changes and mutes you, how hard it is to admit that something happened openly without feeling like a scab torn off. It's a book that I deeply related to, finding it at the perfect age and situation, and I still love it for its realism of character and teenage voice via Melinda Sordino.

55. a book with a satisfying ending

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie. Really, Abercrombie's nailed how to do the climatic anticlimax as a rule of thumb... but Red Country stands out for having multiple climaxes running forward and all of them being allowed to be properly climatic, allowing for emotional resonance and genuine catharsis. And that last chapter? Oof. It satisfies, it fills me with warmth in the early half of it, it's bittersweet in how the tragedy's staying with some of its characters, it's a perfect full circle and send-off to an amazing character.

Just bravo, Abercrombie.

71. your favourite LGBTQ+ fiction

Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb (the queer romance definitely has its dicey moments, as per Hobb usual, but Sedric Meldar himself is so, so good). I've reread that book at least five times. I dare not spoil what goes on, because on the off-chance you get to that point, I don't wanna spoil it for you, but it's easily one of those books I revisit for how much it whips and its ending is one of those endings that touches me so primordially, as if I were a dragon who wishes to spread their wings and soar, even now.

93. a book featuring an unreliable narrator

Okay, the really typical answer from me would be Assassin's Apprentice (which rules) or The Name of the Wind (which sucks). But I will give the atypical answer of The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe because the narrator, Severian, is a torturer dipshit because he claims he has an eidetic memory, but careful readings point out he's either lying out his ass or selectively hiding things from us readers. And it's not like the lies are super intuitive to cotton onto, so there's a lot of work to mull over with what's true or false with Severian and it means The Book of the New Sun makes you work for your ultimate understanding and peeling of layers.

104. a fluffy, sweet read

I would say The Goblin Emperor, but I'm not entirely sure it's fluffy per say. It's what I'd consider my non-graphic novel choice, but otherwise, among Western graphic novels and manga... The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill (unmitigated fluffy sweetness!) or A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai (which is fluffier than The Goblin Emperor, but also has the underlying melancholy of the titular two being lonely souls who've faced rejection and loss and fear having it happen all over again).

128. a book that made you hungry

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and there's no contest when the book has passages like this:

Calo and Galdo whisked damp cloths off serving platters and bowls, revealing the full extent of the meal for the first time. There were indeed sausages, neatly sliced and fried in oil with quartered pears. There were also split red peppers stuffed with almond paste and spinach; dumplings of thin bread folded over chicken, fried until the bread was as translucent as paper; and cold black beans in wine and mustard sauce. The Sanza brothers were suddenly scooping portions of this and that onto Locke’s plate too fast for him to track.

Working awkwardly with a two-pronged silver fork and one of the rounded knives he’d previously scorned, Locke began to shovel things into his mouth; the flavors seemed to burst gloriously, haphazardly. The chicken dumplings were spiced with ginger and ground orange peels. The wine sauce in the bean salad warmed his tongue; the sharp fumes of mustard burned his throat. He found himself gulping wine to put out each new fire as it arose.

Damn you, Lynch, I'm getting hungry all over again.

Another answer would be any of Steven Brust’s Dragaera works, considering he’s a self-professed foodie and it shows:

Savn felt Vlad watching him, which made him slightly nervous as he squeezed an expensive piece of lemon over the cheese and vegetables, put another handful of salad into his mouth, and wiped his hand on his shirt. The Easterner sighed. “I know a place,” he said, “where one could eat every day for half a year and never taste the same dish twice. Where the servers are discreet and efficient; you never noticed them, but there is always a full plate in front of you and wine in your glass. Where the room is quiet and serene and tasteful, calling the diner’s attention to the delight of the tongue. Where the appetizer is fresh, enticing and excites the senses like the first touches of love. Where the fruit is sweet and plump, or tart and crisp, and complements the cheese as the salad complements the bread—with reverence and solemn joy. Where there is a choice of wine to suit the most diverse taste, yet each has been selected with care, and tenderness. Where each meat is treated with the honor it deserves, and is allowed to unfold its own flavor in the natural juices the gods gave it, with touches of savory, ginger, or tarragon added to direct the attention of the palate to the hidden joys which are unique to that particular cut. Do you know what I am saying? A place where the mushroom and the onion dance with the wine and the peppers in sauces that fire the palate, and the sweet at the end of the meal is the encore to a symphony of the heart. Where—”

Damnit, Brust, now you’re just adding cooking alcohol to the fire.

Thanks for the questions, @xserpx!

#book asks

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