#god i love this man with my whole being

[theoldgvard]

songs that make me think of nicolò di genova in no particular order

wasteland, baby! by hozier - the little instrumental at the start is what i think nicky would sound like if he were music

nature boy by nat king cole - courtesy of @wizfurb

la fine by måneskin - nicky would love måneskin. he totally has it in him to be a punk eyeliner-wearing rockstar the world just isnt ready for that. the day they won was probably the most patriotic joe has ever seen him and man committed war crimes. this måneskin song in particular bc i reckon he could murder it at karaoke (if he drank a little first)

sedated by hozier - a lot of hozier ik, this one i believe to encapsulate his relationship with joe and their immortality very well

non sono una signora - slightly cheating bc this is in two of luca’s other movies however paolo in il padre d’italia is nicky coded okay

coffee & tv by blur - idk i can just imagine him driving and having this on, a little awkward but sweet like him

mary on a cross by ghost - do i gotta explain i dont reckon i do

keep driving by harry styles - all my faves deserve a harry’s house song and this is his, the soft beat and slight emotional quality that is embedded within the calmness and how the bridge gets more intense but smoothes out again, idk i just feel like it matches the effect his presence would have, just a safe solid ‘i’ve got you���

swan upon leda by hozier - specifically the line ‘one more sweet boy to be butchered by men’ because im very fond of the idea of nicky representing the all too common tragedy of harmful ideals being learned/forced upon particularly young boys, and while the song focuses more on the way this results in the misogyny that surrounds us and nicky’s particular story is more concerned with race and religion, i think overall he is a beautiful representation of the tragedy of men, and the way he becomes who he is through the miraculous second chance he is given to exemplify how much better people and men could be if they worked to change okay im done he just means a lot to me okay

[thosedamnedghouls]

and when i tell you all ive unfortunately fallen down the Dick Grayson parents Peter Parker rabbit hole

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[kissthebridee]

if i ever stop talking abt this movie just know im either dead or have been hacked because oh my god. genuinely the most gorgeous movie ive ever seen.

[shannonsketches]

An underrated detail I really like about super's manga in describing Vegeta's growth without saying anything is that he stands much closer to everyone. Not just the Z-fighters, but anyone he considers an ally. Throughout Z he's kind of famous for standing on the outside of the group and facing away from everyone, usually with his chin down and his arms crossed (very cold, very standoffish, very guarded, 10/10). In super even when his arms are crossed, his body language is more open. He tends to be Part of the group, he generally faces everyone else, he contributes to casual conversation, and he's much more comfortable overall -- not just with the people that he knows well by now, but with everyone.

I like to read it as Vegeta trusting himself again, after his extremely high fall off his pedestal, and having rebuilt his confidence. Not the performative confidence that he has to prove to anyone else, but the genuine confidence he had way back in the Saiyan saga, when he had very little reason to be anything but. Except now he can also afford to be gentle, because instead of his company consisting of those who would pick his bones if he failed, he has had several very intense moments of proof that failing is not a death sentence here. There is always someone coming to help -- whether it's a fighter on the front lines stepping in to buy him a few more minutes, or a support player with a backup plan -- there's someone coming to help.

He's been repeatedly exposed to compassion as something other than a strategy. He's learned how to feel valuable as both a fighter and a support, himself, and it's made him more confident and comfortable in every other aspect of his life.

[batsplat]

following on from this. not to always bring marc into everything (sorry marc) but if assen 2015 had happened against jorge, valentino would have very likely pulled something similar again imo. rather than what he actually did, which is approach marc almost immediately for a nice normal friendly handshake and backing off during the podium celebrations. should be noted that during laguna seca '08, valentino was very much committed to yapping at casey on the podium with the world's biggest smuggest grin on his face

partly that disparity is because jorge not marc was the direct title rival, partly it's because valentino was treating marc with kid gloves right until the second that he wasn't, which marc was seemingly entirely oblivious to. if anyone other than marc had said what he said in that presser, had then continued on with similar rhetoric during sachsenring, valentino would quite likely have gone nuclear. he's done it over less than that. his fondness for marc made him continue to exhibit uncharacteristic restraint... except that fondness unfortunately is what left valentino feeling so very betrayed when (to his eyes) marc could not leave well enough alone

[eggrolls-and-fandoms]

Thinking about falsettos again.

[tubbytarchia]

Idk when or if I'll get to drawing them but just so you guys know Scar and Jimmy mean so much to me rn

[bonefall]

omg sparrow fur just got confirmed to become the second leader of skyclan

Ok, that's good. I'll have to think of how to go foward from here.

If Sparrow Heart had died before taking leadership, I was going to write that as her being INFURIATED by it. Remembered forever as Skystar's stooge, his general, his loyal servant, but never having power of her own. And, generations later, she'd grab for it in any way possible.

With her being Sparrowstar, I'm going to keep her ambition and desire for power, but she had a chance to enact her vision in life. She was the first cat to inherit 9 lives, even, with how BB!Skystar is the first leader to die. She continued his "legacy," not out of any actual love or respect to him, but because it's HER TURN.

All these years of groveling, of having to bend and bargain around the desire of stronger cats, now it's HERS. She is the one who bargains, who makes others grovel. No one will make her scared and powerless ever again.

It's going to continue the ferocious rivalry between SkyClan and ThunderClan, especially as Owlstar takes power. Sparrowstar is definitely gone by the time of the River Kingdom's succession crisis, though, she's too battle hungry to rule for so long.

Or maybe Sparrowstar will end up inventing some kitty war crimes and become one of the first Dark Forest cases. After all, it's very in-character of BB!Skystar to not officialize an heir, and force Sparrow Heart to have to carve a path through his bio-kits for the power she is owed...

(Mumbling to self: and then that makes a pretty interesting claim for SkyClan during the River Kingdom succession crisis... "we need no claim to your throne to take it from you")

We'll see!

[shima-draws]

USOPP ABSOLUTELY POPPING TF OFF???? Hitting a target THAT far away with SUPREME precision AND unlocking Haki?? I’M SITTING HERE LIKE

[backpackingspace]

Young odysseus convincing everyone Ithaca is nothing but a poor island with rocks and goats to avoid any raids/conquerors/so he doesn't get murdered for talking to Helen bc "it's not like he's a real choice"

Young odysseus falling in love with Penelope at the same event: wait. Wait shit I fucked up hold on just hear me out

[tequiilasunriise]

Being in fandoms where the characters are clearly based on other pieces of media/famous figures is so much fun because then some of my ships look like this:

Parentified Goldilocks who is also The Beast x Avoidance attachment Beauty who is ALSO also The Beast, one of my fav moments with them is when they off the Minotaur together who is ALSO also also The Beast

Little Red Riding Hood if she was also the Wolf and has galloons of repressed trauma x Snow White but she’s heavily knight coded and the poster child of daddy issues

Edgar Allen Poe’s Lenore x Annabel Lee but they’re in gay ghost love

The poem ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ x Odin’s raven Huginn but they’re exes still in love in a milf yuri divorce that ends super mega tragically and domino effects mommy issues out the ass

Historical figures Cleopatra x Frida Kahlo with the most chef’s kiss height difference you’ve ever seen

A polycule with Joan of Arc x Mulan x Thor x Achilles but they’re all genderbent/trans

The Velveteen Rabbit x fashion icon Coco Chanel if she was a lesbian with a gun

Frankenstein’s monster x a different sapphic Cleopatra bc baby gays <3333

Okay okay that black cat from Poe’s, well, The Black Cat x Poe’s Eulalie is cute yes

But I actually really REALLY love Poe’s Eulalie x Poe’s Berenice bc they’re “me and the bad bitch I pulled by being autistic” personified

The Snow Queen with mega daddy issues x Robin Hood if he was a socialist lesbian I SAIDDDD ITTTT

Imma say it historical figures JFK x Confucius were adorable bros

Aesop’s Fisherman x Odin’s other bird Munin you will always be famous my tragic old man yaoi <////3

Y’all will really have to hear me out here when I say Cinderella if she fucken snapped x ice cream Mad Hatter because couples who are terrible to each other but in a “only I’m allowed to be a horrid to them” way can be so funny

And I could go o n fer ages but the point is imagine explaining these ships to someone like 30 years ago with ZERO context their heads would explode and it’d be so funny

[doing-something-unholy]

Is it geologically probable for swallows rest to have basalt cliffs? Not really. Am i gonna headcanon it anyway? Of course.

Because I can picture Adrian and Victor walking along the beach, spending time waiting for lord vane to arrive. When all of a sudden Adrian comes to a dead stop in the middle of a sentence, staring at something ahead of them. Then he gasps, and gets so excited he forgets where he is, who he's with, and the collar around his neck, as he starts excitedly slapping Victor in the arm going, "Look, look, look, look--" at top speed.

Victor, who was primed for some kind of emergency since Adrian stopped talking is looking around frantically like, "What, what happened???"

Only for Adrian to point ahead and whisper-yell, "Basalt cliffs!!" And start booking it across the beach.

And yeah, maybe it painfully reminds Victor a lot of his younger self, and he's just about ready to remind Adrian of his manners as a priest, but then Adrian turns around to see if hes coming and the smile on his face is the most animated hes seen Adrian since he met him. And when he catches up he gets treated to a long winded ramble about crystal structure and volcanic activity and geologic hotspots and the Implications and how they could easily be the most ancient part of the island and erosion wear patterns and hes always wanted to see these in person cause they have them in northern ireland and and-- Its the most he's ever heard Adrian talk in one sitting.

And he supposes that having an appreciation for the wonders of the world that God made is perfectly acceptable for their profession, and lets him talk as long as likes.

[ex0rin]

Hughie Campbell | The Boys S02E02

[shannonsketches]

he's so important to me

[bacchuschucklefuck]

Can you expand on what you mean by Baron being "too cool" to really fit a horror monster? It's a very interesting concept and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Is it that they're too active/involved/tangible and it detracts from their scariness?

I feel like I should preface this with a wall of disclaimers lmao 1/I am a hardcore, down-to-the-marrow, avid, deeply sincere horror enthusiast, esp. horror creatures. this usually means my mileage is vastly different from the average populace's, and my scaredy bone has been disintegrated by longterm exposure. most things in a piece of horror media won't scare me! so I practically never use that on its own as the scale to talk abt horror experiences, but when something does scare me it's always a special occasion to be treasured. 2/canon d20 is never really meant to be horror horror, and for good reasons: it doesn't fit the company's output, it takes a kind of carelessness in production estimation that is always a huge risk, it's often vulnerable in a way that kinda goes against how TTRPGs usually facilitates vulnerability, and for most people it's just! stressful! d20, even with the "horror-themed" seasons, generally just plays with horror tropes and stays focused in its goal of being a comedy improv tabletop theater show. 3/fantasy high's chosen system is DnD, which as I've mentioned before is before all a combat-based game system, which means the magic circle of play is drawn based on stats that facilitate and prioritize combat. want or not this affects every interaction you have in the game, and given fantasy high's concept from the ground up (everyone's going to school of DnD stuff to get better at DnD) it's doubly relevant. 4/This Is Fine I have no quarrel with this. my meters are internal, I do not ask this show to be anything it doesn't advertise itself to be, and what it is is fucking great! I like it! when I expand on this ask's question it will be like a physicist going insane in a lab. that's the mindset we're going in with.

disclaimers done. my stance on horror as a genre is that it's a utility genre rather than a content genre or a demographic genre; it is the discard of narratives. it's the trash pile. horror, above being scary, is about being ugly and messy, it's the cracks on the ground any story inevitably steps over to stay a genre that isn't horror. the genre's been around long enough to develop a codex and a general language that medias and makers and enthusiasts of the genre can use to talk about and build onto, but if you go into individual pieces there's really no unifying Horror Story. one person's beautiful life can be another's horror story, it's just how it is.

this makes The Monster a deeply intriguing piece of the genre. thing is a monster is in a decent percentage of any story - it's just when the antagonist force steps into something past a certain line traced out in the story's world. monstrousness is in pretty much every western fantasy story, it's in any story with a hero and something to vanquish or win; more than anything it's a proxy of that thing up there. the line in a narrative's world. the monster is the guard of the unknown lands, where heroic, civilized people don't tread.

what does this mean in the context of horror? the genre is about that perceived lawlessness, that "unknown land" so to say. we're in the monster's home. that's the literary context that we often walk into a horror piece with; the monster knows more than you about where you are. it may not understand you, but it holds more information than you, and with that it moves swifter than you, has more covered than you, and is more assured in its existence in this context than you. it's a struggle to catch up to it, it's nigh impossible to get one over it, and you're never sure it'll 100% work, because you just don't have the information necessary to.

with that framing you can kinda see where I'm coming from here: horror's often about the breaking of rules. I always think a monster's most effective when it breaks well-established rules of both existence and visual storytelling. think Possum (2018) or Undertale's Omega Flowey or the Xenomorph Queen - unique change in medium, unique change in graphic, unique change in design language, etc. in that sense I actually really like how canon baron plays out: they don't really function like anything else in the fantasy high universe, the bad kids have not managed to kill them when they've felled literal gods, their domain in fhjy literally introduces new mechanics to encompass their existence! from an experience design standpoint they slap mad shit. BUT! I can't help finding their character, like as a character riz (and the other bad kids, eventually) interact with, to be very... coherent? in design. this is kinda hard for me to articulate in words, it's more often a sense you get once you've looked at enough of these scrumptious fuckers, their general design and the way they show up is just kinda too clean, so to say. always kinda newly made? fresh unboxed. it, once again, makes sense for their lore - they are looking for more about themself from riz - and their function - they're an antagonist in a game experience, they're meant to be interacted with in a way that produces results and meshes with the existing magic circle - but that shininess takes away from the implied history they should have dominion over and the person they're haunting doesn't.

from another angle there is kinda something there about how put-together canon baron is as a concept; the domain they call home is riz's deep-seeded fears, extremely vulnerable things he's drawn borders around to quarantine and refused to walk into. things that from his perspective would irreversibly shatter certain pleasant fictions his world is built on top of. canon baron, While Extremely Cool, I feel is kinda too neat to connect with and signify the apocalyticized mess that'd result from this paradigm shift. the part where they're in riz's briefcase and looking through every mirror is Very Cool And Fucked Up! but ultimately the show draws a line around them as well, by making game-physical, tangible spaces they're in (the mirrors and the haunted mordred manor) and put riz and the bad kids there only when they need to confront stuff. riz is meaningfully narratively away from baron's unknown land for most of fantasy high.

with that and all of my disclaimers in mind my conclusion here is if canon baron wants to be a Horror Monster they'd have to cross way more lines. be a Lot more invasive. hence (holds up my class swap baron like a long cat)