#honestly that might slay pretty hard

[dr-bengay]

The people that got put in Saw traps should really consider themselves really fucking lucky, because with my luck I'd probably get caught wearing something like this little ensemble

(artists interpretation)

[monzabee]

mr. big (social media au) - cs55

masterlist ||

Summary: The one where there he was, wearing armani on a sunday, your boyfriend, Carlos.

Pairing: carlos sainz x romance writer!reader (model used: random people i found on pinterest)

Warnings: none other than some cursing? carlos being an old money dream as always

Request: "For a smau, would love to see romance writer!reader with Carlos (he is just Disney prince vibes) where fans aren’t quite sure how they got together but the influence him on her work is greatly appreciated" by my lovely @percervall

Author note: OKAY JUST REALISED I AM A CARRIE AND BIG APOLOGIST, WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT (i might be freaking out about them, but i will always be a charlotte girl)!!! (might honestly turn it into a series because who doesn't love a satc x old money crossover???)

Please also note that all of my works are protected under copyright, and not available for reposting on other platforms.

yourusername

Liked by carlossainz55, yourbestfriend, readersdigest and 438,927 others.

yourusername: busy, busy, busy bee.

user: thank you mother for feeding us with another hot billionaire novel

yourusername: you are more than welcome

user: how is she not only one of the best romance authors, but also a fashion icon??

user: can't wait to read what carlos inspired this time!!

carlossainz55: you are not wearing you glasses again, cariño

yourusername: why don't you come put them on yourself??

user: oh, they are so cute it's sickening

user: GIVE US THE MANUSCRIPT AND END OUR SUFFERING

view all 2,387 comments.

user: how did they get together again??

user: i think he ran into her at one of her book signings in madrid?

user: i thought it was when she went to the paddock for some good old r&d?

user: i heard somewhere that a friend set them up

yourusername posted a new story!

carlossainz55 posted a story!

yourusername

Liked by carlossainz55, landonorris, goodreads and 682,928 others.

yourusername: life lately & "between love and loathing" out june 23rd.

user: we love the romantic getaway, and a new book!!

user: we're being fed in more ways than one, and i am not complaining at all!!

user: oh shit, we're about to read the best romance novel of all time

view all 13,726 comments.

carlossainz55: i'm so proud of you, you have no idea

yourusername: way to make me cry

yourusername: i love you though

carlossainz55: te quiero más

user: I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY ARE THE OLD MONEY COUPLE WE NEEDED ALL ALONG AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW THEY STARTED DATING

user: it will remain forever a mystery

user: but at least we have content to keep us going through these hard times

carlossainz55

Liked by yourusername, scuderiaferrari, charles_leclerc and 977,520 others.

carlossainz55: one of us made the pancakes, and one of us stood there looking pretty.

yourusername: hey, it was your turn to make breakfast

carlossainz55: and i loved every second of it

yourusername: even doing the dishes?

carlossainz55: especially doing the dishes

user: this is by far the most romance book thing this man has done

user: i still don't understand how they started dating, but good for them i guess

view all 35,726 comments.

landonorris: hey, i didn't get any pancakes, did you? @charles_leclerc

charles_leclerc: didn't even know we were having pancakes, where are our pancakes @carlossainz55

landonorris: and cooking in a towel?? how is that sanitary??

charles_leclerc: he's breaking at least a dozen health codes

carlossainz55: i hate you both

yourusername: you are all a pr nightmare

scuderiaferrari: i agree

user: damn he got lucky

yourusername

Liked by f1wagss, carlossainz55, sarahjessicaparker and 736,928 others.

yourusername: and there he was, wearing armani on a sunday, carlos sainz.

user: SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!

user: what kind of an iconic cunt slay is this

user: and just like that... they became the coolest couple on the internet

user: NEW NOVEL IDEA, SEX AND THE CITY RETELL WITH CARLOS

user: girl wtf

yourusername: no let her cook

yourusername: you might be onto something here

user: don't know if i want to be her or be carlos

view all 44,736 comments.

user: everybody say thank you mom for blessing us

carlossainz55: amor

yourusername: amor x2

user: oh she's working overtime god bless you

[subbmissivesuccubus]

Gyomei X Chubby fem Reader~

Content: Fluff and smut <3

Himejime Gyomei is the type who finds plump women more attractive, their soft bodies incredibly soothing for his heightened senses to enjoy.

You might have gotten a comment or two from previous partners that you're too heavy to do couple things like being carried, or sitting on their laps, or even cuddling up against them which led you to have some insecurities about your body and how you shouldn't bother your partners. But when you and Gyomei started falling for each other, you couldn't even bring yourself to voice out these insecurities. Not because Gyomei wouldn't be respectful of them but because...well... it seemed silly when you were with him.

How could you worry about being 'too heavy' when you know there's nothing too heavy for this giant hunk of man? He can push boulders across villages with his bare hands- do you honestly believe your weight would be an issue? Being as tall and muscular as he is- well deserving of his title as the strongest Hashira- just being with him made all those insecurities vanish, or, at the very least, made them something you can laugh at. You love being with him as you can comfortably relax and not have to worry about your size. He can easily lift you up and carry you around with one hand, which he has done, multiple times.

His favorite way to spend time with you is to lounge around with you on his lap, holding your chubby, soft body against him as he rests his head against your own, humming in content as he listens to you talk about anything and everything. His big hands will squeeze at pockets of your body, his favorites being your plush thighs or your waist, smiling as he squeezes at your pudgy love handles. You could sit on his lap for hours and he wouldn't complain, asking you to continue sitting even if you suggested to move off.

(NSFW warning. 18+ Only)

But nothing beats making love to you. This was the only time Gyomei would curse at his blindness as he wishes he could see your beautiful body writhe in pleasure underneath him. Gyomei could be so gentle with you that it would make you cry or pound you so hard you...would cry anyway but for a different reason. His favorite way to take you would be missionary as it allows him to press his body flush against yours, feeling your softness against his own hard and toned body. He lowkey has a size kink, loving how your shorter, rounder body is such a contrast to his own hulking figure. His fat cock bullies its way into your pretty pussy, back bending so he could mouth at your supple breasts, all while your sweet moans echo through the room, his name like a prayer on your lips.

His other favorite way to take you is in a mating press, never able to deny the sensation of pushing your big thighs against your chest, the position making your tummy bulge out a bit which made his cock instantly hard and rearing to unload inside you. The clap of your body against his, the rippling of your ample flesh each time he fucks into you would have made him cum embarrassingly fast were it not for his impressive stamina due to his years of demon slaying.

So yeah. Gyomei is a sucker for cute, chubby girls~

[pisscrossiant]

Dragon age origins ROMANCE Headcanons [part 1?]

Starting with my favorites to least favorites

Leliana

She is a major cuddler, she's constantly hugging, spooning, and kissing you when she gets the chance.

She always stays by your side during battle she's too worried to leave you alone in case you getting hurt.

She constantly has nightmares where you betray her like Marjolaine did, or where you are murdered by Marjolaine.

She loves playing with your hair, she'll put bows in it, she'll braid it, put it in pigtails or twin braids, if she's sitting next to you she'll reach over to your hair so she can twirl it in her fingers.

Zevran

He's big on aftercare, he'll make sure you're comfortable afterwards, make sure you're clean and warm, he'll get you food. It's one of his ways to show you how much he cares.

He loves PDA, he likes showing people that you're with him. Whether this is grabbing you by the waist, kissing you, or holding your hand, he finds someway to show his love.

He's had nightmares of you being in Rinna's place, or of Talisan killing you (this one's inspired by a post I saw)

He constantly hangs on you, he'll have his arms wrapped around your shoulders, holding you from behind and resting his head on your shoulder, wrapping his arm around your torso, anything he just hangs on you when y'all are doing anything together.

Morrigan

She has a hard time adjusting to being loved, she never experienced love from her mother or any other person so it takes a while for her to get used to you expressing your love for her.

Instead of holding your hand or holding your torso like the others, when walking she'll just walk very close to you. Even though you're together doesn't mean she constantly wants to be touched.

She's had thoughts of what could happen to you, you either dying at a darkspawns hand or dying when you slay the arch demon. She has thoughts like that constantly, she's terrified that is what will become of you one day.

She gets very possessive of you to people she doesn't know/doesn't like, she'll pretty much latch onto you and give terrifying glares to the person you're talking too.

Alistair

He gets so embarrassed when anyone mentions how cute you two are together, or how he looks at you. He'll turn into a stuttering mess if someone talks about your relationship.

He doesn't like PDA or anything besides holding hands and hugs, but behind closed doors He's attached to you, he's hugging you, kissing you, etc. He won't leave you alone.

He constantly lays awake at night thinking about how you could die at any moment, how you can die easily by a darkspawn if the camp is ambushed, how an assassin can take you out, how you will most likely die if you kill the arch demon. He doesn't get much sleep because of it.

He's very awkward, this is his first relationship after all, he doesn't know what to do when he's around you or how to act, he's honestly just a hot mess half the time.

-

Might make this into a series, I will gladly take any Headcanon requests if anyone has any prompts they want me to talk about!

[moonpaw]

Skypiea really was one of the arcs of all time. It may not hold a candle to all the crazy stuff that’s been going on recently since it’s considered early One Piece still, but honestly nothing could compare to how Skypiea came to be and it’s overall tone.

The sense of mystery and adventure as the crew finds out there is an island in the sky, and as they scramble to find clues of its existence, even after getting laughed in their faces for believing such a thing could be real. Learning about the weird ocean current where there might be a CHANCE that this massive cloud just might be holding the island, with no real for sure proof that it’s really there, knowing that if it wasn’t they’ll all fall right back down and die.

Then the knockup stream shoots up and everyone is sailing on a vertical current as the original opening starts to play and-- there it is! A sea of clouds! They can sail on it, catch fish that have adapted to living in the sky, lounge is chairs made of fluffy clouds, discover dials, meet people who made their home up here and are a bit different than those down in the blue sea and it’s all so wonderful it really feels like a secret vacation hideaway were you can just live your best life in leisure!

Then there’s plot with Upper Yard, God Enel, and the Shandians and the whole thing quickly develops into a large scale free for all treasure hunt-- where is the city of gold? The Strawhats have a pretty good idea! Let’s go find it! There’s currently a large scale war going on in Upper Yard, but it’s not really #TheirBusiness at the moment. Until it is. Enter Enel, and he’s a huge threat. The tension keeps building and the treat level only grows and grows because what can you do against lightning? He has all the gold, after discovering where the city was years ago and he’s about to destroy the very island the Strawhats worked so hard to get to!

But then Luffy’s back after getting eaten by a giant snake (don’t worry about it) and proceeds to kick his ass hilariously just because he’s rubber and lightning doesn’t work on him. He does this just because he wanted to ring a giant golden bell so the 3 people down in the blue sea would hear it and because Enel made the weather a bit stormy on their day off.

Also that bell was the reason the Shandians were fighting so hard btw. Yes their home got stolen 400 years ago but they were sooo angry about the bell and wanted to ring it so so bad, because the previous top warrior was in love with a chestnut from the north blue and he wanted to let him know they were still here.

Peak writing and storytelling, slay

[danfrik]

IT IS I, ONCE AGAIN.

Did'ya miss me? Probably not, anyway.

I'm here with another drawing that I kind of procrastinated to finish until today-

It took me like five hours to finish what I already had started...

But whatever, welcome again to my impulsive (and kind of stupid) little brain, I'm going to talk about this and you will read everything.

⚠️Minor/Major Spoilers Ahead⚠️

First things first.

I want to make clear that, yes, Miles and Phoenix switched bodies just like Aziraphale and Crowley did.

Those marks on Phoenix's face? Let's just say that that one headcanon about holy water tears is a thing here (because I'm a sucker for angst).

I also want to point out some details about the switch thing because... well, I just want to talk about every little detail, let me cook.

• On Good Omens (the TV show, of course), Crowley (as Aziraphale) has an ice cream while Aziraphale (as Crowley) has a popsicle, but here I decided to be special and reverse that because, honestly, I see Phoenix being more of a popsicle guy, and Miles more of an ice cream type of man, don't ask me why.

(Also, I gave Miles a strawberry ice cream with sprinkles and Phoenix a grape popsicle, I'm sure you know why.)

(Because Miles likes pink and Phoenix likes "grape juice", that's why.)

• One of the things that I did to make the switch slightly more obvious is the frown, more specifically Miles' frown, the old "Edgeworth glare™️".

So, no matter how hard Miles is pretending to be Phoenix, we cannot take away his glare. On the other hand, Phoenix is really expressive (even behind those shades, yes), so he'll try to keep it either slightly neutral or keep that rest bitch expression (did I say that right?).

I mean... he is pretending to be Miles, y'know?

• Other thing that I did was change Phoenix's clothes while Miles is pretending to be him.

Gave him a waistcoat and his tie back because, of course, Miles thinks they suit Phoenix just fine (and he is absolutely right) and because he could never dress like a basic bitch, he is a classy bitch after all.

Oh, and I gave Phoenix a little handkerchief, like I said, Miles is a classy bitch... with questionable fashion sense *stares at his jabot*.

And, not gonna lie, Phoenix has no fashion sense, at all, the only reason he slays like he does in his usual outfit, is because he takes Miles' advice every now and then, but if it were for him he would wear crocs with socks (I mean, based, I do that too).

• Oh, I almost forgot about a tiny detail.

Miles also managed to brush Phoenix's little flick of hair, you know that one.

He likes to be presentable, no hair out of place.

• Phoenix didn't change anything of Miles, he is perfect as it is (jabot and all, I guess).

Now that I covered those little details, I can proceed to talk about other things >:)

Actually, is more of the same topic anyway.

The whole switching bodies trick, that is.

Aside from the details about costume and mannerisms, I want to talk about both sides.

How Phoenix will act in heaven and Miles in hell?

I picture it kind of like this:

For Miles side, pretending to be Phoenix is not as difficult as he would've thought, at least for the bantering and body language part.

Quite surprisingly, he does pretty great, the only difficult part might be the facial expressions, but he managed to not catch anyone's attention anyway.

Like in the TV show (Good Omens, I mean), Miles exaggerates little things about Phoenix, like being a bit more dork, maybe even a bit nonchalant or flamboyant, slightly dramatic but not too much.

Now for Phoenix, it is kind of difficult for him to not react at the petty coments and keep a neutral face but he manages, though his eyes speak for him, of course.

He keeps this solemn atitude, even spoke with the same flourishness that Miles tends to speak with, and bows before the Archangels.

Not that he wants to, but he knows that Miles does that out of respect for any higher being.

His body is mostly stiff, not daring to make any sound unless necessary, he only dared to glare when the hellfire came and when they insulted Miles.

Miles, much like Aziraphale, played with the holy water, splashing just enough so it won't reach anyone but also enough so no one would dare to get close to him.

Also joked around and asked for a rubber duck and a towel (and almost dared to ask for some scented candles).

"Y'know? It is quite relaxing being like this, it feels refreshing, a demon could get used to this."

With Phoenix is quite similar as to how Crowley messed a little with the Archangels, but he didn't stay silent.

He took a deep breathe once he was on the fire, did the "breathing fire" trick as well, and made a little joke, as if taunting them for not being able to destroy Miles nor him.

"I've been to hell recently, it was really lovely if you ask me, warm and cozy... you'd like it."

And so, both sides let them go and switch back again.

Leading to a small talk about both sides leaving them alone for a while, the not-apocalypse, the "antichrist" and all that.

Of course, finishing with that date- I mean, dinner at the Ritz, cheering for the world while a nightingale sings not so far away.

Oh, and I want to add a little thing too!

When they stand up from the bench, after switching again, I kind of want Phoenix to make a little joke about his own name, kind of like:

"I'm gonna be honest with you, angel, I really felt like I raised from the ashes back there."

"Must you be so foolish all the time?"

"Aw, c'mon, you think it's funny, I can see you holding back!"

"Nonsense, I would never consider funny that ridiculous and foolish joke of yours..."

[Spoilers: He did]

Anyway, I think that's all, at least for now.

Thanks again if you have read all the way down, if you didn't... well, that's understandable, but thank you anyways!

Hope you have a nice day, stranger!

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 79: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Welcome back to our monthly appointment, CCS fans! This chapter comes right after this month's full moon, the Hunter Moon! (lol yes I will feature the name of the relative full moon till the end of the story). And speaking of the end of the story, I will start this analysis and translation post from the end of the chapter, where I found the confirmation to the rumour that had been going on for hours before the official release on Comic Days:

yes, dear readers, this is not a drill, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc will end with chapter 80, after 7 years of serialization! 🎉✨ When *the last chapter* is announced, there's no turning back! No more sudden announcements of extensions! 🥹 But at the moment of writing this post, no mentions have been given about any "epilogue" or extra chapters that might be serialized in the upcoming months leading to the big release of volume 16 on April 1st!

On the translation side, I have to sigh in relief because no major misunderstandings happened in the ENG version, just some minor inaccuracies! I was kinda scared because this chapter is pretty important and complex in itself.

And let me say that what happened in this chapter 79 definitely marks the end of the climax, so I can totally see it ending in next chapter. The chapter tackled some very important thematics regarding the presence of "evil" in this series, that I will talk about extensively in my analysis.

The announcement today made me already a bit nostalgic and sad, but I want to strive hard to accompany myself and all of you towards the end of this arc with excitement and a smile, therefore I won't let myself be prey of the sadness yet and introduce you immediately to the gif of this month, because there's a lot we need to talk about and analyze and we can't waste time!!

This is entirely dedicated to our protagonist and heroine Sakura-chan, because damn, she really slayed this chapter!!! Under the cut to see what miracles she made happen!

The Color Page

My dear readers, after years of countless pleas on my social media, after being let down month after month, CLAMP FINALLY GRANTED ME A COLOR PAGE SOLELY DEDICATED TO KAITO AND AKIHO TOGETHER ON THE SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER!! Yaaaay!! Excuse me while I celebrate this event here in my little corner, especially after having a rough month! 🎉🎉🎉 I hope my followers thought of me when they saw it? Like "finally she'll stop asking for it" (breaking news, I'll keep asking for more even after the series is over) 😂 It took them 79 chapters to do so and honestly I'm laughing because....yes, I admit it, I expected another vibe for such an important color page coming after such an important emotional scene in chapter 78, but honestly the first thing I thought when I saw it was "....they had to wait 79 chapters for this? 😧" 😂because it's very very "regular", I think it would've been ok for this to come out long ago. LOL I'm being brutally honest here, I hope no one gets offended, especially because that pet peeve aside, OF COURSE I love this precious color page to bits, and I know under its "normalcy", its got a very important meaning to the both of them.

Akiho and Kaito are depicted together clearly during one of their travels....but the question is, is this from the past? Or the near future? I'd daresay they look the same age they are now, so this might probably be a foreshadowing for the future...? They'll keep travelling the world? But seeing the content of the chapter, this might also be just a call-back to their memories together and everything that they experienced during those travels, tightening their bond. Travelling the world is, after all, really their thing, their element. I really like Kaito's expression, with his usual smile that almost turns into a smirk, he gives off a vibe of being finally free to express his emotions. He looks carefree, and that's really something for him. Akiho, on the other hand, is always so much more expressive than him and you can literally feel the joy and excitement emanating from her delighted expression. Travelling with him makes her happy, so yes, should this be what awaits them in the finale, it's fine by me as long as they're happy (I'm rooting for the other option though, the "stay in Tomoeda with your newfound support network" route).

But as you know, I always have to analyze the color pages a bit deeper, especially when they're about these two. And since I had to keep myself distracted, I made a bit of research. Other than the "travelling" vibe, this illustration gives off also kind of a "vintage" vibe (which is another strong element to Akiho and Kaito). It seems Akiho is dressed in a sleeveless coat with cape and wearing a bonnet fully inspired by those worn by children in the second half of the 1800s, in the Victorian era.

(pic courtesy of Etsy) This is a model from 1896, for example. When I pinpointed the period, I immediately thought "uh, the Victorian era is also the period when Alice in Wonderland came out", although that was more towards the 1860s. I found it really interesting and a nice touch for this illustration with a retro flavor (the suitcase and purse also look kinda vintage).

But another thing that immediately caught my eyes were those cute birds landing on Kaito's shoulder and Akiho's bonnet. I immediately tried to look what kind of birds they are, and it seems like they could really be eastern bluebirds, typical of North America. Searching further, I found out that in several cultures bluebirds are harbinger of happiness and symbols of hope. I couldn't honestly have thought for a more fitting symbolism, for these two. Especially cause birds often are associated with an imagery of freedom, and this is something else that these two need, after being hunted by evil people for so long. They really do look free, in this color page. Also, the presence of the birds in this color page immediately brought me back to the color page of chapter 62, where we can see baby Kaito in a wintery setting, sitting on a lamppost, extending his little hand to a swallow coming to him. Swallows are a symbol of hope and bring a message of "spring is coming", and continuing from that message of hope, of "spring is coming for you too", we can finally see here in chapter 79 our Kaito with his true happiness, symbolized literally by the birds most associated with happiness. Another thing that caught my eyes is of course the lily depicted on the cover of the book Akiho is holding, a nice callback to Akiho's mother and Kaito's torment, Lilie. She's always going to be with them ❤️

The Japanese editorial text over the picture is an excerpt of what Momo was musing to herself in chapter 39, while imagining to talk to Kaito: "You traveled with her, and spent time together with her". I think CLAMP chose to feature this line to indicate an important thing that will be restored at the end of this chapter.

Everyone Is Doing Their Best

The chapter starts with a panel showing some light coming off Yukito's house, and we find out that even Touya fainted, exhausted by the effort to keep time stopped as much as possible. Ruby Moon is cradling his head on her lap trying to assist him and "recharge" his magical power, in hope to be able to maintain time "stopped" a bit more. In fact, if you notice, the "black covering" that symbolizes the time-stopping spell isn't completely destroyed yet, but only riddled with "holes", an indication that the spell is still somehow active, even if feebly. I imagine this might "slow down" the attacks, which are still coming but probably not at full speed like they would if the spell came undone completely. I have to point out immediately a mild inaccuracy in the ENG version, that I want to specify in order to dispel extreme theories before they're born: no, Ruby Moon didn't give up all of her powers to Touya, the verb used here is simply 補える, "can replenish (your magic)", not "give all".

Touya doesn't lose his sense of humor even in a dire situation like this, and comments sarcastically "What are you, a battery?", a clear recall to the whole "batteries" matter that came out in the un-rewritten world. Touya isn't supposed to remember about that, and he probably doesn't, but this is just a way from CLAMP to show that even in a situation where memories have been rewritten, some things will be unconsciously said again, because they're just meant to happen.

Ruby Moon calls for assistance from her "brother" Spinel Sun (love how even in these true forms, she still calls him "Suppy"), whom rejects the appellative of "battery" but agrees to give her a hand with "recharging" Touya to keep the spell up a bit longer. Everyone looks outside, only one thought in their minds, which is voiced clearly by a serious Tomoyo: "Sakura and everyone else are fighting with all they've got". I have to point out a typo here in the Japanese version (nothing serious, it can happen and will be surely fixed in the tankobon version): Tomoyo calls Sakura "Sakura-san". I loved the "sparkles" around Tomoyo's eyes, as if indicating that her extraordinary intuition is "at work" and just telling her that, even if they can't see them because they're quite far away, Sakura and the others are doing whatever they can to stop these attacks. And the fact they can see the attacks, but not their friends and their condition, must be really hard to witness, for all of them. But no worries, there's Touya nii-chan who's always ready to lighten the mood even in this challenging situation, joking that "If they don't get back before the curfew, they won't be getting their snacks tomorrow!". Here the ENG adds "squirt" to make Touya refer specifically to Sakura, but truth to be told, in the JP there's no subject, so he might be referring to everyone. It's amazing how he's able to keep his spirit up and be sarcastic even in this situation....he really believes in his little sister so much!

I'll Make Them Forget About You

Back where our heroes are, the attacks keep coming relentlessly, countered by Syaoran, Yue and Kero in tandem. Sakura reflects on the fact that the only transparent Cards she's got left are these two she's holding in her hands (Time and Rewind) and Flight. This statement leads me to believe that when Record transformed into that crystal that entered her, that meant that the Card completed its duty and disappeared inside of her. But Sakura isn't worried at all, because she knows that she can create more Cards. Yessss, this development that I've been anticipating since quite some time is finally here! ✨🎉 Sakura seems to finally have a concrete plan, but before proceeding, she needs to ascertain something. She asks directly to Kaito: "The people who are using these spells were trying to hurt you, right?". Kaito, with a pensive face, answers affirmatively.

But it's when Sakura asks again "Were they trying to hurt Akiho too?" that his expression turns really painful, the background after him portraying well his raging emotions and, while Mokona-sensei chose to leave Akiho hidden by Kaito's black wings in the previous panels, now she finally shows how both she and Kaito are holding onto eachother, while our boy answers with a "...Yes" dripping with sorrow. It really squeezed my heart with pain, this scene. Because as long as Sakura was asking about him, his expression was pensive but almost as if it's something he's used to, that didn't shake him too much. But when Sakura mentions Akiho, god, that wrecked him. Any mention, any reminescence of what those bastards did to her and how they were chasing after her to put their filthy hands on her again wrecks him even now, and it's like Mokona with her visual skills is showing how Kaito seems to be holding Akiho a little bit tighter, while he answers Sakura's question. I also have to point out something that I had noticed already from last chapter, but a panel tricked me into believing I was just seeing things: CLAMP here use a dark screentone for Kaito's eyes, that he never had before (actually, no other character in CCS got this effect in their eyes). This effect will be used on him for the entire chapter.

And it seems like it's the very same screentone that was used for the dragon. I think this might be an indication that the wings aren't the only reminescence of his dragon appearance!

Sakura shows once again an incredible empathy that allows her to go right to the heart of the issue without investigating much. If Kaito rewrote an entire world, and if it's true that Akiho in the previous world didn't have all the love and familiar support she's got now, it means that she was probably in danger too. And seeing as these people are attacking them now because they freed Kaito from his "punishment", Sakura doesn't really need much to make 2+2 and understand the situation. Sakura believes in Akiho, therefore she believes in Kaito too, and knows that if he came to this point it's because they were in a desperate and dangerous situation.

Showing an incredible insight, Sakura shocks both Kaito and Akiho by asking:

Sakura, JP: "In that case, can I make those people forget about you both?"

Because our girl needs to make sure that the plan she came up with won't have any undesired consequences. But most importantly, she needs to have their consent. She reiterates this once again, actually she will make sure to ask Kaito and Akiho's consent 3 times in total. She says: JP, lit. "If going back to before the world was rewritten will put you through hardships once again, then, can I just make them forget?" Kaito is even more shocked, because he finally understands Sakura's intent. A generous, selfless intent born from a loving heart. Our girl wants to make sure that these two will be safe and sound once she fixes this situation. She can't take risks, because their happiness is all she's really caring for right now. And in his shocked expression, I can also see some kind of "omg YES, PLEASE" vibe. Because probably, having those terrible people forgetting all about them is everything he ever wished, but couldn't achieve. And I think it's really funny how we berated Kaito so much in the past chapters for making Akiho and the others forget facts that happened before and forgetting about him, but here Sakura just takes "inspiration" from him and actually decides to use that same "trick" in the right way. Because it's not fair that it should be them, the abused people, to forget about their most important person, in order to achieve a happy life for at least one of them. It isn't fair and it isn't right that Kaito was driven into making all the mess that he made, pushed by desperation. The abusers, that clan and Association of magicians, should be the ones forgetting.

But this is Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card's finale, and Sakura definitely hasn't finished with being amazing yet, she actually just started. Her very strong power at this point allows her not only to see things that were difficult before, but also to connect the dots more easily thanks to that renowned instinct that I've always talked to you about, and that she learned to finally listen to.

As if she were seeing through him with X-rays, she confidently affirms that there's a book inside of him, a white book where you can inscribe magic on. And she also knows that that same book was inside Akiho, once. I guess this might be even coming from past memories of the unrewritten world (do you remember when, before the play started, Sakura said that she could feel something inside Akiho?). Akiho of course is shocked to hear that, and from her expression you can almost feel the chill that went down her spine in that moment. Sakura affirms that this book knows both Akiho and Kaito (thanks to the fact that it was inside both of them - something that I've always found painfully heartbreaking but also quite moving, for my ship), and it's got a very strong power inside of it. These will be two crucial things for Sakura's plan. In fact, our heroine is hellbent in attempting something pretty arduous: utilizing that artifact's power to create a new Card. For impartiality, I have to point out that the ENG added (completely on their whim) a "you, her special person" that isn't there in the JP version! Of course it's all the better for me, since they repeat (finally with the right adjective) that Kaito is Akiho's special person, but it's kinda funny that they messed it up so much in the previous chapters, and now they're adding it where there isn't any mention of it!

Sakura will be using a tool that knows the both of them, therefore she is sure that her plan will succeed, because the Card will know what it will need to erase. Sakura asks for Kaito and Akiho's agreement one last time. After hearing how those people wanted to hurt them both and even implanted the same magical artifact inside of her, Akiho is quite resolute and doesn't have any doubt: on with the wiping off! It doesn't matter who those people are, they've tried to harm her most important person and her too, so she doesn't really seem to give a damn about proceeding with this plan. Kaito, on the other hand, seems to be giving a more lackluster affirmative reply, but it's not that he's uncertain: he's just still riddled with guilt for all the mess that he's done, and he's probably realizing that now Sakura will need to put herself on the line in order to fix this and protect both of them, hence his sad face.

Still surfing the confidence wave, Sakura guesses that once those people have forgotten about Akiho and Kaito, then the magic arrows will stop too, and Kaito confirms that: forgetting about the person who had the Seal of D enforced on him will be equal to "undo" both the activation of the Seal itself (when Kaito removed the book from Akiho) and also the rescission of it (what Sakura did when she freed Kaito from the cage). This will therefore stop the arrows too, because the Seal wouldn't have been triggered in the first place. However, Kaito warns her that, although time is still barely "stopped" (because the time-stopping spell is still weakly on), it's necessary an enormous amount of power in order to do what Sakura wants to do. I have to point out another inaccuracy in the ENG translation in this part, which makes Kaito say "before things could get worse" and I have the feeling they misunderstood the word 辛うじて, "barely" or "narrowly", which is also written with the kanji of 辛い, "hard" or "tough". So Kaito isn't saying "before things could get worse" but actually meaning "although time is barely stopped".

Sakura doesn't seem to be scared by Kaito's warning, and activates her wand without a second thought, and immediately we can see that her task wil NOT be easy, as she can feel the strain almost right away.

Here we go with another inaccuracy of the ENG translation:

Sakura, ENG: "Great book, please show yourself! My power alone won't be enough...!" Sakura, JP: "The book....doesn't want to come out. (it's too difficult to pull it out) with just my power..."

Basically, Sakura isn't begging the book to "show itself", she's actually actively trying to pull it out of Kaito, and she's aware that it's opposing a lot of resistance, and her power alone isn't enough to take this damn book out. Sakura refuses to give up, because everyone else is doing their best too. Yes, everyone else.

And that's when CLAMP decided to bring us a big surprise for this finale.

A pair of hands seem to be appearing next to Sakura's, as if a spirit is hugging her from behind. We can see the famous fan that we learned to recognize so well ever since her first appearance in Movie 1. Sakura feels immediately the same magical power of Syaoran surrounding her, and with her instinct she finally recognizes her: it's Syaoran's mother, YELAN!!! We can see her, sweating and all, in her sacred chinese pavilion, lending her power to help in this difficult task.

What a great, welcome surprise for this finale!! You might have heard me saying on Twitter that Clear Card is really a celebration of motherhood, with this constant presence of mothers and mother figures who try to help these kids growing up without removing their right to choose for themselves. And since Yelan is the only mother figure who can concretely help Sakura in this moment, with her immense power, I really loved to see how this woman didn't hesitate to assist her future daugher in law. For any SyaoSaku fan, this scene here is a huge thing. We have seen in the anime how Yelan doted on Sakura ever since she met her in Movie 1, even before her own son realized his feelings for this girl. Yelan and Sakura haven't met in the manga yet (and hello, CLAMP, now this is a good chance for letting that happen, after the madness is over), but the woman didn't hesitate a moment to lend her power. I can really imagine how along these two will get, in the future. ❤️

Sakura thanks her aloud, while her eyes show that she's really really tired. Yelan's assistance is finally effective in summoning the artifact book out of Kaito, and we see again those countless book pages that we saw both when Akiho used to go "berserk", and also in the most heartbreaking scene of chapter 70. Kaito, still holding onto a worried Akiho, seems to suffer physically from this removal, and I can't understand if it's because removing something magical from inside is naturally painful (we've been shown something like that before, Syaoran crouching to the ground in pain while the Sakura Cards were being removed from inside of him) OR if the removal of the artifact also triggered his poor health conditions in which we left him, before he disappeared in chapter 70.

Sakura tries with all she's got and finally manages to turn the artifact into its "true form": a book filled with countless of spells written in strange magic runes.

You have spotted it, right? ☝️ I haven't seen many fandom reactions yet, but I guess this "cameo" made more than one person scream: it's Fay D. Fluorite's tattoo, yes! This page of the "book" is probably describing the procedure to cast that tattoo (which was also a kind of "seal", if I remember correctly). So that spells exists in this CCS world too! 😅 The magic Sakura is weaving starts "working" on the book, literally removing the spells from its pages and turning them back to their original form of magical books (remember that the Squids used to say that they would inscribe "magic books" and their power onto Akiho?).

Then, solemnly, we hear probably for the last time ever the magical incantation that accompanied us in the beginning of the story, used by Sakura to secure the strange manifestations of power into a transparent Card:

ENG: "Force without master, heed the call of my Staff of Dreams and become my power! SECURE!"

The countless of books and all this tremendous amount of power get secured into the birth of a new Card: BLANK!!!

Blank got the human appearance of Akiho, but also the protective wings of Kaito. The girl is holding a book (of course, how perfect for her) which is the representation of the artifact that was inside both Kaito and Akiho. This card is really so meaningful for someone like me who loves Akiho and Kaito. It's representing them united in their suffering (the artifact) but also in the hope for a better future (Akiho is smiling and the Card will be used to grant them safety, away from their abusers). I've always imagined that one of the last Cards Sakura might have produced would have Akiho and Kaito's elements, and here it is.

Also, how AWESOME is that Sakura managed to dispose of that damn artifact and succeeded to use it for Kaito and Akiho's sake, and turned it against the monsters who created it??? HOW. AWESOME. IS. THAT!!!!

Producing the very first consciously created transparent Card sucked almost all of Sakura's power and strength, and she's close to fainting, under the terrified eyes of Akiho, who lets go of Kaito for a moment in a gesture of going towards her "sister". But Sakura isn't done yet, no. She can't give up yet because her job isn't done.

And I Will Make Them Remember About You

Sakura wants for Akiho and the people who care about her (the ENG decided to translate this with "the people SHE holds dear") to remember who Akiho really is. She wants basically to "undo" what the rewriting of the world caused on the people who know Akiho, making them believe that she was born into the Kinomoto family and that she was Sakura and Touya's sister.

After pondering for a while and discussing with my friends over at my Discord server, I decided I'm not gonna go out on a limb and assume things from this decision, because I definitely NEED to read the next chapter to see how much Sakura intends people to remember, with this move. It's really not clear at all, as of now.

Anyway, other translation inaccuracy incoming!

Sakura, ENG: "I'm going to make another new card for that...and I might not have the power to do it alone" Sakura, JP: "It might probably be really difficult to create one more new card with my power, right now..."

As you can see, the nuance is different, because Sakura in the JP addresses how it's almost impossible for her to create another new card in the situation she is in right now, exhausted and all.

That's why, very cleverly, she's going to do something different. (My gosh how proud I am of this girl!!)

Saying "But these two Cards will surely help me", Sakura skillfully manages to merge Time and Rewind to create a new Card, not from scratch (which requires more power) but using what she's already got: and that's how the REMIND Card is born!!! The name of the Card originated by just replacing the "W" of Rewind with the "M" of Time. Ingenious, isn't it???

And as the two Cards merge, they give us lots of flashbacks, like the "effect" used here resembles a lot the one that used to happen when Sakura was changing the Clow Cards into the Sakura Cards back in the old arcs, or how the merging of two Cards seems to also be a callback to how the "card without name" and the "Nothing" merged to create HOPE in the very last minutes of Movie 2! What a nostalgic trip down the memories lane!

And the appearance of this Card is even more touching, because it features Syaoran (with his current age) holding Nadeshiko's pendant watch. I found that so sweet, especially coupled with Yelan's assistance to Sakura in this chapter. Yelan associated with Sakura, and Syaoran associated with Nadeshiko. How sweet. And when you think that even Lilie, Akiho's mother, was associated with Kaito, you really can realize that this is some kind of "theme" that CLAMP seemed to be wanting to portray in this story.

I Can't Be On Everyone's Side

And now, the scene that I think is worth the whole chapter, but probably the whole Clear Card Arc in its entirety. As usual, with important scenes, I'll use the literal translation from Japanese:

Sakura, JP: "It might not be right that there'll be people who will forget things (after this), but....I can't be everyone's friend/ally/can't be on everyone's side. So I won't go back...but actually, along with the people important to me... I WANT TO GO ON"

Wow. Let that sink in.

Sakura, of Cardcaptor Sakura, just came to the realization and spelled out clearly that she cannot be on everyone's side. That she cannot be "everyone's friend", like in a cheesy fairytale.

And I really, really, want to thank CLAMP-sensei for this scene and this line because for a period, long time ago, I was worried that this story would go down the "let's be friends" or "let's show sympathy to them" route. But as the chapters continued and the things CLAMP told us about the Association and the Squids were more and more cruel, and they made me more and more sick, I started to realize that there was simply no way CLAMP could've had Sakura try to justify or compromise with them. Because when cruelty is real, there's no compromise to be made.

This scene also shows how Sakura realizes for the first time ever that in her world, contrary to what we all believed previously, evil exists. It might not touch her or her "entourage" directly (and she's really blessed for that), but it exists out there and it's hurting people, people who can also become really important to her. And she decides to not stand idly by, blessed as she is with the luck of not experiencing that evilness, but actually using whatever it is in her power to bring those suffering people to safety.

Sakura cannot fight those people on equal terms. She's just 13, and although her power is very strong, she's still inexperienced. Moreover, she cannot really bring herself to deny her current nature and use violence on other human beings. That's not Sakura. I want you guys to reflect on this because I know that one of the favorite things expected for this finale was to have a direct magical confrontation with the true villains of this arc, defeating them and restablishing the peace. And I am sincere when I say that I would've wished for the same too, because you know how much I love Kaito and Akiho, and how much I was disgusted to read about what they did to them. I've spread my "burn the squids" gifs all over the fandom. I wanted someone to vindicate them. But not here. Not in this manga. I realized that after the initial satisfaction, I would've probably felt like the series would've been "defiled". And that's exactly what happens when you answer to violence with more violence.

Sakura just could not go hunting those bastards down and defeat them in a magical battle. Because, powerful and corrupted in their greed as they are, the only way to "fix" this situation would've been to exterminate them. I just could not picture this story to cross that boundary, no matter how much the bar had already been raised well over what we initially thought.

So, if someone out there is disappointed by this outcome, I'm sorry for you, but it was just not meant to be and I'm actually really glad that this series kept true to its fundamental values. Of course it would, CLAMP really do care about this series and they know very well how far to push the plot, and when to actually stop.

So what is the role of Akiho's clan and the Magic Association in this story, especially considering that we never saw their faces at all? Talking with lots of fans in these years, especially Japanese, I've come to the conclusion that they are not in this story to fill the "villain that needs to be deafeated" role, but actually they're a representation of abusive families that smother and suffocate their children with expectations, completely disregarding those children's natural inclinations, and abuse them when they do not meet such expectations, but also the society as a whole, that looks at you only basing on how it can take advantage of you. Which is exactly what happened to Akiho and Kaito, driving them to very dark places. The absence of faces for those characters makes it possible for the readers to see the Squids and the Association as the representation of whatever environment they relate the most to. It can be family, society, school, workplace etc... It also helps us focusing on their actions, rather than their faces, and not attribute any prejudice to them (because of religion, race, skin color, or whatever other attribute they could have).

Seeing as the story treats them more like a concept, than an actual entity, it's basically impossible for Sakura to defeat them (and their great power is an indication of that impossibility). Just like in real life, darkness will always exist, along with light. Good and evil will always be side by side. It's bigger than any of us. Then, what can we do, in a situation like this? What Sakura is choosing to do, here, is not to confront directly with violence these people who are way out of her league, and not even to sit back and look, but actually finding a way to make them forget about her friends and keeping her friends safe, granting them the possibility of living a happy life, finally away from the darkness of the past, healing the wounds on their souls together with the people they love and who love them back. Because even if you've been abused in the past, you can still hope for a happy life.

The focus here is all on helping the abused people. And Sakura, in order to do that, is okay with coming to terms with the fact that she can't be on everyone's side, and she needs to choose. In the end, the thing that really matters the most is to GO ON with your most important people. Not going back to what is lost, but going forward. And I know that this is such a CLAMP theme, and I'm glad that they reiterated it in this arc. When I say that Clear Card brought Sakura so much more closer to what's usual for CLAMP, I mean this.

The panel with Sakura raising her staff and shouting she wants to go on is absolutely beautiful, with those wings growing so big and unleashing Sakura's power in a storm of cherry blossom petals.

Sakura is exhausted, she finally reached her limit by using her ultimate magic. As she faints, her eyes just make it in time to catch a glimpse of her prince, the love of her life grabbing tightly his girlfriend's hand, to not let her fall, while the watch of Remind and the book of Blank do their job in the background. And I really loved this spread too, because even if it's not a conventional romantic scene made of physical display of love, this in my opinion is even more powerful. Many were reminded of Tsubasa, but I was also reminded of the long time those two spent unable to touch one another, and this scene here seems like a catharsis for that hardship they went through. Syaoran will always catch Sakura everytime she falls, he will always be there to grab her hand, no matter if he can really touch her or not. Cause his love is stronger than any kind of impediment. He will always be by her side, no matter what. When she's exhausted by her heroine's duties, she knows that she can always count on him to support her.

And speaking of "always be by her side", I just can't avoid mentioning how Akiho and Kaito stayed "glued" to eachother for the entire duration of this chapter, protecting and supporting one another. Kaito, in particular, kept holding Akiho even as Sakura's magic was hurting him like hell, because it was extracting the book from him. Even in excruciating pain, he did not let go of Akiho, intent in protecting her and keeping her safe in his hold. Akiho let go of him just for a moment when she was scared out of her mind for Sakura, but went back to him when she saw that her "sister" was hellbent in completing her task no matter what. Kaito, as the good "moon boy" he is, is someone who shows his feelings through his actions rather than words, just like Syaoran. And his constant grip on Akiho in this chapter, such an opposite act compared to how he used to stop his hand everytime it started reaching out to her, told me all that I needed to know about him: she's his most important person, and he will never let go of her, ever again.

Sakura wakes up in her bed. The scene is a direct parallel with an almost identical scene in chapter 3, as you can see here:

Kero is next to her and is relieved to see her awake, so he goes to shout in the hallway, directed to Touya, that Sakura is finally awake. Sakura seems a bit surprised to see Kero talking so nonchalantly with her brother, and he tells her that he chatted with him back at Yukito's house, together with Suppy, so I guess now he finds it "natural" to talk to her brother too! 😂 I'm kinda glad to know that, I like this "change of relationship", compared to the old series (and it was also kinda long overdue).

Sakura opens the palm of her hands and she finds the Dream Key, still intact and all. She also asks about Remind and Blank, and Kero confirms to her that she was able to use them successfully! Sakura is absolutely delighted to hear that, and says "We were able to go on!"

And thaaaaaaat's how the second-to-last chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card ends! Solving a lot of the pending situations, but still leaving some secondary questions that will surely find a (more or less) detailed explanation in the final, next chapter. And well, we also have to prepare to not have ALL the answers to ALL the questions we might have. This is usual for CLAMP, and especially in their Spaces they never made it a secret that they love for their fans to wreck their brains over theories and imagining the characters' future after a series is over. They love for the fans to give their interpretations to things, they encourage that a lot (also because it creates more long-lasting engagement with their series).

Alas, I expect they'll leave something in particular to everyone's interpretation, but we'll see. 😅

Overall, I really loved this chapter and it was really emotional for me. I think it's fitting for a "climax". Sakura was ABSOLUTELY running the show and after this I dare anyone to say that she isn't the main character of her story. She pushed her limits, and even questioned her own morality in doing so. What a wonderful thing. She reminded me so much of Sakura-hime when she shooted all those monsters in order to take the precious egg, back in the Acid Tokyo arc of Tsubasa. She knew she was doing something bad, but her wish to do everything needed in order to "have him back" was stronger than anything else. And she made her own choice. Here, Sakura, on a smaller scale, made her own choice too.

Now, I hope in the last chapter we'll be granted the possibility to delve a bit more into Kaito and his thoughts, I need to see his character development, I need to see that he learned something from this. That he -at least- started to interrogate himself over the nature of his feelings for Akiho. I know it's reasonable to think that with him, things will take looooong time, but as least show me the signs. Because I need to know that Akiho will be truly happy with him (I know she will!), and she can only be if he's learned to be honest with himself. And learned what Lilie meant with the last conversation we saw between them.

Also, WHERE'S MOMO, I NEED TO SEE MOMO BEFORE THIS ENDS!!

Okay, this is probably the longest post I ever did but I think as the second-to-last chapter it deserved to have some big thematics explored in depth, because they're very important. I'm still pondering if I should divide the post of the final chapter in two because, in addition to even more pages, I expect there'll be soooooooooo much to talk about (cross your fingers with me that there won't be any translation mistake).

I also hope there'll be room for an epilogue or a couple of extra chapters, to help us coping with the separation in a more gradual way, cause after 7 years it's quite hard. I was curious to see the end, of course, but also not entirely ready to let this wonderful story go. I really, really enjoyed it and I say this from the bottom of my heart. I don't care what everyone else thinks, I can only be grateful to CLAMP for Clear Card Arc. 🙏

Chapter 80, along with all the tears that will come with it, is expected to be uploaded on November 29th on CLAMP's Youtube channel. Yes, it's less than a month away! I also expect some news about the anime (BLESS THE ANIME!! Something to cling onto when the manga is over 😭).

Well, see you at the end of November (please come to hold my hand cause I cannot do this alone, lol) !!!

[the-moon-lullaby]

hii, i hope you're doing fine! i was wondering if you could do some headcanons for candy with a lot of piercings like eyebrow, nostril, lip, septum, navel, etc and the boys reactions when they see her with them on for the first time.

thank you in advance, have a nice day.

The HSL Boys' reaction to Candy having a lot of piercings

N/A : hiii, I’m doing good, thanks dear, here’s your request (I hope I got it right), have a nice day as well 💕

𝙲𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚕 :

finds it cool in general because he thinks it’s bold and kinda hot 

but for some reason he’s not particularly fan of the eyebrow piercing (but if Candy can pull it off, consider him impressed)

If she has a lot of piercing, he’d be like « damn girl » ‘cause he knows how painful it can be but also how much commitment (and time) it takes to take care of it 

I just know that at some point in his life, Castiel wanted to do a septum (or maybe a nose ring) but he never took the step forward to do so because he’s still not 100% sure

Would totally be up to accompany Candy if she wants to get another one

(and might end up finally getting his septum lol)

𝙻𝚢𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 :

he’s pretty neutral about piercings, even if Candy has a lot 

I feel like a lot of people could have some stereotypes about piercings (and we’ll go back to it right after lol) but I feel like Lysander is the type of person that doesn’t have any (and it doesn’t matter what we’re talking about, he just don’t believe in prejudices, he thinks for himself and we love him for that)

He’d think it’s bold and he’d ask you about how it went 

Not especially because he wants to get one (even though he might) but he’s genuinely curious about it

Honestly, he’d think it looks pretty but it’s hard to tell if it’s because of the piercings or because it’s just Candy haha

He’d probably consider offering you some piercings for your birthday or any other occasion (because he’s the kind of person that likes to offer jewellery)

𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕 :

if we’re speaking of the beginning of HSL, he’d probably have a bad impression of you at first because he has some stereotypes about piercings (here we go) 

But it's mainly because he has been repetitively told that is was BAD

So he would think of Candy as a troublemaker or something 

he can be a bit judgemental, and it’s probably related with the environment he grew up in (yes once again I am bringing how fucked up his family is but I intend to keep beefing with Francis and Adelaide through my headcanons lol) and that’s a flaw of his but we love him nonetheless right ?

But he has to admit that it looks pretty cool on you and would get used to it (also, as he gets to know Candy he realises that the stereotypes he had were so inaccurate (Francis you fucking liar)

He'd think the septum is hot and the same the lip piercing, especially if it's a ring one, is hot (expect that this one got him confused because at first he'd be like : what if I hurt her while kissing her ???)

And deep down, hanging out with Candy and then dating her changed his views on many of things, including piercings. 

So he'd start to wonder how he’d look like with a piercing and he’d finally reach the mark in UL by piercing his ear (and honestly, it’s kind of a slay)

𝙰𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗 :

Totally make some about jokes it 

But not in a mean way, as I said in other posts, teasing Candy is his love language 

He finds it cool how you’re not scared at all though

because he thinks that to get that much piercings she got to be resistant to pain 

Also he’s used to Alexy saying that he want one without actually having the courage to do so, therefore he’s like “well you’re a real badass” 

Will show Candy or randomly send her pics of piercing jewellery with pop culture references 

And will offer some of these piercings (like a Zelda piercings, sorry but some look so pretty y’all,  I want one) and urge her to wear them lol

Might get one too 'cause he wants them both to be matching (cute)

𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗 :

I have the feeling that Kentin’s might be scared of needle so he can’t imagine getting a piercing himself

So it’s really the piercing part that keeps him from getting one (otherwise he might have get one, probably an eyebrow piercing)

Since he and Candy have known each other for a while, he might have been surprised the first time because wait, what ??? He didn’t expect that

But we know that when it’s  about Candy, everything is cool to him 

So he’d quickly be like “omg babe you’re so cool and brave (have my babies)” 

Admires her for it and accompanies her each time she go get another one (but he won't get one himself, or at least not before a while, as he's still not comfortable with the idea of a needle piercing his skin)

And we're done ! I really enjoyed writing this one !

(Btw I don't write the requests in a chronological way, I mostly write the ones that inspires me the most at first so I don't loose my thoughts on them, I am sure you guys understand. But of course, all the requests would be answered in the end !)

Byeee

[hiddenhearthwitch]

do u have any tips/advice on how to identify and separate intrusive thoughts vs anxiety vs coincidence vs ‘this a fucking sign from the gods PAY ATTENTION’ cause tbh i feel so alone and def fuckng insane :)

First of all sugs, you're not alone. 💚 I definitely struggle with intrusive thoughts and it can be a terrible struggle between a "sign" and "wow you're in a park of course you saw a bird". You're not insane, there's just a lot in the world and even inside yourself for one human brain to process. I'm going to try to break this up into intrusive thoughts + anxiety then into coincidence + signs because it feels easier to lay out that way. We'll talk magical and mundane ways to work through this. I'm sending you good vibes babes. 🤍✨

I constantly have to remind myself that thoughts are not facts and I shouldn’t believe everything I think.

Sometimes when I have an intrusive thought I visualize myself as this dope ass paladin and I literally fight my thoughts away? I just close my eyes and meditate and focus on being the strong person I want to be and slay my own dragons. Sometimes that’s too hard and I just picture All Might because he’s Best Dad, if you have a favorite character I would give it a shot.

Aromatherapy bracelets and necklaces can be super helpful as well. Medicinally speaking lavender, chamomile, and opium would be the most mentally easing. Magically speaking pine, oak, lavender, valerian root, and hawthorn are all great for stability/protection in my experience. 

I personally carry around a sachet of onyx, rose quartz, lavender, pine, and oak.

You can minimize the damage of intrusive thoughts with self-help. This includes being mindful in the wake of an intrusive thought. Don’t waste your time obsessing over why you had that thought or what it all means. I’ve noticed once I learned to get past asking, “why am I thinking this?” all the time they don’t weigh as heavily on me. You are not your thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts are kind of just like a really loud boombox to me. Usually, if I listen to music I can really get into I can quiet down the thoughts. For the past four months or so Nujabes has been amazing musician to turn too. This past month Modal Soul has been the album that helps the most. It usually takes me a full album to feel normal again and I feel albums give me more stability than a playlist but honestly do what’s best for you.

Compulsive behavior can manifest when you try to change who you are based on the intrusive thoughts you experience. Changing who you are and your reality because of a thought that isn’t necessarily rational is the worst way to go about it. Stop trying to change who you are so you can adjust to your thoughts. Try to think about yourself in a third person perspective, “what would (insert name here) do in this situation?” This might not work for everyone but it’s helped me out once I started noticing the patterns.

From a magical perspective I’ve noticed moonstone is the stone that helps me the most. However most of my intrusive thoughts are PTSD related and I feel like moonstone helps me because it’s also stabilizing and can help prevent dissociation. I do also really enjoy onyx, tigers eye, and rose quartz as well!

Learn to recognize the starting signs for your intrusive thoughts. When my intrusive thoughts begin, they usually start off pretty simple. It’s one thought that feeds into a bigger insecurity or fear. Once you can spot the first thought you can start fighting it.

On the focus of coincidence versus a sign:

If I'm unsure if it's a sign I ask myself why I'm looking for a sign or if my gods made it clear to me to look out for one. Am I in a turning point in my life? Do I know I need guidance? Did previous divination point towards a sign coming my way?

Sometimes coincidence is the sign. If you're trying to decide if you want a purple or green wedding fit and you're driving down the road and see a shit ton of purple cars. I would call that a sign. If it's something you're actively thinking about and then it's glaringly in your face - I read that as a sign.

I've personally asked my gods to send me a sign three times if they're trying to tell me something. So that way I know.

I also take into account where I am. For example: I tend to read falcons and hawks as a sign or general greeting from Freyja. I live five miles from a national park though - hawks are every where, if I'm looking I can pretty much always find one or two on the way to or from work. Not really a sign if it's just local ecosystem at play.

That being said - they can still be signs. It's one thing if a bird of pray is just sitting on a lamp post. It's another to see it sitting on my car or catching a snake right outside my window. Common things aren't always signs - it can just be the mundane. That's when it's important to think about how it appeared and how it made you feel. Intuition is a powerful tool.

Ask yourself how you're feeling. I know this is probably a typical response but I know I personally read into everything when I'm anxious. I will catastrophize. Anything and everything becomes a sign of impending doom, fear of failure, etc. It's important to be aware of your inner dialogue and feelings when looking for signs.

If divination is a strong suit for you, consider using your divination tools as a way to verify if something was or was not a sign.

This is 100% personal belief but if a deity comes to me in a dream I will always read it as a sign. My dreams with gods are far and few between but relationships with them run very deep.

I'm not sure if any of this really helped or made sense but I hope it did. Good luck on your endeavors friend. 💐

[kasterisk-of-the-void]

My thoughts on Smile Precure!

So, I just finished Smile Precure, the 9th installation of Pretty Cure as a series. And honestly...? This season was a blast! I greatly enjoyed the main characters of this season, and even the MASCOT (very important). I felt like they all definitely grew as people the more the season progressed, which was refreshing. (Review below line!)

Let's start with Miyuki/Cure Happy, our lead cure. In traditional lead-cure fashion, this one has to be the upbeat, happy-go-lucky personality type, but she didn't feel generic at all. Miyuki has shown that she wasn't always so "happy-go-lucky" all the time, she had to GROW from her previous experiences ever since her childhood days. She's courageous, kind, empathetic, friendly, and most of all, VULNERABLE. After trying her hardest to show a smile in the darkest of moments, she admits with mountains of tears that it's HARD. She acknowledges she might be naive with her own hopes, but she never once backs down from what's important in that moment. To me, that's what makes a LEADER. Next is Akane/Cure Sunny, a person so passionate that it infects all she touches. Akane tries her best for everyone and everything, trying to keep the group strong in the face of challenges. Even though she comes off as blunt and TOO laid-back and jokey sometimes, that's who she is as a person. She has her own flaws, naturally, but she never shies away from it. Giving up is never an answer when it comes to those she loves. She's passionate, fun, and headstrong, which is vital to a group of friends and as a cure. Yayoi/Cure Peace is also fantastic in her own right. When we were first introduced to her, she comes off as this shy, meek, and fragile person who has strong insecurities about everything she does. However, we find that she's so much stronger than she thinks she is, and she learns to harness her courage. She may cry, she may fail, and she may get hurt, but it's her courage and the support of those around her that give her strength. Nao/Cure March is my second favorite out of all the Smile Precure. A girl who knows how to shoulder responsibility and show care and affection towards companions and family. Family values are built into her CORE, and I love her for it. We also get to see this reflected in her friendships as she won't hesitate to help her friends. Her sense of justice is what drives her, and she'll stop at nothing to right what's wrong. Her and Akane's competitiveness were always a favorite for me, too. And lastly, there's Reika/Cure Beauty. Naturally, I wasn't too into her character as she played the typical "honorable and elegantly spoken" character in a precure series, but I found myself loving her anyways. Reika above all else is gentle, courteous, and intelligent. She had shown time and time again just how motivated she is when it comes to her own goals, responsibilities, and even as a cure. She came up with plans for her comrades and didn't hesitate to hit heavy hits when the stakes were high. Her confidence and determination are what make her who she is. As for Candy, I enjoyed watching her be more developed throughout the season! She started this season as selfish, whiney, and unable to comprehend her situation, but we got to see her grow from that. She learned how to share, to be mindful of others, and to be a beacon of hope when her friends are in trouble. She wouldn't hesitate to be obliterated if it meant she could protect all of her friends. There is love in that heart of hers, and she wouldn't trade all the things she learned for anything. She was growing up. The plot itself was good, I enjoyed how creative they got with different fairytale-eque gags and themes! Wolfrun, Akaoni, and Majorina were definitely some of my favorite precure villains purely because of how they interacted with each other. JOKER, TOO, WAS ABSOLUTELY A SLAY. I wanted to punt him into the sun several times for his fruity behavior. Though, if I had to complain about anything, I wish we would've gotten to see more of Lord Pierrot. We didn't get to see much of anything ABOUT him throughout the entire season until the last 3 or so episodes. And, of course, I wish the Cures' outfits were more diversified, but I have to remember that this was the era of Precure BEFORE they went crazy with the designs.

ALL IN ALL, I give Smile Precure a 9 out of 10!! I loved this season dearly!!

[fuckyeahhiccannamonth]

HIIIII HICCANNA NATION, long time no post!!!

Sooooo long story short, a bitch overcommitted HARD last year, and had like 17 Hiccanna month posts that I completely ran out of steam to finish. And then because I felt so guilty I didn't finish THOSE, I also didn't reblog all the incredibly awesome posts the rest of y'all made, and I'm really sorry for not giving my people the love and appreciation they deserve!!! And then, of course, my life from like October through like March became an absolute shitstorm, and I got semi-threatened with eviction and then friend-dumped by one of the most important people in my life D: It was a whole Ordeal™️, and sadly, my brain was too fried to think about my favorite awkward blorbos 💔

BUT BY GOD, THE TIME HAS COME FOR ME TO GET MY LIFE TOGETHER AND PULL THROUGH FOR ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE THIS FUNKY LITTLE EVENT COME TO LIFE!!! I WILL finish reblogging all of last year's Hiccanna Month posts before the end of this month if it kills me!!! And by god, I WILL have this event again, because it's what y'all deserve!!! I don't have the spoons to post much of my own stuff this year (except maybe some leftovers from last year lol), but I'm going to be more on top of my shit about hyping anyone and everyone who decides to participate :3 I'm so grateful for each and every one of you, and I can't tell you how happy it's made me that you all have made this event for my little rarepair OTP bigger and better than I ever imagined 💚🧡💚🧡

I am, however, following suit for some of the other RotBTFD ship months and cutting down from one prompt a day to two per week for 8 prompts total, with an overarching theme for each week. I honestly don't have the spoons to do a prompt every day this year, although for future Hiccanna months, that could change. The two-a-week format seems to work better for a lot of people anyways, since I've gotten feedback that 31 prompts in a row is, er…pretty overwhelming, to say the least ^^; So two prompts a week for this year, and we will see if people like this format better!

@gryffindorkxdraws a tag for you, as promised 🩵

AND NOW, the prompt list!!! Apologies for only giving you guys a couple weeks of prep time—I know it's usually more ^^; But y'all know I'm flexible about late submissions, and it's totally fine if you submit for Hiccanna month after July! And who knows??? If I'm feeling spicy, I might tack on a bonus week for the first week of August 👀👀👀

WEEK 1—MUSIC Special thanks to @lovestrucklyuniverse for suggesting a focus on music from Hiccup and Anna's movies—I'm enamored with that!!! Of course, these prompts are just suggestions, and if you'd rather make something inspired by a pop song, alternative rock jam, or Eurovision ballad that reminds you of Hiccanna, then have at it!

1. For the Dancing and the Dreaming—A re-imagining of our favorite Viking wedding song with Hiccup and Anna! They're certainly the sort of people who would do all manner of impressive feats and grand gestures to win each other over, but the joke is on them—they don't need to! Sometimes, pledging love and devotion is enough, and there's no need to slay monsters or gift troves upon troves of treasure to prove yourself worthy of someone.

2. More Than Just the Spare—One of my absolute favorite things about these two is how they rise above being overlooked and underappreciated and accomplish some truly spectacular things. This prompt is all about Hiccup and Anna showing that they can be more than anyone ever expected them to be—preferably together, while being madly in love!

WEEK 2—MOVIES AND TV Let's be real—we've all dreamed of seeing Hiccup and Anna interact (and adorably butcher flirting several times) on the big screen. Whether it's through an epic Disney-Dreamworks crossover (god, we all wish, right?!) or imagining Best Awkward Blorbos in your favorite TV show, this week is all about Hiccanna slaying in visual media!

1. Romcoms—Have you ever watched a romcom and gone "You know what would make this better? If it was about Hiccanna!"? Furthermore, have you ever watched a romcom and gone "Well shit, this is literally just about Hiccanna!"? Well, now's your time! Make something inspired by your favorite Hiccanna-coded romcom, or a romcom you desperately believe needs more Hiccanna energy in it! Or, hell, make up a brand-new cheesy romcom plot for these two and make us all swoon 💞

2. Dramas—We forget it sometimes, but not everything in these two dorks' lives is sunshine and rainbows. Hiccup lost a whole-ass leg! Anna almost froze to death! They both grew up lonely, friendless, and (relatively) isolated from their communities! For this prompt, take your favorite drama and Hiccanna-ify it—or aplify the Hiccanna you already see! It can be any subgenre you want—coming-of-age drama, period drama, weird avant-garde indie drama, you name it! Subject those guys to some Dramatics™️ and let us see :3

WEEK 3—LITERATURE AND TEXT PROMPTS This week is all about something so many of us long to have an excuse to do--write about the blorbos! Whether you're looking to try your hand at fic for the first time or you're coming back to add more much-needed Hiccanna into our ever-sparse internet ecosystem, these text prompts will hopefully get your fanfiction juices flowing. Pick your favorite(s) of the four for each day, and write away! If you want to try and do all of them then have at it, but don't stress yourself out!!! I wanna make sure this year's event is as chill and no-pressure as possible, since I know a lot of options can be overwhelming, especially for Anna and I's fellow ADHDers! And if you don't want to commit to writing anything, or writing just isn't your strong suit, that's okay too! Use this week to make something based on any literature that brings Hiccanna to mind, or any literary world you'd love to see our favorite awkward ship in. Happy creating! Also HUGE shout-out to @lilandraws for helping me narrow this down from 40 fucking prompts, because when I tried to just casually make a list of text prompts I liked, I got, um...a bit carried away ^^; Also for giving some absolutely hilarious commentary that singlehandedly got me through the workday, bless 💚💚💚 And thank you to @creativepromptsforwriting for the prompts themselves!

1. Pick your favorite(s)!!! a) “Two bros, chilling in a small bed…” b) “Someone just handed you a cat?” c) “Sorry I tried to kill you.” “It’s fine, but next time you should try harder.” d) “Takes one to know one.”

2. Pick your favorite(s)!!! a) He had prepared himself for all the different ways she could reject him. But what he hadn’t prepared for was for her to actually say yes. b) “Want to hear some random facts about geese?” c) “What are we?” “Human. At least I hope we still are.” d) “I can’t stop thinking about kissing you.” “And what are you going to do about that?”

WEEK 4—COMIC BOOKS And now, for the ultimate kick-ass combination of visuals and literature—the visual novel and comic book!!! Since Hiccup and Anna are, fundamentally, animated cartoons (as much as they are much more to all of us!), it seemed fitting to wrap up with this one :3 This week is all about comics, and what epic shenanigans and hijinks can come of Hiccanna-ifying them!

1. Sci-Fi/Fantasy AU—One of the things comic books and visual novels do best is exploring fantastical scenarios and limitless possibilities. The iconic superhero AU is probably the most well-known, but your options don't end there! Do you have a favorite comic about guys on spaceships exploring the galaxy and battling aliens? Or a comic about a party of DnD-style adventurers taking down an evil wizard? Throw some Hiccanna in it and let us see! The sky's the limit, and really, you don't even have to stop there! (Note: Using AUs for ANY of these prompts is real and valid and encouraged, so don't feel like this is the only place where you can use wacky AUs! This is just the one where they have a special focus/emphasis. But AU away whenever you like—Hiccup and Anna kinda require an AU to even be able to interact, so it sort of comes with the territory!)

2. Favorite Comic Book Adaptation AU—Many of us have been lucky enough to see a comic we like be adapted into something else, and can say with confidence that the adaptation kicks absolute ass,, whether it be a movie, TV show, novelization, video game, or whatever else! Like with the previous prompt, superhero comics might be the first thing to come to mind. Of course, I'd be delighted to see Hiccanna in the world of the Spiderverse, Invincible, or your favorite DC or Marvel movie, but keep in mind these aren't your only choices! Something like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World or Netflix's The Sandman would be a totally valid option as well! Have fun and go crazy :3

Aaaaaaand that's all for now! Tag those posts with hiccannamonth2024 or hiccannamonth24 so I can see them and reblog, and happy Hiccanna month-ing! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with and shower all my love on it 💗💖❤️‍🔥 See you next month!!! We will go through all of July…and beyond >:3

As far as content goes, literally anything is welcome--edits, art, drabbles/fanfic, videos, interpretive dance you record yourself doing that has Hiccanna motifs, it is all fair game as long as it’s Hiccanna-related!

Your ever-determined Hiccanna month hoster person, Fuckyeahhiccannamonth 💚

[lesbianfanfictionenthusiast]

talking about your masterful list of the NEXT BIG THING

i seriously don’t know why people genuinely think we’re getting a “hard launch” 😭

like, everything they have ever said has been “yeah we don’t care what you say or what we say, but don’t expect an ‘official title’. they’re cringe and not slay.”

they don’t like labeling and peoples’ constant need to push labels are not listening

also you forgot about the streaming service 😔

(but seriously obviously they’d never do it, but after seeing so many people joking about it and cause of watcher and try guys, it’s starting to freak me out and if they don’t say something soon i will start crying 😭)

i hope this made sense hehe :) <33

honestly, i don't know what they would even hard launch at this point. 💀💀 they've already told us everything they want us to know through big, various interviews or just the way they act in general. it's pretty obvious what they are to each other and they know that we know so there's not really a point in explicitly "hard launching" it because the only thing said reveal would change is that they would lose that "plausible deniability" towards the media and would have to deal with invasive social media "news outlets" and tabloids speculating about their personal lives and i can really understand why they would want to avoid that by keeping things the way they have since their coming out videos

also dan i-am-gonna-upload-the-entirety-of-my-stage-show-on-youtube-for-free howell would never let such a streaming service happen, no matter how much mr capita£ester might want it /j hahqhqhhqhwhsh

[nuwildcat]

10 QL people I want carnally aesthetically

Sooooo as your local ace, I couldn't complete the lovely tag from @sunshinesanctuary with carnally, cause....I don't think that way. BUT with a little chit chat in DMs with @luckydragon10 I was able to cobble together a list of aesthetically pleasing people from Queer Love series.

Cool I'm going to start with the two who lured me into Thai BL cause why not.

**note the following gifs will not be the most flattering, but instead the most hilarious ones I find on tumblr's atrocious gif search.

10. Tan (Max Nattapol) - Manner of Death

What can I say, I like a good cheeky monkey who has no idea what to do with the pretty man that has just kissed him. He has his little shit face on here, and that's about all it takes to lure in my ace heart.

9. Bunn (Tul Pakorn) - Manner of Death

What an orange cat of a man. Like, what were you thinking was going to happen (spoiler he was checking for a gun I think? sus little bean) but that is a horrible way to go about that. Charmed the shit out of me from the get go, he absolutely deserves to be on this list. Also that shirt is doin' werk.

8. Phupha (Earth Pirapat) - A Tale of a Thousand Stars

Right, so, as far as aesthetics go, this man is already pretty, but then they stuck him in a uniform, and I've always been a sucker for a uniform. He gives gremlin vibes this entire show, despite the serious face that is just stuck like that. (I am starting to sense a pattern...).

7. Prapai (Fort Thitipong) - Love in the Air

What does this man do? Seemingly, nothing. He has way too much time on his hands and a clearly overworked secretary, but I will say the lack of brain cells and puppy dog eyes kinda worked for me. (not enough to finish the series, but I was digging him).

6. Jang Jae Young (Park Seo Ham) - Semantic Error

I love how freakishly tall this man is. Once again I have found an absolute terror of a man (this one totally has a golden heart) and latched onto him instantly. The fact that he came with a built in size difference is just the icing on the cake.

5. Choi Yu Na (Song Ji Oh) - Semantic Error

Ummm. Yeah Imma just let that gif speak for itself. Immaculate babe, just keep doing what you're doing.

OKAY from here on it's just KP I don't know what y'all were expecting otherwise.

4. Tay (Us Nititorn) - KinnPorsche the Series

My love affair with Tay is long standing and undying. This is the best I could do to find a silly gif of him. Honestly I think that speaks to why he is so high on the aesthetic list. Poor man lost in a google coin toss to Big 😭

3. Big (Nodt Nutthasid) - KinnPorsche the Series

That right there ladies and gentlemen, is peak bodyguard performance, losing your shit over the new kid. All jokes aside there's something about this man's face that makes me wanna stare at it from like every angle. Give this man another role so I can stare at him more, please.

2. Porsche (Apo Nattawin) - KinnPorsche the Series

Ahhh Apo and his amazing faces. There is a unique ability to demonstrate just how little is going on in a character's head, and Apo has it DOWN. Porsche my darling, aesthetically your a freaking masterpiece, but baby if you think too hard you might hurt yourself. (Yes I am aware the theme is getting worse). THAT BEING SAID. Holy shit when you clean this boy up he is a force to recon with. That green suit??? it haunts me. Aesthetics on point with this brat.

Kinn (Mile Phakphum) - KinnPorsche

Right so this last one was actually hard to pick between Porsche and Kinn, buuuuut if I'm going form a character aesthetic approach I have to give the #1 spot to Kinn. My man slays through the majority of this show with suits on point, and cocky faces galore. I kinda hate him a little bit for how long I had to scroll to find an unflattering gif. EVEN HERE HE LOOKS GOOD he just got his dick sucked too hard in a helicopter to pull off suave. *throws hands up in the air* I just wanna put him in my pocket and take him out and shake him every once and a while.

I am very late to this game but I am going to inflict this on a couple people I think who haven't been tagged and whose answers I would find amusing. @lady-guts @fairhairedkings @medievalraven @stoeptepel @dr-lemurr

Please feel no obligation to participate I just think y'all would have good hot-takes.

[daenystheedreamer]

3, 7, 11, 16, 26, 32 🫡🫡🫶🫶🫶🫶

7 Which Free City are you retiring to?

GOD I WANT TO DO A GRAND TOUR OF THEM ALL... lorath the weird qohor the weirder. lys the forgotton revolutionary volantis the evil. renaissance myr bells of norvos pentos of varys and tyanna fame. tyrosh the slay blue hair and pronouns. but its gotta be braavos!!! the only one not tainted by valyria the one with hot sauce. myr second choice :)

11 Favourite bastard

honestly. gendry. he does NOT want to be that man's bastard he HATES that motherfucker he's an anarchist union man but the thing is. he is literally doing robert and lyanna. liiike. king sorry. if this meant great bastards im going aegor rivers for horse representation

26 Favourite "problematic" ship

genuinely everybody feel free to unfollow me for this but i am a minor closet sansan shipper im so sorry guys booo boooo tomatoes i know !!!! i got into this series through watching game of thrones at 14 okay. i was a sansan jonerys gendrya normie. i am on the vanguard of stop shipping sansa with adult men. unfortunately its in my blood i just cant escape it... its not huge for me and i consider it (like gendrya) a part of the scrapped time skip thing where it might have happened but not anymore. sowwy </3

32 A fancast you absolutely can’t stand

fancasting is hard for me i can never fully see a real person as one of these characters unless its absurdist ie tobin bell bloodraven jennifer tilly alys rivers or michelle visage barba bracken from my elaborate asoiaf in my mind surreal adaptation. but honestly every skinny white pretty fancast does nothing for me i dont care. or if its some russian model like what? do you really want some rando russian model who cant act to portay these characters??? just cos theyre skinny with bone structure??????? most fancasts i deride as "white" despite the fact the characters are canonically white* *u know what i mean

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET FOUR - ROUND THREE - MATCH TWO

"The Weather" (exhibited September 24, 2021 – August 7, 2022 - Laurie Anderson) / "Judith Slaying Holofernes" (c. 1620 - Artemisia Gentileschi)

THE WEATHER: This is the Laurie Anderson room at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. I think it used to be part of a larger exhibit but I only saw it recently and by then it was this one room. It’s hard to describe without being there — this huge black room covered in white paint. Drawings, words, on the walls and the floor. I kid you not, walking into that room felt like walking directly into my brain. The fragmentation, the poetry of it, it’s so crowded, bursting with cognition. Remembrances and stray ideas fly around this place and I stayed there for an hour plus, reading everything and looking at everything and sitting in the corner. It made me so insane I went home and wrote an entire prose poem about it. (green-cargaytions)

JUDITH SLAYING HOLOFERNES: i am in love with Caravaggio's works so this isnt 'hating' him or something. but i dont know how else to explain how absolutely brilliant artemisia's work is.

ok alright, so first off in (caravag)gio's works judith looks a little disgusted (?). like she looks as if she's distancing herself from the act. not only from her expressions, but also from the literal distance. it's as if she doesnt want the blood to 'contaminate' her.

as for arte(mis)ia's interpretation, she looks like she's immersed. the proximity, her expression (she seems determined and vindictive) and the grip she has on his hair is gfsdhjdgj

also i love how mis has portrayed the ladies to be physically strong. i adore the arms. they are bulky and i dont know it just seems physical strength.

also also the second woman is involved in the act if his beheading which just idk her interpretation creates such an intimate portrayal. it feels more immersive and powerful. i might be biased, but i feel like the lighting is spectacular too.

also, in gio's version, i feel myself dividing attention between judith and holofernes which creates a short distance in my mind, while in mis' version, all the subjects grab your attention at the same time.

artemisia has portrayed the struggle and resistance wayyyy better too (imo). pay attention to Holofernes' hands. he's trying to fend for himself. the grip judith has as she tries to counter his resistance. besides, notice the sleeve slipping off her outfit. like holy shit.

also did you notice one of her knee on the bed (just noticed as i am writing this and i am frothing at the mouth)

btw i am obsessed with the way mis has painted the bedding. idk the way light hits it, and honestly just the way she has painted it is pretty gorgeous. and also the fabrics, there is something in the way they have been painted.

the blood that spurts out of holofernes' neck is portrayed so 'realistically' in her interpretation too. the way it drips down the bedding.

ok so now if you pay close attention to the way the blood spurts, a string (?) of blood is parallel to judith's bracelet which appears to depict Artemis, which might be a small indication towards her putting herself in the place of judith. it is quite likely because-

(tw: rape)

-artemisia was raped at the age of 17. and she was tortured when she went to recount her experience which would prove her truthfulness (i want to go back in time and gauge their eyes out 🥰).

so not only was she raped, she was also publicly humiliated and this makes it even more likely for it to have been her spin on the mythology. (anonymous)

("The Weather" is an audiovisual exhibition by American artist Laurie Anderson. It was exhibited at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC from September 24, 2021 – August 7, 2022, where it spanned the second floor.

"Judith Slaying Holofernes" is an oil on canvas painting by Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi. It measures 6′ 6″ x 5′ 4″ (158.8 cm × 125.5 cm) and is located in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.)

[melanieathene]

Suptober 2023 Day 7 - Black Cat

You might think life as a witch's familiar is an easy one. A roof over my head, a place to sleep and a belly full of food in exchange for helping focus their power. Oh, and maybe the sacrifice of a claw clipping. Or a tuft of hair. Or a few drops of blood. Even a pulled whisker or two – ouch! That one hurts.

But it's not all lazing in the sunlight and yowling at the moon. There's a lot less to purr about than you might think. And what's a feline to do if hunters come after your witch and slay her? Well, it's back to the streets with you then – and if being a black cat labels you as being bad luck, well, that's too bad for you.

Not that my witch-bitch didn't deserve to die. She was evil personified. She hurt a lot of people – innocent people – and she cast a lot of malevolent spells. So it was inevitable that hunters would eventually find and end her.

But not before she had time to cast one final spell...

A curse. A love curse at that. Honestly, was that the best she could do? I can think of a dozen better options, but I guessed she panicked.

I will spare you a list of the ingredients that went into the spell. They make me queasy, and I'm not the picky type. Suffice to say, it was a noxious brew. The tall hunter who came up behind my mistress (and killed her), avoided being enchanted. But the other two – the pretty one (according to her) and the angel – caught the worst of it right in the (excuse the expression) puss.

There was a moment, a brief moment, when I thought the spell wasn't going to work. But then they started making goo-goo eyes at each other. Handsome's hands reached out to grab the angel and pull him in close. I found it hard to tell if they were kissing or trying to devour each other.

The tall hunter figured it out before I did. He muttered something that sounded like, “finally!” followed by, “I'll just wait outside.”

He ran from the room as if Satan himself was on his heels. I sat and watched the increasingly enthusiastic lovers for a while, but their x-rated antics soon became more than I could bear. I joined the tall hunter outside, where he leaned against a sleek beauty as black as my fur.

“Hello, kitty,” he said as I sauntered over, and he squatted down to pet me. I allowed it. A good decision. His clever fingers found all the places I most like being stroked.

Moans and the sound of furniture crashing to the floor echoed from within the cottage.

“How long do you think they'll be?”

I purred in reply as he hit a particularly sensitive spot.

I wish I could have told him the spell typically only lasts an hour. Unless the victims happen to be secretly in love. The effects never totally go away in that case.

But I'm a cat and I can't talk. And I had new accommodations to locate. Something different this time, hopefully. A nice little family. A warm place by the fire. A bowl of milk now and then...

No more damned witches for me!