#i tell them its my favorite piece of media
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Been watching RWBY with a friend and we finally caught up to V9 and I had to mute myself because I just cried straight through the last four chapters
#rwby#rwby volume 9#i am very emotional about my girls#that includes jaune#i started crying during their argument and didnt stop until they were back on remnant#and then cried even harder through the epilogue#because that one is still very fresh#convincing all my friends to watch rwby one step at a time#i tell them its my favorite piece of media#theyre all baffled during the first two volumes#then volume three hits them like a truck and they all collectively go#what the fuck just happened i thought this was a fun show about food fights and fighting grimm#and then i start crying
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the difference between the fourth wall breaks of something like the Deadpool movies compared to something like Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is that every joke in Deadpool feels masturbatory like the writers think they're so hilarious for doing a fourth wall break like that's never been done before whereas both of the other two not only feel right at home with the characters' personalities but are much more natural and much more well done compared to the jokes in Deadpool or its sequel. (do not get me started on Deadpool 2, the movie sucks ass in basically every way except for the characters of Domino and Yukio. every single joke in it was outdated before it was even written. they were making fucking dubstep jokes in 2018. it was a 2012-ass script made way too late and riding on the coattails of the first with even less effort into being actually good.)
but the difference between those properties is that Deadpool wants to be congratulated for being some insanely crazy shocking movie that's pissing off the studio system or whatever but every single joke in it was approved by those people because it makes them money like it's so antithetical to the entire point they're trying to make and it makes for a very infuriating watching experience sometimes. the cognitive dissonance is hard to swallow with that one. but the way BOPATFEOOHQ and She-Hulk do their bits feels so much more authentic and less self-congratulatory and also just like they're clearly done with so much more passion and effort and care? when I watch either of the Deadpool movies, I feel like I'm watching a bunch of executives jerking themselves off. when I watch the other two, I feel like I'm watching a passion project that the executives clearly didn't give a shit about and thus the creative team were actually allowed genuine creative freedom with not a lot of oversight. that's a little less true with She-Hulk (especially in terms of that glorious finale although even that feels more authentic and artist-driven than most things in either Deadpool movie. Kevin Feige's boring, sanitized ass does not have the range to do that finale) being a MCU property although Phase 4 was so fucking experimental and it was a joy to behold even if not everything hit but it's still true and more authentic for the most part. with Deadpool it feels like the only person who really really cared about it was Ryan and like maybe a few of the other actors who actually did do commendable work with what they were given but with the other two projects, it feels way more collaborative because every single person showed up and cared deeply about what they were making.
(this is an addition to the tags bc I ran out [apparently i forgot there was a 30 tag limit] but. anyway the point is. Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is a phenomenal movie in basically every single way and you should watch it.)
#James talks#sorry I just wanna scream about how much I love BOPATFEOOHQ again#the first CBM since 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that felt more like the voice of artists than the voice of a studio.#I love Shazam but even that felt like it was a little studio driven instead of being a David F. Sandberg movie.#like BOPATFEOOHQ feels artist driven the same way The Batman does and the TASM movies do.#not to derail this tag rant but the TASM movies are Marc Webb movies through and through.#yes they have Sony's grubby hands on them with the product placement and shit but they are inseparable from Marc's vision#they are what Marc cares about more than what the studio cares about. the thematic interests are all Marc Webb.#anyway point is: more art like BOPATFEOOHQ bc it actually cares and less shit like Deadpool that is just pointing and laughing.#Deadpool feels like it's laughing at the concept of superhero media and it's a horrible boring deconstruction of it bc it doesn't get it.#it feels bad to the psyche the same way those meme disney show record scratches do—#like 'my life is kinda crazy' but it's 'ironic' now so it's 'funny'.#'see it's funny bc they're self-aware!' okay but what are they doing by being self aware???#I'm not saying every piece of art has to be some profound exploration of whatever but Deadpool feels bad to watch in a way the others don't#BOPATFEOOHQ is actually fucking commenting on something using its gags!#the fucking 'they call her... the crossbow killer gag' is actually thematically relevant!! women telling their own stories!!#a subversive joke actually playing into the themes of the project!! imagine that! care ajf effort put into saying something!!#anyway Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is phenomenal.#genuinely one of the greatest CBMs out there. also just a phenomenal time. even tho Parasite is a better movie overall#— BOPATFEOOHQ was my favorite movie of 2020.#some of the best action around with a great script with amazing pacing and phenomenal acting and a great score and soundtrack!!#literally nothing more to ask for.#one of my usual criteria for evaluating how good a piece of art is how much I'd add to it to help it do what it was trying to do.#like not cutting anything from it unless absolutely absolutely necessary. just adding like maybe 10-15 minutes to the runtime and—#helping maybe a few weaker elements shine more. with BOPATFEOOHQ the only change I'd make is to have more of the characters.#let us see more of Cassandra and Black Canary. more of their inner lives and backstories.#Christina Hodson tells us their stories with great efficiency and it's done really well but visually I'd just like to do more with them.#give them each maybe a 2-3 minute scene with what their daily routine is like.#maybe explore Canary's history with her mother more. see how it ties into the GCPD more effectively.#maybe actually see Cassandra's parents and how she deals with them daily instead of hearing about it from her hiding outside
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cling to me
I know I said I was going to distance myself from this piece of media because of all of its terrible connections, but these two characters seem to have taken root in a permanent place in my heart, and I can't let them go.
Anyway, here's some character design notes below the cut for the one person out there who's obsessed with these characters as much as me.
Early DSMP: the era of childhood innocence
Bandanas: They sport each other’s bandana’s (they’re hidden in the design for every era). I love character designs with complementary colors (and I love how red and green are also cranboo’s colors)
Disks: Early on, cat and mellohi represent the peaceful moments ctommy shared with his favorite people, but they went on to be a symbol of victory and independence from the people who have hurt him.
Flowers: Ctubbo collects flowers and tries to memorize the meanings and symbolism tied to each type of flower. He also collects them for his bees.
L’manberg: the era where children became soldiers
Horns: Ctubbo’s horns start to grow in here.
Pogtopia: the era of an exile and a secretary of state / spy
You can tell I joined the fandom at the end of this era because I don’t have many notes here or for the l’manberg era.
Exile: the era of an exile once again and and a president too young
Hair: Ctommy’s hair starts to grow longer as he neglects taking care of himself.
Clothes: Ctommy’s clothes are tattered; one shoe is destroyed and he took to wearing cw-lbur’s (f-ck ccw-lbur btw!!) trench coat.
Bandages: Ctubbo’s wrapped in bandages from his recently earned firework burns. He’s gone blind in his right eye, and he’s missing the ring and pinkie finger on his right hand.
Compasses: They share their matching ‘your tommy’ and ‘your tubbo’ compasses
Hog Hunt: the era where one sought to kill the blood god while the other sought refuge there
Stolen goods: Ctommy’s has his antarctic empire outfit plus all the goods he stole from ctechno like the turtle helmet, golden apples, and the axe of peace.
Bedrock: Ctommy wears his counterpart piece matching techno’s from his ear.
Prosthetic: Ctommy’s right foot had to be amputated after he loses it to frostbite in the trek to cemeraldduo’s cabin. Ctechno gives him a simple prosthetic.
Disc Finale: the era of mended relationships and a final stand
Headband: Ctommy begins to wear a devil headband to fit in more, as he’s one of the few humans on the server. The devil horns were chosen to resemble ceryn’s real ones.
Patchwork: Ctommy learns to sew, and he fixes his tattered clothes from exile.
Post Revival:
Devil horns: Ctommy’s devil horns (plus a tail) become real after revival, and he gets a white streak in his hair.
Prime cross: The bad things that have happened to them both that they survived strengthen ctommy’s faith in prime, whereas they weaken ctubbo’s faith.
Sweater: Ctommy makes himself a sweater from friend’s wool.
Mechanical inventions: Ctubbo pursues his passion for engineering more as he makes mechanical bee drones and studies nuclear physics. He also makes himself prosthetic fingers, and he upgrades ctommy’s prosthetic foot.
Marriage ring: Ctubbo marries cranboo platonically and wears the ring on his horn. He also founds snowchester so he can have a place to protect his loved ones and raise his son. He grows out his hair to avoid eye contact for cranboo and to cover his scars.
Body type: Ctubbo gets chubbier and gains some muscle as he gets a bit happier in life.
Post DSMP:
The prison break and everything after it never happened. These are my OCs, and I make the rules because every actor/writer who played a part in their creation either abandoned them or turned out to be a terrible person. Cbenchtrio live happily ever after and begin their journey of healing while cdream rots in prison forever.
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I don't really get the people who think reading the comics is such a radical idea. Don't they want to learn more about them? aren't they curious what makes them tick? what insane adventures they went on? what fears they have? what makes them laugh and smile? I'm from europe so I haven't seen any of the DC shows I see mentioned every once in a while (which means I really don't get the whole Clark hates clones thing... but that's a different thing) and it's only been this year that I have enough disposable income to splurge on comics, aka I haven't read that many just yet.
But I do think the ones I have read enhance the stories I'm trying to tell, which to me is a good reason to read them ;p but besides that, they are fun! they are just really fun to read
I’m glad you’re having fun reading comics man! It’s a shame that folks don’t read them as much but you know, I can understand it. I both asked some folks in the Haunting Heroes discord server and have some of my own points to make about this.
First of all I do still believe that you should consume some form of DC media if you’re in the fandom. It’s fun and there are comics, books, movies, tv shows, and every other form of medium known to man that you can take a peek at! Idk I’m just a bit DC enjoyer and think that looking at canon media to expand on your knowledge and help create ideas you wouldn’t have had if you hadn’t looked at said piece of media.
Now onto why reading comic books is hard:
Some folks simply prefer the fandom and not the official DC content. Whether they prefer fanon, find fics more accessible, or like the people in the fandom, they’d rather just stick to the fandom.
They simply don’t know where to start. Getting into comics can be INCREDIBLY overwhelming ( DC has done their best to fix this and has messed up more than once. My go to is to reccomend folks just start reading New 52 comic runs as it’s really good for new readers to jump into the comics with any hero that might intrigue them). Big comic events span multiple comic story runs and not a cohesive line of comics, some omnibuses for stories are out of print, the 80+ years of comics are daunting as hell, and everyone has their own opinion on the best versions of a character/where to start/what to read.
Money. Comics are an expensive hobby to have. They may cost $1-$5 each on average but that price adds up over time. I have a comic collection of roughly 1,300 comics. I’d estimate its value very roughly around the $7,800 range. It’s probably far more than that though and I know damn well reselling it I won’t get half of that value back. I’m very fortunate to be a college student with disposable income and for this hobby to be the only thing I ever really spend money on besides rent and food. Some people either can’t afford them or don’t want to buy a comic they don’t know if it’s good or not.
Varying quality. Comics are a very mixed bag thing where they can be incredibly written or some of the worst pieces of media you’ve ever read. With this being the case, it can be really hard to find a comic character or writer you like if that’s your first experience. It takes a while to learn about different writers and find out who your favorite writers are. What’s harder is some writers can make absolute masterpieces with one character and the next comic run they cover it can be absolute garbage. Not only that, everyone has opinions on what is a good comic run or not. It’s impossible to find a repeatedly stated and easily accessible list on the good comics to read.
Pretentious “Canon is God” fans. Experiencing “um actually this isn’t good because this isn’t how the canon character would act” responses from people can really fucking suck and diminish their want to experience anything that’s official DC writing. I’ve seen more than one person go into this primarily fanon focused space and insult people saying their writing isn’t canonical and therefore it isn’t valid. It’s Uber Pretentious, demeaning, and actively harms peoples interests in checking out canon content.
Timelines. I already kind of said it but DC’s timelines are a mess. hell, even New 52 has some fucked up timelines making all of Batman’s previous timelines canon but happen only within a seven year period. That’s WAY too short for how much history is packed in there. The amount of crisises that happen and fully change the lore and timelines of characters is bonkers, the comic runs that bounce between different comic runs are really confusing, and the fact that there isn’t a True Starting Point for reading makes it so hard to grasp anything that’s happening. It’s one of comics biggest issues and no matter what DC has done they have yet to find a convenient solution.
Sensitive Content. Comics from DC are littered with either intentional, badly aged, or ignorantly written plot points and writing choices that will turn away readers. DC has its fair share of sexism, misogyny, abelism, racism, abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assaults, or topics casually addressed that can be very triggering for some people. Especially since a large amount of that sort of content is handled incredibly poorly. One particular writer, Alan Moore, writes sexual assault scenes with absolutely zero tact or the delicateness that a topic such as that should be held in. It’s almost solely used as a “let’s make the bad guy do the most fucked up thing they could do” throwaway plot point. Comics of the sort dissuade a lot of readers because of both the heavy content within comics and how that content can be incredibly poorly handled. This is partially why some folks would prefer to read fics. Comics are a unknown mixed grab bag when it comes to content like this and things exactly like this is known to make PTSD symptoms worse while fics have tags and can warn you before you consume the content within.
Time. A lot of folks have busy lives and just don’t have the time to read them.
The ways they intake media. Some folks might have a better time watching a long commentary video that explains a comic or their brain can’t process the comic medium very well. I can read and retain comic knowledge but even I am unique in this aspect, my memory is frightening levels of bad and is proven by science to be absolute shit. I have to reread comics at least once a month to retain the basic bare bones plot. Just because one person can easily digest what’s going on in a comic doesn’t mean everyone can.
Comics are such a big part of my life. I love them so much and they’ve gotten me through so many things. My own experience with comics isn’t the same for others and my thoughts on reading comics differs with other people. A lot of people have equally as many reasons for why they don’t read comics as you and I have for reading them.
#if I didn’t add a point you’d think should be mentioned feel free to reply#dpxdc#danny phantom#dp x dc#bones replies#bones answers comic questions
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Lost in the Remaster: Star Trek, Vintage Special Effects, and the Charm of Old Media
by Ren Basel renbasel.com
Originally created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek is a franchise that spans decades. From the original series of 1966 to current shows such as Lower Decks, it stands as a titan of television and pop culture. The real world has undergone incredible change since Star Trek’s first appearance, yet nerds everywhere still find entertainment, inspiration, and hope in its classic episodes. Recently, along with my husband and best friend, I decided I wanted to attempt the gauntlet of watching the entire franchise from beginning to end, revisiting favorites and finally checking out the ones I missed. Media and fandom studies are my passion, after all, and Star Trek is a foundational part of modern American nerd culture.
Starting with the original series proved more difficult than expected. Living in a tiny apartment, we don’t have much space for DVDs, so Star Trek wasn’t in our existing collection. The local public library didn’t have copies, either, and putting in a purchase request doesn’t guarantee it will be made available. My family doesn’t have the funds to pay for every single streaming service on the market, and Star Trek isn’t available on any we do have access to. Piracy was starting to look like the only option, but even that fell flat when we couldn’t find a version with subtitles. Finally we dug it up officially and with subtitles, for free via PlutoTV, but there were still limitations: PlutoTV only streams season one, and season one is only available in the remastered edition that replaced the original special effects with new visuals.
It wasn’t ideal, but, hey, it was Star Trek.
Watching just one episode a week gave us enough time to scrape together savings to get what we really wanted for seasons two and three: the official BluRay release, which includes both remastered and original-release versions of each episode. The remasters are fine, but as a lover of media history and practical effects, I’m always disappointed to lose a chance to appreciate the originals. It doesn’t matter how good it might look, remasters are never as much fun to me as matte paintings, camera tricks, and whatever the prop department could pull off with ten dollars and some glue.
Finally having the BluRays in hand for season two only affirmed my love of vintage practical effects. Seeing the Enterprise in her original glory, before she was ever rendered in digital form, felt like opening a time capsule. I love time capsules. My favorite pieces of media are always those which capture a moment in time, showcasing the aesthetics, concerns, and culture of the time and place they were created. Star Trek: the Original Series is rooted in the late sixties, when mainstream culture in the United States was experiencing immense upheaval and social change. That context is written all over the show. The vintage effects add to it, grounding it in a very specific time and place. Updating the show’s effects takes away some of that 60s aesthetic, and while some may see it as making the show more timeless, I don’t care for it. To me, seeing what they could pull off before modern technology is half the fun of watching old shows. The ingenuity and creativity of propmakers, makeup artists, and set designers working on shoestring budgets is unparalleled.
To be clear, digital effects are also done by skilled professionals who deserve much more respect and many more labor protections. There are some truly stunning works created with digital tools. That said, I hate when digital effects are used to cover up the practical effects that came before. It feels disrespectful to the original artists, as if telling them their work wasn’t good enough; as if their work was just a placeholder until something better could come along and fix it. Practical effects aren’t a placeholder, they’re an art form in their own right, and that art form is one for which I have deep appreciation.
It frustrates me that the original, non-remastered episodes were such a pain for us to access, but I’m very glad to have added them to my personal media collection. No matter what future tweaks Star Trek’s rights holders might make, I can always pop in our personal copies to enjoy the Enterprise and her crew in all their vintage, “outdated” glory. If you’re also too young to remember the show’s original airing, and you have the opportunity to watch the unedited version, I highly suggest you do. Watching the version that aired in 1966 gives the show a charm that no amount of remastering can ever match.
_
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#original post#original essays#star trek#the original series#star trek: the original series#star trek tos
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The State Birds Initiative: New Jersey (#3)
Welcome to the third official poll of the State Birds Initiative! Before the poll, though, one thing real quick. My suggestion is that you read the post below before voting in the poll below. That's especially important if you're lacking any context about the birds being presented as the new (or old) State Bird of the Garden State, New Jersey. This is to be fully informed as to why these are being presented, and to make your choices appropriately. Lastly, some of these birds, you will notice, may go against some of the rules listed in the introduction post. All is explained after the jump where the explanations are, I promise you that. But with that...OK! Here's the poll! If you'd like to see the last post, check out Pennsylvania (Poll | Results)
So, with that done...New Jersey.
OK, I'll be honest, I have very little history with New Jersey. Only been there a few times, I've driven through it a decent number of times, and I mostly know it by reputation. But, uh...for whatever reason, every trip I take that requires me to go through New Jersey, NJ is the worst driving portion of that trip. Basically every time. Maybe that's a New Jersey turnpike problem, maybe that's unhappy coincidence. Hell, maybe it's conservation bias from being a New Yorker (upstate, but I've gone to the city regularly throughout my life). Or maybe it really is cultural reputation for New Jersey trickling in to my subconscious (looking at you, Jersey Shore). But either way...I have complicated feelings about New Jersey.
But this post is NOT about my personal geographic experience. Mostly. It's about birds! So, let's get into New Jersey objectively. Third state admitted into the union, state capital is Trenton, largest city is Newark, and it's the most densely populated state in the country. Famous for being the origin of electricity in civic infrastructure, as well as the home of their favorite son, Thomas Alva Edison. Which...when you learn more about the guy, makes you wonder about New Jersey as a whole. MOVING ON! It was a major staging point in the American Revolutionary War, and ever since, it's been all about freedom. Even though you can't pump your own gas there. Although, to their credit, the Statue of Liberty is actually technically in New Jersey waters. Yeah. That's absolutely true. But, like...it's spiritually a New York landmark, so we'll let it slide.
Now, here's the thing about New Jersey, seriously and truly. It has a bad reputation because of media and New York City. This is for two more specific reasons, from what I can tell. One, the New Jersey Turnpike sucks, and it smells like raw sewage due to its proximity to industrial factories and processing plants. And unfortunate way to experience the state, and the main way I've experienced New Jersey personally. So, that's one, and it's not indicative of the state's quality. Number two is simply the fact that it's a hub for commuters, with lots of people going to either NYC or Philadelphia for work. Because of that, Jersey itself gets pieces of their cultures combined, which also makes it a very easy target with a unique accent. So, not Jersey's fault.
In reality, it's quite a nice state with more natural area than you'd expect for somewhere so densely populated. New Jerseyans, unsurprisingly love their state...and aren't big fans of tourists, from discourse I see online. It's a small state, which makes it crowded enough. Plus, there are tourist attractions there. There's the massive American Dream Meadowlands mall, there's MetLife Stadium, there's Six Flags Great Adventure, there's...Trenton. Actually, no, Trenton sucks, I stand by that assessment. But it's also a highly diverse state, with the highest proportion of Hinduism followers in the country, as well as the densest collection of LGBTQ+ social centers (AKA gayborhoods), amongst other things. NJ does deserve more credit.
Now with that said, let's talk about the natural world of New Jersey, because there is a surprising amount to talk about. 45% of the land is covered in mixed deciduous-coniferous forest, which you've probably noticed is typical of the NE USA. Oak is our primary tree here, which is also probably why Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is the state tree. It also has some major ecological features that are well known for its natural advantages. Cape May is a seaside city and vacation resort, but also one of the most well-known and important sites for birders from the United States during migration seasons, making it immediately prominent for this post. Great Swamp NWR in the north is the first wilderness area ever designated by Congress, and also serves as a major refuge for birds during the breeding season for various reasons. And maybe most importantly, the New Jersey Pine Barrens are the largest remaining pine barrens in the NE USA, and act as a bastion of diversity. More on this later, I promise; there's a species entry dedicated to this unique environment.
And that's not all to talk about here. NJ's environment needs some focus for a number of reasons, not least of which being that the state has more toxic waste dump sites than any other state in the Union, which are the focus of the federal Superfund environmental remediation program. Yeah, there's some cleanup that needs to happen in the state, especially as it is so small. Of 150 federally listed sites, only 35 have been cleaned up since the 1970s. So, yeah. We should get on that, please. But with that said, NJ has relatively low carbon dioxide emissions compared to other states, they're seventh in solar power, and get most of their electricity from natural gas and nuclear power. So, it's a greenish state that could be a lot greener.
There's a lot to talk about for such a small state, it would seem. Let's not linger about, and let's get on with the show here! I'm honestly kind of excited. Birds after the jump!!!
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
Let's kick things off by talking about the incumbent, the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Now, why was the American Goldfinch chosen as the State Bird of New Jersey in 1935? Easy answer: favoritism. The bird was nominated as the only candidate by the New Jersey Audubon Society because...it was their mascot at the time. Yeah. That's it. In reality, the New Jersey State Bird is the New Jersey Audubon Society. And even then, it's officially lost its relevancy, because that's not their mascot anymore. More on that later.
What's actually worse about the goldfinch here is...for some reason, not a lot of New Jerseyans have actually seen them. Part of the reason for this entire series, by the way is this Reddit post, which stoked the fires that had long been simmering deep within my soul. OK, not that deep, but still. Anyway, the header of that post is that the OP had barely ever seen an American Goldfinch, despite being a native. I thought that was insane (and said as much in my comments), because this is a ridiculously common bird, especially for birdwatchers. But, uh...I've looked into since then. And only 0.4% of its global breeding population resides in the state. What's crazy is, this is a common sentiment amongst New Jerseyans. They just...haven't seen this bird. And obviously, that/s not every new Jerseyan, and a lot have reported seeing it. But to be honest...is this bird really worth being called the State Bird of New Jersey?
OK, can we make the American Goldfinch make sense in retrospect? Let's see, they're a highly social finch species throughout the year, living in dense colonies in the spring and summer especially. The males are late breeders with ornate flying displays meant to attract females, and may group territories with other males to defend against predators. And they're an open secondary growth forest specialist that live in the state year-round, including during the breeding season. Which means...well, actually, it means that they're perfectly suited to live in New Jersey, funnily enough.
Hear me out here. There are two things that goldfinches love most: forest clearings and weeds. New Jersey may be 45% covered in forest, but it does have deforestation as a minor problem around its settlements. However, that's not a problem for the goldfinch, who thrives in secondary growth forests that occur as a result of succession. Given an attempt in recent decades to recover New Jersey's forests, this means the goldfinch is a potential symbol of these efforts. Plus, its love of the seeds that come from flowers that are pest plants, like dandelion, thistle, ragweed, and cosmos, make it a potentially attractive bird for gardeners of the state to attract, especially as those plants thrive in open fields during stages of succession!
...YES I'M STRETCHING MORE THAN AN AUSTRALIAN BREAKDANCER WITH A DOCTORATE TRYING TO MAKE A POINT, BUT WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS MASCOT OF AN ORGANIZATION NAMED AFTER A SLAVE-OWNER???
So...moving on.
Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans)
While the majority of natural New Jersey is covered in forest, it still has a fairly important habitat in the form of the saltmarsh. Just to get the definition in place early, a saltmarsh is essentially what it sounds like: a vegetation-dominated coastal biome with salt and brackish water, salt-tolerant grasses and plants, and the animals that depend on such. They're coastline preservers, trapping and binding sediment as it makes its way to and from the ocean, and acting as a major supply for the food web along the coasts. They're incredibly important habitats, and this will not be (and have not been) the last time you've seen them during the State Birds Initiative.
Now, obviously, these habitats are chockful of birds. New Jersey has a few major salt flats along its coast, all of which shelter some major breeding populations of birds. One of these species is the Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans), which is our eBird-sponsored pick of this poll. Clapper Rails have 13% of their global population in New Jersey saltmarshes, meaning they're quite dependent on this unique habitat, and most of their population breeds in the state. Some people may never have seen or heard of a rail, but in case you're one of those people, just know that they're a smaller semi-aquatic relative of cranes. If you've seen a coot, moorhen, or gallinule, then you've seen a rail! And the Clapper Rail is a crustacean-eating, saltmarsh-loving, new Jersey-dependent example. And that said...it is kinda boring looking to the average person.
Don't take me wrong! For me, this bird is fantastic, and would actually be a lifer for me, personally. But the average non-birder? Look, in instances like this, I usually tap into the part of my brain my fiancee lives in rent-free, and all I can hear is her shouting "LONG DUCK LONG DUCK" over and over. I love these guys, but I'm not sure they'd resonate with the public. Plus, as far as saltmarshes go, these are good representatives, but I'm not sure they're the best. Are these a good New Jersey representative? Possibly, since they represent a major ecosystem in the state, and that is important. But I'll leave that question to you all. Moving on!
Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)
OK, onto the category of birds that are named after the state, and New Jersey has one of those! The Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is so-named because the first specimen described by Alexander Wilson was collected in Cape May, New Jersey by George Ord. That said, it's certainly a unique warbler, easily recognizable, and dependent upon conifer forests dominated by spruce, which the Pine Barrens are...not. Still, an iconic bird in New Jersey! Except...wait, hold on...ah. It doesn't breed in the state. In fact, after it was described from a Cape May specimen, it wasn't seen in the area again for...a century. So...yeah, it's named after a major location in the state, known for birds at that, and yet it's barely found there?Love this bird, but...maybe think about renaming it one of these days.
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)
Now, the Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus), on the other hand, that's a better warbler representative of New Jersey. Well, sort of. To be fair, the Pine Warbler only has 1% of its global breeding population in New Jersey, so the state isn't a bastion or reservoir for the species. However, there is a major reservoir of the species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, which I'd mentioned earlier. And hey, Pine Barrens, Pine Warbler...slam dunk for representation of the habitat right there. And yeah, that's absolutely relevant to the species as a whole. They live, eat, and breed in pine-dominated forests, exactly like (and including) the Pine Barrens. It's actually listed as a "Significant Congregation" species by the New Jersey Audubon Society.
And as for making a good State Bird of New Jersey? It's a notable bird, even keeping the goldfinch's yellow with white wing bars. It's not terribly difficult to find, especially during the breeding season in areas like the Pine Barrens. And hey, they're even well-known to live with other species, making them an important biodiversity indicator for conservation purposes. Plus, if people go out to look for the Pine Warbler in the wild, they'll likely encounter other species like the Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) or the Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina), amongst others. Fostering interest in birdwatching by chance! It works in a conservation sense...but I don't know that it's particularly emblematic of New Jersey, to be fair.
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus)
Now, here's an interesting choice! If the current State Bird, the American Goldfinch, was chosen because it was the mascot for the New Jersey Audubon Society at the time, then by that logic, their current mascot should actually be the State Bird of New Jersey. And so, in that case, may I present to you the current mascot of the NJ Audubon Scoiety, and the next candidate for State Bird...the...is that a Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonicus)? Yeah, looks like it, and some sources I have confirm that's the case. But, uh...why?
Let me be really clear about something first off: I adore the Northern Harrier. Also caleld the marsh hawk, they're a beautiful raptor native to brackish and salt mashes, as well as grasslands and fields, hunting small mammals, insects, and the occasional bird. They're one of the few accipiters that are silent fliers, ambushing prey from above like owls. They even have the disc-like face. They're one of the new North American raptors with sexual dimorphism (the smoky gray male is pictured above, as compared to the brown females), and their iconic coloration has given them the nickname of the Gray Ghost. WHICH IS BADASS. They're also one of the only polygynous raptors, meaning a male can mate with several females in a given season, nesting on the ground and hatching chicks. Because of their unique relationships, some indigenous peoples see them as a symbol of healthy marriage. Finally, these are considered good for agriculture, as they eat rodents and not chicken. I love harriers, they're super neat birds, and it's always a pleasure to see them in the wild. Also, they DROWN THEIR PREY!!! What the hell! That's terrifying!
OK, harriers are cool, but do they have a relevance to New Jersey outside of being the logo of New jersey Audubon? Well...they do breed there...barely. But they've been observed doing so, so that counts. They represent key habitats in the state of New Jersey, so that's great. Their certainly charismatic enough (GRAY GHOST), and they've got nationwide conservation concern as an endangered species. So, it has those qualities going for it as the State Bird candidate. We'll see what the poll says. In the meantime, let's move on!
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
Y'know, my original plan was to put the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) in this list as well...and then, I stumbled upon a fun fact. The black-headed cousin of the Ring-billed Gull, and Laughing Gull, is a regular traveler to New Jersey, and in fact has a colony right off of the Jersey Shore, making them a fairly well-known and recognizable resident of an iconic area of the state. But pretty importantly, the species has a pretty massive breeding population in New Jersey. 5% of the breeding population of the species are in southern NJ, which isn’t the bulwark of their breeding population in the USA (that'd be Louisiana, according the eBird Status and Trends), but it's still a significant portion.
That said, the Laughing Gull is a recognizable member of the New Jersey shore community, and I mean the term "community" in multiple contexts. Ecologically, they're omnivorous scavengers that are well-adapted to living in a densely populated state, as well as in saltmarshes and other coastal environments throughout New Jersey. Sociologically, they hang around human settlements so much that they see opportunities in human hands...literally. The Laughing Gulls of the Jersey Shore are pretty notorious for stealing food out of the hands of beachgoers and boardwalk visitors. There are even boardwalk restaurants with signs saying they won't offer refunds if your food is stolen by a gull. They're SO notorious, in fact, that falconers have been hired to use their falcons to drive away these birds. And honestly...that's a shame. After all, the Laughing Gulls are such prominent citizens that humans have had to adjust to them.
But that said...I'm gonna quote Brian Donahue, the reporter at the end of the video/new report I linked to above...because it's hilarious, and it makes an interesting statement that I think people from New Jersey should think about. Read the quote, but trust that I have a somewhat well-thought out idea supporting it.
Derided as "flying rats" by many, I think it's time to reconsider the Laughing Gull, because if things haters say about Laughing Gulls (they're loud, feisty, there's too many of them... (Interviewee Kathy McCarey): They're rude...they're very demanding...and they come for what they want...I don't like 'em.) ...are the same things haters often say about New Jerseyans. Laughing Gulls are us. They deserve more respect.
youtube
Look, as extremely funny as that point is...there's a point about that statement. That is something that people say about New Jerseyans! They live in a state full of garbage, they're obnoxious and loud, all of that kinds thing. And New Jerseyans love their state as much as anybody else; SO MUCH, in fact, that many people online say they actually love that stereotype, because it means that people STAY OUT OF THEIR STATE. Funny or not, true or not...there's a point there. Laughing Gulls, as with all gulls, have a bad reputation, which is mostly undeserved. They're opportunists trying to feed themselves and their young, who see a smorgasbord of food right in front of them, in their neighborhood! In their place, what would YOU do? Honestly, these guys are a solid contender for that reason alone.
Plus, honestly...it's kinda funny.
Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta)
Finally, let's look at the conservation focus for this post: the Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta). So, this is a pretty big one, especially when looking at New Jersey. A full 32% of the species' global population breeds in this state, which is, frankly, a MASSIVE proportion of any species. What's more, they're considered an endangered species, which immediately makes this an impressive contender for the State Bird of New Jersey. And as one of the most endangered species in the Eastern USA, not to mention a species of immense scientific interest for ecological and genomic reasons, this bird should get some attention by the public and federal government.
However...and this is a point to be made here...it's not exactly the most iconic bird for non-birders. As a birder who would kill to get this on his lifelist (I AM WORKING ON IT, LITERALLY TOMORROW AS I AM TYPING THIS), this is a prominent bird within certain communities. And to others? Ugh, this is gonna hurt me to say, you have no idea, but...it's a sparrow. It may be a little harder for people to become attached to a sparrow, and even more difficult for people to recognize the Saltmarsh Sparrow specifically.
Don't believe that this matters? Do me a favor, bird people. Show your non-bird friends Bird A, Bird B, and Bird C. Ask them how many different species you showed them. I'm willing to bet the especially observant will say 2. The less observant are gonna say 1. And throw in these top two pictures, while you're at it. I'm willing to bet you'll still get a 2 or 3. Because, unfortunately, to many people, sparrows all look pretty similar. And going forward, that's something we'll have to keep in mind: a unique appearance. What makes a bird iconic is also in its uniqueness and identifiability. And sure, maybe I'm not giving the average person enough credit, but we're also talking about children. I've said it before and I'll say it many times over: kids are important targets to consider when choosing natural State Symbols. And I really don't know how many adults could tell the difference between some sparrows, even professionals. And, uh...the Saltmarsh Sparrow is a very important example of this, because it wasn't even a species until the '90s.
Oh, and kudos to those of you who caught on immediately to my little trick up there. Probably a good amount of you noticed it, but if you didn't...there are five species of sparrows shown in this post. The two birds pictured in the post? Different species. Yeah, hearing that now makes that more obvious, but you may not have noticed it immediately. The first bird pictured is indeed the Saltmarsh Sparrow. The second bird, however, is the Nelson's Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni), which was once considered the same species as the Saltmarsh Sparrow. Dirty question, I know, but it's also found in New Jersey. Not a breeder there, but it's enough to cause a bit of confusion. See what I mean?
Oh, as for the rest, Bird A is LeConte's Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii), Bird B is a Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and Bird C is a Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum).
Please understand, bird-peeps: I hate making this argument. Genuinely. The New World sparrows are a wonderful group, and a really fun one to play around with and hunt down as a birder. And don't worry, sparrows will be getting a mention in my personal list. But as for the State Bird? I'll let you all decide.
And with that, that's the end of this post! I miss any big ones? Make any leaps a bit too big? Feel free to let me know! In the meantime, stay tuned for State #4 - Georgia! Wait...wait, the fourth state to be admitted into the Union was Georgia? Huh. Go figure.
See you next time, and happy birding!
#birds#bird#state bird initiative#state birds initiative#birdwatching#bird watching#birding#birders#black birder#state bird#new jersey#birdblr#birblr#american goldfinch#eastern goldfinch#spinus tristis#saltmarsh sparrow#sparrow#golfdinch#ammospiza#laughing gull#gull#seagull#northern harrier#raptor#clapper rail#rail#rallus#cape may warbler#cape may
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Icarus Part 5
And here we arrive at the second post today. I'm just trying to move through my backlog so that I'm down to my preferred three ahead. Glitters is at the rut, so only a chapter or two left to write, so that's almost done. Soulmates is to filling the gaps in the "In Media Res" scene and is nearing its end, too. Which means with any luck, I'll be down to just three WIP at the end of the month: Moonlight, Boy w/a Bat, and this one.
In this chapter, we have Eddie being a menace and giving Steve and Robin the fright of their lives. And because my Steddie never take anything slow, they kiss about it.
Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4
@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03
****
The last spot on The Fallen’s American tour was Pasadena just to flip Dustin’s shit now that he was in Hawkin’s, Eddie was sure.
Eddie bought nose bleed seats because he didn’t want to throw Steve off of his playing. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass him and take the spotlight off their music.
He tucked his signature locks under a hat, removed his face piercings, and made sure all his tattoos were covered. He wore an Abbadon hoodie over his regular clothes and got into place in his seat.
He watched the whole show with great enthusiasm, banging along to his favorite songs.
Eddie was most of the way through the show when the twelve year old boy next to him clocked him for who he really is.
He put his finger up to his lips and winked. The boy nodded solemnly and he turned back to spectacle in front of them, like he hadn’t seen the frontman for the biggest metal band in the world sitting in the nose bleed seats for The Fallen.
Eddie lucked out on that one. Boys that age were of two schools of thought regarding secrets, either everyone knew or no one did. He stumbled on the latter.
Thank god!
He really didn’t want this to blow up on him before he got a chance to surprise Steve.
The concert was even more amazing than the one in Indy and Eddie’s skin was just thrumming with excitement as he paid off a member of stadium staff to send the flowers to the dressing room.
They let him wait in the wings without telling anyone who he was. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for Steve to get his flowers. But he wasn’t bored. He watched the roadies and techs scramble about breaking down the set pieces.
He saw two of them carrying Astraeus’s wings and they were even cooler close up. He could that they weren’t just glittery blue, but actual galaxies and constellations.
He was about to ask if he could touch them when a woman in a stylish, black pant suit and sunglasses came storming over to him in a panic.
“Eddie Munson?” she hissed. “Come with me, now!”
Eddie grinned. “Right with you, darlin’.”
He followed her all the way to the dressing room, hands in his back pockets and a skip in his step.
****
Steve was tired. Fuck he was so tired. He scrubbed his face trying to get the sweat off.
The dressing room was heavily guarded so that he could get out his getup to shower and get the patina of being on stage off of his skin.
He would get back into Abbadon before he walked out, but he just needed to be him for a moment.
He stepped out of the shower and looked around at the gifts from fans. The management had put in the ones they thought he would want to see the most.
In the pile was the most striking blue roses he had ever seen. They were almost a midnight blue. His favorite color and his favorite flower. He walked over to them slowly as he dried himself off with the towel.
There was a simple note.
“I know your secret, sweetheart.
But don’t worry, it’s safe with me.”
Steve’s hand shook as he read the note over and over again. He made a dive for his phone, towel forgotten on the floor.
He sent off a quick text to Robin.
-Find Eddie Munson, now!
He got a message back with just one word.
-How!
He replied.
-He’s here
Steve dressed and then sat down on the sofa, settling in to wait. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door and he put the mask up to his face while the door was open, intending to lower it again. But seeing Eddie standing there with a feral grin on his face.
He wavered, unsure.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie said, his grin never leaving his face. “Did you like the flowers?”
The woman looked back and forth between them in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Eddie turned to her. “You see, Robin, I figured out that Stevie here is the lead singer of an up and coming metal band. And that you two have been keeping secrets.”
Steve dropped the mask in shock, revealing his face. “How?”
Robin took off her sunglasses. “Who told? Who the fuck do I have to sue?”
Eddie smirked. “No one.”
“You’re trying to tell me,” she said with a scoff, “that Mr Double Super Senior figured out something that had been so closely guarded for the last couple of years?”
“Yup!”
Steve stood up and threw the mask on the sofa. He walked carefully over to the man he closely regarded as his best friend, the high heels of his costume clicking on the wood floor.
“How’d you do it, Eds?” he whispered when he got close enough. “How did you figure it out before the press, before our friends who are literal geniuses, before my own fucking parents?”
Eddie lifted up Steve’s jaw up with his fingers and then tapped on the two moles on the side of his neck. The ones Eddie always thought of as love bites.
“My moles?” Steve asked, unsure.
“I noticed them when I went to the concert with Dustin in Indy,” Eddie said softly. “That’s how I knew it was you.”
“Have you got some obsession with moles or something?” Robin sneered.
He shook his head. “Just Stevie.”
Steve gasped. “Oh.”
“Oh,” Robin repeated. “I’m still going to have to make you sign an NDA. I’m sorry. I know you won’t tell, but I have to be sure.”
Eddie nodded. “Send it to my lawyers.”
She nodded and slipped out of the door, barely opening it wide enough for her to exit. She put the glasses back on and decided she needed a drink. A big one. Maybe three.
****
“Sit down, sweetheart,” Eddie cooed. “I know how exhausting shows can be and you did it in high heels.”
Steve let out a watery chuckle but did as he was told.
“I never thought that someone would figure it out,” he said shakily. “I’m so scared right now.”
Eddie wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. “Oh, Stevie. I didn’t think it would frighten you, otherwise I would have just kept my mouth shut.”
Steve looked him in the eyes. “I’m not frightened of you or that you would tell. It’s just that old adage of if you want to keep a secret between two people–”
“You kill one,” Eddie finished grimly. “I know, baby.”
After a few months of silence Steve whispered, “So you’re obsessed with me?”
Eddie burst out laughing. “Yeah. Have been for years.”
“How long?” Steve asked biting his lip and playing with the sleeve of his hooded coat. He looked away not sure he really wanted the answer. Was this new, because he was in a metal band? Was it recent, with Steve not being as readily available as he was before?
“Since high school.”
Steve’s head snapped up and he looked at up at him in awe. “Holy shit, Eds, that’s forever.”
A soft, fond smile spread out over Eddie’s face, his dimples deepening to sharp lines on his cheeks.
It was Steve’s favorite smile of his. And one he was learning might just be for him and him alone.
“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie breathed, “I know.”
They were so close, their breath mingled together, their noses brushed and Steve’s eyelashes fanned out, almost touching Eddie’s cheek.
Steve let out a gasp and Eddie closed the distance. Their lips met and Steve would swear for years to come that there were god damned fireworks. There had to be. Nothing and no one had ever felt like this. It was warm and soft and hot and sexy and bright and dark all at once. Every nerve ending lit up where just their lips touched.
And then Eddie cupped the back of his head and whatever thoughts that were in Steve’s head flew out the window. Every fear, every anxiety, every doubt went running for the hills. All he needed in this very moment was Eddie.
Until the end of time.
“Wow,” Eddie breathed when he finally managed to pull away.
Steve could only agree. “Um...can you meet me at my hotel?”
Eddie licked his lips. He wanted to take Stevie apart right then right there. But it would put Steve in danger of being discovered.
And that could not happen.
Now that he knew Steve’s secret, now that Steve was letting him in. Like all the way in, he would do anything to protect him.
“Yeah, baby,” he agreed. “I’ll meet you there. Message Celeste,” he winked, “and let her know to sneak me in.”
Steve relaxed that final increment. He kissed him fiercely. “Thanks for understanding, Eds. I love you so much.”
Eddie blushed, shoving a strand of hair into his mouth to hide his face. “Ah, sweetheart. There’s nothing to thank me for. I’d burn the world down for you if you asked.”
Steve kissed him again. “I think it’s best if I go out first and then message you when the coast is clear.”
Eddie nodded.
He was still in disguise. Only four people knew who he was. The kid, Robin and Steve, and the dude he paid to get the flowers in Steve’s dressing room.
Which Eddie would send his own team of lawyers to make sure the man didn’t so much as breathe the wrong direction.
He would then, of course meet with “Celeste” and “Abbadon” to construct the perfect cover story for Steve being on the tour with Corroded Coffin. Provided Steve said yes.
Twenty minutes later, Eddie emerged from the dressing room to see only a couple of roadies still milling around.
He blinked at one of them for a moment, but then the guy disappeared around a corner and he couldn’t be sure.
He would swear later it looked like Simon Olsen. Steve’s friend. But that couldn’t be right? Couldn’t it?
He shook himself off. He had a hotel to get to and paparazzi to dodge.
Eddie slipped into his old middle school persona. The one from before he moved in with his uncle, Wayne. The one where he could shrink in on himself.
Become... not invisible, per se. Not important enough to be worth a look at.
He removed the hoodie and handed it to fan lingering outside. He roughed up his hair, untied the shoelaces on his boots, rubbed dirt on his knees and hands.
Once his new disguise was in place, he shambled down the street and people moved right through him as if he wasn’t there.
Eddie had to fight down a grin. People were eaten up with curiosity on how he could avoid getting papped no matter where he went. And this right here was his secret. Appear homeless and no one would give a damn.
He got into position and texted ‘Celeste’ he had arrived. He took the time to smooth out his hair and stretch out his spine. Walking hunched over like that hurt as he kicked and screamed into his late twenties. Something he never thought he would reach.
He texted Jeff to let him know he wouldn’t be back to night and settled in to wait.
Soon enough he was led up through the back way and then into Steve’s hotel room.
As soon as the door closed, Steve was on him.
“Are you okay? Did anyone see you?” And then, “Why are you so dirty?”
Eddie burst out laughing. “Just a little thing I learned from dear ole dad about walking about unseen. So just let me clean up a bit and I’m all yours.”
Steve bit his lip and nodded nervously.
Eddie chuckled. “Unless you wanted to join me in the shower?” he said over his shoulder.
Steve perked right up and followed Eddie into the en suite bathroom, kicking the door closed with a grin.
****
Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25
Tag List: @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @danili666 @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @goodolefashionedloverboi @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @yikes-a-bee @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95 @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot
#my writing#stranger things#steddie#ladykailtiha writes#rockstar steve harrington#rockstar eddie munson#rockstar au
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i’m an amberprice before all, but chloe is one of my favorite characters of all time and i think the way they wrote the pricefield break up (and really the fact it exists at all, narratively) is ooc. chloe’s arc in lis1 shows she becomes very attached and fiercely loyal to her loved ones. to a degree most people just wouldn’t go. it would take military grade equipment to remove her from william, rachel, max and even joyce. the reason why she even offers to sacrifice herself also hinges upon that loyalty, hence how she brings up not wanting her mom to die. but she also knows the trauma max has gone through (that’s like life ruining trauma) to try and save her and she loves her for that in ways you couldn’t put into words
i agree with michel on this one
but even he conceded that it shouldn’t have happened, narratively
but anyway, to tack onto this, something about deck nine that really frustrates me is the way they sort of break life is strange down into these marketable “components”. you can see this both in the ads for the game and the game’s writing itself. they’re like “look, it’s a small town and a murder mystery! that’s what you want, right? look, some independent music! that’s the same thing, right?” and even their love interests feel phoned in/shallow that way. life is strange 1 (and even before the storm, which is theirs) didn’t have these marketable love interests that were commodified more or less. they just had organic characters that were organic to the story — max, chloe, rachel. none of them were there to be love interests specifically. they were there to tell the story that the creators had a lot of artistic passion/inspiration to tell. the indie music wasn’t chosen just to be novel and hipster, it was carefully chosen to tell the player even more things about the scene or its characters. “To All Of You” was commentary on how poorly female characters are written in american media and how they aren’t allowed their own complex emotions and portrayals because they’re dainty archetypes usually. the entire game flies in the face of that issue by showing us a cast of women who are more than just their traumas and the abuse they suffer to the men in the game. they’re allowed to be imperfect, angry, multi-faceted
then you have “Santa Monica Dream” which set the tone for what chloe had lost in her relationship with rachel. i mean, there’s so many examples
there was sooo much passion that went into crafting that game and none of it was like “oh, we’re checking boxes to please the publisher and market the game”. to be fair, the game was made first and then shopped to publishers. but even with LiS2, it had the same love and genuine care instead of just… marketable pieces forced in
and i don’t fault the devs for being forced to do some of this under square’s thumb and complying to do everything they can to keep the IP because they want to have jobs. how can i fault people just trying to feed their family and live? and even when corporate/capitalist shit has been ruining the lives of devs in the industry forever now, they’ve always asked us to keep buying and supporting games anyway because they don’t want to lose their livelihoods. they would suffer, not the higher ups at square. but the issue is complex. because at some point the product isn’t being made with a desire to make art anymore, and it’s also not being made with over 60% of the audience in mind… and a lot of us are poor or struggling too and don’t have the money to waste. so then we don’t support the game, fine. but it’s like… no one is winning here? the devs aren’t winning because they’re closer to losing the IP because fans are let down (and arguably kind of lied to in marketing), square is making less money as pre orders are canceled, fans are just getting these games without love/passion that are made under extreme stress because the workers are in awful conditions. no one is winning here. something has to give and if that means it’s voting with our wallets then…? i guess that’s what it comes to, right?
the game industry is less about art now and more about appeasing these rich people that are making demands and that sucks for everyone involved. it’s predatory on the devs and the fans. and this is without talking about the nazi the studio had employed. not even sure if he’s been let go yet. not that that’s the fault of the other people who are having to suffer working alongside him (and HR is usually corrupt in games anyway) but it’s still something to really consider when supporting a studio?
but anyway, my main point with this post was just to analyze the way deck nine’s LiS games have now turned into this “hit the check boxes, give them the murder mystery, manufactured love interest, music, etc” and to me that’s making the games worse than anything else. even the pricefield debacle aside
because at least before the storm felt like a story being told to tell the story and not like a “hey here’s a murder mystery with love interest 1 and 2”, which started happening with true colors
maybe this is like a melodramatic take though, idk. i mean, i love before the storm so it’s clear to me there’s people in D9 (or there were) that do care about the original story/world of LiS1 and want to make art. even if there are also some losers in the mix (the nazi… 😭) maybe there are some really redeemable things in double exposure that make it worth playing and also just worth more than the sum of its bad marketing and flaws. i didn’t like true colors much because it felt hollow a lot of the time (and rushed?) but yeah
#i know people will disagree and that’s fine#also obligatory do not harrass the developers or say personal/mean things to them#life is strange#pricefield#lis#life is strange double exposure#deck nine#dontnod#michel koch#chloe price#max caulfield#meta#talking
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One Piece Reread - Ch.220
One of my favorite things about doing this reread is picking up on small stuff that I didn't notice the first time around. And these four pages
are one of them.
I love how we get no dialogue, and more importantly no internal dialogue throughout it, and yet we are still able to perfectly understand what Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are thinking and feeling (with the occasional aid of punctuation marks and ellipses.)
Luffy is deeply confused by his findings, not understanding what the strange bike-like contraption could even be used for. Zoro is annoyed that the sword he found is rusted through and not usable. And Sanji is deeply melancholic at finding a framed picture of a woman with a harpoon through it, clearly saddened by what could have caused the picture to be ruined. All done without spoken dialogue or thought bubbles.
I LOVE when comic artists/mangakas take full advantage of the media they are working in and have spreads like this. Where just the expressions on the characters faces and their body language tell the story. It also adds wonderfully to the tone of this scene. By not having any internal or external dialogue, it creates a feeling of reverence for the 200 year old wreak, like our characters are going back in time briefly by exploring its ghostly remnants. A tone that don't think would have worked without the silence.
It's also just nice to see pages like this not jam packed with thought bubbles. I have nothing against them and think they can be very useful, but I also think that they are oftentimes overused. Which is one of the reasons I like One piece so much. Oda uses thought bubbles sparingly, and opts out of them during moments where he doesn't find them necessary/doesn't think they would add anything to the scene.
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FEMALE MOVIE/TV RECS (PART 2 / HISTORICAL FICTION/NON-FICTION)
got inspired from a recommendation post so decided to make a list of movies and shows with female-centric stories/female protagonists. since i can't post all of the genres in one post, i'll split it into multiple posts and y'all can save or add to the list as you wish. (disclaimer: i have watched most of these, but i only know about the existence of others. not every movie/show on these lists will be my recommendation. my recommendations will be beneath the list with reasons. also some of these are way better than others in terms of storytelling/performance--which is why i'll list my faves separately):
Common Themes of Media in the List:
-Workplace/general sexist discrimination
-Husband being pieces of shit and whiners
-Strong emphasis on sisterhood
-Romance plays a large part (both hetero and homo)
-Female genius and triumph
-Scheming mothers (always scheming)
-Grief, loss, and growth
-Motherhood is difficult but we pull through TM
HAVEN'T WATCHED:
Mozart's Sister
Lessons in Chemistry
The Conductor
Lizzie
Radioactive
Cable Girls
The Great
The Queen's Gambit
Britannia
Harriet
Mary Queen of Scots
ONES I LOVEDDDD:
A League of Their Own (9/10) (a favorite!)
Hidden Figures (8/10)
The Woman King (8/10) (a favorite!)
Anne With An E (9/10) (a favorite!)
Dickinson (8.5/10)
The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel (9/10) (a favorite!)
Gentleman Jack (8/10)
The Gilded Age (7.5/10)
HONORABLE (NON-LISTED MENTIONS)
The English (an english woman teams up with a native american cowboy to take revenge on the men who hurt them)
The World to Come (two women isolated by the wilderness and their husbands fall in love)
The Pursuit of Love
Colette
PERSONAL NOTES:
The Buccaneers is pretty feminist and wholesome, although oftentimes childish and full of Netflix cliches (even though it's an Apple TV original). It tries very hard to be Dickinson and Little Women but is a far cry away from Dickinson's edge and fierceness and Little Women's maturity and realism. It's more interested in appealing to Bridgerton audiences and its worse for it. But it's still full of the nice stuff, like strong female friendships and sisterhoods. Ooh, and lesbians! It's adamantly female-centric.
As for Little Women, I prefer the 90s version with Winona Ryder, but Greta did more justice to the source material than Louisa May Alcott herself in the new version.
The Book Thief and The World to Come are also tragedies, so you know. Ammonite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Summerland and The Favourite are lesbians and bisexuals in their full glory, although all of them have vastly different tones (The Favourite is a dark comedy, I believe).
Speaking of The Favourite, Mary & George is like that but it's men vying for the affections of the king. Don't get it twisted though, Mary, George's mom, is the protagonist and primary mover of the show. It starts and ends with her. Also, more lesbianism! (I don't get tired of pointing that out.)
Belle is one of the few autobiographical historical fictions of a black woman. My dad and I love it. It, however, does not surpass The Woman King. The Woman King is like . . . one of the best historical movies on African women I've ever watched! Or just in general! It gives so much agency to African people in the colonial age and tells the story with nuance and perspective--it is a decolonized view on the slave trade that places West African people at the center. It's pretty intense and gory, though. Like it's dark, but like the performances are insanely good, and so is the story. Real life Wakanda and all that!
#radblr#feminism#female centric stories#female stories#historical fiction#female historical fiction#entertainment#women in entertainment#hadesoftheladies rec list
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I was thinking about how people should talk more about the parallels between hunter and moon
This is a rather self-indulgent piece...I find it very comforting to be able to express my emotions through a media I love like this...that's probably my favorite thing about art. Being able to express something...being able to connect emotionally with the viewer...is really nice
textless versions and a long rambling under the cut
Hunter is often viewed as a very strong and agile slugcat...they are the "hard mode" after all. Hunter probably has a lot of physical prowess. But, with the rot...they become weaker. At its worst, they struggle to do basic movements...until they eventually die. Of course, in my version of events...Hunter's rot is cured, but it still leaves lasting side-effects. Their scars go beyond simple battle wounds...there's a sort of pervasive sickliness throughout their whole body. Treatment helps, of course...but
You know how that is, right...? You have to keep getting treatments. You have to work for your recovery. And you have to work to prevent your body from getting weaker again...Or y'know, that's how it is if you've ever had any reoccurring or chronic health issues. It's...a struggle I feel like doesn't get expressed very often...so I wanted to express it through my version of Hunter.
Even though Moon isn't anywhere near as organic, I feel like she can relate to similar struggles. She used to be like a god...a powerful supercomputer who could do just about anything! But...she couldn't bring herself to do the one thing that'd preserve her own wellbeing. She delays and delays on forcing Pebbles to stop with her administrative powers until it is far too late...
Maybe she thought she could handle it. That everything would be fine if she just waited for Pebbles to understand...or waited for him to stop. If she just kept sending messages, eventually he would listen.
But he didn't. Things didn't get better. And by the time she finally took action against it, it was too late...her forced communications did nothing but make her brother furious with her...because she "ruined everything." She could only accept her imminent collapse...
When she woke up again, she had only a few neurons left to run on. Her umbilical was broken, her overseers were out of her control, and even the roof over her head was incomplete.
She couldn't do most of the things she used to. She could hardly move. She could hardly even think. She could barely remember who or what she used to be...and she didn't have great ability to remember the present, either.
It must have been really painful...but she keeps doing what she can anyways. She reads the pearls you bring her. She tells you about the items you bring. She gives you information as best as she can. She is kind and hospitable. She encourages you. She could be so bitter and depressed...so resentful and cruel...but she isn't. I'm sure she has plenty of bitterness and resentment, plenty of hopelessness and great sadness, plenty of suffering...
But when she sees the little slugcat, she's still kind to it. She is grateful for what she has. She is happy to see you. And she keeps on living.
She's so strong...she is a huge inspiration for me.
So, I think if anyone could relate to Hunter's struggle...Moon is probably the closest. I think people should talk about their relationship more...after all, Hunter is her "little savior." I think they would be wonderfully close. They could support each other in their struggles to keep living, even if their bodies fight against them. I also think their friendship is just cute! Great potential for angst, for fluff, for comfort...idk. everything, really. It would be wonderful for them to reunite when they're both in better shape...as creatives, we can make a versions of events where that happens. It's really wonderful to me...for a work of art to inspire others to create art because of it.
This game means a lot to me...and it means a lot to me that it resonates so much with other people as well. So, thank you...
#rain world#egg art#eggmoon creations#looks to the moon#rw hunter#angst#comfort#rambled eggs#eggmoon's rain world
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How can you thrive in the future? How can you thrive now?
Roni Sagi is a dog dancer who turned her love of dogs and dancing into a business. She has performed on America's Got Talent with her dog, Rhythm. Emily Odio-Sutton built a print-on-demand business on Etsy that generates 54,000 dollars monthly and paid off her student loan debt and financed family vacations. People are making money off selling food themed slime. People are quitting their 9-5 jobs and making money from blogging their every day lives! Making videos showing how they cook for their kids or organizing their fridge!!! bc they want to!! bc it makes them happy !! One time I bought a beautiful piece of artwork from a girl who makes money by drawing what she thinks your birth chart manifests as! These are not celebrities that are doing this. They are ordinary people that tune into their creativity and are getting ahead of the game. Without a doubt, they will be the ones that will thrive in pluto in aquarius!
Pluto is all about change and disruption, and we’re already seeing it happen (think AI, social unrest, big shifts in technology, shifts in societal norms). The people who are thriving right now are those using their creativity to get ahead. They aren’t waiting for permission or sticking to the usual path! They're creating their own. There's a future out there where that will be the norm and it won’t seem as outlandish when someone says that’s what they do for a living!
That doesn't mean traditional jobs will cease to exist but they definitely are going to change. My friend is a teacher and the kids tell her all the time that they want to be streamers or vlog in the future and parents will roll their eyes. But why not? There are people doing those things right now making millions and millions of dollars. It's not as farfetched as we think. And my friend is a teacher but she has thousands of followers on ig from posting reels on her favorite things: traveling and teaching.
And it’s not just about being talented!! it’s about spotting opportunities and turning your passions into something new. everyday people are finding ways to make their creativity work for them. The point is it doesn’t have to be through social media or you thinking you have to make new accounts its about what YOU like to do and what in your chart can support you in that. It has to be to your liking!
As Pluto moves into Aquarius, it’s clear that the future will belong to those who think outside the box and are ready to try new things. Aquarius energy is all about innovation and pushing boundaries. If you tap into your creativity now, you’ll be ahead of the curve and set yourself up to thrive in this rapidly changing world.
This doesn't mean you have to go on amazon rn and buy a whole bunch of painting supplies (I mean if you're super excited to do that go ahead) but tbh we can just start with reflecting on our lives. Thinking about our old hobbies or interests that we might have let go because we said there was no time or we deemed it too "childish") someone rn is doing their FAVORITE thing in the world and making a living off of it!
A personal example of mine: I am the first in my immediate family to go to college and get a degree. And because of that I felt the pressure of getting my masters (both as a measure of my success and to please my family) and I was in my masters program feeling overworked from working full time and having classes and just overall unhappy. I realized that I was just trying to collect degrees in a world where that doesn't guarantee a boost in pay or success anymore (at least in my job it doesn't). I made the choice to drop from my masters program and Im still at my current job! But I feel less stressed and can dedicate more time to thinks I actually like to do like writing, reading, painting, watching my shows! I’m not doing those things for money im doing them because 1) they make me happy and 2) I know they can bring all kinds of opportunities from nurturing my creativity to connecting with people. What are some things you miss doing? What are some hobbies that bring you joy?
Here are some old posts of mine that talk about Aquarius energy on a more surface level!
🦋Uranus through the houses + looking at the future pt.1
🦋Manifesting with the 11th house
🦋The Aquarius-Leo axis
🦋Aquarius through the houses
#astro observations#astrology notes#astrology#random astro#rxmxa#pluto#pluto in astrology#pluto in aquarius#astrology observations#random astro note#astrology for beginners#aquarius uranus#uranus#pluto in the first house#sun square pluto#sun trine pluto#uranus aspects#aquarius through the houses#leo through the houses#aquarius 5th house
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✿ tell 'em how the crowds went wild! tell 'em how i hope they shine!
⎯ in which you look back on how grateful you are for the opportunity bestowed upon you. aka: you joined the opla's cast!
#STARRING. iñaki godoy, mackenyu, jacob romero, taz skylar, emily rudd ft. fem!reader [elle fanning 4 faceclaim but u can imagine y/n anyway u wish!].
#TAGS. sfw, kind of context, a bit of smau but its tiny. mentions of covid just in case it's triggering?
#NOTE. pardon my rusty writing but i really wanted to get this out!!! i added an oc from one piece for the sake of the story but she's barely mentioned so uuuh yuh! timeline may be wrong but i work with what i'm given please bear with me. let me know if you would like more fics of this y/n??? ALSO IGNORE THE WATERMARKS ON THE PHOTOS I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM NEATER
© midnightbears on tumblr, apr 2024. please do not repost to another platform, plagiarize, translate, use for AI-related purposes or claim as your own.
In the past, if someone were to come up to you and tell you that you’d be a part of the One Piece Live Action main cast in the future, you would’ve probably laughed in their faces despite your wishful thinking.
At that time, you were content with your work, doing short theatre plays with companies or gaining minor roles in musicals. Everything changed when you landed the role for the one-woman show Fleabag for a limited time on London’s West End after the leading actress underwent emergency surgery for an appendectomy. You only acted as the sex-obsessed mess of a woman for about three weeks, but it was enough time for people to notice you, to really see you.
You believed your career had reached its pinnacle when you were cast as Katherine Howard in Six: The Musical in London. Your name had become somehow well-known in the musical theatre world, and you had a small but dedicated fan base who liked uploading edits of you being a dork during the Megasix on YouTube and TikTok.
Months later, you were bound to play as Fantine for Les Miserables when COVID abruptly struck, and you were dismayed that your job was ripped from you so abruptly. Your best friend, the sweetest person on earth, insisted on you moving in with her in fear that you’d be evicted from your apartment.
Months passed, and you eventually found a small way to help your friend pay rent by offering singing and acting lessons online to musical-aspiring teenagers. Since you had gained many followers from your earlier work on social media, it didn’t surprise you when the classes became sold out.
Your friend also convinced you to create a YouTube channel for you to upload videos of yourself (sometimes joined by her) where you watched and commented shitty movies, followed DIY tutorials just for the fun of it, performed covers of your favorite songs, and just generally vlogged your life (along with reactions to Taylor Swift’s (From The Vault) songs).
At first, you thought it was pretty stupid, but you were delightfully proved wrong when your videos harbored over 200k-300k views on a bad day, so you found no reason to stop as COVID-19 continued, growing to gain a little over five hundred thousand followers. Your reactions were often used for TikTok audios or clips, so you found your popularity growing and evolving during that year.
You believed yourself to be a general, simple woman. People liked you because you were elegant and levelheaded, although you could sometimes be chaotic. You also had a subtle sense of humor that many found charming. But mostly, you grew a steady fan base because your videos and presence comforted countless young adults and teenagers.
You were an optimist and a reassuring one, so during the times when COVID was so prominent, people sought refuge from the monstrosities of the world in your videos, where you seemed to connect with them even though you were on the other side of the screen.
However, everything changed somewhere in 2020-2021. That evening, your best friend got home from work with excitement practically oozing out of her every pore. You and your best friend were avid anime watchers and manga readers, so you couldn’t help the face you made when she told you that One Piece was getting a live-action.
Although you were skeptical, your friend practically insisted you send an audition tape. You grimaced at that. It was well-known that live anime actions were almost always corny and cringeworthy compared to the original work, and people never liked them. You had learned that much from Death Note and a couple of others. However, your best friend convinced you with this argument:
“If it’s that bad, then at least you’ll gain more followers out of the memes that people will make, and if it’s good, you’ll still get famous anyway!”
Eventually, you sent a video of you performing one of the lengthy monologues from Fleabag to your agency and simply hoped for the best. Your friend was practically rooting for you to get the role of Anastasia, one of the first integrants of the Straw Hat crew, joining before Sanji and after Usopp. You adored her as she greatly reminded you of your late mother, although you would be happy with any role.
Somewhere in November 2021, you remember a lot of screaming and crying. When you try to look back on it, all you remember is the happiness you felt when you received confirmation of the role of Anastasia. You were practically over the moon, and you and your friend celebrated inside your small apartment. You were entirely alone, just two drunk girls dancing and cheering, until one of the neighbors knocked on the ceiling with a broom.
liked by inakigo, emilyrudd and 574,949 others
yourusername actually lost for words and filled to the brim with gratitude...... i cannot express how excited i am to play my girl anastasia and bring her to life. from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who has supported me. your faith in me means everything. congrats to iñaki, emily, jacob, mackenyu and taz, thank you to onepiecenetflix, thank you to my best friend for convincing me to audition for the role, and thank you, oda sensei, for putting anastasia's heart in my hands. love u all <3
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November 10, 2021
y/nsfanclub.02, AAAAAAAA SO EXCITED FOR THIS I ACTUALLY CANT BELIEVE IT
⤷ starl6ighwnb, LIKE FR IM GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE THIS IS INSANE
user8392y3r927y, HELLO YOUR GRACE ANASTASIA
inakigo, Congrats!!!!!!!!
taz_skylar, 🔥🔥🔥
The One Piece fan base dearly loved the character of Anastasia, a well-mannered, bubbly, upbeat, fashion-loving duchess who always spoke in a Transatlantic accent but also had a quick wit and a bit of a sweet tooth. Anastasia’s dream was to become the most dangerous pirate to ever grace the seas and prove everyone who doubted her wrong.
Of course, with a big character came a big responsibility.
Sometimes, insecurity nearly got the better of you. You had to fill huge shoes, and there were many people to convince and impress. However, your love for this project was bigger than the gnawing uncertainty on the back of your neck, so you continued strongly until the end of Season One, finding comfort in your cast mates and the countless people who counted on you and, most importantly, believed in you.
Oda handpicked you, and that argument alone was enough to shoot any insecurities away.
Well, needless to say, people loved you!
Critics acclaimed your portrayal of the character, as well as the commendable chemistry you shared with the rest of the cast. The fans found it incredibly funny that your character was the complete opposite of how you actually acted in real life, and you often found yourself blissfully immersed in the fan base's love and praise.
Your channel and social media suddenly grew tenfold. Although you had stopped uploading videos every week due to the recording of season one, your followers were more than happy to wait for your return, and as one would expect, they were thrilled to have you back once you did upload a vlog explaining everything.
Over the course of the six months, you had been recording from time to time for a YouTube video in the set. Previously, you had asked the producers for permission to record some behind-the-scenes for your channel and your usual interactions with the rest of the cast with your personal Sony camera, as you felt it would be a nice way to bring the fans and the cast closer.
The producers gave the okay on the condition that you would wait until the first season aired on Netflix. You happily agreed and carefully began recording some scenes of your dressers and hairdressers as they prepared you, a few shots of your instructor showing you how you were supposed to use the guns that Anastasia employed... simple things.
Back in the day, you were still getting acquainted with the other cast members, and you didn't want to seem rude by forcibly making them appear on your videos, so you waited for a few weeks until you could properly call yourself companions. Then, you invited them to appear in the videos.
Iñaki, Taz, and Jacob liked to take advantage of the little free time they had between scenes they didn't appear in to innocently steal your camera and use it to their heart's content. One day, you got home only to find the memory card was completely full. It was an extensive video of them walking around the set, with Taz recording while Kiki and Jacob pointed out random stuff to the people who lived inside your camera, as Jacob liked to call them.
Mackenyu, being more reserved and introverted, mostly liked to act as a cameraman for you as you showed the props you used and other things, often making comments or turning the camera around whenever you referred to something.
Meanwhile, Emily had a natural knack for being in front of the camera. Whenever you asked her to join in, she effortlessly slipped into the co-host role, bantering with you and adding her own insights into the behind-the-scenes world of the show.
With the first season out of the way, you took the time to carefully pick what videos you wanted to use in the final tape, and it took you a little over a month and a half to properly edit it and turn it into a wonderful thirty-minute-long behind-the-scenes. You even sent it to the producers and your co-stars in case there was a scene they wanted deleted. Fortunately, they all gave you the okay.
You teased the video a bit on your Instagram before uploading it a few days later, and the support it received was out of this world. It gained over two million views and hundreds of thousands of likes.
You were kind of expecting this. While some BTS had already been uploaded on YouTube, yours was different because you were showing it from your perspective. The fans loved every second of it, and even started asking for a second or third part. You even saw new videos on YouTube of recompilations from your video with the titles being silly things like The One Piece Cast Being Chaotic for Seven Minutes.
At that moment, your life felt so full. You were getting contacted by industries who wanted you to appear on their videos and their stages, thousands of fans who loved you, and a feeling so peculiar that this would be eternal.
liked by taz_skylar, morganlogoff and 1,523,199 others
yourusername missing my wig and my gang hours ☹️
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November 10, 2023
morganlogoff, love love love you💗💗💗
curlikaqy, NO ONE KNOWS I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN
emilyrudd, GIRL I WANT TO SEE YOU COME BACK TO AMERICA
bookofjacob, missing your camera hours💔
#one piece#one piece live action#one piece la#opla#one piece x reader#one piece x you#one piece live action x reader#one piece live action x you#iñaki godoy#emily rudd#jacob romero gibson#jacob romero#taz skylar#mackenyu#one piece x y/n#opla x reader#opla x you#midnightbears
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one piece smau: dating vivi edition
— IM AWARE SOME OF THESE HAVE RLLY BAD BLUE EDITTED HAIR BUT I WANTED TO TRY IT OUT AND SEE HOW IT WAS 😭
— a little different because its still modern au but i wanted to go with teh idea that vivi was still royalty and reader is her rlly hot bf that the public likes, but tabloids hot bc they dont think hes good enough for her ... whatever that trope is im a sucker for so thats why i made it this way
— male reader B)
liked by king[name], igaram, ttchopper, and 530k others
queenvivi: visited drum island <3
tagged: king[name]
dni_nami: popcrave is gonna love this onneee cuz u look so good here vivi !!
-> queenvivi: thank u nami, i miss u sm !
-> uso_pp: popcrave jus posted on twitter "queen vivi slays in recent photo, shocking the entire country"
king[name]: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE MY GIRLFRIEND ???I FEEL SICK TO MY STOMACH YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL
freeluffy: vivi when r u going to visit us :////
[liked by princesanji, dni_nami, and 70 others]
king[name]: DO YOU NEED A PET? DO YOU NEED A DOG? I'LL BE A GOOD PET FOR U MY QUEEN
-> queenvivi: ??? babe i'm gonna change your password very soon
-> king[name]: WOOF WOOF WOOOOF
-> dni_nami: this why the media hates u [name]
liked by pell, queenvivi, and 70k others
king[name]: will go to as many boring royalty events if it means im by her side <3
tagged: queenvivi
randomroyallyobsessedfan: UGH THEY'RE SO CUTE I LOVE THEM I CANT WAIT FOR THEM TO GET MARRIED
queenvivi: you're so handsome in all of these, im the luckiest woman in the world
roro.zoro: can't you get into a lot of trouble with literally every country for complaining abt this???
-> king[name]: proof?
-> roro.zoro: mf wtf do u mean proof??? THE PROOF IS RIGHT IN THIS POST
igaram: i'm going to murder this dumbass boy.
-> king[name]: oooh im telling on you to miss terracota
[liked queenvivi, dni_nami, and 100 others]
princesanji: i can't believe they make queen vivi cover her blue hair for these events, they are suffocating her natural beauty </333
liked by dni_nami, freeluffy, and 103k others
deuxmoi: do you guys remember when vivi and [name] started dating? the royal couple are everyone's favorite pair !! happy four years to the two of them, to many more in the future to the cutest couple in the worllddd!!! p.s. honestly thank god for [name] because we got to see vivi in his iconic leather jacket, hello?! she looks so good!!
tagged: king[name] and queenvivi
randomroyallyobsessedfan: atp if he doesnt propose to her i will
-> anotherrandom: if she doesnt marry him atp i will
uso_pp: its crazy we r literally friends with the queen of a whole country
-> freeluffy: no we are BEST friends with vivi, usopp :DDD
[liked by queenvivi, king[name], and 200 others]
ttchopper: i remember when they first met, vivi was a blushing mess the entire time
-> queenvivi: please do not remind me. its so embarassing chopper.
-> king[name]: my own girlfriend is embarassed of me </3
princesanji: it should have been ME
-> king[name]: you're a fraud dni w me thanks xoxo
liked by robinkills, king[name], and 450k others
queenvivi: what lana said that one time
tagged: king[name]
dni_nami: i pyo to that song where is my credit
king[name]: stop i am NOT a serial killer the tabloids r gonna have a field day w this reference pls
-> uso_pp: if hes a serial killer then whats the worst that could happen to a girl thats already hurt. im alreayd huurutttt
[liked by queenvivi, king[name], and 200 others]
igaram: QUEEN VIVI BLINK TWICE IF U NEED HELP
-> pell: i'm going to confiscate your phone, she is fine. please relax igaram.
liked by queenvivi, princesanji, and 200k others
king[name]: alexa play seven by jungkook EXPLICITY VERSION. EXPLICIT VERSION. EXPLICITY VERSION.
tagged: queenvivi
robinkills: it's like [name] wants to get banned from seeing vivi again
-> king[name]: the entire country trying to keep me out will not stop me from seeing my beautiful girlfriend
dni_nami: seriously??? of all songs???
-> king[name]: its the way that you can ride its the way that you can ride
-> dni_nami: PLEASE SHUT TH EFUCK UP
-> queenvivi: babe please stop i can't keep explaining these references to my father he might kill you
-> king[name]: LEAVE YOU WITH THAT AFTERGLOOOWWWW
roro.zoro: 3d a better song but alright
-> uso_pp: the way you couldn't be more wrong???
king[name]'s story
i would lay down my life to protect this woman form any harm to come her way, some of you simply will NEVER understand
queenvivi replied to your story: i love you so much, let's stay in tmrw to relax
#≡;- ꒰ ° smau series ꒱#one piece#one piece imagines#one piece smau#one piece modern au#one piece x reader#one piece x male reader#x male reader#male reader#vivi x male reader#vivi x reader#one piece vivi#male reader imagine#vivi imagines
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pls can u tell me everything about fhq and esp fhq iwaoi i don’t really know what it is but every time i see you repost one of those beautiful heart wrenching artworks i want to die in the best way
YES GLADLY I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I CAN !!! under the cut because you're getting everything.
ok so some of the history lesson portion of this may be a little off, it's been a hot minute since i've done much research into this lol. but final haikyuu quest first appeared as a spread in one of the bonus pages in the manga! throughout the manga's run were occasionally drawings of the characters in little fake movie posters, one of them being an action/fantasy movie called final haikyuu quest:
this first poster and the original character designers are drawn by furudate! from there, it went on to become a mini bonus game in the haikyuu 3DS game, which is kind of crazy if you think about it too hard.
there's a playthrough uploaded on youtube here, but it's obv in japanese and i don't think there's been a translation of the game. there's a translation of part of it here on tumblr, but i don't think it's complete. poster from the 3DS game:
from there, it went on to be a CD drama (videos 8-10 on this youtube playlist, with subs), which is super neat. it's also one of the haikyuu light novels, but i have yet to find a full english translation of that.
i haven't read the novel or watched the videos with the CD drama audio myself, so i'm not sure how much it differs from the 3DS game. i assume they're pretty similar though.
so the premise at its most simple is that hinata and his party of adventurers are off to defeat the demon king oikawa and his henchmen! those are the basics.
the "canon" characters in hinata's party are hinata, kenma, aone, iwaizumi, and kageyama. on the opposing side we've got oikawa (the demon king), kuroo, and kiyoko. kiyoko has servants in the form of tanaka and nishionoya (they don't care for oikawa, they're just there for kiyoko). there's also michimiya, who is in the "fair princess kidnapped by oikawa" role that hinata & co. are trying to save. the full character profiles can be found here (everyone in game) and here (heroes only)!
now this whole premise is like. a little silly. the whole deal is a little silly. this is a volleyball manga.
with THAT being said, though, sometimes the most fun to be had is when you take the silly thing and make it devastating. and it's so easy to do that with FHQ. so let's talk abt iwaoi now <3
so in the story, oikawa is the demon king. because the premise is so simplistic and boiled down to good v. bad due to, like, this not being a real piece of media, oikawa is objectively on the "bad side." iwaizumi, on the other hand, is a knight, presumably human, and "oikawa's (former) friend."
iwaizumi being oikawa's former friend is literally his speciality and i think about that all the time btw. for context, kageyama's specialty is "prodigy" and hinata's is "strongest decoy." and fucking iwaizumi is out here like yea hey guys i used to be on the bad side but im mad at oikawa so now i'm with y'all. also my specialty in this fantasy universe is that i used to be oikawa's friend :)
like. what the hell. as you may imagine, the iwaoi angst potential here is ENORMOUS. iwaizumi who has betrayed oikawa and joined the heroes' side to take him down, iwaizumi whose greatest strength comes in knowing oikawa in and out, because the villains you love are both the hardest and the easiest to destroy. iwaizumi who loves oikawa, and who cannot save him.
(**side note, there's a lot of kuroken angst potential involved in this au as well, but let's focus on iwaoi for this post and save kuroken for another day)
so, as i said, the game's interpretation of all this is pretty simplistic and pretty silly. but personally i love thinking too hard and finding depth in things that are so not that deep. and it seems like most fhq fans also employ this as a favorite hobby because holy shit the angst people put in this au is INSANE.
the way i've interpreted it myself has been that iwaoi were besties/lovers/unclear situationship until oikawa kind of "fell into the dark side," because this is an au of every fantasy trope possible, and his reign over aoba became corrupted and "evil." iwaizumi betrays him to join hinata and take him down--save the world, at the cost of the demon he loved so much. but that demon, who oikawa was, is gone already, isn't he?
one of my favorite comics about them is here by @/ichigomaniac, where oikawa falls to the dark side and iwaizumi kills him to save the kingdom he loves. another FAVORITE similar one is here by @/hawberries! the premise of a lot of fics/art in this au run along these lines <3333
another super fun interpretation is a 5 part comic by @/duskisnigh, where oikawa and iwaizumi are running a kind of underground rebellion/safehouse in a world demons are oppressed by the human race. but as oikawa sees more and more evil on the behalf of humanity, he gets more and more unhinged until iwaizumi feels that he no longer knows him--and runs away with kageyama, with the intention of taking oikawa down.
personally i think the BEST aus are where iwaizumi--so loyal, so in love--is forced to leave because he can't stand to watch oikawa fall to more darkness, while oikawa himself is so devoted to iwaizumi that it's his love for iwaizumi that is corrupting him.....
in the fic i wrote, it's a story about forbidden love and how oikawa just wants to be allowed to love iwaizumi and he'll fight a war in order to do it. but iwaizumi can't watch oikawa fight this war anymore, because he's getting more and more dark as the war rages on. so he leaves, and was any of this ever worth it?
ggaahadhgjkadg . fhq. its crazy. i have a tag for it here, where i have been curating my favorite art. special shoutout to @/amezure who has some GORGEOUS pieces in their tag. OH ! and some of my fave fics in this au :
in the arms of loyalty and the hands of devotion (iwaoi, 23252 words), self promo lol
i can go anywhere i want (just not home) (kuroken, 3662 words) by keplcrs
wondering if your heart's still open (iwaoi, 683 words), by birdintheriver
Diorama (iwaizumi & kenma, 2027 words) by PlumTea
the ao3 tag is beautiful everywhere you turn, but i have a special love for those fics <3
so yeah that's the general deal! if you ever want to talk more about it, i am HAPPY to discuss !!! pls pls plsplsplsplsplssplsplslpslslslss!!!!!!
#ask#fhq#iwaoi#TY FOR THE ASK !!!!#this was so much fun to write out#i love final haikyuu quest SOOOO Much
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hello lovely! since vil is your favorite character, can i request some vil hcs similar to the other ones? he's not really 'pathetic little man' material, but i wanna see what you do with him 00
have a nice day <3
SO IF YOU NEED A HERO... OR A BOYFRIEND...┊ft: vil schoenheit
warnings: none! contains : gn! reader
notes: if vil showed up while i was literally at the altar abt to say my vows i would dip so fast its not what it looks like babe ur th only one 4 me it was never that serious (this took a while, sorry guys i went silly)
everyone who says vil is pure evil and would treat u like shit, you are all lying to yourself. he is literally my babygirl. argue with the wall.
vil schoenheit would fall for someone, fall hard, then want to die because why did he have to fall in love with you? like international superstar vil falls head over heels for an absurdly average person who they see in classes occasionally??? he doesn't know either.
he is striving to become the most perfect version of himself, just to have your attention.
and you're. not perfect. nowhere near what vil initially assumed would be his standards for a partner before you. maybe you sleep in class and you're scraping by with a barely passing grade.
he's gonna make it his goal to "fix" you. you're not irredeemably evil but he'll make it his job anyway.
(not that you guys need fixing! failing your classes is a hot bitch move but he is doing this bc he wants the best for you!)
this is going to serve as an excuse to be closer to you and allow him to tutor you. he won't bullshit it either, he takes it seriously.
moving on to the topic of nicknames, he usually just says your name. when he first meets you, he'll call you spudling. calling someone a potato is cringe; it's his only flaw.
he'll say "my dear" just as a general affectionate term. when he's annoyed at something or someone, he'll be calling you "sweetheart". his tone gets sickly sweet and you know he's mad at something.
but honestly, flashy nicknames just aren't his style. it's more of a rook thing to be like "my darling, my love" etc etc. vil would be mortified if he had to call you that, even as a joke.
vil vague posts about you. it's probably the most human vil looks in front of his fans. even vil schoenheit has someone they pine over? incredible for the self-esteem.
he's posting a photodump with a caption like: "i never know what to think about. i think about you." or "with them today."
you're probably vaguely aware of vil's social media presence, not really paying it any mind. it's awkward to cyberstalk a classmate, much less a friend.
since he doesn't tag you, you never really know about the posts and the wreckage that comes after vil happens to post a random photo of him holding your hand across the desk in an insta story.
vil wants his confession with you to be perfect, like it has to be. he agonizes it for a long time, rook occasionally dropping huge hints to you, much to his dismay.
he really is just scared of rejection. you denying him would honestly shatter him into a million pieces.
he'll take it slow, he'd never try to rush it with you. with time, he'll tell you his carefully guarded feelings, and it will be perfect.
— ☆
#vil schoenheit x reader#vil schoenheit headcanons#vil x reader#vil schoenheit#x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#twst hcs#twst x reader#twisted wonderland#vil bbg ily !!!!!#vil fluff#this is really sappy sweet but i love him so much u guys
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