#i’ll make a full verse for him later tbh !!

[nghtcrawler]

bg3 kurt is basically my oc and im obsessed with him hello

[solar-halos]

rant about the ballad of lucy gray baird incoming

basically in the ballad of lucy gray baird i feel like the line “i am the one who heard what you said sleeping” often gets misinterpreted. actually that’s a lie i’ve only heard one interpretation of this line and it was on tiktok but it was enough for me to be like yeah. i don’t fuckin think so bud. it went something like this:

“what lucy gray meant was that she heard billy taupe say mayfair’s name in his sleep, confirming her suspicions that he was cheating on her”

my live reaction to that interpretation

because. well. first of all, that verse was kinda hyping billy taupe up ngl. “i am the one who knew how you were brave” “i’ll take that ***and more*** when i go to my grave.” even “i am the one who looks out when you’re leaping” has a positive connotation to it, implying a level of trust and vulnerability in their relationship. and then to suddenly throw in a line that’s like “also you’re a fucking dirty cheater” just wouldn’t make sense. that comes later in the song

also, some of yall say jaw dropping heart wrenching things in ur sleep. like imagine you’re a teenage boy (or just a teenager in general tbh) and you’ve had the most traumatic upbringing, and you’re still constantly being put in dangerous + unstable situations. that’s fuckin nightmare fuel, obviously, but i suppose it can also cause a lot of embarrassment. and i think that’s what lucy gray is referring to. she’s seen him at his lowest point and still loved him anyway, and that’s behavior that no one—not even mayfair!—is ever gonna replicate with him. that’s what she’s taking to her grave: his ability to be someone that’s capable of being vulnerable and loved at the exact same time

or maybe i’m wrong. maybe she actually was talking about him sleep talking about mayfair. either way, i don’t want this post being on full display bc either way u look at it i’m either being 1) a hater 2) so fuckin confident about being so fuckin wrong

[omniishambles]

SHIPPING INFO // ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSES SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

tagged by: @countlessrealities // tagging: @imjustanauthor, @multipleoccupancy​

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

In regards to ships I’m currently writing:

Fish Lecter/Monet as written by @imprvdente and Abel Gideon because these two truly give me full brain rot in every single universe they collide in. The different dynamics they have in each verse while still being so damned perfect for eachother, I simply can’t.

Crowley as written by @collidingxworlds and Aziraphale, because Scotty has such a unique and detailed take on that silly demon that smashes every other version out of the water, quite frankly, and my Aziraphale is completely smitten with him and him alone.

I’m a very very selective shipper so I truly adore all the ships I’m currently writing and developing, but these two in particular are very much ride or die for me.

Kinda generically I’d say Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Gillian Foster & Cal Lightman, Effie Trinkett & Haymitch Abernathy, Peeta Mellark & Katniss Everdeen, Morticia & Gomez Addams. I’m lucky enough to be exploring some of these with Scotty and Chloe currently!

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

I’m relatively chill with age gaps, though I think if there’s gonna be one, I’d rather the youngest muse was 25-30 at minimum. As long as there’s no serious power imbalance, I think we’re pretty much good?

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

As soon as we reach the point of clothes coming off and everyone getting a little too excited for public display, that’s when a fade to black rolls in. I do find it amusing to play Fade To Black chicken and see how far a scene can be pushed before it goes under the veil, but I’d never write anything explicit on the dash. And writing actual NSFW content is something I left behind many many years ago. I actually find it more enjoyable to rile the muses up and join them again later.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

Very much so, yes. I’ve had some pretty disappointing experiences in the past which has led to that. And I guess I really struggle at times because I hate disappointing other people in regards to ships, I know what that feels like, so if I’m unsure I can tend to shy away or turn down ships. Because I don’t want to agree to something which fizzles out for me and leaves the other person hanging, especially if they were getting really invested (which also makes me wary of suggesting ships myself too! And this is one reason I don’t just ship at the drop of a hat).

Which is a pain because I’d enjoy more ships, tbh, but I have to feel really comfortable with the mun and have a very particular vibe with their muse and be able to see/feel a vibe between that muse and mine. I also write a lot of flirtatious muses, such is my curse, because flirtation doesn’t mean a ship is gonna happen but a lot of people think it does. And I need chemistry across the board. I need muses who have That Something and muns I’ve got a really good rapport with. It’s essential.

Once I’m in the right ship though I tend to be extremely loyal to it and often find it very difficult to imagine my muse shipped with any other! Some muses have multiple ships but that’s a pretty rare thing for me tbh.

But TLDR: Yes. Very selective.

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

I don’t know how to answer this really with multiple muses lol. I think it could be fun to explore a poly ship one day but alas, with my weird shipping hang ups I don’t know if I’d get there. That’s something I’ll have to work on to get more generally chill about shipping one day.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

It would need to be discussed or the idea floated by me. Depending on how I already feel about the muses and their relationship, I’d then decide if I’m open to exploring something more romantic, but that would still depend on the chemistry of the muses as we went along! If they’ve only been talking for five minutes then I probably won’t feel it, I usually need a lot of warm up time if I’m honest, but sometimes a ship will just kick down the door immediately. Again, I can be shy/wary of trying for ships if I’m not sure about the chemistry between the muses, so it’s usually best to ask me once they’ve had a couple of threads together!

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

While I do love the ships I’m currently writing and tend to be obsessed with those I’ve already got established, romantic shipping is not super important to me. There are so many other dynamics I’d like to get more opportunities to explore, like siblings and found family (I fucking LOVE found family). At the moment after a lot of bouncing around, I’m at the ‘romantic shipping is prioritized for mains’ stage which means that if anybody is getting a ship from me, it’s probably one of them. But if the chemistry is right in all the places it needs to be, then I might be open to shipping with other writing partners.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

I kinda already answered these at the top! Add Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase to the list too seeing as I’m currently writing a lot of PJO threads haha.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

Patiently? XD I think one of the most important things when it comes to shipping for me is that the muses need to be able to do things together. By which I mean, they need to be able to have multiple kinds of experiences together, there needs to be scope for them to get into a lot of different situations in which we can explore their dynamic further. Like, for example, my ship with Mycroft Holmes as written by @governmentofficial​ and Count Dracula, we created a verse specifically for Drac where he can cause the most havoc in Myc’s life but they do more than just sit and talk. They go on assignments together, Dracula has to deal with Myc’s demons and Myc has to deal with the fact that Dracula is a demon. There’s a lot to their dynamic that can be explored in threads. And when they do sit and talk, the conversation is engaging and lively and usually causes trouble. That’s the kind of chemistry I look for in all my ships.

[him-e]

what did you think of shadow and bone? have you read the books? i only read the duology

Thoughts on Shadow and Bone, now that you've probably seen it?

I think the show is alright? It lacks a real wow factor as far as I’m concerned, but it’s enjoyable. It’s especially enjoyable in those parts I didn’t anticipate to like / didn’t even know would be there. 

Whereas the main selling points leave a lot to be desired.

The good stuff: the visuals. The aesthetic. The overall concept. Production, casting and costumes are excellent, the setting is fascinating. The worldbuilding isn’t perfect and is sometimes confusing, which is probably due to the show jumping ahead of the books and introducing elements that happen much later in the book saga, but I’m loving the vague steampunk-y vibe of it mixed with more typical fantasy stuff and slavic-inspired lore, the fact that it’s set in dystopian Russia rather than your usual ye olde England.

I find it interesting that in this ‘verse the Grisha are simultaneously superstars, privileged elite, legendary creatures and despised outcasts, according to the context and the type of magic they wield. It’s A Lot, and so far it’s all a bit underdeveloped and messy, like a patchwork of different narratives and tropes sewn together without an organic worldbuilding structure. (there are hints to a past when they were hunted, but how did they go from that to being, essentially, an institutionalized asset to the government isn’t clear yet. There’s huge narrative potential in this, and I hope future seasons will delve into those aspects)

Many of the supporting characters are surprisingly solid. I appreciated that Genya and Zoya eventually sort of traded places, subverting the audience’s assumptions about them and their own character stereotypes, despite the little screentime they were given.

Breakout characters/ships for me were Nina/Matthias, and even more so the Crows, i.e. the stuff I didn’t see coming and knew nothing about (having only read the first book). (I thought the entire Crows subplot was handled in a somewhat convoluted way, at least in the first episodes; it was hard to keep track of who wanted Alina and why, but the Crows’ chemistry is so strong it carried the whole Plot B on its shoulders).

HELNIK. As an enemies to lovers dynamic, Helnik was SUPER on the nose, I’d say bordering on clichéd with the unapologetic, straight outta fanfiction use of classic tropes like “we need to team up to survive” and “there’s only one bed and we’ll freeze to death if we don’t take our conveniently damp clothes off and keep each other warm with the heat of our naked bodies” (not that I’m complaining, but i like to pine for my ships a bit before getting to the juicy tropetown part, tyvm). And then they’re suddenly on opposite sides again because of a tragic misunderstanding - does Bardugo hate high-conflict dynamics? It certainly seems so, because between Helnik and Darklina I’m starting to see a pattern where the slow burn and blossoming mutual trust is rushed and painted in broad, stereotypical strokes to get as fast as possible to the part where they *hate each other again* and that’s... huh. Something.

^That’s probably why I’m almost more interested in Kaz x Inej, because their relationship feels a bit more nuanced, a bit more mysterious, and a bit more unpredictable. (I didn’t bother spoiling myself about them, so I really don’t know where they’re going, but it’s refreshing to see a dynamic that the narrative isn’t scrambling to define in one direction or the other as quickly as possible)

-

Now, as for Darklina VS Malina... I found exactly what I expected. 

Both are ship dynamics I’m, on principle, very much into (light heroine/dark villain, pining friends to lovers) but both are also much less interesting than they claim to be, or could have been with different narrative choices. I’ll concede that the show characters are all more fleshed out and likable than their book counterparts, and the cringe parts I vaguely remembered from the books played out differently. And, well, Ben Barnes dominates the scene, he’s hot as HELL, literally every single second he’s on screen is a fuck you to Bardugo’s attempts to make his character lame and uninteresting and I’m LOVING it, lol.

But yeah, B Barnes aside, Darklina is intrinsically, deliberately made to be unshippable. 

It makes me mad, because it’s - archetypally speaking - made of shipping dynamite: yin/yang-sun and moon, opposites attract, COMPLEMENTARY POWERS AND SO ON. And what does Bardugo do with these ingredients? A FUCKING DELIBERATE DISASTER:

^ Placing the kiss so early on (season 1, episode five) effectively kills the romantic tension that was (correctly) building up until that point, and leaves the audience very little to still hope for, in terms of emotional evolution of the dynamic. 

Bardugo lays all the good stuff down as early and quickly as possible (the bonding, the conflicted attraction, the recognizing the other as one’s equal, etc) only to turn the tables and pull the rug so y’all sick creepyshippers won’t have anything to look forward to, because THEY’VE ALREADY HOOKED UP AND THAT BELONGS TO THE PAST, IT’S OVER, THEY’RE ENEMIES. This, combined to the fact that she falls for him *without* knowing who he really is, is the opposite of what I want from a heroine/villain ship (it’s basically lovers to enemies, and while that can be valid too, I wanted to see more pining and more prolonged, tormented symbolic attraction to the Shadow/Animus on Alina’s part). 

But here’s the trick: it’s not marketed as lovers to enemies - it has all the aesthetics and trappings of an enemies to lovers (the Darkling is, from the get go, villain-presenting, starting from his name), so it genuinely feels like a trollfic, or at the very least a cautionary tale *against* shipping the heroine with the tall dark brooding young villain, and I don’t think it’s cool at all. It makes the story WAY less interesting, because it humanizes the villain early on (when it’s not yet useful or poignant to the story, because it’s unearned) but it’s a red herring. The real plot twist is that the villain shouldn’t be sympathized with, just defeated: there’s a promise of nuanced storytelling, that is quickly denied and tossed aside. So is the idea of incorporating your Shadow (a notion that Bardugo must be familiar with, otherwise she wouldn’t have structured Alina and the Darkling as polar opposites who complement each other, but that she categorically refutes)

Then we have Malina. The good ship.

Look, I’m not that biased against it. I don’t want to be biased on principle against a friends to lovers dynamic that antagonizes a heroine/villain one, because every narrative is different, and for personal reasons I can deeply relate to the idea of being (unspeakably) in love with your best friend. So there are aspects of Malina that I can definitely be into, but it troubles me that in this specific context it’s framed as a regression. It’s Alina’s comfort zone, a fading dream of happiness from an idealized childhood, to sustain which the heroine systematically stunts her growth and literally repressed her own powers, something that in the books made her sickly and weak. But the narrative weirdly romanticizes this codependency, often making her tunnel vision re: going back to Mal her primary goal and centering on him her entire backstory/motivation, to the point that when she starts acting more serious re: her powers and alleged mission to destroy the Fold, it feels inorganic and unearned. 

Mal is intrinsically extraneous to Alina’s powers, he doesn’t share them, he doesn’t understand them, he has little to offer to help her with them, and so the feeling is that he’s also extraneous to her heroine’s journey, aside from being a sort of sidekick or safe harbor to eventually come back to. People have compared him to Raoul from Phantom of the Opera, and yeah, he has the same ~magic neutralizer~ vibe, tbh.

The narrative also polarizes Mal’s normalcy and relative “safety” against Aleksander’s sexy evil, framing Alina’s quasi-platonic fixation on the former as a better and purer form of love than her (much more visible and palpable) attraction to the latter. This is exacerbated by the show almost entirely relying on scenes of them as kids to convey their bond. I’m sure there are ways to depict innocent pining for your best friend that don’t involve obsessively focusing on flashbacks of two CHILDREN running in a meadow and looking exactly like brother and sister. LIKE. I get it, they’re like soulmates in every possible way, BUT DO THEY WANT TO KISS EACH OTHER?

Which brings me to a general complain: for a young adult saga centering on a young heroine and full of so many hot people, this story is weirdly unsexy? There are a lot of shippable dynamics, but they’re done in such a careless, ineffective way that makes ZERO EFFORT to work on stuff like slow burn, pining and romantic tension, and when it does it’s so heavy handed that the viewer doesn’t feel encouraged at all to fill the blanks with their imagination and start anticipating things (which is, imo, the ESSENCE of shipping). The one dynamic that got vaguely close to this is, again, Kaz and Inej, and coincidentally it’s also the one we didn’t get confirmed as romantic YET. Other than that, where’s the slow burn? What ship am I supposed to agonize over during the hiatus to season two? Has shipping become something to feel ashamed of, like an embarrassing relative you no longer want to invite in your home?

Anyway, back to Alina/Darkling/Mal, this is how the story reads to me:

girl suspects to be special, carefully pretends to be normal so she can stay with Good Boy

the girl’s powers eventually manifest; she’s forcibly separated from Good Boy

the girl’s powers attract Bad Boy who is her equal and opposite but is also a major asshole

girl initially falls for Bad Boy; has to learn a hard lesson that nobody that sexy will ever want her for who she is, he’s just trying to exploit her

also, no, there is no such thing as a Power Couple

girl is literally given a slave collar by Bad Boy through which he harnesses her power (a parody of the Twin Scars trope)

you know how the story initially suggested that the joint powers of Darkness and Light would defeat evil? LOL NO, Darkness is actually evil itself and the way you destroy evil is using Light to destroy Darkness, forget that whole Jungian bullshit of integrating your shadow, silly!

conclusion: girl realizes being special sucks. She was right all along! Hiding and suppressing her powers was the best choice! She goes back to the start, to the same Good Boy she was meekly pining for prior to the start of the story.

... there’s an uncomfortable overall subtext that reads a lot like a cautionary tale against - look, not just against darkships and villain/heroine pairings, but also *overpowered* heroines and, well... change? Growth?

Like, it’s certainly a Choice that Alina starts the story *already* in love with Mal. That she always knew it was him. The realization could have happened later (making the dynamic much more shippable, too), but no. 

[galadrieljones]

Some Biblical Symbolism in TWD 10c (Team Delusional)

Okay so I am VERY behind on the times, due to a ton of family engagements lately; however, now I’m trying to catch up and in doing so, I’m just going to make posts looking at all my recent, random notes from 10c and beyond.

This post starts by looking at the symbolism in the Bible verse that’s referenced in 10.19 “One More.”  This one verse in particular lead me down a lot of other Biblical rabbit holes, and I’ll try to talk about how they pertain to existing Team Delusional arguments, plus some other stuff!!

David and King Saul

The Bible verse I took down in my notes for the episode is 1 Samuel 16, specifically 16:21. This chapter is about God sending Samuel to anoint a new King of Israel after Saul basically pisses him off. Samuel chooses David, a young shepherd and son of Jesse, who is also a wonderful musician. He plays the lyre.

I remember reading about David when I was looking into Daryl/Biblical imagery. Initially I took Daryl’s fight w Beta in season 10 up in that tower to be a David vs. Goliath fight, but after reading more deeply into it, I scrapped the comparison. I read more into David and was actually more taken with him as relatable to Beth. More on that and how this impacts TD in a minute.

In 1 Samuel, King Saul of the Israelites is being tormented by demons (sent by god ofc) and sends his servant to bring him a musician to soothe his brain. The servant suggests David who comes to play the lyre for him and befriends his son. Anyway, consumed with fear that David is going to oust him, Saul tries to kill David, so David goes on the run, as a fugitive, basically until Saul and his son are killed, and then David returns and takes his place as King of the Israelites.

Anytime Gabriel is in the scene, there’s Biblical shit. So I was on top of "One More.” I didn’t really know what to make of the story with Saul and David and why it’s featured in this episode, so I talked to my husband who doesn’t watch the show (which is good because he’s coming at my questions unbiased) but he knows the Old Testament super well. I asked him whether Saul was supposed to be a “villain,” or merely a tortured king. My husband said Saul is not a villain, but a king who is meant to symbolize the unique plight of kings and leaders often characterized as the Sword of Damocles, ie: the sword always hanging over their head, and how the constant threat of death and/or usurpation can push them to great fear, madness, paranoia, and hasty decisions.

As the de facto leader of Alexandria, Gabriel is now in the same exact unique bind for which he sold out Rick to Deanna in season 5. He is potentially becoming a Saul figure, with the pressures of leadership causing him to turn away from his faith. This is a MAJOR shift in character dynamics for the show, as well as a big reference to Season 5 (an important season for TD, obviously). Season 5 Rick is also a very good Saul, as we see him falling to madness, hubris, and fear, and on the clear path to losing his people and his throne. I think we’re witnessing Gabriel now in a similar scenario in which his actions have finally begun to bear the weight of his responsibilities as a leader. He kills Mays because Mays is a killer and unhinged. It’s why Rick wants to and eventually does kill Pete in season 5. Gabriel killing Mays startles Aaron, and it isn’t pretty, but to him, it’s the right thing to do, even as it belies his cloth and belies his faith to do so. 

With his eyes, one light/one dark, as well as his priesthood, Gabriel is a perfect canvas for this sort of Saul struggle, especially now, as Michonne is gone, and Siddiq is dead, and he is not only the leader of Alexandria but now a father to a child, and this only further complicates his motivations. I also think this whole thing, ie: Gabriel as Saul might be another purposeful recycling of seasons 5, which 10c has been doing a lot. As has already been pointed out by @twdmusicboxmystery​, “One More” also rehashes a lot of themes and scenarios from “Still.” The entirety of 10c is consumed with cycles.

Saul and David through the Team Delusional Lens

ON THAT NOTE: Beth is an interesting David figure, since David’s main role before he becomes king is as a musician. You probably remember mention of David in the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah,” which references both David’s music as well as his later affair with Bathsheba. David’s music soothes the king, and we could say the same thing about Beth in seasons 3 and 4. Further, Dawn in season 5 is another Saul figure who has lost control of her kingdom due to weakness, fear, and selfishness. Beth, like David, is taken into her service (where she DOES sing, and where she calmly professes, “I still sing”), befriends another of Dawn’s young orderlies (such as David befriending Saul’s son), and then when she becomes a threat, Dawn *attempts* to kill her. Ofc in the Bible David just goes on the lam until Saul is killed by the Philistines, and then David becomes king of the Israelites. In TWD, Beth “dies.”

So by this allusion, if applied in template fashion, after Dawn (Saul) is killed, Beth (David) would return to Grady and become its new leader, something I think TD has discussed before.

Other Biblical Allusions and Curiosities:

Jesse and Samuel: Characters from 5b-6a. Samuel of the Bible is a child prophet, and Samuel of TWD is a “sensitive” child who, in the opening of 6.8, is surrounded by a lot of prophetic imagery, including a drawing of a blond person tied to a tree while surrounded by walkers, a toy firetruck, as well as the ants, breaching the window and swarming a cookie, which predicts or mirrors the walkers breaching the wall. This scene is full of TD imagery, which I’m sure other theorists have already rehashed, ie: the tree trunk, the number 8, even a cyclops (one-eyed) action figure on the dresser. Jesse is Samuel’s mother in 5b, and until I read more into Samuel, I didn’t realize that Jesse was a Bible character as well, and that he was David’s father, while Samuel is the prophet who anoints David as king. These are mostly minor characters, but as is a lot of stuff in season 5, they pack a lot of symbolic punch.This is also just me pointing to the fact that TWD has used more direct symbolism involving Samuel and David before, as well as indirect symbolism, and just general allusion. Samuel is also connected to key imagery that appears again and again.

^ (This is not the first blond we’ve seen tied to a tree in TWD.)

Gabriel the Archangel: Gabriel the archangel is a very interesting character in the Bible, as he is seen as not only a fierce defender of the Israelites, but per Christian tradition, he is also the angel who visits the Virgin Mary and foretells the birth of Jesus Christ. I know that TD has discussed Father Gabriel as a Beth “proxy” or as symbolically juxtaposed with Beth, often referencing him as a Sirius symbol, post-partial-blindness, echoing the one-eyed dog from “Still.” The Biblical imagery is consistent with this argument, especially when combined with argument that Beth is a Christ figure to be resurrected, ie: Gabriel is here to “herald” Beth’s return. Ofc, this could be applied to Rick as a Christ figure as well (who sacrifices himself to save his people); however, we know that Rick is not dead, which is inconsistent with the crucifixion, ie: Jesus literally “died” (or was perceived to have died) and came back to life. Further, in Christian tradition as well as in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Gabriel is credited as the angel blowing the trumpet that signals the return of Christ to the living (Gabriel’s horn). What I’m saying is, Gabriel is a herald. He heralds both the birth of and the return of Christ to the land of the living. It again does not feel like coincidence that Gabriel is introduced during season 4, at the very beginning of Beth’s arc.

Dark vs. Light: Does anyone else find it extremely fishy that Gabriel, Beth, and Daryl are all shown with prominent costume/features that juxtapose dark/light? What I mean is: Gabriel’s eyes, Daryl’s ankle coverings, and Beth’s shoelaces at Grady--all feature one dark, one light. Tbh I am not sure how this is even a Biblical thing (other than the overt good vs. evil connotations), but it just strikes me as further credence for how these characters must be connected. Gabriel as a reference to the one-eyed dog is more evidence tying them all together, further, the light/left dark/right arrangement is the same on Beth and Gabriel, whereas it is reversed on Daryl. I have always found the choice for Beth’s shoelaces to be strange, obviously correlated to Daryl’s ankle coverings, but I’m not sure why. I do know that this kind of visual imagery is not happening by mistake, though I don’t have a good hypothesis for what this means beyond the connection itself. Or, not yet at least. Give me time lol.

Anyway, I think this is all I have for now! If anyone has any thoughts or additions, please let me know. ^_^

[lieblxng]

im developing a lot of aus including the reverse au which is currently only available for rose, but leon also has it developed, i just forgot to put it in the verses page for him haha but wow im developing a reverse verse for a chara i dont have??? i might as well throw damos on the blog and be the only person in the pkmn rpc who plays him LMAO i cant help falling for obscure characters but i think he might have a better chance in getting interactions than my etrian odyssey muses but no if anyone wants to do damos,,,,you can hmu 😳😳 i cant reply it or see it if you do tho LMAOO

anyway reverse!damos here who goes by lazarus (meaning: my god has aided me) is not a nice farmer unlike his normal verse, instead being akin to a mercenary, but he kinda fills in the role of marcus - he has the ability to manipulate the hearts of pokemon, even legendaries and because of this, he’s been fiddling with legendaries and experimenting with things to try something out - and while reverse!arceus has been severely weakened from an intense fight or a meteorite too (im still figuring it out) and lost its life plates, lazarus finds it. it’s on the brink of dying, and instead of returning the plates like a nice person, lazarus only thinks of profit and benefitting himself - because it’s so vulnerable, it manipulates reverse!phae into summoning the lake guardians, where it promptly fights them and steals their gems before kicking them into the dirt. then he uses said gems to restraint and fully take control of reverse!phae before inserting the plates back into it, saying it will only get them back if it corporates. yes, lazarus literally pulls a cyrus being the first one to actually create a draft of the red chains to have arceus under its command. one of cyrus’ pc posts is “According to myths, the Pokémon created Sinnoh with its power. However, capturing the Pokémon with a Poké Ball prevents it from using its full power... But with the Red Chain, the Pokémon can be shackled, and its power can be used without restraint...” and he’s implying arceus with the first mention of pokemon, so maybe the red chains can be used on god??? i dont see why not, although the lake guardian was made more to check the creation trio than god itself, but why wouldn’t you have checks against god? “The Pokémon of the lakes and Mt. Coronet are somehow connected. Capturing the Pokémon of the lakes will free the Pokémon of Mt. Coronet. From the Pokémon of the lakes, crystals can be extracted to create a Red Chain.” i know he implies the creation trio with pkmn of mt. coronet but technically arceus lives in mt. coronet as the hall of origins can be summoned there LEMME HAVE THIS - 

originally i was going to have reverse!arceus be a completely neutral god, both in personality and how it handled things - just create life, casually, and just head out and do nothing for them - “the humans can handle their planet however they wish to. if they destroy it, they destroy it.” and i was trying to redesign it and it kept coming up as punk (more below because this is a long ass post)

so i was like, aight i guess i’ll go with what my heart wants but something still didnt feel right, because punk is an expression more than just a simple fashion statement - it was created to rebel against those who tried to hold you down and mold you into who they wanted you to be. to defy the shitty standards of what’s supposedly normal. and then it all clicked when i looked at this vid 

ive heard the music itself and one of my favs, but not the music video so i kinda just exploded with ideas and it really completed the punk i wanted to go with - funny thing, im a bad character designer so i scrapped the punk look and pulled a unique thing with phae’s case - legendaries and mythics are statements of unchanging, fixated ways while normal, evolvable pokemon are statements of improvement and change - growth, which is something phae is completely jealous of. gods don’t evolve; they don’t change. so i thought, why not keep its original look (i love it too much anyway and i cant think of anything better tbh for phae) to reflect that aspect but have the way it governs and behaves different? normal!phae and reverse!phae are still similar but opposite - normal being the kind, caring god and reverse being the relentless, uncaring god. both are the two most popular aspects and themes of gods and how they treat those beneath them, so i thought it worked.

reverse!phae never wanted to be a god. it’s immature and uncaring on purpose to get the attention of the creator of the original one itself; to be a sign of rebel, to show that it was its own character and no one can morph it into what they want it to be. it revels in its creations screaming in pain, as nothing else entertains it so and because it empathizes with them. it sends the world into pure chaos a majority of time so no one enjoys living. seeing its creations, both human and pokemon, excel in the trials and tribulations of this hell; seeing them perform so expertly under extreme stress, how humans and pokemon can come together and defeat anythin - and rebelling in their own right and way give reverse!phae so much hope and relief. that it’ll be able to do the same. and once reverse!phae does get its creators attention, you bet it’s gonna be very angry on why it exists. it might even try to murk its creator. it’s more of a “i didn’t ask to be born so i’m gonna make it your problem” type of person, and a god prone to violence - often fighting with its own creations, like even the lake trio and the creation trio. but it checks them all every time, and it’s so hungry for an actual fight that reverse!phae can actually work for and struggle for and feel like it actually won. and that’s when lazarus comes in. that’s where lazarus comes in.

how much it hates lazarus. how much it hates lazarus. it hates everyone, but lazarus has a special kind of hatred reserved just for him. in fact, hatred isn’t the proper word to explain the intense, raw, unfiltered feelings reverse!phae has for him. on one hand, it absolutely respects the honest work he puts in to further himself, but on the other hand, being the one on the receiving end of his malicious intentions is never ideal. it has no interest in whatever petty crimes he wants to commit, but trying to take god and become it yourself? completely admirable. a fantastic way to rebel, but having to have someone chain you down and control you? reverse!phae’s worst nightmare. i’ll get into that later since this is already long enough god help me

is reverse!phae messed up? yes, severely. that’s kinda what happens when you rot alone in the depths of dark space for eons. no human nor pokemon - no, no living being can ever handle that. both normal! and reverse!phae have the same backstory, but different reactions to it. reverse!phae wants everyone to scream and lash out, it wants everyone to rebel against their origins and become their own people, even with the immense baggage on their shoulders. it wants everyone to risk death to accomplish their dreams. it laughs in everyone's faces before spitting in them. i think reverse!phae will be one of my most violent takes on a muse, if not, my most since it is god and the shit it talks can easily be proven right. it constantly berates and breaks people down into pieces. no one understands it. it hates everyone and everything it sees. it doesn’t need love and kindness, it just needs a body to break. which is untrue, because obviously its yearning for love and kindness - something its never experienced - and it’s lashing out for attention. secretly hoping someone will just hug it and all its problems away. that everything will be okay in the grand scheme of things. that it won’t have to have the unlimited stress of being a god anymore.

usually when i put my touch on muses, canon or not, they’re primarily good people with hearts of gold. even with ones less so, they’re not as intense as this. so working with that kind of character is thrilling and i’m excited to see if i can get anyone interested with it lmao- reverse!phae’s name might be nou or chali, what would be better? sorry this was such a long post!! i’ve been working on this since last night and it’s been really fun to develop like this again - i only get this kind of productive with my hyperfixations, so they’re both a blessing and a curse -  i think this is everything i have rn for the reverse au but ii’ll be going back into it

[hourglass-full-of-stars]

sorry to everyone who’s not a truly devious fan but “cowboy like me” is about Francis Crane and Edward Pierce Davenport from book two

will this be a lyric by lyric (ish) analysis about two characters I don’t even care about much? maybe. this whole thing is a giant reach about characters we don’t know much about so im gonna assume a bunch of stuff k thanks. I deleted the repeats of verses btw 

And the tennis court was covered up With some tent-like thing And you asked me to dance But I said, "dancing is a dangerous game"

So, tennis court=rich stuff, and it’s covered up meaning it’s probably night outside anyway. I could see them meeting there, they were always only meeting in the middle of the night anyway. And god i can just imagine Francis being like “dancing is a dangerous game” when Edward was just trying to dance with her

Oh, I thought This is gonna be one of those things Now I know I'm never gonna love again When they first met, Francis was surrounded by rich boys or not so rich boys who probably just wanted her money + status. But when she met Edward, the book says “Edward Pierce Davenport was the first and only person Francis had any respect for...Eddie had made it his life’s mission to disappoint his family” (Johnson 33). She clearly didn’t have high expectations, but she respected Eddie and he was the “only person” she respected. Hence, she knows she’s never gonna love again like she did w Eddie. I've got some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one You're a cowboy like me

Francis has been dealing w these people her whole life. She knows that they’re all rich and just trying to impress Albert Ellingham or whoever else was the most important person in the room. Edward clearly knew, too. They were both part of this society their whole lives. They didn’t like it, but they enjoyed the benefits. So they didn’t leave (except sort of Eddie later? I mean he was still rich, he just lost his mind). But they even dressed up as Bonnie and Clyde (Johnson 413), I mean. ( I just feel like Edward would say “you’re a cowboy like me” and Francis would scoff but she would secretly enjoy it. And the tricks up her sleeve? They wrote the whole letter together. And it says, “Francis told Eddie about bomb-making and erad him the stories of Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger and Ma Barker. Eddie embraced them at once” (Johnson 34). Never wanted love Just a fancy car Now I'm waiting by the phone Like I'm sitting in an airport bar

She didn’t care about love or marriage until now. We can assume that from her general demeanor and also when she got mad when Ellingham said “Your father would murder me if I made you too dangerous too marry” (Johnson 131). She never really cared about her eventual suitor, she just enjoyed being rich. And then the other two don’t exactly work because of the setting and time period, but we know that Francis most likely had to wait for Eddie at some point when she didn’t think she would or something. You had some tricks up your sleeve Takes one to know one You're a cowboy like me

Similar to the first one. He also has tricks up his sleeve, the poetry and earlier some made up plans, not just the letter. “Eddie introduced Francis to poetry- the swirling, wild storms of the romantics...He showed Francis the various tings he had learned in his romantic life, and Francis was an apt pupil” (Johnson 33-34). 

Perched in the dark Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear Like it could be love I could be the way forward Only if they pay for it You're a bandit like me Eyes full of stars Hustling for the good life Never thought I'd meet you here It could be love We could be the way forward And I know I'll pay for it

Tbh, perched in the dark/telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear could be seen as separate things. So, I will see them as that. They seem to meet at night a lot to sneak out because they like to sneak. Francis at least, not Eddie, but Francis appeals to the rich people, y’know. She goes to the school, she seems good but not really. And, since Francis went to France at around the same time Eddie did, they deffo tricked some rich people there. Francis and Eddie made their way forward to France to trick people and continue making their plans. They’re “bandits” together and probably continued to do. I don’t think Francis ever married, but she had a daughter (who I STILL think was Ellie’s mom or grandmother, but that’s a different post). Hustling for the good life, never thought I’d meet you there. THeir idea of a good life, is just schemes. They’ve been planning ones since school. “Over that fall and that cold winter, they began their study into the art of crime At the right time, they would take one of Ellingham’s cars, fill it with dynamite and leave...On a clear day, when no one was looking, they would go drive west and rob banks” (Johnson 34). Francis will pay for it. She wants this badnit scheme life. Eddie is full of vigor and continues to be wild for the rest of his life, as said in the book. And the it could be love? We could be the way forward? This actually does tie into the Ellie theory. We know Francis had a child in France, assumably with Eddit, and she was the way forward since eventually Ellie went to Ellingham and it did change stuff. And once again, she would pay for it. She’s rich

And the skeletons in both our closets Plotted hard to fuck this up And the old men that I've swindled Really did believe I was the one And the ladies lunching have their stories about When you passed through town But that was all before I locked it down The same skeletons in the closets? The letter. They both wrote it and sent it because of Ellingham and it turned into part of one of the biggest cases ever, when it didn’t actually have much to do with the actual crime. They plotted hard to yknow, ruin Ellingham’s life or at least cause him discomfort. They wanted him to suffer and be sad because of Francis’ personal vendetta against him. The old men she’s swindled? Taking this in a different way. She’s tricked all the men in her life that she will marry and be a good wife, etc. but also she wants are schemes. They believed that she would carry on the Crane legacy. And we know Eddie is wild, and the ladies stories, but for context, “Davenport was best known for...his rechless lifestyle. He committed suicide in Paris on Jne 15, 1940....Edward Pierce Davenport spent the day consuming opium and violet champagne. At sunset, as loudspeakers in the street announced the night’s curfew, he donned a gold  dressing gown and climbed to the rooftop of his Parisian apartment...After toasting the city, and the setting sun, he downed a last glass of champagne and swan-dived from the building into the street below” (Johnson 100-101).   Now you hang from my lips Like the Gardens of Babylon With your boots beneath my bed Forever is the sweetest con I mean, I guess the first three are just self explanatory? They deffo had a thing and a kid in France who is for sure somehow related to Ellie. Anyway, forever is the sweetest con. Literally only one person figured out that they wrote the letter. They had the satisfaction of knowing it would never be tracked back to them or at least almost. 

I've had some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one You're a cowboy like me And I'm never gonna love again I'm never gonna love again I'm never gonna love again

Scheming and poetry, they’re both schemers. Cowboys like each other but they just try to be like that because they dislike the rich lifestyle. Francis will never love or respect someone like Eddie ever.

[genesisrose74]

Karasuno Boys Singing Headcanons!

A/n: By this point I hope that everyone has seen the masterpiece that is Sugawara’s wonderful voice actor singing Under the Sea, which has won the spot in my heart for cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I then proceeded to go off the deep end of Haikyuu voice actors singing and safe to say I was in no way disappointed, so here’s some Karasuno boys singing headcanons! If you have any requests my ask box is open 💖 enjoy!

Daichi

Is it just me or would Daichi not care if someone heard him singing

He seems like the type of person who hums all the time 

Partly because it helps relax him after yelling at the team all day LMAO He doesn’t necessarily sing with lyrics every chance he gets, but when he does he’s pretty casual about it

He’ll sing in the car a lot, and it was actually the first place you heard him

Boy has a soothing playlist for school days and you always like hearing his voice when he drives you in the mornings

Will hum when you’re both doing schoolwork in his or your house

Doesn’t realize he has a good voice, so he never tries to show off all that often in front of people and thus the team has not heard him full out sing yet

So when they does hear him like, actually singing for the first time at the end of practice they’re SHOOK

Tanaka and Nishinoya instantly start spamming you with texts, asking why you hid away such a precious secret for so long

You’re sitting in the library staring at your constantly vibrating phone like ??? doesn’t he sing all the time?

When you end up texting the boys this question they go absolutely feral

At this point Daichi is losing his voice yelling at the team to calm tf down

Suga is cackling in the corner of the team gym cause he been knew

It’s absolutely chaotic literally someone come save Daichi please-

Sugawara

HAHA GET READY BOYS

Official team mom of Karasuno sings all the damn time don’t even get me started

Always humming some upbeat tune doing schoolwork, cleaning up after practice, in the car, etc.

Seriously when is this sweet baby not singing

The team is well aware of this, especially the sideline cheer squad (Yamaguchi, moi ippon nice serve!) 

Tell me he does not make up rhyming cheers under his breath during matches I dare you

Will literally make up a stupid song on the spot to describe whatever he is currently doing or feeling

Hinata bathroom vibes tbh but it’s even more out of the blue

“Got an A on my exam today, and things are going my way”

“Suga, for the love of everything please stop”

“Daichi thinks I’ll listen to what he’ll say, but I’m singing more anyway”

He is always on board with karaoke whenever Karasuno has team bonding nights

One time you are invited to this by Suga himself and he gets up and starts singing a Disney song haha guess which one 

And as often as the team has heard him sing mans is feeling it tonight for whatever reason and y’all can tell

You have never heard anyone sing Under the Sea so passionately before but it’s a gift and you’re not complaining

Asahi

Boy is so insecure oh my gosh please give him some support

Very shy about singing in front of anyone and everyone

The only time you’ve ever heard him sing was when you were over at his house and he was taking a shower

You had gone downstairs to get a snack from the kitchen and when you come back up he’s singing alongside one of his playlists

You don’t know if it’s because of the steam and the solid acoustics in the bathroom but he doesn’t sound half bad

You try not to startle him as soon as he gets out because you know how flustered he’d get

But then a while later while y’all are studying on his bed you just casually bring it up like ‘You have a nice voice, Asahi’ and that’s all

He’s a little shocked at first that you heard him but kind of smiles and sighs in relief because you liked his singing!! 🥺

Precious teddy bear is totally happy for the rest of the week, like that’s how much your praise means to him sdlkgjfdjsof he’s too cute

Eventually warms up to humming little tunes around you

He’s really blushy when he does but you pretend not to notice for his sake lmao

It makes you so warm inside that he feels comfortable enough to let you hear him

Ennoshita

In this house we do not sleep on Ennoshita

As much as he is the mom of the second years he will flaunt his stuff whenever he gets the chance and this is one of those times

If a generic pop song is on at literally any point in time and he hears it, damn right he’s going to sing 

When it comes to singing Ennoshita is hands down the most chaotic no question about it

Sometimes he’ll actually sing a verse pretty decently

And then the next line is just the embodiment of a dumpster fire and he does not care

These are the only times that Tanaka and Noya get irritated with him and not the other way around

But Ennoshita doesn’t give a shit, he’s so cheeky

Like he’ll be walking through the mall and a banger of a song like Fergalicious comes on over the speakers? You’re done for

Even if he doesn’t know the lyrics at certain points, or deadass does not know any of them at all, he’ll just power through

If there is a sports banquet complete with dancing and music and the team attends, Ennoshita is tearing up the floor and singing his heart out

Honestly you’re a little scared to interfere cause what is he even doing-

He has made quite a few friends from opposing teams with his frankly lunatic level energy

I’m looking at you Oikawa, Tendou 

Tanaka

ANIME. INTROS.

He sounds EXACTLY like that opening singer from Bungou Stray Dogs I wonder why

No but actually we all heard his little song in season one, when he’s late and walking to the gym like what a king-

In summary he is a pretty good singer 

Most definitely a frequent participant during team karaoke nights and everyone enjoys his little performances

When he realizes that girls actually like guys who can sing he starts using this to his advantage 

And surprisingly it ended up working

You’re out at karaoke with some friends one night and you hop outside to get some more food for your group when you hear somebody slaying Rough Diamonds; your mind instantly goes to Food Wars

It catches your interest and then you realize...this dude goes to your school? You are positively whipped

He sees you from the doorway and when he realizes you’re enjoying the song he amps it up another three notches

Achievement get: girlfriend 

Karaoke dates and other such outings happen often, thank you very much

As much as he enjoys singing he does not overdo it like Ennoshita, who has been limited to three songs per night every time the group goes out, please for the sake of everyone’s eardrums

Nishinoya

As Tanaka’s best friend and as the co-president of simps everywhere, Nishinoya is another common singer during karaoke nights

Having fun and maybe picking up a cute girl at the end of it all? That’s literally his life agenda

He either goes for the badass, headbanging songs that are super energetic, or he jams out to the generic and famous pop groups’ songs

There is no in between

Noya has a slightly deeper singing voice but sometimes he’ll go for the stupid high notes for fun and just...completely fails

The fact that he has never successfully hit one of those notes doesn’t deter him in the slightest though; his goal is to get there at least once before he dies

He can sing so many popular TikTok audios and you can’t decide whether to be impressed or slightly disappointed with that fact

Noya doesn’t really sing at practice just because he’s focused, but when he’s walking home or getting food from Sakanoshita afterwards he might start randomly singing something

The type of person who has like a billion different playlists on his phone for the most obscure moods (honestly same Noya)

Like there’s one named “Bad Test Grade But I Won a Free Popsicle Kind of Feeling” don’t even ask 

Will put on a concert in his room and perform a whole lineup of these songs for you

Sometimes you think it’s just so he can avoid doing schoolwork but you let him get away with it occasionally

cause you’d never tell him but it’s so entertaining and kinda hot what

Tsukishima

OH GOD THIS BOY

I swear you have tried time and time again to figure out whatever the hell kind of music he listens to with those chonky headphones of his but you have never successfully completed that mission

There are only two - count em, TWO - instances where you have ever witnessed this embodiment of a salt shaker doing anything resembling singing

Number one was a literal meme TikTok where you were using Beyond the Mysterious Beyond from Land Before Time as your audio

You didn’t expect Tsukki to recognize it at all 

But he’s in the top corner of your phone screen and he is deadass LIP SYNCING EVERY WORD and you’re SENT INTO ORBIT 

DOES HE STUTTER? NOPE

Should have expected that Mr. Dinosaur Obsessed would have watched Land Before Time and loved the all the bops

That video is forever saved in your drafts because he’d literally end you if that went public but you refuse to completely get rid of it

Second time, our french fry child actually sings because Yamaguchi forces him to do a song with him lmao

It only lasts for about three verses but it’s all anyone has heard from him before and is therefore a blessing from above

If anyone has heard these two singing Sarishinohara on YouTube you know what I’m talking about if not look it up it’s an absolute gift 

Literal perfection in a duet like?? Everyone is depressed when they realize that Tsukki’s voice had been hidden from the world until that very moment

We will cherish this short taste of Singing! Tsukki for all time amen 😔🙏

Yamaguchi

Like Asahi, this precious bean is also shy about his singing 

But he will sometimes get a burst of confidence if he’s having a really good day or if someone is singing with him

When those moments arrive they are wonderful 

He sounds like an angel, not even exaggerating he’s just so pure

Has a very light tone no matter how the song originally sounds and it’s really soothing to be honest

When his little bouts of confidence wear off please for the love of God praise him in any way shape or form, it makes him feel good about himself 

On team bus rides to games, he and Yachi will sometimes sing fun tunes together to calm each others’ nerves and it’s incredibly precious

Tsukki will send you videos of this pregame ritual and you have a folder reserved for them in your camera roll 

Everyone say thank you Tsukki

He will sing for you if you’re feeling super down about something because he knows you love it 

Never fails to calm you down and cheer you up, and Yams knows in those moments that he would gladly sing for the rest of his life if it made you smile

We stan one soft, talented bean sprout 

Kageyama 

Another stubborn boy when it comes to singing in front of other people

He will hum on rare occasion but don’t expect much more

You start to realize that whenever he does start humming, though, it’s always the same song, so one day you ask him about it

It’s a song his grandfather used to sing to him when he was little and he uses it to calm himself down

You almost start crying on the spot because you know how much his grandpa meant to him 

Kags says there were lyrics to it but he doesn’t remember them besides a few random words scattered here and there

It becomes your personal mission to find the rest of the lyrics because you’ll be damned if your precious baby goes another day without hearing them again

Finally after countless obscure Google searches you find the song 

But you don’t know how to casually bring up the fact that you had spent hours obsessively looking for them into a conversation-

So one day you’re hanging out with Kageyama, but he’s been in an awful mood all week, and you decide to start singing the song that his grandpa used to but including the lyrics

And when he recognizes the words and puts the chorus together, he instantly relaxes and starts singing it with you

He is so touched and thankful that he can finally recall the song in its entirety, and now you both sing said song to each other whenever the other is feeling down

I love him so much my heart-

Hinata

When you find out he can sing you’re absolutely floored

Literally the only time in his life that Hinata can successfully speak English words and it’s in a song? And it’s coherent?? It’s a miracle

The whole team gets on his ass about sucking at English in class but being able to obliterate those lyrics when they come up in a song and the poor tangerine gets all huffy

hE’s tRyiNg HiS bESt oKaY                

His range is SO GOOD THOUGH WHAT-

You’re in the middle of a store with him and he’s been occasionally singing along to the music from the speakers and at this point you’re not even surprised at how good he sounds

But then he just starts singing in falsetto

BOI- When I say your jaw is on the floor I am not playing games 

The power he holds is beyond comprehension

He’s looking at you confused like did he do something wrong?

When you proceed to flip out over how great he just sounded baby gets so embarrassed how cute

Again, one of those people who just doesn’t know their gift and it makes him even more precious 

I would kill to have his capabilities like imagine the talent; if that whole volleyball thing doesn’t work out there’s also the music industry sir-

In conclusion: CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS SUNSHINE A MIC THANK YOU

[therealsaintscully]

[TJLC] Distracted by AGRA (or the many hints about personification of death in The Six Thatchers)

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS A WORK IN PROGRESS. IT’S NOT PERFECT BUT  I HAVE SOME GOOD IDEAS HERE, I THINK, SO KEEPING IT FOR NOW.

A FEW DISCLAIMERS: - I’m not a native English speaker and this wasn’t betad, so excuse the less-than-perfect English (although you’re about to find out what native language actually is). - I’m very new in the fandom and in reading/writing meta, this would be my second meta post tbh, so excuse the amateurism. - Everything I’m about to write here is based on very quick and easy Google searches. I’m BY NO MEANS AN ACADEMIC! I’m not well versed enough in any form of literary analysis to claim more than that, but perhaps this post will be a breeding ground for new ideas. If you are an academic and you find these interesting - please go ahead and expand on them. - Lastly, this may have been picked up before by other meta writers and if so - I’m not aware of it, as I’m quite new to this fandom.

tl;dr: The Six Thatchers seems to be full of hints about the personification of death and cultural/religious representations of it, in a way that may even hint that that Mary = death, and/or that Moftiss were very preoccupied with the idea while writing it. It should be noted that I find these tidbits interesting in the context of well-established TJLC theories I’ve been reading up on a lot lately, namely EMP and M-Theory. I found these details interesting in the context of reading TST as something that’s happening in Sherlock’s MP as he’s dying and suspecting that Mary is dangerous and perhaps even linked to Moriarty.

AGRA > Samarra > The Four Angels of Death

As these things always go, I’ve been re-watching episodes while researching my WIP fic ‘Turned’. I have this new habit these days of only listening, instead of actually watching the episode in search of a fresh perspective. This time I was blown away, once again, by Sherlock and Mycroft’s conversation about AGRA. It’s a VERY odd conversation considering the topic, and what caught my ear this time was Mycroft mechanically reciting facts about the city of Agra. Why Agra, I asked? What’s so important about it? Nothing, the way I see it. One search led to another and I looked up Samarra, thinking perhaps I’ll find some connection between the two cities, but couldn’t.

The search for Samarra and the parable about it led me to the Appointment in Samarra wiki page, which mentions that the title of the book comes from a retelling of an ancient Mesopotamian tale by W. Somerset Maugham (the source of the next quote is here):

"The Appointment in Samarra" (as retold by W. Somerset Maugham [1933])

The speaker is Death

There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate.  I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threating getsture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

There is also a very interesting study guide link from this website, which asks some very interesting questions about tale, such as Maugham’s decision to make Death a non-omniscient narrator of this tale, as well as a woman. I’ll return to Death being referred to as a woman later. However, since I have no expertise in literary readings, I’ll leave it to others who might be to add some more here.

More below the cut:

The version of the story in TST is a bit different; the servant is absent from the tale; it is instead the merchant who has the nighttime appointment with Death in Samarra after being startled to see Death that morning in the Baghdad market. (This note was taking from a wikipedia entry about another - apparently-  very deterministic play by Maugham, Shepey.)

Anyway, the Appointment in Samarra wikipedia mentions that Maugham’s story comes from a much older version recorded in the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 53a.

The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism. I’m a Hebrew speaking Jew, though an atheist one who isn’t well-read in religious texts at all, but I was intrigued enough to look up the Hebrew Talmud version of the text (in fact it’s originall in Aramaic, but wikipedia offers a Hebrew tranlsation). A quick Google search led me to the wikipedia page about the personification of death, and that’s when things got interesting.

Under the section about the grim reaper in Judaism, a story from the Talmud is mentioned, which seems to be another version of the Appointment in Samarra story. Here’s the story, translated by Google Translate, because I couldn’t find an English version:

The Babylonian Talmud tells of a sage, Rabbi Bibi, the son of Abiy, whose angel of death was often in his company. Rabbi Bibi heard the angel of death ask his emissary to name a woman named Miriam (Mary) who was a hair dresser (the future mother of Jesus). The messenger of death accidentally killed another woman named Miriam (Mary) who was a teacher. The angel of death said to his messenger: "I asked you to kill Miriam the barber and not Miriam the teacher." The messenger of death replied: Then I will bring Miriam the teacher back to life and bring before you Miriam the barber. The angel of death said to him: If you have already brought Miriam the teacher, leave her with me along with the rest of the dead. The angel of death asked his messenger: How did you manage to kill the teacher Miriam even though it was not her time to die? The messenger of death replied: She was killed before an opportunity to kill her - she was fiddling with the stove with ember in her hand to clean the stove. Inadvertently she caused a burn in her leg - and when a person was harmed and his determination of his time to die was undermined - so I had a chance to kill prematurely. The sage, Rabbi Bibi, asked the angel of death: Do you have permission to kill people before their pre-determined time has come? The angel of death answered, "Yes, for it is written, 'There is no one who has perished without judgment.' 

(According to wikipedia, this story is taken from תלמוד בבלי, מסכת חגיגה, דף ד, עמוד ב – דף ה, עמוד א).

AGR(A?M?)

Alright, I said, two Marys, escaping death but then meeting it eventually. It happens.

But as I read on… that Hebrew wikipedia page mentions another personification of death, the angel of death Azarel. Azarel has three ‘colleagues’ (e.g archangel) in Islam (and in some variations, they also exist in Judaism and Christianity): Jibrail (Gabriel), Israfil, commonly thought of as the counterpart of the Judeo-Christian archangel Raphael, and Mīkhā'īl (Michael).

So wait, that’s -- that’s Azarel, Gabriel, Raphael... as in AGR(A)?  Whoa.  That fourth angel mentioned in Islam is Michael - which doesn’t hold up with AGRA - but could that be a coincidence? We’re told two things about BBCSh’s AGRA, but we can’t really know they’re actually true. The first one is that Mary claims it’s her initials, which we later learn is possibly not true - John gets mad realizing it’s another lie. The other thing is that Mary claims to be ‘R’, for Rosamund, but we can’t be sure about that either. However, another cool detail: in Christianity, Raphael is generally associated with an unnamed angel mentioned in the Gospel of John, who stirs the water at the healing pool of Bethesda. Yes - I know, the M really doesn’t fit there, but M really is a character that stands out in the BBCSH universe, doesn’t it?

Moving on to more cultural references of the personification of death the Hebrew wikipedia page offers, note that I haven’t read the first and it’s been years since I watched the second:

Death with Interruptions

In Death with Interruptions by José Saramago, they mention, death is a woman, and she falls in love with one of her future victims. She decides to spare his life: Every time death sends him his letter [notifying him of his imminent death], it gets returned. Death discovers that, without reason, this man has mistakenly not been killed. Although originally intending merely to analyse this man and discover why he is unique, death eventually becomes infatuated with him, so much so that she takes on human form to meet him. Upon visiting the cellist, she plans to personally give him the letter; instead, she falls in love with him, and, by doing so, she becomes even more human-like.

Chess and The Seventh Seal

Another reference is the film The Seventh Seal, about a knight returning from a crusade, and discovers his land his ravaged by plague. The knight encounters Death, whom he challenges to a chess match, believing he can survive as long as the game continues. Does that remind you of any particular promo pics?

What I find interesting in all these references, is that they all seem to deal with questions regarding ‘dealing with death’ that, in the context of EMP for example, can be seen as Sherlock ‘running simulations’ (or asking philosophical questions) on how to deal with his current situations:

- ‘Do you have permission to kill people before their pre-determined time has come’? (Can people time die before their pre-determined time? Can people escape pre-determined death?)

- Can you interrupt death with love? Was Mary supposed to kill John, fell in love with him and thus his death was postponed? Is John still in danger?

- What can one do to postpone death - perhaps challenging it to a game, hoping for survival as you distract it?

Tagging other meta readers/writers who I think might enjoy this ; let me know if you don’t - I won’t tag you again): @sarahthecoat​​, @devoursjohnlock​​ @inevitably-johnlocked​​ @possiblyimbiassed​​ @waitedforgarridebs​​ @tjlcisthenewsexy​​  @loudest-subtext-in-tv​​ @therealsaintscully​ 

[yossariandawn]

Ooh tell me more about the new soul and Disney crack!! Also dirty laundry?? What is that?!

asked by @alwaysupatnight, I don’t know what’s up with tumblr, but y’all will just have to trust me on this.

New Soul: This one is the SethKate Just Like Heaven AU that was requested here by anon! I haven’t forgotten, but I also haven’t gotten very far with it. I’m still working out the kinks of giving Seth a visual “noncorporal” cue, and it may ending up being gifsets since that would be a much easier way to get the exposition out on what the heck is going on, but the song New Soul by Yael Naim is what I’m currently planning on using for mood/structure. I’ve always liked that song, tbh, and it works pretty well for the story idea I have in my head. Disclaimer: I haven’t actually watched Just Like Heaven, but I did check out the trailer and I think I got the important gist of it down. General outline for it so far: Kate’s new studio apartment was supposed to be a fresh start, but then she met her new roomate - former tenant/always stubborn dead guy Seth, who is now haunting the place and won’t leave her in peace. Seth doesn’t remember what got him stuck in between this plan of existence and the next, but he won’t go without a fight (and lots of flirting)

Disney Crack!: Will be an excuse to use a bunch of Disney songs for short SethKate snippets (and other FDTD characters when it fits) I don’t have much done here either, but here are a few songs that will most likely end up in the final cut: I Won’t Say I’m In Love, Something There, I’ll Make A Man Out of You. It also may evolve into “Songs From My Childhood” because I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys came on the radio the other day, and I started cracking myself up imagining Seth being extra dramatic during some of the verses.

Dirty Laundry: I’m no good with titles (or summaries lol) so once again this is the name of the song I’m using (Dirty Laundry by Bitter:Sweet) but I may try and think of a better title later. It’s about half done, and I’m actually really excited about it, because it’s just so over the top and ridiculous. It was originally going to be my first Crack! video, but once I started, IT JUST GREW AND GREW into it’s own thing with a somewhat plot and everything. Next thing I knew, it was a full fledged AU of Season 2 with no drugs and all the Bonnie and Clyding we deserved to get during the Mexican Honeymoon. Tease: Turns out, a certain someone is a bit of a bad influence. 🤭

And here’s a tiny snippet of Kate showing off her new look in between jobs:

also, this scene previously teased here in one of my Kate breakdown will also be included.

Thank you so much for all the asks @alwaysupatnight!!! 💖💖💖

[vardasvapors]

Hey I’m a fellow Tolkien fan and I’m just starting to get into the untamed (largely bc I’ve seen a lot of Tolkien fans are into it) I’ve watched 3 eps so far and from what I can tell it’s about a dead war criminal who was killed by his adopted brother. He’s resurrected by a dude with a shit family to get revenge. He tried to sort of disguise himself but completely fails bc he can’t resist following around his husband from his old life who is some kind of Jedi like priest. I’m on the right track?

Wait do u want spoilers.....if u don’t, i’ll say yes you are on the right track in sense that yes, this is what ur supposed to think is correct at the 3 episode mark. skip the next paragraph.

If u DO want spoilers for the 30 episode long flashback, then: you’re correct except that everyone other than him is also a war criminal lol. on a widely varying spectrum of culpability definitions. murder brother is like slightly higher than the halfway point. jedi bf was somewhere in the bottom half of the spectrum. Main Character War Criminal is lower on the spectrum than him. but main character officially qualifies as a war criminal and everyone else officially doesn’t qualify because he was fighting [reason for fighting is important but yet another layer of spoiler] the other war criminals who are the majority and the victors, so what they declare is the truth is Officially The Truth. jedi bf disagrees. murder brother disagrees too but that’s not enough to make him change his behavior, because the first uhhhhh 22 episodes of dumb wuxia magic are functionally a decoy plot and then it suddenly turns into one of most realistic ever history anecdotes on how war crimes work lol. the only complete non-war-criminal is the cute chained-up zombie. unless disobeying a cartoon decoy villain to help the main character and murder brother qualifies as a war crime? when jedi bf did the exact same thing for main character later on, everyone thought it did qualify as a war crime bc main character had fallen out of favor with the majority by then, and bc the villains who jedi bf disobeyed were the main supporting cast. unlike purposely-cartoonish decoy villain, this main supporting cast is also very likable! i love them. i love murder brother. jedi bf is my favorite character. jedi bf is and has always been morally inferior to war criminal main character and he knows it full well, that’s why he’s gay. war criminal main character is also dumb as shit and his biggest moral flaw is probably that he’s too wishy-washy to murder the entire main supporting cast like they deserve, because the main supporting cast contains his friends and family. the supporting cast contains all my other favorite characters and also 100% deserves to be murdered in a peasant uprising. though being murdered by the resurrected zombies of everyone they murdered is the next best thing. these are all completely non-contradictory statements! i will die on this hill. anyway jedi bf’s attempted solution to all of this is to corrupt the youth (cute boys in white and spoiled brat in gold from episodes 1 & 2). these ones aren’t war criminals! hopefully they never will be. jedi bf agrees with phillip larkin’s This Be The Verse except for the very last line.

anyway this sounds like meta but tbh it’s the main theme of every single thing mo xiang tong xiu (the author of mo dao zu shi, the book the untamed is based on) has ever written lol so it’s very much intentional and unsubtle and explicitly spelled out in both the narrative and in multiple characters’ dialogue, especially murder brother’s. i’m just paraphrasing. this is unsurprising salt coming from a chinese author in china semi-anonymously writing stuff she could get jailed for because of its gay content but as someone with a Defense Lawyer Soul it waters my crops as well.

[chickenshashlek]

fair + marbles cry time

okay so this started as a random(ish) concept, literally because of one line and became a whole thing and i have regrets because it made me cry a lot but also no because im a sucker for Connections and this was all gorgeous really

so my theory is that fair and marbles are about the same couple (and their journey can be followed through quite a few songs i feel but rn focusing on these) and that one half of the couple is slowly losing their memory. initially i was convinced that joeys character was the one losing his memory but because of discord *glare* i now think it might be madeleines though it could still go either way for sure.

so in fair, 

“Cos outwardly he says I try so hard to make you laugh at me/ And she, she does, she laughs as though she´s not heard the joke ten thousand times before” and this could take it either way now, she could be laughing because shes losing her memory and so to her it is like shes hearing it for the first time, or she laughs because he doesnt remember telling the joke before so... yeah.

“And he, he curses at the world for leaving him behind and he’s falling out of touch” which, if you’ve heard marbles its a big oof i dont think i really need to explain this one- and this is what made me think it was joey who was the one losing his memory, and consequently what started this whole thing

“Burying her head into his chest and clinging to the moment, ‘where have you been?’/ She’ll whisper ‘I’ve waited oh so long for you to come’” so like here again in the case of joey losing his memory ‘where have you been’ ‘ive waited oh so long for you to come’ as though shes been waiting for him to remember her again and ouch ‘clinging to the moment’ as though she doesnt know how long its going to last. but again all this could be flipped too with mads being the one whos losing her memories and this is one of her moments of full remembrance

bonus fair moments (ie i think these link too but too tired to properly explain them)

“he watches her get dressed as though she’s hurtling through time”

“I’ll spend my days so close to you cos if I’m standing here maybe everyone will think I’m alright”

“I’ve seen enough he says I know exactly what I want And it’s this life that we’ve created, inundated with the fated thought of you And if you asked me to, if you asked me I would lose it all Like petals in a storm” another one which furthers the mads losing her memory theory for me but again it could go either way and yea

marbles time 

“You were in a band - still am - yeah but back then you had hair and your smile was so sublime” again this could be mads losing her memory but also the ‘back then you had hair’ reminds me of the bit in fair which is ‘she brushes her hand through his hair, hes got so much fucking hair’ and that just made me soft

“You used to buy me scotch - still do - yeah but now too much is never enough” mads why you drinkin so much :(( but also entirety of verse 1 is basically joey reminding mads of stuff too which ouch

“You stole the best years of my life I’ll give them back“ this made me think of how maybe best years ie when she wasnt losing her memory? idek man im v upset rn

“And I'd sink to the floor, what’s the point anymore And you, you’d reply with a glint in your eye (And you, you’d reply with a drink in your hand) Saying ‘I don’t know, but I’m here, I’m all yours, dear heart don’t cry’ (Saying ‘I don’t know, but I’m here, oh dear god, dear heart don’t cry’)” this entire thing was Big Emotion because okay first off, madeleine sings ‘i dont know, but im here, im all yours, dear heart dont cry’ while joey sang ‘i dont know, but im here, oh dear god, dear heart dont cry’ which made me think if joeys the one losing memory then its like. he doesnt entirely remember her but does know enough to realise how important she is to him BUT ON THE FLIP theres also ofc her trying to comfort him ‘im all yours’ and his is a ‘oh dear god’ like a plea y’know? anyway moving on

“The minute I met you the colours of my life begun to pour I’m scared of the dark” needed to include the first bit because its gorgeous but just focusing on the ‘im scared of the dark’ it could just be her being scared of him forgetting her again but it makes more sense if shes the one losing memories. im scared of the dark of the blank spaces, all thats forgotten, i really dont need to elaborate

“And now, even though you’re mad and these memories won’t stay, it’s okay

Cos now I get to meet you for the first time every single day” again you can see this go either way but joey sings this bit. ‘youre mad and these memories wont stay’ could go either way tbh ‘now i get to meet you for the first time every single day’ again i dont have anything to add which isnt obvious i just needed to repeat the line because it makes me cry a lot

“I’ll wait and hope And rest my head at night content Knowing where my marbles went“ so this bit very clearly goes either way, ill wait and hope for when your memories come back and it connects to fair too with the ‘ive waited oh so long for you to come’ but yeah

Extra Thoughts

so at the end of marbles theres humming in tune to fair (i didnt notice this, thanks @ discord) and mads’ is way stronger(?) than joeys and the whole ‘mindless humming’ thing is part of dementia etc which furthers the ‘mads is the one losing her memories’ but again its both of them humming

another disord point out could be with the madeleine drinking a lot to cope with her losing her memory (obv could also be to cope w joey losing his but yeah)

last lil bit, this turned out way longer than expected and i was going to connect the horror and the wild and battle cries to these songs as well (the dear heart thing) but now im not sure and @flootzavut pointed out how rockrose and the thistle can even tie in to this whole thing so who knows i might come back to this and cry about that later too

[highgaarden]

you’ve got me on my back: ‘rival musicians au tbh’-verse

I found this deep in the recesses of my WIP folder, and decided to release it as it is. Part of the “all those friendly people” verse. 

-------------------------------

you’ve got me on my back and i’ve gotta think fast;

—

 i. 

He hates this fucking place. The bass was too loud, the pitch all wrong; his eardrums were snarling to leave. He hates this place and everyone haunting it, shoulders his way into the crowd and winces as light pierces into his gaze in strobing red-yellow-blue.

Something in his pocket vibrates. His attention is displaced with a single momentary step, when his foot hits the ground he is back. He taps ‘answer’ as soon as his fingers find the flat slab of a phone, and he hopes he doesn’t sound breathless when he says, “Hello, love.”

“Yow. That’s—really loud,” he barely hears through the thrumming music. More bodies walk into him like a violent surf, and he bares his teeth in a suppressed snarl. He was going to skin Kol.

“I’ll call you back,” he shouts into the mouthpiece. “I’m about to get away with murder.”

“Kl—?”

He apologizes as loud as he can before he kills the line. He knows she will be upset at him, it’s around quarter to twelve after all. Her declared favourite time of the entire March.

With that thought he finds himself missing her very terribly.

Fuck Kol.

Forcing himself through the gyrating, gesticulating, gerridae of the club he finally makes his way to the dj stand. He studies the mess of wiring for only a second before seizing the entire thing in his arms and yanking as hard as could.

It doesn’t quite rip out of the socket of the wall like he’d imagined, but it does make the music and some of the pyrotechnics splutter and die. Perfect for him to gather air in his lungs and bellow, “KOOOOLLLL.”

As if on cue, the spotlights swing to a corner of the room, where a startled looking Kol is about to slide his precious songbook across the table into a sour-looking Damon Salvatore.

  —

ii.

“They were terrible, Nick,” Kol presses for the sixth time. “Really terrible! I was doing you a favour; Salvatore would’ve just made off with them thinking he’d sprung himself a hit—alas, no such luck, because your songs were terribl—why do you have a knife, Nik?”

—

iii.

“Maybe if you agreed to a camera interview they wouldn’t take so much of what you say out of context,” Caroline says, but there’s a light teasing in her voice. Not for the first time, he wishes she were lying next to him.

“They keep…” he clears his throat and slides his gaze away from the screen, “asking about you. It’s much easier to hang up as opposed to physically removing myself from a press room.”

Caroline hums lowly as she mulls this over. Klaus, done with his work, crumples it up before scooping his phone into his palms, bringing it to bed with him.

“Wash your hands, Klaus,” she says when she sees him settled against his pillows. He smiles. “I bet you have ink all over them.”

He inspects the black splotch on his thumb. “Seems you’re right, sweetheart.”

“Getting predictable, Mikaelson.” But Caroline smiles back. She looks tired, she’s washing off the last of her stage makeup; she’d called him as soon as she’d stumbled into her hotel room most likely, the sanctity of her dressing room would’ve been too stuffed a room to warrant their one and only luxury of phone-call of the night. He can see Rebekah rolling her eyes in the background before slamming out of the room.

“Has she been pleasant?” he asks.

“Not in the slightest,” Caroline responds with a minute eyeroll. “But that’s your sister we know and love.”

“Soon to be your sister, too,” he reminds her. Reproachful? Who, him? He keeps his gaze clean of emotion nevertheless.

“I haven’t said yes yet, Klaus,” Caroline mumbles.

“I’m really enjoying your use of yet here,” he grins suggestively. “I’ve still got some fight in me.”

She laughs softly, but he can tell she’s exhausted. She’s snuggled down into her own bed as well, the light from the Skype call illuminating her face. She looks viciously bright against the darkness of her room. He used to massage her feet on nights like this, when she was just a short jet away.

“Good night.” And because he can’t help himself, he adds a murmured, “I love you.”

“I love you t…” She only manages the half-syllable of the word before she drifts off into sleep. Her fingers hide half her face from him, the way she’s lying on her side. But he has the full view of her tumbling, trailing curls.

It takes him some time to end the call.

 —

 iv.

In April, Caroline declares her favourite time of the day to be 1.20AM. It’s getting later, and she’s calculated the exact time she would still be awake enough to call him, and he would finally be free of Finn’s mournful requests, which involved a lot of shoving-in-his-face of Louder Than Bells’ tour success rates.

Unfortunately, it’s just fresh of him hanging up on her the night before. She’s critical of him when he Facetimes her, her head hanging almost upside down the side of her bed. There’s a bump on her forehead. He’d read the Google Alerts: One of the dancers had missed his footing and had stumbled into her, causing her to fall offstage. She’s in an awful mood.

“First of all, I’m very sorry,” he apologizes, sincerely meaning it.

“Okay,” she huffs.

His eyebrows shoot up.

She scuffs him a look. “Let’s not harp on it?”

He pulls his lips down, swallows his grin. “At least I’ve got a reason for hanging up so abruptly. Kol was about to sell my songs to Damon Salvatore.”

“Were they bad?”

Klaus scowls. “Why not ask were they good?”

“Because you’ve been a little bit too in love with me lately, and we all know what it does to your creative process.”

“True that,” he says sorrowfully. “I do so get distracted with my head between your legs.”

It’s almost instantaneous. Caroline blows air slowly between her teeth. “We just did this a few nights ago.”

“So?” he cocks a brow. “Tell me you don’t delight in it.”

“Well, I’d be lying, and that’s bad vibes for this tour,” Caroline admits begrudgingly, but still tips her head, hair falling off her shoulder onto her back. Her neck is bared, and Klaus licks his lips.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ @sasuhinabigflash2020​​ || Day Twenty-Two: Out to Dinner ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

[ Previous ] [ Next ] [ This piece is a sequel to Day Seventeen ]

To say that their meeting was awkward was...a bit of an understatement.

For months, both Sasuke and Hinata have lived under a rather unusual assumption: that they were each the last person left on earth. One morning they’d woken, made to address their family...only to find their homes empty. Their neighborhoods...empty.

The entire city - and presumably the rest of the world - completely and utterly empty.

And yet strange phenomena seemed to keep life running as normal. Electricity never wavered. Food in stores didn’t rot. To both, it felt like being trapped in a strange gap in time. A limbo they had been dropped into with no context, no warning.

But then, while each looking to plunder a local grocery store...they’d finally managed to cross paths, each completely taken aback at the knowledge that they were no longer alone.

That didn’t make it any easier to accept, however, the meeting standoffish and each seemingly wary and suspicious. But they’d exchanged numbers, agreeing to - should the need arise - communicate with one another.

And after a week...neither has dared bridge that gap.

Sasuke, for his part, has actually adapted to the loneliness rather well. At first he mourned his missing family deeply. While theirs had been far from perfect, having them suddenly vanish left him more hollow than he could ever describe. But after an intense two weeks that nearly saw him deciding to try and join them...he’d instead become resolute. So...he was left alone to survive on his own, was he? Then he’d do it...and do it well.

And for months he’d done just that. Managed his food supply, ensured the care and defense of his home (even if there was, assumably, no one to seek to harm it...one could never be too careful), and kept himself guarded and ready for anything.

...well, almost anything.

He’d mostly been simply scouting out parts of his city he didn’t know well, taking several large bags with him to grab whatever looked useful. He had closer places to find food. But he was there, and it was ripe for the taking.

Or so he thought.

Seeing the girl, Hinata, had startled him in a way he had in no way expected. So...he wasn’t the last. Maybe they weren’t, either. Perhaps there are more somewhere, just waiting to be found.

But Sasuke had already decided he was fine not knowing. Hinata was a surprise, and a pleasant one. But that didn’t inspire some inclination to go looking for others. He had his domain and his necessities. He was fine as he was, thank you very much.

...and yet…

Every time he checks his phone, seeing her contact information...he debates sending some kind of message. What would he even say…? They’re complete strangers. He knows nothing about her, let alone something to talk about.

And yet...he wants to. Not because he’s lonely, he assures himself. But just because he’s curious. And it’s something new. Something to break up the monotony.

So after a week of deliberation, he sends his first text.

You there?

Casual enough, right? And he manages to put the mobile aside rather than wait for an answer...which comes seven minutes later.

Sorry, was in my garden! Do you need something?

Well, no. He doesn’t need anything. Nope. Just checking in. Kinda weird, tbh.

A minute passes. Yes, I know what you mean. Odd to talk to someone after so long.

...he reaches an impasse. Now what…? How is your garden?

Good! It’s just flowers. I wanted to grow something edible, but...ran out of time. Maybe next year, if...you know.

Ah yes. Winter. The thing both of them have been dreading, wondering if any problems yet to surface may in fact rear their ugly heads. I bet you’ll get around to it. I dunno anything about plants, so...don’t ask me.

They’re not that hard to learn about. I could teach you, if you wanted?

That earns a blink. Sure.

...another awkward silence.

Can I ask you a really random question?

Sure?

Okay. Just act cool. Do you want to like...meet up or something? I dunno, just seems like maybe we should at least get to know the basics about each other, all things considered. Right?

To his worry, she doesn’t respond for several agonizing minutes. Did he ask too quickly? Is something wrong?

Yeah! Sorry, there’s some loose animals in my neighborhood and one of the dogs keeps coming into my yard and digging in the flowerbeds...

Sasuke blinks. Maybe you need a fence.

Ha, maybe.

I could help you build one. I helped my dad build ours a few years ago. I kinda know how it works.

...you would?

Sure. Not much else to do, right?

There’s a brief silence as she seems to mull that over. ...okay! I’ll make you some dinner to pay you back, okay?

You don’t have to do that.

No, but I want to. It’s only fair.

Well, seems there’s no changing her mind. All right. When would you wanna start?

Doesn’t matter to me! Like you say...what else is there to do?

Nodding to himself, Sasuke replies, How about tomorrow? I know where a hardware store is, and I have my dad’s pickup. I’ll get the stuff today and head over then.

Okay! I’m...kind of excited!

All right, see you then.

...okay. He’ll admit it. He’s a little excited. Mostly because this is his first real social interaction in months. So off to the store he heads, asking Hinata for details of what she wants.

It’s not like price is an issue. Mostly just effort. And Sasuke’s got plenty of that to spare.

She decides on a privacy board fence, just to make sure the animals keep out. And he even picks up white paint and brushes for them to make it match her house. By the time tomorrow rolls around, he’s more than prepared. Boards, posts, nails, hammers, paint...he’s got it all.

They get started early in the morning, Sasuke showing her the basics and letting her help...until she smashes her thumb with a hammer. She’s then directed to painting duty, covering up the boards as he gets them tacked up.

A few breaks are taken to drink lemonade she took to making before he got there, as well as lunch. But it’s dinner she promises will be what helps make up for all his hard work.

By early evening, they’ve actually gotten it all up. Hinata insists she can finish the painting herself the next day. “For now, it’s time for dinner!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” In truth? He’s starving. Been a while since he’s worked that hard, but it was nice.

Inside, Hinata’s gone all out. An entire ham is taken out of the oven alongside potatoes, salad, and a cherry pie.

“...I think you went a little overboard,” Sasuke observes, perking a brow as she blushes pink.

“I just...w-wanted it to be worth all you did today. I still don’t think it’s enough, really…”

“It’s fine. Like I said, it was something to do. If anything, I should be thanking you.”

The pair stand at an impasse before Hinata relents with a giggle. “Okay, okay...we’ll just call it even.”

Hinata, as it turns out, is a really good cook. Before Sasuke realizes it, he’s overeaten, having had two full plates of everything and feeling miserable.

“No room for pie?” she teases.

“Ugh, no…”

“Well, you can just t-take some home, then. Have it for breakfast tomorrow!”

He just nods, knowing he can’t tell her no. But he does help tidy up and put things away. “Think I might have to help you build fence more often if I get to eat like that.”

She flashes pink again, clearly pleased. “Y-you can come over any time! I guess just, um...give me a little warning.”

“Sure. Let me know if you need help with anything else.”

“I will! Thank you again.”

“Back at you.”

...an awkward silence blooms between them.

“Well, I...guess I’ll say goodnight…?” Hinata offers, sounding more like a question.

“Yeah. Have a nice night, Hinata.”

“You too, Sasuke. Drive home safe.”

“Not like there’s much traffic to worry about,” he counters with a grin.

“Still -!”

“I will, don’t worry.” Giving a wave, he returns to his father’s truck and revs the engine, headlights flicked on. The drive is quiet, and by the time he gets back to his house, the silence - after such a full day - is almost suffocating.

He stares up at the house he’s grown up in, seeing how dark all the windows are. How quiet it is. So, just to ward off the feeling, he shoots Hinata a quick text to let her know he made it back without incident.

Glad to hear it! Goodnight.

Night.

Considering his phone for a moment, he can’t help but wonder when would be long enough to wait to see if he can head back. Was kinda nice to go ‘out’ to dinner. He’s not much of a cook, himself. Enough to get by, but nothing like what they had.

He’ll just have to wait and see.

     I swear I tried to get this done last night but oof, my brain was not cooperating OTL I had a rather stressful day, BUT things are looking better today! So I’m gonna try to get at least one more drabble done today, if not more, cuz I am...very behind. I’ve just had a lot going on irl that makes sitting and writing difficult.      ANYWAY! This is more of the very random “last people on earth” verse I started with day 17. Our two stranded strangers are starting to become friends, seems like! No idea if I’ll do more of this for the rest of the challenge, but it’s a neat idea to explore. I just...don’t have much in way of a plot for it xD But hopefully it’s enjoyable nonetheless!      On that note, I’m gonna try to get another piece done. But thanks for reading this one, and I’ll see you guys later!

[pastelcheckereddreams]

I find it kinda hilarious how some fans think Hollow is about Zack or Aerith, while nearly everyone thinks Why (CC theme song) is about Cloud. While I believe it's about Angeal cuz it plays when his Mentor perishes. It would be interesting to know what you think of all of this. Throw your two cents in the pot

Oh Anon that is a stellar question, and I am all over this. I’m also really curious as to how you and my other followers interpret Hollow, so please let me know your thoughts!

Anyway, strap in guys, we're going full theory mode. 

(Please note I'm by no means an expert on song analysis, and this is the first time I’m analysing Hollow and Why. However, I’ll also be cross-posting this to my theory blog anyway because I go into a lot of detail.)

There are major spoilers for FF7 Remake and FF7 Crisis Core below.

1. Hollow by Yosh:

Let’s set the scene. Hollow by Yosh starts playing as Aerith looks up to the sky after sensing Zack's presence at the end of the Remake (and Zack, potentially, senses her in return). It then rolls into the closing credits for the game. 

There are two people in the song, 'I' and 'You'. I'm going to say straight off the bat that their identities are highly - and I'd argue deliberately - ambiguous. But I like a challenge. The song opens with,

I would be lost [...] floating up high / time after time [...] and there you'd be / your smiling face / to guide my way

Aerith is the one who has referenced feeling lost in this game, and considering the song starts with her looking up to the sky, we might be tempted to first assign the 'I' to her. She may be reminiscing about Zack at this point. "Time after time" is also curious, because of the speculation about Remake’s split timelines. However, the game also makes a point to frame just Aerith's mouth at times, when she is speaking to Cloud, which is reminiscent of her 'guiding' role in AC. In AC, we don't see her full face until she reaches out to Cloud during his aerial leap towards Bahamut SIN. Which brings me to the next verse:

bloody and bruised [...] when broken up / you would appear / reach out to me / heal every wound / and make me whole

A character reaching for another is a repeated motif through the franchise, usually symbolic of support and connection/empathy. In the Remake, we see this action reciprocated between Cloud and Aerith; Tifa and Cloud; Tifa and Barret; Cloud and Jessie (I could write a whole essay on hands in this game tbh - Barret's shaking hand vs Cloud's crossed arms in the Reactor lift, fist bumps, Biggs ruffling Cloud's hair...). However, I'm very tempted to label the narrating 'I' as Cloud at this point, speaking to Aerith. "Bloody and bruised" isn't how Aerith is generally described or depicted. That's more Cloud's Look. I'd also direct you back to AC, wherein Aerith says to Cloud "You came! Even though you're about to break." With his fractured psyche and budding guilt complex (which we will also come back to), you could very well say Cloud is "broken up", and it is often Aerith who "heals" him. She does this literally and figuratively in her role as group healer; later on of the geostigma; and by guiding him to self-forgiveness in AC (of course, Tifa also played a massive role in this last one - go team!).  

This next part is very curious from a narrative standpoint:

was it all a dream [...] foolish and blind / had i realised [...] would you be here / in my embrace

It reads like guilt over a premonition of someone's death. So... is this Aerith again, speaking of Zack? Or Cloud, speaking of Aerith? Aerith knows more than she's letting on about this whole Fate business, that much is certain. Could she have dreamed about Zack's death? We know she felt him die in CC, and remember - the song started when she sensed his presence. Is it possible this song is a conversation between Aerith and Zack? "Would you be here / in my embrace?" definitely reads like the 'I' had feelings for the person they're talking to. 

But then, Cloud also has feelings for Aerith, "You can't fall in love with me", and he does have premonitions of Aerith's original death throughout the game - particularly at the end of Chapter 8, when (in an echo of the original game) Aerith ambushes him as he leaves Sector 5 (side note, how did she get there so fast??). So this verse could go either way. Is this Aerith singing, or an older Cloud - the original Cloud?

with your every smile / hiding something more / dark mysteries / lurking beneath

I can't see this ‘you’ being anyone other than Aerith. Tifa asks Aerith (several times, I think) 'What are you not telling me?', and at the beginning of Chapter 17 Cloud implores, "Aerith, tell us everything.” It's clear she knows more than she's letting on.  

But I was consumed / with this emptiness [...] this void to fill

I'm becoming more convinced that this is Cloud speaking to Aerith, and the past tense refers again to a past event - a death. In the original game, we can speculate that Cloud blindly followed Sephiroth's call, consumed with the need for answers about himself, and it cost Aerith her life. But not this time: Hear me / once more / this time / i'll see / the truth hidden inside your tears.

But I / I know / You're long gone / But I / I will / go on / howling and hollow

“I know you're long gone.” I'm pretty convinced now that this is the original Cloud, the one we've followed until now through the original game, through Advent Children - that potentially spoke to the unconscious Cloud at the beginning of Chapter 8 (depending on how you interpret that scene). The last line of this song is also so very lonely and disconnected. Remake!Cloud doesn't strike me that way (tbf, Aerith hasn't died yet), but this was very much how Cloud appeared in his grief. I can't remember who pointed this out to me (I’ll find and credit later) but the lone wolf in AC was thought to represent Cloud’s isolation - howling and hollow - and was of course incorporated into his costume design.   

So here it is: 

I think this song is  is the original Cloud vowing to save Aerith this time around. But I also wonder... who else has these memories of Aerith's death? 

Well, we do. It's important to remember that this song was released a few weeks before the game. So I wonder if the narrator of this song is also, in a way, us as we embark on the story once more.

2. Why by Iida Ayaka:

Why by Iida Ayaka is pretty straightforward in comparison to Hollow. (I'm using the English translation posted on the wiki here). 

There are some lines that Cloud, as a character, could echo. But I'd say this song is definitely about Angeal from Zack's POV. You're right that it first plays, without lyrics, at Angeal's death - before later being reprised at Zack's. 

The wiki states that "the song's country feel alludes to Zack's origins as a country boy". Although there's no source for this, the lyrics support this reading of the song as Zack's internal monologue, and representative of his ethos throughout the game. For instance:

Your inner eye has clouded over so much it's impossible for you to see / Does any emotion still reside in the depths of your heart?

The song opens with an appeal to the blindness of the subject, 'You'. It's suggested that they lack emotion - perhaps they are apathetic, or lack empathy. The narrator is struggling to come to terms with this. Again, consider the point of the story when this song first plays: we are in Modeoheim, the turning point of the game. Angeal has just forced Zack to kill him, and Zack has also just 'killed' Genesis (though he doesn't realise Genesis has escaped at this point). Considering that, the next line actually makes me suspect Zack could be talking about Genesis too:

Having the entire world at your fingertips / is that what you call happiness?

Angeal didn't want anything of the sort, despite joking about it - "A monster's objective is usually world domination or revenge." - but Genesis did. He quotes Loveless before fighting Zack, “When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end /  the Goddess descends from the sky.” 

The lyric could also foreshadow Sephiroth's insanity. This is perhaps why the lyrics themselves aren't sung until the ending FMV, when all three Firsts have been defeated or presumably perished. The instrumental version is arguably more emotional, intuitive to Zack's grief. (I'm not sure if Zack believes Genesis's wounds were fatal, or decided to just leave him behind, considering he didn't offer the guy any help when he left Banora with Cloud.)

Why do you look up into the lonely heavens?

This is interesting from a thematic point of view. The sky, much like the repeated action of 'reaching out', is a recurring motif throughout the franchise.

Why are you so concerned with the way you look? [...] It's time that you learned to accept yourself

This speaks to the heart of Angeal's self-hatred. He refers to himself as a monster, his wing a deformity that signifies his monstrosity. But Zack replies, “They’re angels’ wings.” This conviction later speaks directly to Zack's character and the main theme of the game: freedom. Captured by Hojo and in a mako-induced dreamscape, Zack says, "Those wings, I want them too" as he stares up into the sky (presumably after Angeal, whose white wings match the feather in the scene).

This theme of freedom is reiterated in the next lines of the song: 

It is those that are free who are stumbling / it is those who are free that are insecure 

Zack, too, wants freedom. "Why is everyone always pushing things on me?" he asks as Genesis implores him to fight one last time (for his honour? To give Genesis salvation?). But Zack, eternal optimist that he is, knows there is freedom in the very fact that he has a choice to do what is right or wrong. This is why the song plays again at the end. Zack achieves his dream, and reunites with Angeal, being lifted up into the free, boundless sky.

So, I think this song has a dual purpose in Crisis Core. Why is both about Zack's emotional struggle to understand Angeal's suicide and Genesis's betrayal, and conveys how the central theme of 'freedom' influences Zack's own character.

What do you think? Does anyone have any different interpretations? I’m really curious about the different readings of Hollow.

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

💍 Sal and Mattie

@awkward-snake-girl

send me 💍 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

More or less Evolution based since that's where a lot of our writing for them happens in and,,,I'm not sure about what would happen in main verse tbh (I'm laughing suddenly because Sal's main age is 24 while I'm p sure Mattie's main age is always 16 so,,,local bee man abused by teenage snake girl)

where they get married

Out in the country since it probably makes both of them feel safer. Maybe near a fruit orchid!

when they get married ( ie what time of day, what month and season etc. )

Late March since the weather will be picking up by then and near sunset since it's better for Sal.

what traditions they include ( do they get married under a chuppah and crush a glass, garter toss, ‘something borrowed, something blue,’ etc. )

Nah, Mattie and Sal probably don't want any traditions since its supposed to be their wedding and no traditions from shitty parents!!

what their wedding cake looks like

Blueberry yogurt mousse cake! Sal demands blueberries and cue Mattie smooching her shrieky bee man.

….who smashes cake into whose face

Sal does but he thumbs and licks it off!

who proposed to who first

Mattie did and Sal thought she had been joking until a week later she had started talking to him about wedding arrangements.

who walks down the aisle and who waits at the altar ( or neither )

They both stay at the alter since Sal doesn't have anyone apart from a few friends and Bex at work while Mattie gets her Brotherhood friends and some X-men.

what their wedding dresses / suits / other look like

Wedding jumpsuit baby! And I'm soft for Sal actually doing for something that looks smart and clean cut out of nervous needs to look good for Mattie.

what their wedding colour scheme is and what sort of decor they have

Lots of dark green that fades off into purple, playing onto the galaxy theme and a little bit like a forest at night! There's a lot of mini plants and candles as well as a sort of "picnic at night" theme.

what flowers are in the bouquet ( if applicable. bonus: what do the flowers mean? )

Pansy, Cosmo, hyacinth, primrose and white roses!

what their vows are ( eg poetry, traditional, improvised etc. )

Mattie wants to reassure Sal that they'll try at marriage, that they won't have anything to worry about so long as they just try and confide in each other. She wants to make happy memories for them both, wants to have a chance where they could move past everything adults had put them through.

Sal says that he's scared of what might happen but...anything with Mattie will have to be good. He wants to trust Mattie and trust in the idea that maybe he can have a better life now. With her. He wants it to be worth it, no matter what happens to them.

if anyone’s late to the wedding

Tabitha is, but weddings aren't meant to be punctual, right? Mattie disagrees.

who’s in the bridal parties / groomsmen / other

Mattie has Rogue, some of the new recruits she gets along with, Fred and Lance while Sal has Tabitha, Kitty, Pietro and some of his work friends.

what their bridal party / groomsmen / other are wearing

Green and purple themes again baby!!

who gives speeches at the reception ( bonus: what do they say? recount a sweet memory or two between them? tell an embarrassing story? )

Todd gives a speech and Sal almost tackles him for it and Wanda surprisingly gives a speech but really it's an awkard apology about making Sal into a dog which makes Mattie laugh.

who catches the bouquet( s )

Pietro does! Boy speeds to grab it.

what their wedding photos are like ( are they sweet, with the couple holding hands or kissing or ~gazing into each others eyes~? are they silly, with a snapshot of the ‘cake-smash’ moment? or are they artistic, with one of them facing the sunset or holding their bouquets? )

A lot Mattie smooching Sal's cheeks, quite a few of group photos with friends and a sweet one of Sal reaching up to pull Mattie into a kiss. And one where Sal shifts snake features for the heck of it!

what sort of food they have at the reception

They have a lot of meat dishes and pasta dishes since it's good for Mattie and Sal and a lot of desserts!!!

who cries first during the ceremony

Sal and he HATES IT because ew??? His makeup??? So what if he's finally happy he can't have a ruined face

how wild their reception gets ( who dances the best, who gets drunk first, etc. )

Absolutely wild I mean,,,its full of super humans and suddenly Mattie is dancing with a girl who is the entity host of the Phoenix force and Sal's blowing up balloons with Tabitha.

what their rings are like

Fancy rings and you bet that they do the couple colour swap like with Finn and Mattie.

what sort of favours they have ( heart shaped sparklers, mini champagne bottles, personalised candy etc. )

Lots of chocolate and flavoured champagnes since these babies love their fruity treats,,,and a stuffed toy poodle from Wanda that makes Mattie snort.

where they go for their honeymoon

Spain since it seems like a nice place to go and has plenty of heat for the both of them.

something memorable that happens during the party / ceremony ( do they run out of ice and someone goes to get it in full formal wear on foot, does anyone fall asleep in the middle of the party, etc. )

Todd and Sal get into an argument and long story short? Hissing snake wife makes them both shut up pretty quickly.

who officiates the ceremony

Kurt does lil stinky hamster man.

what song their first dance is to

Glory of Love

who gives who away as they walk down the aisle

N o one!!!