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pruneunfair · 25 days ago

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My feelings on: part 8, Tears on a withered flower: the most annoying fandom to date so far.

I ask if this one was really that great since I've been seeing it all over the place on tiktok and Instagram and reading it myself, I can see why it would garner an audience because it's another "working woman finds a better man after her loser ex cheats on her with a stupid damsel girl" type story. It's kinda good but in my opinion: it's not THAT good but there is only 23 chapters I read so far so I'll let it marinate before I actually start going after it for the plot.

What I really wanna talk about is the fanbase of tears on a withered flower because while the manhwa community does have a problem with internalized misogyny this specific fanbase takes the cake.

I don't like saying the term "glazing" but it's the only way to accurately describe the way they treat the FL Na Haesoo because they are absolutely feral. First off, I've seen them lose their shit over other fans simply saying "I think that this female character has a prettier design then Hae soo." And these stans reply with the most immature and even down right laughable comebacks. I took some screenshot of a tears of the wither flower slide show to give you an idea.

"Hae soon is the main character for a reason."

Who's gonna tell them that protagonists can be written poorly?

Trust me, I'm sure no one's jealous of a fictional character.

Okay the context basically was that Hae soos coworker was just being real with her based on what she knows about Hae soos life and apparently fans took that as her being jealous and when people who actually read the god damn plot and use their critical thinking to point this out, the stans basically go "nuh uh" and continue to scream even louder. Personally when I read that chapter i took it as brutal honesty, from her perspective Tae Ha was hitting on a married woman and the two barely knew eachother. A little harsh but she's not jealous of Hae soo 😭 like we barely know this girl!

I think the most complained about aspect of tears on a withered flower is the anatomy, specifically the anatomy of all the characters your supposed to really like/care about.

I don't mind that Hae Soo is built like that cause while her anatomy definitely is unrealistic it's also a cartoon comic and cartoons have lots of bizarre forms of anatomy that don't always need to be accurate. With that said I don't find it a coincidence that the FL who is the most fleshed out and only grown woman who isn't meant to be disliked or made fun of is a tsunade cup sized babe with big thighs, a tiny waist, a nice butt, and a baby face.

Yeah I'll say it: Hae soo is another example of authors wanting to make a non conventionally attractive woman since she's supposed to be older (like 33) who is also overworked so she doesn't take care of herself but in the end they didn't have the balls to actually go through with it so they not only gave Hae soo an amazing figure and hair but they also gave her a clear face, tiny lips and barely noticeable eye bags which I still can't tell if they're even eye bags or just her eyelashes.

When anyone even dares to point out that Hae Soo's design is weirdly propionate compared to the other female characters you get hid with the "Your just jealous that you can't have a man like Tae Ha!!"

look i don't mind disproportionate anatomy in cartoon comics but if you give me character designs with more accurate proportions, I'm going to choose the latter for prettier looking designs.

Another thing about this manhwa was the dialog. I like it at times because it can be so poetic.. and then they just throw in some comically evil sentences for the villains that most sane people would not make the public aware of in a modern day setting. It's not something that really annoys me I just thought it was fun to laugh at every now and again while reading.

conclusion: I think the best way to describe tears on a withered flowers fanbase is kinda like how Netflix treats Bigmouth. No, TOTWF is definitely no where near levels of uncomfortable as Bigmouth but it's in the way that it really isn't as good as everyone claims, it's okay at first and then it got old and some people started opening up that the thought Bigmouth was garbage only for a bunch of stans to barge in with "You just don't get it!!" People won't let it go, they keep insisting it's the best piece of work to exist and anyone who doesn't like it is a jealous loser.

#tears on a withered flower #na hae soo #beom taeha #Do heeji #Ari #Kang mincheol #webcomic #Manhwa

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myz-wykkyd · 2 months ago

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The top reference was made by myself in 2021, the bottom was made in 2019 (watermarks are my old username). The templates I used can be found here and were made by Unearthy.

Additional art from left to right, was made by Athren, CNWGraphis, kiirino, and bakawomans <3

Note: Any variation of "I don't like Endeavor, but-" is not wanted in my comments or reblogs. You aren't obligated to like the character, but I don't appreciate my art or character being used to vent your frustrations when I'm just trying to have a fun time. I WILL BLOCK YOU IF YOU DO.

Old Art I made of my BNHA / MHA OC Suisei Murasaki<3 Suisei used to be my main oc and I was once as obsessed with her as I was Rosalie. She's still very near and dear to my heart ofc and after catching up with mha I was recently reinspired to work on her again. She's got a new reference on the way but until then I thought it'd be okay to share some of my older pieces/some art I've commissioned of her over the years. BIG LORE DUMP UNDER THE CUT.

You can view her TH here for more indepth information. Not all of it is up to date. But TLDR: Suisei Murasaki, also known by her hero name Andromeda, is a Pro Hero whose flashy quirk and philanthropy helped catapult her into stardom at an early age, and eventually lead her to achieving international fame. She is best known for the fun, game-show like tv shows she frequently hosts to raise money for charities, but she also does modeling work on the side and often appears as a guest teacher at her former school in-between her hero work. She doesn't take paycuts- instead she opts to donate money she makes to families in need.

In front of her audience she is perpetually cheerful, hardworking, dramatic and even a little silly at times. But it’s an act that she has chosen to keep up to avoid burdening her friends and loved ones with of her rocky personal life after the sudden loss of her husband.

Her Quirk has been tweaked a bit since 2019 so the one listed on her old reference isn't completely accurate, but basically it allows her to take on the properties of and fly through the air like a comet- making her extremely fast and strong. I've saved a few clips over the years of what I think it'd look like, so here's an example.

She was high school sweethearts with Endeavor at U.A and they remained together for a few years after their graduation, but they broke up when his obsession with becoming the number 1 hero began to interfere with their relationship. They fall completely out of connect. Suisei moves on and she eventually meets, falls in love with, 'marries', and has a child with a man who is actually All for One in disguise- but she doesn't discover that until much later (probably sometime before the Final War). After AfO's fight with All Might, he disappears without a trace from Suisei's life, and she's left heartbroken and unable to find any answer or explanation. So is forced to assume the worst. MHA first begins, she's just returned to hero work after being an hiatus for a while. She spent that time recovering and taking care of her child.

After her return, she eventually reconnects with many old colleges- including Endeavor. She joins Hawks in lending support to him after All Might's retirement. She ofc discovers she is still attracted to him, but I imagine the two simply remain friends throughout the rest of the series duration. But I guess in my personal story, Rei and him eventually divorce and he gives his family the space from him that he thinks they need while continuing to support them anyway they can. Only then do I imagine Suisei and Endeavor's relationship is finally rekindled a few years later. In this scenario I imagine Suisei and Enji have a daughter together who eventually becomes a pro-hero named "Red Star".

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yallemagne · 2 months ago

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I watched a review of a Colleen Hoover novel a while back (the only way I would ever be able to consume her work) and this video's preamble in particular really... awoke me.

The video was by SAVY WRITES BOOKS and the review was of Ugly Love. The one where the baby has huge balls and dies in a car crash. Yeah.

Something Savy said was that the book was falsely advertised as a romance when actually it was a work of erotica. It blew my fucking mind. All the stars aligned. I realized then that some of the writing I hate most? It's just a fucking genre! EROTICA!

Lol I talk about sex so much in this I figured it earned the mature filter. No one's gonna read this anyway, this is functionally a diary entry.

I've made it clear before that I hate the trope in fiction where someone drops everything in their life to be with a literal shitstain of a man just because his stinky penis is large... AND THAT'S JUST EROTICA!! The reason why I'm so mad at that trope? It's because they always advertise it as Romance or Thriller, and it's just PORN.

Romance takes place in a realm that is adjacent to reality. When someone is abusive in a romance, there is a reasonable assumption that it will be condemned and a more healthy example will be raised. Emotional abuse? Physical assault? They are not displayed as attractive tendencies in a romance.

Erotica runs by porno rules. No matter what the author has to do, someone's gotta get a penis in them by the end of the page. The author is obviously writing with one hand in their pants no matter how horrific the events they are writing are because that's the point! It's their kink! And so long as the writing is advertised to the right audience? It will be the audience's kink as well!

In erotica, rationality is simply not required. You don't need build up, or... really anything. It's porn. It's smut. If you're writing a dubious scene or what have you, you don't need any preamble, you just jump in because the point is not to enlighten, it's to entice. I hate fiction that includes rape scenes that are written to be tantalizing. But holy shit. It's not that that person has a hard-on for rape (though it could be, rapists exist and are capable of creating art as well), it's that that author has a consensual nonconsent kink and just skipped the negotiation straight to the sex.

And y'all are gonna scoff at me and call me a dumbass... but I'm asexual. This is a bit confusing to me. I'm a complete outsider when it comes to sex. But when I think about it and try to put myself in the mind of a sex-haver, I imagine sex to be the most enjoyable when there is like... tangible intimacy between the two (or more) parties. Like I can enjoy a piece of fiction where people simply fuck dirty, and I have written smut like that, but... when it gets to the point that everything in the main character's life is being sacrificed for a penis... as a person who, in real life, finds penis to be laughable at best and repulsive at worst (if any penis havers take this personally omgggg it's not you it's genitalia in general), I just... cannot abide... But it simply is not for me. That's magical.

Man, it just pisses me off, dude. That people are marking their erotica as romance. Romance is already a niche genre. It's looked down upon by men, women, and enbys alike for being most popular with women. And then romance readers aren't able to enjoy their romance because a bunch of weird erotica (neutral) has infiltrated the genre and is all anyone wants to talk about. And I imagine some erotica readers are like "hey... where the fuck are my books at???" But erotica is obviously more niche than romance because of how appalling it can get, so publishers are just like "porn is shameful, market it as a romance so we can get a movie adaptation" and I find that shitty.

#like i say bad writing is bad writing no matter how aroused you are #but not all writing has to be 'good'#sometimes all it's gotta be is 'exciting'#and the author determines that and hopefully even if a wider audience fucking hates it they find their /intended/ audience #update

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cherrylng · 4 months ago

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Muse HAARP Interview - Matthew Bellamy & Dominic Howard [ROCKIN'ON (May 2008)]

"I think people want an experience where they can feel connected to a lot of people and themselves. I think a lot of people feel isolated and irrelevant to each other in today's culture. We're in an age where we feel like we have extremely little or nothing in common with the people around us."

Release of the live DVD 'HAARP', a non-standard live DVD by a non-standard band! A thorough examination of the chemistry of Muse, the stadium band of the new era!

Interview by Shino Kogawa / Interpreter: Momoko Iwata

Muse's massive concert held at London's Wembley Stadium on June 16th and 17th, 2007, which attracted 80,000 people (of course it was sold out) in one day, was an incredible stage that exposed the band Muse's unconventional structure and extraordinary performance, and has already been talked about many times as one of the major music topics of last year. However, when I watched the DVD "HAARP", which is a package of the two days at Wembley, I still felt like I was going to be blown away, even though I was fully aware of the characteristics of Muse. It is not simply the sheer volume of 80,000 people that is amazing, it is the surprise at the 'volume' of Muse's music that makes you think it is natural to swallow 80,000 people, and the excitement at the scale of Muse's music that makes you think stadium rock is neither nostalgia nor a commercial necessity, but purely an 'absolute requirement' in this day and age. We spoke to Matthew and Dom.

MATTHEW BELLAMY INTERVIEW

Watching the DVD again, it's a truly extraordinary show. With the monumental stage packaged, for the first time you could objectively question the meaning of 160,000 people for two days at Wembley, what is the most intense moment of feedback? 「There were a few, but during 'Blackout' two professional acrobats dangled from helium-filled balloons and danced on top of the crowd, which was a magical moment. It was a magical moment, especially for us, because the audience's attention shifted from the band to the two of them, and we could relax a bit and enjoy the dancing. We weren't just performers from the beginning to the end, but we were able to experience it from the audience's point of view, so in that sense it was my favourite moment at the show, and I'll never forget it. Also, I think we will always remember how nervous we were in the first ten minutes before we went on stage on the first day. It was the most nervous I've ever felt, my mind went blank and I felt like I was completely empty. It was almost like an astral projection experience, as if I was looking at myself from the outside in that state, and finally, about five or ten minutes into the show, I started to feel normal again. There was so much pressure and tension that my spirit just slipped out of my body, or something like that.」

Can you tell us about anything that you didn't realise from the stage that day, for example, that you only realised after watching this video? 「When you're playing in a big venue, you rarely get to see each and every face in the audience. So for us, it was great to see the faces and expressions of the audience up close in this way. When we were editing the DVD, we made a conscious effort to include these images. Also, the acrobatics during 'Blackout,' which we talked about earlier, we actually wanted those two to be the main characters, not the band, as we felt they were…………… We wanted to create that weird feeling of the two of them flying above everybody, like Mary Poppins. That's why it took a lot of work to edit the film so that you don't see the wire that's holding them up. We wanted it to look like they were really floating above the audience.」

Can you tell us about the origin of the name HAARP? 「HAARP stands for the "High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program", a device invented by a man called Nikola Tesla and installed in Alaska by the US government. Some say it's a weapon, some say it's a communications device, some say it's a mystery, but it's a device that can send radio frequencies into the ionosphere (※the layer in the upper stratosphere where radio waves are reflected), and according to Nikola Tesla's research and hypothesis, which the US government purchased, it can manipulate the weather by doing so. Well, this is another conspiracy theory with a quirk. I used a photo of the device in the sleeve of Black Holes and Revelations, and the antenna of the device was actually the original idea for the stage design of the show. There were a lot of metal sets and antenna-like things in this show, and we were going for a design that all looked like HAARP antennas. You could say it was inspired by conspiracy theories, you could say it mimicked a giant communications device, or several communication devices, in short, it's a bit of a strange design like that, and the little light in the triangle symbolises an all-seeing eye.」

Wembley Stadium was not built as a live hall in the first place, so what were the areas you paid the most attention to in terms of acoustics, and what was the most difficult part of recreating Muse's dynamic and detailed music? 「Outdoor shows are always difficult in terms of sound production, both because the place is so big and the echoes are so strong. But we didn't want to compromise on either, so we decided to start with a surround system and put speakers around the whole stadium. That way, the people in the back could hear the sound in real time, as the speakers were very close to them. We rehearsed a lot before the show, but the reverberation was so strong that it was quite difficult to play. The rhythms were all messed up, so we rehearsed more and got used to the echoes and got ourselves to the point where we didn't get dragged down by them. The hardest part was when we were playing away from each other, then you could hear the other two players both in the monitors and in the echoes. But this was more difficult in rehearsals, because when the audience actually comes in, the sound is absorbed by them and the echoes are much less. But now the audience's shouting echoes (laughs)… Well, it was still more fun to listen to.」

The euphoria of 80,000 people in unison during "Starlight", the chorus of the intro to "Knights of Cydonia", the spectacular soundscape and unquenchable afterglow of "Take a Bow". There's no shortage of great moments in this collection, but which song was the most satisfying in terms of the quality of the performance? 「I think it was Knights of Cydonia, because we were so nervous that we weren't sure if we were going to be able to play that opening number well. It was a difficult song to begin with, so it took a lot of courage to open with it. But looking back on it now, it's the most memorable song because it symbolises the change from starting out feeling very nervous to becoming more and more relaxed and enjoying the performance and the show. By the end of that song, we and the audience were really excited, and that led directly to the atmosphere of the whole show.」

On the other hand, there is a negative image of stadium rock as a product of 'old-fashioned rock'. What can you say Muse proved with this Wembley 2-Day show? 「I think we proved that the fans of today also want to enjoy large-scale concerts like this, and want to have fun with many people. I think the fans' desire to do so may be even stronger than it was ten or fifteen years ago. Especially in the last three or four years, big festivals and concerts have become popular, and it might have been the fashion in the 80s, but it's been a long time since then. I think people want this kind of experience where they can feel connected to a lot of people. I think a lot of people in the culture these days feel that way, like they're isolated and irrelevant to each other. We're in an era where you feel like you have extremely little or nothing in common with the people around you. For example, if 60,000 people gather at a show or festival, everyone there likes a certain band or a certain style of music, so something that is common to 60,000 people seems very pure in this day and age. I think those two nights of shows that we did showed to the outside world that everyone's desire to have something in common with other people, to have a common experience, is stronger than ever.」

The overwhelming dramaturgy of Muse's sound was strongly felt again on this DVD. I think this is Muse's unique character, which goes to the opposite extreme of UK indie rock that plays a life story on a scale that suits its stature. Is it partly because of the extreme size of the stadium that you were able to realise 100% of your individuality? 「I think you're right. There are a few of our numbers that are better in a big space like that. "Take A Bow", parts of "Knights of Cydonia", and "Blackout", for example. I think songs with such overwhelming emotion make more sense when there's a bigger audience. I don't really know why that's the case. I think the dramatic elements of the songs are made even more profound by the unique tension and energy that a space as big as a stadium and a big audience can create.」

Do you think the Wembley Stadium show was some kind of milestone for Muse? 「I think we've always had the opportunity to try something new towards the end of a tour, not just this time. Arenas, theatres, and stadiums are all very different experiences, and on the 'Origin of Symmetry' tour we only played one arena show at the end, which was very exciting. On the next tour, the 'Absolution' tour, we started to play at various festivals towards the end… Glastonbury and Reading, we were even surprised that we were there before we knew it. This time, we've been playing festivals from the beginning, and now we've got a stadium show waiting for us at the end. We've learnt new ways of playing live, new ways of presenting the stage, new ways of making people listen, so I hope we'll have more opportunities to play stadiums around the world. At the moment it's only in France and the UK, and in other countries it's still festivals or arenas. After doing it this time, we want fans in other countries to be able to see a show of this scale. I think there have been milestone shows with this band that have represented that. For example, we played our first arena show in France, and the first time we headlined a festival was Glastonbury.」

Incidentally, when we spoke to you last summer, you said: "We have a lot of good rock songs, but not many really great soft songs. I'd like to explore that area in the future." Has the vision for the new album become clearer since then? 「Right now, we have a lot of ideas, but we haven't decided which area we're going to go into yet. It's only when all three of us are together and we start rehearsing that we'll be able to see what's going on. We're on holiday at the moment and haven't played together for about a month. So I have no idea what the next album will sound like, but if I had to say, I think it will be an extension of Black Holes and Revelations. There are a couple of areas that I'd like to explore more with what I tried on that album, and other than that, I'd like to explore a more classically-infused rock sound. Another thing I'm thinking about at the moment is trying some of the new songs out live before we record them. We didn't do that with any of the songs on the last album, but this time we want to try them out live before we record them.」

Are there more shows planned for this summer? 「Yes, a few shows, really. Dubai, South America, and the V Festival in England. And a charity concert at the Albert Hall. So I'm hoping to try out some of the new songs live over the summer or so, to help me decide on the direction for the next album before I record it.」

Apart from that, do you intend to concentrate on the new album this year? 「Yes, we're building our own studio at the moment, so for the first time we'll be able to work in our own studio. So we don't have to worry about time as much as we used to, and we're going to be able to try out more things than usual, which I'm really looking forward to. In fact, I'm looking forward to trying things out and seeing what new things emerge, so I want to be open to that possibility, and in that sense I don't want to go in too detailed a direction at this point. We're going to try all sorts of things this time, and if the result is a completely unexpected style or sound, then I'll be very happy about that.」

DOMINIC HOWARD INTERVIEW

What is the most powerful feedback moment in the memory of 160,000 people over two days at Wembley? 「I'll never forget being extremely nervous before the show. When I got in front of everyone at the stadium, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest (laughs). But at the same time I was really excited, and when the show started and I saw how the audience got really excited, all the nerves I had been feeling blew away. I realised that if I didn't have time to be nervous, I should just enjoy it as much as possible, and in fact, the performance went well and the audience got really excited, so it was great. I was just full of emotion from the beginning to the end. Also, the acrobats hung from balloons and danced on top of the crowd, which was great. It was a nice moment for us to take a breather and watch them dance while we played. Those two nights were amazing, all three of us were on a high for weeks afterwards (laughs).」

At the same time, is there anything you couldn't see from the stage that day that you didn't realise until you saw this video? 「Over the months after the show, I watched the footage of those two nights closely……. I also watched a lot of the footage that people had uploaded on YouTube themselves. Most of them were taken by phone and they were all great, but at the same time shocking. It was intense, emotional and…… Because the footage itself is terrible, but it's all from the perspective of someone who was there as an audience member, and some of them were crowd surfing, some of them were jumping up and down the whole time, and some of them were singing much louder than the band the whole time, and it was quite a sight for me to see them like that. I was like, "Who the hell are these guys?" (laughs). Watching some of those videos and seeing so many people enjoying our shows, of course you can see that from the stage, but seeing our gigs again from the audience's own perspective, I was overwhelmed. To think that we were able to connect with that many people was really inspiring.」

Was the decision to release Wembley 2 Days on DVD made before the show? 「It wasn't clear at first, but we did get the recording right. But that's something we do all the time, so it's not like this time was special. So, a little after the show, we watched the recorded footage again and there were a lot of really good moments…… I'm not talking about our own performance, but there was a lot of footage that really captured the atmosphere of the stadium that night. You could feel the energy of the people who were there, that kind of realistic footage. At the time, all three of us were on a high from the aftermath of that gig, so we were like, "We have to release this!" (laughs) But playing a show of that scale in that stadium was an important milestone for the band, and we wanted to share it with the audience, even if they were the only ones there to see it.」

What was the most difficult part of the stage design? 「The width of the stage was quite wide, so I wasn't sure if HAARP would be able to fill the space. I was also worried about the fact that there was no roof on the stage (laughs). It was a completely open stage and there was no roof, so we had to light the stage from the side or from below, and the thing that worried me the most was the rain. But luckily it didn't rain, so that was good. Still, simply getting everything to run smoothly was a lot of work in itself, and we also had to create new visuals for the screen, introduce new camera technology, and in any case introduce a lot of different things that we hadn't done before and make them our own in a short period of time, so it was quite a challenge.」

Which songs have you been most satisfied with in terms of the quality of your live performances? 「First of all, "Stockholm Syndrome". That song always sounds good no matter what venue we play it in (laughs). It was perfect this time, it was a lot of fun to play and I also really liked the way it was captured on film. The visuals on the screen, which looked like an old video game from the 80s, suited the song. The number itself is full of energy and chaos like that. Also, "Knights of Cydonia" was pretty good. The crowd was so excited, partly because it was the opening number, and when the riff came in towards the end of the song, everyone was going crazy, and I almost stopped playing because it was so loud (laughs). I also like "Blackout". It was a different atmosphere because of the acrobats, and it was nice to have the crowd's attention shifted away from us and relax a bit.」

At the beginning of the show, the three of you walk from the centre of the arena to the stage through the flower aisle, right in the middle of the audience, just like Moses splitting the sea. If you had to describe in one word the emotions that were swirling around inside you as you walked over there, what would it be? 「I remember very well that everyone was screaming like crazy, it was all so surreal. I don't know if it was happening in real life or not. At the same time, I remember I was really excited and getting really pumped up. As I walked around looking at everyone's faces at close range, I was getting more and more excited. But it's a really bizarre experience to have someone shout at you that close up (laughs).」

(laughs). From your vantage point on the drum set, how well could you see the audience? 「I could see pretty well. In the first half the sun was still bright. I try to look further away from the audience, not at the front row. That way I check the whole scene, rather than just looking at certain people. But you might think it's surprising, but at that show I could see quite well from here. Right down to the last row of the stadium. At a normal gig, you can hardly see anything because of both the darkness and the glare from the lights, so in that sense, it was good this time. Also, some of the songs were pre-decided so that the audience would be illuminated. Well, we always do that, but this time we wanted to see how the crowd was getting into it, so we did that more often than usual. That's why I was a bit scared when I saw them (laughs). When the stadium gets dark, you can't see anything, but then suddenly the lights come on and the whole place comes to life. That was an unforgettable sight.」

On the other hand, there is a negative image of stadium rock as a product of 'old-fashioned rock'. What did Muse prove with this Wembley 2-Day show? 「I think that stadium rock may have been popular in the 80s, but nowadays there are more and more people who want to see good live acts. In the same vein, I think stadium rock is becoming cool again. We'll make it cool again (laughs). But it's true that a lot of bands are actually playing big concerts, like Coldplay, Radiohead, and Arctic Monkeys. So I think the trend of the times, or what people want to see, is moving in that direction. We were the first band to play at the stadium, so I guess that's pretty good (laughs).」

Is the overwhelming dramaturgy of the Muse sound in part 100% possible because of the extreme size of the stadium? 「Yes. Especially with some of the songs, the huge space made it possible to showcase them even more than usual…… The songs that were originally large in scale filled the space well, and the ones that weren't, at least they didn't get overshadowed by the venue. At the same time, how we played those songs was also important. In fact, we play a bit differently than usual, for example, our gestures are naturally larger to fill a larger space. In that way, it's all up to you. How to show and make people listen in that much space. On the other hand, in a smaller space, I can play like I'm being wrapped up. So in short, it doesn't matter how big the venue is, it's important to adapt ourselves to the place.」

Would you say the Wembley Stadium show was a milestone for the band Muse? What are your next goals? 「For now, I guess it's just finishing the next album (laughs). I'm going to concentrate on that this year. We've done two stadium nights here at Wembley and one in Paris, but it feels like we're not done yet (laughs). The production was good, the stage design was pretty cool, and I think it's a shame that it only ended with those three shows, and I'd like to do more in the future if the opportunity arises.」

Translator's Note: A short interview, but a good one.

#Matt Bellamy #Dom Howard #Muse #Muse band #Black Holes and Revelations era #HAARP #my scan #translation #interview #ROCKIN'ON #ROCKIN'ON May 2008

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unhonest-iago · 2 years ago

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My Pretty Little Galway Girl

Idk why I made the set up for this so long. That said, happy w/ how it turned out.

P/t—preferred temperature

F/m/g—favorite music genre

Fem reader

Corpse meeting y/n at a dive bar, him in the audience and them on the stage. Fingers plucking the strings on their violin, the body nestled between shoulder and chin. Long skirts swaying as they moved across the stage. 'Why hello there stranger,' greeting Corpse after he sent them a drink.

Two fingers shooting upward in a mini salute when y/n looked towards his end of the bar, deciphering who had sent it. A handsome man with unruly black hair. 'Name's Corpse.'

'Y/n. Hopefully you don't murder people as a hobby.' They joked, not thinking Corpse could become any more attractive when they heard his laugh. 'Can promise you I've never murdered anyone. Plus haven't met anyone to murder.'

'Oh, so are you new to town new or new to this neck of the woods new?' Crossing a leg over the other, smoothing their skirt down. 'As in moved here a week ago.' Y/n, entranced by the man decided to be his tour guide. Asking if he was free the following weekend. 'What for?' The tone of the conversation carrying a wind of coyness. 'Sight seeing, if you're up for it.'

‘Hop on, stranger.’ The term quickly became a staple nickname y/n uses for Corpse. Corpse glad he wore jeans at the sight of their motorcycle. ‘Nice to see you again, fiddler.’ Corpse looping his hands around their waist.

Y/n ends up taking him to all the hole in the wall joints that tourists would never find. Purposely choosing the scenic routes. The day closing with the duo sat on top of a hill, watching the sun go down as they shared a pile of fries. 'Thanks for this.' Corpse whispers. Nudging their knee with his, 'No problem, was nice to get an outsider's opinion. Finally got to share it with someone.'

Chat notices that Corpse is happier and starts conspiring whether he has a partner which scares the fuck out of him because he hasn't told y/n what he actually does for a living. So he sits y/n down that week and explains it all to them. 'Can I watch you stream? It's fine if not.' Corpse helps them set up an account.

Corpse being just as supportive with y/n's work. Going to a gig here and there when he has nothing to do. Still taken a-back at how comfortable they are on stage, even though it's more of a slate platform. Y/n spotting him when they once again get a drink sent their way. Mouthing the word 'tease,' and Corpse simply mouths back 'but you love me for it.'

Leads to them moving into an apartment together. Corpse getting some of his friends to help carry boxes in if they're free. Y/n unlocking the door after they park the rental truck into the parking lot. Living together, y/n learns that Corpse is a big night owl and takes his coffee black. Corpse learns that y/n likes the thermostat on p/t and that they like to listen to f/m/g while cleaning

A year rolls around and it's now springtime. 'What's got you all excited?' Corpse asks as he hugged them from behind, having noticed how y/n had a little pep in their step. 'St. Patrick's Day is next week. Actually got to the store early enough to get a whole brisket.'

His eyebrow furrowed as he asked, 'brisket for what?' Apparently he'd wrongfully assumed that it was gonna be another day. 'Corned beef and cabbage, my folks always made it for St. Patrick's Day. That or we'd go to an Irish pub for lunch.' Thinking back to it, Corpse had met y/n in one such pub a year prior on the aforementioned day.

'Did we meet because of--?' Lifting his head from their shoulder. 'Yea, we did. But that was a coincidence, wasn't supposed to work that day.' The usual violinist unable to play as they'd inexplicably broken their wrist. 'Do you do the whole pinching thing?'

'No, you can still go out in your dark aesthetic,' playful teasing at how most of his wardrobe was the quintessential 'I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.' But so was theirs, Corpse's fashion taste rubbing off on them.

Corpse helped set the table, every time he tried helping in the kitchen, he'd immediately get booted by y/n. It'd been on the stove, simmering away for 3 hours. 'Corpse, could you get the balsamic vinegar? Should be in the fridge.' Somehow switching roles when Corpse gently nudged them aside once he saw them struggling. 'I got it, now how thin do you want it?' Gesturing with their thumb and pointer.

'You sure you like it? Not too tough is it?' Corpse, placing down his silverware, grabbed y/n's hand. Running his thumb in circles against their wrist. 'It's perfect, fiddler.' Kissing their cheek. 'Thanks, stranger.'

#iago writes #x reader #corpse x fem reader #corpse husband x reader #corpse husband #offline tv #x fem reader #corpse x reader #holidays w/ corpse

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sephirthoughts · 3 months ago

Note

I wish you would write a fic where...

too embarrassed to ask so i went anon you mentioned you like tseng x aerith as a ship would you possibly be down to write a little something for them? 🫣

Hello lovely anonnie! i adore any excuse to write about ships that i like but never get around to writing, so you're the real hero. thank you for the ask and the excuse for self-indulgence!! 🖤

tags: tseng, aerith, tseng/aerith, elmyra gainsborough, ms. folia, cute, short, unresolved pining, inconvenient interruption trope

rating: general audiences

warnings: aerith-typical violence, very very minor blood

note: yes i gave tseng a first name don't @ me i have no time for cowards

think sephiroth with masamune is scary? wait till you see my girl with a folding chair

“Tseng!” Aerith exclaimed, dropping the folding chair, with a resounding clatter. “You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing sneaking up on people, like that!”

Tseng pushed himself up to a seated position, on the dirty floor, gingerly touching the large bump that was already forming, on the side of his head. “I apologize for startling you. I’ve certainly learned my lesson.”

“I’m so sorry,” Aerith winced, as she held out her hands to help him up. “I really didn’t know it was you. I just heard a noise and, to be honest, I’ve been pretty high-strung, all day.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Mm, nothing I can put my finger on. It’s like…the energy in the air is all tensed up, or something.”

Tseng stopped dusting off his trousers and frowned. “That doesn’t sound like anything good.”

“Never is, these days. Oh—your head is bleeding. It looks pretty bad. You better come back to my house. I’ll clean it up and heal it for you.”

“No, thank you. I doubt your mother would appreciate my intrusion, at this hour.”

“She’s not there. She went over to the Leaf House to work on the layout for the new garden. They’re pulling an all-nighter.”

“Even more reason for me not to go. You shouldn’t be alone in your house, with a man.”

“What is this, the 50s?” Aerith laughed. “You think I’m gonna ruin my reputation and never be able to get a husband?”

“Of course not,” Tseng said patiently. “I only meant that it isn’t safe for you to be by yourself with a man, in that isolated house.”

Aerith rolled her eyes. “So, now you think I’m stupid? I wouldn’t just invite some man to my house. It’s ok, because it’s you.”

“I see. I…wasn’t aware we’d become so familiar.”

“We’ve seen each other at least twice a week for fifteen years, Tseng. How much more familiar do you want to get, before you let me treat your bleeding head injury?”

“An injury you inflicted. With a folding chair.”

By way of reply, she raised her eyebrows and pointed at the door.

Aerith had a specific mood in which she simply would not be contradicted, and so the stone-faced, professional killer found himself obediently following a little pink-clad girl, out of the church and up the dirt road, toward the town center.

He attracted many glares, as they passed people on the narrow streets of the bustling little slum, but that was the worst of it. Everyone knew the long-haired Turk was a friend of Aerith’s, and no one was eager to incur her wrath.

The atmosphere had been stuffy and stale, as usual, on the walk back from the church, but the evening air was crisp and refreshing, in the hidden grotto where her little fairy-cottage lay, surrounded by lush and gorgeous greenery, that could be found literally nowhere else, within a several-miles radius of Midgar.

Inside the small, tidy house, that Tseng knew as well as his own, Aerith commanded him to sit, at the dining table, then went off to do something in the kitchen. He heard rummaging and water running. He felt a tickle on his cheek and brushed at it, thinking it was a stray hair, but his gloved fingertips came away wet and sticky.

It was only then that he realized the blood had run down his face, and dripped onto his white shirt. His head was throbbing pretty badly, too. Just how hard did she hit him? He was more inclined to be impressed, than anything.

“Don’t touch!” Aerith scolded, as she came back bearing a tray, loaded with clean towels and a steaming kettle. She poured the water into a ceramic bowl, into which she dipped one of the towels. “Sorry about your shirt. I could try to get the stain out, but I don’t have anything for you to wear, in the mean time.”

“That’s not necessary. You’ve—tss!” he hissed, as she pressed down on the wound, with the towel.

“Too hard?” she said, pulling it away.

“Hot. It’s too hot. You have to let the boiling water cool for a minute, before you slosh it all over someone.”

“Oops. Sorry, I’ve never done this before. I always hear people say to boil water and get clean towels, when someone’s hurt, so that’s what I did.”

“I think you’re thinking of childbirth.”

“Am I? Oh, you’re right. That’s funny. Why would I confuse the two?”

She grabbed his chin to turn his head to the side, before she applied the wet towel again, and he employed himself in looking studiously at anything but her. Because while she was dabbing at his head, chatting away like they were old friends, she was also leaning extremely close, and her gauzy sundress wasn’t exactly cut conservatively, at the neckline. Her knee kept bumping into his thigh, too, which was profoundly distracting.

“Alright, that’s as clean as I can get it, before we get the bleeding stopped,” she announced, after a several long minutes of what seemed to be needlessly assiduous labor. “I’m gonna cast a healing spell, but I’ve never used it, so. You know. No guarantees on how well it’ll work.”

“I’m sure it’ll be—wait, you’ve never used it?”

“Nope. It just sort of…came to me, today. I haven’t had a chance to test it out, yet.” She smiled sunnily. “I guess that makes you my guinea pig.”

Tseng balked. “Maybe we should just use one you already know works.”

“Maybe if we were cowards. We are pioneers, Tseng! Now, sit still. This might sting a little.”

For a second or two, he felt nothing. Then there was a swell of intense, golden light, and his head felt like she’d pressed a branding iron to it. He gave a start and pulled away, but it was already over.

“Wow, did you see the light?” Aerith breathed. “I’ve never had one do that before. Your wound healed so fast, too. I didn’t even have time to blink and it was just gone. It’s all healed, already!”

“It is?”

“Mm-hm. Go ahead. Feel.”

He reached up and gingerly prodded the area with his fingertips. Sure enough, the swollen, throbbing lump on the side of his head had vanished. Not only that, there was no pain at all. Not even the lingering tenderness and tingling, which he regularly experienced in wounds that had been treated with cure materia.

He gave a stiff nod. “Impressive. Your skills are developing.”

“Maybe not,” she said, laying a hand on her brow. “I think…I think I’m gonna—”

Mid sentence, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed, like a puppet with cut strings.

Tseng caught her and cradled her in one arm, patting her face and shaking her gently. “Aerith? Aerith, are you alright?”

“Mm…” she murmured faintly.

He leaned closer. “What was that?”

“Mmmm…my hero!” Aerith burst out, with a peal of laughter. “What a knight in shining armor! A big, strong man, taking such tender care of a fainting damsel. You caught me and everything! If I’d dragged it out a little longer, would you have princess-carried me?”

Tseng let her go and stepped away, pursing his lips. “I’m glad you’ve amused yourself. I didn’t find that funny, at all.”

“What, because you can’t deliver damaged goods to Shinra?”

“Because I care what happens to you, Aerith!” he said, with sudden heat. “If I thought you’d harmed yourself, helping me, I would be very displeased.”

Aerith’s green eyes went as wide as saucers. “You care about me?”

“Of course I do.”

“But care about me, how?” He wouldn’t look at her, so she leaned around, into his eyeline. “You mean, as a valuable research subject, that your bosses would be furious about you losing…right?”

Tseng gave a cold laugh. “I dislike that you think that about me, but I suppose it was inevitable, given the nature of my employment. Whether you believe me or not, is immaterial. I have never seen you as a subject, or a target. Not ever.”

“Oh, really? If you don’t see me that way, then why are you always trying to make me go back to Shinra?”

He narrowed his dark-brown eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic, or not. If not, then it can only be willful blindness.”

“What do you mean by that?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “Stop insulting me through the side-door, and just say it, outright.”

The tall, black haired and black-suited man stepped closer, looming over her, suddenly appearing very different, to how he normally seemed. Sharp and dangerous. Like an unsheathed blade. “I have the power to destroy nations, with a snap of my fingers, Aerith. Do you truly believe that if I ever intended to deliver you to Shinra, you would still be free?”

Her lower lip trembled and she faltered back a step. “I never thought about it. I guess, I…I never thought of you as such a scary person.”

“No—I wasn’t trying to scare you,” he said, with a sigh of frustration. “I only wanted you to understand me. To know where I stand. After all this time, you should…know.”

“You mean, you stand…between me and Shinra.” A tear escaped her emerald eye and slid down her cheek. “I see, now. You’ve been protecting me from them, all along. But why? Why would you do that for me? Why would you spend fifteen years watching over me and holding them off, at your own risk?”

Tseng turned away. “Everyone has their reasons. Let’s leave it at that. It’s getting late. I should go.”

Aerith caught him by the sleeve of his jacket, stopping him in his tracks. “But…what if you didn’t?”

“If I didn’t?” he asked, glancing down at her white fingertips, just pinching the edge of the black cuff.

“You should stay,” she blurted out, then blushed and lowered her eyes bashfully. “I mean…I want you to stay.”

He let himself be tugged back, away from the door and escape. Toward her. As if he could have resisted. It was like the pull of gravity; gentle, ceaseless, inescapable. Unconsciously, his hand turned over, to cradle the one grasping his sleeve. Ever so lightly, so that she could easily have pretended not to notice, and drawn away. She didn’t. She let go of the sleeve and let her hand rest in his. Her palm on his palm and her tiny wrist between his fore and middle fingers.

Her head was tilted down, and her eyes were still fixed on the floor. He could feel her trembling, as if she were afraid. But he had never seen her afraid of anything, in her life. So, was it fear, or something else?

“Tseng…” she murmured.

“Jiang.”

“What?”

“Tseng is my surname. My given name is Jiang. Since we’ve become so familiar.”

“Jiang,” she repeated slowly, rolling the unfamiliar word around on her tongue. “It feels strange, calling you a different name, after all this time. But it suits you. What does it mean?”

“It means descendant of the god of water, but the meaning has no special significance, in relation to me. My mother chose it because she liked how it sounded. That’s all.”

“Oh,” Aerith smiled. “Mine means something between earth and flower, because the Cetra spelling included both word elements, but there’s no special significance in relation to me, either. My mother probably chose it for the same reason your mother chose yours.”

“She chose well.”

“I guess they both did.”

Her hand was still resting in his hand. All this time they had been edging imperceptibly closer together, till they reached the event horizon. All it needed now, was for one of them to poke a hole in the window paper. Then there would be no going back to the way things were.

“Zack,” he said.

Aerith stiffened perceptibly. “Um. What about Zack?”

“Zack was…my friend,” he explained, haltingly. “I promised him I’d take care of you.”

She lowered her eyes, then looked up at him again. “Then you should take care of me.”

His other hand slipped around her slender waist. Her body felt impossibly fragile and delicate, compared to his (particularly for a girl who had whacked him over the head with a folding chair, not an hour ago). She leaned into him and he bent down.

The sound of footsteps and voices, on the walk outside pushed them hastily apart, again. A moment or two later, the door opened, and Elmyra entered, with one of the women from the village. Aerith was at the table, gathering up the towels and teapot, and Tseng was standing a professional distance away, with his arms crossed.

“Mr. Tseng,” Elmyra frowned, looking back and forth between her daughter and the Turk. “What’s going on, Aerith? What is he doing here?”

“Hello, mother. Ms. Folia,” Aerith said breezily. “Nothing to worry about. He had a little injury and I treated it for him. What about you? I thought you were going to be at Leaf House all night.”

Elmyra’s gaze flickered down to the blood on Tseng’s shirt, then back up to his face, before she turned to Aerith. “Well, I forgot my notebook, with everyone’s ideas from the last meeting, so we came to pick it up. How exactly did Mr. Tseng get injured?”

Aerith looked sheepish. “Well, he—”

“I wasn’t paying attention, and I hit my head on a stray piece of furniture. Aerith was kind enough to tend to it. Thank you, for your hospitality. I’ll be going.” Without waiting for a reply, he gave a clipped bow and departed, quickly vanishing into the night, outside.

“Good goddess,” Ms. Folia remarked, after he’d gone. “I’ve heard people mention the long-haired guy in the suit, but he is something else. I’ve never even seen a man that good-looking, before.”

Elmyra glanced toward the door, the way he’d gone, then back at Aerith, who was carrying the tray into the kitchen. She had a lot of reasons to hold that Turk in deep distrust, and be wary of his presence, but this specific one had never even occurred to her.

Not that she thought of her daughter as some kind of vestal virgin (she was well aware of the extent of her intimate relationship with Zack), it was only that she hadn’t considered the man who had spent all this time circling overhead, like a hawk above a rabbit’s den, might be a different kind of threat, altogether.

“Aerith, if those Turks hurt themselves while they’re poking around and spying, it’s their own problem. I don’t think it’s a good idea to invite them into the house, too often.”

“Huh?” Aerith said, looking perplexed, as she came back from the kitchen. “But we invite them in, all the time. You and Rude have tea together, every Wednesday. Or…oh. You mean Tseng, specifically. I understand why you’d worry, but the thing is, I kind of had to help him. He was lying about how he got hurt.”

“Oh, goddess, what did you do?”

“Well. He startled me, at the church, and I may have…hit him over the head with a folding chair.”

Ms. Folia burst out laughing, and Elmyra couldn’t suppress a little chuckle, even as she shook her head disapprovingly.

“You know what? Nevermind,” she said, squeezing her daughter’s hand. “You can clearly take care of yourself. Here’s that notebook, Ms. Folia. We’d better get back, before they send a search party.”

“Bye, have a good time!” Aerith called after them, waving cheerfully, as they went away down the walk.

When the two ladies were out of sight, she shut the door and leaned on it, letting out a deep breath, as if she’d been holding it in. Absently rubbing her palm, where it had rested in Tseng’s hand, she gazed into the middle-distance, with a troubled expression clouding her brow.

#asks #inbox games #aerith gainsborough #tseng of the turks #elmyra gainsborough #tserith #tseng x aerith #general audiences #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #ff7 remake #tseng ff7 #ff7 aerith #aerith ff7 #fluffy #silliness #for funsies

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blazingblorbos · 7 months ago

Text

youtube

oh god. oh god. oh.. oh gosh. I didn't expect this so soon. I didn't expect this today, I've been busy with life related things so the HYV calendar is really unbeknownst to me, is this update really next week already?? where can I rant about this- whERe can I rant about this-

oh. I made a blog for that exact purpose ! OKAY—!

fuck. fuck me, dude holy-

FUCK.

the slightly worried look on Arle's face as Snezhevna is reaching out her hand, only for her face to seemingly revert back to cold and neutral once the camera actually focuses in on her. Her tone is cold but her words are reassuring,,,,,,,,

ALSO GOD FUCKING DAMN IT. HOW GENTLY SHE HOLDS HER HAND.

the d o o r. the DOOR. THE FUCKING DOOR, CHAT. the slow opening at first, and once you can make out that it's certainly Arle's silhouette she shoves it fully open - both doors, both hands. incredibly attractive—. the FEAR in that man's eyes.

The crossed hands. We can't see her face but you know what expression she's making (it's not really an expression. it's neutral but you can feel it). THE FUCKING F E A R ON THAT MAN'S FACE.

Oh- she literally just grabbed him by the throat. Just like that- ! There's the expression. Oh, you feel it, alright. If you go frame by frame, you'll notice her eyes narrow in the slightest right before ->

POV: you're getting chocked out by Arlecchino, and that's actually the least of your worries. (my god she is beautiful).

I did not expect him to simply be thrown down to the ground and I ... d i d not expect her to step on his FACE. [insert gay masochistic joke here. you know the one]. Did not expect her to smile (this is the ONLY scene wherein we see her smile even slightly... huh...) *And the reason I say "I did not expect her to smile", is because with the momentum we were getting I thought she was straight up going to crush his throat, or stab him (hand, weapon or otherwise). It looked like she was digging the forefoot of her shoe into the guys head and not the... .. y'know deadly fucking heel, so that.. confused me. (and the sound when she supposedly stomped his head in did NOT sound all that impactful) but ANYWAYS I digress-

I'm of course assuming more happened after the cut to black because . madam where did you get that bloodstain on you—

BLOODSTAIN ON HER FACE!?!?!? (more on this in a second)

Freminet??? Freminet feature ! (not Lyney or Lynette.. interesting). :(((( the poor boy sounds so,, desensitized. His father

holy shit quick intermission. After the mental chronological fuckfest that was "The Song Burning in the Embers" I don't think I can look at Arle and the HotH the same anymore because she's.. she's like not even 10 years older than them (?) it's insane this doesn't make any sense- ANYWAYS.

HIS FATHER comes back with what we later see to be real blood on her face. Tells him "I've acquired new funds". We know what that means... HE knows what that means!!, and the way WE - THE AUDIENCE - know that Freminet knows what it means is because the boy replies "Oh.. Okay.."

LIKE-! chat omg this is truly just routine for them,,,, Like out of the 3 siblings, Freminet always gave off the biggest child assassin vibe, but wow. To see that routine and desensitized nature of the HotH's line of work just,, splayed out in a Character Trailer is . wow. and the look in his eyes as he says it is- wow.

YEAH UHH BLOODSTAIN ON HER FACE??/ The lighting in this scene now is evidently less saturated. And it's just- oh my FUCKING GOD it does so many things:

the blood on Arle's face looks... dry. it doesn't look as fresh as you may expect which could mean many things. It could mean she spent,,, hella long in there with that guy doing what needed to be done. It could mean she took care of something else immediately after dealing with that guy (perhaps smth related to the children Snezhevna wanted to save). But regardless, it means she didn't put in the effort to clean her face and hide what happened. OBVIOUSLY !!! that is so . obviously her style but to S E E IT IN MY GENSHIN IMPACT CHARACTER TRAILER it's- oh my god

it serves to highlight the really, truly, bleak nature of the scene now that we know plain and simple Arlecchino just killed a man. There's no subtext, there's no reading between the lines. The only thing that didn't happen is that we didn't see contact nor see a body. But, no sugarcoating, Arlecchino killed a man. No one is hiding it. You are not surprised. No one should be but damn.

and ofc it acts as a representation of Snezhevna dying...

because it seems like the saturation is back once the camera switches to looking at Snezhevna laying in bed.

And is it me, or does it look like Arle's allowing herself to actually display a tinge of worry in her expression this time? And also, EVER so slightly in her tone as well. You can feel it, it's gentler.

"Once I'm better I'll start my next mission.."

THIS. THIS!! IN SO MANY WAYS THIS!

OKAY. so bear with me. I haven't actually read any of the sibling's character stories yet, so there could be a LOT of info I'm missing but:

There's still a pretty thought-provoking conversation going on (in MY mind, at least) about just how intensely these children are being trained to be soldiers for the Fatui. They're obviously in an environment that indoctrinates them into being soldiers of SOME kind, but I still don't know what kind of soldier that's supposed to be. Are they all ALWAYS extensions of the Fatui? Or are they more-so extensions of Arlecchino specifically..? Snezhevna was obviously trying to help those children she came across, and I'm assuming that happened on her latest mission, so was the mission for a charitable cause?? What was her next mission supposed to be?? Same line of work? Saving people? Or would it switch up and was she going to be sent to "take care of" (kill .) someone???

So I don't know whether to interpret that line as a hint of them being overworked and 1) feeling like they need to continue their work out of pure fear that they'll be deemed ineffective and useless... or 2) feeling like they need to continue their work out of a sense of loyalty and duty to the place that took them in and raised them. Or both..

and ofc the funeral scene. I can't say much more than what's already shown right on the screen.

and am I bugging? Or is the location of the grave....

#LONG post #first of all. I am kissing Genshin Impact's (HoYovere's entire) artstyle on the mouth.#second of all #Erin Yvette #oh my god Erin Yvette.#the 'My child...' line.. what if I literally blow up the world I'm going to explode #Arlecchino is drop dead gorgeous in this. That's a given but what kind of gay person would I be if I didn't say it anyway #it's always a given with their trailers. A l w a y s.#she's so drop dead handsome oh my god I fucking hate gender #blazingramble #holy shit new tag wtf #I try not to do these on here often but...#meh. my blog #I needed a place to write it down and I'm honestly getting self-conscious abt using my discord server #I say the kids at the HotH are desensitized 'cause like.. it's FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE that they DON'T know!!!!#they can ACT like they don't !!! sure! repression is very real and these kids are exposed to a LOT of trauma. Yes #but they are NOT FUCKING IGNORANT about it #the older ones at least; of course the younger they are the more likely they're sheltered from the Fatui's violent practices #like Lyney Lynette Freminet and other kids their age are child assassins. Now I'm PRETTY FUCKIN CONFIDENT they've killed people #like it wasn't hard to believe before but (and remember I haven't read their character stories) before it was mostly believable conjecture #I can't get over the scene where she returns to the bed #Arlecchino #genshin impact #genshin #genshin arlecchino #the knave #Genshin the knave #blazingshitpost genshin edition #blazingshitpost #Youtube

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hybbart · 2 years ago

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I wanna say that I absolutely love your post apocalypse ranchers au. Theoretically I love post apocalypse stories, but most ones end up just being 'everyone sucks and is terrible to each other all the time' which i hate. But yours just has all the community and inherent goodness of people that I really wish was in more post apocalypse media. (I also love the layout, smthn about the little portrait scenes with a few lines' description is a really nice format to me. it's like a blog almost)

idk if this is coherent but basically i love the post apocalypse au and I so wish there were other stories like it out there

I apparently had even more thoughts on this than I anticipated even after forcing myself not to talk about most of it, so borderline essay below...

It's much more common in video games but I get what you mean.

Honestly I think it's an issue of American apocalypse media, and the general intent people go into with the genre. Usually when you're writing a man-made apocalypse story it's to say something about society, and if it's a man-made apocalypse you can generally assume it's not something positive, especially given the sort of person that type of story would attract.

The American aspect I won't get into cause that might be a bit too spicy, but I'll just say if you look at fiction from places with more socialist or collectivist attitudes (that's not specifically influenced by American media or trashy escapist fantasy for edgy teenagers) you find those qualities depicted more. In American apocalypse stories altruism is more of a notably heroic trait for the MC.

(I think the concept of an apocalypse might also just much more terrifying and unknown to North American audiences. Things like relics outside of museums and casually decorating the scenery with ruins is more common in Eurasian media. Ancient history, and the implications thereof, is much more tangible there. I don't think an American version of digimon adventures would ever conceive the digital world as it's presented without drawing attention to it as something tragic and sombre, for example. Probably a whole essay could be written why but this is already too long.)

I think it's also because it doesn't really match well with action and horror genres, which is what apocalypse stories are usually paired with. Apocalypse ranchers is a survival slice or life, and cozy, and the format isn't very conducive to complex action, so there's no need to include it.

In an action story you focus on the action, and physical conflict drives action, and in a horror story the conflict has to scare you, usually involving tragedy. In a survival story the minutia is more important, and in a slice of life the conflict is more mundane. So, I guess that's to say there's more breathing room in RAAU to depict the more realistic daily interactions with people that are ostensibly int he same situation as the ranchers - average people who happened to survive.

I do understand that frustration though. I write a lot of post-apocalypse fiction myself, and this is usually how I would write characters acting simply because that's how I would act, if not out of altruism, then out of practicality.

Um, the restaurant for example. The ranchers are on foot and already overladen with their winter supplies, and they've come to a place that's already established a chain of charity. It's more food than they will need before they're likely to find even more food, and it will be more of a burden to carry it all. In a space that's already established itself as a charitable one people are more likely to return the favour. Think about all those stories you hear about people in fast food drive thrus paying for the person behind them for dozens of cars in a row. Of course there's always gonna be someone who breaks the chain, but that's one person in however many people before them, and it's not necessarily because they're a villain.

(There's also a pretty blatant cottagecore/solarpunk wish fulfillment aspect to the apocalypse fiction I like to write not gonna lie.)

Anyways, I guess that's all to say that you should keep your eye out cause there is other apocalypse fiction out there with that sort of characterization of humanity. Shaun of the Dead, Dr. Stone, and Girls Last Tour come to mind off the top of my head. As far as video games are concerned, lots of survival an apocalypse games, especially open worlds, like minecraft, 7 days to die, no place like home, my time at portia, cattails, plague inc, and niche tend of have a more compassionate setting, even when it looks more bleak and depressing on the surface. They have to for game balance. (multiplayer can't be accounted for, though)

At the end of the day, apocalypse stories really live or die on empathy whether even the creator knows it or not. There's a reason ants so efficiently deal with cordyceps attacks while humans struggle to imagine all of humanity collapsing if it leapt to us, I think. I think where they god wrong is seeing that as a bad thing the characters have to overcome.

#raau ask

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mandatory-blog-stop-asking · 2 months ago

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hello this now a legend of the galactic heroes blog i will post essays on it at a whim

hi how you doing this is a big block of text that has light spoilers for LOGH and talks at length about its discussion of autocracy vs democracy, how it balances itself and how it evolves it into a conclusion. I'm gonna put the separation after the first paragraph and if the style seems interesting to you, click keep reading and enjoy the maddened rants of a man who writes to process things.

I think one of my favorite parts of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a sentence I will write much more often in the coming years, is the weight it puts on actual discussion of merits and complications of imperialism and democracy, and how at the end of the day, there's no true correct option between either.

As the son of a nation that had just left a brutal dictatorship before I was born, I was raised with school teachers who in fact ran from cops in protests, fought secret police, ran counter-propaganda campaigns and defended their rights in the middle of the street, shouting and bleeding. And the pitch I got for democracy was always, well, military dictatorship is unacceptable, and the vote is the most important weapon in a population's arsenal.

LOGH mostly agrees with the sentiment, but it doesn't put republican democracy as the end-all be-all of good government as a matter of fact, which was a fascinating decision to me. The democrats as a faction are mostly corrupt or ineffective politicians who balance their self-interest by either flat-out lying to the population or throwing lives into blenders so they can push a ufanist agenda for an election.

They applaud each other as they figure out ways to remain in power while doing nothing themselves, and even though one or two of them are ultimately trying to Do The Right Thing, the system's checks and balances make it so they're being, well, checked and balanced by people who do not have the population's best interests in mind. We even have one of those same politicians say it out loud: we are parasites, we get paid to suckle on society and offer nothing, we are glorified bank attendants who should only be concerned with how to spend tax money but here we are, deciding who lives and who dies simply because we can.

Meanwhile you have the imperials-- descended from literal space nazis, genocidal maniacs who slaughtered billions or even hundreds of billions depending on how you interpret one of the history episodes -- and they're not much better before Reinhard shows up. A lousy, dumb class of aristocrats grown fat and complacent on the food and effort of the lower classes, with no desire to treat others who don't dress in their fancy suits as fellow human beings.

99.9% of the population will never affect public policy or even be targeted as the main beneficiary of policy, unless one of their young daughters is attractive enough for a 70 year old pervert to kidnap her and maybe listen to her requests every once in a while. The show is not subtle about who you're watching-- they scream Sieg Heil and are all German. It explicitly expects you to balance whatever you feel about the Lohengramm Dynasty with the historical context, both in the show and in real life.

So the question is thrown at the audience, at first by inferring it and then explicitly in season 2: assume for the sake of argument there's change coming for both systems, would you rather live in an aloof, corrupt democracy or a benevolent, yet inevitably complacent autocracy?

And I strongly feel that in most other stories, Reinhard would be depicted as a wide-eyed idealist that would slowly but surely succumb to his own vices, only to become a bad emperor killing all his incumbents and repeating the same problems of the original empire that destroyed billions of lives. It would be a cautionary tale about how absolute power corrupts absolutely or whatever, and about how only through freedom fighting with wanton abandon can we create a world worth living in. There would be nothing no one could tell Yang or Julian or whoever that would convince the audience that they didn't only have good points.

But no, LOGH is genuine about the question: it's a benevolent autocracy, at its heart, you can trust the emperor's words at face value. The values have shifted in such a way that the vices of yesteryear will not be around at least for a little while, and democracy itself may be on its way out due to the sheer lack of consistency it let fester at its breast.

The question is not whether or not having a decent-looking approach to government is a trick by the space nazis, the question is whether it's okay for you to give up your personal freedoms if you can be sure you will have your interests still considered, and that some level of oppression will happen on both sides either way. The show asks you whether, once removed from morality or ideology, you will go with the tax fraudists or with the pompous fucks, if you can be sure your life will objectively be easier on the latter and will always be unstable due to the former's natural changes.

The democratic systems in place in the galaxy by the time Reinhard takes over the Empire are shattered not just because of external actions, but because they were rotten to begin with. There was simply no way for them to survive in their form at the time. You have democrats constantly talking about the wonders of democracy while making sure most of the population will never experience those in the first place.

Parallel to that, in Iserlohn Fortress, the literal last bastion of democracy, you have Yang Wenli being pressured to become a military dictator to "put things in their place" and "make sure things work", showing you how little faith people have in the actual system and how much faith people have on him. But Yang has none of it-- taking over would make the entire exercise pointless.

Yet he never says Reinhard is an inherently bad leader, and never stops acknowledging the immense progress that he forced upon the galaxy. Both Yang and Julian constantly mention how, since Reinhard is a beloved monarch, he is technically more democratically-supported than any politician in Heinessen ever was. And that's not nothing-- it is imperative to actually engage with this conversation for those characters, because they are essentially fighting for a system that literally nobody in the universe has faith in, because they just saw it eat itself alive.

What the ideals of democracy eventually shape up to be is the belief that one man should not be the end-all-be-all of government policy, regardless of the kind of system they have. A king, a president, a prime minister, whatever-- other people's livelihoods should never come down to a single person's whim without any sort of recourse for criticism. Democracy, when stripped from its bells and whistles, becomes the ability to make yourself heard for good or ill. Autocracy, likewise, becomes the incapacity to reach anyone other than through personal, non-official means. Neither is future-proof, but one of them gives future generations the resources to fight the scourge of corruption, while the other does not.

And this conclusion takes one hundred and ten fucking episodes. It takes multiple revolutions, the rise and fall of entire governments, conspiracies, probably an entire planet's worth of alcohol. But it gets there! It sits you down and expects you to talk back as it talks about checks and balances, taxes, education, the measure of a man, the place of honor in politics, the whole damn thing!

Yet it never feels like the show is putting imperialism on a pedestal either, because you see, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how illuminated despotism always falls: the complete and utter lack of systems that aren't nepotistic as a rule means snakes will slither into nests, no matter what. Yes, the king might not be corrupt-- what about the second in command? The third? The fourth? If the fifth person in the chain is corrupt, then literally everyone under them also is. Because it's a system based on personality and connections, and not necessarily in what's best for each role.

Even though Reinhard tries his hardest to avoid this, and explicitly chooses people whom he trusts and knows can do a phenomenal job, he cannot change the nature of politics. The complete lack of systems designed to counter corruption in autocracies aside from someone coming in and saying "Eh, fuck it, just kill them" means smart enough disruptors will find a crack in the armor, and they will scheme and lie and conspire against the trust that glues the entire system together.

And cracks they find, and it works. You can bring down an entire system in one day by simply undermining the right person. There is no chain of command strong enough in an autocracy to survive the death of a king. Whoever the next king ends up being, things will drastically change, far more than they would if a president were to be assassinated. And, again, the show asks and expects you to form an opinion-- but is that worth it? Is the thought of building an entire castle on top of an exposed central rock inherently a thing of hubris? Is there no middle ground that can make the best of both worlds function perfectly? Is the most democratic-leaning autocrat still not democratic enough? Is the most benevolent military governor still unacceptable?

Ultimately, the conclusion LOGH seems to reach is that a parliament is a good buffer to a king so that the puck does not begin its movement in the same place it stops at, but also so that the people have a more direct way to speak their minds to a centralized ruler other than literally becoming friends with the right people. While much less directly discussed than the grander conversation, it seems that LOGH ascertains that the speed of decisions an autocracy can achieve is not a bug, but a feature, and should be utilized for the greater good, but that aristocrats and the king's friends should not be the only thing stopping a genocide if the king so wishes, and they should definitely not simply be capable of being ignored.

It's not really showed as a victory for either side. Reinhard doesn't live to interact with the new system, and Julian doesn't believe he'll ever stop undermining the Empire, even though he got them to compromise. People will keep dying for what they believe in, but now for far less romantic reasons and for far less charismatic leaders. The legend isn't just over, the legend is dead.

But that's history, that's how it works-- you don't fight until you're the only one standing, you fight until, somehow, both people lose, and then you keep going. The conversation about politics will literally never end, because there is no right answer. There is no holy book explaining how to perfectly govern a population. There's only the messy attempts imperfect men and women put forth, and the shape they take after being grounded through the gears of progress and war. And at the end of the day, this is all just different people trying to figure out a way to better put tax money where it should go, otherwise we all starve next winter.

Legends are told after the fact, and ultimately, they're just stories simplified so that they can better inspire us. The galaxy keeps spinning, unpreoccupied with the affairs of man and their ideals.

#gineiden #legend of the galactic heroes #logh #Julian Mintz #yang wen li #reinhard von lohengramm #UNLESS YOU'RE IN A CULT #AT WHICH POINT YOU'RE THE BANE OF THE GALAXY #THE ONLY TRULY EVIL FACTION #TOTAL TERRAIST DEATH

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skyliv · 11 months ago

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IM BORED and i feel like taking up all the space in the liv tag again

this is the last chapter of Tender Buttons and its main plot on ao3!! its rushed and rambly but i had fun doing it!

“Alright! Alright, so, what you said stuck with me. Why drag people into this? When I can just focus on the Spider. However-” She speaks brightly as she moves her mug to one of the tentacles.

“Oh, goodness, and..?”

“I can drag you into it!” Olivia outstretches her arms with a wide grin.

Lucy’s heart sinks, and she freezes up. “Me?! No, no, no! I’d be terrible for your plan!” She stammers.

“I’d absolutely disagree, you're perfect!” Olivia points at Lucy and pokes her in the chest. “Don't worry, don't worry.. I have a plan, you'll be fine!”

“And if I said no? Would you go and just grab some random guy off the street?!”

Olivia blinks a few times, and pulls back her hand. “Maybe.”

A few moments pass, and Lucy drops her gaze to the counter. She's clearly mulling it over, as her eyebrows furrow and she frowns ever so slightly. All before taking a deep breath and looking back up. “I’m in, but not for the sake of whoever else you would've gotten- I’m doing this for you.”

She can't imagine how long Olivia has been fighting. Fighting for herself, for her work, for her life. Lucy just wants to see the doctor win.

If it weren't for Olivia perking up at Lucy’s acceptance, the younger woman definitely would've felt bad.

“Oh that's just perfect! You know, it's definitely best that you agreed, we already work so well together.” Olivia exclaims, and she steps to the side to wrap an arm around Lucy’s shoulder. An actual arm. Lucy does take this with surprise, but just like the day before she does follow along as they leave the flat.

If Fisk hadn't owned this building, the two women would definitely be getting far more stares, but this only bothers Lucy.

“I was thinking last night, you're the first test subject I’ve grown a liking to, you're not as much of a captive audience. I don’t know-” Olivia muses, and when Lucy’s expression hardens she quickly reiterates. “Hey! Hey I promise I haven't tested on other people- Maybe a spider or two, but you’d think if I did any bigger animal I’d be out of a job!”

Despite the odd subject, Lucy cracks a smile. There's something about the way Olivia talks, the lilt of her voice when she corrects herself, the shift in tone when her mood lightens. Lucy isn't sure why she notices this, but she likes that she does.

Their chats are simple in the long elevator ride down, but the plan is laid out simply.

Lucy attracts Spider-Man to a location on the outskirts of the city. Whether it be a building he hits on patrols or a past battle location, she can catch him and say she's lost. She could hypothetically try and slip on those web-shooter disablers, but she's adamant she couldn't. The machines activate, Olivia is alerted, and Lucy escapes as they fight unfairly.

Not much could go wrong!

𖦹

It isn't the best location, a warehouse on the harbor that is cast into shadow by the clouds above. It's fairly chilly, and the place seems more deserted than anything. Olivia takes a seat on the edge of the roof, her actuators dangling off like ribbons as Lucy looks down into the inky waters.

“I know it's weird…” She begins simply, her hair whipping in the wind, “Why would I know Spider-Man’s patrol routes? Shouldn't I be more focused on work?” Her tone is mocking, like she's tired of herself.

“I wasn't going to ask, if anything, it's best for… Planning-”

Olivia chuckles quietly as Lucy hops down to sit next to her, but her expression soon shifts. “That's nice, but still, if I can do this one thing right, I- I may just get past that thick skull of his.” She’s more solemn, far from the enthusiasm Lucy had expected. The younger woman frowns, glancing back up.

“How long have you been fighting him?” She inquires, keeping her tone soft to try and be a better listener.

“5, uhm- Maybe 6 years?” Olivia speaks with a shrug. “The collider has been such a priority for the last decade, he only got involved a little bit after.”

Lucy fiddles with the web-shooter gadgets as she listens, letting the doctor's voice sink in. “And how often did you fight?”

“Every two weeks, maybe.”

Goodness…

Lucy’s eyebrows furrow, her lips in a thin line as she tries to process just how much Olivia must've been through just to get that machine operational.

Suddenly, far to the west, there's a blur of red leaping through the sky. Lucy notices this first, she was just moments away from zoning out, and after she nudges Olivia’s shoulder the actuators spur back to life. Olivia rises quickly, using the claws to support and lift herself maybe a foot into the air. It must've been a habit by then, like a fearful animal trying to seem bigger. Only two of them are free, and one instinctively pulls Lucy forward.

The distant figure dips behind one building, and then leaps over another, leaving silken strands in his wake. This was it.

“Can I pick you up?” Olivia chimes.

“What?!” Lucy barks, “I mean, sure, but-”

In the split second when the wide eyes of Spider-Man’s mask are visible, Lucy is held up like a trophy by a tentacle as Olivia drops back down to her feet. A second one snaps around her torso as well, and practically squeezes out a shrill, short scream. She slams her eyes shut, and she clenches the mechanical wristbands she held tighter.

The next moment she opens her eyes, all she can make out are the machines that hold her, the dizzying sky, and the flash of Spider-Man yanking an actuator on Olivia's back. Promptly, Lucy is dropped, and she can't help but yelp again as she curls into herself. Rather than by the Spider, one of the tentacles catches her by the collar of her shirt, and tosses her from a foot in the air to the building's stairway.

She can't make out much of the fight, maybe a wide grin from Olivia and flashes of hits, but is too preoccupied with not panicking and breaking the tech anyway. There’s a joke here, a shout there, but the only thing that shines through is how dangerous these two can be. After Spider-Man had pulled the tentacle from under her, Olivia retaliated with a kick. For as cunning as she was, with rhythmic maneuvers and long reaching swings, Spider-Man always seemed to weasel his way out. Whether it be with or without the use of his webs.

“You can't seriously think that you’ll get away forever!” Olivia snaps, her voice breathy and cold. The years of practice came in handy, she deflects a punch and returns with a hard kicking blow to the hero’s stomach, but all he does is deliver an even harder punch right in the face.

“I never did!” He shouts back, and the youthful courage in his voice clearly surprises Lucy. Olivia lets out a forced, dark cackle at his expected quip, and quickly retracts the claw of one tentacle to replace it with a buzzsaw. The sound of spinning metal cuts through the air, an uncomfortable addition to the already tense fight.

It all went downhill fast. Spider-Man pays no mind to Lucy, and strikes hit after hit. Olivia barely had a chance, never did, and probably never will.

One punch hits her square in the nose, causing her to stumble back. But as she does, the saw-tipped actuator rushes forward, and accidentally cuts past her left arm. It slices right through her latex suit and severs a wire on her shoulder, leaving sparks and a gnarly scar in its place. The doctor uses a tentacle to anchor herself to the floor, and the tentacle that had cut her twitches as the saw retracts.

As Lucy scrambles to the stairway’s broken door, Spider-Man shoots a web and disables a tentacle to keep Olivia busy, before shooting one to leap over to Lucy and kneel at her side.

“You! Hey, are you alright?!” He asks, his voice quick. He’s taller than both women, and with how bright his suit is Lucy can feel a headache forming from that and her fall. She lies there for a moment, before leaning forward with a small groan.

“Yeah… Yes-” She mutters. Her upper arm had been badly bruised, and an ache pulsed through her shoulder. Spider-Man brings her hands forward, ready to catch her if she tumbles forward.

The slightest drops of rain tumble off of the Spider’s costume, and cause Lucy to blink quickly. That's when she notices the tall silhouette of the doctor behind Spider-Man.

She bursts forward where she sits, and snaps the thin devices around his wrists.

All she can do is whisper “Sorry,” before Olivia strikes. The villainess clutches her injured arm with the other, and she wrenches Spider-Man away from Lucy by his shoulder. She tosses him like a ragdoll across the roof, and when he attempts to recover with a web, he simply can't. The click of his ring and middle fingers to his wrist are met with silence, and he scrambles to latch onto the side of the building.

Olivia can't even fathom a smile through her rage, and before she's able to rush over Lucy grabs onto an actuator. The girls look like messes, as rain pours down each and every scar is much more visible on Olivia's face, her arm is bleeding and one of the tentacles is glitching wildly. Each strand of wet hair frames her face. Frames that… Look of fear. Lucy keeps her head low, her own hair practically covering her whole head and shoulders. They both breathe quickly, they both freeze, one from pain and one from terror.

As quickly as it started, the moment ends, with Spider-Man leaping forward from the ledge and pushing himself off for momentum. As quickly as she can, Lucy scrambles to stand. She tugs down the tentacle she held as Olivia shouts in surprise… And just before Spider-Man reaches them, Lucy shoves Liv through the doorway and down the broken stairs. The villainess flails to recover, claws slither and writhe to grab anything possibly, but they're unable to other than a windowsill further down. Lucy ducks almost immediately, and Spider-Man’s quick attack only hits the doorway. The concrete crumbles, dust forms around his fist. The punch could've been fatal, and the impact of his strike even formed a hole.

There's a thud at the floor of the building as the downpour continues, and Lucy stays low to the ground.

Spider-Man hesitates, his breath heavy as he looks down. He wrenches off the devices from his wrists, and tosses them in front of Lucy. All before rushing to leap away.

She’s left there, alone, unsure of Olivia's safety after technically betraying them both. Tears hit the roof lighter than the rain.

𓆞

Oh that girl.

It’s over for her.

Olivia lands in a stack of wooden scaffolding, her impact rattling the whole building. It strikes her back and snaps an actuator out of place, leaving her a dizzy, pained mess in a pile of dust.

She doesn't stand immediately, she doesn't even feel like she could if she wanted. Slowly, two tentacles retract back into her suit, but that's met by weak groans. The one that had snapped can only go in so far, and the broken half lies limply out of its casing. The fourth twitches weakly, and fumbles to find something to latch onto.

𖦹

Even through her pain, Lucy was able to get away from the building. She struggles to make herself look presentable in her slow trek back.

She’ll hate me, she won't ever forget what I did.

She does make it back to Olivia's apartment, thank goodness for her planning, but the moment she makes it inside she rushes to the small office room.

It's much cleaner than it was at her arrival, and she makes a note to apologize later when she begins to rummage through.

Was damage to the tentacles felt? Could they be rebuilt?

But she finds nothing helpful. No notes, no schematics, just a map with marks of past fights. It’s covered in bunches of pins and miscellaneous marks, like something a detective would have- Many are bundled around Alchemax locations, but now, a new spot could be added.

𖦹

But what if she didn't team up with the Spider?

Understandably, Olivia's trek home is much slower and much more painful. Each step drains more energy out of her, and she feels like a disgrace.

This is how it usually ended. She’d lose, be beaten and torn worse than before. It was worse this time, since this time she was with someone. It wasn't that she made herself look like a failure in front of the first woman who’s liked her in any way in forever, but more that she was afraid of how she'd lash out at Lucy.

As she walks, she replays each and every moment of the fight in her head. The cuts, the kicks, the punches. And it strikes her that Lucy didn't just run away.

𖦹

The next hour was rough. Lucy crumbled onto the couch, her knees to her chest and her head low. She didn't even bother to clean her wounds, and just… Cried for a bit.

That was most definitely the worst thing she could do. It hurt, she hated herself for acting on impulse, hated herself for even getting wrapped up in this mess.

A knock sounds at the door. It's quiet, but firm. She does hesitate before rising to open it, but does so anyway.

Of course. It's Olivia. She looks worse than earlier, her hair soaked and flat as it tumbles over her shoulders. The cut on her shoulder has been haphazardly covered with another torn piece of her suit, and bruises and scratches litter any visible skin. Her eyelashes flutter, and her chest heaves with each breath. But she stands tall, even with the one tentacle holding her up and the snapped one hanging limp.

Lucy is quiet, her breath caught in her throat as if she were stuck in a dream. Olivia looks at her like a deer in headlights.

“You…” The doctor murmurs.

“You helped me.” Her voice weakens.

She steps in, Lucy steps back, and she wraps her arms around the younger woman. This was nothing like the dream Lucy had. Olivia shakes with each breath, she feels light as a feather as she hugs and holds on for dear life. Lucy is frozen where she stands, her teary eyes widening in shock as she tries to process anything.

It's going far too fast for Lucy, but not fast enough for Olivia. As they stand in a warm, bundled hug full of pain and rainwater, Lucy tries to speak.

“But I-” Lucy breathes out.

“You pushed me, y- Yes, we know..” Olivia states, keeping the hug tight.

Before she can utter another word, Olivia looks up with tired eyes and leaves a weak kiss on the crook of the other woman's neck.

“But you saved me.”

#༺ Shell & Spine ༻#tender buttons #olivia octavius #fanfic excerpt #self ship #selfship #into the spider verse #oc x canon #doc ock #selfship writing #self ship writing #fanfic #fanfiction #cringe #🐚

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caestoexist · 10 months ago

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(excerpt from my film + lit analysis class essay on afab gender nonconformity in film specifically about she's the man 2006 and tomboy 2011)

"She’s The Man is a romantic comedy designed for an adolescent audience, and therefore starts with a high energy montage of the main character, Viola, playing soccer on the beach. It is overlaid with bright, colorful graphics showing the title credits, and set to the song “No Sleep Tonight” by The Faders. Viola, while not stereotypically feminine, is clearly a girl. She is shown to like sports, and is uncomfortable in dresses, but also wears a bikini top and short jean shorts in the opening montage, and has long hair. She only comes to the decision to present as a boy in order to impersonate her brother, Sebastian, so she can play on the boys soccer team, after the girls team is cut.

At the end of the film, she reveals herself to be female, wins the game, and goes back to living as a girl. In fact, the second to last scene shows her onstage, in a dress and makeup, making out with Duke, a fellow soccer player and her former roommate, who first met her as Sebastian.

She’s The Man has something I call ‘The Mulan Effect,’ where a film represents a character pretending to be the opposite gender without actually tackling transgender topics. In these types of films, the character has external motivation, usually hiding from, or impersonating someone, or trying to gain access to something. A key feature of films that demonstrate ‘The Mulan Effect’ is the crossdressing character returning to their original gender presentation after achieving their goal."

i think it's an interesting phenomenon because on the surface a film with the mulan effect seems to be trans or trans adjacent in nature, but when you think harder about it, it's usually not as related as it would seem. of course it's somewhat related just due to the feature of a character acting and dressing as the opposite sex, and often has loosely feminist undertones (woman just as good at fighting war as man!! gender win!) but it's about a mostly gender conforming, usually straight character (in fact, if the character isn't straight, it kinda falls into a different category than the mulan effect imo) simply putting on a disguise.

it doesn't touch on actual gender nonconformity or transgenderism beyond very superficial features of it, such as being considered strange, ugly, or wimpy by those around you. its much safer than a film actually about trans or gender nonconforming topics, because it can almost fully avoid homosexuality or transgenderism other than a sort of parody/joke on those things (this straight woman falls in love with a boy, but he's secretly a girl! must be awkward for her!). it's kinda like the bury your gays trope in that it depicts the undepictable but in a way that doesn't justify being gay or trans.

it's also like the bury your gays trope becsuse people will still identify with it when that's the only representation they're given. like if all the gay stuff you can read ends with the characters dead, you're still gonna read it just for the gay shit. if the media showing gender nonconformity and transness only shows it as either temporary (the mulan effect, the trope of a tomboy growing out of it as they get older, usually influenced by meeting a man they're attracted to and realizing they're a Woman and gotta Act Like It) or evil (all the trans serial killers, who are mostly trans women, sometimes trans men who are gangsters, mob bosses, or criminals) you're still gonna identify with the characters just because you don't have anything else showing someone who does what you do.

in a lot of media trans women are represented as evil and perverted and trans men are often not represented, or represented as a temporary issue, something done as a result of external pressures, or something that you grow out of. trans women are often ugly, strange, aggressive adults and trans men are children, also perceived as ugly and strange but overall more sympathetic. i think it's interesting and wonder how much this broad societal representation affects the way we perceive those groups even without realizing it.

it's also interesting how the way we see women vs men plays into this, as trans women are "too manly" making them adult, large, aggressive, etc. trans men are sometimes also seen as too manly, because nobody takes them seriously as a boy to begin with, so they're judged as a girl. if they are seen as a boy, they're wimpy, small, childish, and more likely to have pity taken on them. trans women embody "man traits" like thinking for themselves and making decisions, like an adult, whereas trans men embody "woman traits" by just not even being taken seriously on the same level as trans women (who are more likely to be portrayed as actually trans women, as opposed to trans masculinity, often portrayed as confused or traumatized little girls) and also being shown more often as children. they are then able to be saved by a man, and only then are able to be happy as a woman. the transphobia is just the first layer of these types of bad rep, the deeper you dig the more it seems to be misogyny. like "trans women are men so they're powerful and aggressive by nature, trans men are women and therefore they don't know what the fuck is going on, even with themselves. they need a man to come set them straight, it's not their fault". it starts to seem really fucked when you think about it.

i'm saying this after having gone thru every pre-2012 representation of trans characters in television and film (according to wikipedia) and finding Some Patterns.

i don't really know what the conclusion of this post is, but basically. trans women and trans men are both affected by misogyny. misogyny is at the root of so many things. if you're against misogyny you should be against homophobia and transphobia too. period.

#texts i sent to my mom #who is gender critical #she was unsure how to respond #trans #media literacy #misogny

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neathbound-fiends · 11 months ago

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Long post, so I'm gonna stick it under a readmore for politeness, but!! gender, for the guys (and their feelings about it)...

Elliott: he's a man! ...mostly! He struggles to put it into words, the way he's attracted to femininity but very much not a woman himself. He finds that he is a man in the way one can only be when he is a lover of other men. He likes to be pretty, and will occasionally use she/her when dressing up for a party, but that's like a secret little game that he isn't letting anyone else in on. He tries not to focus too much on his gender (except when it's questioned) because it simply isn't something he feels is very productive and he's got bigger things to worry about. He's a man, just not a very good one. Not a very manly one, he supposes. In modern!AU, I think he'd identify as a demiboy

Warren: she is a girl! Cis and happy about it (or as happy as one can be at 13, when "blossoming into womanhood"). After she found out Arthur was a boy that used to be a girl, she wondered if maybe she was a boy that used to be a girl, and tested out he/him and a new name and wardrobe for a month before deciding actually! That was not for her, thanks! She'll leave being a boy to the boys (but does have a boy-sona, whose name and some of clothes she used for testing out boyhood, for when she's committing CRIME, because she plans on amassing a grand reputation as a criminal and then, in an exceptionally dramatic and heartstopping twist, reveal she's a GIRL!!! SURPRISE, BITCH!!!!)

Arthur: FtM. He doesn't really get into it much, and only revealed this to the family because he gave birth to a litter of kittens and that's, y'know, not something boy cats typically do. Really not much to say about this for him beyond that

Florence: she's a woman, but she's a woman in a way that's going to hurt you. She took a look at her gender, said "I like being a woman, don't like the thought of being a lady" and has purposely distanced herself from the notion. She's much more comfortable with her hair pulled into a tight bun and in suits than when her hair was a lot longer and she primarily wore dresses. Gender is a performance and she's picking the pockets of the audience

Doc: he is ALSO FtM, without much to get into. He got top surgery and got a tattoo to celebrate. He decided to modify the body he was working with instead of trying to finagle a new one out of the system. Hell said "you can look like anything" and he decided he wanted to look like a middle aged business man with the sex appeal of a thrice divorced tax accountant. He doesn't discuss anything prior to this, because as far as he's concerned, nothing did exist before this. Gender euphoria from looking like he was hatched as a full grown man inside a Bankers Box

Bolormaa: he/him butch, and pretty happy that way. He feels very comfortable with it, and thinks the simplest way to look at it is that he's his wife's husband, but a woman! And he does identify as a woman--if you imply that he isn't in any way, or that his wife isn't, he'll punch you in the fucking face. This is how he feels the most comfortable and affirmed in his womanhood, and has made his own meaning within it

Rhoda: she's a cis woman, and is pretty happy with this overall. She feels comfortable with femininity, and works a pretty standardly feminine job, and doesn't have any feelings towards anything else, nor desire to shift away from her womanhood. I think part of it is that she's found solace in her gender and the way she relates to it as being wlw, but also she just. doesn't strike me as someone who would want to be anything else

#remember when I said I was gonna do this several days ago #well here it finally is #I'm not gonna bother tagging this because I don't think it's really something that deserves to go into the tag #it's more for my own funsies because I like talking about it and also I figured maybe some of you would be curious #there's been a lot of new people around lately and not all of you have borne witness to my ramblings on FLRP server

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milomi · 2 years ago

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Uuuu, this is so much different from what I had imagined earlier

I'm not even sure how to feel about the end result 🫥

But, it's better than nothin'

Hey, at least now I get to say I did something while having my hair dyed

Not sure how to explain it, there was a strange feeling tugging and twisting the inside of your chest. It felt like having butterflies in your stomach, if only the butterflies were instead replaced by a swarm of bees.

Maybe it was the idea of your best friend proposing to an unknown ghost-lady. Sure, he was doing for everybody's sake; to save Idia's life. He wasn't the only doing it either. But amongst the other candidates: Heartslabyul's housewarden, Vice-Housewarden of Pomefiore and a fellow freshman from that same dorm, the thought of their proposals didn't make you feel uneasy. Maybe a bit sympathetic or worried.

Not to say you weren't worried about Ace, no, that would be an understatement. I mean, what if the plan didn't work? There are many ways in which it could fail, like what if your friends' proposals don't work and you all face the same end as the previous suitors; getting slapped and becoming 'frozen'.

But... The most prominent (and worst) failure your mission could cause, would be a proposal gone a little too well. What if, Eliza is so smittened by the dashing ginger-haired young man, that she accepts the engagement. What if the ring doesn't work, or it's put on the wrong fingers, or anything else that would be a fail.

As one of the vows states:

Till death do us part

And when one of them is already dead, what fate will await the other?

" Hey Prefect~ What do you think, am I nailing this look? "

Ace's question threw you off your train thought of disasters.

In front of you stood Ace Trappola, your best friend, in a plaid suit and his bangs clipped back.

It was... Certainly unusual to see him in a such a get-up and, you couldn't deny, there was something charming in the way he smiled, awaiting your answer.

" If I were Eliza, I..., " you started and stopped immediately after processing the words you just said.

If I were Eliza

If I were the dead ghost bride forcing one of the NRC students to marry her

Maybe given the circumstances, you could still turn this into a compliment. Buuut, that would require you to admit he looked attractive awesome.

He looked awesome.

" ...You look good, " you simply stated, ignoring the whole 'If I was a dead bride'.

The ginger boy had the audacity to snicker at your awkwardness.

" Pfft, well, I guess I HAVE to believe it now, " he reached out his hand to ruffle your hair.

But not in the 'friendly friend way' more-so in the 'lmao are you flustered 🥺/j' way.

you would rather burn from embarrassment than endure his teasing

There wasn't much time to spare, the boys were working their butts off to become the most perfect princes they could be.

...All except Ace, who was nowhere in sight. And you, being the Prefect task manager school's errand person, were tasked with the job of finding him.

Walking out of Mister Sam's Mystery Shop, you didn't have to walk much further before you spotted familiarly clipped back bangs.

Though you could only see his back, he sure seemed awkward in this moment. Fumbling with some cards in his hands. He cleared his throat before starting to read from one of the cards.

" I'm the only one for you... No. That sounds...cheesy... "

He flipped through the cards as he started walking around, somehow not noticing you.

" No, no, man these all suck, " Ace quickly his the cards into one of his pockets, " Dude... Just, calm down. "

He stopped walking and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

" It's no big deal. You can— you HAVE to do it. "

" Just imagine the Prefect. Yeah... "

[...]

" No, for the love of the Great Seven, that'd make it even worse! "

The boy was distressed.

Also, just why would he need to imagine you?

Maybe it's like the thing people do when they're on stage and imagine the whole audience naked to laugh it o-

O H

You stood there for a second, not moving until you heard–

"–marry me? " and as he popped the question, Ace turned around and spotted you. " Oh hey pref– PREFECT?! "

" Hi. "

The boy was distressed x2.

" I liked it. "

(That's a lie, you didn't hear a single word of his proposal, only the ending)

The closer you got to him, the more red his face got.

" If I were Eliza... I'd certainly say 'yes'. "

#writing ||~#ace trapolla x reader #ace trappola x reader #ace trappola #ace trapolla x yuu #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x mc

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