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dailycass-cain · 2 years ago

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So on January 26th yesterday, I looked into how the comics had Cass combat her disability in Dyslexia being not able to read and relate words vocally.

What worked, what didn't, and which era handled the progression better.

At the very core of her very first appearance in Batman #567 by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Barbara Gordon is trying to help Cassandra overcome her disability. And it is her first words spoken that give her father David Cain pause.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #2 gives us the first look into how Cass really doesn't fully care about learning in either study instead focusing on her new vigilante life. That is until running into Robinson and learning WHY words and writing truly matter.

#5 has her run across a metahuman who has mental abilities and because of those rewires her brain to have the capacity to understand.

It's a cheap copout for sure. But it gives Cass a voice in her mind along with the capacity to speak better. Bad news? It screws up her abilities and how her mind was originally wired.

This leads into #6-9 basically being how Cass can get her ability to read body language and learn with the added bonus of her mind continuing to be the way it is. Enter Lady Shiva who gives her this, but at a price aka the crux of what will lead into Batgirl #25.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #20 written by Chuck Dixon (art still by Scott). Where Cass comes to a drop man who's murdered before he can deliver a ransom. Her lack of being able to read leads her to seek out--

-- one Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler. I think at this point the reason Cass went to Steph was that she was afraid Babs would lecture her on neglecting her reading lessons (which she would later on).

Tim Drake, she had just fully befriended (#18), but he was close to Babs. So Cass probably figured he accidentally let slip this and she'd be in trouble. Steph wouldn't she was on the outside from the Bat Family (at this time).

The issue does promise of Cass in attaining another reading teacher (which pays off in the most weirdest place, Convergence: Batgirl #1), but this plot point goes nowhere here. Cass/Steph's friendship would intensify for the next ten issues (#21, 26-28).

For the most part, we don't really get to see fully Cass try and fight her Dyslexia again until the Dylan Horrocks' run with #51 where we learn HOW Cass is expanding her word vocabulary via TV but neglecting on reading.

This bit reads its crux with the infamous #54 (i.e. the one that causes Cass/Babs to fracture away from one another).

In the issue, Cass has to deal with a killer robot that's taking out any place that has a copy of a book that has the codeword to shut it down. We learn during the fight, Cass has been neglecting her studies in reading. Again with the infamous page:

Now Horrocks did this because he was ordered to write Babs off this title (Birds of Prey, the comic Babs was primarily in would be eventually moving away from Gotham). It was the first of that would make the writer leave the comic (and DC Comics altogether).

Regardless again the way the case rattled Cass enough to think about it all and work back into trying to read.

If there was instant positive of writer Andersen Gabrych when he began his run. He made sure this was a reoccurring plot point THROUGHOUT his run starting with #58.

By giving Cass her own diary it enables her better way to try and combat her disability. Along with in the very same issue, Cass trying to actively read a book for the first time on page.

The diary motif would be a hallmark of Gabrych's entire run with the book. So I'm not gonna post every entry. But I think that's why I really loved those first few issues because he covered ALL corners with the character.

You saw it all.

Never once did Gabrych use behind the issues trick. This was a struggle for Cass. I think it better helped resonate the character with readers by doing so. It also went down an angle that was different than Puckett and felt like the better next step from what was built on prior.

Course Cass would still have her bad habits of being an avid TV watcher. So the balance of her trying and struggling was a nice touch.

This came to an ironic fully circle with #67 with Babs returning (for one issue) in the comic and the pair hashing out their differences and mending. But it also reveals a further reason why Babs really wants Cass to learn to read. Again, this is probably the best reason.

She knows Cass wants to be Bruce's heir and be Batman. She knows the only way to fully be that is to get fully conquer her disability. And for the second time in her ongoing we get a look in how Cass's brain was wired from her learning from her father and the metahuman.

And we get the clearest answer how Cass's brain truly operates and why the usual methods in overcoming her disability in reading.

That's the final gift Gabrych gave us.

A hope.

A small faint hope that maybe Cass could learn with whatever writer would take on the character next. The only thing is even he couldn't anticipate what was to come...

Batgirl was canceled with #73 and well the next time we saw Cass and how this disability was handled came in Robin #148.

Alright, before I go into this portion. Newly minted Robin writer (this was his first issue) Adam Beechen came into comics had zero idea of the character of Cassandra Cain, other than what he was told and found.

The DC Editors on Robin did not help him or assist him. They gave him an edict... and he did that edict without question. The result....

Was this INFAMOUS page from Robin #149. Cassandra Cain the character who had the disability of Dyslexia somehow was able to learn another entire language.

That's not even going with the OTHER problem Robin OYL gave us with Cass (but that's an entirely ANOTHER issue). Regardless after the story arc, Beechen (and DC) realized just how badly he screwed up.

Course, the entirety on HOW Cass was suddenly able to learn an entire language with how her brain understood information. Yeah, this was a plot thread nobody truly wanted to answer when the retcons began dropping after Cass's "EVIL" phase to fix it.

In fact, it was Beechen himself who addressed the issue in Batgirl Vol. 2 #1 amongst the CHUNKS of well exposition and history that was the mess DC made of the character from 2006-2007.

So all those issues Babs mentioned in #67? Cass and Alfred fixed them and for the entire MISSING YEAR Cass made great strides to overcome her disability. THAT'S how she was able to understand the Navajo language.

Look I get what Beechen was doing and I also get we were NEVER gonna get the missing stories to showcase that. But to see an entire character's journey in overcoming her disability fixed overnight?

Even with Beechen giving us a classmate in Sal (who's last name we NEVER learn, and is forgettable male love interest #3 for Cass) who gives us the promise of something we never get from the Vol. 1 ongoing. Because DC was gonna DC.

That's basically it for the original run for Cass. That it was a nice harrowing journey that had its bumps but the character was making great strides to be better. Then well the road bumps began to occur and yeah...

I'll give it to Beechen that he tried at the very least to fix the holes he himself caused. But... in the format given it's just crushing how this was fully handled in the end.

Sadly we got nothing more as DC really did a meh job for about five years? We did get this little nugget in Convergence: Batgirl #1 though (somehow connecting that line from waaaaaay back in Batgirl Vol. 1 #20)...

Which is shocking of all places for Cass trying to overcome her disability, Convergence: Batgirl #1 was not the place one ever would think to find that, but we had that surprisingly.

So when Cass was "reintroduced" into the DCU with Batman & Robin Eternal. A reset was in order and writers were allowed back to square one in how to deal with Cass handling her Dyslexia disability.

I will say this for James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder on how they handle putting a metahuman with mental abilities they just slot that character in #11 by introducing the Sculptor who basically fills the same void the meta in Batgirl Vol. 1 #5 did.

Much like the original metahuman, once this link is established Sculptor nopes her way out of the story and is never heard from again.

Which kind of surprises me, because it's something I figured Tynion would maybe address during his Detective Comics run (that had Cass in it) given how much in #11 and 12 establish the character and her origins.

But nope. Nothing further.

So yeah, after this we got James Tynion IV's Detective Comics run that had Cass in it starting from #934-981.

Not surprisingly, Tynion really handled the whole disability issue well than those in the past with the constraints he had. Even more so Juggling multiple characters in this book and going down a better avenue than his predecessors.

And that all begins with #953 with Clayface (Basil Karlo) trying to comfort Cass after learning her mom is Lady Shiva.

By doing this. Tynion lays the seeds on how he'll deal with the issue on Cass combating her disability while also cementing the hallmark of this run, Clayface's rehabilitation and friendship with Cass.

#958 we see Basil teaching Cass Shakespeare by playing audio and having her learn to read and increase her vocabulary via that.

It's probably the best thing Tynion did character-wise with Cass by briefly showing us this but fully giving us a more plausible method than prior on how to deal with her disability.

The fact that this hits throughout this arc (as Cass quotes Shakespeare at a good moment) and is carried over until the very end of his run when Cass meets Barbara in #981.

This version of Cass is actively trying to combat her Dyslexia more than her prior versions, and this Cass is actively doing a better job. Even though we don’t get much Babs teaching Cass (though they do work together in the next arc after this that sets up Batman & the Outsiders). But that run doesn’t dig into Cass’s progress instead going into other routes to touch on with the character.

Unlike what was carried over from Batgirl Vol. 1 to 2 (and between that) Cass has a more concrete subplot here. Where we can SEE and are TOLD of her progress.

That leads us into the current Batgirls ongoing. In #1. where this is a little bit lampshaded. As Cass uses a reading bag to combat criminals to retain stuff she/Steph had that was stolen.

A further bit of subplot is continued throughout and in #4 with Cass now ACTIVELY being a bookworm and reading works of Edgar Allen Poe.

Like it astonishes me that this element of the character has remained actually consistent from point A to B. But it's a nice contrast of things that creators at DC worked on better here than prior.

And no issue highlights that fight of Cass actively wanting to combat her dyslexia then "Sounds" from DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 by Mariko Tamaki and Marcus To.

It's why Tamaki just fully GETS the character of Cass not in every corner of the character. Why many want the writer to handle the character again.

But Tamaki isn't the only one who did a good job in showcasing Cass fighting her disability and the one that does the best job is Shadow of the Batgirl graphic novel. Where writer Sarah Kuhn and artist Nicole Goux go both literally fighting her disability.

And her actively learning to read and increasing her vocabulary by hiding in the library was absolute perfection.

But it also is a nice avenue (and nod to the past) by focusing on a library since that's the location where Barbara Gordon teaches (and again a nice nod to that character's history too).

Quite literally...

That's another layer to why I adore that graphic novel. Just the layer of dimension to BOTH characters while it gives that nod to Babs, the story is clearly more Cass.

Again, Kuhn modernizes everything to perfection.

So there you have the history of Cass and her disability. And my final gift on this day (which has now passed) to celebrate the character of Cassandra Cain.

#cassandra cain #dc comics #barbara gordon #clayface #tim drake #stephanie brown

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royal-wren · 4 months ago

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hi!! would you be open to sharing some of your experiences with worshipping the kharites? how have they impacted your life? i'm interested but there's so little information surrounding them. thank you so much :D

Ah hell yeah! I'll jump on any chance to talk about them!

I love the elder Kharites so much, sure I honor ALL of them but the first three are the ones directly in my life, and the third to have a statue on my altar. My main go-to with them is every art that has to do with writing, those that really eat up poetry and storytelling in all forms. They're givers of joy, grace, beauty, and eloquence, and the ones I lean on most for my own writing more than anyone else in company with two that they're in the retinue (staunch companions) of Hermes and Aphrodite. I feel like I might be the odd one out on my tendency to lean on them with H and A over the Mousai and Apollon, but it's just what feels most right for me. I can't dream of it being the latter when in my mind the five in question embody what grips and makes writing special while also being patrons of the arts.

To put it into perspective and why I went from honoring, to actively worshipping and now being their devotee and crediting them with every piece I make:

Bacchylides, Fragment 10 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) : "Truly the skilled man [poet or artisan] prospers in golden hope, whether he has won honour from the Kharites (Charites, Graces)."

Pindar, Nemean Ode 4. 6 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) : "If that man with the Kharites' (Charites', Graces') favour haply bring forth the heart's deep mood to live upon the tongue."

Pindar, Olympian Ode 14. 1 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) : "Whose haunts are by Kephissos' (Cephisus') river, you queens beloved of poets' song, ruling Orkhomenos (Orchomenus), that sunlit city and land of lovely steeds, watch and ward of the ancient Minyan race, hear now my prayer, you Kharites (Charites, Graces) three. For in your gift are all our mortal joys, and every sweet thing, be it wisdom, beauty, or glory, that makes rich the soul of man. Nor even can the immortal gods order at their behest the dance and festals, lacking the Kharites' aid"

From their theoi page: "The character and nature of the Charites are sufficiently expressed by the names they bear: they were conceived as the goddesses who gave festive joy and enhanced the enjoyments of life by refinement and gentleness. Gracefulness and beauty in social intercourse are therefore attributed to them. (Horat. Carm. iii. 21, 22; Pind. Ol. xiv. 7, &c.) They are mostly described as being in the service or attendance of other divinities, as real joy exists only in circles where the individual gives up his own self and makes it his main object to afford pleasure to others. The less beauty is ambitious to rule, the greater is its victory; and the less homage it demands, the more freely is it paid. These seen to be the ideas embodied in the Charites. They lend their grace and beauty to everything that delights and elevates gods and men. This notion was probably the cause of Charis being called the wife of Hephaestus, the divine artist. The most perfect works of art are thus called the works of the Charites, and the greatest artists are their favourites. The gentleness and gracefulness which they impart to man's ordinary pleasures are expressed by their moderating the exciting influence of wine (Hor. Carm. iii. 19. 15; Pind. Ol. xiii. 18), and by their accompanying Aphrodite and Eros. (Hom. Od. viii. 364, xviii. 194; Paus. vi. 24. § 5.) They also assist Hermes and Peitho to give grace to eloquence and persuasion (Hesiod. Op. 63), and wisdom itself receives its charms from them. Poetry, however, is the art which is especially favoured by them, whence they are called erasimolpoi or philêsimolpoi. For the same reason they are the friends of the Muses, with whom they live together in Olympus. (Hes. Theog. 64; Eurip. Herc. fur. 673; Theocrit. xvi. in fin.) Poets are inspired by the Muses, but the application of their songs to the embellishment of life and the festivals of the gods are the work of the Charites."

It certainly doesn't help that so many of the gods I focus on and are most important to my personal worship directly have them in their retinue or are their companions in the sense like the Mousai and the Horai where it's more an equal footing kind of thing versus what it's like with Hermes, Aphrodite, Apollon, Athene, Artemis, Dionysos, Hera, Hekate, and while it isn't noted anywhere, I can't see it in any other way than Hestia's inclusion as one of the trio leaders of festivities with Hermes and Dionysos and the Kharites embodying mirth, cheer/excitement, and festivities.

The best way to devote yourself to them and my go-to when I'm down and don't have the energy or focus and willpower to do much more is to do something for myself that will bring joy, comfort, and elation in their name. Hedonism and doing your hobbies go a long way with them.

Further reading:

The Graces in Ancient Greek Mythology

The Graces by Louis de Jaucourt

The three Graces, or the allegory of the gift published by Denis Vidal (also here if the other link dies)

Pausanias tries to visualize the three ‘Graces’ of Orkhomenos in Boeotia by Gregory Nagy

The Three Graces: Cosmic Harmony in Scève's Délie by Joan A. Buhlmann

The Three Graces: Composition and Meaning in a Roman Context by Jane Francis

#asks #dorian's polytheism diary #hellenic polytheism #hellenic paganism #hellenic gods #hellenic deities #hellenic worship #the graces #kharites #the kharites #the charites #when I'm feeling it I plan on making an epithets list for them #love them #they are genuinely fantastic

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ansbobcar · 10 months ago

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“I’ll be frank.” “Either you have me act as your girlfriend or you’re gonna meet that teenager in a week and pray that she cheats on you down the line so the engagement gets cancelled.”

SYNOPSIS. Orter Madl's month has been nothing but blind dates inhibiting his work at the Magical Power Administration. All set up by his parents. He's suggested into a relationship of convenience by the woman who occupied his position previously, Rinka Ontarin, in order to solve his problem. Reluctantly accepting the proposal, they must now convince the whole kingdom of their romance whilst fulfilling their duties as Divine Visionaries. More questions arise than answers though as the strings are slowly unraveled.

NOTES. Inspired by business proposal the kdrama, title taken from dreamcatcher's starlight, lots of world-building headcanons, we're following the plot of mashle but it's more obvious later on, also in the same universe as my LOSER=LOVER fic with my other mashle oc, no love triangle, nvm i added a love 'triangle' but that's if you really squint your eyes, NVM IT'S GONNA BECOME CANON ADJACENT???

WARNINGS. Cringe rom-com (let's have fun shall we?), they're kinda ooc sometimes, possible descriptions of death and blood, off screen character deaths with lots of plot importance :>, slow burn in terms of plot and romance, planned bittersweet/sad ending, OH and random swearing?, I'm still writing it so please don't ask me about an update schedule.

_ _ _

EPISODES.

VOL 1 COMPLETED!

EP 1. Drink your problems away!

EP 2. Hangover and find out

EP 3. Day One

EP 4. A small problem

EP 5. The words of a "pacifist"

EP 6. Bloody Dress

EP 7. Resonance

EP 8. Business as Usual

EP 9. Run along

EP 10. Fleeting moments

EP 11. What a lovely night

EP 12. A Mother's Wish

EP 13. Was it really "love at first sight"?

EP 14. Can't it just be a fight?

EP 15. Remember your brother

EP 16. A letter of concern

EP 17. The letter from Miley

EP 18. The Researcher, the Rulemaker, and the Tamer

EP 19. A trip and a chat away

EP 20. The Madl Estate

EP 21. From hell with pettiness

EP 22. Evermore like snow

EP 23. What is there to smile for?

EP 24. We're already...

_ _ _

VOL 2 will be published after I finish my other mashle fic's VOL 1 (they're both set in the same universe, that's why and are kinda interconnected yet separate. It's so I don't mess up the timeline really bad.)

Let's have fun! and pray I don't ghost this fic. I wanna change the fic title so hard but I dunno what to name it. So currently it stays because I want to share.

UPDATE I'm rewriting it slowly on AO3 as ALL OR NOTHING instead

#orter madl #orter madl x oc #mashle x oc #mashle fanfic idea #mashle fanfic #mashle oc

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otomehonyaku · 2 months ago

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ŌKAMI SHŌJO TO KURO ŌJI Vol. 6 Limited Edition Drama CD ☽ Track 5・Super Sadistic One-Liners I'd Like Sata-kun to Say to Me!

Original title: 佐田くんに言ってほしいドSセリフ集 Voiced by Sakurai Takahiro (Sata Kyouya) English translation by @otomehonyaku Click here for the audio (provided by myself, do not repost this audio anywhere)

And now for something completely different—yet still something I know my fellow Ruki enjoyers will be able to appreciate (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) Some of you may know that Sakurai voiced another pretty sadistic character back in the day: Sata Kyouya from Ōkami Shōjo to Kuro Ōji (Wolf Girl and Black Prince). Alongside the anime, two special, full-length drama CDs were released in a limited edition bundle with the sixth and tenth volumes of the original manga.

This track is a compilation of sadistic one-liners fans sent in to have Sakurai read aloud. I'll translate the rest of the drama CD at a later date, but I thought it would be fun to post a little teaser hehe (>/////< " )

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

00:00 Welcome to the ‘Super Sadistic One-Liners I'd Like Sata-kun to Say to Me!’ corner! (honk honk)

♫

Kyouya: So you want me to kiss you? Heh. The only possible answers are yes or yes (1), right?

♫

Kyouya: You’re such an idiot for forgetting your gloves on cold days like this. C’mon, give me your hand. Give me your hand. Holding hands will warm them up a little, at least.

♫

Kyouya: Typical for guys like me to fall in love with you, right?

♫

Kyouya: Don’t cry. I’m the only one who gets to make you cry.

♫

Kyouya: I’m the only one you have, right?

♫

Kyouya: Live only to serve me.

♫

Kyouya: There’s no way men can be around someone like you. You think I’m gonna talk to you?

♫

Kyouya: You’re such an idiot!

♫

Kyouya: Don’t you dare leave my side. Huh? Don’t misunderstand. This is an order.

♫

Kyouya: If anything, I do like your eyes. You have a good eye for looking at me all the time, after all.

♫

Kyouya: You really are the type of woman who can’t do anything if I’m not around.

♫

Kyouya: You’re being cheeky. I know a good way to shut you up (2).

♫

Kyouya: Don’t wag your tail for any other men but me.

♫

Kyouya: Why don’t you try and make me say ‘I love you’? Just once.

♫

Kyouya: Did you really think I’d let you get away?

♫

Kyouya: You’re better off staying by my side.

♫

Kyouya: I’ll decide when I fall in love with you.

♫

Kyouya: What? You don’t even know what to do when I tell you ‘stay’ (3)?

♫

Kyouya: Right now, your only job is to be my pillow (4). Just shut up and stay still.

♫

Kyouya: If you keep crying out like that, I'll tie you up real tight.

♫

Kyouya: That’s how you tell me you love me? Try again and come at me like you want to pry a confession out of me. That’s the bare minimum. You won’t get your little hands on me unless you do.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He says イエスかはい (‘yes or hai’) where hai is obviously also ‘yes’ but in Japanese. ‘Yes or yes’ works for me too hehe.

Implying that he’s going to kiss you.

Referring to telling a dog to ‘stay,’ as the whole gag in this series is that the female protagonist Erika is likened to a wolf/pet dog.

Implying that his head is in your lap.

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jenyifer · 2 months ago

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August September LGBTQIA book list.

Now quick disclaimer: I moved during this time. Very stressful. So maybe that’s why I have so many dropped and disliked books. I’m going to give these quick reviews in a specific order of would recommend to mehhh only if you are that type of person. I don’t give spoilers this is just a taste. I am lesbian who is 30 so that also colors my perception of these stories. Only going to include pics of the top 5 to drag you in for easy screenshotting.

Okay Let’s go.

1. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Tj Klune 🏳️‍🌈👨🏼‍🍼👬🔥🏡⛓️‍💥 okay once again when I take over the world House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea will be required reading I didn’t think the follow up book to one of the best books in the modern age about feel good found family foster family could get any better. But I was proven wrong. The sequel gives you all you need. You can tell the author felt the pain of our world as he wrote this but the children and characters give those stories life. I cried I laughed. There is nothing quite like it.

2. The Spirit Bares It’s Teeth by Andrew Joseph White 🏳️‍⚧️💕😱🩸👁️🐰 You know what I am putting this one as 2 because despite it making me have countless panic attacks because I’m not fond of… gore? Horror? I adored this book still thinking about it. The romance is 10/10 T4T. I adored the mystery and intrigue. The main character is autistic and very anxiety ridden I can’t describe to you how this book will change you. Although approach with caution.

3. The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish Vol2. 🏳️‍🌈🐟🤴🏻🤣 mild 🌶️ on a completely different note the “IS THAT MAN IN LOVE WITH A FISH” is a treat that always surprises me with the amount I love it. Maybe I am trash crazy but I find this funny easy to read and in this second book we got even more time with the fish and his prince actually in human shape. The miscommunication trope is strong with this one but so is consent and romance. Idk I just fucking love it. I want the prince to become emperor with his fishy lover haha.

4. The Name Bearer by Natalia Hernandez 💃💐🏳️‍🌈👩‍❤️‍👩💜💜 Okay quick disclaimer here the book is an classic style fantasy journey it is slow. However I really loved how beautifully thought out the universe was it’s a latinx woman forward book. The romance is not the point but it feels very natural which I appreciate. Main character might even be ace spec. There are great side characters. I really love the apprentice wizard but WARRIOR NUNS!!! Hehehe also things seem to be not what they seem which is always cool. I’d definitely suggest this to any fantasy lover.

5. Grandmaster of Demon Cultivation the comic vol 1-3 🏳️‍🌈👬🪄🪦💀🫏necromancer evil wizard is reincarnated into his nephew’s body years after his death. Or is he evil? Or is he 🏳️‍🌈? Hahah yes he is. Anyways in the present he’s finding the consequences of his actions while his…. Love interest is going to make sure nothing happens to this version of him. You slowly get the past. I find the comic is the easiest way to consume this fantasy story. Yes there is anime, book, and a Netflix series and a new Japanese manga is being released but I like this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️

6. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 💜🪦🚪 about a school for those who come back from other universes and long to go back. Main Character is probably ace spec. Very interesting fantasy book for someone who consumed a lot of fantasy as a child. Thought it was also very thoughtful book. I had fun it’s not super surprising or new ground but I enjoyed it for a quick read.

7. Spell Bound by FT Lukens 🏳️‍🌈🐈‍⬛🧙‍♀️🧑‍💻 well it’s YA. Out of the other FT Lukens books I semi enjoyed this one. The characters are still dumb as rocks and the setting could use some more fleshing. But it’s okay. For a fun quick read that semi reminds you of urban fantasy? It’s good. The side ship found family was a little forced but I enjoyed the side characters.

8. Psalm for the wild built 💜🍵🤖🏕️ it’s a chill cozy book for people who are over worked. I’d say if you want scifi it’s not. It’s closer to fantasy. Very short and preachy.

9. Casefile Compendium vol2 by Meatbun 🏳️‍🌈🩸🌶️🚩🔍🐉🥼 Danmei Murder mystery modern times age gap. Does have 2 chapters of non consent and absolutely off the wall opinions about the medical industry.

10. Otherworldly by FT Lukens 🧚‍♂️🏳️‍🌈🥶❄️ YA familiar escapes fairy world finds a skeptical person decides they’ll def fall in love and make a deal. I listened to 50% the characters are intensely idiotic and just…. So so so blind. I couldn’t do it. The skeptic is a person who moved to the city for their family but they do stuff for their family without really caring for them I’m just not buying it. The familiar is infact a psychopath or so low iq he doesn’t care to live or feel or observe anything in 5 years. So so so stupid. Omg.

I had several DNF

I made my parents listen to Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell in my mission to make my parents less homophobic. My mom enjoyed it. My dad said it was way too gay. 😩 man I wish it was way too gay.

What am I reading next? Hummm idk yet. Suggestions are always appreciated!!!

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evaglass · 9 months ago

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Speculation about Mizu's parents pt. 2

Please read pt. 1 in order for this to make more sense

Now going into one Blue Eye Samurai's biggest influences, Kill Bill

Kill Bill is a story split into two films due to length, Volume 1 in 2003 and Volume 2 in 2004. The story, for anyone who has never seen the films, is about main character Breatrix Kiddo waking up for a coma and going after revenge against her former coworkers and boss/lover, Bill.

To give some backstory, Beatrix was a trained assassin in a team known as the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, along with four other individuals, and they all worked for Bill.

One day, when Beatrix is on a mission, she finds out that Bill got her pregnant. After finding out she's pregnant, she abandons her mission, fakes her death, changes her name, runs away, and starts a new life so her baby could be raised in safety.

Bill, being heartbroken about Beatrix's supposed death, tries to track down the people responsible for her death, only to find out she has a new life, and she's pregnant.

Bill, being enraged, decides to instruct his team to kill Beatrix and the new people close to her, him not knowing the baby is his.

Notice how there's four of them

Beatrix's former coworkers go in and really mess her up before Bill shoots Beatrix in the head. However, the bullet doesn't kill her, just puts her in a four year coma.

When Beatrix wakes up, she notices that her stomach is flat, indicating that her baby daughter is gone. She goes into grief immediately, then rage as the first thing she does is set off for revenge against her four former coworkers and Bill.

So an interesting writing choice about the Kill Bill, the audience doesn't know Beatrix is her name until Vol. 2. Whenever Beatrix is mentioned by her name, it's bleeped out in the Vol. 1. There are two other alias Beatrix is referred to before her name is revealed, which is either her old codename Black Mamba or the Bride because she was attacked during her wedding rehearsal.

Both the Bride (Beatrix) from Kill Bill and the Bride from episode 5 tried to run away from their old lifestyles

Both cared very much cared for their daughters

Both were hurt by a spiteful lover

Both saw their daughter ripped away from them

And both later wake up and seek revenge

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6

#blue eye samurai #bes #mizu #blue eye samurai theory

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bi-bard · 8 months ago

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Original Characters Masterlist [Vol.2]

Hello!

This masterlist feels both sudden yet incredibly expected. Over the years, I have created original characters (OCs) for a variety of fandoms. I adore them all, but many of them were not made with the intention of being more than a one-off story. That led to some stories that I am simply not as proud of as I would like to be. Also, they were written when I was a coward and was terrified of changing known canon. Now that I am much more comfortable doing that, I want to make something that I can feel much prouder of.

This will serve as a new beginning for many of my OCs and as the new official masterlist for all of the stories in those current timelines.

I have remade an OC before. I am not remaking all of them. This is merely a way for me to keep moving forward and not get stuck in one spot.

The remade OCs are the Hannibal OC, the Criminal Minds OC, and the Supernatural OC.

The other OCs will be left as they are, though I have done a lot of work behind the scenes in order to get those characters to flow much better than they did before.

I hope you all enjoy these stories!

If you want to read the original stories for the remade OCs, click here.

If you want to go to the main navigation guide, click here.

Special Note: Some stories feature other original characters outside of the reader. I utilize face claims for such characters as to have physical descriptions to separate them throughout the stories. No such face claims are used for the reader (main oc).

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Criminal Minds OC - Spencer Reid X Gideon!Reader

When Jason decided to take in a newly orphaned child after a particularly rough case, people had many thoughts. Some called it kind, some impulsive, some even called it fate. More begin using that last term when (Y/n) and Jason begin working alongside each other.

Pre-Show:

Season 1:

Season 2:

Season 3:

Season 4:

Season 5:

Season 6:

Season 7:

Season 8:

Season 9:

Season 10:

Season 11:

Season 12:

Season 13:

Season 14:

Season 15:

Season 16 [Reboot]:

Post-Show:

Criminal Minds/Supernatural Crossover OC - Emily Prentiss X Winchester!Reader

Changing your name and running away doesn't always free you from your past. (Y/n)'s past rears its head just as they're making a name for themself. (Y/n), their brothers, and their team learn a very important lesson: "monster" can be both literal and figurative.

Pre-Show:

Season 1:

Reunion [ep. 1 - Supernatural]

The Moment Spencer Reid Became My Best Friend

Scrapbooks

Season 2:

Tragedy in a Pair [ep. 1 - both]

Revelations [ep. 14 & 15 - Criminal Minds]

Season 3:

Season 4:

Season 5:

If the World Was Ending... [ep. 22 - Supernatural]

Season 6:

Season 7:

Just Between Us, Did the Love Affair Maim You Too? [ep. 2 - Criminal Minds]

Rebuilding [ep. 23 & 24 - Criminal Minds]

Season 8:

Season 9:

I Didn't Mean To

Season 10:

The Retreat [ep. 8 - Supernatural]

Season 11:

Season 12:

Season 13:

For Those Who Don't Know Who I Am [ep. 15 - Criminal Minds]

Season 14:

Season 15:

Season 16 [Criminal Minds Only]:

Post-Show:

Doctor Who OC - The Doctor X Timelord!Reader

(Y/n) spent most of their early life as nothing more than a weapon. Continuously called the Savior by the Time Lords training them, (Y/n) knew all too well about the weight sitting on their shoulders. However, when Time War comes and (Y/n) fails their very purpose, they have two choices: hide away from the universe forever or travel the universe and help as many people as possible.

Other Important Original Characters

Pre-Show:

The Savior Fails

Series 1:

Plastic Promises [ep. 1]

Familiar Foes [ep. 6]

Special: Reckless [2005 Christmas Special]

Series 2:

Series 3:

A Normal Life [ep. 8 & 9]

Series 4:

Series 5:

Series 6:

Series 7:

Clever Boy [ep. 1]

Series 8:

Series 9:

Series 10:

Series 11:

Series 12:

Series 13:

60th Anniversary Specials:

Season 1:

Post-Show:

Hannibal OC - Hannibal Lecter X Reader [Sunshine Character Trope]

(Y/n) had been sheltered for quite some time. When they finally get a chance to see the world around them, they did not know how vulnerable they truly were. If they had, maybe they would have turned away from the first man to show them affection.

Pre-Show:

Season 1:

Season 2:

Season 3:

Post-Show:

House MD OC - James Wilson X House's Sibling!Reader

If you were to ask anyone at Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital how the House siblings ended up working at the same place, then there would rarely be a straight answer. It went without question that it wasn't because Greg had put a good word in. And in the end, maybe it didn't matter how they both got there. All that mattered was that they both stayed there... and didn't end up killing each other.

Pre-Show:

Season 1:

Season 2:

Season 3:

Season 4:

Misdiagnosis [ep. 9]

Season 5:

Season 6:

Season 7:

Season 8:

Post-Show:

The Last of Us OC - Joel Miller X Reader

(Y/n) and Joel had never meant to cross paths. However, when (Y/n) and Tess meet, Tess's protective side rears its head and forces the two together. Ellie's presence pushes Joel and (Y/n) together in a very different way.

Pre-Show:

Season 1:

Changes [Episode 4 & 6]

Those Three Months [Between Episodes 5 & 6]

Something Good [Between Episode 6 & 7]

God’s Plan [Episode 8]

Post-Show:

Shadow & Bone OC - Kaz Brekker X Sun Summoner!Reader

Ketterdam had been the closest thing to home that (Y/n) had known. With that home came the Crows, the closest thing that (Y/n) had ever known to a family. When their secret is exposed in order to protect their family, it's all stolen from them. Now, (Y/n) needs to find a way to tear down the Fold and get home to the people they care about.

Pre-Show:

The Easiest Way to Steal a Man’s Wallet is to Tell Him You’re Going to Steal His Watch

No Saint Ever Watched Over Me

Season 1:

They Tell Each Other Who to Look After and Who to Watch Out For

When They Took Everything from You, You Found a Way to Make Something from Nothing

You're the First Glimmer of Hope I've Had in a Long Time

Season 2:

Stay till the End... And After, And Always

Post-Show:

Supernatural OC - Winchester Brothers & Adopted!Cambion!Reader

The Winchester brothers find themselves caring for a being far more powerful than they had ever known. In a story of about the constant battle between good and evil, the question of nature versus nurture is taken on in the most extreme of examples.

Other Important Original Characters

Pre-Show/Story:

Season 4:

Season 5:

Season 6:

Season 7:

Season 8:

Season 9:

Season 10:

Season 11:

Season 12:

Season 13:

Season 14:

Season 15:

Post-Show:

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hooked-on-elvis · 10 months ago

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"HARBOR LIGHTS": The first song ever taped by Elvis Presley (officially)

PICTURES: [1-2] Elvis Presley, December 27, 1954. Photo by Lou Lowery.

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Elvis had paid for two private sessions at the Sun Studio, when he would cut two acetates with the songs "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartache Begins" — the actual date is not certain but it happened sometime in 1953 — and again Presley would go back to Sun Studio on January 4, 1954, to record "I’ll Never Stand In Your Way" and "It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You," all ballads.

"In fact, he sang very little but ballads, and to the untrained ear, we now know, he sounded like plenty of other local C&W singers. To Marion [Keisker], though, there was something there — a stronger yearning? A deeper passion? A greater determination? Whatever it was, she wanted to keep an eye on it; after the kid had made his acetate she made herself a note: “Good ballad singer. Hold." — Ernst Jorgensen on "Elvis Presley: A Life In Music"

A while after the private recordings, on June 26, 1954, Elvis was officially invited to a recording session at Sun Studio. A phone call was made by Marion Keisker (Sun Studio's secretary), and soon after that Elvis walked back in the studio and he started the official recordings singing in the same familiar way, not venturing in something out of extraordinary. Nothing came out that was really interesting to tape, but still certain there might be something good ahead, a while after that Elvis came back to Sun Studio once more and that's when the ballad called "Harbor Lights" was covered by him.

The song was originally recorded by Roy Fox & his Orchestra with vocal by Barry Gray, in London, on January 29, 1937. You can listen to the original record of the tune below.

youtube

Elvis recorded "Harbor Lights" on July 5, 1954, during his first commercial recording session.

According to Ernst Jorgensen, it may have been the first song Elvis recorded. The first song put on tape. The order for the official recordings during that session at Sun Studio would have been, "Harbor Lights" and "I Love You Because", nothing that really caused a big impression on Sam Phillips, but then during a pause from the recordings, Elvis, Scotty Moore and Bill Black were just joking around, having fun playing Arthur's Cudrup tune their own way, without even realizing they were doing something that finally got Sam Phillips really excited about. That's when "That's All Right" came to be and then, during the same session, there was "Blue Moon of Kentucky", both songs, as soon as released, instant hits by this new Memphis guy with a funny/weird/unique name.

Opposite to the hits "That's All Right", "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and even the ballad "I Love You Because", Sam Phillips considered the recording of "Harbor Lights" unworthy of release, according to Jorgensen once more, because "they couldn’t get the Hawaiian-inspired pop song right" (Look at Hawaii being there for Elvis since the very beginning of his career... in a certain way. Interesting). In 1976, tho, RCA released the master of "Harbor Lights" on the LP "Elvis – A Legendary Performer, Volume 2", for the first time.

I don't know about you but this is surely one of my all-time-favorites Elvis song. ♥ Thank God it came to the light of day.

MASTER (TAKE 3):

youtube

Music by Hugh Williams (the pseudonym of Austrian composer Will Grosz) and lyrics by Northern Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy. Elvis recorded the songs during studio sessions for Sun Records between July 5–6, 1954, in Memphis, Tennessee.

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SOME OTHER TAKES:

TAKES 1-2 and 3/MASTER

youtube

TAKE 4:

youtube

TAKES 5-8:

youtube

LPS/CDS WHERE THE TUNE CAN BE FOUND:

Elvis - A Legendary Performer, Vol. 2 (1976); Greatest Moments in Music (1979); The King of Rock’n’Roll – The Complete 50’s Masters (1992); A Golden Celebration (1998); Sunrise (1999); Today Tomorrow and Forever (2002); Elvis at Sun (2004); A Boy From Tupelo (2012) - FTD; For LP Fans Only (2018) - FTD.

PICTURE: Elvis and The Blue Moon Boys (Bill Black and Scotty Moore), in 1954.

Sources: "Elvis Presley: A Life In Music" by Ernst Jorgensen and Peter Guralnick; Wikipedia; www.elvis100percent.com.

#elvis #elvis music #elvis presley #elvis history #marion keisker #sam phillips #sun records #elvis the king #elvis fans #elvis fandom #50s elvis #Youtube

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xxskycrystalxx · 2 years ago

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Thoughts [heavy spoilers below]

not in any particular order, just my thoughts mushed in one post ;)

1. Gotg Vol. 3 was an emotional rollercoaster. I cried and laughed a lot. I did more crying though ;)

2. The guardians are my comfort family. It’s sad to think that we’ll never see them again like this anymore but at the same time, nothing is impossible. I’m also quite interested in seeing the “new” guardian team in action as well.

3. It really seems like Marvel really hates me and my ships in the MCU. First pepperony, palmerstrange, then fosterson, and now starmora? Ok. Ok. I see how it is. I love how they feed us with the romances + the crumbs, and then end them like it was nothing 🫠

4. I don’t know what to think about Adam Warlock. I thought they’d do more with his character but he ended up being a sort of comic relief and that was all. Although perhaps being in the new guardians team and showing up in other movies/shows could change that.

5. Rocket’s backstory was heartwrenching and really had me bawling almost the entire movie. The guardians doing everything they can to save him, like this is the found family I love so much. Not to mention how Peter was crying over Rocket when he was dying like why the additional emotional damage? PAY FOR MY THERAPY MARVEL

- Rocket & Lylla were so damn adorable and I literally gasped out loud when THAT* happened. Rocket, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor were just 😩💕 They all deserved sm better.

6. The many times Peter mentioned that Rocket was his best friend was just so sweet and made me “aww” a lot while clutching my heart and breaking down. Then there’s Drax: “second best friend.” HAHAHAHA 😂😂😂

7. NATHAN FILLIONNNNNNNNNNN (cue my Castle binge a few months ago and having a total nathan fillion/castle phase)

8. Gamora & Nebula’s way of communicating with grunts has me rolling on the floor but also it’s soooooo like them too.

9. The High Evolutionary. Tbf, idk how to really feel about him as the antagonist/villain in the movie. I despised what he did to Rocket and everyone else but other than that I didn’t really care about him. When Rocket took off his mask though and we see what he looked like underneath it? Ick. The one right thing he did was wearing it LMAO

10. THE AMONG US SPACESUITS HAHA

11. Kraglin finally coming in clutch with Yondu’s arrow. I miss Yondu ;;-;; and Krgalin with Cosmo. Cosmo is a good dog <3

12. “You were everything to me.” “I bet we were fun // Like you wouldn’t believe it.” Catch me sobbing till the end of time. My clown a** really thought I’d get my endgame, as if I never learned from my other ships 🤡 Granted, I think they left their relationship on the more open side by the end of the movie, a possibility that could happen in the future, so I won’t be give up. Ever. Because 2014 Gamora, by the end, can acknowledge and perhaps see why Peter and 2018 Gamora were in love. She even said “we,” and I think that’s enough hope for me as is. Including how they were standing back-to-back, the way it was filmed. In general, Chris & Zoe have rlly good chemistry (petition to have them be in a rom-com together). And although I was a bit disappointed with the way things were left out and what wasn’t done, I can see why it’s like that. Doesn’t make it feel much better though. 😭 One day, I’ll write up all the reasons why I love Starmora and how I never recovered and will never forgive them for what happened to Gamora in Infinity War. Other than that... live laugh love Starmora, my precious star-crossed lovers who deserved better. 😃❤️

“what were you programming?” “self destruction code” and then proceeds to stare at each other while smiling. I. AM. NOT. OK.

13. I LIVED for the Nebula + Drax + Mantis dynamic in the movie. We love you Drax, even if you’re invisible sometimes + love the way Mantis was arguing with Nebula and being like “I love Drax even though he’s stupid” LOL 😂 and Nebula saying that Drax is not the destroyer but meant to be a father. I shed tears. Also, Nebula crying when she knew Rocket was ok 🥲

14. Peter yeeting that guy out of the ship was hilarious af but such peak Quill behavior, and the way he and Groot tag-teamed was just 😘🤌

15. The only thing that I disliked about the movie was not the movie itself but the soundtrack. Nothing beats the first movie’s soundtrack. The second had a few that I liked but with the third movie.... there really weren’t any until they brought back ‘Come and Get Your Love’ at the end. Iconic really, how the movies started with it and ended with it.

16. “I love you guys.” When I tell ya’ll I lost it when Groot said that.

17. “The legendary Star-Lord will return.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???? ARE WE GETTING A SOLO STAR-LORD SERIES OR MOVIE???? It would be amazing if he did, he’s literally my second favorite character in the MCU. I literally broke down seeing him floating in space like that, bout to end it all if they killed him off but thankfully they didn’t 😊 Give mah boi some more love ❤️

also

GIMME ANOTHER GUARDIANS MOVIE BECAUSE I NEED MY FOUND FAMILY BACK ASAP

18. I miss them all sm and I just literally finished the movie a few hours ago. Someone send help.

19. Thank you Marvel, for the 100th time, for not killing any of the guardians off. I haven’t been this grateful to Marvel since like ever. When promotions for the movie were coming, there were so many “dropped” hints of one or two of the guardians dying in the movie, like the red flags were everywhere. But no, they did the opposite and I’m forever thankful <333

Overall, it was an A M A Z I N G movie. GOTG movies never disappoint me, they’re my second favorite movie trilogy in the MCU for a reason (besides the Iron Man movies ofc). I think the movie was able to do a send-off of all the characters very well by the end, with essentially all their storylines wrapped up in a quite wholesome and hopeful ending. Despite them not being in a team in official capacity anymore, it doesn’t mean it can’t happen sometime in the future. Never lose hope. The whole cast and James Gunn were amazing and really made the movies and characters what they are. I have plenty more to say, but for now this is it.

"You Said It Yourself, B****. We're The Guardians Of The Galaxy."

#guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #gotg 3 #gotg vol 3 spoilers #gotg vol 3 #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 spoilers #guardians of the galaxy #marvel #mcu #star lord #gamora #starmora #nebula #mantis #rocket #groot #drax #this turned out longer than i thought but oh well #i will now proceed to rewatch the other two gotg movies :)))#because i have not recovered from the third

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mirai-e-jump · 11 months ago

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Hero Vision Vol.1 (2000/Winter) Changerion Reunion Interviews ft. Takashi Hagino & Aizawa Kazunari (translations below)

Publication: December 31, 2000

Takashi Hagino & Aizawa Kazunari: After 4 years, a date in Harajuku

Hey you two, how are you doing these days? It's been 4 years since the end of the broadcast. You two had a fateful encounter in "Choukou Senshi Changerion," an unusual heroic show that still remains popular to this day. We asked Takashi Hagino and Kazunari Aizawa, who say they still get along well with each other, about their memories of those days, and what their future plans are.

Main Interview Section

"I'm going to say it now. I mean it, I'm really going to say it right now! Changerion was really entertaining! It was truly a masterpiece! Suzumura Akira, a happy go lucky, good natured, 182cm tall, cat eyed, beautiful private investigator, and his partner, Hayami Katsuhiko, a 183cm tall, hot blooded and direct individual with a handsome face, are both on the side of justice. Kuroiwa Shogo, the Dark Knight, is an elite who's handsome, also quite tall I guess, and is running for governor of Tokyo in order to seize control of the city. A slapstick comedy and super cool tokusatsu hero show, with a mixture of fiction and reality, something like this most definitely existed in 1996 Tokyo. On the day of this interview, I was so excited to hear their voices saying, "Good morning~!" The appearance of those two standing there looked really really cool! And so begins the converstions full of laughter between Takashi Hagino, who plays the main character Suzumura Akira, and Aizawa Kazunari, who plays his partner Hayami Katsuhiko."

-Casting!! Secret Stories?-

Hagino: At that time, the role was the same as it always was, wasn't it? I went to a party at some production company, and someone was like, "Ah, you there," and told to come in for an audition. When I went to it, Shirakura-san, the producer, and Nagaishi-san, the main director, were smiling ear to ear once they saw me. I remember thinking, "What, why are you smiling like that?" I was 22 at the time of my debut, so it was about 5-6 years after I dropped out of high school. Before that, the movies that came out around that time made me think that acting was really interesting.

"You've also appeared in a V-Cinema that contains slightly adult content."

Hagino: It's bad. Please don't watch it (laughs). Watch something else where I look cool.

Kazunari: For me, I had just started acting, and my manager took me to Toei's head office to introduce myself. I announced that I was new and would be in their care, and then a strange old man came up to me and said, "Are you the one?" (everyone laughs).

Hagino: Wait! Was he trying to flirt with you?!

Kazunari: Uh, no, you see, my shoelaces became untied in the hallway, so I had to sit on the floor to retie them. He came up to me and said, "What's wrong?" I said, "Ah, no, I'm an actor," and he said, "Come with me then!" Things got carried away, and before I knew it, I went in for an audition.

Hagino: So, who was that guy?

Kazunari: He was……a really good guy to say the least, I actually don't remember his name.

Hagino: You're terrible! (laughs).

Kazunari: No, no. Look, it's because, it's just…anyway, so, at first, I was reading the script without knowing which one of us would play the role. Then, when it was down to just a few people, they asked me, "Which role do you want to play?" I was like, "Well, Hayami, I guess." I wondered if this was it, and then I passed, I passed……huh.

Hagino: Can we get some more joy here?

Kazunari: Well, it's because I really didn't understand. I didn't really feel it when I was suddenly told that I got the job. What's more, I still had no idea how hard it was going to be. No, rather, you really don't know what's going to happen in this world.

"Thank goodness for untied shoelaces and nice people"

-I'm not awkward!-

Hagino: I was asked to read my lines in front of everyone. Naturally, the producer told me that in the future, he would never have me read my lines at the audition for a leading role ever again (everyone laughs). No, I thought it went really well, and while I was a favorite to play this role, somehow I was also the worst. One of the more important people there looked as if he was going "?" all while tilting his head. He looked really nervous. He said, "From now on, when we present leading role auditions to the higherups, we won't make them read lines." He also said, "If you go with this guy, then shut him up and pick him already."

"It's true, Akira's acting wasn't very good, and I felt so embarrassed watching that I wasn't even able to finish the first episode. But, I could never think of anyone else playing Suzumura Akira but Takashi Hagino, and I still think that way after seeing him again after four years."

Hagino: But, back then, I definitely had some momentum. I was always told "You're a perfect fit for the role of Akira!," and a part of me got carried away over it, it felt like my nose was growing just like Pinocchio, except this nose is of brilliant glass. If Pinocchio's nose was made of glass, it would be really beautiful and sparkling.

"He smiles cheerfully and says that such things give him "the power" to play a role."

Hagino: But, you know, it's going to break someday. When that happens, only then will you understand.

"Afterall, Akira, aren't you suppost to be an adult?"

-First Impressions-

Hagino: We first met in an elevator, right?

Kazunari: Yeah, it was in an elevator. When I was on my way to the audition area.

Hagino: I said, "Huh? What's with the long hair?"

Kazunari: Yeah, it was really long.

Hagino: Incredibly long, it was tied in a single knot, along with wearing black jeans and a black shirt. I noticed him and asked, "What floor?" He said, "8th floor, hurry it up."

Kazunari: You liar! No, I politely said, "I'm going to the 8th floor, please."

Hagino: Well, I don't know, I guess that's just how bad my impression of you was (laughs).

Kazunari: Somehow, I never thought that the two of us would be working together.

Hagino: Yeah, I had costume fitting, and they told me that my partner was coming, and then the absolute worst guy came walking in.

Kazunari: Hey now (laughs).

Hagino: Because we seemed so similar in type, I thought there was no way the two of us would be together. Then he came in. And, as you can see, he's handsome, incredibly so. And…uwah. He stands out just by standing still. I really have to do my best here. Even still, I feel good with this guy. I can't imagine anyone else, as I'm already spoiled being stuck with him.

"Oh? Hayami is smiling shyly as he listens."

-Dramatic Drunks-

Hagino: When we drink together, we end up staying up until morning, right?

Kazunari: Yeah, when I see him, all he does is drink.

Hagino: When drunk, this guy tries jumping backwards. He gets really mad. When he stomps, it makes a nice sound.

Kazunari: I see… (pretending not to know)

Hagino: I end up joining him (grinning)

Kazunari: It seems I do alot of unacceptable things.

Hagino: Not really. He says that like I'm trying to wring it out of him. Well, guess I'll just go home then… (walks straight past him)

Kazunari: I do drink abit too much.

Hagino: I feel like a fighter when it comes to alcohol. I'm trying not to lose my memory here.

Kazunari: This guy makes people drink all the time. He'll ask, "Want some sake?" It seems I don't drink for myself, rather, I only drink due to the influence of other people. (to Hagino) Hey, you, you're the reason I always end up getting drunk.

"As usual, they are the best of friends."

-Acting, Theatre and Films-

Kazunari: Basically, about halfway through Changerion's filming, my impression of him was, "Ah, this guy, he's actually really serious.

"Oh? Somehow, Akira looks very happy."

Hagino: That's because, you know, it took me a long time to properly get into the role.

Kazunari: In our current ranks, we don't get into such big roles on TV or movies. I often get a role at the last minute, and have to act on the spot, so I think that because I can practice for a month on stage, movies really require alot of power in comparison.

Hagino: It's definitely different from Changerion, where we could say, "Let's take our time and work on it." I won't be able to make it if I try to wing it. But, if you ask me if I can act in the moment, I can't play the role of a big shot, because I think it wouldn't come off as authentic, but it'll be the best I can do, so it's important to know how much you can work with in such a short period of time.

Kazunari: I think about it alot. When I get a role, I'll think about it for a long time, doing research by watching similar movies, reading books, and so on, then, build up an image. Finally, once on set, adjust it as I see fit.

Hagino: My perception of acting has changed. I'll still watch the videos, and think, "Wow, I really did it~." But, there are also scenes where I'll say, "Oh, I don't think I can do this now." There are so many scenes like that. Although, it's a great opportunity to get into the swing of things, because you end up transforming yourself. The more I got into the rhythm, my surroundings were also in rhythm, so I was able to stay on track. Changerion was a a unique experience, and I don't think I could have done it alone.

Kazunari: The final broadcast was on Christmas, right?

Hagino: For some reason, I don't want to talk about the final episode. It went something like, I drank alot before the shoot and just had alot of fun, since we basically had a day off…

"Does this mean you were having a rough time before the end of the broadcast?"

Hagino: No, no, that's not it. We had about four days off before we started shooting, and I'd never had such a holiday weekend before, so I got alittle too relaxed.

"Does that mean things ended on good terms?"

Hagino: Yeah ❤️, that's how it felt. That's why I don't want to remember.

Kazunari: Like-I-was-say-ing, you…

Hagino: No, no! For me it may be just a past memory, but it's an important one.

Kazunari: Yeah, it was alot of fun.

"Never ending stories and overflowing emotions. I was happy to meet them. Changerion, beyond time…and for all eternity."

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love-kurdt · 9 months ago

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TIMT Universe Navigation Post

FICS: READ THESE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER!

This is Me Trying (complete [3/3], word count 23.9k)

This is Me Trying (Mike's Version) (complete [3/3], word count 23.9k, 1st person rewrite of the original)

Swooping, Sloping, Cursive Letters (complete [40/40], word count 21.4k)

...Then Who Am I Related To? (complete [1/1], word count 4.6k)

Now That We Don't Talk (in progress [/4], companion fic to TIMT)

I Almost Do (in progress [/10])

I Can Feel You All Around Me (in progress [/1])

You'll Just Have to Taste Me (When He's Kissing You) (complete [1/1], word count 4k)

The Life of Us We Can’t Get Back (in progress [/5])

Anywhere I Want, Just Not Home (complete [1/1], word count 2.6k)

Don't Blame Me (in progress [/6], sequel to TIMT and NTWDT)

How Did It End? (in progress [/1])

AUDIOBOOKS:

This is Me Trying

Swooping, Sloping, Cursive Letters (podcast format, updated approximately whenever the hell i feel like it)

You'll Just Have to Taste Me (When He's Kissing You)

PLAYLISTS:

this is me trying: thee playlist

now that we don't talk: thee playlist

the life of us we can’t get back: thee playlist

timt universe ficlets: thee playlist

michael's motherfucking mixtape (made by will)

will's wixtape (made by mike)

MISC

TIMT Universe Cast

TIMT Universe Cast (vol. 09.2024)

Stick Season Tangent

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cantcompetewhereudontcompare · 1 month ago

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Fine Line lyric analysis

I have too many plates spinning at the same time, but I was having a conversation with a friend about this last night, and she encouraged me to make a post about it. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind ever since.

The original theory isn't mine, or my friend's, or even from the group chat we were talking on, but a compilation of different things we've seen around for a while and that we started to chat about a while ago. Apologies if whoever originally thought about any of this sees this post and recognizes anything about it, not meaning to steal anything

The conversation came up the same way random themes come up in group chats, so I know perfectly well it's random to bring it up now.

As we all know, most of Fine Line (the album) is about Harry's ex girlfriend Camille Rowe.

This was on the back of the album

Which is a reference to Camille's tattoo

Not all songs on the album are about her, but we can infer (Harry hasn't confirmed anything) that most of them are.

This is the tracklist of the album, I'll add if I think it's about her or not next to the track.

Golden - About Camille

Watermelon Sugar - About Camille

Adore You - Maybe about Camille / Maybe not

Lights Up - Not about Camille

Cherry - About Camille

Falling - About Camille

To Be So Lonely - About Camille

She - Not about Camille

Sunflower, Vol. 6 - About Camille

Canyon Moon - About Camille

Treat People With Kindness - Not about Camille

Fine Line - Partially about Camille

First less address the ones not about her

Adore You

I think Adore You could be about her because thematically it fits (it's somewhat similar to Watermelon Sugar), but I think "brown skin" would be an odd descriptor for her (since she's not really known to even tan) plus the timing of it doesn't really fit.

We know he wrote Adore You in May 2019 because Amy Allen (co-writer of the song) posted about it in her stories at the time. This was about a year after he and Camille broke up, when Camille had been dating Theo (her current boyfriend) for a long time.

Absolutely not impossible that it's about her, but I would say inconclusive. It could be just a feel-good song about finding infatuation again after being heartbroken. There's nothing in the song that points directly to her to make it conclusive.

Lights Up

Harry said this song is about self-reflection and self-discovery. I think it's an introspective song that's not about anyone other than himself.

She

I think it's a song similar to Lights Up in that it's about introspection. Harry hasn't said anything other than he wrote it while high on mushrooms.

Treat People With Kindness

Not much interpretation and explanation is necessary. It's a kooky song.

Now, the ones that are about her. There's a common misconception that the album is in chronological order and tells the story of a relationship, but that's not really true. Canyon Moon seems to be a happy song about missing her when things were well, and it's one of the last songs on the album.

My chronological order of the songs (and remember, everything here is speculation and interpretation).

1 - Watermelon Sugar 2 - Canyon Moon 3 - Golden 4 - Fine Line 5 - Falling 6 - To Be So Lonely 7 - Cherry 8 - Sunflower, Vol. 6

Watermelon Sugar

This one is self-explanatory because it gives you the timeframe in the song itself. "Baby you're the end of June." Obviously he's comparing the object of his desire to the summer season, but also, that's when he and Camille started dating.

We don't know exact dates or anything, but Camille started following Harry on Instagram between June 22 and June 25, according to this timeline of the relationship (Harry followed her first in 2016). Harry was first teased about the relationship live on the radio July 17th and they were first pictured together July 21st.

The name of the song is a nod to one of Camille's favorite books, 'In Watermelon Sugar' by Richard Brautigan, which Camille mentioned in this interview with Elle in August 2017

Harry said in his Tiny Desk performance that this book was in the studio while he was writing music and the title of the book inspired him. He has also said that the song came about while in a studio in Nashville in September 2017.

Canyon Moon

This song is, presumably, about late 2017, when Harry was first on tour solo and he and Camille were still in the honeymoon stage.

Camille lived in Beachwood Canyon with her BFF Lauren Cohan. This song is basically saying that while he's on tour, Harry misses those evenings with her, in her backyard, listening to music, surrounded by friends, under the moon.

The song references Kid Harpoon's wife Jenny. Kid Harpoon was Harry's good friend and producer. He and his wife became good friends with Camille.

"The world's happy waiting. Door's yellow, broken blue. I heard Jenny saying, 'Go get the kids from school.' And I keep thinking back to the time under the Canyon moon."

Essentially, the world is waiting for him, but he's on the phone with his girlfriend who's back home with his friends, and he overhears one of his friends talking in the background.

This is a video Camille posted on her Instagram stories while Harry was on tour. In it, she's hanging out with Jenny and Kid.

The song also references Camille's ex boyfriend Devendra Banhart.

"Quick pause in conversation, she plays songs I've never heard. An old lover's hippie music. Pretends not to know the words."

(A little bit of a dig at Devendra there too with the "songs I've never heard")

Camille and Devendra were together for about two years until right before she and Harry started dating, and he most definitely qualifies as "hippie music."

The entire song is about Harry anticipating getting back home to her. Harry toured Europe (which is referenced in the lyrics "through Paris or through Rome") twice, first in 2017 with small theater tours, and then in 2018 with bigger arena tours. This song seems to reference the first part of tour, in 2017, particularly because Camille was at Harry's show in Paris in 2018.

While Harry didn't do a show in Rome specifically in 2017, he did do a show in Milan. In fact, his European leg started in Paris and ended in Milan, and he had an off day right before the Milan show. Considering he has a lot of friends in Rome, he probably spent it there (also, Milan wouldn't have fit the metric of the song lol).

Camille was with Harry until right before he started this leg of tour, as she was in the audience with his family at his performance in We Can Survive (a cancer awareness concert), October 21st 2017.

October 25 till November 10 is exactly two weeks and two days. In the song he says "two weeks and I'll be home."

That said, Camille did join him for the last two dates of this tour, but most likely scenario, he wrote the song either during or about the beginning, when he was a little sad to be away from her for that time:

"Gotta see it to believe it, the sky's never looked so blue. So hard to leave it, but that's what I always do. So I keep thinking back to a time under the Canyon moon."

Perhaps at the time he wrote the song he didn't know she'd be joining him.

Golden

This is the beginning of the end, the dreading anticipation of what's about to come. In this song, Harry comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't see a lot of future in the relationship, and he's devastated by it.

"I don't wanna let you go. I don't wanna be alone when it ends."

It's daunting. A Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

This is obviously speculation because Camille hasn't said anything directly about it and Harry has only said anything through song, but we can infer because of other interviews and timing, that Harry was way more into her than she was into him. This is not a dig at either of them. Sometimes that just happens.

She was with Devendra for about two years and she said, while dating him, that she wanted to settle down with him. They abruptly broke it off in May/June 2017, and she immediately started dating Harry. We'll revisit the end of her and Harry's relationship in a little bit, but it shares similarities in the sense that she also seemingly moved on pretty fast.

Camille also recently revealed that she met Theo a year before they got together, but that they didn't get together at the time because they weren't mature enough to handle those feelings. This means that when she got with Harry, she had recently met Theo and seemingly had feelings for him. (She said this in her Elle France interview, which is not only in French but also not online, so I can't really link a source).

This in no way says anything about her or her character. It can happen to anyone, to dismiss a relationship with someone because it's too intense and you don't know how to handle it, and perhaps a relationship with someone else is more accessible. And it doesn't mean that this second person isn't important or that you're using them. It's just life.

But it would explain why Harry felt the way he did. He felt like he was "so open" and she, in turn, wouldn't open at all. At the time, Harry chalked it up to her having been hurt and ending up heartbroken before, but it could just be that he simply wasn't the right person for her. And that sucks, but once again, it's life.

Regardless of him knowing that it likely wasn't going to work out, he fell hard.

"But I can't feel you take a hold, I can feel you take control, of who am I and all I've ever known"

Harry and Camille met right about the time his stepfather, Robin, passed away. Robin passed June 20th 2017. In his song Ever Since New York, which is about finding out Robin was diagnosed with terminal cancer (he said this in a few interviews), he says "there's no antidote." In Golden he says "loving you's the antidote."

Of course falling for Camille wouldn't "cure" the fact that he's heartbroken by the loss of his stepfather, but it's very likely that falling in love on the heels of such a huge loss healed him a little bit, made him feel better at a terrible time. This is for another day, but in his song Daylight, off his third album, he mentions someone being/having an antidote again ("you got the antidote"). That song also seems to be about Camille.

Before I continue analyzing songs...

I should point out a little bit more about the timeline of events, especially because it will affect basically every song that comes after this.

Harry and Camille were seemingly in a good place until March 2018. I say "seemingly" because we do not know them, of course. She would post stuff on social media that alluded to him, or his friends, or follow his family. His family would follow and interact with her. She would go to shows, etc.

As I said before, Camille was in Paris for his second show in 2018 (his first show was in Basel). This was March 13 2018. In the following days, Camille would be spotted at his shows sporadically, or she would post Instagram stories from art galleries that happened to be in the cities he was touring.

For instance, she posted this pic March 21st 2018 (it's still up in her highlights), which is Untitled (cowboy) by Richard Prince, 1999, and it's exhibited in the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway

Harry had a show in Oslo that same day

This happened a few times, so it's likely that Harry was arranging private showings at the museum to be with her while on tour. Keep this in mind.

Camille seemed to have gone back home after this. We don't know if she had work, if they had a fight, if she was homesick. We just know that she went home. And by going home she missed Harry's Home London and Manchester shows, which were April 9, 11, and 12, which were attended by his million of friends and family members.

That was odd, and it was also odd that they didn't seem to see each other at all for several weeks (particularly because he was writing whole songs about being away from her for two weeks a few months prior).

She did go to the venue of his show in Dublin, which was April 16 and was seen chatting with him while Mabel, the opener, was playing, but she apparently didn't stay for his actual show. The timeline I linked earlier claims that she flew to London with him afterwards, but that's... speculation based on nothing, as neither of them were spotted in London. She was usually spotted at the shows when she was there and she was not spotted at this one (even though she was spotted during the opening act).

Harry had a show in Perth, Australia, April 21st, and he was first spotted there at around 2 PM local time the 20th, which would be very early morning in London.

A nonstop flight from London to Perth is about 16/17 hours, putting him actually getting on the plane late night the 18th or early hours of the day the 19th. This to say, that the timeline I linked earlier, while well-meaning, makes a lot of assumptions trying to make their relationship A-okay at this point in time, by, for instance, claiming that they spent time together in London between Dublin and Australia. But there's no indication this is the case, and at most it was two days.

What the timeline does get right is that Harry uses a new guitar for his Sydney show the 27th. This guitar, we now know for a fact, was painted by Nikolai Haas, who was a close friend of Camille's (more on him later).

Nikolai is based in LA and Harry hadn't been to LA in months. Camille had just been to LA before Dublin, so it is pretty likely that she went to his show specifically to give him the guitar. All speculation, of course. Camille did have work in London afterwards, so a trip to Dublin wouldn't be too much of a bother.

The timeline also mentions Camille liking a post of Harry's for the first time May 2nd. It wasn't actually the first post she liked of his, but the second. The first one was a March For our Lives post he uploaded on March 24th (right after she left). It does mark a shift in attitude on Camille's end. This is absolute pure speculation, but it's very possible that at this point they were no longer together, at least not in any official capacity. That her leaving his tour marked their separation in a very amicable way and that's why she felt, let's say freer, to interact with him on social media. Remember she'd followed him for close to a year at this point and had never liked anything he'd posted.

Her leaving the tour, them being apart for weeks on end for the first time, her missing his hometown shows. None of it says anything by itself, but it's a pattern that continues repeating.

The timeline I posted speculates that they disappeared and reappeared at the same time in England between May 14-20th and that that meant they probably spent time together. There's literally nothing at all pointing to this. And the truth of the matter is they hadn't seen each other in a month between April 16-17 and May 14 anyway.

Harry then continued with his tour, this time in Latin America and part of America, and Camille didn't go to a single one of his shows, nor did they spend any time in close proximity, for another month and then some.

Harry then had two shows in Madison Square Garden, June 21st and 22nd, and Camille did go to the second one. And we know she went to the second one specifically because she posted from the plane doing LA-NYC, June 22nd.

She had a photoshoot that day in NYC, btw.

As an asterisk, because we're about to get in muddy waters, at this point Camille was acting single. And I mean this in the most respectful possible way, because she probably was.

This is her and Alexander Skarsgard June 14 2018.

This was a couple of weeks later (it's very blurry but the original account that posted it got deleted, so this will have to suffice). It's Camille sitting on Alexander Skarsgard's lap, watching the France national team during the World Cup against Belgium (July 10th).

Around this time, Alexa Chung, who introduced Harry and Camille and was close friends with both of them, unfollowed Camille on social media. I can't prove this to you, but she followed Camille and often interacted with her posts, and they were, well... friends. They hung out. This was literally a couple of weeks prior (Camille still follows Alexa):

Alexa had dated Alexander up until July 2017. I presume she and Camille are all good now, just not, well... friends. They do seem to run in the same circles and I doubt Alexa would hold a grudge all these years later, but she did unfollow in 2018 when Camille and Alexander did whatever it is they did, and to this day she does not follow (it's a big deal for very Instagram dependent celebs like Alexa or Camille to follow/unfollow each other, don't let anyone tell you otherwise). The Sun would claim that Alexander and Camille were dating later (after they reported on Harry and Camille's breakup in like, late July), but they were late to the party and by then, Camille was already dating Theo.

But I don't wanna jump ahead. I'm trying to keep a semblance of chronology.

Camille went to Harry's second MSG show June 22nd and from mid March when she left his European tour and until now we have three long gaps of about a month each in which they do not see each other, with two tiny periods of 1-2 days in between in which they could've seen each other (but we have no proof they did) + we have Camille seemingly being... very friendly, with Alexander Skarsgard.

Camille was seen at Harry's MSG show, with his friends Max and Xander.

The day after the show, Harry went out with Xander and Max in NYC. And well, he got pretty fucking wasted (and yes, that is Joel Embiid's hand Harry is holding)

People speculated that Camille was there because of this picture, but it wasn't Camille - it was Farah Holt

She has deleted her ig and Waseem (Harry's close friend) has updated the caption ever since

This is a pic of her's that night.

(Not implying anything btw, just anticipating some of the things I remember people saying back then. It's clear that Camille wasn't there that night, and people thought the blonde girl was her, but it wasn't).

Harry had a show in DC the day after that (June 24th). People noticed him being off at the show from the get go, and all these years later it's a meme that he was pissed off.

In several interviews since then Harry said that he's fully sober while he's on tour because it affects the way he feels at the show later. He said he only did it once during his solo career, and the show afterwards was his least favorite.

Everyone in the quotes of that tweet understood immediately which show he was referencing.

Before we theorize any further, let me fast-forwards to the end, because there's not much more left to say.

After this show Camille attended, she didn't go to any others until the very last one, which was July 14 in LA. She wasn't seen in the friends and family section, but in the stands with some of her friends, and she didn't stay for the after party or go backstage. She just left. There were pictures of her leaving The Forum in the parking lot with her friends (I don't think there's a chance in hell I'll find them, forgive me), while Harry was still inside helping the crew pack up the stage (it was a whole thing, workers posted pics of him in the venue at like 2 AM).

At this point, she was likely already dating Theo, given...

Her fan accounts had noticed her posting stuff about Theo or with Theo for a while, this post is from August 16th, but it'd been weeks at that point. It's impossible to scroll and find anything concrete 6 years later, but anyone who was online at the time can attest. To this day Camille is with Theo.

Theo Niarchos is a son/child of Greek aristocracy. His family owns multiple galleries and museums. This will also come up later.

Now let's go to the songs.

Fine Line

I said this song is partially about Camille, because I think it's also pretty introspective. I think he's not just talking about the demise of their relationship and the work he had to do to be better after it, but also about healing in general, about working on himself and getting to a better, more mature, more solid place.

He said he started writing this song in January 2018, but he never said when he finished it, so I do think at that time, he and Camille were mostly in a good place. When he starts a song melodically and where it ends up lyrically are two completely different things.

The song doesn't have a lot of lyrics, but the verses are very wordy and important. I'll break them down.

"Put a price on emotion, I'm looking for something to buy"

He's so desperate for emotion, for any emotion, that he's willing to pay for it. This goes with the Golden lyrics where she wouldn't open up to him while he was super open and yearning for more of a connection. It seems it's reaching a breaking point.

You've got my devotion, but man I can hate you sometimes.

This will come up later in Falling and TBSL, this dichotomy of loving this person (Camille) endlessly, but feeling anger and frustration with her.

"I don't want to fight you, and I don't want to sleep in the dirt."

This idea of him sleeping "in the dirt" (away from her) after a fight will also come up later.

The imagery of sleeping alone is one that Harry repeats a lot in his music, going all the way back to Don't Let Me Go (the first song that ever leaked with just his vocals back in 2013). It seems to signify something to him, sleeping (as in, actually sleeping, not sex) with the person he loves vs alone in his bed.

We'll get the drinks in, so I'll get to thinking of her

This, this is important. He's not getting the drinks with her, he's getting the drinks with friends. And as he's getting the drinks with friends, his mind goes to her. We'll get back to this.

The chorus is the yearning, "we'll be a fine line"

"Test of my patience, there's things that we'll never know. You sunshine, you temptress, my hand's at risk, I fold. Crisp trepidation, I'll try to shake this soon. Spreading you open is the only way of knowing you."

This verse deserves to be talked about together in its entirety because it's so... fucking heartbreaking. He's comparing her to sunshine again (see, Golden, where she shines too bright for him). "My hand's at risk, I fold" means that he realizes he's about to lose, so he gives up. It's using poker imagery. The picture he paints is someone who's betting and betting until he realizes he's not going to win, so he folds.

She won't open up to him (once again, see "Golden"). Spreading her open, sex, is the only way of getting to her. She'll give him her body, but she'll give him nothing else.

This repeats itself in the unreleased leaked song Make My Day, where he says:

I make lots of money, build a big house Put an extra sink in, say I’ll settle down Friends call me a loner, I know they’re wrong She asked me to choke her, I play along

He wants to settle down with her - she wants sex that he doesn't really mean. He plays along. Coincidentally this seems to be something he repeats in the song Keep Driving (Harry's House), but we won't get into that now.

I don't have a conclusion for this song alone, because he talks about this again in Falling

Falling

"I'm in my bed, and you're not here, and there's no one to blame but the drink in my wandering hands."

People often think he's alluding to cheating here. He's very clearly not. Camille, all her friends, all her family, all seem to be on perfectly good terms with Harry. There's a song we'll analyze in just a minute that claims that she's asking to be friends with him after they break up. That makes NO sense.

We just went over a song in which he gets drunk with his friends and starts thinking about her, and where he talks about how sex is the only thing on the table with her because she won't open up in any other capacity.

This sentence, to me, is alluding to the fact that he just had sex with her (wandering hands) while drunk (the drink) but they're not together anymore (I'm in my bed and you're not here). There's no one to blame for falling in bed again with his ex he still loves but the drink in his wandering hands.

He KNOWS he shouldn't hook up with her anymore because all she's willing to give him is sex, because she's checked out of the relationship and seeing other people, but he does it anyway, because he's weak. Was was it that he said? "My hand's at risk, I fold."

"Forget what I said. It's not what I meant. But I can't take it back. I can't unpack the baggage you left."

What was it that he said? "I don't want to fight you and I don't wanna sleep in the dust." Remember? He's alluding to saying something he doesn't mean, but not being able to take it back. This will be repeated again in a third song. But let's finish this one first.

What am I now? What am I now? What if I'm someone I don't want around? I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm fallin'

Essentially: I hate myself, I hate what I'm doing to myself. I hate it here.

What if I'm down? What if I'm out? What if I'm someone you won't talk about? I'm falling again, I'm falling again, I'm fallin'

He's worried that if he doesn't do this, if he doesn't have sex with her, then she won't talk about him anymore. She won't think about him anymore. She'll forget all about him.

It kills him to do just sex, just casual, just friends with her, but what if not doing that results in her fully forgetting about him? Not needing him? Not thinking about him?

You said you cared, and you missed me too And I'm well aware I write too many songs about you And the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe And it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of things we can say

"You said you cared and you missed me too." If I'm right about the timing, of this happening after his MSG show, right before the DC show, the night that he got drunk with his friends, then it makes perfect sense.

He gets drunk, he thinks about her (because he just saw her, and she's in the area). He calls her, drunk, goes home to her (she had an apartment in NYC as well as her house in LA), they sleep together, and she tells him that of course she cares about him, of course she missed him - they hadn't seen each other in at least a month, possibly two.

But the conversation is awkward. They have nothing to talk about because she doesn't love him that way anymore.

And I get the feeling that you'll never need me again (Oh)

It's devastating. He loves her so much, but she moved on and is over him. That tiny physical connection is all that's left, and he's breaking inside.

We know that the Beachwood Café is Camille's favorite coffee shop as well. (Link to an archived version of the interview, which came out right before Fall 2019, a few months before Fine Line).

And the music video makes it perfectly clear it's about her. The window opens to a very subtle shot of the Eiffel tower

Camille was born in Paris. There are also very unsubtle shots of his left hand playing the piano, while wearing Camille's ring

Not that we needed proof of who this song was about, but ooh well

To Be So Lonely

Don't blame me for falling I was just a little boy

I don't take credit for this because so many people have said it before me, but I bet you she called him a little boy at some point. (She's about 4 years older. They were 23/27 and 24/28 during their relationship)

In Falling he's apologizing, and lamenting. Now he's like "you know what? Nope. Not my fault.

Don’t blame the drunk caller. Wasn't ready for it all

So he got drunk with friends, thought about her, called her, went to her house, they slept together... pretty clear image isn't it?

You can't blame me, darling, not even a little bit. I was away And I’m just an arrogant son of a bitch who can't admit when he's sorry

This is very obviously some private conversation they had. This is Harry being petty and throwing back things she said to him. I'm endlessly intrigued by "I was away" perhaps talking about her being with Alexander while he was on tour? It's impossible to know because while there's a lot we can gleam from looking at timelines and stuff (always just speculation) at the end of the day, he's incredibly cryptic when he wants to be. He's not Taylor Swift who paints a very vivid picture that anyone following her lore can put together. This? Only she can understand what he means. Maybe his producers.

Don't call me "baby" again, you got your reasons I know that you're tryna be friends, I know you mean it

This. This is why the idea that he's apologizing for cheating on her in Falling makes NO sense. She wants to be friends and continues to call him baby. I know she's a cool chick who doesn't GAF about much of anything, but that makes no fucking sense.

Now, if they were friends with benefits after they ended things, then that... that makes sense.

She's so cool, all good, she's over him. So she's fine hooking up with him here and there (while hooking up with other people). She's over him. She can call him "baby" and whatever other term of endearment. She never fully opened up to him, not the way he did. He actually thinks she's too good for him (Golden).

He's not claiming that she's malicious either. She fully feels this way, and that's valid, because she's not responsible for his feelings, or the fact that he's a mess and a half who's still head over heels in love with her.

Don't call me "baby" again, it's hard for me to go home Be so lonely

Once again the imagery of sleeping alone. Of going home after sex and sleeping alone. He hates that. They're sleeping together (having sex) but sleeping apart (actually sleeping). And that kills him.

I just hope you see me in a little better light Do you think it's easy being of the jealous kind?

Once again alluding to a fight. Perhaps his jealous streak is what he said that he regrets in Falling? Who is he jealous of? Maybe Alexander? Maybe someone else? Maybe the situation in general?

He's basically saying, I hope you know I wasn't trying to be mean or jealous when I don't have any right to be. I hope you think better of me.

’Cause I miss the shape of your lips You’ll win, it's just a trick And this is it, so I’m sorry

It seems that Harry has put an end to the cycle. In the Falling music video, he cycles through being soaking wet on the floor and a mess, and being on the piano, playing the keys that make the water fall and flood the room, drowning him.

When the music video begins, he's already wet:

He misses her, so he has to put an end to it, because otherwise the cycle that makes him miserable will continue. "So this is it, so I'm sorry."

"You'll win, it's just a trick." + "My hand's at risk, I fold"

These three songs go on top of each other and enmesh each other all over. They seem to be talking about the same exact thing, just slightly different angles of it, because it's at slightly different stages.

In Fine Line, he's about to do that thing that hurts him. In Falling, he's already done it, and regrets it. In To Be So Lonely, he decides he's not going to do it anymore. All three songs mention drinking, all three songs mention sleeping alone, all three songs mention fighting with the person he loves.

In Fine Line he triumphally says he'll be alright, likely because he's looking at the situation from afar, after having gone through it. It's not just about this situation with Camille, likely, but about working on himself and getting himself out of it. Getting better. Taking care of himself.

Cherry

This song is the aftermath of To Be So Lonely. In To Be So Lonely he asks her "Don't call me baby again"

In Cherry he says:

Don't you call him "baby" We're not talkin' lately Don't you call him what you used to call me

It's a play with words. Don't call me baby, but also don't call HIM baby either. He's fully aware of how petulant it is. Not me, because you won't give yourself fully to me. But also not him??

She asked him not to call him, so they're not talking lately. Just because we don't talk, don't think you can call him what you used to call me.

I, I confess I can tell that you are at your best I'm selfish so I'm hating it

She's with Theo, and he tells, from afar, that she's happy. She never fully gave herself to Harry, but she did to Theo. And Harry hates it.

I wanna say, I don't think it's selfish that he hates it. In normal circumstances, sure, but if your ex who you loved (and still love) never fully gave themselves to you but does to the person right after, then I don't think it's selfish to be upset by it. But I do like that Harry is self aware enough and critical enough of himself to call himself out on those petty thoughts

I noticed that There's a piece of you in how I dress Take it as a compliment

This is me being petty but I don't think he means actual clothes and it's crazy to me that some people credit Camille with his entire street style in 2017-2019. He's talking about her ring, most likely. A piece, not, "I dress exactly how you liked me to dress." He can't exactly say "I wear one of your accessorieeees" now can he? He's making it poetic.

I, I just miss I just miss your accent and your friends Did you know I still talk to them?

He's talking about Nikolai, the man who painted his guitar. And thankfully, Harry seems to have kept Nikolai (and his wife Djuna) in the divorce.

This is Harry with Nikolai a few months ago

I'm sure they're on good terms with Camille. I'm just happy Harry doesn't have to miss them lol

Does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?

Anyway, I'm not exactly discovering anything. Anyone with minor knowledge on the subject already knows that Camille's new boyfriend (and current boyfriend) is Theo Niarchos.

His grandfather is Stavros Niarchos, a Greek oil tycoon and one of the world's richest men. His first son, Philip Niarchos, inherited Stavros' art collection and owns incredible paintings such as Van Gogh's self-portrait and Basquiat's self-portrait (Harry admires Basquiat a lot, so I'm sure this was personal for him).

Philip is Theo's father. So when Harry says "does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?" he's saying "I didn't have rich parents and I closed out galleries for you." (If he's not saying that, then I'm saying that goddammit).

The ending of the song features him crying agonizingly while she laughs cheerily in a voice note (which she gave him permission to use. Insanity)

Sunflower, Vol. 6

This is one of my favorite songs he's ever written because he takes all of this pain that we just described and he goes "alright, well, I'm gonna be happy anyway."

He's reminiscing on the good parts of the relationship:

Sunflower Sunflower, my eyes want you more than a melody

(...) I couldn't want you any more Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor I couldn't want you any more Tonight (Tonight, tonight, tonight) (...) Wondering, headshake Tired eyes are the death of me Mouthful of toothpaste before I got to know you I've got your face hung up high in the gallery

All those little things, the cotidianity of the first few times someone sleeps over, brushing your teeth side by side, seeing them just woken up, hanging around in the kitchen making breakfast. He's thinking back to all that.

While also being really sad that they don't have that anymore:

I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to talk to you Sunflower (Sunflower, sunflower) (...) I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to act a fool Sunflower (Sunflower, sunflower)

Because he told her they shouldn't talk, and he doesn't want to make a fool of himself while she's with someone else. And also being really sad that she never got to open up to him fully.

Let me inside, I wanna get to know you (...) Let me inside, wish I could get to know you

And he's saying, the flowers (the relationship) have died (ended), but they're sunflowers. And when sunflowers die, you get sunflower seeds. The very center of a sunflower is where its seeds are, and the flower needs to die for hundreds if not thousands of seeds to come out.

It's all part of the process. It's a stage of growth, hence Vol. 6.

He's taking all of this, all of these feelings, all of this yearning, all of this love, and he's planting it in his melody, in my music. He's making art out of his heartbreak.

Sunflowers sometimes keep it sweet in your memory (...) Your flowers just died, plant new seeds in the melody (...) Sunflowers just died, keep it sweet in your memory

The flowers died, but I'm planting them in my melody, and the good things will live forever.

Fine Line is a beautiful album, which does tell a story beginning to end, just not chronologically.

There aren't any bad guys, or bad people. He's not calling himself out. Or her out. He's not pointing fingers. He's not mad.

He's processing going through this heartbreak, and trying to make it all better. Learning from it, getting to know himself. One day I'll analyze Lights Up and She a little closer, but that day won't be for a while, because this fandom is incapable of being normal about that sort of thing.

I have other things cooking, but tonight I just wanted it to be about Harry and the beautiful album he made, and the wonderful conversations me and my friends have when we miss him.

I hope he's doing alright, taking care of himself, and surrounded by family.

If anyone made it all the way here, congrats! And thank you.

I'll probably run through this lately and correct a few grammar mistakes, but I just want to put it out now.

#harry styles #harry #one direction #analysis #fine line #lyrics

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