#simon is so edgy but in a good way

[flipsbubble]

just watched dinner in america... haven't watched a romance movie this good in months i swear. my life has a new meaning now omg.

they both matched each other's freak they're what i would call twin flames and i'm not even familiarized with this term like i just feel like THAT'S what true love is

simon crying when patty was singing??? him sending her letters and pictures back??? oh YEAAHH

[celestialprincesse]

to celebrate cancer free, how about a picnic with simon? but he’s letting his paranoia get to him and you have to comfort him that the man feeding the ducks aren��t spying on them and simply…living?

Katz my baby 💕 giving me all the good ideas🎀

AFAB Reader💕🩰

It's impossible not to laugh at Simon as he lugs the overfilled picnic basket across the park, his hulking form and grumpy demenour so at odds with you and your floral sundress, the pink gingham picnic blanket you carry.

The park bustles pleasantly with those stepping out to celebrate the first real days of the English summertime; groups of mothers with their children and couples with the same idea as you, bottles of fizz poured into paper cups and packs of buscuits shared between them. You manage to find a spot with sunlight dappled perfectly by the leaves of an old oak, setting down your picnic blanket, followed by Simon setting down the wicker basket you'd insisted on bringing despite the inconvenience of it. You're perfectly content as you lay in your little quiet place, listening absently to birdsong and laughter, breathing in the fresh air, cut grass and daisies wafting up and making you sigh with bliss.

Unlike you, Simon doesn't have the capability to relax. He doesn't have an off switch. He's very much aware of the lows to which men like him will stoop - seen them firsthand with his family. It's impossible to shake that residual stress, that fear of being out in the open, (relatively) unarmed, with the person he loves more than life itself. "You're all," You snap Simon from his reverie as you attempt to mimic his edginess, bunching your shoulders to your ears and straightening your spine. "Sorry." He mutters apologetically, perpetually worried about runing your sunny days with the inevitable dark cloud that is his paranioa. "Don't apologise." You hum, shifting so your knees press into the blanketed ground, hands coming around his shoulders, ear resting against the centre of his back where you listen to the steady thumping of his heart. The way he settles into your arms doesn't go unnoticed, lets you guide him gently back intil you're both laying beside one another, his head settled on your stomach, letting your fingers card softly through his hair. He allows himself to relax until his breathing matches the soft flutter of your inhales, looping his fingers through yours as he remembers how to shed his armour - to push Ghost down into the far deep crevaces of his brain, refusing his request to make an appearance on such a lovely day. Ghost doesn't get to feel the sun on his skin and the touch of a beautiful woman. That's for Simon. You're for Simon.

Once you're sure he's suitably relaxed, you shimmy from Simon's grip, not missing the frustrated grunt he gives from the loss of his favourite pillow. You soon halt his grumbling when you unwrap some scones from a cloth napkin, procuring little tubs of jam and cream from your basket too.

You spend the afternoon pink cheeked and happy, sipping at little glass bottles of lemonade and snacking on punnets of fruit or little baked treats you'd whipped up the evening before, revelling in domestic bliss and wondering if perhaps one day you'd be doing this not only with you and Simon, maybe a sweet rescue dog too, and a baby on your hip. You have been feeling a little nauseous lately.

𐦍༘⋆

I love babies and cute domestic shit!!! lovelovelove!! this page is not safe for pregancy trope haters!!! this is a domestic bliss safezone!!

[myossdeux]

LOVE THE FACT that in the french localization of Apollo Justice Trilogy they called Simon Blackquill "Jack Lamenoire", I find this choice so damn funny and accurate

As you already know, in the english version he's basically named after the game "Simon says" since he's a prosecutor who likes to manipulate the witnesses. And "black quill" like the main large feathers from birds' tails/wings, in reference to his bird Taka, and his own black and white color palette.

Well, the equivalent of "Simon says" in french is "Jacques a dit" but I guess they decided to go for Jack instead of Jacques because it's a more stylish way to write and pronounce this name. In France, Jacques is a very old name, and it doesn't really fit the appearance and personality of the character. Then "Lamenoire" can have 2 meanings: You can read it as "lame noire" (a black blade, because y'know, he's a samurai wearing black) or "l'âme noire" (a black/dark soul, to accentuate his edgy and menacing aura).

The pun is so good I just had to share it to my international fellow ace attorney fans (hope you didn’t know that already lol)

[sprunkimortality]

What do every Sprunki think of Gray?

Oren: "He's chill, bro. He's got good taste in music." Raddy: "Eh. He keeps out of my space and I keep out of his." Clukr: "According to my observations, Gray is a rather stoic individual. His lack of physical expression betrays his ability to feel emotions, and he can be quite hard to read at times. I can only make guesses as to how he feels based on context clues." Fun Bot: "Oh, Gray! He requests interesting songs from his favorite bands! It's always a new experience when he comes up to ask me to play something!" Vineria: "We're at similar wavelengths. Our auras blend well."

Brud: "Gray? Me like Gray! Gray is friend!" Garnold: "Gotta say, the kid's got interesting artistic interpretations of robotics. I didn't even know what divine machinery was until I heard him go through a whole rant about it! He's a cool one, I'll tell you that." OWAKCX: "G- Gray…oh, well, he- …h-he doesn't really…um…w- we don't…talk that much, you know? Hoohoo-! S- So, I, I- I don't know much about him, eh…e-except the fact that h- he wears the same shirt every day, hoho…" Sky: "Gray is so cool! He's got edgy makeup, edgy clothes, edgy music, everything's edgy! I want to be cool like him!"

Mr. Sun: "Ah, our very own Neutral Sprunki! There's a charm to his poker face that only he can pull off!" Durple: "Ahaha! You speak of my deadpanned companion? I've known him since we were Sprunklings! We were both losers without friends or anyone to chitter with at lunch, you see. Except I, in my ever-present radiance, was spared by the hells of torment he had to go through during those highschool years! That's not to say I condone it, no no no. I am HIGHLY against treating our very own emo boy with such exclusionism!" Mr. Tree: "I have been with him for every rest he takes every day in the afternoon. He brings peace to this bright and colorful town." Simon: "Well gee, Gray's one of my greatest friends! He's responsible and he always knows what to do in even the scariest situations! Don't tell him this, but…he's like a big brother to me! Yeah, we're the same age and unrelated but I don't care! He's big bro Gray to me!" Tunner: "Th' lad's in his own lil' world sometimes. He's a good kid. Never gets into any sorta trouble. Don't got a clue about the things he rambles on about sometimes, but I ain't gon' stop 'im whenever he does that. It's his passion."

Mr. Fun Computer: "He may not look like it, but he knows how to have fun in his own way! He visits me a lot! Though, he usually doesn't use my search engine or anything, like everyone else would. He just likes to come by and have conversations with me. It's nice!" Wenda: "So, like, big backstory dump, but…I actually hated Gray's guts. I dunno why. I was an evil kid! Like, so evil. I shoved him in the hallway and called him dumb and fat and whatever. Real talk, I was so mean to him. So like, him forigivng me was like, SUPER surprising. Like, what do you mean you forgive me?? Sure I regretted it and I apologized to his face but I didn't think he'd actually be, like, cool with me now! Anywayy. We're buddies now. We hang out and all that, soooo yeah. Happy ending! I hope." Pinki: "Gray is such a sweetheart! He helps me out at the bakery sometimes, even though he doesn't like having to deal with cooking oil…I really appreciate it whenever he comes by to help!" Jevin: "Within that anti-expression he wears, Gray is a Sprunki with passions to share."

Black: "He's not too bad, I suppose." Saves: "Sorry, who is…? Ah, yes! The horned one with the dirty shirt…ah, I remember now. Gray…he's so kind and generous. He is the same one who visits me every weekend, isn't he? Yes…he helps around the house. We tell stories to each other. He's precious." Ciqu: "He abides. I have no strong opinion of him." Sprinkles: "Heehee! Gray is fun! He takes care of me and Sky sometimes! He's like a big brother, but he doesn't have any little siblings…which is a bit sad, because he's fun as a brother!" Calvin: "Gray is super cool. And also fun to play pranks on! He doesn't get mad, so it's a little funny!" (edit 12/8/24: X FORGOT CIQU...XM SO SORRY MR POLICEMAN....)

[snootlestheangel]

More of the YouTuber AU random bits

Just thinking of this thing as I'm working on the drabbles

There's compilation videos of all the times Gaz kinda blushes/smiles softly when Alex calls him a pet name. There's compilations literally titled "Alex for SIMP President" and it's just all the times he's being Alex and in love with Gaz. The Among Us video fuels these like gasoline lol

There's "Soap Being Scottish" compilations.

There's "Times They Forgot Alex is an Amputee" compilations

There's compilations of Gaz's side eyes to his camera every time one of them says something really wild/insults him directly

Once he and Alex move in together there's compilations of "Times Alex Interrupted Gaz's Stream Just For CuddlesTM" and it's all the times where Alex just walks into Gaz's office and sits on his lap

There's "Times Gaz Had Beef With A Weird Russian Dude" compilations, but they're just every time anyone, especially Gaz, brings up his misfortunes with helicopters, especially when Nik is the pilot.

There's Ghost compilations that always comment on his dark humor/edgy humor; there's compilations on all the times he's referenced 'death' in his life (like how in some games his tag is "LegallyDead")

From @eaveplzzz 's tags during a reblog of the OG post, there's so many theory videos on what happened to Alex's leg; why do they always say "Classic Soap" or "Soap NO" when he has a bomb/sets off an explosion; Who Is Ghost? theory videos are a big hit, especially the ones about if he's actually "legally dead" or not; the theories about what happened between Gaz and Nik

Gaz eventually being convinced to do vlogs.

His first one is "Moving In Together" and it's literally just a cute/funny video taken from highlights of his stream where he and Alex unpack a bunch of boxes while answering questions from his chat. (the compilation videos go hard after this stream/video goes live) *there's one question during this where someone asks Alex if he's missing his leg because he sold it to help Gaz's career and he just beams at the joke while Gaz screams into his hands*

This stream/video was so popular Alex suggests they make an entire channel dedicated to doing streams like that again/playing games just the two of them/a day in the life type super duper cute shit *there's one clip where they start slow-dancing cause they're listening to a playlist put together by the chat and a slow song comes up. There's so many music video-esque compilations where there's a love song/dedicated-to-this-one-person-for-the-rest-of-my-life songs play to a bunch of their cute moments with the slow dancing in the kitchen being the refrain*

He does eventually post a vlog style video but it's just random bits of things he recorded while at a big gathering over the Christmas holidays with everyone. There's a few ways viewers piece together who is who: Soap because he's the only Scot, and they're always yelling his name in some fashion, Dylan (Gaz's friend) is also easily picked out, Nik once again due to his accent, and eventually everyone catches on with Price *comments go crazy spamming the time signature Price first appears with "Daddy??"*

What surprises everyone the most is when Ghost finally makes an on-camera appearance. It's a brief video, where he's smiling at Soap and Gaz doing something silly. It's just Simon in that moment: no mask, no black around the eyes, his hair is recently cut and styled, and he's happy

*bout to make it sad for a second y'all*

There's a stream once where Gaz makes it clear everything he makes during it go to a Veteran's Help program. It's before the holidays, a very vulnerable time for all veterans, and it's just a quiet stream where he plays a relaxing game and answer questions from chat. He talks about Task Force 141 (briefly and in as little detail as possible), he talks about the helicopter incidents, how he met all the guys he plays with, he talks about he and Soap getting up to no good together, he talks about some of the struggles he had adjusting to civilian life since he didn't know anything else, how much of a help his friends and Alex had been.

It's later revealed the reason he did the stream is for Simon. Because even though it's been years since the incident with his family, it's still something that can hurt badly to this day. How he and Soap were shopping for gifts for Soap's several nieces and nephews. How there was a little toy plane that made the exact same sound Simon's nephew's once did. They even looked the same. How a little blonde boy begged his mum for it. The child looked so familiar it broke one of Simon's barriers.

PTSD isn't curable, it doesn't just disappear over time. There's ways to trigger really bad episodes, and this was just one of those times. It was hard for everyone to see Ghost have such a big setback, but for Gaz? The way they all found ways to help Ghost during it. The way he and the rest of the team, their friends and loved ones, helped reach out to pull Simon back onto his feet. And Gaz wanted other veterans to have that support, especially during the holidays.

He and the 141 (Price, Soap, and Ghost) eventually start doing charity streams just for veterans and the many existing resources for them. They're always wacky, sometimes they're gaming, sometimes they're all in-person doing a fake game show with some of their friends. There's one where they all travel to Mexico to host one with their Las Almas friends to benefit North American veterans' benefits charities.

I don't know, I'm just having so many thoughts about this AU I might just write an entire GazAlex fic based on their lives involving Gaz becoming a big creator.

There's so many thoughts about this AU HOLY SHIT

[beevean]

So some recent... discourse put into my mind the concept of "power fantasy", and how people relate to it in different ways. Of course, I'm talking about Hector :P

Is Hector, in the games, a power fantasy? I think the answer is "yes but actually no but actually yes it's complicated".

Let's be honest, first: Hector is a product of his time. He is, in many aspects, Castlevania's response to the wave of edginess that was en vogue in the mid-2000s - I don't compare CoD to ShTH for no reason lol. Hector was always meant to be an anti-hero contrasting the pure heroes the games always starred before him:

—Why did you choose the theme of "revenge" for this game? Iga: Up to now, the Belmonts have been seen as the good guys. I thought it'd be nice to do something other than a moralistic "good triumps over evil" theme sometime. After all, Castlevania has always had an excellent world for telling a "dark hero" story. Alucard would be one such character… though even he is fighting for a just cause: "I've got to stop my Father!" So he's still kind of a good guy. This time, though, I wanted the motivation itself to be impure. So this theme is what I came up with, and then I thought it would be even more interesting if each side was out for revenge on the other.

Hector has "impure" motivations. His quest is completely selfish: while all the other protagonists want to face Dracula (or others in his place) because it's the right thing to do, Hector is just in to kill the man who ruined his life. In fact, he really couldn't care less about the Curse, and multiple times in the game he asks why can't Trevor just deal with the issues he doesn't want to deal with lol. This is in line with other characters of the same caliber, such as Shadow sneering at a city being invaded by aliens until there is something in for him, or Guts who declares that he's willing to let a whole town fall prey to demons, as long as Casca is safe. However, this is not a detriment to Hector's character like it would be nowadays, as he's also very much mean to be "cool": while obviously every protagonist has his cool factor, even going back to Simon in the first games who defeated Dracula all by himself and then had to heroically struggle with the Curse, Hector is cool in that, well, deliciously over-the-top way that was all the rage back then. He can ride wyverns as he slashes them, he can go toe to toe with Trevor himself to the point that even he is impressed, he can forge a gun and an electric guitar, cutscenes show him punching a stone devil with his bare first, he gloats in Dracula's face that he can nullify his Curse... yeah, he's a gigachad lol. The flaws are only meant to make him cooler and not "boring", as paragon heroes were seen at the time.

I, personally, never cared about this part. I'm not the target audience for this kind of power fantasy. Sure, I like that Hector is over-the-top cool and I will always joke about his most outlandish feats, but I'm not so keen on reducing him to those alone. I couldn't even explain why avenging your dead lover counts as part of a power fantasy lol.

This is why I latched on so much on the first half of his story, the one where Hector deals with Dracula, and why I insist that Hector is much more than his admittedly cliché archetype of "angry man on a revenge quest".

Calling Hector "stoic" is not even knowing the meaning of the word. Calling pretty much any CV protagonist "stoic" is factually wrong, as even the more serious ones like Alucard and Shanoa have other depths to them (Alucard is still grieving for his mother and we see it in a nightmare, Shanoa was deliberately made stoic and she subtly longs to feel again), but Hector doesn't even begin to fit the definition of "One who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain". The whole point of CoD is that Hector was left so emotionally vulnerable by his grief that both Isaac and Zead used him as a puppet. Anger is the complete antithesis of stoicism. "well anger is still a toxically masculine emotion" - memes aside, Hector shows other emotions too, most notably around Julia, the only person with which we see how actually gentle and polite he is when he doesn't have Dracula's influence scrambling his brain. By the way, you cannot ignore the effects of the Curse on both Hector and Isaac when you analyze them, especially the former:

It can't be plainer than this.

And it doesn't come out of nowhere, because not only Julia herself tries to warn Hector that Devil Forgemasters are susceptible to the Curse, he acts vulnerable around her. He apologizes for his unjust outbursts, sympathizes with her plight, is visibly affected by her grief when Isaac dies... sure, it might be all because he's lowkey crushing on her, if you want to see it that way (and I do have my words over the plot point of Julia looking like Rosaly: I would have preferred if the game had more time to show that Hector grew to see Julia as her own person beyond her appearance), but the point is that this behavior highly contrasts with how angry and aggressive he is to everyone else, which the reveal of the Curse recontextualizes.

Also, just saying, while anger can be toxic, the point of these storylines is usually precisely that revenge is bad. Unchecked anger is bad for you, and you shouldn't let yourself fall down that spiral, lest you lose yourself. Isaac got consumed by his own hatred and died as a tool; Hector realized in time that he should snap out of it and survives, also because he was nice to Julia and so she grew to care about him and saved him when he tried to kill himself <- a reaction that is very unmasculine, might I add, as toxic masculinity dictates that men should make other people pay for their pain. bro. bro this is the complete antithesis of "toxic masculinity". Again, this is really not knowing the meaning of the word.

I don't even need to pull examples from the manga, but just for completion's sake:

iunno about you chief, but someone who bursts into tears just because wifey told him that she's happy he was born isn't exactly the portrayal of toxic masculinity to me.

Which makes me segue into the next point!

Hector and Isaac are victims of abuse, and this is another very important angle to understand them. And I'm not just talking about their childhoods, of which we only get hints, although of course it does matter that the two experienced so much hatred and rejection in their youth that Dracula was the better option for them.

We don't see the details, but Dracula affected both of them deeply. He put them in a competitive dynamic, favoring Hector over Isaac: Isaac grew bitter with resentment, which made him double down on his loyalty to Dracula, while Hector only got the appreciation he craved at the price of his very humanity and morals, which weighed on him. The point of this favoritism is not really the core of their rivalry in game, as that one was caused by Hector's betrayal, but it gives a different dimension to the character. It would have been easy to have the mistreated guy the one who decided to turn his back to Dracula, but no, it was the golden child. Isaac was so entrenched in this dynamic that he never broke free, choosing instead to blame Hector and do everything in his power to prove himself to an uncaring Lord, including (in the manga) killing his own underlings so that he would be free to face Hector by himself. From PtR:

"My own body is proof of Your expectations for him" is such a hard-hitting line. Isaac fears that he didn't even disappoint his Lord, because his Lord didn't have expectations for him in the first place. It's Hector the one he's so proud of.

And Hector hates it. By all means, he should be happy to have a home, to be respected and appreciated and free to use his powers. And he used to be!

"Lord Dracula... You once accepted and needed my powers. There was a time when such a thing gave me joy..."

Hector was grateful for his Lord, but he couldn't live anymore in the safety of the castle, if the price was committing indiscriminate murder for the sake of a senseless revenge, going against his morals and being used as a weapon. Hector had to make a choice: keep living under Lord Dracula's protection, but losing his humanity piece by piece, or breaking free and facing the world that hated him, but as a free man?

Hector chose freedom over conditional safety and love. He was ready to die, as long as he died a free man. He put himself first, he turned his back against people who did not truly appreciate him, and despite the mess he left behind it was the right decision. And that's the power fantasy I adore, and that is what makes him a strong character in my opinion. It's the embodiment of achieving self-confidence, the healthy selfishness, the affirmation of the self when everyone else around you only sees you as an object or a prize, the reassurance that even if you fall, you can always get up and try again and become a person you can be proud of.

And Hector, after breaking free, very much acts like a victim of abuse. I spent countless words over how he displays the belief that he needs to do something to earn the right to be loved by Rosaly, unaccepting of the fact that she simply does because, well, he likes him and sees the good in him, and that's it. I wrote a whole analysis on how this belief stems from a sad naiveté on how the world works, because Hector is naive underneath the aloof exterior, and it's not something to make fun of him for, but a tragic result of living under Dracula for so long. I'll also point again to him having breakdowns because he hates himself and sees himself as inherently unlovable.

I could also spend all the words about the parallels about how Hector loves Dracula and how he loves Rosaly:

In both cases, he latches onto the only person who has showed him a modicum of kindness. He wants to give his life for them. The difference being, of course, that Dracula only appreciates Hector for what he does (and I could also go into a whole tangent on how Hector was personally raised by Dracula to be his knight and he has a piece of his essence inside him which parallels how abusive parents see their children as an extension of themselves), while Rosaly for who he is. With Dracula, Hector understands that all the shallow care in the world doesn't matter if he isn't also respected as a person: he still cares about him, in some fashion, but not the point of clinging.

And if Hector is ready to lay down his life for Rosaly because she finally showed him what real love looks like, is it any wonder that seeing her die would spark such a fury in him that it makes him prey to the Curse and to being once again twisted into a tool?

The power fantasy comes from the part where Hector breaks free of the abuse and manipulation - twice over. But he is also relatable, with all of his flaws, weaknesses, and mistakes he makes. The whole point of Hector's journey in the first half of his story is that he feels the need to atone for his sins, and the consequences of his actions all catch up to him in the worst of ways. Ignoring this to reduce Hector to an edgelord who only spends his life angry and then hooks up with a Rosaly replacement (which incidentally also ignores Julia's personality and agency and I might even call as misogynist as the plot point itself) is a huge disservice to the thought and care put into him to make him stand out from his own archetype.

Power fantasies are not inherently bad. Depending on the fantasy, they can be inspirational. Hector is inspirational to me, if that wasn't clear, I see part of me in his circumstances and I admire his arc: it tells you, "you can break free too, you have the strength to do so, and you will find people who will love you without reason". And I just generally speaking find him a very well written character despite stemming from a rather outdated context, because all the details come together to make him fleshed out and tridimensional.

[box-dwelling]

This needs to be made. WAA (and extended family, we may get too big for one party but this may get split over a few groups) and who I think everyone would play. Also presuming 5e for the system.

Phoenix: cleric. 1000000% with his obsession with helping people? Absolutely wants to be the healer and the cleric spell list gives a lot of options for chaotic play.

Trucy: a coward would say sorcerer. They are wrong. She is a forever DM. Don't forget she isn't just a performer, she's also a stage director. Plus her desire to constantly cheer up her friends translates perfectly into campaign design. I think he has special effects set up and has Mr Hat come out for scenes with 2 NPCs

Apollo: there are two choices. Either he's never played before and is just a begrudging human fighter, or he and Clay used to play all the time and he comes in with the most insanely fleshed out well constructed min max multiclass you've ever seen. But it's not like an annoying minmax where it take away from the other players, it's min maxed in a way to cover the rest of the parties flaws and actively heighten them all. It is a solid 50/50 he either gives no shits or gives the most shits ever

Athena: barbarian. She is using this to get out her aggression and good for her.

Pearl: she's new at this and kinda nervous but I think she has a cute little elven druid made up. She was going to go cleric but didn't want to step on Phoenix's toes.

Maya: Sorcerer and an absolute powerhouse of one at that.

Ema: Wizard. Fully roleplays the whole scholar of magic vibe too.

Edgeworth: the most paladin paladin player to ever play. His character is mounted because of his knight chess thing and they start off heavily based off a steel samurai character but I think he then uses it to channel some of his feelings about mvk so he may well go oathbreaker somewhere down the line

Klavier: Do I need to say it? Bard. Horniest horny bard you ever saw. But I think he keeps it relatively pg for trucys NPC's and focuses his flirting solely on Apollo.

Simon: samurai fighter. Edgy backstory. Actively causes chaos at all times.

Franziska: is invite but doesn't play.

[magicmindless]

I'm not sure if you are taking hc requests anymore or something but if you are can you do Drakson (or Orion)

Feel free to ignore this!

I was actually quite excited for Drakson ngl... but it still came out kind of rushed so apologies for that😅

A HC List but it's just Drakson

I like him in a babygirl way

Though he’s irritable and stubborn, he’s actually a good guy with a soft spot for his fans, and will absolutely jump into the crowd to break up fights

Has chronic resting bitch face which he used to be insecure about, but he embraces his intimidation powers now

(Edited HC due to recent events) Canonically Cameo is his bf but Drakson is still asexual to me

Liezel’s older brother. He was one of the first people she came out to as transgender and he will murder anyone who is transphobic to her

Around the same age as Orion but slightly older by a few months. They’ve known each other since babies and have been writing songs since teenagers when they didn’t fight as much, and even if they did it was mostly bantering (they still banter sometimes but nowadays that might lead to fist-fights)

The cousins have slightly different reasons for why they don’t get along with the other nowadays but Drakson’s reasons are that he doesn’t trust that Orion will stay in the band, and hates how overgrown his ego is with being the lead singer and all

Now this is something some fans wonder about often: Why doesn’t Drakson just let him leave? Well, it was because of a promise they made as teenagers that no matter what, they would make it big in music and stick together for as long as they breathe, and Drakson with his determination and iron-willed stubbornness is still trying to keep that promise

His fashion sense consists of primarily edgy and alt elements, even dabbling in pastel punk/goth. He does most of his clothes shopping at thrift stores because he absolutely HATES every single fast-fashion brand

Likes Sanrio and kawaii-themed things pretty openly, and if anyone judges him for it he tells them they can suck it. Even the most brooding of people need some whimsy in their lives

Has a massive sweet-tooth. He’s eaten cake for breakfast more times than he likes to admit but he does it because no one can stop him (though the problem is that no one can stop him so then he gets a tummyache)

Loves horror movies. He isn’t easily grossed out by anything so he tends to have a bit of a morbid/raunchy sense of humor

Has a lot of body tattoos. I don’t know what any of them are but he has a lot of them. One of them is definitely a dragon

Frequents the arcade once a week or so. His favorite arcade games are Stomp Stomp Institution and anything that involves shooting a gun and he gets Orion in on them. They make a surprisingly good team for the multiplayer ones

Kind of a nerd. He likes card games like Pokémon or Magic the Gathering and plays DND in an online server (the server involves Didar, Simone, Skyler, Brody, and even Rithy)

I don’t know exactly what Rithy’s relation to the other 2 would be but I can see him as another cousin who Drakson treats like a little brother

Dyes his hair himself using the dyes from Twizzy’s cycling through different colors throughout the years like white, green, pink, and right now it’s to his signature purple. Orion tells him that he’s gonna go bald soon from the amount of DIY hair-dying he does

Was one of those kids forced to learn an instrument at a young age because of his strict parents so he chose the piano which he doesn’t hate them for since he ended up enjoying it

Speaking of which, there are some rough spots when it comes to his relationship with his parents. He says he doesn’t hate them but admits if he was never able to move out he would’ve lost his mind

Has a melodica which he might occasionally use for fun at shows but he also uses it to annoy the shit out of Orion

His reputation in the band is the token “bad boy” and there is no surprise why. While he usually doesn’t mind being called that, he doesn’t like it sometimes because it made people think that he’d be all mean and tough and he was even speculated of being a playboy once which is very far from the truth, so in public he tries to be as polite as he can and maybe crack a slight smile if he feels like it (it’s very rare of him to smile so any clips of him smiling go viral online)

In an interview with DJ Honey Buster (Hugo), he said that if he didn’t become a musician he probably would’ve ended up as a nurse like his parents wanted him to

[whineandcheese24]

so @erch0maii said in a post that i didn’t want to hijack that the reason that both screen adaptations of tmi didn’t feel quite right is because they were these dark gritty adaptations while the books are, at heart, campy and silly and comical. and i was thinking about this and how it relates to the other series in the tsc canon. when i first read tsc i thought that the reason they felt tmi felt different from tid, tda, and tlh is because they were her first books but it really all comes down to the character’s sense of humor and genre awareness. because all the other tsc series (and i’m betting twp too) take themselves so seriously, but timi doesn’t do that. 

with genre awareness, the characters are put in this dark edgy fantasy war series but they act like their in a satire or a comedy. my favorite parts of qoaad were when jace and clary were in these dangerous situations and were acting so nonchalant about it. and it wasn’t even like a fake confidence or something, they genuinely just are Like That. like at the war council they walked in casually with normal clothes and people didn’t even notice them until lily called them out. like, they could have changed, they could have made a big entrance, but no, why bother. and later in brocelind when manuel rips out the tent and they’re playing tic tac toe. they don’t acknowledge him at all, not even to make a joke about him ruining the tents they borrowed. they just sit there playing tic tac toe. and again on the imperishable fields, jace has a knife to manuel’s back and clary is holding the stanchion but emma describes them as walking as if they’re out for a morning stroll.

and like look at the parallels between the series. the tlh crew met one and a half princes of hell and barely made it out with their sanity. the tmi gang has collectively met 3 princes of hell and in literally every situation they’re on the same level. when emma and julian went to thule it was this dark scary traumatizing thing, this actual hell that wasn’t quite hell. and when james, matthew, lucie, and cordelia went to edom it was this terrible experience that both lucie and matthew spent literally dying. but when the tmi gang went to hell, what ever. yeah it was serious and traumatic and scarring but not in the same way. izzy and simon hooked up. clary and jace had sex. and alec made fun of all four of them for it after. jace got caught by a demon and clary scolded him like he left the fridge open. they literally snuck into sebastian’s elite fortress with a plan from simon’s dnd campaign. and diyu?  even when simon was having a mental breakdown he managed to flirt with izzy it took the tlh gang 3 long-ass books to defeat belial and christopher died in the process. the tmi gang beat sammael in a f*cking side book. if you go to the shadowhunter wiki and go to azazel’s history he’s said as being a part of team good. imagine how casual you have to be to get a prince of hell to join ‘team good’

and then there’s the angels. tessa’s contact with ithuriel almost killed her. emma and julian’s whole nephilim thing also almost killed them. and yeah, clary’s first encounter with raziel was very somber and serious. but in cols simon literally blackmailed raziel into giving him a magical sword. and with faerie, every encounter that the tda gang have with faeries or in faerie is this dangerous quest that could get everybody killed. the tmi gang don’t hesitaste to insult the seelie queen to her face

the thing that sets tmi apart from the rest of tsc is the characters’ refusal to take anything, themselves and everyone around them, seriously for very long

[shoukiko]

My Simon "Ghost" Riley headcanons

Throws up this and runs away. No cuz fr, I don't know how else to share this other than just *BLEH* *Runs* plz enjoy (I hope my boyfriend doesn't see) Word Count: 688 Fandom: Call of Duty Modern Warefare Purely sfw!!!!!!

I see so many people talk about him like he's this cold insecure guy, not for me, he has so much confidence and loves showing off especially in front of you. Soap showing you some dumb trick he can do with a knife? Ghost wil 100% come in like "Oh yea, watch this?" and do something 10x cooler. He catches you watching some guy on YouTube mincing some veggies really fast? Ghost will practice in his free time and randomly come to you like "Come, I wanna show you what I can do" and then make you watch him mince veggies. Anytime you take a selfie he has to photo bomb it in the back with him flexing or a peace sign, he's jsut silly like that.

Bro cannot cook for shit. He burns everything so he sticks with microwaved meals or a sausage on a stove (courtesy of this post) If he's cooking and you're around he will look to you with a desperate face and say something like "Help me out, yeah? Cmon"

TOUCHING!!!!!! LOVE LANGUAGE IS TOUCHING!!!!!! He NEEDS to be touching you in some way. Sitting on a couch, but someone is in between you and him? He has his arm reaching out behind them to touch your hair/shoulder. He's laying down with you sitting up? His feet are under your thighs. He loves touching you in way that aren't super obvious, but when you're alone he needs to be holding you in some way.

I like to think he plays video games on his free time. Maybe not like Minecraft (He would definitely play if you asked him) but more like FPS games cuz he knows he'd be good. (He also has a banger set up that he's really proud of, he'd build you a PC if you asked)

If you guys are just friends/long distance, you'd talk to him over Discord, maybe you have a server with him. (And perhaps Soap and Gaz....Price too old :3) He would ping you like "@name I wanna play a game, play with me." and you you didn't respond fast enough, he would spam ping until you answer cuz he's desperate for your attention.

He likes to look at you, whenever you call him he will instantly switch to a video call so he can see your face, but he's the tyep to not pay attention and only show his forehead because of how he holds his phone. Maybe on discord before you play he asks you to turn your camera on and when you don't wanna he hangs up and refuses to join back. (Cuz hes a big baby)

Back rubs, giving and recieving....need I say more

He made an instagram/twitter/whatever you use, just to follow you. He only ever follows you until Gaz or Soap beg him for a follow, Price again doesn't really care for it. He likes all of your posts, including the cringey ones. If you post selfies and get compliments, he'd reply to someone saying "Get in line" or "They're taken, fuck off with ya"

His texts are short, but you can tell how he really means it, he's better with actual words than texts because he likes being able to look at your reactions. Things like "You wanna get some takeaway? I can order you something, what would you like?" Will turn into "Food, yea?" in text.

He'd let you paint his nails, would go around showing people what his "Lovie" did to him. He'd also be surprisingly good at painting yours, steady hands~

"Hey, Ghost" "Simon." "What?" "You heard me."

He likes playfighting, maybe you're standing next to him and he'll randomly shove you just to get a reaction, he finds it cute.

If you own a pet, it loves him, but he doesn't love the shedding. Ruins his edgy look.

He cares, but he shows it quietly so he doesn't embarrass you in any way. If you're crying, he'll come to you and give you a soft headpat, or rub your back. He won't say anything until after you've calmed down That's all for now~~ I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do!! If you want more PLEASE TELL ME I WILL DELIVER!!!!!

[manygeese]

mega projecting rn, this is

PERCY JACKSON CHARACTERS AS SONGS FROM MY PLAYLIST

aka what I think they would do for karaoke, what’s they like, and what song is them coded

PERCY

What he’d do karaoke to: Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin. Son of Poseidon thinks water songs are funny.

What song he’d like the most: either Angry Young Man or Allentown, both by Billy Joel. Hard hitting lyrics and instrumentals to match.

What song he has the vibes of: Kodachrome by Paul Simon. Silly, jaunty, but kind of soothing at the same time. Reminds you of your childhood, almost.

ANNABETH

What she’d do karaoke to: Stand by Me by Ben E. King. She’s a romantic lady, what can I say? She’d totally be winking at Percy when she sings the chorus.

What song she’d like the most: Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) by Christopher Cross. She has classical vibes and this is the closest thing to classical as I have on my playlist. Also, I feel like she’d love jazz and this is jazz-adjacent.

What song she has the vibes of: She’s Always A Woman by Billy Joel. Sentimental, cool, but still oozing with emotion.

JASON

What he’d do karaoke to: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. Boy puts on a performance.

What song he’d like the most: My Way by Frank Sinatra. He feels good about himself and all the stuff he’s been through while listening to it.

What song he has the vibes of: Out of Touch by Daryl Hall & John Oates. Edgy, cool, and a bop.

PIPER

What she’d do karaoke to: Lovefool by The Cardigans. Daughter of Aphrodite thinks love songs are funny. She’s a really good singer though, so she can choose any song and still knock everybody’s socks off.

What song she’d like the most: Yesterday by the Beatles. I think she’d like sad songs (not breakup songs, more like “wallowing in self pity, wondering what happened to us” songs).

What song she has the vibes of: Thank You For the Music by ABBA. Self worth problems, putting all your value in one ability? Piper coded.

LEO

What he’d do karaoke to: Let’s Hear It for the Boy by Deniece Williams or Thank God I’m A Country Boy by John Denver. The first because he’s some sort of LGBT+ and thinks it’s funny, the second because he’s Texan and thinks it’s funny. Also Fernando by ABBA.

What song he’d like the most: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! He identifies with it. Also he loves the dorky Just Dance for it.

What song he has the vibes of: Telephone Line by Electric Light Orchestra. Hopeless romantic vibes right there.

HAZEL

What she’d do karaoke to: Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra. She’d eat any jazz song up, really, but this one’s got her name written all over it.

What song she’d like the most: Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce. It’s got that school house rock vibe that you know she’d love. And also, bar fights! Yay!

What song she has the vibes of: Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. Happy, sends a message, gives off sunny day and Hazel vibes.

FRANK

What he’d do karaoke to: Delilah by Tom Jones. He’s belting this shit in the shower at 3 AM.

What song he’d like the most: Oh, What A Beautiful Morning by Gordon Macrae from the musical Oklahoma. He’s embarrassed to admit it, but this boy loves old Roger’s and Hammerstein musicals (The Music Man, Carousel, etc.) that go on for too long and have unnecessary songs. He thinks they’re pretty.

What song he has the vibes of: Everybody Loves Somebody by Dean Martin. Gentle giant vibes.

NICO

What he’d do karaoke to: So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III) by Tom Lehrer. He’s a sucker for old satirical songs and loves watching his friends react as he sings them.

What song he’d like the most: The Vatican Rag by Tom Lehrer. Again, because he likes satirical songs. He cried laughing the first time he heard it, having grown up in the Catholic Church (of Italy, no less).

What song he has the vibes of: Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas. Stark contrast from the earlier songs but it’s just… so Nico coded. The type of stuff you can head bang but also perform ballet to.

REYNA

What she’d do karaoke to: We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel. She memorized the whole thing and likes flexing on everybody else about it because they don’t have the guts nor the dedication.

What song she’d like the most: Fame by Irene Cara. She unwinds to this in her room after a long day. She also totally does embarrassing dances to it.

What song she has the vibes of: Leningrad by Billy Joel. A song about war, seemingly endless cycles of violence, but small victories and reconciliation.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

John Lennon Tribute Songs – Musings and Impressions

I decided this morning to look into what John Lennon tribute songs (+songs about John's death) are out there and found the results quite mixed but interesting. So here's some of my thoughts on them.

Includes songs by: Bob Dylan, The Cranberries, David Gilmour, Elton John, George Harrison, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Queen.

All Those Years Ago – George Harrison (1981)

Roll On John – Bob Dylan (2012)

Probably the most classic tribute song on this list, which is why I'm mentioning it first. I think it's somewhat misunderstood, because in my opinion it is far more personal than it's sometimes given credit for, even though it does fall into some clichés with how it references John's songs. It's overall positive, focusing on the good aspects of John and George's relationship as well as of John's legacy as a whole, with a few problematizing nuggets peppered in ("Living with good and bad"; "You had control of our smiles and our tears"). I see how the religious edge might be off-putting to some, but it feels incredibly earnest to me. The rock n' roll guitar riff is a lovely tribute to John's unabashed love for that genre.

(Also, I wrote a bit more in depth about the song and how I think it relates to George's view of John here.)

This is not a song I can justify the existence of. If it had been released shortly after John's murder maybe, but I don't see what it brought to the table 30+ years after the fact. It feels extremely gimmicky, dropping simplistic lyrical references and Wikipedia-page facts, and otherwise doesn't seem like it has anything substantial to say. I don't think these types of songs have to be written by someone who had a deep personal connection with the subject, but none of this feels natural, earned, or remotely insightful and the emotions are rather vapid.

Murder – David Gilmour (1984)

This song is musically interesting and the lyrics are quite compelling, but the centering of MDC's point of view is somewhat uncomfortable, given the actual context of his motivations. I feel this song works better as a reflection on murder as a concept, rather than a specific murder.

I Just Shot John Lennon – The Cranberries (1996)

The title of this one worried me but actually it sounds like it could be on Some Time in New York City if you threw a few saxes onto it; John wrote about tragedies in a very similar way (like the Troubles, which The Cranberries – of course – also wrote about). Despite the directness, this works and feels poignant rather than edgy.

Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) – Elton John (1982)

I like the way this song opens with the metaphor of a gardener, giving the song a degree of universality, not just in the sense that John "belonged to the world" but also that it could be related to any loss. This is contrasted with the bridge ("And I've been knockin', but no one answers…"), where John is finally name-dropped, which adds such a personal touch to the song. It's masterful and heartbreaking, especially given the fact that Elton was having trouble getting through to John during his lifetime as well. A wonderful, heartfelt tribute.

The Late Great Johnny Ace – Paul Simon (1983)

This feels less like a tribute and more like a reflection on history. John's death in 1980 is contrasted with Johnny Ace's death in 1954, as well as John F. Kennedy's in 1963. The music is harrowing and intriguing, which really underlines the senselessness of all these deaths. I enjoy the observed parallelisms and the way Paul manages to make the song personal despite not having a close rapport with John. In that way it kind of reminds me of A Day In The Life.

I Don't Know Why – Yoko Ono (1981)

Life Is Real (Song for Lennon) – Queen (1982)

Like Here Today mentioned below, this is more of an anti-tribute song in my view. Ultimately it seems that to Yoko, the search for meaning in John's death is fruitless. Musically, the song is a bit long and repetitive, but as she sings: "You left me, you left me, you left me without words."

Also, the story the album cover tells is poignant, possibly more so than any song on it: a glass, which could be half empty or half full; the fog like an uncertain future, clouding the New York skyline; a pair of glasses, the ghost of a lost loved one; and vision itself, forever obstructed by the murder Yoko was forced to witness.

Musically, I find this one to be quite wonderful and I think I can see how it was influenced by John's sound to an extent. But it also appears to be so personal to Freddie Mercury as well as rather cryptic that it feels odd as a tribute, per se. That's not really a problem in my opinion, but it's notable that without the name-drop it wouldn't even be obvious this song was about someone – let alone John Lennon – having died. This makes the "(Song For Lennon)" part of the title feel a tad performative.

Here Today – Paul McCartney (1982)

It was thinking about this song this morning that prompted me to go listen to the other entries. While "All Those Years Ago" is a song in which George seems to proclaim that he understands John better than most people, on "Here Today", Paul discredits himself as a source on John basically immediately; within the first few lines of the song, he asserts that John would laugh in response to Paul claiming he really knew John. He's in a sense shooting down the idea of writing a straightforward tribute like George's because he does not appear to trust himself to make absolute statements on who John was. Instead, he shifts the focus to his own experience of their relationship, declaring that he loves John and is thankful, despite their possible lack of mutual understanding.

The song is fiercely personal and does not leave space for someone to relate to it as an uninvolved fan of John's, or even as one of John's loved ones who is not Paul, like Empty Garden and All Those Years Ago do. And yet Paul plays this song every night in concert as a tribute. It fascinates me deeply, not to mention it is lyrically one of his standout pieces as well as immensely moving musically.

[rebornologist]

Hi! I absolutely love your blog and all the wonderful things you've written, thank you so much for sharing your incredible work on here <3

I wanted to ask if ud be open to writing headcanons for a poly! relationship between gokudera, enma and their s/o?

Either way I wish you the most wonderful day and hope you are surrounded with vibes as good as your writing✨

Thank you for the kind words, nonny! I interpreted it as a dynamic wherein Gokudera and Enma are separately dating the same person, with informed consent. I honestly might add more/change my mind on these after I reread the Simon arc and get a refresher on their interactions in canon, but I have a few thoughts on it. I could not pass up an opportunity to talk about polyamory, so I hope these suffice for now!

♡ Gokudera/SO/Enma Headcanons ✧

Gokudera and Enma met through Tsuna and only grew closer when they both started dating the same person. Their S/O was completely transparent about it as their individual relationships developed, and the two men were initially pretty awkward around each other unless their shared partner was present. I think that the bond that they form as time goes on is still fairly platonic, if not only physically.. intimate, on occasion, with their partner in between.

In the beginning, Hayato felt quite tense about the arrangement and had to work through some of his insecurities to wrap his head and heart around the idea of not competing for his S/O’s affections. Enma is fairly accepting from the get-go, trusting his S/O’s positive words about Gokudera, but not being very proactive in getting to know him any more than that.

They filled different relationship niches, and it was surprisingly easy to fall into a comfortable routine, since the boys were busy with different things at different times. Their S/O gets some of the Vongola drama and Simon drama mixed up sometimes, as they both vent to their partner about new developments and whatever’s been stressing them out lately.

It’s fairly interesting for their S/O to introduce their boyfriends because from photos, people often assume that both of them are super edgy bad boys, and they only hear about how sweet and soft these guys can be from their S/O. It’s not until they meet the boyfriends in question that it all makes sense. Gokudera and Enma may be the ultimate scary dog privilege, but they have a reputation amongst their friends of being super whipped for their S/O.

Their key bonding moment was when S/O suggested that they go to a cat cafe together, since all three of them have a soft spot for kitties. Enma taught Hayato a thing or two about how to properly handle the animals, and the storm guardian was so excited when some of the cats voluntarily snuggled into his lap. It was one of the moments where it both clicked in each of their minds what their S/O saw in the other.

Both of them can be a bit scatterbrained and will leave their rings, bracelets, and belt chains behind in their S/O’s living space after visiting. They even get them mixed up sometimes, and initially would constantly find themselves going ‘did I always have this ring?’ before it clicks in their head that it belongs to their boyfriend-in-law.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Need your Saltburn review though 👀

I will preface by saying that I personally find Emerald to be a filmmaker/writer that is rather boring at best and kind of... horrifically misled in that she thinks that shocking "darkness" = depth at worst. I think A Promising Young Woman had some fun visuals at points (and so does Saltburn--though I think this has less to do with Emerald having an eye and more for Emerald understanding aesthetic, which makes sense when you realize that her dad is an Eton-educated jeweler to the stars, King of Bling, I wonder if that possibly could ever have anything to do with a UK performer's rise, hmmmmm--) but the way it ended was just... Lol. Yes, Emerald! I know that this is how the story would probs end in real life, the women of the world NEEDED TO KNOW.

(Princess Weekes did a good little video essay about PYW btw, would recommend.)

But yeah, point is--I don't think Saltburn is a misstep for Emerald. I think she's just very mediocre and self-indulgent. You can be self-indulgent and get away with it when you have a vision and something to say (see: Baz). I don't think Emerald has something to say. I think Emerald has concepts, which she pushes to a point she thinks is edgy, but doesn't actually... string into a coherent idea.

First off, Saltburn is nothing new; and it doesn't need to be. I like the pretentious rich people problems aesthetic. I love the bacchanal of the upper crust sensibility. Hell, I loved Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Sierra Simone's Thornchapel series is one of my favorite things she's done. I love Cruel Intentions. I also love The Talented Mr. Ripley, which--

My good man. If you wish to watch what you think Saltburn was going to be, but with better actors (including Jude Law in what is essentially the Jacob Elordi role, which, uh, how we have fallen as a society) and honestly better homoeroticism in a movie made like 20 years ago... just watch The Talented Mr. Ripley.

But yeah. So, I think everything Emerald does is meant to shock but doesn't go quite far enough. It's little moments that happen, and aren't really contextualized in a way that feels like it's there to be anything more than shock value, which makes it less shocking. Like, the period fingerbang--if those characters had a dynamic which led up to that moment, if I felt the actual power play there, it might actually shock me. Or be sexy? For the record, Fair Play has a period sex scene within its first five minutes that is both more surprising and better in every way. The shit with Farleigh? Would be compelling. That was the one bit of chemistry in the movie, the moment when Oliver and Farleigh talked to each other right before the whole singalong disaster. But then it's happening and I'm like "why is Barry Keoghan fucking everyone in this movie except for Jacob Elordi? What is the point?"

And what is the point indeed. Jacob Elordi has the charisma of a medium-sized tree, and I suspect a medium-sized tree would do a better job of ditching the Aussie accent. Emerald's inadequacies could be overcome and made into a thing that is campy, maybe? Not good, but fun? Barry Keoghan does his best with the material. He's fun in the last like ten minutes of the movie wherein he's basically monologuing like a demented real housewife and dancing around naked. He tries so hard to create chemistry with Jacob, while Jacob's vibe is very "no homo". (But the character is supposed to be no homo, you say--is he, first off, because I honestly don't know what Emerald is saying, and second... Like.... The character can be not attracted to Barry's character will still giving us an essence of intrigue that would inform why Barry is spellbound.)

But the biggest issue is that the movie hinges on Jacob Elordi being worthy of obsession, and he is just a flop in this role. He doesn't sell himself as this posh, beautiful, Brideshead Revisited-But-A-Bro guy. He can't really act (there's a scene where the movie cuts to him giving a smile that I think is supposed to be charming and I went "yikes" out loud). He is up against people who are actually actors, which makes it a bit worse. Everything feels very forced and constructed, for want of a better term. If you do not get WHY this guy, then the movie flops. And try as I might, I cannot get WHY this guy.

(Might I add--the bathtub scene would've been more intriguing had we seen Jacob interact with the voyeurism, some sense that he knew, whether or not he enjoyed it. The queerness in this movie is so... It's just this queer guy being obsessed and rebuffed and murderous, and I don't know, there didn't seem to be enough exploring the ramifications of that kind of story.)

The Talented Mr. Ripley also hinges on the focal point of obsession being worthy of obsession. And again. It's Jude Law. And it's Jude Law giving a really good performance, too.

The movie also does some shit I really don't think it's equipped to do. Like, the premise is essentially the working class interloper (but like, he's not as working class as he saaaays so oooooohhhhh) is preying on this family of rich folks who offered him a place to land. And it's not inherently bad, imo, to tell that story. However, you need the rich people to have some role beyond being prey; you need to understand the predator's contempt beyond jealousy. But the rich people are cardboard. They aren't sharp. They may have a few throwaway lines that illustrate their own sins (including some very clumsily handled racism) but ultimately the movie gives Oliver more power than it does the elite upon whom he preys. So ultimately, you come away from it feeling like you're watching the anxieties of the upper class, re: the encroaching middle and working class... But there's no examination, because the rich people are just victims lol. I think it's genuine anxiety.

Yeah though, I thought it was really hokey basically.

[nekrophoria]

Tell us your 3 fave OC ships and the song(s) or other media you associate with them. Pass this on to 3 others (on or off anon) and let's keep the game going!

Thank you so much for this ask! <3

Honestly this is hella hard to answer for me given that

a) I can't get myself to keep going with Volatile for some fucking reason so a lot of potential ships in my story aren't realized yet or worse the characters in it haven't even been properly introduced yet (kill me, I'm bad at this)

and b) I'm really not that good at this whole romantic ship thing I'm realizing, the relationships that I personally find the most interesting in my story are either platonic, friendships, parental, sibling like relationships...that kinda stuff.

There are very few ships that I have planned in Volatile at the moment. And a lot of them are kinda crack ships or ships that are completely doomed by the narrative aka me.

Then of course there's the fact that I would spoil the hell out of people by dabbling into ships that haven't been introduced yet so....eh.....

That being said, I don't know if I can really give a good answer to this, much less an answer that anyone reading this could actually follow or find interesting at this point in time x_x

Anywhoo...I'll try.

Let's start with Roland and Liz,which is like the only potential canon ship I have in Volatile at the moment xDD

(some spoilery pics cuz I feel like it)

I absolutely adore these two together but as of now I don't think they'll have a future unless I decide to do a major rewrite. Idk. We'll see,

Anyhoo...these songs always makes me think of them:

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

Then my favourite Crack/AU ship, Mabon and Caspian (courtesy of @drawing-way-outside-the-lines)

They're not really a crack ship xD But I didn't really have the chance to develop them much just yet, so as of now they're just an outlet for more nsfw and edgy shit and a more unhinged Mabon who wouldn't really be in character in the canon universe.

I find their dynamic interesting though because I feel like they both see the worst parts of themselves in each other which validates them and their behavior in certain ways, but also causes them to low key despise each other. It's a picture book co-dependent relationship that could force them to confront parts of themselves that they'd probably much rather ignore.

They have a couple of songs that I relate to them but I feel like these sum up their relationship the best:

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

Aaaand last but not least:

Mel and Simon

I am not entirely sure yet how this ship will evolve, again, since Simon hasn't even been introduced in Volatile yet despite him being present on my blog for quite some time now.

But I think they're cute af together, and they have the potential to do each other a lot of good or absolutely wreck each other . That's all I can say as of now.

They also get two songs

One from Simon's view:

One from Mel's view:

[ladyhindsight]

The latest chapter included many a bullshit and onward we go. We left Isabelle blackout drunk at Jordan's, Clary escaping Magnus' place via Portal, Simon at the Greenwich Hotel partaking in a job interview with Raphael who wants an indestructible bodyguard. Great. This chapter also greatly reveals how Clare sees the issues Clary faces in comparison to Isabelle's, and I am disgusted.

We now cut to Clary at Taki's waiting for Simon because it is the only Shadow World restaurant in the whole city of New York. Why visit any place else anyway? Simon arrives, his jokes don't land, and he gets concerned:

→ As much so that it needs repetition.

→ The bell as a gift from the Seelie Queen is mentioned in the very first chapter and recapped there. It is even written: "Clary remembered the words of the faerie girl who had handed her the bell." Clary tells Simon about "Kaelie's visit to Luke and Jocelyn’s reception, and her promises to Clary about the Seelie Queen’s help" in the chapter 2 "Thorns" of this book.

Ample opportunity to mention it was Kaelie who gifted the bell on behalf of the queen instead of cramming that information right there as if the readers can't keep up. We know who she is, we know what was her role in this. Hence:

→ It was Kaelie, (the blue-eyed faerie waitress,) who looked at Clary and grinned, a superior grin...

As I said, it is unfortunate there is no place else to go where Kaelie can't show off her happiness over Clary's dismay. Because they serve blood there but apparently there is no place else in the New York that serves also blood

But Simon isn't crying, even the edgy tears of blood. Clare has an annoying habit of delivering information with justifications that only weaken the purpose of delivering that information in the first place.

True, but I love to assign blame, especially to Jace and Clary, because the writing sure does not do it.

Clary tells Simon of her grand plan of infiltrating with Sebastian and Jace. She reveals where she went off to after leaving Magnus' place: She went to steal the faerie rings (conveniently mentioned only in this book once they became relevant to the plot) from the Institute library. They then test them out.

Brother Zachariah spoke to them in the previous chapter, it makes sense to call back to the similarity of that. But also now that Clare's intent on tying TID with TMI is more evident by the book, it also (to me) feels like forcing a mention of the characters or things from TID at every possible opportunity. Especially since Brother Zachariah is barely the first of Silent Brothers Clary has spoken to (or who have spoken to Clary).

→ the way she/they (as in everyone) heard the Silent Brothers → the way the Silent Brothers spoke

What I don't understand and the writing never cares to explain in this moment is why Alec and Isabelle aren't included in this part of the plan. How I see it, they'd rather throw Clary at any opportunity of getting Jace back than worry for her. Nothing in their relationship (because it barely exists) would make them side with Simon and be apprehensive of her safety versus getting Jace back.

We then cut to Maia visiting Jordan, and everything is awful.

Imagine making someone carrying a backpack of all things all about you.

Maia has arrived to Jordan's place to ask for help. Isabelle then pops up, and the three of them talk about the current situation with Luke and Jace. Maia delivers Isabelle a message from Magnus, asking Jordan to reach out to the Praetor Lupus.

A werewolf dying is not an affair of the Clave.

Not that long since they are already making out in a car in the next chapter. I remember Clary and Jace being the most difficult ones to read but no, everything to do with Jordan is just suffering.

Then Isabelle says: "I want my brother,” she said. “I want to see Alec." And Maia says: “Well, that’s good,” Maia said. “Because after Magnus called me, he sent a follow-up text. He said he had a feeling you’d be here, and he had a message for you. He wants you to go to his apartment in Brooklyn, right away.” This will be relevant just a bit from here.

We then cut to Isabelle arriving at Magnus' place.

This reads weird. It's like three things loosely related to each other strung together. The pause if a bit iffy when 'though' appears as a subordinating conjunction in the middle of a sentence.

→ The warmth came from a fire leaping in the grated fireplace though there were no chimneys in the building, but the fire had (or did have) the blue-green tinge of enchanted flame.

→ The warmth came from a fire leaping in the grated fireplace. There were no chimneys in the building, but the fire had the blue-green tinge of enchanted flame.

It just seems too convoluted way of saying there was an enchanted fire in the fireplace that has no chimney leading out.

Because Alec is barefoot (important detail) it is essential to mention what he is wearing. Also this book does this with basically everyone who appears for the first time.

MAGNUS. He was wearing what for Magnus was a somber ensemble—jeans and a black T-shirt with rivets around the collar and cuffs. + His hair was wet, dripping onto the shoulders of his white shirt and making it transparent. He wore jeans with holes in them and fraying hems + the canary yellow pajamas and green alien slippers with antennae

CLARY. She was wearing jeans and rubber-soled sneakers, and a soundless rune was carved into her ankle.

JORDAN. wearing a green shirt that hugged his leanly muscled body in all the right places and brought out the hazel color of his eyes. *barf* + Jordan stood behind her, wearing dark jeans and a black sweater half-zipped over a green T-shirt.

ISABELLE. Isabelle sat atop one of the boulders, wearing a long dress of bottle-green silk with an embroidered black and silver coat over it + She wore black suede knee-high boots, tight jeans, and a red silky top with her familiar red pendant around her throat

ALEC. He was wearing his usual ratty sweater and jeans, but a dark blue scarf that matched his eyes was wrapped around his throat + He wore a long leather duster open over a blue sweater

SEBASTIAN. He wore a white shirt, the sleeves pulled up + Sebastian had been wearing a long black wool trench coat that had looked expensive.

JACE. His hands were careless in the pockets of his jeans, his Marks visible through his white T-shirt. Over it was thrown an unfamiliar tan suede jacket that brought out the gold undertones to his skin. + Jace’s clothes had been clean, stylish, ordinary + He wore a dark blue sweater that made his hair look like sunlight.

MAIA. She was wearing jeans and a caramel-colored leather jacket, and her hair was pulled up behind her head with bronze chopsticks

CAMILLE. She wore a neat black suit now with high-heeled red shoes, and her hair spilled down her shoulders in waves and curls.

→ It's not wrong or any sort of error to describe what your characters are wearing, it shows the character's persona, but I feel like I am now constantly reading what everyone here is wearing any given day.

Where Clare reveals the issues are hierarchical. Just in previous chapter 6 "No Weapon in this World" where they discuss Jocelyn and Isabelle going to the Iron Sisters, Magnus literally says:

"It's late, and we don't need to wake her up. Everyone needs rest. If I am to send any of you through to the Iron Sisters, it will be tomorrow.”

But then Maia tells Isabelle Magnus wants her there right away? Everyone needs rest, except Isabelle. Because Isabelle did not witness her 9-year-old little brother brutally murdered when she should've been the one to protect him (just weeks ago), doesn't have his brother missing and in a demonic bond with the enemy, doesn't have any problems that could even supersede whatever Clary is going through any given moment. A proper answer to Isabelle's question:

→ "I know, I'm sorry. But we do need you." (Because Alec just previous to this says, "Don’t go to pieces. We need you.”

Also great how Isabelle isn't afforded to "go to pieces" but Clary is allowed all the tears and temper tantrums in the world.

→ The classic "As you know" when delivering information to the readers. Here Alec is delivering information they both have known for their whole lives basically. They don't need to explain this to each other. Also why do they only speak to women? They were all once regular Nephilim that spoke to also men. What is the reason for this?

→ Jocelyn's motivation for going is incredibly unclear. She isn't going for Jace because she doesn't give a crap about him aside from when it concerns Clary's happiness and Jace has barely made Clary's life happy with his antics. All I can assume is that she wants Sebastian dead for all he has done and she knows he'll do with the added bonus of not not killing Jace in the process.

→ Jocelyn is such a plot device. How come Jocelyn ever possessed one of the greatest magical books of all time? We don't know but the plot demands it. How come Jocelyn has visited the Adamant Citadel before and for what reason? No idea but she needs to go as a tour guide for Isabelle.

Alec just said, "in the morning." ↑

Magnus takes Isabelle to her room and hilarity ensues.

For someone who steals coffee and constantly changes his furniture in a whim, it's weird that Magnus can't magic himself proper curtain holders. Convenient for unfunny quips.

→ Great how Alec's emotional life is common knowledge apparently?

→ How is the writing so self-aware at points but refuses to apply this logic to characters like Jace? Because bias, and Jace is worth the destruction of everyone else's happiness.

PARABATAI? Parabatai. Parabatai? Parabatai.

Oh stooop, you're spoiling us with this much parabatai talk about Jace and Alec. But oh no, it's really not about Jace and Alec at all. It's another opportunity for Clare to flaunt Will and Jem and their bond (and make yet another TID reference). This in actuality has nothing more to do with Jace and Alec than having to mention their bond because parabatai exist again in the series.

→ Fuck yeah there ain't! Finally Isabelle standing up for Alec. Now let's implement this to arguments with Jace and Clary as well.

→ Love and blood are not the same, said the Seelie Queen once. You think Isabelle of all people needs to ask Clary shit about this. Isabelle could say the same thing about Jace, that of course Jace loves her, she is his sister. And then there is no bullshit argument like this where everything once again revolves around Clary.

We cut to Clary at Luke's house, baiting Jace to come and get her. She tests out the faerie ring with Simon and they say their goodbyes for the time being. There's this part after they finish their talk:

And that was all. There was no click, as when you hung up a phone; Clary just sensed a severing of their connection, as if a cord had been cut inside her head. She wondered if this was what Alec meant when he talked about the breaking of the parabatai bond.

Yes, their parabatai bond is so shitty is might as well be equated to ending a faerie ring telephone call.

Cut to Simon arriving at Magnus' place also because that is were everyone is gathering in this chapter to snooze. He gets in the bed with Isabelle and makes important discoveries:

Again, convenient magic does not act conveniently when it comes to repair work.

Then we cut back to Clary, and Jace arrives to take her.

And honestly, from what I remember the whole book is going to feel like this endless long time with Jace and Clary's adventures with evil brother. With Clary leaving with Jace, the chapter ends and the first part of the book is finished. A positive note I can make is that at least the part one "No Evil Angel" is somewhat coherent part of the book and makes a clear cut between the beginning of the story and whatever bullcrap comes next.