#unhappy-sometimes

[cantareincminor]

Liars and Killers

Thank you to the amazing @unhappy-sometimes for this beautiful birthday gift! She asked me what my favorite scene in Orpheus is, and I may have word vomited all my favorite scenes at her while trying mightily not to spoil the fic (too late).

Spoilers under the cut:

From Ch. 32 "Liars and Killers":

"...I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, but I don’t deserve to. The words feel so cheap and dirty coming from a liar like me.” “Just say it, love. I don’t see a liar. Do you see a killer when you look at me?”

Orpheus has a lot of emotional highs and lows, and this chapter is one of the major turning points in the story. All the Project Apple stuff, Garden lore, etc. came much later in my planning. But I had known from the start that I would write the catharsis of Ch. 32. When I finally arrived at it, I was so happy. The happiness of creating something deeply meaningful to myself, and hopefully to readers.

I love how @unhappy-sometimes portrays emotions in Twilight, whether he is enamored, annoyed, freaking out, or an emotional wreck. And she always makes Yor look so soft and caring. This moment came together beautifully in her art.

Thank you again friend!!!

P.S. Making fun of myself here...the wording I chose belatedly reminded me of this:

[attleboy]

here's something you guys probably forgot about.... the pomni backflip art i promised for 10k notes on the post that now has 16k notes... whoops i may have let her land the backflip but at the end of the day she is a failgirl :)

[sparring-spirals]

I was initially clipping this to capture the overwhelmingly accurate, absolutely devastating hilarity of "you went for realistic, and sadly, you nailed it". And then just kept recording because I really fucking love the discussion about how to balance the line between like:

You are trying to tell a story that feels good and gives you the kind of lift you might be looking for in an explicitly fantasy story,

vs

How to ensure it still feels grounded and rewarding in a way where you can "bring this good feeling back to earth" at the end.

Like they're talking about TTRPG's but they clearly make parallels to other forms of storytelling/worldbuilding mediums, like movies, and. like. Yeah. Yeah.

Like the framing of "you really recreated the feeling of powerlessness..." and wanting the fantasy element to manifest in there being the clearer, straightforward ways to solve complex issues, vs trying to ensure that you can have a victory and it feels feasible and substantial and applicable in some way, and has something you can take out of the fantasy world and hold with you back on "terra firma".

Its tricky! Its a tricky thing to balance, and I don't think there's a single "right" answer nor should there be because it depends. It depends on the story, and the intent, and the setting, and the medium, and etc. Big fan of this framework to explain it.

[bonesandthebees]

sigh feeling nostalgic for my old fics/the old community these days. I miss it man.

[turtleblogatlast]

Sometimes I wonder if Leo’s instant latching onto Señor Hueso is due to the fact that Hueso is an older adult man (specifically a father at that) who, while fed up with Leo a lot of the time, still deigns to give him a modicum of attention.

Considering Leo’s a Leo, he craves that attention from a father figure, even if said attention isn’t positive. As long as he’s acknowledged, that’s enough for him, since he’s already used to being his own biggest (and often only) fan as is.

Luckily, Hueso does come around and (reluctantly) forms a connection with Leo as well, but again, I have to wonder if Leo picked out Hueso for a reason.

[decolonize-the-everything]

Had a tik tok in my Facebook memories that said something about how with anti-maskers it ultimately comes down to them perceiving doing things for others as weakness since they grew up in a hyper-individulistic society. It's them exerting autonomy and refusing to stop under peer pressure, largely just for the sake of fighting something since that's a strength. A value. "I don't let others tell me what to do because I can't be controlled"

Made me think that everyone else bought into the same type of individualistic rhetoric through pop psychology: having "good" boundaries means never needing others and always putting yourself before everyone else regardless of circumstance and especially if they make you feel any feeling you don't want to feel. ...Like guilty for not caring enough to keep wearing a mask in 2023. That's a strength. A value. "I don't let others tell me what to do because I love myself"

The conclusion here being: being needed/needing others is a threat to your autonomy which is a Value to protect.

And when you really think about it applies to more than masking; supporting BIPOC, watching the news, showing up to protests, etc.

"I'm already depressed, I can't handle it. I'm watching out for my own mental health by not participating"

"it's all woke which makes me feel like a bad person cuz Im a bigot so I only watch what validates my bias"

And personally I get a little suspicious when two sides defined by their opposite social values come to the same social conclusion.

You should too. This rhetoric is holding us back. Individualism is holding us back. People need people. It's not toxic or abusive or manipulative to admit that, no matter how much society has tried to make you believe otherwise.

Oppressed people needing allies and your friends who need help moving aren't violating your boundaries or "bad for your mental health" just because You don't want to show up AND not feel bad about it.

Can the generation that grew up screaming "I don't know how to teach you that you should care about other people" at boomers please stand up and take a heaping tablespoon of your own medicine.

And then show gen z how to swallow it because growing up in the social climate we millennials curated online hasn't exactly inspired feelings of confidence in others or the future.

Both of which we still care about right? We still care about other people and the future? Not just ourselves?

Just want to confirm that we haven't gone Full Boomer as a collective yet cuz at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if someone responded saying that being expected to care about their friends is akin communist dictatorship

And could this be a Red Scare Psyop meant to discourage you from finding community, collectivism, and mutual aid in a time where your hyper-individulistic behavior and beliefs are being exploited for record breaking profits in the name of capitalism?

[taylorrepdetective]

I know she had era tour but I don’t think I can do it w a broken heart is actually eras tour

I thought of this too. Maybe sometime down under? No way to know, but I did think the line she threw in at the end “Try and come for my job” might have hinted at something. I can read it both ways. As always, we’ll never know for sure. But I think it’s fair to say she has felt this way many times. It reminded me of Katy having to go on stage immediately after having her husband tell her he was filing for divorce. And it’s relatable. We’ve all had to put on a happy face at work and pretend things are fine at home.

[f4gwithf4ngs]

wish i had top surgery so when i make out with someone they can have their hands roam under my shirt (or even be shirtless) without me shriveling into a dried up worm

[doodle-empress66]

I loved this episode addressing Millie and how she feels sometimes in her relationship with Moxxie. It a plot line I feel will come again in later episodes. Also, how Moxxie is kind of a jealous bitch a little

[toadsrbutch]

it’s so wild to me that that was me 7ish years ago vs now… butchification & growth & happiness

[lilyblisslys]

yeah pronoun circles are cringe and it feels weird to be clocked but like. Whatever. I’d rather have someone ask for my pronouns, I’m visibly trans and I��m not ashamed of that lol

I mean now that I have more sizable tits I feel a little better about people assuming she/her for me, but there’s a non zero chance I go back to they/them so whatever 🤷‍♀️

[hcnnibal]

Hi! Been thinking about the angels in the context of Hozier’s Francesca (esp cause I got to see him sing it live last night 😍), and it made me wonder whether, if given the chance, the boys would go through it all again to come back to each other. I assume yes for a2, but a1 seems like he has a lot of regrets and resentment. Would he want an easier life, if it meant not having a2? And how much more would it make him hate himself?

The brain rot is terminal, I’m afraid.

firstly— congrats!!! i hope u had fun!!

that song is already so devastating but the added angel context makes me feel a little like a salted slug :) my first instinct is to say that a1 would also be willing to go through all of it again but now im thinking about… the uh .. words exchanged in chapter 5..

[blueskyscribe]

Speaking of Earthspark Starscream being an antagonist, I also hope we see more conflict between the Malto siblings. I used to babysit as a teen and I've never seen a family with lots of kids that didn't have serious sibling rivalry, kids acting out in a bid to get attention, etc. Individually I like each Malto kid, but as a collective they have less personality clashes than, like, G1 My Little Ponies (who bullied ponies for "having no feelings" and accused each other of ruining tape decks before Learning Not To), and that's a shame. Because interpersonal conflicts are interesting.

I hope Thrash gets a chance to achieve Cheetor-levels of rebellion, b/c I was rewatching Beast Wars recently and boy Cheetor really got into trouble on the regular.

[jollymalt]

tiktok is such a draining platform for an artist. especially when you're doing silly fandom art. there's this line between constructive criticism and straight up mean shit and it's being crossed on the daily there. i guess sometimes it stings a bit harder for me, because i purely draw for fun. i am not trying to win a contest, i never properly learned any of this. i just want to have fun.

so a disclaimer here: i know my art isn't perfect, but thank you for at least being civil with me. and to my artist buds, you're doing amazing.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

The more the time passes, the more convinced I am that a reading of Jane Eyre that omits the theme of mercy as key to the story is incomplete at best and bad at worst.

[unhappy-sometimes]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA