fallmyfeathers

[fallmyfeathers]

She’s haunting the narrative and serving cunt. You could never be her

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Nathalie, Emilie, and the bird wives

@asukiess This post is for you

I've always been interested in stories of the swan maiden variety; in the typical iteration, a man comes upon a group of swan maidens in human form, and steals the cloak of feathers that allows one of them to transform back, while the others turn back into swans and flee, forcing her to become his wife. The story ends by her finding her swan skin and leaving him, and whatever children they had, forever. In this motif, the wife can also be some creature other than a swan, and the story falls broadly under the "Magic Wife" motif.

Recently, I've also been looking into the Japanese folktale of the crane wife, where a man saves a crane, and she comes to be his wife in return. To support them, she makes fine fabric for him to sell, but it's at great personal cost. The Wikipedia page for Tsuru no Ongaeshi tells the story like this:

"In The Crane Wife story, a man marries a woman who is in fact a crane disguised as a human. To make money, the crane wife plucks her own feathers to weave silk brocade, which the man sells, but she becomes increasingly ill as she does so. When the man discovers his wife's true identity and the nature of her illness, devastated by the truth, he demands her to stop. She responds that she has been doing it for love, for them. The man says that love exists without sacrifice, but he is wrong. He who lives without sacrifice for someone else does not deserve to be with a crane."

Looking through all the known variants listed on the Swan maiden page, I also found this reference under the Chinese oral tales heading:

"A tale from Southeastern China and near regions narrates the adventures of a prince who meets a Peacock Maiden, in a tale attributed to the Tai people. The tale is celebrated amongst the Dai people of China and was recorded as a poem and folk story, being known under several names, such as "Shaoshutun", "The Peacock Princess" or "Zhao Shutun and Lanwuluona" "

Anyway, you probably know where I'm going with this, but I think the crane wife is a really striking ringer for Nathalie's relationship with Gabriel, and presumably his marriage to Emilie. She plucks her peacock feathers to make magical gifts for him, despite the terrible toll it takes on her. He asks her not to sacrifice herself, but she insists she's doing it for them, out of love. Neither of them are wrong for the way they love, but they are wrong for each other, because Gabriel will never sacrifice himself for her the way she does.

As a crane wife, she's willingly giving up her feathers, but as a swan maiden, she's trapped against her will; he has something hidden away that she can't fly without, and in the meantime, she's working to raise their children and be a good wife, because she has no other option. I think the swan maiden story gives it a little more eminath razzle-dazzle; what else would Gabriel have hidden away that she couldn't leave without?

I think they're both cool lenses to look at the relationships through! :)

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drew this cute scene from sewing sentiments >:3 HOPE U ENJOY @frostedpuffs

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Dream team

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zero spice sugar daddy au where grown up ladybug can’t hold a job due to reasons related to randomly disappearing in the middle of a shift and offhandedly jokes to chat noir that she should find some rich guy to pay all her bills. naturally, chat noir, aka Some Rich Guy, is like 💡 “i have an idea my lady!!!” and she’s 🤨 but hears him out about Some Rich Guy (him) that would totally be on board. but she’s like “well i’m not sure i am actually comfortable with that because i was mostly joking???” so he assures her this guy will absolutely NOT expect any sex ever and would only like to maybe cuddle on occasion with no inappropriate touching. ladybug is like “sounds fake but i trust you” and chat noir responds with “i give you my word that this guy will never make a move” so she agrees. only to IMMEDIATELY regret everything when she meets this guy and it’s ADRIEN AGRESTE who is now trying very very hard to be 100% platonic so as not to break his promise to his lady. every time ladybug tries to bring it up he’s like “oh no just cuddling is all i need :) don’t worry I would never ask you to do anything like that” and she is ready to pull her hair out

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projection final boss

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I remembered that drawing on paper fucks severly, so here's me trying to figure out Rose's akumatized design and some more

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Our queer icon in Miraculous 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Sorry, I'm not drawing something big right now, I'm just resting. Maybe... It's artblock.... Whatever

[fallmyfeathers]

The Wall? THE WALL!!! We're finally halfway through! I think... I dunno I lost count lmao. Anyway, let's welcome Gisela Stahlberg to the crew!

Background

Gisela - a classic German name meaning “pledge” symbolizing loyalty and sacrifice

Stahlberg - from Stahl (steel) and Berg (mountain), evoking strength, resilience, and impenetrability

Born 1961 in East Berlin (GDR), just months after the construction of the Berlin Wall began

Raised in a modest but loyal Party household - father worked in state telecommunications; mother was a schoolteacher

Grew up under constant surveillance and ideological education

Gifted in mathematics, languages, and Cold War-era geopolitics

Drawn to philosophy and political theory, but opportunities were restricted due to Party suspicion of intellectuals

1983 – Escape to West Berlin (Age 22):

Disillusioned with ideological censorship and social control

Escaped via underground tunnel system with forged documents from dissidents

Lived in West Berlin under an assumed identity; worked briefly as a translator and aide to Eastern refugees

Became disenchanted with Western consumerism and political hypocrisy

Felt unseen, misunderstood - the East considered her a traitor, the West treated her as a curiosity

1986 – Return to East Berlin:

Returned secretly after learning her younger brother had been arrested during protests

Believed she could use her West connections to help her family

Captured by Stasi upon reentry; subjected to prolonged interrogation and psychological pressure

Council intervenes so she is not executed

Not executed, but professionally and socially blacklisted - unable to hold employment, monitored constantly

Maintained quiet contact with Council intermediaries; they became her only source of purpose as they slowly influence her - eventually joins the council

Brother dies in prison in 1987; official cause: suicide. Gisela never believed it.

Fall of the Wall:

Public celebration felt like a lie; Gisela remained unwelcome on both sides

West Berliners viewed her with suspicion; East Berliners treated her as a collaborator

Worked in post-reunification mediation circles, but was repeatedly pushed aside in favor of “cleaner” narratives

Began to believe true healing was impossible - that some walls were necessary to maintain order and identity

1998 – Personal Radicalization:

Witnessed a rise in xenophobia and far-right ideology in reunified Germany

Felt betrayed by liberal promises of integration and unity

Developed a personal philosophy: control brings peace, not freedom

Privately drafted political essays under pseudonyms advocating strategic re-division of nations to avoid chaos

2016 – Present Day:

Now known globally as “Die Eisenfrau”

Works as a Geopolitical Conflict Consultant: consulted by UN advisory panels, European Commission, and private security think tanks

Appears in public as a philanthropist, peace negotiator, and policy advisor

Secretly oversees the Aegis Directive: a plan to create controlled "zones of clarity" - bordered, monitored, ideologically stable

"Freedom of movement and diversity are luxuries that must be tightly managed"

Doesn't like the idea of immigration but not because she hates the people - she believes her actions are for the safety of immigrants

Aegis Directive does not ban immigration; it demands total control over who moves where, when, and how, using surveillance, registration, and psychological conditioning to maintain obedience

Each zone is a carefully engineered social ecosystem, where population flows are calibrated to preserve desired cultural, political, and ideological balances

Eradication of extremism - by any means necessary

Believes that reunification is a fantasy, and that order must be enforced by those who understand pain

Sympathetic, articulate, but chillingly logical: “The world does not need to be free. It needs to be safe.”

"I am the wall they cannot climb"

Design Notes/Character Study

Based on Balalaika from Black Lagoon

Hair and face based on Julia St. John

Reference her role in Poirot Dumb Witness in the TV Series

Thick eyebrows and big expressive eyes

Make her fierce

Suit based on GDR uniform

A pin on her collar that looks like mountains

Nails-like claws - reference to her last name

Smokes a cigar - climbed to higher ranks

Wears skirt - she is still feminine

Heterochromia from trauma to eye - reference to Odin, whose lost eye is a symbol of perception/insight

Smoke symbolism: Victor smoke forms a skull; however, hers doesn't - a major rift in their ideologies

Analog horror elements - use references to radios and technology of the Cold War era

Stasi officer mostly used humiliation and psychological torture in their interrogation techniques - physical punishments tend to be reserved for more unruly prisoners

Reference Arcane Season 2 Enforcers

Integrate collages into art

Dialogue from Interrogation Art (cut due lack of space):

Context: During interrogation by the Stasi, Gisela finds out her baby brother was killed (aka her breaking point)

GISELA: Na los, ich bin bereit - was kommt jetzt, ihr Schweine? Come on, I'm ready - what's next, you bastards? OFFICER MERTEN (calmly): Fräulein Stahlberg – Ihr Bruder wurde heute Morgen tot aufgefunden. Bettlaken. Miss Stahlberg - your brother was found dead this morning. Bed sheets GISELA (laughs sharply): Ha! Jetzt wird’s lächerlich. Mehr habt ihr nicht? Ha! Now it's getting ridiculous. Is that all you've got? OFFICER MERTEN: Wir können Sie zur Leiche schleppen, wenn Sie nicht kooperieren. We can drag you to the body if you don't cooperate. GISELA (freezes, voice quiet, fragile): …m-mein Kleiner ...m-my little one

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마리네뜨 할무니

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But I swear I thought I dreamed her. She never asked me bout the wrong I did.

I made these all just right now out of impulse and also because I was listening to Work Song <3

Two of these are more traced from the episode and the last two are mainly my own drawings. I thought someone might think this was cool tho!

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that's right babygirls i still have more JKAWLKLSDF

i always thought it'd be fun if ladybug had wings so i gave her some bc yes

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old felix sketches from waaay back in season 5 that I’m still pretty happy with :)

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“… it wasn’t really love at first sight.” A REDRAW! I know lots have also did a redraw but I watched this scene 4892038490829 times today I can’t just screen cap ; w  ; 

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Sometimes you like a ship just because of the color palette

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hugs!!