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sophaeros · 4 months

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arctic monkeys for clash magazine, april 2010

ON THE ROAD WITH… ARCTIC MONKEYS

Words by Simon Harper Photos by Jason Joyce

As Britain’s favourite band headed out on the European leg of their ‘Humbug’ tour, Clash discovered that Arctic Monkeys were less sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, and more cakes, ping-pong and Coco Pops…

The city of Offenbach, about twenty minutes south of Frankfurt, was once noted for its abundant leather industry, and is currently the base of the German weather service, but such claims don’t negate the fact that it’s basically a sterile, grey, typically German suburban borough. The arrival of a fleet of trucks and buses, carrying Arctic Monkeys, their crew and stage gear, heralded the notion that for one night only, Offenbach may just come alive with suitably bustling energy.

Offenbach’s Stadthalle is the smallest venue on the Monkeys’ three-week tour of Western Europe. The band have been through Portugal, Spain and France, and know how to kill time during the day while everyone works around them, building the stage for that night’s show. And so, when Clash finds them, upstairs in the Stadthalle’s back rooms, they’re in the middle of a fierce ping-pong match – the game scores being tallied up across the tour. The table, it transpires, is the band’s own, and follows them wherever they go. A set of football goals lie waiting for action, but the small white balls prove more enticing.

It’s a cold, February Tuesday, and these back rooms are where the band will spend the whole day.

Previous encounters with Arctic Monkeys have been somewhat tough – notoriously reticent and famously press-shy, there’s a tangible wall that surrounds them, which is seemingly hard to penetrate. Suspicious stares cut through you, while succinct answers frustrate you. Today, however, they couldn’t be more accommodating.

Clash sits with the quartet in the band-only room, where their personal equipment is kept in a vertical flight case of drawers, and a small fridge is at hand for cold beers. Nick O’Malley, Jamie Cook and Matt Helders sprawl on the leather couches, while Alex Turner perches on the table, often pacing the room, then escaping in search of a lighter. We’re here to talk about life on the road. What starts as an interview eventually descends into louche conversation; daft chat punctuated by much laughter. Perhaps they’re glad to see a friendly face; perhaps the monotony of touring makes them crave any respite; perhaps there’s nothing better to do in Offenbach.

Is being on tour like real life, or does it feel like you’re detached from what real life is?

Matt: It’s probably real life. It doesn’t seem like it’s too separate or miles away.

When you go home is that normality or is it just a continuation of what you do on the road?

Matt: I don’t find it hard to settle back and switch between the two.

Nick: You feel like you’re unemployed when you go home properly.

Like you’ve got nothing to do?

Nick: Yeah, or like if you’ve got a couple of weeks off.

Matt: Like school holidays.

Alex: Does that make this school then?

Matt: Yeah, but it’s like basketball camp or something you enjoy.

How do your friendships cope with life on the road?

Matt: It’s fine.

Nick: Yeah. We know how to not annoy each other. We’ve never really had friction, because we’ve all got a similar outlook on how not to annoy people, I suppose, so there’s never really been any problems.

Alex: (Mock nastily) That’s what you think, mate.

Nick: (Laughs) I suppose if you see the same people every day, after a while you’re bound to get a bit annoyed, but as long as you keep in your mind that it’s just because of the situation and not because you don’t like the person, then you can kind of avoid outbursts that you might not mean. It’s never really been a problem so far.

Do you notice a huge cultural difference between touring Europe and America?

Alex: Even between places in Europe. I mean, often, to be honest, certainly at this stage that we’re at, days like today aren’t uncommon, where you’re out of town and you don’t even really see where you are, as I’m sure you’re aware. But you can really tell the difference just in the show, from the crowd. We did Madrid and Barcelona over t’weekend, and last week Portugal, and they were really excitable and there was like a frenzy going on when we were playing. Whereas I think crowds elsewhere can be a bit more reserved, can’t they, depending on where it is. I reckon one of the best crowds on this tour was a gig we did last week in Porto. We’ve never played there before. There was this real appreciation or something just from the start. You can just sort of feel it, can’t you; ‘We’re all here to have a laugh’.

Alex lives in the States now. Have any of you considered moving to somewhere you’ve visited on tour?

Matt: Yeah. It’s good that you do get to see places that you might consider moving, like Berlin. I could imagine living there.

Does living apart make you appreciate each other more when you’re back together?

Jamie: [Long pause] Mmmm…yeah.

Gone are the days when you’re living round the corner from each other.

Alex: Yeah, I suppose that’s true. You’ve got to sort of organise to be in one place. I suppose that is a bit of an inconvenient drag.

Are there any essential items that you have to pack before you come out on tour?

Jamie: One of them rolly things that gets fluff of your coat. (All laugh)

Alex: I feel like you’re a lot better equipped than the rest of us with things like that.

Yeah, you’re looking very bobble-less.

Jamie: Ah, cheers. Yeah, I did it this morning actually. A quick roll.

Matt: A skipping rope – except I forgot it this time. I’ve lost mine.

Nick: DVDs, stuff like that.

A ping-pong table?

Jamie: A ping-pong table is essential actually. I don’t think we’d go on tour without that.

Alex: Some kind of series…

Matt: A box-set.

Alex: Kinda really discovered that this last year. It was summat I’d never really got into before.

Nick: Any HBO series.

Alex: (Laughs) Yeah. I’ve really learned to appreciate that sort of continuum, because you can follow a thread.

Matt: You know what you need to do the next day.

What have you been watching?

Alex: We’ve got into Deadwood a bit on the last tour. That’s what’s been missing, I think, for me on this tour, some sort of thing like that.

Have you done The Wire?

Alex: Yeah. I went Wire mad on that tour. I just got so greedy. I get so greedy with them things.

Matt: I couldn’t catch up.

Jamie: Yeah, he ditched everyone. I got ditched on t’second series!

Matt: Six in t’morning, I could hear him.

Jamie: You’d get up and that [theme] song would be on. It’d just be crisps all over, a bottle of…

Nick: ‘Wire Beast’s been up all night again!’

Alex: ‘Where’d you get that dressing gown from?’

Jamie: Just laying there with crumbs all over him.

Have you ever had any scares at customs?

Nick: I got searched yesterday actually.

Matt: It was your squeaky wheels, just as I’d said. I said, ‘Them wheels are gonna attract attention.’

Nick: In Germany. A very thorough search, but luckily no glove action.

Jamie: They probably wanted to mend your wheels for you.

Matt: ‘I’ve got summat for that, some GT85.’

Nick: They were really suspicious of me. They really took everything apart and didn’t put it back as neat as I’d put it in.

Alex: At this end, yesterday?

Nick: Yeah, when we arrived in ‘Munchen’.

Alex: They’re quite, like, strict, aren’t they, Bavarian authorities.

Nick: Yeah. They had a look at me belt, everything. All me case and bag. Took everything apart. Then he were like, ‘Where have you come from?’ I went, ‘Barcelona’. He were like, ‘Have you had any contact with drugs in Barcelona?’ I went, ‘No.’ He went, ‘What do you do?’ I said, ‘I’m in a band.’ And he went, ‘Ah’, and then, like, swabbed everything.

Alex: When I got in t’car yesterday, the fella were like, [German accent] ‘If you like to do drugs, do not try and do it in Bavaria.’

American customs scare me most.

Matt: Yeah, it’s a load of questions.

Alex: ‘What are you doing here?’

Jamie: New Zealand were quite funny. We all got pulled…

Matt: We had to sit in them chairs for a bit…

Jamie: And this guy was asking us directly the last time we ever did drugs. Then someone came over who worked for us…and he soon disappeared rather fast. We were fine. (All laugh)

Alex: I’ve come to quite enjoy the American customs people. (All laugh)

Matt: They’ve always got weird names.

Alex: They’re like, [American accent] ‘So you’re in a band, huh?’ You go, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ ‘What do you do in the band?’ ‘Oh, I’m the singer.’ ‘Yeah? You don’t look like a singer to me.’

Nick: ‘Do you sound like Coldplay?’

Alex: Yeah, ‘What kind of music do you guys play?’

Jamie: ‘Do you sound like Staind?’ I went like, ‘Staind? I know them… Fuckin’ hell!’ It took me ages. ‘Yeah, yeah, we sound a bit like Staind.’ When he said it I were like, ‘Yeah, a bit.’

You’ve said before that you wanted to try and get an album out this year. Do you get any time on the road to do any work on that?

Alex: Not really. That’s a bit of a pain in the arse, not being able to rehearse and work stuff out. I don’t think I write very good songs on t’road. They’re all a bit wonky. You get back and you’re like, ‘Hmmm’.

Does it detach you from what we were talking about earlier, ‘real life’? Does it detach you from the things that you want to be writing about?

Alex: I dunno. You can still use your imagination, but I just think, yeah, in your surroundings there’s always about to be something that’s going to happen. You can’t think. I always write wherever I am, but I dunno if the things that come out when you’re touring around always have the shelf life that the other things do.

Have you got any songs earmarked for the next album?

Alex: Yeah. I mean, there’s some ideas, but we haven’t really had the chance to get out the fine toothed comb.

‘Humbug’ was a departure in sound from your previous albums – do you think you’ll continue in that direction, maybe bring Josh Homme in again?

Alex: Not sure, really. We would like to do something with Josh again – it was terrific for us to go on that adventure – but whether or not it’s this next thing, I’m not sure. And also, like, he’s busy! (Laughs) He’s got a schedule himself, doesn’t he?

You went to record over in his place, so do you think next time you’ll have him over to...

Alex: High Green? (Laughs) Homme in High Green? I quite fancy that.

Nick: He’d look like a superhero in High Green, all the bad genetics there are in High Green. He’d look amazing.

Matt: He’d be the biggest man there.

You’ve released a couple of singles exclusively through Oxfam. What made you decide to do that?

Jamie: Laurence and Jonny at Domino came to us with that idea – a great idea for the charity reason, and then cos Woolworths and stuff had shut down, but there were always an Oxfam.

Alex: Like, in towns where there perhaps aren’t, like, an Our Price or something.

Do you have to think of more creative ways to get your records out there?

Jamie: Yeah, rather than just sat at home.

Matt: They should think about making the journey exciting – paint paths a nice colour to the record shops.

Alex: The yellow brick road.

Matt: Something that makes people want to walk to a record shop. Even if it’s just free parking. (All laugh)

Jamie: It’s just too easy to buy music now.

How do you feel as artists about the devaluing of music? Does it annoy you that you’re working hard to make something, but people can just pick it up from their friends?

Jamie: I suppose we were never in the industry when it were big money, when people used to sell twenty million albums. Has that ever happened since we’ve been around?

Probably someone like Dido has.

Jamie: Yeah, that were probably the last.

Matt: It’s like, we wouldn’t expect anything like that to happen to us, so…

Alex: I do think there is people that always will want to go and get records.

Matt: Yeah, it won’t change everybody.

Alex: I was reading a couple of months ago about there’s an idea where you won’t even have – you know like you pull songs off iTunes or whatever – but they were saying you subscribe to a database and pay to get ’em…

Jamie: Spotify, that’s what that was.

Alex: Yeah. But you can’t get them on…

It streams the music – you can’t download them.

Alex: But you can’t do that on your phone, can you?

Matt: Yeah, you can do Spotify on your phone if you pay about £10 a month. Nokia did that thing where you can just pay a monthly thing and you can have as many as you want…

Alex: The fella had a quote, he’s like, ‘There’s nothing sexy about an MP3 on your desktop’. (Laughs) He’s like, ‘There’s nothing sexy about having a subscription to a database’. (All laugh) But then you could just sort of buy a record and stand it up against your wall. Not that that’s particularly sexy, but, you know what I mean… I like things that you can stand up.

Jamie: Like you said the other day, everyone’s just gonna have an empty house.

Matt: Yeah, there’s gonna be nothing on t’shelves. Not even books now.

Jamie: No one’s got any photos anymore, no ones’s got any CDs or records…

Matt: You’ll just have a screen and a chair.

Jamie: You’ll just go, ‘Sound. This is sound.’

Matt: With nowt on your wall.

Jamie: You can just have everything [at your fingertips]; turn your fire on, open your curtains…

Alex: You’d get in it for your bath. (All laugh)

[Alex goes into the band’s equipment drawer, pulls out a giant figure of Freddie Mercury in full-on rock pose. “See, he said he likes things that stand up,” Matt says.]

Does being on an independent label give you the freedom to experiment with your marketing or promotions?

Matt: Yeah. They [Domino] have as many ideas as us for stuff like that, like the Oxfam thing. They tend to think on a similar level, and, at the same time, if we have a suggestion, they’re open to it. It sometimes is a good thing to have a label like Domino, cos they’re experienced in doing weird stuff, and have obviously signed things that aren’t necessarily to make any money or anything, so we’ll listen to them if they have a suggestion, and vice versa. They’d put records out on tins of beans and all sorts. (All laugh)

Jamie: I wanted to do it on a conifer. I wanted to put an MP3 out on a conifer.

Matt: Or just seeds. Christmas tree seeds.

Alex: Yeah. What did they actually do?

Matt: There’s a Jewish guy, I forgot what his name is, and they did it on a kosher chicken noodle soup or something. You buy the soup and you get the code [for the MP3]. Which is good in a way, because he’s just poo-pooing the fact that there’s not much point. It’s an incentive, but it doesn’t get it in the chart, you see. It’s a give-away. So you can sell anything and just have an MP3 code on it. You can sell a car and you’d just get one song.

Jamie: But then it doesn’t count towards t’charts?

Matt: No. The Oxfam thing don’t either, does it. Only the download bit does. You’re not allowed to give away incentives like free stuff, because that’s obviously encouraging people. See, that’s the thing – people might buy the soup and not download the song. ‘I wonder if they make good soup?’

Jamie: When you see a good cover sometimes…

Matt: Yeah, you buy it for the cover.

Alex: Perhaps the epitome of that is you buying a Lady Gaga picture disc. (Laughs)

Matt: Yeah, I did. I’ve been a fool.

Alex: It’s great, cos she’s wearing like a fuckin’ box of Coco Pops or something. (Laughs)

Matt: You could buy that Freddie Mercury thing and get a Queen album, for instance. You don’t need to put it on or owt.

Jamie: You want to make it awkward.

Matt: Buy a chair. Buy a flat pack piece of furniture and you get a code for an album.

Jamie: You have to put your furniture up and send a picture to someone, then they send you the MP3.

Alex: That would make a good video: playing in a bowl of Coco Pops. (All laugh) Remember that kids programme where they used to have to go swimming in a bowl of cereal…

Jamie: Ah yeah. Didn’t they used to do something like that on The Big Breakfast?

Matt: They did, yeah.

Jamie: It were a massive cup of tea and you used to have to get the sugar lumps…

Matt: Yeah, yeah, that was it: One Lump Or Two.

Jamie: One Lump Or Two, yeah!

Alex: It would be great: kid comes down, he’s having his breakfast – Coco Pops – and then, like, Arctic Monkeys are in his cereal. (All laugh)

Jamie: Hot milk, though.

Matt: Hot milk in t’afternoon.

Alex: (Laughs) ‘Why not try Coco Pops after school?’

Jamie: (Laughs) I love that advert!

Alex: It’s the best!

Do your fans give you CDs of their bands?

Matt: They throw them on t’stage! Imagine if you got one of them in t’eye! Fuckin’ hell! Remember in America, a kid got on stage and he had a handful [of CDs] and someone had to grab him to get him off, but he threw them. So he were getting pulled away and he threw them.

Alex: I’ve been getting less CDs though…

Matt: Now they’re throwing download cards at you!

Alex: I got a pair of underpants…

Jamie: People are chucking downloads at you. You’re like, ‘What the fuck?’

Matt: People are throwing zeroes and ones at you – it’s like the credits of The Matrix!

Jamie: You can’t get any flick on a download.

Alex: They’re chucking Spotifys at me. Maybe that’s what them pants were – some sort of code.

I think it’d be a totally different sort of code! Do you listen to the music that fans give you?

Matt: I listened to one that someone gave me the other day. It just were at home though, he just gave it me.

Alex: No more than I’d wear that pair of pants! (Laughs)

Matt: It were just convenient – I were getting in me car and there’s a CD player there.

What’s the strangest thing a fan has given you?

Matt: Just in Japan – everything you get is weird! Like, a monkey hat – it left your own face in but it’s got ears and a tail.

Jamie: And sweets.

Matt: A lot of sweets.

Jamie: We once said, ‘Oh, we like these sweets’ in an interview…

Nick: There’s someone that makes baked goods.

Matt: You got a good one, where it were like a picture of you…

Alex: Yeah, I got like a diagram of myself…

Matt: A diagram, pointing at every bit, and then asking to fill in, like, what his favourite brand of jeans were.

Alex: Hand it back, and then she’d sort of kit me out.

Matt: She’d buy it all! So, like, ‘Favourite shoes? Trainers or boots?’ It would be like that. He’d fill it in and send it back and then she’d buy it. ‘Will this do?’

Alex: Back it came with this jumper that were perfect actually. She really knew me better than I knew meself.

Nick: With baked goods, I know it’s not [spiked], but you never know… It’s probably fine – it’s more than likely fine – but it is a gamble.

Matt: It’s innocent, but someone might have seen that opportunity.

Jamie: I don’t think I’m ever gonna eat a baked good that some stranger’s made. You learn about that. There is a story there…

What’s the first thing you do when you get home after the tour is finished?

Nick: See your friends and family that you’ve not seen.

Matt: I go and get my photos developed. That’s actually one of the first things I do.

Alex: I usually pick up me guitar. Honestly. It’s a deep breath.

Later that evening, Clash is back in the ping-pong room. The tour manager comes to break bad news to the band - the curtain at the front of the stage is broken. They won't be able to make their usual grand entrance. "Ah, we've got to do it," grins Alex. Do what? "We've been saying on this tour if ever the curtain doesn't work, we've got to go on to this song." Which song? "Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feelin’’," Alex beams. The band are giddily bouncing around, electrified by the prospect of taking the stage to the song that's soundtracked many a menopausal vodka-stained Saturday evening's preparatory gathering.

“But when do we go on?" Matt asks.

"The rap. We gotta wait for the rap," Alex asserts.

"We should wait until "Mazel tov”,” Jamie smirks.

Ten minutes later, Clash is amidst the Offenbach crowd when the lights go out and the song bursts from the PA. A wave of euphoria swells, the irony not lost, and right on cue, just as the Peas declare, "I know that we'll have a ball", the four Monkeys stride towards their instruments.

The nineteen-song set covers their three albums - with Nick Cave's 'Red Right Hand’ thrown in for good measure. The last song before their encore is 'Secret Door’ from 'Humbug’. Just as Matt cracks the snare drum that launches the song's long psychedelic outro, cannons on the roof blast out gold and silver confetti over the joyous crowd below, proving that the Monkeys aren't averse to a bit of showmanship every now and then.

The after party is a subdued affair (well, in Offenbach it's bound to be!), with just the band, some friends, crew, and Clash, diving into the beer and nibbles on offer. A fairly drunken chat with Alex about Johnny Cash, Billie Holiday and Gram Parsons rounds off our time with the band, as they retreat back to the confines of their bus, about to depart for Dusseldor and their next gig.

Such a welcome and warm atmosphere is often rare backstage, especially with a band as celebrated as this, but the Monkeys - ever changing and ever surprising - are beginning to make a habit of defying expectations. Growing up has never been such fun.

#arctic monkeys #alex turner #matt helders #nick o'malley #jamie cook #humbug era #clash magazine #interviews #not my scan #bands #screenshots from vk #in another universe they wouldve started a four white men talking podcast #eye contact #my image id

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makethatelevenrings · 1 year

Text

Rest // D. Grayson x gn!reader

Requested? Yes!

Warnings: illness, mentions of child assassins, not Titans!verse I just think Brenton is pretty

Summary: You’re feeling sick but refuse to admit you are. Damian intervenes and makes sure Dick is aware of the problem.

This is apart of Assassin!verse that you can read here

You had been shot, stabbed, poisoned, thrown through windows, and broken numerous bones, but for some reason, this sore throat was going to be the end of you. When you woke up that morning, it started as a simple scratchy throat that had bloomed into some demonic rash of pain that coated your throat and made every swallow feel like knives scraping against your skin.

“You are unwell,” Damian observed. You ignored him in favor of jabbing the small needle through the taut fabric and tugging it down. Cass had recommended embroidery as a hobby you should try out and you found that it was soothing, fun, and an outlet for you. After spending years surrounded by silence and met with anger if you spoke out of turn, sometimes you needed to retreat from the constant noise of the Wayne Manor.

While you had your apartment in Bludhaven, some problems in Gotham required the both of you, and Haley of course, to stay at the Manor for a few days.

Where two of the family members attended school and the others interacted with the public every single day.

So, of course, you got sick.

You stabbed the point into the fabric once more and pulled it taut. You hoped that Tim would like the screaming possum design you were making for him. He loved sending you those memes and delighted in the fact that he gets to teach you about memes and pop culture.

“I’m fine.” You internally winced at how rough your voice sounded. Nothing screamed “picture of health” more than sounding like you were choking on gravel. Your head pounded, the ache radiating at your temples and along the sides, and your nose felt like cotton was shoved up there. All in all, you felt miserable. All you wanted to do was go back to the queen sized mattress shoved in Dick’s old bedroom and sleep for a thousand years.

But Dick, Bruce, and Tim were all making appearances at a gala to collect intel and you needed to stay awake so you could assist if something happened. What if the gala was under attack? Or what if they needed a quick getaway? Or what if-

The couch dipped as Damian crawled onto the cushion next to you. He settled in comfortably, Alfred the cat resting comfortably in his arms, and blinked up at you with those wide eyes of his. You set your embroidery down and gave him your full attention.

While Dick was your closest friend, companion, and lover, Damian understood you better than anyone aside from Cass. Damian knew what it was like to be trained from a young age. When Dick first brought you to Wayne Manor, bloodied and weak and still as fiercely on guard, Damian was the first person to gain your trust aside from Dick. And if this kid was your boyfriend’s brother, then dammit, he was your little brother too.

“When I first came to live with Father, he sat me down one day and told me that it is one thing to know when to be on guard and ready. But it’s another thing to live your life always on edge waiting for the next attack. Father helped me realize that I was living my life feeling like I was never safe made me sure that I would never be safe. He assured me that he and the family would never let anything happen to me.”

Your mind was cloudy with fatigue and fever, but you nodded slowly as you tried to grasp what he meant. “Okay…?”

Damian turned to face you fully, the little tuxedo cat in his lap snuggling in closer to his owner’s arms. “We would never let anything happen to you or to one another. You can rest.”

You swallowed painfully against your aching throat and offered him a tight smile. “Thank you, Dami. I’m fine.”

He huffed and climbed off the couch. “You’re not fine. I am telling Pennyworth.”

“Don’t!” The exclamation left you so quickly that he looked at you with more concern than before. “He’s busy right now. He doesn’t need to be bothered with a little sniffle. Please don’t tell him. I swear I’m fine.”

He stared at you, doubt written all over his face, and then sighed. “You are more stubborn than Richard. It’s a miracle the two of you get anything done.”

With that, Damian and Alfred the cat exited the room. Silence fell over the leather furniture and aging books once more. You inhaled deeply, fighting against the stabbing pain of your sinuses, and focused on your embroidery once more.

It wasn’t a half hour before the door to the library flew open. Dick strode in, impeccably dressed in a perfectly tailored tuxedo. Damian. That little rat.

“I’m fine!” you insisted. Damian peeked out from around the doorframe and you, the adult, stuck your tongue out at him. He merely smirked and disappeared, probably to go find his next victim.

“Richard, I am fine,” you snapped. He ignored your protests and laid the back of his hand against your cheek before doing the same to your forehead. You shuddered at the cool touch of his skin against yours and he immediately stepped back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dick demanded.

“Because I knew you would blow it out of proportion and make a big deal out of nothing,” you retorted.

“You’re burning up. And Damian said your lungs rattled a bit when you took a breath.”

“Damian’s a trained liar.”

“Stop with the bullshit!” His outburst caused you to pause. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. You had been in much worse condition than a little cold.

“I don’t understand what I did wrong,” you said quietly. Therapy with Dinah was helping you express your emotions, as she said. It helped in times like this. Dick’s face crumpled and then he pulled on the mask of assuredness that you were used to seeing. He crouched down so you were face to face rather than him towering over you.

“You don’t have to act like everything is fine, Buttercup. You’re allowed to let your guard down. You’re allowed to get sick.”

“But I can’t,” you blurted out. “If I’m sick and you or one of the others needs me-”

“We have legions of people that can help us,” he interrupted. Dick reached up to gently cup your cheek in the palm of his hand. “You are allowed to rest.”

“My head hurts,” you admitted.

He smiled that crooked grin of his and you shut your eyes, inhaling deeply. He stroked gentle lines across your face and of course he was still there once you opened your eyes once more.

“I’m tired.”

He stood, his hand falling from your cheek and entangling itself with your free hand. You set the embroidery down on the coffee table and stood. Before you could take one step, Dick swept you into his arms and started down the hall towards the bedrooms.

“You realize that I’m going to coddle you until you’re back to normal?”

You tightened your grip on his neck and grinned. “Can we watch Riverdale?”

“I’m going to throw Timmy off of a fucking roof for introducing you to that show.”

Tag List: @someoneimsure @perpetual-fangirl900 @visagebrise @cursedandromedablack @alexxavicry @the-wayward-daughter @raging-trash-of-mind @bunny-kawa @khaylin27

#dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson #nightwing x reader #nightwing imagine #assassinverse

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brights-place · 5 months

Note

If i can request. Can i request a floyd x male rock troll or techno troll reader headcanons

And maybe his brother’s reaction to it I’ve just been obsessed with floyd being with different types of trolls

Floyd dating a Male! ROCK S/O

Pairings: Floyd X Reader

Warnings: Floyd being an cutie patootie, Fluff

A/N: OMG YESSS ROCK TROLLS ARE SO NEHFBERHSVBNAIWB I LOVE THIS OKAY OKAY OKAY! I'm an Goth person but I LOVE Rock and lots of other music genres Rock and Metal is one of them so I was excited for this request! I hope you like these! I did this for fun and I enjoyed it so much thank you for the request lovely! <33

- FUCK YESSS ROCK N ROLLLL!!!! - OKAY I'M LIKE SCREAMING FOR THIS REQUEST ANYWAY! HOPE YOU ENJOY LOVELIES! - Rock trolls were known for well their history and one of them was working with Barb for the rock apocalypse and were also known for their music wit some trolls saying "Rock n Roll and Metal is all noise and screaming!” which was half right and wrong but was also stupid stereotypes - Rock trolls looked like pop trolls but they have more fierce looks. Rock trolls clothing is often tattered, and they commonly have piercings and heavy black makeup. Most Rock Trolls favor dark colors such as grey, dull blue and black, as well as the occasional white and bright red. Their noses are usually arrowhead-shaped, and their ears have a sharper point, which is a defining trait of their Tribe - And the fact they were more wilder looking terrified some trolls yet were interested - Floyd was traveling to 'find himself' after his argue with brozone and ended up to rock volcano city to check out different genres and ended up at an concert which you were apart of.

- Floyd saw you when you were playing with the other rock trolls singing loudly and happily while playing your instrument with an huge smile

- He was invested in the music but also Invested in you... your wild appearance your smile and many piercings along with your tattoos made him feel lured in as he was close to the stage staring at you most of the time

- Blushed when you winked at him while playing your instrument and was attracted more to the music and how you maintained eye contact with him while some rock trolls snickered at floyd and his blushing face

- Once the show was done barb introduced herself to Floyd and introduced you to floyd as you greeted him with an smile before winking at floyd who blushed looking away pushing his hair behind his ear while staring at you - When Barb dragged floyd around to show him more of rock culture you were walking behind the group listening to your music as floyd soon walked over smiling at you shyly "hey your (name) right?" "Oh yeah" you said taking out an earphone as he blushed

- "Uhm you were cool on stage it was awesome you think you can show me how to play? Rock sounds cool" Floyd said blushing as you grinned "Oh damn! really?" You said looking away as floyd nodded "well... I wouldn't mind teaching you" Floyd looked away "I'd like that"

- He would come by every two weeks to have you introduce him to rock music then two weeks came to once an week and once an week came by once every 2 days

- You got close and sometimes you two would play guitar together and would exchange favorite songs

- He learned how to play your favorite song on his acoustic guitar

- You two would do duet songs of rock songs but if he could convince you to sing pop songs he'd melt into your hands

- Would realize he likes you when you hugged him goodbye after he came to volcano rock city for your daily hangouts - Randomly shows each other affection at the most random moments

- Sometimes you'd hold each others hands whenever talking to other trolls and you two would kiss each others cheek and go back to your conversations to others who just stare with their jaw drop

- You two soon started to date after 4 months of hanging around each other as usual

- When he got taken away you had to find Branch for help

- Once you're reunited you two basically run to each other and hug with tears streaming down your eyes as you held his waist cupping his face “Did they hurt you?!” “No, I'm okay! Did they hurt you?!” “Who cares?” “I do!” you two literally cry and kiss each other for an moment before pulling away as you held him close

- Would beg you to please understand how he didn’t mean for that to happen to him and you’d have to cry as-well holding him close telling him it’s alright.

- you moving his hair out of his face makes him melt as you pepper his face with kisses telling him he’s safe and your there.

- You would go back to singing pop rock covers of songs together as you sing together sweetly before kissing eachother with an smile

reblogs + comments are appreciated ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

©brights-place 2024 — do not repost on another platform, copy, translate or edit my works! if you fit my DNI list please don't interact!

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tyrantisterror · 5 months

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A Dozen Or So Great Vampire Ladies

Ok, so, on a mostly unrelated post the topic of good vampire ladies came up, and @bisexualdaikaiju suggested/challenged me to do a top 10 vampire women list. As a self-professed lover of vampire women, it felt like a challenge I couldn't back down from. But it is kind of challenging, for two kind of contradictory reasons.

First, while there are MANY female vampires in fiction, most of them feel like afterthoughts, getting far less characterization than their male counterparts, who more often than not are the star villains of the show. When these supporting lady vampires do get something to do, it's generally the same role: make their human lovers sad when they rise from the dead as a monster that has to be killed, an emotional beat that is often undercut by a lot of these vampire women not getting much characterization to endear them to us before they died. Everyone wants to have the Lucy Westerna plot beat from Dracula but they don't want to do the work that Bram did to make Lucy lovable. The lady vamps who get to step out of Lucy's shadow are rare - but that just makes them all the more wonderful.

The second problem is that, since this is an obsession of mine that few seem to share (there are lots of vampire fans, but man do the boy vamps get to hog the spotlight among them), I've done a lot of scattered thinking about it and I just know I'm bound to forget at least one excellent lady vampire character that should be here. And whittling it down to ten, and trying to rank them? That's too hard! My thoughts are too mercurial to do that reliably in a way I don't forget!

So instead here's a list of, like, a dozen or so lady vampires that I think are just fucking stellar, many of which I think break the mold of what pop culture makes us expect lady vampires to be. It is not ranked - I love all these characters more or less equally, and think it's a lot more interesting to see how they take their archetype in different directions than to figure out which one is "best" of the lot.

Carmilla Karnstein

I'm going to start with the most famous literary female vampire, Mircalla Karnstein from Carmilla. I think she might be the first vampire to have an unhealthy obsession with using anagrams of her real name as aliases, though I'm sure now that I've typed that someone will find an earlier example to school me. She's also the one who popularized the idea of lady vampires being extremely sapphic, with an arguably genuine romantic affection for her female victims. She's got well-deserved clout, basically, and like Dracula has been adapted countless times and reinterpreted in some excellent ways. My favorite screen Carmilla is Ingrid Pitt's take, which captures her fierceness, passion, and tragic nature so well.

2. Amy from Fright Night

Ok, we're having one Lucy Westerna knockoff on this list, but as Lucy knockoffs go, Amy is one of the best. It actually helps that she spends 90% of her movie as a human, because we get to know and love her so much before she turns monstrous. And once she does...

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It is pants-shittingly terrifying. I will never stop raving about the vampire designs in this movie - they made their "game faces" so fucking monstrous and I feel like in a better world this would be the standard ever since, especially since they still gave the vampires pathos while making them so ghastly when they've got their feeding faces on.

3. Drusilla

Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a bunch of vampire characters, and to its credit they did a decent job of making the ladies just as distinct as the gents. Harmony and Darla could both have made this list, but my favorite was always Drusilla, who was so traumatized before she became a vampire that it kind of overwhelms the demon spirit inside her. Like, bare minimum thing to make a lady vampire more interesting than 90% of other female vampires in fiction: give her at least one personality trait, preferably an interesting one, outside of being a vampire. Drusilla's fun, and she survives the entire series after dumping her boyfriend to be a single female vampire. Good for her.

4. Ruby from Scary Godmother

Ok look I am a fake Scary Godmother fan but kudos to the artist of the books for making a lady vampire who's very clearly of the nosferatu mold and is also explicitly benign and sweet. A+ vampire lady character design. I hope it doesn't awaken anything in me.

5. Nadja

What We Do in the Shadows is excellent at finding new takes on vampires in general - it even made me actually like Psychic Vampires as a concept, a feat I thought was impossible - but goddamn do I love Nadja specifically. She's got a distinct personality as vampire ladies go, being very confident and self-assured while also being a complete fucking goober (it is a comedy, after all). She's perfectly capable of being terrifying AND hilarious, often at the same time. A vampire girl failure, in the parlance of our site. I love her.

6. Lady Dimitrescu

I know that she's apparently only in a fourth of the game, but it's still pretty great that Resident Evil 8 decided its mascot villain - its equivalent of the Tyrant, G, Nemesis, etc. - would be the hottest woman I've ever seen a milf an 8 foot tall lady vampire. She's not dainty and willowy like most lady vamps in fiction - not an ambush hunter - but rather HUGE and capable of tossing a human around like a rag doll. She's a physical powerhouse and she looks fine feminine while doing it. Despite being an unabashed blood-sucking monster, she still has enough depth and complexity to have important relationships (like a genuine love for her "giant mass of hive mind flies" daughters), and also she gets to have an awesome transformation into a fungal vampire dragon, which is rad as hell. Also goddamn, her fashion sense is immaculate.

7. Hecate from Hellboy

"Hey, she's not a vampire! She's a goddess! That doesn't count!" Fuck you, my list, my rules. Hecate posits herself as the progenitor and mother of vampires, she drinks blood, and her main form in the comic is as a sicknasty lamia version of the iron maiden used by Elizabeth fucking Bathory, if she doesn't count as a vampire, nothing should. She is the concept of a vampire amped up to maximum capacity, a major mythological figure and an awesome villain.

...also I lowkey shipped her and Hellboy when I was a teenager. They could have made it work!

8 - 12. Carmilla and her girl squad from Castlevania

I suppose I could have counted Castlevania's Carmilla as an adaptation of Miss Karnstein - they're both basted out of Styria, both sapphic, and it's clear she's meant to be an adaptation of the former, just as the Dracula of this show is meant to be a take on Bram's famous vampire. But ultimately they're VERY different characters in the grand scheme of things - Castlevania's Carmilla has none of the tenderness and vulnerability of her literary counterpart, instead being full of barely restrained fury. She is an excellent villain, complex enough to be interesting but thoroughly despicable enough to make it VERY satisfying when she bites it.

I also love her girl posse... in concept, at least. They've all got great designs and the groundwork of interesting characters, but of the the three, only Lenore, the waifish redhead, gets to do much of note. The two on the edges kind of just show up for a few scenes and then bail before the plot catches up to them, doing very little of note - though at least the big hunky one gets one of the coolest fight scenes in the whole show.

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Back to Lenore though - she gets a really nice character arc, and manages to become one of the few sympathetic vampires in the series (while still doing a lot of monstrous shit - she is not a defanged vampire by any stretch). I think her death scene is one of the most moving moments in the series finale.

13. Seras Victoria

A good female vampire has at least one non-vampire part of her personality, right? Ok, so, Seras is:

the muscle in almost every scene she is, which is to say, the one absolutely beating the shit out of people while her allies run for cover

the perky henchman/morality pet of one of history's greatest monsters

the sole ray of sunshine in cast of edgy, cigar-chomping grizzled mercnaries and antiheroes she's been pressganged into fighting alongside

the victim of some HIDEOUS trauma even before her vampirization

the protege of a wise master who gets a full hero's journey arc, taking up his mantle at the end of the series

Like, I love her. She's the secret protagonist of Hellsing. She's got layers like an onion. The scene where she killed Zora Blitz reminded me why I love anime.

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(yeah it's the TFS version fuck you)

14. Youko Shiragami

My Monster Secret is not a horror manga. It is a romantic comedy about a bunch of idiots trying to keep painfully obvious secrets hidden and succeeding only because almost everyone around them is as dumb as they are, just in very different ways. It is a manga where an entire chapter can be summarized as "all the characters race to get the last McRib, using their various supernatural abilities to try and cheat their way to the front of the pack." It is one of the funniest and most heart-warming stories I have ever read, one of my favorite romances of all time, and an excellent piece of long form story-telling.

One of the two main characters is Youko Shiragami, a vampire girl who can't let anyone know she's a vampire or else her dad will pull her out of school. She desperately wants to have a normal life with friends and, like, school shenanigans, but her fear of people uncovering her secret and hating her is so immense that she's been isolating herself from everyone, accidentally torturing herself by being close to what she wants but unable to actually have it.

At least, until Kuromine, the other main character of the story, discovers her secret while trying to ask her out on a date. He ends up promising to keep her secret, and the two of them form a real friendship that blossoms into a very sweet romance, where Youko gets to display all her incongruous personality traits that go against what you'd expect of vampires - namely, that she's kind of a ditz, with an unrefined style of speech and a complete inability to be suave and seductive. She's a sweet, flaky goofball with a big heart, who just happens to drink blood and tan really quickly in the sunlight. There is no other vampire like her, and the world is richer for her being in it.

15. Marceline, the Vampire Queen

This list isn't ranked, but if it was, I'd put Marceline at the top. I think she is not only the most unique and deeply characterized lady vampire in fiction, but ranks right up there with Dracula in how she redefines the idea of what a vampire can be. Like, look at the forms she takes!

There are DOZENS of different monstrous shapes Marceline takes during Adventure Time's 9+ seasons of television, and any one of them would be a superb and memorable vampire on its own. And she's ALL of them. Just on a design standpoint, she is a standout. I think only Dracula himself could compete.

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But she also explores what the concept of what a vampire is in ways no other vampire in fiction can, in part because of the unique nature of Adventure Time's setting. In a world where humans are an extreme minority and most people are weird monsters, a vampire isn't that odd, so we get to explore what being a vampire means divorced from the comparison to "normal" human beings. There's the expected tragedy to Marceline, of course - she's a 16 year old who has been stuck in that adolescent state for hundreds of years, and much of her character arc over the show (including the magnificent vampire-centric storyline, "Stakes") focuses on the horror of being stuck in that transitional state, not quite a child but not quite an adult. Marceline struggles to mature, to understand herself and others, and her vampirism both keeps her distant from reaching those goals but also gives her a lot of time to figure out how to approach them when the opportunity arirves. Marceline goes from one of the most immature and selfish characters in the show to perhaps the most emotionally intelligent, blossoming into a sensitive and thoughtful person she could never have been without first becoming a creature that seems so inherently opposed to ever having those traits.

And she did it all in a children's show where she was rarely if ever allowed to actually drink blood - a problem the writers got around by having her suck the red color out of things, which is right up there with the Joker Venom from BTAS in terms of genius ideas spawned by children's show censorship.

Marceline is the GOAT.

#Vampire Ladies #Youtube

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devonpink · 3 months

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The Great Swap: Trevor (Written by themousefromfantasyland. Revamped by me)

It all started when Ivan Hills turned straight.

As with everything in life, it started slowly, gradually, then all at once. The billion-subscriber beauty guru started changing his content around the summer of 2017. All his videos on YouTube suddenly became about training, sports cars, and pranking his newfound bros. His clothes went from pink and glittery to dark and gray. His profile pic changed from a winking boy in full makeup to a furious young man with a sports cap turned upwards. Then, in April 2019, he announced his long-time fag hag was now his official girlfriend and that he identified as straight. Subsequently, the internet went into a frenzy. However, those who had followed the case since the beginning were unsurprised since the brutish frat bro of 2019 was a far cry from the soft and delicate boy from 2014.

But that was not the end of it. Around the second half of 2019, several big gay and queer influencers, actors, and even politicians came out as straight. From defiers of gender roles and social expectations, these people became the most avid defenders of heteronormativity and tradition.

Then, around the end of 2019, the opposite started occurring.

Gavin Taylor, a late twenty-something commentator on the "Right Voice," a popular YouTube far-right show, came out as gay after leaving the channel. His channel changed from videos about the importance of Christian values and the nuclear family to videos about queer history, Atheism, and dating. The rude, often short-tempered young man was now a friendly, happy ball of gay fun. In early 2020, he married his boyfriend, and they now share an apartment and a cat in San Francisco.

Several key figures in far-right culture woke up gay one morning as if they had broken away from a terrible spell.

Not as bi, bi-curious, or pansexual, but as flaming homosexuals with immense bravery and pride in their queerness.

People joked about the homophobes being closeted gays, but when hundreds of them started coming out from their closets with a completely inversed worldview, it perplexed everyone. At first, this phenomenon was called "The Great Swap" as a joke. Still, as each gay big name became straight, and each raging heterosexual bigot became a fierce homosexual, the joke became a weird social contagion that scholars tried to understand at all costs.

Trevor Spencer is a notable example.

Trevor hosted the Anti-Woke Legion, a YouTube channel about fighting the infestation of woke ideology in pop culture. His detractors called his channel an example of a Far-Right gateway to young boys, a statement that filled him with pride.

It was 11 at night when the change began…

"Fuckin queers," Trevor muttered to himself, scrolling through Gavin Taylor's channel.

Gavin Taylor was his friend. His best friend. He was the only person in the world that made Trevor laugh and feel less lonely. But that was years ago. The new "progressive" Taylor called out his sexism and homophobia every chance he got, and they hadn't shared a beer in years. His faithful friend had "died" years ago, and now he was all alone.

As a tall, fat, hairy dude, Trevor felt he was fated to be completely alone. A fire of anti-woman hate eternally burned inside him, assured that no woman would ever truly love him. Even worse, everyone online constantly poked fun at his weight and disheveled appearance, looking no different from stereotypical trailer park trash.

He was miserable, and he would give anything to change his image.

Then, as if by divine intervention, his wish was granted.

He felt a sudden sharp pain throughout his body, making him scream like a frightened animal. A burning sensation quickly spread, causing his body hair to shed. His gigantic fat belly instantly deflated and morphed into shredded abs. He couldn't believe what was happening, horrified yet elated, desperate for more. His chest tightened as two pieces of solid muscle swelled and became pecs, making his midsection look as if it was carved out of marble. All the fat of his arms morphed into pure muscle, making him now look like a jacked mother fucker. His legs swelled to muscle perfection, and his feet grew. Lastly, his long, shaggy hair receded to a clean military cut.

When the pain eased, Trevor rushed to the bathroom and stared at his new face—an innocent and manly face, carefully shaved, with a jawline that could cut glass.

"What the fuck!?" He now had the body and face of a god—full of strength and youth. He couldn't help but pose and fawn over himself, grinning from ear to ear like a cocky douche.

Instantly, he had a great idea: the night was still early, and he needed to celebrate. He grabbed his wallet and hopped into his beat-up truck, heading for the all-night clothing store. He got himself some new duds, the kind he always wished to fit into, and next drove in a horny frenzy to the first club he could find downtown.

The loud music reverberated on every wall as the insane crowd danced in electrifying horny lust. People didn't take long to start checking out Trevor, eyeing him like a delicious piece of meat. He was finally the center of attention, stiffening his cock in pride. His giant pecs were squeezed by dozens of horny ladies, some with bodies only found in porn, but something was off. Something was different. Then, a handsome stranger grouped Trevor, and sparks flew, startling him.

"You like what you see?" The handsome stranger lustfully asked Trevor, pulling up his tight, sweaty shirt to show off his shredded abs.

Trevor was horrified at how horny he suddenly got. That couldn't be happening. Not with him. Not with another man. He instantly fled out of fear, disappearing into the crowd and heading for the exit, but before he could escape, the handsome stranger pulled him into the Men's bathroom.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! I just really wanted to dance with you, is all!" The blond, blue-eyed man explained with a half-grin, leaving Trevor thoroughly aroused.

"Take your hands off me, you're—" Trevor retorted, cut off by the handsome stranger's sudden laughter.

The handsome stranger backed up, heading for the exit. "Okay, okay! I know when I'm not wanted!"

But before leaving, Trevor stopped him; something new inside him made him do it. "Wait! It's not you! It's me… this is just… this is all just new to me…" His heart raced, getting lost in the man's beautiful eyes and kissable lips. He was getting hornier, in dire need of the handsome stranger's touch. "I used to think I was against this… but now…"

"You're from a conservative upbringing, aren't you?" the man asked, knowing the answer full well.

"Yeah," Trevor nervously responded, sweating profusely.

"I'm only here because my straight friend didn't want to go here alone," the handsome stranger explained, stepping closer to Trevor. "But some friends and I plan on going to a gay club after this… you want to come?" The handsome stranger stepped closer, inches from Trevor's quivering face. He arched his head and lustfully whispered in Trevor's trembling ear: "I'm positive you and I will have a lot of fun together."

Without hesitation, Trevor grabbed the handsome stranger's face and kissed him hard, taken fully by his lust. Trevor felt alive for the first time in his life as their tongues thrashed and their hands thoroughly explored each other's bodies. After French kissing for a good five minutes, they finally unlocked their horny lips and gently pressed their foreheads together, smiling. They returned to the crowd with their fingers intertwined like lovers, both feeling as if hit by the lightning bolt of pure love and lust. By that moment, Trevor felt free. Something had changed inside him, and he accepted it wholeheartedly. Trevor was dragged by gayness, engulfed by it, and soon, his Internet persona was going to be much more fabulous.

Three months have passed since Trevor's transformation, and his life has completely changed—for the better, he'd happily say. Will, the handsome stranger Trevor met at the club, was now his boyfriend, and the two couldn't be happier together. He had a completely new online presence, full of gay joy and pride, and an audience even bigger than the last. He finally knew what it was like to be happy, to love others, and most importantly, to love himself.

#gay to straight #straight to gay #transformation #male transformation #male tf story #tf story

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fiercemillennial · 4 months

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Is Beyoncé Hinting at a Rock-Inspired 'Renaissance Act III'?

Is Beyoncé channeling her inner rockstar? Fans are buzzing about her edgy new look and what it could mean for 'Renaissance Act III'! 🤔🎤🎸 #Beyonce #Renaissance #RockMusic #FiercePopCulture #MusicMuse #FierceMillennial

Fans speculate after the singer’s edgy new photoshoot reveals a potential shift in musical direction. Beyoncé has always kept us guessing when it comes to her artistic evolution. From the surprise release of her self-titled album to the groundbreaking visual album “Lemonade,” she continually pushes boundaries and reinvents her sound. Now, recent photos of the superstar are fueling speculation…

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#Act III #Beyoncé #FIERCE MILLENNIAL #FIERCE POP CULTURE #Music Muse #Music News #pop culture #Renaissance #Rock music #transformation

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naisaspalace · 3 months

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Personal Nakshatras observation series:

ARDRA NAKSHATRA Part 1:

obs: this series will have multiple sources from random websites to authors/professors that contributed to the creation of this "Article". my opinions are not the ultimate truth and everyone has a different understanding of the same topic. my purpose is to spread my interpretations to help people. contact info will be available at the end of the post.

Nakshatra Characteristics:

6.40 –20 degrees in Gemini.

Meaning: the star of sorrows.

Translation: "The Moist One", "Fresh", "Green"

Deity: Rudra. (one of Shiva's manifestations)

this nakshatra story starts on the Rohini where Brahma (the creator) wanted to have an intimate relationship with his daughter, Rohini, so in the following constellation, mrigashira, Rohini turned herself into a deer to run from Brahma and he also became a deer to chase her and shiva became so furious that he opened his third eye in anger and from that a powerful spark emerged and transformed into Rudra and he cut off brahmas head to save Rohini.

this action shows the empathy and protective nature of Ardra.

ruler: Rahu. (north node)

element: water

guna: tamasic

dosha: vata

tree: Long Pepper or Krishna Kamal Flower (karimaram)

symbols: teardrop, diamond, and a human head.

yoni: female dog.

star: Belteguese

mode: balanced.

goal: kama (pleasure, desires, fulfillment)

Body parts: Top and Back of Head & Eyes.

Sex/Gender: Female.

Upward Facing.

Direction: West (or southeast). Color: Green. (mercury gemini)

Disposition: Sharp and Forceful (Tikshna)

Chakra:vishuddha (throat chakra)

story interpretation:

Ardra nakshatra is the first rahu-ruled nakshatra of three and it comes after mrigashira, ruled by Mars, the previous constellation talked about a mind that was constantly chasing something that most of the time ended up being things that would bring a sense of temporal satisfaction. Those people are those who usually are lost trying to search for something to satisfy themselves and after they are satisfied they simply go out searching for the next thing.

But things change when they arrive at Ardra, here is the first time the mind starts to wonder about what the mind storms and turbulences mean, and this time they actually are focused on getting to the end of the search that usually started at mrigashira, by dissecting the problem and arriving at the end goal fiercely like Rudra.

The star of sorrows

The nature balances the universe with its constructive and destructive abilities. water creates lives and also ends lives by hydrating and drowning and by striking lightning to end the bad and damaged environment that can eventually become powerfully strong as a diamond or cause mass destruction. This is how Ardra's energy manifests itself they bring a storm that transforms us either for good or bad, you are the one who decides who you face this.

pop culture manifestation

effy stonem (drug abuse, destruction, illusion)

Kaya Scodelario has moon-ketu (conjunction) at Ardra and she played Effy a troubled teen who started to drink and use drugs to cope with her emotions and ended up bringing destruction to herself and the people around her.

she was often seen as this sexy attractive woman and she used a lot of her seduction to cause chaos among the men

the illusion of drugs that make you feel like the mind is now pacified

she loved chaos so much that she chased it constantly or at least thought she loved it.

a beautiful young woman having fun you might wonder what is wrong with that? effy grew up around an unstable family and this led her to idealize the use of substances to escape herself to a point where she would constantly run away and record vlogs asking her mom to find her and nurture her.

ardra is the first rahu constellation, also called as the “birth of rahu” or his “infant state” alongside rahu it comes with the birth of the intellectual mind ardra is also called the star of sorrows and the symbol is a teardrop

effy represents a state of disorganized destruction and the consequences of self-neglect created by Maya, illusions, where one fails to find the strength to leave their storms and continues to feed their infinite hunger for emotional satisfaction and the inability to face reality as it is

the storms come to us but they don't come to destroy us they are here for us to thrive above to raise the heavens, just like Rudra throwing his arrow to the sky.

"Rudra is known as the divine archer, who shoots arrows of death and disease and who has to be implored not to slay or injure in his wrath"

Effy ended up with a psychotic depression. She attempts suicide but Freddie (her boyfriend), foreseeing this, saves her and she is taken to the hospital and later, institutionalized. Eventually, she lost her memory because the doctor used strong medication and he also manipulated effy into breaking up with her boyfriend and attempted to make her fall in love with him and murder her boyfriend.

to me, this is where the actress ketu comes into play, as you know ketu represents detachment and liberation and she finally achieved her freedom by losing her memory even if it was momentarily she finds a few moments of peace.

three years after this whole situation she moves to another place but we find her, she seems to be better but she ends up being arrested at the end of the series for being framed by her boss, he frames his fraud crimes into her. Eventually, she told his superiors and he got arrested as well

refusing to heal her past traumas, ketu, she ends up being followed by outside storms that mirrored her mental state; The star of sorrow indeed.

Taylor Swift (profit, high goals and achievement, superation, philosophy, and fame).

taylor is a pop singer and writer who started her career at young age when she was discovered by a executive of a record label and became a famous celebrity later on.

revenge, pain, mental disturbance.

(The snake is one of the rahu's symbols, hes the head of the snake represents the mental part)

she became successful due to her telling her heartbreak stories on her music, specifically her ex-relationships, her sorrows became her brand and she is often described as a revengeful person because if you mess with her she will just write a song and win millions with all of this chaotic mess.

Taylor has ardra moon-jupiter and her birth time is not confirmed some will say she is a sideral scorpio rising and others will say she is a Sagittarius, I personally agree with both but for the sake of this interpretation, I will ignore the house where this conjunction falls and give a general interpretation.

moon grants taylor the emotional unbalancing experience and jupiter grants her the wisdom to work with multiple music genres and the writing ability. We all know that jupiter amplifies whatever he touches and this granted taylor her huge popularity and success and guaranteed that she would be able to rise above all of the chaos she faced during her career. Taylor also knows how to play some musical instruments and when she began her career she also had some acting jobs.

“Patience in the times of conflict, Humbleness in the time of success, Cleverness of tongue in company, Attack in battle, Wish during fame, Addiction in weaponry – These 6 virtues are in-built and can only be seen in the brave man. Whoever houses these virtues becomes a great soul. Thus, the one who wants to succeed and become greater than he is shall house all 6 of these virtues.)” ― HEM RAJ JAT, RUDRA: The Name of Destroyer

taylor symbolizes the high ambition and dreams of the ardra native, the amount of chaos she passed not only made her strong but she managed to won again and again jupiter guaranteed her success and the ardra moon gave her the ambition drive to achieve it all.

rahu is highly ambitious and material-obsessed/attached and taylor shows this attribute by never stopping working on her career, she is one of the few artists who did not have a pause during her musical career and during the pandemic she not only announced two new upcoming albums with new and expensive merchandise

the world was in a pandemic state yet Ms. Taylor didn't lose the opportunity to make millions she broke records and became even stronger. rahu is also the significator of social media and taylor is highly influential there.

her gigantic success overshadows her character flaws and she also managed to create this persona, illusion, of ultimate good and moralistic character. this is once again due to rahu being a good manipulator and liar.

don't be mistaken I was once a huge fan of hers but this is an analysis and I cannot act blind towards her motives and actions, she is talented and manages to earn her success and she has good and bad actions just like all of us but we shouldn't be blind towards Rahu, right?

overall she behaves like a good agent of maya making fame seem delicious, fun, and worth having. to me, her story is of superation, hard work, and good writing with philosophical intellectual exploration on her folklore and evermore albums and just like effy sorrows seem to follow her around.

Daenerys Targaryen ( illusions, transformation, strength, fantasy and victory)

Emilia Clarke is a famous actress most known by her role as Daenerys Targaryen and she have a possible ardra moon

daenerys had a hard life and she was dependent on her abusive older brother, Viserys, and was forced to marry Dothraki horselord Khal Drogo in exchange for Viserys' army to reclaim the Iron Throne in Westeros. she becomes the khaleesi and with this new title, she also gained three petrified dragons as a wedding gift.

a little time has passed and pregnant Daenerys loses her husband and child, but blood magic allows Daenerys to hatch three of her dragon eggs. The dragons provide her with a tactical advantage and prestige.

Oftentimes serpents were described as dragons and magic is also another significator of rahu.

she managed to conquer the seven kingdoms and became the queen after many years of pain and trial she won with fierce and ultimately strength

Daenerys finds her inner strength and courage and emerges as a natural leader adored by her people. She is often described as honorable and compassionate, if somewhat naive, although she can be harsh and vengeful against those who seek to harm her or her followers.

here ardra manifests as a warrior whos strength and ambition led her to the ultimate goal the throne that she had lost and was willing to fight until she won.

Don't forget that also took revenge and created destruction all around yet shes a manifestation of a fearless warrior determined to eliminate the opposition without hesitation, just like rudra.

however she had a sad ending, she was betrayed and killed by her lover Jon who was also another candidate for the throne, she found out near the end of the show, after she became mad like her ancestors

the mad queen was dead but her legacy and story lived on to show how great one can become by using the right methods and having a good character one is also capable of greatness but just like all of the ladies before the sorrows followed her into her death.

okay being serious the last season was awful and neither her nor Jon had a proper ending we didn't get the chance to see her becoming mad like her father and her character was destroyed yet her story was awesome i dreamed of jon having the throne and i hated the forced sibling rushed romance and I've loved jon i am a sucker for the forced to become a hero trope fight me ... she was doomed to fall because of the prophecy and she did but she didn't enjoy the throne and deserved better.

End of the first part of ardra analyses.

this was my first post analysis so please be kind and i did my best to be impartial because i do enjoy taylor's work and the other two characters are good! i did not intended to throw hate at any these women i just did my personal observation using the constellation behaviour i hope i was able to spread some knowledge and also to help those who desire to learn.

please share your thoughts and if you want to recommend a theme for me to talk about feel free to do so.

and my reading services are open.

contact info.

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listography · 5 months

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The Most Culturally Significant Female Pop Album to be Released Each Year of the 2000s

2000 - Britney Spears ‘Oops! I Did It Again’

2001 - Aaliyah ‘Aaliyah’

2002 - Christina Aguilera ‘Stripped’

2003 - Beyoncé ‘Dangerously In Love’

2004 - Gwen Stefani ‘Love Angel Music Baby’

2005 - Madonna ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’

2006 - Amy Winehouse ‘Back To Black’

2007 - Rihanna ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’

2008 - Beyoncé ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’

2009 - Lady Gaga ‘The Fame Monster’

#women in music #2000s #2000s music #britney spears #aaliyah #christina aguilera #beyonce #gwen stefani #madonna #amy winehouse #rihanna #lady gaga

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reinedeslys-central · 19 days

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no but it's really nice, it's really funny, it's really nice how you read fic and you see which traits are preserved for which character across this AU, that setting, this time period, that profession, why this style, why that instrument. especially walking into a fandom, especially reading one of those fics where the author confesses they've never even read the source material, they've just seen so much fanon that they get what they're doing.

wei wuxian's laughter is coded into his character. this is a boy that laughs like the sun and smiles like it too

lwj is a Massive Bitch when he wants to be, and has a slow, small, impossibly soft happiness that is oh so gentle yet strong like a mountain.

jiang cheng is Very Complicated when it comes to fanon interpretations. canon does not do his character portrayal many favours, but I do love seeing his character being a better person - they preserve his gruff affection and his complex feelings, when they focus on him. his fear, his parenting. his grief and love.

aang - aang gets to be this bright child, this shining star and wise man. he's bouncy, he's peaceful, he's devoted, he's merciful, he loves life.

katara - fierce, loving. motherly often in her affections, and on the other edge angry about the suffocation sometimes present in her narrative. competent and open.

azula - do I have words? I love how there are these traits preserved across diff works depending on how they use her character - at times darkly threatening, others bemusingly terrifying.

is this a completely redundant post idc

the way that as music majors wwx always (usually) plays the flute. sometimes the guitar. LWJ usually gets either his canon guqin, else a piano or a violin, ostensibly because the canon element of prestigious-family-instrument-code is being preserved, whereas wwx gets the people's-music-code applied. like in the pop-culture sense, yeah

sizhui the kind, sweet child. Jingyi the Gremlin. Zizhen the sensible but sometimes overdramatic romantic. Jin Ling the bratty, bold, vulnerable teenager.

hey maybe I love them would you ever think of that

wen qing - cold, kind, brilliant. always, always. so in love with her family. willing to go so far.

#mdzs #cql #characters #writing #I could go on about this but it's weird to just talk w/o a conversation yk #avatar the last airbender fanart #aang #katara #azula #wen qing #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #mdzs characters #mdzs fic #atla fic #atla characters #atla

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ryin-silverfish · 2 months

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Into the Erlang-verse: Li, Zhao, Yang

-This is something I wrote for fun and reference purposes, back when I was starting to seriously get into Chinese mythology. As such, there is no citations, and is meant to be more of a general introduction to Erlang Shen in pre-modern writings.

(Emphasis on "pre-modern", because, as much as I love the Lotus Lantern + Prequel TV series, it's just a little frustrating to see people taking the shows' version as the end-all-be-all of such a complicated deity, y'know?)

-Anyways, much like Nezha, his Archery Accident Bro, Erlang has what I'd refer to as his "Pop Culture Form": Handsome three-eyed warrior god wielding a three-pronged spear, accompanied by his doggo Xiaotian Quan(Literally "Skyhowler"), going by the surname "Yang", jade emperor's nephew, etc.

-However, The Second Lad is an even messier amalgamation of deities worshiped in different parts of China, even in his supposed "home domain", Sichuan. Here, I'm only gonna talk about the most well-known and significant Erlangs.

(Not even gonna go into the possible Zoroastrian influences and the Dujian thing...)

1. Lord of Sichuan, "Li Erlang"

Key words: Hydraulic engineer, based on a historical official and his son, fierce competitor with Zhao Erlang for the Lord of Sichuan title

Weapons: Knowledge

Power: Can turn into a bull/dragon

Pets: N/A

"Who's Yang Jian? I've been watching over Sichuan since the Qin dynasty."

Li Bing was a pretty typical case of famous historical figure being worshiped as gods posthumously; born in the Warring States era, this official was put in charge of the Shu Prefecture (modern Chengdu) by King Zhao of Qin, and he was known as the creator of Dujiang Yan, an ancient irrigation + flood control project.

Later Tang legends deified him with a bunch of traditional "Flood-control hero" tropes taken from Yu the Great (heads up JTTW readers, SWK's staff is originally his extendable ruler), mostly the "hero turn into a giant animal" and "fight and subdue local water demons" aspect.

Though he wasn't yet known as an Erlang, or gained a son called Erlang as later folklore would have it, Li Bing's worship began in the Eastern Han dynasty, and he had a long tradition as Sichuan's guardian deity.

Even as later versions of Erlang began to populate, in the Qing dynasty, people of the province were still like "Our Lord of Sichuan is Li Bing/Li Erlang, not Yang Jian, as the novels would have you believe!"

What made Li Bing and his likely nonexistent son into "Li Erlang" could be traced to the two "warlord states" that occupied Sichuan after the fall of Tang dynasty: both states tried to use the Lord of Sichuan worship to strengthen their own legitimacy, and passed decrees that 1) said Erlang was Li Bing's son and 2) granted both father and son honorable titles, as mentioned in Song dynasty records.

However, due to the association of Erlang with previous warlord states, the first emperor of Song had reassigned Li Bing a lesser title and taken away his son's title altogether, reducing him to just "God of Guankou", and worshippers were quite disgruntled by the change; there was even a rebellion using the Guankou worship rituals to legitimize itself, a decade after said emperor's death.

Fun fact: when I went to the Two Lord’s Temple (of Li Bing and Li Erlang) in Dujiangyan, even though the god worshipped in the main hall was supposed to be Li Erlang, the plaque next to it still said something like "Li Erlang, also known as Yang Jian"...

Which really shows just how influential FSYY is on popular worship, to the point of overshadowing older incarnations of certain deities.

2. Immortal Master of Illustrious Sagacity, "Zhao Erlang"

Key words: Chief of Jiazhou Prefecture, dragon slayer, No.2 violator of archery safety (first place goes to Nezha)

Weapons: A scribing tablet, slingshot, sword, bow and arrows

Power: Supernatural strength, monstrous giant form

Pets: unnamed white horse, hunting hawks and hounds

"C'mon, my aim isn't that bad! What happened in the Zaju was a one-time thing!"

The prototypical Taoist Erlang, his name, "Zhao Yu"(赵昱) first appeared in a Song dynasty source. At this point, the story of Erlang was mainly defined by two traits: 1) was, or was related to an official in charge of Sichuan in bygone times and 2) Did heroic flood control stuff, probably through dragon-slaying.

One notable strand of local worship was the "God of Guankou"; historical records mentioned that people sacrificed hundreds and hundreds of goats to him, as well as a regional festival in Sichuan where people played out his confrontation with dragons. It coexisted and entwined with the "Lord of Sichuan" worship, until the Song dynasty.

In typical Song dynasty fashion, the officials decided to give their own official title to this...Erlang/Lord of Sichuan/God of Guankou guy, bringing our titular "Zhao Erlang" into existence.

Also a deified official from the Tang dynasty, his image was more heavily influenced by Taoism (historically popular in Sichuan) and centered around one of its holy places, Mt. Qingcheng, which just happened to be quite close to Dujiang Yan.

Though in the Northern Song dynasty, the state-recognized Erlang was still "Li Erlang", the Taoist Zhao Erlang had proven himself to be a strong competitor by the Southern Song and Yuan dynasty, thanks to a massive amount of opera plays.

First we have SJSSDQ (三教搜神大全, Yuan Dynasty), an encyclopedia of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian gods, where his traditional backstory as an ascended mortal official was combined with the dragon-slaying feat to nudge Erlang toward a more warrior-esque image, a hunting god who appeared on a white horse with his entourage of hunters.

-We also got the first mention of what would become his six/seven sworn brothers; the "Seven Sages" who jumped into the water to assist him in the dragon fight.

Then we have two Yuan-Ming Zaju plays, "Erlang of Guankou Slays the Jian-jiao"(灌口二郎斩健蛟) and "Erlang Drunkenly Shot the Demon-locking Mirror" (二郎神醉射锁魔镜), in which many traits associated with JTTW's Yang Erlang could already be seen: first, his three-pronged weapon, seven brothers and bow/arrows, second, the naming of his brothers as the "Seven Sages of Mt. Mei" and his ability to shift into a "true form", aka the monstrous giant form he used in JTTW.

(The plot of the second Zaju is exactly like it sounds: Erlang and Nezha had a drunken archery competition, accidentally broke the Demon-locking Mirror and released the Bull Demon King + Hundred-Eyed Demon, and spent the rest of the play doing damage control.)

3. The Little Sage, "Yang Erlang" (JTTW)

Key words: Jade Emperor's nephew, cleaver of Peach Mountain, SWK's true equal in battle

Weapons: Three-pronged, Double-bladed Spear, slingshot, bow and arrows, axe

Power: transformations, Cosmic Body, divine sight/Phoenix Eye(?)

Pets: a celestial Xiquan, literally "Thin Dog"

"First time we met, and that monkey made fun of my origins as a conversation opener. Could you believe it."

The Man, The Myth, The Legend! As I said before, a lot of his traits were inherited from "Zhao Erlang", including his Taoist title, his temple at Guankou, etc.

However, Erlang being Jade Emperor's nephew seemed to be mostly popularized by JTTW: the only other work that might have given Erlang this backstory was The Precious Scroll of Erlang, previously dated to the 1560s, though a Chinese paper published in 2018 proposed a later creation date (1620s).

Much like JTTW Nezha, his backstory was somewhat barebones: we knew from SWK's taunt that his mother was the Jade Emperor's sister, who got chummy with Yang the mortal, gave birth to him, and was presumably locked under the Peach Mountain for that, bc Erlang then rescued her by cleaving it in half with an ax.

(Sounds familiar? The same backstory would later be copied over to Erlang's nephew, in the Lotus Lantern legends)

His other notable feats include falling 2 phoenix with his slingshot, as well as slaying the "Seven Demons of Mt. Mei ''. Out of pride, he chose to remain in Guankou instead of associating with his heavenly relatives, and did not answer to general summons to court from the Jade Emperor, only taking special assignments (听调不听宣).

Apart from his famous fight with SWK, Erlang also appeared in JTTW chapter 63, where, together with his sworn brothers, he helped the pilgrims fight the Nine-Headed Wyrm, son-in-law of Bibo Lake's dragon king. His dog continues to be the MVP in this fight, biting off one of the demon's heads, leaving it wounded and fleeing toward the north sea.

Though the description of his battle with SWK implied that he did have some sort of supernatural sight, at this point in time (Ming dynasty), Erlang wasn't yet depicted with a third eye in artworks and literature.

There are a small amount of evidence that suggest the third eye thing might have shown up in statues of this period, though.

4. Master of the Ninefold Mystic Way, "Yang Jian" (FSYY)

Key words: Disciple of the Taoist sage Yuding, veteran of the Investiture War, Nezha's comrade-in-arms

Weapons: Three-pronged Spear, slingshot

Power: Ninefold Mystic Way, 72 transformations, invulnerable to physical attacks, Samadhi Fire (in FSYY it's on the same level as a D&D wizard's Fireball spell)

Pets: Howling Celestial Dog, unnamed white horse

"I fought a transforming monkey demon too!"

Fun fact: the guy whose name was most often taken as Erlang's "real name" by pop culture was never actually referred to as "Erlang" in his debut novel. Could ya believe it.

Quick, dirty summary of FSYY: kinda like the Chinese Iliad, about the overthrowing of Shang dynasty and its tyrannical King Zhou by King Wu of Zhou, with a dash of Taoist infightings, and almost everyone who died in the fight got revived as gods and became part of the celestial bureaucracy, thus "Investiture of the Gods".

Under the order of his master, the Taoist sage Yuding (literally "jade tripod"), Yang Jian makes his first cameo in chapter 40 to assist his senior, Jiang Ziya, in the fight against the Four Generals of Clan Mo.

A master in the arts of the Ninefold Mystic Way and 72 transformations, he has the same divine title as Zhao Erlang and is considered "A Sage in Flesh" after the end of FSYY.

As such, he's able to survive getting eaten by a monstrous weasel, a metal whip in the forehead, graphic disembowelment, etc. and used his transformation skills for some SWK-style "beating people up from inside their stomachs".

On one very notable occasion, he transformed into a beautiful palace consort to dupe Tu Xingsun ("Earth-traveling Son") and capture him.

Oh, and also, on his way to get Tu Xingsun's master, he ran into this random demon in a lake, who led him into a cave. After he got inside, the demon just disappeared, leaving him with the Three-pronged Two-bladed Spear, as well as some nice bling.

Then two kids burst in, accused him of stealing the bling, and...instantly became his students after learning his name? Yeah that was a weird sidequest.

However, Yang Jian's most iconic battle is probably his fight with Yuan Hong, the White Ape of Plum Mountain...who also practiced the Ninefold Mystics, used an iron cudgel, and were sworn brothers with six/seven demon kings.

Only with the help of Nvwa's magical painting, the Shanhe Sheji Scroll, was Yang Jian able to capture the ape, and subsequently, let Jiang Ziya decapitate him with Sage Luya's Immortal Slaying Flying Knife.

When the Three Demonesses were caught and executed at the end of the book, he was the one responsible for slaying the Nine-headed Pheasant Demoness, which is a neat parallel with JTTW.

His Howling Celestial Dog appears in chapter 47, and is even more of an MVP in fights: 12 immortals and demons have been bitten by this dog, which was "as large as a white elephant and as swift as an owl".

Funnily enough, every time Yang Jian summoned his hound, it is described in the same way as, say, other immortals may summon a flying sword, and my mental image is just him yeeting his giant monster dog at the enemy like you'd throw a Pokeball.

(A list of everyone Xiaotian had bitten in FSYY: Zhao Gongming, his sister Bixiao, Xinhuan, Deng Chanyu, Zhou Xin, Hua Huan, the Winged Immortal, Yuyan, Lv Yue, Yu Hualong, Dai Li the dog demon, the Nine-headed Pheasant Demon.)

Conclusion:

-The way I see it: Li is the Erlang of regional worship, Zhao is the Erlang of Zaju plays, and Yang is the Erlang of vernacular novels, who becomes super popular and overshadows his two predecessors.

-And Erlang's depiction in premodern Lotus Lantern tales is what we in the business call "a whole new can of worms". But that's a series for another day.

#erlang shen #chinese mythology #chinese folklore #journey to the west #investiture of the gods #fengshen yanyi #xiyouji #yang jian

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