#although its not heavily described in the story

[justhellacesome]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Nara Shikamaru Characters: Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi, Sai (Naruto), Yamato | Tenzou Additional Tags: Temporary Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Death, War, Non-Linear Narrative, world building, Vore, Cannibalism, read notes about those tags, Magic, POV Multiple, Storytelling, Implied Sexual Content, Graphic Description of Corpses, Morally Ambiguous Character, BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Nara Shikamaru, Sakura eats a god Series: Part 8 of so come meet me in the garden (where the angels sing) Summary:

Shikamaru dies, he does not stay dead. Oh no, he can't die, Deathless they call him because of his luck, because of his tenacity. But what they don't know, what no one knows— except those so close to his heart that they are a part of him and him a part of them— is that luck or strength has nothing to do with it. Death knows his name, knows his blood, knows his bones. She looks at him with such sadness he aches with it, dreams of it. Death's hands cradle his face as she sends him back to the world of the living in order to fulfill his fate and save the world.

Only, it isn't as simple as that. Nothing is. Nothing ever will be. The dead do not stay dead and the world has been taken by an unending war with enemies who rise again and again. Once upon a time ago, there was a boy, not any boy, a hero. But this is not the beginning, nor is it the end. He has fate carved into his skin and hope behind his eyes and he will endure these nightmares over and over and over.

(You see, there are things worse than never-dying foes. There are girls with bones forged of fury and blood made of rage who look at the world and decide to eat it.)

[noxturnalpascal]

Devotion 🖤 Masterlist

Series Summary: When is it enough? When is it too much? When does Devotion become Obsession?

I. Stronger Together CH 1 CH 2 CH 3

II. Predator or Prey? CH 4 CH 5 CH 6 CH 7 CH 8

III. Path to the Future CH 9 CH 10 CH 11 CH 12

Epilogue Some Summer Sunday

Series Warnings: 18+ MDNI, canon-typical violence/death, death of clickers, guns, blood/injury, references to previous SAs (not described), Reader has low self worth & trauma, this group/cult is not feminist - women aren’t treated as equals, Joel has sexual relationships with other characters (not described in detail), possessiveness, manipulation, stalking/spying on, Joel gets mean, DubCon Oral, Joel gets abusive (verbally, mentally, physically (he hits, throws, and bites), thoughts of self-harm and suicide, talk of periods & pregnancy, unprotected PiV, oral sex (m & f receiving), come eating, DIRTY TALK, brief reference to breeding kink and creampie kink (but reader does NOT get pregnant in this story).

A/N: OBVIOUSLY this is canon-divergent, but it is post-outbreak. The events of outbreak day have not changed (sorry Sarah). Reader does have a developed background that plays heavily in her character arc, so in that sense she is very much an OC. Reader has a nickname and some minor physical descriptions.

LAYOUT OF JOEL'S HOUSE

AO3 LINK

MOODBOARD BY @strang3lov3 MOODBOARD BY @beefrobeefcal

*🖤*NOTES ABOUT THE CULT & JOEL BELOW*🖤*

ABOUT THE CULT

The Cult's Core Ideology

Build up a community (and supplies) to return to a thriving society that can keep people safe & find a cure.

The Cult Operates by its 3 Tenants:

How Joel does it (what he "preaches")

I. Build Trust (We are Stronger Together)

Makes people feel beautiful, important, HEARD

Shares the wealth (food, shelter, women)

Seeks Power & Control to get others to help him

II. Us vs Them (The Predator Vs The Prey)

FEDRA is the enemy, do not trust them

Assimilate or Destroy all other people/groups

Attack them before they attack you

III. Gather & Prepare (Create a Path to the Future)

You can never have enough, always take take take take

The community you create now will determine future society (fair, honest, hardworking)

Once you are well-prepared and rebuild, you can work on finding a cure

🖤

Notes about Joel and the Cult:

He and Tess began this community together in 2010 after they met Bill and Frank and they felt that the QZ was becoming too dangerous and unstable. They settled in a small, remote town in the mountains of Vermont. Tess helps him "run" the community but she has a submissive role. (Their dynamic here is different from canon.) Tess has his respect probably more than anyone else does but she is not looked upon like an equal by anyone in the community.

Timeline/Ages:

This takes place in the fall of 2012, so It’s been 9 years since outbreak day. Joel is 45, my HC for Reader is Early 30's (Tess is 39/40). Reader's exact age isn't given, but she was in her early 20's on outbreak day and I wanted her to have experienced a fair taste of an adult life before the world ended. I didn't want to write the reader as inexperienced or with too large of an age-gap, although I think 11-14 years is still pretty significant. She has a history that plays a significant role in her personality (wary, untrusting). She has been hurt/abused by men - both those that took advantage of her when she was young, as well as by those that she trusted/loved. There are very few physical descriptions but she is very much an OC. Note that her age is not something that's explicitly mentioned because I did want to keep it inclusive. I hope everyone who wants to read this can use their imagination to fit themselves into the story in a meaningful way.🖤

[throwaway-yandere]

Ansy maybe I can send an idea about this. Maybe this yandere is turning into a zombie/monster, Reader sacrifices or willingly let's the yandere eat reader so the yandere wouldn't hurt others. Other idea, Yandere is a monster/cannibal and reader has a flesh that is very addicting to eat so yandere feels guilty for eating their darling but can't as darling tastes so delicious.

A/n: I'm actually currently writing the prompt I got earlier so here's some short ideas. also, what's up with me writing cannibalism fics for two older brothers with blue-white color schemes?? *shrug*. I'll go with the 2nd idea-ish (I'll tweak it again) in this one. First time doing headcanons so... I'll adios lol.

Content Tags: hello its yandere cannibalism lmao + Whodunit spoilers

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who strangely takes too long to respond to his childhood friend's messages. You're starting to get worried that he's spending too much time inside the dreamscape. Although your race greatly differs from his- being an ordinary human resident and all- you heard numerous stories that Halovians tend to carnally seek glamorous feasts after hosting series of events.

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who finally replied to your recent message, telling you "DON'T COME, PLEASE." with bold capital letters. You can only raise an eyebrow, considering you're already on his front door with a fruit basket at hand. In hindsight, perhaps you should've considered giving him a heads-up beforehand instead of rudely announcing your visit. But you are genuinely worried for his overall wellbeing, especially given what happened to his sister.

And perhaps, you were also just looking for someone who could understand your grief as well. He wasn't the only one stripped of their family so suddenly. The thought of your friend starving himself had pushed your own sadness away in favor of sheer platonic worry. That was how strong your bond was.

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who shook, mortified at the knocks on his front door. As much as possible, he can't let you in. The current nightmare he calls "HUNGER" was an unforgiving beast. He leaned against the other side of the closed door, breathing heavily.

"(Y/n), n-now is not the time for a visit! Forgive me for this crudeness, but I shan't open the door at present." You hear him inhale shakily. "To have you see me like this undermines all the work I've put in our... friendship."

You sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. But... can I please just leave this on your porch?"

"... I will not bar you from doing so..."

"Thank you."

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY whose hands refused to stop trembling. You're so close. He can almost taste you behind that door. A chill runs down his spine as he noticed just how much his mouth was watering at the thought of taking a bite.

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who thought himself most detestable for his cravings. The Odes of Harmony preaches honesty among its many virtues, and he would drown himself for omitting the grim truth from you. THEY will not be happy with this relapse of his.

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who bit his thumb, drawing blood. THEY wouldn't endorse this behavior from a representative of the Family.

YANDERE CANNIBAL!SUNDAY who looked at his bleeding finger and laughed sorrowfully at the lingering question on his mind.

Whose blood was it? His... or THEIRS?

Sunday could never be at ease after committing this crime. A Halovian like himself would never allow their vision to be clouded in red, and it appears the devil had saw an opportunity to hurl at two birds with one stone. But that would be an inaccurate way to describe it. His wings had not been clipped; he had brutally torn it away himself.

Penacony's most shrewd man lied to the arrogant fool that evening. There were four murders in that timeframe. One was a stowaway, the other was his precious sister, and the last pair was both your father and mother.

THEIR vision of a happy future for you did not welcome HIM.

All he recalls now was their polite disapproval turned screams when he made an attempt to ask for their blessing. Sunday only realized what he had done the moment he had sunk his teeth down your mother's arm, noticing how your father was already but boney remains of himself.

This Halovian ancestry's secret... it served him no good.

Why was he born into this race and why wasn't he raised just like you?

"Watchmaker... How can I ever forgive myself for this...?"

How can he dare proclaim to mete out justice when he deserves to be served the same sentence? "Sunday" himself is a transgressor, unworthy of yielding Harmony's name.

What heathen he was, to partake in flesh and blood that was not for his stomach simply because they both smelled just like you. What heretic he was, to place anger and hunger above his better judgement.

What karma it was, to find out his sister has been killed in his moments of guilt.

What retribution it was, to face that what he had done to others, will be done unto him.

[bloodyopvs]

The Sanguinarch isn't a bad villain or a cliched one.

The only thing that his writing suffers from is the fact that a lot of the finer points in his characterisation were easily missed or flew over our heads due to Arknights's ambiguous writing — I also had to do some deep lore diving to the Arknights Terra Wiki to be able to piece a more coherent picture of him, something more profound than merely 'he's just a mindless psychopath and a remorseless war criminal'.

And it strikes me what he was actually meant to be, in Chapter 13, where he was the main villain.

He is, for lack of a better word, an inverted Jesus figure.

There's a lot of things supporting this.

First, we have the crown of thorns (actually the thing that got into this rabbit hole) that his chibi, boss sprite wore in his second phase. His artist, Chuzenji, also drew him with the same thing. The crown of thorns's symbolism is obvious. Jesus wears one, including his depiction in the famous movie, The Passion of the Christ. Though, it's probably not that special on its own; but it's only the tip of the iceberg.

Then we got the meaning of his name, a portmanteau of a Hebrew word and an angel's name —— 'Dook', meaning pierced, and Ariel, an angel whose name literally means 'Lion/Hero of God', at least according to the Terra Wiki —— and things are starting to get intriguing. Put together, 'Duq'arael' means 'Pierced Lion/Hero of God'. The angel's name aside, the lion is an animal that symbolised 'God's strength and command', one that was closely related to God, to the point where C.S Lewis, author of the famous Chronicles of Narnia, use Aslan, a lion, as a stand-in metaphor for God.

And yes, the deeper you go into Sarkaz lore, the more you discover that it was heavily inspired by the lore of Abrahamic religions in real life, although I won't delve too deeply into this or start drawing parallels to real life events, since it's an extremely sensitive issue. But my point is that Arknights has always been deeply influenced by religious mythology and symbolism, and Duq'arael's name goes deep. It hinted at us on his true character——how he views himself.

(Him killing his own elder brother, who was an 'ideal' King of Sarkaz, was also a clear allusion to the story of Cain and Abel, and ties in with the occult theory that Cain was the first vampire in history, but that's an aside. Though this also serves to strengthen the point that Arknights has always been deeply influenced by religious mythology and symbolisms.)

Back to the topic, I would also argue that his design cleverly reflected this hidden allusion. His uncanny colour palette—white, red and black—could be interpreted as a reversal, so to speak, of Jesus's darker robes and dark hair (as he was so often and popularly depicted to be). His entire design screams vampire nobility, but there's something uncanny about it, which was highlighted when we were first introduced to him in Chapter 10 (or was it 11?). He was described as an ordinary-seeming nobleman, one who wouldn't look out of place speaking about current politics in Victorian telly.

More than that, though...although he wears black and red, 'traditional' vampire colours, his main colour is obviously white. White hair, white clothes.

Both the absence of colour, and the colour of purity, innocence, and rebirth.

Duq'arael is also the 'Prince of Blood'. Amiya, during their confrontation in Chapter 13, asks him what does blood means to him. As a concept, as a symbol——a meaning. Now his answer here isn't that important (although it's curious that he equates it with suffering, especially that of the Sarkaz's), but there's a hidden symbolism bomb here: Blood symbolised passion. When someone angers us, for example, we say that it makes our 'blood boil'. When our lover arouses us, or when we were afraid during a horror movie, we say that it gets 'our blood racing'.

In line with this, Dukare's goal——what he hopes to achieve by sacrificing so many people, including his own people——is to give the Sarkaz, who had been robbed of not only their homes and lands but also their entire identity, who had been brutally dehumanised and discriminated against for centuries, salvation.

At least in his perspective. He spilled a single drop of blood for them, a drop of pure Teekaz blood, in order to give them this salvation as well as to once again summon their original sin in the form of the first Originium. He even goes so far that this is their curse——the curse of being a Sarkaz, the curse of Originium. The implication here is that he wanted to SAVE them. But because he's twisted, because he's 'inverted' Jesus, he accomplishes that by sacrificing others on the cross instead of himself. A selfish 'saviour'.

He also blesses the Sarkaz with his blood, granting them strength. Once more: misplaced salvation.

But wait, there's another layer to this.

Duq'arael's the ONLY one who saw himself as such. He has a saviour complex despite his pretenses to be indolent, and obviously, due to the crimes and sins he committed, others saw him merely as a murderer, a monster, and a blood purist. Someone who can't let go of the past, and is still heavily fettered by it——someone who blatantly refuses to let go.

He, after all, killed his elder brother out of disappointment. He also testifies that he saw several other Kings of Sarkaz come and go during his long life, and with each passing one, he grew more and more disappointed, more and more disillusioned. More and more jaded. That is why he wanted to kill Amiya too; obsessed with slaying her, even. Not because he's blindly obsessed with murder in itself (perhaps not only because), but because he's past the point of saving. Which was his tragedy, and one that Amiya and Logos mourned after they pushed him off the Feranmut.

This motivation of offering salvation is also likely why he agreed to help Theresis take Londinium. He had alluded to it himself; his ultimate goal or even his motivation wasn't to rebuild Kazdel, especially not as the shitty mobile city that most recent Sarkaz remembered it as.

No, he wanted to 'save' them. To offer them salvation; to return their birthright, which is the entire world of Terra, to them. Back from the hands of the Ancients and the Elders, outworlder races who once wrested it out of their grasp and then proceeded to give them misery for centuries. Millennias, even.

Again, that is his role——The False Saviour.

I don't get why Chapter 13's title was 'The Whirlpool That Is Passion' at first, but then I realised that HG was being sneaky. They couldn't possibly call it 'The Passion of the Vampire', which would be TOO on the nose, so that's why they call it that:

The Whirlpool (symbolising Dukare being twisted by his past and his disillusionment) That Is Passion (the Jesus symbolism). It's very clever.

In addition to all of the above, on their 4th Anniversary art, his artist drew him with a white lily. The flower of (you guessed it) purity, innocence, and most importantly, rebirth. It does work with his image as a vampire, plainly speaking, and the Master of the Crimson Court who's obsessed with the purity of the blood, but I'd say it's more than that, since the white lily is also Mary's flower. Mary, as in the Mother of Christ.

So, no, The Sanguinarch isn't a bad villain. While he is undoubtedly a war criminal (wouldn't say that he's misunderstood, since he's an absolute dipshit nonetheless), he's not 'just' a psychopath.

[1997thebracket]

Round 6 - FINALE

The winner takes all! Which piece of media deserves to be the Champion of 1997?

Revolutionary Girl Utena: If it cannot break its shell, the chick will die without ever being born. This sentiment, originally found in Hermann Hesse’s 1919 novel Demian, features during a repeated sequence in the 1997 anime Revolutionary Girl Utena. Hesse is far from the only reference to philosophical, surrealist, or heavily symbolic text in the show, which trades in visual metaphor and multi-layered subtext. Revolutionary Girl Utena follows the story of Utena Tenjou, a young orphan who aspires to princehood-- challenging or outright circumventing the place of gender in that aspiration-- and is entangled in a series of duels centered around a girl named Anthy Himemiya. Written by Kunihiko Ikuhara, Chiho Saito, and Yōji Enokido (known collectively as Be-Papas) and soundtracked by J.A. Seazer and Shinkichi Mitsumune, the show has an instantly recognizable style, combining lush fairytale visuals and French-inspired architecture with a choir that functions as a sort of Greek chorus to the internal worlds externalized in combat. Utena is a story about many things, arguably all things, taking a surgical scalpel to adolescence and using the flat of the blade as a paintbrush, leaving a deeply human, visceral work of art in its wake. It has been massively influential on feminist, queer & sapphic, and otherwise gender-deconstructive or gender-subversive modern media. Smash the world's shell! For the revolution of the world!

Radiohead's OK Computer: I go forwards, you go backwards, and somewhere we will meet. By the middle of the decade, Radiohead was weary of the ubiquity of their 1993 hit Creep; although the record that followed it (The Bends) was a lusher, more evolved album than their first, it had failed to produce a distinctive enough image for the band to undo what Creep had done. The song threatened to define the band entirely to those outside their devoted following. In 1997 the band swung for the fences with the haunting, abstract OK Computer. It was a move their label cast immense doubt on at the time, and its success then and now would cement Thom Yorke and his bandmates as soothsayers of a sort, draped not in bohemian silk robes but in white hospital sheets. It's an album that speaks to the future with dread more than wonder, that critics described as "nervous almost to the point of neurosis," but marries the uneasy experimental soundscapes with poetic, surrealist, and increasingly prophetic songwriting regarding the parallel lives we lead with technology. Featuring the singles Karma Police, Paranoid Android and No Surprises, OK Computer is hailed by many as the band's magnum opus: it's certified double Platinum in the US and five-times Platinum in the UK, and in 2014 it was included in the United States National Recording Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

[lilwnet]

Spencer Dating a True Crime Fan: Headcanons

Summary: a true crime junkie and an FBI agent, the Universe must be laughing its lungs out. Some vague-ish headcanons on what it’s like to be in such a relationship. In general, the sweetest, most supportive boyfriend Spencer Reid, and caring, brilliant you.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x gn!reader

Warnings: don’t think I went to extremes or described anything graphic, however, I’d recommend giving it a pass if you aren’t comfortable with anything true crime. Besides, it’s kinda long and isn’t proofread.

A/N: I’m not a native English speaker, and it’s frustratingly hard for me to speak — and write — good, authentic English, especially grammar- and punctuation-vise as my first language interferes heavily. Hence, beware because there are mistakes!

When you say it to Spencer or he sees you getting interested in a book dedicated to a prolific murderer, he’s perplexed. Being exposed to so much evil in his life, he couldn’t wrap his head around the reason for you to be so invested in true crime.

Yet, when you explain it to him, he wonders if he’s a true crime fan, too.

For you, it’s always been quite fascinating why people resort to such a brutal, inhumane and cruel way of dealing with daily struggles; then, you say about “stranger danger”, your parents’ precautions and warnings that made you curious from the very young age why they are so focused — or overly focused — on safety. Finally, you want to understand why some people get high off killing others, meaning, you’d like to get a hang of their brain’s system, of their choices, life, history, psychological evaluation. In general, that coincides with what he does for a living.

I believe you wouldn’t know about his occupation at that point of your relationship. It’s pretty early on, quite possibly the first date when Spencer rather nervously asks you to tell more about yourself that you just blurt it out. The thing is, you’ve grown quite used to the fact that some people find you weird for taking a liking in such a dark topic. You thought, the earlier you say, the lesser it’d hurt if you were to go your separate ways.

However, Spencer surprises you. After your explanation, he seems to get it and then laughs genuinely as he realises how comical the situation is. If you meet through one of your mutual friends, Reid will question their sense of humor. If you meet randomly, he doesn’t know what to question, yet will get pumped up by fate’s unpredictable, always on-point turns.

You, a true crime junkie, is now dating an FBI agent, an SSA with BAU.

When he finally stops laughing and sees your bemused reaction, he proceeds to reveal his job, and you join the new wave of laughter.

After that, you talk about some cases he deals with, although you try your best to read, profile the agent to avoid pressuring him into reliving said crimes. Later on, the mutual agreement would be to only talk about it when both want to.

Surprisingly, Spencer feels like talking about it a lot, still he doesn’t resolve to graphical descriptions. He finds it soothing to share the story and push it right to the back of his head.

You, in turn, are a remarkably good, careful listener who doesn’t hide their emotions. You shed tears if it hits you hard, you comment when you believe a killer to be an absolute idiot, you make a face when you’re disgusted or annoyed.

Reid finds it refreshing; his colleagues, he himself, have built up façades as nonchalant, unfazed, gathered, their walls too high and thick for anyone to question the authority and experience.

Maybe it isn’t just the sharing part that helps him go through the hardest aspects of his job, but you, your mannerism and your presence.

What he likes most is how compassionate you are. You both believe the rationale for it is the amount of information you know about true crime.

When you discuss something — his case or something one of you has read — and you ask Reid about a victim’s family or focus on a victim’s background rather than a killer’s, he can’t help but hug you tight.

As an FBI agent, Spencer has gone to a couple of crime-related events, orchestrated by FBI or scrutinisingly arranged by ex-BAU agents, and he knows how little attention people pay to those who suffer the most. So, seeing you doing the exact opposite of what he encounters daily melts his heart.

Now, if you’re just a listener and/or a reader, he will ask you about your favourite podcasts or Youtube channels to buy a ticket — or tickets — to their shows or find you books about some perpetrators he believes you might find fascinating to study.

BUT if you’re doing a podcast or a Youtube show, or both, it’s a whole different story.

The minute you say it, Spencer is hooked on and ties himself in knots to find out more. You don’t show him an episode as you find it rather embarrassing, hence, Dr. Reid resolves to the only option he can think of.

Spencer asks Penelope to show him how to use Youtube or a podcast app. Garcia is surprised and eager to help, albeit upset when she realises Reid won’t say a word to explain his sudden interest in technology.

When he picks up the interface and the general idea of a website, he buys a new phone to have a chance to listen to your voice and to see you in both a Youtube box and a FaceTime box when he’s away on never-ending cases.

If you have a concept of doing something simultaneously while talking true crime — think of Bailey Sarian or MissMangoButt — he’d be so impressed. True crime is hard enough as there are many subtle, intricate details to elaborate on, and you do it almost effortlessly while focusing on something else at the same time!

(If you’re knitting, Spencer’ll ask you to knit something for him to see you do it while elaborating on a story, and he feels so soft inside, he can’t really explain why).

If you’re just telling a story, he’s as equally impressed. Spencer has a stage fear, a fear of public speaking, he’s camera shy. And you’re there talking, providing photos, your reaction is as real as when the two of you talk. You seem so natural at it.

Dr. Reid’s well-aware of every case you discuss or at least he has heard of them. He still listens or watches amid a) your style of telling a story; b) your humour and your mannerism; c) it’s you… how he can not listen to you or watch you? Apart from that, you’re doing something to spread awareness on never-decreasing crime rates.

Besides, he’s awestruck at the way you tell a story like some novelists do. An intriguing beginning, either slowly painting the surroundings for listeners or almost shoving them right into the midst of a case, then a build-up that leads to a climax and an end, letting your listeners know that some weirdos are held accountable or concluding that criminals never stop.

At first, the genuis listens to it when he’s home alone or in hotel/motel rooms after his own cases. Then, Spencer plucks up the courage to say he’s so proud of you and your work and provides you with a number of episodes he has watched or listened so far.

“I feel like I might become a true crime junkie because of you,” he’d joke. “Seriously, I would love to listen to all of them, but I don’t want to look, uh,” Reid stumbles over his words not to sound rude. “I don’t really want strangers or my colleagues to listen to what I’m listening to.”

Next thing Spencer knows you gift him two different pairs of wired headphones; the first goes with his phone, the second quickly reminds him of the headphones he once described as the only technology he has seen that he’d like to have.

Yeah, he’s a true crime junkie now, too, but he is your true crime junkie. Spencer watches all the episodes until he runs out of them and then waits patiently for the uploading day.

He grows so comfortable with your soothing voice, it helps him sleep. When you joke about something, Reid chuckles and, strangely, has no shame for it, even when five pairs of eyes stare at him, puzzled, while he sits comfortably with his eyes shut and his headphones in.

When he sees you doing some research or writing a script for another story, he won’t intervene unless you ask him to. He won’t be offended if you’re working things on your own — because why would he be? — but he’s so happy to give you a hand. To him, it means you value his ideas and opinion.

Spencer helps you find the information you need by just stating a fact or a detail you’ve spent an hour looking for, or scanning through your script if it seems shabby to you. In most cases, he says that you’re an overthinker, and everything is great, yet he does provide the critique to enhance your work.

If you have a concept similar to Payton Moreland’s “Binged” when she examines two cases on a common theme, he might suggest you cases to look at.

Sorry, but he’ll never join an episode, and you shouldn’t push him to.

Now, topics are heavy, still Spencer knows his limits and takes breaks when needed to avoid overstimulating his mind or getting increasingly anxious on daily basis.

Furthermore, he lets you accept that you need to have a rest, too, for the exact same reasons.

True crime aside, you still have so much to talk about, from gossips to carpet history.

Bonus: with Spencer slowly opening up to technology, you two exchange breakthroughs in cold cases.

For example, when the Golden State Killer was caught, you two spent the majority of the day connecting the dots and discussing the case, and the court hearing made you two shook.

He didn’t actually work that day, and neither did you, but who cares?

Hotch does, so you better keep low-profile.

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

What kind of fashion exists in the world? And what kind of clothes do the main characters wear?

Hello,

I find myself with a rare day off from work so I will be trying to knock out a few asks!

Also thank you for the fun ask, I love having the chance to world build a bit more publicly. 😊💙

So the fashion of OMWAT is very 1890's, Edwardian sort of centered. The world is a mix of slight medieval elements with the beginnings of early modernization.

Fashion also very heavily depends on which country your from and what social class you are in.

I'll start by breaking down Castellion fashion between the social classes then by men and women differences. Then I'll do the same for Romandian fashion! The main characters will have a post following shortly after this one to describe how they dress.

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

Castelliones

Most Castelliones go for very practical but moderately reserved sort of look, for women; the white flowy blouse with a high neck paired with long black skirts is the classic look for average city women.

The only huge difference is that clean, detailed lace is a sign of wealth in this classic look (and honestly in most other looks too, lace is a bigger deal to women in Castellio). This is also sort of a day-to-day sort of outfit and women will spin their own personal touches to it. Some, if they can afford it, will invest in having at least one simple white dress with some lace.

If you're in Castellio and live in a more rural area then you might see a few more people dressed in a traditional/charro-ish style. The rural open areas of Castellio is full of ranches and it is simply more practical to not be wearing white (Practicality is also a very big deal in Castellio). Although the rural outskirts is where you will see more color in Castellion outfits, their outfits actually tend to be more vibrant than high class Castelliones.

Now, high class Castellion women are a whole different story. The general rule of practicality for clothing is thrown out the window for their fashion sense. They dress with the idea to convey a 'refined elegance', they do this by wearing a lot of white for purity, but also to show off how clean they can keep their dress. This is where that fashion trend of lace comes in, the more beautiful handcrafted pure white lace or frills you have; the purer they think they look. They also sometimes wear more form fitting dresses, although it's a bit risky because that's usually a style for single high class women in Castellio. More drapey or loose clothes tend to be a sign of a married woman, but it's more of an unspoken rule that some people choose to ignore because it's a little outdated. Even by Castellion standards lol.

Okay, now time for the men!

Average classed men wear simple and practical clothes, brown pants with plain white shirt is the standard look. Suspenders are a bigger deal though, they were introduced into Castellion fashion by Romandi culture back when young Castellion men were forced to work in Luogo Di Pace. Young Castelliones found them more interesting that the regular belts they had so they adopted the style into their culture as those men went back home at the end of their service time.

Castellio is also a pretty warm place but if they get cold they will wear layers.

Average Castellion men look like this:

Rural men will look dress in proper rancher styles because it's practical. A lot of their clothes are hand me downs from their fathers and grandfathers, so they are more sentimental in that sense and take great care of their clothes. If it's cold? They throw on a hand woven poncho made by their wife, mom, or abuela. Also they are pretty stubborn on wearing belts rather than suspenders because they want to stick more to Castellion tradition rather than adopt anything Romandian.

Upper class menswear is a little stuck in the mid 1800s style, it's a tad outdated with its frills and puffs but they still like them. Their outfits tend to be form-fitting and with toned down colors. Unlike the pictures however, they wear their pants all the way down to their ankles not to their knees.

(^imagine this but new looking^)

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I ran out of images allowed in one post for the Romadians so I will make another post for them! 😭

[quasitsqueeries]

The Emperor wasn't 12 feet tall

I see this meme a lot in my Instagram feed and it really grinds my gears:

Not because it seems to be trying to shame a fictional antagonist for being "wrong" (although that really doesn't help), but because whoever made it seems to have missed that depictions of the Emperor as superhuman are meant to be Imperial Propaganda.

Now, I realise I'm going to be fighting an uphill battle here because there seem to be people working for Games Workshop and producing their media who also missed that memo, and for a while now the studio has started producing actual depictions of the Emperor, and some of those depections show him as 12 feet tall and immortal. This might be controversial but I think what this shows is that Games Workshop don't understand Games Workshop's source material.

Here's a picture of the Emperor from the original Rogue Trader rulebook.

Even this is obviously meant to be a propaganda image, but here he looks like just a regular guy in armour, he's about the same size as the people around him. Not a superhuman, just a guy with an excess of hubris.

There's this literary construct called the unreliable narrator. When I studied literature we were given this short story to read called Bartleby the Scrivener. It's told from the point of view of an employer about a clerk who was apparently really difficult to manage. The subtext is that the narrator is trying to manipulate the reader to make themself look good.

For a long time, that's what Warhammer 40,000 did, the Imperium was made out to be an unreliable narrator. Stories about the Imperium's "glorious past" were told through the haze of ten thousand years of unending war, by an ecclesiastical class with a vested interest in keeping Imperial citizens committed to feeding the war machine. To the Imperium, the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy serve the function of myths, more than history. I've gone on before about how important heroic figures like Siegfried and Perseus and Prometheus were to the Nazis. The Imperium, being a fictional state that draws on the aesthetics and ideology of Fascism, uses the figures of the Emperor and Primarchs the same way.

Basically what I'm saying is that when Imperial sources state that these people were twelve feet tall and immortal and could, um, turn a giant ork into a lightbulb on a whim, it's not because they had these powers, but because they've been ascribed these powers by their priesthood, who have total control over the flow of information in this setting.

And I get that this is hard, because most people don't get taught this stuff, and often people are probably looking for escapism from their fiction and why would the book I'm reading lie to me? But I think it really makes the setting more interesting if you look at it this way.

Also, I realise that since 2006 there have been books around that describe the Emperor, and they do show him as superhuman, and I think those depictions are based on the writers misunderstanding the material they're working from. I guess Tolkien wrote the existence of The Hobbit into Middle Earth as the Red Book of Westmarch so I can tell myself that the Horus Heresy novels are meant to be in-universe Imperial propaganda.

ADDENDUM: I need to add this because I've been reading about Perpetuals, which is apparently what the Emperor is since the Horus Heresy series was published. Apparently these individuals are human mutants that are both immortal and invincible. I remember Mechanicum heavily implying that the Emperor and St. George are the same person. Here's the problem with that. There are two themes that I think are really important in Warhammer 40,000. One is the Emperor's hubris, the idea was that he was playing god, genetically engineering monstrosities in the form of the primarchs. In the Greek tragic mould, it's this hubris that leads to his downfall. This kind of loses its sting if he's just trying to recreate what what he already is.

The other theme is the Imperium's superstition. This one is really the core of 40K. The Imperium has taken the corpse of a man who tried to rule the galaxy, told themselves he's not dead, plugged the corpse into a machine that "regenerates" him, and founded an intolerant, violent and expansionist religion around this husk. This theme changes significantly if the Emperor actually was as powerful as the Ecclesiarchy makes him out to be, and actually isn't dead, and has somehow been regenerating for the last 10,000 years. There's a question here about what would make an entity worthy of worship, or being called a god, and I probably shouldn't get into it but this is my blog so I'm going to. It seems like there's an assumption among some writers that if something can be rationally explained then it's not a god, because gods ipso facto don't exist. They've incorporated nonexistence into their definition of gods. This is where you get the idea that the Chaos gods aren't gods, because the setting explains their existince "rationally" with its internal logic (nevermind that there's nothing rational about the warp). If there were gods in a rational sense, then our model of the universe would have to change to accomodate them. I think the upshot of this is basically that if what the Horus Heresy novels claim about the Emperor is true, then the Ecclesiarchy are right and he is a god within the logic of the setting. That doesn't justify the genocide and expansionism, but maybe it does justify the worship, and that's something that I think takes away from the setting.

[bloodraynebeast]

Now that there’s some context to work with, let’s have some fun. I decided to switch it up and compile a list of what Romantic Tropes I could find that are the most fitting and evident for Yashiki / Mashita. You may recognise all of these from TV Tropes. Not safe from MAJOR SPOILERS of the main games and more below.

All Links: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 <-

Updated AO3 Version <-

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Romantic Tropes -

1] Age-Gap Romance: Both are adults with Mashita ageing in his late twenties, meanwhile Yashiki is estimated to be within the mid thirties to mid forties range. This instantly becomes comical in the dynamic of their relationship as Mashita often takes the lead and berates the older man.

2] Anger Born Of Worry: This is practically Mashita on a regular basis with Yashiki whenever he feels he gets too emotionally involved in their spirit cases - alleviating the source of their pain, helping innocent people affected while dismissing the threat to his own life. Mashita’s first instinct when saving Yashiki as he falls from the building in Red Riding Hood, is to bark at him for being an idiot and press why he ignored his warnings, his orders to stay outside where it was safe. It becomes a pattern that Mashita makes irritated comments about Yashiki always getting into trouble and his lack of concern for his safety, especially for the sake of others. Whereas Yashiki can sometimes be mildly indignant, but he's normally unambiguous when he's worried. Plus he’s too thankful for any help Mashita gives.

3] Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: For all the times the two can bicker and disagree on their views and ideals - Mashita frequently pointing out his naivety and stating the living and the dead should stay separate, while Yashiki can’t turn a blind eye to the suffering of the dead and wants to help everyone involved - it doesn’t change how compatible they are in their relationship and how well they work as a team. Despite not entirely approving of the other’s methods, they understand. They both also care deeply about the other’s wellbeing, more than enough over their own.

4] Battle Couple: There is often build up to Mashita joining Yashiki in the investigations during the games and other media. In two separate instances with Red Riding Hood and Death Mark 2, and more which can be determinant, Yashiki and Mashita are made to partner up at the climax of a story. They are framed as a force to be reckoned with when they work together, giving the other support and are the type of pair to use guns on a spirit in a confrontation and have it be a success. Word about the two men have spread over the years in the field, as characters from NG mention them in previous cases they’ve closed. Yashiki and Mashita are implied to be inseparable in and out of work and not what the spirits can win against, according to Shou Nagashima.

5] Belligerent Sexual Tension: Noticeable during their more tender and teasing moments, when Mashita offers kind, supportive words and Yashiki reacts softly, or the two are quipping with each other. In other instances it's when the men are frustrated with one another, but Yashiki is shown to have a somewhat calming effect on Mashita’s stormy demeanour on several occasions. There’s also an exchange in the ending of Red Riding Hood where Mashita describes the teacher that was involved as thin, tall and the type popular with students, implying that he was attractive or had an attractive personality, glances at Yashiki before continuing that he wasn’t too unlike him. Given how the student Sayako felt towards the teacher and how Death Mark 2 proceeded with its narrative, could this have been a sly, cautious way of complimenting Yashiki?

6] Birds of a Feather: Yashiki and Mashita both lost someone very important to them that still weighs on them heavily, something they may have confided in each other about off-screen. Neither are particularly equipped for social situations, although in different ways and much prefer their own company. Both can be blunt in their honesty, their remarks and cannot take praise. They also share in appalling sleep schedules as their character art sprites show extreme dark circles under their eyes and more than likely neglect any sort of self care. They enjoy the simple pleasures of sitting in the quiet with a cup of coffee or enjoying a drink, and smoke in Mashita’s case, which is likely one of the reasons why Mashita would visit the Kujou Mansion so frequently. Yashiki and Mashita are not the best at dealing with children and also find themselves drawing blanks or not understanding the appeal when younger characters talk about something new or popular, although much more so on Yashiki’s end.

7] Defrosting Ice King: After meeting Yashiki, Mashita has certainly made some progress. It’s apparent the impact Yashiki has made on him and still retains those effects in the current timeline. Breaking down his character, Mashita does have a secretly good heart but Yashiki makes Mashita stop and consider a gentler, more empathetic approach to situations. In Kokkuri’s case in Death Mark 2, he even talks to the deceased himself much like Yashiki would. He’s also just more at ease and takes part in antics with him in and out of canon.

8] Fan-Preferred Couple: Evidently this. Considering the amount of created content and attention, a majority of the fandom supports Yashiki and Mashita as the main pairing. From the pairing’s popularity alone it is entirely possible if there were an official couple introduced, particularly with either character, they would still be the preference.

9] Fate Drives Us Together: If the Mark incident with Mary hadn’t occurred, or happened later down the line with even worse consequences, the two would likely have never met. Yashiki would have remained as Masamune Kujou and continued his isolation while devoting himself to his family’s obligations, or simply died. It is only through meeting Yashiki that Mashita survives. Otherwise he would’ve been another victim, someone else seen as collateral damage in Masamune’s eyes. In the epilogue of Death Mark after sealing away Mary, Yashiki and Mashita would reunite and continue to investigate spirit related cases together after Mashita returned to normalcy, starting a new career as a private investigator. What started as possibly one-offs soon became partnered work and how their relationship deepened. Years later following the events of Death Mark 2, Yashiki and Mashita would still continue to work together closely, as evident in NG. Mary’s albeit mocking words given her deception of Mashita’s fate being entwined with Yashiki’s comes to mind, and yet rings true.

10] Finishing Each Other's Sentences: Frequently in and out of their work. Yashiki and Mashita are often of one mind and can tell where each other’s thoughts are leading, finishing where the other tends to trail off.

11] I Got You a Drawer: The latest DLC for Death Mark 2, opened up a new aspect of their relationship. Mashita leaves his signature coat behind at Kujou Mansion, which Yashiki doesn’t appear to mind as it’s still hanging out in the open. It’s just accepted with the reason that Mashita must have forgotten about it and yet doesn’t jump to resolve that. It’s also worthy of note that he points out how an item left by Moe was without his permission, whereas he doesn’t linger at all on the fact Mashita left the trench coat behind without permission after however long it’s been there. It poses a question of what else Mashita may leave behind if he’s become so accustomed and comfortable at the mansion, and whether or not this was intentional. The likely answer is yes. But the reasons for why are more curious.

12] Inconvenient Attraction: Feels like Mashita for Yashiki whether it be sexual, romantic or platonic as the ex-detective was evidently drawn to Yashiki in some regard. Presumably Mashita has very few in his circle of people to care about and probably intended to keep it that way given what happened to his mentor, so things are suddenly more complicated when he’s needing to worry about a good natured man always managing to throw himself recklessly into danger. Some curse or spirit always trying to take his life. Enough so that Mashita is called in to help Yashiki as backup by characters like Yasuoka and Rose or goes in to help of his own will. It’s also ironic as someone formerly on the force still holding onto strict laws, having a close relationship with someone constantly breaking said laws - worse still, does so himself for Yashiki’s benefit. I wonder if Mashita places blame on Yashiki for that.

13] Implied Love Interest: This is more subjective, but the vague romantic tones as evidenced in this analysis are all very much implied. They have more attention and development, throughout canon material and alternate universes which we will explore later. There are even accounts from fans saying they thought Death Mark was partly a dating simulator, wholly due to Yashiki and Mashita’s chemistry. As a result, the game gained some reputation online as the “Yaoi Ghost Game”.

14] Like an Old Married Couple: Although both are still relatively young, their conversations sound like old men that have been married to each other for decades. One case being Yashiki growing offended at Mashita always grabbing the coffee he meticulously makes for him before he has a chance to add sugar, which he deems a crucial final touch. Giving away that Mashita does not approve of the sugar intake Yashiki indulges in. Others have Mashita taking a moment to tell him to stop putting everything and anything he finds into his bag, rebuking him for always getting into life threatening situations. Yashiki needing to almost apologise on Mashita’s behalf for his rudeness to Hiroo and other characters, saying he acts like that with everyone or that he didn’t mean what he said that way. Small moments like these are why they are commonly referred to as husbands in the community, which only suited more after Death Mark 2’s release with its marital themes.

15] Lonely Together: Both strike me as the types to often find themselves alone and being generally lonely people, especially Yashiki who’s heavily implied to have spent the majority of his past life in isolation, shutting himself away from people while his sister Saya handled that side of matters. Mashita more because his personality may be too off-putting and rude for others. And yet they are frequently found around each other.

16] Love Overrides the Law: Mashita has brazenly given Yashiki, a civilian with no prior experience, a gun twice for protection despite very strict firearm laws. He also lets Yashiki get away with a long list of misdemeanours, but points out that he keeps track of them. Understandably the exception was when Yashiki to his knowledge at the time confessed to the murder of Kinukawa in Death Mark 2, which Mashita threatened to handcuff him on the spot for if he could, but then suddenly added that it only applied to living beings. Throwing out a theory that the version Yashiki killed wasn’t real, which was later proven right.

17] One Head Taller: Not massive, but height difference is a popular one and as it stands, Yashiki (5’11”) has several centimetres over Mashita (5'8”) - almost another head taller - which fuels a lot of content and discussion. Mashita being the shorter, smaller framed man of the two with all his grumbling attitude and confidence comes off as oddly endearing.

18] Rescue Romance: It goes both ways. After Yashiki saved Mashita’s life during The Mark incident and beyond that, Mashita likely felt indebted to him. Likewise, Mashita returns the favour saving Yashiki’s life during Red Riding Hood, the Bad End Voice Drama; “The Black Demon’s End” and arguably in Death Mark 2. The CG of Mashita saving Yashiki in the DLC is definitely popular for a reason. Mashita in particular is known to go rushing in to save Yashiki, half the time with a gun in hand. Given the nature of their work, the two will probably spend the rest of their time saving each other from close calls, further cementing their trust and loyalty.

19] Ship Tease: Was hesitant to put this one, but at this point the developers are at least aware of the pairing’s existence. The most teasing moments of potential romantic feelings we’ve had so far that I’m aware of are evident in the Voice Dramas and livestream advice column skits, particularly one that had been fan translated where Moe asks if Mashita is “interested” in Yashiki. One could argue the games themselves have teasing based on several analyses, but it largely depends on the player’s perception.

20] Tough Love: Mashita is straight to the point and can seem insensitive at times with Yashiki as he’s shown not to coddle him. He has a protective streak, but not as much in the way that protects Yashiki’s feelings. However, Yashiki seems to somewhat acknowledge that it's what is necessary sometimes when he begins to spiral with guilt. While it’s true Mashita can act a lot softer on him than with the rest of the cast and does console him, he still throws the occasional harsh words at him. Yashiki’s sympathy and naivety can be very dangerous for everyone involved after all, if not careful.

21] Tsundere: Now this is the major one. The huge factor for this pairing. It’s very unanimous within the fandom and can be strongly supported. Almost everything points to Mashita being a tsundere from his long list of actions regarding Yashiki in my previous sections, speaking louder than words, because he has difficulty expressing his feelings. Complaining about things being a hassle when helping Yashiki when in the background he’s already been digging for information, or that he’s helping because it's a job and pays when it’s obvious to the players that he’s heavily concerned. Mashita is notorious for calling Yashiki an idiot when he’s worried as well as in normal conversations, and disgusting in response to Yashiki showing gratitude or care towards him. More than naught with a tut, which is common behaviour. Mashita is more open with Yashiki about what’s on his mind and about more personal matters. The evidence doesn’t stop there as a post on social media from one of the devs had Mashita on Pocky Day - a day about sharing love, happiness and appreciation - additionally his official birthday, comment that he’s definitely not going to the mansion today. But actually had intentions to do so. He’d already prepared to visit. Other instances include outside of canon in livestream Voice Drama skits, where the characters read out fan questions for OOPArts. One in particular includes Yashiki, Moe and Mashita, translated by Keru and uploaded by Marvelously Cheerful. After the session, Mashita admits he only came to the mansion to kill time after seeing Yashiki there, to which Moe asks in a seemingly teasing manner if that means Mashita is interested in him. He responds with a baffled “Huh?!” and tells her to cut it out, not exactly giving an answer. There are other skits with some equally interesting things going on, but are yet to be translated. Nevertheless these livestreams can all be found on the official Experience エクスペリエンス Youtube channel to listen to. More examples can be found but for the sake of keeping these short, let’s move on.

22] Undying Loyalty: To reference the “deep bond” in Mashita’s character file, the relationship Yashiki and Mashita have formed has grown to a degree of deep loyalty, and feels especially obvious on Mashita’s side due to his decisions throughout the main games. To name a few, staying behind to help Yashiki’s situation when he could have focused only on finding the missing information about his mentor, charging in to save Yashiki and getting himself cursed a second time in the process during Shimi-O and running after Yashiki into the love hotel alone when he enters back inside to face the spirit, choosing to risk his life over and over again for his sake in the present time. Meanwhile Yashiki displays quiet appreciation. How much Mashita means to him is mostly conveyed through internal monologues and he knows he can always trust Mashita and trust his intentions even if he doesn’t always like it at first. When apart, Yashiki keeps in contact with Mashita and updates him about the case he’s working on. And when he presumes Mashita to be dead, he tells him that he’ll finish The Departed’s case to the best of his ability because he knows that’s what Mashita would want. They never give up on each other.

23] You Are Better Than You Think You Are: This and dismissing a compliment blend together well here. Yashiki is a conscience-stricken man with low self-esteem and shadowed by the past, so his opinion of himself is very poor. Even before the reveal of his actions as Masamune Kujou. Also despite inventing himself as an entirely new person and Mashita repeatedly reminding him of his capabilities that would do some good - preventing more victims that Yashiki feels responsible for - he often feels doubt over the decisions he makes and questions his own resilience, especially when it leads to consequences that cost an innocent life. This leads to where in both games Mashita takes a moment to assure him in his own words that he’s doing fine, doing everything humanly possible and that he does in fact save people. These scenes are significant because Mashita only goes out of his way to comfort Yashiki like this. Meanwhile Yashiki expresses his affections and admiration towards Mashita in small gestures, which he almost always returns with a sardonic comment or pointed rejection. It’s often seen as a mask to hide how secretly appreciative Mashita is of Yashiki’s kindness and how much he’s valued. 

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There are likely more tropes that could hypothetically be applied to the pairing as of currently, but I couldn’t include every possible example without repeating earlier points. We have a smaller amount of material to work with, with our smaller series. Writing out all these tropes however, definitely showcases the amount of layers their relationship has and why it’s appealing to fans. Back to the usual plan for the next part looking at the various hints in CD Voice Drama’s, which may take more time. Thank you so much for reading!

[thesaltwateremu]

with less than two weeks left till protocol, I think it’s time for me to share my insane, probably incorrect theory

I call it “How Agnes Montague Can Still Win”

To start, I think it’d be really interesting if protocol was centered around a different entity instead of the eye. This would actually make sense since the institute was burned down, meaning the eye no longer has its main place of power. There’s two main reasons why I think tmp could be desolation focused:

1) the green used in tma is heavily associated with the eye. The logo for tmp is red, the opposite of green. The desolation is associated with red (though it’s not the only entity) and while it’s not the complete opposite of the eye, I think it still fits. The eye watches, but does not interfere. The whole point of the desolation is to interfere through destruction. Also in tma, the eye and the desolation were enemies. Continuing with the color theory nonsense, red and green are complementary colors. Agnes and Gertrude’s dynamic feels very similar to this: neither chose to be an avatar, and they could have gotten along had circumstances been different, but the eye was largely at fault for Agnes’ death. Opposites that complement one another very much describes the eye and the desolation.

2) The institute burned down. Seems pretty desolation to me. (Keeping this reason short and sweet, there’s really not much else to say) (Although I will take this time to say: Gertrude desolation avatar? Her two main methods of dealing with the supernatural was to burn it or blow it up)

So, where does Agnes come in to this? In a qna, Jonny said that Agnes was a character he’d have liked to have explored more in tma (paraphrasing, I don’t remember the exact wording) What if he uses protocol to explore Agnes’ story more and give her a more satisfying ending?

So that’s my insane theory! Protocol will be centered around the desolation with Agnes montague returning as a character

[symphonybracket]

YouTube links: Shostakovich 7, Tchaikovsky 6

Comments:

Shostakovich 7

Wonderful story of hope and resistance.

Tchaikovsky 6

Everyone bangs on about the 4th movement but it's the 3rd movement that really hits

tchaik 6 is what i would listen to if i had an hour to live

the 5/4 movement of the tchaik lives rent free in my mind and i think about it every day

It’s beyond gorgeous. The melodies soar, the orchestra swells, and you just need to lie down for a while after listening to it. It’s Romanticism at its zenith. You want to weep and sigh, and it’s impossible to listen to it without literally feeling something.

Symphony No. 6, titled “Pathétique”, was Tchaikovsky’s final symphony. It is an intensely emotional piece, and to many scholars demonstrates the emotional turmoil that characterized much of Tchaikovsky’s life. He died about a week after its premiere, a fact which leads many scholars to debate about whether the content of the piece itself reflects the possibility that he may have committed suicide. The title itself is often translated to mean “impassioned suffering”, although this was most likely a later addition by Modest and not actually part of Tchaikovsky’s vision. Given these facts, many scholars interpret this piece to be about death and suffering. However, this piece can also be seen to represent life and all its contrasting moments. This interpretation is more holistic and inclusive of all of the moments captured in this piece, and also serves to break down the common narrative of Tchaikovsky as a tragic figure.

More comments about Tchaikovsky 6 below the cut (length warning):

Scholarship surrounding Tchaikovsky’s music tends to focus heavily on the ways his confliction over his homoerotic desires appears in his writing. However, his personal letters reveal a much more balanced understanding of himself that goes beyond the common narrative. In one letter written to Modest describing a new relationship with another man, he writes: “I awoke today with a feeling of unknown happiness and with a complete absence of that emotional sobriety that used to make me repent in the morning for having gone too far the day before.” Many of the letters he wrote regarding his relationships demonstrate no shame and no anguish beyond what can be expected of a man living in a homophobic society. It is important to take this information into account when listening to a piece such as this one that has been discussed so frequently, and to understand it beyond the turmoil and strife that it is seen to represent. Like many of Tchaikovsky’s works, this symphony displays a range of human emotions. It is not only representative of tragedy and “impassioned suffering”; it is a depiction of what it is like to live. It is also interesting to note that this piece is used as a signifier of queer desire in the novel "Maurice" by E.M. Forster, a novel also notable for its radical portrayal of a queer man who gets a happy ending. Much to think about there.

The first movement begins with a lone bassoon soloist playing a plaintive minor melody, which later comes back in the strings. As the movement progresses, it grows in intensity and texture. More instruments are added, and the music becomes more frantic, building and building towards the dramatic trumpet fanfare. Throughout this piece, Tchaikovsky continues to make significant use of contrasting dynamics and melodies, reflecting the emotions he hopes to convey through the music. Dramatic, tumultuous sections are interspersed with pastoral woodwind melodies, and the angry brass fanfares give way to a quiet ending.

The second movement is reminiscent of a waltz, and uses the strings and woodwinds more than the brass to achieve its floating melodies. The dynamics ebb and flow to build tension, but this movement never reaches the same levels of anguish that the previous movement does. Tchaikovsky makes use of pizzicato in the strings to convey a lighter, more cheerful mood, and features the upper woodwinds prominently. He also repeats themes frequently, giving the audience something familiar to listen out for as the movement progresses.

The third movement begins with frantic energy in the strings and woodwinds. As more instruments join the rush of music, the underlying eight note accompaniment does not let up, continuing the vivacious beginning through the whole movement. Instruments pass the melodies between each other and engage in conversations across the orchestra. Like the first movement, the brass play a prominent role in creating dramatic climaxes in the music, as well as supporting the march-like conclusion. Conductor Myung-Whun Chung describes the deceptively dramatic ending as, “one of the greatest, most thrilling, but most empty of victories in musical history,” observing that this movement has the energetic finality of a final movement. The reversal of having the true finale be a slower movement represents a shift away from the “Beethovian model of light over darkness” common in most other symphonies of this time period.

As mentioned before, ending on a movement with a slow tempo was a significant shift away from the standard of the time. This innovation inspired many other future composers to use the same technique, most notably Mahler in his Ninth Symphony. The quiet beginning builds up towards a chaotic rush of fast runs throughout the orchestra, only to stop abruptly and continue in halting, cautious bursts of melody. The movement continues with this cycle of rushing up to a climax and backing away as the movement progresses. Tchaikovsky highlights the horns in this movement, giving them both angry, blaring notes which cut through the string melodies and the flowing, lyrical lines that are passed throughout the orchestra. As the piece ends, the instruments fall away until all that is left are steady repeated notes in the basses, bringing this lament of a movement to an understated close.

[a-town-called-hometown]

hi!! i loved your post about deltarune's metafiction and its (not) escapist themes, and it got my brain jogging, like... i guess ive just been thinking "why"? like ive heard that take before and i think its valid, but also like. why ? its obvious enough to me that deltarune uses the lightner/darkner relationship as a reflection of the player/game relationship and both of these things are addressed critically, but i can't help but wonder if there's a driving force for it all, outside of deltarune. like i can accept diegetically the darkners are not, or shouldn't be, subject only to the whims of lightners, but with any good story if you break it down to its core is ultimately saying something about humanity or the world and such. i mean i seriously doubt the people who seem to think that Toby Fox intends to induce *actual* guilt into the people who fund his life's work and career by purchasing his videogames, like, it's obvious that "you are a bad person because you play this videogame" isn't the intended message, nor was it in undertale. but then, what is? what is the purpose of a story that invites us to think of toys and game characters as "real"? not to trash my beloveds but i mean, literally speaking, their lives DONT matter, they r not real. it just feels like ive seen a lot of discussion about 'what' toby is doing with the narrative but i feel like that's only half the ordeal, the other half would be the reason why. my first thought was that the implicit 3rd thing being compared to the light-dark, player-game thing is actual social hierarchy IRL in which people are oppressed by another group that doesnt see them as human, bc iirc toby talked a bit about feeling powerless and wanting to do more to change the real world on real issues in an interview in 2020ish and of course there's the snarky gag about the fedora plugboy who doesn't like politics, so he doesn't care that an evil ruler is taking over the world. im not sure if that sits right with me as what the intention is (esp because the latter is a darkner talking about another darkner) but i couldnt think of much else although i do feel like a fallacy people get themselves into a lot in the fandom is the assumption that toby fox is this Impeccable Writing Machine and not just like A Guy. people make weird or flawed art sometimes, it doesn't *have* to adhere to standards. maybe deltarune is meaningless (or the meaning IS that it's meaningless, as though to complete the metaphor of it being a "real" fictional world, because if it is 'real' then like our world there is no "answer" or "purpose", it simply *is*.) dunno! im not expecting it to boil down to a simplistic fairytale moral like "dont bully people!!" or something, mr. fox tends to write more convoluted than that, but i feel like if there's something to be gained from this particular part of the game's story then i'm not sure i see the vision. what do u think? do u think this question is even answerable with only two chapters?

respectfully, I do heavily disagree with the notion that good stories necessarily have to say anything about the world or about humanity. one of the reasons I like metafiction is that it usually says something about how stories are constructed, and that's enough for me. there's plenty of stories that have bigger themes that aren't really all that much about human nature, at least, not directly. a story can comment on one specific thing without necessarily making a broader statement about people, you know? not every story has an easily explained moral lesson.

that being said, yes, this plot element is in service of deltarune's larger themes! which are about agency, control, fate, and identity.

deltarune's fate theming and its metafiction elements are a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation given how interlocked they are, but I've found it helpful to describe deltarune as a "person vs. fate narrative that uses a metafictional lens to characterize fate." rather than the three fates of greek mythology or whatever dictating its characters' lives, it is instead the structure of the rpg their world was made to be. they are player characters. they are npcs. they play specific roles in the narrative. no one can choose who they are in this world.

control is emphasized in this story. there's the control we have over kris, of course, and in a much subtler way the control we have over the world through them. there's the darkner-lightner hierarchy, which parallels our dynamic with kris. i would argue that there are even social forces in hometown which also serve to place the lightner characters into specific roles. under this level of control, it's hard for characters to push back and determine their own identities.

all these forces combine to mean that deltarune's characters are fighting back against the narrative itself! which says stuff about people's agency, and the way rpgs are written, and how we interact with all that...

ultimately, you can apply this to real life. even if there aren't things like "fictional people who are actually real," hierarchies of control do exist in real life. narratives that erase the agency and internality of certain types of people exist in real life. it's admittedly a rather general statement, but like with any narrative about fate, seeing characters resist rules that are seemingly written into the fabric of their existence can make you feel inspired to also define your own identity! and to be transgender. don't forget to be transgender

[maicrzs]

☀️Elia Martell and Lyanna Stark🐺

Theory:

Because Dorne (and some of the characters that we met) is often described as a less conservative (when it comes to romantic and/or sexual relationships) compared to the rest of Westeros.

I like to imagine that Elia was aware of and okay with the relationship between Rhaegar and Lyanna. Why?

That being said, I don't believe that she was just this fragile creature that everyone describes her as. But the contrary, she knew and was supportive of it, specially when we think that although not very frequent, it wasn't unusual for Targaryens to marry more than one person.

And Rhaegar being so obsessed with prophecies, I think he would have told his wife, since other people knew about it (remember Rhaegar is already dead at the beginning of the story, everything we know about him comes from other people's perspective of him, and if they knew about his obsession with prophecies) why not his wife?! The woman that he shared his life, and had kids with.

They named their children Rhaenys and Aegon BECAUSE of the prophecy of The Prince/ss That Was Promised and he wanted a third one because the Dragon must have 3 heads, and they both knew she couldn't have kids anymore, or else she would put her life at risk.

So... because of that, I imagine that she knew about it all along.

About the drawing:

🐺 I've always imagined the Starks (and northerners in general, specially those where the blood of the Fist Men are stronger) looking (physically) like indigenous americans

☀️ While the Martells (and dornish people in general) looking like (specially after Pedro Pascal played the role of Oberyn) Latinos/Arabs (this combo its "funny" because a lot of Latin culture is also heavily influenced by Arab culture, but I dont have time to explain this rn LOL)

[epsodic]

🏎️܆ ͟͟͞͞  =    —     𐀔 ( 𖠵 )  ‎ ،  ‎ so let’s ride! is the first full album by arm candy that was managed by multiple companies. in a cross event between ideal music, mystic story, and plus plus ent, it immediately made waves as an innovative approach to the ever-evolving musical landscape. although the concept strays from what the group usually does, kpop’s boyfriends never disappoint in any release.

→ delivered to @ratedstar for ficswap!

① inspired by 90s hip-hop culture, racer aesthetics, living life in the fast lane, and choosing a good time over a long time.

originally supposed to be a mini album, so let’s ride! spiralled into an amalgamation of reviving scrapped music and bringing as many music producers into one room as possible. what should have been four tracks max decidedly became twelve tracks in total, all spanning above three minutes. various outcries from fans of the companies’ other groups demanding this treatment went unheard, as per usual.

every song played its part in bringing together the whole, but there’s no doubt that various tracks stood out from the rest.

01 : AS THE RUSH COMES is an ambient introduction to the otherwise fast-paced synth-pop album. with airy vocals describing the descent into a fantasy, one could interpret it as the listener beginning to dive deeper and deeper into the rest of the track list. three minutes and forty-two seconds long.

02 / .5 : AUTOBAHN is one of two title tracks. the texturized instrumental is the pillar of the song when the enticing tokyo drift-reminiscent visuals simply aren’t enough. the song solidified itself as a staple in arm candy’s discography immediately, demonstrating their duality. three minutes and eighteen seconds long.

03. / .5 : TALK SAXY is the second title track of two. left behind is the racer concept as arm candy go full 2000s boy band multiplied by infinity. they return to their roots, even going so far as downscaling the quality and filming the choreography in an upsized cheese grater. the saxophone which is heard all throughout the song adds that perfect addictiveness to an already catchy track. three minutes and eleven seconds long.

04 : GO BIG OR GO HOME is a future-house song which blew up on social media after various edits of the members. it gradually gained the attention of european countries, specifically the united kingdom. what was once a throwaway track developed into a certified club special. three minutes and twenty-two seconds.

05 : SUPER CAR may be the most jarring out of the entire album, written by jeyeol of dachi. it is heavily influenced by edm and electronica in which the members brag about their achievements and appearances. three minutes and thirty-five seconds long.

 ◌◍*⃝̥  ⇢͟  ERA AESTHETIC : 

[neo-502-kiana]

ARCHITECTURE STUDY : CYBERPUNK 2077

Cyberpunk architecture is a sub-genre of architecture the draws inspiration from the futuristic, dystopian settings found in cyberpunk literature and movies. It is often identified by a blend of futuristic, high tech design and gritty industrial features. The architecture draws heavily from the architecture of the 20th century—primarily the Brutalist movement. The Brutalist movement is a style that developed in the 1950s in the United Kingdom post World War II. There is a distinct emphasis on materials, textures, and construction.  Cyberpunk architecture makes use of the Brutalist movement’s concrete, steel and glass concepts in a natural and unpolished manner. Yet, it manages to add high-tech elements such as holographic projections, neon lights, digital displays, etc.  In the case of Cyberpunk 2077’S Night City a sprawling metropolis with large skyscrapers and mega-buildings create the beautiful skyline, yet the city is an evident mix of old and new—run down buildings manage to co-exist with high-tech structures.  Night City uses a lot of references to L.A, Detroit, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, however they primarily worked on from a clean slate. Urban Design experts were involved in the process to ensure that Night City looks credible—moving as a real city.

Night City wants to make you feel small and meaningless. The higher the building the more dominant it is. What happens behind the building is of little importance. That is why you get slum like areas even in the more central locations. Although there are obviously some things that could have been done about it, it seems that Night City was not built as a Theme Park. The image of the city, or how the inhabitants see it seems of little importance. Night City is a living, breathing metaphor. It is what you get when ambition, violence and overpopulation are the core foundation of the world you are building. Everybody wants a piece of the pie even if there is not enough for everybody. There are four varieties of stylistic identity used in the construction of the game: Entropism, Kitsch, Neo-Militarism, and Neo-Kitsch:

Entropism: Necessity over style. Buildings created in this style are old, grey and decrepit and are will often be found in areas where people cannot afford to modernize with the rest of society. Entropism, is a style based on poverty and a severe lack of resources. In a nutshell, this style visually tells the story of the very poor social layer of our world.

Kitsch: Style over Substance. Counter-Cultural movement against the austerity of the old days; an expression of happiness an d recovered. Bold colors, bright plastic and accessibility. Kitsch describes a slightly richer social layer of our world. Members of this social class would use some cyberware just to look amazing and grab attention. Architecture here would also be very attractive, with a lot of vibrant colors, a lot of shiny materials like plastic or good fabrics.

Neo-Militarism: Substance over style. Separated from the austerity of Entropism by its sleek and domineering aesthetic. It’s power dressing and has an air of luxury. A deadly layers of elegance and corporate, militaristic fashion. Associated with mega-corporations. Neomilitarism is very minimalistic, very rich, and very sleek. 

Neo-Kitsch: Style and substance. Holds similarity to Kitsch however it lacks semblance to the movement its predecessor aligned with. This is the youngest style in Night City but also a style only for the richest of the rich. People so rich you cannot even begin to imagine what you would do with all the money that they have. It uses only the most expensive materials in our universe like wood, gold, real animal leather and very unique but slick architecture design.

ARCHITECTS BENJAMIN BALL AND ALEX READINGER'S REVIEW OF NIGHT CITY IN CYBERPUNK 2077

Do you think it is realistic, what it would be like in 2070?:

Benjamin Ball: “I think cities are going to become more and more dense. We are going to be more packed in close to infrastructure. Old zoning rules will not apply. We will have to build closer and higher—we will have to build closer to freeways. People will have less personal space. There will be more, and more, runaway capitalism…Yeah maybe this [Night City] is a good take on what 2077 would look like...Hyper dense, very vertical places. “A lot of signage take on a lot of visage on the buildings.”

How sustainable do you think the city will be?

Alex Readinger: “It doesn’t look sustainable at all. There are wall-mounted exterior air conditioner units. This particular cyberpunk version has this ‘Bladerunner’ neon, whereas my version of the future would be powered by algae.”

Benjamin Ball: “Hard to say. Out environments would be synthetic—will be manufactured….Climate will have changed. It will be like living in a machine. Is that sustainable? I don’t know…We would be a lot more solar, a lot more nuclear, and a lot more hydrogen. Who knows?

Cyberpunk 2077 captures a lens of the world that encapsulates the future not just architecturally, but also sonically, politically, and in every single way. 

Alex Readinger: “What is frightening is that it feels like a world without relief. Endless sex shops, neon—no end to the noir experience.”

Benjamin Ball: “Endless trail. Endless maze. There is no break from the commercialism of it. Nothing comes out as sacred. There is no nature—it is all about consumption and desire. It’s relentless and it’s where we are headed.”

When you get to the columbarium—even death has be industrialized. “Step up as a uniform and non-personal gridded space with a digital readout. Even spaces that could be sacred was specifically designed not to be.” (Alex Readinger)

PROJECT: HOW/WHY IS IT APPLICABLE?

I plan to recreate chosen locations in Louisville while staying true to architectural design choices that have been used to create Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City. Since cities do not have to be recreated to have a Cyberpunk feel. All a city needs to go through is layers and layers of add-ons while keeping everything in the past. So I will do that exact thing with Louisville. Staying true to our local history while adding a bit of the fictional narratives associated with the Cyberpunk 2077 universe. For example, the downtown builds may depict Humana or the PNC Bank as a “mega-corporation” that domineers over all. Additionally, I will apply the concepts of brutalism into my builds as well. 

SOURCES

https://youtu.be/HnlaJFf7mC8?si=2PuUSZLs6lAAJUhl

https://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/gallery/2020/12/21/night-city-how-the-cyberpunk-2077s-megalopolis-was-built.html

https://iuliu-cosmin-oniscu.medium.com/a-brief-look-at-cyberpunk-2077-city-design-night-city-66b54f686b66

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-the-design-of-cyberpunk-2077s-urban-dystopia

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/brutalist-architecture-101

https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Neokitsch

https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Neomilitarism

https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Kitsch

https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Entropism

[teawan]

Nimona and its portrayal of the queer experience: a stream of consciousness "essay"

This is not a reach by any means, and I know countless people have picked up on this and/or discussed it at length many times, but Nimona is undeniably a story of queerness and queer people in a hetero- and cis-normative world. Through the use of the “monster” concept, the movie effectively demonstrates the way that the LGBTQ+ community is ostracized and villainized.

Throughout the movie, Nimona’s experiences as a shapeshifter, Ballister’s reactions and assumptions toward her, and other citizens’ perception of her parallel how queer people are treated in the real world. When Ballister first meets Nimona, she chooses not to reveal her ability to shift to him until it is absolutely necessary—quite literally a situation of life or death. Even then, she is reluctant to do so, because she has learned that this ability of hers, although not inherently dangerous or evil, is viewed as such and enforced by the only society that is explicitly stated to exist in the movie’s universe. The reveal of her abilities can be equated to a queer individual’s coming out, and it lines up nicely in the sense that often, people are afraid to come out, even to close friends and family members they have known since birth because of the political and societal stigma around the LGBTQ+ community that’s almost universal. They also often feel pressured to do so.

Ballister’s reaction to the aforementioned reveal also serves as a parallel between the two experiences. After she demonstrates shifting, Ballister asks Nimona “what” she is, repeatedly requests that she appear “normal” while talking to him, and uses terminology that Nimona clearly finds derogatory and hurtful. Part of this is the way he was raised—people who live in the Nimona universe are implied to live in a society where knowledge of those who can shapeshift—widely referred to as monsters—is commonplace. Not only is the knowledge of their existence commonplace, however—it is also widely accepted that those with shapeshifting abilities are evil and intrinsically against the concepts of peace and stable civilization. There is no real evidence for this idea besides a loosely framed “historical event” that has been passed down for one thousand years (as referenced at the beginning of the movie) and has likely been warped and distorted to fit certain people’s biases along the way. The same goes for queer people. The existence of the LGBTQ+ community is widespread knowledge; however, many people associate the community with concepts of perversion or sacrilege and don’t know much about the individuals who it’s made up of past these prejudices. Children are taught to refer to gay and transgender people by slurs, just like Ballister was taught to refer to Nimona as a monster. 

Nimona is treated callously by Ballister, especially at first, as if her differences make her less than worthy of respect and decency, and she owes anyone around her an explanation because of those differences. This parallels the way that queer people often feel pressured to come out and that they owe those around them explanations of their identities—think strangers overtly asking transgender people about their genitals on the internet, or even in person, or gay/bisexual/queer-oriented people being questioned extensively in order to “prove” their queerness.

Now, in terms of Nimona’s character and how she herself is a reference to queerness: as a genderfluid person, I identify heavily with this character. For one, the obvious—I feel that my gender identity is fluid, and, if it were possible, would choose to be able to shift between physically male/female/androgynous to match how I feel. Nimona also describes her need to shift between forms. At one point, she explains that not shifting is like holding in a sneeze—resisting a natural biological process. Yes, she can stay in one form, but that is uncomfortable and undesirable for her. She even tells Ballister that staying in the form he at first coins her “normal” one (the human presenting form) would be like dying, or rather, not really living. This really resonated with me and how I experience my gender identity—in spaces where I cannot express myself as the gender I feel makes me feel like I’m living half a life. It’s living with the saturation turned down to the lowest setting.

Another phrase that stuck with me after watching was when Nimona offered Ballister the deal of being his sidekick “forever” if she were to help him clear his name. At first, she offers her hand in her human form but then shifts to the body of a shark. Ballister asks her, exasperatedly, if she can just “be herself—a girl.” Nimona replies, “But I’m not a girl. I’m a shark.” This phrase is important because it communicates that transgender people are not masquerading as something other than themselves—they are being themselves. It is other people who cannot accept the fact that the way they have always seen a person is not necessarily who they really are. In my case, I often worry that people will not see me as myself when I identify as masculine—they might see it as an outfit I put on, or a role I act in. But it is truly me. My masculine identity is just as much of myself as I am when I’m femme presenting, just as shark-Nimona is just as much Nimona as human-Nimona.

This is definitely not all of the examples in the movie, not even all the ones that jumped out at me, but I think this is enough to communicate my thoughts. It was a fantastic movie. WATCH NIMONA.