#essential canon of classical music

[dontgetattached]

That man in his misery finds precious comfort in praying to an omnipotent being is understandable... but how unspeakably feeble! We should rejoice in life and be interested in everything that goes on in the world around us... Were I to make the sign of the cross, I would say, "In the name of nature, of art, and of science."

[rocksibblingsau]

what are some headcannons you have for Classical Branch? Like, are there any scenes you got in your head?

Sorry it took me so long to get to this one, anon!

So he stims by using conducting gestures, both with a baton/wand and just his hand. Classical Trolls, at least Dante, seem to do this as Dante tries to conduct a sign hanging, but there may be other reasons for this in canon so I will say Branch specifically is stimming.

Of all the Branches, he remembers his brothers the least.

He was very overwhelmed by how interested everyone was in him at first. It felt a bit like the fake niceness of Pop but he soon realized that politeness was not the same as fake.

He's the least 'rugged' of all the Branches. He hasn't fully abandoned his outdoorsy interests but he did get sucked into the wonderful world of etiquette.

He copies a lot of Dante's mannerisms due to Dante being his tutor. He learned his manner of speech and etiquette from Dante (and Trollzart) so he copied some things that weren't necessarily meant to be taken in as part of the lessen. Essentially? He has a Dante accent when speaking Classical. As he gets older it goes away some but most adults thought it was really cute.

He swears the same way Minuet does - shouting random musical terms. 'Fortissimo! Sforzando!' In the context of Classical culture, they aren't 'swear words' but shouting them randomly and angrily is akin to yelling 'FUCK' at the top of your lungs. Language with them is more about intent so really anything you yell to replace a swear just becomes a swear. Yelling 'Cupcakes' when you stub your toe will get the same reaction as if you'd just dropped an f-bomb because to a Classical Troll, you did.

He will and has grabbed Classical Trolls out of the air in an attempt to be protective. He once thought a Bergen was nearby and grabbed Trollzart and hugged him like a teddy bear. Trollzart, Dante and Minuet are somewhat used to it.

Synth canonically bonds with all 3 named Classical Trolls in Trollstopia (Dante, Minuet, Forte), which even Demo wasn't shown to do (as he never met Forte) so I imagine he just gets along well with Classical Trolls, possibly due to the fact that a lot of Techno music doesn't have vocals similar to Classical so the two tribes can mesh well in that way. I imagine Synth has similar success with Branch when/if they meet.

He only writes with a quill and inkwell and he may have forgotten how pens work a bit.

He managed to successful turn a violin bow into an archery bow, where he used another violin bow as the arrow. He would have gotten detention for that but his form was flawless so they couldn't say anything. (They could, they were just REALLY impressed with how he managed that.)

If he were to live in Trollstopia he would own both a Hug Watch and Bow Watch and switch between the two as he felt he needed.

[weirdwaterbear]

Okay I'm sorry I've gotta post this take because it's been driving me nuts, and I know I'm probably biased as an Aziraphale kinnie and a soft dom, but I do not understand the fans looking at the scene where he drives the Bentley and going "awwe look they get along so well together, father-car bonding time, so cuteee!!" because like- did we watch the same scene??

Y'all, he was intimidating the shit out of that poor car. It was cooperating with his wishes because it was scared of him, not because they were getting along so well together.

Like- watch that bit again, and really look at Aziraphale's microexpressions and tone when he talks to/about the car:

(Sorry for the dogshit photos, I couldn't find the clip online to screencap from)

The little eyebrow raise and emphasis on the word "stays" while looking directly at the car?? This sentence is a warning; he's essentially saying "if you play anything other than classical music while I'm driving you, the Almighty help me." This is not a cute bonding moment, this is top energy!!

Crowley literally asks "what are you doing to it" when he chimes in on the radio, implying that these changes have occurred not by the car's own volition but because of Aziraphale's direct influence. He's making the car bend to his will and change to meet his desires for what he wants the car to be/look like/drive like. We even see him do this with other technology later in the same episode, when he borrows the cellphone from that random guy and just kinda... talks to it like an operator to get it to call his bookshop, rather than use it properly.

This is canonically just how Aziraphale acts with modern technology, he simply expects it to be or do whatever he wants, and miraculously, it becomes that. Essentially, Aziraphale is doing to the Bentley in this scene what Crowley does to his plants; putting the fear of God into it. I can practically imagine him saying "drive. BETTER!"

IDK, obviously it's open to interpretation, but it just kinda bugs me because the way people have been talking about this scene (among others) just feels like falling back into that classic-fandom habit of boiling Aziraphale's character down to "uwu soft bean~" and literally nothing else. He is soft! Absolutely! But there's also much more to him than that, especially in this season; Michael Sheen himself said in an interview (with Collider, I think) that "...one of the things that we wanted to explore with Aziraphale in this series is perhaps finding something a little steelier underneath the apparent soft surface." He's a multifaceted character, and I took this scene to be that "steelier" side coming out, a demonstration of how stubborn and determined to have his way he can be, even for something small like driving a car.

[roxycaptor]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by requesting headcanons, but! I would be down to know what some of YOUR Homestuck headcanons are :D

yeah thats essentially just what i meant idk the Proper Terminology i havent been involved in fandom in a while lmao

i like to think abt what kind of music characters wld listen to so heres what i think the trolls wld listen to

Aradia - goth & emo. likes Siouxie and the Banshees, Paramore, Lebanon Hanover Tavros: idk what genres he'd like other than rap but i feel like he listens to Kurt Vile and like. video game soundtracks. Sollux: putting aside personal bias, i think he mostly listens to shoegaze and like. The Smiths. Karkat: tv girl and mitski enjoyer Nepeta: hyperpop, industrial, grindcore and noise metal, anything that makes other people go AURGH WHAT THE FUCK Kanaya: classical music and jazz but also mitski with karkat. also listens to like. NPR podcasts Terezi: little bit of everything. just amasses recommendations from people without going too deep into any single genre. Vriska: MSI, The Smiths, power metal fantasy ballads. Equius: Metal. any subgenre but the main rotation is Type O Negative, Rob Zombie, Slayer. Gamzee: the easy answer here is ICP if humanstuck but canon gamzee i think would rather just sit in silence and stare at a wall. Eridan: lana del rey, dorian electra, marina diamandis. bitchy gay man taste Feferi: probably a swiftie tbh.

[skittikyu]

Final (for now :3c) lineup of Stilti and their AU selves !

More info under the cut !

STILTIKYU (CANON TADC)

The classic! Just another human trapped in the Digital World, who took the form of a 9'5'' tall humanoid stilt quadruped, perhaps struggling with being rigid and distant in her previous life now manifested physically. Yes, they're actually part of her body. No, she can't bend at where her joints should be. Being so tall has its advantages and disadvantages, as does the radical acceptance approach they brought with her from whatever therapy sessions she must have been attending before joining the circus (read more about her coping mechanisms and the drawbacks!). Creative at heart but with limbs now incapable of visual art, they distract herself from the phantom pains pass time singing and dancing, and puts her all into the performance aspects of the circus, though they still enjoy participating in the adventures from time to time. Also, while not nearly as bad as Jax (she’s not one to invade personal space or use sensitivities/phobias as jokes towards someone once she’s aware that’s what they are), they do enjoy poking fun and teasing others. Essentially at most their aim is to lightheartedly annoy or confuse rather than shock or hurt (read more about her relationships with the rest of the cast!).

"It is what it is. I'm not going to let all this eat away at whatever's left of me, but just..ignoring when I'm not feeling okay isn't any better for me. If you want to bury yourself in your little shell as protection, I can't and won't stop you. Just surviving isn't living, though."

STILTILITH (RINGMASTER AU)

Basically Stilti takes canon Caine's role as an AI ringmaster of the Amazing Digital Circus! Even her name in this AU is a biblical reference like his (but to Lilith instead of Cane!). Because she's in charge she has more control of her form than regular Stilti, and therefore has functioning limb privileges. She can also float like regular Caine but prefers to walk around because she finds it more elegant even though to the others it's probably just unsettling. On the surface Stiltilith's demeanour is calmer than Caine's and more mature than Stiltikyu's, but she can be equally as much of a menace in the right situation. It's all in playful fun, though, even if it doesn't come across that way due to her not being human. They're doing their best to learn about human emotions and social conventions and take a lot of pride in their job. Have you ever seen the movie Coraline? Stiltilith is like if the other mother really wasn't evil; they're trying her best to make the humans that enter the program happy with everything they could want, but ultimately falling short of fulfilling their actual needs due to not being human.

"You want to go home..? Silly, this is your new home now! ..hm, well, what can I do to make it just as good? Better, even! After all, since you can't leave, it's the least I ca...oh, come now, there's no need to cry..there there..I'll see what I can whip up.."

OPPOSITE AU (Belongs to campbell_soup70 on Instagram!)

Pretty self explanatory! Rather than skipping every stage of grief right to acceptance, this Stilti probably endlessly cycles through the first four without ever arriving at the final one. That is, when she isn't completely paralyzed by her absolute lack of capacity for dealing with their current situation. Without intervention, they probably won't last long.

"....................."

CARNIVAL AU (Belongs to @/sm-baby)

Keeping with the concept of the cast being evolved, boss-like forms of their usual counterparts, Carnival Stilti ("The Metronome") goes all in on the musical/dancing aspects of her personality. Her game is arcade themed, especially rhythm games like DDR and guitar hero; maybe a bit of karaoke elements in there too. She's not super aggressive in comparison to some of the other AIs, but she takes themself very seriously and probably becomes more volatile if she feels as if the player isn't meeting her standards. Basically thoughts and prayers to any users with a bad sense of tempo and/or who sings or plays off key. Her collar is shaped like a voice box and they speak/sing similarly to a vocaloid, with more roboticism/distortion the more emotional they get.

"Hmmmmm~. ♫ Come on, that's not the best you could do, was it?~ ♪ Let's try again. No flat notes or missed steps this time, kay? 4, 3, 2~!♩"

CORRUPTION AU (Belongs to /rabid-mercenary15)

Unfortunately it was likely only a matter of time until Stilti got caught by one of her corrupted co-stars..while she may be agile and quick, her avatar isn't the best at fitting through small spaces or hiding behind much of anything..they now roam around like a mindless beast, occasionally making unworldly screeching and groaning noises, a far cry from their previous singing..still, it seems old habits do in fact die hard, however warped they may become. One of the more docile of the virally-infected, the best chance at deescalating an encounter with them is music. She's drawn to and is soothed by singing and playing instruments. Of course, now the problem is her following the source of it, but hey, at least they aren't attacking! Try backing away slowly until you get to an area they can't follow due to her colossal size. Or, set up a radio/windup music box somewhere else as a diversion and get away while they're distracted! Even if they see or hear you while you're doing so, as long as the music is still playing, they'll be too enamoured with it to care.

".̶̨̛͕̼̫̯̙̥͔͍̈́.̴̧̮̫̗̘̰̩̥̀̀̏̈̈̊̾̈̆̕̕͜͠.̴̧̧̳͈̼̞̟̮̼̪͕̺͂̓̈́̒́̾̏̍̚p̸̨̨̨̛͖̹͉̼̩͓͔̤͔̫͆͂͗͗̉̃͜͜͝͝͝r̸̠̱͙͎̜͇̲̖̦̯̝̍̉̍͗͌̔ę̵̗̼̩͖̱͎͔̗̺̾̇̆͆̉̈́t̴̬͂̉̎͂̉ț̷̟̲̭̗͎̗͔̘͂͂͆́̐̂̚y̴̨̨̺̙̰͓͙̥̮̦͓̣̱͍̰͋̚.̴̙͋.̴̡̘͉͎͕͚̩̜̉̀͐́͑͠͝.̶̡͚̱̬̺̓̌̿̌̉̉̒̏͌̾͝s̶͉͔͓͉̺͎͙̮̎̇̀͗̂̂̎̈̎̓̇́͝o̵̝̙̜̙̿̊͊̒͌̈́̆͝ṅ̴̮̟̮̉̇̅̊̇̈́͌͌̓͜g̵̡̢͎̯̤͖̈́.̵̛͔̖͎̰̺͂̽̀̐̆̕͘͝.̶͇̤̺̓́͂.̸͇̙͇̌̈́͌

FREAKSHOW AU (belongs to @/hootbon)

Freakshow Stilti is all of regular Stiltikyu’s worst aspects exaggerated and potentials accelerated, basically the worst possible version of themself that lives on even more of a wire than she already is in canon verse. Walking on eggshells is second nature - at least she has great balance, even with her disfunctional limbs! Mind the splinters! While both versions of them are resigned to the hopelessness of their situation, Regular Stilti would compare hers to purgatory whereas Freakshow Stilti would (internally) compare theirs to hell. The first thing Caine did when she arrived was break her arms and legs - this was to give her flexibility for their new role as “Contortionist”, but the permanent trauma and chronic pain they also received was of no concern to him outside of frustration with her “attitude” (AKA screaming, then crying, then a paralysis-like freeze response, which was highly unproductive), but an unacceptable lack of cooperation was nothing corrective measures couldn’t reeducate. Seemingly, it worked: nowadays she’s all silly smiles, singing and practicing her performance routines off-hours for fun. What dedication! Isn’t it nice they chose to be such a team player? Well, whatever. With that twist on the same acceptance their regular TADC counterpart has, there’s also the similar (albeit darker) self awareness. She may be resigned to their existence but she’s not avoidant to its realities. On the surface they’re on Promised Neverland levels of copium and outwardly detached completely from their emotions and the horrific events that routinely surround them. However, while her persona may come across as delusional, everything they do is on her own terms. Their hyper-vigilance, a torturously anxiety-ridden constant of being, has also been her biggest tool for- well, not surviving, they’ve died plenty of times..-persisting, let’s say. Their preferred choices in strategies can all be categorized as some form of Freeze, while their last choice would be Fight, in order avoid potentially unwinnable situations. Still…we’d like to still think we have principles, but in the face of self preservation, it gets easier to abandon them. Though not their go-to, there definitely are and will be times they choose Flight or Fawn instead. Generally outside of shows, she keeps a low profile. They do their best to keep expectations of her reasonable, with not so much that they’d attract needless attention (not to mention be even more stress to maintain), but not so little it would inconvenience anyone, or god forbid, give the impression that they’re not pulling their own weight. Over time, she’s learnt all the things they have no power over and the few she does, namely their own mind. Dignity is a luxury in a place like this but integrity is something they can only take if she chooses to give it to them, and stooping to their level yields the exact same result as unwillingly being pulled down. “None of this is real” is also little reassurance in a realm where you can still experience the sensation of physical pain (not to mention psychologically directly), but “take whatever you can get in this place” was another quickly learned lesson and that includes comforts, so the fact that everything is “just” in a video game is one of many tools in Stilti’s arsenal of dissociation. They overall have attitude of “if there’s no meaning, they’ll make up her own - to them, that’s better than looking for something that isn’t there” Is it denial if it’s a conscious decision? Who knows!

An area that Freakshow Stilti is basically completely different from her canon verse counterpart is that she doesn’t crave nor seek out connection with others the way Regular Stilti does. This is likely a result of both her detachment methods in other areas, as well as a mutual lack of trust with the other members since she’s experienced and witnessed first hand plenty of times that they’re all incapable of actually relying on and helping each other. Still being a Stilti, though, part of her will always want to - she’s somewhat “attached” to others who have been personally victimized by the ringleader, possibly out of empathy or a perceived “connection” from the shared experience. However, when attempting to build bridges have an inevitably lethal outcome, she knows better than to have their hopes up in ways her other self will fortunately never have to fathom coming to terms with. That being said, not worrying about any relationships having strong foundations makes it a lot easier to have a devil-may-care attitude towards her peers and how they perceive them, so when combined with feeling her emotions more strongly in moments they’re not being actively repressed, Freakshow Stilti is a lot more unrestrained expressing her infatuation for those like Gangle and Ragatha, or contempt for those like Jax. The AI are of course the exception to this - any interaction with Caine and Aingle is with a permanently awestruck pokerface. Maybe, in some areas, that sentiment is genuine - after all, if she wasn’t impressed on some level by their technical abilities, authentically expressing respect for them as “superiors” would be impossible not to come across as tepid or overboard, both unconvincingly.

"Are you crying?...Oh, no, I don't do that anymore. Bad for my voice, you know? How about we sing instead?"

[twig-tea]

3 and 19

3. Who was your first asian QL blorbo?

How far back do I want to dig for this question? Ok two answers:

The first character I remember really connecting with that is in an established, canon QL (and I'm not counting Sailor Moon because that show is queer AF but the main romance is ostensibly het) is Misono from Himitsu no Hanazono (The Secret Garden). This is a classic Yuri manga from 1999; I bought a copy in 2003 and it survived all of my purges.

Misono is a runner who has chronic pain but is training through it to make her parents proud; while taking a break she ends up being comforted by a gorgeous prince (...) named Sakuya who she of course falls for. They end up at a ball together for Reasons, and the prince reveals a secret--by placing Misono's hand on her chest. Anyway the villain girl slams into the room to say that Misono couldn't be in love with the prince because he's a woman and we see Misono, wrapped only in a sheet, respond with something along the lines of "I'm fully aware, thanks".

In other words, my love of characters who are down to fuck early and often started young. The story does not bend to modern demands for clear delineation--is Sakuya trans, hiding her identity, or just butch? Is Misono a lesbian, or bi/pansexual? Who's to say for certain--but it is clearly queer, and Misono is a sweetheart who is not phased by the femme fatale.

The first live action character I decided I'd defend to the death was Noh in LoveSick. Earnest, talented, responsible, loves music, trying his best, and trying not to burden anyone else....yeah I still love this character.

19. You have the chance to switch pairings in one Asian QL so that the sides become the main pairing and the mains get reduced to crumbs--which show are you choosing?

This was a hard one! I wouldn't want to do this with a show I fully didn't like but I also wouldn't want to mess with a fave, and I'm not counting het shows with gay side characters e.g. Love is Science because that's not a QL. If we're essentially creating a Between Us to an UWMA situation, where the original is still there and the new show augments the side couple. In which case I'm going with Hosaka and Amamiya in Kimi ni wa todokonai / I Cannot Reach You, assuming the vibes we were all getting are correct, I want the story of their established friends-to-lovers relationship that then inspires them to be love consultants for their friend they see struggling.

But I think that's cheating and I have to actually choose an established side couple to take over from the main couple so their story is barely told. In which case, the first one that came to mind is Love Stage!!

The main couple in this show was a bit overwrought for my taste, and I'd probably have liked their story better as something we check in on occasionally; instead, give me this older couple's story of dealing with getting together while being an agent and celebrity; the negotiations about their relationship, navigating being in the public eye while secretly dating, keeping things from the family, and of course dealing with his younger brother's drama while still making time for his own relationship [I used the Thai drama here, but I'd be open to a Thai or a Japanese version like this].

Asian QL Ask Game

[nayeonline]

Idolizing Imperfection: The Ancient Allusions of 'Midas Touch' - KISS OF LIFE (an essay)

I have missed writing kpop essays so much and after watching the new Kiss of Life MV, I couldn't resist doing a scene by scene (with some lyrics) breakdown of the allusions to ancient mythology - (there are lots of other modern references, especially to Britney Spears, but the ancient ones are what I will be focusing on here, believe me there is more than enough to talk about.) I don't have any official qualifications surrounding this field (yet), but I am studying classical civilization and roman literature for a qualification, and I have a long time obsession with Greek mythology especially. Obviously all of these are my interpretations, this is not a definite guide to what exactly the creative direction team at S2 Ent. were thinking about for this comeback, and if you think I missed something or have a different interpretation of one of the scenes, please let me know in the reblogs/comments.

Let’s begin with the title of the track, ‘Midas Touch’. It references the Greek myth of King Midas, who (according to Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’) after winning the favour of the god Dionysus, was granted any wish he desired. Midas chose the ability to make everything he touched turn into gold, a wish driven by greed. Midas revelled in his new found powers, but the problems arose when he realised that all food he touched would be turned to gold too - he had condemned himself to starve to death. The myth is essentially a cautionary tale about the effects of greed; Midas is a tragic hero that brought about his own suffering due to his hamartia (tragic flaw) - his blessing becomes his curse. Today, having a ‘midas touch’ means that everything you are involved with is successful, but the main association of Midas with greed still remains. In the context of the song, KOL are saying that a relationship with them, although destined to end in tragedy, would be worth it for the ‘gold’ they can bring - “위험할수록 재밌잖아” (“The more dangerous it is, the more fun it is”).  Midas may have died a tragic death, but his time alive was quite literally golden. Still, it feels slightly odd that KOL are associating themselves with someone so flawed - an idol should be the image of perfection, and in this way, the meaning of the song becomes quite subversive on a meta level. Keep this interpretation in the back of your mind, we will return to it later.

Within the music video itself, each of the four members are given solo scenes that I believe allude to different women of Greek mythology. Julie is first, depicted lying on a blush pink velvet heart with gold embellishments, shell and heart shaped boxes littered around her. The composition of the framing, as well as the beach imagery seems to allude to Boticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’, linking Julie with Aphrodite/Venus, the goddess of love. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is seen as beautiful beyond compare, but is also often characterised as highly vain and self absorbed. After hearing that some Greeks had begun to worship the ludicrously beautiful mortal woman Psyche instead of her, (and also out of protection of her son Eros to whom Psyche was married), she sent Psyche on a series of impossible trials designed to kill her, so she could remain the most beautiful. Once again, KOL compare themselves to people in the ancient world who were famously flawed.

Natty is seen next, intertwined with glittering spider webs. This is perhaps a reference to the tale of Arachne, a mortal woman who was highly skilled at weaving. She boasted that her skills were greater than Athena herself, the goddess of handicraft (and many other things), and Athena transformed her into a spider as punishment for her hubris (excessive pride). Like the tale of King Midas, Arachne’s story also centres around a fatal flaw bringing your own downfall, and like Midas and Aphrodite, Arachne is not typically remembered fondly within Greek Mythology canon.

Perched on a half dress, half throne that resembles a peacock, Belle is seen next. Originally I wasn’t certain who was being referenced here, but after some research I believe it may be Hera, although if you have another interpretation here I would love to hear it. Hera, the goddess of marriage and fertility, queen of the gods, and wife to Zeus, is affiliated with peacocks as they are one of her sacred animals, and are said to pull her chariot like horses. Hera is also, like Aphrodite, a goddess often portrayed in a negative light in mythology, repeatedly characterised as jealous and spiteful. A famous example of this is when Hera sent two snakes to strangle Heracles/Hercules, the illegitimate son of her husband Zeus, out of spite and jealousy for the boy’s mortal mother. Whether Hera had a right to be annoyed at her husband’s repeated adultery is another discussion, but generally speaking, when Hera is in a myth, she is often the villain.

Finally, we see Haneul, perched upon a corinthian style column (we love a greek column) surrounded by severed heads on spikes, a clearly war ridden scene. This is the allusion I am the least confident about, but I think perhaps she is supposed to be Helen of Troy? Helen is famous for being the catalyst for the Trojan War (perhaps this is the war scene she sits within?), she is the ‘face that launched a thousand ships’. Depending on the source, Helen is either a victim, kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris, or she was seduced and went willingly, abandoning her Greek husband King Menelaus. The second seems to be the accepted narrative among many Roman authors, with writers such as Martial (in Epigrams 1.62) portraying her as the polar opposite of Penelope, who was seen as the image of loyalty. As a result, Helen is commonly portrayed as disloyal and unfaithful, the opposite of what an ideal woman in the ancient world was supposed to act like.

In their group scenes, there is also SO MUCH Medusa imagery - with snakes crawling all over their faces and hissing at the camera, and half broken stone statues littered here and there. As I am sure you are probably aware, Medusa is very much a villain in the myths she is depicted in, and despite modern reevaluations of her story (that I agree with) portraying her as a victim, in the primary sources, she is essentially an evil monster for Perseus to destroy - her death marks Perseus’s ascension to hero status.

So why oh why are KOL comparing themselves to figures so flawed? In their previous releases, especially their first comeback with ‘Bad News’, the girls are depicted trying to fix injustices in society - they expose corruption in corporations, they combat casual misogyny and sexual harassment, and they call out bullying and abuse. In ‘Midas Touch’ I believe they continue their addressing of injustices and double standards, this time with a focus on the idol industry, their own stomping ground. In the kpop industry, idols are expected to be perfect in every way - beautiful, highly skilled, never controversial, and loyal to their fans. Should an idol fail to uphold these impossible standards, they are relentlessly punished, especially if the idol is a woman. Last month, Karina’s earnest apology to ‘fans’  for falling in love exposed how ludicrous the standards are to the world, and other idols like Sakura, Wonyoung, and Jennie, continue to get bullied on a daily basis for not meeting all of the bars the industry sets them. A kpop idol should be talented, but never show off, they should be beautiful and care about their looks but never be vain, confident but never egotistical, and driven by passion, not the desire for fame and money. It’s all fucking impossible, especially when what constitutes being called the second traits is utterly arbitrary and depends on how many people woke up on stan twitter and decided they didn’t like you that day. In ‘Midas Touch’ KOL calls this out by openly depicting themselves with the traits that kpop stans hate - Julie is Aphrodite, beautiful but vain, Natty is Arachne, talented but boastful, Belle is Hera, confident but jealous, Haneul is Helen, influential but disloyal, and they all are Midas, spurred on by greed instead of passion. They recognise that these accusations are unavoidable, and by reclaiming the imagery of these symbols of undesirable traits, they call out and reject the standards the idol industry places upon them. Like Medusa, they may be seen by many fans as a villain, a hurdle for their favourite groups that have more promotion and budget to overcome on their way to the top, but in actuality, they are victims of an industry desperate to mould them into products to be bought and sold. I’ve seen lots of discussion online about what KISS OF LIFE’s concept is, as it seems to vary every comeback, but after ‘Midas Touch’ I am led to believe that their concept is rebellion, against society, idol culture, and the things they deem as wrong in the world. Other groups have  done concepts similar in the past, such as LOONA in ‘Butterfly’ (you really thought I wasn’t going to bring them up at some point?? Are you new here??) but KOL is doing it explicitly, and consistently, and to me, that's very exciting. The kpop industry is ever changing, and with the foundations of the new 5th generation being established as we speak, perhaps KOL could cause it to change for the better. In summary, I am SO excited to see what they do next.

That honestly took a turn I wasn’t fully expecting at the end, but I hope you enjoyed regardless - I didn’t really talk about the actual song here, but I fucking loved it, and my full review will be part of my April monthly roundup - see previous installments on my masterlist. I encourage all of you to listen to ‘Midas Touch’ if you haven’t already, congratulations KISS OF LIFE for graduating nugudom, stream Birth by ARTMS, stan loona, and prepare for the loossemble comeback - lmk if you have any thoughts on my analysis or any other interpretations, or any topics you want me to write an essay on. cya next time ~ ari

[vintagerpg]

When I finally got around to posting about classic Traveller, half a dozen people messaged me with some variation of, “Hey, Slough Feg has an album based on this game.” To those people I say: thank you.

This album fucking rips. It’s a concept album, telling the story of the time the spore-generating space pirate Baltec Budapest got turned into a dog person as part of Professor Rickets’ plan to use gene splicing to create a warrior race with which he can conquer the galaxy. The drama of the story is sky high, there are laments galore but in the truest of RPG fashions, despite all the travails and tumultuous changes, the state of the galaxy is restored to “normal” at the end of the saga. It is obviously non-canon, but comes from a place of deep love for the game — there is a song called “High Passage/Low Passage,” for Pete’s sake!

Slough Feg (previous The Lord Weird Slough Feg) is essentially the work of one man, Mike Scalzi. I’ve casually enjoyed a song here and there before, but this is the first time the band really grabbed me and shook me by the collar. The album has riffs galore, but while there are repeating refrains, I don’t think there is a single chorus in the whole album. And yet it is catchy as hell. I haven’t listened to it in a couple months but I can instantly call some of the melodies to mind. Scalzi’s got a strange sound, too, that lies a little outside my usual metal interests. I can hear the influence of Iron Maiden and Manilla Road, sure, but also…Thin Lizzy and maybe even a baseline of musical theater? It’s very dramatic. Go listen! I dare you to listen to “The Final Gambit” and not feel like your spirit is soaring the stars.

[hetalia-club]

Don’t know if you take requests like these but I’m really curious and I really love your interpretations of the characters but what kind personalities would certain nations be attracted to??? Feel free to disregard this, love you and your blog!

hmmm that's an interesting question let's see....(And thank you sm Ily to anon🥰!) (I would like to remind you all these are my opinions you don't have to agree)((I would also like to clarify this is for like a human AU))

Italy- I think Italy would like someone who was more pathetic than him. I do feel he would like being the 'strong one' in a relationship. He says all the time he doesn't like feeling useless or stupid so I think he would seek out an SO who looked to him as a knight in shining armor. I think he would get easily depressed in a relationship where he is constantly being 'mothered' by his SO. He might be fine with it at first but I think eventually it would really kill his self worth. I think his SO asking "Can you open this jar for me" "Can you look at the sink? I think it's broke" would be such a little victory for him. He would also want someone who appreciated him for him. Someone who thought his art was pretty and loved his cooking. He would really like praise from his SO and would need validation about their love for him almost daily and would always give it back as well.

Romano- I think Romano would essentially want to date himself. Not consciously but I think he would subconsciously seek out someone who was almost exactly like him for better or worse. Someone who didn't take much effort for him to understand. Someone with similar hobbies, outlooks and energy levels. He wouldn't like chasing someone and would like for it to come easy.

Germany- I think Germany would go for someone who was as ridged as him. He does not seem to care for nonsense. He doesn't like to leave his comfort zone so I think he would date wanting his comfort zone.

Japan- I head canon Japan as ace and not really caring much for relationships in the least. But if he were to be with someone I think he would want someone who was the opposite of him. Someone who was loud and energetic. I think he would feed off their energy and try and incorporate it into his own life.

Prussia- Prussia is another I view as hard core ace. As in he does not even think about relationships at all, he thinks they are icky. He has zero desire for physical contact and the idea of it kind of freaks him out. BUT if I had to decide what kind of person he would pick it would be someone who was crazy about him. Personality and looks wouldn't matter much to him they would just have to think he was perfect. he would feed on positive comments and praise from them and drink it up like a fine wine.

Austria- I think Austria would only date someone who had very specific interests. He cares deeply about certain things (Classical music being a big one) He would not call someone back after the first date if they said something like "I don't really like music". Austria wouldn't only be looking for a lover but also a best friend. someone he could talk to about his hobbies for hours, Someone who would sit and listen to him play his piano or violin and never complain. Someone he could bring to the opera or a symphony and they could gush about it the rest of the night and how great it was.

America- America would want to date someone who went with the flow. He is a very spontaneous person and he would want someone who could keep up with his ever changing mind and hobbies. Someone who would be happy to wake up at 5am and go on a hike and then half way through get an UBER home and finish out the day at Disney World. He would want to date someone who was also fine with lounging home some days and having streaks where they do nothing but watch movies. I think his SO would have to get used to being ghosted a lot. Not that he's doing it on purpose just that he maybe forgets to call.

England- England would want to be with someone who understood his dark humor. Someone who would laugh at his jokes and understand them without having to over explain it to them. I think his biggest turn on would be someone who could make him laugh really hard. Like an ugly laugh. Someone who he could sit and watch a movie with and they poke fun at it the entire time laughing and joking until the wee hours of the morning.

China- China would have very traditional views on relationships I feel. He would want someone who understood is culture. Someone who little work. He would want someone who as basically a mind reader. Someone who knew him better than he knew himself.

Russia- Russia would want someone who was loving and kind. Someone who looked at him with soft eyes and weren't put off by his threatening demeanor he puts out. I think his biggest turn on for a relationship would be someone who initiates all the affection. He wouldn't be the one to grab his SO and kiss them in a grocery store but if they did it to him it would make his day.

Canada- Now I think Canada would want someone who was a good listener. Someone who listened to what he had to say happily and could listen to him talk for hours. And he in turn would listen to them. Communication would be HUGE in a relationship with Canada. I think he could get easily dejected if he felt his SO were ignoring him or weren't listening to his feelings. Canada would be the type of guy do double and triple text just to make sure you saw it. If that would be a problem for you then he would be a bad partner to have because if you told him to stop he would completely shut down and stop texting you all together taking that as 'well they don't want me texting them ever I guess'

France- France would want someone who liked to wine and dine. He would want someone who wanted to go out every single weekend to a 5 star place. Someone who he could order for. Someone who put al their trust into him. he would want someone who he could really invest in. Someone he wanted to learn everything about. He would remain mysterious but would want to date someone who he knew like the back of his hand. So he could buy them a perfume he knew they would love. Take them to a wine tasting and say "try this one I know you'll love it"

Denmark- Den would want a best friend first and a lover second. He would want someone to go everywhere with him. Someone who was happy to drop everything and go to the store with him, just walk around the city, or go to a club. He would want someone who would be his world, his new obsession. He would be absolutely wild about his SO. He would buy them a ton of surprise gifts. They would wake up to a man at their door delivering flowers or him sowing up with a designer bag he got them. Denmark would want someone who was not afraid to ask "hey can you buy me this?" he would be the type of BF to ask "How many and what color :)?" He would want someone he could spoil rotten.

Norway- I think Norway would want an easy going person like himself. He will ignore his SO. He will make them wonder if they are even still dating and then then he will call his SO one night at 10pm and be like "Want to come over and watch a movie?" He would have to be with someone who was okay with that because he can't change it.

Sweden- Sweden needs someone teh complete opposite of him. Someone who will do all the talking at a party for him. Someone who will know when he wants to leave somewhere without him asking, someone who knows what he likes to eat and where he wants to go out. His SO would be running circles around him while he just stood there and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Iceland- I view Iceland as ace as well but if he were in a relationship I think he would want someone who was like him. Someone who was moody and sassy. It would irritate him to no end and he may instigate a lot of arguments about it but at the same time he would like that. he would like someone who wasn't afraid to push his buttons and someone who he could push their buttons and they would just forget about it in a few hours and not hold it against him. Iceland would want to have a heated argument about "Don't put the keys there put them here" and he wouldn't let it go until you agreed with him and then a couple hours later he would be like "So we getting Dominoes or..."

Finland- Finland would want someone who made his personality look dark and brooding. Someone who was the light of his life. Someone who was cheerful and kind. But also someone who enjoyed the same music and shared in his heavy metal obsession. It wouldn't be a deal breaker if they didn't like it. But the entire relationship he will be showing them bands saying "What do you think about these guys?" and if he did so happen to find a metal band his SO liked he would go over board buying them shirts, concert tickets, albums and just really nurture it.

kind of came up with these on the spot but it was fun to sit there and think about them for a minute! I love picking apart personalities

[ominouspuff]

hello!!! :DD seeing your tags on the Rex piece made me immediately (and very) curious; would you feel comfortable talking a bit about your process? *___* that piece is stunning (I love that petals are your art signature :)!)

You mentioned it took some time, was it because of the composition or the colouring? Anything specific you had to learn as you went (for the piece?)

Does it fit within the ‘RepGar armour AU’, or were you thinking of a specific Rex feel (especially as it’s the companion to Cody’s rain piece)?

Were you listening to something while illustrating?

and bonus question!!! Possibly not art related :3 does Rex ever met Corrie!Fives??? *___*

Feel free to answer one, some or none of those questions! Love your art (and AUs!) best vibes!!!

Hi @lesquatrechevrons !! Your tags often make my day, so this seems very fitting. I’d be happy to answer questions! (Hoho thank you for noticing — it is indeed a predilection; I love most drifting particle effects quite a lot.) ;)

You mentioned it took some time, was it because of the composition or the colouring? Anything specific you had to learn as you went (for the piece?)

Ooof. The rendering itself, without question. It is difficult to explain, but usually my rendering is a bit more blur effect with up to three colors, with very little painstaking detail work. In the piece you reference, by contrast, almost every part of Rex has been rendered by use of a pencil-tool and very fine blurring. In most of my pieces I will only have a few layers for base colors and lighting, and then quite a lot of layers for accents to the piece or detail work. For this one, almost all of my layers were several coats of ‘paint’ layered on top of each other, like a classical acrylic or oil painting, as I went back to adjust lighting for each part at least twice with a completely new application of color.

Does it fit within the ‘RepGar armour AU’, or were you thinking of a specific Rex feel (especially as it’s the companion to Cody’s rain piece)?

Good question! Like Cody’s companion piece, it was separate from that AU, supposed to be a character-study view with themes inspired by this song and SW canon. The theme of falling leaves, golden petals, and the symbolism of comparing them to the lives of warriors striving and falling and striving overtop each other with weary feet and doomed by the narrative/reduced to being seen as inconsequential (especially given all the golden leaves/petals are identical) seemed appropriate for Rex in particular to be meditating on. The piece would only fit within the AU by accident, because they don’t directly contradict each other so they’re technically compatible.

Were you listening to something while illustrating?

I very often do (I am incredibly vibe-focused whilst in creative mode) but usually it’s just the background-type music, very vibey and mood-setting. This time it was the above song, for sure, but also Space Man by Eurielle and Tokyo Rain by Marcus Warner.

and bonus question!!! Possibly not art related :3 does Rex ever met Corrie!Fives??? *___*

Hoho — a very fun question, and one I’m still working on in the written fic for the RepGA AU. They do meet, and it is a mess, but like everything in that AU I try to focus on there being a point to the pain, and there will definitely be a happy ending. There is conflict surrounding how both of them have changed since they last met, including what they’ve since heard about the other.

As I’ve mentioned in pieces here and there, Fives ends up on Fox’s side of an altercation between the Republic itself and a revolutionary group (essentially the Rebellion, but jumpstarted by a Rogue Marshall Commander CC-1010 and all the resources he has been collecting to do precisely this for the latter duration of his command on Coruscant). This would all be well and good, but the GAR is still serving the Republic. So Rex and Fives, among others, find themselves on opposite sides of some battlefields — and both with very understandable reasons for being there, which is much more difficult to reconcile.

Thanks so much for asking! I’m delighted you like the piece, and I’m always down to talk art-techniques if you want to. Also, feel free to ask if you’re curious about anything more. For the AU fic I will not give too many spoilers as a rule, so you can ask but I might not answer some questions yet.

[roxannepolice]

So I was thinking of the answer for one of the ask games (which is coming!) but soon realised my reflections are both too long and slightly too salty to include in a fun ask, so here we are.

Because yeah what is below is hands down my favourite Delgado!Master quote, and one of my favourites from any regenerations. Hell, it may be one of my favourites in the entire show.

Gifs by cleowho and I'm sorry I ended up including them this way but I gave up trying to find the exact moment via gif searcher when my phone started smelling of burnt plastic.

So why do I love this so much and why should this result in saltiness? Because this is a very clear statement: there's actual philosophical outlook on the universe behind the Master's villainy. A deeply nietzschean one, but ironically enough underlying much of contemporary critical theories, usually of the progressive vibe. The Master apparently sees power relations as the inherent, fundamental aspect of all sentient relations, and acts accordingly, doing onto others before they do onto them (And that [a self-defence in advance] is how the Master started). And I don't even see it as a neurotic reaction to direct abuse! No, this is something much more intellectual, frozen and abstract. The salt lies therein that there is nothing "just..." to the outlook the Master presents here. Those aren't daddy issues, or the drums (which I love and think can be reconciled with classic Who canon with a bit of timey wimey cause and effect grandfather paradox shenanigans, but fundamentally don't see as the source of Master's villainy, unless they are a metaphor of permanent unsatisfaction and indeed neurotic need for more which is on the one hand awfully difficult for one and everyone around them but on the other perhaps underlie everything you are and you don't know what you'd be without it but you actually like at least a bit of what you are and this is very narcissistic and yes I have OCD), or getaway of insanity, there is no cheap psychologizing, no never heard the music, no Doctor complex that just needs to be talked through, only actual outlook presumably built on decades if not centuries of experience. That is not to say those psychological elements aren't essential to the Master's choices, just that there is no simple obstacle to overcome, no freudian complex to solve for them to see the light. This is something much more conscious.

And I can't express how fitting it is that this nietzscheanism should be the "dark twin" of the Doctor's philosophy of fixing everything they can - in its extreme taking on the form of prometheanism. Frankly, probably the reason Thoschei gives me such a brainrot is the idea of two people with very similar backgrounds (compare and contrast with Professor X and Magneto's backgrounds) arriving at universal outlooks that are at the same time so morally opposing yet in a way fundamentally similar. Because is not overcoming all possible pains of the universe an expression of will?

And the best part? The Doctor does not refute the Master's philosophy! He rejects it morally, but does not point to any single fallacy, does not overthrow it intellectually! And then...

... And then there's the reason I see Tensimm as Goethe's Faust to Threegado Marlowe's (that is not in terms of one being superior or sth only one being a logical development and discussion with the other). At a first glance, Ten is simply repeating what Three said all those episodes ago. But there's more, and there's no way I'm risking my phone again, so a quote will have to suffice.

To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough.

Ownership. As in having discretion to dispose of something as pleased? As in a very simple power relation?

Like. Wow. This here is indeed a Prometheus whose desire to make people better and literal knowledge of all possible pasts and futures pushed him to call some people more important than others and superimpose his will and knowledge of good and evil disregarding anyone else's choices. This here is indeed the Time Lord Victorious. And yes, knowing when to stop was much easier when there was an external shadow to judge.

The thing is, the Doctor here concedes to the Master's outlook on the universe. Indeed, power relations are unavoidable in sentient life. This is a moment of deep understanding between them because the Doctor now knows what it feels like to wield all that knowledge and perceive no powers saying no. Except, regardless of what poststructuralism might say, there is a fundamental moral difference between power imbalance of seeing vs being seen and y'know, forcing people to build you statues and conquering all other civivlizations and humiliating them in the process. As such, the difference becomes much harder to delineate, forcing one to always reflect instead of following a set of simple guidelines.

The question is, would it still be remembered if the walking counterpoint ceased to exist not physically but intellectually and morally?

[white-fatalis]

Here's my meta on why the interpretation of "Grimm is an evil asshole who enslaves and/or mind controls the troupe" is literally my beloathed!

This was originally written for a hot takes meme on my rp blog, but I ended up liking the analysis enough to want to post it in the public tag. Had to edit my salt out a bit because I was venting over people in the past coming into an rp server I mod for and insisting Grimm is canonically some abusive slave driver LOL

There is canonical evidence to the contrary. Imo, it feels like taking the game's propaganda from the townsfolk and WL and not looking past surface level. And a lot of the game's plot has "things aren't what they seem on the surface and what is stated is often false" (like 'guys fr the valiant knight saved the kingdom').

Most people get this take from Brumm's dialogue. However, this interpretation is directly contradicted by Brumm's actions and Nymm's dialogue. The entire banishment ending is about Brumm questioning Grimm and the troupe. Mind controlled people... obviously... don't have the capacity to do that. Sure, you could say "well, maybe Grimm trusts Brumm enough to let him be free, the rest of them aren't" but - what, Grimm isn't smart enough to keep all of his "slaves" on a leash? He wouldn't see Brumm's general self changing on a downward path and feel a need to do something about it lest it threaten his plans? This would require Grimm to be making classic generic movie villain errors, and also be not very observant, which he does not come across as at all. I don’t buy that.

Furthermore, Brumm is not an impartial voice here. He's an old and tired mortal trapped in a cycle of immortality led by what's essentially a fae-like deity, who has been doing and seeing the same things for probably centuries. He is sufficiently Done at this point in his life. He's depressed. Mortals were never meant to live that long, even in lives that they may have previously enjoyed. He did not always feel this way, and there's proof, which I read as a mix of that and Grimm's power essentially carving his passion for life out:

He's seen this play out over and over, over and over, endlessly to his eyes. He begins to feel like it's enslavement.

However, even despite these feelings? He still highly respects Grimm and is concerned for his well being.

In his thoughts, he's questioning whether Grimm is a slave. He doesn't know, which implies to me that Grimm has never shared specifics. (Also, Grimm's dream nail dialogue contradicts the idea of Grimm being a slave.) These are all the opinion statements of a depressed mortal, and while he has every right to feel the way he does, that doesn't make his words necessarily fact - especially if information was hidden from him. And then, if you do choose to banish the troupe... We see Brumm again, as his original self Nymm, who gives what I feel is one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the troupe not being slaves. He gives you his old mask in the form of a charm, and he states:

If Brumm was truly a slave, if the game wanted you to take the troupe members as actual slaves, this is not how it would be described. I do not think "Stockholm syndrome" is what they were going for here, which is the only explanation for this if they were supposed to be read as slaves. You don't long for and have nostalgia for being a slave (mind controlled or not).

Not just that, but the charm is literally called Carefree Melody, and its ability spawns a flame that occasionally protects its wearer from taking damage. The fear cast by the nightmare magic is still there, yes, but the charm is essentially Grimm's protection left over. If the troupe members were being held against their will by some evil overlord, this symbol would not be such a sweet memento. The charm's very name evokes the image of carefree days where he enjoyed playing music with the troupe.

As far as Grimm being a complete domineering asshole that some interpret him to be, I feel like there's a decent amount of evidence that he isn't, even though we don't get to see how he interacts with his followers. Everyone in the troupe seems to respect and adore him. Brumm being concerned for him, saying that it's painful of all things to defy him, and this is how he thinks at his absolute lowest opinion of the troupe. Divine stays to do her own thing if you don't complete her quest before the Ritual, which Grimm is apparently cool with because she was just allowed to do that. She's also eager to follow him when her business is done. One of the Grimmsteeds, in thought, says that Grimm's light is guiding. Grimm himself doesn't force you as the player to partake in the Ritual or fight him. The troupe related charm, of all effects it could have, is one of protection.

I don't think any of them would feel this way if he was just, you know, a controlling dick.

Now Grimm being manipulative - yeah, I think he is. The point of this post isn't to say Grimm is a saint, he definitely isn't. That's an entire other post. But he 100% isn't the "blatantly evil mind controlling jerk" type. He's morally gray. And I firmly believe he's meant to be a foil to the Radiance;

The Radiance is Light, normally seen as a good and positive force in media. But she is smothering, forces others into her unity, and reduces bugs to instinct. She sends everyone in her thrall out for blood. Grimm is still a light, but nightmares are associated with darkness and seen as evil and negative. Yet his light is not blinding, but guiding to those under him. He clearly possesses mind altering magic when it comes to personality changes and memory stealing, but he doesn't use it to steal the free will of his followers - Brumm successfully leaves because he wanted to, and he isn't left scarred and broken when that power is vacated from him. Again, Grimm doesn't force you to do the Ritual or even battle him. That's your choice to put on the Grimmchild charm. He simply urges you to do so. He's a vulture who feeds off of the natural life cycle of civilizations, not a violent kingdom toppler like the Radiance is.

These two are the only ones in the entire game to have pre-battle title cards. Even the Pure Vessel, who is higher than Grimm in the boss pantheon, doesn't get one. Only them.

So like. Yeah, you can make an AU where Grimm is evil, but it feels like... I don't know... missing the point of the character? It wipes out all of the nuance that I feel makes him interesting and endearing.

[goodluckclove]

Writer ask game, let's go. 10, 19, 38, and 39 please c:<

Shit. Oh shit, oh fuck.

Okay yeah let's do this, Mushy.

10. Do you set yourself deadlines?

I mean I definitely used to. I've said before that I got my start in National Novel Writing in a Month, or NaNoWriMo, where you write 50k words in 30 days. The org has since proven itself to be less than reputable with its recent scandal, but I still stand by the belief that endurance sprints like that are a great way to get the muscle formed to write long-form projects. And you can just do it too, you don't need the backing of a semi-scammy nonprofit.

But now? Not really. I kind of set goals to keep work moving. I'll be like hope I finish editing by the end of this week. But I very rarely make it a hard deadline with actual...I don't know. Stakes? My brain don't work like that.

19. How do you keep yourself motivated?

I stand by the methodology of giving yourself a little reward after writing sessions, although at this point I space mine out more than I would suggest newer writers to. For me this is usually a fun drink or nice little baked good - I'm especially fond of what I refer to as a medium-fancy cake. Something with mousse. But it can be anything really.

Small breaks also help, although I am less good at keeping up with that. I actually haven't taken a full day off in like three weeks but shh don't tell anyone. I'm also very fond of reading over what I've already written and just enjoying it. Or reading books that relate to my character's interests - I'm reading a very interesting book on bird lore that I know Edgar from Songbird Elegies would love.

38. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

My weirdest play is probably Naked Lunch: The Musical, which follows a happy-go-lucky, classic musical lover who gets roped into adapting the essentially grindhouse experimental William S. Burroughs novel into a musical and goes a little insane in the process. He imagines himself befriending the ghost of William S. Burroughs, and the ghosts convinces him that to adapt his work properly he needs to do a lot of drugs and have a lot of gay sex, both of which go very poorly. I think Lin Manuel Miranda is mentioned as an unseen side character that my protagonist sees in the audience and threatens to beat up?

And my weirdest novel turned play is Bloodletting, which is based from a dream I had when I was detoxing off of weed - I was like addicted, not a casual stoner. I essentially dreamt that someone made me drink their blood and the blood got me high again, and from that point I developed a sort of sci-fi world where street drugs are so potent that they turn the blood of addicts into a new intoxicant that they can then sell as its own drug. I think they can also sell their blood to major medical organizations and have it used in pharmaceuticals. I still like this concept and might reuse it since I can't find the finished play it turned into.

39. Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

Bloodletting had a romantic couple made up of a drug dealer and the AI house he was squatting in. My second novel had a leitmotif of the characters experiencing a feeling of "static" in their heads that I later on made into a sentient side character. I think I wrote a short play with a cannibalistic Guy Fieri. I started writing another play based around Sonic the Hedgehog where it was planned for Shadow to non-ironically become a rabbi, but frankly if you consider his character I do not think that's too far from canon.

I'm still percolating a project to do either alongside or after Songbird that's like Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City but with an all-robot cast. And the main character eventually transitions from a human-passing robot to some form of non-human looking machine and is much happier for it. Which I'm excited to put to paper.

[goingsparebutwithprecision]

Five Ships In Five Fandoms

Thanking @tallangrycockatiel for the tag!

Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale, Teen Wolf

What can I say about them that hasn't been said a thousand times before by people more eloquent than I. A classic. The ultimate comfort ship.

Cyrano/Roxane/Christian, Cyrano De Bergerac

Cannot overstate the hold these three have on my heart! One of the most excruciating canon endings of all time. I can think about them endlessly. Just rotating them forever in my mind. The Cyrano/Christian kiss from the National Theatre 2022 production lives rent free in my brain. If I loved them less I might be able to talk about them more etc etc.

Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane, the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries

One of the slowest burns of all time. Starts with absolute clownery, the tragedy in the absurd of asking a woman on trial for the murder of her previous lover to marry you, continues with the spikiest most resentful discoveries of drift compatibility, the get-together comprises an entire book's worth of meditations on gratitude (the hatefulness thereof), inequality of gender class and intellect, whether intellectual honesty is more important than romantic loyalty (and/or one's continued ability to feed oneself), musical metaphors for relationship dynamics (anybody may have the harmony if they leave us the counterpoint!!!!!), and of course the massive continuity of ducks.

Cliopher Mdang/Fitzroy Angursell, Nine Worlds

OK actually maybe i take it back, strongest contender for slowest burn of all time??? In that these fuckers have been dancing around each other for something close to 10 000 years (not a joke not an exaggeration time is fucky here). Although tbf. Tbqf&h. To be brutally Frank and Esme. I'm not sure I count those 10 000 years in that we (the readers) were not actually there to witness that. But still. Where do I even start with these two.

That feeling when you've been installed as a puppet-god-king against your will for over a hundred years unable to choose your food or drink, experience sunlight, or touch another person (because if you do they will literally and immediately immolate because of magic curses) and although this would be cruel to do to anyone it is particularly cruel to do to you, nameless child and infamous anarchist poet revolutionary whose work shook the empire to its very foundations, and then you are finally sent a competent secretary who proceeds to steal your empire out from under you, dismantle it completely, institute universal basic income, universal housing, universal education, fix the post office, provide you with ships that fly?!?!, audit all of your government offices until every single speck of corruption is gone, end a world war and prevent there from every being another one, and all the while is humming your most treasonous song cycle under his breath for fully ten thousand years. Oh and then he also journeys into myth and legend, through sky ocean to the house of the sun, essentially to barter fire from the gods, because he thinks he's not good enough for you.

Also such a wonderful nuanced portrayal of an ace/queerplatonic/this relationship-is-what-we-decide-it-is-but-the-most-important-thing-is-that-you're-it-for-me relationship. It's very queer. They're working it out as they go. It will break your heart and heal your heart. I cannot even.

Thara Celehar/Iana Pel-Thenhior, Cemeteries of Amalo

Another they are taking it so so slowly and I am all about it. There's a theme here somewhere I just know it. Sad wet cat detective man with life-destroying trauma talks to dead people, stray cats and this one guy who writes riot-causing opera and very gently invites him to dinner occasionally and helps him solve murder cases. We are two books in and they've only just a) held hands once and b) started using informal you to refer to each other. It's exquisite, I'm in hell.

No pressure tagging @ereborne @july-19th-club @morkaischosen @trans-cuchulainn and anyone else who's interested :)

[wwillywonka]

when you're writing heaven on their minds, what version of willy is in your mind? is it depp wonka or wilder wonka? I know for sure it's not chalamet wonka. or maybe the musical ones? borle or snook?

hi anon! thanks so much for the question!<3

i try to emulate this in heaven on their minds by the very fact that i include bits and pieces from all versions of canon, but my willy is very much an amalgamation of every willy. and when i say every, i mean every, which is why i reward myself (with the self-awareness of its pomposity) with the Wonka Expert title - because i don't consider just one willy wonka to be The willy wonka; they're all him and he cannot exist without every piece of himself.

in terms of physical appearance, i've shared my art of him on here (and on my instagram @/corduroycyborg), and those drawings are about as close as i can get to portraying how he looks in my mind: tall but too thin for his height, mid-length thick curly chocolate-coloured (ha!) hair that he straightens within an inch of its life, deep set electric purple eyes that can increase or decrease in saturation depending on his mood, nose like a rabbit's, perfect teeth and painted nails and gold jewellery and always a thick layer of makeup to hide his insecurities. i also go back and forth a lot in my head about his race considering i myself am mixed asian and pretty much project everything about myself on him. but i like to keep it ambiguous to make him an accessible character for all readers, an intentional choice that plays into the themes in hotm of him feeling like he isn't a person without the media and his fans telling him who he is. hotm (my) willy is definitely more based on 2005 because that is my favorite version (and because i am hopelessly, unfortunately attracted to twink johnny depp for no reason) but also because i feel like that movie does the best job of externalising his inner self through his appearance. wilder wonka is classic, of course, but i've always thought, even as a kid, that he just looks too damn nice, is too charismatic. wilder wonka, while definitely mad (the boat scene>>>), is just a big ol' teddy bear. his hair looks so soft, and the way he picks up charlie and twirls him around is so 🥺🥺🥺. gene wilder himself said that he wanted his wonka to look trustworthy so that he could focus on making his personality unpredictable, which i appreciate and think works well in the 1971 movie - but willy is supposed to be antisocial and scary and off-putting. it makes him so much more interesting to me. the original book describes him as bright and colorful, yes, but also as someone charlie immediately wants to unpack, to study, to understand. and the way wilder wonka doesn't even wear gloves...!! that's a hugely essential part of willy's character and his adversity to the outside world, and it just isn't present in what is typically considered the "best" version.

in chapter 7, i describe willy lounging in a oscar wilde-esque fashion, with a floral robe and lipstick and a french bob. i know this is technically me stretching the femininity of depp wonka perhaps a little too far, but it's my own special charm i've built around the character in the past many years of him being my favorite character of all time. perhaps it's just me being really bisexual and projecting my particular type and relationship with gender onto him; i accept that and own it. i will forcibly feminize my blorbos all i want and that is my right. now, to address gareth snook wonka. tbh the worst wonka look besides the unspeakable tom and jerry movie. THAT BEING SAID, uk tour willy is probably my favorite portrayal of the character ever. he's unpredictable, he's scary, and his attractiveness and charms are so unexpected but make so much sense in the most surprising ways - snook wonka is cunty, i'll say it. mix his personality with depp and that's MY willy!!!

and yeah, definitely no chalamet wonka. i literally don't think about him at all while writing the character unless i'm considering how noodle fits into the story. and i've said this before but i don't care for borle wonka even though i know he's a fan favorite. sorry lol.

TLDR: 93% depp, 6% snook, 4% dahl, and 2% wilder. ("but that's 105%!" yes.)

((p.s. the artist who appears most on the big unpublished playlist i have for him is lana del rey. if that helps paint a picture🎀🍫🐇🍒).

[hearts4akitoya]

Ok ok specific akitoya analysis with the “Waiting for you card”

(bare with me this is from like dec 2021 or jan 2022 i found it in my notes and its probably outdated and wrong by now also the story was only out on jp and the card name was different)

In the card illustration, you see Akito sitting in front of a piano (symbolizing Toya's upbringing) with a somber expression on his face. Paired with the card title "Waiting for That Day to Come", Akito is essentially waiting for the day that Toya is able to break free from the cycle of abuse he faced during his childhood and be himself.

Toya grew up in an abusive household that refused to let him pursue his own passions and binded him to classical music, stopping him from truly being understood and treated like an individual. Although he did rebel against his father and pursue street music, he had still had unresolved, lingering feelings of guilt from being unable to fully confront his father and get that personal closure. Toya never truly understood his father's motivations for why he had been treated the way he was, and he would still come into conflict with his father every single day. Because of this, Toya was never able to unleash his true potential in his singing, because he was subconsciously holding back.

Ever since Akito met Toya, he's been aware of Toya's family situation and has tried to support him the best he could. Together, they trained from the bottom up and made a big name for themselves in the street music community. This part of their relationship being recontexualized in Stray Bad Dog just makes it hurt even more because of Akito's inferiority complex, how he felt so talentless compared to those around him, and how he had to put in that much more effort just to stand on equal footing with Toya because of how badly he wanted to stay by Toya's side. This also does parallel the VBS main story in how Toya felt that his resolve wasn't firm enough and he wasn't worthy enough to remain as Akito's partner. Both of them felt like they weren't good enough to stand by each other's side despite wanting to more than anything.

Akito has acted as this pillar of support for Toya since the day they met, but Toya is the type of person to keep everything bottled up inside and he never truly opened up everything about his family to Akito, which is why he had so many of those unresolved feelings about the abuse he faced. He was still subconsciously holding back from fully expressing himself and what he truly feels, both to Akito and his father.

This card illustration is a CG in episode 7 of Period of Nocturne. Toya, after finally confronting his father, starts to come to understand his father's motives and achieves the personal closure that he had always desired. In this live event, Toya was finally able to be himself and sing to his full potential and Akito was totally blown away so he hugs Toya back stage and starts ruffling his hair (holy shit this illustration is so gay).

The day Akito had been waiting for the entire time had finally come. Toya was able to overcome his father and start to truly live his life the way he should have from the start, by spending time with the people he cares about most and doing what he loves.

ALSO NOT PART OF THE ANALYSIS BUT,

In the next chapter An pokes fun at Akito and tells him how she witnessed Akito being the most excited out of all of them and ruffling Toya's hair akito got embarrassed and was blushing.

In conclusion? Akitoya canon