#his new motif is night! and moons

[maybe-arts]

ok i should sleep but also i'm obsessed with @gurusgammamon's swap au that only has a handful of art and 4 chapters of chatfic

i had to doodle my version of swapped marx and ribbon

[kaibutsushidousha]

Every otaku producer on any at least decently-sized project is chained to very BIG MONEY merch contracts. Merch sales are one of the biggest cogs making the anime industry run and because of that, merch manufacturers expect producers not to allow anything that would make their products fail to reflect the contents of the show.

A recent example that sparked controversy about this is the new Tokyo Mew Mew reboot anime. Mew Mew is a series where pretty much everyone important has food names, but the early scanlators failed to notice how far this motif extended and rendered Quiche's name as Kisshu. This is spread in the fandom enough to make merch makers assume that was the proper way to spell his name in English and produce pins with the name Kisshu written in Roman letters. Thanks to that, over a decade later, the Mew Mew translator on Crunchyroll subs is forced to use Kisshu on her script despite knowing it's wrong.

But this is a Type-Moon post, so let's talk about Type-Moon instead. On October 29th, 2010, Nasu released Fate/complete material III, containing profiles for all Servants featured in Fate/stay Night. In his lack of English knowledge, he most likely relied on Google to learn how to romanize all those names. This generated two curious results: Arthuria was rendered as Altria, as the first search result for アルトリア would be the cigarette corporation, and Rider favored the French spelling Medousa over the English Medusa.

Flash forward to May 25th, 2016. At this year, Fate/Grand Order had already been released and proved itself a commercial success against all odds. In celebration of that, FuRyu Corporation sculpted the source of all evil.

FuRyu's figure utilized the erroneous "Altria" from Complete Material III. Here is where I want you to notice that FuRyu did not release a Medusa figure alongside it. "Altria Pendragon" is the only character in this collection.

Our next chronological stop is August 14, 2016. Merely 3 months after the FuRyu Altria figure began to spread its corruption through all we know and love. That's the day Fate/Grand Order Material I came out, containing profiles for Saber Arthuria and Medusa.

As you can see in the right corner, Medousa is no more. Due to having 6 more years to learn things and no merch contract forever chaining him to his spelling mistake, Nasu had the opportunity to correct Medusa's name, which also settled it as the name FGO NA legally had to go with.

So when I say FGO NA translators went with Tam Lin because it's literally illegal not to do so, I am talking about

[danwhobrowses]

One thing I think might fly under the radar with some of the Bells Hells' new outfits are that Ashton, Fearne and Imogen each seem to have added a Sun and/or Moon motif

Imogen mostly opts for moons given her greater connection to Ruidus but there's also the sun, while Fearne has a sunflower (she also has her lantern but that was there on earlier designs) - which seems to have had a bit of additional attention among the other flowers given it's ring of air around it - on her hoof, and Ashton has a belt and leg accessory that look like they could be a sun and moon. Chetney doesn't have many motifs because his design is quite practical, but as a werewolf he does have a visual tie to the moon anyway.

To add to this, there may also be a third motif of wind, or at least the sky; Dorian's cape and instrument have a morning dawn kind of gradient, whereas Laudna's gradient represents the night sky, in the middle you have Orym, whose wind parallels are quite simple given the Zephyr armor and being an Air Ashari.

Intentional? Maybe not, but it does look like there's an elemental theme going on too which is, if intentional, very underrated.

[fuwapower-prettycure]

Fuwa Power☆For Your Consideration!

As the Fancuries approach, and as voting opens, I humbly ask the wonderful fancure community to take a peeksy at FuwaPow and think about nominating!

Mochizuki Maika, an energetic 13-year-old girl, moves into Fuwayama City with big hopes for her new school. On her first day in the on-campus dormitories, she meets and hits it off with a mysterious old woman named Yumeno Eiko. Maika believes her day couldn't get any better, but when Ms. Yumeno suddenly runs off, she finds herself in a magical plight as two fairies named Nighty and Twyla suddenly appear looking for her friend!

The core themes of FuwaPow are "self-care, self-love, and maintaining good habits" which tie in with the overarching motifs of "sleep, night/morning, stars, the moon, clouds, clocks, and wings."

Now, let's get to the fun part...

~☆~

THE CURES~

Altogether (right to left): Tsukiyomi Hotaru, Asahara Kotomi, Mochizuki Maika, Hirano Kirari, & Nagumo Sara

MOCHIZUKI MAIKA/CURE REVERIE! (Pink)

Mochizuki Maika (13) is a chronic daydreamer. Her catchphrase is “I’m over the moon!” After meeting Ms. Yumeno, Nighty, & Twyla, she becomes Cure Reverie; The Pretty Cure of imagination and dreams. “Full of fantasy and endless dreams! Up and at it, Cure Reverie!”

HIRANO KIRARI/CURE SHINE! (Yellow/Orange)

Hirano Kirari (13) is an aspiring idol. Her catchphrase is “It’s super shining!” After meeting Ms. Yumeno, Nighty, & Twyla, she becomes Cure Shine; The Pretty Cure of optimism and light. “Full of light and endless energy! Up and at it, Cure Shine!”

ASAHARA KOTOMI/CURE LULLABY! (Purple)

Asahara Kotomi (13) is a hardworking big sister. Her catchphrase is “Of course I knew that!” After meeting Ms. Yumeno, Nighty, & Twyla, she becomes Cure Lullaby; The Pretty Cure of care and tender feelings. “Full of song and endless love! Up and at it, Cure Lullaby!”

NAGUMO SARA/CURE COZY! (Green)

Nagumo Sara (14) is a kind, responsible role model. Her catchphrase is “Leave it to Sara!” After meeting Ms. Yumeno, Nighty, & Twyla, she becomes Cure Cozy; The Pretty Cure of safety and solace. “Full of warmth and endless kindness! Up and at it, Cure Cozy!”

TSUKIYOMI HOTARU/CURE CRESCENT! (Blue, 6th Ranger)

Tsukiyomi Hotaru (14) is a quiet, observant girl. Her catchphrase is “Wicked!” About halfway through the story, she becomes Cure Crescent; The Pretty Cure of strength and rebirth. “Full of hope and endless courage! Up and at it, Cure Crescent!”

THE CAST~

YUMENO EIKO/MS. YUMENO!

The kind old woman who owns Mahou Monogatori. After retiring from the Sweet Dream Kingdom royal guard, she became a citizen of earth and opened her bookstore. She is surprisingly cheeky and loves to tease the cures. The Fuwa Power team often hold meetings at MahouMo much to her delight. She's been deemed the "Team Grandma" by Twyla.

NIGHTY!

Nighty was once a powerful figure in the Sweet Dream Kingdom before Nocturna attacked. With his nurturing and kind personality, he’s often a pillar of support for the team. His extensive knowledge of Yumeki magic is his greatest pride. His greatest annoyance is Yumeno hijacking his speeches with far more interesting information.

TWYLA!

A childish fairy who, along with her guardian, Nighty, came from Sweet Dream Kingdom to find the Pretty Cure. She is a big fan of cuddling and sits in the girls' laps as much as possible. Her empathic powers can help in crucial moments when the emotions of others start to boil over.

THE DREAM EATERS~

NOCTURNA

The leader of the Dream Eaters and de facto Queen of Sweet Dream Kingdom. At first glance, she is strict but reasonable, treating her subordinates like unruly children. However, deep down she is an extremely hateful woman who excels in emotional manipulation of others. Above all else, she craves power and control. The Dreaming Candle, Late Queen Chiharu’s most powerful weapon, is said to be the only thing able to put a stop to someone of her caliber. She possesses a single piece of the broken staff, and will stop at nothing to find the other 8 before the Pretty Cure can obtain them.

RAN-RAN

The coolest and most confident member of the Dream Eaters’ REM Trio. Ran-Ran is full of attitude, her snarky remarks often causing arguments with her fellow general, Encoru. She prides herself on speed and efficiency when completing jobs, making her repeated defeats at the hands of the Precure a huge annoyance.

ENCORU

The most dramatic member of the REM. He’s a sucker for spectacle, thriving when the spotlight is on him. Encoru hates people who try to outshine him and those who keep the pizzazz to a minimum. He is somewhat indifferent to the Pretty Cure, since he appreciates their flair, but is not a fan of how often they defeat him.

MOB

The oldest of Nocturna’s commanders. They often switch pronouns, using He/They/She interchangeably. They’re the odd one out, considering he doesn’t quite care for grand acts of evil. Mob doesn’t care for much in general. Her glass is always half empty, and she only works with Nocturna because she loves the Dream Eaters' aesthetic. In their free time, he writes poetry and hangs out with the local crow populations.

THE CURE CLOCK & PRECHARMS~

The team's transformation device. It can take on the appearance of a watch that allows the Cures to transform after their separate PreCharm's are attached to the origin of the clock hands while saying "Pretty Cure, Dreamy Switch On!" The PreCharms allow theCure's individual transformations, as each PreCharm is linked to a team member and fueled by their own Yumeki. They also grant them the ability to perform different kinds of magic attacks.

~☆~

That was a lot... BUT it makes sense, as Fuwa Power has a lot of time put into it. I'm super proud of my work and getting to interact with everyone in the fancure community is the absolute best! I'd be honored if anyone considered nominating me or my work for any category. Let's give the Fancuries our all☆

[moonmacabre01]

Okay. So.

We all know that Kirby's title is Kirby of the Stars. And that makes sense, we see stars everywhere with him! The Warp Star, the Star Rod, copy essences are star shaped, stars are like a shorthand to represent him. And in the tarot deck, The Star means hope. Kirby is, in a way, hope itself.

And the sky/celestial motifs aren't restricted to him. Meta Knight and King Dedede are literally called "Partners that shook the Heavens". And while this is getting into personal opinion, I think their contrasting personalities - Dedede is bombastic and outspoken and self-indulgent, whereas Meta Knight is more elegant and quiet and restrained - are like the sun and moon, and how they work in harmony and compliment each other.

So we have our star, and the our sun and moon, but what about Bandee? Can I fit him with an appropriately celestial motif as well? Lets think, what makes Bandee stand apart?

So, one of the most important things about Bandee is that he was once just another Dee. And he changed, and grew strong, and rose above who he was. He's resilient, and loyal, and constant. A symbol that anyone can change, can be brave. I think. I think what fits him most, his celestial motif, isn't an object but an event. The dawn, that always comes no matter how dark and bleak the night. Always returning, and yet a symbol of newness, of change. And like a star, it is hope.

Star and Sun and Moon and Dawn. They all have their place, all make vibrant the sky.

. . .

Thanks for reading whatever you call this, I hope you liked it <3

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Forest myths, Estonian traditional beliefs (4)

The world of the Estonians’ ancestors – Mythical motifs in Estonian runic songs

The Estonian literary mythology describes the following pantheon: The supreme god, the god of all living things, is Taara (variations of the name include Tooru, Tharapita and Tarapitha), also known as Uku or Jumal, is a prominent god in Estonian mythology, with a strong resemblance to the Finnish Ukko and the Germanic Thor. He is celebrated in sacred oak forests around Tartu. The god of thunder is Uku. Uku's daughters are Linda and Jutta, the queen of the birds. Uku has two sons: Kõu (Thunder) and Pikker (Lightning). Pikker possesses a powerful musical instrument, which makes demons tremble and flee. He has a naughty daughter, Ilmatütar (Weather Maiden).

Estonian legends about giants (Kalevipoeg, Suur Tõll, Leiger) may be a reflection of Germanic (especially Scandinavian) influences. Giants themselves in some stories stood as protectors against such Germanic influences, such as invasion. There are numerous legends interpreting various natural objects and features as traces of Kalevipoeg's deeds. The giant has merged with Christian Devil, giving birth to a new character – Vanapagan (a cunning demon living on his farm or manor) and his farm hand Kaval-Ants ("Crafty Hans").

Other mythical motifs from Estonian runic songs:

a mighty oak grows into the sky, is then felled and turned into various mythical objects

Sun, Moon and Star are the suitors of a young maiden, she finally accepts the Star

a crafty blacksmith forges a woman of gold but is not able to give her a soul or a mind

a holy grove starts to wither after having been desecrated by a love-making couple; only sacrificing nine brothers cleanses it

mighty heroes are not able to kill a terrible giant ox, but a little brother is

a woman is forced to kill her daughter who then goes to live in the heaven as the Air Maiden

a girl finds a fish and asks her brother to kill it – there is a woman inside the fish

young girls go out at night and young men from the holy grove (or the land of the dead) seduce them by offering them riches

a lake travels to another place when it has been desecrated by an inconsiderate woman or an incestuous couple

木にまつわる伝説・神話

森の神話・エストニアの民間伝承 (4)

エストニア人の祖先の世界 〜 ルーン文字の歌詞に見られる神話のモチーフ

エストニアの文学的神話には、次のようなパンテオンが描かれている: すべての生きとし生けるものの神である最高神はタアラであり、タルトゥ周辺の神聖なオークの森で祭られている。タアラ（トオル、タラピタなどの異称がある）は、ウクまたはユマルとも呼ばれるエストニア神話の著名な神で、フィンランドのウッコやゲルマン民族のトールに類似している。タルトゥ周辺の神聖なオークの森で祭られている。ウクの娘はリンダと鳥の女王ユッタ。ウクには2人の息子がいる： コオウ（雷）とピッカー（稲妻）である。ピッカーは強力な楽器を持っており、悪魔を震え上がらせて逃走させる。彼にはいたずらっ子の娘イルマチュタル（天気の乙女）がいる。

巨人（ｶﾚｳﾞｨﾎﾟｴｸﾞ、ｽｵﾄｰﾙ、ﾚｲｶﾞｰ）に関するエストニアの伝説は、ゲルマン人（特にスカンジナビア人）の影響を反映したものかもしれない。巨人そのものが、侵略などのゲルマン人の影響から身を守る存在であったという話もある。様々な自然物や特徴をカレヴィポエグの行いの痕跡と解釈する伝説が数多くある。この巨人はキリスト教の悪魔と融合し、ヴァナパガン（彼の農場や荘園に住む狡猾な悪魔）と彼の農夫カヴァル＝アンツ（「狡猾なハンス」）という新しいキャラクターを生み出した。

エストニアのルーン文字の歌詞には、他にも神話的なモチーフがある：

樫の木が空に向かって伸び、伐採され、さまざまな神話上のオブジェに変わる。

太陽、月、星は若い乙女の求婚者であり、彼女は最終的に星を受け入れた。

狡猾な鍛冶屋が金の女を拵えたが、彼女に魂や心を与えることはできなかった。

聖なる木立が、愛し合うカップルによって冒涜された後、枯れ始めるが、9人の兄弟を生贄にすれば浄化される。

強大な英雄は恐ろしい巨大な牛を殺すことができないが、弟は殺すことができる。

ある女性が自分の娘を殺さざるを得なくなり、その娘は天界で空気の乙女として生きることになる。

少女が魚を見つけ、兄に殺してくれるよう頼む - その魚の中に女がいる。

若い娘が夜に外出すると、聖なる木立（または死者の国）から来た若い男たちが金持ちを差し出して誘惑する。

軽率な女や近親相姦のカップルによって冒涜された湖は、別の場所に移動する。

[elegyforyou]

Viennese Waltz

Severus Snape x Reader

Word Count: 989

Warnings: Fluff

You fought to get out of it; chaperoning the Yule Ball. It was terribly loud, crowded, and by your understanding, already overstaffed. But Minerva was persistent, she was tireless, ceaseless, insistent that you’d have fun, and in the end, you relented. Your resolve had been thoroughly snapped, and now here you stood, brooding in the corner of the Great Hall stuck in a dizzying cacophony with an utterly grave colleague for company.

He’d been given similar treatment, you were sure. If not by the perpetually bleak scowl he’d donned at the beginning of the night, you could see it in the tension that snaked through his shoulders and up the neck. None of which was particularly out of character for Severus Snape on a bad day, but his usual air of ill-tempered annoyance had amplified tenfold.

The word ‘jaded’ came to mind as you took the adjoining seat on his right, spared a careful glance out of your peripheral. There, you spied the meticulously brushed, charcoal hair that hugged an aged face, its softened planes detailed with deepened grooves and large, apathetic eyes. No doubt the same face of the boy you’d known back then, only a little older and a little wiser.

A thin grin molded your lips, pulled your cheeks taut as you made a statement on a whim: “you look sharp tonight.” Had you been too bold? You thought not, but nevertheless averted your gaze quickly to the undulating sea of dancing students. You needn’t see to feel the way in which he looked at you, attempting to pick you apart with a scrutinizing watch as you feigned ignorance, face burning under his wide, moon-like eyes.

You’d been avoiding him ever since you’d gotten the position. You’d kept him at arms length as if he were the plague, sat on the opposite end of every table and stood in the furthest corner of every room until tonight. When your resolution had been restored, and when again you turned to Severus after what felt like a very long while, he met you with a gaze of deep heartache that left you wondering when last he’d been complimented. If it had been you on that dreary Saturday so many summers ago. But you had your answer already, and so you stood, offered him a delicate hand and asked, “would you join me for this dance?”

The crowds had begun to wane when wordlessly he accepted, a weathered and calloused hand greeting your own with gentle hesitation. And although you had been on the outskirts of the room, you coaxed your partner further inwards, each step in time to the soft lilt of a new waltz. It was a quiet piece, gentle phrases and motifs reflecting the ebb and flow of your dance as, in a well-practiced and ease, he skillfully whisked you across the floor. “You haven’t changed one bit,” you mused quietly.

“Have I not?” He questioned, words eager and unwavering, his familiar baritone a soothing thrum in your ear as the dance ended in a winding decrescendo. And upon the mellow piano of the Blue Danube, he bowed, you curtsied, and joined hands.

You hummed, a breathless and bright laugh scurrying up and out of your lips, “not at all.” Although you had been avoiding his piercing glare, watchful and disarming, finally you met his eyes, felt the sharpened palisade of his heart begin to crumble at your feet as you drew closer with each step. “I’ve been waiting for you,” you whispered, and with each word you tread on pins and needles.

There came a sharp intake; a frightened inhale after which he said in a trembling susurration, “I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me.”

You took the inside turn at the peak of his bubbling anxiety, soothed his wavering hands with a passive and warm smile, “you are ridiculous, and so am I!” You chimed in a wholehearted laugh, free of venomous intent and ridicule. “I thought the same when you left, thought I’d done something to ward you off,” you paused for the change step, “or worse.” How many years you wasted agonizing over each and every detail wondering where you went wrong. It all came equally as a great relief and awful anguish to know he’d felt the same. In the wake of the heavy quiet, you breathed, “would it be too daring of me to ask if we could start again?”

While your dance continued, arms flaring in elegant Butterflies as you progressed down the line of dance, Severus seemed to freeze, his lips that seldom wore anything but a surly flower now tipped in an angle of shock. And in the moment your heart seemed to drop, but then he swallowed in a dry throat, croaked out: “you would be with me? After all this time?”

Under the spinning impetus of uncertainty, you were enveloped in a sense of ease and repose, all apprehension ebbed away as you exhaled, “always.”

The way he beamed at you, his smile so genuine- how could you have forgotten? And the way he made your heart soar, caught in the dynamic lean as the last measure came to a brilliant close. You found your balance, pulled him into a winded embrace amongst deafened applause. “And we shall promise to talk to each other this time. We’ll take it slow,” you spoke behind a toothy grin, your scrunched nose buried in the thermal wools of his cloak that entrapped the distinct smell of cold rainfall and black tea.

And then he pulled away with a nod, face flushed and bewildered, tempting you to follow his gaze to the crowd of onlookers that had encircled you in the midst of your performance. You had certainly put on a show, but the cat-like grin Minerva wore at the pinnacle of the swarm as her lips formed a soundless: “about time,” held an entirely different message.

A/N: This is the first oneshot I've made since around 2015, so I'm getting back into the groove of things with something short and sweet. My grammar isn't always the best either, but I do check my spelling!

[im-getting-help]

After some nights at Saltburn Oliver's dreams began changed. At first his dreams played almost like a memory of the days lived since he got there. His mind projected images of sunny days in the fields, clear sounds of soft laughter and water splashing, quiet nights in the dim lit hallways of the mansion. Then they started shifting, creating new stories. It started playing conversation he never had, music he never heard and shared glances and touches he would never experience.

The maze.

Even before he ever set foot inside, he started dreaming of it. The tall green walls, so so narrow it seemed like they were closing in. The center called, something waited for him there, a promise.

Oliver dreamed of Felix under him, his big brown eyes full of tears. Besides him a golden dagger, motifs of sun and wings carved in the blade, barely noticeable under the red thick liquid that covered it. Oliver looked down, Felix's bare chest was a bleeding mess, open skin and muscle and a broken ribcage. The blood reflected the moonlight, it pooled under him, soaking the open linen shirt and staining the grass.

Oliver slowly pushed his hand into the open wound until it disappeared under the ribs, he moved the left lung aside so he could finally wrap Felix's beating heart delicately between his fingers.

He kept his hand there for a moment, feeling Felix, feeling Felix's life, feeling the beatings of his heart and the shifting of his lungs with each breath.

Felix only looked at him, his face shifting slightly with pain but he remained quiet. His hands beside his body made no attempt to grab or push him. His brown eyes filled with tears looked at him, there was no sign of sadness or anger in his expression.

Suddenly the moment is over, Oliver rips the heart out, blood splatters everywhere. Felix gasped like he tried to scream and breathe at the same time. His eyes rolled back as his body spams for a few seconds. Then is over, he's gone.

Oliver pressed the warm heart against his parted lips and started drinking the dense, rich liquid that poured out with every squeeze.

Oliver was sure that this is what ambrosia tasted like. Felix's blood coated his throat deliciously, it quenched more than just thirst. Each swallow felt like a blessing, a curse being lifted, an embrace, relief, it felt like pure bliss.

After drinking each and every drop Oliver started licking the muscle dry, moaning as he felt the curves and veins against his tongue. Mapping the shape and prodding until satiated. Next came his hands, sucking the dry blood off his fingers with gusto.

Then he brought the heart close to his mouth again and after a final lick he bit into it.

Oliver was savoring it, chewing slowly. He kept the muscle pressed against his lips while doing so, his eyes closed as he indulged. It took some time to consumed it all, his jaw started to feel sore half way through it but he did it. The pain was a part of the experience, and he wanted to feel it all.

Once finished Oliver sighed, satisfied at last. He bend over Felix, caressing his cheekbones and whipping away the remnant tears. He had to close Felix's mouth before pressing a chaste kiss on his lips.

Finally he felt asleep hugging the body, and then woke up, like every other morning with the curtains being opened for a new sunny morning at Saltburn.

Oliver dreamed of a horned figure that loomed over him. He was sprawled on the grass, silver dagger in hand. A crescent moon was the only source of light.

He buried the tip of dagger under his own ribcage and dragged it up slowly, opening the skin, cutting through muscle. The figure took the blade from his now trembling hands and put it aside. His arms collapsed to the side. Then, the figure started snapping each rib till the left side of his chest was completely open.

"I love you" Oliver whispered. The figure smiled reassuringly before pushing his hand inside.

[starlightandetherealshadows]

How are the ros when in a romance with mc?

Hi angel!

I'm going to describe kind of overarching "themes" or motifs for each of the romance options and their routes. There won't be many spoilers, but lil fun hints (fun is a loose term cuz im kinda evil).

Also, you'll get to experience romances with the RO when you read the story hehehe, trust me it's coming! The demo is only up to chapter 1...gotta give MC some time to heal from that sweet spicy trauma (or not).

Chapter 2 Part 1 is coming along quite nicely, I'm anticipating it to be about 30K without code.

Without further ado, here are the romance vibes for the RO in Memento Mori!

Delphine: "i never knew love until I met you", breakfast in bed and massages after a long day, she wants to spoil you, "i wish i could stop time, I wish I could keep this forever." You make her feel worthy, you make her feel seen. She remembers all of your favorite things, her love language is words of affirmation and gift giving. She's protective over you; she lets you see the parts of herself she keeps hidden. all her favorite love songs are about you.

"I wanna love me, the way that you love me. for all of my pretty, and all of my ugly too. I'd love to see me from your point of view. I wanna trust me, the way that you trust me. Ooh, 'cause nobody ever loved me like you do. I'd love to see me from your point of view" POV by Ariana Grande

Honorable Mention: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Zero Chevalier: "MC over morals", it's soft smiles and softer touches, like you're the most precious thing he's ever held. it's wide eyed surprise at your reciprocation, love that is dark and consuming, you're in his sweetest dreams, and you're the light in his darkest nightmares, "remind me that this is real." has a hundred drawings of you in his sketchbook "You're my home."

"There's a lover in the story, but the story's still the same. There's a lullaby for suffering, and a paradox to blame. But it's written in the scriptures. And it's not some idol claim. You want it darker. We kill the flame." You Want it Darker by Leonard Cohen

Honorable Mention: Peace by Taylor Swift

Xa'eks/Xa'veed: war between head and heart, not sure who is falling first and who is falling harder, not only bends the rules, but breaks them for you. overwhelmed by the severity of their emotions, wants to make up for all the years they spent without knowing you, has told the stars about you, knows they will lose you but loves you like they won't, you could live inside them and it wouldn't be close enough, love language is physical touch

"I can't help but love you, Even though I try not to. I can't help but want you. I know that I'd die without you. I can't help but be wrong in the dark. 'Cause I'm overcome in this war of hearts. I can't help but want oceans to part. 'Cause I'm overcome in this war of hearts" War of Hearts by Ruelle

Honorable Mention: Illicit Affairs by Taylor Swift

Ayana Tsosie: let me be your peace (when the world is going to shit), there's nothing wrong with loving again, we have more on the line than love, you can't fight your heart without hurting yourself in the long run. she keeps an eye on you across rooms and battlefields, she treats you as her equal, you've become one of the best parts of her life (new and old), you borrowed her heart and refused to give it back, but she gave it willingly. your hand in hers is what love poems are written about.

"Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight. Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself. Will it ever get better than tonight?" Glitter in the Air by P!nk

Honorable Mention: Love Me Like You Do by Elle Goulding

Cecelia/Chase: friends to lovers but I love my friends just as deeply, they don't know they love you until they almost lose you, there's butterflies in my bloodstream (it must be because of you), partners in crime, communication without words. they know what you need before you do, they bring you flowers and will choose to stare at you over the most beautiful sunsets (because nothing compares in their eyes)

"I'm dancing in the dark. With you between my arms, barefoot on the grass. Listening to our favorite song, I have faith in what I see. Now I know I have met an angel in person" Perfect by Ed Sheeran

Honorable Mention: Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur

[medusapelagia]

D - Drunk

D is for Destroya (@destroya-hargrove) who is one of the kindest soul ever. 💜

I hope you will enjoy your present 🎁!

Rating: Teen and Up Relationship: Steve /Billy WT: mention of Neil Hargrove, Alcohol, homophobic language Words: 1118

"What a shit hole." Billy says, opening a can of beer and gulping it down before crashing the can and throwing it away.

His car is his only joy, and even if it sucks that he has to share it with Maxine every fucking morning, by night it is just the two of them: Billy and his Camaro.

He cracks another can of beer open; he probably shouldn't, he already drank too much with the basketball team at the HideOut and if Neil caught him drunk it would be hell for him, but at this moment he really doesn't care.

Why the fuck did Neil choose to move from California to bumfuck Indiana is still a mystery to Billy. Yeah, he knows that finding his only son with his tongue buried deep in the mouth of another boy definitely had a role in Neil’s decision, but he could have just beat Billy and threatened him of killing him like usual, there was no need to move across the Country, right?

He grabs a cigarette and lights it, then he stares at the red cherry burning in the night, god he would give everything for a joint but he is not the kind of guy that buys that stuff, he is the one the others offer weed to because they want to get on his good side. 

Well, at least he has a couple of beers more.

The familiar sound of a car getting closer distracts Billy from his thoughts. He is not surprised, the quarry is a quite famous make-out place, he just hoped that the boys were still at the HideOut and he could enjoy some solitude for once.

Billy turns just enough to see a familiar beemer parking next to his Camaro.

"Scratch it and you are dead, Harrington." Billy states, his eyes fixed on the moon.

"I'm quite sure I am a better driver than you are, Hargrove."

Billy glares at him: better driver, never, a safer driver, maybe.

"Why are you here? I see no pretty girl with you."

Steve snorts "Haven't you heard? I'm not the school sweetheart anymore, I'm much more of a pariah. Little Miss Perfect chose Byers over me and I got my face smashed by the school's new alpha, so no pretty girls in the near future I fear. Can I have one?" Steve asks, pointing at Billy's cigarette.

The blond boy gives him the packet and offers him the lighter, but Steve simply bends over the flame, cups Billy's hand with his, and drags a deep breath of smoke.

"God I needed this."

"It's just a cigarette." Billy replies, still feeling Steve's gentle touch on his hand like a permanent stain on his skin.

"Yeah, but sometimes a cigarette is just what you need to relieve the tension."

"Still fighting monsters?" he asks, staring at Steve's trunk.

"As always." the chestnut boy replies, exhaling white spirals of smoke.

Billy nods, after waking up that horrible night at Byers' house and finding a monster leaking from the fridge, Billy has discovered that there is a parallel dimension full of hungry monsters waiting to devour them, which might be one of the motifs why he is drinking, staring at the quarry and wondering if a jump from that height could kill him on the impact.

"Probably not, you are a big boy, but I guess you'll break at least a few bones, maybe some vertebrates, and then you'll be spending all your time on a chair depending on your father. How does it sound?"

"Pretty shitty actually."

Steve nods, stabbing the cigarette "Are you ready to go?"

"I still have one beer."

"I think you drank enough."

Billy lifts an eyebrow "I can still punch that pretty face of yours."

"I know you can, but you have to sober up before Neil sees you, so it's better if you cut this shit now and come home with me."

"Are you proposing, pretty boy?"

Steve smirks "I know I'm not your type. Now let's go." he says pointing at his car.

"We are not going to leave my car at the quarry!" Billy complains loudly, but when he gets off the hood he finds out that he is far more unstable than he thought.

"You are too drunk to drive so either you give me your keys and I drive it to my place, but everyone will know that you have been there, or we leave it here and come back later on to retrieve it."

Having his car at Harrington's is a very bad idea, so he begrudgingly agrees to leave it at the quarry, but before leaving they hide it in the nearby woods.

Steve's car is warm and welcoming, like him, Billy studies the school sweetheart while he sings a stupid pop song along with the radio.

In a different world, a world where Neil would not beat him just for thinking about it, they could be friends, maybe even best friends. They could rule the school and maybe even get into college together, being roommates, best friends forever, or any other stupid shit the girls say.

They could go on trips together, sleep in the same room, and share air, food, and affection.

Billy stares at Steve's plump lips and shakes his head, no, they couldn't be. He will always be a fucking fag and his thoughts will always be too dirty.

"You ok?" Steve asks, his eyes fixed on the road.

"Yeah... just more drunk than I thought."

Steve takes him to his room, offers him pajamas, and guides him toward the guest rooms where there is a bottle of water and a couple of headache pills.

“How?”

“Max called.” he replies, ready to leave the room.

Billy grabs Steve's wrist, there are so many things he would like to ask Steve that he can’t speak.

Don’t leave.

Stay with me.

Take care of me.

Please.

“Hey. It’s ok. You are fine. I’ll be right on the other side of the wall and I have a nailed bat under my bed. There are no monsters here.” Steve whispers, caressing his arm.

It’s not enough and it’s too much at the same time; Billy’s skin is bruised under the jeans jacket, but Steve’s touch soothes him.

“Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Billy feels so small right now and he knows that if Steve refuses him his heart will break.

“I can sleep with you if you want. We can have a sleepover, like if we were in middle school.” Steve proposes with a smile and Billy nods eagerly.

If during the night Billy’s head finds Steve’s chest it’s only because he is drunk.

[acourtofthought]

considering elain's motif is literally flowers, I need to know why anyone things she'd be anywhere but the day/spring court?? from the beginning the drawers feyre painted and the cake she got for her birthday all painted a very clear picture of the sisters, not only as people but who they end up with. feyre obv is with the high lord of night thus the stars, nesta herself is fire but so is cassian, elain needs sunshine and flowers and has from the beginning. e/riel was never going to be endgame.

The drawer wouldn't even be the ace up our sleeves because initially she imagined Nesta with Lucien which is where "fire" might have come into play with her drawer. Or at least imagined her in the Autumn Court. But once she realized Nessian was going to be a thing she changed the flames into "Silver Flames" that are meant to indicate her power of death and tied that into Cassian being a warrior who has "walked beside death his whole life."

It's the fact that SJM has never shifted Elain's motif in the way she did Nesta.

Book 1, she has Feyre paint flowers on Elain's drawer and has her the prettiest she'd ever seen when Elain was outside in her garden at their estate.

Book 2, Feyre reminds us that Elain is a gentle grower of things and that she's as soft and lovely as a summer dawn.

At that point in the series, there's nothing major to suggest that Elain would be happiest in Spring or Day.

But it's book 3, after the big Elucien are mates reveal that SJM really starts driving things home.

- The suite was filled with sunlight. Every curtain shoved back as far as it could go, to let in as much sun as possible. As if any darkness was abhorrent. As if it chase it away. And seated in a small chair before the sunniest of the windows, her back to us, was Elain.

Feyre then tells us that Elain is wearing a "moon-white" dressing robe and that her face is so pale it looks like fresh snow and that these things that are white for Elain are "the color of death."

Of course there is a moon in all the courts but the NC is known for it's nights. Claiming that the night sky and the moon aren't symbolic of the Night Court because other courts have them too is like saying New York beaches are the same as the beaches in Florida's because they're both beaches.

And snow is probably in a few of the courts, Night Court, Winter....but we know the Spring Court does not have any.

So after telling us how Elain is sitting in the sunniest window, as if darkness (Night Court, it's not rocket science) is abhorrent, she tells us white like the moon and white like snow are the colors of death for her. All things associated with night and the colder courts.

We're then told "she had always been so full of light".

Later Elain comes out of her room for the first time. Two days after Lucien's arrival. And she just happened to make her first stop in how many months the library, after hearing Lucien's heart beating through the stone where Lucien himself randomly decided to visit, a big deal since he says he hasn't been able to read for pleasure in a long time. You know, her mate with those hidden sunshine powers, the ones SJM retconned in book 2 after realizing Elucien would be mates. She's again sitting by the windows.

Lucien demanded they take Elain outside for fresh air and lo and behold, she began eating, drinking and sleeping as soon as they did.

We all know Nesta asked Elain what she could get her and Elain replied, "Sunshine."

We know the gates to Elain's mind are sleeping buds and what do those need to bloom? (SUNSHINE! SUNSHINE!)

At the end of ACOWAR, Elain says the world needs more gardens.

In the novella, we're reminded of how much time Elain spends tending to Feysands garden, that now that winter has fallen she's lost the color in her face and Rhys said that Elain took a spot by the windows which was typical for her.

In SF we're told she's been helping the elderly fae in Velaris with their gardens, she's again caught standing by windows, and SJM (clearly for no reason at all of course) told us that Elain's scent is a promise of Spring. That the Spring Court had been made for someone like Elain. That Nesta would have told her to visit if they weren't arguing. That NC black sucks the life out of Elain and leeches the brightness from her face.

So yeah.

The drawers have held up as being true to Elain's character but I'm not sure how anyone can look back over everything SJM has told us about Elain and think, Yes. The Night Court which is associated with the color black, darkness, shadows, the moon and stars....THAT is the best place for Elain to thrive. Just like Feyre stared out her window at the Night sky while in Spring, Elain is always staring out the window craving sunshine while in the NC.

[raincode-archives]

Chapter 3 Loading Screen Trivia

Note: Currently, I do not know which of these trivia may be general game trivia or Chapter 3 exclusives (if there is any). And there may be trivia I'm currently missing that I will add later on, if I find any more.

World Detective Organization (WDO) An extra-legal, extra-privileged organization devoted to eradicating the world's unsolved mysteries.

Detective Deed An identification card. These are granted by the World Detective Organization.

Master Detective Among the detectives belonging to the World Detective Organization, this is a detective with a specialized power called Forensic Forte that aids in their investigative activities.

Forensic Forte Those exhibiting innate talent for special powers like clairvoyance or mind-reading are trained by the WDO to develop a supernatural investigative ability called Forensic Forte or simply, Forte.

Amaterasu Corporation Many products are in development, some of which cannot be made public.

Amaterasu Peacekeepers A department of Amaterasu Corporation. They serve as a sort of police force within Kanai Ward.

Kanai Station The only train station in Kanai Ward. It's a magnificent building, but seldom has customers because of the city's isolation.

Kamasaki District Crime generally isn't bad here, unless you venture deeper inside, that is.

Riverbank Due to polluted waters, fish are rarely caught.

Kanai Bus System A bus service running throughout Kanai Ward. The bus fee is fixed at 200 shien. Amaterasu Corporation employees ride free.

Kanai Ward Living Condition Perhaps because of the daily rainfall, some people in Kanai Ward don't mind getting wet.

TV Programs Nearly all the TV programs broadcasted in Kanai Ward are sponsored by Amaterasu Corporation.

Popular Sports Parkour is popular among the young men of Kamasaki District. New problems have arisen however, what will all the trespassing and running across the top of food stalls.

Crosswalks The crosswalks in Kanai ward detect pedestrians and stop traffic for them. As such, it's fairly uncommon to see people waiting for the signal to change.

Pets Because of Kanai Ward's unending rain, indoor pets are popular. At the same time, there is increasing concern of many dogs and cats become feral after being abandoned by irresponsible owners.

Flora in Kanai Ward Because it's difficult to grow plants in the perpetually rainy Kanai Ward, many have been replaced with synthetic counterparts, aside from some roadside trees and flowers in Ginma.

Flavor of Halara's Candy Depends on the mood. The worse the mood, the sweeter the taste; the better the mood, the lighter the taste.

Desuhiko's Bangs Desuhiko is particular about how his bangs look; it takes about an hour a day to style.

Fubuki's Accessories Fubuki's necklace has a clock motif. The choker is decorated with video playback control symbols.

Vivia's Garments There are just bandage-like wrappings beneath his coat, so it wouldn't be accurate to call it clothing.

Yakou's Lifestyle A complete night owl, he typically sleeps in until noon, even when there's work to be done. This nocturnal lifestyle was the norm until the Master Detectives arrived.

Sun & Moon Hotel Breakfast is served buffet-style in the adjoining restaurant.

Cafe A cafe with an open terrace located in Gina District. It is popular among office workers on break and female students on their way home from school.

Kanai Tower The tallest building in Kanai Ward. Especially high-ranking people within Amaterasu Corporation and their families live here.

Dohya District The so-called "slums" of Kanai Ward, where everything is stagnant and polluted. Most of the district is flooded because rainwater cannot be properly drained.

Dohya District Criminals and others on the run from Peacekeepers occupy the abandoned building here, making the area fairly dangerous.

Marunomon District The business area of Kanai Ward. Rows of office buildings line the street, and Kanai Ward's only bank is also located here.

Marunomon District Being a commercial area, it is relatively crime-free compared to other districts.

Marunomon Bank The only bank in Kanai Ward. All the money circulating through the city begins and ends their journey here. Due to the advanced security, no incidents have ever occured.

"Grade A" A meat bun shop in Marunomon District. Though luxuriously priced at 1000 shien apiece nearby office workers have remarked on the bland flavor.

Golden Path Cafe Uniforms Many customers flock here simply to ogle the uniformed waitresses.

Kanai Ward's Electrical Power Because of the perpetual rain, electrical power is derived predominantly from rainwater.

The Resistance A movement that has declared its opposition to Amaterasu Corporation. The name of the group is "Anti-Establishment Organization," but they're commonly called the Resistance.

Dronebrella Incidents Dronebrellas are handsfree umbrellas, and inter-device collisions as well as incidents involving loss of control due to electromagnetic interference has occurred.

Stay Safe at Marunomon Bank! Marunomon Bank uses state-of-the-art safes because the security of your money is our number one concern. Take advantage of our 1% interest rate now, only at Marunomon Bank.

Homunculus An immortal monster created through research conducted by Amaterasu Corporation.

Shachi's Coveralls Shachi's coveralls are made of a water-resistant material, ideal for working outdoors.

Iruka's Tattoo Iruka has a tattoo of dual pistons on the left side of her chest.

Icardi's Boots Made of waterproof material similar to that of wetsuits, the boots have a switch on the heel that turns them into flippers.

Margulaw's Photo Frame The old photo frame inside the shop is not for sale. It was a birthday present from departed family members.

Servan and Gambling A frequent patron of casinos, he prefers games based on probability and theory. His all-time win is currently less than 50%.

Makoto's Meals Almost always eaten at restaurants or the Amaterasu Corporation cafeteria. He's terrible at cooking, so he never makes his own food.

The Clockford Family The world-renowned family tasked with managing the world's standard of time. They are also responsible for deciding on standard operating procedures related to time and the calendar.

Fubuki's Sense of Monetary Value Given her affluent, princess-like upbringing, she rarely went shopping for herself and thusly has a unique sense of monetary value. She thinks an apple costs as much as a car.

Guillaume There's a hobby she hasn't told anyone about: recipe development. She's sweet on sweets and has strong opinions on proper jam making technique.

Rumor Surrounding Dominic Once a soldier, he suffered a serious injury in battle and became a cyborg after undergoing surgery at Amaterasu Corp. That's the rumor going around the company, anyway.

Swindle Detective A Master Detective who turned their advanced skills of deception and cajolery into a Forte. This detective was not summoned to Kanai Ward.

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Item of the Day! For all the Aries out there, big trouble if you don't carry around a used disposable camera exposed to light!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Spot of the Day! For all the Tauruses out there, if you don't repent on the roof of an abandoned building, you'll die!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Place of the Day! For all the Geminis out there, a trip into an alternate dimension will bring you that much closer to achieving your goals!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Life of the Day! For all the Cancers out there, just give up! Better luck next life!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Goods of the Day! For all the Leos out there, wearing some lion fur might be the key to avoiding a tragic fate!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Jewel of the Day! For all the Virgos out there, get your hands on a cursed diamond! Deal with the curse yourself!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Scale of the Day! For all the Libras out there, carry one hundred 100-gram weights around for potential bliss!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Hero of the Day! For all the Scorpios out there, watch your head! Get trampled and become a star!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Gourmet of the Day! For all the Sagittariuses out there, sea turtle soup is the chef's choice! Get to a restaurant and slurp some up later!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Weather of the Day! For all the Capricorns out there, you'll have better luck when the weather clears up! But Kanai Ward is rainy all the time!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Jar of the Day! For all the Aquariuses out there, buy this jar for good luck! It's a steal at five million shien, for a limited time only!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Lucky Fight of the Day! For all the Pisces out there, pick a fight with a shop owner, then jump into the sea! A lovely encounter awaits!

Guillaume's Lucky Fortune Telling! Guillaume's Unlucky Human of the Day! Are there still Ophiuchuses around? Shouldn't we go back to just 12 zodiacs?

[teecupangel]

It would be very funny if all the Assassin's just turned into FNAF Animatronics and just terrorizes all the Templars lol

I feel bad but when I read this ask, my immediate idea was:

Numbskull is the new security guard and has to go thru the horrors of the first FNAF game with Melanie taking the role of the phone guy who is either trying to downplay the horrors Numbskull is seeing for the sake of the company or is trying to keep Numbskull calm because there’s really no other option for the both of them.

Okay.

So before we give each Assassin an animatronic to haunt, our initial setup would be that Abstergo Entertainment has become haunted. No matter where they move, even if they leave behind lots of shit, the moment they are set up (maybe a month or so), people would encounter the creepy animatronics that they specifically left in the last location.

They can’t destroy them because they’re company property and, well, Abstergo wants to make money, not lose them.

If they hire unsuspecting cannon fodders, the Animatronics would just ignore them and start destroying other equipment.

But Templars?

Oh, they would focus on terrorizing the Templars, playing some sick game (like that game which I cannot find the name of where the other ‘players’ move if the ‘it’ is not looking at them but will freeze if the ‘it’ is looking at them) which… usually ends with the Templar being so scared that they would need therapy.

So yeah, Templars were being used to keep these animatronics from destroying expensive shit but… Melanie was freaking sure that they were getting more animatronics the more memories they look at!

The Animatronic-Assassins:

Altaïr: Chica (Chica’s a chicken which is a bird. Altaïr’s name means ‘flying/soaring eagle’ which is a bird. Altaïr gets the yellow animatronic chicken with the pink cupcake because I kept giving Altaïr the bird motif ones so yeah.)

Ezio: Bonnie (By the rule that the main four original haunted animatronics will be Desmond’s four ancestors (and technically the four main protagonists of the AC games), this means Ezio gets to be the blue animatronic rabbit)

Ratonhnhaké:ton: Freddy (Ratonhnhaké:ton can use ‘bear power’ in the DLC so he gets to be the animatronic bear. And I think it would be like a slap on the face if Ratonhnhaké:ton gets to be the main ‘mascot’ haunting Abstergo since Abstergo spent sooooo many years ignoring him.)

Edward: Foxy (Foxy’s the pirate, seems a done deal)

Desmond: Golden Freddy (only appears rarely and seems to be the most docile of the animatronics… although his appearance is said to be a message that this would be the Templar’s last night as all other animatronics becomes more vicious once he makes his appearance)

Arno: Either Circus Baby or Ballora, although I’m leaning more on Ballora mainly because of the blue color scheme. Also, the Minireenas can be considered as a reference to the coop mode avatars and Arno can use them to mess with the Templars.

Evie and Jacob: I feel like it would be fun if they were like the Sun (Jacob) and Moon (Evie) Daycare Attendant. They share one body but, instead of Jacob being a more or less harmless animatronic, Jacob is loud and focuses more on scaring Templars thru sounds and the impending doom because he can walk slowly even with lights on (very very slowly though) while Evie will be the silent and fast stay-in-the-shadows type. It’ll be easier to figure out where they are by keeping the lights on to keep Jacob as the main ‘personality’ but that means he’s pretty much the decoy that can easily empty batteries or short circuits the electricity if the Templars are not careful.

Alright, if you want Haytham or Shay in this AU, they’ll be the one trying to help the Templars survive… as Helpy and Wet Floor Bot.

[x-i-l-verify]

Okay, so while I may be shadowbanned on tumblr currently, I need to get this out there just for the record, because I have not seen a single other person in the Poppy Playtime community talking about this, and if it turns out any of my musings are right, I want to be able to point to this post and say I called it.

So. We know that the new character Dogday from the Smiling Critters line of toys will feature prominently in Chapter 3. In the accompanying cartoon show, he is described as the bright and energetic leader of the Critters, with a sun motif to contrast main antagonist Catnap’s moon motif.

However, the name "Dogday" is also a reference to “dog days,” which you might have heard in Florence + The Machine’s Dog Days Are Over. From this website right here:

“[The term “dog days” are a reference to] the Dog Star, Sirius. When it was closest to the Earth, all the animals would get languid and sleepy and when it moved away, they’d wake up. Sirius is the brightest star in Earth’s night sky. The term refers to the time when Sirius would appear in the sky just before the Sun which was believed to mark the beginning of the hottest days of the year somewhere in July. In other cases, this period was also associated with bad luck since the heat brought about thunderstorms and droughts.”

This potentially gives a ton of insight into where the devs might be taking Dogday’s character in chapter 3, and there are basically two different outcomes I can come up with right off the top of my head.

1) Dogday’s name is a clue as to his real nature. He is not an ally to the player, and even if he might not be working directly with Catnap, he will be hostile to the player. Catnap could have also possibly broken him due to the imprisonment and torture, and he might be doing Catnap’s bidding through direct or indirect control. Either way, he lives up to the original meaning of his name.

2) Dogday is a staunch ally to the player throughout the whole game, because his name is meant to be deeply ironic while also being a pun of a dog character being associated with the sun and daytime. It’s a similar way to how the name “Catnap” is both a pun and deeply ironic. A “catnap” is a brief, light sleep, like a power-nap. Catnap the character, however, puts people into long, deep sleeps. The character is also a cat associated with the moon and nighttime. So, with this logic, the meanings of their names fit the characters on the surface, but the deeper meanings are subverted.

Of the two theories, personally, I believe 2 is much more likely. Dogday has already been set up through context clues to be a foil for Catnap both thematically and narratively, and while yes, Mob Games could subvert that for shock value or because they have a different direction for the story to take in mind, I personally think it would be much more interesting if we had Dogday on our side during the entire chapter. For example, him “chasing” us through the Playcare in that brief clip in the trailer could easily be explained away by him simply following us around, like we’re escorting him somewhere. He doesn’t have to necessarily be chasing us down to murder us.

So yeah, them’s be my thoughts. Only time will tell if I’m right or not.

[caltropspress]

DISPATCHES FROM 2ND ST. STUDIOS: Fatboi Sharif & DRIVEBY in session

I went to DRIVEBY’s apartment in Jersey City because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of documenting musical exxxprrrimentation, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I knew witnessing Fatboi Sharif in the studio would be morbidly rewarding—I felt it in my critik’s skull-and-crossbones (memento mori, pirate flag, poison pictogram). It was New Year’s Day in the year of our Lord Have Mercy 2024, and I had to pull myself away from a tree documentary that had, sadly, begun to disappoint. I had opened a stocking-stuffed box of Goobers and was reluctant when Sharif sent the invitational text. I had settled in for the night. But it was my idea to watch the man work his black magikal esoterika hammer-don’t-hurt-them-witches recording session, so I’d be a real punk to rebuff the offer. I got into the Toyota and headed down Route 3 toward Jersey City. I was on the 1&9 in no time—the truest highway to hell, if one ever existed. Ate de Jong could never scout such a location. AC/DC roadside appliance wasteland. Potholes pave the way, but in a De Nah Soul manner. I finished eating the Goobers in the car, by the palmful, and lost one to an erratic lane merge. I motherfucked and shitted at the thought of a chocolate stain on my upholstered driver’s seat, or worse, the seat of my pants. My dad delivered Blimpie’s for thirty-plus years in Jersey City, long before it became Brooklyn-of-the-West, so I know parking spots there are at a never-dream-of-’em premium. I parked several blocks away from DRIVEBY’s studio and cloven-hoofed it while huffing brick air. Texted from outside, but Sharif was already ushering me through a wrought-iron gate (suitable for guttings and impalements) and into the basement apartment: DRIVEBY’s 2nd St. Studios. That gate was like an entrance into a secret garden—overblown and overflowin’ with a riot of root rot, weeds, and (of course) crumbling-but-still-grumbling gargoyles, most with the medieval motif of mooning jutting out from the church buttresses. DRIVEBY’s had a William Shatner’s TekWorld comic next to his speaker. Dusty keyboards lined the floor. Sega Genesis cartridges, a Sharp boombox, and the requisite vinyl collection on bowing crates completed the scene. The space stored antiquated and dead media—ghost machines humming and haunting.

⤧

Sharif told me he’d be recording some tracks for his upcoming album with Blockhead, something for Bigg Jus, and several features. When I arrived, he was in the middle of recording one of the Blockhead tracks. The mic and the iso shield were directly inside the door of the apartment, and I sat on the couch to the left of that. Sharif would be spitting at me, beyond me, as he did his thing—an intimate setting, to say the very least. Beans of Antipop Consortium sat on this same cushion months earlier, I thought. They recorded “Sex With the Leopard Print Lady” here. While I pondered the legacy of stylist berzerkers of past and present, Key & Peele played on the television in front of me. I wanted to make myself scarce, invisible as possible, Brundlefly-on-the-wall, non-participatory, so I watched the “Laron Can’t Laugh” sketch on mute and registered how Laron’s noiseless convulsions and eventual shriek expertly pantomimed Sharif’s vocals. These layers of silence allowed me to hear some of what Sharif was spewing forth and commit it to memory. He spoke of avenging the death of Candyman. The words loom like Tony Todd—tall as a ponderosa pine in a Cabrini-Green courtyard. Caroline crossed eyelids…90 degree pressure… Closing in on 400 degreez, but we’re talking below zero. The winter of our disconnected selves. Sharif tells DRIVEBY he wants his voice to sound “fucked up.” He’s snorting, super sinusy. He wants to cultivate a specific sound—it coats the inner concavities of his skull. He just needs to externalize it into a self-portrait in a convex DAW interface. “The soul establishes itself,” John Ashbery writes. Sharif is shoeless, I should add. He’s black socked as he cuts the song’s first of three adlib tracks. The first is completely muddled, barely audible—a grumbly grumble grumb. The second is a helium-huffed high pitch mania. The third, a yell—“the banshee,” as DRIVEBY calls it. Sharif slackens the headphone wires and walks across the room. He does “the banshee” from as great a distance as possible. You’ve no doubt heard the banshee adlib track before (B.A.T. for short, as in, the hematophagic vampire bat). If you’ve heard a Fatboi Sharif recording, you’ve likely heard a hotly desperate and deranged voice coming from the depths of a hellmouth—sinners swallowed and still writhing, quasi-alive, anticipating rigor mortis. DRIVEBY captures the natural reverb. Sharif asks him to put distortion and echo on the last word of the verse. 

⤧

Fatboi Sharif was reading lyrics off his phone, but by then he was Loosifa loose—engaging me, inviting me to dialogue, reveling in the job.  His feet are light and nimble, like McCarthy’s Judge. He says that he will never die. And, you bet, he dances in light and in shadow. He’s a craftsman and possesses an engineer’s ear, an ant-infested and severed one he probably plucked from a manicured lawn in Scotch Plains, NJ, Jeffrey Beaumont style. For the second verse of the song, he makes an alteration and decides to end the verse earlier than he had written it, stopping at the phrase “role model” because he likes the “swing of it.” Okay, Nuke Hellington. I see you, Benny Badman. A natural performer, the recording session reflects both technical know-how and impassioned delivery. He doesn’t quite lose himself as he does on the stage (or the audience floor where he so often ends up), but he’s unequivocally locked in, as he kids say. Locked in a room with padded walls, more apropos. On the next, he requires a seemingly endless run of retakes. I begin to wonder if my presence is a burden, a distraction. But the session keeps its devil-may-care air intact. Still, Sharif has a sonic vision he yearns to achieve. He won’t settle for less. He eventually gets the take he desires and tells DRIVEBY he’s gonna do three adlibs. These two men work in harmony to develop their songs of disharmony. They’ve been boys, and so that keeps the chemistry alchemical for the duration. Open and honest, DRIVEBY tells Sharif that three tracks of adlibs is “too many.” FUCK THAT! Sharif shouts at him. Sharif wants the adlibs to sound beneath everything—six-feet deep, or “buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways” (unexpressed emotions, that is), as Freud or a Freud-fraud once wrote. Sharif wants echoes. He wants to sound like he’s a signal coming in and out of the radio as you drive through the night. These are the requests he makes, delicately selected from his mental doom board as DRIVEBY adjusts the mix, adds effects. “Do you do a lot of vocal mixing on the spot?” I ask. Sharif shakes his head, points to DRIVEBY slumped over his computer monitor, clicking and dragging, random access memory maybe lagging: “He’s on his Bob Power shit.” Listening to the playback, Sharif tells me he wants to be like Joker in the children’s hospital scene. What kinda clown carries a fuckin’ gun?! I’m waiting for the next Sharif release, crossing my fingers into an arthritic mass of flesh and bone in hopes of his cover of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” appearing on the tracklist. 

⤧

DRIVEBY puts Joker on the TV. It’s the bus scene; he can’t stop laughing. He hands a fellow passenger his card: Forgive my Laughter: I have a Condition. Sharif still sleeps to beats. He’s told this story numerous times to various media outlets, and so it’s beginning to take on the tone of lore. But it’s not. Even wilder, he’s not listening on headphones as he sleeps; he blasts the beats on speakers. Sharif prefers to record late, well into the wee hours of morning. DRIVEBY’s couch often becomes Sharif’s bed. “He’ll have the same beat on for five hours,” DRIVEBY explains. He’ll be in his bedroom, unable to sleep. Sharif grins and tells me, “That’s when I’m in the mindfuck.” Sharif reapproaches the mic. Another Blockhead track. “He told me he made this one especially for me,” Sharif says. The beat sounds like a Gregorian chant in a cavern. Beware of the Shroom Monster. Sharif has managed to amass an intimidating number of releases over the past several years while not indulging us to excess. He’s conservative with his run-times. Clocks ain’t shit to him. Many of his projects are EP-length, but categorizing them in any terms would seem to discredit his ingenuity. As the session unofficially ends and we settle into more casual conversation, Sharif implores DRIVEBY to play selections from their unreleased album, currently on ice like a corpse. I listen and hear of an exorcism of Antoinette, of Elvira and death resurrections, of Basquiat painting in Transylvania, crossroads, and plosive sonic samples from The Pagemaster—a film I have absolutely no recollection of but DRIVEBY speaks almost as highly of as his Fantastic Damage instrumental CD-R. OneShotOnce shows up, presumably for a session, but not before he and Sharif pillage DRIVEBY’s fridge. They feast on cold chicken while I gather myself to leave. 

Images: Astronomical table detail from the Almanach Purpetuum of Abraham Zacuto (c. 1500)

[cherrylng]

MUSE X MOVIE [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

A love story between a vampire and a human, the Twilight series is having a huge ripple effect! The key to this film, which triggered the explosion of Muse's popularity in the US, is the author's ‘love for Muse’. Text by Naoto Mori

"I'd like to thank the talented musicians who inspired me, especially Muse, from whose songs the sentiments, scenes, and synopsis of this novel were born. Without their extraordinary talent, this novel would not exist."

These are the words of Stephenie Meyer, the American author of the Twilight series, the international bestselling teen romance novels about vampire boys and human girls (from the acknowledgements to the second novel in the series, New Moon). She is an avowed fanatic of Muse and is now a cheerleader for the cultural quota. Originally a housewife in Arizona, when she suddenly wrote her debut novel at the age of 30, she was inspired by the dreams she had and the songs of Muse and other popular rock bands. Their music functioned as a literal ‘muse’ (Greek goddess of the arts). Meyer herself wrote in her acknowledgements for the final film in the series, Breaking Dawn:

"Thank you, my beloved band. Muse is really an appropriate name, as you have been an important inspiration for this saga!"

For example, in Japan, Chika Umino's manga Hachimitsu to Clover was based on two albums, Hachimitsu by Spitz and Clover by Suga Shikao, and Meyer seems to have drawn inspiration for the colour and atmosphere of her world from the songs of Muse. On her official website, she presents a ‘playlist’ of songs that have specifically inspired her. You have to go directly to the site for more details, but some excerpts include ‘Time is Running Out’ from the first film in the series. In the second film, there's ‘Hyper Music’ and ‘Apocalypse Please’. The third album, Eclipse, has six songs, including ‘The Small Print’, ‘New Born’ and ‘Hysteria’, and is particularly Muse-intensive! The final album includes a cover of ‘Can't Take My Eyes Off You’ (Frankie Valli's 1967 hit), which is not included on the album. Incidentally, other bands that stand out are Coldplay, Travis, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance…… and so on.

This playlist could be called an album of images of Twilight by the author Meyer, but Muse also participated in the soundtrack of the film adaptation series that started in 2008. The first film, Twilight, featured the song ‘Supermassive Black Hole’. At this point, Muse was still using pre-existing songs, but for the second film, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Muse provided a ‘New Moon Remix’ of ‘I Belong to You’. For the third film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, they wrote a new song, ‘Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)’, which became the first single from the soundtrack. Finally, Meyer and Muse had an official collaboration through the film!

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is directed by David Slade (a Brit, of course), who has been working on music clips for Muse for some time. He was chosen to direct the Twilight series, which shares a common motif with the Sam Raimi-produced vampire horror film 30 Days of Night, which was a No.1 hit in the US. The Muse-Meyer-Slade connection, then, is completely predestined. In this sense, the film version of Eclipse, which brought their creative meeting to fruition, may be called a monumental film.

Slade's clip for Bliss, shot long before his directorial debut, had the feel of a sci-fi short film starring Matthew Bellamy, but the Muse clips shot by other directors are also filled with a magnificent and fantastical sense of beauty. Muse's sound world must have a tremendous power to evoke images for creators of film and literature. For example, the clip for ‘New Born’ was also directed by Slade, and the song was used so memorably in the ending of the 2003 French splatter horror film ‘Haute Tension/High Tension’ that it was the talk of the town among film buffs at the time.

Now, it's time for a delusional analysis. Why is Meyer so firmly attracted to Muse? What is the connection between Twilight, their music, and their creations?

The following quote from Meyer may help to decipher this. In an interview published on the official website of the Japanese edition of Twilight by Village Books, she was asked, "Do you read other vampire novels?" She replied: "No, I've actually never read any vampire novels. (It's the same) with films."

Yes, Twilight can be categorised as a gothic horror genre, but it is not a heavyweight, authentic one. It is based on a Romeo and Juliet-type boy-meets-girl story, to which the vampire legend has been introduced as a sweet European taste. The ideal balance of romantic and gothic flavours is the sound world created by Muse in Meyer's mind.

In line with the Twilight story, Meyer is the American ‘normal girl’ heroine Bella and Muse is the ‘ideal prince’ Edward from a foreign country (England). Their music and characters (mainly Matthew) provide the ‘eternal maidens’, symbolised by Meyer, with a kind of royal shoujo manga fantasy, just as Queen did in the 1970s.

One last little tidbit, by the way. Here's an interesting remark from Robert Pattinson, the pretty boy actor who plays Edward in the film. He wants Gus Van Sant, the director behind ‘My Own Private Idaho’ and ‘Elephant’, to direct the final film, ‘Breaking Dawn’. Sullen!!! Well, the style of the series so far will be too artistic to stand out, but it's likely to produce a standout masterpiece. I'd love to see it!

In the first film, ‘Twilight’, ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ is played during a baseball game between vampire Edward, played by Robert Pattinson, and his family. Vampires, who never age, fly up and down the mountain.

For the second film, ‘New Moon/Twilight Saga’, Muse provided the ‘New Moon Mix’ of ‘I Belong to You’. Unfortunately, it is only used in the film for a short time, when Bella is seen off by her father and gets into the car, so check it out carefully!

At the suggestion of director Catherine Hardwicke, Ms Stephenie Meyer, the author of the original novel, also makes a cameo appearance in Twilight! She plays a customer at the diner where Bella goes with her father and orders a vegetarian sandwich. She is only in the film for a brief moment, so check it out!

The original series of four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, which sold explosively. Acknowledgements by Stephenie Meyer can be found here. The original Japanese translation is available from Village Books, translated by Ami Obara.

‘Lords of Dogtown’ Sony Pictures Entertainment

Directed and executive produced by Catherine Hardwicke, director of Twilight: First Love, this is the true story of the ‘Z-Boys’ who revolutionised skateboarding in the 1970s in Venice Beach, aka Dogtown, on the west coast of the USA. The film stars Emile Hirsch and also features the late Heath Ledger.

‘The Golden Compass’ Happinet

The first solo fantasy film from Chris Weitz, director of New Moon, tells the story of Lyra, a 12-year-old girl who, after the disappearance of her best friend and uncle, sets off on a journey with a compass that shows her the truth and her alter ego dæmon. Based on a fantasy novel by British children's author Philip Pullman.

‘Hard Candy’ Geneon Entertainment

In this first feature from David Slade (Eclipse), 32-year-old photographer Jeff brings home Haley, a 14-year-old girl he met on a dating website, only to have her punish him for it. This thriller was inspired by the Japanese ‘oyaji-hunting’. Slade's fresh sense of imagery is on full display.

‘30 Days Of Night’ Pony Canyon

Vampire action film directed by David Slade, which debuted at No. 1 in the US. The film depicts an epic battle between a group of vampires who attack a town where the sun doesn't rise for 30 days, and a young sheriff played by Josh Hartnett. Based on a comic book by Steve Niles (written) & John Templesmith (illustrated).

‘High Tension’ Asmik

An extremely brutal, bloody splatter movie from the director of French horror hopeful Alexandre Azizi comes HIGH TENSION. When a schoolgirl leaves the city to visit her best friend's family home, she sees a chainsaw-wielding killer slaughtering the family and stands up to save her best friend, but what follows has surprising consequences……

‘My Own Private Idaho’ Kadokawa Pictures

One of Gus Van Sant's best-known films, in which Mike, a narcoleptic played by the late River Phoenix, and Scott, a man of wealth played by Keanu Reeves, who both make a living as male prostitutes, embark on a journey in search of their identities. His latest film, Restless (2011), also stars Japan's Ryo Kase.

‘Hyper Music’ A simple piece of work, with dynamic camerawork capturing the aggressive performance scenes of the three musicians. I sigh at the power of how they disappear at full speed towards the end.

‘Feeling Good’ Taken on set at the same time as ‘Hyper Music’, which became both A-sides.The contrast between the monstrously distorted faces of the people and the performance amidst the dancing flower petals is typical of Slade.

‘Bliss’ A spectacular piece in which Chris and Dom watch Matthew fall through a hole in a huge structure, like a future space station, to nowhere. Truly a Muse!

‘New Born’ This is one of Slade's best efforts, made on a tight budget and in a tight time frame. Filmed in Prague, the scenes of the three performing under the control of the girl's psychic powers are powerful.

Translator's Notes: I never watched the movies but I have read all of the Twilight books. I was a teenager back then who voraciously read through any books just out of that need to get through the boring tedium of school. It was an okay-ish read for the first 3 books, up until I finally reached Breaking Dawn. And honestly? The last book would've been better off never having that subplot about Jacob and Esme. Even teenage Cherry read that whole subplot and went "WTF????" It was just that memorably messed up and I don't even know how the film cast even powered through that part of the story.

Also, I wasn't surprised by My Chemical Romance being part of Meyer's playlist. What I didn't expect was that Coldplay was included as well. So... I guess if Meyer had liked Coldplay far more, who she dedicated the books to and the story itself would've carried very, very different contexts and plots????