#the rich girl vibes the fire powers THE FIRE POWERS?

[sso-montana]

Cornelia Saint-Claire

I bet she's a bitch; her ego must be so demanding But coincidence takes a whole lot of planning watch and learn (Ah) emulate me (Ah) watch and learn

Rosse: Coincidence

Cornelia belongs to @salty-medley

[faelapis]

hotd: team green or black? (or?)

rhaenys thoughts?

rhaenyra x mysaria…???

house of the dragon asks! VERY LONG ANSWERS AHEAD:

1: team green or black?

there's two answers to this - the intellectual answer, and the team sports answer.

the intellectual answer is that this isn't really "the point." both sides have (and will) lose a great deal. there are no winners in war, only survivors. a petty conflict between the rich will result in the death of many.

on a broader, thematic note, my impression is that a big point of the entire "song of ice and fire" is that the unjust hierarchy of monarchy and feudalism hurts people. especially the lower classes. they are affected when lords flex military might, when they put their own survival above the realm, when they act petty, selfish or cowardly, which they frequently do. the rare "peaceful" ruler does not justify the system. the lower classes also suffer the most in war. but the system hurts everyone - even the royals themselves. they are literally killing each other for power.

THAT. BEING. SAID.

i actually disagree with the take that you can't have some fun with the team sports aspect. this is a fictional television show. Fun is allowed. it's drama! murder! crying and screaming!!!

so while HotD has overall thematic messages, the show encourages you to enjoy the back-and-forth between the characters. i don't begrudge people for their stan wars on twitter. we all know this is a fictional show - and its okay to be ruled by your emotions when watching fiction.

so. with that said? team black, 100%. i think they have more compelling characters and reasoning for their cause. fundamentally, their cause is to put a woman on the throne in a society ruled by traditional patriarchy.

look, i love alicent for her complexity. she is a well-written character who makes sense with her society... but she is not a girl's girl. she is trapped both by external forces of patriarchy and its effect on her own mind. she is stuck fighting for men and fulfilling wifely duties - never fighting for herself.

she seems pretty miserable, at the end of the day.

yes, rhaenyra is also complex. she's often a bad person - but sometimes, i like seeing a strong woman on a dragon do some crimes :) especially one who has had to fight for respect as often as rhaenyra. that's compelling tv, even if Monarchy Bad.

the greens have A Point somewhere, about stability > rhaenyra, but they are also clouded by self-interest. they didn't even TRY supporting a woman. (also, remember, this is emotion/vibes-based.)

the "aagon's dream" misunderstand was initially frustrating, which also makes me side against the greens a bit more. i like when characters are compelled by real, sincere differences in opinion. i dislike when it's just a misunderstanding that can be easily quelled.

and alicent DID have real motivations, previously! she was right that rhaenyra would have reason to kill her children to claim legitimacy - even if that's more of a Matter of War now than a real intention of hers early on.

oh well. one good thing about the misunderstanding is that it didn't actually convince anyone other than alicent. otto hightower and the council were already planning a coup. it seems mostly that it was a good tool to further their cause, not something that actually convinced the masses on a deep, personal level. you can also make the case that alicent "heard what she wanted to hear".

but it doesn't really matter because nobody was going to suddenly switch sides. the material reality is more important: the council wanted aagon. otto wanted to secure his interests. alicent wanted to secure her children's safety. the war is already happening, so alicent's misunderstanding being cleared up doesn't change anything.

and it causes alicent to realize she doesn't really have much power. society around her will keep turning, and her influence is very limited. the rabble may hate or worship her, and she has little control over it. she may be important in the council, or dismissed from it. which is leading her on a compelling arc that i'm interested to see where goes!

2: rhaenys thoughts?

very few! uhh... she seemed nice? i like her death scene?

the show seems to use her symbolically as a shorthand for "what a good woman ruler could be like" for the kingdom. but i don't know if it would've played out that way. it is hard to tell, because if she WAS queen, the society she lives in could have turned against her. or maybe she could have found a way to earn their trust. maybe viserys would've been chill enough to support her claim (probably?). but we don't know. she's The Queen Who Never Was (tm).

3: rhaenyra x mysaria?

ok so, i do actually have a hot take on this, cuz i've seen some call it "rushed." it may ruffle some feathers. here we go:

i dont think every gay kiss has to feel like an "earned" 50k slowburn fic. it's well-established that instant or near-instant attraction is a thing. i dont think it will be "endgame," but i dont think it needs to be.

i think sometimes - often in this show - you see a man and a woman meet and fuck the same night. people tend to just accept that. not every case of attraction has to be based on a Deep Bond of Many Years. sometimes, a man and woman on this show have no real bond, yet as soon as they Walk Close to Each Other, it's accepted "they will fuck that night."

i would also suggest that not everything is literal. it's addressed in canon that rhaenyras' attraction to daemon came hand-in-hand with what he represented to her. which was, in a word, freedom. she wanted to BE him more than anything.

if we take a non-literal approach, what might mysaria represent?

right now, i think its rhaenyras desperation for someone to listen to her. her council belittles her for being a woman. it protects her like a "daughter" rather than a ruler. mysaria both listens to her, and plots with her on equal level. in a way, she represents (and yes this is a somewhat cliche thing in gay pairings, but not for no reason!) a sense of equality and mutual understanding in a patriarchal world.

they are not "literally" equal in terms of rank - but again, it does not have to be completely literal. mysaria feels Treated like an equal by rhaenyra. she's trusted (and given agency), and earns rhaenyras trust (+expands her own agency) in turn.

mysaria additionally seems to represent a different idea of rebellion against patriarchy - an involuntary one. because she cannot perform its most core obligation of (presumed cisgender) womanhood: she cannot bear children. she must find other forms of "worth" in the world. she has no choice.

rhaenyra herself desires to take up sword, rule in a "masculine" way. so being the only other woman there + both of them standing outside patriarchys desired paths for them + being able to help/depend on each other... seems, to me, to serve the Themes of rhaenyras repression vs liberation well.

not to mention, it's interesting in light of rhaenyra being kinda gnc-coded in... other ways!

anyway. like i said, i Highly Doubt these two will be any kind of "endgame." but that's okay. sometimes, you dont need an eternity together - you just need a moment.

i think there's a certain breed of fan who sees many things only through shipping. so if there's not a long, "satisfying" arc of these two developing feelings for each other, it's a "badly written ship." especially for gay couples. and i don't think this is even conscious homophobia, i think its (partially from queer viewers!!) because they WANT to root for those ships. they WANT a gay ship to feel perfectly "right" in a heteronormative world.

well i'm sorry to say, this show is not a romance. it is not about ships or the idealized, perfectly developed couple. sometimes, people find an attraction to one another in ways that are not ideal. shit happens. people get lonely. people find relief in the only other person there who seems to understand them. sometimes it's quick. sometimes it's the opposite of a 50k coffeeshop slowburn AU.

but that does not mean it's bad. it's just reality.

[azsazz]

Hiii 👋 just wanted to say I adore your writing ☺️ I always get so happy when I see you’ve written something new 😁

I was curious to ask, what are some of your favourite modern AU jobs/roles for the bat boys (whether you’ve written about them or not)? Or just any ACOTAR characters?

CEO Rhys has been done a lot, but for good reason, it’s so perfect. He almost has to be effortlessly rich and/or in some position of power, like a prince, or a mafia boss.💰 I also kinda like to imagine him as a nepo baby set to take over his father’s company, but he breaks away or gets cut off, so with his very little actual job experience (as he was all set to inherit), he gets a barista job at a lil coffee shop. ☕️

Cass would definitely suit something physical, like an ice hockey player, or a firefighter, or a personal trainer. I could so see him being a gym teacher as well, imagine him coaching a kids ice hockey team. 💪🏽 He would SO volunteer to be a nude model in life drawing classes in his free time 😆 Though I hadn’t considered it before I read your stuff, I think he really fits a small town rancher too. I can so picture him in jeans, boots, and a flannel shirt, driving around in an old rusty faded red truck 👨‍🌾

Az could easily be in the FBI or something, but choosing something further away from his canon role, I seriously think he’d be an awkward computer programmer / software engineer nerd, or a twitch gamer, 👨🏻‍💻 with a secret anonymous OnlyFans or erotic audio patreon on the side. 😏 And I reckon he’d ride a motorcycle and tinker with it in his spare time, so might also enjoy working at a garage. 🏍️ I really love him in Midnight Muse, and think he suits a shy amateur artist / tattoo artist as well.

I also love the bat boy band idea I’ve seen a lot recently, where Rhys is the charismatic lead singer and guitarist, Az is the quiet songwriting bassist, and Cass is the energetic drummer. 🎶

Sorry it’s so long, I just love thinking about this stuff 😄

Hiiii!! Thank you so so much! I saw this message this morning but wanted to wait until I could give it my full attention and have my computer around, so thank you for your patience! 💙

Okay, some of my favorite AUs for the batboys? This is a wonderful question!

Rhys: Normally, I just think of Rhys as always having some sort of money/job inherited. So CEO, mafia, anything that puts him in a position of power, really, but i think it's mostly because those just reflect the books.

I do, however, love love love art school rhys. painter rhys. working at the local art supply degenerate rhys who still has wealthy parents but is trying to stick it to the man rhys. steals erasers and petty things from the art supply rhys. love him so much.

There's also something to be said about young adult rhys who's messing around with his little sister's best friend rhys. he gets me going too.

also captain of the hockey team rhys is a solid choice for him as well.

Cass: LOVE ME SOME RANCHER/COWBOY/SMALL TOWN CASSIAN. but, these are all very different. small town cass doesn't trust women, heart broken at a young age with the girl he thought was his forever. doesn't want to leave town, likes the ranch because its safe and its what he knows. cowboy cass or bull rider cassian, famous for breaking horses and backs. grumpy, gruff rancher cassian always gets me going tbh he's fucking hot as shit

i also always see him in a blue collar role like a mechanic or welder are the two i mostly attribute to him.

def something physical as well, we love hockey cass, rugby cass, wrestler (wwe lol) cass, dang i had another on my mind for sports cass but i forgot. sad. OH surfer cassian. jock type tho i can see him as. love the firefighter vibe for him too, he'd fill out the tight fire department t-shirt WELL LADIES and also volunteers for wet t-shirt contests. omg gym teach cass would be adorable as hell! oof another thought, contractor cassian ffs that would be so yummy

Az: Az i agree fits the FBI (stalker) vibes. i also like to think of him in finance or computer science too. omfg the erotic audio that's iconic and i'd def subscribe to that. hmmm what else could i see azzy doing...maybe something with music or writing...i could see him being a ghost writer of some sort and then one day his song plays on the radio and he's like hey i wrote that and literally no one believes him. something behind the scenes or where he can go unnoticed is mostly where i place him, tbh. honestly maybe even something military because he takes comfort in having a set schedule and people telling him what to do at every minute of the day. he'd fare well i think. perfect. operative because if the mission goes south and he gets captured he's not telling a soul anything.

Eris: idk why this thought came to my head but i was thinking about architecture but i think eris would be a fantastic interior designer lol. like i could see it. maybe i was just thinking about him furnishing az's new place and having a lil sparky. i could also see him as a lawyer too or something like that, something where he can be the know-it-all, smirking at them and looking down his nose at them...

Lucien: Architecture for sure. or professor. I could see him doing either of these. maybe even lawyer tbh, he would be good at that too, though i know he's immaculate at twisting stories and words so you gotta be careful of that.

Tamlin: poet? lol. professional gaslighter? jk i love tammy. maybe he installs security systems? haha just kidding just kidding. he's a tough one tho. idk why i added him but i guess also a musician but low-key soothing music, instrumental for sure...prob has a podcast where he just bullshits all day

hopefully i didn't rant for too long about this 🤭💙 this was so much fun though thank you for asking!

[janus-cadet]

Tarot Project - N°37

Time for the first drawing of the year. Last of 2023was the 12th Doctor; now, it's time for the 15th!

Here is he, as the Ace of Cups!

(I already love him, so much. That man slays and has such a delightful energy.)

Some mandatory explanations under the cut, for the Brave One. And all the other Doctor Who cards!

Difficult to find a card for a Doctor we only saw in two episodes. I went with the vibes he was giving, and the promise that seems to be made through him.

The Ace of cups, upright, is THE card for Divine love and compassion. You are a vessel for it. You receive love, you give love, you ARE love. Your heart(s) overflows. It's time for you to open your heart and experience the rich flow of emotion available to you right now, yes, you, fresh out of therapy. You are more receptive to loving connections, and hold a deep compassion for other living beings (that are not a King Goblin ; this one can get Hot Fuzzed.) The card is an invitation, perhaps even to travel the stars with a certain someone. Will you take it? Will you run with it? The Ace of cups carries the potential for spiritual and emotional fulfilment- but only if you embrace it with an open heart. Let's just hope The Tooth is not going to come and screw it for you, again. The card shows that at this point in your life, you are happy with who you are, and happily express this part of yourself to others.

It's also the card for a new relationship, like a friendship with that lovely unlucky girl who seemed to think it would be a great idea to grabe a ladder in the sky. It is exciting, and you are glad to meet someone who seem to have so much in common with you. Give yourself permission to open up, and the enthusiasm you two generate will get you fired up about yourself and life. Finally, the upright Ace of Cups has a generous, compassionate side. See this as a time of giving, and make the most of any oppotunities to help others. You are the Doctor, after all. You have the power to share your inner radiance and positive energy, bringing great happiness to those around you.

Reversed, the Ace of Cups is THE self-love card! Because before you can send your love to the world, send love to yourself (to that very sad sad sock-less yourself who's refusing to take a time to heal), and concentrate to find happiness and balance within yourself. You might be repressing emotions (maybe just, perhaps, who knows, a tad), and feel that you have your reasons for keeping your feeling so close to yourself. You've been through a lot. Learn to forgive yourself, to accept yourself, and give that younger you a hug and a kiss on the forehead. You're going to be okay, and you're going to be magnificent.

And that's all for that card! Have, as a bonus, the rest of the Doctor Who cards. Three Teeth, three Doctors, and one Toymaker. Next card for the fandom would be... well. I planned for 11th, Delgado!Master, and Bill Potts. Who would you guys like to see first?

[ladysophiebeckett]

Some of you are being really weird about Aura Maria in regards to her treatment of Freddy and her overall character\personality traits. Overall, if you dislike a character its fine. It means nothing to me. But these posts about Aura Maria are getting a little misogynistic.

The facts are, that yes--she is immature, she does string Freddy along, she is very extroverted and charismatic and a lot of men like her.

You know who else is immature, strings someone around, is very extroverted and charismatic and a lot of women like them?

This guy right here.He's gonna string around his assistant for at least half a novela.

But there's already some excellent meta on Aura Maria and Freddy vs Betty and Armando and u can read them here and here. so I'm not gonna get into that.

Again, if you don't like Aura Maria thats fine. She's a flawed character in a show with other flawed characters. I don't like Patricia, for example. I think she's annoying, she's mean, her goal is to find a man to fix all her problems and she fails at it. She's immature. She's classist. She gets paid 3x more than the other secretaries bc she's a nepo hire and yet still can't make any payments bc she's terrible with money. I could go and on.

But a lot of you like her and sympathize with her and her problems and how nobody wants to help her.

Aura Maria is also sympathetic character. She became a teen mom. The guy that got her pregnant is not in the kid's life nor in hers. She's a receptionist at a company who's alternate slogan is 'women don't advance here'. Her parents kick her and her son out, yes it was a consequence of Aura Maria's party girl antics. But that's not a good enough reason to kick out your daughter and grandson. Knowing that she's a receptionist and doesn't make much money to begin with.

And then the Mario of it all. No, she shouldn't have gotten involved with him but he's the one in the position of power. He shouldn't have gotten involved with her, he shouldn't have encouraged it, nor should he have been seeing her and Patricia at the same time. Both women who work where HE works. And who does he want to fire when he gets caught? Aura Maria. She's the one who gets the low end of the stick.

Aura Maria and Patricia are looking for men with money to support them and don't do well in this endeavor bc the only man that looks like a prospect is using them in some way. That or the men they encounter don't take them seriously.

Freddy likes Aura Maria and yeah she does like him but she doesn't take him seriously as a prospect bc he's not rich and when you're a poor young single mom--bc REMINDER Aura Maria is in her early 20s forced to grow up quickly (she was a child having a child)--living in your friend's\co workers house--he doesn't completely fulfill her list of requirements of what she needs financially. She's not looking at the full picture. Much like Patricia, who doesn't look at the full picture when it comes to her transactional relationship with Nicolas.

So because Aura Maria mismanges her relationship with Freddy, I'm supposed to what? Have her burned at the stake? That because Freddy is kind to her, and does things out of his own free will over and over again, that Aura Maria needs to be devoted to him? Automatically? Because people think she owes him?

If you don't like Aura Maria, that's fine. But a lot of the posts I've seen in the general tag are past not liking a character bc the vibes are off--it's becoming about hating her bc she's not reciprocating to one guy bc you think he's earned it. Or it's about her not being a good mother bc she's not acting 'like a mother'. And want to see her punished for it as a result, as if getting sexually harassed by Gutierrez (ON TWO OCCASIONS) isn't punishment on it's own.

Because reminder (again)---that Mario AND Gutierrez have taken advantage of Aura Maria in some way bc of their position of power. Bc Aura Maria is young, beautiful, and poor. She can be easily be taken advantage of and tossed away. (Much like another character who gets utilized as a consequence of financial fraud)

But Freddy is the true victim in all of this bc Aura Maria sometimes take advantage of his kindness. Do you realize how dumb that sounds?

There is a double standard in how Aura Maria is being viewed bc she's not acting grateful or humble or self sacrificing enough to gain sympathy. She's being judged solely on how she's treating (1) man and not about all the other factors she's living in--some of them out of her control.

If one can feel bad for Patricia even tho it's primarily her fault that she's in the predicaments she's in, then I don't see why one can't extend that same grace to Aura Maria.

[javaelemental]

Re: Batman: Caped Crusader

I just finished Amazon Prime's ten-episode run of the new Batman cartoon, Batman: Caped Crusader, and I have thoughts.

They did some super cool stuff with the villains they used this season. (It was good. I'm assuming there'll be more seasons.)

The show offers some commentary on class warfare, police and government corruption, the nature of crime and criminals, and the nature of Batman.

So let's talk about the villains, and let's start with Firebug because holy shit, he had one of the most horrifying scenes I've seen in a cartoon in recent memory. Firebug's an arsonist, and there's this amazing and absolutely bone chilling scene that shows how he sees the world: Everything is aflame and everyone is on fire and he's happy, and it's happy, and it's appalling. I loved it. More plz.

Harvey Dent - God, I loved how they handled him. So, he's generally presented as a multiple personality to some degree or another, and they did that here, too. But usually Harvey's evil side is his ugly side, and his good side is his pretty side. This show reversed that. They made it very clear through camera positioning and angles that it was Harvey's "pretty" half talking all the evil shit.

I liked how all the villains had a motivation. Except Penguin, whose main thing seemed to be, "Look, she's a girl now! That's different, right?" Other than that, it was pretty much the same character doing the same things.

Harley was fun, and I really appreciated how her motivation was "OMG, I am so. sick. of all these rich, narcissistic-ass bastards who will not learn better," and not domestic abuse at the hands of a psychopath. Her origin and motivations are completely divorced from the Joker, and I love that.

Gentleman Ghost. I was all, "Wow, they're just diving head first into supernatural shit, eh?" Also, he was a bad guy who was mad about The Poors getting uppity. Who then got his ass beat by the richest guy in Gotham.

Bullock and Flass. Oh, man, I cannot wait for Bullock's face-turn when Flass finally pushes him one step too far.

The dynamic between Alfred and Batman. I was not loving it at all, but then Dent called Bruce out on it, and the Gentleman Ghost episode, and the ending... and now I'm like, okay, we're watching a healing journey for Bats, here. And the way he was treating Alfred was a symptom. Okay. I'll allow it for now.

Still can't see any version of Alfred not sassing Batman all the way into the ground, though. Alfred's being way too nice.

Christina Ricci played Catwoman. Yeah, that Christina Ricci. They got a bunch of great voice talent for this show.

Really liked the 40s vibe and tech.

Loved the art. You can tell Bruce Timm had something to do with the cartoon. Solid gothic art deco aesthetic. I was also vastly amused with how 75% of the characters on the show were built like a refrigerator.

The Nocturna episode where Bruce Wayne gets his ass beat by the carnies because they mistook him for a child predator. LOOOOL

The Nocturna episode where Batman gets gumped by a skinny little preteen (with super powers, but still) and another child has to swoop in and save him, almost certainly staged that way because nobody wants to watch Batman beat up a twelve-year-old girl.

It was good stuff, folks. Go watch it.

[thedeepstate69]

Valorant ships and their songs

I experienced a thought the other day whilst listening to music. So heres my opinions on what songs best suit various valorant ships. This is like half vibes based and half lyric based

Yorunix/firewalker (Yoru x Phoenix)

Allies or enemies by the crane wives.

I know they're more rivals than full on enemies HOWEVER consider the dynamic

Nanobomb (Raze x Killjoy)

Sonne by Rammstein

I didn't just choose this song cuz haha kj german but instead i feel that the vibe of the song fits Raze well if you catch my drift and the line 'sie ist der hellste Stern von allen' (she is the brightest star of all) fits with kj being depicted as being the smartest in a room

Bitemark (Viper x Chamber)

Love story by Indila

ONCE AGAIN not just cus chambers french but i feel a lot of lines in the song just scream chamber for example "I will be rich and I'll offer you all my gold and if you don't care I'll be waiting for you in the harbour If you ignore me I will offer you the last gasp of life"

Reyge (Reyna x Sage)

Work song by Hozier

this is them and idc what anyone says "She never asked me once about the wrong I did" is so them I cannot even

Reyna x Viper

Bad idea by girl in red

Do I even need to explain this one?

Fadeshock (Fade x Neon)

Cigarettes out the window by Tv girl

You cant tell me that Fade doesn't seem like a smoker (also i saw an edit of them to this song and it is all i think about)

Fire storm (Phoenix x Jett)

I don't want to set the world on fire by The Ink Spots

Both of them have caused harm with their powers despite not wanting to they dont want to 'set the world on fire' they just want to be normal people (i am sosososo normal abt them)

Sage x Omen

(Dont fear) the reaper by Blue oyster cult

Omen is so used to everyone being afraid of him and Sage refuses to let him believe he's a monster

[page-2-ids]

[ID 1: A flag with nine vertical stripes; the first and last are twice the width of the others. The colors are darker at the first, third, seventh, and last stripes, and lighter moving away from them. The colors are, from left to right, black, soft indigo, maroon, violet, soft gold, violet, maroon, soft indigo, and black. END ID]

[ID 2: A flag with nine vertical stripes; the first, middle, and last are twice the width of the others. The colors are darker at the first, third, seventh, and last stripes, and lighter moving away from them. The colors are, from left to right, black, soft indigo, maroon, violet, soft gold, violet, maroon, soft indigo, and black. END ID]

Occultarius: A sub-umbrella of Dystrofare for genders related to power, occultism, magic, evil, darkness, non-mental illness caused paranoia, backstabbing, theatrics, abuse of power, etc.

Common themes, connections, and experiences in Occultarius genders include:

- Magic being used for evil, by people in power, for general nefarious reasons, and to keep bad people in power

- Glowing eyes looking out from darkness, the feeling of being watched

- Rituals, spells, magic, curses, hexes, astrology, chanting, general occult stuff

- Backstabbing, worry, paranoia, betrayal

- Velvet curtains, other velvet things, dramatic settings

- Crystals, crystal balls, tarot cards, Lenormand cards, zodiac cards

- Nighttime, darkness, shadows

- Jewelry, gems, jewels, gold, silver

- Riches, money, fame, power, notoriety, abundance, decadence

- Candles, candle circles, candles mysteriously going out

- Sparks, fire

- Blood, blood stains, daggers

- Fighting, arguing, conflict, violence

- Red, orange, yellow

- Purple, indigo, violet

- Dark colors, black, shades of grey

however, Cultaris don’t have to be related to any of these things. Due to this term being inspired by my associations with the songs The Hardest Part is the Night and Shout at the Devil, Occultarius genders do fall under the Bonjender and Cruegender umbrellas, as well as the Dystrofare umbrella, though they don’t have to actually be related to Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, or any of their music or fall under any other umbrellas, unless the coiner wishes.

The colors are inspired by my associations with the vibe of this term

This was for the twenty-ninth day of my coining event! Prompt: Shout At the Devil (Motley Crue) // The Hardest Part Is The Night (Bon Jovi)

Other information, like the related -in-nature term, quality, etc. are under the cut

No suggested pronouns

Taris - Occultarius equivalent of girl/boy

Occul - Occultarius equivalent of man/woman

Cultari - An Occultarius gender

Occultarity - Occultarius gender quality (adjective is Occultarine)

CULIN - Occultarius/Occultarine in nature

-tarius- || -cultarius - Optional Occultarius affixes

[cherrybombfangirlwrites]

The City is Ours ; a WIP Intro

(New and Improved Re-Introduction!)

Genre and Setting

low urban sci-fi, superheroes, dark sci-fi ; set in big city somewhere northern on a US coast, I'm cautiously giving the city the placeholder name Henderson, modern times

Playlist

Masterlist / Shitty Comic Sans Intro 🤪

POV

third person limited, multiple characters (about 5-6)

Status and Length

First Drafts, roughly 2k ; 5 book series, no idea what the wordcount will be yet, maybe 100k per book?

Tropes and Themes

chaotic teenage superheros, domesticity in between the action, 2012-13 Avengers Tower fic vibes, found family but they're all dumbasses, villain arcs and redemption arcs galore, reluctant villians, superhero team but they're all lower middle class, POC disabled Jewish and Muslim and queer representation, "don't die or i'll kill you", heroes and villains and the chaos that ensues ; are you the hero or the villain, what's the difference between good and evil (is it who's telling the story?), forgiveness and redemption, saving the world vs saving yourself and your family, exploring morality

Warnings and Rating

guns, potential depictions of torture, superhero genre typical violence, blood, depictions of discrimination and bigotry (towards super-powered people mostly), trauma and mental health issues including possible depictions of panic attacks, and a whole fuck ton of angst ; Teen and Up

Main Characters

Nickelle Takahashi (she/her)

Team Leader, Superhero Name: The Icicle

Ice Powers

Japanese American, AroAce, lead singer in a local rock band

the leader who puts way too much pressure on herself, and who will do everything for the people she loves

Asher Romero-Cruz (he/him)

Team Dad, Superhero Name: The Flashlight

Light and Shadow Powers

Gay, Christian, Latino American, LEGO and Star Wars nerd

the Dad Friend of the team who is always looks out for everyone. Has a civilian boyfriend

Gabriella Wilson (she/her)

Team Cheerleader/Suit Designer

No Powers

CisHet, White with long blond hair, very talented sewer and fashion designer

the blonde bimbo who is super supportive of everyone and will be your wing woman ride or die

Kylee Trimble (she/they)

Youngest Teammate, Superhero Name: Now-Ya-See-Her-Girl

Speed and Invisibility Powers

Redhead with pale skin and freckles, Nearsided with Glasses, Nonspeaking Autistic, PanAce, Artist

the artist who is afraid of opening up and being her authentic self around others

Bryson Barns (he/him)

Team Medic, Superhero Name: The Healer

Healing Powers

Black, token straight that's on thin ice, Diabetic (Type 2)

the very tired healer who can heal all physical injuries, but he can't heal himself or mental injuries and struggles with accepting that

"V" Talić (they/them)

Team Cool Big Sibling, Superhero Name: Morph

Shapeshifting Powers

Muslim, Nonbinary Lesbian, Bosnian American, Soccer Jock

Impulsive and reckless, the one who always has crazy ideas for getting out of sticky situations. Struggles with fitting in with their culture/family while also being themselves

Jason Richens (he/him)

Team Asshole, Superhero Name: Hotshot

Fire Powers

CisHet (and an asshole about it)

Thinks he's special because his dad is rich, his character only exists to be bashed

Chase Silverstone (he/they)

Team Hacker and Tech Expert, Superhero Name: TechGuy

No Powers

PanAro, Jewish, Romani American, Bipolar Disorder and OCD, Anxiety and Depression

The team techie who struggles with asking for help and dealing with his mental health issues and taking care of himself

Antagonists

Black Hole - Main Antagonist of Book 1. Alien from Pluto, trying to take over earth as a last ditch extra credit project for his AP Government class. Can absorb any attack and reflect it back

Miss Recluse - Recruited by Black Hole. Has the human sized body of a Brown Recluse spider and the head of a human and poisonous fangs. Can do everything a spider does, and is a bit of a drama queen. Besties with The Magician

The Magician - A sorcerer from the dark ages who accidentally transported himself to the future with no way back. Uses a lot of dark magic that includes illusions- favorite spell to use is blue fire that is immune to water and can burn through metal and stone. Dr. Strange meets Dr. Faciler.

Mr. Cyanide - Recruited by Black Hole, eventually becomes a solo high level threat villain, main antagonist of book 2. Mad scientist with a deadly knack for chemistry. Only cares whether his experiments work, couldn't care less if they hurt or kill people.

Boss Lady - a Mafia boss who is colossally tall and wide, and incredibly strong. Big stronk woman who is working with/for the Snow Queen (her loyalties or questionable). Does have standards but also tortures people for the fun of it so....?

Blood Debt - Loner (mainly) vigilante who rides around on a motorcycle and kills anyone who he sees fit is deserving of dying, or whoever he gets paid to kill. Does jobs for the Snow Queen, and under the mask he is someone one of the heroes is very close with...

Nightmare - a small time, low threat villain that doesn't actually hurt anyone. Her powers put people to sleep and she takes their energy from them. A freshman/sophomore college student with an engineering major. More of an anti-hero vigilante if you squint.

The Snow Queen - The big bad for the last three books. Only an urban legend/rumor until the last two books. Has ice powers that can control tech and people. No one knows her identity and she is holed up in her lair most of the time, sending minions/Boss Lady or Blood Debt to do anything outside the lair. She is someone all of the heroes know very well :)

Plot

A bunch of rookie teenage superheroes and their journey to becoming the heroes and protectors of their city, and eventually the world, and most importantly- a family. With all of the chore rotations, late night grocery runs, fights for the shower, and everything else that happens along with the action. Full of full scale super powered fights, betrayals and confrontations, cool tech and superpowers, and everything we love about the superhero genre.

Book 1 - The Initiation

Book 2 - The Hunter or Hunted

Book 3 - The Shadows

Book 4 - The Snow Queen

Book 5 - The Forsaken

(all the titles are placeholder titles for now)

Extra Stuff

Chase is a caffeine addict and not only can, but has on multiple occasions mixed coffee and energy drinks

Kylee uses sign language or a text to speech app to communicate, or if she has neither goes old school and writes things down

the city is based on a combination of Chicago and Gotham City

Nickelle has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister who are inseparable, 8 and 5 years old

Nickelle also has a huge extended family that's more traditional and she has to tone down her punk look for family gatherings

Asher's boyfriend is Damian. Damian finds out about his partner's double superhero life when Asher saves him in the mask, and like a dumbass, Asher forgets to turn on his voice modifier and Damian recognizes his voice immediately

Damian is also a Chekhov's Civilian and becomes a vital part of the plot

Nightmare and V have a little enemies to lovers romance that's mostly in the background is is really just there for comedy

The Magician gets a redemption arc and becomes the Hero Team's weird morally gray uncle

Kylee has a brother who is in the US Navy. He is one of the few people that she is comfortable being fully unmaksed around at the beginning of the books, and he is deployed during the events of the books.

Bryson has a weird relationship with his dad, who raised him all by himself and is a full time EMT. Bryson really wants to tell his dad about his double superhero life because it's driving a wedge between him and his dad, but it's not safe and Bryson's not sure how his dad will react

And finally, some memes for your viewing pleasure:

~~~

The City is Ours Taglist: @friendlyneighborhood-writer @jessica-writes22 @rose-bookblood @yejidoesthings @space-writes

General Taglist: @enchanted-lightning-aes @thatprolificauthor @wip-nook @writeblrsupport

[hughungrybear]

Me watching Only Friends Final EP (12):

1. Ray-Sand-Boeing gives me possible throuple vibes 😂 However, with Ray's questions, I don't think he'll be truly down with it (Even after all his teasing that he would not mind a threesome).

2. Sand, your indecision putting you in that spot. You are not being fair to anyone, especially with Ray. And here, I thought Ray is the trash one.

3. Mew, don't ask Cheum for any relationship-related advice. I said it before, but that girl is a hopeless romantic idiot.

4. Oooh, Ray is never going to give up Sand to Boeing now.

5. Cheum, why the fvck do you care? You are still an idiot. I can't believe at the end of this all, I'm symphatizing with the self-professed a**hole, Boston.

6. The change in Top seems rather sudden and excessive. I really want to see the uncut version just to make sense of it all. Cross fingers P'Jojo will do it for the DVD version.

7. Boston and Nick 😌. I guess, all the sweetness is due to having a literal deadline to their relationship.

8. Yeah, Ray is the kind of crazy that no one would want to mess with. It also does not hurt that he came from a rich and powerful family that consequences to his actions almost mean nothing to him (I mean, he is even slightly enjoying his "punishment"/social work with kids). Boeing messed with the wrong crazy 😂

9. Top and Ray. Both are crazy rich (former) a**holes. It's a match made in bff heaven 😅😅😅

10. Boeing, dude, there are plenty of fishes in the ocean. Go pick unattached ones LOL. Preferably far away from this friend group 😂😂😂😂

11. Oh. My. Gawd. Boston, what the fvck are you doing? I guess, he is just allergic to monogamy. I just wished he didn't promised Nick he'll temporarily commit.

12. Yeah, Nick. Listen to Sand. If open relatioships is not your thing, then Boston is just not for you. Let him go. Try Daddy Dan instead. 😅

13. This might be the most awkward New Year's Eve party ever with half the group slept with each other at some point 😅 Also, playing Truth or Dare with this group is probably a recipe for disaster.

14. So, I guess this means Nick accepts whatever Boston can give 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

15. I saw that movie (Begin Again starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo)!!! 10 out of 10 would highly recommend. 👍👍👍👍

16. For a moment, I thought Boston would be giving Nick a plane ticket to New York. But I think this outcome is for the best. Nick should really love himself more than Boston (or anyone, for that matter). And Boston should stop making promises he could never keep.

17. Fire alarm killing the mood and bringing Top's old trauma. I guess, this is to bring things into full circle. Although, I don't believe this scene is necessary. P'Jojo could have cut this one and retain the scenes where Top's transformation began 😐

18. Mummy Yo and Daddy Plug giving their blessing to their adopted children 😂

Ah, so that's where Mixx came in 😂😂😂 And no, as much as I enjoyed this series, I really don't want a season 2. It's not good for my heart. Or sanity 😅😅😅😅

[mandyzoe]

waitttt youre so real for being a bully fan + orbit… if u associate that yeojin pic w lola which of the moon girls would u assign to the other girlies… :3c

HI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER i kinda fell off tumblr for a while i can’t lieee… but i love this question and i love you for asking it and it made my autism fire off on all cylinders so hope you don’t mind a response that is way longer than it has any right to be HEHE

im actually gonna take this ask in a different direction than you maybe originally meant it in so i apologize for that however i think my interpretations work best if i specifically use the loonaverse versions of the members because for 1 it just fits together a little better in my head if i connect these fictional characters to the fictionalized versions of these irl people, if that makes sense. and 2 im also just very autistic about the loonaverse. sorry

ok so despite the fact that i associate lola w that specific pic of yj, i find her more in line with yves, narratively speaking. because, well. yves is a fucking player. sneaking out to go on dates with vivi, stringing along chuu to make her partake of the fruit, recruiting her to convince gowon to do the same, fucking hyeju over, and THEN after hyeju had her little angry moment, yves just flashed her a smile and a wave to make her forgive her???? she has everyone wrapped around her finger. it’s crazy. two little baddie rulebreakers who WILL get what they want through love and/or war. love them

as for pinky, i debated on this one a bit. on one had there’s the undeniable rich girl swag of haseul. on the other, the princess-like charms of gowon were tempting. but ultimately? she’s a yeojin girl. her debut concept was so cute and quirky, but still with a distinct attitude to it that very much gives spoiled youngest and/or only child. she also has that same princess vibe, but a little more bright and youthful compared to gowon’s darker/more somber side of it. beyond debut, yeojin’s persona develops to lean more into that sassier vibe with the cuter aspects becoming more of an undertone which is very pinky to me

mandy… this one is flexible for me as well, between heejin or jinsoul. ppl usually say this about hyeju, but i actually think heej and soul have more “two sides of the same coin” qualities which kinda makes me wanna use them as a pair? like a duality if that makes sense. they’re both kinda morally ambiguous, heejin leaning more towards good and jinsoul more neutral/possibly evil, and also seem to have a lot more like. knowledge about the universe they’re in. like they’re very Aware of things and both attempt to exercise control over their surroundings a lot. jinsoul’s methods (allegedly!) are more Morally Questionable which is kinda where mandy leans, but i think the conflict between the two (as seen in not friends) can represent her change in how she views people and approaches relationships after… everything. they’re also both super gay

for beatrice i think maybe vivi? it’s mostly vibes based here. but vivi being an android is shown to be something that alienates her from her peers and makes her insecure in herself, despite the fact that she’s probably smarter and more talented than most if not all of them because of it. she still just wants to fit in and be a normal girl with friends who like her. later on, vivi’s android powers are shown to be more of an asset that can help her and her friends when they need it. i mean she literally piloted a space ship by herself for presumably several years to help them jump timelines or something. i think beatrice would appreciate that. plus, i think the edily concept can represent her more girly and romantic side. real yearner girl hours

now for zoe. hyeju. she’s hyeju. no debate really. they’re both initially characterized by their anger, having been hurt and betrayed and feeling really alone and isolated. hyeju is kinda viewed as a villain or a bad person because of her anger and craving for revenge, and while she can be volatile, at the end of the day she’s kinda just. a kid who was hurt. and yeah maybe she isn’t the “perfect victim”, she’s rude and angry and lashes out at people whether they deserve it or not. but she still didn’t deserve to be hurt the way she was. and she very much IS capable of love and forgiveness and she can eventually mend what was broken if she accepts the help offered to her. it just might take her a little extra time and some people willing to give her a chance. and also forgive some possible alleged murders but that’s not important

ok im gonna stop with just the clique girls cause this would get way too long HAHAHA but thank u for this ask and i hope u found my interpretations of these characters and this silly kpop lore at least somewhat interesting or accurate :P also hope ur enjoying the comeback hype as much as i am YIPPEEEE

[mikuni14]

Laws of Attraction Ep 2

I bet, that in the dictionary next to the definition of the word "a little shit" there is a photo of Charn as an example 😀 And that an exasperated Tinn put it there 😆

LoA is an amazing series. A little girl died, there's a despair, there's a fucked up situation in the senator's family, there's the obviously twisted and traumatized kid, as is Charn... ...and in the same series I laugh watching Charn and Tinn like they’re in a romantic comedy????? Like??????

Jam and Film are great as actors. They play completely different characters than in To Sir, With Love, also in LoA they show a whole range of different emotions, and Film actually plays two characters: Charn before his "transformation" and the current Charn. I also want to point out something: many actors who play "psychopaths" choose to show this “type” through an unnerving and creepy smile. But it’s trcky and few succeed, and their characters are more funny instead of disturbing. Film is one of those whose smile IS unnerving. Why? Because Film has a whole set of smiles for every occasion (and lets not forget about his smiles before his "transformation"), so we as viewers know which of his smile is just a smile and which should set us on fire edge 😉 Film and Jam have great chemistry, they play perfectly together, watching them together on screen is pure pleasure. Good dialogue, genuinely funny scenes, and the attraction between the characters they play, visible from space, also help.

What I also like about Tinn and Charn, or maybe I’m wrong reading it that way, is that BOTH are clearly gay and BOTH know it from the beginning. By the time Charn "came out" as the senator's lawyer, the two were on their way to the relationship they BOTH wanted. Their MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING of who they are and what they feel comes up all the time (in conversations, in grandma's comments lol), because they both treat their orientation as obvious. I think.

(I died when Charn was giddy and excitedly waiting for his wounds to be tended to as if he had it in his mind that he was about to attend one of the most important BL tropes 🥳....when Tinn wanted to take him to the hospital, he was like, noooo, we were about to have a BL moment! If this continues like this, LoA will finish me off before it's over.)

Another fantastic thing: the show has great female characters. Rose immediately gave me a serious Miss. Fisher vibes, but otherwise any female character is just so cool.

The senator's son is acting crazy, but also... logical? Even in very serious psychological series, it’s very rare to see such an approach to a character like "the spoiled and abused son of someone rich and powerful." His monologue about what he feels and what he doesn't feel is something I certainly wouldn't expect from Thai BL. I wonder which way it will go. But since he's been allowed to have a scene like that, and he's been allowed to have a subordinate who is probably in love with him, or at least cares about him deeply, it seems to me hat the kid didn't actually kill the girl at all 🤔

I want to say straight away that I DON'T WANT Charn to go back to his good old self, I WANT him to stay as he is and for Tinn to be with him because he ACCEPT him as he is. In the same way, I don't want Tanthai to undergo some inner transformation and become "good". I just want of a drama where someone is fucked up and still accepted like Hannibal and Seo Moon Jo.

Laws of Attraction is awesome. I enjoy watching it, I have fun, I love the main characters, I laugh a lot watching it, I appreciate the serious scenes that shed more light on the mystery with each episode, but also complicate the story. This is it people. This is it!

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

4.5/5. Releases 8/22/2023.

For when you're vibing with... the 80s bonkers classic Overboard!, amnesia with a dash of the hero almost drowning, very hilarious confused rich man antics, and some.... really active sex for a man who just had a severe head injury.

Georgianna Heyford has heard tell of the Earl of Stannis's rakish behavior; but she can't afford give up the chance to cater his expensive yacht party. Unfortunately, a run-in with the earl (otherwise known as Daniel) goes horribly awry, and she's quickly fired... only for the earl to end up overboard, washed ashore, and with amnesia shortly afterward. The only person he recognizes is Georgianna; he just doesn't know how he knows her. In order to avoid a scandal (and perhaps get some sweet revenge) Georgianna claims the mysterious man is her husband... But the more time she spends with Daniel, the more she begins to wish it wasn't all a lie.

Stacy Reid knows how to write a fun, kinda bonkers, super sexy book--she throws caution to the wind and writes what she wants. I can feel the joy in the pages.

Quick Takes:

--I love Overboard!, a movie that is somewhat controversial today due to the premise being "Kurt Russell tells rich bitch amnesiac Goldie Hawn that she's actually his wife and makes her act as a servant to him and his horrible redneck children". I hate the Overboard! gender-flipped remake for many reasons, in part because it doesn't go far enough. This book is a nice middle ground. The gender flip is right here, and Reid wrings it out for all the humor it's worth, because it's honestly fun to see a fancy fuckboy look aghast at this woman's hovel and go "there is no.... way... I live.... here". (Daniel, I'm a huge fan of your work.) The power divide is also a lot stronger in this setting, because, while Georgianna is a gentleman's daughter, she's not doing super well financially and is basically a single woman acting as a guardian to these younger girls in the 1800s, a time in which she has little power and little way to make a living. Which in turn makes Daniel's comeuppance more deserving. It all makes sense, even if the premise is objectively wacky.

--I also really liked how this man had to like? Learn how to do basic household chores? Learn how to DAD in a sense? If there's one thing I enjoy in a historical romance, it's a rake who knows how to fuck but doesn't super know how to do much else. Daniel is not a competent hero to begin with (though he's not, like, a total buffoon either). He has to learn competence, and though I'm not typically one to get all hot and bothered by a man doing basic housework, in this book............ it does a number on you.

--I think that Stacy Reid is also right to basically put most of the fault on Daniel in this iteration. In the original Overboard!, both parties are at fault. Goldie doesn't pawn Kurt for some labor. Kurt gaslights her into being an unpaid housekeeper/nanny (as a prank! It's meant to be temporary but then he falls in love! It's fine!). Mistakes were made. Here, I think that Georgianna's options being much more limited make the heartache more... intense? Because like, yeah, this man's family is looking for him and he deserves to know the truth and so on. But really, she does not have a lot of solid choices here. So her guilt feels more impactful because while she's fucking up, she's a good person who doesn't want to hurt him, and you can feel her falling in love with him, and you know he's falling in love with her but he just! Doesn't! Know! And that takes you to a good angst city, despite the book being in many ways super fluffy and hilarious.

--I love an emotional fallout moment, and ooh, the emotional fallout in this one is delicious. There's pain. There's vengeance. There's trickery. There's some "I was half a virgin when I met you" feeling to it, which I love immensely. Like, dude, if you're gonna be all "she's not my wife", you probably need to, I don't know, stop calling her your wife. Except don't, because I'm living for it.

The Sex Stuff:

Stacy Reid writes a hot sex scene, especially when it comes to her heroes going down, because. The enthusiasm with which a Stacy Reid hero goes to town is truly something to behold. There's also really good dirty talk in this one, a nice mixture of tenderness and hardcore fucking, and like, the best sense ever that this dude is absolutely obsessed with her. Also, there's an excellent scene where he details exactly how he's going to fuck her, and proceeds to do just that. Gotta appreciate follow through. That's what happens when a man has to do work for the first time ever in his life.

I loved An Earl to Remember. It's fun, it's like candy, it's hot, it's a little crazy. It's what I want a Stacy Reid novel to be.

Thanks to Entangled: Amara and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[medusasbush]

read april 2023

articles

How to Finger Your Partner When You Have Chronic Pain in Your Hands

You'd Be Happier Living Close to Friends: Why Don't You?

Why Do We Connect to Female Rage? (prompted a reread of The Scream Gap)

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The Sex Life of the Internet

It’s a “Brutal, Fearful Winter” for Journalism

“We Didn’t Know What We Had Until It Was Gone.” (on alternative news weeklies)

How Joni Mitchell's "Blue" shattered gender barriers

Why are movies so dark these days?

Poker Face is Peacock’s first truly great original series

The Bataan Death March of Whimsy Case File #1: Elizabethtown (essay that coined the term manic pixie dream girl)

I'm sorry for coining the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl"

Why Venmo Is My Favorite Sympathy Card

The gift that never stops giving: Christy Dawn Ads

It's Hot to Look Ill

How the Hell Is 'The Last of Us: Part II' Going to Be Adapted?

What Happens in 'The Last of Us Part II'?

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Is Therapy Speak Making Us Selfish?

Bad Projection is Ruining the Movie Theater Experience

When Self Awareness Eats its Own Tail

A Case Against Washing Your Face

Honey, I sold the kids.

Trickster and tricked

‘The Resort’ Review: Peacock Comedy-Thriller Series Is Strong on Vibes, Weak on Story

“The Resort” Needs to Relax

Peacock's The Resort is a Rip-Off Mystery Series

Ted Lasso Wonders Whether He's Outstayed His Welcome in Season Three

What if we stopped using male and female as synonyms for man and woman?

The Great Deflation

Who is Queerness for?

‘Nobody Can Take Your Power’: Megan Thee Stallion in Her Own Words

Steven Yeun, Ali Wong and ‘Beef’ Creator Say David Choe Has ‘Put in the Work’ Since ‘Fabricated’ Rape Story

Why We Can't Leave Celebrities Alone

Tucker Carlson Set the World on Fire

How to Have the Fat Talk

Eat the Rich, Steal Their Skin?

books

Dietland by Sarai Walker

Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation by Urvashi Vaid (started)

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers (started/abandoned)

[semi-imaginary-place]

trigun stampede

vash is waifu material. he's cute i want to eat him

this show has a thing for people losing arms. the village kid lost his arm. mad scientist dude and his cyborg son both lost an arm, bomber dude lost his arms, vash has a cyborg arm

uuuuuggg im getting confused: april/inepril (og anime), may/mei, june/Juneora Rock (og anime, town in stampede), july/julai, august/augusta, september (stampede), october/octovern, november (stampede), december.

I can't believe these people don't have solar powered water purification plants. do Plants collect carbon to make biomass or do they like poof it into existence, because if it's the later that could be the basis of terraforming, meat has a lot of water in it and that water doesn't just disappear from existence after you eat it. weird how people have a meat based diet such that plants are a luxury food. what are the sandworms and bird things eating?

where is everyone getting so much blood. humans have like 1.5 gallons max.

why the hell did roberto and merly stick around vash. they even said that if its discovered they're with him they're going to get fired also probably jailed. i wonder what their budget for the trip is like they're going to have to contact their employers eventually. although meryl gives sheltered rich girl vibes so maybe money isn't as much an issue. i find it hard to believe the publishing company is willing to pay for so long a trip.

typhoons are ocean derived phenomena. these people have never had a typhoon.

this is so christian in the least christian way

ep 5: the achronological order of events here made me think very hard. vash knew rollo as a baby and as a child. rollo was experimented on and 5 years later killed everyone in the town. vash returns with medicine at some point after he's taken. 20+ years after the town is wiped vash and co return. so rollo's like 35 or more when we see him. nicholas is the clean up assassin for human experimentation dude and he's probably after vash.

ep6: what is that symbol. its not the 3 cities. its associated with the windmill town cult, the yellow helmet suit people, the sand ship, and the orphanage nicholas lived in. oh ok so we have no idea how old nico is either. if his age could be accelerated the other dude's could have been too. oh not the sandship thats julai's, i got it confused with a flashback. what i dont get is if you dont want anyone to die, why isn't anyone disarming livio like there were at elast 3 opportunities to take his guns.

ep7: you all need deescalation training

huh in most single cour anime these episodes between intro and climax would be the slow section but stampede has done well with the pacing.

ep8: ah i was wondering why they were called Plants and not like Manufactories or Fabricators the double meaning of plant was intentional. so most plants are made clonally so asexual reproduction? but vash and knives were... uh born? sexual reproduction??? reminds me of wolf's rain (both series from the same era of edgy dystopian cyberpunk) and chell who's a human Flower hybrid. "his genetic makeup is very human" uhhh brain hurts. if rem is 29 and born on earth then the seed ships can't have been traveling for more than 1 generation. i was going to say so plants can make electricity and non organics huh but electricity is just chemistry too so it could be organic.

i was wondering if that grey pattern on vash as a kid was clothing or skin. if the later why would it stop at the neck? in his current outfit the only skin below the neck he shows are two fingers on his right hand. ok it was clothing

ep9: the plants are referred to as kanojo (her, women). why did Knives crash the ships. His hatred from the exploitation and use of plants happened 5 years after the fall. its been 150 years guess that answers that question.

Why did the SEED ships leave Earth? If they had Plants the resource scarcity problem would be no worse on Earth than No Man's Land. If they didn't have Plants and developed them while in space how did they survive the initial years in space. Both the above are plausible options, the former it could be because pollution/toxins/not a resource scarcity problem, for the later they could have stocked enough resources for many years while developing Plants or cycled matter in a closed system.

ep10: bro get a bulletproof vest. Everyone get a bulletproof vest. Was wondering if/when meryl's idiocy would come bite her. Poor roberto dying for her character development. Who's that kid? Looks like vash but they never met. Knives? Colors are wrong. More plant kids?

Ep11: a higher dimension... mentioned earlier but still ugg. What is this? promare??? "it was aliens all along" what is this gainx ending

tesl was created 50 years before vash and kni. If Rem is 29 than independent plants were made before seed ships. that or rem cryoslept and 29 is her biological age not her chronological age.

Wow the guilt tripping. "You caused the crashes" to "i crashed them for you". gaslight king

Not the pregnancy metaphor. And did no one notice that the bottom trailing part of Plants looks like legs

12: SEED spent 200 years in space. Weird luida and brad didnt show up as important memories for Vash given that he spent more time with them than anyone else.

Lol they just sent out an intergalactic flare. Ok so cross the wall of light makes me think the higher dimension Plant stuff again but "from earth"? That implies humans werent wiped out on earth and have discovered faster than light travel. This changes the tone of Stampede from gritty apocayptic, brink of extinction, sole survivor vibes to one of empire politics and No Man's Land being a very small part of a whole.

I was wondering if the memory thing would have permanent effects. Because knives deleted/overwrote all vash's memories, but then he remembered rem kinda. its unclear while fighting for the cube how much vash actually remembered or if he just remembered that he had a task to complete and a brother to stop. post timeskip dude didn't even get himself a new arm with his reality/matter manipulation powers.

vash is so cute. He's got that irresistible failboy swag. Pathetic and sopping wet.

Plants vs plants/flora. I find the ideological struggle between Luida and Conrad interesting. Luida is invested in terraforming the planet with plants/flora even if its the slower more risky option that could take hundreds of years or more and humanity could go extinct in the time it takes to accomplish. side note i know its more aesthetics but it sure is weird that all the flora gardens we see in the SEED ships are ornamental species instead of that space, energy, and water being used for food. In contrast Conrad is invested in Plants as the future for humanity, continuing to use Plants to generate the resources needed while modifying humanity to need less resources to survive.

I found the ost to be beautiful but an odd choice aesthetically for the series. the ost was similar in design to a lot of anime osts which are often orchestral with inspiration from the romantic and impressionist periods. And this is my favorite genre of music but given the strong visual identity of Stampede I was expecting a more distinct audio style to match? Like perhaps a mix of jazz and american folk or ragtime to match the Western aesthetic of the planet with some synth or electronica similar to Olafur Arnalds or Carlos Cipa to matching the futuristic space faring aesthetic. The ost reminded me of interstellar's ost at some points.

visual foiling between vash and knives in the finale. Knives is in all white with a sharp, metal, mechanical wing and uses long striings of blades to attack. Vash is in all black with a more organic looking wing and he sprouts root like structures and makes a giant figure out of plants (roots, stems, flowers).

I just learned why roberto de niro sounded familiar. Robert de niro is a famous actor i cant believe studio orange kidnapped a celebrity.

i was so distracted i forgot to write about how vash getting traumatized gave him a fighting game palette swap

I also found it interesting how he's a character that is constantly in motion, all his actions are oriented towards other people. He's very considerate in that way, even as those actions are tied up in his crushing guilt. The cheerful puppy-like demeanor is also fun to watch.

[libra-stellium]

Have you seen Ms. Harris Goes to Paris??? Spoilers to follow!!

This is long FYI 🙂

I just watched this movie and I’m drinking wine and couldn’t help but see all the things clicking when it came to astro and numerology!! I don’t think they did it on purpose so it’s really cool to see how it came together anyway. Enjoy 🙂💕

Okay so basically the movie is about this older woman who cleans rich people’s houses and it’s two people in particular and one of them is a young heiress and the character is basically like a spoiled brat with her parents money idk and the other one is an older woman who’s really rich and she gets a dress from Christian Dior and Mrs Harris (MH) sees the dress and she’s like I HAVE to get a Christian Dior dress so she does everything she can to get this dress and goes gambling and she loses her money 😭😭😭😭 and so she essentially gives up and is like well I guess it’s never gonna happen. Bc she not only needs money for the dress she needs money for the plane ticket! Then!!! A man from the military comes and tells her that they underpaid her dead husband or something and she gets enough for the dress and the plane ticket but only for one day!! She has to go, land, get the dress, get back on the plane and come back

First is that the story doesn’t give her an actual age lol google just said she’s “approaching 60” and of course! I was getting second saturn return vibes!!! Bc it happens around 58-60 and the reason why she failed at getting money herself is bc she tried get rich quick schemes and saturn doesn’t fuck with that 🤷🏾‍♀️

So saturn return is about growth you know so atp I’m like what is the growth about to be?? I’m thinking thing like following her dreams bc she’s like I gotta get this dress!

She gets to Paris and tbh everything is working out bc she’s immediately an inspiration bc they’re like WOW a cleaning lady came all this way to get Dior and they’re all supportive. BUT!! The rich people are not as supportive! Of course they have to fuck her over to do the power play. This man invites her as his guest to the Dior fashion show and she has to choose which dress she wants to buy and it’s in Paris in French so the guy who invited her translates for her the number of the dresses she likes

There’s two she likes number 73 and number 89 but 89 is the one she really loves!! This bitch who’s rich hears her and decides to quickly buy 89 so MH can’t get it and MH settles for 73

She finds out she has to stay a week bc she has to get fitted bc the dresses get made customized and blah blah blah not important to my analysis lol she tries the dress and gets the dress and she goes back home and she’s so happy and literally the same day she arrives who knocks at her door??? Young heiress brat! Do you see where this is going????? Brat ruined her dress to this party and wanted MH to help her but MH couldn’t and the girl starts crying and what does MH do??? LETS HER BORROW THE DIOR DRESS and that’s where I started getting mad like stop being a people pleaser!!! And you know what happens ?? That heiress bitch gets the dress caught on fire and it’s ruined before MH even gets to wear it!! And it made front page news! Everyone knew it was her dress smh

Astro steps back in bc in that moment?? She literally gets depressed when she finds out about the dress and when she comes out of it she realizes that she can’t keep going like this. She goes and gives the key back to the heiress and quits her job with the rich lady bc she’s done being the people pleaser! GROWTH! And she says “I want to be seen” 😭

Now back to the numbers and how they relate to her saturn return. “Number 73 spiritually reminds you that you are on the right path in life. Your guardian angels show you the way towards living a fulfilling and successful life. You need to maintain a positive and confident demeanor in order to make your dreams a reality. At all times, the divine realm is urging you to become a better version of yourself.”

That is the dress she settled for in Paris when she wanted number 89! The dress was her last lesson! Be confident and remain positive to achieve success to become a better version of yourself like that is exactly what she was trying to do! But it crept back up and she didn’t stay true to herself and she gave the dress away 😭😭😭😭 I felt so bad for her! But once she realized she had to put herself first do you know what happened?? She learned her lesson and saturn delivered

LITERALLY DELIVERED A PACKAGE FROM CHRISTIAN DIOR THAT HAD DRESS NUMBER 89 MADE CUSTOMIZED TO HER MEASUREMENTS BC THEY SAW IT IN THE PAPER AND KNEW SHE GAVE IT AWAY BC SHE WAS TOO KIND AND THEY COULDNT LET HER LOSE LIKE THAT 😭😭

You know what number 89 is??? Service to others! “As per 89 symbolism, life is short. To make the best out of your life, you need to be ready to make the necessary sacrifices. Be bold and brave in everything that you do in order to achieve all the great things in your life. Live your life to the fullest because you only live once. Live the best life that you can live because no one will live your life for you. Do not spend your life being miserable but instead always ensure that you are living a happy and fulfilled life.” !!!!!!!!! And that’s exactly what she did she took charge and quit the jobs where she wasn’t appreciated to live her life! She wore her 89 dress to a party and had a grand entrance and she was finally seen! 😭😭 and she danced the night away in her Dior dress 💕

Meanwhile back in Paris that bitch who had bought 89 initially never made the final payment bc her husband was a crook and he got arrested and she lost all her money bc it wasn’t their money 🤷🏾‍♀️ Saturn’s karma!

I think that MH had saturn 2H!! Bc it was dealing with her valuing herself like she already knew who she was and what she meant to people and how she could help them but she didn’t see herself as important to take up space you know?? And they say people get karma related to the house saturn is in for the person they wronged and it would make sense that lady lost all her money after wronging MH bc 2H!! 😤

And I also think that she turned 60 at the end bc that goes back to her “I want to be seen” statement bc she’s finally seen at the end of the movie and 60 is a 1H year!!! She would’ve felt hidden away all 12H year at 59 and just going through a lot of subconscious change to come out new when she turned 60 and completed her saturn return!! 😌

Even with the colors of the dresses! Green and red! Immediately made me think of Libra and Aries and how they’re on the same axis but one is ruled by Venus (green) and the other is ruled by mars (red)

When you think about growth during saturn return you think of all the obstacles that you face that teach you lessons and these obstacles come from aspects that the other planets are making to saturn it’s not saturn as a lone actor! Saturn is exalted in Libra meaning it’s comfortable there so you’re not going to be getting that same tension that leads you to your growth as you would with mars. Which is what we see when she pics the green dress! Appropriately named VENUS! That’s the one where she falls back into her usual habits (saturn) of people pleasing (Libra)! She settles just like she does with everything else.

However, what she came to Paris for is a drastic change in her life. Something to shake things up for her! And who better to do that for you than Mars??? The planet of action! She was drawn to the red dress! Saturn and mars have a lot of tension and that’s what we see happening with MH bc she not only has to fight against the socialite buying the dress first she also has to fight her own feelings of unworthiness! She wasn’t ready to overcome that on her first day in Paris that’s why it didn’t happen until after she left and saw the Venus dress get ruined and went through her depression! Lack of balance! She was giving too much of herself to people to the point where she gave her DREAM DRESS that she worked so hard for to some girl who burned it!

Further, lol, the name of the red dress is what? TEMPTATION!! That is what brought her to Paris! She saw a Dior dress in that woman’s closet she was cleaning and was so tempted to try it on but didn’t let herself so she just held it up in front of her by the mirror 😭 but temptation is ruled by what?? Pluto and Neptune

Pluto the planet of transformation! In a way that destroys the previous version (turned to ashes like the 73 dress) to make way for the new version! It was necessary bc MH would have never gotten the 89 dress without that girl burning it

Neptune comes in because if I’m correct in saying she turned 60 at the end and entered her 1H year finally being seen she would be in a 12H year before while trying to get the dress and 12H is ruled by Neptune bc that’s the pisces house (not her personal house idk what that is bc she doesn’t have a real bday lol) and she finally allowed herself to give in to her temptations by the end! She got the dress she was tempted by, she quit her job like she was tempted to, she made a grand entrance which she was tempted to do before but never did bc she didn’t feel like it was her place and she allowed herself to give this guy a chance even tho she had been tempted for years she felt guilty bc her husband died in the war or something

She also got rid of the burnt dress by throwing it into the river (Neptune!) and making space bc atp she didn’t know she would get the red dress

This was such a good movie imo 💕