#firebird society

[firebirdsdaughter]

Me…

… Twenty years later, on the GATTACA tv tropes page:

JUSTICE FOR ANTON!

#Firebird Randomness #listen can I interest you in my TED Talk #about how Anton is one of the MOST under appreciated complex characters in that movie??? #local man's absolute refusal to accept his brother is a killer or to out him as a fraud solves a murder more at ten #he knew who Vincent was pretending to be the moment he saw Jerome #but he a) #NEVEr OUTS HIM #and b) #was ready to GET HIM OUT OF THERE #that's not the reaction of someone who doesn't care #yes it's all tainted by their society and he's going about it wrong #but going by how strict all the laws about borrowed ladders seem to be #Anton knowingly covering for his brother and even helping him escape would probably be risking his job #or possibly even his life #Anton has little brother instinct HARD #he's just confused #HE'S SO INTERESTING #the way HE'S all like 'you don't recognise your own brother :(' and it's VINCENT who gets all 'are we brothers?' #he cares about Vincent he wants to protect him but he doesn't understand that Vincent is okay and can take care of himself #he doesn't understand #but in the end he does the right thing he lets Vincent get on the ship #listen I just love Anton

[gallusrostromegalus]

AEIWAM question:

The Soul Society has the ability to interact with the human world physically, and wildly more firepower than pre-dead people have. Is there a particular reason the world of the dead hasn't pulled a colonialism or other form of resource extraction on the world of the living? Is there a reason the warlords on the fringes of the rukongai don't set up in the world of the living instead of the spirit world's most marginal land?

Why haven't the dead colonized the living? The dead have not pulled a colonialism on the living world because (and IIRC this is canon but it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment) while Shinigami, Arrancar and other dead spirits CAN go hang out in the living world for brief periods of time, if forced to STAY in the living world, their superpowers rapidly degrade because the ambient spiritual energy in the living world is so low. That's why Rukia wasn't *immediately* suspicious when her powers weren't coming back after activating Ichigo's, and why the shinigami that visit Ichigo's school during the aarancar arc don't stay after the battle- they can't heal effectively. There's also the whole "Balance the total number of Souls between the living and spirit worlds" thing. I'm not sure what the dead having permanent residency in the world of the living would do to that balance, but it's probably Not Great.

Why aren't there fringe district warlords or other countries? Great news! THERE ARE. They're just not human. Hueco Mundo used to be the bulk of the West 80th disctrict, but then it got lightly dimension'd off by the noble houses after they stole the Soul King's bodyparts, and the partition between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society is made of the Soul King's toes. Heck, it's even got a capital city- Las Noches! Las Noches used to be drastically more populated before Barragan took over and murdered the shit out of everyone he could find, because there's a BIG difference between not being able to let go of the living world and actually resorting to cannibalism, and I think there used to be a TON of hollows like Dondochaka and Pesche who just subsist off the ambient Reishi and do whatever instead of eating people. The Eastern 80th district is the land of the Beastfolk- Spirits like kitsune and tanuki, the ghosts of ancient and venerated trees, the sort of thing that appear in Mononoke/Mushishi/Princess Mononoke etc. and the wolves that Komamura is descended from. They're not as organized as the hollows so they didn't get ghetto'd like Hueco Mundo, but neither is the Soul Society able to tangle with them,. See, the entire Court Guard System and Central 46 was founded SPECIFICALLY to end and prevent the warring clans that had dominated Soul Society for so long. So the Central 46 and yamamoto are very much erring on "Don't let any extant clan or district or whatever political org gain too much power, and for the love of god, don't start a war", so the East is heavily protected by the sanctions that keep any clan from raising an army to invade another clan (much smaller than what would be needed to invade the east), the fact that the gotei-13 recruits very nearly all spiritually powerful people away from joining that kind of force, and Yamamoto's personal connection to Komamura's wolf clan (Major spoilers for the fic but the upshot is that he will NEVER tresspass on Wolf land, and the shinigami are also forbidden from doing so) The North is uncolonized for roughly the same reason antartica is uncolonized- most of it is straight-up inhospitable to human life, or all but a handful of beasfolk and hollows. In fact, the only thing that "Lives" up there are Kami- Serious Kami, like The Firebird and other personifications of Major natural disasters or philosophical concepts. The ONLY reason to go to North 80 is if you want to pick a fight with a God, and why would you do THAT when one of them just moved into the court guards? (That isn't quite true, actually- there are quite a few humans living on the southern edge of the Zaraki District- but they live in isolated villages that change locations every few decades and don't appear in Soul Society census data. They don't pay taxes, but neither do they demand services. The court guard is aware of the tribes living up north, but so long as they don't start shit, the gotei-13 is willing to ignore them.) The South 80th district is... well, it's 95% ocean, for starters, and many of the lovely tropical islands in there are active volcanoes and/or hellmouths. There's quite a few humans living in South 80, but the overall population is even smaller than the tribes in North 80, and many of the islands are "Uninhabited". I use quotes because those volcanoes are the result of Hell cracking under the strain of not being able to pass souls through it fast enough, and making incursions into other dimensions. The Demons that live on the spirit world side of these cracks have no beef with soul society- if anything, they're very pleased with it!, but they're busy trying to prevent a dimensional collapse or mass prison break, and tend to chase off any curious humans, so the closest thing to a "real" government is the Dimensional Crack Stabilization Project Manager, and the Law of Hell is mostly OSHA.

Thank you, that was a very helpful question!

#AEIWAM #An Elephant Is Warm and Mushy #Bleach #Bleach fanfic

[stesierra]

@blind-the-winds came up with a game idea!

Rules: Pick a bunch of your WIPs and summarize them as badly as possible, then ask your followers to vote on which one they'd be most likely to read. Multiple/all/none options are completely optional.

Tagging @avrablake @owlsandwich and @space-writes and else who wants to play!

#writing games #too many WIPs

[synergysilhouette]

Reimagining a Disney movie about a wishing star

I already made a remake of "Wish," but I did so trying to keep a lot of the story intact. However, in this post, I decided I wanted to take the bare bones of "Wish" (ie wishing on a Star and certain characters) and make my own story! This is my first time doing this, so lemme know what you think. (Note: I did make my own alteration by trying to fix what we got with "Wish" as well.)

Aesthetic

Overall I like the idea of the film being 2D or 3D instead of hybrid. To appease the nostalgic masses, I'll say my film is 2D, though I'm unsure on what period to take from; I loved the Roccoco-inspired animation of "Cinderella" as well as the gothic, High Middle Ages aesthetic of "Sleeping Beauty" (which was an inspiration for the film; sadly, it imitated poor box office success, too). Though in terms of 21st century animation, I'm not sure if there's anything more amazing than the Firebird Suite sequence from "Fantasia 2000."

Plot

"Every year in a magical kingdom, there is a phenomenon that occurs: the Skyfall, a benevolent occurrence where it appears that all the stars fall from the sky. When it happens, it's said that those who manage to catch the falling star will have their heart's desire granted. Long ago, a young man captured a star, and he asked for the power to grant other's wishes. While his wish was granted, his future--and the kingdom's future--descended into darkness, as the stars fell and never returned to the night sky, leaving it a dark void. Decades later, a young maiden makes a wish that defies all possibility, creating a light that leads to dark shadows that seek to extinguish all hope."

Characters

Protagonist--In my rewrite, I'd have our leading lady as a woman of Middle Eastern, Sub-Saharan African, or Romani heritage. I haven't settled on which, though for names I'd go with either Aaliyah or Nimue. She'd be a more mature and less adorkable lead, but still fun to be around, similar to Belle, Pocahontas, and Tiana. Given her role as the sorcerer's apprentice, I'd love a callback to Mickey's red, blue, and silver look. I'm thinking a red dress in a style similar to Aurora's peasant dress, as well as a headband like Jasmine's, only a sapphire blue with silver stars. She's trained as a sorcerer's apprentice since she was a child, with her family's support motivating her to embrace the mystical world in order to grow emotionally and psychologically. She grew up in a broken kingdom filled with corruption, selfishness, and greed. One of the few people who understand right from wrong (according to American society, anyway; I know such terms are subjective), she thinks of stories her grandfather told her about the stars, and how she wanted to see them--but even more than that, she wanted to wish on one to restore her kingdom to it's former glory. While working as a sorcerer's apprentice, she gains magic and tries to help others, but her innate talent attracts people who would seek to take advantage of her, wanting to use her in lieu of their shooting stars. When she summons a star into existence, she attempts to hide him in order to keep him from being destroyed.

The Sorcerer--Known as Orchus, he was originally a kind young man who existed in earlier days of the kingdom. A gifted magician, he managed to catch a star, and seeing how this was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, he wished to be able to catch more stars. His wish was selfless at first, but when he began giving wishes to others, they began to task him with doing it themselves, not bothering to work to capture them themselves, and coming up with the most mundane wishes. After a time, the townsfolk turn greedy, and one person wishes for the stars to fall every night. For a decade or so, stars rain down, to the point where even the royal family succumbs to it's charm, making wishes for grand(er) things. This earns the envy of the common people, who wish to be grander than the king and his family. This creates a war of wishes, which only Orchus manages to quell. By the end of it, all the stars in the sky have been eradicated from the sky, leaving only the moon and the sun, and the kingdom is in pieces. Orchus has become a powerful sorcerer who controls the kingdom, using the royals as the face of it, rebuilding the kingdom as a illustrious-looking location, but seeping with criminal activity and corruption. He believes this is the natural order of things: if people have wishes, they don't ask, but take what they want, and he fixes anything that gets too out of hand. He takes the protagonist under his wings in order to make a successor who can control the kingdom when he's gone, knowing that a rebellion with break out if there's no one to keep the relative "peace." When the protagonist accidentally summons a star, Orchus seeks to destroy it, believing that the world is better off without them--perhaps one day, no one will wish for anything. As you can see, Xehanort from "Kingdom Hearts" was my inspiration.

The star prince--Let's name him Orion, and he's not a literal prince; it's just a nickname. Originally I had him planned as being innocent and sweet, similar to Hercules, but I do like the idea of him being a bit feisty, essentially a male version of Jasmine. I'm not sure what his race would be, but I would want a fantasy outfit like Prince Ryoma's supreme samurai look from "Fire Emblem Heroes," as well as perhaps taking fashion aspect from Prince Florian and a physical appearance similar to Li Shang and Aladdin. His voice is ethereal and while kind, he isn't afraid to assert his power if need be. Originally I imagined a youthful, slimmer build, but perhaps a more mature, muscular build similar to Shang and Captain Phoebus would be more appropriate. I'd imagine he dresses in very colorful, moving clothes, perhaps with nature motifs, depending on the situation. A scorpion motif (given his name) would be a nice mainstay to his looks. (I swear, I keep imagining an Inuyasha inspiration for some reason.) He's nonbinary since he's a shapeshifter, but most of the time takes a masculine form and goes by he/him pronouns (but I'd think he'd answer to other ones as well). He attempts to help others, but his powers quickly attract the attention of Orchus, who believes his presence will only cause trouble. As he continues to (sometimes unintentionally) grant the wishes of others, the environment begins to grow malevolent, with the weather and waves antagonizing the kingdom. It soon becomes apparent that the frequent wish granting affects the balance of nature, creating more corruption within the city and destruction that even Orchus cannot repair. As such, Orchus demonizes him as a malevolent being who is keeping stars from the people. It's noted throughout the film that there are other, albeit less powerful ways, of people making wishes besides shooting stars, ie a wishing well.

Protagonist's family and friends--I'm kinda iffy on how many people there are in the film so they can all get proper attention and development. I'd like to say both of the protagonist's parents are alive: her mother is like a mix of Gothel and Lady Tremaine, but with good intentions (she's vain, greedy, and a social climber, but deep down she does care about her family, even if she's frequently selfish), and her father is emotionally detached and critical of many of her decisions, being particularly hard on her due to her prestigious position as a sorcerer's apprentice. She has two brothers (I was gonna do sisters too, but no Disney princess has brothers): a younger one who is quite intelligent and crafty, already pessimistic of life and believes you have to lie, cheat, and steal to get anywhere in life, and an older brother who is super naive, easily taken advantage of and must be protected. The family pressures her to let Orion grant their wishes, but they keep wanting more, despite the protagonist's warnings about arousing suspicion. (As you may have noticed, I didn't give them names since I never settled on our protagonist's name/race.)

As for her friends, I'd like to think she has an excitable female friend (similar to Lottie from TPATF) as well as a weary, cautious friend (similar to Nakoma from "Pocahontas"). While her excitable friend is similar to the protagonist's older brother and wants to help those in need, her cautious friend is more concerned with keeping the peace and staying out of trouble. I wanted them to be on two ends of the spectrum in order to show our protagonist two perspectives when facing trouble: trying to get by and trying to help. I don't want there to be a distinct "right/wrong" message with them.

The King and Queen--They would've made kind rulers, but they grew up during the Corruption of the Sky, so they're not the rulers they should be; the king is passive and easily controlled and manipulated, while the queen is insecure and temperamental. They barely get along with each other, but one thing that did seem to quell them was the desire for a child. While they genuinely want children, their corruption makes them paranoid about the future of the throne, and thus a child is as much a need as it is a want.

Music

The Anderson-Lopez team or Lin-Manuel Miranda should've done the music for "Wish" and I guess I'll die on that hill. IDK how they would've approached it, but that's just my dream. However, since pop artist Julia Michaels wrote the music, I tried to take inspiration from radio and alternative music and manifest a unique sound for the album. And I'll probably edit this since I don't fully have the plot written out yet, and I suck at song titles.

Stars--Somewhat of a long song, I imagine a gentle beginning, followed by a glorious middle section, before a haunting end. It serves as the prologue for why the sky has no stars. For musical inspiration, I'd say and Utada Hikaru's "Sanctuary" would be the inspiration.

In the Air--In this song, the protagonist sings about her potential to be the next royal magician, and how she considers the idea of becoming a royal advisor. Her family sings this with her to boost her confidence, and Orchus chimes in to hype her up before dousing her confidence. I'd probably take "Colors of the Wind" as an inspiration here.

Your Eyes--A long song between our protagonist and Orion, in which Orion tells her that she should strive to understand other people's perspectives and beliefs, even if she doesn't agree with them, since it'll make her someone the kingdom will look up to. I imagine it as a soft song at first, I imagine it goes full power ballad by the end, kinda like a cross between "You're You" (a deleted song from "Frozen") and "Let it Go."

Royal Favorite--In order to get the protagonist more on his side, Orchus attempts to manipulate her by encouraging her to tell him about the star (which she hasn't, but he has his suspicions). He does so by having the king and queen convince her that everything is fine in the kingdom, and that she should focus on using her magic to give them a child (which would keep her distracted). I imagine this as a guilt/gaslight song that masquerades itself a bubbly and cozy; Gwen Stefani's "This is What the Truth Feels Like" album (specifically "You're My Favorite" and "Loveable") as my inspiration.

Nightfall--I'm thinking it starts off slow and quiet, creeping and making the hair on the back of your neck stand up as Orchus sings calmly as he uses begins to kill those who oppose him, having managed to kill Orion. Honestly I keep thinking "Pray You Catch Me" with this for some reason.

Nobody--Our protagonist is imprisoned and forced to watch as her parents are abused by the townsfolk for standing against Orchus, with their newfound wealth and power being cast aside. She reflects on how she wanted to make a difference, and all that she's done is hurt everyone she's cared about, and Orchus reminds her that she needs to get in line. However, her friends manage to free her, and they tell her that it's good that she's nobody, since everyone says "Nobody will defeat Orchus."

Constellation--After defeating Orchus, his power explodes across the sky, creating a new generation of stars, albeit now they don't fall. Our protagonist reflects on how she misses Orion, but it's for the best, as she worries that he'd be taken advantage of again. During the journey, she reflects on how some wishes should never be granted, and how she believes that some of the people of the kingdom will eventually achieve their own wishes through their own efforts, not it'd take a while before anyone WANTS a wish granted, seeing all the trauma the kingdom's been through.

Lemme know that you think! This was fun! I may edit this a bit more with time. Don't get me wrong, I like my alternate takes, but maybe I'll do more original stories with the bare bones of Disney films. I'm already coming up with a "Frozen" concept!

#disney #disney animation #wish #magnifico #king magnifico #asha #disney princess #cinderella #sleeping beauty #fantasia #aurora #encanto #frozen

[subzeroparade]

What's a ballet with real snazzy costume work, in your humble and/or professional opinion? c:

Oh, you’ve activated my trap card - asking about costume design and ballet and not expecting me to barf up the entirety of my PhD. I’ve also done work on the ballet blancs costumes (Giselle and La Sylphide specifically) but they are interesting on a theoretical level and not so much visually, so I’ll skip that.

So here are some personal favs of mine - the highlights, if you will. Caveat: long post, and mostly limited to the work of the Ballets Russes, because they are my longtime obsession and I think (and have argued) for their role in fundamentally changing stage and costume design (to say nothing of dance, and George Balanchine can sit the fuck down). I didn’t put that in my thesis but I wanted to.

Anyway tldr in the first decade of the 20th century a troupe of dancers from the Russian Imperial Ballet (later the Mariinsky) travelled through Europe under impresario Serge Diaghilev, for what became known as the Saisons Russes, or Russian Seasons. They performed both opera and ballet, and are probably best remembered today (if at all) as the troupe that danced the premier of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and caused a riot at the Theatre des Champs Elysées. The eminent artists that worked with them include Debussy, Cocteau, Picasso, Chanel - and these are only a few recognisable names. But my focus was primarily on the Russian roots of the ballet, in their visual language and presentation of gender and nationality, more precisely around the work of artist Leon Bakst and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. 

Second image of Nijinsky from Le Dieu Bleu, and Bakst’s set design from Scheherazade (1911). These are mainly photos and scans I have from the year I spent in the archives of the Palais Garnier (the Paris Opera) where all the good stuff is.

The crux of why these costumes are insanely interesting to me is because they are very specific to their time - they are a product of a resurgence in nationalist interests in Russian art (Diaghilev ran Mir Isskustva and worked with Savva Mamontov before he organised the BR) as well as a carefully crafted, highly artificial presentation of Otherness, expressly destined for export to the west. French audiences in the first decade of the 20th century (because there is a stark cut-off at the beginning of WW1) still had an appetite for Orientalism, despite their flagging colonial power. What the Russians brought them was compelling mix of performative Orientalism just vague enough to be appealing and fantastical, visually intriguing, and refreshing to a society that had otherwise come to recognise itself as decadent, fallen “victim” to modernity. In the athletic virtuosity of Russian bodies, Bakst’s exotic visual language and the soaring music of Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky, the French devoured what they deemed a sort of noble savagery (yes, that kind). Despite the oversaturation of Orientalism in painting throughout the 19th century, the French identified a kind of masculine vigour and freedom in these live performances they found they themselves lacked, and longed for. Primitivism, as demonstrated in myriad ways by the BR, was for them a way to reconnect with a virility that they felt modernity had stolen, or at the very least, weakened. If you think this sounds eerily akin to the discourse around mounting desire for war to “cleanse” or “reset” Europe during that same period, you are right. 

A few of Bakst’s lesser known designs from the archive, for context (including a reprod by Barbier which I don’t have the OG of but is saved in my Bakst folder so please take my word for it). I have a thousand more of these but tumblr has an image limit per post 😤

Tamara Karsavina, who often performed with Nijinsky, and one of my most beloved historical figures. The existence of a strong classical ballet cirruculumin the UK today is in part thanks to her. 

One of her most famous roles, as the Firebird:

Nijinsky is by far the most interesting figure to come out of the BR. He combined virtuosity and strength (that most audiences identified as masculine) with a glittering, joyful, and expressive queerness on stage (and off). Some of his greatest roles are expressly feminine in their costume design: Le Spectre de La Rose, for example.

There’s a colorised version of this out there where you can see every pink rose petal on him.

While others are much more decorative but still markedly Orientalist (or Russian-Orientalist): Le Dieu Bleu, La Peri, Les Orientales, L’Oiseaux de Feu. 

This last image above is not, the last I saw it, in a private collection. It hangs above the vestibule of the Palais Garnier archives (also Napoleon’s private hangout room) where it faces the sort of “diptych” version that features Karsavina, and on occasion I would stand below them and weep quietly).

Either way, there is an argument to be made about Nijinsky’s physicality and, more importantly nationality as a kind of avenue of permission through which the French could admire both his beauty and athleticism and even, to a degree, imagine themselves in his place while still maintaining that safe distance of Otherness.  

But I would argue that his greatest role was the Golden Slave in Scheherazade, a wild, erotic orientalist fantasy that has little to nothing to do with the actual tale of Scheherazade. In it, Nijinsky - bejewelled, wild, ecstatic, (and yeah often in blackface) - cavorts with Zobeide, the Sultan’s favourite, in a very sexually explicit storyline. Both characters are equally decorative in their costumes, and both, in real life, were recognisably queer(ed) figures. It’s Scheherazade in particular that helped accelerate an obsessive trend in fashion (Paul Poiret was at the centre) for Orientalist design. Bakst himself did some silhouettes that are hard to distinguish from his costume design, and through the remarkable illustrations by Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape and Georges Barbier, we can see some of the blatant repetition of motif and silhouette in these ensembles that are designed, among other things, to be worn to the theatre. 

3rd and 5th are depictions of costumes of the Firebird and Zobeide respectively; the rest are fashion plates. This doesn’t even include the lampshade dress - which I don’t have a handy picture of, but have seen in real life - that is a pretty blatant melange of the Firebird and Zobeide, as designed by Poiret. Below is one of my favourite examples: A woman in a lampshade-style dress, standing against a backdrop not unlike Bakst’s set design above, attended by a archetypal oriental servant wearing Nijinsky’s Golden Slave costume.

These motifs also proliferated in advertisements and in all kinds of other consumer products (perfumes, for example, and decorative objects). Thus, there’s a performative aim in wearing these designs that I read as a sort of pseudo-kinetic empathy (and can funnnily enough probably be compared to cosplay). There is an attempt here to channel what is being presented onstage, to reenact it, to physically embody it, in the way that fashion is, at its core, a tool through which to construct identity. That the French pulled inspiration from an openly queer man leaping across the stage dripping in jewels, and from femme fatal-style odalisques, says a lot about the visual and cultural impact the BR had on the theatre-going public at the time.

You can see in these fan designs by Paquin some pretty obvious references to the BR aesthetic: L’apres-midi d’un faune, Daphnis et Chloe, Scheherazade, even a little Le Pavillon d’Armide in that first one. 

Nijinsky was not the only one to queer the stage: despite not being a dancer trained to the level of the BR troupe, Ida Rubinstein, no doubt purposefully channelling Sarah Bernhardt, was also a beloved stage presence, whether as the sly harem favourite Zobeide or as the strikingly androgynous St Sebastian, gayest of saints. 

This is not to say there haven’t been wonderful and brilliant costume designs since - and quite a few known fashion designers working alongside dance companies, to great success or otherwise. I will, however, shoutout my favourite contemporary work: Akram Khan’s Giselle, which has everything and yet nothing to do with Adolph Adam’s 1842 piece. I don’t even want to post pictures because the costumes of the nobles (the landowners, in this very apocalyptically late-stage capitalist version) are so fucking breathtaking in relation to the overall design, and their entrance itself is probably one of the most spectacular parts of the ballet, that all I can say is just see it. Or buy the dvd. What Khan does gesturally is beyond words, what Vincenzo Lamagna does with Adam’s original score is visceral and haunting and churns my insides. I make a point to see it live at least once a season when it’s touring with the ENB, and I will do so until it leaves the repertory or until I die. It’s my contemporary Scheherazade. It’s a gesamtkunstwerk. 

Tldr Leon Bakst is one of the greatest costume designers of the 19th and 20th century and criminally underrated. 

It’s not ballet, and it’s not the sumptuous costumes from Boris Godunov, but as a bonus here’s my favourite image of opera star Fedor Chaliapine as Ivan the Terrible.

#Thank you for the enclosure enrichment #And for coming to the tldr of my thesis #ballets russes #vaslav nijinsky #Leon bakst #fashion design #academic indulgence hour #Art history

[richincolor]

We have a ton of books on our calendar for July, so I thought it would be fun to highlight a few that caught my eye. Are any of these on your TBR list?

All the Yellow Suns by Malavika Kannan

A coming-of-age story about a queer Indian American girl exploring activism and identity through art, perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Sixteen-year-old Maya Krishnan is fiercely protective of her friends, immigrant community, and single mother, but she knows better than to rock the boat in her conservative Florida suburb. Her classmate Juneau Zale is the polar opposite: she’s a wealthy white heartbreaker who won’t think twice before capsizing that boat. When Juneau invites Maya to join the Pugilists—a secret society of artists, vandals, and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school—Maya descends into the world of change-making and resistance. Soon, she and Juneau forge a friendship that inspires Maya to confront the challenges in her own life. But as their relationship grows romantic, painful, and twisted, Maya begins to suspect that there’s a whole different person beneath Juneau’s painted-on facade. Now Maya must learn to speak her truth in this mysterious, mixed-up world—even if it results in heartbreak.

What a Desi Girl Wants Sabina Khan

The romance of Becky Albertalli meets the nuanced family dynamics of Darius the Great is Not Okay in this YA novel from acclaimed author Sabina Khan. Mehar hasn't been back to India since she and her mother moved away when she was only four. Hasn't visited her father, her grandmother, her family, or the home where she grew up. Why would she? Her father made it clear that she's not his priority when he chose not to come to the US with them. But when her father announces his engagement to socialite Naz, Mehar reluctantly agrees to return for the wedding. Maybe she and her father can heal their broken relationship. And after all, her father is Indian royalty, and his home is a palace--the wedding is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime affair. While her father still doesn't make the time for her, Mehar barely cares once she meets Sufiya, her grandmother's assistant, and one of the most grounded, thoughtful, kind people she's ever met! Though they come from totally different worlds, their friendship slowly starts to blossom into something more . . . Mehar thinks. Meanwhile, Mehar's dislike for Naz and her social media influencer daughter, Aleena, deepens. She can tell that the two of them are just using her father for his money. Mehar's starting to think that putting a stop to this wedding might be the best thing for everyone involved. But what happens when telling her father the truth about Naz and Aleena means putting her relationship with Sufiya at risk . . .

Firebird by Sunmi HarperCollins

Caroline Kim is feeling the weight of sophomore year. When she starts tutoring infamous senior Kimberly Park-Ocampo--a charismatic lesbian, friend to rich kids and punks alike--Caroline is flustered . . . but intrigued Their friendship kindles and before they know it, the two are sneaking out for late-night drives, bonding beneath the stars over music, dreams, and a shared desire of getting away from it all. A connection begins to smolder . . . but will feelings of guilt and the mounting pressure of life outside of these adventures extinguish their spark before it catches fire? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui Henry Holt

You can check out of Room 9, but you can never leave. The Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour in this paranormal mystery YA about the ghosts we carry with us. Something is building, simmering just out of reach. The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don't know this yet. When the two best friends are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel, located in the middle of nowhere, Indiana. Mira can't shake the feeling that there is something wrong and rotten about their room. Inside, she's haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he's still there. Layla doesn't see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The place may be a little run down, but it has a certain charm she can’t wait to capture on camera. If Layla is being honest, she’s too preoccupied with confusing feelings for Mira to see much else. But when they learn eight people died in that same room, they realize there must be a connection between the deaths and the unexplainable things that keep happening inside it. They just have to find the connection before Mira becomes the ninth.

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat

This lyrical coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up, set in southern California in 1996, follows a teen who wants to honor her deceased friend’s legacy by entering a rap contest. Perfect Iranian girls are straight A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian boys. But it’s the San Fernando Valley in 1996, and Rana Joon is far from perfect—she smokes weed and loves Tupac, and she has a secret: she likes girls. As if that weren���t enough, her best friend, Louie—the one who knew her secret and encouraged her to live in the moment—died almost a year ago, and she’s still having trouble processing her grief. To honor him, Rana enters the rap battle he dreamed of competing in, even though she’s terrified of public speaking. But the clock is ticking. With the battle getting closer every day, she can’t decide whether to use one of Louie’s pieces or her own poetry, her family is coming apart, and she might even be falling in love. To get herself to the stage and fulfill her promise before her senior year ends, Rana will have to learn to speak her truth and live in the one and only now.

#all the yellow suns #what a desi girl wants #firebird #a guide to the dark #rana joon and the one and only now #book lists

[fili-the-jester]

More details on the "Whiteout AU"

The main duo are young adults at the start of the AU, Red Son is 23 (in demon years) and Xiaojiao is 20.

Red Son refers to Xiaojiao as "Mei-Mei" and Xiaojiao calls Red Son various nicknames such as "Red," "Firecracker," "Redbird," "Firebird," and other things.

Red Son’s actual name is Hong Hai’er, he just chooses to go by Red Son instead.

Red Son tends to have small bursts of red flames, while Xiaojiao has small crackles of green electricity.

Red Son is a tech genius, often creating gadgets and weapons for the monster hunters/monster slayers to use. He also helps to create technological enhancements and prosthetics for others who need them.

Long Xiaojiao/Mei is still a racer in this AU, she participates in monthly racing competitions and is even a racing champion. The races are mainly held as a form of entertainment and part of the celebration of the safe haven surviving for another month.

The main duo both have their own weapons and outfits for when they're maintaining the perimeter and slaying the “creatures”.

Tang lives in the safe haven of Wan Qian Cheng with the main duo. He mainly works at the library and organizes the archives. Most if not all of the research that goes into the monster-slaying is kept in this library.

Life in the safe havens, at least most of them, are not all doom and gloom. People get on with their lives like normal, they have heating/AC and electricity, running water, supplies of fresh food, businesses like arcades and cafes/restaurants, technology, holidays and festivals, and most things you'd find in a non-apocalyptic society. There are rules in place to ensure that the residents of the haven remain safe and don't do something that could jeopardize the whole safe haven.

The safe haven of Wan Qian Cheng has a whole district of it that is dedicated to farming, livestock, and agriculture. Most of the food that the residents cook and eat is grown in this farming district. Stealing food or vandalism of the farming district and the food storages is considered punishable by exile from the safe haven.

Trade between the safe havens is particularly difficult due to the possibility of being attacked, but sometimes people are able to converse. This also makes certain items a rarity and a special privilege to have or something to get for a special occasion due to the difficultly of obtaining them.

There are safe havens outside of the ones that are ruled by the Dragon Clan.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lego monkie kid au #lmk au #lmk whiteout au #whiteout au

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

What’s your version of Mikhail Arkadin like?

He's a former student of Martin Stein who helped developed the original Firestorm Matrix, specifically the one Ronnie bonded to and that eventually corrupted into Deathstorm. Miki's outlook on metahuman powers were more influence by mysticism than the purely scientific Stein, drawing from legends of Pan-Slavic Fire Gods like Svarog and Dazhbog, as well as Svarog's "son" Svarozhich, a fire elemental that Miki directly communed with and drew power from as Pozhar.

Martin didn't believe in divinity as such, but still used the relationship between gods and adherents as a model for the Firestorm Matrix as a way for living beings to tap directly into the primordial generative forces of the universe. As Miki would say, Martin had invented a shortcut to "becoming Angels" that anyone could use, though as Firestorm proliferation exploded into Firehawks, Brimstones, Atomic Skulls, Double X's, Volcana and Deathstorm, he began to look at it more as "becoming Dragons" particular as groups like the 2000 Committee and the Thorul Society began to corrupt the purity of their work.

He took the loss of Martin to Deathstorm's control incredibly hard, agreeing to take command of both the People's Heroes and the Red Shadows (Russia's Task Force X, maintaining its Soviet Era designation) purely as tools against the horrors of the universe-consuming power he had helped create.

His niece Serafina is also a metahuman under the name "Firebird" though her natural powerset is psionic in nature. Embedding her with a Firestorm Protocol (likely a Firehawk) has entered the conversation, but Pozhar's been talking to gods and the Great Dazhbog may have his own plans for the Red Sky Days to come...

#dc #headverse #au #pozhar #mikhail arkadin #anon ask

[insomniac-jay]

DC OC | Canon Fankids

Felicia Wayne | Stray

Felicia is the youngest daughter of Batman and Catwoman after their first daughter Helena which makes her just a bit younger than Damian.

Felicia is a true menace to society and no one knows how she got like this. You can tell she is a true chaotic neutral bc she does not give a FUCK about good or bad, right and wrong, all she wants to do is have fun and be chaotic. She has no semblance of a moral compass, only vibes. Bruce and Selina can't discipline her because 9 times out of 10 they don't even know what to do.

Stellan'dr Grayson | Firebird

Stellan'dr is the second daughter of Nightwing and Starfire. Her powers are the most interesting as she can't make her mom's Starbolts but rather she can absorb heat from the sun to make cosmic fire. Stella is an outdoorsy girl who loves being in nature more than she does being indoors. Her hair becomes fire when exposed to direct sunlight.

@calciumcryptid @peachyblkdemonslayer @autisticichihime

#jay's dc ocs #dc comics #fankids #dickkory #batcat

[jumpingjollyrancher]

Day 29: Contravention

an action that violates a law, treaty, or other ruling.

"You would flout the base of our very society?" Hades looks aghast at him. He has looked shocked, exhausted, and put out by his actions before. But this is far from those days of teasing and silliness. The sky above them is burning and many are already lost. "We are to care for the star above all! That is our purpose as sheperds of this star."

Despite the ruin around them, Apollo's hair still shines like a golden halo around his head. The smoke streaks on his face only highlight the undimmed glow of his eyes. "Are the people not part of that?" He asks it quietly, tiredly. "How many will you sacrifice for this...stopgap? It will not address the cause, only add a thicker barrier."

"It will reshape everything to protect us from this, this decay!" Hades grabs his arm. "It will secure our future. Why do you think so many volunteered?"

"Sacrifice or death is not a choice." Apollo tugs at his hold, but Hades's grip is white knuckled. Apollo covers his hand with his own. Both of their fingers feel like ice, but the touch sparks a flicker of warmth. "I already resigned. I refuse to do this."

"You think you can fix this somehow?" Hades shakes his head. "No, Venat and her lot are dreaming. This is our only answer."

Apollo looks up at the burning sky, the falling stars. They leave burning holes across the sky. For a moment, sparks flicker behind Apollo's eyes and he exhales. "Maybe you're right. But I will not take part. I have my own path."

Hades's eyebrows knit. "What have you seen?"

"Nothing. I cannot tell you if this is fate or folly. We are on our own." Apollo turns back to him. He kisses Hades's forehead. "Goodbye, Hades."

It sounds final, too final. Hades tries to cling to him, but now the warmth turns to flames. Hades drops him, staggering back. The flames die from him, but Apollo wreathes himself in them like Lahabrea's firebird. "Apollo! You cannot! The Convocation will never forget this contravention!"

"Let them remember it. I will see our people to a future unshackled." Apollo whistles a familiar tune, his favored spell. He disappears in an flash of light, leaving only a scorched street and Hades alone.

Wherever he's gone, whatever he will do, it will come to naught. Hades must do what needs must be done, even if it sickens him. "Fool," he spits. "You will see. We will restore our star and all who lived."

#ffxivwrite2023 #shadowbringers spoilers #endwalker spoilers #Apollo #Emet-Selch #ancients drama~ #this will get so edited and expanded when I have more time to think it over and work on it #ffxivwrite

[novafire-is-thinking]

Behind the Playlist - Transformers: Prime Edition (Part 19 of 22: Soundwave)

Link to the other posts in my Behind the Playlist series

✧ ✧ ✧

A superior playlist for one of the truest Decepticons to ever traverse the stars. I made sure that most of my song choices lined up with defining aspects of his character without needing words. The songs that do have lyrics provide further structure and glimpses into specific parts of his story that stand out to me.

Intended overarching themes and/or qualities: The Silent Strategist, Loyalty, Power Behind the Throne

My personal favorite(s) from this playlist: Cathedral, Firestarter, Loyal, Night Vision, Masters of Time, The One to Survive, Secrets In Your Head, Erase the Memory, Alone, Firebird, Bounce, Valor, Spartan, and Ottumn

✧ ✧ ✧

Full song list and explanations under the cut:

Cathedral by Volta

I love how the music here seems to capture Soundwave’s wordless taunting conveyed in the way he conducted himself (body language, fighting style, etc.)

Soundwave by Valerio Reali

Soundwave superior.

W.A.V.E. (Bonus Track) by Emil Rottmayer

Megatron’s right-hand ‘wave. The true second-in-command.

Firestarter (Doug Weir Remix) by Manafest

“I've never been the one to blaze a path / But I've never been the type that just gets walked all over / I don't normally overreact / But I just can't sit here waiting / For someone to initiate it / I won't sit back and watch it waste away”

Once a member of Cybertron’s high council, Soundwave saw the deteriorating state of Cybertronian society and was moved by the suffering of the lower castes. No one else was taking effective action to relieve the suffering of Cybertron’s people, and he refused to sit around waiting for them to do so. His vehement resignation from the high council was a major wake up call.

“I wanna be a fire starter / You can help me if you wanna / We can spread and make the whole world light up / Light up, light up”

I like to think of this as the essence of what Soundwave would have said to Megatron when he recognized the latter’s revolutionary potential.

“Do the right thing and don't look back / They can judge me, but they won't ever suffocate me / I can see through the truth and all the lies / You can tell me it's not worth fighting / But I've seen it, I believe it / I won't stand by and watch it waste away”

Soundwave is nothing if not resilient. He’d been part of the rebellion against the Quintessons and witnessed Cybertron’s Golden Age. When things started devolving during The Age of Rust, he saw through the empty talk of the other members of The Council. Soundwave did what they were too afraid to do by living like those in the lower castes in order to ignite change.

Loyal by ODESZA

Semper fidelis

(Latin: ‘always faithful / loyal’)

Ultraviolet by Aevi

Soundwave made purple bio lights cool before Dark Energon.

Electricity - Original mix by DOWN

Soundwave and Laserbeak were the only two bots in TFP with the ability to disable opponents via direct electric shock. First, I wonder how much more energon that used up per shock. Also, why didn’t Soundwave use it on Wheeljack during their tussle over the resonance blaster? Because having Soundwave stand over Wheeljack with the sound weapon in hand was much cooler, of course.

Night Vision by Lindsey Stirling

You know the scene in Triage where Soundwave arrived to retrieve an injured Laserbeak at night as a terrified Ratchet hid? This song makes me think of that scene.

Masters of Time by Iván Torrent

I think this song matches Soundwave’s air of mystery and pure effectiveness as the sharpest* bot under Megatron’s command.

*physically and mentally

Break The Silence by The FifthGuys

He broke his silence once in the entirety of TFP. And it was awesome.

Carry On by The Score, AWOLNATION

“When it's cold in this wild, wild world / Everyone's trying to dig your grave / I carry on / When you're told you don't the fit the mold / Now everybody's got a say / I carry on / When the madness all around us starts to take it's toll / I carry on / It's a long, dark, winding road we're on / Oh, I carry on”

@onewingedsparrow introduced this one to me a while back. I think it’s a great fit for Soundwave because I can interpret it as expressing the apathy he displayed in TFP. By the time we met him in the show, he was far from the passionate defender of the oppressed portrayed in The Covenant of Primus. It’s reasonable to assume that, as a way to survive the pain of war, Soundwave became indifferent and carried on by holding too tightly to his blind trust in Megatron and his methods.

The One to Survive by Hidden Citizens, Josh Bruce Williams

“I'm a winner / I'm a fighter / Here to stay / And you're gonna remember my name / No nothing can stand in my way / This what I live for / This is my game

Even if the sky is falling / Even if the waters rise / Even if the world is ending / I will make it out alive / I will be the one to survive”

“Survivalist” is a term that comes to mind when I think of Soundwave and his predominant mindset. He stayed away from direct confrontation most of the time, but it was extremely difficult to take him out of a fight once he did get involved. His gift for calculated risk enabled him to survive to the end of the war, even outliving Megatron (until his resurrection, of course).

Resonance by Scott Buckley

A nod to the Resonance Blaster.

Secrets In Your Head by UNSECRET, Jillian Edwards

I can only imagine the weight of all the secrets and memories Soundwave carried within his mind. I’ve played with angsty headcanons related to why he might have held onto memories so tightly, but I’ll wait to share those another time.

Erase the Memory by Sparkee

Erasing particular memories of his may have been something Soundwave was able to do, but chose not to for multiple reasons. One of which was the fact that his memories—both the good and the bad—were vital to his survival and the survival of the Decepticon cause.

Alone by Altrøx

After losing all but one minicon/cassette companion, his closest* friend, and the cause he’d dedicated his life to, I’m sure Soundwave’s loneliness and despair were nearly crushing at some point during his stay in the Shadowzone. He had no one else but Laserbeak and a terrorcon for company. I do wonder if he managed to kill terrorcon Skyquake though…

*I have doubts about their closeness, but it’s at least a personal headcanon.

Firebird by Phil Rey, Felicia Farerre

My first impression of this song led me to associate it with a younger Soundwave when he was an up-and-coming gladiator in the pits: Guarded, a quick learner, swift, and shouldering an unusual background compared to that of the typical gladiator. Also, as I’ve said before, Soundwave dances when he fights, and this instrumental captures that beautifully.

Bounce by Altrøx

I associate this one here with Soundwave’s latter years in the pits after he’d gained more experience. Of course, this led him to eventually meet Megatron as an equal in the match that would open the door for them to join forces as revolutionaries. Both being popular gladiators, they each would have had many loyal followers and fans, most of whom probably joined together to form the early Decepticon movement.

Violent Purple by meganeko

Violent Purple? Violent Violet? Either one applies to Soundwave.

Valor by Alpine Universe

valor: (n.) strength of mind or spirit that enables an individual to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery

Spartan by Altrøx

Yes, I’m aware that Spartan soldiers were different from gladiators. However, while Soundwave and most of the other early Decepticons started out as gladiators, they had to learn to be more like a disciplined Spartan military force during the war. More accustomed to being pitted against one another as individuals, they eventually became brothers-in-arms in a way similar to the specially trained soldiers of Sparta. So, vaguely: Gladiatorial skills & ruthlessness + Spartan mindset & discipline = Earliest Decepticon forces. At least, I like to think so. History-to-fiction info dump aside, this song gives me Soundwave vibes.

Ottumn by Tales of the Forgotten, Bill Hemstepat, Dylan C. Jones

Like Megatron and other top gladiators, Soundwave would have honed his skills in the Pits of Kaon. This sharp instrumental track makes me think of the city of Kaon.

Rule Number Five by In Uchronia

Vibes.

TRAILBLAZING by Vo Williams

Similar to Firestarter, this song captures the original intention and passion that Soundwave would have had when he first began seeking a way to bring lasting change to Cybertron’s deeply corrupt system.

The Game Has Changed by Daft Punk

Soundwave is nothing if not a game changer. If he’d sided with the Autobots, they would have won in no time. Also, I can’t help but notice that with a color change or two, Soundwave would fit right in if he were dropped into the world of Tron.

Cymatics by Nigel Stanford

If you have not watched the music video and behind-the-scenes experiment videos for this, PLEASE do. It is the most Soundwave thing ever.

✧ ✧ ✧

Notes:

This post series is in alphabetical order. Next up are Starscream and Ultra Magnus.

As I add more songs to the playlist, I’ll update this post.

#transformers prime #transformers prime playlists #tfp #tfp playlists #transformers #transformers playlists #tfp soundwave #soundwave #maccadam #behind the playlist #Spotify #soundwave superior

[captainpetebradshaw]

Movie Diary 2023

Now that the new year is in full swing I finally have the time to go over my personal stats :D I've watched 145 movies this year (excluding rewatches) which is just 4 movies shy of my high of 149 movies from 2017 but I didn't even try that hard lol

Shoutout to the roosmav discord with which I've watched many Tom Cruise and Miles Teller movies and which definitely was part of the high number this year - love you guys!

Full list under the cut, my favorites are bold:

001 Legend

002 Emily the Criminal

003 The Banshees of Inisherin

004 The Swimmers

005 Cyrano

006 Thank You for Your Service

007 The Last Samurai

008 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

009 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

010 Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

011 National Theatre Live: No Man's Land

012 Strange World

013 21 & Over

014 All Quiet on the Western Front

015 National Theatre Live: Prima Facie

016 Teen Wolf: The Movie

017 Puss in Boots

018 Elivs

019 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

020 Rock of Ages

021 Causeway

022 The Quiet Girl

023 National Theatre Live: All About Eve

024 Triangle of Sadness

025 Minority Report

026 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

027 American Made

028 The Fabelmans

029 Fire of Love

030 The Fabelmans

031 EO

032 Get a Job

033 Cocktail

034 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

035 Batman Begins

036 Knock at the Cabin

037 Taps

038 Spiderhead

039 A Few Good Men

040 The Whale

041 Apocalypse Now (The Final Cut)

042 Women Talking

043 Miss Americana

044 Devotion

045 Operation Fortune: Ruse due Guerre

046 Tetris

047 Field of Dreams

048 Knight and Day

049 Missing

050 Shazam! Fury of the Gods

051 Days of Thunder

052 65

053 After Yang

054 Suzume

055 Serial (Bad) Weddings 3

056 Vanilla Sky

057 Cocaine Bear

058 Ghosted

059 Eyes Wide Shut

060 Amsterdam

061 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

062 Renfield

063 New Gods: Yang Jian

064 I Am What I Am

065 Man on Wire

066 Independence Day

067 The Super Mario Bros. Movie

068 The Firm

069 Polite Society

070 Air

071 The Blue Caftan

072 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

073 Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy

074 Joyland

075 Anything's Possible

076 Murder on the Orient Express

077 Kinky Boots

078 Mission: Impossible II

079 Schwimmen

080 Firebird

081 Mission: Impossible III

082 4th Man Out

083 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

084 Bulldog

085 Cruel Intentions

086 John Wick: Chapter 4

087 Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

088 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

089 Extraction 2

090 Nimona

091 Deep Sea

092 Barbie

093 Die Concorde - Absturz einer Legende

094 The Flash

095 Jumbo (2020)

096 Only the Brave

097 Joy Ride

098 Kill Boksoon

099 Oppenheimer

100 The 355

101 Legend (1985)

102 The Monkey King (2023)

103 Elemental

104 Wham!

105 Heart of Stone

106 Saint Omer

107 Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate

108 Past Lives

109 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

110 A Million Miles Away

111 Theater Camp

112 Bottoms

113 They Cloned Tyrone

114 Asteroid City

115 Saw

116 Race to the Summit

117 The Last Voyage of the Demeter

118 No One Will Save You

119 Brightburn

120 The Skin I Live In

121 M3GAN

122 Event Horizon

123 Bones and All

124 When Evil Lurks

125 Gran Turismo

126 Knuckle Girl

127 Tom Cruise: The Last Movie Star

128 The Last Black Man in San Francisco

129 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

130 Blue Beetle

131 The Creator

132 Napoleon

133 Mark Rothko - La peinture vous regarde

134 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

135 Linoleum

136 Wish

137 Quiz Lady

138 Pain Hustlers

139 Leo

140 Big

141 No Dogs or Italians Allowed

142 Violent NIght

143 Trading Places

144 Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

145 Journey to the West (2021)

#2023 #movies #movie diary

[aplanetaryghost]

Sucker

I'm pretty sure my best friend's a vampire. I'm aware that opening with that makes me sound delusional, but I promise I'm not.

Maya's been my best friend since middle school. I told her when we were ten that I thought she was the most interesting person I'd ever met, and she gave me a glow-in-the-dark Silly Band and, giggling, invited me to her secret society. And thusly, we were inseparable, as most childhood best friendships go. Through the trials of middle school dances and AP classes. She was the first person I told when I stopped believing in God; I was the first person she told when she got a girlfriend last spring. We keep each other's secrets safe. So Maya's never been scary, never been weird before— I mean, we've both been weird, but in the way little girls are. Inventing elaborate backstories for our fairy characters on the playground, making potions out of sticks and grass. 

The weird-weird stuff only started this past summer. Or at least, that's when I first noticed it. I don't remember the date, but it was early August, those dreamy midsummer days when school's not an imminent threat, but a distant memory. 

Maya had had a dance recital. She's been doing ballet since she was tiny, way before I knew her. You'd think she'd resent it by now, but she doesn't, isn't the kind of person to lose her love for something because of what other people want her to be. Her dance company was doing The Firebird, and I certainly can't remember the plot, but I remember Maya. A riot of red, a ribbon of flame. You know how there are some people who just— sort of— glow? Maya's one of those people. Like, of course she got the lead, because there's something electric about her, something impossibly magnetic and expressive. I'm the quiet kind of storyteller; I keep it to self-indulgent fanfiction and the homebrew DnD campaign that'll blow everyone's socks off if I manage to finish it before I die. But Maya— Maya's a center stage sort of girl. She's the only one I'd believe playing a creature of legend. She's such a good dancer. 

After the show I gave her some flowers; I don't really believe in traditional forms of manners like thank you notes and flowers, but my mom told me to bring them, so. And then Maya beamed as she took them from me, her brown eyes warm, honey-gold. Molten. Like there was fire in her then, too. 

Anyway, her mom had work stuff (her mom always had work stuff) so she came home with us. We sat on my bed with the stripy sheets, and she didn't make fun of me for having way too many stuffed animals for a junior in high school, and after we talked for a while she spotted my ukulele leaning against the side of the desk. And she asked me to teach her something. 

I mean, everyone and their mom learns "I'm Yours" on ukulele. It's super popular and it's in C, so it's sort of baby's first uke song. I said something mildly mocking about this to Maya and she laughed and said "Well, you don't have to teach me if it's too basic," and I blushed and said no I actually hate pretentiousness, and what kind of ridiculous person would try to gatekeep ukulele anyway, and she just laughed at me again, all airy and unsulliable. Sometimes I think Maya's made of different stuff from the rest of us. Sometimes I wonder why she bothers hanging out with me. 

I explained a little bit about how chord diagrams work, but Maya's not really a visual learner, so I handed the ukulele over so she could try it out herself. But she still hadn't quite gotten the hang of how to press the strings down so they don't buzz when you strum them, so I reached over to help. It's sort of instinct to do that— I did it when I was teaching my little sister, Lou, too— because it's hard to explain it any other way. I feel kind of bad for invading people's space, but Maya's a pretty touchy person anyway, so I shifted closer to her on the bed and leaned over her shoulder. I reached to place my fingers over hers on the fretboard. 

Her hand was freezing. It was ninety degrees outside, and our AC is super finicky, so it wasn't much cooler indoors. But Maya's hand was icy, and there were goosebumps up her arm. On some sudden fervent instinct, I grabbed her hand in both of mine and rubbed at the skin. "Why are you so cold?" I asked with a little laugh.  

She looked down sheepishly and gave a forced chuckle, gently tugging her hand from mine. "Maybe it'll warm up if I actually get this chord right."

She sounded uncomfortable. Nervous, almost. Like I'd caught her out on— what? Having cold hands? Maybe she just hadn't expected me to touch her. Logically, I should have been able to brush it off, but I just couldn't. Everything about that afternoon stood out to me, but especially the feeling of her frigid hand in mine. I just kept thinking about it. In bed that night, long after she'd gone home. In the car the next day, on the way to pick up Lou from summer camp. Practicing ukulele by myself a couple weeks later. The warm line of my shoulder against her back and the slightly-too-closeness of her face and the chill that seemed to pass from her to me when I touched her hand. It was just so fucking vivid, and not in a bad way, exactly, but it was weird. 

School started up again. I found Maya in homework and she beamed upon seeing me, and something sort of bubbled in my stomach, some weird nerves-excitement that I guess happens when you don't see your best friend for several weeks. And things were normal. I can't point at anything that was actually, tangibly off in those first few weeks. It's just that every interaction with Maya felt so charged, like now that she'd passed that strange electricity to me once, every time we touched each other that current flowed between us again. And it was unfamiliar and unsettling and also it meant nothing because nothing had actually changed, except for the fact that I was sort of addicted to it now: kept catching her eye in class, kept switching seats to sit next to her at lunch. 

But I didn't really have anything to ascribe the feeling to until Mrs. Richmond introduced the first unit of Honors English. Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla, like Dracula but before Dracula, and with more women. I'm not really a spooky-scaries person (as evidenced that I say shit like "spooky-scaries"), but it's short and has fantastical elements, both of which are very rare in books you have to read for school. So, fine by me. I know it came out before all those tropes existed— is maybe the reason we have these tropes— but it's funny reading a story that feels kind of like the ultimate vampire archetype. Spooky castle in vague eastern Europe. Beautiful mysterious stranger who hates crucifixes. Sorry Laura, but I think she vants to suck your blood. 

I've never read vampire stuff before, though, and there's something compelling about it. There's this intensity to the way Laura and Carmilla talk to each other, a sort of self-destructive desperation that feels like maybe there's a universe where Laura just says screw it and runs off with Carmilla on a whirlwind vampire quest. I always make this joke that if some kind of portal-fantasy door opened up in my life I wouldn't think twice before diving through it— fantastical dangers or no, I want to see a dragon! And there's something sort of like that in Laura. Like she's looking for something she can't find, except maybe Carmilla is it. Just something about the way Laura thinks, feels, talks, there's a flicker of— something— in my mind, in my heart, in my stomach. A sort of recognition, but of what? 

It tips over the edge when Maya bites me. That sounds weird, but— well, it's a little weird. Maybe I'm just making it weird. 

We're sleeping over Jess's for her birthday and we're marathoning the entire High School Musical trilogy. But we started late so it's 2 a.m., maybe, and we're about halfway through the third one. While Kelsi tries to convince everyone to do one last show to celebrate their senior year, we giggle deliriously and flick popcorn at each other. Maya keeps trying to steal my sour patch kids, but she hasn't got a subtle bone in her body, especially when she's on a sugar high and loopy from how late it is. I hold the cardboard box of candy over my head, my arm flinging wildly enough that it'll probably spill all over the floor anyways. She clambers over me, grasping at my arms, a tangle of limbs and warm laughter, and I stagger to my feet, using my height to my advantage and dangling it out of her reach. 

She huffs at my "unfair" use of "tall person privilege" and flops to the floor, declaring "I give up!" I follow suit, giggling softly, but I'm barely settled when she dives toward me again, eyes sparking. I fling the sour patch kids away but she just plasters herself to my side and announces, nonsensically, "I bet you taste better than sour patch kids!" and gives an exaggerated chomp to my shoulder, bare in my pajama tank top. We're all past laughing by now, more of a breathless wheeze, the kind you only get when it's way too late at night and you know each other better than anyone. 

Then Jess cackles and says "Why are you two children? I'm trying to watch Troy Bolton's existential crisis over here!" And something about the awareness of another person in the room— what, did I think it was just me and Maya? this is Jess's house— snaps me back to the present, and a cold feeling comes over me. My stomach drops, and there's heat flooding my face, and I don't know why. But Maya just blinks a little and then goes back to chuckling at the movie, and Jess and Margo don't seem put off at all, so I settle back into our nest of blankets on the floor and try to focus on Sharpay singing about her big Broadway dreams. 

The Monday after, October begins, and we're still talking about Carmilla, now with a sort of goofy spooky edge. We do a close read of the bit where Laura describes her dreams, but I can't focus on the strategic use of sensory imagery and foreshadowing because something about Laura's words is ringing, is resonating like a tuning fork set to the same note as some strange hidden part of my psyche. A magnetic pull, the rushing of a river. A strange, tumultuous excitement that was pleasurable, ever and anon, mingled with a vague sense of fear…

Mrs. Richmond says the river is the literal sensation of blood leaving her body, but I think it's something else. I think it doesn't matter what's physically happening when you're so wrapped up in a feeling; that Carmilla's consuming more of Laura's mind, or spirit, or something, than she is her blood. I know that intensity of feeling, have felt it before; it echoes the giddiness of that past Saturday, the sense that I was losing my mind in a good way. Maya's mouth on my bare skin. 

Well— okay, hang on. That's. That's not normal. Most people don't think about their friends the way they think about vampires.

I'm a pretty rational person, okay, and a skeptic to boot. But something's felt off for a while, and my brain latches onto this idea. Conjures a corkboard in my mind, draws strands of yarn between cold hands and strange attraction and teeth against my skin. Scrawls MAYA IS A VAMPIRE in messy red marker over the top. 

There's no fucking way. Right? Except now that the idea is named in my head I can't stop seeing it. Maya shading her eyes in the sun. Maya leaning into me for warmth. Maya not eating any of Margo's mom's garlic bread even though it's fucking delicious. Maya's eyes meeting mine and my brain plunging into some pool of Maya Maya Maya as if there's nothing else. Don't vampires have hypnotism or something? 

This is so stupid. I feel like a crazy person. I can't stop thinking about it, though. I go through the rest of the day in a weird haze, passing through class and homework and dinner with my mom and sister like a zombie. I try to distract myself but can't focus on anything because as ridiculous as this idea seems it also feels like an answer, like one I didn't know I was waiting for. I go to bed and toss and turn for a few hours and eventually give in, grabbing my laptop off my desk. The faint glow of the screen casts a ghostly glow on my face in the dark of my room. 

I don't really know what kind of search terms would get me where I need to go, and my brain's not really firing on all cylinders right now, so my first search attempt is the astonishingly intelligent carmilla vampire feelings real??? Which, shocker, does not bring up a helpful step-by-step checklist of signs of vampirism in your childhood best friend. 

It does bring up an article called "Queer Desire in Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla," which takes me aback. I click on the article and read through it, then go back and click on another. The rabbit hole swallows me and suddenly it's 4 a.m. and I'm deep in the YouTube comments of some vlogger-themed adaptation of the book, all of which say things like Carmilla could murder me and I would thank her and me, not knowing I was a lesbian: wow I wonder what it's like to kiss a pretty vampire girl.

At this point the blue light is hurting my eyes a little and, exhausted from my strange fugue state, I shut my computer and stare into the dark of my room. For a couple seconds there's just white noise in my head, my brain overfull with words and snatches of dialogue and flashes of photos. I let it sieve through my brain, the fluttering thoughts settling until suddenly they coalesce into a question I somehow hadn't even thought to ask. 

It's four a.m. I sit in my bed. I ask myself do I want Maya to kiss me? And—

Well, shit. 

The static fills my brain again, but not— not in a bad way, this time, I don't think. Just that flood of Maya Maya Maya, terrifying and reassuring all at once. Uncertain what to do, I'm left still staring at the ceiling until I fall asleep. 

The next day, Maya sits next to me in math, and the world implodes. I mean, it doesn't, not really, there are no external indications that such a thing might be happening. But I feel like someone pumped me full of helium and if I don't cling to reality white-knuckled I'll float away and maybe accidentally burn up in the sun. That sounds like my luck. I just keep looking at her. That Maya Maya Maya chorus has gotten louder, incessant, like my brain has decided it's key to my survival that I be distinctly aware of her presence at all times. We're partners for solving a problem on the board. She grins at me and jokingly names our team after the two of our names smashed together, like we're a popular ship from a sitcom. My insides are fizzing like that time when I was nine and ate five packets of Pop Rocks on a dare. 

But the world goes on even after it ends, apparently, because I don't spontaneously combust that day. Or the next. Or the next. I stammer my way through a couple of interactions with Maya, I shift uncomfortably in my seat when we talk about our opinions of Carmilla, but there's no catastrophe. I think this is what they were talking about when we learned about adaptation in bio. Sometimes shit just happens and you just…continue to exist. Reshape yourself around it. The feelings for Maya, unexpected and unrequited as they are, become comfortable. Like a worn-in sweater.

Maya talks about her girlfriend— not the one from last spring, someone new from the grade below us who she's in dance with, her name's Lily— more and more. It seems like she's getting more comfortable, too, and I'm happy for her. At first I think I can never tell her about me, like the fact of loving girls is permanently entangled with the fact of loving Maya, and admitting my sexuality to her would be showing my hand and ruining her relationship and a whole other host of anxious spirals. But weeks go by, and my heart settles a little. When Jess asks if there's a guy I want to take to the winter formal in November, I seize the moment and awkwardly reply "Or girl." And Maya grins and echoes, "Or girl." And then it's done. 

And then I tell my friend Parker from band, who's been out to me since freshman year anyway, and who thankfully is not embroiled in this whole mess and therefore is perfectly willing to listen to me lament my unrequited love as much as I need to. And slowly, the crush on Maya starts to feel less like an earth-shattering event or a collapsing star and more like something I can melodramatically gossip about in the band room after school. Then we finish Carmilla a week before Halloween and I get possibly the best idea I've ever had, even though it's literally an inside joke with myself.

There's a party at Jess's on the thirty-first. Maya will be there. So will everyone else. An hour before, I press fangs onto my teeth with cosmetic glue and smudge fake blood across my lips. When I'm done, I grin wickedly in the mirror. 

Maybe being a creature of the night isn't so bad. 

#original story #writers of tumblr #short story #i don't know how to tag these yet i'll figure it out #i wrote this for a project earlier this semester and absolutely should have edited it again before posting it here but #oh well #creative writing #fiction #vampires and bi awakenings a match made in heaven

[matan4il]

OK I hope this makes sense because I feel like some of my thoughts have been a little crystallized and I'm hoping for your opinion since your actually queer and very insightful.

So I know some fans pine for the days of the early promotion of Buddie when Stark and Guzman did goofy things together and even attended award shows. I get it and I missed it a little too. But I always felt like when the show settled on this was a true love scenario they scaled back on it for reasons of not making it silly or meme worthy.

Then all the interviews for My Policeman came out and Dawson and Styles addressing their approach to love scenes and their friendship and how they handle it now. They speak of it rather beautifully and they want you to see it that way. But also address their roles as actors friends, the promise to always smile and hug forever.

And that brought me back to Brokeback Mountain and Jake and Heath were protective of their roles. Even Jake later coming out and saying that Heath refused to be and Oscar skit because he didn't want it to be a "gay joke". He just wanted people to see the love.

So again it brought back to why in my head the change in the promotion changed and this really was what I was thinking. If they make Buddie Canon I don't think they ever want it to be funny or like a meme you know. I'm not implying either are deep in the closet characters but they are definitely different then say TK and Carlos. Especially TK who's main struggles aren't his sexuality, it's his internal trauma. Or that they are even the same as Henren.

Especially coupled with the fact that both Oliver and Ryan are very masculine men you know. They are friends. I feel like they want it to be respected.

Also off topic Didn't you also post some lovely gifs of was it Russian WW2 military queer movie? I never watched the show but I remember looking them up after you posted them. What was it called?

I probably sound a little caffeine induced but hopefully some of my point made sense.

Hi wonderful Nonnie!

Thank you so much for this lovely ask! And if it’s okay, I’ll start by addressing Firebird, the Russian queer film for which I posted the gifset you mentioned here. I am SO happy you liked the set (the original post has a link to the movie’s homepage, BTW), and you should def watch the film! It’s visually stunning, the love story is very moving IMO and the thing that got to me the most is that it’s a real story. It’s not WWII, but the 1970′s, the height of the communist regime. As someone whose family suffered under the communists after the end of the Nazis and Fascists’ era, I have to admit that speaks to me. My great uncle wrote a book about what it was like for my family, being Jews under the communists, when the individual was considered the property of the state, so it could do with him or her as it wishes, and when anyone could report you to the party with real or made up accusations that were always taken at face value. Add antisemitism, homophobia or any other type of bigotry to that type of society, and you can understand why a gay love story during that time is especially poignant. One of the two men whose romance is depicted was involved in the making of the film, because he wanted their story known. Here’s just the first gif from that set:

As for promotion, I have no doubt that Ryan and Oliver would not want Buddie taken as a joke. Both of these men are, like the other actors you mentioned, very protective of their characters and clearly understand them in depth. They’ve also both spoken up in favor of Buddie, so should our ship go canon, undoubtedly they’d want it to be treated with respect. IDK if that’s the only reason why the promotion has been shaped as it has been. There’s also been drama that I think in general made Ryan for a long while there wanna do PR a lot less. But I have no doubt that if and when Buddie go canon, they will talk about it, and will do so with the utmost love for this pairing and their family unit. I think they all know what Buddie would mean to queer viewers, like when you look at that supportive vid JLH sent for a same sex couple who are Buddie fans. Hell, even Gavin, who plays Chris, has been asked about Buddifer becoming a family, and he said he would love that. We have never seen them treating the idea of Buddie with anything other than respect and positivity, and if that’s the case before our boys have even gone canon...

I hope I managed to answer the question! I’m so grateful for your kind words and for your interest in my perspective. Have a beautiful day, lovely! xoxox

(and as always, if anyone’s looking for it, here is my ask tag! xoxox)

#buddie #911meta #buddie meta #911 meta #9-1-1 #evan buckley #eddie diaz #edmundo diaz #evan buck buckley #christopher diaz #firebird #pride #mm #ask #anon ask #fandom love #911onabc #911 on abc #911abc #911 abc

[myths-of-fantasy]

The Noble Houses of Krypton

The Noble Houses of Krypton are a group of prominent and influential families that have had a lasting impact on Krypton and her culture and development. From science, to biology, to art - the Noble Houses have always been in the biggest pages of Kryptonian textbooks. 

By the time of New Krypton, the noble houses have long since lost any institutionalized power and have merely become names that hold a lot of weight. Despite this, during the time of New Krypton, while Kryptonian society is fragile and uncertain, many people have begun to lean heavily on the surviving members of the Noble Houses. This has quickly resulted in the noble houses adopting an Advisor role to the council. Some predict that the influence of Ujibayai will result in the rise of the Noble Houses back into actual powers that work alongside the guilds.

The House of Ehl

Easily one of the most famous ancient houses, The House of Ehl is fundamentally linked to just about every major advancement in Kryptonian society regarding the sciences. Every child born into the House of Ehl had the importance of science and technology impressed upon them from a young age, complex formulas and equations being drilled into them from toddler-hood. Though not everyone in the house appreciates being pushed towards the sciences, everyone there appreciates the importance of science and its importance in the world.

Founder: Aihyr Ehl

Family Motto: Hraala Malayuh (Stronger Together)

Full Family Motto: Hraala Malayuh Sem Yuuna (Stronger Together with Science)

Family Crest: The logograph for “hope” within an atom or a Firebird carrying a pair of crossed styluses within it’s talons

Living Members:

Kara Zor-Ehl

Kal Ehl

Kol Ehl (through adoption)

Alura In-Zee (through marriage)

---

The House of Zód

One of the more well known Noble Houses of Krypton. The House of Zód was the founder of the warrior’s guild and worked in tandem with the House of Ehl to develop defensive technology for Krypton’s people. In its final days of Old Krypton, the House of Zód faced two serious reputation blows. 

The first was the Lord Dru Zód rebelled against the Council and the House of Ehl’s new peaceful stances. Viewing the present rulers to be soft and weak, Dru Zód gathered a collection of loyalists to his side and broke away from the warrior’s guild. The Swords of Rao warred against the main Council for 10 years. Eventually, the Swords of Rao were defeated and tried for treason against the people of Krypton. As the leader of the group, Dru Zód was exiled to the Phantom Zone for 30 years.

The second was committed again by Lord Dru Zód upon his release from The Phantom Zone. Falsifying remorse, Lord Dru Zód befriended the House of Ehl who had taken to housing him during his 15 years of probation after his release. He got close to Jor Ehl and his family. While Jor Ehl was speaking to council, Zod struck. Feeling that he’d been betrayed by Jor Ehl for not siding with him against the Council, Zod went on a slaughtering spree with the few loyalists he had left. Lara Lor-Van took their son and placed him in a starcraft, sending him off to a distant planet before Zod killed her.

The House of Zód is now considered a House of Traitors. It’s unlikely that the House of Zód will ever return to its previous respected and heralded position.

Founder: Vur Zód

Family Motto: Mimvikri (defender of the people)

Full Family Motto: Mimvi urs Usal (Defender though Justice)

Family Crest:

---

Will continue to update as people provide me with potential house names lmao

#earth 470 #projects by ankh #kryptonian worldbuilding #krypton worldbuilding #dcu #dceu #worldbuilding #lore #krypton #kryptonian #the noble houses #the houe of ehl #the house of zod #the house of vehx #supergirl fandom #supergirl au #supergirl cw #superman

[snowleopardsaregettingmytoes]

i worry for my blind deaf and dumb grandpa, if only he could have mountains of video tapes, vinyl records, cassettes, laser discs, the electronic equipment to use these medias, as well as record them, and view them -all pre-used as that's the only way he moght ever even try (he hasn't ever touched a computer especially not one with Dos or 95/98/2000/me/xp/nt. no amigas, no macintosh, no radio shack. all that and film and cameras to use it, and early digital cameras. old home decor, clothes (he HATES clothes) like disco stuff or old stuff in closets from places, photographs, slides, movie film and cameras for it sound and silent, projectors and editors, oh he's never even touched one. all the stuff that goes with all of it. books too. and all kinds of silly personal effects and polaroids and the whole nine yards. he hates the 20th century so much. and he's never ever driven a car. he really hates cadillacs the most, amd buicks, lincolns, and imperials and all the weird cars nobodys heard of like grandvilles and chevettes and the ones everyone knows like firebirds and corvettes too. he hates all of the quirky tech from the early 2000s like cameras and printers and computers. he hates crafts and anything creative like painting or sewing or gluing things together. speaking of glue he hates it when things get fixed so tools should also be sent, all kinds of tools for doing any sort of work at all. he hates lamps and lives in an empty space that's sad and cold and falling apart so deeds to houses is something he'd hate to receive, but should have. he really hates leather jckets and womens clothes from the 1970s especially ones that fit his transgender granddaughter. he hates video games and systems too, especially the game boy, super nintendo, nintendo 64, dreamcast, jaguar, pong, and gamecube. he hates dogs amd cats and snow leopards and all animals so things with animals on them as well as things for animals are a must. any kind of outsider art makes him angry he hates it so much so that needs to find its way to him. he hates books and reading, any and all books but especially how-to books and paperback novels of the 1970s thru 1990s. he hates the kind of stuff you find at yard sales. and he hates everything on ebay, especially bootleg pokemon games and all the pokemon cards. he hates all forms of physical media including but not limited to: video tapes, laser disc, dvd, blu-ray, video game discs, obscure video formats, professional video formats, reel-to-reel, floppy discs, audio cassette, 8-track, reel-to-reel, vinyl record, magnetic strips, 45rpm records, and all photography. he really hates studio and professional equipment for video, film, audio and printing. he hates type writers and he hates all formats of film and their compatible cameras. he really hates kodachrome and 110 and color reversal movie film being played on projectors and the image coming out the correct colors. he hates edited pictures, moving of otherwise. he hates stuffed animals and adult diapers (those should be NEW AND UNUSED, he would laugh at used ones mixed in he likes that because it would be miserable for us, and we are not the point here) he hates militaria and anything to do with smoking and/or pot. he hates everything made of leather. he hates motorcycles. he hates computer software on discs, amd pre-installed. he hates having all the pieces to assemble things that work, and he hates being surprised with puzzles and adventures. he hates opertunities to develop more stuff like the stuff he hates. he hates all people in the whole world and he hatesit when anybody gives him anything. his name is Aaron Storer and the only words he ever says are "i hate everything" and "i'm bored" and he'd very much hate a dictionary. he hates furries, so much.

in order to force my grandpa to take part in society and therefor rejuvenate himself into a young man once more all of the things listed above and more should be sent directly to the address that @cadillaccatmp on twitter doxed herself with last autumn, as that is the place which it will be able to be given to grandpa and force him to use it. this barrage of stuff must continue until my grandpa Aaron Storer is out and about greeting people and smiling and making sure everyone knows his name is Aaron Storer.

#dog #cism—certified information security manager #life quote #dating #children's hospital #weirdcore #let's visit grandma and watch her eat #spamton #chills #car #cars #i see you are also a person of culture #color theory #i wanna throw up #mitsubishi evolution #sands undertable #spamler #cats the musical #chief quimby #grandpa #savemygrandpa #art #give aaron stuff #join us #wake-up call #welcome to the world #aaron storer #overdrawn at the memory bank #looks like the begining of a beautiful friendship #craig and his list