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comradekatara · 3 months

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Any fun Aang facts/ headcanons/ thoughts?

i don’t know if this is exactly fun but i think a lot about aang coping the first couple years after the end of the war. like i think on a spectrum of “the war is over and im so happy!!” to “suddenly thrust into a leadership position that is uniquely isolating and horrible,” aang perhaps isn’t struggling as much as the new firelord, but it’s a close thing.

i think katara would be the one who is happiest out of all of the gaang, since the war being over relieves this huge weight off her shoulders and she also gets to do the fulfilling work of rebuilding her tribe and finally being able to live up the potential she’s always imagined for herself, being able to preserve and pass on her heritage to a hopeful new generation. (that isn’t to say that she isn’t traveling the world with aang, trying to mitigate the damage caused by the war, but she would go back home as soon as possible. she needs to see gran gran!!!) there’s a sense of pride and satisfaction and joy to her role in this world that cannot be denied.

suki is in a similar position, where as the leader of the kyoshi warriors, her reunion with her sisters and their return to kyoshi island would be triumphant and joyous, and she gets to participate in the process of teaching a new generation of warriors, passing on her traditions and using her skillset to help people elsewhere. but then there’s also the lingering, nagging memory of being alone in a maximum security prison, and that trauma isn’t something one just gets over…

i see toph, more than anyone, spending the most time with zuko in the fire nation. she understands what it’s like to be alone, and she’d rather be with her family than her biological parents. i think she does visit them, but it doesn’t go well. toph may be incredibly sharp and mature for her age, but she is still just a kid, and the fact that her father will continue to reject her his entire life is a great wound, as much as she could flippantly deny it. but zuko understands what that’s like more than anyone, so being able to help him helps her through her own pain. even if zuko is a dick about it (although i think she stubbornly forces him to acknowledge her pain at some point instead of just outright dismissing her like he did on ember island), it’s a symbiotic relationship in its own way. i mean, he could definitely use a human lie detector.

sokka is like all over the place. i don’t know man he’s too complicated to sum up in one little paragraph. but yeah let’s just say the war ending doesn’t automatically Heal him and Solve his copious Issues. because it does solve some things but it also causes other problems. new problems even. but i already sort of talk about that here so let’s just move that for now.

and then of course zuko being crowned boy king of racist nation is like… not great. it works for thematic/symbolic/narrative reasons, of course, but realistically. it's a struggle! so, like i said, i think toph would stick by his side, and i think aang spends a lot of time in fire nation as well, and sokka as much as possible (NOT because he loves zuko, but because he thinks zuko is very stupid and he’s the world’s biggest control freak so if he doesn’t micromanage everything he’ll feel like it’s his fault if anything goes wrong). but iroh is…. not there. his best friend katara (i said what i said) is in the south pole or traveling the world or anywhere but Here. azula is. broken?? the world?? is broken?? and he (famously a fuck-up) is supposed to fix it???? poor kid.

anyway. this is all preamble to contextualize what can only be described as The Worst Puberty Anyone’s Ever Had. okay here’s a bonus fun headcanon: aang is born in october! i say this because he’s the most libra to ever do it (i don’t know shit about astrology but i do know that). so for the entire run of the show (from winter to summer) he is twelve years old. i don’t know if you’ve been around any twelve year old boys recently (not to brag, but i have), but they are Going Through It. and that’s the average twelve year old, not even including the shocking temporal displacement and being the sole survivor of a genocide and shouldering the burden of the whole fucking world and knowing that an entire country full of people want you dead.

the fact that aang maintains his childlike wonder and sweetness for the most part means that it’s going to hit him like a truck once the war ends and he finally has a chance to focus on himself. we see the early stages of puberty affecting him in terms of how he behaves around katara, the change between his book one kiddie crush and his book three confusion and intensity. but it’s more than just burgeoning sexuality. he wakes up, is informed that he’s been stuck in an iceberg for a century, that everyone he ever knew with the exception of appa and bumi are dead due to a genocide, and that it’s his responsibility to end the war. and the rest of the show is him trying to step into that duty and finally becoming the kind of person the world needs him to be. and now… it’s over.

on one hand, there’s that overwhelming sense of relief. he did it. he successfully prevented yet another genocide, stopped the war, and did it all without compromising his values. his new friends (his new family) are all alive and safe and now can rebuild the world together. they can rest and have fun and be kids. and that’s what aang is celebrating in the finale when he looks at all of them and smiles, when he hugs katara in acknowledgement of how far they’ve come. aang is incredibly strong and resilient, and it’s a strength that comes from a place of genuine love and understanding. he was taught good values as a kid, values that have guided him through the most unimaginable of tragedies. but he’s not perfect. no one is.

no one can prevent the oncoming swirl of hormones and trauma and second-guessing that is about to hit aang once it finally occurs to him that the purpose he has been fighting for ever since his entire life changed is now over, basically, and he has to figure out what it means to be alive outside of one sole, defining goal. as anne carson said in red doc>, “to live past the end of your myth is a perilous thing.” as jp sartre said in la nausée, “i outlive myself” (specifically, anny says it to roquentin). what is aang doing if not ouliving himself? had he lived a normal lifespan that hadn’t been disrupted by a spiritually imposed stasis, he probably would’ve been dead by now (long dead, if we can assume that his death in lok is by natural causes). and his myth, his grand destiny of stopping the war and once more carving out a space for his people in this brave new world? well, he did it. accomplished it with flying colors. now it’s over. now he is a perilous thing.

as i alluded to before, i think the only person who can really truly empathize with aang’s situation is sokka. sokka, too, has survived beyond any point he imagined. he has built his entire identity around being a shield, and now that the war is over, his ability to protect others from immediate threats and sacrifice himself for a cause has been ripped away from him. he now has to forge an identity beyond reducing himself to a soldier, in a fundamentally unfamiliar world. sokka was shaped by war, and yet he lived past it, past the end of his myth. aang’s world is now also unfamiliar, not solely because the war is over, but because the war is over and yet he is still alone. he did it, he saved the day, and yet what is his reward? he saved a lot of people, but none of his people. he can never go home again.

aang and sokka’s role as foils is something i want to write about more because i do find it truly fascinating, but in these terms i think we can also read their psychological states postwar as a sort of reciprocal dynamic. i’ve spoken in the past about how in a postwar reconstruction landscape, sokka would do a lot of the administrative work that aang cannot. not only because aang is literally twelve, but because aang cannot focus all his attention on this world when he is also its only real tether to the past. so sokka would make room for aang to focus on being the last airbender by sort of taking on the mantle of pseudo-avatar. solely in the most bureaucratic sense of the title, of course, but that would be the role that sustains and (somewhat) fulfills him after the war. and i think aang would be grateful for that, but he’d also be somewhat resentful?? not of sokka (aang is too emotionally mature for that, plus he respects sokka too much), but he’d definitely resent himself. think about how guilty and shameful he feels whenever he feels like he’s let the world down due to factors beyond his control. and so the fact that sokka is doing so much of what aang himself should be doing because he’s too busy being defined by his status as a genocide survivor… well, it might make him angry. he might lash out. and we’ve seen him frustrated, volatile, and emotionally confused. it’s not pretty.

i know that we all only want the best for aang and want him to be happy and thriving after the war because he’s such a perfect kid who deserves the world, but realistically, i do think there would be a period where he’s kind of hard to be around. not only because that’s just something that happens to all adorable baby boys once they turn thirteen (i, for one, learned this lesson extremely painfully), but because he’s dealing with a lot and the only person who even remotely understands what he’s going through is also the most emotionally repressed guy he knows.

throughout atla, he never allows himself a moment to just stop and feel, because the depth of his grief is actually scary and incredibly difficult to confront. but i think if he did ever allow himself to feel, he might never stop. he might, in fact, spend a month or so curled up in blankets in bed eating nothing but bean curd puffs and shutting out everyone but momo. i actually think that’s more realistic than him immediately entering a perfect relationship with katara and being highschool sweethearts and popping out three kids. and frankly, i think going through that kind of depression now that he no longer has any pressing responsibilities also happens to be something he’s earned. he’s been pushing down his grief, ignoring it, distracting himself from it, this whole time. it’s time he finally lets himself feel.

on a happier note, i like thinking about aang and suki getting closer after the war (or even being close offscreen during the show, like on ember island). i like to think that suki can act as a sort of cool big sister figure to aang, who has suffered just enough that she can empathize with his pain, but isn’t too close to the situation (like fellow genocide survivors katara and sokka, or genocide perperators’ direct descendants, like zuko) that she can still discuss it with him without bringing her own baggage into the fore. she’s very good at giving direct, no-bullshit advice in a nonetheless kind and compassionate way, and she’s also very good at joking around and knowing how to let loose and have fun in a way aang appreciates. she also really admires and highly values the role of the avatar in the world, and she also admires and cherishes aang as a person, so i think she could give him that kind of measured encouragement that aang really needs to hear.

obviously katara has done this for aang a lot in the past, and i’m not saying she wouldn’t also continue to be a shoulder for aang to lean on, because no matter how much he may try to push her away, she will always be there for him, but i think suki also sort of provides a necessary detachment where he isn’t bogged down by any romantic feelings for her and she isn’t bogged down by her own all too similar trauma the way katara is. suki has people to help her work through her own trauma (sokka, her sisters, etc.) so aang doesn’t need to reciprocate. she’s just happy to be there for her surrogate baby bro who needs her. she’ll serve the avatar in any way she can, whether by becoming a kyoshi warrior, by sacrificing herself to free his bison, or by just chilling with him in bed while he rants about his impossible situation and cries on her shoulder.

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katnisspeetaprim · 11 months

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Pushing Your Luck

Min Yoongi/Fem!Reader (Requests still open!)

Summary: Min Yoongi was definately pushing his luck with his performance on stage that night...

Warnings: Swearing, being horny, established relationship, mentions of sex

Word Count: 804 M.list

Yoongi had been pushing his luck with you this evening. The way he’s been aggressively growling into the mic has really done something to your insides.

Most of it wasn’t even because it was incredibly sexy, but that is a big reason let’s face it. A lot of it is because he’s showing just how passionate his is about performing. If he didn’t have any passion, why would he put that much effort in?

This is one of the reasons you loved watching him perform. You were backstage of his L.A show, currently watching him perform with Halsey, who has become a good friend to the both of you in recent years.

You applauded loudly as Halsey waved and walked off stage. She laughed at your enthusiasm and hugged you.

‘That was incredible! I’m so happy you could be here tonight!’

‘Thank you! Though I don’t know why he needed me. I’m sure you’re more than capable of singing with him.’ Halsey laughed out as you pulled away. You scrunched up your face at her words.

‘As if I’d go anywhere near that stage!’ You both laughed. You weren’t famous, and you did everything you could to stay out of the spotlight, though that was pretty much impossible when you were with Yoongi. Halsey shook her head at your response. She had heard you sing on some rough demo’s Yoongi had made, and she knew with a bit of training you could be amazing. Maybe she could help you with your confidence in the future.

The sounds of Yoongi’s voice pulled you back to reality. There was that gravely voice again that you oh so loved. Your face darkened as you listened, biting your lip unconsciously. He was definitely going to get it later.

‘Hey! What’s that look for!?’ Halsey slapped your shoulder. ‘Stop getting turned on back here!’ Your cheeks flushed red and embarrassment started to creep up when you saw some of the stage crew glance in your direction at Halsey’s outburst. You hid your face in your hands.

‘Oh my God! Is it that obvious?’ She laughed at your misery and hugged you from the side.

‘I think I know what you two are gonna get up to tonight.’ She winked at you with a smirk.

‘Stop!’

You had retreated back to Yoongi’s dressing room just before the end of the show. Halsey couldn’t stick around unfortunately, but that did mean that you and Yoongi could be alone together a little sooner than planned.

As soon as he was through the door you pounced, lips on his immediately. Yoongi stumbled back against the door. Even though he was caught of guard, he still managed to circle his arms round your waist to steady you.

‘What’s gotten into you?’

‘I think you know what.’ You growled out, running your hands down his sweaty body. He leaned his head back against the door, wide smile as silent laughter fell from his mouth.

‘I always perform like that!’

‘That’s a damn lie! You pushed it tonight , Min Yoongi!’ You didn’t give him the chance to retort, just once again captured his lips in a rough kiss. His hands came to rest on your hips, and you trailed your hands down to roughly palm him through his trousers.

Yoongi hissed out at the contact, grabbing onto your wrist immediately.

‘We can’t do that here...’

‘Says who?’ You smirked against his lips. He sighed out as you continued to palm him, his grip on your wrist faltering slightly.

‘Fuck. We need to get back to the hotel.’ It took all his will power to push past you to gather his things. You watched on with a triumphant smirk. When he had everything in his bag, he came back over and took you in his arms, resting his forehead against yours before kissing you.

‘If I sing like that again tomorrow, will I get sex then too?’ He smiled against your skin. You leaned back, pretending to think it over, knowing full well you would give him sex even if he gave the worst performance of his career.

‘Let’s see how you perform in bed tonight, then we’ll see.’

‘Is that a challenge?’ His eyes darkened slightly.

‘You tell me.’ You smirked again before pecking his lips and turning to walk out of the room. He stared after you in disbelief, shaking his head as he adjusted his still hard cock to make it less noticeable, before following after you.

‘Just you wait and see jagi.’ As he was leaving the room, his phone pinged. Yoongi smiled when he saw Halsey had text him. Maybe she wanted to congratulate him on a good show? Nope.

Halsey:

Hey! Make sure you show your girl a good time tonight! She was basically feral for you! ;)

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kait-bait8 · 6 months

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The thing I love the most about the Hunger Games is Katniss’ character arc.

Katniss Everdeen in book 1 is like Harry Potter in book 7. That is to say, the Katniss we follow in THG is the strong and resilient fighter. She is brave and selfless and tough and she digs deep despite tremendous pain. She has already overcome the loss of her father and the dire circumstances of her youth. And the 74th Hunger Games should have been her boss fight.

The end of THG shows us a Katniss who is a champion, a winner, a Victor. It feels like we are at the triumphant end of a story. Until she is told that the Capitol is not happy.

In Catching Fire we learn about Katniss’ nightmares. We learn that she sometimes can’t look at Prim without seeing Rue. We see her relationships begin to strain and change.

Katniss finding out that she will be going back into the games is one of my all time favorite scenes. Because in THG Katniss is in Survival Mode from the second she steps onto the platform. She holds back her tears and tries to look indifferent for the sponsors. But in CF she shatters. She flees. She cries and drinks and screams. She isn’t strong or resilient or even a little brave. And you just don’t see heroes react like that in other stories. But you can’t tell me it’s possible to read that scene and not feel your own stomach twist at the thought of that reality.

When Peeta hits the barrier and his heart stops Katniss loses it. It’s clear she knows about CPR from watching her mother, the same way she knew about blood poisoning and tourniquets in the last games, but it doesn’t even occur to her until after Finnick starts kissing Peeta. She isn’t sharp and quick and able to think on her feet. She is desperate to keep Peeta and the rebellion alive and that is it. People say that the victors keep Peeta alive because “if they didn’t Katniss would kill everyone and then herself” but Katniss knew her fate. She knew she wasn’t going to survive the arena. And she knew a life without Peeta was pointless. She would have “stopped living” like her mother.

When Katniss is rescued and Peeta is not, there was no “what is the plan? How are we going to get Peeta back? How are we going to save him?” There was only enough energy and emotion to try to claw Haymitch’s eyes out.

And then we get to Mockingjay. I’ve heard people complain that they couldn’t get through the book because it was just Katniss sleeping all the time. But of course she is sleeping all the time. Of course she can hardly qualify to be a soldier. Of course she finds solace in Finnick and his rope tying.

She doesn’t assassinate President Snow on her rogue mission. She gets her friends killed. She can’t even save Prim. Katniss gets knocked out and wakes up with the War already won. She secures the safety of Panem for a time by killing Coin but even that is the act of someone who no longer cares for her own safety and well-being.

I’m not saying she doesn’t do anything, she does an incredible amount for her mental/emotional state. But she isn’t Strong or Brave or Resilient. She doesn’t dig deep because even if she did there wouldn’t be anything left. She is completely broken.

That is what makes her epilogue so beautiful. Because at the end of her story she isn’t a Victor. She isn’t The Hero. She just, learns to be okay. She falls in love and finds peace and happiness and safety. I don’t know if I would say that she ever becomes unbroken but she picks up the pieces she can salvage and does her best with them.

Katniss Everdeen’s character arc is not one of Strength. There are many strong characters. It is a study of weakness and the beauty and love and community that comes from weakness.

#Katniss Everdeen #the girl who WAS on fire #what a beautiful character #what a beautiful story of falling apart #of being a victim of your circumstances at every turn #and still being kind #and still finding love #figuring out that okay is enough #the hunger games #thg #Suzanne Collins

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zoeykallus · 1 year

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Hello,

Hope you have been doing well! I love your work and always look forward to reading your new stuff 💕

I was wondering if you could do some HC for the Bad Batch and possibly Rex about having a partner from a traditional family whose culture includes asking for blessings for marriage?

Aloha! Thank you, I hope you'll keep looking forward to reading my stuff 😊

Interesting Question! Let me see...

The Bad Batch/Rex x Reader HCs - The Blessing

Mainly Fluff/Maybe Some Eye Rolling (Crosshair)

_________________

Hunter

Basically, he has no problem with traditions as long as they don't harm anyone in any way. Asking your family for your hand in marriage, apart from being totally nervous, is not a problem.

Hunter has been preparing for this for a while, and his demeanor in front of your family is confident. He makes a good impression, polite, decent, dapper with just the right touch of modesty to make your family gush.

Now, your family may not be too keen on tattoos, or soldiers, or clones in general, but Hunter has a calm, collected as well as winning manner about him that will put most doubts to rest.

"I promise I will always take good care of them, and treat them with respect. I love them, with all my heart"

He has an engaging, calm manner about him that will probably go over well with your family. He comes across as conscientious, honest and decent. Hunter is the type of man who comes across as the perfect son-in-law and provider on such occasions, even though his appearance may be deceiving at first.

Hunter wants to make you happy and this intention, this desire is outwardly apparent on him, another point that makes him likeable in the eyes of your family.

Echo

Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it. Even though he knows that you both love each other very much, and basically he needs nothing more than that, but since in your culture the blessing of the family is very important, and he wants to show respect towards you, that includes your traditions and your family.

"I know I probably seem more like half a man," he says with a shy little smile, raising his Scomp link arm slightly in the air, "But my heart is still mine, and it beats solely for them, at full strength."

Echo is smart, humble, decent and sweet. His nervousness may be quite visible at one moment or another, but he is a good man, soldier and partner, that is also clearly evident in him.

The first meeting with your family may be a little bumpy, but eventually he emerges from it triumphant.

His kind, good-hearted nature is well received. His sense of justice and his ability to be modest and yet show backbone are convincing.

No matter how nervous he may be, he has good cards.

Wrecker

He is generally curious and open to you and everything around you, so he is also interested in your culture and traditions. Wrecker may be a bit nervous, but he has a healthy, unobtrusive self-confidence that gives him the right demeanor for the job.

Apart from his imposing appearance, his warm, sincere nature sweeps your family away. He finds it quite easy to dispel all doubts and convince everyone present of his qualities.

"Don't worry, I will always treat them very well, take good care of them and always protect them".

No one doubts that he can do all that. He is the center of attention and handles it confidently, making people laugh and feel safe. He has the talent to scare people around him if he has to, but he can also be incredibly appealing, sympathetic and pleasant, someone you feel comfortable with. Wrecker has things under control.

Tech

Yes, he is nervous, but he hides it quite well. Of course, he has prepared extensively, learned everything there is to learn about your culture, thought of good topics of conversation and got decent clothes in which he looks less like a soldier and more like a decent courter of your favor and that of your family, which he basically is.

A thirst for knowledge, curiosity and respect for you and your culture make the whole thing an interesting task for him to dedicate himself to, albeit with some nervousness.

Tech does well, even if his matter-of-fact nature initially causes minor stumbles in conversation. He is open, honest and has the best intentions, these are the qualities he carries in front of him, and he knows how to convince with them.

"I always will affectionately and to the best of my ability, care for them, in every way that they allow."

Crosshair

Oh boy....

"What's the point? I love you, and you love me, I don't need more than your permission".

At first, Crosshair resists, partly because he doesn't want to see anyone outside your relationship deciding about it. But a certain nervousness also plays a role, he is afraid of rejection, of what negative impact a failure on his part in front of your family could have on your relationship.

It takes a while, but he finally gives in. Crosshair pulls himself together, learns a lot about your culture with Tech's help, and dresses up accordingly. Dressed in his best suit and mannerisms, he introduces himself to your family. He's not really very talkative, but for this particular moment, he jumps over his own shadow. He is quieter, less talkative than the rest of his brothers are in this situation, but he is very respectful and polite.

"They will always be safe with me, cared for and loved. I hope you will consider agreeing to our union."

It bothers him a lot to have to ask permission, but he swallows his pride for your sake, at least for this moment.

Crosshair will not give up on the relationship even if your family resists him, but he keeps that fact to himself when talking to your family, at least for now. However, the likelihood of family approval is quite high, thanks to his ability to adapt, albeit reluctantly. This is important to him, even if he won't admit it directly.

Rex

He is sincere, decent and full of a sense of honor. Of course, he meets this challenge without grumbling and with full commitment, just as he devotes himself to everything else. Stately, with good manners and the best intentions, Rex introduces himself to your family and proposes his intentions towards you.

Rex is the perfect son-in-law, good manners, decent, handsome, intelligent and respectful. He has an incredibly winning manner, and he goes the extra mile, after all this is about your family and your future together.

It's unlikely that your family won't like him, clone or not, Rex is a great guy in every way and that he takes good care of you is obvious. You could hardly be in better hands.

Rex also has great respect for your culture and likes to learn all about it, adapting as best he can, another point that endears him to your family.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaws

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@starwarsnerd111

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idontknowreallywhy · 7 months

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Finally finished a WIP!! Only took a car breakdown and waiting to be rescued!

Entirely un-proofread but yolo. Thanks to @astranite and @sofasurf and @womble1 for encouragement 🥰

Accidentally broke Virg a bit… 🤭

Play it Out

It had been a textbook rescue. The Thunderbirds Triumphant! Everybody had been saved with nothing more than a collection of minor scrapes and bruises between them. And most of those obtained by Gordon as he attempted to break dance to keep the rescuees entertained while Virgil made a safe passage to the surface.

Yes, definitely a good one. The only tears today were those of joy on parental faces as twenty-eight dusty children burst from the pod module and dashed into their arms to be swung up into the air and spun around and kissed all over their faces and told over and over how much they were loved. The unique privilege of watching such moments was undoubtedly the best part of the job and Virgil was proud to have helped make it happen. He was very happy. Absolutely thrilled.

Absolutely.

The journey home had been filled with the excited chatter of his younger brothers. The pilot tuned them out, fixing a benevolent smile on his face while focusing intently on Two’s background E hum in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to ignore the hollow sensation in his gut.

He didn’t understand where the glow had gone.

Sure, he’d started feeling a little wistful recently. Maybe there were only so many emotional reunions a person could witness before they started playing on a slow motion loop in your head like some cheesy 20th century movie montage and lost their novelty.

Anyway, he’d had plenty of run, catch, throw, spin routines with Alan when he was smaller and knew full well that the inevitable tiny-but-solid knee to the stomach or flailing elbow to the jaw made the whole thing less idyllic than it looked.

God forbid he try that now. Alan’s glare as Virgil had reached out to steady his little brother’s slight stumble off Two’s passenger platform earlier that afternoon could have set his eyebrows on fire.

The throbbing pressure in the back of his throat had been subject to a gradual crescendo since they took off and it was beginning to make it difficult to breathe without concentrating. So he concentrated on breathing. He concentrated on flying. And then on landing. And he sorted post flights. And he cleaned up Gordon’s forehead graze. And he rolled his eyes when Gordon told him to “STOP BEING SUCH A MOM, VIRGARONI”.

That was only niggling at him now because it was Gordon’s most stupid nickname yet. For goodness sake, sounds like a type of pasta. He tramped into the locker room and attempted to drown his increasingly foul mood in the shower - full power-hose mode. Extra hot. He lost track of time just a little, tracing the path of grout around the tiles with his eyes, letting the water drill into his skull and wondering whether this was… everything.

Whether his role in life was to preserve and observe and… just that?

That was a pretty awesome role all told. He was preventing families being torn apart, enabling Happiness and Normality for hundreds. It was a PRIVILEGE. Only an awfully selfish person would have any kind of problem with playing his part. And anyway, look at what he had - his incredible siblings who he adored were always close by, a they had a beautiful home and they wanted for nothing. He was objectively the luckiest man alive.

And yet.

He growled in frustration and shut off the water, leaning heavily on the wall for a moment as a wave of wooziness rushed over him. Maybe the shower had been TOO hot. According to his wrinkly fingertips he’d been here wasting time for far too long. The others would start wondering where he’d got to.

Clothes. Style hair. Happy face on. Up to the lounge.

The lounge was empty. But there was the piano.

Music would make it better, it always did.

Picking something generically soothing - Beethoven’s Moonlight - Virgil focussed intently on the subtlety of the rhythm, recalling his Mom perched next to him on this very stool, explaining it wasn’t as simple as the length of the notes but the different stress on each. She’d had him reciting “pineapple pineapple pineapple” as he played.

He remembered his dad standing behind them, placing an arm around both their shoulders and giving a squeeze as he made some kind of fruit-based pun Virgil could no longer bring to mind. Mom had poked her husband in the ribs, mocked him for his dad jokes and pulled him in for a kiss. Pre-teen Virgil had squirmed with embarrassment but the sweet moment had stuck with him and he’d hoped maybe one day…

With a discordant crunch his hands came to a halt. He clearly needed to play something that required more brainpower to shut down this ridiculous self-pitying Nonsense.

He half stood and reached into the piano stool to extract the book of advanced technical exercises John had bought him a couple of years back. They were fiendish, defied any sense of predictable pattern and the modal shifts set his teeth on edge. That should do it.

Time passed. It did not pass quickly. Half an hour or possibly decades went by and all he had achieved was a twitchy tingle in his left ring finger and the start of a tension headache. The cold, empty feeling had intensified. He shook his hands violently to shift the cramp and turned the page.

There was a soft cough behind him.

“That was… different?”

“It’s called training, Scott. Agility exercises. If I don’t do these I can’t expect to play the fancy stuff.” Virgil’s eyes widened slightly as he heard his own snappish tone.

“Sure, it’s just I could do with sorting some paperwork and so would you mind playing something a little less… uh… like… that?”

The part of Virgil that lived to keep his big brother sane slapped himself upside the head for being so self-absorbed. He looked up and arranged his face into an obliging smile.

“Of course, sorry. You want jazz or some kind of chilled filmic stuff or…?”

Scott’s wink and finger guns indicated relaxing film scores were the order of the day and so Virgil delivered. It was all going very well, he was definitely calming down and everything was fine. And not a Scott Tracy fake ‘Fine’ either, he cast a sidelong glance at his brother who appeared to be typing away peacefully. He transitioned into a lilting F# minor theme and went heavy on the sustain pedal to allow the higher notes to resonate through the room. Leaning back and closing his eyes, he shut all the silliness firmly away and began to enjoy himself.

Until a particular chord progression seemed to flick a switch in his soul and every hair on the back of his arms shivered to attention as a shard of ice slid down his spine.

His fingers sprang off the keys lifting the tune out through the high chords as it took on a life of its own - an insistent, yearning melody. A gasp escaped him as he found he couldn’t get enough oxygen into his lungs - the villa faded out and he was grounded only by his fingertips returning again and again to the familiar rise and fall of black on white.

The ball of tension that had formed behind his eyes flooded down through his veins and out through his hands like poison sucked from a wound. The ache of loneliness - the longing… the surge of grief for what could never be - he forced it all down his arms and out into the wild, transformed into melody, pulse, rhythm to whirl past his bowed head and soar into the rafters and… away.

Virgil let his fingers rest on the keys as the last notes faded, gradually becoming aware of the tremor in his hands. Exhaustion swept over him and he shivered, realising his shirt was soaked with perspiration.

Silence but for the pounding of his own heartbeat in his ears.

Then, a hand on his cheek, thumb brushing away tears he had no recollection of forming. He released the breath he was holding and leaned into the touch with a sigh, eventually dragging his eyelids ajar.

Scott’s other hand settled on his shoulder as he crouched next to the piano stool, blue eyes full of questions and concern.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Virgil cleared his throat and began reaching for some appropriately reassuring words.

A earth-shatteringly loud screech startled them both as Gordon sprinted across the room trailing shaving foam with a furious Abominable-Snowman-Alan hot on his heels.

Virgil scraped his scattered emotions back into submission and watched Scott’s expression as his big brother decided to put a pin in the Tinies-wrangling for later and turned back to him. Some kind of explanation was clearly required here but Virgil found himself unable to add any more weight to the burden his brother already carried.

And so for the first time in a decade Virgil told his best friend a deliberate lie.

“I was just thinking about Mom”

Maybe TBC? I should really fix them…

Note: Feel free to pick your own hauntingly heartbreaking film theme to knock Virgil over with (there are many that would fit!). The one that gave me the ice treatment the other day and I haven’t been able to get out of my head since is here.

(It’s all going well until about 40 seconds in then it whallops him)

Part 2, Part 3

AO3

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #virgil tracy #music!virgil #music is everything #angst #piano angst #idontknowreallywhy fanfic #Play it out #piano!virgil

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jerzwriter · 8 months

Text

Predictable

In the just in the nick of time category! For week 4 of @lilyoffandoms Writer Appreciation Week, here is a little AU for my paired writer, @trappedinfanfiction, featuring her OTP Ethan x Celia and my OTP Tobias x Casey. I hope you enjoy it, Tif!

Book: Open Heart (Book 3 Timeline)

Pairings: Ethan Ramsey x Celia Moore Tobias Carrick x Casey MacTavish

Rating: Teen

Words: 2250

Summary: Celia and Casey have become good friends and believe a double date is in order! Unfortunately, their boyfriends are ex-best friends and rivals. Watch as the night unfold. Will it go better than expected, or be a disaster?

A/N: Participating in @choicesseptemberchallenge2023 Day 9 Date Night.

The condo was quiet. Entirely too quiet for them getting ready for a Saturday night out, but it wasn’t just any night, and Celia knew Ethan was miffed. Putting the final touches on her makeup, she bit her cheek to stop herself from laughing at his pouting. She knew he wasn’t happy, but the huffing and grumbling under his breath as he changed his tie for the fifth time was a bit... dramatic... to say the least.

Clearing her throat to get his attention, she was disappointed when the scowl remained on his face. Even the incredibly low-cut black silk dress she picked for the evening wasn’t cheering him up.

“Do you need some help picking out a tie? I can help.”

“I am capable of picking out a tie,” he stated flatly. “But... thank you.”

“You do seem to be struggling,” she teased as he collapsed into an easy chair with a sigh.

“Is it too late to say we have a fatal condition that will miraculously disappear in the next 24 hours.”

“Interesting...” Celia sang as she playfully sat on his lap. “Because it wasn’t all that long ago when I did have a mystery illness, and we weren’t sure I had another 24 hours left. But, thanks to Tobias, I’m here... sitting on your lap... in this incredibly hot dress that you have not had the decency to acknowledge!”

His stony façade crumbled as his eyes traced her body, happily landing on her decolletage, just inches from the pleasant grin tugging at his lips.

“You make an excellent point,” he surrendered, his hands roaming over her curves. “But it was a team effort. We can hardly credit Tobias with saving you.”

“Oh? Would you like to redo the night and exclude him... just to see how things turn out?”

Ethan’s silence was all the answer she needed, and she rose to her feet with a triumphant grin.

“That’s all the more reason for us to stay in... I’m sure Tobias, of all people, would understand that I’d rather do... other things...”

“Nice try,” she laughed. “But we’re meeting Casey and Tobias at Menton in thirty minutes, like it or not.”

“Well, you know my answer to that.”

“Ethan. Casey is a good friend, and it’s ridiculous to think we can’t have dinner with our boyfriends, especially when they were once best friends themselves.”

“Were being the operative word.”

“Is asking you to be polite for one evening too much?”

“It’s not,” he sighed. “You’re right.”

“I know I am,” she simpered. “You know when most people say ‘my better half,’ it’s just a term of endearment, but in our case, I very much am your better half. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

Ethan barked out a laugh. “Then we’re in luck. Because I’ve already accepted it. Now let’s go, but we’re not staying a minute past 9:30... agreed?”

“Agreed. Just be a good boy, Ethan, and I’ll reward you later.”

“In that case, we don’t stay a minute past 9:00.”

In a townhome across town...

A manicured hand crept out from the billowy covers and blindly reached at the nightstand in search of her blaring phone. Casey’s attention was very much on other things, but they had ignored the first three alarms; they couldn’t do it again.

Undeterred, Tobias remained in place, placing a trail of hot kisses from her belly up toward her chin, stopping to linger on some of his favorite spotsalong the way.

“Tobias,” she giggled, attempting to wiggle out from under him. “Tobias! We have to go. Our reservation is in 30 minutes, and we’re still naked.”

With a heaving breath, he collapsed on her in defeat. “I happen to like us naked. Can we please just cancel? I’m telling you, Ramsey won’t give a damn if we do.”

“Agreed,” she said, turning on the light. “In fact, you’d probably make his night. But I’d be disappointed, and so would Celia. So I ask you, do you want to disappoint two beautiful women but make Ethan’s dreams come true?”

He rolled over with a grumble. “When you put it that way...”

“Tobias, Celia is one of my best friends. It’s not like we’ll ask for it often, but once in a while, you and Ethan will need to put up with each other.”

“Why?”

Casey flipped around, her coquettish gaze saying more than words could express.

“Because I’m asking you to.”

“Fine,” he smirked. “But outside of this apartment, no one is to know how goddamned whipped you have me. OK?”

“Yeah,” she cackled. “Too late for that, Carrick. Why don’t you go pick out what heels I’ll wear tonight? This way, you have something nice to focus on during the meal?”

“Yeah,” his eyes lit up. “Can I pick out the undies, too?”

“Undies?” she winked. “You were expecting me to wear undies?”

“Never mind,” he replied gleefully. “But stop talking like that, or we will be staying home!”

“Go get dressed, Dr. Carrick. I’ve given you your appetizer, and if you behave at dinner, I assure you desert will be spectacular.”

Tobias shook his head as he reached the bedroom door, turning back to Casey with a smile.

“You know, sometimes I still can’t believe I’ve met you.”

“Yeah, yeah...” she teased. “You can thank your lucky stars when the sunsets. Now go get dressed!”

Forty Five minutes later...

Ethan was tapping his foot in annoyance as Celia perused the menu. Tobias and Casey were already fifteen minutes late, and Ethan was inquiring how long they had to give them before they left when the guilty parties appeared. Holding hands as they moved through the crowd, the smiles on their faces left little question about what Tobias was whispering in her ear. Ethan rolled his eyes just as Celia glanced in his direction.

“Ethan!” she scolded.

“I don’t know what she sees in him. Maybe we should introduce her to my friend Arutur. We’d be saving her a lifetime of grief.”

“Arthur?” Celia grimaced. “The guy in the opera box next to yours?”

“Yes.”

“The one who forages and organizes his cupboards for fun?”

“Yes. He’s a grown-up.”

“He’s a bore! And even if Casey wasn’t happy with Tobias, you need to stick with your day job because you do not have a future in matchmaking.”

Tobias stuck close to Casey as they neared the table.

“God, he looks as miserable as ever,” he groaned.

“Tobias, Ethan’s not that bad.”

“Yeah, he is. Look at him. I think his face would crack if he attempted a sincere smile.”

“Tobias, weren’t you besties at one point? How bad can he be?”

“That was a long time ago. He was a lot more fun back then.”

“Maybe he just needs you to help bring that fun side out again.”

“I’m sure that’s the last thing he wants.”

“I didn’t say want; I said need. Now, just be your jovial self. And if dinner becomes difficult, just focus on dessert, OK?”

“I’ve been focusing on nothing but. Remember, we’re out of here by 9:00.”

After quick greetings, Ethan summonsed the waiter over to place their drink orders.

“How difficult was it to get him here,” Celia whispered to Casey.

“On a scale of 1-10. I’d say a 9. What about you?”

“At least a 15. But, we’re here,” Celia smiled.

Tobias and the women agreed on a bottle of wine to share, and then Ethan placed an order for Macallan 18, Sherry Cask.

“Damn,” Tobias chuckled. “Still drinking that?

“Never stopped.”

“Wait, you drank that during med school?” Celia marveled. “That’s an awfully hefty price tag for a struggling med school student.”

“Some things are worth sacrificing for, dear.”

“So I’ve heard,” Celia winked. “Did you share that bill with him back then, Tobias?”

“Me? Oh, hell no! I drank nothing but cheap stuff back then.”

“Really?” Casey gasped. “But you had a champagne budget.”

“He didn’t want everyone to know that,” Ethan stepped in.

“Nope,” Tobias agreed. “So I just took the risk of drinking nothing but Boone’s Berry Creek.”

“Did that protect your secret?” Celia asked.

“Unfortunately not. The Carrick name was just too known at Hopkins, so... I gave up.”

“I’m sure your liver was thankful,” Casey smiled as a look of almost sympathy crossed Ethan’s face.

“Back then, we were both trying to pretend we were something we weren’t. We both had something to prove, even if they were different things.”

“Yeah, and we both failed miserably,” Tobias half smiled.

“But at least you became friends,” Casey said. “That’s something.”

“It was,” Ethan replied, taking a sip of his newly arrived drink. “Until we weren’t.”

“It was a... complicated time,” Tobias offered, as an uncomfortable atmosphere settled on their table.

Celia and Casey kept chatting to keep the mood light, but even they began to wonder if 9:00 might be pushing it. Relief washed over them as the first course arrived, but Tobias’s eyes went wide.

“Ethan, don’t look up, but is that Richard Barder?”

“Richard Barder?” Ethan blurted as his head circled the room. “Where?”

“I said don’t look up!” Tobias admonished.

“Now, how the hell am I supposed to know if it’s him if I don’t look up!”

Suppressing smiles, Celia and Casey’s eyes met across the table.

“I think it’s him,” Ethan stated.

“Oh, that’s him,” Tobias agreed. “Goddamn, I haven’t seen him since his wedding.”

Ethan snorted in amusement. “Which one?” he scoffed.

“The second, I believe. How many is he up to now?”

“To the best of my knowledge, he’s on spouse number four.”

“Jesus,” Tobias laughed. “I guess if, at first, you don’t succeed....”

“Amazing,” Celia declared. “Someone in your Hopkins class getting married? I thought that was forbidden?”

“Apparently, Richard is making up for all of those from their class who refuse,” Casey laughed.

“Trust me. You two wouldn’t want to marry either of us if we were Richard,” Tobias insisted.

“Well, it seems like four other people would disagree with that,” Celia teased.

“In fairness, three of those four probably no longer agree with that statement,” Casey surmised.

“There’s a lid for every pot out there,” Ethan shrugged. “But as bright as you two are, you’d never agree to marry the likes of Richard.”

“Aww, Ethan,” Casey grinned. “Are you saying I’m smart for picking Tobias?”

“I said no such thing!” He snapped. “I would deny it in a court of law.”

Celia rolled her eyes. “With three witnesses? Good luck with that!”

Tobias hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation at the table, instead focusing on Richard holding court at the bar. “You know, enough avoiding him. Let’s go say hello. Can’t hurt to get the scoop on what happened with marriage three and four.”

“I’m not interested in idle gossip.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Tobias shot back. “I’m going to go say hi, and when I come back, don’t you dare ask me what he said because I won’t tell you.”

Ethan sat perfectly still, but it was clear to see an internal battle waging inside. As Tobias stood up, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Fine! I’ll go.”

“I knew you would,” Tobias smirked.

“Will you two be OK?” Ethan asked.

“Yes,” Celia mocked. “Somehow, we’ll manage to survive without the two of yo. Go ahead and get your gossip, my dear.”

The two women sipped their wine as they watched the men walk to the bar, animatedly chatting as if they hadn’t spent the last decade avoiding each other.

“So,” Celia simpered. “What time did Tobias tell you that you had to be out of here?”

“Nine. And you?”

“Nine,” Celia laughed. “God, they are two sides of the same coin, aren’t they?”

“Twenty dollars says we’ll be heading home much later than nine. In fact, we’ll probably be the ones begging to go.”

“Didn’t you hear Ethan?” Celia joked. “We’re smart. Why would I take that bet?”

“They’re too predictable,” Casey laughed.

“Yeah, but they’re cute.”

“Hey!” Casey said, playfully shoving her friend’s shoulder. “Eyes off of my boyfriend.”

“Pfft!” Celia waved. “Feel free to look at mine. Just look, of course.”

Hours later...

Casey’s head was nuzzled on Tobias’s shoulder. “Tobias,” she yawned. “I really think we should head home.”

“I agree,” Celia nodded. “It’s way past my bedtime.

“It’s not even midnight,” Ethan scowled.

“I know, but we have that... thing... to do in the morning.”

“In the morning?” Ethan questioned.

“Ethan,” Casey rolled her eyes. “Morning is in like fifteen minutes. She wants to do you in the morning. Can’t you take the hint?”

“I’m sure you have things to do, too,” Celia winked.

“Yes,” Tobias grinned. “Me. I’m things. She has to do me.”

Ethan ran a hand down the front of hi face. “You two are a match made in heaven.”

“I don’t know If heaven will take credit for this,” Celia laughed.

“I suppose we should get going,” Tobias agreed.

“Yes,” Ethan nodded. “But we should do this again sometime soon.”

“You know, Casey & I have tickets for the Sox game next Tuesday. Luxury box! You’re both welcome to join us.”

“Count us in!” Ethan insisted.

The two men gabbed non-stop as they waited for their taxis.

“We knew this would happen,” Casey whispered.

“Sure did. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“That eventually we’re going to be telling them we’d rather spend the night alone with them?”

“Absolutely,” Casey grinned. “They’re just too predictable.”

Thanks for reading!

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Other tags in reblog

#choices fanfic #playchoices fanfic #ethan ramsey #tobias carrick #ethan ramsey x mc #tobias carrick x mc #ethan x celia #tobias x casey #playchoices #choices the stories you play #open heart #open heart choices #choices open heart

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viridiave · 11 months

Text

a very long post about opinions on the OT2 character themes

> disclaimer: these are the ramblings of someone who has not formally studied music or music theory and is just going off of the vibes that they got from listening to the character themes over and over. so uh please take these opinions like the opinions that they were meant to be

> also MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD, PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

OCHETTE

Ochette, the Hunter

- I love this theme. The first time I heard the samples on the Octopath website I fell in love instantly and was convinced that Ochette was going to be my starter just because of how EPIC it sounded. When the full version came out, my feelings on it being epic did not change one bit because it captures the spirit of going on a grand mission SO WELL, and the theme itself feels like it represents Toto'haha as a whole more than just Ochette, reminding us every time of the gravity of their situation. Of course I have maybe too many problems with her actual story but damn if it doesn't do a great job at being cinematic. You can just tell the dev team had so much fun making scenes with the scale of the Legendary Beasts in mind

- also I'm not the only one who hears a slight choir in the background right.

In Pursuit of Legends

- easily one of the best pre-battle themes in the game - the high wind instruments just send chills down my spine no matter what situation Ochette is put in, and when we hear it for the last time in Ochette 3 - oh BOY does it feel incredible. Speaking of Ochette 3

The Journey for Legends Ends

- Out of all the Journey Ends remixes Ochette's version of it is undoubtedly one of my favorites - easily cracks the top 3. In my first run of OT2, I saved Ochette 3 for last, and having it be against the fight against the Darkling?? The high wind instrument sounded like WAILING and I can't get over how fitting that is given everything that the Darkling had gone through until this moment. The whole island is at stake but our attention is all on the Darkling's suffering and honestly? That whole sequence made me forget about the problems I had with Ochette's story and got me to cry a bit because holy shit

CASTTI

Castti, the Apothecary

- I don't have too many strong feelings about Castti's theme, but I dearly appreciate how subdued and somber it sounds. It fits Castti's journey of finding her memories so well and I just generally have no complaints.

- HER LEITMOTIF HOWEVER - the theme used in every flashback sequence incorporates it so well that I cry every goddamn time that it's used. THIS IS THE THEME THAT HER CHAPTER 3 ENDED WITH. IT'S SO SAD AND LOST THAT IT JUST AKSJAKS WHAT DID NISHIKI INJECT INTO THIS THEME???

In Pursuit of Memories

- I love For Succor from the first game. Easily one of the most cinematic-sounding pre-battle themes. In Pursuit of Memories takes everything that made For Succor amazing and TURNS IT UP TO 11 AND WOW THOSE TRUMPETS ARE SENDING CHILLS UP MY SPINE. Castti's leitmotif messes up my brain a lot it's great

The Journey for Memories Ends

- As much as I wanted Castti's rendition of this song to crack the top 3 my god the renditions that DID just made me feel way more BUT HECK IF THIS DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL A LOT OF THINGS

- Having her theme be up against Trousseau feels incredibly triumphant. Like she's being backed up by Eir's Apothecaries as she fights like Jesus they went SO HARD

THRONE

Throne, the Thief

- I'm probably going to get a lot of flack for this but. I especially don't have strong feelings about Throne's theme. I like it enough, I'm a sucker for strings and I think it suits her well, but I feel like it blends too much into the rest of the soundtrack. It could be the instrument choice, it could be the chords? I promise I like the strings. I also love how it played in her ending. I feel nothing but happiness for Throne when I see her endcard I love it so much

In Pursuit of Freedom

- To be completely honest I have to strain my ears to actually hear Throne's motif in the pre-battle theme but I don't have a lot to say about it - definitely blends in too much with the violins.

The Journey for Freedom Ends

- OKAY THE LOW ELECTRIC GUITAR RIFFS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE RENDITION? GOD-TIER - FOR SOME REASON I ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE AND THEY'RE REALLY GOOD BUILDUP

- As for the rest of it it's fine I guess? Like I like hearing it and battling with it but I think the first time around I was way too confused with the bombshells that Claude dropped on us for me to properly appreciate the music

OSVALD

Osvald, the Scholar

- At first I thought this was a pretty generic somber theme that REALLY loves its cellos, but in my second playthrough I grew to appreciate it a lot more. Without changing a single note, Osvald's theme goes from somber to triumphant over the course of his story and it's kind of insane to me?? Like it fits way too well with the bittersweet ending that he has but has so much room for hope and somehow his character theme captures that so well??? Gods bless you Osvald

In Pursuit of Revenge

- Gotta say - I don't have a lot of feelings on this either. Other than to say that it's badass and imposing as all hell

The Journey for Revenge Ends

- OKAY I HONESTLY DID NOT THINK THAT THIS THEME COULD EVER FIT A FUCKING. DRAGON BALL KAMEHAMEHADOUKEN DUEL BETWEEN HIM AND HARVEY BUT THE ELECTRIC GUITAR MELODY PROVED ME SO WRONG. THIS THEME GOT ME REALLY HYPED UP

- Honestly the fact that I was maybe rooting for Osvald too hard to just kick Harvey's ass because he hurt Elena probably helped BUT STILL AWESOME THEME

PARTITIO

Partitio, the Merchant

- God. The moment I heard the electric guitars I was already sold but then the SAX kicked in and it's like 'YO ALRIGHT WE'RE BALLING'

- this post really started out with me describing actual feelings. Don't worry we're still going to talk about feelings but I don't have much to say about Partitio's theme other than it's awesomea and that people should play it in bars

In Pursuit of Happiness

- man this game is really giving me a great appreciation of the power of electric guitars. I see the appeal now. I especially see it in Partitio's leitmotif cuz man it really makes me want to end poverty. Unfortunately I don't have Partitio's business acumen OR his exuberance so I like. The most I can actually do is look into charity and volunteer work but this theme reminds me that that's good effort too

The Journey for Happiness Ends

- Gotta say? I don't have a lot of strong feelings about this rendition. Like I love Partitio and his story's ending to BITS but I think the fact that we're fighting a whole-ass steam-powered war train had the more staying power for me in this fight. Not that his theme was bad by any means because MAN that electric guitar solo goes bonkers

AGNEA

Agnea, the Dancer

- HANDS-DOWN MY FAVORITE OF ALL THE 8PATH2 CHARACTER THEMES - IT JUST SOUNDS AMAZING NO MATTER WHAT CONTEXT YOU PUT IT IN. I also love that it just ends up existing in-universe as full on diagetic noise for Agnea's encore at the end of her story? HELL I ALREADY SAID I'M A SUCKER FOR STRINGS BUT AGNEA'S THEME JUST SOUNDS SO HOMEY AND WHIMSICAL AND IT ACTUALLY MAKES ME REALLY WANT TO DANCE. AND I SUCK AT DANCING!

- Gil's piano version also just flat-out brings me to tears. God bless you Agnea motif. Why is it so good at being emotional. The evolution of this song throughout Agnea's journey just hits me on so many levels. Music and dance as a form of human expression and communication is fully on display with Agnea's story and her theme reflects that perfectly

In Pursuit of Hope

- how do I gush over Agnea's leitmotif even more without just repeating myself. it's just so good. it's so hype even if the situations themselves are relatively low-stakes. like she's just having a really intense talk with the manager of the theater and the battle theme goes HARDER THAN IT SHOULD

Song of Hope

- HONESTLY WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT SONG OF HOPE THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN SAID. SONG OF HOPE BEING THE FINAL FORM OF AGNEA'S THEME LIKE IT'S A SUPER SAIYAN HAVING THEIR POWER LEVELS GO OVER 9000. THE FACT THAT IN-UNIVERSE IT'S ACTUALLY HER SINGING IT. THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE SONG THAT BEATS DOLCINAEA LUCIEL. THE FACT THAT THEY'RE BOTH SINGING IT ACTUALLY IT'S SO GOOD

- man I wish sometimes that whenever Agnea uses her EX Song of Hope we got like. a little jingle of her theme and her singing the lyrics. I love Song of Hope so much it's my second-favorite Journey Ends theme. Yes I know it technically doesn't qualify but come onnnn

TEMENOS

Temenos, the Cleric

- okay now I'm REALLY going to get flack for this. I actually don't like Temenos's theme. There's specific reasons for this and most of them have to do with his story. It was already one of the character themes that I felt relatively neutral on when I first heard it, and my first impression was that 'mmmm okay. what's throne's theme sound like-'. The demo came out and gave us Chapter 1, and suddenly it makes sense why it sounds so funky - it represents his character from Chapter 1 so well! It tells us a lot about Temenos - that he's lackadaisical, full of doubt, and that there's more to him than meets the eye. It's true to his character as a detective who likes to mess with his assistant sometimes

- But then Stormhail happened, and it's like. The whimsical tones of his theme really didn't suit the tone of the rest of his story OR his character going forward. Crick's death has dramatically changed the feel of his story, and from that moment on it's pretty clear that Temenos is out for revenge more than he is out for truth - but his theme doesn't reflect that. In fact it feels like it's acting in defiance of the tone shift, feeling almost dismissive of the emotional plot points of his story. On a meta level I think it's interesting how it reflects Temenos's state of mind, sticking to his pursuit in order to avenge everybody he lost and keeping his emotions bottled up. Emotionally however it feels incredibly dissonant - especially when it plays over his endcard.

In Pursuit of Truth

- Honestly for how much flack I gave his character theme I have to give it to his leitmotif for being incorporated in incredibly interesting ways for his battle themes. I did NOT think that the Celestas?? Glockenspiels??? Whatever those brass instruments were - they were INTENSE

The Journey for Truth Ends

- Same words that I have for In Pursuit of Truth like oh my god I didn't think they could make his funky-sounding leitmotif sound so badass but they DID and it felt immensely satisfying to kick Kaldena's ass as the music played. Savor that satisfaction because my god the rest of his story arc does not have a lot of that

HIKARI

Hikari, the Warrior

- I'm partial to Eastern instruments and chord progression! Hikari's theme sounds incredibly regal and it tells us a lot about his character - he's noble, kind, and a great leader. It's a theme that's fit for a king and honestly what more can you ask for?

- also when the bridge plays with the peaceful tones of high wind instruments my heart is just. It is at ease. All is right in the world. tHEN IT'S BACK TO THE INTENSE PARTS WAHOO

In Pursuit of Kingship

- OKAY BEFORE THE GAME CAME OUT I WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO THE LEAKED SOUNDTRACK OVER AND OVER BECAUSE OH MY GOD HIKARI'S LEITMOTIF GOES SO HARD - I literally SCREAMED when I first heard the leaked version and honestly through the choppy audio and the chunky part of the video - you all know the one - this theme was the one that convinced me that Octopath Traveler 2 was going to be something special. I screamed out loud to several people I knew that this? Seamless transition into Critical Clash II?? It sounded like Latin Honors.

The Journey for Kingship Ends

- So, picture me on my first run, intending to finish the second game this time in reverse OCTOPATH order, meaning I started with Hikari's final chapters. Sure I switched Temenos and Throne around for the order but that was fine, I'm in Ku, and we're about to finally kick Mugen's ass because I fucking hate Mugen. The chapter begins with Kazan literally summoning a sandstorm to open the gates of Ku. I am already so hyped. Then Clan Mei arrives. I am even more hyped. THEN WE FINALLY GET TO KICK RITSU'S ASS, AND HEY OCTOPATH 2, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS A BOSS RUSH??? I get to Mugen. I beat his first phase. I fight Hikari's intrusive thoughts and win. Mugen does some eldritch shit. AND THEN THIS FUCKING THEME KICKS IN AND I WAS JUST THROWN BACKWARDS INTO MY SEAT

- IN MY OPINION THIS IS THE BEST RENDITION OF THE JOURNEY ENDS REMIXES - THE MUSICAL PROGRESSION FROM THE FIGHT AGAINST RITSU, THEN A TASTE OF FOR THE DAWN WITH MUGEN'S FIRST PHASE, THEN CONQUERING THE SHADOW, AND THEN THIS - IT WAS SO GOOD?? AND IT SOUNDS SO TRIUMPHANT LIKE - HIKARI IS ON THE CUSP OF VICTORY AND PEACE IS AT HIS FINGERTIPS. KU WILL FINALLY SEE THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY. THAT IS WHAT THIS SOUNDS LIKE AND IT'S THE MOST AMAZING THING AND I LOVE IT

so yeah i'd love to hear you guys' thoughts on the character themes. feel free to disagree with my opinions! I welcome it!

#octopath #octopath traveler 2 #ot2 spoilers #octopath ochette #castti florenz #throne anguis #osvald v. vanstein #partitio yellowil #agnea bristarni #temenos mistral #hikari ku #this is a long boi #feel free to disagree with me in the comments #i welcome it all

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so-scarlett-maroon · 6 months

Text

The Professor and the Librarian

Rating: Explicit (Smut)

No Archive Warings Apply

Pumpkin Spice Fic Fest

Words: 10,000

Chapters: 1/1

The first time Draco saw her, she was sitting in a reading nook, flipping through a children's book. The sun was shining through the windows behind her, lighting up her brown curls to show off their golden highlights. He felt drawn to her. He wanted to walk right up and say hello that second, but Scorpius pulled him down an aisle.

"I need a bunny book, Dad!” he said, as he tugged Draco’s hand. His son had apparently been learning about all kinds of pets with his nanny and was now obsessed with bunnies. It was incredibly cute. They located the children’s non-fiction and went home from the library with 7 books on bunnies but no information about the gorgeous librarian.

When they returned to the Rowena Ravenclaw Wizarding Public Library the next week, it was only because he’d heard they hosted a lovely story time for young children, and not at all because he wanted to see the mysterious librarian again. Scorpius had thrown a bit of a fit about the entire concept of shoes existing, so they were running late. They rushed up the steps and through the big wooden doors before following the signs posted for storytime. They found themselves in that very same corner where he’d first seen her. She was sitting in the window nook again, but this time she was surrounded by children sitting on the carpet at her feet. Draco stood back with the other parents while Scorpius pushed through the line of people and found a spot. She smiled brightly at him but glared a bit at Draco.

She’s a stickler about punctuality, he noted. Draco tried his best to look apologetic but he wasn’t sure it was very convincing.

“I am Librarian Granger, and I am so happy to see so many smiling faces here today!” she began.

He felt triumphant, he had a name, only a last name, but it was progress.

“Today we are reading one of my favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” She read the story with so much enthusiasm getting louder and louder as the caterpillar ate more and more. The children were all giggling, Scorpius threw his head back, his tiny face red from laughter. It felt good to see his son smiling. He hadn’t done much of that since they moved back from France. When the caterpillar emerged from its cocoon as a bright and beautiful butterfly, the children oohed and awed at the colorful illustration in the book. She lifted her wand and whispered a quick incantation. Suddenly the air was filled with paper butterflies fluttering down to the children. A purple one landed on Scorpius and he immediately ran to his father to show it off.

“Look, Dad, look!” he shouted as he held his paper prize aloft.

"I see it, Scorpius. It's very beautiful. What are you going to name it?”

“Umm, Purple?” the boy suggested.

“We could call her Lilac? Or Lavender? Even Periwinkle,” Draco suggested.

"No… I like Purple,” Scorpius replied.

"Well then Purple is perfect,” Draco said, smiling down at him. Most of the crowd had begun to dissipate, so Draco decided to take the opportunity to speak with Librarian Granger. She was wearing a swishy floral skirt that reached all the way down to her ankles with a plain white t-shirt tucked into it. Her hair was, sadly, up in a bun today, but she still looked stunning.

Draco approached her, doing his best to come off as casual and cool, two things he wasn’t exactly known for. He’d worn charcoal gray trousers and an oxford shirt but had left the first button undone. He was the epitome of laid back, he was sure.

"Hello, Ms. Granger, I just wanted to thank you for a lovely storytime. My son, Scorpius, enjoyed it so much.”

“Oh, you are very welcome Mr....,”

“Malfoy. Draco Malfoy,” he supplied.

She smiled politely at him. “...Mr. Malfoy. But no need to thank me, it's my job. Besides, I love reading to the children and seeing their faces light up.”

“Yes, well, you did a wonderful job of it. Scorpius hasn’t smiled that much since I told him we were leaving Lourdes.”

Hermione's eyes widened with interest “You moved from Lourdes? You must have been working at Beauxbatons then, yes? I have heard lovely things about that school."

Draco nodded, glad to have landed on a topic that interested the pretty witch. “Yes, I was a student there and later became the Potion’s Master. I’ve just left my post after 6 years.”

“Oh well, welcome to the UK then.”

“Thank you very much, but it’s actually welcome back to the UK. I was born in Wiltshire, although I moved to France when I was still quite young. I’m sure there is much I don’t know about Wizarding London now; I haven’t been back in many years. Perhaps you could show me around sometime?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. It was not a good sign. She said nothing for a moment, the silence was deafening. He thought he’d been rather smooth, but Ms. Granger seemed to disagree.

Finally, she spoke, “You are not the first father to hit on me while I am working but you are the first one who forgot to slip off his wedding ring,” she said, staring pointedly at the silver band on his left ring finger.

Continued on AO3

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camebackwrong-tournament · 1 year

Text

ROUND TWO CBW BRACKET!

unfunny commentary down below!

aaaaand welcome to the official announcement of the winners for the first round of the came back wrong showdown! i'm your host, the admin, and i'm here to announce the wins and the overall results of the poll so far!

following much debate about whether or not dokja came back wrong or he came back the same because he was Always wrong, jason todd takes the first lead with a very funny margin! congratulations to everyone who voted jason!

now, our next poll caused quite the stir everywhere, we've seen decent amounts of propaganda from both sides of rosamund and buffy supporters — but in the end, buffy came out victorious alongside the loud cheers and shouts of over a thousand votes in the whole poll!

and in a shocking turn of events, william wisp, the character with the second most submissions, fails to take the win against sydney sargent of camp here and there. that aside, we've heard that both franchises often land against each other in poll brackets, perhaps it's fate after all~

next up we have the character the host is totally not rooting for, mitsuba sousuke against leif from bug tales! [you know. as a person who has seen a bit of both franchises— Personal commentary is not allowed! Please disclose such information somewhere else, host!] anyway, with lots of propaganda from both sides, mitsuba comes out with the win for this one with 61.1% from an overall 627 votes!

now, here are two characters we've been told are the exact same person with only very minor differences. while we can swear putting them against one another was unintentional, shadow lands the funny number win against the macaque! congratulations!

and here is yet another stirring poll, with akane kurashiki and owen harper at each other's tails for supposedly the first few hours, akane steals the crown with a fair margin of 63.3% ! we congratulate all her supporters and wish owen luck in a possible reanimation round!

okay, we'll be honest. this one was... interesting. while link took an unfortunate loss against the prehistoric fauna, it's nice to see a margin that's closer than our usual. someone's already said it but they should really make link vs dinosaurs into the next game. anyway, congratulations, dinosaur truthers!

and here we have another funny little thing. frankenstein's monster, we repeat, the monster folks, wins against tsukasa yugi by a large ratio. while that in itself is hilarious, for those familiar with jshk as well as tsukasa's ties with mitsuba, who got a win, it's a bit funnier. or maybe that's just me

the following poll felt a bit quieter when it came to propaganda, but the results have come to light and gideon nav was pronounced the winner in round one! we wish everyone who voted well and for those who voted celica, i'd keep my eyes open for a possible reanimation round!

and again! with a small margin apart and an incredible amount of support, the battle between hikaru and rolan was neck in neck for quite some time (or so i'm told) — but following the polls' closing, hikaru emerges triumphant!

here we go with another 61/39 poll result! caleb wittebane of the owl house comes out on top in the poll overall, winning against suzie costello of torchwood from 657 votes!

im sorry for pointing out the funny number repeatedly, this is what it feels like to be inside my brain. anyway, with a 69.7% ratio, mollymauk tealeaf of critical role takes home the crown for the round against jack kennedy who i definitely did not mistake for the US president. congrats!

oh my~ the next poll yielded some outstanding results, with trisha elric emerging successfully against goro akechi! there's been calls for revival as well as claims on whether or not trisha qualifies, but the host maintains, congratulations and good luck to all 721 participating voters!

happy easter sunday to jennifer check and jennifer check specifically for winning against jesus christ on holy week in the died and came back wrong poll. are we going to have to explain this during the rapture though. christ alive (well. maybe not so much)

and here we have yet another win from a hedgehog! sorry. sonic is victorious against wei wuxian, even after much banter regarding when and how sonic died in the franchise. i swear i will remember to check the submissions later. anyway, congrats!

and on our last poll is danny the teenage ghost against kite the ... yeah. danny comes out with a win by 67%, though there still remains some argument on how danny's "death" actually works — his win is the real deal, so congratulations everyone!

and that concludes this segment, we hope you enjoyed because i literally made a bracket so i had an excuse to do things like these.

#cbr #bracket #tournament bracket #poll tournament #poll bracket

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whatifyoulivelikethat · 2 years

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not allowed, interlude | 20220629

drabble: ‘not allowed’ series; fluff some wholesome BS lol pairing(s): est. relationship yoongi x reader x jungkook

Guess who's favorite noona is addicted to BTS Island: In The SEOM? tbh I wrote this because the game was under maintenance and I was bored lmao

"Says here that you hate grass."

"I don't hate grass."

"Then why are did you say, ugh?"

Skeptical and slightly peeved dark brown orbs peered at your phone screen. “Hm.” A small frown. “I don’t have any particular feelings towards grass, though.”

“Maybe you made a disapproving face at grass on set before, a staff saw you and thought it was so funny that they added to the game.”

Min Yoongi made his best disapproving face at you. He would never admit it but sweet as SUGA was good at those funny facial expressions that he insisted weren’t only for laughs. You still snickered though. Oops. “How am I supposed to remember every expression I make?”

“Maybe don’t look so disdainfully at grass then.”

“When was the last time you touched grass?” he grumbled in his deep voice, going right back to his phone and vegetative position.

“Look at you, using the younguns’ lingo!”

Those cat-like eyes narrowed into slits. He decided not to grace you with a response to that. He didn’t have one. Probably because he had no idea what you meant, but asking what the lingo was would surely out himself. Therefore, the genius producer meow meow did the clever, strategic move of changing the subject. He did not, however, miss your triumphant grin (that earned you an extra disapproving eye squint). He chose to ignore it.

Yoongi hummed and ticked his eyebrow to your phone. “Do you like the OST?” he asked offhandedly.

“Of course! It reminds me of MapleStory. I always play with the sound on,” you chirped, flopping down next to him on the bed as he grunted in mock discomfort. “I usually have the sound off because most background music is too happy for me.”

Yoongi gave you one of his small smiles that he did when he agreed but still wanted to question. “Too happy?”

“Yeah, sometimes I’m not cheerful, okay, okay? I like this better. It’s soothing and, when you really listen to it, it’s quite layered and intricate. There’s even a sound in there that reminds me of cicadas. Reminiscent of your usual style, too. Ah, but, you should be careful. Lots of game companies are going to ask to collaborate with you now!”

He laughed softly and, from the tone and the bashfulness, you could see he was very pleased. It was both what he wanted to hear and that he could see that you meant it. When you enjoyed things, you always had a lot to say. “Couldn’t be too cheerful since you might be annoyed after being unable to complete a level – wait, what level are you on?!”

Your phone flipped as you tried to squirm away from Yoongi’s wide eyes once he finally registered all the information on your screen, looking quite like his BTS Island: In The SEOM game avatar. So far you had been incredibly impressed by the game developers’ attention to detail, from the avatar expressions and movements, the accurate dialogue, even the aesthetic color choices. Oh, and can’t forget those spoony-looking hands and little nubbins for legs that hung in the air when they laid down. Clearly a lot of research and efforts had been put into it. You would be ready to discuss all of it if it wasn’t for the fact that you were sputtering, trying to explain yourself as the front door opened, and you heard heavy things dropping.

“Hey, hey, have you downloaded the game, hyung, I set up my island and everything, let me show you and – oh, noona! You’re here already!”

You grinned at Jeon Jungkook and his wild, slightly messy workout hair. Wow, those big sparkly brown eyes really were the biggest peepers of all. How long had the game designers been staring into the Golden Maknae’s eyes? Couldn’t blame them, though. He looked a bit like a black fabric mountain in his loose clothes as he bounced over, clutching his phone to load up the colorful opening screen.

“I’m about level seventy, what about–?”

Yoongi grunted.

Aw shit.

“She’s over level two hundred.”

“You’re over level WHAT?” Jungkook’s booming volume filled up the entire bedroom. The Golden Maknae had some powerful lungs on him. Needed them for those high notes. “How?! I thought you had a job!”

“I do have a job, excuse you–”

“What you have is an addiction.”

Jungkook had now taken your phone. “You have so many stars! You haven’t even done the story!”

“Er…”

“Why is your island so naked? You need some decorations.”

“Decorations cost money.”

“I have lots of decorations, look.”

“Yes, but you also have money.”

“I can give you money.”

“You are not being my suga daddy in In The SEOM. Besides, I want to kick your ass without money. Ohohoho, I knew you would spend more time decorating. Aww, Hoseok looks so cute in those sunglasses you put him in!”

“That’s not allowed, noona! You said you’re good at puzzle games!”

“This isn’t a competition, you two. This is a healing game…”

“Maybe you should try harder, Jungkookie~!” You gasped dramatically as you explored his account on his phone. “Your future wife is in your club? Did you peel apart perilla leaves for her? Is that how it happened? ‘Today a perilla leaf, tomorrow marriage.’ Gosh, I told you that was dangerous!”

“Noona, you!”

At this point Yoongi had given up on his bed, getting up with a sigh as you and Jungkook began to roll around laughing and bantering about each other’s islands. Later, Yoongi would tell you that it looked both like a fight and as if you were trying to strip reach other, so nothing to worry about. Per usual. He watched the debacle with fond amusement.

“You used to be quiet,” Yoongi chuckled.

“Well, you used to be available,” you called accusingly from the bed with your legs around Jungkook’s waist as he pinned your arms to your sides. “Then you discovered Pilates and started practicing English.”

“You could practice English with me.”

“I know plenty of English,” you wheezed, yanking up the black shirt. Jungkook yelped as your bare thighs touched his skin and you rolled him back over to be on top, only to be lifted far too easily. Damnnit! You let out your own yelp. “Such as–”

“If you sing Butter one more time, I’m getting a gag.”

“You don’t own a gag, hyung?” Jungkook questioned with a confused expression as you flailed about in the air like a caught (super) tuna.

“Why would I own a gag?” Yoongi sighed exasperatedly, eyes and mouth thinned into lines. Actually, there was a slight upturn to his lips. Hm, quite like a cat.

“I dunno, you kinda seem like you’d own a gag – ah! No bitey!”

“What are you reading online, hah…?”

“It’s under maintenance…”

“Aw, man, what now?”

Those big peepers looked your way.

“You looking a lil sus…”

“Can you two speak like normal human beings? What are you doing to my shirt – oi!”

drabbles masterpost | masterpost

#yoonkook x reader #jungkook x reader #yoongi x reader #yoonkook x you #bts idol au #jungkook x you #yoongi x you #jeon jungkook x reader #min yoongi x reader #jeon jungkook x you #min yoongi x you

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lizhly-writes · 8 months

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i wish you would write a fic where chen liwei's backstory pre-transmigrating was explored.

Right, so, some context for this ask that mentions a character that I've never mentioned ever on this blog:

Chen Liwei is the result of me fucking around in my villain fiance universe.

First change: our transmigrator mc guy NOT getting reincarnated as Yang Haoran and instead ending up Chen Lihua’s role (hence: Chen Liwei). The thing is, he’s really not as resilient as Chen Lihua, so he does not hold up nearly as well against her backstory. By the time the plot starts, he’s hopeless and emotionally-dead, and he ends up accidentally turning the novel into abusive misery porn.

Second change: that misery porn is now the og novel. The transmigrator is not Li Yichang but instead the original Yang Haoran. Not that he was ever Yang Haoran, from his point of view. No, he was Li Yirui, son of Li Shirong and Zhang Meilan, brother to Li Yizhen. He would die in an earthquake at age 16 and be reborn in Chen Liwei’s body, and, after a happy childhood cut short, he’d grimly power through this life fueled by both incredible drive and incredible rage.

Ah, but we’re not talking about that last part yet. We’re talking about his life pre transmigration.

So. Let’s talk about Li Yirui.

...

Your name is Li Yirui, or David Li. You are fourteen years old, and you have a busy, busy life as the most overachieving teenager to ever exist, or so your sister tells you.

“Listen to me,” she says, hands on your shoulders as if she is about to shake you like a particularly large set of maracas. “I want you to know that you’ve shoved every extracurricular onto your plate like a little baby grabbing every single thing they see at a buffet.”

“Are you trying to tell me something new?”

“I’m trying to say you’re going to choke and die,” she says. Behind her, her best friend snorts. You make a face at him. He salutes you with a ridiculous sparkly light-up pen that is bright enough to burn your eyes out. You kind of hate him.

“You’re not allowed to tell me that,” you say. You wave your hand at the stack of textbooks on the kitchen table, which consists of every AP and Honors textbook she was humanly capable of getting, because her courseload consists of every AP and Honors class she was humanly capable of getting. Pot, kettle: you’re black.

“First of all, that’s perfectly doable,” she says. For most people, this would be a false statement, but this is your sister, who has never seriously struggled with schoolwork once in her entire life, so, speaking for herself, she’s probably right.

This does not stop you from saying, “You’re going to choke and die.”

Your sister’s friend makes a noise that could be called a cough but would be more accurately described as incoherent glee.

She grabs your face, squeezes your cheeks together. “Wrong! Also? Rude. Really rude!”

“You said it first,” you say. It sounds wrong, because your face is no longer in its usual configuration. You bat her hands away.

“You said it first,” she repeats in singsong. “Fine, whatever. If you want to take orchestra and language school and taekwondo–”

“Sanda.”

“--sanda, fine. But like, there’s one thing I really want to know: why are you running for class rep.”

“What, do you have a problem with that?”

“Nonono, don’t give me that. Really, seriously, why? You know if you’re class rep, you’re going to have to actually talk to people? You hate people.”

“I don’t hate people.”

“You hate people,” says your sister’s friend. You can’t believe this is the first thing he’s said to you all day.

Your sister smiles, triumphant. “See?” she says, turning you around by the shoulders to face him. “Two against one, I win.”

“Fuck off,” says you.

Your sister cackles. Your sister’s friend smiles, just a bit. It’s incredibly noticeable. You really hate him.

“Stop touching me,” you say, shaking her off. She holds her hands up in mock-surrender.

“I bet you’re just doing this to prove somebody wrong,” she says. “Did someone say you’d do bad at the class rep thing, Rui-Rui? Aiya, your ego is really–”

“That’s got nothing to do with anything.” Whether or not it’s true isn’t any of her business.

“What’s with the face? I’m not saying you’ll do a bad job! My baby brother is naturally, fantastically, an overachieving little shit!”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment.”

She spreads her arms. “I just think it’s out of character! I just think you’ll hate it!”

She’s probably right. You probably are going to hate it.

Naturally, you do not acknowledge this. Instead, you determinedly head over to your own stack of textbooks and schoolwork on the kitchen table. As you sit down, your sister’s friend offers you a pen. It’s as sparkly and obnoxious and neon as the one he’s currently using. You don’t need it. You have your own pens that actually don’t hurt your eyes when you try writing with them.

You take the stupid pen anyway.

He smiles at you. It’s a nice smile. You busy yourself with digging out your notebook so you don’t stare at him like an idiot.

You wish you actually hated him.

God, you’re lucky your sister is oblivious as a brick shithouse. You’re lucky that your sister’s best friend is oblivious as a brick shithouse. You’re just lucky, in general.

#my writing #transmigrated as the female lead's villain fiance: role swap #asks #anon #YOU'RE NOT SUBTLE #chen liwei #li yirui #li yizhen

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isleofair · 6 months

Text

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

I was tagged by @nicoroni (and I am also tagging them back 💙) (Trust us, it works. )

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12 as of a couple of days ago! 🥰 2 are from last year and 10 are my progress so far in the 2023 - Year of the OTP Challenge (my beloved 💖)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

212,706 (that's about a Moby Dick's worth of words! 😦)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Tiger & Bunny, and just FireSky as a pairing, at that! (Who knows if I'll ever branch out... for now I'm very happy in my little corner of the fanfic world 🥰)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The best cure for free fall (3,295 words) Kudos: 87

Stereoscopy (The Hero's Shoulders) (72,000 words) Kudos: 74

Three Dates (8,854 words) Kudos: 40

Snowdrift (3,050 words) Kudos: 37

Love, Counted along the Fibonacci Sequence (7,123 words) Kudos: 28

(These numbers may not look like much, and perhaps they are not, but considering I write a side ship in a small fandom, I am honestly incredibly grateful for literally every single one of these 🙏💕)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I probably respond too much to comments, if anything 😅 I cherish them immensely, so I tend to get a little carried away, and I try to answer every single thing that people say in them 🥺💙

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh. Uhm. I only really do happy endings, so... let me think.

Technically, the story that leaves the most angst still on the table by the end is Stereoscopy (The Hero's Shoulders), because there are some not-totally-solved things left in the background.

The one where the angst lingers closest to the end as a feeling, though, possibly enough to leave a tiny taste-memory of it in your mouth, might be To a Steadfast Heart, or possibly Second Song.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh, gosh. I suppose it depends on how you define happiest...

The most triumphant and satisfying ending I've done plot-wise, in my opinion, is hands-down Intertidal's.

If you're going more by something like "how much pink glitter and marshmallows is the final scene conjuring in my brain", though, it might be Love, Counted along the Fibonacci Sequence, or maybe An Honest Mistake, or Asterism (I write a lot of pink-glitter-and-marshmallows endings, sorry.)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The haters would have to know little old me exists for me to get hate, lol. But more seriously, no, I get nothing but sweetness and I'm so grateful 💖💖💖

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Welll... I never quite mean to, but sometimes the story (and characters) ends up asking for it/needing it, and I'm so bad at saying no 😅

As for what kind... the kind that can have a 10k, E-rated chapter solely dedicated to the characters having sex, without me ever having to pick a word for "dick", lol (No, there's no trashy euphemisms, either; it's just me, my deep embarrassment, Keith Goodman's Very Polite POV, and synecdoche, my beloved, against the world 😂)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't, and I don't think I'm terribly interested in trying (never say never, of course, but for now I can't think of any that I'd want to write). AUs and/or fusions, on the other hand, are very interesting and I'm farily sure at some point I'll end up writing one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Again, they'd have to notice the fic to steal it 😅 (Of course, it might have happened without my knowledge, but I don't see why anyone would steal unpopular fics. And besides, it would have to either be posted on a website I don't look at, or modified to be other characters, because "my" ship tag on ao3 is far too small to hide anything in there, lol)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. (I'd make a joke about them being translated from the Italian in my head to the English on the page, but I think them up in English in the first place, so it wouldn't really apply 😅)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I've "co-written" a lot of concepts/headcanons in chats and I always have an absolute blast doing that! (I'm not entirely sure I could ever co-write a fic, honestly, because I'm a bit of a control freak about my creations, and I'd probably get insufferable during the process)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

The only one I write, lol: FireSky!!! ❤️💜 AKA Keith Goodman/Nathan Seymour, or Sky High/Fire Emblem from Tiger & Bunny (... their hero names ship name looks like a pretty crazy crossover, lol)

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ooof. I only have two real wips on my hands; the one I have more doubts about ever finishing is the one I was trying to write for the September leg of the 2023 YOTP Challenge (for which I ended up writing a different story altogether). It has very unconvincing logistics, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to fix that to my satisfaction.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Mmmh. I've gotten a fair bit of compliments about my characterization, so that's one, I suppose. I've also been very good so far at only writing one fic at once and actually finishing almost all of them (which is not nothing!) I also really like my metaphors/similes/analogies/symbolism a lot, especially in dream sequences, but I don't know if that's objectively a strength or just something I do well (mostly) only to my personal satisfaction.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I used to be good at not having run-on sentences, but I've gotten so much worse about it lately?!? I really need to check myself on that. And I think I'm not very good at coming up with complex plots (one initial premise to kick things off, and then following the flow from there? Doable. Several significant events actually shaping the story from more than one side? SAVE ME.)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Well, if the characters were speaking another language for some reason I suppose I might, but I'm only fluent in two languages, so unless I could find someone who could help me, I would probably try to avoid the issue altogether somehow.

I also think it's not an easy thing to handle, because if the reader is not supposed to understand, a few words and phrases here and there, that maybe get explained/translated in-story at the moment or later, are okay; but huge chunks that the reader can't understand would just be annoying, and if they're supposed to understand, you need to fit a translation in along with the foreign dialogue, and it might not always be easy to do so in an efficient / not cumbersome manner.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Mh. If we want to be really precise about this, I think somewhere in my parents' house is a tiny notebook with a lilac (or possibly pale pink) cover, where a strange, short scene set after the Season 1 finale of Smallville is written in pencil. But that was a one-off thing.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Stereoscopy (The Hero's Shoulders) will always and forever be my baby; it's the one I poured the most time and soul and effort into, and the one that I consider, in a way, the definitive fic I could write for that pairing.

I do feel like I have to mention Intertidal, as well, though: it's by far my favorite of the rest my fics, and I think it has a lot to offer.

This was a lot of fun! 😃 My dear fellow writers, if you see this and you want to do it, too, I am officially tagging you! 💚

#writing #tag game #my fic #tiger & bunny #firesky #nathan seymour #keith goodman

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hey-have-you-heard · 1 year

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Hey, Have You Heard These 50 Tracks from 2022

As is the tradition around these parts I have once again compiled a list of 50 tracks from this year that I felt worthy of highlighting for one reason or other. Some incredibly strong releases this year meant I had to make some brutal cuts to the list, but I’m happy with what I narrowed it down to in the end. As always songs are in alphabetical order (there is no internal rating to the 50) but if I had to choose a single song of the year it would be Gendering Teddy by The Narcissist Cookbook, please listen to that track if nothing else. A Spotify playlist of the included songs is linked below for your listening pleasure.

Spy — 1-800 Let’s start this list with a bang. Spy has been consistently making some of the most to-the-point, brutally efficient hardcore in the scene of late, and this year was no exception. No nonsense, viscerally malevolent fun.

Blood Command — A Questionable Taste in Friends Blood Command released their first full-length with ex-pagan vocalist Nikki Brumen this year. And it is a delight. Tasty pop hooks, groovy instrumental sections, and it isn’t afraid to get disgustingly heavy when it needs to. I could have easily put any track from Praise Armageddon on this list, but the woo-oos here win it for me.

CLT DRP — Aftermath (CW: SA/abuse/gendered violence/trauma) So, ummm… content warning… things might get heavy on this list. This is a song about SA/gendered violence, and it doesn’t shy away from the subject in any way. CLT DRP strip back the fury and energy of their usual sound for a deeply personal rumination on generational trauma caused by existing in a patriarchal society where harassment is seen as a routine part of life and abuse could come from anywhere. “I’m just as afraid of the men I know as I am of these strangers.” It’s about how, in a post-me-too world, as men are starting to find their repentance in confessing to their faults, women and non-binary people are still left picking up the shattered pieces of our lives left in their wake.

ZAND — Battery Acid (CW: abusive relationships) It’s a coincidence that this landed next to Aftermath on this list, a coincidence but a fitting one. A bittersweet queer story about escaping from an abusive relationship and finding strength and solace in the arms of someone new. The sparse instrument here is beautiful, letting the storytelling take centre stage. The change of lyrics in the final chorus is such a triumphant moment as the narrator overcomes the hold their boyfriend has on them and gains the inner resolve to end things.

Carly Rae Jepsen — Beach House That’s enough deep stuff for now. Back to fun songs — and who else can do fun like CRJ!? Beach House is a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek pop song about the woes of trying to date men. It’s full of great character and charisma.

Brutus — Brave Everything that makes Brutus so exciting is on full display on Brave. Starting at a breakneck pace before effortlessly dancing between elements of hardcore punk and post-rock. Drummer-vocalist Stefanie Mannaerts is a force to be reckoned with as their voice switches from gravelly shouts to ethereal choruses as the track never lets up.

Enter Shikari — Bull (ft. Cody Frost) Hey, Enter Shikari, more of this, please. Cody Frost brings a raucous youthful energy back to Shikari’s sound. Everything that always made them so interesting is working here, but there’s also that extra element that pushes this into being something special. This is going to be incredible live.

Evie Enby — Christmas Fears Oh shit how did this get in here? Look, this is my list, and I’ll use it to pat myself on the back if I want to. While I’ll be the first to admit Christmas Fears doesn’t deserve a space on this list through any technical merit; writing, recording, producing and releasing a song was an insane personal achievement for me, helping to pave the way for what I’m planning for 2023 and so it is personally one of my top tracks of the year.

Baby Dave — Clarence’s Dead Dad Isaac Holman of Soft Play [formerly Slaves] swaps punk attitude and drums for personal storytelling and synths for his solo project, Baby Dave. Clarence’ is a song that just gets weirder the longer it goes on, buoyed along by Damon Albarn’s masterful production, adding to the weirdness.

HEALTH & Lamb Of God — Cold Blood This is the most I’ve enjoyed anything Lamb Of God related in a while, HEALTH have a masterful ear for collaborations (just look at everybody they’ve worked with throughout their career) and the balance they strike against Randy Blythe’s iconic growled vocal timbre is nothing short of sublime.

Andy Morin & Backxwash — Dig Yourself a Grave Speaking of great collaborations… Andy Morin may be best known as one of the people who makes noises in Death Grips, but he makes a strong claim to be known on his own merit here. The production is huge as Backxwash’ ‘s always brilliant bars cut across layers of heavily distorted synths and fog horn stabs of noise.

Whitmer Thomas — Don’t Have a Cow This song is so sweet. A three-chord, post-breakup lament. Reflecting on how people and relationships change, about the impacts we leave on the people whom we invite into our lives. I adore how the sparse indifferent instrumentation gives way to a swelling cacophony of emotion in the final moments. It feels almost cinematic.

100 Gecs — Doritos & Fritos Something about eating burritos with Danny DeVito? I have no idea what’s going on here, but it SLAPS (do the kids still say slaps?) The punchy bass that could be straight out of Feelgood Inc., the Sonic Youth guitars. It’s a romp.

Petrol Girls ft. Janey Starling — Fight For Our Lives Fight For Our Lives carries a desperate urgency that is so tangible in Petrol Girls’ live performances but rarely translates this well to record. This is the sound of anger. This is the sound of direct action. This is the sound of a fight for survival.

Zeal & Ardor — Firewake Up until last week, I had a totally different Z&A track on this list. Then Firewake was released as a part of Subpop’s record club and I had to reassess everything. There’s so much going on here and I love every second of it. The mournful opening, the military drums that morph into hellish machine gunfire, that bass melody that punches through in the chorus, Manuel Gagneux’s germanic black metal screeches about a war for everything. Metal songs about war will never beat Metallica’s Disposable Heroes, but this comes close.

Teenage Halloween — Floating Sometimes, a lyric rings so true that it hits you right at your core, and you have no choice but to put it in your top songs of the year list. That’s what happened here. It’s not even that brilliantly formed a lyric. It just struck me with its brutality and simplicity.

Cancer Bats & Amy Walpole — Friday Night Friday Night is a party anthem for the misfits. Joined by Witch Fever’s Amy Walpole (more on them later) Cancer Bats smash through a refreshingly sincere ode to celebrating who you are and shaking off the haters as Tay Tay might say.

The Narcissist Cookbook — Gendering Teddy Okay, this isn’t just an essay about the history of mathematics. Stick with it. I don’t want to say too much, because discovering this track for the first time was one of my favourite music moments of the year, and I want you, dear reader, to share in that experience.

Creeper — Ghost Brigade Of course, new Creeper is going to make this list… after a sold-out show at Camden Roundhouse, Creeper announced that they were signing to Spinefarm Records, their current era was coming to an end and a new single had been released. Ghost Brigade feels like a return to their roots, full of punk energy with more than a splash of their signature theatricality. When the bells first rang out in the chorus, my heart sang.

Ada Rook — Gravity Weapon Hold on to your fuckin balls, this is gonna kill you.

Asunojokei — Heavenward I think a big part of what drew me to this track this year is how fascinating its production is. At its most frenetic moments, everything gets muddled together into a maelstrom of noise before a single element is flung outwards to the listener. It’s that same sense of dense layered noise that made Deftones so captivating on their best records, but here applied to a post-black-metal, shoegazey, math-rock behemoth of a track.

Electric Callboy — Hurrikan Not to spoil the ride, but strap in, this may be the wildest thing you hear all year.

Kid Kapichi — I.N.V.U Kid Kapichi are one of the bands ensuring that the new wave of British post-punk that was first bought to the mainstream consciousness with bands like Idles last decade isnt going to stagnate anytime soon. I.N.V.U brings a laddish 90s britpop swagger to the genre and the result is thoroughly entertaining.

Witch Fever — I Saw You Dancing I told you we’d get back to Witch Fever. I love this piece as a companion to The Beatles “I Saw Her Standing There”. Turning John and Paul’s sweet ‘love song’ into a horror story, a commentary on the implicit entitlement and ownership men feel over women’s bodies. The way vocalist Amy Walpole repeatedly screams “Oh, my how you’ve grown” is as nightmare inducing as any slasher, as the song is driven along by a disgustingly sinister bassline.

Fontaines D.C. — In ár gCroíthe go deo Any song that gets you deepdiving into a legal case regarding language used on a gravestsone has to be doing something right. In ár gCroíthe go deo (which roughly translates to ‘in our hearts forever’) is a song that speaks of being away from home in a place that tries to erase your heritage. There’s a sense of deep anxiety to the mechanically rigid Joy Division style bassline, the drums skitter uneasily and there’s a trembling fear to frontman Grian Chatten’s voice as it slowly rises in intensity to the climax of the song. A remarkable opener to a remarkable album.

Annie DiRusso — Infinite Jest When the dams of this song break in all of their reverby garage rock glory, its an unmatched moment of fantastic cathartic release… but the build up to get there is just as good.

Orville Peck — Kalahari Down I’m not generally a fan of country, but theres some intangible element to Orville Peck’s work that just gets to me. It’s like… it’s clear he’s doing country as a ‘character bit’ but it’s not pastichey, its not played for comedy, its sincere and honest. Apparently the artist behind Orville Peck used to be in a punk band, and I think that punk approach to music comes across in spirit if not sound here. Anyway, I’m rambling… this is just a brilliantly crafted, emotionally honest song and I love it.

Nova Twins — K.M.B. Nova Twins channel a mix of Destiny’s Child and their own inimitable sound into a gleefully violent revenge fantasy.

Ezra Furman — Lilac and Black My love for Ezra Furmans music is well known, her journey of gender identity has closely tracked with my own and her music has been a constant source of comfort to remind myself I’m not alone at my darkest moments. I needed this rallying cry — this call to action — this year and as always, Ezra delivered.

The Hellp — meant2be This is just another fun one, I’m a sucker for somebody yelling WOO through a vocal distorter and this song brings me a lot of uncomplicated joy.

Taylor Swift — Midnight Rain Ever since Lorde’s Pure Heroine turned the pop world on its head in 2013 (wow, I feel old), there’s an argument to be made that the slow Antanoff-ication of pop music is a bad thing. But then it will turn out a track like this and we have to ask ourselves, is that really such a bad thing?

Alice Longyu Gao — MONK Okay, so you know earlier when I said that Hurrikan may be the wildest thing you’d hear this year? I lied.

L.S. Dunes — Permanent Rebellion Emo is well and truly back baby! Featuring members of MCR, Circa Survive, Thursday and Coheed and Cambria, L.S. Dunes is the supergroup of my formative musical years and if this track is anything to go by they are not fucking around.

Bob Vylan — Pretty Songs Bob Vylan are arguably the most important band in the UK right now and no punches are being pulled here. Pretty Songs is as straightforward as punk gets, a simple message, we’re here to fight for what we believe in.

The Garden — Puerta de Limosina Puerta starts off with what I affectionately like to call a “the drummer fell down a flight of stairs” intro and things just get more chaotic from there. This one won’t be for everybody, but I revel in its insanity. Also, the bass tone, delicious.

Ibraki ft. Gerard Way — Ronin Gerard Way doing black metal vocals? Yes please. Ibraki is the project of Trivium frontman Matt Heafy, who can be heard putting in tremendous effort to not be totally overshadowed by the aforementioned Way here. Even outside of the phenomenal vocal performances, Ronin is a formidable track, a 9 minute long black metal epic with guitar work from Emperor’s Ihsahn, telling the story of an ancient japanese warrior bent on vengance.

Paledusk ft. Hideyoshi — Slay!! Slay!! defies genre with such reckless abandon it seems pointless to write a description. I love the jazzy guitar lick that crops up throughout this track before getting absolutely bulldozed by some fresh new idea. Its impossible to guess where the song could go from moment to moment and I could wish for no greater entertainment.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Perfume Genius — Spitting Off The Edge of the World Karen O has long been one of my favourite vocalists, but I never truly clicked with the musical direction Yeah Yeah Yeahs went after their debut. This though, this i really like. That soft, analog Perfume Genius sound mixes perectly with Karens vocals. Beauty within doom. A perfect soundtrack to the end times.

Johnny Booth — Storyteller God damn, this slaps. Hard. If you like Dillinger Escape Plan, you’ll love this. Breakneck, hundred riffs a minute, mathcore. It’s exciting, it’s energetic, and it feels so wonderfully fresh.

My Chemical Romance — Foundations of Decay Here it is boys. The big one, the reunion we’ve all been waiting for. I didnt know if new MCR was anything we were ever going to get and even if we did, if it would be something worth having. Let me tell you, IT IS WORTH HAVING. The lofi production speaks more to their debut than the more commercial sounds of their later works, its been leveled as a criticism of the track by some but personally works for me. This is the sound of a band rediscovering, re-igniting their flame in the best way possible, I cant wait to see what’s next from the my chem boys.

Ithaca — The Future Says Thank You If you haven’t been watching Ithaca up to this point, its time to start watching. They’ve probably been one of your favourite metal musicians favourite bands since the release of their debut in 2019, and 2022 was their year. Their knack for blending a killer hook with absolutely brutal genre blending metal violence is second to none.

Paramore — The News In case this list hadn’t quite made it clear yet, 2022 was the year to herald the return of emo. Not only with the reformation of My Chem, but with new material from Paramore. The news recaptures the angst iin Hayley Williams vocals present in their earlier work while throwing in a more current decade twist to keep things modern. If i have one complaint here, I just wish that the production leaned sligjtly heavier, it’s a minor gripe though.

Pupil Slicer & Cara Drolshagen — Thermal Runaway Pupil Fuckin Slicer. Holy shit. Just when I thought there was no way they could top their 2021 debut, Mirrors, they release this absolute monster of a track. Featuring guest vocals from The Armed’s Cara Drolshagen, Thermal Runaway smashes everything before it out of contention. Special mention to that satisfying af bass solo before everything descends into total brutality in the breakdown.

Let’s Eat Grandma — Two Ribbons Two ribbons is a song about grief, its about how grief affects relationships, its about a desire for connection, its about mending things that have been broken for too long. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Black Dresses — u_u2 Devi McCallon and Ada Rook continue to make some of the ,ost uncomprising and relentlessly distressing music possible under the Black Dresses name. u_u2 is a song that bristles with the internal torture of gender dysphoria. It’s aggressive, confrontational and sounds incredible.

Sam Smith, Kim Petras & Nova Twins — Unholy (remix) I wanted to like Unholy, I really did. A hit collaboration between a trans and non-binary artist? Kim Petras in the charts? Of course I wish I could stan. But the original song just felt toothless to me, I needed it to have more bite. Then along came Nova Twins with a veritable treasure trove of teeth (this metaphor got away from me). Anyway, Nova Twins inject the energy that was always missing from Unholy for me, and now I cant stop listening to it.

The HIRS Collective & Shirley Manson — We’re Still Here “This collective, a version of therapy, for ourselves and anyone who feels the need to scream their lungs out for one more day of living. We’re still here.” A-fucking-men to that.

Architects — When We Were Young Architects’ “The Classic Symptoms of a Broken Heart” was met with a mixed reception upon release, but I was there for the album launch show and let me tell you, the new stuff goes hard live. Especially this track, the almost Refused like punk energy at the heart of the track propels the band into a different tone from their previoous work but its one they suit surprisingly well.

Muse — You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween “Halloween” asks the question, what if Matt Belllamy listened to a shit tonne of Ghost, the answer is pure camp delight.

Poly-Math — Zenith What’s a top 50 list without some chaotically dark unhinged jazzy math rock to close things out? Fortunately Brighton-based mainstays for this particular niche have us well and truly covered. The sax work by Chris Olsen on Zenith is of particular note as it spirals off into total insanity in the final movements.

#Spotify #music

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spinoguy · 2 years

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The Victims of Atomic Testing in Gojira

Typically, giant monster movies are not thought of as cinematic masterpieces, especially in the middle of the twentieth century. This is hardly an unfounded opinion, as many of the monster movies of the time were low-budget and poorly written affairs. THEM! (1954), The Black Scorpion (1957), and The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) are all examples that I recommend watching for that exact kind of movie. Gojira (1954) is not that kind of movie.

The first in the long running and ever-expanding Godzilla franchise, it is also incredibly different when compared to the rest. Most Godzilla movies usually involve giant monsters fighting, goofy acting, and an incredibly loose plot to see those two things happen. In fact, there are many in the series that are straight comedies. There is enjoyment to be found in those, as I am a massive fan of the series, but it’s rather jarring to have watched those movies first and then going to watch the first.

It is first and foremost a tragedy, born in the minds of director Ishiro Honda and producer Tomoyuki Tanaka after the end of World War II, the primary focus of the film is how disastrous the atomic bombs dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki truly was. This is a somber and sorrowful film, with no happy ending. This is possibly best exemplified in the “climatic” final scene.

Before I continue, I feel I must mention the 1956 American reedit of the movie, titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, starring Raymond Burr. I won’t be discussing that version, but it does keep the tone of the movie surprisingly intact, so if that is the only copy on-hand, it should be enough to get the overall experience. The only major difference in the ending is added shots of Burr and an ending narration that spells out the tragedy of the movie. It’s a decent watch.

First, I’m going to give a little background to the scene in question. The key players are Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, Dr. Kyohei Yamane, Emiko Yamane, and Hideto Ogata. The city of Tokyo, Japan was just destroyed by a giant, radioactive creature called Godzilla (or Gojira, if you want to call him by his Japanese name) in an impressive display of special effects, perhaps the best at the time in the Japanese film industry. Tokyo itself looks exactly like Hiroshima and Nagasaki did after the bombs were dropped, and massive amounts of radiation are left behind. There is one memorable moment of a doctor moving a Geiger counter in front of a small child, and the massive goes crazy, signifying the child’s inevitable and painful fate.

The immediate scene before the climax is a tense confrontation between Serizawa, Emiko, and Ogata. Serizawa is a scientist who has discovered a potentially horrifying new weapon called the Oxygen Destroyer. As the name suggests, it destroys the oxygen in the surrounding area, most effective in water. That is what the device is supposed to do, at least. In practice, is simply disintegrates any living creature in water. Ogata and Serizawa have a brief scuffle over potentially using this horrific weapon. One could argue that this particular scene is the true climax of the movie, rather than the city destruction or final defeat of Godzilla.

After Serizawa reluctantly agrees to use the device on Godzilla, and making sure all of his blueprints are destroyed, the scene starts with a shot of a fleet of battleships with a triumphant score in the background, composed by the excellent Akira Ifukube. This, along with the music, should get the audience in the mood for a storm on Godzilla’s proverbial castle.

After this shot, however, an interesting choice is made. Until we see Godzilla again, there is no music heard on screen, not even diegetic music. The closest we get is the Geiger counter going off some more, showing they are above the lair of Godzilla. In fact, there are moments where, aside from the movement of the waves beneath the boat, there is no sound at all.

Follow a look at the radiation counter, Serizawa informs Ogata that he intends to plant the device himself in an old-fashioned scuba suit. He and Ogata try to argue, but Serizawa is resolute in his goal to see this through. Ogata then demands a suit of his own to assist Serizawa in planting the device.

As we cut to them getting prepared for the sea-floor walk, it is interspliced with flashes of concern on Emiko’s face in an extreme closeup, at least for the 1950s. She is looking between Serizawa, her friend since childhood that she is set to engage; and then, she sees Ogata, the man for whom she truly has feeling for. The camerawork shows this conflict within her, unsure of if she’ll ever see either of them again. Her father, Dr. Yamane, is also looking on in terror, although for him it’s for the potential loss of a great scientific study in Godzilla.

We then get our first real look at the devastating Oxygen Destroyer device. A large ball is held in the middle of a cylindrical container. As Serizawa is handed it, the camera is close on his face, showing the horror that he is about to unleash. Serizawa is played by actor Akihiko Hirata, who portrays a man tormented by his own creation, helped along nicely by the camerawork’s framing.

Ogata and Serizawa make their descent to the sea floor. During the minute long, silent trek towards Godzilla’s resting area, there is still no music, and whenever the camera cuts to a closeup of one of the two characters, it shows the fear of the task set before them.

Finally, the camera cuts to a low angle of Godzilla. His entire body doesn’t fit in the entire screen, and the camera is forced to pan up in order to get a good look at him. Instead of the loud, destructive music or a scene of him laying waste to a helpless city, the creature is simply sleeping. This sudden change in perspective on Godzilla is jarring to the audience, who had been up to this point been assuming that he was a force of evil and destruction. Rather, he is in his own way a victim of the atomic bombings. Godzilla’s own life was disrupted by these weapons of mass destruction, and he in turn attacked Japan.

The low angle is also extremely effective in showing off how big Godzilla is. While it isn’t as overt in this scene, as very little of Godzilla himself is shown in the ending, this reveal of him sleeping is perhaps the most effective use of the low angle shot in the movie.

The music of the scene must also be discussed, as after five minutes of near silence, it finally returns, but not with a bombastic “final-battle-type” score. Instead, the music is somber and quiet, reflecting the underlying tragedy of the entire scene. This isn’t a heroic moment for the protagonists, but a necessary step in order to ensure Japan isn’t wiped off the map by a fire-breathing dinosaur.

Godzilla awakens fully and starts to advance on them, and we get another low angle shot of him moving towards Ogata and Serizawa. The effect of Godzilla underwater was tackled rather ingeniously, they actually just placed the suit behind a pane of water. If they just shoved Haruo Nakajima, the man portraying Godzilla himself, into a suit and underwater, he would have drowned.

Serizawa drops the Oxygen Destroyer onto the ground, which activates it. Ogata is quickly repelled up, but notices Serizawa is not following him. The camera instead follows Ogata as he is screaming at Serizawa to follow him. The anguish on Ogata’s face is genuine, fearing for a friend. Serizawa’s face, meanwhile, is only one of resignation and acceptance. Once Ogata is back on the boat, he begs and pleads Serizawa to come up.

The camera is focusing closely on the doctor’s face, the same static shot as before, but this time he is tearfully telling Ogata that his device is working. He also calmly asks Ogata to take care of Emiko, being long aware of their true feelings for each other. The next shot is of Serizawa pulling out a knife and cutting at his rope.

Ogata demands they begin to pull him back up, but all they get back are the cut rope and air supply. Serizawa killed himself to ensure that his creation can never fall into another’s hands for evil. That this would be the one and only time such destruction would be unleashed upon the world.

Suddenly, the ocean churns, and Godzilla bursts out of the sea with a blood-curdling scream. At first it seems that the plans to attack the remaining passengers of the boat before he falls back down through the waves. His remains actually float somewhat gently to the seafloor, as he makes one final gesture, attempting to get up before his struggles cease. His flesh is eaten away by the device, leaving only the skeletal remains. Even that, too, is eventually gone, leaving only a shot of the seafloor.

Back on the boat, Ogata relays to Emiko the final message left by Serizawa, causing her to break down in tears. Dr. Yamane has a forlorn look on his face, mourning the loss of a good man and a great scientific achievement. The music throughout the scene is melancholy, showing that this victory came at a huge cost, and that there were more victims than just the people of Tokyo. The film even ends on the ruminations of Yamane, fearing that another Godzilla may rise due to the testing of nuclear weapons.

This film is almost an anthesis of the monster movies of the time. Whereas the other monster movies of the era are simply mindless beasts who kill and destroy everything in their path, Gojira gives a reason as to why Godzilla is a force of destruction. The atomic bomb was the motivator to making this movie, and more than anything else, this final scene shows just how truly destructive it was for everybody. The music and camerawork go a long way to help along this message.

#Godzilla #Gojira (1954)#Essay #This is a paper I wrote for college #I'm proud of it #I got an A #Film #Film Studies

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