#tragic kingdom era

[showerbythesun]

#Gwen stefani #lady #ladies #no doubt #women #lead singer #lead singers #style #fashion #1990s #90s #1990's #'90s #'90's #90's #tragic kingdom #tragic kingdom era #blond #blonds #blonde #bondes #ska #black and white #white and black #photo #photos #photography #photograph #photographs

[avalypuff]

I have more headcanons that I don’t think I can make into detailed stand-alone posts on their own, so I’m going to compile them here.

If it wasn’t clear, I absolutely love Rauru, Mineru, and what little we know of Zonai as a whole, so these are all about them as well a few snippets of their culture. Please refer to this post for my views on hybridization with other races.

Headcanons are under the cut. Oh also, just to clarify, I’m a believer that BotW/TotK are their own separate entities totally separate from all past games including SS. Please keep that in mind if anything “doesn’t add up with the timeline” :)

Food

• Zonai are carnivorous (this I believe is more than just headcanon, going off the fact all their teeth, even their molars, are sharp). While they can eat fruits and vegetables in small portions, they can’t sustain a healthy vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and will eventually become malnourished and sick without meat.

They’re also uniquely capable of digesting monster parts, unlike Hylians who get sick even from thoroughly cooked parts. Zelda was particularly surprised/concerned to see Rauru enjoying some Octorok calamari, and the following occurred:

“You can eat that?” -Zelda

“I can. Unfortunately you cannot.” -Rauru

• Rauru loves sweet food, such as glazed meats, and brown sugar steaks, while just about the only thing Mineru enjoys enough to eat consistently is a simple dish of spicy meat skewers. Rauru himself has no tolerance for spiciness. Never had, never will.

Physiology and Culture

• Zonai men are commonly known as “bucks” and women are “does” (like deer—goats too, lol)

• Zonai shed. Particularly in spring, as the weather gets warmer. Their fur might be short, save for areas where it grows longer and scale-like, but it doesn’t go unnoticed, especially when you’re sharing sheets with one.

• The third eye doesn’t have the same type of sight that their main eyes have. It’s an organ used to focus their magic, hence why it never opens unless they’re conjuring a huge spell.

• Males grow four horns, which, if not filed regularly*, can grow up to several inches, with the lower set remaining smaller and shorter.

Females cannot grow horns at all.

In the case of trans individuals it’s not uncommon for does to choose hairstyles that would hide their horns from view, but it’s in no way frowned upon to show one’s horns or lack there of if gender doesn’t align with physical appearance. De-horning is an extremely painful procedure, and not expected, though some opt for it anyways.

*Rauru files his horns each morning as part of his personal care routine.

• Fancy headdresses that give the wearer large, ornamental horns (think the dragon armor sets Link wears) are worn by both does and bucks during ceremonies or even celebrations/parties. Everyone loves them.

• Zonai don’t really have surnames. Instead they practice naming conventions based on their fathers’ names. In Mineru and Rauru’s case, their father’s name also ended in ‘ru. This wasn’t practiced by every family, mind you, but definitely by nobility.

• They don’t really kiss. Their lips physically can’t curl outwards like that. Instead, they share affection with tender nuzzling (gentle biting and licking when things get steamy).

Rauru loves being kissed by Sonia though, and always returns her affection in a Zonai way.

• Families typically consisted of mother, father, and one or two children at most. They had slightly longer lifespans than Hylians (Think a couple decades. Nothing extreme.) but didn’t breed as often, so their numbers were already low when they began going extinct. More on that in a minute.

• The same attributes of Zonaite that made it an efficient fuel source also give off a strange and poorly-understood radiation that invokes feelings of greed in those who spend a lot of time with it. This is part of what originally lead the Zonai to the surface, then later all the way into the depths, where they built mines all throughout in their desperate search for more.

As fate would have it, the depths concealed more than just tons of Zonaite. There is an entirely different ecosystem down there, with plant life, animals, and insects unknown to the surface world, as well as less... desirable life forms. Opening up and exploring the depths, as well as putting forth massive construction efforts to build mines, exposed the Zonai explorers to the first strains of a virus that would eventually devastate their entire civilization.

It didn’t happen all at once, but gradually over time they realized people who spent time in the depths were getting sick, and for some reason it was only the Zonai who were succumbing to the illness. More Constructs were brought in to aid with mining in place of people, but the damage had already been done and the virus was making its way to the surface world as well as the sky.

Despite the best efforts of researchers and doctors, the virus was spreading and mutating too fast, and 100 years after originally digging into the depths and unleashing the sickness onto the world, almost all the Zonai were completely wiped out.

• Mineru and Rauru were born at the tail end of the pandemic/mass extinction, and by the time Mineru was a teenager and Rauru almost as well, they were the last of their kind.

Rauru and Mineru

• Rauru, while used to being revered as a god by Hylians, doesn’t exactly enjoy it. …This I feel is supported somewhat in the scene where Ganondorf is loading him up with praise. Granted Rauru’s clear discomfort could just as easily be attributed to Ganondorf’s thinly-veiled threats. I like to think it’s both, as we also learn from the Ancient Tablets side quest that part of what caused him to fall in love with Sonia was that she was unafraid to speak to him as an equal, unlike everyone else who reveres him. This headcanon is a play on the trope “it’s lonely at the top.”

• When Rauru first proposed to Sonia, with a Secret Stone no less, she rejected him. Her reasons being she didn’t want to marry out of convenience, or duty, but for love above all else. A kingdom cannot thrive without love, after all.

Also, despite her excellent judge of character, and knowing that Rauru’s intentions were pure, more than anything she wanted him to understand his own reasoning for wanting to marry her, as well as to be aware that she’s her own person, and just because he is Zonai does not mean he can have whatever he wants all the time. (Referring to the previous headcanon, he may not like being treated as a god, but he’s used to it. It’s important to remember that, even in fiction, people are complicated.)

Sad, but wishing to understand and consider Sonia’s words, Rauru was going to let her keep the Secret Stone, but she gave it back to him. Their friendship continued to grow from there, and the next time Rauru asked for her hand in marriage, having grown as a person himself, Sonia accepted.

• Rauru doesn’t enjoy being called cute. It embarrasses him a lot, actually. By adulthood he’d decided it’s a waste of time to try and protest (he’ll always be Mineru’s cute baby brother) but he tries his best to ignore those comments.

• Mineru used to call him “Ru” or “Ruru” when they were young. He absolutely hated it.

• Mineru was very small as a baby. Even as a child she remained short, and when Rauru was born she was delighted at the prospect of being a BIG sister. Her joy was relatively short-lived however, as by age 10 Rauru had already grown taller than her. Although she’s taller than any Hylian, of course, Mineru is still short by Zonai standards. It doesn’t bother her anymore.

• We know that Rauru would often sneak away to hunt in favor of his duties as King, but I like to think it was not animals he was hunting, but monsters. He loved a thrilling fight.

• Rauru’s earrings are all clip-ons. By his own admission his ears are way too sensitive to endure being pierced ten times! In fact, because Zonai ears are one of their most sensitive parts, clip-on earrings were very common for others as well.

• Mineru learned all about Zelda’s friends from their time together, but nothing could have prepared her for meeting Purah 10k+ years later. Despite Mineru knowing she didn’t have much time left after Ganondorf was defeated, she enlisted Purah’s help in building a flying machine big enough to carry everyone up to Great Sky Island. The two bonded fast—maybe even faster than Mineru bonded with Zelda. Had things been different they might have even shared a romance… alas, as she often had to remind people in the present day, “I am only a spirit.”

Purah still thinks about her often.

- - -

footnote: I left politics out of this post to keep things neutral so these could apply either way. I have my own opinions on Rauru’s leadership, but that’s for another time. :)

#the legend of Zelda #tears of the kingdom #totk spoilers #zonai #rauru #mineru #sonia #headcanons #long post #some of these are still a little messy #but i hope you enjoy #I definitely ship Mineru and Purah too #i love them so much #tragic they couldn’t have more time together #or have lived in the same era

[purplewhiteandgold]

I have no explanation for why I'm obsessed with this idea but. ML main party being made up of 5 people as a throwback to the 5 union leaders.

#kingdom hearts #khml #brain + player + whitehair + redhead + ? #idk there just seems to be some form of sad poetry in the gathering of a new group of 5 #i also love the idea of a new group of 5 in the present day era of the series but thats a post for another time #but idk maybe its just that i dont want brain to be alone or isolated i want him to still have friends :( #and what better way to give him friends than a tragically beautiful reflection of what he had before he was sent through time

[blueiskewl]

Ancient Roman Silver Brooch of Romulus and Remus Found in Spain

The Department of Culture of the Generalitat Valenciana has recently announced the discovery of a rare silver brooch, depicting the iconic scene of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf.

This remarkable artifact was discovered during excavations at Vilanova d’Alcolea, a site in Spain believed to have served as an ancient postal building during the Roman era. Archaeologists, led by Josep Carbó, made the discovery, describing it as an exceptional piece both for its rarity and quality.

Romulus and Remus, pivotal figures in Roman mythology, were twin brothers whose legendary tale forms the foundation myth of Rome and the Roman Kingdom. Born in Alba Longa to Rhea Silvia, the twins were the grandsons of the deposed King Numitor. Threatened by their potential claim to power, King Amulius, Numitor’s brother, ordered the infants to be abandoned on the banks of the Tiber River.

Legend has it that the twins were saved by a she-wolf who nursed them in a cave known as Lupercal, situated at the southwestern foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome. Upon discovering their true heritage, Romulus and Remus avenged their family and reinstated their grandfather, Numitor, as the rightful king. However, their story took a tragic turn when a dispute arose between the brothers, leading to Romulus committing fratricide against Remus. Romulus then went on to establish the city of Rome, solidifying his position as its first ruler.

The silver brooch, measuring 4 centimeters in size and dating back to the 2nd century CE, portrays the iconic scene of the she-wolf nurturing the twins in their infancy. This depiction has become synonymous with the founding of Rome since the 3rd century BCE.

The archaeological site where the brooch was discovered holds additional significance. Situated near the Via Augusta, the longest Roman road in Roman Hispania, the site is believed to have been an official post of the Roman Empire, catering to officials and travelers alike. The proximity to this historic route enhances the importance of the find.

Archaeologist, Josep Carbó, emphasized the significance of the discovery, stating, “It is an exceptional piece due to its rarity and quality since there are very few pieces of this type that have been studied.”

By Dario Radley.

#Ancient Roman Silver Brooch of Romulus and Remus Found in Spain #Vilanova d’Alcolea #Via Augusta #silber #silver jewelry #ancient jewelry #ancient artifacts #archeology #archeolgst #history #history news #ancient history #ancient culture #ancient civilizations #roman history #roman empire #roman art #art #ancient art

[fadran]

The problem with being a huge LotR fan is that every time you discover another deep aspect of the story it *always* somehow ties back to how *fucking tragic* the death of Boromir is.

Theoden died defending Gondor? Boromir wasn’t there.

Frodo survives his journey against all odds, defeating Sauron and destroying the Ring? Boromir wasn’t there.

Aragorn reclaims the Kingdom of Gondor and ushers in an era of peace? Boromir wasn’t there.

Faramir marries Eowyn and unites the two kingdom of men? Boromir wasn’t there.

It’s so

Goddamn

SAD

#boromir #lotr #lord of the rings #hedeservedbetter

[alex-the-nonsensologist]

Wish Rewrite

Thought I’d try my hand at rewriting Wish for fun. In my version, Asha is Magnifico's daughter. This gives them a more compelling relationship, a more plausible reason for Asha to find out his secrets, and officially makes Asha a royal princess to boot. Additionally, Magnifico is a sympathetic tragic villain, and Amaya has passed away. While I would love to see a fully evil version of Magnifico that’s better written, along with an evil Amaya (I LOVE @hah-studios‘s version here), my version of the story features a twist that heavily depends on his relationship with Asha.

Of course, this version would be 2D animated (or at the VERY LEAST have more ambitious and stylized CG that perfectly mimics 2D), and have songs written by people with actual musical theater backgrounds. 

I am not a writer, so I apologize for the disjointed and clunky ideas. 

Opening Storybook

“Once upon a time, in a world of magic, on an island in the Mediterranean Sea, there was a little kingdom called Rosas. The harvests were never quite plentiful, the town was barren and gray, and the work was long and hard. The people of Rosas knew life could be better, and spent many days wishing it were so.

“A young man, who called himself Magnifico, spent years studying magic to become a master sorcerer, in order to better the lives of those around him. He believed magic was the solution to make one’s deepest desire come true. The King of Rosas was impressed by Magnifico’s skills, as was the king's daughter Amaya. Magnifico and Amaya fell fast in love and soon wed, becoming the new king and queen of Rosas. Together, they brought joy and prosperity to the kingdom. It was a celebrated occasion when the queen announced she was with child.

“Unfortunately, the queen fell ill and died shortly after giving birth to the princess. The king was saddened by the loss of his wife, but he vowed to raise his daughter to become a worthy queen like her mother, and to better himself as a sorcerer so that such tragedy would never befall anyone ever again.”

Young Asha and Magnifico

Every Disney heroine this era has had an intro flashback of them as a child, so it only seems fitting Asha should get her own as well. We cut from the storybook to a scene of Magnifico, with a visible gray streak in his mostly brown hair, showing young Asha the stars before tucking her into bed.

She asks if anyone wishes on the stars anymore. Magnifico explains that people stopped doing that because the stars never answered. Perhaps the stars could be magic, but no one has ever been able to study them because they're so far away. Perhaps one day. 

🎶 At All Costs is reframed as Asha's lullaby. 

Transition

Asha finally falls asleep and Magnifico kisses her on the forehead. Camera pans up to the night sky before fading to black. For a short moment, there is complete darkness, then some very faint sparks of light. Someone is calling Asha's name, but their voice sounds very far away, before it’s suddenly clear and Asha wakes up; it is morning. We are now in the present and Asha is 17. This establishes that she's always had the same odd dream of a dark void with faint sparks for as long as she can remember. 

Present Day Asha

Asha is studious and hardworking, but is frustrated that her father does not trust her with more important duties. Magnifico is training her in magic to succeed him, or at least he promised he would, but he seems hesitant to teach her more advanced magic than the basics. Asha has memorized every law textbook assigned to her, as well as a handful of magic textbooks she snuck from her father’s study. 

Today Asha is going down to give a tour to new visitors, and she takes this very seriously. Dialogue implies Magnifico was hesitant to let her do this, but eventually gave in, hinting at how overprotective he is. Even more than wanting to prove her worth as a future ruler, Asha wants to connect to the people, and secretly wants a friend her own age. 

Dahlia and Simon

In this version, Dahlia is older, and renamed to something like Yuki or Bianca to more subtly reference Snow White instead of Doc. Simon is also older and serves as Asha’s bodyguard, and references the Huntsman from Snow White instead of Sleepy. (Two new character designs would be created to reference Doc and Sleepy, and the seven teens are relegated to one-off townsfolk.) “Dahlia” and Simon are the only people Asha is close with, since her father is reluctant to let her leave the castle except on supervised royal duties. “Dahlia” serves as an auntie figure, and Simon is very understanding of Asha’s frustrations of being cooped up in the castle and occasionally lets her sneak off (but he always emphasizes safety and resourcefulness). She can confide in them when she feels she’s being ignored by her father. 

🎶 Welcome to Rosas

The song would be cheery at first glance, but on closer inspection, it’s apparent Rosas has seen better days. There’s some cracks in the buildings, and the murals and statues have lost some of their shine. The townsfolk and Asha explain it’s just a bunch of minor hiccups, and they’re working on it. 

The visitors ask if there are rules for wishes being granted. Asha and the townsfolk explain the basic rules (which include no wishing for death or harm, no making people fall in love, and no wishing for the dead to be brought back to life; as a shout-out to Aladdin). Also, Magnifico does not grant them right away, but needs time to make sure the work is done just right. After all, magic is a science as well as an art. 

When the visitors ask the townsfolk about wishes that have previously been granted, they're told about relatively simple things, like being given a new food cart or a pet cat. This foreshadows what Magnifico does with their wishes. When the townsfolk are asked if they had ever wished for something more significant, they stumble for an answer. They say they're just content with what they have, but they seem unsure. Some of the townsfolk appear lethargic, and some even slightly fumble during their dance routine, but manage to make the big finale. They ask the visitors if they’ve been convinced to live in Rosas and are given a noncommittal answer, “Too soon to say. We'll just stay the night and see how it goes.” Asha brings the new visitors to her father. (Sabino’s character design can be re-used here as one of the visitors, as he’s no longer Asha’s grandfather in this version.) 

Side note, I would love it if some of the townsfolk were given a few notable quirks to stand out. The artbook for this movie was lovely, but in the final film, all the townsfolk sort of blend together into genericness. The only one I can recall from the movie with clarity is the girl who wished to fly and meets “Peter Pan” in the end. Even Ecanto’s “We Don't Talk About Bruno” had memorable townsfolk and most only had a single line of dialogue or less. The seven teens would of course feature in this song number. 

Present Day King Magnifico

Magnifico's hair is completely gray and white now, and he’s got wrinkles under his eyes. He seems burnt out from his job, but puts on a professional face for his subjects and visitors. Asha is the only one Magnifico shows any tenderness. But for the most part, Asha feels her father has been distant for a long time. 

Magnifico thanks Asha for bringing the visitors and tries to dismiss her, but she argues she should start sitting in on the wish-granting sessions so that she can properly learn to take over from her father. This is an argument they have gone over many times before, and her father finally relents today. 

The inciting incident

They begin the consultation, starting with Sabino. Magnifico specifies that the wisher must meditate and reach deep within themselves, and recall their desire with every fiber of their being, which manifests as a wish orb. In this version, while a wish orb contains the many memories of the wish in question, handing it over does not automatically erase the memory of it from the wisher.

When Asha and Sabino’s backs are turned, Magnifico does something to the wish. This hints that Magnifico steals wishes and plants false memories, so that the wisher is unaware that they were granted a false wish. In many cases, Magnifico grants a much simpler wish than what the wisher desired (This is hinted at earlier in “Welcome to Rosas”.). Magnifico finishes collecting wish orbs and tells everyone to come back later tonight for them to be granted. Asha wants to stay and help her father more, but he quickly dismisses her.

Later that night, when Magnifico grants a false wish for Sabino, and Asha is suspicious because she knows it is not what he actually wished for. (Sabino’s wish could still be the same one from the movie, perhaps refined to something like, “I wish to leave a lasting legacy that will inspire the next generation, and that I won’t be forgotten.” And when Magnifico grants the wish, it has been reduced to “Your wish to write a memorable song.” or something along those lines. Side note, in the movie I was totally expecting Asha to tell her grandfather that he already inspires her everyday, so his wish had in fact already been granted, so I was quite disappointed when that did not happen.)

Magnifico deflects and dodges the question, and tries to gaslight Asha into thinking she misheard or misinterpreted Sabino’s wish, and that this is why she’s not ready and should wait a while before she’s taught more magic, and basically shoos her away for the night. Asha is too frustrated at her father to dwell on the discrepancy she caught, and storms off.

🎶 This Wish

This song is reframed to be a more straightforward “I Want” song. In this version, Asha wishes to be taken seriously and supported by her father. She feels quite alone and wants someone to believe in her. “Please stop seeing me as a helpless child. …I wish someone would notice my potential.” Star descends. 

Star

Would of course, follow the scrapped shapeshifter design from the artbook. I refer to Star as male here, but I am also open to the idea of them being designed as a genderless character. I also think it would be fun if Star could rapidly switch between art styles when he’s excited (2D classic, CG, 2D sketchbook, 2D Picasso, CG mimicking stop-motion / paper puppets, etc). Maybe he can also occasionally transform into his chibi form from the movie when sneaking around.

Star is very weird, almost like an alien. He seems to have general knowledge of various things on Earth, but can never seem to get them exactly right. For example, he never transforms into a normal animal. There’s always a fantastic element; instead of turning into a normal rabbit, he turns into a jackalope. In addition to having a personality inspired by Peter Pan and Genie, he is also a less chaotic version of The Collector from The Owl House and Discord from My Little Pony. 

Star would also be incredibly powerful. Instead of only making animals and plants sing, he can also change their size, color, species in the blink of an eye (and maybe even change their art styles). He can spontaneously conjure random outfits from all time periods (including the future) for the animals to wear. He can also change the shape of the landscape; at one point, Asha could suddenly find herself in the middle of an elaborate maze that Star conjures to tease her.

🎶 “Star’s Song”

A new song inspired by Genie’s “Friend Like Me” and Maui’s “You’re Welcome”. Replaces “I'm A Star”, which I didn’t really like. (It had far too many words to poorly explain weird worldbuilding, and I wasn’t a fan of the rhythm. Though to be fair, I dunno if the worldbuilding in my version is all that strong either, lol.)

Star basically shows off all kinds of weird things he can do with various transformations and conjurings. He elaborates he comes from “someplace beyond the edge of the world” and that he’s often found Earth fascinating, but never found any reason to descend until he heard Asha. There’s something special about Asha he can’t quite put his finger on. This foreshadows the reveal. 

Valentino

Quick detour, I don’t hate Valentino. I think there is great story and humor potential, especially in regards to his deep voice provided by Alan Tudyk. Unfortunately, in my version, I felt Asha’s sidekick needed to be someone who could quickly keep up with her. At first I thought about changing him into a bird, but then I thought it would be funnier if he was a pet goldfish and Star granted him the ability to fly and breathe out of water. Fish Valentino is happy to not be cooped up in a pool, but is fond of Asha and content to stay with her instead of flying off. For the most part, he offers moral support and perhaps helps Asha make friends with the other animals, but otherwise I don’t really have many ideas for what to do with him.

The Middle Part

Admittedly, I couldn't come up with a definitive idea for this part. Basically, there needs to be a reason for Magnifico to be occupied and unaware of Star’s presence; a reason why Asha does not immediately tell him about Star. One silly idea I had is Asha immediately tries to tell him, but we turn around and find Star’s conjurings and alterations gone and everything is back to normal. Magnifico brushes this off as Asha having a weird dream and tries to tuck her into bed. Star reappears later and explains he wants to run around and have fun first before being “studied” by Magnifico. Other ideas include:

Asha thinks Star is the answer to Rosas’s and her problems. Star agrees to grant various wishes, and let Asha take the credit, in hopes that her father will notice her and finally take her seriously and teach her real magic. Star thinks this will be a great opportunity to see more of Rosas and have fun, and Asha is frustrated enough with her father being dismissive of her to agree to this.

Alternatively, Star will teach her magic. Problem is, Star’s magic is wild and unlike anything Asha has studied in her father’s books. Star is incredibly powerful and Asha has to constantly ask him to tone it down. She runs around trying to fix the chaotic results of the wishes he grants, and this attracts the attention of her father.

Alternatively, with Star’s help, Asha grants small wishes, and fixes things around town. For the most part, everyone is grateful, except for one grumpy older citizen (maybe an older version of Gabo) who remembers “the good ol’ days” and thinks Rosas needs more competent rulers than Magnifico and Asha. An argument breaks out and attracts the attention of Magnifico. Alternatively, again, this could also be replaced with someone who instead wants a selfish wish like a mountains of riches, or to be king and replace Magnifico, and Asha refuses to grant it, leading to the argument. 

🎶 “Not What I Expected”

Montage of Star and Asha granting people’s wishes. Includes lots of hijinks of Star overdoing things and Asha getting Star to undo them (For example, someone asks for a new cottage, and Star conjures a giant mansion with mismatching colors and architectural details, and upside-down rooms.). “Dahlia” and Simon help them to ease tension with the townsfolk, especially after Star reveals himself to be a non-human magical being. The seven teens can also appear here again in one-off gags. Along the way, Star and Asha experience the joy of community and begin falling in love with each other. Star slowly learns about being human and cares about the townsfolk as much as Asha does, and Asha is given the freedom to take charge and be responsible but is also surprised to find just how good it feels to finally connect with the townsfolk after being cooped up in the castle for so many years. Star and Asha both find each other fascinating and full of energy, and are glad for each other's support. 

Perhaps there’s a dance with the townsfolk. When earlier during “Welcome to Rosas”, the townsfolk were lethargic and clumsy, here they are more spirited and coordinated. Star is incredibly happy and shines bright, and his light “melts” away Magnifico’s false memory spells. The townsfolk finally wake up and are confused as they recall their true wishes and do not understand why Magnifico lied to them. Asha and Star go to confront Magnifico. 

Confronting Magnifico

Star senses something in Magnifico’s study. They find a secret room that holds the records of every wish Magnifico has ever stolen. Asha is in disbelief, but can’t ignore the fact that her father has been distant and negligent of the town for a long time. And maybe this would explain why Magnifico doesn’t teach her magic or let her do anything, because he had no intention of giving the throne to her. They find some documents about using wishes as life force, and conclude that maybe Magnifico was using everyone’s wishes to become immortal. Magnifico walks in on them.

🎶 “Everything I Do”

Replaces "This Is The Thanks I Get?!" and "Knowing What I Know Now" This new song is not quite a villain song. It’s a duet between Magnifico and Asha, of them arguing back and forth. Asha argues to her father that he’s lost sight of his responsibilities and that he only cares about staying in power; Magnifico argues that Asha is naive and could never understand that everything he does is for her benefit, and she argues back how could she when he never tells her anything. 

The reveal

Magnifico had an impossible wish: to bring Asha back from the dead. Baby Asha in fact died almost immediately after birth. Magnifico could not bear losing both his wife and his daughter, and desperately wished for Asha to live again. However, no magic can bring the dead back to life. Instead, what ended up happening is a new baby was created from Magnifico’s wish orb. In his anguish, his desire was so strong it brought a new person into being. (Side note; this does in fact mean that the original baby is still dead, so Magnifico had to secretly bury a dead baby to hide the fact that Asha is an artificial human taking her place. Perhaps a bit too morbid of an implication for a modern Disney movie, but my mind likes to go to weird places.)

At first Magnifico was happy. It was a miracle come true. But over time, the magic would run out and Asha would begin to fade. Magnifico used his own magic and tried to wish again to fuel Asha's form, but it took a toll on his health and age. This explains why his hair turned white so quickly. So eventually he began using his subjects' wishes. The more heartfelt and significant the wish is, the more powerful it is, which is why Magnifico ends up replacing the townsfolk’s wishes with simpler things and false memories that didn’t require much magic. 

As Asha grew older and became a more complex human, more wishes were needed to fuel her. This is why Magnifico refuses to teach her magic, because he is afraid that she would accidentally use up the magic that makes up her being instead of the magic that a regular sorcerer would draw from the environment around them.

Magnifico grew more desperate to draw in new citizens to get more wishes, while also exhausting more wishes from the townsfolk already living in Rosas, leading them to become lethargic. Keeping track of so many wishes and false memories to cover his tracks took a toll on Magnifico’s mental state. Also a growing bitterness that he has to live with this burden that no else could ever know, and perhaps resenting the people of Rosas for getting to live worry-free.

This is why Star answered Asha's call: she is a living wish who made a wish of her own. 

Asha's death

Magnifico and Star fight. Asha gets caught in the crossfire trying to stop it. It’s a heart-wrenching moment as glowing cracks form all over Asha’a body. She looks to her father with absolute terror in her eyes as cracks spread across her face. Her legs snap. Magnifico runs to his daughter a second too late and just fails to catch her body as she disintegrates into stardust.

Star stares in disbelief as Magnifico screams in agony: “YOU COULD HAVE LET ME SAVE HER!” He looks like he’s about to attack Star in revenge, but quickly gives up and falls to his knees.

“...Nothing matters anymore.”

There is no need for an evil book as a lazy plot device. Years of paranoia and bitterness have reached a breaking point with Asha’s death, and now Magnifico’s magic is corrupted green by his anguished heart. He transforms into a monstrous dragon-like creature (in homage to Maleficent). This creature is blind with rage, and in a great roar it bursts from the castle, causing it to collapse. The creature summons storm clouds that cover the sky and fierce green lightning that strikes the town, destroying buildings and terrorizing the townsfolk. Monster Magnifico also spreads a green fog that drains everyone’s energy. As the good king he brought joy and hope, but now as a monster he brings only despair. (Inspired by Madoka Magica, when magical girls turn into witches.)

Star attempts to stop Monster Magnifico while also shielding the townsfolk from harm. Rubble from the buildings collapse and bring the camera to black.

Beyond the Edge of the Universe

A short moment of complete darkness and silence. 

Slowly, faint sparks shine in the darkness. Asha’s voice weakly asks, “Where am I? ... Who am I?”

The faint sparks grow into a kaleidoscope of colors. Asha has been reduced to a single spark. Her consciousness floats in the chaotic void beyond time and space, where Star comes from. She quickly feels overwhelmed in this sea of color and sound. It’s a great big cacophony of voices all jumbled together, like musical instruments all playing off-key all at once.

A blue light in the distance grows brighter and closer before it reveals itself to be the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio (Disney's first wish-granter). She welcomes Asha’s consciousness. “Hello, little one.” She explains this is a space between worlds, where the emotions of humanity reach far across time and space.

“Listen carefully…” The Blue Fairy helps Asha’s consciousness tune into the voices of the void to hear the words clearly. These voices will be familiar to the audience. 

Asha’s consciousness hears the hopeful, longing voices of Snow White, Ariel, Hercules, Rapunzel, and Moana. (This can include snippets from their “I Want” songs.)

She hears the wicked laughter and the dark, selfish wishes of Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar, Scar, and Facilier. (This can include snippets from various villain songs.)

She hears the sad voices of Cinderella, Belle, Quasimodo, Tiana, and Mirabel at their lowest points. ("There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing." and other such lines.)

(Yes, this basically establishes a Disney multiverse. As I’m writing this, I think visually this could resemble the Ahtohallan scene in Frozen 2, but in space instead of in ice.)

(February EDIT: I randomly thought it was also be a neat idea if all magic in the universe originates from this realm. Pieces of magic fall into the different worlds and adapt to make their own unique rules depending on the world. For example, Cinderella's fairy godmother could come from here, as well as the drop of sunlight that grows into Rapunzel's flower. A drop of magic could fallen into a certain world, becoming a trident and transforming the local sea life into merfolk, who would then go on to build Atlantica. Little sparks seeping to random worlds could also explain certain things in otherwise non-magical worlds, such as why toys and video games come to life.)

Not many humans come here after death, but Asha is a special case, as she is literally made up of hopes and dreams. She is spontaneous life (The Blue Fairy of course has experience in this department.). Asha’s consciousness finds herself moved by all the voices of the dreamers and wishers throughout the universe, and thinks she wouldn’t mind going to sleep forever in this void. She just feels so tired. She almost fades away until she hears Star's voice, her father's voice, and the people of Rosas whose wishes made up her very being. She remembers being human. The spark of Asha’s consciousness shines and she returns to her human form. The Blue Fairy asks her, “What will you do now, little one?”

Asha hears the anguished cries of the people of Rosas in trouble, and she decides she must return to help them. The Blue Fairy smiles, and tells her, “Before you go, there’s someone who’d like to meet you.” 

She gestures behind her to reveal Queen Amaya and the baby Asha. Asha is stunned to see them, but is overcome with emotion, and Amaya embraces her.

“I am so proud of you, Asha. I wish I could have stayed and been your mother. Please, take care of your father for me.” Amaya gives her a kiss on the forehead, and the baby Asha gives her a happy giggle. The Blue Fairy tells Asha to close her eyes and think of home.”

Return to Rosas

Asha is reborn in a great big burst of light in the sky and gains a new dress made of starlight. Monster Magnifico has not noticed her and is still rampaging the kingdom. Asha sees Star has been defending the citizens, but is exhausted, and Magnifico finally manages to strike him down. Finished with Rosas, Monster Magnifico turns to the coast, intent on continuing his destruction to the mainland. 

Asha descends to help Star get up. He is surprised to see her, but her appearance reinvigorates him, and explains the situation to her. They turn to the frightened people of Rosas and promise them that they will fix this. They take hold of each other’s hand and fly to confront Monster Magnifico. 

🎶 Combined This Wish and At All Costs Reprise

Monster Magnifico does not recognize Asha, and tries to strike her, but she and Star conjure a magical shield. They dodge lightning and repel Magnifico’s fire breath. Asha begins singing, determined to reach out to her father. There is a moment where it appears Magnifico has gained the upper hand.

“Dahlia” and Simon are inspired and lead the townsfolk into the song. Asha and Star, combined with the hope of the people of Rosas, shine brighter than ever before, dissipating the fog and melting away Magnifico's monstrous form. The storm clouds are cleared away in a shower of sparks. Asha grabs her father’s unconscious body and holds him tight in her arms as she slowly descends to the ground and sings her lullaby. Magnifico is very disheveled (maybe even a little bit of fanservice with his top torn off), but is otherwise alright. He soon comes to. 

"...Amaya? ... ASHA!" Magnifico is in disbelief, but overjoyed to see his daughter alive and well. He embraces her and bursts into tears. “I thought I lost you! I thought you were gone!”

"I was. I disappeared beyond the edge of the universe. But I came back!"

Rebuilding Rosas

They turn to the townsfolk. Asha gives a speech about how not every wish should be granted, but that does not mean they’re not worth pursuing. It just requires careful consideration, and being open to finding a something new. (Someone with better writing skills please step in to write this speech without making it too sappy.)

Magnifico is greatly ashamed of the harm he has caused and steps down as king. Asha understands if the townsfolk do not want to see them anymore, but promises to do what she can to help them rebuild, and to help them pursue their dreams in an ethical manner. Star concurs. The townsfolk, having been touched by her earnestness and genuine emotions from when she helped grant their smaller wishes, embrace her with open arms and express that they would love if she remains their ruler. They are hesitant to forgive Magnifico, but think it's for the best that he be allowed to stay with his daughter. 

Cut to some time later, and there is scaffolding all throughout town and the castle. Star and Asha have been using their magic to help with the rebuilding, with mixed results. Progress has been slow, but the people are hopeful. Asha and Star hold daily consultations with the people who were granted false wishes. Some are easy to grant, while others Asha advises that they can pursue on their own. (The girl who wished to fly meeting "Peter Pan" can be re-used here. I honestly thought that was a clever bit. While she could easily fly with magic, I like that the movie implies she'll find more meaning in learning to build a flying machine.)

Asha visits the original baby Asha’s grave. She renames herself. Perhaps to something like Stella? “I loved being Asha, but now I think it’s time I return your name back to you. Thanks for the loan.” She conjures some flowers for her and Amaya's grave, and goes to join the celebration.

🎶 “Finale Party Song”

Asha/Stella, Star, the townsfolk, and even Magnifico join in on the grand finale. Asha/Stella and Star kiss, and Hidden Mickey fireworks light up the sky.

End Credits

While the end credits were cute, I would revise them to include characters from the missing movies (the package films, The Rescuers, Black Cauldron, Meet the Robinsons, etc.). I would also change some of the character selections (For example, I'd have the three kittens represent The Aristocats, instead of just Marie by herself. It always annoys me to no end when they market Marie by herself. I'd also swap out Yokai/Professor Callahan with Baymax. What an odd decision to have Yokai of all characters represent BH6.). And also have some of the characters be animated instead of just still images. (I liked for Cinderella's credit they had a trail of sparkles surround her, but it would have been even better to actually see her transform from her ripped dress to the ballgown.)

Closing notes

There are a lot of things in my version that could use some more polishing, like the build-up to Magnifico's reveal about Asha. There should be at least one scene that foreshadows that the times when Magnifico tucks Asha into bed is when he magically absorbs the wishes into her to fuel her.

In addition to the whole wish theme, I thought it would be neat to also include themes of legacy, to tie in to Disney's 100 Anniversary. Disney Animation has come a long way, but is still capable of making big missteps. With many of the old talent gone, it's understandable that passing the torch to the next generation would make anyone nervous, but despite it all, I do have faith that Disney Animation can make a comeback. They've been through low points before; we just have to wait and see.

#wish rewrite #includes a plot twist and a connection to the Disney multiverse #disney wish #wish 2023 #wish movie #princess asha #king magnifico #star boy #star x asha #asha x star #wish critical

[docgold13]

Batman: The Animated Series - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Jason Blood

Many centuries ago, Sir Jason was a Knight of the Round Table, serving King Arthur and the Kingdom of Camelot.  Jason was seduced by the sorceress, Morgan Le Fey, leading the lovestruck knight to betray his king.  Morgan killed Jason once she was finished with him, yet the mage Merlin thought this far too lenient a punishment for a knight unfaithful to his oath.  As such, Merlin resurrected Jason and bound him body and soul to the powerful demon known as Etrigan.  

Merging with the Demon rendered Jason immortal and he has spent thousands of years serving his penance, utilizing Etrigan to right wrongs and battling against magic when it is used for evil.  He lived a solitary existence, moving from place to place in order to hide his agelessness  He had long since redeemed himself for his trespass against Camelot, but Merlin could be cruel and the bond between Jason and Etrigan was the best way to ensure the Demon remained a force for good and not evil.

In the modern era, Jason had taken on the surname of ‘Blood’ and became a renown figure in the fields of the occult and ancient religions.  He was sought out by Bruce Wayne when Bruce was a younger man preparing himself for his crusade for justice.  Bruce had come to understand that there were many phenomena that defied the confines of conventional science and deduction; and Jason Blood mentored him in the ways of the occult and black magic.  

Actor Billy Zane provided the voice for Jason Blood, with the tragic hero first appearing in the tenth episode of the first season of The New Batman Adventures, ‘The Demon Within.’      

#batman the animated series #Batman #The Demon #Jason Blood #Billy Zane #cut-out #paper art #DCAU

[bonefall]

Do you have any plans for Moth Flight in your au? I always felt like she had a lot of potential, but her super edition…. Oh it’s bad. God forbid a disabled, young, single mom try to raise children and have a job at the same time. Too bad there was no one to help her when things got stressful, like you know, her clanmates… No women should have a job and children at the same time ever again.

If it wasn’t obvious that was sarcasm, Moth Flight’s story has awful implications. But! In BB Clerics Not being allowed to have kits wasn’t a law until the Ripple Era, it used to just be a personal vow and was a bit taboo. So I’m interested in of Moth Flight still had something to do with the creation of the vow itself? And just in general if you have any plans to fix her story or if you’re just throwing the whole thing out. (Which would be completely understandable.) I just think there IS potential there in her story, especially in BB where the Clerics Vow is actually ACKNOWLEDGED to not make sense and be bad. It could be interesting for the idea to rise from such a hyper specific, awful situation. The Clans having altered her story so much over the years that it went from the truth, “the first Cleric was a young, single mother of four, trying to raise her children while morning her husband and convincing the other Clans that they needed Clerics. The odds were against her.” To the perfect, Cleric’s Vow supporting lie, “the first Cleric had kits. She was unable to balance raising them and caring for her Clanmates. She taught the Clans a valuable lesson, a Clerics first and only duty should be healing and worshiping StarClan. Kits only get in the way of that duty.”

Idk, I just feel like there’s still an interesting story to tell somewhere through all of Moth Flight’s super edition’s bs. In the hands of a better writer who doesn’t ACTUALLY believe that Moth Flight’s genuinely tragic life means that all women who have jobs can never have children or get married again.

There's HUUGE overhauls here. I spoke about it eons ago during the last wave where I was discussing my changes to BB!DOTC, but let me give you the fragments thus far.

It's VERY different. Get ready for Moth Flight to be a completely different character.

MOTH FLIGHT'S VOW

She is no longer the child of Wind Runner. In fact...

She's the daughter of Wind Runner's shitty ex, Branch

Moth's other dad is Cloud Flight (prev. Cloud Spots). Since the Great Battle, Cloud has been wandering between the 5 groups as a sort of traveling doctor. It's a lot of work, there's only him and Dapple and an overwhelming amount of cats who need his skilled paws

So Moth Flight has always been a bit detached from people. I want her to actually have ADHD this time around, instead of it vanishing when it isn't convenient.

She kind of has Military Base Kid energy, hopping place to place with unresolved mental health issues. She probably bites ppl because I love weird girls

"papas can i bring my leeches" "honey no"

Cloud really wanted to train her to be a Medic the way he is, but... she has to learn how to do it her own way.

Branch doesn't help he's a goof and mostly interested in playing games with his baby.

I want to portray Branch as someone who's flighty, not another example of "before the Tribe cats came we were uncivilized heathens without society"

I also don't like his original narrative purpose to give Wind Runner trust issues that don't matter. If she had trust issues, what exactly was all that "please let me join ur group" about??

BB!Wind Runner is a breakaway from the River Kingdom, and the leader of the loosely united Moor cats. She created the Wind Coalition and is its intense, notoriously ruthless leader

So something eventually calls Cloud to do his work for the Wind Coalition

Branch: *SWEATS*

Cloud Flight: "..............branch. what did you Do"

Branch: "youre not allowed to be mad at me"

Cloud Flight: "tell me what you did and then we'll see if im mad at you"

The take might be controversial, but I do like the way that Windstar has problems with Moth Flight for no reason. I wanted to preserve it while removing it being yet another case of motherly child neglect, and more of a case of Wind Runner holding unfair grudges. I think it's good drama

Moth Flight's love of nature, herbs, and the natural world eventually prompts her to follow a Hairstreak Butterfly to the Moonstone. It leads her through the winding tunnels, a path that only Clerics will know how to navigate in the future, to the shimmering chamber in the middle.

Through her special connection to StarClan, drawing off the early cultural view of their ancestors as nature spirits (the fact that they are star spirits is a Park Cat contribution and all 5 leaders have their lives by this point), Moth Flight is able to come into her own as a holy speaker and healer. She begins to blur the line between holiness and healing, marked by how Clanmew has only one word for both concepts.

Hairstreak Butterflies also become known as a "herald" type of butterfly. I could get into the linguistics of this, but the old Tribemew word for moth/butterfly becomes the Clanmew word for sacred butterflies.

Micah is not supremely important anymore, but he's there. He doesn't become a healer in MFV, he's just Moth's mate.

But things begin to go wrong when her kittens are born.

All four children are born with a high connection to StarClan, just like their mother.

She takes it on herself to train them, as Cloud Flight had done with her, wiser from understanding that they would learn in their own ways.

Dapple and Cloud Flight never have this connection to star spirits, and they're growing old. Cloud is ready to retire, Dapple dies in some way before she's able to train a replacement

It begins to cause panic in the groups. It was bad with only two healers, but now everything is stretched even thinner.

SkyClan, notoriously violent, is the first to make the move. Skystar was not above the practice of Kit Stealing, taking Misty's kittens and giving them to Petal Claw for her loyalty ages ago.

Kit Stealing wouldn't become common until the creation of the Law of Loyalty, which is only a few years away, but it did exist before then.

They want a Mothkin kitten.

The Wind Coalition, of course, moves to fight and protect them. They call on ThunderClan, who can usually be relied upon

ThunderClan's request... they also want a Mothkin kitten. They need doctors too.

The River Kingdom and ShadowClan are also moving to take a kitten

EVERYONE needs a doctor, and they will fight and kill to get one. They all begin to realize... if they don't separate, there will be blood. People they love will die, and they'll be ripped apart anyway

Moth Flight, seeing this, BURNING with sorrow and fury at the violence of the Clans but knowing there is no other option, tells her children to make her a promise.

"That there will be no Mothkin after you. That you will never take a mate, or give your kidnappers more children. That you will remember that they were willing to kill their own families to steal you, and that you will be loyal the pursuit of life, virtue, and your sacred ability to heal above the cruel commands of the treacherous Clans."

Having accepted this, the family calls for an end to the fighting. Each child chooses a Clan to go to, and has their name changed.

ThunderClan: Spider Flight -> Spider Flight (no change)

SkyClan: Honey Flight -> Honey Pelt

RiverClan: Bubble Flight -> Bubbling Stream

ShadowClan: Blue Flight -> Blue Whisker

They're being shuffled based on which Clan they go to because it always bothered me that their names don't match their Clans, and also Spider Paw going to RiverClan when he has a phobia of water is insulting and I said no

So, TL;DR, this is a completely different story because DOTC is the one arc that I don't value "fixing." It needs a complete overhaul, imo.

This one would take place after Thunderstar's Justice, which immediately follows the First Battle. In terms of timeline, first is Hollyleaf's Century, 30 years later BB!DOTC begins and lasts several years, a few months after the First Battle begins Thunderstar's Justice, and then Moth Flight's Vow follows a year later.

#Moth Flight's Vow #BB!DOTC #Better bones au

[thisisnotthenerd]

most unhinged way to connect the world of elna and the world of spyre: the elves are the same, and efink was the elven oracle before eleminthindriel, who preceded adaine. think about it. fallinel is a parody of valinor and the undying lands, where elna is middle earth, and spyre is the evolution after the age of evil and the reign of leiland jr. technically we’ve only seen one continent of the world of spyre. elna could be on the other side. or the place could have just reorganized.

kei lumennura is kind of the thing this hinges on, since it kind of functions as a horny teen lothlorien. hallariel is celebrían if she married a pirate and then a tragically unlucky vice principal. there’s a ton of references to elven nonsense in fallinel. it just makes sense.

speaking of pirates, think about markus st. vincent and the sky kingdom of cael stuppe/kaelstoop. feels like a fun way to lead to a pirate city floating on the waters of the celestine.

ok wait i’m contextualizing this further: solace was a nation of halflings before it was settled by highcourt. need i remind anyone of ruckland? galfast hamhead’s energy tracks with the halflings of solace, which is a group that includes both the anarcho-socialist cubby family, and the luckstones, most notably penny. working class halflings are an established thread.

also deeply funny to imagine the gukgaks as descendants of the goblins of gorgar. with all the new arcanotech, who’s to say riz isn’t rigged to explode.

obviously eftbk and fantasy high are not happening at the same time. but really, we’ve been given info on <1000 years of spyre’s history. there’s time before that for the rise and fall and rise again of the evil kingdom of gorgar, that’s run by a set of evil coworkers. kalvaxus who. if you go by ages/eras, the reign of leiland jr over gorgar could mark the fourth age, which eventually culminated in the destruction of the goddess of sylvaire, and with the rise of the nightmare king began the fifth age, assuming we’re paralleling lotr.

also imagine arthur aguefort interacting with any of the vile villains. just any of them.

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 theory #fantasy high #escape from the bloodkeep #elven oracle #adaine abernant #efink murderdeath #galfast hamhead #bud cubby #penny luckstone #riz gukgak #markus st vincent

[cosmic-metanoia]

A Potentially Interesting Friendship

*Spoilers for FFXV & FFXVI :)*

I couldn't help but notice that Noctis (FFXV) and Joshua (FFXVI), while different from each other in terms of motivations and personalities, have a lot in common in terms of their backstories:

*Both are the chosen ones in their respective kingdoms - Noctis as the One True King and Joshua as the future Archduke of Rosaria/the Phoenix's Dominant

*Both lose their fathers suddenly and tragically.

*Both have to deal with their own physical limits as children - Noctis with a knee/leg injury and Joshua with his overall health.

*Both live sheltered lives of royalty until their kingdoms are toppled over.

*Both of their fathers believe in them and their legacies push them to become the leaders that they were born to be.

*Both are gone for a period of time from the public eye - Noctis becomes dormant in the Crystal for 10 years while Joshua is away for 18 years while under the care of the Undying.

*Both emerge from their period of absence better than ever in their glow up era!

*Both sacrifice themselves in order to save humanity.

*Both hate carrots/vegetables (come on, you KNEW this was coming!)

*Both have dedicated retainers that take their own roles VERY seriously and would die for their masters. Ignis for Noctis and Jote for Joshua. (I have a HC where Jote and Ignis would get along and have a mutual understanding between each other regarding their duties. Maybe they'd even offer each other helpful advice on dealing with their stubborn masters, lol!)

It would be interesting to see Noctis and Joshua form a friendship based on the bonding of their mutual struggles and heavy burdens.

#ff16 #ffxvi #final fantasy 16 #final fantasy xvi #joshua rosfield #ffxv noctis #ffxvi joshua #ff16 joshua #ff15 noctis #noctis #noctis lucis caelum #ffxvi spoilers #final fantasy 15 #ff15 #ffxv #final fantasy xv #unlikely friends

[sugar-grigri]

I've read through your posts and deliberated some more, yet I still don't see the connection of a critique on capitalism. I see the critique of work, yes, but mostly because it reflects Denji's self value. I don't think it's the same.

Let's dive into capitalism...

You're not the first to ask, so I'll answer (I'll try to be succinct). I just want to make it clear that this is all my interpretation, if you still don't see a connection after this post. Then you're just interpreting this point differently, and that's completely ok. 

For more context I think it's interesting to point out who I am or rather what I do. I'm a lawyer, still in training but enough to call myself one. I specialize in a rather specific area of law in France: public economic law. Let's put it this way: it's a body of law that analyzes the relationship between the State and individuals, and focuses solely on the general interest. 

Let's agree on a definition of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic and social system in which capital (the source of income) and the means of production and exchange do not belong to those who use them through their own labor.

It's important to note that capitalism takes different forms in each state. 

In Japan, the origins of capitalism lie in vigorous state intervention. The period that best characterizes it is the Meiji era, the 19th century. Today, this is revealed by the significant intervention of the Ministry of the Economy. 

If all this sounds complicated, there is a first element of definition. If I don't just see a critique of the world of work in the public hunter system, it's also because one of Chainsaw Man's themes is the state. I'm not extrapolating, since it's a theme that recurs several times, whether through Makima and her confrontation with the gun demon, or through the choice of security structure: public. That is, controlled by the Japanese government. 

I think that, yes, CSM makes a more global criticism than a specific point of society, and speaks of the relationship between citizen and state. 

But let's continue. It's not insignificant either that the first images of the CSM season 1 trailer are of a dark alleyway overflowing with rats. Nor is it insignificant to set up a character, very young, and very poor as a main character. This doesn't shock us, as heroes tend to have tragic pasts, but it's not an empty choice.

When we think of neoliberalism, the example of the United States or the United Kingdom are the first that come to mind. Yet Japan is the OECD country that has seen the greatest rise in inequality, due to deregulation of the labor market and the rise in precarious employment (40% of the working population today) with the privatization of key sectors such as rail and postal services. 

Privatization movements ? That's been covered. 

But another feature of Japan's aggressive neoliberalism is the university. Whose entrance fees are increasing atrociously. 

University entrance fees ? Lack of education for the most precarious classes ? That's been covered. 

What I'm trying to prove once again is that Fujimoto applies himself to revealing the relationship between individuals and states. Makima, the antagonist, is even subjected to it, inscribed in a hierarchical relationship. She has also become an uncontrollable demon to the point of making the United States swoon, for she is nothing more than a chimera created by the Japanese government, which has hammered her with the doctrine of evil necessary for the greater common good. In other words, collectivism. 

The connection between capitalism and Denji's character is often made, but even Makima, the antagonist, was following a goal imposed by a larger structure, from which she didn't really benefit because she wasn't happy.

Nor is Chainsaw Man just about an extremely harsh working world. We're also talking about the extent to which Denji is satisfied with little things (which Fujimoto also sees in a positive light).

But Fujimoto's main point with Denji is not that the problem lies in his dreaming of toast per se (although that's a problem too), but that there's a disproportion between his sacrifices and his rewards. 

It's not insignificant that Denji suffers horribly when he turns into Chainsaw Man, that the system seems to work with him because he sees himself only as a tool. 

Capitalism is defined above all by the fact that the worker does not reap all the benefits of his work.

Denji literally produces the added value that will serve his structure without perceiving the benefits in the extreme. Since Makima is going to take all the benefits away from him. 

Is it fair, then, to speak of a simple critique of labor when we know that the antagonist is the product of the Japanese government? Don't think of the critique of the world of work as a separate, singular critique, but as part of a critique of a more global system: Japan and its current regime, capitalism. 

For it is the relationship between the economy and the state's conception of it that affects the world of work. The liberalization movement that began in the 1980s and accelerated in the 2000s and 2010s is a striking example of this. What is the clearest result of the relationship between globalization and Japan than manga ? 

If there's one thing that helped me understand Fujimoto's interest in these issues, it's his relationship with his own industry. His works culminate in themes relating to the community and the individual, and their relationship with art and culture. Just think of all those movie scenes. 

Fujimoto isn't delivering a critique of capitalism because it's fashionable to do so, he's following a lineage of his own.

Fujimoto isn't delivering a critique of capitalism because it's fashionable, he's following a lineage, also talking about the relationship between capitalism and his art. The mangakas themselves are trapped in a logic of commercialization and commodity production, to the detriment of creativity itself. I feel that Part 2 is a complete response to Chainsaw Man's worldwide success. The way Denji's daily life hasn't changed a bit, and also the parallel with Fujimoto. 

An ultra-popular author... but one who turns in a chapter once a week.

#my thoughts #analysis #csm #chainsaw man #chainsaw man spoilers #ask #fujimoto #csm part 1 #csm part 2 #fujimoto tatsuki #thank for the ask!!

[asksythe]

Wei Ying might actually be long-lost royalty (mark 3) but it doesn’t actually mean all that much. Historical tragic, super spicy gay drama! - An Essay (1)

So I’ve been asked: now that we know MDZS happened during Wei Jin Northern and Southern Dynasty era and that the name of one of the dynasties (Northern Wei 北魏) is the same Wei in Wei Ying Wei Wuxian (魏). How come nobody in MDZS ever remarked on Wei Ying having the same surname as the royal family? 

There are three reasons for this: 

1. The royal house name of Northern Wei was not Wei. It was Yuan… and Tuoba before that. 

Yeah… 

Northern Wei eventually fractured into East and West Wei, with each branch of the royal family (Yuan and Tuoba branches) taking power on each side. 

The other Wei state in the same Six Dynasties Period was Cao Wei. The ruling house name was Cao… as in … Cao Cao… of the Romance of The Three Kingdoms fame… Yeah…   

The actual royal house with the Wei surname that you are looking for came from the Wei Kingdom during Warring States (4BCE to 2BCE), i.e., the period of chaos and war right before unification by Qin Shi Huang. I.e., over half a millennium before MDZS timeline (Although this is probably the era when the great Houses were founded: Wen, Jiang, Jin, Nie, and Lan. The book did mention the time before Wen Mao, the founder of House Wen, brought about the fall of the sect system to be a time of wars and chaos and that the Burial Mound was a Holy Mountain that was corrupted due to the countless dead well before Wen Mao’s time). 

Wei Kingdom 魏国 started out as a vassal state (called the State of Wei). Through generations of achievements and war alliances, this state evolved to become a Kingdom. The first Wei King was Wei Ying (魏嬰). Yes. That Wei Ying. Although the Ying here is a variation of the way Wei Ying’s birthname is spelled in canon with the meaning remaining the exact same. His posthumous title is Wei Hue Wang (King Wei Hue).

Although if you are looking for the historical counterpart of Wei Ying (and Jiang Cheng), you will have to look three generations down at his great-great-grandson Wei Wuji (Wuji being another way to write Wuxian), also known as Lord Xinling (Xinling Jun). Wei Wuji and his elder brother’s life is more or less what happened to Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng Jiang Wangyin in MDZS. Except in the real world, it’s Jiang Cheng who is gay (Bi, really) and whose lover’s title (Lungyang Jun) is used as a way to refer to gay porn for 2000 years after his death. Historical Wei Wuxian still died of a broken heart because his brother betrayed him though. Unlike novel Jiang Cheng, however, historical Jiang Cheng (King Wei Anli, elder brother to Wei Wuji) was said to have died of an illness supposedly caused by hearing his younger brother had died of a broken heart. Fans of tragic, complicated, highly spicy gay romance, eat your heart out. 

Ladies and gentlemen: the historical Jiang Cheng, King Wei Anli (in modern Chinese cinema), also the man who introduced gay porn into Chinese literary history.

(Modern Chinese cinema representation of Lungyan Jun: historical Jiang Cheng’s beau and the man whose title became synonymous with gay porn for literally two thousand years and counting) 

(Ancient gay porn featuring not-historical-Jiang-Cheng and not-Lungyang-jun. In ancient China, novels were written based on real concurrent events with names switched out. Pay close attention to the hair ornaments of our actors here! The one on the left is wearing a hair crown typically reserved for royal men, whereas the one on the right is wearing a cap reserved for male court officials)

Historical Wei Ying! By which I mean Lord Xinling Wei Wuji (modern Chinese game), the war hero who died of a broken heart because his big brother don’t wanna play with him no more. 

Incidentally, Wei Wuji and his brother King Wei Anli were the first people in recorded history to own Tiger Tally (Hufu).

But I shall talk about all this ancient gay drama and the OG tiger tally another day (So long, historical Jiang Cheng! You are still a horrible brother, you little shit!).    

2. Slavery System of Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties Era. Wei Jin Era really is just Warring States Era Mark 2. War Harder! 

That is to say, being of royal blood is not what it’s cracked up to be during this specific era. Wei Jin Northern and Southern Dynasties Era (also called the Six Dynasties Era) is kinda a special case in post-Qin-unification Chinese history for the simple fact that China was anything but unified during this period. 

To understand this period, you have to look at the sheer brutality and the miraculous nature of Qin unification. Qin Shi Huang did something that nobody before him had ever done. He united hundreds of different ethnic groups through murder, violence, and a case of genocide here and there. He forced enemies that had been feuding against each other for literal centuries to become fellow countrymen. He razed temples to the ground. He tore down capitals. He burned books and then burned the men who read such books beside them. He erased entire languages and cultures and forged a single, united country out of all that. For all that he contributed to China, the title tyrant is not wrongly awarded to him. 

But with such a strong, charismatic, forceful leader, you eventually have to face the big problem: their death. The Qin Dynasty really didn’t last long after Qin Shi Huang’s passing. The Han dynasty right after was even more short-lived. Some historians even called that dynasty a stillbirth. The thing that followed was a period of pure chaos and violence where differences and ethnic tension that had brewed throughout Qin and Han dynasties finally exploded. 

Thus, was born the Wei Jin Northern and Southern Dynasties, where the previously united Empire fractured into various petty kingdoms warring against each other. At one point, there were sixteen petty kingdoms where a united empire once was. What followed were approximately three centuries of various ancient states, petty kingdoms, cultures, and ethnic groups killing, fucking, cannibalizing, marrying into each other, massacring each other, tearing, and mushing apart and into each other until they eventually became a much more homogenized cultural and racial amalgamation and arrived (with a minor hiccup at the Song dynasty, another very short-lived dynasty) at the Tang Dynasty, which was considered a golden age in Chinese history and lasted for four centuries.

So then, in an era like this, being a reigning royal is not that big of a deal as you may think it is. In fact, this specific era was known as the era where the Noble Houses and not Kings were the ones who held the real power. Yes, noble houses like the Wen, the Jiang, the Jin, the Nie, and the Lan. Because there was no effective central power, the historical counterparts of the Houses in MDZS held power that they wouldn’t in other dynasties. Not only did they own vast territories and held legal power over them, but they also charged tax brackets that were previously only charged by Emperors or Kings. They could gather army conscripts and organize their own armed forces. 

In the novel MDZS, the cultivator Houses acted exactly like the historical Noble Houses during the real Wei Jin Northern and Southern Dynasties. They held massive territories and could exert certain levels of administrative and legal power over them. They held hunting rights, tax rights. In the novel, during the Sunshot campaigns, all cultivator houses started gathering conscripts and volunteers for their Sunshot war. And finally, under Jin Guangyao’s reign, they built massive military structures. This would be unthinkable in both the era before and after this one specific era. 

Ah… going too far off the topic. I digress. The point is, being actual reigning kings during this era is really not what it seems, let alone being long-lost royals. Because being long-lost royals means your royal family probably already kicked the bucket in historical Chinese Game of Thrones… and that means… you are a slave. 

Yep, slavery. During this time in ancient China, society was separated into a strict nine-ranked caste system. Depending on which rank a person was, they might have certain rights (and duties) and could do certain jobs, and enjoy some level of protection from the provincial government. But if you are low on this ranking scale, you are effectively… not a human at all, not in the eye of the law. 

Indeed, the lower ranks of this caste system were effectively serfs, who, if they dared leave the territory of their lord, would open themselves up to slave cartels. For example: Jin Guangyao’s mom, Meng Si, during this era would be categorized as Jianren (賤人, lit: petty person, this is the insult Madam Yu used against Wang Lingjiao), an owned Jianren at that. This means that even if she quit the brothel and took young Meng Yao with her, her caste as Jianren would still remain… which means she and her son Meng Yao would be forbidden from official examinations, would not enjoy protection from the law, would not be able to own particular business, would not be able to buy and own properties, and could only do lowly, menial jobs reserved for Jianren… unless she could pay an exorbitant amount of money and favor to a local magistrate to have him create new documentations for her and push her up on the caste system. Should she run and leave the city where she was based in, without the right documentation, she would open herself and her son up to roving slave cartels in the unprotected territory between city-states. Once she fell into slavery, her status as a slave, alongside her son, would be effectively legal in the eyes of the law (what passed for it) at that time. 

Slavery is legal during Wei Jin era. In fact, slavery in China was legal up until very recently, in the last century. It was accepted and practiced wide-spread. 

By that same system, if you were a citizen of a city-state on the losing side of a war, you would also be effectively a slave. Under this sytem, entire cities and small kingdoms of people were enslaved. Indeed, this is how Qi Huang Wen branch including Wen Qing and Wen Ning were treated in the novel: as slaves of the losing side. Originally they were stationed at Ganquan 甘泉 until Jin Zixun came and forced Wen Ning and other Wen people to Qiongqi Path, which was owned by the Jin. Because they were effectively slaves, even when they did nothing wrong, no one stood up for them. No one but Wei Ying.    

This is even pointed out when Wei Ying said in the novel that because they are Wen, so they are not humans. Is that what you mean? When he went to Qiongqi Path the first time. In the eye of Chinese society of that time, the Wen... really weren’t considered humans at all.

So the point is, even if Wei Ying is long-lost royalty, in the eyes of the people in MDZS, he would be effectively a slave or from slave blood. So, Madam Yu did actually have a point when she repeatedly insulted Wei Ying (and his father) and treated them as she would a slave. Because in the eye of society of that time, they were slaves. It didn’t matter how talented Wei Changzhe was or that he was married to the disciple of Baoshan Sanren, a peer of the founders of all 5 great houses, he was still a slave. It didn’t matter how talented Wei Ying was or that he was a war hero or that he spoke truth, because he came from lowly blood, because he had no House and no Clan behind them, anyone at all (Jin Zixun, Jin Zixuan, Jiang Cheng, effectively the entire cultivator world) would feel like they could push him around and insult him without fearing retaliations. In an era without law, if you are alone, then you are automatically guilty. 

 3. Real-life cultivators are actually super anti-authority anarchist hippies. Also, MDZS world is probably heading for cultivator’s Armageddon. Also, Lan Qiren is full of shit. Two of the three Founding Sages of Daoism (real-life basis of cultivation and xianxia) say so.  

-To Be Continued (I’m tired. This is longer than I thought. I’ll complete this another day)- 

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #Wei Jin #Wei Ying #Wei Wuxian #Jiang Cheng #Essay

[cadmium-free]

we have tragically entered a new & terrible era of soft fanfiction style television that doesn't even have the dignity to be as ridiculous as Kingdom Hearts

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

November 2023 - part 2

November 15 - New Heights Ep 64 airs Travis and Jason Kelce chat about their bye week and discuss what Travis got up to in Argentina, south of the equator (x 42:20). Our bestie Jason draws out what we are all wondering about...

"Sounds like a labyrinth of issues" says Jason.

Oh Travis, she is falling in love with you, and Jason saw the Argentina Night 1 acoustic performance of Labyrinth too.

Referencing the lyric change in Karma;

"How does it feel to officially be 'The guy on the Chiefs'?" Jason teased Travis on the podcast. With a laugh, Travis said that he had "no clue" Taylor planned to mention him during her show. "Well, I might have had a little bit of a clue," he then admitted. "But definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, [it] still shocked me."  "Yeah, you could tell in the video," Jason responded.  "I was like, 'Oh shh! She really said that,'" Travis marveled. 

When Jason notes that Scott Swift is wearing a Chiefs lanyard at the Eras Tour Night 3 he asks...

"What are we doing, Scott? You're gonna let this man's devilish good looks and relationship with your daughter sway you from a lifetime of fandom, Scott? Ridiculous."  Travis further explained, "I might have persuaded him at dinner the night before. When I met him." 

Travis commenting on the first Eras Tour he has attended as Taylor's boyfriend..

"The show was even more electric knowing that I had a little bit more to enjoy," he said of watching her perform in Argentina. "Taylor absolutely ripped it. She killed it and it looked like she was having some fun up there." 

We love to see the support Travis is showing to our little Indie artist.

We are to expect to see Taylor and Travis spending time together during the Eras tour break according to ET sources (x)

"Taylor has a two-month break in her tour, taking December and January off, and the couple is planning to spend more time together" during that time.

ET reports (x)

Donna and Ed Kelce, and Andrea and Scott Swift are expected to meet for the first time on Monday as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs face off for Monday Night Football.

We can expect to see Taylor at the November 20 game too.

November 16 - Chiefs post to twitter and New Heights repost (x) welcoming Scott Swift to the Chiefs Kingdom after being wooed by Travis to change allegiance from the Eagles. Scott is pictured with Travis wearing a Chiefs lanyard at the Eras Tour in Argentina

November 17 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Stay Beautiful (guitar) & Suburban Legends (piano)

November 18 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Show postponed due to extreme hot weather conditions and after the tragic loss of a fan Ana last night.

November 19- The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Rain show

Dancing With Our Hands Tied (guitar) & Bigger Than The Whole Sky (piano) - likely a tribute to Ana (& Ally who died from cancer and was a recipient of a 22 hat)

Taylor is awarded 10 BBMA’s tying with Drake as the most awarded artist.

November 20 - The Eras Tour, Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - rescheduled show see Nov 18.

Me! (guitar) & So It Goes (piano)

Chiefs v Eagles, Arrowhead Stadium. Travis and Jason Kelce go head to head. Eagles defeat Chiefs 21 - 17.

WSJ article: Travis Kelce Opens Up About Taylor Swift and His Life After the NFL; Travis Kelce for the Wall Street Journal (x)

At the moment, of course, the only thing millions of people want to know about Kelce’s future is whether or not it will include Taylor Swift. And the second thing they’re dying to know is how he and she got together in the first place. 

... People have even speculated that Kelce somehow spoke his desire into the universe and just—manifested Swift? 

He laughs. “I don’t know if I want to get into all of it,” he says, and then he gets into it, because fountain. 

It all started when he tried to meet Swift at her Arrowhead concert in July and got blocked, presumably by security. He then recounted the experience in a charming way on the podcast he does with Jason. Soon after, he says, he received an unbidden assist from inside Team Swift. 

“There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: Yo! Did you know he was coming? I had somebody playing Cupid.” He wasn’t aware at the time, however; the revelation only came later, after he looked down at his phone and got the shock of a lifetime. “She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

He lets slip that some of his early helpers were part of the Swift family tree. “She’ll probably hate me for saying this, but…when she came to Arrowhead, they gave her the big locker room as a dressing room, and her little cousins were taking pictures…in front of my locker.” 

Understandably, he’s not handing out details about the first date, though he will say that he managed to not be nervous. “When I met her in New York, we had already kind of been talking, so I knew we could have a nice dinner and, like, a conversation, and what goes from there will go from there.” 

If anyone was nervous, he adds, it was his core group. “Everybody around me telling me: Don’t f— this up! And me sitting here saying: Yeah—got it.”

As those first heady days unfolded, as news bulletins and cutaways showed Swift cheering Kelce on from his suite, Kelce was uncharacteristically guarded with the media. “That was the biggest thing to me: make sure I don’t say anything that would push Taylor away.” 

Likewise, his mother. Donna Kelce still berates herself for how she handled a question about Taylor on the Today show. Trying not to sound too enthusiastic, she came off underwhelmed. Kelce, not wanting his mom to feel bad, immediately phoned her and assured her that she did a super job—adding that her green eyeglasses looked great. 

These days, however, with the relationship progressing, Donna feels more at liberty. “I can tell you this,” she says, beaming. “He’s happier than I’ve seen him in a long time…. God bless him, he shot for the stars!”

Kelce seems freer, too. He doesn’t need to be asked about Taylor; he mentions her unreservedly, lavishes praise on her, calls her “hilarious,” “a genius,” notes that they share compatible worldviews, especially when it comes to family and work. “Everybody knows I’m a family guy,” he says. “Her team is her family. Her family does a lot of stuff in terms of the tour, the marketing, being around, so I think she has a lot of those values as well, which is right up my alley.”

One of Kelce’s friends describes a sweet, magical moment, a late-night gathering around Kelce’s firepit. Kelce and Swift looked like two “peas in a pod,” the friend says, and at one point they even burst into a memorable duet of—“Teenage Dirtbag”?

This must be fake 

My lips start to shake 

How does she know who I am? 

Kelce squints into the distance: He’s not sure they were singing…Wheatus. But he allows that his memory might be compromised. 

“There was some wine involved, for sure.”

LONG BEFORE MEETING SWIFT, Kelce was just another Swiftie. In some ways he still is. He explains the concept of her concert—“She does it in eras”—as if you live in a yurt in Outer Mongolia. Then he eagerly informs you that the night he attended, he was counting the minutes until she got to 1989. (Both he and Swift were born in 1989.) “ ‘Blank Space’ was one I wanted to hear live for sure. I could make a bad guy good for the weekend. That’s a helluva line!”

More often than not, he says, it was a Swiftian beat, a melody that captivated him. (“She writes catchy jingles.”) But lately he’s all about those lyrics; he’s scrutinized the breakup stuff. What a miracle, he says, the way Swift can turn life into poetry. “I’ve never been a man of words. Being around her, seeing how smart Taylor is, has been f—ing mind-blowing. I’m learning every day.”

Something he might need to learn from Swift: how to handle the attention. Kelce lives in a quiet neighborhood north of downtown—leafy trees, trim lawns, no gates. There’s now a clutch of desperate-looking dudes with cameras stationed on his sidewalk 24/7. He’s followed everywhere, drones buzzing overhead—it’s stressful, more than he lets on, according to one confidante.

“Obviously I’ve never dated anyone with that kind of aura about them…. I’ve never dealt with it,” Kelce says. “But at the same time, I’m not running away from any of it…. The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she’s just living, enjoying life. When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange.”

Asked if he has anything to teach Swift, he looks shy. He can’t think of anything offhand. 

Football? 

Sure, he says, sounding unsure. 

Of course, the thing she probably wants to learn about most is him. While talking to Kelce you realize all at once that the most avid participant in the national scavenger hunt for clues about his character is likely Swift herself. 

...

Indeed, Kelce has warned Swift that she’s going to have to reckon with this part of his personality. Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell—they will all be a part of the relationship. “I told Taylor that I have that world, I’ve got to introduce it to her. I let her know: This is my jam right here.”

...

Minutes later, he’s steering past a small airport, where Swift’s plane is often prominently parked these days.  Is it there now, gleaming in the moonlight? The Kelce eras tour is coming to a close. Left unsaid, but palpable: She’s at the house, waiting. 

November 22 - New Heights Ep. 65 airs. (x)

(5:30) Jason acknowledges the power of Taylor’s fan base in seeing the Christmas charity single “Fairytale of Philadelphia” to No. 1 on iTunes.

“We owe a big thanks to one group in particular, besides the 92 percenters,” said Jason, referencing New Heights listeners. “And that’s the Swifties, because the Swifties came out.”

“One thousand percent,” agreed Travis.

“I got like 85 tweets from Swifties across the world saying, ‘Oh, you think eight’s good? We’re taking this to No. 1,” said Jason, laughing. “It’s a powerful group of people.”

“Thanks, Taylor, appreciate you,” added Travis. “And thank you to the Swifties. Thank you.”

Travis is trolled for his old tweets and plans for Thanks giving are discussed. Travis reveals he has no one to share the holiday with (Taylor is in Brazil).

November 24 - The Eras Tour, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Now That We Don’t Talk (guitar) & Innocent (piano)

Travis is seen in Kansas City at KFC as discussed on his podcast for Thanks Giving

November 25,26 - The Eras Tour, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Safe & Sound (guitar) & Untouchable (piano)

Travis arrives in Las Vegas ahead of Chiefs v Raiders game tomorrow

November 26 - Chiefs v Raiders, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas. Chiefs defeat Raiders 31 - 17

The Chiefs recognise Travis Kelce for yet another record and Taylor shows her support - check out Taylor's like on the post (x)

The Eras Tour N3, Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

Say Don’t Go (guitar) & It’s Time To Go (piano)

Taylor announces that acoustic songs will be reset for 2024. That's a wrap for The Eras Tour 2023.

November 27 - Taylor arrives in Kansas City to see Travis

People publish article (x)

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's romance isn't for show — his friends believe it's the "real deal," a source tells PEOPLE.

"Travis' friends think this is the real deal for him,” the insider close to the Kansas City Chiefs star says exclusively. “They're still a little shocked by all of it — that he's dating the Taylor Swift, but they've seen how down to earth she is with his friends and family.”

The source adds that the relationship is “growing” because the NFL tight end, 34, and the music superstar, 33, both have found success in their own worlds — and they continue to appreciate one another's accomplishments.

“They're both really hard workers, and he acknowledges her art is hers, and he has what's his,” the source tells PEOPLE. “He understands the territory their relationship comes with and like he said, isn't letting any of the hoopla impact how they're growing together.”

The source adds, “Their relationship is about the two of them, and he sees Taylor for who she is and vice versa."

November 29 - Taylor flies to London, England.

Taylor is named Spotify's Top Global Artist.

Taylor releases "You're losing Me" on streaming services - this song was previously only available on CD and exclusively sold at The Eras Tour venues.

Um ok this is unreal?? I just wanted to say to anyone who listened to my music this year, anywhere in the world, thank you. Getting named Spotify’s Global Top Artist in 2023 is truly the best birthday/holiday gift you could’ve given me. We’ve seriously had THE MOST fun this year out there on tour and now this. Are you serious. So I was trying to think of a way to thank you, and a lot of you have been asking me to put “You’re Losing Me (From The Vault)” on streaming… so here you go! You can finally listen EVERYWHERE now 💋

Jack Antonoff shares a photo to IG stories revealing the date of when "You're Losing Me" was written - Dec 5, 2021. This is so much earlier than most fans expected.

Taylor walks the red carpet for Beyonce's Renaissance Tour Movie Premiere in London, England. She looks STUNNING!!!!

Taylor "likes" an old Paul McCartney post about his relationship with his wife Linda (now deceased) leading fans to believe "Sweet Nothing" has more to do with Paul McCartney's story than Taylor and Joe's.

November 30 - Tree Paine blasts Deuxmoi on X for their slander (x)

Taylor returns to Kansas City to be with Travis.

Go to part 1 of November 2023

Go to part 1 of December 2023

Return to timeline

#taylor swift #taylor and travis #travis kelce #87 and 89 #taylor swift and travis kelce #traylor #killatrav #seemingly ranch #timeline #87 + 13 = 100 #tayvis #Taylor and Travis timeline #swelcie #Instagram #t&t #tnt

[curseofpower]

Two separate posters accuse us of victim-blaming for daring to say that Ganondorf had any legitimate beef with poor, saintly Rauru. For my part, I find it easier to believe in magic triangles than in a kingdom with completely clean hands. Especially kingdoms of super-powerful beings who come from afar to rule peoples not their own.

Oh fuck another one did it? I need to go hunting to block them. Sigh. How dare us question this kingdom which has been portrayed in arguably the most Notable games in the franchise as having a dark bloody history eh? We should all just kiss goat boy's ass for being uwu cute~ and so saaad boohoo

As if unification doesn't come with a price.

That maybe at least someone would rather go down swinging than be subjugated and have their culture gutted by some random interloper who decided 'ya know what? I think I want to be king of a loooot of people and make em obey me' one day (bc that's not already sketchy af at all right).

It's so tragic what happened to the gerudo in the wilds era that it physically hurts me to see. They have. Nothing. Anymore. People say OoT had issues, but I think that's far and away so much better than totk's 'our race must repent forever' and 'yay our ears are pointy now from giving in to the Hylians :) we can hear the gods now!! Also we love getting married!!'

At least OoT didn't shy away from showing how much Hyrule hated the gerudos and maybe that's why they were so angry and worshipful of their king who had the strength and fortitude to stand up to that fucked regime which already drove a certain people to near extinction by using them and crushing them into the dirt (sheikah). Probably as a forever punishment for saying 'no' and being too few in number and not powerful enough to keep up the fight. "We are servants of the royal family" is just "we were made into slaves by Hyrule." Forced to torture their own people, even, for defecting or god forbid, admitting being able to see truth? Maybe admitting the bad truth the royals didn't like? Jfc.

#q&a #was just talking about this with someone and it is Pain. #I miss my magical triangles. I will always embrace these fucking triangle you can pull them from my cold dead hands

[sotwk]

Can you tell us more about Mirion's wife and children 👀

Hello Anon! I believe this is the second time you've asked me about Crown Prince Mirion and his family, and appreciate your interest so much. 🥰 Mirion is my personal favorite of the OC Thranduilions, so any inquiries about him are dear to me.

I have been keeping the details about Mirion's family under wraps for so long, but I no longer see a good reason to keep them secret, so here we go: some basic headcanon info that will hopefully satisfy your curiosity. 😉

For those who might care: some SotWK AU Spoilers ahead!

SotWK AU Headcanons: Crown Prince Mirion and his "Golden" Family

Although Mirion tragically died in his attempt to free his homeland from the Necromancer (his efforts did drive Sauron out of Dol Guldur for a time and gave Mirkwood four centuries of respite), he left behind a beautiful wife and two children to continue his legacy. His son gave Thranduil a new heir and continued hope for the future of their line and kingdom.

Because Mirion's wife was an Eldar of powerful lineage and incredible strength in her own right, she and their children helped Mirkwood to stay strong and protected through the dangers the realm faced in the Third Age.

And when Thranduil's grandchildren took over the rule of Eryn Lasgalen in the Fourth Age, it ushered in a new Golden Era for the last remaining Kingdom of Elves on Middle-earth.

MIRION'S WIFE - PRINCESS ITARILDË

SotWK Fancast: Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches)

Mirion's wife is Princess Itarildë, an elleth with a rare mix of Noldor-Vanyar-Teleri blood with "royal" lineage on both sides of her family.

Itarildë’s mother is Nimeithel (a SotWK OC), the younger sister of Nimloth and niece of Celeborn.

Nimeithel is featured in my ongoing Thranduil x Maereth series, Sins of Our Fathers. She grew up with Thranduil in Doriath, and was the one who introduced him to Maereth.

Itarildë’s father is Maranwon (SotWK OC), the grandson of Glorfindel and his wife Elemírë (SotWK OC), who was the sister of Elenwë, late wife of King Turgon.

Itarildë has a high Eldar "pedigree" due to her lineage, but that was not what attracted Mirion to her. On the contrary, her noble background nearly caused the Crown Prince to decide against pursing her hand in marriage, despite their deep love for each other.

Before ever meeting Itarildë, Mirion had intended to choose his wife and future Queen among the Silvan elves of Greenwood, out of love for his people and his wish to honor the land's native race. (Something Thranduil was unable to do by marrying a Noldor.)

Mirion agonized over this conflict between his duty and his heart until his parents persuaded him to pursue his own happiness.

Itarildë is older than Mirion by a few decades, born in Lothlorien but raised in Rivendell. Her father died in the War of the Last Alliance fighting alongside his surrogate father, Gil-galad.

She takes after her father's side of the family; she is passionate, joyful, strong-willed, and has a radiant presence that commands and captivates every room she enters. She has a compassionate heart and a determination to effect good changes in the world.

She adores her husband's brothers and counsels and cares for them as an elder sister.

She is a fearless and skilled warrior (what else would you expect from the great-granddaughter of Glorfindel), who more than holds her own whenever she marches into battle alongside the princes.

It is later discovered that something about Itarildë’s presence causes the Spiders of Mirkwood to flee; just looking upon her somehow pains or deters them, and so they never attack her directly.

Mirion's death broke Itarildë and very nearly caused her to fade; she was brought back only by the healing efforts and pleas of her daughter. But her joyful spirit never recovered.

MIRION'S SON - PRINCE ARANION

SotWK Fancast: Bradley James (Merlin)

Aranion is the elder child of Mirion and Itarildë, making him the eldest grandchild of Thranduil and second-in-line to the throne of the Woodland Realm.

Upon Mirion's death, Aranion inherited the title of Crown Prince of Mirkwood. (This responsibility never fell to Legolas, which is why he remained free to travel, join the Fellowship, and and even sail to Valinor as he eventually did.)

After Maereth died, Thranduil became very focused on preparing Aranion for the throne, since he was then resolved to sail for Valinor and rejoin his wife--once the future of Mirkwood and his people had been secured with his grandson in place.

The name Aranion translates to "Son of the King" in Quenya, but the prince was actually named after the plant kingsfoil or athelas, also known as asëa aranion. Kingsfoil did not grow naturally in the Greenwood forest, since it thrived in the Western lands.

However, in the year of Itarildë's pregnancy with Aranion, kingsfoil began to sprout in abundance in the lands surrounding their home.

Although the Mirkwood Elves previously had no use for kingsfoil, later in the Third Age the plant became an vital resource in their healing for wounds inflicted by orcs and other beasts coming from Dol Guldur.

Aranion is utterly devoted to his homeland and the Silvan people of Mirkwood, a sentiment that they reciprocate with fierce love and loyalty. While not as politically-savvy as his forebears, he is a "people's prince", spending most of his days working alongside the common folk of the realm.

Although he is often compared to his great, great-grandfather Glorfindel, Aranion's cheerful, energetic, and light-hearted temperament is actually most similar to that of his uncle Legolas, to whom he was always very close.

The Prince is a fearless and naturally gifted fighter, whose innate talents were enhanced by centuries of intensive instruction and training from the greatest warriors on Middle-earth, including Thranduil and Glorfindel.

As the darkness worsened in the Third Age, Thranduil grew extremely protective of Aranion, increasing to paranoia at the loss of his wife and each of his sons. As decades passed the prince's very existence soon became unknown to outsiders, which was what Thranduil had intended.

By the events of the Hobbit, Aranion was forbidden from traveling outside of Mirkwood, and was not permitted to participate in the Battle of the Five Armies.

MIRION'S DAUGHTER - PRINCESS ANARIEL

SotWK Fancast: Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers, Poldark)

Anariel is the younger child of Mirion and Itarildë and second grandchild of Thranduil and Maereth.

Beautiful and sweet beyond compare, she is very much the darling treasure of not only her grandfather Thranduil, but also of her loving uncles who have doted on her since she was a baby (probably because they never had a little sister of their own).

Unlike her boisterous older brother, Anariel is reserved, introverted, and avoids drawing attention to herself. She prefers to listen rather than speak.

Large crowds and excessive noises make her very uncomfortable, and it is possible she suffers from a mild form of sensory overload.

However, she very much carries the courage and willingness to serve that runs in her family, and devotes herself to the welfare of the people of Mirkwood.

Anariel is highly intelligent, much like her uncle Arvellas. Being a voracious reader and learner herself, she grew especially close to the Scholar Prince and gained knowledge and abilities from him.

She lived in Rivendell for periods of long years throughout the Third Age, during which she was mentored by Lord Elrond himself, and became skilled in the healing arts.

Anariel has actually already appeared in one of my WIP fics, although she was not yet named/identified. The first person to comment and tell me correctly which fic/character I am referring to, will receive a special prize from me from the Tumblr Market!

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

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