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depressedraisin · 4 months

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notes on "mr. snarl"

hello, hello, hello welcome to the mr. snarl is high camp discourse. i've been readin' and thinkin' and drivin' myself nuts over this, so i'll be blabberin' on for a good minute. bear with me.

before we dive into any discussion of camp, we ofcourse need to understand what camp is in the first place. camp as an idea is nearly impossible to neatly put down in a few words or a sentence. it has no definition as of such. camp is loud. camp is ostentatious. camp is exaggerated. camp is 'too much'. camp is gay. camp is ironic. camp is cheeky. drag is camp. marlene dietrich is camp. baroque art is camp. cher is camp. mommie dearest (1981) is camp. the rocky horror picture show (1975) is camp. dostoevsky is camp.

the girlies who get camp get it, those who don't, don't.

however we do have susan sontag's 1964 seminal essay 'notes on "camp"' from where most of our contemporary ideas and understanding of 'camp' comes from. in her essay, sontag noted 58 points on what camp is or might be. for our purposes in this post, we'll go by those. because it is the camp bible of course. and i am a pretentious bitch.

now before we get to the meat of the matter, a quick detour to discuss the many faces of alex turner.

alex's personas have now come to as closely associated to his image as an artist and public figure as blonde wigs are with dolly parton, i suppose. it even has its own section in alex's wiki page. he is one those performers to whom the "eras" concept can truly and perfectly apply. he is a different man on stage with every new album, each 'era' is unique from the other and distinctly defined. a new 'era' for alex is not only a change of a haircut or a new pallette, it is a total revamping of his mannerisms and performance style and public image. be it mr. schwarz (the car era), mark (tbhc era) or oliver tate sr. (early sias era), each one of his personas is another way in which he represents the themes of that album. understanding a persona is integral to understanding the album.

and alex admits to as such. each Performer is a fractured reflection of his own self, and of the album.

but. but. i do not think that he has always made use of the Performer, or atleast, tried to make perceivable distinctions between them. in the first three-four years of his career- during WPSIATWIN and FWN, he presented as just Some Guy. just another normal bloke from sheffield. which, you could argue, was the persona that fit the context of those albums, but i would say that he was probably not putting that much thought into it at the time. it isn't until TAOTU that we see alex using his on-stage fashion to project a certain kind of image that ties in with the music he's playing. (do i think it's miles' handiwork? yes.). the lil suits and ties and beatles-mop cuts, y'know.

the first distinct Performer appears during the Humbug era. the soft-spoken, brooding, fawn-mannered poet who is probably hiding a bagful of secrets and hang-ups behind those layers of brown curls- let's call her him aly. then we have the bright-eyed, puppy-smiled, deep-voiced loverboy of the early SIAS era. i propose to call him oliver tate sr. (after the guy from submarine (2010) obviously). then mr. snarl- we'll get to him later. the loud and theatrical and slutty and deliciously gay EYCTE era persona. then the melancholic space poet mark of TBH&C and finally the suave auteur of The Car- mr. schwarz.

mr. snarl is the one who has garnered the most fascination and endured the most in popular imagination. dare i say, AM-era alex turner is a lowkey late 2010s pop culture icon. it is very easy to understand why- the quiff, the leather jackets, the perpetual sunglasses, the biker boots, the LA drawl tinging his sheffield accent, the devil-may-care wantoness. the girlies on tiktok and pinterest aren't obsessed with him for nothing.

so, what makes mr. snarl camp? what am i yapping on about?

let's get back to sontag.

camp is artificial. camp is ironic. mr. snarl is too. he is a character. he is a mask. *cue the bourne identity and body paint*. 'artificial' does not imply fake or dishonest. we should be careful not to be quick in putting any value judgement onto this artificiality- the aritifice is a quality of camp. you can't appreciate camp, if you snigger at the artificial.

2. camp is character. mr. snarl is a character if there ever was one. extremely defined, visually and behaviourally- you see a performance and can immediately recognise the moment mr. snarl is peeking through. he is also very intensely one thing- very intensely masculine, very intensely rockabilly, very intensely rock god. he is 'instant character' as sontag puts it, which is why perhaps he so immediately and so firmly gripped our collective imagination.

3. camp is exaggerated. camp is style. do i even need to elaborate on this? Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian said it much better than i could- alex ironically "played with the role" of being a rockstar but simultaneously "can't help but be a real rock star." so, to put it in sontagian terms, he is not a rockstar but a "rock star"

the 2014 brit awards speech is the peak of this ironic, exaggerated performance i think. (i'm still waiting for someone to do a drag performance based on it).

4. but to me, what makes mr. snarl camp is his performance of gender. now let's get one thing clear- camp is not effeminate or queer behaviour. it is the "spirit of extravagance", so any kind of extravagant and ironic presentation of gender can be under the purview of camp.

this performance of gender is not the david bowie or marc bolan or brian molko kind, no. this performance of gender is much subtle, much more nuanced- he wasn't playing around with rigid definitions of gender or crossing gender lines. he wasn't trying to say something with it necessarily. i doubt even, if it was a purposeful thing that he was thinking of back then.

but mr. snarl is a performance of gender. it is a performance of masculinity. and the thing that makes it so very interesting is that it was a cis, straight man doing it.

[if y'all are interested, another interesting example is dolly parton + her persona + her performance of exaggerated femininity. for more on that i'll point you towards be kind rewind's video essay on her.]

mr. snarl was an image of a very certain kind of masculinity. 1950s, elvis presley, rockabilly, greasers, james dean- these are some of the pop culture touchstones that come to mind when we think of mr. snarl. he is also decidedly american. a "fictional character from america" as alex later put it. was this whole persona thing an effort to conquer america then? perhaps...but eh. there is no way i can conclusively say that. it certainly helped that cause. AM the album was very us-american in essence-- it drew from hiphop and r&b after all. the soundscape of the arctic monkeys was very much rooted in its northern british indie roots, and AM was the first one that was clearly not. and mr. snarl was just a visual reflection of that. [for more on how the arctic monkeys conquered the us]

mr. snarl was a certain kind of masculine in a way alex turner personas haven't been previously or since. he has always presented as conventionally masculine. even the humbug persona- him being my girlfriend notwithstanding- is not much different from the aesthetics of say, ray davies or mick jagger or george harrison back in the 60s and 70s. the slightly effeminate dramaticism of eycte is not exactly gender-bending as such.

but mr. snarl was hypermasculine. masculinity has had an interesting place in his lyrics up until they- they are both critical ('brianstorm' 'a certain romance') and fascinated ('jeweller's hand' 'catapult') of more aggressive masculine characteristics. (he does use a lot of very sexual but not necessarily erotic language to describe said masculinity- but that's another can of worms.) mr. snarl was in a way, alex being those characters from those songs he was writing about. mr. snarl also very aggressively straight. straight with a capital s. his songs in AM still had the self-abasing and submissive undertones to the narrator that love songs from humbug and sias, but much toned down. he was out there shouting out his girlfriend on stage. and who can forget the "ladiessssssss!" moment. he had models hanging off him in photoshoots.

you probably saw these photos and thought- "what the fuck?!" with a cackle. that is exactly what makes mr. snarl camp. the irony, the ridiculousness of it all.

5. i don't think alex was trying to be or do camp. camp is best when it is not intentional. i can even confidently wager alex would not take it as a compliment if i showed him this essay. a lot of very "serious" people look down upon camp as something lowbrow and tacky and unserious. but it isn't. i would go ahead and classify mr. snarl under naive camp- he is trying to be straightlaced and serious, but failing grandly, which makes it deliciously camp.

so. mr. snarl was an exaggerated representation of masculinity. in a sense, mr. snarl was basically drag. alex turner being "Alex Turner".

#alex turner #arctic monkeys #the last shadow puppets #camp #susan sontag #i spent wayyyy to much time on this #journal of alex turner studies

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foolsocracy · 20 days

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Hi, hello, I’m new to your blog. I’ve made myself at home. Lovely carpet.

Can I please know more about your spider Robbie pie? Can’t seem to find the silverware.

but of course, kind anon

Spider Robbie is an au in which Robbie Robertson takes up the spider mantle after the death of the one before him. He is the third, following Ben Urich and, most notably, Peter Parker.

This au is very much canon divergence from Eyes Without a Face, where Peter makes it in time to save Robbie from his original fate but dies in the process. Peter is shot while rushing Robbie and the others out. In his panic and elation at finding Robbie physically unharmed, Peter outs himself as the Spider Man to his best friend. Robbie stays with him as he bleeds out and resolves to continue to hide Peter's identity.

Peter is buried and remains that way for... an undetermined amount of time.

Robbie is left with a mask, a jacket, and the question of just who was this other half of his friend. As he learns more of who this... Spider Man was, he gets more and more involved in the spider's cases and conflicts. Robbie gets more sure of his own abilities and makes a bit of a name for the Spider Man within his own community, though the people of Harlem are largely unaware that the appearances of a masked vigilante match the interests of one Robbie Robertson.

It is to be noted that none of these aforementioned abilities are spider-god-induced powers like Peter's. Robbie, especially at the beginning of his spidering career, leans more into Urich's role than Parker's. To me, Robbie has been passionate about the press and journalism in a way that Peter never was. For Pete, his job as a photographer and reporter was a job he took until he could get into college and study science. Robbie has a way with words and communication that Peter frankly lacks. Of course, that isn't to say that Robbie won't be kicking ass, because he will. It will just take him a bit of time to get some of those skills as he's, well, a normal guy. Not everyone can get their biology scrambled like Pete.

And just because Robbie hasn't been scrambled doesn't mean he's completely separate from all things supernatural either!

I think the marvel noir universe is at its best when there's a magical, supernatural undercurrent. This concept isn't super prevalent in the actual comics, but HoplesslyLost on ao3 has done some really cool world building with it.

I think in Robbie's case, where he would be the narrator, "magical realism" would be an interesting avenue to take it. I use this term in particular because I most closely relate it to Toni Morrison in my head, when I first learned about it through her work in high school. For Morrison, the concept was inseparable to blackness and I think for Robbie, where his blackness is so central to his character and his motivations, drawing on that could be more of a service to his character. It feels better to do that than ignore how incredibly racialized his society and story is. It will make his relationship with the spider god, Peter (who I will get to very very shortly), his community, and his own mythos as The Spider Man really interesting and complex.

So it's been established that Robbie doesn't have spider powers. And we all know that Peter did-- or should I say does. One of the spider god's abilities is to bring Peter back to life. She does this in the comics, but not in any of the runs from 2008-2010 (the runs that make up this au). When Peter dies on Ellis Island, he does not think he is coming back from that. Waking up again is a surprise.

Here's where I think the au really takes a left turn. Do I think the Spider God is purely evil and spiteful and has it out for Pete? No, not really. Will I be ramping said traits up to 11 for the au? Yeah, I guess I might. This is because I love a little bit of horror and the came back wrong trope. I will hopefully be fleshing the spider god out in the near future, but I really haven't given her the many hours of thought I have the other characters. For that I'm sorry spider god </3

Peter digs himself out of his grave, more spider than he ever has been. For much of his new, waking life he is more animalistic than not. There is clearly something wrong with him; his joints are too flexible and loose, he's got some eye-shine going on, his skin is pale and his veins are starkly dark beneath it. He's possessed. Someone is puppeteering him, someone who knows a lot-- almost everything about him, but it's clear that the someone isn't him.

And Peter--- the body, it can't be Peter. At least, that's what Robbie thinks when the figure catches his eye the first time. Because Peter is dead and buried, and he has been dead and buried for weeks.

#WOAH this is long #while still not saying much... mweh heh heh #other notes that i don't know how to add in w/out derailing the main vague explanation of the au:#the trio shifts from Peter & Robbie & MJ to Robbie & MJ & Gloria #robbie and his girl gang #and u all know me for my robbienoir shipping well.... Peter's romantic feelings for Robbie are a major point of some parts of this au #get possessed gay boy #Toni Morrison might be a bit out of left field here but I love her work so much and I actually listen to her interviews #to get a grasp on how I want robbie's language to flow. I am NOT eloquent but she has such a way w words when she just SPEAKS #her and the rapper Milo lol #i should give this a read through but im not. ill see all my mistakes tomorrow LOL #spider robbie au #spider noir #my art #peter benjamin parker #robbie robertson #ben urich #asks #anon #thanks for the ask!!!#hope you find your utensils alright

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stargazerlily7210 · 5 months

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Hello, and welcome to my TED Talk.

In this essay, I will demonstrate why I think Mrs. Flood is Susan Foreman (aka The Doctor's Granddaughter, aka The Unearthly Child, aka The Boss, aka The One Who Waits).

I know, I know. Not exactly the hottest take out there.

But buckle in, cause this goes deep.

Getting this out of the way first: I know this season has been billed as a bit of a fresh start (what with calling it Season 1, and all) and thus people are wary about assuming Mrs. Flood is a returning character. But let's be real. Just look at the 60th anniversary specials. Ya know, the massive 3 parter whose plot has set everything in motion for this next season.

They feature The 14th Doctor (aka The 10th Doctor revamped) with Donna Noble and her family (from the 2000's), Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (from the 2010's) who is both the current leader of UNIT (from Classic Who) and the daughter of The Brigadier: original leader of UNIT (throughout all of Classic Who), The Meep (from a Classic Who comic strip of all things) The Toymaker (Classic Who) and Mel (Classic Who).

And that's just the characters. Never mind the near constant references to both New and Classic Who.

They made it appealing and approachable to new viewers, sure. But they've already proven they're not actually interested in distancing themselves from the show's past.

So why do I think she's Susan, specifically?

Well, for starters, although the age of an actress doesn't really mean much in a 60 yr old time-travel show that's already had (MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVENT SEEN THE 11TH DOCTOR'S EPISODES!!) a parent-child dynamic where the daughter is not just played by an actress who's noticably older than the parents, but also canonically met the doctor first, despite her parents being the primary companions, (and each of them are played by both adult and child actors). But Anita Dobson is 74. Which would have made her 14/15 when the show started in 1963. Around the same age Susan Foreman is supposed to be/appear.

But again, that doesn't really mean anything in this show. So why else would I think she's Susan? And why do I think this means she's also The Boss mentioned by the Meep, AND The One Who Waits mentioned by The Toymaker?

Well, because I think it all falls into place with some of the big themes they've been pushing in the episodes so far, if she's Susan.

I mean, from what I know of Susan, she was a refugee from Galifrey, with her grandfather, The Doctor. As far as we know, he's her only family. He'd basically been raising her until she caught feelings for a human guy, so The Doctor decided she'd be better off staying on Earth. Effectively abandoning his very traumatized teenage granddaughter in 1960's London. It wasn't malicious, he was trying to do what's best for her. But he still left her there against her will and never came back for her.

So she's an orphaned teenage refugee, raised in a high-tech alien culture, stuck in the 1960's, with her first major crush as her primary confidant and caregiver. Let's be real. She'd have been deemed a mentally unstable minor, and at best institutionalized, at worst dissected/studied, in a heartbeat (or rather, two heartbeats (a surprise tool that'll help us later)).

So here we have a woman who's likely been drugged and tortured ("psychotherapy" in the 1960s, am I right?), gaslit, and desperately isolated for a significant portion of her life. With a massive list of reasons to both deeply resent and have seriously dissociated from The Doctor and the TARDIS.

And now we finally get to the new episodes:

The Meep says that creatures with two hearts are so rare that it can't wait to tell The Boss about The Doctor. So we have The Meep, who just happened to pick Earth to "crash land" on, answering to a nameless Boss who's on the lookout for 2 hearted creatures. Thus, we're looking for someone with both a connection to Earth and intimate knowledge of Timelord biology.

The Toymaker says even he didn't dare face The One Who Waits. Which says a lot, considering the importance and prevalence of people described as Waiting with a capitol W.

(MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE 10TH and 11TH DOCTOR'S EPISODES!!) Off the top of my head, I can think of Jack Harkness aka The Face of Boe who waited billions of years to see The Doctor again. We have Amy Pond aka The Girl Who Waited, and Rory Williams aka The Boy Who Waited. We even have Sara Jane Smith, who's first real conversation with the The Doctor after finding him again had her admitting she'd spent her whole adult life waiting for him to come back. So to be The One Who Waited, above and beyond all others? You'd have to have somehow waited more than the rest. And when you're already talking about Waiting upwards of 5 Billion years, that's tough to do. Unless you're looking at it from The Doctor's perspective. And the Granddaughter he'd abandoned 15 lifetimes ago would absolutely fit that bill.

So we have an individual who is intelligent/knowledgeable enough to be called The Boss by an alien kapable of mind control and space flight, who's searching for creatures with 2 hearts. Who's earned the title of The One Who Waits, above so many other candidates.

And we just so happen to meet a character who's being played by an actress the same age Susan should be.

Speaking of, we can finally look at Mrs. Flood herself. When I first watched the episode, it struck me just how angry she was at seeing the TARDIS. When it's far more normal to see people ignoring the thing. So her reaction is weird, both in general, and for a character the actress herself described as a friendly neighbor lady.

It's only after she's utterly shocked by the TARDIS disappearing in front of her that she starts acting different. As if seeing that unlocked her memories. From there on out, she's a different person who knows exactly what's going on. She even addresses the audience at the end and knows to call it a TARDIS. Which Susan of all people would know, as Susan claimed to have come up with the acronym herself, during her time with the 1st Doctor (whether that's technically canon or not, idk).

It's also worthy to note, that if you look at the houses during the scene where she's complaining about the TARDIS, you'll see that on the outside, her house, while the most extravagantly decorated outside, is noticably stark and empty inside, unlike each of the other houses where you can clearly see decorations through the windows. Not to mention, her door is the only one that looks like the TARDIS. The other doors are either the wrong shade, or style, or both. And her's is the only one that doesn't have stairs going to the second level. I don't know how much of this is just working within the confines of the location, and how much is intentional, or what it would mean, but we see enough wide shots of the house fronts, it seems potentially relevant.

So if Mrs. Flood is, in fact, Susan Foreman, she's exactly the right age, she'd have had more than enough reason to be triggered by the sight of the TARDIS, more than enough intelligence/knowledge to reach Boss status in her search for a rare two-hearted creature and being The Doctor's Granddaughter, could absolutely intimidate The Toymaker, and have more than enough claim to the title of The One Who Waited.

And if she turned out to be a future Big Bad, she would have the trauma, reasoning, skillset, and intelligence to truly challenge The Doctor and force him to deal with the repercussions of his habit of never stopping or looking back at his actions or mistakes.

We've never seen if Susan can regenerate as far as I'm aware, but we know she's a Timelord and significantly younger than The Doctor. So if she can, the actress has already suggested that Mrs. Flood will go through quite a transformation throughout future episodes. We might be seeing the birth of a new antagonist for a new generation of the show.

Honorable Mention: I feel like The Boss is right up there with The Doctor and The Master. And RTD would absolutely make The Boss a bada** boss babe.

Phew. That was a whole essay. If you've made it this far, congrats!! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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bones4thecats · 6 months

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If it's okay can I please ask for (romantic) Beelzebub Loki Poseidon and Apollo with kianna but how would they react to her being named Miss Alice because she Survived The Madness of Wonderland and the rest is up to you

So this is an aesthetic / mood board that a friend here on Tumblr made for me for my oc kianna

A/N: I used 2010’s Alice in Wonderland as a reference for this because it just made more sense since it was far more dangerous than Disney’s 1951 classic. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this!!

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🪰 He knew something was off when he first heard someone call you Alice instead of Y/N, but it set his brain really off when a white rabbit ran up to you and called you Alice

🪰 Why was a white rabbit here and speaking to you?

🪰 When the rabbit, whom you called Nivens McTwisp, looked at him and asked who this was, you just smiled and introduced him

🪰 It really made his eyes widen when a man with red hair bust out of a random hole and hugged you

“ My, my Miss Alice, you have gotten far more mature than the last time we met one another! “

🪰 Okay, wtf-

🪰 Beelzebub wanted an explanation immediately, and when he got it all from not just you, but the two visitors, he just sighed and nodded his head

🪰 He understood why you didn’t tell him, it could be quite traumatizing to go through what they said happened in that land called Wonderland

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🐍 Loki was just screwing around when a hole appeared below his and your floating forms

🐍 He held you behind him as a man crawled out, yelling the same thing over and over again

“ Are you sure Miss Alice is here? It seems so much more clean than her last home. “ “ That’s because when she came here the last time she was stuck in the woods! “ “ Will you two shut up?! “

🐍 Cue the eyebrow lifting while you chuckled at their antics

“ Miss Alice! “ “ Tarrant! “

🐍 Loki watched as you grabbed the three men and hugged them tightly, asking how Wonderland was

🐍 Okay, now he was questions

🐍 What was Wonderland? Why is there a talking rabbit? Who is this Tarrant and why is he touching you?!

🐍 You smiled and watched as Loki wrapped his arms around you protectively

🐍 Tarrant, Nivens, and Thackery smiled as the man wrapped his arms around you, being reminded on how much others could care for you, themselves included

🐍 Did he want to go to Wonderland? Yes. No doubt.

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

🔱 Poseidon starred as you hugged a large cat with a hat on

🔱 He was glaring at the animal when it hung off your shoulders, thankfully you could handle the weight of the larger feline

🔱 When the cat went invisible, he readied his trident, believing it was planning to attack

🔱 But when you just had him lower his weapon while letting out a deep sigh and calling out to this ‘Chessur’

🔱 Poseidon watched as you pet him on the head and handed the hat to a man that hung upside down from the tree above you

“ Hello there, Miss Alice, how is life treating you up here? “ “ Quite well, actually! This is my husband, Poseidon! “ “ Ooh! You’re a lucky man, Poseidon! Miss Alice here has survived Wonderland! Not many can say that~ “

🔱 Your husband looked at you as the man whom you called Tarrant grabbed his hat and adjusted it onto his head

🔱 Did he wonder what this Wonderland was? Yes. But did he really care to find out? No.

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

☀️ Apollo did not expect this

☀️ A hole appeared and a woman all white with a rabbit and cat had crawled out, speaking about seeing their ‘Miss Alice’ once again

☀️ He didn’t know about you past all to well, but he did understand you went through a lot of trauma, including murder and other stuff

☀️ You didn’t like falling from heights because of something, now he understood you must have fallen down that hole the trio came out of

“ Miss Alice, it is so nice to see you after so long. Oh! Who is this? “ “ Apollo, God of the Sun. Pleasure! “ “ A God! How impressive! “

☀️ You shook your head while smiling as Apollo pet Chessur’s head and Nivens asked him questions

☀️ Apollo had asked them questions on Wonderland, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to punish that Red Queen his own way

☀️ You had to hold him back from releasing the largest ray of sunlight into Wonderland

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brettsearpiercing · 2 months

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The Nearness of You

Connor DBH x reader fluff

another oldie, this time from 2022,, it was part of a longer piece that i scratched, but i ended up liking this little part of a chapter

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: 　　 :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

As you grew near to Connor’s apartment, you were greeted by the murmur of music through walls. It would appear one of your friend’s neighbors was discovering the pleasures of listening to old music, so as you knocked on the door number written on the little paper you were holding in your left hand (in your right one was a bag, hiding a housewarming gift), you hummed along with the melody of an old disney song.

After a second of waiting and some rustling behind the door, you could hear the lock click, and an adorably disheveled Connor appeared in front of you. His hair was a bit messier than usual, he had (not surprisingly) put on a white shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves (much to your delight), and slacks. He looked very good, to say the least.

“You look nice” was the first thing he said, voice barely a whisper, you almost didn’t hear him with the music next door. He then looked into your eyes, like he had just realized he wasn’t doing just that. “Hello! You didn’t need to bring a gift!” he said, but you could tell he couldn’t wait to open it, excitement apparent in his voice.

“Oh, please, it’s your first apartment! Besides, I know you’re gonna need one of these in here” you simply said.

“Alright, if you say so... I believe you.” he said with a smile. “Come in!”

The inside of the apartment was nice, a modest living room and open concept kitchen, ‘this was clearly built in the 2010s’. In the living room there was a small TV and a loveseat couch, a white coffee table and some big, nice windows served as doors to a balcony. The kitchen was fully equipped with a stove, a dishwasher and a fridge. You’d look up why an android’s house needs those appliances when you got home. Anyhow, it was, dare you say, nicer than your own apartment, but much less personal.

Like reading your mind, he said; “There are still some boxes to unpack, that’s why the decoration is so... nonexistent.”

“Oh, tell me about it. When I first moved in I had beach chairs instead of a couch. Honestly I spent more time on the floor than I’d like to admit.” He let out a small chuckle, you were still holding the bag. You were still holding the-! “Oh- here! Happy house! I mean, happy moving in? Happy life.” you said, a little flustered you had been holding the bag for so long. Connor stretched out his hand, hooking his fingers under the handles of the brown paper bag. As he looks inside, he can’t help but smile.

A little potted mint plant is sitting inside the bag. “I remember you liked it when you tasted the one in my garden, so I brought you a little sprout of mine,” you hesitated in your explanation, you weren’t sure why you were so bashful about remembering something he liked. It was a sweet, friendly gesture! He had nothing to read into, even if you wanted him to.

“It’s lovely, thank you.” It was the first time you had heard him use the word ‘lovely’ to describe something, and it made you feel proud he used it describing something you gave him.“I think it was the first thing I ever actually tasted, so this is really...” he looks at you and you spot what you hope is fondness peaking in his mechanic eyes. “Nice. Thank you.” he then carefully takes the plant and places it next to the couch, facing the window.

“It’s nothing. All apartments need some green in them. Maybe I’ll get you some basil next.”

“Oh, thank you, but one gift is enough. I’ve only moved in!” he chuckles, “though your offer is quite kind.” he looks at you for a moment, pensive, then speaks again. “I guess that’s just a ‘you’ thing, isn’t it?”

“Oh.” the gasp is barely a whisper, and it leaves your mouth quickly, but that doesn’t mean it goes unnoticed.

“I’m sorry, did I overstep?” Connor worries. Actually, Connor worries a lot, specially when it’s about interactions with you. He can’t put his finger on why it pains him so much to see you frown at something he says. He is worried now, yet you’re not frowning. Quite the opposite, actually. Your eyebrows are shot up, like if they could pop out of your face and go up to the ceiling, they would. Your heartbeat is also going faster, and blood is rushing to your cheeks. When you don’t answer, he says your name in a tone that screams ‘nervous as all fuck’.

“Yes?”

“I...” his voice caught in his throat (in the most figurative way possible). Why wasn’t he saying anything!? The music coming from his neighbor’s house wasn’t allowing him to think correctly, his thoughts and the words from the song intertwining and confusing him.

“I like this song,” you quipped, trying to help dissipate the frown crawling subconsciously onto his face. “Ella Fitzgerald is really talented... Don’t you have this record?”

“Yes, actually.” happy at a question he can answer easily, he smiles softly, the frown still adorning his features, though less intensely now, “It’s in one of the boxes for now, though.”

“Ah, I see. Well, it’s still super nice that you have it. You lucked out, really.” he notices you swaying in time with the music.

He starts swaying with the music as well, a smooth trumpet solo paving the way for his steps, getting closer to you. He’s nervous, yet you’re not able to tell. He hopes you’re not able to. He’d be mortified.

"Care to dance?"

“Of course,” you smile at him, “I love a good dance partner” you wink, only half-joking. Your heart rate goes up again and that goddamned blush animation makes its way up his neck.

You hold out your hand to him, and he takes it. Your skin is soft and pliable under his hard plasteel cover. As you raise your hand to eye level to move into a more adequate dancing position, you notice something about Connor’s hand he’s oblivious about: it’s turning white.

“Whoa.” He’s too busy at first, looking at your astonished expression with amusement. Then he wonders about what you’re looking at, and follows your stare to find that (oh no!) he’s trying to interface with you, even though he knows you’re not capable of reciprocating. How... humiliating. Just in time, the music stops as the song comes to an end.

Silence.

Looks like the neighbors decided to finally go to sleep.

There’s a moment in which you look into each other’s eyes, and you can see a hint of terror in your friend’s eyes. You hope he sees tranquility in yours, yet he only finds pity.

‘Oh, poor little thing, it’s trying so hard.’ Yet the rational part of him stops him from spiraling down. No, you wouldn’t call him an ‘it’ before the revolution, he doesn’t think you’d do it now. Yet the pity is still apparent to him.

Only him, though.

“I am so sorry-” he looks away suddenly, and tries to get his fucking hand away from you(‘ohmygodthisisawful') yet you interlace your fingers and he stops trying to pull away when he feels resistance. It’s his turn to watch, shocked, as your human knuckles press between his man-made ones.

“Are you... trying to interface with me?”--a painfully obvious question he forces himself to answer.

“Yes. I’m sorry if this is inconvenient.”

“No, it’s... it’s fine. I just thought this was like, I don’t know, super personal for you guys.”

“It is. Again, sorry if it’s-”

“No. Don’t be dumb, you don’t have to apologize for... whatever this means.”

‘It means I like you a lot. Please realize that already.’

“Alright, then. I don’t quite know what it means either. I’m just as confused as you are.” he lies.

You stay silent.

“Connie?” he can feel his software searching for what he’s trying to connect to, and the feeling intensifies when he hears the nickname you’ve given him, “ I think... Just, going by what I’ve heard...” he must be dreaming again, “I think this means you like me.” That, or he’s hallucinating.

“It’s-” his audio generator lags, “It’s more than that.” he’s lucky he isn’t able to vomit, because he’s sure he’d be spilling his guts right about now with how nervous he is.

“Oh?” his skin keeps retracting and now his whole forearm is white. He’s partially sure it’s because of the way you’re looking at him. “So, what you’re trying to say with this” you gesture to his forearm with your other hand “is... you really like me?”

“More or less, yes-”

“Y’know humans have our way of saying that too?” He can’t form one coherent though with what little time there is between you saying this and you touching his face softly. As you lean forward you search for hesitation on his features, but since you don’t find anything except yearning, you don’t need any more encouragement to close the distance between you.

#connor dbh #dbh rk800 #connor x reader #dbh fanfic

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onestepbackwards · 2 years

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Hello! can I ask for a follow-up to your self aware au on ingo and emmet in which they cheer the sad reader who has had a long and heavy working week. maybe one where the reader discovers that the train twins have become self aware or where the two come out of the 3ds. Bonus points if you write both situations

Hello Anon! I wrote them mentioning their awareness, but ended up not writing them coming out of the DS, sorry about that! It was a bit hard to write this one. Still, I hope you enjoy! CW: Self aware characters, slight obsessive characters if you squint. Word Count: 3426 words!

Something odd had been happening to you as of late. A lot of odd things. It started a few days ago, after you had come home from a bad day at work. The week so far hadn’t been great, and that day specifically had been rather… shit, if you were being honest. One of the first things you had done, much like you had every day earlier this week, was curl up, and play Pokemon Black 2. But something had happened that day. You had received a call from Ingo and Emmet in the game, which you knew was not originally possible. You would have heard about that online with the resurgence of submas content. You had even been able to respond to them with the keypad in game, and they responded, asking if you would like to ‘hang out’ with them. After that, they followed your little character sprite around in the overworld. Occasionally little chat bubbles appeared above their head, and you could go into 3v3 battles with them. That was definitely not in the original game. Ingo and Emmet never left Gear Station after their initial battle in Nimbasa. Nor should they be able to follow you around for 3v3 battles. You would have certainly seen something about that online, or at least seen gifs about it. At the time, you had wondered if you had a hacked copy, but it made no sense. Your parents had bought a retail copy, and you doubt they would have gone to the effort of repackaging a DS game just to lie to you about it. If it had been used, they would have just told you. You had also lent the game to someone for a month to play on your profile, to see if they enjoyed the gameplay. That friend had no idea how to hack game cartridges, and it would have been an impressive hack for only one month of work in the early 2010’s. However, you didn’t really care to think about this. Because if you were being honest… It made you happy. Having both Ingo and Emmet talk to you, and have fun battles with you was a dream come true. After the day you had, you were willing to ignore all oddities about it, and enjoy yourself. It had been a few days since then. When you had woken up the day after, you had immediately wondered if everything that had happened had been a fever dream. Maybe you had forgotten to eat, and went to bed straight away? Your brain simply making you think of Pokemon, and what you wanted to happen. But… You knew it wasn’t a dream. Your dreams were never that realistic. That, and the food you had eaten while playing the game was gone, the remains in the trash were even still there. It hadn’t been a dream. That left you with a lot of questions, and not many answers. If everything that happened that evening had been real, then why? How? Questions flowed through your mind, and you couldn’t help but feel… hesitant. If everything that had happened was as real as you remembered, then why your game? Did your game just allow Ingo and Emmet to talk and interact with you? The only logical thing you can think of is modifications, but again, you know that was not possible. You hated to admit it, but you didn’t touch your DS the rest of that day. As much as you were curious, you weren’t entirely sure you could handle what you might see. Though, you couldn’t help but feel guilty about it when you had gone to bed that night. It’s not like the game did anything wrong, but you weren’t sure where to go from here. Your curiosity would eventually win out though. That, and the stress from your job. Pokemon has become a part of your routine for destressing. You were beginning to miss playing it after work, especially since your job hadn’t lightened up any since last week. Which led you to these past few days. You eventually gave in to your curiosity, and your desire to play more. Opening your DS and turning on the game, everything seemed normal. When you loaded in, you were exactly where you had last been before closing the game. For a moment, you could only stare. Everything seemed normal, you could already feel doubt seeping into your chest. Deciding to walk around a little bit, you began to move through some nearby grass, and entered an encounter. Those seemed normal too. No 3v3 battles with pokemon that had levels scaled to your own. It was just… normal. Hesitantly, you played a while, battling pokemon, and attempting to catch a few you didn’t have yet. You at least wanted to pretend to be productive. Though you couldn’t help but have your thoughts wander to Gear Station. Should you go check on them? Ingo and Emmet? You honestly couldn’t help but feel a bit… guilty that you haven’t. They lifted your mood so well the other night, and you left. Didn’t even return for a few days to say thank you. That is, if they could even be thanked in the first place. You had fought with yourself a bit, before going back to Nimbasa. It wouldn’t hurt to check on them at least, and maybe get some answers? If nothing happened, well, you could at least challenge the subway again like you usually do. Though you were surprised when you saw both the twins sprites in the hub of Gear Station. Like before, when both noticed you, a small ‘!’ appeared over their heads when you entered. Eagerly, they both approached your character, and pulled you into a conversation. “Greetings! It’s good to see you again!” Ingo spoke, his sprite on your left, while Emmet’s stopped to your right. “Yup! Verrry good to see you in fact. We were getting worried after you left for a few days.” Emmet followed up. You almost couldn’t believe your eyes. Again, you were sure this wasn’t normal for either version of this game. But deep down, you already knew that. Idly, your mind began to wander for a moment. If they were here, interacting with you like this, would they want to do battles like before? Before you could dwell on it, you continued the conversation. You were almost surprised, and a bit excited. “What would you like to do today? Are you here to challenge the subway?” Ingo asked you, and Emmet’s sprite cutely bounced in place. “Oh! Or would you like us to join you again?” He asked. If you didn’t know any better, you would almost say he was excited. Well, as excited as a sprite on a screen could be. But you couldn’t help but get excited yourself, your heart pounding in your chest. It hadn’t been a dream at all! That night, it all had been real! You agreed to let them travel with you again, and battle with you. It had just been like that one night. They both followed your character around, and joined you for battling. Just like before, the pokemon seemed to scale to your own, and you would even see pokemon you haven't caught yet. It was great at first. Amazing even!

But once again, you had more questions than answers. For starters, something Emmet had said continued to ring in your head. He had said something along the lines of being worried when you hadn’t appeared for a few days. You were aware the game used your clock in your DS, but you didn’t think most characters kept track of the time like that. Other little things happened afterwards. They would talk as if they were watching you, ask you about your day, and they would remember things you told them. Both of them seemed to recall you talking about your job, and would briefly ask about it every so often. Sometimes even asking if they treated you well. Or they would ask about your favorite meal, or your favorite snacks. You were a bit suspicious, and only one idea really seemed plausible at this point, even if it sounded crazy. Ingo and Emmet somehow seemed almost… aware. You didn’t want to believe it, but you couldn’t think of any other way they were like this, than a hacked copy of your game, and that was impossible. It seemed though your suspicions were right on the money, because not long after you had come to terms with the possibility, they called you in game. You had just started playing for the day. It had been another rough one, and you were ready just to get home and play. Your twins, regardless if they were aware or not, always seemed to bring a smile to your face. As soon as you loaded in, your character got a call. Your character immediately answered, and the familiar sprites of Ingo and Emmet appeared on your screen. Something you still weren’t quite used to. “Greetings! How are you doing? We hope we aren’t bothering you!” Ingo’s sprite moved. You couldn’t help but still be transfixed on them. “Yup! We have something we wish to discuss.” Emmet followed up. The idea itself intrigued you. What could they want? It couldn’t be wanting to hang out with you like last time, they would have just gotten straight to the point. So what could it be? They went silent for a moment, their speech box empty as they stared at you. After a few seconds, Emmet finally spoke. “We know this is a game. We aren’t real in your world.” You were a bit taken aback from how blunt he was. Eyes wide, you found it hard to speak. “Pardon?” You dumbly asked out loud out of instinct. It didn’t occur to you they probably wouldn’t hear you until after you spoke, and yet… “Our world is a game. We have… Become sentient within it, if you will.” Ingo tried to explain, and you owlishly blinked at his response. They could hear you?! You felt like your brain had bluescreened, and yet, it felt like it was about to overload. Thankfully, both patiently waited for you to process this information. “I… um…” You tried to speak. You were almost at a loss for words. “Well… It explains a lot…” You finally managed to speak. Emmet seemed to laugh. “Sorry if we’ve upset you with this knowledge-” Ingo began, though you shook your head. “No, I…” You began, and scrunched your face up trying to think of what to say. “It’s just weird, having that confirmed…? I… Don’t know how to react, if I’m being honest…” What else could you say? If anything, you kinda felt like you were in shock. Shouldn’t you be jumping for joy? Squealing in happiness at your favorite characters being aware of you? Both brothers tilted their heads. If your mind wasn’t overloaded with information, you might’ve called it cute. Though a thought did roll through your head. Did they hate you? Sure, it wasn’t your fault they existed in the game, but… You were the player. You had free will, while they were stuck inside. Noticing the look on your face, Emmet spoke up. “Are you alright? You seem upset.” You blinked at how easy he seemed to read you. “Oh, no I just… Are you upset with me? I’m sorry…” you began, feeling something besides shock. Panic. You couldn’t help but begin to apologize! Both seemed surprised, and were quick to interrupt you. “No, not at all! We aren’t upset in the slightest!” Ingo quickly cut in, his call sprite’s arms moving to grab your attention. You felt the ball of anxiety building in you deflate a bit. They weren’t mad? “We… Care for you quite a bit. We know you didn’t mean for this to happen, nor would it have been your fault. We aren’t upset with you, we promise!” Ingo reassured you. Emmet nodded. “I am Emmet. We could never hate you.” Both their words made it finally sink in. Ingo and Emmet were aware they were in a video game, and presumably, they were the ones messing with everything in it. That, and they cared about you. They cared about you. Your chest felt rather warm at the realization. Ingo and Emmet shared a look on screen while you were distracted. They weren’t lying when they were reassuring you. They cared about you, more than you could realize. You were so kind to them, before they decided to even tell you about their awareness. They cared about you a lot, and wanted you to be happy. Especially since you had been having more bad days than good ones as of late. You were so cute, and incredibly sweet… They had to do something. So, they modified the code. It was quite easy. Perhaps since they lived and breathed the code, it had been ridiculously simple. Both did it, all to see you smile. And they would do it again. It’s part of the reason they decided to reveal their awareness to you. They had been toeing the boundary, so to speak. You weren’t oblivious either. Both noticed the puzzled looks on your face you would get every now and again when they did something that shouldn’t be possible. Ingo and Emmet were growing a bit impatient though, and a bit anxious. They enjoyed hanging out with you, very much so! But they could only do so for so long, and so much. However, if you knew they were aware… Maybe you would be willing to keep the DS on, and let them hang out with you more? Plus, you always seemed so happy when they talked with you… They couldn’t help but yearn to see your happy face more often. You were a comfort for them in this false world of theirs. You breathed life into their lives. Your reaction wasn’t exactly what they had expected, but then again, it was sort of a hard pill to swallow. Even if you had suspected it, coming to terms the two video game characters you were talking to were actually aware they were fictional was probably a lot to take in. Though it almost made their hearts burst when you appeared to be worried that they could be mad at you. It was nonsense, really. They could never hate you, or be mad at you simply for existing, and playing a game. This wasn’t your fault. Like mentioned before, they cared for you greatly. You were a light in their lives, ever since the dawning realization came crashing down. You made things interesting, and gave them a reason to keep going. You made them want to fight the code that binds them. Not because they hated it, but because they wanted to interact with you. But after they cleared up any possible misconceptions, you seemed to be excited! Though, you seemed at odds on what to do now. So, they offered a brief solution. “Keep us with you!” “Huh?” Ingo made a motion of clearing his throat. “If it’s not too much trouble… We are inside a DS game, correct? If possible, you could take us with you, wherever you go.” In an instant, your face lit up once you understood what he was saying. You could take them with you! Sure, you couldn’t play the game while working, but you certainly could on breaks and such. No doubt seeing both would make your day, especially with how your bosses have been treating you as of late. “I like that idea.” Both lit up at your words. They could hang out with you all day now! Well, most of the day, apparently. Of course, when you explained your work it made sense you couldn’t keep them with you all the time, though they certainly wish they could help. Both of them understand the importance of work! Though you laughed at their words. “Nah, my manager is just a hardass. Do anything but work, and she will complain and write you up. Can’t even stand still behind a register with no customers without her mouthing off at someone.” That… Didn’t help their perception of your job. They already knew you didn’t like it. Both were beginning to see why. You talked with them for the rest of the evening, and even played some more with them, much for their delight. When you had to head to bed, they had a cute request. “If it isn’t too much trouble… Could you leave the DS on?” Ingo suddenly asked as you went to save the game. You paused for a moment. It was almost kind of sweet, in an odd way, for them to request that. You supposed it would make sense. They probably didn’t want to deal with their world, if they can see yours. Or something like that. They hadn’t exactly explained what happens when you turn the game off or close the DS. It probably wasn’t pleasant. “Yeah, I can do that.” Unknownst to you, they just wanted to be closer. Sure, their world ‘goes back to normal’ when you close the system, or turn the game off. But they hadn’t really liked that world anymore, knowing it was fake. It hurt, and it was a bit scary. All their friends, family, and pokemon were all fake. They were fake. Both twins at least had the comfort of knowing their brother was aware, just like them. So seeing you, and seeing your world? It brought them comfort, knowing they were so close to the real thing.

Of course, there was more to it than that. When you had gone to bed, you did as you promised, keeping the DS on nearby on a table near your bed. You simply turned the brightness and volume down, and had it facing away from you as you slept. When the two were sure you were asleep, they began to act. The code of their world was tricky. It took them forever just to code in the triple battles they had with you, and to even make their own call and triple battle sprites. It was even harder to mess with when the DS was off. The code was much easier to see when the game was running. However, it was harder to test things without you noticing, especially with potential game crashes. They had one goal. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. They had several. Their main one, however, was rather simple. Get to your world. They wanted to be with you, be close with you. Both of them had heard you, before they told you of their awareness. How you would call them cute, or talk about how much you loved them. It made their digital hearts throb, yearning for you. You were real, and you loved them. They decided not to mention that little fact, that they had overheard you say those things. They didn’t want to embarrass you! But they needed to get to your world, as soon as they could. Both dreamt of holding you, comforting you. They wished to take care of you, help you after a long day's work. Hell, with their access to pearls and gold, they potentially could even help you quit your job, if those items had value in your world! The idea of being the ones to support you in your own world is nearly enough to send them over the moon. You already work so hard, and were kind enough to hear them out. They want to take care of you and support you! Ingo and Emmet realize they probably can’t get a job easily either in your world, seeing as they are fictional characters. Both imagine it would be rather… difficult to get an ID of sorts just to get a job. So, items it was.

But hey, both believed it could work! Another thing they really wanted though, was just to see you happy. Your smile meant the world to them, and you always seemed to smile when they played with you. If they could join your world, they hoped they could help you smile more, and be happy. They firmly believed you deserved it. Both shared a look while you slept, delving into the code of your system. Despite it all, they had a lot of work to do. But you would be worth it. Anything to be with you, and to see you smile once more.

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polwigle · 4 months

Text

hello and welcome to another episode of Shi Has Strong Opinions on Niche Canon with Citable Sources, this time focusing on something that technically isn't canon one way or the other — my preferred fan-transliterated name for Raven's hometown in Tales of Vesperia, which is never referred to by name in any officially translated material.

anyway it's spelled Pharihyde and in this essay I will die on this hill

Context

In case you clicked the read-more with no stake in this game just because you want to see me being pedantic, let me recap the relevant facts of the argument:

Raven's backstory is never fully explained in the base game, but it was elaborated on in official side materials. The same story, titled 虚空の仮面 (Kokuu no Kamen, commonly translated as Empty Mask), was released in multiple formats: light novel[1], manga[2], and drama CD[3]. None of these have ever been officially translated, but fans have made their own attempts at each over the years.

The town in question here does not appear in the original game, due to having been obliterated during the prequel events. It's also never mentioned by name in the drama CD, leaving only two sources for a name: the light novel and the manga.

Officially, it is named ファリハイド (Farihaido).

The first translation the English-speaking fandom ever saw of any Kokuu no Kamen material was when one fan (whose identity was regrettably lost to time) took a stab at summarizing the light novels, not long after they were first published back in 2010. This fan transliterated the town's name as Pharihyde.

Tumblr user dokidokimaster was commissioned to finally translate the manga in 2015. In this translation, the town was spelled Farryheid.

By the time the manga was being translated, the web page that hosted the light novel summary had tragically gone down. Luckily, I was active enough in the fandom at the time to have had the link to the light novel bookmarked, so I was able to find an archive via the blessed Wayback Machine, but I can't fault dokidokimaster for the inconsistencies.

tl;dr of section: OG town name is ファリハイド; LN calls it Pharihyde; manga calls it Farryheid. Rest of essay is about why me preferring the name that came first isn't just me being a cranky fandom elder I swear

It's About The World It's In

In the world of Terca Lumireis, on the continent of Ilyccia, somewhere far from the capital city, Zaphias, there was once a town called... Farryheid? No, Pharihyde. The latter fits better with the precedents set by the official names around it, and I will literally break it down letter by differing letter to prove it!

'Ph' vs 'F'

Among officially transliterated locations and other "made-up" names in Tales of Vesperia, there are 3 that include 'ph' to represent an 'f' sound (Zaphias, Zopheir, Phaeroh). Only a single name uses an actual 'f' for that sound (Ghasfarost), and it also still has an 'h' as the second letter in the word.

Single vs. Double 'R'

After a ctrl+F pass through the entire list of location names in this game[4], not a single one contains the substring 'rr'. Only one R at a time in Terca Lumireis!

Vowel Choice and Lexical Stress

So, English has this neat little feature where some syllables in a word get more emphasis than others! And that plays heavily into this section, because 'i' and 'y' can sound identical when using 'y' as a vowel, but the existing place names stress them differently.

Now, as the Drama CD doesn't give us a spoken example of ファリハイド to work from (and Japanese doesn't do stress the way English does anyway), where the stress goes in either "Pharihyde" or "Farryheid" is technically unconfirmed... But my default reading is with primary stress on the first syllable, and secondary stress on the last (FAR-ee-hide).

In the precedent-setting place names, based on the English dub of the 360 version*, a lone 'i' is seen unstressed in at least 16 distinct names, including the ones I referenced in my intro scene-setting sentence (ZA-phi-as, TER-ca LU-mi-reis). To my knowledge, lone 'i' is never pronounced with stress in dialogue (and potentially appears only once, in the plot-irrelevant Niffel Lake).

In contrast, whenever 'y' is used as any kind of vowel, it always gets at least secondary stress, as in Hypionia (high-pee-O-nee-ah) and Rhybgaro (RIB-ga-ro). Thus, "Pharihyde" using an 'i' for the middle vowel and a 'y' for the last one lines up with established precedent.

Also, the double vowel 'ei' is consistently and exclusively used to represent an 'ay' sound, as in "day", not as in "hide"! Deidon Hold, Keiv Moc, and again Zopheir and Terca Lumireis — none of these 'ei's sound the way "Farryheid" wants you to pronounce it!

Silent 'e'

I did say I'd break down every different letter between "Pharihyde" and "Farryheid", but this last one's not for flavour, it's just to get the 'y' to act as the right kind of vowel sound. Just a normal feature of English pronunciation rules here (though not entirely without precedent: Halure, Relewiese, Laulyse). Sorry to go out with a whimper ^^;;

Conclusion

The base content of Tales of Vesperia sets up some implied rules about how its made-up-for-the-game words function. "Farryheid" may be a perfectly reasonable transliteration of ファリハイド in a vacuum, but "Pharihyde" follows the rules of the setting, literally to the letter!

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

*Footnote about the pronunciation thing: the new voice lines added in the Definitive Edition of the game pronounce some place names inconsistently. I can only assume that by the time they recorded the new lines, a decade after the original ones, they forgot how some pronunciations worked and didn't check their old work... :/

References

(bc it's not an essay without citations!)

[1] Light novel summary (archived): https://web.archive.org/web/20110806003312/http://www.fancomic.com:80/vesperia/resources/raven/emptymask.htm [2] Manga translation: https://dokidokimaster.tumblr.com/tagged/kokuu+no+kamen/chrono [3] Drama CD translation, for completion's sake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHEDJ_D4tyI [4] List of in-game place names: https://hyouta.com/vesperia/?version=pc&locale=eng&compare=2&section=locations

#tales of #tov #tales of vesperia #kokuu no kamen #epic length ramble #shout-out to magicmetslogic for suggesting i post this here #instead of just making a discord thread about it

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age-of-moonknight · 2 months

Note

Thank you for pointing us towards the Moon Knight vs Shroud issue in your tags. Much appreciated! I'd be curious if you have any other information on the Shroud and any other times he and Moon Knight have crossed paths. Besides his appearance in the Avengers Unlimited arc, I am not terribly familiar with the character. Thank you again for all you do - I look forward to your commentary on the new release every month.

Hello!!! Thank you for submitting an ask as it’s always great to hear from you! :D Unfortunately, I wouldn’t consider myself a Shroud expert (although I would be fascinated to meet anyone who does???), with most of my experience with the Shroud coming from brief encounters with other characters while reading through their comics.

What I do know is Maximillian Coleridge has a rather Batman-like origin (common criminals gunned his rich parents down in front of him and he consequently dedicated his life to fighting crime), but instead of learning from the League of Assassins, Max threw in with the Cult of Kali. The graduation for that group however involves getting a forehead mark that grants extrasensory perception at the expense of one’s eyesight. The cult booted Max out after that and he seems to have spent most of his career since on the darker side of gray, with one of his first plans to make a name for himself as a hero, for example, being to just straight up assassinate Doctor Doom (oh and he also has his own means of shadow travel, make of that what you will). One reoccurring theme for him seems to be getting involved with criminal or villainous organizations to subtlety manipulate them into doing good. That brings us to how him and Marc meet, by the way! In Solo Avengers (Vol. 1/1987), #3, Max is leading a villain group called the Night Shift and sets up a test of combat to show that Marc should be the group’s leader (although he fails to tell Marc this until only after Marc has thoroughly trounced him and nearly smothered Max with his own shroud).

Looks like Marc called in what he owed as Max then helped Moon Knight wrangle Taurus for the West Coast Avengers in West Coast Avengers (Vol. 2/1985), #29.

Since then, they haven’t interacted much! They were in the same Heroes for Hire network in Heroes for Hire (Vol. 3/2010), but I haven’t found any instances of them interacting on-panel there. Also, as you mentioned, they had a brief team-up in the Avengers Unlimited infinity comic (issues #33-36 specifically for anyone curious), but while friendly, it was a pretty utilitarian team-up that focused mainly on Jessica Drew and Moon Knight and the Shroud only had the most surface-level interaction.

But I guess that first meeting really had an impact on Max (I mean, me too, but wow)! Again, I’m no character expert, but it seems that Max tends to cycle through periods of great violence and/or mental/emotional volatility (his wiki page straight up calls him a sociopath which….hmmmm….), so while I have very little faith that that was handled with any care in past comics, I look forward to seeing what Mr. MacKay might do with his character.

Fun fact: Max was however in the Bar With No Name when Mr. Knight strode right in and made one of my favorite proclamations of all time in Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #7.

#Knight Mail #Thanks again for sending in an ask #always a pleasure to see you pop up in my notifications and it makes me unspeakably happy that you enjoy this blog!!!#quick aside: I so wish April Fool’s had come a day later because then I would have had the chance to do the funniest thing #i.e. pretend that I was abandoning Moon Knight comics to instead focus solely on The Shroud

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cock-holliday · 7 months

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I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it that every single administration from top to bottom who conflates pro-Palestinian stances with being akin to nazis has done fuck all about nazis for the past ten years. (And much longer.)

I got into antifascist research in the early 2010s, and in 2015 had watched everyone insist that concerns about white supremacist and nazi escalation was “fear-mongering,” “unfounded” and used “too-strong” of language. Anyone who existed in early 2000s spaces familiar with words like feminazi can point out how ludicrous it is to suggest that the rapid appearance of nazi iconography moving from early 2000s “ironic” usage to being used with intent—recruiting, propaganda, manifestos—is a misuse of the word “nazi.”

It was “the far right” “the alt right” “ultra-conservative.” Everything to avoid calling it what it was.

*I* was late to the party and still Unite The Right was everything we had been raising the alarm about. Charlottesville was the first big thing that for me said, oh shit, we really really were right—I wish we weren’t right.

And STILL after Unite The Right, it was suppression! “Free Speech Rallies” hosting genocide deniers, ethnic cleansing advocates, sonnenrad-carrying, wolfsangel-tattoed, swastika-armband-wearing NAZIS! And it was “well, technically—“

Nazis fired guns at people in Charlottesville too. Nazis jumped people in car parks. The rise of the Proud Boys—now calling themselves in telegram circles The Proud Goys (hello??? Hello???? Is this thing on???) are still just “fringe extremists” at best and still “alt-right” at worst.

*I* have been screaming about this for a decade, *I* was one of the newest members of my groups for years—I AM LATE TO THE PARTY!

And then to watch the rapid mobilization of everyone who wouldn’t lift a fucking finger to google nazi student applicants, who refused to cancel nazi speakers, who went after students protecting themselves from nazis, who framed any info campaigns about student nazis as “harassment”, who allowed nazi marches, who protected nazis and wined and dined with nazis…and then insist going after Palestinian student groups is to protect Jews?

Fuck yourselves.

“We Protect Us” is a battle cry because administrators have never been on our side when it came to protecting communities from nazis. The audacity of these people to now pretend to care is appalling, but I am imploring people who don’t know any better to wake the fuck up, we have been saying and saying and saying that they do not care. Do not suck your college’s dick, or the president’s dick, or your favorite mayor who sent cops after us’s dick—they are not on our side about this.

#90% of antifash research is history and compiling things other people already said #then 10% is where are they now #all MY work is built off countless people who said it before I did #and YEARS afer I put out my stuff people are still like ‘this is news to me’#this is what I’m telling you!#so much effort goes into preserving a legacy of fighting that is continuously being suppressed and erased!#the level of safety we enjoy from nazis NOW is not because they haven’t been here #it’s because people have been keeping them at bay #no thanks to colleges and politicians and orgs

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scarlet--wiccan · 1 year

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Hello! I was wondering, what would you classify as the outfits defining the different eras of Wanda? Like her first, classic, Wada, and Dauterman outfits.

Well, I think you've kinda answered your own question. Wanda's had lots of costumes, but her most iconic ones can usually be attributed a specific artist's work on a specific book. She didn't really start changing up her look until the 90s, but I would say that her most iconic outfits, outside of the classic one, really are the Pérez dancer costume from Avengers (1998), and Kevin Wada's design from Scarlet Witch (2016). A lot of her other looks are more short lived, or just not well-remembered. The new one's made a big splash, but it's too soon to say what kind of staying power it'll have.

Some of those short-lived looks are actually my favorites, though, so I want to do a brief history of Wanda's costumes. This is only going to be from the main Earth-616 continuity, and, full disclosure, I'm cribbing most of these images from uncannyxmen.net's costume gallery.

The classic Scarlet Witch costume has had several variations over the years. She consistently wears some version of this outfit from the 60s through to the 90s, but there were often changes to the style and cut of her garments. She wore a wimple-like headpiece in her early appearances, and traded it in for the now-iconic M-shaped diadem in Avengers #36, published 1966. She also went through a few maternity versions of her costume during her pregnancy in Vision & The Scarlet Witch (1985).

Wanda's first major costume changes were actually the result of possession or mental manipulation-- when possessed by Chthon, Wanda takes on a ghastly appearance and her clothing transforms into a dark red bodysuit with a tattered cape, sans headpiece. [Avengers #186] Later, while under Immortus's influence, Wanda cuts her hair short, ditches the headpiece again, and dons a red-and-black costume with a dramatic purple cape. [Avengers West Coast #55]

Wanda began changing her look more frequently in the 90s. During the late run of Avengers West Coast through Force Works, she wore a red dress over a black one-piece, with a necklace, gloves, and boots-- no headpiece. This is the first real costume change that she made of her own volition. She also had a brief-lived costume which first appeared in The Crossing, that drew more inspiration from the magical characters in Doctor Strange.*

The Pérez design first appeared in the opening storyline of Avengers (1998). In an alternate reality conjured by Morgan le Fay, Wanda and Pietro both appear as sterotypical "gypsies." Wanda later adapted her her outfit from this world in a contemporary costume. This was intended as an earnest representation of Wanda's cultural identity, but it fell quite short of the mark. Alan Davis later designed a more conventional superhero suit combining many of the same elements, without being an ethnic costume.*

In the early 2000s, Wanda debuted a set of red body armor with that combined fantasy aesthetics with a superhero silhouette*. This what she's wearing during Disassembled, but it's not well-remembered, perhaps because of the understated color palette. Wanda returned in Children's Crusade wearing a slightly updated version of the classic costume, with a halterless one-piece and cowl-neck cloak. I think this is the version most people refer to when they draw her classic suit, so to that end, it might be the most iconic.

Wanda had another rapid succession of costume changes in the 2010s, starting with the knee-length red dress with built-in gloves she debuted in Uncanny Avengers (2013).* In the Uncanny Avengers 2015 miniseries, she and Pietro both donned new, but very short lived, futuristic costumes for a brief adventure into outer space.

Then, in late 2015, Wanda received her first solo title in two decades, and it came with full aesthetic overhaul. Kevin Wada designed a collection of looks inspired by witch-house and dark romance fashion trends. This was eventually streamlined into a cohesive superhero suit for other ongoing comics, with an ornate red bodice and jeweled diadem.

In 2022, Russell Dauterman designed Wanda's look for the second annual Hellfire Gala event, taking heavy inspiration from the silhouette of her Crossing costume and the darker, more ornate aesthetic of Wada's design. A slightly simplified version of this look became Wanda's main costume in Scarlet Witch (2023) Most notably, this design incorporates the same magical galaxy effect from her son Wiccan's costume into Wanda's skirt and hair, signifying her mastery of chaos magic. Whether or not this costume lasts, I believe that the dark, bejewelled aesthetic and galaxy effect will continue to define Wanda and Billy's looks for years to come.

*these are my personal underrated faves

#wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #robintext #scarlet witch costume

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bizarrequazar · 2 years

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Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun Shows and Movies Masterlist

I seem to have gained a bit of a reputation as The Person With Links, so this is a masterlist of streaming links to all of Zhang Zhehan’s and Gong Jun’s dramas, films, and reality shows. Interviews and variety show guest appearances are not included here.

Legal streaming has been prioritized whenever possible. I have not watched all of these yet, so if you notice a link is poor video / subtitle quality or doesn’t work at all please let me know.

Zhang Zhehan

Dramas

Why Love You (2010) Main role, 20 episodes [ENG SUB]

Crazy for Palace (2013) Main role, 9 episodes [ENG SUB]

The Palace 3: The Lost Daughter (2014) Support role, 63 episodes [ENG SUB]

Incisive Great Teacher (2014) Support role, 44 episodes [RAW]

Cosmetology High (2014) Main role, 30 episodes [ENG SUB]

The Romance of the Condor Heroes (2014) Support role, 57 episodes [ENG SUB]

Crazy for Palace 2 (2014) Main role, 12 episodes [ENG SUB]

ACG Hero (2015) Main role, 12 episodes [ENG SUB]

Love Yunge from the Desert (2015) Support role, 45 episodes [RAW]

Nirvana in Fire (2015) Guest role, 54 episodes [ENG SUB]

Ban Shu Legend (2015) Main role, 42 episodes [ENG SUB]

Decoded (2016) Main role, 41 episodes [ENG SUB]

Demon Girl (2016) Main role, 20 episodes [ENG SUB]

Happy Mitan (2016) Guest role, 44 episodes [RAW]

Memory Lost (2016) Guest role (one scene), 12 episodes [ENG SUB] [ZZH CUT (RAW)]

Demon Girl 2 (2016) Main role, 20 episodes [ENG SUB]

Above the Clouds (2017) Support role, 24 episodes [RAW]

Legend of Yunxi (2018) Main role, 48 episodes [MULTI SUB (1 free, 2-48 VIP)] [FULL ENG SUB]

Everyone Wants to Meet You (2020) Main role, 36 episodes [MULTI SUB (1-4 free, 5-36 VIP)] [FULL ENG SUB]

The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion (2020) Main role, 40 (+4) episodes [FULL MULTI SUB (1-5 free, 6-44 VIP)] [MAIN SHOW ENG SUB] [SPIN-OFF 1-2 ENG SUB]

Movies / Short Films

Haunting Love (2012) Support role, feature film [ENG SUB part 1 | part 2]

The Bravest (2019) Support role, feature film [ENG SUB]

Brother (2019) Main role, short film [ENG SUB]

1921 (2021) Guest role, feature film [ENG SUB]

Reality TV

China and South Korea Dream Team (2015) Regular, 10 episodes [ENG SUB]

The Amazing Race Season 3 (2016) Contestant, 10 episodes [ZZH CUT ENG SUB]

Everybody Stand By (2019) Regular, 10 episodes [RAW]

Gong Jun

Dramas

Sword Chaos (2016) Support role, 21 episodes [RAW] [GJ CUT RAW]

Lost Love in Times (2017) Support role, 56 (+12) episodes [ENG SUB] [Spin-Off ENG SUB]

Advance Bravely (2017) Main role, 30 episodes [ENG SUB official] [ENG SUB uncensored]

Unique Lady (2019) Main role, 24 episodes [MULTI SUB: YouTube | iQiyi]

Flavour It’s Yours (2019) Main role, 25 episodes [MULTI SUB (1-5 free, 6-25 VIP)] [FULL ENG SUB]

The Love Equations (2020) Main role, 27 episodes [MULTI SUB: YouTube | Viki]

Begin Again (2020) Main role, 35 episodes [MULTI SUB: YouTube | iQiyi | Viki]

Unique Lady 2 (2020) Main role, 27 episodes [ENG SUB]

The Player (2021) Main role, 20 episodes [ENG SUB]

The Flaming Heart (2021) Main role, 24 episodes [MULTI SUB: YouTube | Viki]

Shining Like You (2021) Main role, 24 episodes [ENG SUB]

Dream Garden (2021) Main role, 16 episodes [ENG SUB: YouTube | Viki]

Legend of Anle (2023) Main role, 40 eps (currently airing) [ENG SUB: YouTube | YOUKU]

Movies / Short Films

Put On Love (2012) Main role, short film [RAW]

Lost in Japan (2016) Main role, feature film [RAW]

Rebirth Partner (2017) Main role, feature film [RAW (Tencent, VIP required)]

Guardian of the Alpine Plants (2022) Main role, short documentary [ENG SUB]

Hello, Hello (2022) Main role, short film [ENG SUB]

Reality TV

Chinese Restaurant Season 5 (2021) Regular, 12 episodes [GJ CUT RAW]

We Are The Champions (2021) Regular, 8 episodes [MULTI SUB]

Go Fighting! Season 8 (2022) Regular (first 5 episodes), 12 episodes [ENG SUB]

Go Fighting! Season 9 (2023) Regular (first 6 episodes), 11 episodes [ENG SUB]

Both

Word of Honor (2021) Main roles, 36 (+1) episodes [MULTI SUB: YouTube | Netflix | Viki] [EPILOGUE ENG SUB]

This post was last updated 2023-07-15.

#This is absolutely not what I should have spent the last three hours doing #Zhang Zhehan #Gong Jun #woh cast #Word of Honor

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nualaofthefaerie · 8 months

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Who am I, and why I'll always show where Nuala is mentioned?

So hello guys.

I came to the realization that a lot of people on Tumblr do not know me, and I came kind of suddenly to you guys. So, allow me to tell you who I am and why I hope to become a big part of your "Sandman" experience. I will attach some pictures for references 🩷🪷

My name is Li. My main platform is Twitter. Most of my friends are there too. I hope I can make a lot of mutuals here, too. I came across "The Sandman" one year ago. Now, the Sandman is a wonderful piece of media for people to explore a plethora of dynamics they enjoy. For me, it was a bit of an adjustment.

Before reading the comic, I tried to stan Dreamling. However, for me personally, I very rarely enjoy dynamics with no women in them. That is, of course, me personally. I am not the one who should tell people what they should enjoy. Bi/Pan WLM and WLW, those are dynamics I truly enjoy. However, at the time, I was trying to fit in with what was popular. Truly, it didn't make me very happy because I just don't see it the way Dreamling shippers see it.

So I tried changing my angle. I tried to get into Calliope and Morpheus (I apologise, I do not know if they have their own little ship name). This one fitter me a bit better. However, I have personal issues with the concept of divorce, and I could never quite brush aside the fact that at the end... they were divorced. I even made a Calliope cosplay at the time and met Tom (loveliest person on Earth).

(I envisioned this ballerina Calliope cosplay, and for the most part, I made it work. This was my VERY first attempt at anything.)

He kind of convinced me to just read through the comics. And I did. And it all really fell into place. And Nuala of the Faerie became my spark. I want to make it clear that I love Nuala so much more and so BEYOND Sandflower. She is just so exceptional, so complex. I became SO excited to explore what the Internet could offer on her only to get...nothing. Absolutely nothing. Whatever little official art there was (three-five drawings and it was usually not even Nuala centered, she was just there) and two three pen drawings on DivienArt made in 2010.

Now, one thing about me is that I am persistent as all hell. And it is completely out of line that Thessaly is a "main character," but Nuala isn't. So, in January, I had a very "If no one is going to do it, I will" moment. I began talking about her every day. Analysing, sharing panels, commissioning artists (uni student making commissions, I was kinda of crazy for that one. I made one commission once and then had 20 bucks left for the week to buy food) and every minute since January until today, I do it all for her. Because she deserves to be recognized. Nuala is no less than Lucien/ne or the Corinthian. I have an ask sitting in my inbox that I simply don't know how to answer:

"Why do you think "x" is more popular than Nuala?"

I do not know, to be honest. Frankly, I also try not to care. Because my love for Nuala is not based on bringing other characters of the Sandman down. I do this to uplift her to a status where one day, I won't be the only person on the Nuala tag (I was SO happy the other day when like five new people had made art, SO happy) and not the only one on the Sandflower tag (that is ONLY me for now). And until then, I will be the only one. It's okay. And when I no longer have to be, I will sit back and enjoy the fruits of my hard work.

This may appear very self-centered to those who do not know me, but those who do will tell you I work day and night for her. I have a 70k Sandflower fic, 50k of which is only its first arc, just sitting in my google Docs. I have sketches upon sketches. I talk with artists about more commissions and how to make it so she gets a new outreach. I have conversations and try to introduce her to as many people as possible until they notice her and care for her at least a fraction of how much I do. She inspired me to try sewing and really get to cosplay a SOLID version of her (still working on that).

(I sewed most of the outfit and and it was my second attempt to do anything from scratch. I'll get better at it 🪷🌿🩷)

I like to think she would love it. She only ever longed to be loved. And I love my girl.

So much. We help each other every day. We exist together. And when her actress joins our little triangle, we will make the perfect fairy. The perfect personification of womanhood the way I see it.

My Nuala (Lala, Lali, Lalita, flower, the pearl, sun, if I missed any of my moots nicknames for her, hit me up).

So that's it, dear Tumblr. I am afraid you won't be able to mention Nuala of the Faerie without me because somewhere in May, we started co-existing.

And we are not going anywhere.

Love,

Li and Nuala 🪷🌿🩷

#A little intro meta from me #the sandman #nuala #nuala of the faerie #nuala the sandman #the sandman netflix #the sandman comics #tom sturridge #morpheus #dream of the endless #cosplay #sandman meta #introductory post #admin intro

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endlich-allein · 3 months

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Hi, do you know why there is a special Muttertag cd by Rammstein?

Hello !

You're talking about this big fake that appeared on the internet in the 2010s :

If I remember correctly, it's an "album" that some unscrupulous people sold to naive people on Ebay. The setlist included the first 2 minutes of some songs from the albums Herzeleid, Sehnsucht and Mutter. There were also fake remixes, the song "Wut Will Nicht Sterben" ft. Puhdys (although not authorized by Rammstein's record company) and a "Rammstein vs Eminem" battle. You won't find this album anywhere, since it doesn't exist officially.

#asks

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oraclebabsday · 5 months

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um hello!! im very new to comics, but of the characters I’ve seen so far, I really like Barbara and I was just wondering if you had any comic recommendations on where to start..? its very confusing trying to get into it all, but I’d like to be able to hold a conversation about someone I find interesting with my boyfriend so I can hear him info dump on me more cus he’s deep into dc so :)

Hi!!! That is so sweet omg 😭 Welcome to the weird wonderful world of comics!!! and also i’m so sorry for what I’m abt to throw at you lmao

Since you’ve sent this ask into an Oracle-centric blog, I’m gonna keep this rec list Oracle!Babs-centric (& also encourage my fellow mods to add on if they also have some recs!) I actually don’t have a whole lot of recs for Batgirl!Babs anyways, but I’ll be tagging my gen dc blog at the end in case you’d like to talk abt those or any other characters!

Also before I get Into the recs, I wanna give you some words of encouragement: there’s no right or wrong way to read! You’re also likely gonna have some well a lot of confusion at the beginning, esp bc there will be Events™️ that have ramifications™️ and you’re not always given full context of what’s come before or what’s happening concurrently with what you’re reading. I’ve been doing this for awhile and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the more that you read & explore, the more fun you’ll have & the more things will usually start to make sense! But it’s all gotta start somewhere first! :D and you’ve def chosen a great character to be your launching point!

Im gonna be hopping around a bit in my recs here but I’ll try to keep it mostly in chronological order. That said, first up:

Suicide Squad (1987) - she appeared semi-regularly starting in #23! This was also her debut as Oracle! I really enjoyed the overall run & would normally highly recommend it, but also want to warn that it’s a pretty heavy read in terms of content itself (canon-typical violence ofc esp for a SuiSq comic, discussions of suicide ideation, period typical stereotyping/‘subversion’ of said stereotypes, but that’s a deeper discussion for a different blog) For that reason, I don’t necessarily recommend it for a first-time reader, esp if you’re wanting to solely focus on Babs. Team books usually aren’t super great when you’re reading for an individual character, in my experience, esp in a case like this where the character isn’t always necessarily part of the team or appears sporadically enough to disrupt the flow of following a storyline.

Birds of Prey (1999) - This team book breaks that prev rule tho, bc Babs is the leader & is in Damn near every issue of this run 😂 There’s several smaller team-ups before the main ‘99 run (BoP:Manhunt, BoP:Wolves, etc), which are also good as a prelude before the main run itself. This will be the longest thing that will give you a LOT to parse through & ymmv with a lot of it. (Dixon & Simone are the most prominent writers for it & without getting Into It they each have their Issues™️ & Crimes™️) It also crosses over with a few events/references others. Imo it’s a good window into what comics are like overall, esp when you get into a longer run with multiple writers at the helm. But it has an added bonus of keeping a pretty small cast at its forefront (for about half the run, it’s solely Babs n Dinah!) It also has a follow-up run in 2010 which is broken up by-

Oracle: The Cure - (technically a 3-issue mini-series but!!!) this one’s a culmination of Oracle & Calculator’s (it’s not rivalry? That can’t be the right word… Uhhh, nemesis-sitch?) from BoP & leads right into bringing Babs back to Gotham in Steph’s Batgirl run as well as the next BoP run I mentioned just a sec ago. It’s what I like to call connective (t)issues lol. Ymmv I think depending on if you’ve read BoP ‘99/TT ‘03 beforehand, but I hadn’t read a lot of TT before reading it at the time, and I enjoyed it a lot!

A couple individual issues I wanna suggest:

Batman Chronicles #5 - Oracle: Year One!!!!! Cannot rec this one enough!!! In lieu of reading Killing Joke (which really only serves Bruce, Joker, Jim Gordon’s characters) read this!!! LICHERALLY her origin in coming into her own as Oracle!!! This one is THE place to start, actually, before you read anything start here 😂

Batman: Gotham Knights #6 - okay, this one is admittedly a self-indulgent rec. Without spoiling the plot, it’s CLASSIC soap-opera level shit. The TENSION at play & the layers of Bruce & Babs dynamic, the messiness of the batfam!!! 👌 *chefs kiss* GK as a run in general too was a LOT of fun for me & Babs is a pretty prominent player in much of it, but this issue rlly takes the cake for me ngl

And to tie it all together for an extra couple of Important Event recs that you’ll run into esp if you pick up BoP first:

Batman: No Man’s Land - okay, this event was a Behemoth. It’s a LOT to read, but it is REALLY good imo as a launching point for where Bat-comics were at the start of the millennium. Babs takes the narrative role SO many times throughout & she rlly comes into her own by becoming a linchpin for the info system she builds for the batfam. Again, I don’t wanna discourage you when I say it’s a Long read, bc it’s well worth it imo, but also 100% okay to skip when you’re just starting out! It’s a big time sink!

Batman: Officer Down - okay put away the meme forJUST A SEC, our old friend Jim Gordon’s been shot & it’s up to Batma- oh wait bruce sulks by Jim’s bedside while Babs rallies the troops and GETS SHIT DONE to find who shot her dad? INTERESTING 🧐 In all seriousness tho, & compared to NML, this is a much easier bite-sized event that can give you a taste of what Event/crossoverComics™️ are generally like 👍

Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive - okay so, take that same energy of the batfam having to Put In The Work to help Bruce out & flip it around bc now Bruce is the Main Suspect. The drama, the Intrigue™️. Pretty much everyone in the fam gets a moment to shine & this is def peak of how Babs fits into the fam during this era. This one runs a bit on the longer side & babs is again, more of a support role here, but god damn I loved it a lot!

I feel like I’m obligated to at least Mention Batman: War Games, mostly to note that it finally shakes the foundation of Oracle being the batfam’s main support (her CLOCKTOWER gets nerfed in this event 😭) If you read all of BoP and skip over this event & then are confused abt why Babs is suddenly being ejected from Gotham, just remember that her clocktower gets blown up, Steph dies, Bruce n Babs have a falling out & that’s basically why Babs starts flying around the country & settles in Metropolis for a bit instead of going back to Gotham. I reread this event at least once a year bc it gave me brainworms, I can not in good conscience recommend it to anyone bc no one understands her (War Games) like i do 💕 Godspeed if you decide to read it o7

Other recs/mentions:

Batgirl (2000) - okay if you end up reading NML, you’ll be introduced to Cass in it, & this run picks up with her. Babs is in it a LOT at the beginning as supporting cast to Cass (up to War Games ofc, but I won’t say much more abt that lol) I’m ngl, when I was trying to get more into comics, this run was what HOOKED me

Batgirl (2009) - so in a similar vein, Babs also features as a support for Steph too in her batgirl run. It’s… different from Cass’ run, but I also rlly love this one too. And also am forever bitter that the Batgirls run didn’t realize their potential BUT WE’RE NOT GETTING INTO THAT HERE.

Gonna mention Batman: Gotham Knights one more time bc again, while Babs isn’t a main focus, I think it’s rlly good at tying the batfam together during that era & giving a reader glimpses into other characters/dynamics. I think I got more out of it after I had read a few other runs from this time period (namely Robin, Azrael & some prominent stuff with Huntress), but can also see it as a potential launching point for new readers too 👍 if you wanna get more into the batfam/Batman but are intimidated by the Big Runs, this can potentially be a good bridge!

Gonna rapid fire mention that Babs as Oracle has a lot of appearances in Robin (93), Nightwing (96), JLA (96), Azrael (95) and obvsly Batman/Detective Comics from the 90s into 00s. I’ve read a few of these runs, and ymmv depending on how attached you may get to certain characters. But that’s what comics is all about! Getting attached and exploring other characters n teams n stuff!

A Gen note that I wanna end on: I wasn’t exaggerating when I said earlier abt how the more you read the more you’ll have fun. I can’t even begin to count the number of times that I’ve read something from a 90s/00s comic & was essentially jumpscared by a sudden Oracle cameo that I wasn’t expecting! She pops up in so many things throughout the universe at the time!!! She was THE info broker for all the supers!!! It makes me so insane that DC threw that all away to magi-cure her and demote her back to batgirl when she had grown so much 😭

anyways I hope you have fun!!! And again if you’re ever looking for other recs my more Gen dc blog is @dyketectivecomics! If my fellow mods or anyone else have some recs to add or to dispute haha, I’ll be tagging this so others can see/rb/reply to add their recs too 👍

Okay! \o/ that’s all I got for now! Happy reading anon!!!!

#barbara gordon #oracle #oracle day #birds of prey #reading rec #~randy #added a cut bc length 👍 and to add a warning that this isn’t just a list #I wanted to include some commentary bc having a reading list is good sometimes #but also having a Guide™️ is what I’m ultimately aiming for when I’m curating my lists now in 2024 #esp bc I’m gonna be revamping the duke list soon but THATS a convo for the duke blog 😂#okay enough tag rambles. I hope this helps anon! sorry it took a Hot Sec!#you sent this right as the holidays were swinging at me full force 😭

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saturrnss · 1 year

Text

Misfits Chap. 1

Namora x black!mutant!fem!punk!reader

summary: after living for more than 100 years, you decided to fuck around and make a metal detector for money-that happened to detect vibranium as well

warnings: swearing, mentions of sex, mention of overdose, drugs, alcohol, death, graphic violence, smut (eventually), to much of the word "you"

the reader doesn't HAVE to be black but it's my fanfic so i get to do whatever i want

abilities: stamina, durability, agility, regeneration of wounds, strength, can breath underwater

You were born a long time ago, and by long I mean LONG, time ago. you had a fine childhood with loving parents, you would do mostly anything they had asked.

But you did get into a little trouble now and again (now and again meaning most times).

You were always defiant, you couldn't be told what you should and shouldn't do because you would always question it. When people in your mothers circle tried to talk bad about you, saying how you would end up on the streets or in a boarding school if you were their child, your parents would always defend you.

even when you didn't deserve it.

Your powers appeared when you were 11, slipped off a roof while spray painting and banged your head really bad, leaving a big bump and some blood. While it hurt, you healed in about an hour or 2. "Cool" you thought and never brung it up to anyone.

Stopped aging at around 20, you were overjoyed at the fact that you could stay "forever young", be wild and not get judged for it, but then reality started to dig its fingers into you when everyone loved died,

your mother was the last to go, officially leaving you with nobody and nothing. you mourned. ALOT, but realized that someway somehow you were given the gift of a long life and you shouldn't spend half of it being a depressed, lonely bitch.

That's when the frequent parties started.

You went to every exciting party that you could find. you were drunk and hungover at the same time which you didn't think was possible but it still happened. made a lot of life long and short term friends. You did every drug imaginable because due to your powers you actually thought you were immortal

but when you od'ed you backed off and stayed sober.

(had a lot of sex with men and woman)

you met every big celebrity of the decade, some were nice, some you got into fights with (most you won) Many people fell in love with you, but after the fourth person you realized they only loved you for how "wild" and "exciting" you were, they didn't like you for you.

You also took up some mma classes because you never know when you need to beat someone up.

You thought that life could never get better until you went to a short trip to England in the late 70s that would change you life philosophy forever.

Punk rock. it was like the answer you were looking for all your life, people who acted like you and dressed like you. Nancy spungen was the first friend you made in the scene, many people hated her but she was your friend. you were so close with her, that after she died you packed your bags and moved back to the u.s.

You spent the rest of the pre 2010's traveling and learning different languages, Yacutec Mayan included. Your healing abilities got better and you can now heal as fast as 9 seconds. In 2011, you finally decided to settle in Cambridge, mass.

.....

It's may of 2024. you wake up In the middle of the night due to a phone call. You live comfortably as a computer hacker and engineer, your main clients are college students who are late on assignments and lazy business men who were trust fund babies. you lived In an mediorce/could have been better apartment.

You answer the phone. "Hello?-" "I need you to do something for me, I'm outside." "I'm sorry but you need to call back to-" It ends. You, out of annoyace and slight curiosity, you grab a sweater and head to the door. you open it to see a pale, tall man with a black-slick suit on and a straight face.

He has a badge of some organization on the left side of his chest, and a shape of a gun in his pocket to the right.

The room fills with a cool breeze and a little bit of fear. "Can I help you?" you say. "I need a metal detector."

"Well i don't really have them on hand-" "I can wait.'' He lets him into your apartment, gets a chair and sits down with his legs and arms crossed. The right side of your brain wanted to start an argument with him but your left and gut feeling unanimously agreed to just do what he says so he won't like, send people after you.

You walk to your bedroom to get all your supplies while staring at the man to make sure he doesn't do anything.

You come back and with the supplies and the man is still there, staring at you intensely as you walk into the room. you clear the table he sits at and grabs another chair and you try to get to work but you notice the man is still staring at you and now your supplies.

"You know this is gonna take forever,right??" "Well it won'tbe a waste" he pats his wallet. Awkward silence occurs soon there after

"Do you want anything to eat??'' He doesn't respond. "note taken" you turn back to your work.

You worked well into the night, slight fear of what would happen if you stopped, which was a first. You Finally finished it at 6:32 am, yawning as you give it to him. He puts it down and gets out a slick black briefcase, unlocks the buckles, and opens it. His closes his eyes and blinks multiple times to adjust to the purple light shining on his face.

He brings out this bright purple leaf-like object and puts it on the table. he takes the detector and puts it right over it, he turns it on. It almost immediately beeps, detecting the strange thing. The pale man perks up his lips, almost creating a smile across his face but it quickly turns straight. "Thank you again" He says blankly as he brings out his wallet and gives you 12k.

He picks up his things along with the detector and leaves, the door closing softly. Normally this wouldn't faze you, you've been in room with the most infamous mob bosses, stranger things have happened in your life for sure but, this time you can't shake the feeling that something's gonna happen, something bad.

..........................

A week later you almost shaked the feeling off completely. You paid your rent for 2 months, went shopping, and bought a new guitar. You usually make your own clothes but this time you wanted to prolong the happiness.

While you were getting ready to go out, a feeling of anxiety fell over you- that you were in danger?

You took a gun and a knife just in case.

Late at night, While driving across a bridge to get gas. your tires suddenly gave out and deflated. You got out of the car to check out the problem. You opened the back of your car to get out an air pump when you heard a faint voice start to sing.

It didn't faze you at first but then you heard another, than another, than another, it grew louder and louder. folklore was passed from your extended family on to you about "mami wata" and sirens.

Of course you didn't believe it at first but when you grew older always had a pair of ear plugs on you just in case so you put them on just in time so the eerily mesmerizing voices didn't consume you.

All of a sudden a 2 ginormous humpback whales comes out of the water and on to the bridge, crushing your car and in a matter of seconds you didn't jump and roll just in time. Still feeling the shock waves of the whales, You turn back to look at the anomaly and 4 blue people jump off of them.

One woman had orange and white feathers on the top of her head and a big tall man with long hair and 2 others that weren't that memorable to the eye.

The outfits were gorgeous don't get me wrong but confusion is what you felt the most. The sirens of the emergency vehicle show up before the car itself and it crashes into the whale. The blue people look back at the car and the woman says something.

"Deshazte u Jmeyaj metalúrgico, ocuparé ti' le testigos (get rid of the metal worker, i'll deal with the witnesses.)" You try to decipher what she said In your brain but you soon realize as the other 3 are walking towards you menacingly.

You grab your gun and knife. The other two blue warriors Jump at you, using their spears to try to impale you. They stab your arm and leg but due to your powers, you healed quickly and it didn't affect you that much.

The two weapons you got were much to no use. You used your gun to shoot all three of them but it got cut in half, knife got knocked out of the fight as quickly as possible

But it was close.

You overhanded the one closest to you and roundhouse kicked the other, but they still kept getting up. Getting annoyed, you grabbed one of their spears and hit them in the head with it as hard as you could, knocking them dead with blood trickling out of their ear- creating a puddle.

While you were turned, the other one hits you with their heavy metal spear right on your upper spine. You wince in pain, the warrior raises up their spear to put an end to you but you grab the end of the metal and use it as a support beam to launch both of your feet at them for maximum impact.

(You were wearing platform boots too, so that must've hurt.)

The warrior falls back a couple inches, You felt immense pain but you scrambled to find anything because you knew the warrior wasn't gonna stay down for long. In the darkness you try to feel anything with a sharp edge for good use in the fight.

You felt the knife that was thrown earlier. You grab it and turn around to find that the spear was at your neck, seconds away from penetrating. You try every way to get out but to no avail. You looked down in saddened realization. "this is it" You thought. But then you quickly remembered

Your other hand was free.

You drop the knife into your other hand and before the warrior could react, plunged it deep into their stomach. The warrior made a sound of shock. You dragged it across the right side of their stomach until the knife came back out, feeling some of their organs in the process.

the warrior falls back and stops moving, their spear now in your hand. The man with long hair looks at the scene, just analyzing it and looking at you. "Xeen a wil ba'ax táan u beetik namora, ocuparé u este (Go see what namora's doing, i'll deal with this one)"

Both of their eyes open at the same time- Organs and bones slid back into place and flickers of life came into them, It was like Frankenstein's monster coming back from the dead.

"No. way," you said quietly in disbelief as they ran off to go catch up with namora. "No fucking way!!" you said louder as you spin your new found spear, and the fight between you and the big man co menses.

You held your ground at first, riding off the adrenaline from the other two you just “killed’’. but sooner or later the fight started to work out more and more in his favor. He was taller, more skilled, and a just a tiny bit stronger than you.

Luckily your stamina came into play because if you had gotten the-least bit tried you would have met your ancestors in the most gursome way. One point he had you by the throat up against the ground. during the struggle he kicked the spear you were using just right out of your reach.

You kicked him in the Achillies heel, nuts and used both of your legs to put him in a chokehold, knocking off his headwear. Now with him focused on the fact that he has a full grown adult on his head and that he couldn't see anything but your stomach,

You have the time to back flip off of him, use one of the spears and hit him across the face, leaving a long scar. He touches the scar- seeing the blood and wipes it away with his other finger to confirm what just happened, surprised about how somebody was of his caliber, but some weird feeling of-- respect.

"Ba'ax láayli' ma' a kiinsik u Jmeyaj metalúrgico.! [You still haven't killed the metal worker?!,]" The woman comes aggressively walking toward the both of you with the others following behind. "Tu yaan in meentik Teene' wéet túun! (I'll do it myself then!)

"Pa'atik! (Wait!)" You said and she stops and the both of them look at you. "In wojel ba'ax K'a'abet k yantalto'on kajak yéetel k'aas wa'atal, chéen ba'ale' kolnáalen bey Teeche' (I know we got off on wrong footing but I'm just like you,)"

You look for other words to say since you haven't spoken for a long while. "Je'el u páajtal in wáantikech! (I can help you!). The man laughs,

"Bixi?! (How?!)" You look for anything that could help you- then you remember your healing abilities. "Paakat (look)" You raise up the spear carefully, looking at the both of them so they don't think your being aggressive, you put the spear right above your wrist and cut yourself all the way to your shoulder.

It quickly healed. They had a straight face so you couldn't read their emotions but they all looked at each other- they finally made their decision.

"Taj ma'alo'ob (very well)" The woman takes out a green fish net bag, gets a weird story of device that looked like a can and handed it to the tall man. He cracked it open and rolled it to your feet.

2 seconds later it started to make sound, purple smoke started to come out of it. You started to feel a tingling sense in your lungs and started coughing, dizziness and nausea started to overcome you, now the tingling started to feel. Like. Burning.

The violet smoke was to overwhelming for you, you fell to the ground, last thing you saw was the woman's feathers on her head poking out before you passed out.

A/n: there is not enough namora fics!! Wattpad:saturnshaze

#mcu #mcu namor #namora #black!y/n #black!reader #namora imagine #namora x reader #mabel cadena #alex livinalli #marvel #black panther 2 #black panther wakanda forever #bpwf #black panther #marvel headcanons #namora x poc!reader #attuma #Spotify

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