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scriptorsapiens · 6 months

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Classicstober Day 14: Helen (𐀁𐀩𐀛/𒄭𒇷𒉌)

Helen of Troy… Helen Queen of Sparta… Helen Princess of Sparta… Helen the daughter of Leda and Zeus… the face that launched a thousand ships wore many masks over the course of her life but one thing that remains the same is how compelling she remains as a character. Many thanks to @symeona for helping me with her look!

Helen is a character intrinsically associated with her appearance, but early sources do not describe her at all outside of demonstrations of her status. For this piece, I have borrowed from two sources. The first is symeona, who's excellent translations on Ancient Greek color theory informed my take on Achilles. The second was that wretched and accursed fnckboy Ovid, who described Helen's mother Leda as having 'snowy white' skin and black hair. Since Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, and considering how pale Leda was, I decided to make her somewhat swan-like in appearance, with big black eyes and naturally ruddy lips to seal the deal.

First, let's talk about Helen the Spartan (rendered here in Linear B as 'Eleni of Laconia'). Despite mainly being known for her role in the Trojan War, Helen lived the majority of her life in Sparta and her husband Menelaus claimed the throne of Sparta through her. Laconia and Sparta are some of the oldest sites of Mycenaean culture, so Helen got to be depicted as Mycenaean as all getout. The high-piled hair, the diadem, the open tunic, and the bracelet are all very common in depictions of Mycenaean and Minoan women. She also has very elaborate florets to mark her status. The red fabric and large gemstones mark her wealth too i completely forgot to draw in the necklace she wore in the sketch version.

I mentioned before in my picture of Cassandra and Hector that I am basing the Trojan looks heavily on ancient Hittite clothing, and this is no exception. I know the movie Troy sucks for lots of reasons, but I did like that they made the Trojan theme color this very rich blue so I decided to add that here; dark, rich colors in general are very expensive to produce, so even if it's not red the saturation makes the cloth very expensive and a mark of royalty. I based her clothing and jewelry off a Hittite statue, but I decided to omit the tall hats that Hittite women appear to wear under their veils; I kind of wanted that to represent status, so only Andromache and Hecuba would wear the tall hats if I depict them.

I was not trying to make a commentary with it, but it does strike me how conservative the veiled, tunic wearing Hittite woman looks compared to the open-bodiced Mycenaean woman. That could easily be read into, but I'm just going to leave it as depiction and not try to ascribe any symbolism to it.

The decorative circle around Helen represents several things. Horses feature prominently in her life. The Trojan Horse is the most well known, but the wedding oath that Tyndareus made Helen's suitors swear to was sealed with the sacrifice of a horse too. Anemones are a sacred flower to Aphrodite (long story) and the white lilies seem like a fun way to evoke the 'pure woman' image.

Also in the circle are depictions of Eris' golden Apple of Discord. For the life of me, I could not find any translation related to fairness or beauty in any Mycenaean dictionaries so I had to cheat: "𐀴 𐀏𐀪𐀯𐀳𐀂/ti ka-ri-se-te-i" is just a phonetic transliteration of ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ (tē(i) kallistē(i)), translated as 'for the fairest.'

#classicstober #classicstober2023 #classicstober23 #helen of troy #helen of sparta #greek mythology #ancient greek mythology #tagamemnon #linear b #mycenaean #hittite #hittite cuneiform #cuneiform

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hunnysnoops · 1 month

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South Park Music HCs

What music I think the South Park characters would listen to.

Stan ✰ Kyle ✰ Kenny ✰ Cartman ✰ Wendy ✰ Bebe ✰ Heidi ✰ Tweek ✰ Craig ✰ Butters

With Spotify links!

Stan Marsh

Artists:

Radio Head

Siouxsie and the Banshees

Crywank

She Wants Revenge

System Of a Down

Slipknot

The Front Bottoms

Favourite Songs:

Atoma- Dark Tranquillity

Smokey Eyes- Lincoln

F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X- The Fall of Troy

Mr Grieves- Pixies

Misc:

Generally angsty

Gets embarrassed of his taste when he’s put on aux

He probably likes 90s dad rock

Whenever Stan listens to ‘System of a Down’ Cartman calls him ‘Syndrome of a Down’

Likes The Front Bottoms purely because he relates

Kyle Broflovski

Artists:

Dan Mangan

The Cure

Echo & the Bunnyman

Blur

Weezer

Billy Idol

Favourite Songs:

I Love You- Fontaines D.C.

Troubled Mind- Dan Mangan

The Killing Moon- Echo & the Bunnymen

Jumping Someone Else’s Train- The Cure

Candy- Paolo Nutini

Misc:

Cartman calls him a virgin for listening to Weezer

If he’s playing his music around you, he’ll sneak glances at you to see if you like it

Definitely has a poster for The Cure in his bedroom

Refuses to use Bluetooth headphones

Kenny McCormick

Artists:

Eminem

Outkast

Ini Kamoze

Car Seat Headrest

Cypress Hill

Limp Bizkit

Green Day

Favourite Songs:

Hits from the Bong- Cypress Hill

Sexy Drug- Falling in Reverse

Deadlines (Hostile)- Car Seat Headrest

Take A Look Around- Limp Bizkit

Misc:

Watches clips of Woodstock 99 on YouTube

Plays his music so loud that it spills through his headphones and gets weird looks for it

Listens to Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter with his little sister

Eric Cartman

Kanye West

T-Pain

Lady Gaga (we all saw this coming)

Rihanna

Black Eyed Peas

Oliver Tree

Pitbull

Favourite Songs:

Church- T-Pain, Teddy Verseti

Meet Me Halfway- Black Eyed Peas

I Can’t Stop- Will Smith

Bury Me Alive- Oliver Tree

Happiness is a Butterfly- Lana Del Rey

Misc:

Strikes me as the type of guy who doesn’t really listen to music

Unironically likes Oliver Tree (His music and him as a person)

Rips on everyone for their music but won’t tell them who he listens to

Lip syncs to Wiz Khalifa while flexing in the mirror

Listens to T-Pain and Will Smith to make him feel tough

Prefers podcasts

Wendy Testaburger

Artists:

The Shins

Gwen Stefani

Hozier

Grizzly Bear

Nelly Furtado

Olivia Rodrigo

Elliot Smith

Favourite Songs:

Swan Upon Leda- Hozier

Lacy- Olivia Rodrigo

Stand By Me- Ben E.King

Vienna- Billy Joel

Pocketful of Sunshine- Natasha Bedingfield

Misc:

Thunder makes her think of stan so she skips it

Relates to Vienna and probably got a small tattoo for it after she graduated

Probably has an eclectic taste and loves 2010s pop

Lets everyone else play their music while she’s driving and never complains

Stares at her ceiling and listens to Elliot Smith when she’s sad

Gets ready listening to y2k pop songs

Bebe Stevens

Artists:

Jungle

Wild Belle

Dominic Fike

Kesha

Avril Lavigne

Justin Bieber (baby era)

MGMT

Favourite Songs:

Feet Don’t Fail Me Now- Joy Crookes

Back On 74- Jungle

Memory Box- Peter Cat Recording Co.

Keep You- Wild Belle

Beauty And A Beat- Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj

Ur So Gay- Katy Perry

Misc:

Hates sad music, she’ll force herself to listen to USHER during a breakdown

Picky about her music, if someone plays a song she doesn’t like she’ll definitely skip it or complain until someone else does

Mentioned she liked Justin Bieber and then got in an argument with Cartman because of it

Never lets Clyde near the speaker

Screams Ur So Gay at the top of her lungs when it comes on

Heidi Turner

Artists:

Jack Johnson

Syd Matters

Daughter

Fleet Foxes

Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Noah Kahan

Of Monsters and Men

Favourite Songs:

Open Season- High Highs

To All of You- Syd Matters

Two Weeks- Grizzly Bear

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing- Jack Johnson

Sisyphus- Andrew Bird

Blue Ridge Mountains- Fleet Foxes

Misc:

Loves going for walks while she listens to music

Sends you songs that remind her of you

Listens to every song you send her and tells you what she likes about it

Hums when she has her headphones in without realising

Her and all of her friends love Noah Kahan

Tweek Tweak

Artists:

Billie Holiday

Billie Marten

Johann Sebastian Bach

Claude Debussy

Ludwig van Beethoven

Foals

Connie Francis

Favourite Songs:

Who’s Sorry Now- Connie Francis

Cello Suite No. 1 in G Minor- Johann Sebastian Bach

Méditation from Thaïs- Jules Massenet

Bad Apple- Billie Marten

The Lark Ascending- Ralph Vaughan Williams

Misc:

I actually think he would hater Hyper-Pop

Prefers slow/classical/instrumental songs

Listens to a lot of white noise, really specific ones like ‘Heavy Rain in Autumn Fairy Forest 9 hours’

Musical prodigy, plays piano and cello

Craig Tucker

Artists:

Nirvana

Hole

No Doubt

Foo Fighters

Pulp

Arcade Fire

Jeff Buckley

Favourite Songs:

Common People- Pulp

Malmo- Mook

Forget Her- Jeff Buckley

The Pretender-Foo Fighters

Dumb- Nirvana

Misc:

Made one playlist in eighth grade and never listens to anything else

Thinks Courtney Love killed Kurt Cobain

Hates TikTok music, like genuinely.

Somewhat of a gatekeeper

Butters Stotch

Artists:

She & Him

Blonde

Kate Bush

Dolly Parton

Regina Spector

The La’s

The Mama’s and the Papa’s

Favourite Songs:

You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine- Lou Rawls

In the Summertime- Mungo Jerry

Hey, Lucky Lady- Dolly Parton

The Tide is High- Blondie

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here- She & Him

Don’t Let The Good Life Pass You By- Cass Elliot

Clay Pigeons- Michael Cera

Misc:

Songs absentmindedly all the time, annoys the hell out of everyone

Quotes the songs he listens to

Developed choreography in middle school and still remembers it

Asks people if they’ve heard a super popular song that’s all over the radio and social media out of genuine curiosity

Anyways, that’s all I got for now. Re log or comment what you think they’d listen to bc I’m genuinely curious, thanks for reading!

Also it literally took hours to add all of those Spotify links so I hope you got something out of this! they wouldn’t let me add more than 100 :/

#south park #kyle broflovski #eric cartman #stan marsh #wendy testaburger #bebe stevens #heidi turner #craig tucker #tweek tweak #butters stotch #kenny mccormick #headcanon #south park kyle #south park x y/n #south park x reader #south park headcanons #kyle south park #south park hcs

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the-overanalyst · 2 years

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it's so mindblowing how hozier in his new song made the connection between the oppression of women and imperialism. though he says it so simply ("swan upon leda, occupier upon ancient land") it strikes such a deep chord because he's right. he just captured an idea so large it would be impossible to really put into words, but that's the magic of songwriting! i am in awe.

#hozier #music #lyrics #feminism #history #imperialism #womenempowerment #swan upon leda #greek mythology #greek gods #andrew hozier byrne #songwriter #web weaving

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dootznbootz · 4 months

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Yoooo ok can we get a full visual description of both your Helen and Menelaus? Like, maybe if I wanted to doodle them? 🥹🙏

That's so goshdarn sweet!!! I would actually combust if you did that!!!! 😭 Honestly it's...Not too different from what you already have (as I honestly see your Helen/Menelaus as canon as...I just really love them🥺 You're so talented and you're so sweet.) Only thing different is Helen is tall and chubby and very minor things with Menelaus

Especially Menelaus, He's just a little taller than Helen and has kind of a more longer hair as "Long haired Achaeans" means so much to me. And As we get more descriptors for him in the Epics which already fit your Menelaus design to a T for me! :D But ALSO in the Epics, Helen is NEVER described in detail. And with your Helen you already have what's in my brain. As it's VERY important that she has STRIKING teal/blue eyes and Thick curly black hair and that's something you already have! (Both Penelope and her have: Blue eyes and black hair. It's just that Penelope's is straight hair and her eyes are more silvery blue (gray-eyed Athena also favors her). Everything else about them is different physically though and that's a big deal in my fics. >:)

As I said I imagine Helen being like Rose Quartz in Body as she towers over most and is quite intimidating in a way because of it. She's chubbier because of Leda mostly though. While she's definitely strong, she does not have a "perfect flat tummy".😤 It's perfect but not flat.

She looks like this to me because...she's adorable. and also that, although I later learned that (most likely) Mycenaean/Minoan beauty standards were thin waists (based on the statues and murals on the Palace of Knossos walls), I already saw stuff on rounder faces and chubbier gals being beauty standard during later periods and while both are beautiful, Chubby Helen was in my head and she lives there now. (You can very clearly tell who are Zeus' children and who are Tyndarius'... As both Pollux and Helen tower over everyone. But Tyndarius loves all his kids regardless.🥹 No favoritism! If one sister steals her sisters hairbrush without asking it doesn't matter if they are Zeus' or His bio children, "You Go apologize to your sister right now!")

also there was this old cartoon art I saw and it just SCREAMED "HELEN!" to me. It's this old comic with a woman called Hilda and she's just SO cute and sassy and full of life!! (The post if you want more!)

Somewhat of a mixture of these as well

Helen is tall (nearly 6'2-6'3) but Menelaus IS taller 6'6 His back is in PAIN later on in life

I hope I described things well!!! I've never really done this before!!! Let me know if I need to give more info!

#!!!#CHUBBY HELEN MEANS SO MUCH TO ME! BOTH HER AND MENELAUS GIVE THE BEST HUGS BUT CAN ALSO KICK YOUR ASS #thehelplessmortals #ask #I know you're a bit shy and I hope I'm not overwhelming you but you really are just a delight. You're so sweet and smart and I love all you #ideas!!! They're so fun and feel so right in canon! and you're so talented!!! I'm so happy that you share with all of us your thoughts and #art!! as they're all so lovely!!!

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demifiendrsa · 4 months

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Persona 3 Reload - Akihiko Sanada Character Trailer

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Japanese version

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Mitsuru Kirijo Character Trailer

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Japanese version

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Fuuka Yamagishi Character Trailer

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Japanese version

■ Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (New S.E.E.S. Combat Uniform)

This remake updates the classic combat uniforms worn by the party members when exploring Tartarus. Check out all-new character art of the Akihiko Sanada, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Fuuka Yamagishi in their new gear!

Akihiko Sanada (voiced by Alejandro Saab in English, Hikaru Midorikawa in Japanese)

Weapon: Fists

Unique Persona: Polydeuces

Specialization: Electricity, Striking

Theurgy: Lightning Sphere

Captain of the boxing team who puts up his fists in battle.

His unique Persona, Polydeuces, specializes in electric and strike-type skills. His Theurgy skill Lightning Sphere deals heavy electric-type damage to all enemies, regardless of their affinities.

—Akihiko’s Persona: Polydeuces

Akihiko‘s unique Persona is Polydeuces. In Greek mythology, he was a hero gifted with immortality as the son of the god Zeus and mortal Leda. He and his elder brother Castor were renowned for their skill in fist and sword combat.

Mitsuru Kirijo (voiced by Allegra Clark in English, Rie Tanaka in Japanese)

Weapon: Rapiers

Unique Persona: Penthesilea

Specialization: Ice

Theurgy: Blizzard Edge

As a member of the fencing team, she wields a rapier in battle.

Her unique Persona is Penthesilea, who specializes in ice skills. Her Theurgy skill Blizzard Edge deals heavy ice-type damage to one enemy, regardless of its natural affinity.

—Mitsuru’s Persona: Penthesiliea

Mitsuru’s unique Persona is Penthesilea. An Amazonian Queen from Greek mythology, known for her strong sense of honor and exceptional beauty.

Fuuka Yamagishi (voiced by Suzie Yeung in English, Mamiko Noto in Japanese)

Unique Persona: Lucia

Specialization: Support

Theurgy: Oracle

Though she doesn’t fight enemies directly, she provides invaluable help from the sidelines. Her support skills can analyze enemy affinities, assist in exploring Tartarus, and more. Her Theurgy skill, Oracle, casts random buffs on allies.

—Fuuka’s Persona: Lucia

Fuuka’s unique Persona is Lucia. A saint and martyr who died during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire. It is said that even after she was blinded by her persecutors, she was still able to see the miracle of the holy spirit.

■ The Towering Labyrinth Tartarus

The Dark Hour exists between one day and the next, imperceptible to most. During this time, the looming labyrinth of Tartarus appears, teeming with Shadows ready to fight. Exploring this mysterious tower is better than ever in Persona 3 Reload, thanks to a fresh coat of paint and gameplay improvements.

Dash to traverse the labyrinth faster, and heal up your party in a single button press with Auto-Recover.

Breakable Objects

Within Tartarus, you will find breakable objects made from the remnants of Shadows. Destroying these may yield recovery items, sellable materials, and even Dusk Shards that can be used to open locked treasure chests!

Locked Treasure Chests

Scattered throughout Tartarus are treasure chests, some of which will be locked. The keys to these locks are special items called Dusk Shards. They will need to be spent to open the lock, but you’ll find the rewards more enticing than the rest.

Scouting by Party Members

After battle, you may have the opportunity to have a party member scout ahead. If you agree, they will temporarily split from the group to search for a route to the next floor. Once the rest of the party catches up, the scouting member will rejoin the group and hand over any items they found along the way.

Finding and Rescuing Missing Persons

Now and then, you may encounter missing persons who have been trapped inside Tartarus.

By rescuing them, you may receive rewards. Be on the lookout to help these people in need!

Shuffle Time and Major Arcanas

After winning a battle, you may enter a bonus round called Shuffle Time. The cards you choose can grant you beneficial effects and Personas. Rarely, you may find a Major Arcana card carrying a special effect that lasts for the remainder of the day, such as increased EXP gain or All-Out Attack damage.

Arcana Burst

Collecting all available Major Arcana cards will trigger an Arcana Burst. During Arcana Burst, Minor Arcana cards will rank up for increased effect for the rest of the day, making exploration all the smoother. Don’t miss your chance to grab Major Arcana cards when you see them!

Monad Doors

As you explore Tartarus, you may encounter towering Monad Doors. Beyond them lie rare treasure chests, protected by extra-powerful Shadows. Defeating these Shadows will allow you to draw special Major Arcana cards during Shuffle Time.

Monad Passages

Monad Passages can be found beyond certain Monad Doors. Within these long hallways lie formidable Shadows that will reward you with powerful weapons, character costumes, and other rare items upon defeat. If you’re confident in your combat abilities, taking on the challenge is well worth the effort.

Rare Shadows

You may encounter shining gold Rare Shadows as you explore. If they spot you, they’ll try to flee, but if you manage to defeat them, you’ll be rewarded with loads of experience and money. Very rarely, you may find a large Rare Shadow that has pilfered all the treasure on the current floor. Defeating it will reward you with not only experience and money, but also all the items the Shadow had collected.

The Reaper

If you remain on one floor for too long, The Reaper will appear—a terrifying enemy you’re not likely to stand a chance against. If you find yourself being stalked by The Reaper, turn tail and run!

The Clock at the Entrance

By operating the clock that can be found by the entrance to Tartarus, you can fully heal your party members’ HP and SP at the cost of seven Dusk Shards. Don’t be afraid to use it as the need arises.

Costume Changes

You can freely change costumes from the menu while exploring Tartarus. Beyond the standard school uniforms and combat gear, the party can wear butler uniforms, swimsuits, and more. Change things up whenever you feel the need for a new look!

Fuuka’s Support Skills

Fuuka’s support is not limited to battle—she can assist with exploration as well! By pressing the Navi button while traversing Tartarus, you can select one of her unique support skills.

For example, Jamming allows you to avoid detection by Shadows on the floor, Shock Noise temporarily Distresses all enemies on the floor, and Sylphid Aura buffs all party members at the start of the next battle. Using skills like these will consume SP just like the rest, so don’t hesitate to use recovery items when she’s running low.

■ City Locals

Through daily life and being a member of S.E.E.S., you’ll get to know all kinds of people. These bonds are called Social Links, and by raising their ranks you can experience special scenes with them. You’ll find people from all walks of life around the city after school hours. Interacting with them will also strengthen your Persona abilities, so be proactive in building these relationships!

President Tanaka (voiced by Patrick Seitz in English, Bin Shimada in Japanese)

The president of a telemarketing company, famous for his catchy jingle and bombastic personality showing off products to the camera. He is extremely stingy and has a unique outlook on how to run his company. After spotting the Protagonist in the city, he devises a plan to use him as a model for his products.

Unconventional Monk: Mutatsu (voiced by Aaron Laplante in English, Shin Aomori in Japanese)

An irritable-looking monk who visits Club Escapade from time to time. He’s always seen with expensive cigars and gaudy gold rings, giving the impression that he hasn’t really let go of his earthly desires. Even so, he has quite a way with words and is known by his parishioners as a wise one with invaluable advice. Upon befriending the Protagonist, he begins to lecture him on his own philosophies.

Track Team Rival: Mamoru Hayase (voiced by Yong Yea in English, Yuuichirou Umehara in Japanese)

The ace of a rival school’s track team. He’s a national-level athlete who’s already received offers from colleges and companies. After seeing the Protagonist run during a summer competition, he sees his potential as a worthy rival.

MMO Buddy: Maya (no voice actor)

A player in a red dress that the Protagonist meets while playing an MMORPG called Innocent Sin Online. Going by the handle “Maya,” she dubs the Protagonist her partner “Tatsuya” and parties up with him. She’s always online on her days off, waiting for the Protagonist to log in.

Child of a Broken Home: Maiko Oohashi (voiced by Grace Lu in English, Hiyori Kono in Japanese)

An elementary school girl who can be found at the park next to Naganaki Shrine. She’s uneasy about her tumultuous home life as her bickering parents teeter on the edge of divorce. She spends time alone after school to avoid going home, and grows fond of the Protagonist after meeting him at the shrine.

Terminally Ill Young Man: Akinari Kamiki (voiced by Lucien Dodge in English, Hirofumi Nojima in Japanese)

A young man who doesn’t have long to live can be found on a bench at Naganaki Shrine. On weekdays he undergoes treatment for his illness, but he pushes himself to make it to the shrine on weekends. He wishes to leave his mark on the world by writing his own story, and shares his work in progress with the Protagonist as they continue to meet.

Bookstore Owners: Mitsuko Kitamura (voiced by Susanne Blakesless in English, Sanae Takagi in Japanese) and Bunkichi Kitamura (voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo in English, Naoki Tatsuta in Japanese)

An old couple who run the used bookstore, Bookworms, in Iwatodai Strip Mall. Bunkichi is a jovial fellow with a touch of memory loss, while Mitsuko is kind and responsible, always keeping the store in order—and Bunkichi in line. Their playful dynamic speaks to the strength of their long marriage. A number of years ago, they lost their son—a teacher at Gekkoukan—in an accident, and have come to see the persimmon tree he planted in the courtyard as their last memento of him.

■ Invitations Over Text

After school or on days off, characters you’ve forged bonds with may invite you to hang out. You can quickly travel to their location by using shortcuts directly in the text menu. Keep your eyes open, as each character has their own unique way of writing texts.

Persona 3 Reload will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) February 2, 2024 worldwide. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.

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kay-elle-cee · 4 months

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Hello there! I just finished And The Roar Will Rise and I'm speechless (okay maybe not really speechless because I have a lot to say about it) but anyway, I'd love a director's cut of this fic. What drew you to it, why and how you changed some things, et cetera...

Also, while I'm on the subject, I left a comment on AO3 but totally forgot to mention how incredible the kiss and the moment at the pub later on (including Sirius' perfect reaction) were, so please please tell me more about that too.

Much love ❤️

🙈 A director's cut for And The Roar Will Rise? Prepare yourself, Leda, because I have a LOT to say! (also thank you so much for asking, I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic!!!!)

Alright, let's go point by point:

What drew you to it?

I LOVE Newsies. Like, as someone who listens to musicals on Spotify on a daily basis, as someone whose top genre on Spotify Wrapped is Musicals/Showtunes every year, Newsies is one of my favorite musicals. (The others being Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and Hadestown, if you're interested in that tidbit of trivia). I love the music, I love the choreography, and I love the push-and-pull of Jack and Katherine.

While watching the pro-shot on Disney+ for the umpteenth time (because yes it's available to watch whenever you want and features Jeremy Jordan with a comical NY accent but the face and singing voice of an ANGEL) I was deep into a particular wave of Jily Brainrot and maybe it's because Katherine has red hair and that helped spur me on, but I just thought "oh my god it's Jily." Not to mention the whole fighting-against injustice plot and the ragtag crew Jack is so embedded in.

Fun fact, I worked so hard on including nods to the lyrics and lines from the actual script without just, like, dropping them in clunkily. It was my first time doing something like this and I really enjoyed the challenge of at least trying to make these things seem natural. I didn't want them to feel out of place, but noticeable to people who are familiar with it (like James telling Lily to "Give 'em hell, Evans" in place of Jack telling Katherine to "Write it good." or James shouting to the newsies "All for one and one for all, we newsies are on strike!" in place of the lyrics "No one can make us quit before we're done/one for all and all for one" followed by chants of "strike!") I actually color-coded and annotated my doc last night and you can see that here.

Why and how you changed things.

*cracks knuckles* alright SO. A few things happened during the planning process that brought it all together:

The World

I knew off the bat that I didn't want them to be in New York, so I needed to move them to London. But with this came the complication of the entire plot—namely, the history of labor unions in England. I looked at that and thought "I don't really want to do that research and get something wrong" so I needed to find the new crux of the Newsies issue.

Sometimes I regret not adding magic into the world of my other AU, restless waves rise and fall, so for this fic, I was like hmmmm what if there is still magic, and there's no statute of secrecy. How would that work? (I went through a few different iterations of this, if they still went to Hogwarts or not, if they all lived and schooled across England but came to London for the summer, etc) This also helped firmly establish a fictional world instead of it being more historical.

The Characters

And honestly first and foremost, I quickly identified the direct ties to the Newsies characters. I have been so adamant from the start (you can ask @alittlebitofeverything23) that Sirius was my Crutchie, even though Remus was probably the obvious choice. And Remus still would've been a good choice! But Remus is so Davey to me, and Crutchie being caught and sent to the Refuge very much felt like Sirius being caught and sent back to live with his parents for whatever reason (which I then changed to Azkaban, for ease and also canon-related reasons).

Picking my Pulitzer was hard for me.* I waffled endlessly on if it'd be Petunia or Vernon, but knowing it was them meant that there was kind of a clear canon-adjacent issue for the Newsies to face. It also made the reveal tricky, because if you know Newsies, you know Katherine's father runs the paper, but when you see it for the first time and she's in the office during that confrontation with Jack, it's a complete surprise. To kind of draw out that suspense a bit in Roar, I name dropped Mr. Mason as the owner (who the Dursleys have over for dinner in CoS), then you get Vernon, and THEN you get Petunia barging in with Lily at her heels. I'm calling it "the slow release reveal" 😂.

*On the subject of Pulitzer, I did briefly consider having it be an old wizarding family, or someone like Umbridge or Voldemort trying to sow division but that was too complicated to pull off so we just kept it simple.

The Plot

Now as for the plot (oh god this is getting so long, I'm sorry!), not only did I have a different central premise for the strike (which meant I had to find a new solution), I also had the fallout of Lily's article happen before the act break/chapter break, so that left a lot of questions for me while writing the second chapter. I had to adjust a bit, and I think finagling that is why it took me longer than expected to update. So I brought in a ringer, and that ringer was a nod to Katherine Plumber from Newies, and once I introduced her and other publications, the ending solution seemed a little more clear to me.

I didn't intend to get too in-the-weeds with press and prejudice but that's what I get for not wanting to do research on labor unions, haha. But it was really nice to write something just hopeful about everything, and I really loved writing how the Muggle newsies stood their ground and supported the wixen newsies.

The kiss and the pub.

Listen, the kiss scene in Newsies makes me absolutely FERAL. The anger to kiss speed does something to my brain, and I was SO EXCITED to write it! I've had the line "God you're so infuriating! I’m about three seconds from hexing you, you know.” written since like last summer, lol. James grabbing her wrist to place her wand under his chin, feeling like he deserves it, to have her GRAB his FACE and kISS HIM?!?!?!?! I'm unwell.

And I'm so happy you enjoyed the end scene at the pub and Sirius' little quips. I missed him in this chapter and wanted to give him some of those lighter moments after I rudely put him in jail. The end was a little tricky, I won't lie, because as I had the Newsies script up, I realize Jack's decision not to go to Santa Fe is pretty....abrupt? Like his friends are just like 😔 and Pulitzer offers him a job that he doesn't even seem excited about and he's like ALRIGHT NEWSIES HIT THE STREETS! So I really wanted to make James' decision a little more fleshed out....he's still getting out of London, just not leaving everyone halfway around the world, which seemed like a pretty good compromise to me.

Additionally, in Newsies, Katherine is very much a "wherever you go, I'll go, too" type of person in the finale, and while Lily has her own plans, I wanted her to have that same sort of encouragement for him. She encourages him to go to Australia if he really wants to, because she wants him to be happy. She listens as he talks through his thoughts, even gently offers her own thoughts on it all. It's been a whirlwind week for them, but she helps offer him clarity for his next big step.

*breathes* Wow I'm....so sorry. This got SO long. I hope you at least enjoyed my ramblings? Could honestly talk about this fic for hours probably. Thank you again so much for the ask and I'm so happy you liked this fic!

#asked and answered #pennyrigby #And The Roar Will Rise #newsies au #director's cut

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daystar-daydreamer · 4 months

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The Pirates of Pompeii by Caroline Lawrence

Category: Middle-grade

Genre: Historical whodunnit

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌑🌑 3/5 stars

Recommended for: 7-10

It is AD 79. The Roman world is reeling from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Hundreds of refugees are living in a makeshift camp, trying to come to terms with what has happened. Then even more tragedy strikes: the camp's children begin to disappear. Flavia Gemina and her friends Jonathan, Nubia, and Lupus are determined to find out more and start to investigate a powerful and charismatic man known as the Patron. A dangerous trail leads them to the caves and grottoes of Sorrento, where they encounter pirates, slave dealers, and possible death.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

I’m not going to be reviewing The Secrets of Vesuvius because all I have to say about it is that after the life-or-death (At least for the dogs) stakes of the last book, that glorified easter egg hunt feels like a downgrade. And I can see the author thought so too, so she added a hefty dose of soap opera to make it more exciting. It didn’t work. And Gaius is NASTY for making moves on 14-year-old Miriam. I get the book is set in ancient Rome and that sort of thing was normal, but goddamn!

Now onto the Pirates of Pompeii. This one is much better than SoV, and a little better than ToO.

I like that we get some of Nubia and Lupus’s backstories (Which I suspect will become relevant in later books), and the little seeds of foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the book: Julia . The character work is stronger in this book than the previous two.

I don’t really like that arc where Flavia started acting more like Pulchia. Firstly, it seems really out of character compared to the Flavia from the previous books. At least it didn’t last very long.

I did find it funny how Pulchia kept calling Flavia ‘Fulvia’. And Pulchia’s character development was nice too, though I admit I kind of hoped she’d get offed because she was so insufferable. And even if Pulchra isn't such a piece of crap now, I don't think Leda will be jumping at the chance to be her friend.

It was nice of Flavia to set Nubia free, even if I saw it coming.

#middle grade mystery #middle grade #middle grade historical fiction #ancient history #historical fiction #middle grade mysteries #whodunnit #roman mysteries #Caroline Lawrence #three stars #book blog #book review #bookblr

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fandomhype · 10 months

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Who Killed Leda Strike?

youtube

Other (much smarter) fans have speculated this subject since book one was printed! Here I take a look at the theories and talk nonsense about how much I love these two <3

#cormoran strike #robin ellacott #cb strike #strike and robin #tom burke #holliday grainger #Youtube

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105nt · 10 months

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I don't buy any of these but it's a neat little summary.

youtube

#my watching #youtube #fan video #leda strike

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dragonmuse · 7 months

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20 Questions for Fanfci writers

I was tagged by @thetragicallynerdy ! Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

278. Please remember I've been writing for 20+ years and I did port everything over when I left LJ.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

4,491,070, but that is artificially inflated from the 800k repost of Leda Verse in one file, so it's actually 3.6 million give or take.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now just OFMD, but uh...many. So many.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. How (thanks to Gabriel) Dean and Castiel (accidentally) raised each other (and Sam). Supernatural. Dean/Castiel. Sam/Gabriel. I wrote this 11 years ago. It's a juggernaut.

2. A Mountain I'm Willing to Die On. Zootopia. Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde. I have no defense, I was compelled as soon as I saw the movie.

3. (Redacted because fuck J.K. Rowling, but I refuse to take down work and pretend that I was never in the fandom. The story comes with a very clear disclaimer that I do not support or agree with her in any way.)

4. Jonathan to his David. MCU. Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes. The one were Steve has a tiny penis and Bucky is into it.

5. All the First Times. MCU. Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes. One of those stories where Bucky heals in the Avengers Tower.

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

YES! Because I love to stay thank you and it helps build community! <3 Love you all.

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

Treacherous Waters. The Hobbit. Fili/Kili. I got many shrieking comments on this one, including 'I actually curled around my computer making distressed sounds of horror' Very proud of myself for that one.

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

That's pretty subjective. A lot of my fics end pretty happily with personal growth, found family, and parties.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far I've mostly managed to avoid being picked up on that radar. I've gotten stray comments, but it's rarely hate. I think it's mostly because I've never quite gotten popular enough to draw that kind of attention. I know the more attention a fic has gotten, the more likely I am to start to get odd comments or asks. I'm also not very active on Twitter which I think helps.

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

Rarely! I used to subscribe to the theory that if you don't put in smut, no one will read your work, but as birthday present to myself five or six year ago, I just stopped writing it as an experiment and while my hits went down, not nearly as much as you'd think. Now I only write if the mood really strikes me and am much happier for it.

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

Yep! I don't think it was crazy, but I wrote a short Avengers/Mad Max one that I'm pretty proud of: Fresh Eden

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not stolen. I did have them put on Goodreads without permission which was a weird moment in fandom a few years back. I mean it's possible someone's stolen something and I haven't found out yet, I guess. My book has been pirated though.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Thanks to all the translators out there, you do incredible work for your community.

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

A few times! Nothing super recent though there's WIP out there.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't have one. I'm a consummate multishipper. I will say my most consistent ship over the years is Brian/Bender of The Breakfast Club. I will always go back to that well.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The SMAU I was working on in OFMD. It was a really fun experiment and I don't really have that much left to go, but the amount of work to make it was extensive.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. I really love writing how people talk to each other and I think a lot about tone and vocabulary and styles.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting. I tend to go by the seat of my pants.

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

I will generally just note when someone has switched languages. I don't have any confidence in auto translators and unless it's an established canon nickname or endearment, I try to avoid it. I admire multilingual authors so much!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Buffy! I was fifteen and it was a Willow/Spike fic. That was...almost twenty five years ago.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

The answer changes, and for a long time it was this Sam/Gabriel fic where I put my whole philosophy major ass into it. But these days, it's definitively Leda House and the Kraken Verse. How could it not be?

---

Thanks so much for the tag, this was a lot of fun!! Neat to look back, too.

I'm gonna tag (but only if you feel like it friends!) @internerdionality @museaway @napneeders

If you didn't get tagged but see this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged!!

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romnianistan · 5 months

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going on a whim about something minor here but the sort of Bohemian theme that's been going on in the Cormoran Strike novels intrigues me a little bit. Firstly what I find interesting is that mentions of Romani people or of Bohemianism never showed up in Harry Potter when Jo would have had plenty of opportunities to do so while describing Trelawney's classroom or character, for example. I think it's interesting that she didn't do that then (maybe she thought it was overdone? or maybe she knows that associations between Romani people and the occult are mostly based on fantasies than in reality). So what's interesting is that it does show up in the Strike novels where fantasy is much more toned down (duh).

The first time we get a mention of Romani people is in the Silkworm where we learn one of Strike's nickname is diddicoy. We are told "diddicoy" is a Welsh word meaning "Gypsy". That's actually not true; diddicoy is a British Romani word used to talk (often pejoratively) about people who are half-Romani and half-white (and I'm not setting myself to blame JKR here as accurate information about Romani people are pretty hard to come by).

In the entire series, most of the time you encounter the words "Gypsy", "bohemian", it's to talk about Strike's past and in particular, to qualify Leda. But instead of the Romantic take on Bohemianism, which was about portraying Romani people as free-spirited magical nature spirits, the portrayal of Strike's childhood is much more grim, associated with poverty, substance abuse, mental illness, unstability, that clashes with the way other people (characters who get interviewed, mostly) fantasize about Strike's past and about his groupie mother. So Jo twists one of the most widespread Romantic tropes and renders it more ambivalent as there is a big contrast between representation and reality. To some extent I think there's something similar going on with Theo's character in Troubled Blood: you got that stereotypical representation of a mysterious Gypsy girl who wears golden jewellery and is (gasp) maybe a criminal. But then she turns out to be just a regular teenager (who happened to be Romani) and scared about being pregnant in a conservative community.

What's also interesting is that Bohemianism is also a theme in Gothic novels (think of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, or about any horror story about Gypsy curses for example), so all in all I think this is part of what Jo has been doing in the CS series so far, which is, transcribing a Gothic aesthetic into reality and deconstructing its tropes a little bit (like all the UHC magic tricks turned out to be fake in TRG, for example)

#cormoran strike #cb strike #troubled blood #troubled blood spoilers #the running grave #the running grave spoilers

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denmark-street · 9 months

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the quote is actually from TIBH's epilogue!

Strike was left staring at the place where she’d vanished, until the young heart-attack survivor reappeared and returned to his bed. The detective didn’t chide his wardmate for the strong smell of Marlboro now wafting on the hot air, because he was experiencing a clarification of his feelings as irrefutable as it was unwelcome. The thing he’d been trying for years not to look at, and not to name, had stepped out of the dark corner where he’d attempted to keep it, and Strike knew there was no longer any way of denying its existence.

And here I was thinking it was teasing Leda's case lol

#the running grave #the ink black heart 🖤#strike (books)

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samuell2 · 2 months

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Funeral Parade of Roses ("I feel like I'm high" -Eddie)

This may have been a bad choice to watch at Library West. Oh well.

If Yukio Mishima was a gifted director instead of a writer, this may have been something he would have produced. Weird, gay, bloody, full of masks. Ticks all the boxes.

I loved this film because it was artsy and dark and fascinating while still being funny as hell. In terms of the dark and thematic bits, the concept of masks throughout was pretty fascinating. It seemed to imply, at least in part, that transsexuality is one of the many performative masks people don to cope with their loneliness and issues-- a mask that happens not to "resemble their facial features", but is not inherently different from the ones others wear. That idea is also reinforced by the presence of clown and circus-like music throughout, especially during scenes with Eddie and her friends. This seems like sort of a problematic idea to me, but I don't really have the knowledge of queer culture to properly judge it. The idea that it was Eddie's rejection as a man by her mother and the subsequent stabbing episode that caused the him to become a "gay boy" also seems a little dated (insofar as it implies that queer people are just queer because of some horrible trauma), but then again, the interviews throughout the film emphasize the opposite perspective, that many "gay boys" were simply doing what they felt like and enjoyed, without a particular reason. That's pretty wholesome. And overall I thought it was really cool for a film to address and follow the gay club scene. Obviously Japan is pretty socially conservative even today, but I've noticed that quite a bit of Japanese media is willing to engage with topics like this-- Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen and Murakami's Kafka on the Shore are just a couple of the works I've encountered with transgender characters. I know Mishima's Forbidden Colors also explores gay bars and queer culture.

On the lighter side, some scenes and images I loved:

Eddie and her friends passing around the joint and then dancing in front of a Beatles portrait-- this is just so comically 1960s. Plus one of Guevara's friends is basically cosplaying John Lennon.

The scene where Leda and Eddie have their final confrontation, facing off in a western duel and trading insults in goofy speech bubbles. Genuinely funny as hell.

"Applause Requested"

The recurring image of a rose between someone's asscheeks (there's probably some thematic analysis here but it's just striking on its own)

The freeze on Eddie's breasts in the beginning of the film, the point where we realize Eddie is not biologically a woman.

I could ramble on, but yeah, safe to say this was a super interesting and bizarre film. Hope we see more like it.

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