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themisteriousentity · 6 months

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"Golden Deer is boring though it's lackluster, the characters aren't as strong as the other paths there's less conflict-"

You fool. You absolute buffon. Golden Deer is perfectly designed. Not only does it feed into the whole "alliance" theme well by having the characters still work together despite their differences and feelings well before hitting those A supports, but it's ALSO the only route that actually puts the focus on YOU the player. Or, rather, Byleth themself

Black Eagle is about whether or not you can agree to Edelgard's ideals of acceptable sacrifice and perspective that there's only 1 way to do things. The branching happens when you decide whether or not you agree, but ultimately it just explores opposing or agreeing with Edelgard. Anything more than that is really just incidental to that main concept, whether it's Crimson Flower or Silver Snow, the entire time you're focused either on helping Edelgard achieve her goals or you're focused on showing her how wrong she is alongside the Black Eagles who think it's their duty to correct Edelgard's wrongs (and I have a whole separate thing in regards to how the cast acts in Crimson Flower verses Silver Snow). It works really well for characters designed around an empire, a domineering form of government where (usually) a singular ruler determines the course and focus

Blue Lions is focused entirely on working on past issues and learning to bring yourself into the present, but it's done almost entirely through the cast more than the player. The Blue Lions themselves all have their own traumas and deep-seated past issues that hinder or help progress. While both Blue Lions and Black Eagles have a lot in common when it comes to traumatized characters and ideology, the ideology is front and center, while in Boue Lions, their interpersonal conflicts are front and center. This shows especially in the final (non romance) scene, where Dimitri decides that his personal attachment to Edelgard and past memories still matter, and he reaches out a hand, despite her immediately trying to kill him. It's fitting for a route designed around a kingdom, which is usually built entirely on interpersonal dealings between the ruling class

Golden Deer, however, is designed very differently. Unlike the other 3 routes, the player, or more specifically Byleth, is put as the driving force instead of the Lord. And this is actually what makes Golden Deer such a good route and one with the best ending of all of them. Claude has ideals, but he isn't a person who wants to force others to follow his path like Edelgard. Claude has lived a life of strife where his past motivates him, but it doesn't chain him the same way it does Dimitri. Instead, he works on understanding everyone around him and working together towards agreed upon goals, while taking on stuff that isn't agreed upon onto himself. But more than that, while all the Lord's value your opinion, Claude is the only one who actually takes what Byleth wants (rather than just what they think about specific matters) into consideration for his plans. Repeatedly you tell Seteth in Silver Snow that you don't want to kill Edelgard, but he pushes that you have no choice. Pretty much the entire first half of Azure Moon is Dimitri ignoring you. And in Crimson Flower, you've all but completely submitted to Edelgard's will with a couple of exceptions (which actually proves my point because it's specifically in regards to the Golden Deer because you can fight the entirety of Crimson Flower while sparing all of them except for Judith). But in Verdant Wind, Claude doesn't hide that he has a problem with the church and wants Rhea gone. In Golden Wildfire, without Byleth, he's more than happy to just get rid of her without a second thought. But when Byleth is the protagonist, he goes out of his way to accommodate your wants into his plans and goals. When you express as the player that you want to reason with Edelgard and ponder if you can't walk the same path, Claude agrees with you and says he'll make it happen if he can, with the other Golden Deer mostly agreeing. When that,can't happen you both lament the fact that Edelgard gave you no choice together. He makes finding Rhea a priority, mostly because as curious as he is in general, he wants to help you find out answers only Rhea can give you. And all of the Golden Deer do this to some extent, with each other but also with you as the player. I think Hilda and Marianne's A supports with Byleth show this best personally, but that's a personal opinion. And it just works so well for a route designed around the idea of an alliance, people coming together and agreeing to work towards a goal bigger than themselves

And that's not to say the other routes aren't as good as Golden Deer, they're all equally well written, but it just makes me sad when I see people giving the Golden Deer route grief just because the characters aren't the same when it does its theme so beautifully

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #claude von riegan #claude fe3h #golden deer #byleth eisner #byleth fe3h #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #edelgard von hresvelg #blue lions #black eagles #crimson flower #silver snow #azure moon #verdant wind #edelgard fe3h #dimitri fe3h

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milgram-tournament · 4 months

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MILGRAM Best Song Tournament, Round 1, Match 9 CAT vs. THE PURGE MARCH

Propaganda for both options under the cut!

Propaganda for CAT:

"You like jazz? Jazz is chaos within order. Got to love the whole band. Vibraphone, saxophone, trumpet, flute, piano, guitar, drums, bass… Go, rhythm section, go! The song sounds tender at times and aggressive at others as different instruments pop up at different times. Sometimes they follow Kazui’s voice (“follow the king of the masquerade”). Sometimes they get to be the focus. You have the chill piano one moment and the screaming guitar in the next.

You’ve got a lovely “jingle” (“Lie until it gets better…”) which occurs at the beginning, middle, and end. It fits the “newspaper ad” style of the video really well. Also at the very end, there’s one more line that gives the jingle an upward contour, giving a sense of finality. “Until you can meet the king of the masquerade.” You’re there now.

The two verses start off differently before they take on a similar melody. It feels like Kazui is talking to a different person in each verse.

The chorus is a beautiful façade the first time and a sinister truth the second time.

The opening for solos shows that this jazz song means business. I love how the saxophone and trumpet especially get in your face. And with the tacet on vocals, the walking bass really shines if you lend it your ear.

And the smoke break! Silence is golden. Glass click. Lighter. Huff.

As always, Kazui’s voice is super deep. He hits even lower notes this time around. He’s a fifth lower than the next lowest singers (Haruka and Shidou)."

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-Great instrumental choice. Kazui and jazz is *chefs kiss*

-Symbolism. THE SYMBOLISM. I can’t type out all my thoughts but ifykyk

-The almost comic like style of the MV is really appealing.

-Lyrics!! There is so much to unpack but it’s really cool.

-Kazui eating the dove… fricken iconic.

---

FIRST OF ALL the vocals????? BEAUTIFUL. His va put his whole pussy into this song and you can tell!! The way he sings the chorus is so damn addicting I'm so in love with him. His voice is more or less stable throughout the entire thing until the final chorus but you can hear the emotion peaking out which fits perfectly with Kazui keeping everything hidden. The way his voice turns into a sort of whisper during "all the things I wanna do that I can't say outloud"??? The way his voice starts trembling during "this feeling it's yearning to be satisfied"???? The way his voice turns into a sort of whisper AND starts trembling during "hey, if I said I liked-liked you, what would you?"?????? HEAVENLY! You can really feel how afraid Kazui is under his disguise and my heart breaks a little everytime I listen. Not to mention how absolutely powerful his voice gets at the climax!!!!!! It's insane!!!!!!! It's genius!!!!!! It makes me wild makes me crazy makes me eat my walls!!!!!!!!!!

THE SMOKE BREAK?????? What other song has something as powerful as that huh???? This isn't just a song produced by the milgram machine using his memories, this is HIS song and he is OWNING IT! The music builds up so much and gets so intense right before it, I can literally feel myself get tense and starting holding my breath right before he takes the break and everything relaxs… it's not just a break for him, but a break for the viewer. The song is spiralling out of control just like his life and his lies and he has no choice but to put it to a quick stop before its too much to handle.

THE IMAGERY IS WILD!!!!! He's a magician!!! Little magic guy!!!! Using tricks and lies to amaze and captivate the people around him! Trying desperately to magic his own feelings into something else! But it's all fake! It's all tricks and no matter how hard he tries he can never actually change himself into what he wants! But he's trying to convince himself the same way he's convinced his audience!! And when you're watching a magic act, are you there for the magician themself or are you there to watch the show?? The people in his life only cared for him when he performed for them, but they didn't give a drop of love to who he was a person! ALSO the transformation of the wedding ring to a cigarette to the dove at the end??? Makes me wild every single time! Right infront of his wife, he showed her that their marriage was something unhealthy for him that was slowly killing him from the inside. AND THEN he uses it to harm himself???? And then he turns that cigarette into a dove- a representation of love and literally TEARS INTO IT. He tears his marriage apart with his mouth!!! AKA HIS WORDS. makes me wild. Also fun fact Kazui says he started smoking because when he was younger it was "just natural for everyone to smoke" and that lines up with his reasons for marriage perfectly.

Kazui looks really hot in it. You should vote for Cat because Kazui is insanely attractive. What other reason do you need huh? Hot gay middle aged man.

Propaganda for THE PURGE MARCH:

"Despite the shorter length, the Purge March has several distinct sections in its structure.

It starts with a rolloff, and then… they don’t follow it. Amane isn’t here to follow the beat.

There’s the spoken-word intro and the upbeat first verse listing the tenets. The prechorus (“dou shiyou mo nai…”) has an amen break. The most-sampled four-bar drum beat. Well, there’s half of it. Is it supposed to mean something? Can I get an amen?

The chorus is so, so cheerful… unless you’re actually listening to the lyrics (“I’ll crush your throat too”) or watching the video. And it’s super catchy.

The second part of the verse dials things back. Now we’re in reality. This is how Amane breaks her tenets. All the while, those tenets are spoken into both ears over the singing. Get some good headphones. She sounds different in each ear.

The music picks up again with the amen break as Amane happily strolls back home, and then-

Oh.

The somber second chorus, with Amane’s lower singing voice and mournful spoken words, leads into the final chorus, with new lyrics and a more forceful tone. The once-meaningless chanting now has real words. “You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please go ahead and die already.” You can hear Amane’s anger despite the cheerful melody. She harmonizes in the final phrase, as if to say “we’re in this together, me and my little color guard troop.” And finally, it’s just her. Speaking. "Oboetemasuka?" Accompanied by only a single drum.

She is both Amane Momose and not. She upholds the doctrines that she was raised with, but she can’t."

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"Purge March is geniunaly one of my favorite pieces of fiction both in and out of the context of trauma. Its fantastically directed and composed. The batton twirling is spetacular and energetic, the set and character design of Amane conveys a lot about the world she’s in and the story she’s telling. Purge March contextulizes a lot of Magic in both expected and unexpected ways (insert the entire cat symbolism thesis here) Purge March casts Amane in the role of a scary child. The glowing eyes, the framing of Amane as Above the viewer, the brutality and catharsis of it all. It seems tailored made to make you Scared of her. It’s a continuation of the cycle of abuse that we the audience repeated in T1 when we gave her that verdict. A red flashing warning sign about the Inhumanity and Monsterous qualities of Amane Momose. But Amane as a monster is fufilling and freeing. Again, its deeply cathartic. I would write more if I wasnt so sleepy at the moment but its just some Fantastic work overall. Purge March is also just fantasitic vocally and also hids electricity sounds in the instrumental which I think is evil and awesome."

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-Amane’s vocals and how they slowly get more and more off the deep end is both really sad and cool to watch.

-The symbolism of the marching band and the flags. Ifykyk

-The beginning where it sounds like a propaganda TV show… really shows just how far Amane’s thinking is rooted in her cult and how that’s shaped her perception.

-The LYRICS. They work so well but it’s also creepy AF considering it’s a child who’s singing it.

-“So there is no second time, I’ll give back the judgment that you gave to me!”

-The overlapping part… gives me chills everytime.

-Building off the last point, the last “I’ll crush your throat too.” Ouch.

-“Remember MY cries, MY repents, MY words of “I’m sorry” that I said to you?”

-The song also does a great job of showing how much the guilty verdict messed with her.

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beatingdrumspouringwine · 2 months

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Personal Dionysian Ritual

This is the ritual form I use for my Sunday worship (or, in this case, first-day-of-Anthesteria worship). I think this may hit closer to Catholic or Christian formats than historic Greek pagan ritual formats, at least if the book Hellenic Polytheism - Household Worship is to be believed. But this format is just a bit easier on me in terms of supplies, time, and ability to keep it semi-covert. I don't have the ability to light fires in my current space, but when I do, I usually include a prayer to Hestia at the beginning and end.

Dionysian Ritual (for Sundays) (Usually) (It's not set in stone)

Approach the altar or worship space. With you, there must be:

A bowl or other vessel filled with water (can be small).

Optionally, you may have:

Wine

Barley

Sea salt

Divination tools (I prefer tarot, or Sappho/Homeromanteions when I can get my hands on it).

A candle or other source of heat/light/incense (smells, basically)

Place the bowl of water either in front of your statue of Dionysos, or, if no statue is available, in a central spot in your space of worship. The wine and extra supplies may be placed anywhere else. Begin:

Orphic Hymn to Dionysos (Apostolos N. Athanassakis translation) I call upon loud-roaring and reveling Dionysos, primeval, two-natured, Thrice-born, Bacchic Lord, savage, ineffable, two-horned and two-shaped. Ivy-covered, bull-faced, warlike, howling, pure, You take raw flesh, You have triennial feasts, wrapped in foliage, decked in grape clusters. Resourceful Eubouleus, immortal God sired by Zeus when He mated with Persephone in unspeakable union, Harken to my voice, O blessed one, and with your fair-girdled nurses, Breathe on me in spirit of perfect kindness.

After the Orphic hymn, consecrate the bowl of water to make khernips. You may add salt if desired.

Dionysian Khernips Prayer (In between each verse of the Khernips Prayer, I move from just having the bowl on the altar, to holding the sides of the bowl, to holding the bowl up for the last verse.)

After the Khernips Prayer, I pray to Hagios as I actually ritually wash myself with the newly made khernips.

Hagios (For every verse of Hagios, I start with washing my face, then move to washing my hands, and finally sprinkle khernips on my feet, especially if I'm planning on dancing. This isn't actual washing, but more like lightly splashing water on the different parts of me that I wash.)

After Hagios, if there is wine, then I consecrate that, which I'll link my prayer for below. If there isn't, then I libate clean water (will be writing a prayer for that at some point soon), and move on to the next part of the ritual.

Wine Consecration to Dionysos (From the part where I say "This is the gift that..." through to "on the slopes of Mount Kithairon", I raise the wine towards my statue Dionysos as though toasting Him, which is inspired by art showing Maenads serving Dionysos wine.)

After the wine consecration, I pour out a libation of wine to Dionysos while praying my prayer to Dionysos Theoinos:

Theoinos

After the prayer to Theoinos, whatever happens next is up to you. If I'm doing any divination, I'll say a prayer to Dionysos Mantis before going ahead with it. Otherwise, I may dance, or talk about my day, or simply do prayer after prayer after prayer until I've kind of exhausted my talking point. Since most of my rituals are done at night, however, the consistent part is frequently the end, which is my second prayer to Dionysos Nyktelios:

Nyktelios II

And there you have it! I definitely finished this a bit later than I was planning, but that's okay - I got it out, and that's all that matters! I hope everyone has a good night and a beautiful Anthesteria, and that this was helpful to some degree :)

#dionysian #dionysos #dionysus #hellenic polytheism #hellenic polytheist #dionysos deity #dionysus deity #hellenic pagan #hellenic gods #hellenism #paganblr #helpol #pagan rituals #ritual #anthesteria

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omegalomania · 2 months

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What are some of your favorite aro-/ace-coded fob lyrics?

oh fuck yes a little bowl of seeds just for me

boycott love from disloyal order of water buffaloes is a personal favorite of mine. its a lyric i really really want tattooed at some point. that's not the only lyric i latch onto from an aro perspective but it's probably the biggest one

basically the entirety of it's hard to say "i do" when i don't but a special mention goes to you are appealing to emotions that i simply do not have as well as the only ring i want buried with me are the ones around my eyes

it's true romance is dead / i shot it in the chest and in the head from the music or the misery is also a favorite of mine, also just that whole song in general

i thought i loved you but it was just how you looked in the light in hum hallelujah resonates with a lot of queer folks i've found, and it's no different for me

same goes for it's a strange way of saying that i know i'm supposed to love you from g.i.n.a.s.f.s.

i'm outside the door, invite me in / so we can go back and play pretend from alone together brings me back to when i was trying to perform heteronormativity/amatonormativity even if it was making me miserable

i also hold to a very similar vibe with she said "i love you 'till i don't" / i am just playing house, no idea what i'm doing now from sunshine riptide and also most of burna boy's verse, frankly. i fell in love but i didn't fall down and feel like i'm bulletproof, baby in particular

american beauty/american psycho, particularly the first verse. i think i fell in love again / maybe i just took too much cough medicine

golden is a big one for queer folks in general i've found. the chorus especially hits hard from an aro and/or ace reading. and i saw god cry in the reflection of my enemies / and all the lovers with no time for me

i've got a dark alley and a bad idea that says you should shut your mouth is a heavy song no matter how you slice it. but that chorus gets to me in particular: we can fake it for the airwaves / force our smiles, baby, half-dead / from comparing myself to everyone else around me

the kids aren't alright reads to me as one big anthem for platonic love above anything romantic, which resonates super hard with me. the second verse has a lot of good lines that i latch onto from an aroace lens too. your love is anemic and i can't believe / that you couldn't see it coming from me

pretty much the whole chorus of HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T does it for me, and those verses have got some good aroallo vibes too! i never really feel a thing... confidants but never friends...

the whole of fake out is a gimme. that chorus rings real true. starts with love is in the air, i just gotta find a window to break out and finishing with but it was all a fake-out

i've got all this ringing in my ears and none on my fingers is one that has another highly applicable title but the whole refrain of the truth hurts worse / than anything i could bring myself to do to you paired with the one-two punch of that second verse REALLY gets under my skin

and of course, the culminating one: you are what you love, not who loves you from save rock and roll. obviously there are a LOT of ways to read that line

there are a couple other songs i latch onto - wilson (expensive mistakes); a little less "sixteen candles", a little more "touch me"; the (after) life of the party to name a few - but the ones listed above are the big lyrics that resonate with me on a personal level

just in general i have a shitton of fob over on my aro playlist (which doubles as a general aroace/queer playlist but has a lot of emphasis on aromanticism) in case i forgot to mention anything but like i said those are the big ones

#askin hours #anon #happy aro awareness week lol ive had this in my drafts for mONTHS and forgot about it #sorry it took so long to answer i have a million asks in my inbox and just do not have time most days #go listen to aromanticism by moses sumney for black history month and aro awareness week btw #now THAT there is an album that rewrote my neural chemistry

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mxdarling · 16 days

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[“put that down! you’ll hurt yourself with that.” / “you’re so pretty when you smile.”]

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

ೃ⁀➷: summary: idia bought a new multiplayer game, and he wants to play it with his player one, you.

ೃ⁀➷: word count: 2.3k (2334)

ೃ⁀➷: reference/Inspiration: playlist

ೃ⁀➷: event: [200 followers event]

[author's note:] JDJDKD MORE IDIA CONTENT WOOHOOO this was supposed to be his belated birthday gift from me but uhh cough cough writer block hit me like a bitch soo.. didn't finish before new years, and it's now like- 4 months late??? anyways, thank you anon for requesting idia with dialogue #3 and #7!! my last yandere idia work had him a little creepy so i made him cute this time loll i hope it's to your satisfaction anon!

[warnings:] lowercase, yandere behavior, more fluff than yandere, established relationship, reader is a gamer, cuddling, kisses, reader is ticklish, poor explanation of game mechanics, mentions of fear for judgement, reader is portrayed as a crybaby, one paragraph mentions idia being a creep, game is a rip-off of minecraft (fantasy version), toxic teammates.

[note:] If there is anything else triggering here that I didn’t list in the warnings section, please tell me. i don’t condone this type of behavior, this is merely just for entertaining purposes and some sort of coping mechanism for me. if you continue to read beyond this point, ignoring my warnings, i am not responsible for your actions from here on out.

[GN reader]

IDIA SHROUD seemed to be in a good mood today, at least according to what you've seen so far. probably because his latest purchase is the cause of his being in such an upbeat mood. not that you're complaining; it was rather cute seeing him all excited and giddy when he found a new game to play. it's like a whole new, different side of him comes out whenever he starts to ramble about the features of the game and why he should absolutely play it right now. of course, as his player one, you're automatically going to be the first person he's going to play with. not that you mind, really. playing with idia was always a fun experience; it reminded you a lot of how you would spend your free time back in your world.

(those days of laziness, those days of unproductivity where you did nothing but lay down on your bed and do nothing—no school work to do, no club activities to do, no studying for an upcoming exam—just pure idleness. then when you're bored, you could just use your phone, PC, or iPad to entertain you as the day goes by, playing nonstop until late hours in the evening. god, you miss those days.)

you often wondered what genre of video games this new world had to offer. you knew that it wouldn't be so different from your own world, but you weren't sure just how many of your friends were affiliated with gaming entertainment. out of fear that judgement would be placed upon you if you shared this interest of yours, your love for video games has been hidden—so to find someone else (with that someone else being idia) that likes video games and is very well versed in them is a dream come true. it was a long process to get him to play with you, let alone consider you a friend and not try to avoid you every 2 seconds—still, it was a feat you were proud of because now you get to experience many, many different sides of idia that you would have never known 9 months ago.

(you once heard idia curse like at least twenty times in one breathe when one of his teammates was being shitty and a prick, he sounded so angry and scary that you backed into a corner to avoid getting burnt by his scorching, bright red hair that grew the more angrier he got. the only reason he stopped was when he heard quiet sobs in the corner of his room and turned around away from his computer to see you huddled in the corner of his room. quickly he went over there, completely abandoning his game and comforting you. he hates seeing his cute prefect cry, especially because of him, he's not the great at comforting but when he hugged you so tightly, your quiet sobs turned into silence. right then and there he swore to never be the reason you're crying and when you do, he'll be right there with you.)

you are currently cross-sitting in his very comfy bed, watching as idia set up two controllers and plugged in the PCs to turn them on (you're still surprised he's got more than 2 PCs, which, if you really think about it, his family background makes it make sense). after waiting for the PCs to turn on, he then connects the controllers to the PCs and opens up the game on both screens. you would insist on helping him set up, but due to you literally being isekai'd into this unknown world of twisted wonderland, you aren't too familiar with many things besides the whole magic stuff—plus, you aren't too keen on breaking any of idia's stuff because of your lack of knowledge on how to do technology.

(technology in general is so extremely confusing, you would argue wholeheartedly all day and all night, and idia would agree with you and low-key flex on how knowledgeable he is in the field of technology, just to impress you and show how reliable he is. secretly, he likes it when he's useful to you.)

"sorry! it took a while to set up..." in slightly shaking hands, he hands over the controller to you while holding the other in his free hand. he looked rather nervous when he faced you to give the controller, like he's worried he wasted your time waiting for him. it reminded you of a puppy looking up to its owner apologetically when they did something wrong, so cute, you thought, adorable even, you added.

"haha! it's okay! you didn't take that long anyway." you gave him a reassuring look, a soft smile, and bright eyes, showing him that you weren't bothered by having to wait a bit as he set up for you two to play.

both screens show the in-game loading screen, and the bar quickly fills up due to the fast internet speed (one you're quite envious of). slowly it fades to the starting screen, where a big text is bouncing 'tap to start' in both of your faces. Idia presses to start immediately, wanting to get into gameplay as fast as he can while you take a moment to admire the visual aspects and effects of the game in silent awe. you always had a thing for the visual stuff that was shown in-game. by slowly pressing the button on your control, you enter the game and begin a fantastical journey with idia.

“put that down! you’ll hurt yourself with that.” he says worriedly as he watches you damage your avatar's HP bar this early in gameplay. usually he gets really annoyed when he plays with noobs and normies; they stink at comprehending basic knowledge, do dumb things in-game, ask too many questions, and ruin the whole gameplay experience for him. 'ugh, how annoying.' is his usual reaction to such—of course he wouldn't think of that towards you! never ever would he ever think this way towards you; even if you do things noobs and normies usually do, he can't bring himself to be annoyed—you were too cute in his eyes. he would never admit this to your face, though, and he still gets red just at the thought of him thinking you are cute. It's true though; don't get him wrong, but... the embarrassment that comes with thinking about these thoughts is just too much for his poor little heart! honestly, he's for sure that one day you'll be the death of him, does he care though? not really; in fact, he would probably love that.

(he blushes so hard whenever he thinks of you in his clothes; it's the way your natural scent clings onto his shirts, the way his shirts made you even cuter than you already are—one of the only reasons he doesn't wash his clothes immediately because he wants to savor your smell to memory. he's a creep, yes, but he's one devoted creep.)

"whoops! sorry didn't see that, haha..." nervously laughing at your mistake, you eat whatever consumable you have in your inventory to try and restore as much health as you lost. as your avatar munches on the food in its hand, from the corner of your screen, you can see idia's avatar walking towards you. once it's near enough to your avatar, you can see the animation of a bunch of items being dropped and your inventory picking up due to the proximity between the items and your avatar. you opened your inventory, curious about what he just gave you since it looked like quite a lot of items, and confused about why he was giving you so many items in the first place. your eyes widen in shock as the items he's given you are one stack of steak, every weapon in-game (sword, axe, pickaxe, shovel, hoe), but in steel, and a full set of steel armor.

your mouth continues to gape open as you put on the armor set on your avatar. how did he get so much stuff this fast? it hasn't even been an hour yet! "where.. did you get so much stuff!?" you ask naively, following idia around as you don't want to get lost, die, and lose all your stuff. "stole half of those from villages, some from mining, and a few from trading" he says so casually as he continues to walk in an unknown direction, like this was a regular thing for him, not to mention this was a hard difficulty! he's playing this game like it's not easy mode! "could've gotten more if it weren't for those stingy mobs..." furrowing his eyebrows, he let out a small huff of frustration, pressing slightly harder on the buttons on his controller, not noticing how your mouth dropped down even further at his passing comment. as she presses on, walking in an unknown direction, you're hit with the hundredth reminder that he's on a whole other level than you when it comes to gaming.

three hours in, and you guys decided to play on public servers, where you'll get to play different game modes other than the usual story and survival modes. once the two of you picked a game to play, the room quickly filled with laughter, shouting, incoherent grumbling, screams of terror, and many more in between. you two decided to save a team game as last since idia wasn't enthusiastic about playing together with other players because he just wanted to play with you, and there was an underlying fear that you would encounter toxic teammates. but since you were practically begging him to just try it at least once, he couldn't help but give in to your pleas.

it was fun, he supposed. it wasn't as annoying or infuriating as he thought it would be, but he still had to keep up not making really snarky remarks when certain players were interacting with you. he'd hate to have you see such a mean, ugly, and disgusting side of him. other than that, it was an okay experience. he thinks it would've been better if it was just him and you on a team; wouldn't it be kind of romantic? you and him against everyone else?

then what he feared most would happen actually happened. suddenly some fucking jerk is screaming insults at you for not being good enough, and before that teammate got two more words in, he exploded on them. curses upon curses spit out his mouth in rapid speed, and the voices of that said teammate slowly but surely die down as their ego and pride go down with them. in the midst of anger and chaos between him and the teammate, you could feel tears building up inside you; everything around you started to blur, and the sounds that filled your ears were starting to get tuned out. you couldn't even hear that idia stopped screaming curses, turned off both PCs, and went to take the controller from your hand, lift you up into his lap, and slowly wrap his arms around you.

once he had you fully in his grasp, he tightened his grip, making sure not to let you get away from him. he wasn't good at words, especially when trying to comfort someone, but seeing you cry was making him cry too. he did, after all, swear to always be with you when you cry. raising one of his hands, he placed it at the back of your head and gently pushed towards his neck. then his hand went down to rub your back, up and down, up and down, at a slow pace. letting you cry it all out in peace while also letting you know he's there with you.

a few minutes have passed, and your sobs have gone silent. your eyes have become droopy and sleepy, and it feels almost impossible to keep them open. suddenly, a hand lifts your chin, and you feel a pair of lips come into contact with your forehead. it wasn't like a quick kiss; no, the kiss lasted for at least a few seconds before pulling away. even then, upon pulling away, you feel another kiss on your cheek, this time a little quicker than the forehead kiss. then another kiss on your other cheek, then another on your nose, another on your jawline, another on your earlobes, and finally, his lips hovered over your own lips.

you could feel the hesitation when he let out a nervous breath; the thought of your lips on his always sends him into an electrifying and drunken daze. he can't think straight when he's this close to you, but even then, it gives him an unusual feeling of contentment and confidence. the luck he has to be able to snag such an adorable, cute, amazing, and beautiful person like you in his life. he almost can't believe it. swallowing his own nervousness for your comfort, he presses against your soft lips delicately. soon after making physical contact with your lips, he feels a smile form on your face—a small smile, yet it was enough for him. any smile from you is enough for him, because seeing you happy is the best view he could ever lay his eyes on.

feeling out of breath, he's the first to let go but also the first to frown at the loss of touch. i want to stay like this forever, he thought as he watched you emit a giggle after the kiss. fire burns brightly in his heart, and he starts to wonder if you being the death of him will really come true. his cheeks burn that ever-warm red that he knows you've seen many, many times before, but he can't help it. when you pull him into a world through rose-tinted glasses, no way could he be immune to such an effect.

"i really can’t take it when you cry like that… smile for me, alright? you’re so pretty when you smile."

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

PLEASE DO NOT COPY, REPOST, SHARE, TRANSLATE OR REUPLOAD ANY OF MY WORKS TO OTHER SITES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION + REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

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exstasyplague · 8 months

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UnPopular Jujutsu Kaisen Opinions (with arguments) PT 2

hi god. it's me again. :)

—manga spoilers!

☆ Sukuna is not stronger than Gojo

right.

i've noticed that both hardcore gojo fans and sukuna fans are delusional; almost on the same tier as the kpop stans that say their oppar is an angelic virgin who will marry them. they are willing to trash the character fighting against their favourite in a genuinely petty way 💀

in the manga it's said clearly that even back in the heian day, sukuna's presence didn't cause much uproar because times were rougher back then. the ones alive had a certain type of blood thirst so you were strong by default if you weren't dead. was sukuna the strongest back then and eventually made himself a name? yes.

gojo's birth caused a disbalance in the world.

let's not forget that. in shibuya, when he expanded his domain for 0.2 seconds, the people subjected to that received 6 months worth of information and had to be hospitalised for weeks.

(that's one of my favourite manga panels, btw. will get to that in a second)

let's do some maths.

a minute has 60 seconds. 60÷0.2= 300. 300x6months=1800. in a minute, you get 1800 months' worth of information. 1800÷12= 150. 150 years in a minute. 150÷6= 25. sukuna got information input worth 25 years of non-stop intense brain activity.

that's not only a face of brain damage. sukuna is shook by how powerful that shit was. mad props to him for enduring that. 👏

what's the point of this? to understand that gojo's power is terrifying. that shit hits you properly? it's over. it's not even instant death. it's absolute. no way, chance of recovery.

but sukuna is more well-versed in curse energy. he has a deeper understanding of it. that's his strongest skill— knowledge. gojo with his 6 Eyes can't sense people from a big distance well. sukuna could feel megumi hurting from kilometres away just because he dissected the theory of cursed energy that well, no innate technique. his use of RTC also shows that— it's one thing to get the hang of it, an entirely different one to understand it. sukuna could literally cure cancer if he wanted. (au! doctor sukuna? 🤭🤭 hanibal lecter way since he's a canon cannibal. that's how he became besties with uraume, they KNEW how to cook.)

but then you guys will be like: "ok plague, but doesn't that mean their power is equal since they both excel on their separate things?" no. LOL. knowledge can be attained— if gojo with his natural skills would have sukuna's knowledge... yeah. it would be over. but gojo is gojo and doesn't like putting in effort so he is balanced like that.

this fight is mastery vs innate talent among many other things. one of the main messages in jujutsu kaisen, especially in the plasma vessel arc, is that being powerful is sometimes not enough. and that's exactly gojo is so damn strong; he's the perfect one to prove that point. that's why he struggles against my fraudulent sweet prince. 😍

☆ Maki will never be Toji

never. lol.

people compare them, especially the ones in the jjk world because there are no other heavenly restricted people to draw a parallel between. toji's strength doesn't only come from the fact that he maxxed up his body. it's also his mentality and life philosophy— which maki will never be able to embody. giving up on everything. being all alone. giving up even on yourself and your pride, living to kill and killing to live. that's a certain desperation that's so powerful and strengthening it can not even be called desperation, just something rooting from a VERY similar place with it. toji was rejected by everything and he rejected everything around him. until he didn't and well... we know how that ended. 💀

her own principles will take her on a different path. this is not an opinion about power scaling or whatever, it's as simple as it sounds. SHE IS STRONG. BUT WILL EVOLVE DIFFERENTLY. maki is accepted by some people, by her friends. maki also has her sister; with whom she had a love-hate relationship wtv but in the end mai becomes her greatest motivation and unleash point. plus, maki became besties with that blood clan guy for whatever reason, i don't mind but that's more so to solidify my point. she was able to forge new connections and maintain her old ones.

+ all great villains/ op protags have some backstories. some curses wanted to become the real humans. some mfs were homeless. maki ain't broke enough for this toji shit bruh.

☆ Kashimo is overhyped

🤓

"when kashimo wipes out his SUPER SEKRET CURSED TECHNIQUE—" bro. shut. the. fucx. up. my man can wipe out his d1ck and all it's gonna get him is an honorary spot on rule 34.

he's has an unhinged mentality but that doesn't mean he is a goat. his only purpose in life (reason why kenjaku tapped that ass a bit) is to duel sukuna. very cool. but come on bro. YOU KNOW he is gonna have max 1-2 cool badass moments before he goes like "lul, xd. guess my life nice. bye bye minna-san☺️. the true jujutsu kaisen is the friends we made along the way."

DON'T GET ME WRONG.

if he actually does something cool and badass that will influence the plot beyond adding few cold ass panels, GGs. but there is literally no reason for all the WILD dick buffing this man is getting as of now. no basis.

you know he low-key shitting his pants watching that fight going on— would it be totally in character for him to get excited and hop in for the lols just to see how much damage/influence he'd have? yeah. but that's only because of his ambition. kthx

☆ Nanami has one of the best mentalities

i don't know and i don't care if this is popular/ unpopular.

NANAMI. THE. GOAT.

in a shonen world filled with adults that push all the responsibility on children while they fucx off to party, he is refreshingly aware of the importance his position as an adult holds. (itachi, kakashi, sasuke and naruto could've really used a nanami. you didn't hear that from me though.)

even if in the beginning he didn't really like yuji and only viewed him as sukuna's vessel, a mistake for the jujutsu world, his mentality was: "you are a kid. my priority as an adult is to make sure you are safe." (not exact quotes. when tumblr lets me post more than 10 pics i'll spam you with manga panels, i promise.)

then, he grew fonder of him etc.

"even if you are a sorcerer, you are still a kid. you shouldn't be the one to blame yourself for x event. that's the the business of adults."

in the first light novel, even gojo told nanami that he is the type to be able to save a child's heart from the poison the jujutsu world has to offer. gojo says something among the lines of "for grown ups, the poisons this world has to offer are many and we learn how to deal with them. but for a soul as enthusiastic (as yuji's and many others' teens) one poison like is enough to mess them up for life. exactly because you are the type of sorcerer to know that i'm asking you to look after yuji, even if once, as the individual he is, not sukuna's vessel."

as he was dying, a death filled with doubts and frustrations towards everything— he still thought about yuji's sake. he didn't want to become a curse to him. he could've said "well, i won't see his misery anw so i can put all this sh1t pissing me off on him". (would've been me fr, my self control 0)

that is peak adulting. peak. peak. peak.

RIP. you were one of the best, nanamin 🙏

another proof that you don't need to be mad powerful to be great and impactful.

☆ Interfering in the fight between Gojo and Sukuna would be dumb

small jjk history lesson with your favourite sensei~! ✨

who is this individual? 🤔

haruta shigemo!! 🎉

haruta shigemo was recruited to help the bad scawwyy villains to help with their plans!! yayy. all clear so far. gr8. he is not as strong as a grade 1 sorcerer but his innate technique is luck so he is super duper useful in battles!! (very cool, i know ^^)

now, let's see what happened with haruta shigemo once he faced sukuna (who was busy exorcising mahoraga).

it's fuck1ng OVER man. i've just explained how powerful gojo is and he is striking sukuna with the intent to kill. also let's not forget: sukuna himself is very fuck1ng strong. those two want to rip eachother's throats out. gojo doesn't really care so much about megumi's safety and that's a very sensible smart choice since anything is better than letting him be as he is.

"but— plague 🙄, if he is close to geting backshots then ofc people should help!! they should go against the 2 shikigamis!!! they should've stepped in from the moment gojo's nose bled."

the ONLY instance where it would be ok for someone to step in is when Gojo is literally laying on the ground DEAD or in a state similar with the thing he had with toji. (hopefully it won't happen, my majestic king gotta see another day 😔 👑)

NEVER FORGET.

haruta shigemo 🙏

☆ Side characters are meant to be side characters

crazy.

like sure bro. i cope too. IT'S FINE TO COPE. as long as you know you're coping.

but people get dead ass pissed off at gege because they "haven't seen todo in 10 years. haven't seen utahime in 1000 wet dreams. haven't seen gakuganji at the retirement home in 306 days."

i wonder why. wow. maybe it's because they are the supporting cast. stop. take a break. it's hard for everybody. i miss some characters too. but the focus on the story simply is not on them.

let me know what other copium I should debate 😘

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fortheloveofshitsandgiggles · 8 months

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Unreal Unearth is an album that means a lot to me. It’s one of if not the greatest albums I’ve ever heard. Each song impacts me in a different way, so I wanted to go through each song with my own experience and interpretations (disclaimer, some of these analyses are my personal interpretation or how I react to the song, art is subjective and is what you make it)

De Selby (Part 1): oh my god I’ve been dying to hear Hozier sing in Gaeilge. I actually sang a song in Gaeilge in choir a few years back, and while it was difficult for me pronunciation wise, it was super fun to sing and is a beautiful and underrated language in my opinion. I also adore how haunting it is. It sounds like the soundtrack to my crisis (and it has been). I struggle to explain it, but the melody is so tormenting, especially with the layered voices in the second half of the Gaeilge verse. They feel very ghost like. It’s such an incredible way to introduce us into the decent into hell.

Transition: Yes I’m giving this special section because it’s one of the greatest song transitions I’ve ever heard. It’s really difficult to transition from a slow song into an upbeat one, but this one did it in a way that allows my brain to adjust to the difference in tempo. First of all, it lowers in pitch until it matches the key of part 2, musically representing our slow decent into hell. Then it starts with this beat that goes into part 2, and to me, this represents a building of insanity, one that is further explored in part 2.

De Selby (part 2): This is one of my favorite songs on the entire album. First of all, the beat is so addictive and the song generally makes me want to shake my ass. But beyond that, this song encompasses insanity in a way that I haven’t seen before but is also so relatable. Even with the music video, like there are times where I have felt exactly like the guy in the video and I just want to run into the abyss and forget everything and hit myself with a shovel. Hozier has such a talent for making relatability so artistic and unreal (forgive the pun).

First Time: This song is so full of complex lyricism that I couldn’t even begin to dive into. It’s super vibey, which I appreciate. A few notable lyrics I’d like to point out is “But you spoke some quick new music that went so far to soothe this soul as it was and ever shall be, unearth without a name.” I don’t know if anyone’s talked about this, but this lyric was so similar to the “glory be” prayer (I grew up Catholic lol) that goes “glory be to the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was and ever shall be, a world without end.” I don’t know if that was intentional/ the direct inspiration but I def did a double take when I heard that lyric. If it is intentional, I love how he twists it from a praise god I’ll get into Heaven sort of plea into describing the limbo we are trapped in, unearth without a name. The other lyric is “These days I think I owe my life to flowers that were left here by my mother, Ain't that like them, giftin' life to you again” I just think that’s such a sweet line that appreciates the kindness in humanity, especially so many mothers including my own. I would like to give a shoutout to Hozier’s mom for birthing and raising him, I would love to shake hands with her.

Francesca: This is maybe one of the best songs Hozier has ever put out. It has been on repeat since the second he dropped it. First of all, the sheer concept of this song, to love someone so full and so deeply that you would endure every ounce of pain and suffering that is inflicted on you because of this love, that is so powerful and just has such an element of storytelling that is as thrilling as watching a movie. To endure such hardship for the sake of a simple touch makes me want to cry. We all want something like that, to be protected and to be worth the sacrifice of another. And the lyrics encompass that perfectly, especially “Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I.” Now, being religiously traumatized myself, Heaven is a concept that I’ve gotten to know well. Eternal bliss and joy in the comfort of Jesus. It has hung over my head and has been used to keep me in the religion, especially as a comfort when it comes to the concept of death. But to say that even this place of eternal bliss and love and joy isn’t fit for the kind of love we possess just absolutely guts me. It is just beyond incredible.

I, Carrion (Icarian): As if Francesca wasn’t devastating enough, Hozier had to follow it up with this one. I absolutely love the use of Icarus imagery in songs, I love Icarus by Bastille (it especially reminds me of Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens). I know he used Icarus imagery in previous songs, and this is no hate to Sunlight, but I was def looking for something gentler that further explored the different perspectives of the story. And you know what, Hozier delivered. To paint the fall as something beautiful or as not even perceiving it as a tragedy is such a fresh take that I love the exploration of. “If I should fall on that day I only pray don’t fall away from me,” that hit me like a bag of bricks when I first heard it. Like, he’s plummeting from the sky, and still says “allow the ground to find its brutal way to me.” No matter what the ground holds for me, as long as I’m falling with you, everything will be alright. It becomes this state of delusion that is both heartwarming and devastating.

Eat Your Young: This song is what I have affectionately and repeatedly referred to as the “sexiest political commentary I’ve ever heard.” The melody and beat are so seductive, which just contributes to the appeal of the message, despite it being a pretty horrifying one. But it is from the perspective of the villain, which is an interesting point to write from. To say that it’s easier to cut out the middle man and eat your children rather than do atrocious things for power and money that will kill them anyways is such a relevant take on not only politics and capitalism but just the greedy side of humanity in general. The song is almost a trick, like it makes the greed sound so appealing and acts as a siren song to push the narrator’s unreliable narrative.

Damage Gets Done: I love Hozier songs that dive into the feeling of being young. Songs like Sedated and even Jackie and Wilson are reminiscent of that. We often think we’re indestructible when we’re young and we think we can do anything. We become reckless, but that recklessness isn’t what kills us. It’s the people in power who damage us with the laws they pass and systems they create. It sounds so happy like childhood, and yet it reminisces on what it was like to not be forced to participate in these systems such as capitalism. It felt good to just be free and not be tied down by the world. The melody of this song sounds nostalgic and hype like the energy of a young person. Also shoutout Brandi Charlie, I adore her voice on this track and in general.

Who We Are: We have to get through things one way or another, but “getting through still has a cost.” God, this line hits because even when the “damage gets done,” we still have to hurt in order to heal. And it hurts the most when you didn’t realize what you lost until it’s gone. The other lyric that hits is “someone with your eyes might come in time to hold me like water or christ hold me like a knife” hold me even though I’ll slip through your fingers, or if you can’t do that, wield me as something that can cause damage. And there’s nothing else we can do about it. Why? Because that’s who we are. Also, Hozier’s vocals on this song are absolutely insane, those high notes are so angelic. I don’t think I knew his range went that high but I was super impressed.

Son of Nyx: It seems like I say every song is my favorite (because they’re all so freaking good), but this one has got to be my favorite on the album. Despite the lack of words, this song stuck out to me the most. I want to kiss the composer of this piece. First of all, I’m an absolute slut for orchestral/ cinematic songs. And this song is unlike any of his other songs. It carries this haunting melody that is almost angelic in a way but the minor key pulls you back down into this journey of hell that we’ve been going on. It incorporates the melodies from other songs on the album beautifully. I’ve only been able to pick out the melodies from who we are and abstract, so let me know if there’s any others I missed. But the moment where the orchestra swells makes me actually ascend into the next dimension. I swear I had an out of body experience when I heard it for the first time. It’s so terrifying in a beautiful way and words can’t properly convey how this song makes me feel. It doesn’t need to have words for me to understand it, and pieces like that are especially impactful to me.

All Things End: Wow what a way to follow that. It definitely gives a bit of whiplash. First of all, I love the music video for this because the cut from Heaven Hozier singing with his little surgeon church choir to him dead on a table makes me giggle every time, it’s so abrupt. Anyways, it’s interesting that this song goes under the circle of Heresy, because the connection isn’t immediately obvious. But, to me, it does make a lot of sense. To say all things end, including Heaven and hell, inherently denies the belief in Christian ideals. Which, to me, is empowering in a way. This song is simultaneously hopeless and hopeful at the same time. It says that joy will end eventually, but so will the pain. It’s a comfort and an anxiety all wrapped up into one song.

To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe): I’m gonna be honest, this one was harder for me to figure out. It’s incredibly simple in a way that is so effective. To me, this song sounds like being unable to provide for someone what they need. And that’s one of the most devistating feelings, one that the simple sad sound of the song encompasses very well. I know what it feels like to be unable to give what someone needs. It makes you feel so stuck and so useless, a feeling which I despise. And Hozier, as he always does, broke my heart with this one. But he was only gearing me up for what would come later with Unknown.

Butchered Tongue: One thing this song reminds me of is how much history we’ve lost. I think about this a lot, the texts we could’ve had, the wisdom we could’ve shared with one another, all lost to the greed of other human beings. I think of the Indigenous cultures that were viciously stripped away in the name of god, the languages lost, the abuse endured. I think of the stories of LGBTQ+ people that remain untold because it didn’t fit the ideal image of those in power. I think of the untold thoughts and lives brutally taken to early. We build incredibly complex and beautiful cultures but we still put in the hours to tear them down. It’s a really upsetting reality, to know that loss happens all around us and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But we are also encouraged to be kind, so if you take anything from this post, from this song, please show kindness to all, especially those whose stories remain untold.

Anything But: This one is just so groovy I always gotta do a little dance when I hear it. What’s interesting is this song is framed like a love song. But to me, this sounds like running from something or someone. Like “I don’t wanna be anything but I would do anything just to run away” like yeah same. I just want to run away from everything and move into a cottage in the woods or something. It really captures that feeling of just wanting to get tf out of here.

Abstract (Psychopomp): Circling back to the religious trauma thing, I’ve always had a fear of death. Or rather, what comes after death. With the threat of hell always hanging above my head, I was scared to step out of that narrative they always trapped me in with. I don’t wanna suffer for eternity after my short existence. So I’ve always struggled with the idea of dying. But this song frames the journey to the afterlife as something beautiful, which is so comforting, I can barely put it into words. The idea that a spirit guide could be escorting you to the afterlife and they tell you to look back at Earth and “see how it shines” makes me feel a relief unlike any other. I know this song is based on an experience Hozier had where he watched an animal get hit by a car and watched someone comfort the animal in its last moment. But the way this song treats the concept of death is just so moving. It captures the fear and the pain but also the beauty of having someone to share those last moments with and having someone guide you beyond. The imagery in this song is such pure storytelling I feel like I am recounting the memory as if it’s my own.

Unknown / Nth: Not only is this song the most devastating one on the album, it’s maybe the most devastating song I’ve ever heard. I went through a breakup a while back and every single lyric described every single thing I was feeling about that lost relationship. It captured me and my pain so well I’m convinced Hozier crawled into my brain and wrote this. He described feelings I couldn’t even fit into words. The teaser that Hozier posted for this song on tik tok actually came out right in that stage where I could feel they were drifting away from me. This was a long distance relationship, so first the “you know the difference never made a difference to me” hit hard. Not only that, I always called them my angel, so “I thought you were like an angel to me” was just double the emotional damage. Then, we get to the bridge. This bridge is the absolute most gut wrenchingly genius string of words ever written. “Do you know I could break be with the weight of the goodness love I still carry for you? That Id walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you” Holy. Shit. I’m someone who, when I love someone, I love them with every ounce of myself. I would bend the Earth if they asked me to, I would give them my life and soul to sell to Satan. For a long time after that breakup, I still loved them and that love just fueled my grief. I knew this person like the back of my hand, I knew every inflection in their voice, every joke they hadn’t yet made, every feature of their face. And they knew me, fully and deeply in a way few people do. They listened, and they made me feel heard. And all of the sudden, it was all gone. And I did break beneath that weight, because I still loved and knew them, but didn’t get to know anymore. I didn’t get to know what they were doing now, how they were doing, I didn’t get to call them every single night anymore. But despite all of the pain, I would gladly do it over and over again. I can’t bring myself to regret any of it. “And there are some people love who are better unknown.” All I’ve ever wanted was to be understood. I struggle to make friends, and sometimes when I do, I’m only relevant when I’m beneficial. I’ve only ever wanted to be known by those around me. And they knew me. But when they left, I felt like I was unknown again. And I too resigned myself to that idea that maybe I am better unknown.

Transition: The transition between Unknown / Nth and First Light is much more subtle than the one between the De Selbys. But it’s there and it’s worth mentioning. When Unknown / Nth ends, we are left with this sinking and hopeless feeling that we will forever be stuck in that ice, flapping our wings. That hopelessness is drawn out in this ghost of a lingering note that pulls through the end of the song. Then the very first note of First Light is the same as the last note of Unknown / Nth.

First Light: The beginning of this song sounds exactly like rays of light spilling through the cracks. It sounds like the relief of light hitting your eyes after being trapped in a place of darkness for a long time. As the song goes on, it starts to sound more like an ascension. The vocals become very angelic and the whole song grows into this powerhouse of force that just gives off such a hope and determination that we haven’t felt for this whole album. To me, it’s very interesting that Hozier decides to end this album on such a hopeful note despite how devastating every other song was. I was convinced he was going to end the album on Unknown, and he very well could’ve done that. He could’ve left us in the deepest circle of hell. But he chose to end on this super optimistic note of finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it just gives us a look into his own optimism and his belief that our resilience as humans has and will pay off. We are constantly faced with adversity and won’t stop until we take our last breaths. But our desire to keep fighting is what makes us such a uniquely incredible species. And the payoff afterwards is a satisfaction that nothing else can quite compare to.

Hozier has such a way of turning the human experience into something otherworldly. He never ceases to amaze me with how his mind creates. I hope I get to tell him one day how much his art means to me and how deeply it’s affected me.

#hozier #andrew hozier byrne #unreal unearth #music #art #storytelling #mythology

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inchidentally · 14 days

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Um, these 60 seconds of recent content between Lando and Oscar made me realize one thing, are these two really only knowing each other for a year or their whole lives?

the audience does not know !!!

like there's a very specific 'united front' thing I can see in a lot of partnerships and it's founded on different things but ultimately manifests in a feeling of cohesion between the drivers. (and I am so sorry bc I saw in passing someone else made a similar post to this but I cannot remember who so lmk bc I don't want to be ripping off their idea !! I have my own separate feelings about it so it's not a copy but still I wish I could have kept that on my dash long enough to rb)

like most teammates fall in the neutral category of professional politeness and friendliness but also the need to push for their own advantage wherever possible. totally fine and normal. also allows for a few fireworks occasionally which is just as good for fan engagement - sometimes more - than if the drivers were always cool w each other.

aberrations like Senna and Prost, brocedes, and sebmark are not to be included - way too unique. could even throw Esteban and Pierre in there.

you've got consummate professionals Lewis and George who are both careful about cultivating their own separate images and who hold a baseline of genuine respect for each other - but part of that respect being that they both know they'll look out for themselves first. so they're very much similar and equals even in operating very independently. ultimately they want the mess to get cleaned up and to shake hands and do business as usual. I could see them genuinely having to hash out something truly ugly and shake hands and move onto their own lives no problem. which like, they clearly have lol.

then there's a situation like Alex and Logan where the dynamic is so incredibly imbalanced BUT you have someone as humanly decent and warm as Alex (even if he maybe wishes he were less so for competitive reasons) and Logan has already become very skilled at dealing with being an outsider/almost unwanted :( and it's clear that they both see how hard-working they both are and what a massive thankless task they have in trying to just achieve points - undetermined if they're mostly friendly out of trauma bonding or will remain friends after being separated but there's absolute friendliness and respect.

then there's The Charisma Guys of Daniel and Carlos and now Lando (who mooched a lot of his F1 charisma off of Carlos and then Daniel). Daniel and Carlos replicate an almost identical dynamic with all of their teammates and it's predicated on what most drivers are already well versed in, which is: playing gay for fangirls, bromance hugging/camaraderie/ribbing for sports media and fans, and taking care of their own brand and career separately from their teammate. it's a powerful tool to have especially for leveraging the popularity of whatever bromance they're in towards their own image without having to lose power over their own image. individual sponsorships being a driver's second goal after winning races and WDCs also makes this an exceptionally good skill to have. it only starts to break down when the personal fortunes of one of the drivers start to hit hard times (current example being obvious).

the Carlos and Charles dynamic absolutely pulls a lot from the charisma/bromance stuff but the huge difference is that Ferrari would - like any F1 team - not give a shit if they didn't get along and just hitched on a bland smile for the cameras. Ferrari aren't remotely behind C2 being what it is, that's all Charles and Carlos. don't get me wrong Ferrari social media teams are MORE than happy to jump on! and sure, the challenges and content are a fun bonus thing to sponsors but three things here: one is that Ferrari IS the brand and they're a top 3 team like they're not grasping for sponsors asflgaslf. two is that as many partnerships have shown, you really don't need to do that much to satisfy the brief. and third, sponsors are like 99.999999% interested in the team's standings and the drivers' individual popularity with partnership popularity coming dead bottom - the bromances are only worth it if they're engagement darlings like carlando. and charlos doesn't do anywhere near those numbers or that widespread corporate social media appeal. you gotta do major impact with crazed fans for it to at all influence a brand's decision where to put their money. so all of the pop off the screen fun and genuine enjoyment we see Carlos and Charles have is fully legit. when they're being tongue-in-cheek levels of cutesy they literally say so. 2025 onward will see how much of a friendship there actually is, but as far as them being very happy with the partnership and collaborating exceptionally well within it, they're far more rock solid and natural at it than most. and the fact that they're if anything even tighter when there's zero incentive for it ?? and when their families and fanbases and their team principal and garages are constantly feuding ?? like it says everything about how much they respect each other and actually feel affection for each other to remain such a united front and so happy and affectionate. nobody else benefited from Carlos asking his team to tell Charles' team to come celebrate his win with him. nobody else in Ferrari or on the grid made bank off of about Charles rushing to congratulate Carlos while he was still in the car. (especially not when carlando did a quick hug and it got brands and official accounts posting tiktok ship edits to the predictable delight of thousands of fangirls. and for them all to cough cough conveniently ignore the embrace with his gf to push the image further.) there is no PR benefit behind C2 that would justify them hitching on such a dramatic facade - and if anything the people around them would prefer they kept separate so that they could celebrate one without the other. whatever their relationship is after this there will always be that massive respect IN SPITE of what the world around them wants.

but Lando and Oscar are such a major aberration not just in them both being so incredibly young and arriving into F1 so hot and already being so close in ability, but their specific 'history' and personalities. they were already such an easy fit together that it surpassed the professional need for a bromance buffer - and at the same time their bond being partly on how naturally private and shy they are made them poorly suited for a PR machine.

Oscar had already said - and a lot of fans already knew - that there were several friends in common and that the shifts in careers and being separated professionally by more years than their ages is the only thing that meant they'd never crossed paths before privately. as K said back when Oscar originally opened that TikTok acc it was so long ago that he followed Max F but that Lando didn't even have an one yet.

but also as many people close to Lando have said (good example that was posted recently) and that we can often still see in streamer Lando - Lando is very much like Oscar as a person at his core. pretty much all of the 'famous person' stuff we saw him become happened after 2019 and directly because of latching onto the social lives of guys like Carlos, Daniel and Martin. he's always referred to as extremely shy and he's said before he likes for others to lead. but his comfort place is still either hanging out in private with close friends only or to get on stream and laugh with his friends. Lando himself said that he considers Oscar to be very similar to him as a person outside of F1 and for all that in some ways that seems surprising, when you look at who Lando is when he's not in Professional Mode or Party Friends Mode he genuinely really fits in with someone quiet like Oscar who loves spending hours gaming w his friends and not being in public. I don't know enough about Martin Garrix as a person but I rly honestly see that with him as well. yes there's the Party Friend aspect but for them to travel solo for two entire winter breaks in a row ?? clearly Martin is a peaceful, quiet guy on Lando's level <3

and ofc I go onnnnn and fucking on about how while we all hate it bc it means we don't get as much content, the fact is that Lando and Oscar are the type of friendship/partnership where it's quiet and private and not something that translates to a bromance on camera. it's never going to be strategic.

so the fact that they have this "twinning" thing isn't that they are identical or that they even look all that similar, it's down to actually slotting in really well with each other as people! as always who knows how deep these friendships actually go but the whole mind-reading and synchronization and total lack of drama between them as drivers comes from genuinely being similar people and liking each other - that's what we're all picking up on when we watch them together.

the fact that they honestly find it awkward as hell when the media try to get them to "package" their friendship in bromancey soundbites or when they look at the camera a bit like an intruder that's making them dance their friendship around for media, like. that's so incredibly relatable for how any of us would feel with one of our actual friends having to do all that. having a camera aimed at us and some stranger being like "so you two get on really well huh?" and practically leaning in for an expected answer ???? it would be so stupid and weird and the whole way Lando and Oscar work together in unison to dispel how weird that is is so natural !!

idk it's like there's different things to take from different partnerships and literally all of us are suckers for a fun bromance and great professional chemistry. but I think this whole universal 'twins' thing that everyone sees in Lando and Oscar is genuinely two guys who are similar in all the fundamental ways and who actually slot together in ways where they naturally just agree on everything and therefore can predict a lot of what the other person is thinking if that makes sense ??? like yes Lando has Single Guy Party Times and professional motivations where Oscar does not but for a friendship and partnership to work, those are the two least relevant things to need to be similar about y'know ??

#inchreplies #landoscar #guess who won't shut up again it's me !!!#inchidentallyanessay #don't answer the same as me

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my-jokes-are-my-armour · 9 months

Text

Bloody hell, rethinking about Extraordinary Things.

There are at least one Jaskier song per season that is incomplete during the episodes but for which the meaning or the context can change a little bit when you have the whole song.

And I feel that Extraordinary Things hits differently after volume 2. The second verse especially could easily apply to Radovid POV ...

So take this heart

And break this heart

For extraordinary things

It's not a want, it's a need

It is paying no heed to what others say to sing

The chorus also lands ...

The greatest songs are made up of unspoken words of love

Of them I have had enough

With you, I have enough

With you, I am enough

I am, I am enough

But...

#radovid #jaskier #radskier #the songs deliver too much this season !#extraordinary things #tws3 #tws3 spoilers

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skylarmoon71 · 2 months

Text

Miguel O Hara (Across the Spider Verse)- Oneshot - Extra

Supervising so many spider people was never easy.

Miguel was doing his usual check. Reports flashed over the screen and his thoughts strayed. He wasn't sure why, but there was something amiss. His ruby gaze shifted to the red printed t-shirt left on the chair. He hadn't so much as moved it since you left it there. Part of it was due to the fact that he spent more time in this office than his own home. He selfishly wanted to be able to watch it whenever he could.

"Lyla, pull up the reports from earth 67."

"You got it boss!"

She saluted and he could see the files begin to stream in. Lyla was wearing a smile until she saw the article. Miguel's eyes drifted over the particular file, and he expanded it on the yellow screen.

"Civilian shot in drive-by hit."

Miguel felt his body stiffened.

He told himself not to assume the worst. That could have been anyone. But his eyes read the name provided in the small print.

"She was shot.."

Lyla nodded slowly, humor gone from her tone.

"According to the article she jumped in front of a kid during a gang altercation. They found the shooter, but she refused to stay in the hospital."

He knew how you felt about hospitals. It was possible that you were bleeding out somewhere because of your stubbornness. The frown on his face deepened. Miguel pulled up a separate window, typing in instructions.

"Lyla, I'll need you to oversee the rest of the missions. Keep me updated. I'll appoint Peter while I'm gone. Make sure he doesn't turn this place into a playground."

"Of course."

He couldn't help but let his eyes run back to the shirt left behind. It felt like a thorn in his chest. He shook his head, sending the message as he took off out the door.

Getting to your universe felt like a routine check. He was used to stopping by the many different streams to check on any potential issues. It was weird stepping through the portal on the chosen building not hearing a sound.

The steady bustling of cars and people was apparent for that time in the afternoon. But the building he stood on was a designated meeting spot. Whenever he made it known that he was coming, you would be right there wearing a goofy smile as you updated him on your recent rescues and heroic acts. You were never modest in your explanation of your saves. It wasn't so much that you boasted, but you truly enjoyed the work you did. He could see it every time you spoke of a crime you stopped, or a person you helped.

You were a social worker, so he wasn't truly surprised. Still, it took a lot to do this job and still smile as brightly as you did. He couldn't do it. That was for sure. The others teased him about his stoic front, but it was the only way he could ensure that he never let himself get reckless. Because it could be at the expense of someone else's life.

The vibration from his watch caught his attention and he pulled up the message.

"You're gonna have to let yourself in. I'm a little under the weather."

There was a coughing emoji attached and he rolled his eyes.

He took off down the familiar path. Over buildings, onto billboards. It took him about ten minutes to get to your apartment. Sliding down the wall of an alleyway, he depixelated his suit when he was shielded. Stepping out, he headed straight for your home. Each step that he took, he prepared himself for what he would see.

It was hard to tell your state just from your texts. You were a master at hiding any emotion that wasn't sunshine affiliated.

The trip up the stairs felt tedious and when he finally made it to your door, he twisted the knob.

The door opened.

"Reckless."

You really should have been more careful. Especially given your lifestyle.

He made his way through your home. The quiet was uneasy. The second he got to your bedroom door, he knocked.

"If you're a robber, come back tomorrow. I'm tired."

Miguel huffed.

He stepped inside and you smiled.

"I feel like I'm constantly babysitting you."

You were laying on the bed in a pair of shorts and a regular t-shirt. Although you were smiling at him, he could see the expression of pain. Your right arm had bandages going all the way down to your wrist.

"I can take care of myself, boss."

Miguel wasn't wearing his suit which was a bit unexpected. It was weird seeing him in regular clothes. In sweats and a shirt, he almost looked like a civilian.

"Did you forget that you aren't bulletproof? You shouldn't be here on your own."

His lecture at that very moment wasn't what you wanted to hear.

"I'm not stupid, I let them take the bullet out first. The second they did I sneaked out. I'm not going to be anyone's guinea pig. Not again."

Your somber tone felt so foreign to him. Medical facilities made you anxious and he could fully understand why. If he'd been experimented on he would have felt the same.

Your head moved in the opposite direction, and he didn't miss the subtle tear drop. You pressed your face into the pillow, your back to him.

"I'm fine, so you can save your disappointment for another time. I'm tired, so you can leave now. As soon as I'm healed I'll be back."

He could understand the reaction. You may have been unnaturally enthusiastic all the time, but you were just as bad as him when it came to asking for help. You must have been scared. Here alone.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Your head turned slowly, not truly expecting the soft look he wore.

As he stood next to your bed, you could see the care behind his often cold gaze. He was genuinely worried. Your cheeks flushed lightly, and you shifted your attention elsewhere to calm your heart down.

"Thanks for checking in on me." You mutter.

It was nice of him. Under all the fusing, you know one thing about Miguel.

He's a great leader.

"Well enough with the mushy stuff, I bet you have more scolding to do. You better get back before the spider society collapses." You joke,

"Peter is keeping a lookout for me."

Your brows furrowed.

"Why would he need to-

Miguel took a seat on the bed, and you jolted.

He didn't say anything, not that he had to. His gaze held so much raw care. For a moment you contemplated that you were infected by the bullet wound.

"I was worried about you cariño."

His hand came down, sinking into the sheets and you can't seem to stop the blush when he leans down slowly. You gulp.

Your eyes were definitely playing tricks on you.

"Y-You were?"

He licked his lips, now so close, yet he didn't initiate anything.

Just nodded.

"Whenever you run off I'm worried. I know you feel obligated to fix everything. You always put yourself in the line of fire and it's infuriating. But admirable. You're one of the best that we have."

Never in your existence did you think the Miguel O'Hara would be complimenting you. He must be ill.

"I-Is everything alright, d-do you have a fever!!"

You pressed your hand to his forehead and you could see that familiar look of irritation.

So maybe he wasn't sick.

He closed his eyes with a sigh, and when they reopened, he took your wrist, pressing it softly into the bed. Your eyes widened at the action, and you were about to form some more wide theories, but his lips stopped any attempt.

The softness was the first thing you registered. A few of his curly strands fell, tickling your forehead. You were still trying to rationalize what was happening. Because you weren't dreaming.

Miguel was actually kissing you right now.

His hold on your wrist loosened, and you shivered when his thumb brushed your cheek so tenderly. It felt like this was a completely different person. The gentleness was so unlike his personality. You leaned in as much as your weakened body would allow, and Miguel grinned when he felt your reciprocation. Your hand gravitated into his hair, tugging softly.

This is the very definition of heaven.

When he pulls away, you whine. You don't have all your strength and you want nothing more than to feel his lips again. Miguel's head moves to the side and your breath comes out in a shaky stutter when he starts leaving light kisses against your neck.

"M-Miguel.."

This still feels a bit unreal.

When he slides into the bed, you do your best to get your heart back to a normal rhythm. You're afraid that if he gets too close he'll hear it.

How much you're enjoying this.

His hand slides the covers to the side as he pulls back. The soft glow of those red eyes are like hypnosis.

"I'd hoped that when I finally got to touch you, we would be able to both fully enjoy it."

His hand moves up your hip and you let out a soft moan when he cups your breast. He takes in everything. That breathless expression. Those longing eyes. You look completely flustered, yet so ready for him. Your grip is still on his shirt as you try to urge him closer despite the color that has overtaken your cheeks. You want to continue, but he knows you must be exhausted. He smiles internally.

He pulls his hand back, brushing your hair back as he leaves a kiss on your forehead.

"Rest up."

It's said so softly, and you grumble in protest. But your eyes are beginning to lull.

There's plenty of time for this once you're healed.

#miguel ohara #spiderpeople #heroes #trust #family #miguel x reader #humor #cute #crushes #feelings #care #protective #peterparker #fluff #hurt

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imaginidol · 9 months

Text

Baekhyun: Second thoughts & Second Chances

Baekhyun raised the volume of his car radio as he slowed his car to a halt in front of a stoplight. The night was quiet and there were very few cars around him. He’d worked a long day, and now he couldn't wait to get home to rest for the evening.

The songs on the radio were old western throwbacks, a small station Baekhyun casually liked very much. The current song playing was Dean Martin's Everybody Loves Somebody.

Baekhyun hummed along to the song, not particularly thinking of anything at first.

It wasn't until about halfway through the second verse that Baekhyun caught up to the message behind a few of the lyrics;

Everybody finds somebody someplace, There's no telling where love may appear.

Baekhyun had found many “someone’s” at different points of his life, though none of them had ever lasted very long.

The boy reminisced on his last love,

you.

"Just a few months ago," he pondered, "we were doing so well."

Crazy how everything changes, he thought.

The light in front of him turns green, and he continues the rest of his drive home quietly lost in thought.

It wasn't until later that night when Baekhyun was sitting alone in his kitchen that he realized how much he really missed you. And it wasn't the only sudden night that he was in his sudden feels about you, either. The thought of your past relationship together would repeatedly resurface when the smallest of things reminded him of you.

Song lyrics, couples walking in public, heart-shaped donuts at a sweet shop's window.

There was always something that tied his thoughts back to you.

“Ah,” he sighed as he scrolled through your profile whilst drinking a glass of wine at his bar table.

You still look just as great as you did when I first met you.

Baekhyun sipped his wine slowly, his thoughts recalling a promise that he’d made you once, though it never really came true.

I'll always come back for you, especially when our relationship hits a rough patch. I think you're worth fighting for.

Baekhyun put his phone face-down onto the marble countertop and rubbed his eyes in frustration. When he closed his eyes, he saw you and him sharing treasured memories together, the sounds of your laughter and the feel of your soft lips against his.

When he opened his eyes, nothing more than an empty living room and the distant sound of the AC greeted him, and all the memories of you had dissipated into nothing.

What am I doing?

The tired boy poured himself a third glass of wine and began sipping it steadily. He wasn't totally buzzed yet, but he definitely would be going that route if he didn't stop thinking about you.

He decided that the only way to give himself a peace of mind was to check up on you after all these months of not doing so.

Baekhyun opened a new conversation with you on Instagram and hesitated for a moment to consider what he had to say.

What could you possibly tell someone after you broke up with them?

He feels his thumbs typing away until a half-coherent message is written out.

[Baekhyun: Hi, I hope I'm not disturbing you if I reach out like this..]

To his surprise, the <Online> bubble next to your name turns green, and he sees that you've read his message.

His heart falls heavy into his chest as he scrambles to think of what to say next, assuming and hoping you'd reply. To his surprise, you did.

[New DM: Hi Baek!! :) Long time no see!]

Baekhyun mindlessly typed away at his phone, the lingering effects of his wine eventually kicking in and convincing him to just say what he had on his mind.

[Baekhyun: I don't mean to pop up so suddenly, but I was thinking about a promise I made you that I realize now, I never kept..]

[New DM: Oh? What promise?]

Baekhyun took a deep breath before taking another long sip of his wine.

[Baekhyun: That I'd come back for you, even after the worst]

[Baekhyun: I didn't do that for you.. I guess I'm here to apologize, though maybe I should've done it more formally than over instagram]

[New DM: <is typing...>]

[New DM: Baek, it's been months since our breakup... I hope that guilt hasn't been eating you up this whole time. You deserve better..]

[New DM: But I would be lying if I said I haven't thought about you the same way this whole time]

Baekhyun felt himself relax for a moment, hoping that perhaps there would be a chance at rekindling what you once had all over again if your feeling truly were mutual.

[New DM: But I also feel like I should tell you before this conversation progresses any further... I've fallen in love with someone else...]

At that, Baekhyun puts his phone back down against the table and rests his head over his crossed over the marble counter.

And there it is...

I made the mistake of letting you go.

Baekhyun's eyes filled with drunken tears of sorrow and regret, the sound of your incoming messages making his phone buzz and the countertop vibrate.

But the exhausted and heartbroken boy did not pick up his phone again, nor was he prepared to face the conversation with you that would surely soon ensue.

He wasn't prepared to accept the fact that you'd moved on so quickly.

He wasn't prepared to accept the fact that the breakup was stupidly caused over sasaengs who'd threatened to leak your personal information online if he hadn't broken you off.

He wasn't prepared to accept not doing more with his authority.

He wasn't prepared to accept the fact that he didn't think of any other gateway to protect you, and his response was to break the beautiful relationship you once shared, and how it shattered your heart in the process.

He wasn't prepared for the worst,

losing you to someone who would now surely protect you more than he ever could.

My intentions weren't to harm you.

I wish I got to tell you this.

Instead, the oven clock in the kitchen ticked away into the night, and soft, exhausted snores eventually filled the voided air of the otherwise quiet, empty apartment.

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wannaeatramyeon · 1 year

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What do you think would happen if: Lookism characters hit male reader full force, leaving him unconscious because the enemy they were targeting, dodged last second? :000

lol this legit made me laugh, thanks for the ask anon. I've left out any that I'm not too sure on. Honestly don't think most of them would react that differently regardless of gender. Ping me another ask if there's any specific hc or... this is too intriguing to leave as is.

Lookism hitting Y/N full force (lol)

I'm sorry to say if the (male) reader was like... yknow, normal then you're not surviving a full force hit from half the characters - I definitely need to mention who would OHKO kill you: please accept my shitty tierlist first.

Your reaction

Actually fr legit DIE (lol)

Sorry my dude, there is NO way you are coming back from this unless you were part of the main cast or at least a decent side character. Full force?! You would definitely get one-shotted (one-shat?) by pretty much 99.9% of the main guys and probably all the side characters too

Erm, almost everyone?

Injured & unconscious

It's not that I don't think much of Y/N's fighting prowess... but. Have you seen half the guys and girls!? They are brutal. Even some of the side characters would (severely) injure you

Lineman, Lua Im, Sally Park, Crystal Choi, maybe Daniel's grandmother lol

Lookism's reaction (assuming you survived)

The guys in 2nd tier might be a bit more considerate if you are a girl, but unlikely.

Couldn't give a shit

Gun Park, Goo Kim (altho he doesn't want to get sent back to juvie again), Samuel Seo, Ryuhei Kuroda, Johan Seong (especially if you had nice shoes), James Lee, Xiaolong, Vin Jin, Logan Lee, Olly Wang, Daniel's grandmother

Slightly apologetic but there's a fight going on. Why tf are you there if you didn't want to get hit?!

Zack Lee, Mary Kim, Eli, Warren Chae, Lineman, Brad Lee, Jason Yoon, DG

Remorseful, would make sure you're at least ok after everything has calmed down

Daniel Park, Vasco Lee, Jay Hong, Jace Park, rest of Burn Knuckles, Jake Kim, Sinu Han, Jerry Kwon (Jake has taught him well), Lua Im, Sally Park, Crystal Choi

Panic

Daniel Park, Jay Hong, DG (lol prays to the powers above that there is no paparazzi around and noone could identify him. his career would be RUINED)

If you died? Everyone would probably panic. Because for some reason that's the only crime that matters.

IMO, much preferable to get knocked out in the How to Fight verse, you'll be getting a free leg massage.

#lookism #lookism headcanons #lookism hc #daniel park #lookism dg #johan seong #goo kim #vasco #euntae lee #jake kim #gun park #samuel seo #wannaeatramyeon

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earlgreytea68 · 5 months

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"Dance, Dance" has never really struck me as a Peterick-y song before persay (beyond the fact that every song is a collaboration between them), but for some reason, I just randomly remembered some of my favorite lyrics from that song, and honestly some of my fave FOB lyrics period: "I'm two quarters and a heart down, and I don't want to forget how your voice sounds..."

And then it hit me: Pete has literally said before, that Patrick's voice is one of his favorite sounds in the world!

And Pete's lyrics have always been what connected him to Patrick, no matter how strained things got between them back then:

"These words are all I have, so I write them, and you'll need them just to get by..."

I don't know if that's the reading Pete intended (he's more than entitled and right to have his secrets), but it definitely got my brain buzzing, and adds some context to the desperate tone I always got from those lyrics...

I'd love to hear what you think!

You know, this is so interesting, because I usually think about "Dance Dance" as being one of their more heterosexual tracks, I guess because it has the "she" in it, although I don't think about "Jet Pack Blues," so I don't know why I would feel that way lol.

And now that you mention it, this is one of those songs where there is a She, but there's also a You, and there's nothing that says they're the same person (which is how I feel about Jet Pack Blues). That disembodied "she" is there at the beginning of the song, but never shows up again. So for all we know this song is about the speaker telling the woman sitting next to him at a bar about this tortured relationship he's having, and She's not a part of that relationship at all.

And you're right that the pre-chorus especially is written in Peterick-coded words, not wanting to forget your voice, handing over your words. In the verse, he's complaining that he's no good with words, but in the pre-chorus, that's all he has, and the You needs them so he hands them over, regardless of how overdramatic he might think they are.

Even something about the chorus -- "these are the lives you love to lead," "if they knew how misery loved me" -- feels very ~~celebrity-centric, like, not about some relationship with a girl but about Pete Wentz in a band, trying to keep different lives straight, having an unhealthy relationship with misery because it sells the records ("I only keep myself this sick in the head 'cuz I know how the words get you off"). Read that way, the second verse can actually be read as one of self-loathing, where he's talking to himself: "You (I) always fold just before you're (I'm) found out."

I've always loved the sarcasm with which Patrick delivers that "love" with his little heart and the whole bridge is brilliantly snarky and mean and sometimes I think that in itself was just a little vignette Pete wrote when he was angry with a girl and Patrick liked it and used it in the song lol.

#fall out boy #fob #peterick

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ashtraythief · 25 days

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Hey! So ive been a long time reader of ur underneath verse (since like.. 2018? Maybe even 2017?) and i just wanted to drop by and tell u how much im enjoying rereading ur writing! Like in general i think this is one of my fav fics series just bc its so extensive and well done and thought out and fleshed out so well it works so well? Like seeing all the different angles and the way u choose to frame things is really fun for me and kinda inspires my own writing in some aspects.

Ive never read the whole thing all in one go before so ive decided to do that right now and im just about done with the pied pipers song - more specifically willys chapter. And i kinda needed to let u know that ur series really stands out to me just bc of how many glimpses into other characters and all these different povs of the same thing like on it stands out on a technical level but then ur actual writing of these things is so good and compelling and like as an outsider pov bitch it hits the spot for me so well? Like ur writing is never stale and its always interesting.

I specifically wanted to take this time to mention that i really love willy and winstons characters and how u went about it. Like im ngl the way u wrote them kinda makes me want to cry tears of happiness for them bc they have found ppl who appreciate them and they have connections with other ppl but then the bittersweet tang of jensen and willy is kinda fucking me up rn /pos djjdjdjd like in general u really do the bittersweet jensen is stuck undercover angle really well and it HURTS so good

But yes i dont really have a good concise message or comment to leave beyond the fact that i keep stopping every few sentences to get up and jump bc im so excited about what im reading i need to get rid of that excess energy lol so sorry if this is all over the place and a really messy message! I just really wanted to let u know how much im enjoying reading it all rn. Thank you so much for sharing ur writing with us and for continuing to write for this series its so fun!

omg nonnie, I'm kinda speechless here (this is the second wonderful message in two days so I'm kinda overwhelmed. is it send wonderful messages week somewhere??)

I just am so grateful and this message made me so happy. never apologize for maybe not having a five point outline lol, this is amazing.

The underneath verse has always been my fandom baby, so praise for it is already amazing, but the pied piper fic and Winston and Willy epsecially, it just makes my heart so full. Ten years ago, they definitely started out as stock characters of mob drivers, because I didn't think this fic would get so big, but then it did, and Willy especially became a real character. a) because I knew he'd fall in love with Jensen too, as anyone does really and b) because I looooove the bittersweet undercover Jensen shtick where I write from other character's POV and the reader knows how wrong they're getting it but they don't *mu har har* (yeah I'm a little mean sometime. sorry?)

but in all seriousness, the Willy chapter, I'ev been working on that for months. And I kept adding things and rewriting things and trying to get it perfect even though I know that most people who read the story mostly care about Jared and Jensen (which is totally fair and understandable), but I care about him and there are a few people out there who do too (and I love you for it, so much), but with Willy, I just wante to do this /right/. I've come to love him so much, and he's come to be so important to Jensen, it felt like he and Winston really deserve their own story told even though that's kind of ridiculous because they're not real, but they're a little real to me now. All this to say, nonnie, this comment and your appreciation of Willy means so fucking much to me. And my poor alpha reader who read like four drafts of this (seriously, M. is a saint) and my beta readers who then had to beta four iterations of this. To know that this effort is appreciated this much honestly make me cry a little (I am not having the greatest time right now, so I cry easily but the point still stands. Thank you.)

This message was actually such an energy boost I'm currently trying to fix the next timestamp, lol so I'll have something to post next month. You're a true treasure, nonnie <3

#anon ask #underneath verse

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wickedcriminal · 1 year

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you’ve made me want to get into fma where should I start

Oh dear that's a tough one hdhdjsksabha. So personally, I watched 2003 first, then watched Brotherhood, then read the manga, and I would recommend that! But that's not the only way you can do it!

The cool thing is that there's no wrong answer, here! You can consume the three versions (the manga, the manga-divergent 2003 series, and the manga-accurate 2009 series) in any order, because they're all complete stories. The fandom is of course split on what version tells the story best.

Me personally, I have no preference, I love them all equally. However there are definitely different strengths to each medium that might make your experience better!

The manga is best at pacing, imo. There are certain story beats that both anime revealed a bit quickly that were better told in manga slowly over time, as well as certain scenes that were taken out entirely that were supposed to enhance the story and characters (particularly the Ishvalan War in Brotherhood's case). It's also the full story that Arakawa wanted to tell, which includes its fair share of comedy, angst, philosophical introspection, and moral dilemma. ALSO you get to read all the omakes from the manga. I cannot stress enough how funny Arakawa is, I highly recommend them.

2003 is best at character!! 2003 breaks away from the manga's story around halfway through (and the fandom is still mixed about the ending), but in return it explores its characters in an extremely profound way that enhances the source material, which makes you care a whole lot more when bad things happen to them. It's also a lot darker and more morally gray than the source material, and it gets pretty heavy at the end. I've heard several people describe it as closer to a seinen than a shonen (though im not versed enough in anime genres to say for sure). Personally I found the philosophy and moral nuance of this one to be my favorite of the bunch.

Brotherhood (2009) knocks it out of the park with presentation!! It's the manga accurate adaptation, but it does cut some of the beginning chapters from the manga to speed past the things that were already explored in 2003, which makes it kinda clunky. Eventually though it does slow down and get really good in its delivery. The fights are amazing, the character wardrobe is varied and fun, the music (especially the OPs and EDs) are phenomenal, the voice acting in both sub and dub are brilliant, the colors are bright, it looks great and the story just doesn't stop moving. It also adds in a few details that weren't in the manga to make certain scenes hit that much harder.

So, which one first? There are multiple ways you can do it! You can follow the order in which it came out; manga first, then 2003, then Brotherhood. This is probably the most effective way to do it, because it's the way the anime producers have expected you to do it while they were still coming out! There are patterns you'll pick up easier in this order.

If you don't want to read the manga, you could still watch 2003 first and then Brotherhood second and still get the same experience! (Some people even suggest watching up to the divergence point in 2003, and then pick up Brotherhood from the beginning, which contextualizes the stuff Brotherhood cut, but that's only if you're not interested in watching 2003 in its entirety, which I'd personally recommend.)

And if 2003's more melancholy and bittersweet tone just isn't doing it for you, that's alright because even by itself Brotherhood is a brilliant watch and it along with the manga is more optimistic in nature. Brotherhood by itself tells the manga's story beautifully, if a bit fast at the beginning. You can always go back to the manga later if you wanted to catch up on the story beats Brotherhood cut. It's up to you!

While I'm here, this is my chance to tell Brotherhood Only's that if you haven't seen 2003, I'd definitely give it a chance!! It really does enhance the source material with its different perspective and exploration of the characters!! Also the animation and soundtrack are absolutely gorgeous and really set the tone for the a very profound anime. Really, don't knock it till you've seen it.

#thanks for giving me the opportunity to gush ajshdhsjakakal #ask #fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood #fullmetal alchemist 2003 #fullmetal alchemist #fma #fmab #fma 03 #anime #anime recommendation

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