#the twins at st. clare's | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

evenstar · 6 months

Text

TOKYO BABYLON FST: BOX

what's poppin TyoBabi fandom, I got a present for you

.zip File Download: DISCS 1 & 2 (109MB)

This FST is basically an in-depth run down of the collection of songs that were sung/mentioned/in the "VOL. 7/BOX" chapter of Tokyo Babylon 5, with some info about the artists and songs themselves. This, as far as I know, is the most thorough run-through of the music of "BOX" on the English web! I've divided it into two "discs", the first being the songs mentioned themselves, and the second being a few fun related extras. You can check out the second disc over on Radio Free T.Y.O, if you're interested ♥

Ginza no Koi no Monogatari

銀座の恋の物語 - "Ginza Love Story" 石原裕次郎・牧村旬子 - Ishihara Yuujirou and Makimura Junko mp3 download || youtube

The song that Seishirou and Hokuto are pouring their very souls into to perform in the beginning of the chapter. Released in 1961, this a smoky, jazzy duet typical of its time, telling the story of two star-crossed lovers, one in Tokyo and one in Ginza. It was an immediate hit, even having a movie based upon it made, starring Ishihara-san in the lead role. It's a staple duet in karaoke even to this day.

Nakanaide

泣かないで - "Don't Cry" 舘ひろし - Tachi Hiroshi mp3 download || youtube

The song that the random selector spits up for Subaru to sing, which Sei-chan subsequently picks up after sending him off to buy cigarettes/exorcise the OL. This was released in 1984, by Tachi Hiroshi, a singer and actor who became quite the sensation when he had a starring role in 西部警察 (Seibu Keisatsu; "Western Police") -- incidentally, directed by the abovementioned Ishihara-san, as you'd have it. "Nakanaide" was a hit, coming in 59th on the ORICON's 1984 top singles list. It's from his seventh album In the Mood.

Nanpasen

難破船 - "Shipwreck" 中森明菜 - Nakamori Akina m4a download || youtube

The song that the OL ghost sings. A dark and heartfelt song about a dying love, it was a massive hit when it was released in 1987, shooting straight to the top of the ORICON charts (as Nakamori-san's 17th number one hit), and has been a karaoke regular since then, just as the OL says in the chapter. Originally written and performed by the very respected Kato Tokiko for her 最後のダンスパーティ (Saigo no Dance Party; "Last Dance Party") album of 1984; she personally requested that Nakamori-san perform the song. It's been covered countless times, including by the original singer/songwriter and the cover artist themselves.

Daite...

抱いて… - "Hold Me..." 松田聖子 - Matsuda Seiko mp3 download || youtube

Not actually sung, but the OL ghost suggests she'd like to sing it next. A dramatic and emotional slice of idol pop from the Eternal Idol herself, Matsuda Seiko (who also performs "Who's That Boy", found on Single White). Released in 1987 as a promo-only single from her fifteenth studio album, 1988's Citron. Despite never being released as an official single, it's one of Matsuda's more popular songs, especially karaoke-wise. It's rather interesting that the OL picks a Matsuda song directly after a Nakamori Akina track -- the pair were notorious rivals in the 80s, supposedly even in love.

Benkyo no Uta

勉强の歌 - "Study Song" 森高千里 - Moritaka Chisato mp3 download || youtube

The song Hokuto is singing when Subaru attempts to sneak back into the karaoke box. Released in 1991, it peaked at #4 on the ORICON charts, and was remixed on Moritaka's second remix album as ザ・勉強の歌 (Za・Benkyo no Uta; "The・Study Song"). It was used as the opening theme to the anime TV series "Mischievous Twins: The Tales of St. Clare's". It's a totally gimmicky song (complete with voguing in the very weird video clip), though cheerful and catchy, so its popularity on the karaoke circuit at the time shouldn't surprise anyone. (You just know that Hokuto unironically adored this song, and drove Subaru batty by singing it at every opportunity.)

Wakaretemo Suki na Hito

別れても好きな人 - "Beloved Even if We're Separated" ロス・インディオス＆シルヴィア - Los Indios & Silvia mp3 download || youtube

The song that Hokuto announces Subaru should sing with Seishirou as punishment for being late. Another staple in the duets section of karaoke, still, this 1979 release was actually a cover. The song was released by two Toshiba EMI artists, Matsudaira Kemeko and the Purple Shadows, respectively, in 1969. In October 1975, Los Indios released a single-voice version, and in 1979 it was rearranged as a male and female duet, with some lyrics changed slightly. The song was an instant hit, and by 1980, it had sold a million copies.

#Tokyo Babylon #TyoBabi #subaru sumeragi #hokuto sumeragi #seishirou sakurazuka #x1999 #clamp #seisub #tokyo babylon music #fst #fan soundtrack #fanmix

197 notes · View notes

casasupernovas · 1 year

Text

Oops. Uploaded in November. It is now April. In my defence, a LOT has happened in my life. Too much for such a short amount of time. But I'm back with Part 2 of my Doctor Who 'Human Nature' commentary, so here we go! Long post incoming!

So onto the next! We last left off with Martha and Joan in the corridor. We now move onto the two racist boys from earlier, Baines and Hutchinson and a third. Mind, referring to one another by surname specifically is old fashioned (duh) and done in a very formal way. It seems insignifciant but I feel like pointing it out because while I understand that not only is it accurate and would have been something the boys parroted by the teachers, I feel it works even better to showcase just how stiff upper lip this school is. It's all so impersonal. In this scene we are introduced to the eternally baby-faced Thomas Brodie Sangster playing 'Latimer,' who is Huntchinson's 'fag' - not the offensive slur or just the Brit way of saying 'cigarrette.' In this case, the word means a 'junior pupil' who often does chores for more senior pupils. Builds character. For any who used to read Enid Blyton, think of when the twins at St Clares had to go do chores for the Fifth Formers. That sort of thing. They already have servants at the school but even their own pupils have a way or reigning over others. But it's not too disimilar fo the modern age - Hutchinson is making Latimer do his homework. Latimer also calls him "sir" very politely. It's at this point we find out that Latimer isn't like the rest of the boys after he is shown to know specifics about Huntchinson's life without any real reason. The musical cue and Brodie-Sangster's performance make it clear that Latimer doesn't know this information because he overheard it elsewhere. Our Latimer seems a little psychic. We see that this strange ability gets him into trouble as Huntchinson responds to his apparent prying with violence, shoving him up against the wall. We also see that this boy has a calmer, quieter dispostion than the others but also a kindness and depth, speaking to Hutchinson about the 'beauty' of Africa. Very important considering the references to war there that will come up in the future. Baines swiftly changes the subject and showcases some sterotypical 'boys will be boys' behaviour by sneaking out to get beer "none for the filth" in reference to Latimer. This decision for naughty behaviour will end badly for Baines.

In the next scene we see Martha and Jenny at the back of a pub, outside in the cold. Clearly the servants aren't allowed inside. Maybe only the black ones aren't and Jenny is showing solidarity, who knows? But we know they're not sitting outside with their pints on purpose. They'd rather be inside. Martha vocalises this, to which Jenny responds with laughter telling her that Martha full well knows they can't, attributing her defiance to her being from London, with a topical reference to the stirrings of the time - the Suffraggettes no less (black women didn't grt the vote until a decade later). Martha voices her frustration at the situation but in a amicable way to Jenny, trying to get her to be more rebellious, question why things are the way they are. It is very on brand for Martha, someone from the 21st Century to see how backward their situation is. But for Jenny it's too far away. Martha doesn't have time for reluctance, or easy dismissal. Jenny isn't a bad person, but her insistance that change can't happen here is part of the problem. Jenny does not know if she wants it, or see how it is feasible. But Jenny is clearly inspired and awed by Martha's defiance. In one of my favourite quotes, Martha expresses how is glad thay she doesn't have tp stay under such conditions for much longer. "One more month and I'm as free as the wind." This gives us another little tibit into the Doctor and Martha's plan. They are on a time limit. She may be a servant and he may be human now but it is not supposed to last forever. We'll get our normalcy back soon. I also like the running of gag of the only way people from the past can comprehend Martha Jones and the way she acts against the norm is because she is from a completely different country. Mentioned in 'The Shakespeare Code' and now here despite the fact that Martha Jones was born and raised in London. Can't hide that accent if she tried.

MARTHA: Anywhere. Just look up there. Imagine you could go all the way out to the stars.

JENNY: You don't half say mad things.

MARTHA: That's where I'm going. Into the sky, all the way out.

I do love the show's homage to the whimsy that is Doctor Who. For all its horrors, the show sure has a way of capturing the imagination. The Doctor is the man from the stars after all. Consequently, the companion's eyes are opened and have a foresight and experience that no one else has. I made a post about how Freema Agyeman does this part in particular very well, Martha feels older, and her wistful comment feels like make ypu truly believe this person really has seen the wonders of the universe. I think even Jenny senses it while she tries to understand it in her own perametres - Martha's a bit odd (in a good way) because she's not from around here. Of course as Martha looks up at the sky, thinking of all the possibilies that the Doctor has taught her can be possible and more, the script flips and we see a flash in the sky. Something that immediately snaps Martha to attention, reminding the audience that the Doctor and Martha are not here for a holiday. They are hiding. They are in danger. And in this moment, they have been found. And I think the scariest part, is we never find out how exactly the the enemy located them. Joan also sees the light on her way to the pub.

Martha asks the appearing Joan, and John if they too saw the light, Jenny did, thinking it a pretty display of natural phenomena. John Smith has a almost boringly analytical response - "All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all." It's robotic with a tinge of humanity at the end. All the more indicators to whoever this 'John Smith' is. His speech isn't very natural. He dismisses it away and leaves with Joan while Martha attempts to investigate - in the dark, something Jenny tries to dissuade her from doing so due to possible physical harm "you can't just run...you'll break a leg." We also find out that someone else saw the light. Baines. Looking for the bloody beer, buried in the fields before stumbling on something else entirely - the invisible spaceship belonging to, who we can clearly guess are the advesaries that the Doctor and Martha have been running from. He disappears inside around the time Jenny and Martha arrive. It's creepy to realise they are so close without realising.

Inside the craft, Baines is huddled in a corner of a green tinged spacecraft, seemingly alone. The only person we can see is him. But he is clearly speaking to someone, a female voice. "But I don't understand. Who are you?" He is afraid, in that way where the reality of a dire situationn slowly creeps over you. I always found it creepy how Baines appear to not be in any immediate danger - there is no one there, but he is sitting on the floor, knees drawn up, hands around himself. It's a much younger image than the boy who was looking for beer, and we can see from his body language that he is clearly uncomfortable and scarier still, we just hear the voices of who are making him so uncomfortable. We also find out in this exchange that Baines' name is Jeremy. Jeremy Baines. Remember what I said about informal/personal name calling? Jeremy pleads to leave but the female voice apologises (not sincerely) and decline - he can't ever leave. Jeremy Baines then speaks for the audience; "But, who are you? Why can't I see you? A male voice responds this time, asking why Jeremy wants to see him. Why? Because he and the audience want to see who these people are, put a face to the aliens that the Doctor and Martha have gone to such lengths to hide from. The woman responds that this should be easy to do - "because very soon we will look so familiar" with a fast zoom onto a screaming Jeremy Baines. Is he dead? Have they teleported him away?

The episode moves back to the school, specifically the boy's dorm. Latimer is polishing shoes while the others play cards as Hutchinson complains about Baines' tardy behaviour only to get a knock at the window. Who is it? Only one scene before a student had been seemingly killed. Is it one of the murderers? "There he is. Let him in." Baines is back? Is it a trick? As one of the boys let him in, it is very clear that something is very very wrong. From the camera angle to Harry Lloyd's (Baines' actor) performance, it is very clear to the audience that sonething has happened to Baines. His expression is...unsettling to say the least. A strange smile across his lips and a curiously wide eye stare. As Hutchinson questions Baines, more annoyed about the lack of alcohol, not apparently noticing the very odd behaviour of his classmate, Baines responds simply "there was no beer, it was gone." A simple answer, his tone almost curious rather than matter of fact. At this point I think it's accurate to assume the boy has been possessed. Almost as if what has got him is learning.

HUTCHINSON: Damn it all, I've been waiting. Pretty poor show, Baines, I have to say. What's the matter with you? Caught sniffles out there?

BAINES: Yes, I must have. It was cold. Very cold.

See? The agreement, said in an equally strangely empty but also careful tone. The last two bits are the creepiest to me. Baines does a sniff after this and Hutchinson assumes he has caught a cold whereas Latimer looks at him due to his odd behaviour. Safe to safe Baines isn't sniffing because he has a cold. I feel that it it clear that whatever has gotten Baines' original environment, or maybe their ship was cold. It makes me think of the episode 'Midnight.' Maybe whatever was there is a sub species of these creatures? Keep notice of this temperature motif, it comes back later.

In the next scene, we see Martha on a bike as her one of her many tracks from the soundtrack plays. It sounds idle and soothing, just like a bike ride would honestly. But where is she going? Martha dismounts and heads into a stone alcove and! It's the Tardis! Hidden away. She uses her key to unlock it and greets it, before dismissing herself, "I'm talking to a machine" and - the Doctor never told Martha his ship is sentient? Martha looks up and around - she might not have been here in a while. The lights are dimmed and it's certainly strange to see it without the Doctor dashing about the console, flicking switches and pulling levers. As Martha looks up the scene flashes and changes - a flashback admist the same lilting melody, it's parts of the scene the episode starts with.

DOCTOR: Get down! They're following us. They can follow us wherever we go. Right across the universe. They're never going to stop. Martha, you trust me, don't you?

From this alone we are told why the Doctor and Martha are hiding. They are being hunted down and whatever if hunting them won't stop - unless they stop them? Find a way to foil them?

Admist this the scene cuts back to Martha, clearly disturbed by the memory. This is how it all starts isn't it? The music changes, minor notes come into play and the music almost slides downwards, in a mirror to the twist you get in your gut as you realise something is very very wrong.

DOCTOR: Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space.

MARTHA: Huh. And the good news is?

DOCTOR: They can smell me, they haven't seen me. And their life span'll be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die.

So much information all at once. Firstly, the adversaries they are running from are hunters according to the Doctor. I said it because it seemed to fit but the confirmation makes it a lot creepier. I have always thought of the opening to the Fox and The Hound regarding this story. How you can hear a dog barking in the distance, the peace of the woods until bang - Todd's mother is found and runs for her life. The idea of the Doctor and Martha being chased for what? Sport? What do they want? Them as some sort of sick trophy? Is it just for the thrill of the chase? The imagery of being hunted is reinforced again as the Doctor states that the reason they are so damn good at it is due to their sense of smell - see? Fox and the Hound. Hunting dogs chasing a doe or a rabbit. I inagine Martha as the doe but the Doctor as the Hare. Now we're heading to Watership Down territory.

Anyway, the Doctor being the Last of his Kind, makes him a very specific smell, and they've clearly got it. In fact, they have narrowly avoided being caught. The Doctor is in the more immedate danger here and it's not exactly shocking that the Doctor is the hot ticket here.

But luckily for the Doctor, they didn't see him. This is why at the start of the episode, the Doctor stresses to Martha that it is important that 'they' haven't seen her face. Moreover, these hunters have a life limit - it's running out. The Doctor doesn't need to fight. He can just wait. They're both being pushed into a corner but they don't necessarily nedd to fight. But still, it's worrying that the only option they have to get out of this scenario in one piece is for these hunters to die. That implies they are that dangerous.

MARTHA: But they can track us down.

DOCTOR: That's why I've got to do it. I have to stop being a Time Lord. I'm going to become human.

Aha! That explains John Smith right? He's not just an avatar walking around with the Doctoe's face. He really is the Doctor, just a human version. The music is getting a bit louder, drums have come in, and it's no less unsettling now, actually now it's become anxiety inducing. The musical track is called - 'Only Martha Knows.'

DOCTOR: Chameleon Arch. Rewrites my biology. Literally changes every single cell in my body. I've set it to human.

Timelord tech am I right? But also - what other settings does this thing have, slitheen???

DOCTOR: Now, the Tardis will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. Can't do the same for you. You'll just have to improvise. I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in.

I wonder why it can't for Martha? Also to all those who hate that the Doctor 'chose' 1913 - look at that. He beat the allegations, it was the Tardis' fault. The ideation that the Tardis sends the Doctor places he is 'needed' leaves it up in the air once more.

Crikey Martha has to do a lot here. Improvise? This is a lot but there apparently is no time. More scary still - "I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in." That, I feel isn't reassuring at all. "Should," being the operative word here.

MARTHA: But, hold on. If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?

DOCTOR: Oh, yeah. It hurts.

Martha then has flashes of having to watch the Doctor scream in agony with nothing she can do to stop it. Martha really gets the best adventures doesn't she? She hasn't said it yet, but we know at this point she really - really loves this Timelord right? So all of this is definitely traumatising for her. Traumatising for the Doctor too, but at this point in the Doctor's life, this is any old Tuesday. He did get possessed and frozen last episode. These guys are not having a great time. But there, a chunk of the mystery has been sold. 'John Smith' is a biologically rewritten Doctor. They have travelled to 1913 with Martha 'improvsing" as his maid, all to wait out the deaths of yet unnamed hunter creatures who want the Doctor.

Martha attempts to shake off the memory and switches on the monitor and the Doctor suddenly pops up on this screen. "This working?" Wait - is the Doctor back? No alas, these are pre-recorded instructions for Martha. Nice to know she got a bit more information to go on. She smiles as he loses count at 3, (see?) but number 4 sets my teeth on edge - "don't let me abandon you." That's a possibility? Even scarier stakes here. But it makes sense. This 'John Smith' has residual memory of her. But they have no bond.

Martha has apparently seen this video numerous tines, fast forwarding it (maybe she comes here everyday) "but there was a meteor, a shooting star. What am I supposed to do then?" Good question.

"And twenty three. If anything goes wrong, if they find us, Martha, then you know what to do. Open the watch." Cut back to John Smith in his study. It's the watch that is the key. There's a perception filter on it. Which is why Smith picks up the watch, then puts it down. It's not important to him. It's also just on his mantle. In plain sight, a ruse. Nothing suspicous. No attention drawn to it.

DOCTOR: But don't open it unless you have to. Because once it's open, then the Family will be able to find me. It's all down to you, Martha. Your choice.

No pressure. Martha is under a lot of stress here. Her Doctofication continues. She is the one with the power. What other companion has been put in a situation like this? Others have been sent away for their own safety. Either he doesn't care or, and most likely, the Doctor is keenly aware that not only can he defeat these guys with someone's help, he can't do it without Martha's. I strongly believe no other companion could have done this story, especially as the story goes on. What's more - if the Doctor's favoured choice is to literally rewrite his own biology to hide away from these hunters - but all Martha has to do is get John to open the watch exposing them to the Family - what would happen? The Doctor rather wait for them to die. Would he fight them? We still do not know what exactly these creatures want from him.

I dunno, but something about the way the Doctor said "your choice" made me a bit pensive, anxious. Especially considering the end of the story. Because clearly the one person here who would have any kind of power to put an end to these creatures would be the Doctor. We have seen him do it countless time. Is he almost not-so-subtly letting Martha know that if she wakes him before the hunters die, that she is giving him the okay to do with them whatever he sees fit? I feel there is more to the Doctor simply saying 'be careful if you restore me early, they'll find us and everyone will be in danger.'

The Tenth Doctor has always struck me as a darker incarnation - from series 2 there is a strange air or apathy about him (which works very well with his overall arc) and even a meanstreak. All his "one chances." Not to say I think he is a horrible person. I just think that while the Ninth Doctor's worst moments very clearly read as coming from a place of pain, the Tenth's overall demeanor seems from a place of complete indifference.

I don't know when tbis happens exactly - it's there before Doomsday and The Runaway Bride. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it was apparent from 'The Christmas Invasion.'

See, understandably, I don't think the Tenth Doctor takes too kindly to being forced into a corner, a place of vulnerability, of being exposed. The Tenth Doctor's story literally starts with him being hunted down by 'pilot fish' who were working for the Sycorax. His energy attracts them. He''s down on the job, vulnerable. But he also defeats them with ease.

Theorising aside. The Doctor leaves the recording, but comes back because he remembered to say something. "Oh and thank you" with the kindest smile before the screen switches to a blue with gallifreyan symbols.

The nation swoons, and Martha says what we are all thinking.

"I wish you'd come back."

Stay tuned for Part 3!!

#doctor who #martha jones #tenth doctor #10th doctor #john smith #baines #hutchinson #freema agyeman #david tennant #harry lloyd #joan redfern #jessica hynes #human nature #the family of blood #commentary #supernova writes

17 notes · View notes

heavenboy09 · 6 months

Text

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To You

The Newest Young Jewish ✡ American SNL Comedian, Actor & Writer In The Entertainment Industry Today Of The 21st Century

Peter Michael Davidson was born in New York City's Staten Island borough on November 16, 1993, the son of Amy (née Waters) and Scott Matthew Davidson. His father was a New York City firefighter for Ladder 118 who died in service during the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the rest of his unit. He was last seen running up the stairs of the Marriott World Trade Center just before the building was destroyed when the Twin Towers collapsed. His Requiem Mass was held at St. Clare's Catholic Church in Great Kills, Staten Island. Davidson, then aged seven, was profoundly affected by the loss. He told The New York Times that it was "overwhelming" and that he later acted out in school as a result of the trauma, at one point ripping his hair out until he was bald. In October 2016, he revealed on The Breakfast Club morning radio show that he struggled with suicidal thoughts when he was younger and that the music of Kid Cudi saved his life.

He is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He started standup in 2013 before being hired as cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for eight seasons from 2014 to 2022.

Davidson began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Friends of the People, Guy Code, and Wild 'n Out. He released his comedy specials Pete Davidson: SMD (2016) and Pete Davidson: Alive from New York (2020).

Davidson starred and executive produced the comedy film Big Time Adolescence (2019), and co-wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama film The King of Staten Island (2020), and the Peacock series Bupkis (2023). He continued acting in films such as The Suicide Squad (2021), Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), and Meet Cute (2022).

& Starred In 1 Of The Biggest Blockbuster Scifi Movies Of The Summer

TRANSFORMERS 🤖: RISE OF THE BEASTS 🦍🐆🦅🦏

Please Wish This Rising Young SNL Star 🌟 A Very Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

You Must Know Him

& You Can't Go Anywhere Without Hearing His Name Everywhere

& Alot Of Famous Ladies You Know Him Well.

The 1 & The Only

MR. PETER MICHAEL DAVIDSON AKA PETE DAVIDSON AKA MIRAGE OF THE AUTOBOTS 🤖🚘

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU MR. DAVIDSON & HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS TO COME

#PeteDavidson #SNL #TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts #Mirage #Autobots

#Pete Davidson #SNL #Transformers Rise Of The Beasts #Mirage #Autobots #Spotify

2 notes · View notes

queer-cosette · 10 months

Text

15 Question Tag Game | OC Edition

Thanks for the open tag @just-french-me-up to answer these questions about my OC! I love talking about my beloved Carlotta Suero - she features in various Miraculous Ladybug fics, with focus on her in The world is still sleeping, while I keep on dreaming and these are times that can't be weathered (and we have never been back there since then), and it's been too long since I talked about her <333

Rules: answer the questions below as yourself and/or your OC. (I'd also add that you make your own post).

1. Are they named after anyone?

Yes! Her first name is after Carlotta Brown from Enid Blyton's Twins at St Clare's series. Carlotta Brown is, like my Carlotta, Spanish by birth and a bit on the wild side with a desire for adventure and refusal to bow down to a perceived authority determined to make her conform. Very fitting for my girl.

Suero is a Spanish surname that I chose because it was likely my dad's family's surname a few hundred years or so ago. We don't know at what point we left Spain for Ireland, but Suero is a common surname in the area we were most likely from. Lil shoutout <3

Her middle name, Estrella, is slightly after my friend Stella, who is possibly the coolest person I've ever interacted with in my entire life.

2. When was the last time they cried?

these are times that can't be weathered (and we have never been back there since then) actually addresses this! Carlotta made a (implied to be unhealthy) choice at four years old that crying is pointless after witnessing a beached whale die in New Zealand. Her mother, in an attempt to lessen her heartbreak, tells her that "We shouldn't cry at something so beyond our control!" and she internalises it very heavily until her mid/late teens when she discovers the horrific truth about Gabriel Agreste's favourite pastime, and slowly breaks down in tears thinking about how it's going to fucking wreck her friend Adrien (Gabriel's son) when he finds out.

3. Do they have kids?

No, largely because Carlotta has a lot of me in her, and I don't want kids. I also unintentionally designed her superhero alterego as having the colour scheme of the asexual pride flag, so make of that what you will.

4. Do they use sarcasm?

Yes, but mostly with her younger siblings. She tries not to with Adrien because he's (in my canon) autistic and also very sheltered, so he doesn't always get it and she hates being bitchy to him even by accident because it feels like kicking a small animal. She's more a deadpan snarker than anything else, sarcasm-wise. Marinette is very much the same way, so they'll watch bad movies together and snark their way through it as a bonding exercise.

5. What’s the first thing they notice about people

Voice undertones. Carlotta is visually impaired - she has occipital lobe damage from a skateboarding accident at age 13 and has hemianopsia as a result - so sound has become even more important to her than it already was. And it was important to begin with - as a diver, she spends a lot of time underwater, and sound travels faster and further underwater than light does. Since her accident, she's learned how to pick up on tonal significance very very accurately. She can hazard a scarily accurate guess within five minutes as to where someone is from and what they think of the person introducing her to them.

6. What’s their eye colour?

Dark brown with slight violet undertones, turning fully bright violet with her Whale Miraculous transformation.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both, in a way; Carlotta adores high-stakes adventure movies with happy endings. A few jumpscares go down a treat, so long as everyone's found peace by the end.

8. Any special talents?

Besides learned skills (scuba diving, playing violin, skateboarding etc.) Carlotta is weirdly good at convincing people she's way more of a goofball than she actually is. All her childish antics do a good job of concealing how genuinely intelligent and sharp-minded she really is.

9. Where were they born?

Maternity ward in Asturias, Spain, in the Spring of 2000.

10. What are their hobbies?

Scuba diving, playing violin, and skateboarding!

11. Do they have any pets?

Her mother has a service dog, a golden labrador named Honey, after she had a workplace accident that left her with multiple severe burns from the waist down; Carlotta herself doesn't really consider Honey to be *hers* though. She did have a magical underwater encounter with a juvenile sperm whale off the Azores who she named Herman, but Herman is, of course, a wild animal, and more a friend than a pet.

12. What sports do they play/have they played?

Carlotta is very into swimming and diving! She's a very powerful long-distance swimmer, and has competed in diving competitions. She prefers outdoorsey activities to actual sports, though - things like skateboarding and tree-climbing.

13. How tall are they?

Five foot eleven inches (same height as me!). I wanted more tall girl characters, so I made one.

14. Favourite subject in school?

Biology. She wants to be a cetologist, and has thus far managed to find a way to turn the topic of every essay back towards oceanic megafauna.

15. Dream job?

Part time cetologist (she wants to be the first scientist to film the birth of a blue whale) and part time superhero. Maybe both at the same time!

Tagging @hanaasbananas @theladyfae @private-bryan @multimousenette and anyone else who would like to talk about their OC!

#love is stored in the tag game #carlotta estrella suero #carlotta estrella suero-dupain #carlotta suero #carlotta suero-dupain #coco writes

2 notes · View notes

alyslaskeywriter · 10 months

Text

My Jo

This one might actually be my favourite of the lot. Cut below for mentions of transphobia.

Linda’s hands shook as she reached for the tap and turned it on. The gush of the water that flowed into the sink sounded strangely distant. Perhaps she was the one who was distant. She felt distant, even from herself, no longer sure exactly what part she was supposed to play in the world. For so long, she had thought that her role had been cast, and now…

She took a deep breath and reached for one of the mugs, plunging it into the still-filling bowl of foamy water and rubbing it with a yellow sponge. Thank God for dishes. Dishes were simple, dishes were unending, almost reassuringly Sisyphean in their nature. Things could change all they wanted, but there would still be dishes to clean, and she would still be the one to clean them. As was to be expected as a mother of four... As a mother of four.

Linda had always wanted a big family, ever since she could remember. She had grown up a lonely only child, reading stories of siblings that she didn’t have: of the twins at St Clare’s, of the Bennett sisters, of Scout and Jem Finch, of the four March women. She had been delighted to have been blessed with four daughters of her own. It was too late for her to be one of the Little Women herself, but at least she could be Marmee.

She had read that book to all of her girls at one point or another, and each time she had remarked on how similar their family was to that of the March sisters. She had asked each one which little woman they would be, though she already knew exactly who was who in her mind. Steph was sensible and pretty like Meg, Katie sweet and caring like Beth, Olivia artistic and demanding like Amy, and then there was Natalie. Natty was funny, feisty, and fierce, she was bold and beautiful and brave. Natty was her Jo.

She never told Natalie this, she had never told any of them this, because she hadn’t needed to. Because of course she knew which sister they were each like. They were her girls. She had carried them and bore them and raised them. She knew them better than anyone ever could or ever would.

Or so she had thought, until today, when Natalie decided to drop the bombshell that blew holes in the illusions of her own reality.

Natalie no longer wished to be one of Linda’s little women. She no longer wished to be a woman at all, in fact, she said that she had never been a woman at all. She wanted to be, she believed that she was, that she always had been… a boy. Linda hadn’t known that, had never even suspected it. It was no wonder that her hands shook the way they did. Everything had been shaken up in a way she had never even considered, and she wasn’t sure that she yet understood.

She was Natalie’s mother. She should have been the first one Natty told about how she — they? — were feeling. Or perhaps, she should have noticed. She should have noticed. How could she not have? She had always prided herself on how well she knew her children. She had thought that she had each of them pegged, but she had been wrong.

Natty wasn’t her Jo. Natalie was her Beth, the girl who would be lost and leave her to mourn.

Linda felt bereaved, and she felt like a failure, and she felt guilty for her failures, and she felt guilty for the part of her that could only think about how her own identity was affected by this. She had always been the woman with four daughters. That was who she was. She was Marmee. Now who would she be?

“Mum?”

A voice from the kitchen door. Linda put the mug she had been washing for far longer than necessary down on the draining board and turned to see her youngest child standing in the doorway. Natty was fidgeting, her — no, their — front teeth grazing their bottom lip as they looked at her.

“Mum, are you okay?”

Linda knew better than to let her children - any of her children - see her emotions getting the better of. Her. She was a mother, it was her job to be the strong one in the family. If not her, then who?

“I’m fine, Natty,” she said, as breezily as she could muster. “Everything’s fine.”

“Really? You seem…” Natalie’s voice tailed off, and their eyes lowered to the floor. There was a look of hurt resignation on their face that made Linda’s heart ache.

She softened as she looked at her child, her youngest, her baby, so small and so scared looking. And no wonder. The world could be a cruel place, especially when it came to the things and people that others didn’t understand. And though Linda still didn’t understand why her daughter would not want to be her daughter anymore, she knew immediately who she was. Regardless of who or what Natalie wanted to be, who they were, she was still their mother. She could not be the first one to show Natty cruelty.

“I’m just worried about you,” she said. “I’m worried about how other people might treat you, and how much harder your life might be because of this.”

“Yeah. I’m worried about that, too.”

“And I wish that you had told me before. Or maybe I should have realised before. I feel bad that I didn’t.”

“In fairness, Mum, it’s taken me a long time to realise it myself,” Natty half-laughed. “I am sorry I didn’t tell you before now, though. I was scared of how you might react. I was scared that…”

“That what?”

“That you might not love me anymore.”

Linda walked across the room towards Natalie, and placed her hands gently on either side of the face she knew as well as her own.

“Natty, I am your mum. I will always love you, no matter what.”

Natalie blinked. Their eyes were filled with tears. Linda smiled and removed her hands.

“It’s just going to take me some getting used to, that’s all,” she admitted. Natalie nodded.

“Me too.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Natty inhaled slowly before replying, “Well, I’ll need a new name.”

“A new name?”

“How many blokes called Natalie do you meet, Mum?” Natty rolled their eyes. “I just thought you might like to help chose one. I mean, you’ve got more experience at naming people than anyone else I know.”

Linda did not want to help Natalie choose a new name. Doing so felt wrong. It felt as if she were betraying the little girl she had known and raised, as if she were helping to bury that girl. Her girl. It was hard enough that she was losing Natalie to this stranger, to this new boy child, without that. She could not do it. She would not do it.

She opened her mouth to tell Natty this, and as if they already knew what their mother was going to say, Natalie’s face stiffened. They stood up straight with their chin jutted, their eyes blazing and defiant, and Linda’s words died in her mouth.

It was a moment, a mere moment. It happened in an instant, and in that instant, Natalie had gone. There was someone else in Linda’s daughter’s place, someone who looked like Natty, but wasn’t. A boy, old enough to almost be a man, but certainly not a stranger.

Linda blinked. She knew this boy, this little man. She had always known him. How could she not? He was still the same child that she had born, but now he had become the person he was born to be. He was still hers. He was her boy; her funny, feisty, fierce, bold, beautiful, brave boy.

There was only one name she could think of to give him.

“Joe.”

“Joe?” Linda’s son wrinkled his nose. “You think I look like a Joe?”

Linda wrapped her arms around him and murmured into his hairline:

“My darling, you have always been my Joe.”

#writblr #al writes #original story #anthology #flash fiction #writers on tumblr #the key of life

4 notes · View notes