#so i may be a tiny bit biased here But Also I'm Right
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Baby Sister
A/N: Happy @nestaarcheronweek everyone! I'm super excited for all the content I have to share and all the content I'm sure others will be posting this week! We're starting off with a doozy for Day One: Sister. One of my biggest gripes with SJM has always been the fact it's very obvious she doesn't have sisters. I recognize I may be biased by my own relationship with my sister, but something always felt like it was falling a bit flat at times throughout the series for me personally. So, I thought I'd do a bit of a rewrite of the scene where Nesta tells Feyre about the pregnancy. Most of the dialogue at the beginning is pulled directly from ACOSF. Also, I recognize this may not be everyone's cup of tea, so if it's not for you, simply don't read it. I won't be offended. But for those who do, I hope you enjoy :)
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“The problem is the birth.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Illyrian females have a pelvis shaped specifically for children with wings to pass through. High Fae females do not. And when a child has wings, they can get stuck during labor.” Cassian’s face goes pale beneath the bruises. “Most females die, the babes with them. There’s no way for magic to help, short of fracturing a female’s pelvis to widen it for birthing. Which might kill the babe anyway.”
“Feyre is going to die?” Nesta’s words are a whisper. For a heartbeat every bit of spite, of anger, of bitterness fades away, pure, clear panic replacing it.
“A few do survive.” Cassian makes to rub his face, then stops before he can press the bruises. “But the labor is so brutal that many of them either come close to death or are so altered by it that they can’t have another child.”
“Is Feyre distraught?”
“She doesn’t know the full scope of it. But all of us who have grown up here know what it means for a High Fae female to bear a baby with wings.”
Nesta frowns at that. She thinks back to the last time she saw Feyre, the way she had been practically glowing, blue eyes alight with happiness and motherly joy. The way her hand had rested gently on her swelling stomach, thumb rubbing soothing circles for the babe growing inside. The babe that may be Feyre’s death, and her sister doesn’t even know. Blissful, blind ignorance.
“All of you that grew up here?” Nesta asks, turning Cassian’s words over in her mind again. “So the whole Court is aware of what this means?”
Cassian shifts slightly in his seat, tilting his head and peering across the table at Nesta. “If there is a way to save Feyre from a death sentence, Rhys will find it. He’s heading to Drakon and Miryam’s island tomorrow. And Mor is making discreet inquiries at the Fae courts on the continent. Even the priestesses are searching the archives and records. We’ll figure it out.”
“But Feyre will not know?”
“Does your sister not deserve a happy pregnancy with no worries?”
Anger flares through Nesta’s veins like a wildfire, simmering beneath her skin until her grip on the handle of her teacup tightens to near white-knuckled. Until her chest and lungs feel tight with the smoke of those flames. How dare he. How dare he turn this around on her. How dare he make her sound like the wretch, sound as though she’s the one who does not care for Feyre’s wellbeing, by questioning this.
How dare they all.
A Court of Dreamers, they call themselves, priding themselves on creating a place where females always have a choice as they tell her, and yet, they do not even inform their High Lady of the dire consequences that may be waiting for her in the shadows. They allow her to paint a mural on the walls of the nursery, allow her to speak excitedly of a future that she might not even have. It’s not right, none of this is right, and it has Nesta’s stomach roiling, the eggs she had been nibbling on for breakfast suddenly sour and heavy.
She thinks back to the first time she held Feyre, back to that time when their father had placed the tiny, wriggling babe carefully into Nesta’s arms. Feyre’s face had been all scrunched up, but then her eyes had opened, wide and blue and a near identical shade to Nesta’s own. She had blinked up at Nesta, staring up at her with those pinked cheeks and nose. For a moment, Nesta hadn’t known what to do, holding something so small, so precious, but then warmth and awe had flooded her chest until her heart felt full, felt on the brink of bursting.
She had understood then, holding her baby sister.
And though they had both grown claws as they got older, though they had certainly used those claws to tear the other down through the years, Feyre was still that baby sister in her arms that she’d sworn to love and protect. She’s still that baby sister in Nesta’s arms even today. That sister who vanished into the woods to do what needed to be done for the family. That sister that Nesta tried to tear through the Wall to get back.
And she’ll keep trying to tear through that Wall for Feyre, no matter what shape it takes. She will not let her baby sister die, and she certainly won’t let her die unknowingly, this Court and all of Prythian be damned.
Nesta sets down her teacup, determination settling like steel through her bones. The clatter is loud enough to break the silence that had settled in the dining room that Cassian jumps slightly at the sound. He looks up at her, and whatever he sees on her expression has his eyes widening, panic beginning to creep into the maze of golds and greens. He swallows hard and sets down his fork slowly, as if he expects the movement to spook her.
“I’m calling in our bargain,” Nesta declares, meeting his gaze head-on.
“Nesta—”
“No,” Nesta snaps, cutting him off, her tone cool and leaving no room for an argument. “I’ve decided my favor. You are going to fly me down to where Feyre is, and you are not allowed to speak until my sister knows the truth of her pregnancy.”
“Nes…” Cassian chokes out, but it seems the magic has already taken hold, preventing any other words from falling past his lips.
Cassian’s back bows over the table, a pained hiss bleeding through his clenched teeth. Nesta’s own back tingles and burns, her tattoo searing away at the bargain finally being completed. She stands up from her chair, straightening out the skirts of her dress with cool poise before making her way out of the dining room and toward the large doors that lead out to the balcony, shoulders back and head held high. She can hear Cassian’s slow, heavy footfalls behind her, the Illyrian clearly trying desperately to fight against the magic still.
The chilly, morning breeze skitters across Nesta’s skin as she steps onto the balcony, the pale blue hue of the sky above a contrast of the conversation to come. Nesta turns around to face Cassian expectantly. His jaw is clenched, lips pressed firmly together, and though he cannot say anything, the anger burning in his hazel eyes says enough. Nesta steps gingerly closer to him, allowing Cassian to scoop her up into his arms. His wings flare wide over his shoulders, and then they’re taking off into the air.
Nesta is surprised that they land in the grass around the back of Feyre’s home, but then she notices the doors opened wide, an easel placed just inside and hiding the face of the painter behind it. At the sound of their landing, Feyre’s head peeks out from behind her canvas, her eyebrows dipping down low in confusion as she watches Cassian set Nesta down on her feet.
“Nesta? Cassian?” Feyre asks, setting down the brush in her hand. “What are you two doing here?”
“I need to speak with you,” Nesta explains, striding forward across the lawn.
“Alright…” Feyre agrees, confusion still coloring her tone, as she stands up. “Let’s go inside then. I’ll make us some tea and we can talk.”
Nesta curls her fingers around Feyre’s wrist, halting her movements. “Right now.”
Feyre turns back around, her mouth pinching in a frown, but she clasps both of Nesta’s hands in her own. “Okay. What is it?”
Nesta swallows hard, suddenly at a loss for words, not knowing where to begin. “Perhaps we should sit down first after all.”
“You’re beginning to worry me. Is everything alright?”
Despite her words, Feyre turns again and leads them into the sitting room nearby. She and Nesta settle on one the loveseats, Cassian looming in the doorway. Feyre eyes him with clear concern and worry, the anger still clear on his expression despite his stony silence. Nesta gives her sister’s hands a squeeze, drawing her attention back to her.
“Feyre, you are my sister. My baby sister, and I—”
Nesta pauses, desperately clawing to find the right words to say, but what are the right words? Are there ever any right words to tell your sister of the cruel fate she’s been dealt, that may be poised to strike down her joy and her future in one fatal swing? She tries to pull from the demure politeness their mother had drilled into Nesta as a child, but there is no way to change this ugly truth with pretty words. There is no softening of this crushing blow. Nesta will be responsible for the lightness on Feyre’s face fading, but she knows it is the right thing to do. Knows that she cannot sit idly by while her sister is kept in the dark. Knows that if there is one thing Feyre cares most about, it’s no secrets.
“Your babe has wings,” Nesta finally breathes, her voice shaky.
Feyre’s worry and confusion melts away, giving way for a wide smile, her hand settling on her stomach as she peers down at it. “Yes. Isn’t it wonderful? He’ll know his Illyrian heritage.”
“It will kill you.”
Feyre’s smile falls away then, and she blinks a few times before finding her voice again. “What?”
“You’re not Illyrian, so when the time comes, the wings will get stuck, and you will die.”
“How do you know that?” Feyre whispers, blinking against the water beginning to line her eyes.
“Cassian told me this morning at breakfast, and I came here immediately after,” Nesta explains, giving her sisters a hand a squeeze in what she hopes is reassurance. “It seems your whole Court knows the implications, that your mate has instructed them not to inform you, but I do not care what he thinks or says because you are my sister, and you deserve to know.”
Feyre continues to blink a few times, clearly trying to process Nesta’s words, trying to process this new information, the weight of them. Her brows furrow deeper, lip finding home between her teeth as she worries it. Slowly, her gaze raises again, but not to Nesta. Instead, she looks toward the door to where Cassian still stands.
“Cassian…?” Feyre begins tentatively.
Cassian lets out a quiet gasping breath, almost doubling over as magic courses through him. Not allowed to speak until Feyre knows the truth of her pregnancy, those were the terms of the favor. He’s quick to still turn a glare in Nesta’s direction, jaw still clenched, disapproval at this entire turn events clear across his expression, but when he finally turns his attention to the High Lady, his face softens.
“Feyre…” Cassian starts to plead, unable to fully meet her eyes, the guilt creeping into his face, in the way that he grimaces at his failed words.
“So it’s true then,” Feyre laughs humorlessly, shaking her head. “And none of you thought to tell me?”
“We will figure this out,” Nesta jumps in to reassure Feyre, pulling her sister’s attention back to her. “I will scour the whole library myself if I have to, will scry for whatever might be able to help. I will not let you die.”
Feyre opens her mouth to say something more, but before she can, the whole house seems to rumble. Nesta’s free hand grasps desperately at the arm of the loveseat, trying to steady herself against the shake, feeling it rattle and scrape all the way down to her bones. The temperature in the room seems to drop, shadows and darkness creeping from beneath the floor and clawing from the corners.
Nesta snaps her head toward Cassian, an alarmed question already poised and ready on the tip of her tongue, but Cassian’s expression has glazed over, his eyes out of focus and far away. He inhales sharply, seemingly returning to himself and the present. His eyes find Nesta’s in an instant, the hazel of them swimming with… fear.
“Nesta, we need to go,” Cassian tells her, holding his hand out expectantly.
Nesta scoffs, shifting closer to Feyre and keeping a tight hold of her sister’s hand. “Absolutely not. I am not leaving Feyre alone.”
“Nesta, please,” Cassian pleads, his voice desperate and pained. It’s the tone that finally gives Nesta pause, that finally has her taking in the way Cassian’s chest has started to heave, the way his outstretched hand seems to shake slightly.
“He’s right. You need to go,” Feyre adds quietly, Nesta turning back toward her sister in surprise. “I’ll be alright.”
It’s the small smile of reassurance, of confidence, that Feyre offers that finally breaks Nesta’s remaining resolve. With a soft sigh, she finally stands up. She moves to walk to Cassian and the door, but before she can take a step, Feyre tugs on her arm and pulls her into a hug. The gesture takes Nesta by surprise. They’ve never been the overly affectionate sort. But slowly, Nesta’s arms come up as well, wrapping around her baby sister. Just like that very first day.
“Thank you,” Feyre breathes into her hair, giving a final squeeze before stepping back.
With a nod, Nesta settles her hand in Cassian’s, allowing him to tug her out of the room, but she stops in the hall, turning one last time toward her sister. “Give him hell, Fey.”
Feyre lets out a quiet laugh, the sound wet but genuine. “I plan to, don’t worry.”
Cassian all but drags Nesta out of the house, barely even waiting for the front door to close behind them before he’s scooping Nesta up into his arms and taking for the skies. Nesta clutches at his neck in surprise at the speed, but if Cassian notices her reaction, he doesn’t seem to care. His arms still seem to tremble where they grasp at her, his wings working overtime as he takes them away from Velaris as fast as he can.
Nesta is sure that she hasn’t heard the last of what happened today. She’s sure that there will still be consequences for revealing the truth to Feyre. From Cassian. From Rhysand. From the whole rest of the Court. But despite it all, Nesta finds she doesn’t particularly care. If given the choice, she knows that she would do it all over again a hundred times if she had to, without looking back, and without a single regret.
She would do anything for her baby sister.
—
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There is so much characterization tucked into "The Statement of the Case" in the 2nd of Letters from Watson about The Sign of the Four. To marshal my thoughts at all, let's go by character, starting with my cinnamon roll Dr. Watson, then turning to Holmes and to Mary Morstan.
Watson
Watson's close observation of Miss Morstan demonstrates that he's capable of making deductions from observation. He deduces from the simplicity of her attire that she has limited means, and he has a good deal to say about how the character promised by her features and manner.
In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents, I have never looked upon a face which gave a clearer promise of a refined and sensitive nature.
This is a tiny bit amusing because all of Miss Morstan's actions suggest she has the orderly soul of someone who would have been an accountant in an era more supportive of women's careers. This woman keeps receipts. She may be nervous about bringing her concerns to the Great Detective, but she's not the slightest bit delicate.
Watson seems a bit pricked in the ego by Holmes' extensive knowledge of cigar ash, as he's touting his experience with women. That would be a monograph, indeed, something sold discreetly, in a corner of the bookshop behind a curtain. I'm going to guess that the third continent, after Europe and Asia, is Africa, both because the British did a good deal of colonial meddling there and because it makes Holmes suggestion of The Martyrdom of Man so much more apposite.
Holmes
The Martyrdom of Man turns out to be a progressive best seller about world history. Author Winwood Reade's perspective is to show the importance of Africa in the development of the world. This is entirely at odds with Victorian self-confidence about the white European and American missions of colonialism. Holmes is implying, deliberately or not, that Watson knows less about at least two continents than he thinks he does.
Reade's prose feels comparatively modern -- it has the sprightly feel of early 20th century writing rather than the long, turgid sentences of the 19th century. I've been distracted by reading bits of it, as while it's not how an historian would handle its topics today, it's an interesting read.
A side note on Winwood Reade is that he was open about being an atheist, so his book is also at odds with the popular idea of Divine Providence smiling about the endeavors of the British Empire. Contemporary audiences would surely have drawn some conclusions about Holmes' religious and political leanings.
The book recommendation is preceded by Holmes establishing that he's not a sentimentalist:
He smiled gently. “It is of the first importance,” he said, “not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit,—a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellant man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor.”
My first reaction was "welp, he really is ace, isn't he?" On reflection, I think that reaction is both right and wrong. On the side of "right," there is no way that Holmes, as written, is a neurotypical allosexual heterosexual. Asexuality is not the only possible category for him, but it's a solid contender.
On the side of "wrong," what he's arguing for from "I assure you" on is simply not to judge a book by its cover. We're used to that as a moral. We're also accustomed to believing that "body language" and such can give clues to the person within. Heck, Holmes was just on about handwriting analysis. So there's a messy little tension here between two views that were common then as now: "outer aspects reveal the person's true nature" and "don't judge a book by its cover."
Mary Morstan
I like Mary Morstan a good deal, not least because she keeps receipts.
This image from the New York Public Library gives a sense of Mary's plain beige walking suit, though the feathers are far too big.
My first reaction to Mary Morstan's backstory was to check the publication date of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, because how many little girls were being left in boarding schools by their UK Army officer fathers who were serving in India?
Quite a few, it seems. It was standard practice to send children back to the UK to boarding school "for their health." That last euphemism raised my "what in the racist colonial claptrap" hackles, but there was a legit health concern -- malaria. Malaria is potentially deadly for anyone and worse for children, since a child who survived might have ruined health and intellectual development for life. It was not until 1897 that surgeon Ronald Ross established that malaria was transmitted by mosquitos. Miss Morstan was a child in India in the 1860s; she really would have been sent away for her own safety.
Meanwhile, although A Little Princess was published in 1905, it was expanded from a short story published in 1887. a few years before The Sign of the Four was written. That doesn't mean there's a connection: stories about a common situation and the fears arising from it are going to have similarities.
Miss Morstan's lack of English relatives did have me wondering if her mother was Indian, especially as her complexion lacks "beauty" (isn't translucently pale). Since she's blonde and light-eyed, presumably we're to assume that both parents were English or Scottish. (The genetics of eye color inheritance weren't established at all until 1907, but people obviously had folk beliefs about how much children looked like their parents, and in what ways, before that. Using today's knowledge, it seems possible that her mother had one English parent and one Indian parent, but who knows?).
At twenty-seven, she is "on the shelf" -- past the ordinary age of courtship and marriage. Her job as either a companion or a governess implies she brings no financial assets to a marriage beyond those mysterious pearls. Watson's musings that twenty-seven is "a sweet age" establishes both that he's head-over-heels for Miss Morstan and that he's enough a man of the world to prefer a woman "a little sobered by experience" to a blushing debutante.
So do the mysterious pearls mean we're going down a path superficially similar to Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone (1868), where a heroine inherits a mysterious gem from a British Army office relative? Rachel Verinder's uncle was a horrible person who came by his gem in the worst way; but Mary Morstan's father was a guard at a prison for political prisoners, which doesn't bode well for his connections. Mary has far too much good sense than to wear her pearls, though.
I do want my cinnamon roll Dr. Watson to get the girl.
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Hello, it me!
I'm dropping in to DEMAND CONTENT!!
Put the Content In the bag!!
I've come here requesting Diteline stuff! Specifically bed sharing/sleep habits. Domestic ass married Diteline stuff!
I've had such ideas pin balling around in my head for my own terrible gays (that I hope to post about at some point) and then I remembered that you have your own far less terrible gays!
Just tiny little bed sharing things and sleep habits have been on my MIND. Was hoping you could fuel the fire here 😈
Funny you should mention content lmao, I've been feeling the last little while that I have been VERY quiet and have had the need to POST CONTENT, BUT HAVE HAD NO CONTENT!! I WILL HAPPILY FUEL THIS FIRE BC I DO HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT IN PARTICULAR!!
Not a lot, BUT SOME
Mkay. So. Diteline sleep habits!!
Idk if gods NEED sleep?? It's either way in most mythologies, if it's specified (and if you're Hypnos god OF sleep lol). I think Dite can sleep but also can do without?? I'm on the fence about that tbh! Part of me thinks maybe she's like dnd elves and just needs a brief rest for four hours to function. Again, on the fence! SO. THAT BEING SAID. HERE'S SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT DITELINE SLEEPS:
Dite either sleeps on her belly or on her sides! Otherwise her wings get agitated if they don't have space to furl
I think they idle animate if/when she sleeps, lol. They'll occasionally swish or twitch, like a horse tail or cat ear or smth
Jacqueline is a side sleeper and she curls UP. When she's sleeping with Dite she is ALWAYS the little spoon and like, BURROWS into her side if she's facing her
Jacqueline also sleeps with many blankets; she makes herself colder on purpose to sleep cozier with more blankets 🤣🤣
Jacqueline is your friend who sleeps with the window open ALWAYS. She got that from me and I am not ashamed to admit it bc the BEST sleeps are when it's FREEZING COLD but you're bundled in blankets and NOT overheating about it :3
Dite doesn't mind the chill much at all bc Jacquie's already frozen the bed (figuratively), and she can regulate temperature easily enough so she's chill with the blanket fort bed
And she runs warm ANYWAY. It's bc she's partially made of love. Keeps her WARM.
Especially since her preferred way to sleep with Jacqueline is facing her and hugging her nice and close
Which is v easy bc that sprite can make herself SUCH a tiny lil ball
Her wings also tend to hug Jacqueline too when they sleep!! No matter what, when they're cuddling or sleeping, Dite always has at least one arm and one wing draped over Jacqueline
Jacqueline has the blankets right up to her neck; Dite likes to stick her arms out
This causes problems SOMETIMES. Not always, tho! They make it work :)
Jacqueline is a sometimes snor-er and Dite thinks her snores are cute
She may be biased
Sometimes when she's deep asleep Dite glows a bit, and Jacqueline is like awed by it 🤣🤣
Dite doesn't snore, I don't think!
If Jacqueline is awake and Dite isn't, Jacquie tends to trace Dite's facial features (nose, bridge of said nose, eyebrows) until she peeks open a sleepy eye :3
Jacqueline is very annoying when she is bored and one of these occasions involves Dite being asleep while she's awake
This stops being a problem when they have kids as one of those three gremlins is always awake!
Dite is an early riser! Jacqueline likes to lounge in bed. We call it the "coze and doze". You're awake, and cozy, but still dozing in bed. This is one of her favourite things to do with Dite!
She gets very pouty if she gets pulled out of bed before cozing and dozing to her heart's content :)
They get a King sized bed bc all three kids like to cuddle puddle/jump on them and Dite's wings can be very persnickety, so it's the best for all parties involved lol
Here is a lil' snippet from what I HOPE to be this coming year's Valentine's Day post for you all! It's called "Bedtime Stories" and here's the opening, bc it has some v good Diteline bed related fluff >:)
The alarm didn’t even get a chance to chirp before a feathery wing unfurled, whacking it right off the side table and into the wall.
The one note it had started to belt was cut as the clock hit the wall and fell to the floor with a crack, just a little bit broken.
“Whoops,” Donnie said, sitting upright. Both wings unfurled, stretching out behind her. Biting back a grin, she waved her arm, the clock reassembling and popping right back up to the bedside table, the lampshade only jostling a little bit. Letting out an honest to god(dess) teehee, she flew off the bed and right into the ensuite, the blankets lifting up a good few inches.
They fluttered briefly, before a pale hand snatched them back down with a grumble.
“What are you doinggggggggg,” the pale hand pantomimed, the only body part peeking out from the blanket.
“Getting ready for work!” Donnie said excitedly, giggling as the hand puppet drooped, its thumb just askew enough to give the impression of a disgruntled Muppet’s face. “It’s the BEST day of the year, after all!”
Dressed in her Cupid’s best, Donnie flew back to the bed, grabbing the hand puppet and pulling the rest of her wife out from the blankets. She did a little meep as she was pulled out, her hair half thawed until Donnie wrapped her up in a big, tight, squishy, winged hug, kissing her right on the lips. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jacqueline!”
The sprite flushed, the rest of the snow in her hair practically evaporating. Donnie giggled.
“And you’re up this early?”
“Of course! There’s love to spread!”
“Right here in this bed,” the sprite said. Throwing all her weight at the goddess, Jacqueline managed to pin her wife back down on the mattress, latching onto her like a koala and nuzzling into her neck.
Donnie laughed, flushed. “Jacqueline,” she chided gently.
The sprite grumbled, latching on to her tighter. “Blankets,” she said, and the sheet and comforter slid right back up the bed, tucking the pair in.
Donnie laughed. “Sweetheart. I’ve gotta work today!”
“Play hooky! I’m off all day and it’s so so cold outside. And it’s only gonna get colder, you know. I have it on good authority.”
“You’d really abuse your power to make it colder to try and stay here with me all day?”
“DUH,” Jacqueline said, pecking Donnie’s chin. “The bed’s gonna get cold the moment you leave and how else am I supposed to be warm and snuggly on this snowy ol’ Valentine’s?!” Jacqueline peeked up, making sure Donnie could see her huge pout.
Donnie laughed. “The sooner I go, the sooner I can come home and snuggle you all day,” she said, kissing her forehead. Her face dropped down, nose to nose with Jacqueline, foreheads touching as she gazed into her sleepy blue eyes. “And all night,” she said, low and breathy, making sure to blow air right towards Jacqueline’s neck.
She made a little choke sound and flushed darker. Her grip loosened; with a grin, Donnie took the opportunity to roll over, pinning Jacqueline down now.
The sprite blinked up, flustered. “Oh dear,” she said.
Donnie laughed, kissing her full on the lips one long-lasting time before gently breaking it off. “Think that will hold you over? Keep you nice and toasty?”
“So toasty,” she replied, recovered. Well, mostly. But Donnie knew her wife very well, and could tell she was about half an octave higher than she normally was. She laughed, sliding off of the bed and straightening her chiton, righting the laurel that had been passed down to her and rolling her shoulders.
“How do I look?”
“Stunning, jaw-dropping, gorgeous—ready to kick ass, even,” Jacqueline replied.
“Oh, stop it,” she said, playfully waving a hand.
“Never,” Jacqueline replied, her head hitting the pillow again. “Check on the kids on your way out? Bianca was still awake when I got in.”
“Still?!”
“One more chapter, she said. You know. Like a liar,” Jacqueline said, snuggling into the covers. “Oh, boo. It’s already cold.”
Donnie laughed, clipping her bracelet on her wrist. “It’ll warm up,” she said, leaving the room, keeping the door slightly ajar.
#ask box shenanigans#dani answers#alpharra#diteline#dani wips#i had to get ready for a lil party tonight so i deffs cut this short lol but plz enjoy the wip!#and also enjoy the diteline fluffs!#i am in the mood to give content so plz feel free to keep these kinds of asks coming lol#it's bday week for me so there WILL be a delay as i am CRAZY BUSY but I WILL REPLY#and im low key hoping stuff like this helps me get over the issues im having with the present chapter of cs#it's going very slow and steady but it feels repetitive and im kinda ho hum about it#ANY DRAFT IS GOOD BUT AHHHHHHHH#im stressin#anyway thanks for the ask! srry for the delay!!! we had an event at work prior to the lil party lmao#crystal springs#crystal springs FACTS
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A slightly unhinged Interview with the Vampire theory of mine:
tw: references to episode 5 and also mention of suicide, nothing more than what's in the show.
Also; spoilers for season 1 and the Vampire Lestat (and if I'm good at theorising, potentially for season 2&3)
Ok, so, this may be a bit wild. But I've binged Interview with the Vampire and reignited an old passion for Lestat as a character. So, this is not unbiased. Also, a lot of this is a compilation of parts of theories I've seen circulating around the community, so I don't claim to be the originator of a lot of this, but also there are too many posts for me to competently credit here.
As much as I loved the show, and all the tiny details in Sam Reid's performance, episode 5 left me with some 'feelings'. I know I'm not alone when I say that that episode and that fight felt quite out of character. I mean, Lestat and Louis never fought like THAT. Sure, their relationship was toxic, but it seems very strange that the showrunners would call Louis and Lestat endgame when they've made their relationship that much more violent and abusive. Not to mention that it goes directly against what Lestat says about never showing Louis even half his power.
Plus the scene was shot in a weird way; the oh so rarely used first person perspective, the shot hovering over the city so far up that the background faded away...
Almost like...
It could be anywhere...
New Orleans,
Or...
PARIS!!! (Dun-dun-daaaa)
I HAVE SOME THEORIES AND NO ONE TO TELL THEM TO SO I'M GOING TO SHOUT THEM INTO THE VOID NOW.
So, I re-read the Vampire Lestat and re-watched the show with the context of that book combined with the knowledge of Armand hovering around Louis while his is telling his story. It provided some extremely interesting depth on Lestat as a character, the way that he thinks and what might be happening in the more questionable moments of the show.
I'm not sure how to put this, so I'll get to the point. I think Armand is manipulating the absolute shit out of Louis' story. I think three big moments for this are the fight between Lestat and Louis, the death of Lestat and the upcoming death of Claudia.
What I think happened:
I've arrived at the conclusion that I think that fight is likely real, but the end of the fight at least; is not in-fact a right between Louis and Lestat but instead Armand and Lestat. From what I've read Louis and Lestat never fight like that, but Lestat and Armand absolutely do. Particularly the 'dragging him along the pavement' was extremely similar. (Though, they never do fly up in the air and Armand can fly anyway... Though I'm pretty sure at that point in the fight, he wasn't able to fly anyway, since he was barely conscious and seemingly unable to use his other powers) I intend to make another post going into detail on this fight, as I don't want it to overtake the point of this post just being an overview of the theory. That said, I did read out the two fights (omitting some dialogue to not give it away) to someone not familiar with the books after watching the scene and they thought it was an adaptation of the Armand fight, so it's not just me. (also, that fight was in Paris, hence the joke at the start)
We already saw that Armand had likely influenced Louis to think he had Left Lestat for dead, Daniel was right and I think that Louis didn't think the death was justified, like in the books, and I think that was a big part of the Armand story making Lestat look worse. There are a couple of moments when Lestat's actions are framed very uncharitably; like in the theatre when they are talking before the show and Louis said he was trying to 'seize his opportunity to disarm me' but in reality, Lestat was likely reminded of the past, the theatre reminding him of Nicky, because he looks for a second like he's going to cry. It seemed more like a moment of sentimental vulnerability from Lestat to me, but I am biased. I think it's all part of a clearly well-rehearsed (as we can see when the interview is compared to the one from the 80's) effort to poorly characterise Lestat. (Something which makes sense since Lestat is the villain of Interview with the Vampire, but was re-written into a more nuanced and sympathetic character in the next book, so they had to account for people being against him for these first two seasons, but then routing for him in the next)
I believe that they are actually trying to sanitise the relationship between Louis and Lestat quite a bit, because if you look at what actually happens, like things that would be too big or unmotivated of a lie for the writers to write, he actually has a lot of tender moments, and the manipulations are cruelty are kept to only a few moments rather than weaved through the entire relationship like in the books. Claudia is a big part of that, they seem to be changing the relationship between her and Lestat quite a lot, I'm not sure how much of that is trustworthy, but one part that is obviously true is the change in how/why she was made a Vampire. In the book (and movie) Claudia was made because Louis was starving himself eating only rats and was in a plague district trying to find rats when he stumbles across a little girl and feeds on her in a desperate frenzy for blood. Lestat finds him and the girl and turns her to keep her as a constant reminder of Louis' guilt, so that he won't leave. But in the show, Louis is only kind-of indirectly responsible for her death and Lestat only turns her because Louis begs him, not out of a plot to force Louis to stay with him. This keeps the dynamic of Louis feeling responsible for her (though not out of guilt as much as because he wanted her to be turned) but now Lestat never really wanted her, so they aren't very close, she's just sort of in-between him and Louis. It's a little sad to see since Lestat was never a good parent in the books, but he clearly loved Claudia a lot. Though, they might be making Lestat and Claudia look more distant than they are because Armand has a lot of motivation to portray Lestat as hating Claudia.
Also, I almost forgot. When Lestat goes to get Claudia on the train- Antionette was shown in episode 7 standing in the park while Claudia is saying goodbye and I bet anything that she heard that Louis was considering killing himself and relayed it to Lestat, who then went to get her so that he wouldn't. That entire scene was very 'cartoon villain' of Lestat, like what a child would write of a parent she was mad at so it probably shouldn't be taken at completely face value anyway.
Speaking of which,
What I believe the motivation was:
So, in the Vampire Lestat, Armand is a reoccurring antagonist to Lestat. Lestat is not a fan of him (though he does think he's pretty, because it's Lestat and he can't not) and he is not a fan of Lestat (Debate-lorded his cult away, kicked his ancient ass as a baby vampire, had the absolute gall to be created by Magnus and born only a country lord (fake bourgeoise, they had to hunt to survive the winter) and, the worst grievance of all; he rejected him.) In the books Armand loves Louis, and travels with him after Claudia's death but Louis is unable to move past her death and it causes them to drift apart, clearly that has not happened to this Armand and Louis, so what changed? Could it be that he fixed Louis' damaged psyche by channelling that damage onto Lestat, so that he might feel as though he has closure? I don't believe this Louis knows that Lestat didn't come to Paris vengeful and get Claudia killed for standing against him, that in-fact, Lestat came to Paris to get help from Armand and was instead starved and tormented into saying it was her, by Armand.
How could it have been done:
Reading the Vampire Lestat has given me insight into the way that Armand treats people, even the ones he cares about and how easily he uses his powers to extract information, manipulate, delude and distort the reality of the people around him. I have no doubt that he has dabbled in the memories of Louis, making him a more unreliable narrator than the mere passage of time. Claudia's diaries are untrustworthy not only because despite how long she lives, she still has the brain of a child, but also because Armand has been tampering again. She is prone to exaggerate and dramatize with no thought to making a moderate and unbiassed account in her personal diaries.
There are two instances of Daniel pointing out that her diaries have had pages removed. The first was when she gets assaulted and the pages are torn, I believe that that was Louis being heartbroken and angry and tearing out the pages in the heat of the moment, he seems genuinely upset and protective over her memory, no reason to doubt it. However, the second instance, after Lestat's 'death' the pages are removed neatly, calmly omitted, Daniel says 'with a ruler' I believe that instance was Armand, trying to hide that Louis didn't want Lestat dead.
So that's mostly my theory for now. I'm still gathering screenshots and quotes from the book; I'm going to redo this post with a lot more evidence and probably better worded, but I wanted to float what I have so far and see if anyone had any feedback, areas that could use more elaboration, anything to add to the theory or counter anything I've said here. All feedback is welcome! I'll use it when I make my more polished post.
Also, just to be super clear, I absolutely love all the characters. This is my favourite show at the moment, and this is in no way meant to be unfair to any of the character, I'm just trying to predict what is coming since I can think of little else, and the next season is so far away.
Thank you so much for reading! Sorry if it was a little jumbled, just trying to get my thoughts out there.
#interview with the vampire#lestat de lioncourt#louis de pointe du lac#iwtv series#iwtv lestat#iwtv louis
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Close to Me: How the Hollow Knight's Fighting Style Reflects Their Trauma (and the Radiance's as well)
So I've been trying to actually beat the Radiance, which means I've been fighting the Hollow Knight. A lot, as a matter of fact, since I'm beans at this game sometimes. I've also been thinking about @lost-kinn's meta about how fighting styles are how Vessels, especially the Little Knight, communicate.
In trying to apply this to the Hollow Knight, I've been coming to some very interesting conclusions, especially taken in context of...Everything Else in the lore, and Everything Else implicated in this by the psychology of it.
There's a lot to cover here, and it tracks through a LOT of different places, including trauma psychology, the relationship between chronic stress and lifespan health, and shape symbolism. Two warnings first:
One: this essay is gonna get heavy. It includes fine-grained discussion of the Hollow Knight's trauma, including discussions of the real-life machanics of psychological abuse, as well as the Extremely Concerning Implications of them harming themself during their boss fight. please read with caution and when you're in a safe emotional place to do so.
Two: This post is not a place for justifying the Pale King. If you read this essay in its entirety and still want to do that, please make your own post; my relationship to the Hollow Knight themself is deeply rooted in my own experiences, so in the context of this discussion I can't promise I won't take it personally.
With that out of the way, let's talk trauma and fighting styles:
We know that the Hollow Knight is trained to be a paragon of fighting skill, through the Pure Vessel fight, and this gives us a fantastic way to compare what they were like before they were made Government Assigned Radiance Jail, and after. Or, in other words, we're given the perfect opportunity to see what the Radiance is doing (i.e. context effects), and what Hollow is (i.e. what we can conclude is reliably consistent as a part of them). Listed here, for reference:
Hollow's attacks:
Three slashes
A dash slash
A Radiant Shade Soul, which launches a volley of Infection blobs in arcs
A Radiant Desolate Dive, which produces pillars of entwined Void and Light at random intervals
The Infection bursting out of them in random arcs, covering a significant amount of the aerial space of the arena
The Radiance ragdolling their body around trying to hit the Knight
Contact damage from them stabbing themself and falling over atop you
The Pure Vessel's attacks:
Three slashes
A dash slash
A Pure Shade Soul, which launches a volley of nails in straight lines
A Pure Desolate Dive, which produces nails at specific intervals
A Pure Focus, which causes circular explosions across most of the aerial space in the arena
Lashing out with a Void Arm (word choice intentional)
I've highlighted attacks from each battle that are different, since those are our points of interest here. In addition, both the Pure Vessel and Hollow are exceedingly fond of teleport-spamming in a way that is usually reserved for a specific group of bosses.
Another very important distinction between these two fights: the Pure Vessel doesn't scream. Well, they certainly try to, but no sound comes out. No voice to cry suffering, after all. All of these points have a lot to go into, so let's address them one at a time.
All That Remains: Theoretical Background On The Significance Of Constants
Making comparisons across time is important specifically because humans (and human-like bugs) change. Most personality traits aren't set in stone--they exist as an interaction of someone's internal tendencies, their experiences, and their environment. Speaking of those last two points, not all experiences and environments are created equally. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs for short) are known to have lifelong implications for a child's health, both physically and mentally. These are events that are so stressful or stressful for so long that they exceed a child's ability to cope and become toxic stress (yes, that's the term in the literature, because it actively damages your organs). They compound, as well--the stress of one ACE makes it harder for a child to cope with another, especially if they overlap.
Some examples of ACEs? Being exposed to physical danger or the threat of physical danger, deprivation of normal social relationships with peers of a similar age, being forcibly seperated from family members, witnessing a loved one being hurt or killed, chronic illness in oneself or a family member, neglect of a child's emotional needs....
Poor fucking Holly. It's a miracle they didn't disintegrate under the pressure. The only other option is that they bent and adapted under that much stress--in other words, most of their personality has been forcibly reshaped by what they've gone through. Anyone who has up-close experience with parentification or complex child abuse already knows: this was by design. I'm not saying the intent was to traumatize the Pure Vessel past several points of no return, but the intent definitely was to reshape their personality for the purpose of being The Vessel. We only see them (the Pure Vessel) in battle after this process is mostly or entirely complete, but we do see them a few times beforehand. I'd like to draw attention to the Path of Pain cutscene right now.
I've seen people talking about the look the Vessel and the King share as a sign that TPK really does love his child. That might be true, but it's definitely not relevant when it comes to how abuse works. This is, in fact, exactly how the cycle of abuse uses affection as a tool. Long periods of abuse or neglect, smoothed over by small periods of affection that placate the survivor? That's textbook love bombing, the kind that forms stubborn trauma bonds and facilitates unhealthy dependency. Forgive me for not giving the Higher Being of knowledge and prescience the benefit of the doubt on that one. (/s)
Team Cherry knows about the importance of parallels and dissonance. There's a reason the music in the second phase of the Hollow Knight fight plays in the Path of Pain. There's a reason it cuts out the moment the battle with the Kingsmoulds is over, instead of at the room transition. There's a reason it doesn't cut out in the Black Egg. Actually, there's two potential reasons, which could also coexist: either little Hollow trusts the Pale King to keep them safe, even after the borderline torture that they were just subjected to, or big Hollow is so hypervigilant that they're in full functioning-through-trauma mode even while they're at death's door.
If you don't see how much the Pale King scarred his child at this point, I'm not sure we were playing the same game.
Walking the Straight Line: How the Pale King's Teachings Show In the Pure Vessel
The Pale King loves order and control. Everything about the White Palace and every decision we see him make implies this. Everything is spotless white walls and well-maintained gardens; the only signs of disorder are hidden away, either in his workshop or in The Pit™. This also reflects in the Pure Vessel's title--pure as in holy, but also pure as in without flaw. Considering the Nailsmith's emotional state after completing the Pure Nail, TPK's fate with his Perfect Controlled Kingdom, and the Godmaster ending as a whole, attaining perfection is not a good thing in any sense.
We know the Hollow Knight isn't perfect--that's the whole catalyst for the plot. But considering their upbringing and their fighting style as the Pure Vessel, their imperfections absolutely kill them emotionally. I'll spare the lecture on how perfectionism affects neurodivergent kids even more severely than neurotypical kids, if only to keep this post to a reasonable length (look up "twice-exceptional children" if you'd like to know the theory I'm glossing over in more depth). But, in essence, the deck is doubly stacked against them--they have a higher goal to reach, and far more obsctacles in their path, including their own emotional scars.
I've already discussed how Hollow isn't meant for this kind of stress in a physical sense in other posts. They're not prepared for it emotionally, either--the Pale King wants perfection, and they can't even stand up straight (every spoonie in the audience already knows how exhausting people's obsession with Standing Up Straight is). There's another page on their stack of emotional baggage, even BEFORE you consider that the Pure Vessel knows their perfection is what bought them a ticket out of the Abyss.
Bringing Teleportation To A Sword Fight: Where The Pure Vessel Reveals Their Fears
How else are they going to cope with that need for perfection, that need to prove themselves worthy of the reason their life was spared, by being flawless in any way they can? Being a mechanical, flawless fighter puts so much pressure on them, both literally (repetitive strain injuries fucking HURT) and figuratively--if you're predictable, the only sure way to win is to mop the floor with your opponents before they figure you out. Hell, that's the way most people play their first run of Hollow Knight, by throwing themselves at the bosses over and over until they figure out the patterns. That strategy is inherently going to fail against an opponent that's, say, an immortal higher being.
There's no way that the Vessel didn't figure this out, and yet none of their TPV specific attacks are positioned randomly--the nails are always evenly spaced, and the Focus explosions are always in a specific height region of the screen. That's clinging to survival strategies even when they become maladaptive in its purest form.
Another dip into psychological theory: let's talk about disorganized attachment. Attachment styles describe how someone's relationships to their main caregiver(s) influence their understanding on relationships in general. Disorganized attachment is a result of an upbringing of inherently unstable parent-child relationships, where there's no way of a child predicting whether an adult is going to be delighted to see them, ambivalent, upset, or otherwise. If my parent woke up some days saying "all right my child, time for the Infinite Buzzsaws Obstacle Course," I'd be the same way. In adulthood this manifests as an inability to form a stable sense of self-concept as well as concepts of others. Mission accomplished, TPK, there's no will to break if you broke it yourself.
This is where the fighting styles as communication comes in--Hollow needs to keep Ghost at a distance to fight, but also wants to be closer to their sibling (the only being who has a chance of understanding what they've been through), BUT also has a trauma-rooted fear of attaching to people, as their experiences with attachment are inherently unpredictable and dangerous. Hence, both the teleportation that doesn't seem to match their fighting style any more reliably than "aim at the thing attacking you" and the second attack unique to the Pure Vessel--they're quite literally lashing out in pain to push people away. There's a reason that attack is so reminiscent of the Thorns of Agony.
Of note is that Holly does seem to teleport like the bugs of the Soul Sanctum do (favoring the edges of a screen, rather than going wherever like Dream Warriors do), which makes sense--they're the most obvious answer to the question "how did they learn how to teleport, anyways?" However, Sanctum bugs have abilities designed to capitalize on this, like homing spells and slashes from above. I can only assume this means that someone saw Holly's proficiency with the nail and assumed it translated to other forms of combat, and didn't feel the need to give them at least a bit of a primer on how to make the best use of it. There's another tally for the Hollow Knight as an autism metaphor.
Trauma Bonds: How the Radiance Speaks Through Hollow
Now, we're back to the Black Egg, and two people stuck in the same sinking ship. The thing that makes this hurt so badly is that Holly and the Radiance are at complete cross purposes here, and yet they both want the same thing:
They both want out, no matter the cost. For the Radiance, this means forsaking the pacifistic nature of the moths and nuking Ghost personally.
For Hollow, this means forsaking the way they were raised and everything that was bludgeoned into their personality: the only way out is to fail, give up control, and trust that Ghost will do what needs to be done.
Imagine how much pain they're in to actually go for it. Going against a literal lifetime of conditioning is something that takes the average person years to even consider, let alone go through with. It's a form of learned helplessness--if you try to break free and fall, again and again, it actively discourages further attempts. Breaking through learned helplessness is an interesting process, because it generally involves re-establishing a sense of control by recalling previous events where the person was able to change their situation.
Which, as far as we know of, are nothing but traumatic memories for Hollow. It's very unlikely that they'd break through it on their own, but we know they have by the time we see the second phase of their fight. This is them at their most desperate: the same music as the Path of Pain, the way they let, or can't stop, the Radiance throw their body around, the way they actively try to let the Radiance out by stabbing themself.
You'd think that giving up and learned helplessness are inherently compatible, but when giving up both goes against your core personality, and involves your active participation, they're in direct opposition. So either Holly was able to process all their trauma by themself (which I doubt, judging by how much effort the player has to go through to even see Ghost's and Hollow's traumatic memories), or someone gave them a nudge or three in that direction.
Considering that there's been someone living in Holly's head who has a vested interest in them Not Doing Their Duty, I think we know who. And the thing is, I think we watch Hollow have this breakthrough during their battle. Imagine for the first time in decades, at least, you can move. You're in pain from being in the same position, probably hallucinating from sensory deprivation, with an infection sucking at what strength your body has left. And there's this little creature who looks ready to fight you, who seems to have let you go for that exact purpose.
And you look down, and both you and the Radiance recognize them from a place rooted deeper than consciousness, in the murky depths of trauma. You see the other Vessel who just as easily could have been you, and who looks so much stronger for not being you, for being an imperfect, willful creature. And the Radiance sees history threatening to repeat itself, another one of the Wyrm's cursed children seeking to lock her away once more.
What else do you do when you're triggered? You scream, and you go on instinct, and you retreat into your head. Those first blows, with the epic music? That's the Vessel the Pale King forged, the fighting machine that will endure unimaginable stress because it knows no other way. What snaps you back out of dissociation? Usually, either the passage of the triggering stimulus, or an even more relevant stimulus (severe pain from getting beaten up by a nail, for example).
The tragedy is this: we know this isn't a triumph. I think most of us went into that fight the first time, knowing we'd be putting the Hollow Knight out of their misery. The music turns tragic, Hollow screams, and then we see the Radiance and Hollow themself break through: the Radiance trying to fight Ghost directly with the resources she has, and Hollow trying to help her along.
For what it's worth, Hollow even had the right idea, when it came to letting themself rest while helping Ghost stop the madness their father started--they were just digging for the Radiance in the wrong place. The dynamic between the Radiance and the Hollow Knight is something I could write on for pages and pages, but this has gone on for long enough. Tune in next time, where I'll presumably talk about this same topic but in reverse with regards to the Radiance.
#hollow knight#hk#the pure vessel#the pale king#the radiance#my meta#the higher being speaks#i hate fact-checking my abuse infodumps because the ableism against personality disorders is EVERYWHERE#but here this monster of an essay is#anyways the hollow knight as a character sniped my trauma on sight#so i may be a tiny bit biased here But Also I'm Right#abuse //#child abuse //#emotional abuse //#i legit do not know what tags to throw on this#also the overarching title is a reference to the song of the same name from just shapes and beats because. yeah
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In Which I Attempt to Wreak Havoc Upon Panharmonium's Heart. Or Something.
Because I am an awesome friend, clearly, and possibly making people sad/verklempt is definitely an excellent way to (belatedly 😔 but I did start before the 15th!) celebrate Kakashi's birthday, right? ;)
I will admit up front that this is nowhere near as deftly structured and compiled as your Kakashi fanmix, @panharmonium, but that is precisely why I'm not even going to try to organize all these songs into individual playlists. Yet. Plus, I have a tendency to over-explain so this way I can better expound on why certain songs remind me of certain characters. Sorry that I sorta went a little... overboard?
Everything--except a few that aren't available on spotify, I'll link to them directly--can be listened to HERE.
What I'm Looking For - Brendan Benson | Kakashi
→ I may be a little biased with this one because it fits SO many of my favorite characters so well, somehow, but there's just something about the upbeat/tongue-in-cheek musical cues/delivery of lines such as 'I visit hell on a daily basis, and I see the sadness in all your faces' that just feels so Kakashi to me.
Happy Ending - MIKA | Kakashi
→ This is presumably a breakup song, but I enjoy it so much more in a non-romantic context (and the song itself isn't really boxed in with overtly romantic framing, so I appreciate that!). Anyway, some very important instructions IMO for listening to this with Kakashi in mind: everything before the bridge is about Kakashi up through his ANBU years, but when you get to the 'little bit of love' refrain, picture Kakashi meeting Tenzo, and then becoming Team 7's sensei, opening back up to Gai, adopting all the other leaf genin, assimilating Sai and Yamato into Team 7, and it keeps building with Kakashi gaining more and more loved ones to fill the hole in his heart, and then cry tears of joy with me! Just my personal suggestion. :D
Light - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team 7 (/all his kids)
with every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath
→ I've seen this song used for ship vids and I'm all ????? about that because this is clearly a song about the love you have for your child! But I suppose if one of my favorite pastimes is aggressively re-interpreting love songs in non-romantic ways, I can't begrudge the opposite process... too much, lol.
Heroes - MIKA | Team Minato
your blood on me/and my blood on you/but to make you bleed/the only thing I wouldn't do/.../I wish there was a way/to give you a hand to hold/'cause you don't have to die in your glory/die, to never grow old
Long Lost Friends - Transit | Kakashi & Obito
how long/do you have to say that/this is not the person I used to know/you are not the person I used to know/.../because lately, you've been looking at me like you've seen a ghost/and isn't it obvious who's been missing who the most
→ What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck!
Against the Voices - Switchfoot | Kakashi
'cause everybody knows/the hardest war to fight/is the fight to be yourself/when the voices try to turn you into someone else
Out of the Darkness - Matthew and the Atlas | Obito? Yamato? Kakashi? Itachi & Sasuke? Naruto & Kurama?
→ I'm a bit undecided about this one, or if I should just not worry about choosing one character and just let myself feel all the "inner darkness is not an innate characteristic, Danzo! They're just grieving/in a lot of pain, and they can find their way out of that dark place!" feels.
Save A Place - 1969 | Kakashi & Sasuke
so I'll keep away and save a place for you/and I'll only make the same mistakes as you/.../when all the blood all over your fingers is dried up/the pain will still linger
→ I'm not uber-confident in picking out really fitting Kakashi & Sasuke songs yet, but I hope this hits a lot of the right notes for you. :)
Thrive - Switchfoot | Kakashi
I'm always close, but I'm never enough/I'm always in line, but I'm never in love/I get so down, but I won't give up/I get so down, but I won't give up
→ See, it says right there that he's never in love! Not the crux of the song, and he's not always 'in line' either, but still! :)
Disarm - The Civil Wars | Kakashi & Obito
the years burn, burn, burn
→ I don't know how I keep collecting fictional relationships that work so well for this song, but literally every single line of this song hits so hard for these two?? Will never recover from this. (Also, I usually disregard when 'my love' pops up in the last line of the chorus, as the mood dictates. :) It's pretty incidental as is IMO.)
Renaissance - Paolo Buonvino & Skin | Sakumo & Obito & Kakashi & Naruto
let me show you one last time/let me show you one last sign/you can find it/I can't say that I can change the world/but if you let me, I can make another world for us/let me suffer all for you/make this vision all brand new/we can fight them/I can't say that I can win it all, [but] come with me and I will make my words stand tall
→ Okay, this is a very odd choice given that it's actually the theme song for a different show about the Italian renaissance (if you happen to see this, Mirjam, don't hate me!), but this could be IT! The "those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum" anthem that's all about building a better world based on these principles! I really hope our sharing-a-brain talent translates to listening to this song in this way because I am feeling SOME KIND of way about this!
The Lament of Eustace Scrubb - The Oh Hellos | Kakashi
→ I really liked the song you chose from this album for your fanmix, so now I've feeling a tiny bit too on-the-nose with my choice, but I guess this is just a Kakashi album all around. 😆
Glass Heart Hymn - Paper Route | Kakashi(+ Obito) & Sasuke(+ Itachi)
memories as heavy as a stone/ I am empty, in my end you are my beginning
This Is Home - Switchfoot | Yamato & Kakashi (+ Team 7)
and now, after all my searching/after all my questions/I'm gonna call it home
→ All finding-where-you-belong songs are actually Yamato songs. True story!
Faust, Midas, & Myself - Switchfoot | Obito
you have one life left to leave/you have one life left to lead
→ Could this be any more perfect for Obito? It even has creepy-old-man!Madara!
Pluto - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi
Always Gold - Radical Face | Kakashi & Obito/Sasuke & Itachi/Naruto & Sasuke
all my life, I've never known where you've been/there were holes in you, the kind that I could not mend/and I heard you say, right when you left that day/does everything go away?/yeah, everything goes away/but I'm going to be here till forever/so just call when you're around
→ ...but mostly Kakashi & Obito because 'there were holes in you' 😭😭😭
Lemon Boy - Cavetown | Yamato & Kakashi
→ You already know the delights of this song of course, but I gots to be comprehensive. :)
Everywhere I Go - Lissie/cover by Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team Minato
danger will follow me now everywhere I go/angels will call on me and take me to my home/well, these tired eyes just want to remain closed
→ I chose the Sleeping At Last cover for maximum angst, 'cause sometimes it be like that.
Uneven Odds - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi
maybe your light is a seed, and the darkness the dirt, in spite of the uneven odds, beauty lifts from the earth
→ ...just like an earth style: mud wall :') Okay, okay, bad jokes aside, the seed metaphor of course makes me want to associate it with Tenzo, but this is clearly a Kakashi song!
Twenty-four - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito
life is not what I thought it was twenty-four hours ago/and I'm not who I thought I was twenty-four hours ago/still I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/you're raising the dead in me/I wanna see miracles/to see the world change/wrestled the angel for more than a name/for more than a feeling, for more than a cause/I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/and you're raising the dead in me
I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) - John Rzeznik | Kakashi
and how can they say I never change?/they're the ones that stay the same/.../they can't tell me who to be/'cause I'm not what they see/.../and their words are just whispers/and lies that I'll never believe
→ Yeah, I might've accidentally imprinted on Treasure Planet as a 14 year old, and then someone made sure this song would forever live in my heart by making a fanvid of it with my favorite character from my robin hood show, but! He's still here!
See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (feat. Charlie Puth) | Kakashi & Obito/Team Minato
how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?/everything I went through, you were standing there by my side/and now you gon' be with me for the last ride
→ I am being very unoriginal here, and there are in fact already fanvids made for these relationships set to this song (along with many others featuring different Naruto relationships), but I don't think I'll be able to rest until I translate the movie playing in my head whenever I hear this song now into an actually watchable format. After all, they have come a long way from where they began, and I intend to make that both as touching and ironically hilarious as possible!
Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers | Kakashi
→ Admittedly, I got this idea from a magnificently crafted fanvid done for my robin hood show, but I genuinely think it would be really interesting to make something similar for Kakashi centered around the time he technically died but got better? I don't know how to explain it, but I think it fits quite well.
30 Lives - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi & all the people he's loved and lost
→ can be listened to here.
A Pound of Flesh - Radical Face | Kakashi
then today I wake up feeling easy/and find I'm on more familiar roads/I got a darkness wrapped inside me/but now it ain't so hard to let it go/so keep a candle burning in the window/I'm almost home
Hold Back The River - James Bay | Kakashi & life getting in the way of him being with his precious people (you may be sensing a pattern here)
→ @the road of life: Let! Kakashi! And his People! Hold! Each! Other!!! Also, 'tried to square not being there, but think that I should have been' is absolutely about Sasuke's defection and Kakashi adding it to his long list of undeserving self-recriminations.
The Fall - Imagine Dragons | Yamato & Kakashi
→ 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Shadowman - K's Choice | could work equally well for Kakashi or Obito, I think
any time tomorrow a part of me will die/and a new one will be born/any time tomorrow/I'll get sick of asking why/sick of all the darkness I have worn/any time tomorrow/I will try to do what's right/making sense of all I can/any time tomorrow I'll pretend to see the light/I just might/.../and doesn't it make you sad?/to see so much love denied/see nothing but a shadowman inside
Paint - The Paper Kites | Kakashi & Team 7
still there's a wound and I'm moving slow/though it don't show, though it don't show/I've got a hole where nothing grows,/how little you know, how little you know
→ A song for just how much Team 7 doesn't know about their sensei.
Always Find Me Here - Transit | Kakashi
→ ...most likely at the memorial stone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (why am I like this)
Taste - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi
it’s bittersweet, it’s poetry/a careful pruning of my dead leaves/it’s holy ground, a treasure chest/I'm on my knees and only scratch the surface/like fists unraveling, like glass unshattering/we’re breaking all the rules, we’re breaking bread again/we’re swallowing light ’til we’re fixed from the inside
Help - Hurts | Yamato & Kakashi
take my hand and lead the way/out of the darkness and into the light of the day/.../'cause I know what I've been missing/and I know that I should try/but there's hope in this admission/and there's freedom in your eyes/.../I can feel the darkness coming/and I'm afraid of myself/call my name and I'll come running/'cause I just need some help
→ NO ONE TOUCHE ME.
Your Soul - RHODES | A mish-mash of Kakashi & Tenzo and Rin & Obito & Kakashi
and Gai & Kakashi vibes?
→ So like, 'oh you know when you're alone/I'm holding on and on and on and on/to your soul' reminded me of your 'when you're all alone...the only thing you really think about is dying' 'but when there are two of you...the only thing you can think about is surviving.' and now kakashi - who just saved his life - is asking him 'did you want to die' and yamato is saying 'no' there are two of them and yamato wants to SURVIVE. tags as well as Gai's steadfastness as a friend, and 'I just wanna hold your hand' made me think of Rin's "Well then, I'm just going to have to connect the two of you." while holding their hands, and the sunlight/'soul shine'/'your light' motif is just A Lot in this song!!
7 Years - Lukas Graham | Kakashi
→ Alright, yeah, there are already approximately a gazillion pre-existing Naruto AMVs for this song and even one or two focusing on Kakashi, but they don't capitalize on all the angst possibilities in many of the lyrics or reach the fluff potential of 'will I think the world is cold or will I have a lot of children who can warm me [when I'm old]' and I cannot abide that!
Putting The Dog To Sleep - The Antlers | Kakashi & Sasuke
→ Okay, on one hand, this song is One Big Oof. But I do like the (potentially odd) way I've conceptualized it for Kakashi & Sasuke? Like, the first half is Kakashi going through all the tragedies in his life and getting lost in ANBU, but then in the second half it transitions to him wanting to prevent Sasuke from having to be as alone as Kakashi once was and they can face life together? It makes me emotional!
Trust Me - The Fray | Kakashi & Obito
I found a friend, or should I say a foe?/said there's a few things you should know/we don't want you to see/we come, and we go/here today, gone tomorrow
→ There are a few lines that call Tenzo & Kakashi to mind, but mostly it's Obito & Kakashi.
The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol | Kakashi
→ I had to, right? My mindscape is a little murky/scattered about what specifically I want to think about when I listen to this, but obviously it has to do with Kakashi in one way or another.
Kettering - The Antlers | Team Minato(???)
→ Honestly not sure if this will make any sense, but yeah, vague team minato vibes?
Swans - Unkle Bob | Kakashi & Obito/Rin/Minato/Kushina/Sakumo
→ They should be by his side always!!!
Looking Too Closely - Fink | Kakashi
→ I honestly feel rather ambivalent about this one too, but I can't deny 'truth is like blood underneath your fingernails/and you don't wanna hurt yourself, hurt yourself/looking too closely' always destroys me because... well, you know. I love suffering. :(
Souvenirs - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito & Rin
wolves - Switchfoot | Kakashi
snowfall for the battlefield/roses for the father's sons/see them red on the ground:/bleeding/when the revolution came/we were more than hungry men/we were hoping for more:/bleeding/end. begin again./all of my world is collision and spin/hope is a world that has yet to begin/awaken, oh sleeper/awaken, oh sleeper/a new day begins
→ I wanted a wolf-related song too. :)
PRODIGAL SOUL - Switchfoot | Obito, Itachi, & Sasuke; just all them wayward Uchiha boys
Coming Down - Dear Euphoria | kid!Kakashi & his relationships
the shell/that I wore/it wasn't for fun/it wasn't to make you/stick around/it was for survival/it was what I've learnt/it was for the sun/.../our love has grown/our love has flown
→ Another one I'm a little unsure of whether it makes sense outside of my head or not, but I like the vibes?
Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons | Kakashi & Yamato?
→ Hmm, can I maybe submit this as a Kakashi-&-Yamato-just-need-to-mske-it-through-this-war-so-they-can-have-a-bright-bright-future song?
All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - Radical Face | Kakashi
→ ...he said as he's bleeding out or after he's thrown himself in the line of fire protecting someone he thinks is a better person than himself...
Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi
when the hour is nigh/and hopelessness is sinking in/and the wolves all cry/to fill the night with hollering/when your eyes are red/and emptiness is all you know/with the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow/you tell me to hold on/oh, you tell me to hold on/but innocence is gone/and what was right is wrong
→ In a similar vein to the previous song. But goodness gracious! Were they NOT straight up describing Kakashi here?
Amaryllis - Shinedown | Yamato & Kakashi
→ Just tossing this one out there, not sure if it will make sense or if it's a reach... but I like it?
lost 'cause - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Sasuke
are we a lost cause?/or are we just lost 'cause/we won't be the future we refuse to see?/and if I'm your lost cause/it'll be your lost 'cause/you won't see me as I am, the possibility/that I'm not the enemy
→ 214 feels. (And before and after that, but yeah.)
Through the Ghost - Shinedown | Kakashi & Obito
so many silent sorrows/you never hear from again/and now that you've lost tomorrow/is yesterday still a friend?/.../everything that mattered is just/a city of dust/covering both of us/did you hide yourself away?/I can't see you anymore/.../did you hide yourself away?/are you living through the ghost?/did you finally find a place/above the shadows so the world will never know?/the world will never know you like I do ... like I still do
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men | Kakashi
→ Just Kakashi having little chats with his ghosts, totally the most heartwarming way to conclude this section. 😅
Sleepyhead - Passion Pit | Kakashi
→ Just kidding! Here's a slightly less morbid song for the Most Tired Boy Of Them All.™ (Random aside: this was my customary song to listen to on my walks to 8AM organic chemistry classes; I found it strangely soothing! On a different occasion, after a particularly long day for her, one of my roommates didn't have the energy to make it to her bed but nevertheless requested a lullaby from us. So I obliged by playing this song for her, but she didn't seem to gain the same peace of mind from it as I did. 😄 I know it's not my place to propose anything like this, but it does amuse me to imagine bookends!Kakashi in these situations, even though it's not OChem classes he has to go to.)
General/Miscellaneous:
Rise Above It - Switchfoot | Ensemble
don't care what they're telling me/we can be what we want to be/.../just because it's law doesn't mean that it's fair/.../don't believe the system's on your side/.../the curse is spoken/the system's broken; rise above it
→ I mean, how could I not think about Naruto when this song also has the lines 'hear us sing tonight like the last night on earth/we will rise like the tide/like dead men coming back to life/we are rising, rising'? It's fun to be literal sometimes!
Doorways - Radical Face | Allllll the traumatized children
→ Someone has to put all those tragic childhood flashbacks to good use, after all.
Ghost Towns - Radical Face | take your pick of Itachi, Sasuke, or Post-Kannabi-Bridge!Obito
there's no comin' home/with a name like mine/I still think of you/but everyone knows/yeah everyone knows/if you care, let it go
Blinding Light - Switchfoot | Hey, Hiruzen? You may have coined the phrase, "children are the king" but I don't think you truly understand it... (insert Princess Bride joke here)
hey boy, don't believe them/we're the nation that eats our youth/.../still looking for the blinding light/still looking for the reason why/still looking for the sun to shine/all my life I've been living in the darkest night/still looking for the blinding light/to take me higher and higher
Brother's Blood - Kevin Devine | EVERYONE
→ ...but certainly so much you could do with Itachi & Sasuke, Obito & Kakashi, Shisui & Itachi, even Hashirama & Madara! Sakumo's teammates turning their backs on him and saying 'I don't know one thing about my brother's blood'?!?! There are SO MANY ideas I have for this song! It gives me chills and makes my brain scream.
We Need Each Other - Sanctus Real | Ensemble
→ Already mentioned this one to you, but I have to include it here for thoroughness' sake!
Whispering - Alex Clare | the Hidden Leaf's lost/ostracized children/orphans
who will care for the falling?/who will care for the falling leaves?
So this is probably a strange concept to come up with and apply to this song, but the 'whispering, whispering, whispering' parts brought Konaha's virulent gossiping/passing judgement about others and often kids they don't even know problem to mind, too, and yeah?
The World You Want - Switchfoot | Ensemble
→ If I were to make a fanvid set to this song, I would definitely keep a broad focus, but I can't deny that the lines 'you start to look like what you believe, you float through time like a stream, if the waters of time are made up by you and I, I could change the world for you, you change it for me' FOR SURE has strong Obito & Kakashi/Kakashi & Tenzo vibes.
Red Eyes - Switchfoot | Ensemble, but definitely many dashes of Uchihas 😄
→ I would like to thank Masashi Kishimoto for creating a world where red eyes are a Thing of Importance so I can one day make a fanvid using this song in not just the tired or teary bloodshot-red eyes way, but in a very literal sense too.
TAKE MY FIRE - Switchfoot | The Will of Fire
→ 'Cause I think I'm sooooo clever. 😄
Above The Clouds Of Pompeii - Bear's Den | various parent & child relationships
→ This obviously derives from the not-caring-about-your-female-characters problem, but it always gets me that all the single parents in the Naruto universe are almost invariably the fathers! I guess sometimes you can safely guess that the mothers are still alive/exist, but either way we hardly ever get to see them. :/ The one exception I can think of right now is Kurenai, but maybe I'm forgetting another conspicuous single mother. Anyway, I don't know if this helps or hinders more a potential Naruto fanvid for this song, but regardless, it still gives me feelings?
Who We Are - Switchfoot | Ensemble
→ It just makes me inordinately happy that the chorus for this song starts with 'who we are (in the fever of our youth)', you know? :D
Brother - Kodaline | all the friendships we can stuff in here and then some
→ Quite a well known song I'm pretty sure, but I love how many dynamics one could showcase in a potential fanvid of this. And, not gonna lie, 'oh brother, we go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos' deserves to be used in some sort of Tenzo 'n' Kakashi or Team Ro fan creation!
Special Bonus:
Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine | Kakashi & Obito
→ I'm not sure whether I would have realized how well this works for Kakashi & Obito on my own, funnily enough, but then I found this fanvid of it (containing only scenes you've seen naturally!) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's so well done!
youtube
#I do apologize for all the switchfoot/other repeated bands or artists#I wanted this to be really varied but switchfoot just has my number I guess?#I'd like to say I got it all out of my system now since I'll likely have to do a part two at some point#but that's not completely true *rubs back of head sheepishly*#also all the mentions of fanvid creation are just because I've always been a heavily visual learner/how I process stuff#--ironic given my visual disability--#so I suppose when my brain gets attached to something that's in an auditory medium it still has to find a way to add in a visual component?#anyway I hope this 60+ songs behemoth of a playlist is not too overwhelming and that the musical styles are somewhat up your alley!#I swear I'm going to jump back into our Kakashi & Yamato conversations now!#turns out I really suck at multitasking sometimes /0\#kakashi hatake#obito uchiha#team minato#kakashi 'n' obito#kakashi 'n' rin#kakashi 'n' tenzo#gai 'n' kakashi#sakumo hatake#naruto uzumaki#kakashi 'n' sasuke#kakashi 'n' sakumo#kakashi 'n' naruto#kakashi 'n' minato#Itachi 'n' Sasuke#itachi uchiha#itachi 'n' shisui#yamato#tenzo#sasuke uchiha#sakura haruno
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I didn't realize you had a tumblr! I don't check the tags here often, but wandered into the bakudeku tag tonight and saw you'd posted your latest fic, and i feel way more comfortable leaving these kinds of rambly-ranty comments and compliments here than ao3, so i just wanna say: i've been loving all your content lately! I've never actively sought out kiritodobakudeku till reading the "I'm Not Pretty" series, and i love the way you've expanded it from the single fic tackling different ways different trans men respond to different terms and acts. As a trans-masc person, it's something I deeply appreciate! I also love the way you write all of the dynamics in the relationship - the recognition that each "pair" for lack of better term, within the relationship will act differently with one another. Also just in general your writing of trans Izuku is probably one of my favorites i've seen, although I may be biased since I heavily identify with Izuku anyways, and the way you write him just sort of adds to that because I feel like I have a lot of the same sort of attitudes as him in relation to gender stuff. Anyways, this is super long and kinda all over the place, but I just wanted to ramble about how awesome your writing is, and let you know how excited i am to see what else you come up with!
Yes, I do! I made it so I could try and connect a little more easily with readers and get feedback from them! I'm so happy you found it!
Honestly, my heart is just so full right now I'm gonna cry. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡
Every little comment no matter the platform means the world to me but when people share how a character I've written is relatable or means something to them it just sends me over the moon. For the most part what I write is pretty simple (and tbh just kind of porn) but I try to add in little things to give them a hint of depth sometimes in the hopes that when someone reads they can relate and enjoy what they're reading and to hear that has worked even a tiny bit means everything.
A lot of what I write is kink-focused but I try to also add substance to that? Just a tiny bit? Sure, transmasc might be a turn on and and people might get hot about foursomes but like, polyamory (which is super new for me but I'm finding I quite like writing it!) isn't just an excuse for a foursome, it's a loving romantic partnership between four distinct individuals who put in the effort to make it work every day-- and the fun kinky foursome sex is just a great bonus! ^^'
And being trans is an identity and a lived experience and it isn't a one size fits all deal so if I can capture any of that in the few thousand words of a sex scene I really want to try.
'I'm Not Pretty' was a fic I was almost certain would be a dud but more people have reached out to me about it than anything else. It's not my most kudo-ed fic / series but it is the one people share their feelings about the most, it's the one I have the most prompts for hands down. That blows my mind. I was so afraid it would miss the mark and people would be indifferent, or worse hate it, and to receive so much positive feedback is just...I don't even have the words. Kind of magical, I guess. Genuinely life changing. Because here I am writing more and exploring things I never thought I would!
asdfghjkl please excuse my even more rambly and all over the place response I am just so honored that people like my writing and thankful when you share your thoughts with me!
tl;dr: I love you, pls don't be a stranger. ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡
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Hi! In your opinion what is the difference on tecnical side between tessa/scott and davis/white? I know that before the comeback they were equal in terms of victories. Their styles are pretty opposite and this is clear, but since i'm new fan of this sport i'd like to know more tecnical aspects about this rivalry. Also which is the strongest rivals between d/w and p/c? (sorry for the poor grammar, english isn't my first l
Hi anon!
First of all, I am sooooooo sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this, I don’t really have an excuse other than laziness, and for that I cannot apologize enough. Secondly, your grammar is so much better than mine is most of the rime, so there is absolutely no need to be apologizing! Finally, you ask an excellent question, so I guess we should get into it! (as always, I am no expert, so this is all based on my own observations etc. and could be, and most likely am, very wrong about everything)…
So I guess the difference between Tessa and Scott and Meryl and Charlie at least really comes down to the country they started out in. Because they trained with the same coaches for so long (and up until both of their retirements / pseudo-retirements), the actual differences in the technical aspects style of their programs are pretty subtle. However, there are actually some pretty big differences in the skating styles of skaters who learned basic skills in Canada and those who did so in America (this is easier to see in disciplines like synchro and ice dance where the majority of he programs aren’t made up of jumps and spins).
I apologize in advance for any of this being super confusing, because it’s a little hard to explain but I will definitely try my best. The main thing that it comes down to for the difference between these two styles is knee bend. So the Canadian style tends to have a somewhat softer up-and-down knee bend. Between each new step (strokes, different portions of crossovers, etc.), skaters will straighten their knees ever so slightly which creates this rising and falling motion (think breathing but through your knees… I don’t know… that probably doesn’t make sense…). The American style, meanwhile, tends to be a lot more uniform in motion, staying down in the knees rather than lilting up and down. In addition, the American style often tends to include large, sharp movements of the extremities, while the Canadian style often focuses on a strong core and being able to move the limbs outward from that base. (This last difference can be seen particularly well in the juxtaposition between dw and vm, particularly post-comeback vm.) Neither one of these styles is necessarily better than the other, they’re just different ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Building off of this, a really interesting comparison would be between Sochi era Tessa and Scott, Sochi era Meryl and Charlie, and post-comeback Tessa and Scott. So my main thing about this comparison, would I guess go under skating skills if we’re looking at the component score; and this “thing”, as I guess I’m calling it, is the neatness of the feet. Foot placement is a HUGE thing in ice dance (or at least used to be), especially when you’re coming up through the ranks and testing your compulsory dances. For example, there are very specific places on one boot, where the other skate is supposed to be placed when doing certain steps like mohawks or choctaws. Furthermore, the feet are generally a lot tighter or closer together when performing steps in ice dance than in other disciplines. Between Sochi era Meryl and Charlie, and post-comeback Tessa and Scott, neatness of feet is one area of skating in which I personally saw a huge difference. While dw, have a tendency to wide-step (feet not super close together), vm have insanely neat feet, with each step they do placed extremely deliberately.
Another major difference between the two, comes down to lifts. Meryl is tiny. Tessa is small of course, but Meryl is really something else. As a result of this, Meryl and Charlie tend to have a lot more acrobatic lifts; lifts that you might see in pairs if only Charlie would straighten his arms, where Meryl is in some sort of difficult position that exhibits her flexibility and Charlie is supporting her fully. Whereas Tessa and Scott tend to have lifts that require just as much strength from Tessa as they do from Scott.
When it comes to edge quality and actual skating skills, however, I think dw and vm are very well matched, which I think is part of the reason why dw were able to remain vm’s top competition for so many years.
As you may have guessed, my opinion is that dw were a lot stronger competition for vm than pc were. Now, I’m going to be totally honest here, I don’t think pc suck. I actually do think they’re a very good ice dance team, despite wrongly being constantly scored at the same level technically as vm. My main issue when it comes to them, however, is consistency. Although it’s not like they screw up elements majorly from competition to competition, throughout each of their programs they often have a couple extensions where their (well… Gabi) knees aren’t totally straight, or an edge that isn’t quite as deep as it could be. It’s almost like these basic skills aren’t as engrained into their brains as they could be, and thus if they come to a difficult part of the program, they maybe let their basic skills lapse a little bit. From other parts of their programs, however, it is clear that they are capable of hitting these edges or extensions, yet at this point in their career, it doesn’t seem to me that they are leaving it all out on the ice (even if their scores show differently) as Tessa and Scott and Meryl and Charlie were at the end of their careers. ( I don’t know if this is intentional laziness or just because they need a bit more time to practice their skills… but I’m not really going to dwell on that)
So to answer your questions in a much more concise way, anon… There isn’t a huge technical difference between Tessa and Scott and Meryl and Charlie. Both have excellent skills, however, I definitely do think that post-comeback Tessa and Scott would have without a doubt out-skated Meryl and Charlie simply due to the exactness(…?) and smoothness of their skating. That being said, you are right in that the main difference I see between the two teams is stylistic, rather than on technicalities (huge props to you for noticing that, by the way, you say you’re a new fan, but wow… good eyes). If it wasn’t clear already, I definitely think that Meryl and Charlie were not only stronger, but also more longstanding, rivals to Tessa and Scott than Gabi and Guillaume were (but also, I’m American and may or may not be a former dw stan so I’m sort of biased…).
Thank you so much for your excellent questions anon! I apologize for writing an extremely boring and incredibly long and nonsensical response… yikes… ok time to shut up. Have a lovely day :)
#anon#ask#Tessa and Scott#rants and stuff#meryl and charlie#gabi and guillaume#comparisons#technical skating crap#figure skating#Anonymous#probably should have put a break somewhere... oh well#sorry for wasting space on your dash!
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hi! I'm just getting into the boyz and was wondering if you had any recommendations on how to learn all their names? I've watched a bunch of their videos on youtube but am still having trouble identifying everyone...
hello bb!! what i would recommend is watching their vlive videos, especially the ones with all 12 of them on the thumbnail! they always introduce themselves in the very beginning and hold up their name-tags. here are the ones that are subbed:
their very first vlive
after their first fanmeet
before flower snack (their show)
more here from thesubz youtube!
also, if you haven’t already i recommend that you watch every episode of flower snack shop (which are all subbed)! one of many things i liked about the show is how each one of the boyz’ unique personalities were showcased evenly, and i think it would really help to associate those traits with their looks to remember them hehe (open the boyz also does a great job at defining them by their personalities/quirks)
BUT if you are short on time (each ep is like an hour long) ep.8 had a relay of all of them describing each other which is 100000% GOLDEN:
click here and then skip to 29:42 for the relay
more under the cut (i talk too much)
so what i usually do for groups i wanna stan but have trouble remembering the members, is listing a few practical and easy-to-remember things about them. so let’s do it together for the boyz my lovely anonie!!!! sidenote: they are all visuals
KEVIN (feb 23 1998) & 2. HWALL (march 9 2000)
i am doing these two together because i know they’re easy to mix up (they’re TWINS lmao) so i’m going to try to sort out some of their differences
here’s kevin (named after kevin from home alone):
-his hair is always styled and his forehead always exposed-a cute n thin upper lip lol-strong brows-an english speaker-vocal/piano/artist (has golden hands, can do everything)
here’s hwall:
-hair also always styled to expose his forehead-strong brows-has a helix piercing and often wears dangling earrings-eye smile!!!!!!!!-a FASHIONISTA-contemporary dancer, rapper + vocal
THE DIFFERENCE?-i think hwall’s features are overall sharper that he looks cold and chic whereas kevin looks....... soft-what are some difference u see op??????? my mind can’t function rn hagijdsk
3. SANGYEON (nov 4 1996)
-a MAN........... thicc thighs!!!!!!!!-has a dimple on his right cheek and he is ALWAYS smiling-when he smiles his entire face lights up-leader, vocal
4. JACOB (may 30 1997)
-not that i’m biased or anything but he is a full on angel-his eyelid fold is pretty prominent-speaks english (and his voice is very very soft)-vocal, guitar
5. YOUNGHOON (august 8 1997)
-he said it himself that he has a big head, i think his face shape is long (n extremely handsome)-the tallest i believe (so you will be able to point him out in group pics)-he was in ioi’s whatta man mv, john park’s dnd-vocal, he has a very strong and classic voice
6. HYUNJAE (sept 13 1997)
-he has twinkling eyes and his lips always look so soft and pretty-very laughable and weird but shy in front of fans-he kind of seems scary but he is literally the complete 360 of that (unless he’s acting re: prank on juyeon in flower snack ep2)-vocal, dance
7. JUYEON (jan 15 1998)
-plays basketball (so does jacob but i forgot to put it up there oops)-he’s so PURE, innocent and kind of naive -his jawline is pretty square like his chin is not a V/sharp-a sharp n beautiful nose-dance, vocal
8. NEW (april 26 1998)
-has very pouty lips, when he poses he looks like an actual model-his double eyelid is very thick (idk how else to describe it pls forgive me)-soft voice (the easiest to tell apart imo) and both his talking & singing voice are so wonderful to listen to-i used to think he was cold/scary-ish but he is soft and talks/laughs a lot-vocal
9. Q (nov 5 1998)
-easiest way to remember him is Q => KYU => KYUTE => CUTE (he’s the QTEST human on earth i swear!!!!!)-long neck-deep dimples-a tiny figure (his waist is so small!!!!)-dance, center (in their predebut dance routines, he is ALWAYS in the middle)
10. JUHAKNYEON (mar 9, 1999)
-to describe in one two words: adorable and lovable (couldnt choose one)-his eye shape is so pretty, kind of like a cat-eye-jeju boy, has a pig farm, loves to eat-his smile is contagious!!!!!! -dance, vocal, face
11. SUNWOO (april 12 2000)
-rap king!!!!! (was on high school rapper)-his lips are very plump-officially has the biggest head in the boyz i love him-his hair style is always the same (down, bangs)-rap, vocal
12. ERIC (december 22 2000)
-cool and cute maknae-i think he has a little bit of a lisp :’)-tall nose!!!-speaks english, very outgoing and not shy-i think he looks like nct dream’s jeno-rap, dance
WHEW isn’t this an essay! if you need more resources to get to know them, many creators here on tumblr have made many amazing posts:
1hyungseo’s INTRO. THE BOYZ
incorrecttheboyz’s pptx GET TO KNOW THE BOYZ
kimseokjins’ INTRODUCING THE BOYZ
and THEBOYZNET is everything the boyz! everything else you need to find is there.
on twitter @/zhuhaknyeon & @/itsjuyeon are my go-to for updates, subbed content and more!
hopefully i was of any help ;___; if all else fails, pls don’t hesitate to slide into my dms and we can talk n scream about the boyz together and i will do my best to help you more!
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SORRY BUT I HATE MAYUZUMI AAAAAAA I cant stand that boy, maybe because he (and Akashi but I'm biased) was hurtful towards Kuroko????? I hate him ugsjhsnsbs
*glances left and right* we gotta go undercover for this (MAYU FANS DON’T READ UNDER THE CUT PLS)
Mayuzumi in fanon: relatable salty bitch, protective of Kuroko, understands Akashi, hangs with the Rakuzan crew
Mayuzumi in canon: asshole who mutters nasty things under his breath, thinks Kuroko is walking trash and can’t resist the urge to try to humiliate him, doesn’t understand Akashi even a tiny bit, spends no time with Nebuya/ Mibuchi/ Hayama or Akashi, immediately turns on Akashi when he senses weakness to get petty revenge while everyone else on the team is worrying about his mental breakdown
also he has terrible taste in fiction but that’s just me being petty
The point of his character is you would feel sorry for even an asshole like him when he gets treated so badly by Bokushi. But a lot of ppl fell in love with his aesthetic and modified his character in their heads to make him more palatable - which is fine, but when you have canon!mayu stuck in your head it gets very :| to watch ppl fangirl over him. Doesn’t help that official merch paired him with Akashi either. They don’t even like each other haha.
I used to dislike him more - now I’m p chill about him. It’s really rough to have a pet peeve in this fandom bc it always gets shoved up in your face, so feel free to vent here anytime ^.^ (also, i tag posts w him as “mayuzumi” and more posts w him are in my queue so may wanna blacklist if you can)
#personal#don't read under the cut if you like mayu#srsly#i'm not here to start a fight with mayu fans#anonymous#nonnies#asks#anons
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