#I dislike the symbolism as a flat line

[king0fcrows]

.

#struggling to reconcile a non-binary view of gender with dualistic spirituality #I think the key is spectrum #I think dualism can be non-binary in the sense of: a spectrum between two things which are NOT mutually exclusive #(binary is mutually exclusive but duality doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive) #I dislike the symbolism as a flat line #INSTEAD I view in my mind the infinity symbol #where gender is not two endpoints but two spheres #(think of a rainbow infinity symbol with warm colors making up one sphere and cool colors making up the other) #and i between the spheres there is a space suspended between both #this all started because I’m contemplating the differences between two archetypes #the mage and the witch #for me PERSONALLY they tend to be gendered #masculine and feminine #but they don’t have to be #I am a woman (or mostly woman adjacent on a spectrum) but I vibe more with the mage than the witch #I think dualism needs to exist because you invalidate peoples gender otherwise #gender being a social construct doesn’t mean it’s not real #if someone says they’re a man you respect that #it someone says they’re a woman you respect that #but just because there is duality doesn’t mean #that duality has to be binary (aka mutually exclusive) #I am speaking into the void might make a real post #out of this rambling on dreamwidth

[datastate]

hello yttd fans. i really dislike making posts such as these, but i believe many of you do not realize how discourteous you're being and i would like to bring that to your attention for... well, everyone's sakes.

to preface, the your turn to die tags are intended for searching for fan content. this includes:

- fan art, writing, sculptures, knitting, etc. various art forms which feature some level of yttd theming - theories/speculation, commentary, etc. (likely accompanied by screenshots or official artwork) - headcanons, be it drawn or simply compiled in a post - aus/crossovers based upon the main game - edits - so on; just most things that draw from and extrapolate upon yttd, really.

+ ytts tags may have overlap in the yttd tag. this is understandable, as it as an offshoot of the main game.

this does not mean that every single post you make on yttd must be constructive -- i've certainly had times i only wanted to share a cute sketch nankidai made, with little additional commentary. but the difference here is what you choose to maintag, and how often you do so. there are some posts which, frankly, do not need to be maintagged. i'm not telling you to delete them, just not to spam the main tag with them.

many of the current 'daily' yttd blogs in particular have dismissed this. if you intend to post daily, you must realize that you will be interacting with the search tag incessantly. typically, i'd have no issue with this! i love seeing the yttd tag blow up, as it did with the minisodes, ytts, or the chapter updates! it was nice seeing everyone reinvolve themselves, if only briefly.

however, when the tag is overwhelmed by 'daily' blogs which are only ever posting official content that has been out for years -- that is when i take issue. people should not have to avoid the yttd tag simply because it's difficult to comb through for actual art and the like they're searching for; they shouldn't have to block another five blogs to make it useable.

you are overwriting many people's other posts, and with recent tumblr developments, sometimes the search tags have a limited amount of posts they will show - which applies even after you have blocked people. all you will find is a screenshot along the lines of this:

[ID: Screenshot of Tumblr’s recent search tag, reading: “No recent posts tagged with #your turn to die? / You should go ahead and make one." END ID.]

now, i understand that some people might not be sure what to share, in which case i'd ask you to sit on that before you begin posting on a blog that warrants daily interaction! in general, planning out exactly what you intend to post beforehand is probably a good idea: whether it's edits, headcanons, art, so on...! i'm sure there's something of your own you can showcase & add in your individual flair for your blogs! i don't intend to turn you away from the yttd tag entirely, but i know there's more unique you can add on your own instead of simply reposting the yttd game, one frame at a time... (an exaggeration, but i do hope you understand my point.)

- for example, if it's a case of you not being confident in your art, or feeling as if you need prompts to draw. here is some advice!!

{ confidence } - you should still practice! although it may be discouraging not having people reblog your art as often, it's nonetheless a step in the right direction! hell, i've seen some beginner artists who already show tons of potential: despite their insecurities about linework, they'd have amazing colors; or despite their colors feeling flat, they're slowly trying to hammer away at intriguing or symbolic composition. honing this is what's truly important, and i'm sure the right audience will eventually begin to recognize and appreciate the effort you've put into it.

{ prompts } - in this case, it may very well be fitting to make an introduction post asking for requests! but - if that doesn't work out, there's always option b) searching out prompt generators! or, finding lists of prompts somewhere on tumblr. there were many roleplayers who used to use these for writing, but you could still draw out the scenarios!

all in all, it's just important to find your niche! i don't have a good conclusion to this post. just please be mindful of not spamming the tag in this way. there are other ways to contribute/be known without frustrating other fans... thank you if you've read this post in full.

#i hope this makes sense i am so. sleepy... #yttd #your turn to die #kimi ga shine #jestersvaguely

[thecreaturecodex]

Elemental Myrmidon

Image © Wizards of the Coast.

[Commissioned by @tar-baphon​. I skipped the elemental myrmidon when I was writing up monsters from Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes not from a lack of interest, but because I couldn’t decide whether to make it one monster with four variants based on elemental type, or four discrete monsters. This commissioner picked for me. Because the same commissioner has an elemental earth themed monster in queue, I went with the earth myrmidon as my example.

The elemental myrmidon is based on the archons from D&D 4th Edition. That edition was the most revisionist take on D&D, and stripped out a lot of the idiosyncratic developments of the previous 40 years in order to replace them with new idiosyncratic developments. This was widely disliked and seen as a bad idea by the fanbase, so most of those were quietly ignored in the reboot to 5th edition. In 4th edition, basic elementals didn’t exist, replaced by humanoid, armed and armored archons (none of the celestial types from D&D having survived the edition change) and hybrid elementals that were more like the vague blobs of matter of previous editions, just combining multiple elements.]

Elemental Myrmidon CR 10 N Outsider (elemental) This creature is a vaguely humanoid mass of elemental earth, wearing a breastplate, helmet and greaves. It carries an enormous hammer.

An elemental myrmidon is an elemental creature that has sworn itself completely to the service of a higher elemental power. This is typically one of the elemental lords, but myrmidons serving primordials or even true gods are not unknown. The myrmidon is bound to a suit of magical armor, engraved with holy symbols to the power in question. As long as that armor remains intact, the myrmidon will never die, reforming inside the armor to serve again.

An elemental myrmidon’s tactics and feats tend to vary with its type.  Air myrmidons often use ranged attacks, and use hit and run tactics in melee. Earth myrmidons favor overwhelming force, dealing as much damage as possible. Fire myrmidons often make use of two weapon fighting or other flashy techniques. Water myrmidons focus on defense as much as offense, and are most likely to specialize in combat maneuvers. Regardless, all myrmidons fight to the death in the service of their lord’s cause, knowing that they will be recreated to fight again if they fail.

Because the four elemental lords are evil, as are most of the primordials, more elemental myrmidons are evil than good. Those that are not evil may be hunted down by their evil fellows. Because myrmidons know their own weaknesses, they are sure to destroy the armor of rival myrmidons when slain in order to prevent them from rejuvenating. Elemental myrmidons are popular with conjurers for their strength and their servility; if they fall in the line of duty, their armor returns to the elemental planes before rejuvenation occurs. Most elemental myrmidons are bound to breastplates, but other forms of armor are possible.

Elemental Myrmidon          CR 10 XP 9,600 N Medium outsider (elemental, earth, extraplanar) Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +15, tremorsense 30 ft. Defense AC 25, touch 13, flat-footed 22 (+3 Dex, +5 natural, +7 armor) hp 114 (12d10+48) Fort +8, Ref +11, Will +10 DR 10/magic; Immune elemental traits; Resist acid 10 Defensive Abilities rejuvenation Offense Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft. (40 ft., burrow 40 ft. unarmored); earth glide Melee masterwork earth breaker +18/+13/+8 (2d6+7/19-20x3) or 2 slams +17 (1d6+5) Special Attacks elemental strike Statistics Str 20, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha 10 Base Atk +12; CMB +17; CMD 30 Feats Blind-fight, Cleave, Improved Critical (earth breaker), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +15, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (planes) +14, Perception +15, Sense Motive +15 Languages Common, Terran SQ elemental affinity (earth), martial training Ecology Environment any (Plane of Elemental Earth) Organization solitary, pair or squad (3-6) Treasure standard (+1 breastplate, masterwork earth breaker, other treasure) Special Abilities Elemental Affinity (Ex) An elemental myrmidon is affiliated with one of the four elements. This determines its subtype, its movement and its resistances and immunities as follows: Air: Air subtype, resist electricity 10, speed 40 feet, fly 40 ft. (perfect) Earth: Earth subtype, tremorsense 30 feet, resist acid 10, speed 40 feet, burrow 40 ft.; earth glide Fire: Fire subtype, immune to fire, vulnerable to cold, speed 60 feet Water: Water subtype, resist cold 10, speed 40 feet, swim 40 feet. Elemental Strike (Su) Once every 1d4 rounds, an elemental myrmidon can imbue its manufactured weapon or a slam attack with elemental energy as a swift action. The next time this attack hits an opponent, it deals extra damage, and a secondary effect, as determined by the myrmidon’s type: Air: 4d6 electricity, Fortitude save (DC 20) or stunned for 1 round Earth: 4d8 bludgeoning, Reflex save (DC 20) or pushed 10 feet and knocked prone Fire: 4d6 fire, Reflex save (DC 20) or burn (2d6) Water: 4d6 cold, Fortitude save (DC 20) or fatigued The save DC is Constitution based. Martial Training (Ex) An elemental myrmidon is proficient in simple and martial weapons, simple and medium armor, and shields (except for tower shields). Rejuvenation (Su) If an elemental myrmidon is destroyed, it reforms inside of its armor 1d10 days later. If the elemental myrmidon was on a plane other than the Elemental Plane appropriate to its element, the armor is transported to that plane (as by plane shift) before this rejuvenation occurs. Only by destroying the armor can this be prevented.

#elemental myrmidon #elemental #D&D #D&D 5e #D&D 4e #pathfinder 1e #commissions

[kiexen]

re: these gays, did you prefer the book over the movie/vice versa or if you didn't have a real preference, what were some differences you noticed or appreciated or disliked

the movie was good but the book was BETTER.

i'm gonna say this is a whole lot of spoilers for red white and royal blue for anyone else who sees this, because i know you won't watch or read it. so it doesn't matter. anyway. and also i guess i'm putting this under a readmore. feels like a lot of words about nothing.

justice for june i cannot believe they cut her out ENTIRELY. [june is alex's older sister. she just straight up does not exist in the movie which is a travesty i love her so much] there is So much missed characterization. and a whole large plot point that is missed because of other cut characters and a lot of it i know can be chalked up to for timing and pacing but :/ there was also a few really minor changes that didn't really make sense to me to have needed to be changed? idk. they changed henry's royal side of his last name, and that just did not make sense to me as to why. in the book, the reigning monarch is a queen; in the movie, a king. why? [makes i don't know sound] also on the topic of siblings, i'm almost completely certain the book told me henry was the youngest and his sister was older. in the movie, his sister is the youngest and her characterization just. does not feel the same. everything about her was cut out. all of it.

there were a few other minor changes that i liked, and some that i liked, but i am glad we have both versions? if that makes sense? there's this scene like, ¾ths of the way through where henry takes alex to the v&a and talks about how his dad [movie, it was both parents in the book but yk. his mum doesn't exist in the movie, either. also a travesty.] took him to that museum a lot before he died and now henry sneaks in a lot. he was going on about how he used to fantasise about bringing the man he loves there and slow dancing amongst the statues. in the book, henry then puts music on and invites alex to dance. in the movie, henry doesn't even get to finish his sentence about it being a "daft prepubescent fantasy" before alex pulls his phone out behind him and puts music on while he's still talking, before dancing with him. and idk i just. really like the idea of alex being the one to initiate it more than it having been hen. [also, in the book, henry played "your song" of elton john's. in the movie, alex plays "can't help falling in love" and both just make me so. mmmmm.] a little later when alex is preparing to leave back to america, hen gives alex his signet ring [which, info dump within an info dump time, if you don't know, signet rings are the like. flat ones that usually have a family crest on it. it's an identifier.] in the book, alex slides it onto the chain he always wears, which also holds the key to his family home, he started wearing it when they moved into the white house. which yk. the symbolism of having both his homes together. very tasty. in the movie, however, after hen gives him his ring, alex gives henry the key necklace and is later seen wearing the ring on his hand instead. which, i believe, is a little bit of a call back to a movie only line way earlier [the book directly contradicts this quote, actually.] where alex is explaining the key and henry says he's never actually owned a key before. so now he does. i love both of these versions of this interaction so very much

there were a couple of scenes or lines that were movie only that i did enjoy, but most of my favourites were either in the book, or both. most of my issues with the movie stem from what is normal content loss in adaptations

#will speaks #just came back from a rewatch with the intent of comparing to the book to this ask which was an opportunity to babble about this served on a #silver platter. thank u da #also thinkin about a scene that i think would have killed me seeing it. it never would have made it to the movie bc they cut the character #alex was arguing with. but. #he pretty much gets told he's lucky he's bisexual because he could just find a nice girl and settle down and it wouldn't even be a lie #to which alex in reply screamed in anguish in spanish “it would be a lie because it wouldn't be HIM” and i think that would have broke me #hearing and seeing that. #[it was in spanish bc he couldn't risk people overhearing him saying it. he shouldn't have even said it at all to who he was talking to.] #[politically.] #anyway it's been like an hour since i finished the movie it's almost 5am i am going to sleep. if i have more words about this later maybe #i'll reblog this. or put it in the replies. who knows

[thou-breath-of-autumns-being]

self-injury cw, psychiatric abuse cw, hannibal cw

Will Graham cuts himself in inelegant, violent lines. The cuts don’t look like anything; they symbolize nothing. It is a small victory.

The next time they meet, Hannibal’s nostrils flare. Will didn’t really expect to conceal it, even as the scabs flake under the bandages. He tracks the scent of human blood to its origin like a bloodhound. Over the coq au vin that was never a coq, Hannibal looks at him with hunger. 

After dinner, when Jack has gone, Hannibal approaches Will. “As your psychiatrist, I must ask.”

Will knows the game and hates himself for playing his part. “You’re not my psychiatrist anymore.”

“A concerned friend, then.”

Will doesn’t respond. The cuts throb like a heartbeat.

“God casts us into these bodies without our consent,” Hannibal says. “They thrum with powers we do not understand. They are necessary, yet uncontrollable. The urge to express ownership is understandable.”

“By hurting myself.” Will’s voice was defiant in its very flatness. 

“Self-destruction is incomprehensible,” Hannibal says. “It violates every instinct of the animal mind. To do what those around you do not like is to express your agency. To do what they cannot understand is to be ungovernable.”

“You’re not trying to get me to stop,” Will said.

“I see my role, as a psychiatrist, as being to free my patient from that which constrains them.” Hannibal smiles. “A radical freedom, as the Existentialists say.”

Hannibal was telling the truth, at was the fucked-up part of it. “I don’t think everyone around me dislikes it.” A challenge, and Hannibal rises to it.

“Even more incomprehensible, then, for an animal to prepare itself for the slaughter.”

Will doesn’t know what he cut himself for. Bait for a trap, a lure which would make Hannibal his. Both. He didn’t think like that before Hannibal. 

“Sometimes an animal desires nothing more than to be devoured,” he says, and he knows he lost, he always knows that he has lost when he starts talking like Hannibal, “the predator has a certain grace.”

Hannibal’s eyes sparkle. “So it does.”

#nbc hannibal #spitewrites

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Maria (West Side Story)

Tagged by anonymous

Favorite thing about them: The fact that like her inspiration, Shakespeare's Juliet, she's not just a stock ingenue. Yes, she's innocent and romantic, but as Arthur Laurents wrote, she's also "excited" and "enthusiastic," and despite her youth she has "the temper, stubborn strength, and awareness of a woman." She's intelligent, lively, and playful, she makes a surprising number of demands on the people around her (however sweetly), and in the final scene, where she avoids Juliet's fate and becomes Prince Escalus instead, her anger shames two violent street gangs into mute remorse. As a character written by three men in 1957, she could so easily have been a flat ingenue, but instead they made her a dimensional character who's easy to like.

Least favorite thing about them: In the original stage version and 1961 film, the non-emphasized fact that she's willing to abandon her parents by eloping with Tony, on the same night as their son's death no less. Now, I don't judge her too harshly for this: it's a desperate, impulsive decision, and her parents seem to be fairly absentee, since they never even appear onstage/onscreen and mostly let Bernardo control her life. Still, I suspect this is a main reason why the 2021 film has her and Bernardo be orphans instead.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I like to wear red.

*I dislike conflict and bloodshed.

*I like to dance.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not from Puerto Rico.

*Physically, I'm not "delicate boned."

*I don't have a brother.

Favorite line: Her famous angry "gun speech" after Tony's death.

brOTP: Anita and (when he's not being controlling) Bernardo.

OTP: Tony.

nOTP: Bernardo or Chino.

Random headcanon: She's pregnant with Tony's child in the end. This doesn't come only from me: there are several fanfics out there that revolve around the idea. Of course her life won't be easy as a young single mother of a mixed race child, but she's strong enough to face it, and the baby will be a symbol of hope and a source of purpose and healing, both for her and for the other characters too.

Unpopular opinion: I don't mind the fact that she so quickly forgives Tony for killing her brother, or that she sleeps with him directly after forgiving him. No one ever criticizes Juliet for so quickly forgiving Romeo for killing Tybalt or for sleeping with him that same night, and I think the difference between "brother" and "cousin" can be overstated: Tybalt has no parents in sight and apparently lives with his aunt and uncle, so he's arguably Juliet's brother in all but name. The entire message of West Side Story is against hate and in favor of love and forgiveness – the idea that it's wrong for Maria to forgive Tony goes against the main theme. As for their consummating their love directly afterwards... well, they're both impulsive teenagers, and they're in a desperate situation where they know that this meeting might be their last. I don't blame them for seizing the moment!

Song I associate with them:

"I Feel Pretty"

Favorite pictures of them:

Carol Lawrence, original 1957 Broadway production:

Natalie Wood, 1961 film:

Josefina Scaglione, 2009 Broadway revival:

Mary Joanna Grisso, US national tour, 2012:

Rachel Zegler. 2021 film:

#character ask #west side story #maria #musical theatre #ask game #fictional characters #musical #tw: brownface #Youtube

[hollyoxleylevel6]

Illustrations

Based on my sketched wireframes I have decided to use illustrator to create my illustrations to make them easily transferable to Xd. This will be easier than creating them by hand.

Block printing and paper marbling

Kept a similar brush stroke to the logo. Liked how the line width varies linking to the style of the logo. However, I dislike how the colours can only be flat as I can not add a brush stroke to the fill. This takes away from the link to the real life crafting I was trying to create with the branding and imagery.

Review stars

I liked how the review stars have an uneven brush stroke outline that link to the logo and imagery. The texture also makes it look less digitally created.

Scroll

For one of my experiments, I decided to create a scroll illustration to link back to the old english inspiration that led to my logo and name development.

Symbols

Linking to a similar style as my logo, I wanted to use blackletter to inspire the symbols for endangered level. I liked the smooth lines because it flows it looks smooth and fluid. However, I will need to be careful about size as the critically endangered symbol is taller than the endangered symbol.

Icons

To make my icons fit with my overall brand, I decided to try creating them using brush stroked. I liked how they linked to my other illustrations, making the brand look cohesive.

#Majorproject #Illustrations #Icons #Development #LO2

[hastingshwang6]

Replica Boxing Belt On The Market

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[kaetor]

[ID: a drawing of five DGS characters drawn front facing, in a simple, lineless style. Their faces are minimalist to show off the clothes they're wearing. The first character is Ryunosuke, wearing an outfit similar to his official DLC outfit. Instead of a double breasted coat, his blue coat is open at the front, and goes down to his mid thighs in the back, and his waist in the front. It's designed after a 1900s morning coat. Under the coat, he's wearing a warm gray waistcoat, a red tie, white shirt, and pinstriped pants that are a similar color to his jacket, but lighter. Karuma is attached to a belt at his waist, and he's wearing Sholmes style goggles on his head. The second character is Susato. She's wearing a dress modeled after her DLC outfit, but with many large changes made. It's in 1890s-1900s style, with a white, ruffly shirt on top and a floor length, A-line burgundy skirt. Over her shirt is a jacket, the same color of her skirt. It comes down to mid-chest, and has long sleeves that are puffed at the top.  The sleeves are just short enough to show the ruffles at the ends of her shirt sleeves under them.The coat is trimmed in black, with heart shaped buttons down the front and on the sleeve cuffs. At the base of each puffed part of her sleeves is a bit of tan detailing. The third character is Herlock Sholmes. Sholmes is wearing an open caped greatcoat, reminiscencent of Sherlock Holmes's stereotypical dress. It's the same tan as his original coat, and has a double layered cape that goes down to a bit above his wrist, and a bit below his biceps. The coat itself goes down to his mid calves. The coat has the same flower like symbols on its shoulders as Sholmes's original coat. Under the coat he is wearing a pink waistcoat, trimmed with gold, over a white shirt and dark purple cravat. He's wearing gray pinstriped pants, and two belts (one across his chest and one around his waist) to hold various supplies. On his head is his deerstalker cap and goggles. After Sholmes is Iris Wilson. Iris is wearing a white and brown skirt. The shirt long sleeves that are puffed at the top, and a high collar. There is a V shape going from her shoulders to chest, in ribbon, and the inside part of the v is filled with lines and ruffles. There are buttons going from her collar to the end of the V and at her sleeve cuffs. Her skirt is A-Line, a dark, warm gray, and goes down to her knees. It has ruffles at the bottom, and dark horizontal stripes. She's wearing a belt, with various chemical supplies on it, and dark black tights and boots. Her hair is tied up in two buns, with single ringlets coming down from each one. She's also wearing some goggles on her head. The last character is Barok van Zieks. He's wearing clothing in the style of the 1800s-1810s. He's wearing a dark, almost black, blue jacket, that cuts off in the front at the waist and slopes down into squared tails at the back. It has a very high collar, with the top part of the lapels standing straight up, and the bottom lying flat against his chest. The coat is trimmed with gold, double breasted, and has small gold epaulets at the shoulders. Under the coat he is wearing light tan tightly fitted pants, white gloves, and a dark purple cravat. The collar of his shirt is standing high enough to reach his chin, and you can see a little bit of his waistcoat collar standing up from between the jacket and his cravat. He's wearing black boots with gold lining the tops, and a sword hanging off of a belt at his waist. /End ID]

hello tumblr i already posted some of these on my sideblog but here they are all finished and with an id! some of the dgs outfits redesigned to be a little bit more historically accurate, not because i dislike the dgs designs in general but more because 1800s-1910s historical fashion is my Thing so i needed to take this opportunity. please ask me things about these designs i wanna talk about them i want to talk about historical fashion

#dgs #dai gyatuken saiban #tgaa #the great ace attorney #ryunosuke naruhodo #susato mikotoba #herlock sholmes #im so excited to type that tag i just love saying herlock sholmes #iris watson #iris wilson #barok van zieks #herlock sholmes herlock sholmes #ace attorney #idk if the dlc outfits count as dgs spoilers ill tag if someone asks #cleb art #look! a wild character design #k-art

[thewinedark]

Unique Dark Academia Fashion Ideas

By now I think we all know that silk shirts, oxfords, and old blazers are staples of Dark Academia fashion. Here are some ideas for fitting your wardrobe to the aesthetic that I haven’t seen a lot of. 

Tops

Silk button downs are great, but if you want something perhaps less fancy and simple, here are some ideas:

Cardigans. Specifically, tighter button down cardigans. While they are very similar to silk shirts, they aren’t quite as eye catching, and usually not as bright. I have a cream silk blend cardigan that I’ve been wearing under blazers instead of silk; it’s warmer, for one, and doesn’t make me feel so pretentious when my classmates are all in sweatpants.

Cotton. Especially for warmer months, a good cotton shirt looks great tucked in a pair of high waisted shorts or trousers. I would suggest one with buttons as an accent, to avoid it being too plain. You can also roll up the sleeves for peak “disgruntled professor/lawyer” look. 

Sweaters. I don’t just mean a black turtleneck here. Turtlenecks are of course great for winter and fall, but other sweaters are great also. I especially would suggest sweaters with interesting weaves or embroidery, as without the turtleneck they often need a little something extra to dress it up. There’s also the classic look of putting a button down underneath and pulling the collar out. For colors, jewel tones are always best in my opinion: deep reds, emerald greens, midnight blues. But you know yourself best, and if your hair looks great with cream, or light blue makes your eyes pop, go for it. Be sure to tuck over sized sweaters into your bottoms to avoid losing your figure. 

Bottoms

Bottoms are a little easier, as they’re usually not the statement piece of an outfit, especially in dark academia. Still, high waisted, pleated, 100% linen trousers are hard to find in thrift stores, so here’s some alternatives: 

Black jeans. Personally, I avoid low waisted pants like the plague. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find high waisted suit pants in thrift stores, especially ones with the tighter fit that I prefer. Often, I go for my pair of good quality, 100% cotton, extremely high waisted black skinny jeans instead. Avoid jeans with rips or that aren’t a uniform color. I definitely would suggest black if you’re going to wear jeans, though that may be my inherent dislike of blue jeans talking. 

High waisted pants of any kind. When it comes to tucking shirts in bottoms, you want a high waist. I can tuck the bulkiest of sweaters easily into my jeans, because they are high waisted and made of a thick material. Thin, flimsy material is hard to hide the lines of your tops in, and lower waisted pants often can’t hold the hem long before the top gets untucked. 

Skirts. I prefer more masculine clothing, but I do have quite a few skirts that I wear on occasion. And good lord, if they aren’t the most comfortable pieces of clothing I own. Specifically, long flowing skirts made out of 100% silk, cotton, or wool. Wool is great for winter months, and adds an extra layer of protection from the cold. Cotton and silk is best for the hot summer time, and if you’re having trouble with staying in dark academia fashion when you’re sweating out of your fingernails, consider skirts. A long skirt can dress up something like a t-shirt if you do it right. Sandals, a long breathable skirt, and a tied up or tucked in shirt is a great go-to when the sun is sucking away your soul. 

Shoes

I still don’t own a pair of oxfords. 

Boots. I’m a boot person. For dark academia, I would avoid taller boots; ankle boots or calf-length boots are the way to go. Go for leather, and tighter fits. A great way to pull your outfit together is to match your shoes and your belt or bag, and well as the hardware. If your belt is black with a silver buckle, go with black boots with silver accents. Try to avoid mixing metals (silver with bronze, etc.) if at all possible.

Ballet shoes. I don’t own any, but personally I think they’d be a great alternative to simple flats; especially if you lace the silk ribbons up your shins a bit. These are definitely best for summer months though, I would not recommend during the winter.

Accessories

A single accessory can completely change your outfit and aesthetic. Personally, some of my most used clothing pieces are not what you’d call dark academia. My go-to jacket is a bomber jacket with patches, and my usual boots are heavy Harley Davidson biker boots with metal caps. Here are some accessories that can turn your everyday outfit to something more dark academia-esque. 

Suspenders. I would recommend suspenders for everyone honestly. I was having trouble with a pair of trousers, because I needed to keep them high on my waist and tight to tuck in my shirt, but they had no belt loops. Suddenly I realized someone had solved the issue centuries ago, and used my suspenders. It worked perfectly, and also added a whole new level of dark academia to my outfit. I like using them in a subtle way though: under a jacket or blazer usually, that I might take off if it gets hot and just so happen to show off the suspenders underneath. Or, never even take the jacket off and just let people get subtle looks at them. Drawing attention to suspenders makes me feel like a douche for some reason; maybe it’s the images of fedora tipping that flood in. 

Satchel or book bag. I know this one is a staple, but listen. Buying leather satchel changed everything for my look. I might have a bomber jacket, skinny jeans, and biker boots but a satchel thrown over one shoulder shifts everything about my appearance. If you are able to buy one new, Amazon has some great options under $100 dollars. If not, keep your eye out whenever you go to the thrift store.

Hair accessories. Try silk ribbons. Pull your hair back with them, braid them into your hair, or use them as headbands. Learn how to braid metal cuffs into your hair if you’re up for a challenge.

Scarves. Scarves are such an easy way to dress up an outfit, as well as keep you warm. I would suggest long, silk scarves that have enough width that you can style it around your head/hair, which I think is a great look that also keeps your ears warm. Jewel tones are definitely suggested here, especially if you’re wearing all black it’s a great statement. 

Jewelry. If you’re religious, I would highly suggest jewelry with some sort of religious symbolism. Religious imagery is something I defiantly associate with dark academia. If you have any jewelry pieces that were passed down to you, try them. I like rings a lot, but for my right hand I cover all my finger with heavy steel rings that cover my knuckles (for punching purposes). On my left hand, I have rings from my family. I would again suggest not mixing metals, though it can look eclectic if that’s a look you like. 

That’s all I could think of at this moment, but feel free to add your own or message me!  Go forth and dress to make yourself confident, whatever that may look like. 

#dark academia fashion #dark academia tips #dark academia #clothing tips #dark academia clothing #grey academia #light academia #dark academia ideas #dark academia inspiration #fashion #dark academia aesthetic #dark academia style #my posts #thewinedark

[lyesander]

Top three episodes from each season:

Season 1

"Chief Surgeon Who" - Goofy, classic early season antics. I loved Hawkeye's initiation ceremony. "You may now kiss my rings."

"Yankee Doodle Doctor" - A lot of fun, ending is fantastic.

"Tuttle" - Probably the funniest episode of the series.

Season 2

"For the Good of the Outfit" - Probably the most overtly anti-military episode of the series. Late season M*A*S*H could never.

5 O'Clock Charlie - Good romp. Loved Hawk and Trap's little outfits. The resolution to the ammunition storage problem is great.

"Carry On, Hawkeye" - Great Hawkeye centric episode. Very whumpy.

Season 3

"O.R." - The epilogue scene really got to me here.

"Adam's Ribs" - Hawkeye's mania on full display. Fun, but there's some hidden darker notes.

"Abyssinia, Henry" - Very sweet episode with a gutpunch ending.

Season 4

"The Late Captain Pierce" - Hawkeye becoming an "unperson" is psychological horror levels terrifying.

"The More I See You" - I think this episode provides a lot of insight into how Hawkeye treats relationships. Great character episode.

"The Interview" - There's a reason this episode is considered one of the best.

Season 5

"The Nurses" - Great Margaret episode. A lot of cute nurse moments. I wish we saw more of them.

"The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan" - I fucking love Flagg. That's really all I have to say here. He turned an average episode into a spectacular episode.

"End Run" - Great Radar episode. Billy Tyler's story is deeply moving.

Season 6

"Fade Out, Fade In" - Winchester's introduction! As good an introduction as any.

"Images" - Radar's tattoo plot fell really flat for me, but Margaret shined in this episode.

"Your Hit Parade" - Good balance of comedy and drama.

Season 7

"The Billfold Syndrome" - Dislike hypnosis on principle, but Sidney's a delight, and the soldier's story is really moving.

"They Call the Wind Korea" - Great Charles and Klinger episode.

"Preventative Medicine" - The girls are fiiiightiiiing. While I’m not a big fan of this episode’s ‘lesson,’ I think it's a good comparison point for Hawkeye and BJ’s dynamic, versus Hawkeye and Trapper’s.

Season 8

"Mr. and Mrs. Who" - Cute episode. Loved Donna.

"Heal Thyself" - I really liked the cinematography in this episode. Excellent portrayal of a PTSD flashback on the part of Hermann.

"Dreams" - Very experimental (and strangely controversial?) episode. But I liked it. It gives a lot of insight into each characters state of mind and how they're coping with the war.

Season 9

"Best of Enemies" - Great episode. Wish this sort of thing was more common in the later seasons.

"Depressing News" - Hawkeye's mania strikes again. Loved the "senseless violence" line.

"The Life You Save" - I honestly can't even remember what the B-plot for this episode was. DOS' fantastic performance outshines everything else.

Season 10

"The Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead" - an eerie episode. The main crew don't look great, but that's kind of the point. Squabbling amongst themselves is its own privilege.

"Where There's a Will, There's a War" - This episode is a testament to how deeply Hawkeye cares about everyone in the unit. The stuff he passes on to his friends is mostly symbolic, but it's poignant.

"Sons and Bowlers" - Great Charles and Hawkeye episode.

Season 11

"Say No More” - I like the thematic elements of this episode. The father who loses his son in an aggressive push, but is still callous and unaffected enough that he orders another one at the end of the episode.

"Give and Take" - Great performance by Craig Wasson.

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" - Hawkeye and Charles in particular shine in the finale, but every character has their moment. Solid ending to the series.

#lye speaks #mash 4077

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - No Time Like the Past

While I wouldn’t call this the worst episode of the series, there are several others I dislike more, I would call this the most ill conceived story in the show. 

All the other bad episodes have potential but are let down by poor presentation, boring predictability, or sloppy planning. This one however, is fundamentally flawed in it’s very basic premise and so ranks in the bottom of most fans lists. Even people who are far more forgiving of season three and than I am, and are hardcore New Dream stans, still dislike this episode. That’s how bad it is. 

Summary: Rapunzel discovers Old Lady Crowley tossing out Cassandra's things. She is upset and demands that they be left alone. She then has Lance and Eugene help her save all of Cassandra's mementos and personal belongings, but she becomes saddened when Eugene reminds her that Cassandra turned her back on "her". Rapunzel takes a box of her things along with, unknowingly, a mysterious hourglass. As she examines it, she accidentally drops and smashes it and she and Pascal find themselves sent back into the past. They run into a teenage Eugene and Lance who keep calling Rapunzel "Sideburns". Rapunzel realizes that she and Pascal have inhabited the bodies of the Stabbington Brothers and decide to recruit the young thieves in getting the hourglass from the castle back.

Fun Fact! That Dummy is Rapunzel’s Doing 

Minor nitpick here, but Cass had nothing to do with putting Eugene’s face on her sparring dummy. Rapunzel voluntarily did that back in Under Raps. Cas never requested it nor even expressed any joy over receiving said ‘gift’. 

Basically the show is attributing one of Rapunzel’s mistakes/flaws to Cassandra in order to introduce a very nonsensical plot point later. So I need ya’ll to keep that in mind as we go along.  

Lets Talk About the Episode’s Ordering 

We don't have production codes for season three like we did for the previous two seasons. So we can’t know for sure what order everything was originally planned in, but I would argue that this episode should have came before Return of the King. 

For starters this is a “bottle” episode; it takes place mostly in the past and the only present day characters who show up are Eugene, Raps, Lance, and Crowely. As such you could potentially slot this episode in anywhere before Cassandra’s Revenge. You can’t really do that with most of the other episodes so it could have been easily moved around when airing. 

Therefore, I would argue that it should have been the first episode after Rapunzel’s Return for three key reasons. 

It would have given Edmund time to travel to Corona and give Raps time to start up big building projects like fixing Old Corona. In fact she’s already approving building plans for the capitol city at the start of the episode. Which could even explain why she took so long getting to the castle repairs if she was taking care of the stuff that the Saporians messed up else where.  

Rapunzel’s stance over wanting to keep Cassandra’s things makes more sense early on, both in universe and in a meta context. Raps would still have hope if Cass has only been gone for a month or two instead what would now be four or five months down the line. It also makes sense that Crowely wouldn’t wait around for that long. And from a meta standpoint, the audience would still be oblivious to what the heck Cass was up to and could theoretically side with Raps better; or at least empathize with her view point more, even while disagreeing with her. 

Events in this episode better explains Eugene’s decisions in Return of the King and gives the audience more context for certain stuff.  

So Why Is There a Random Magical Time Traveling Hourglass in the Storage Vault?

Slowly but surely the series has abandoned all pretense that there’s any logical world building in the show. Magical things just appear randomly now without any explanation whatsoever. Worse than that, things like the hourglass and map to the cursed tomb are treated as if they were always there, unlike the magical beings that they happened to run into in past seasons. 

The problem with this is a lack of consistency. You can’t have sceptics like Eugene and Varian if magic is so common and wide spread that anyone can run into it at anytime. Not to mention it diminishes the specialness and importance of the sundrop and moonstone if powerful magical items can be so easily found and stirred, undermining important plot points and the tension surrounding them. 

But most frustrating of all, is that this could have been easily fixed by just stating on screen at some point that magic attracts other magic. Meaning it’s only Rapunzel herself who routinely runs into these things and not just everybody and anybody. 

None of This Stuff Holds Any Meaning

Show don’t tell!

At several points through out season three, both Raps and Cass morn over Cassandra’s left behind things. They tell us constantly that these objects hold significant meaning to them, but I, the viewer, have no damn clue as to why. 

We were never shown on screen what was so special about these things other than the fact that it was junk Cass collected. There’s no story attacked to these assortment of objects nor any previous indication that Cassandra valued them beyond their usefulness. As such, any scenes involving her stuff fall emotionally flat. 

Eugene is the One in the Right Here. 

Eugene’s right. 

Any well adjust and mature adult will tell you he’s right. 

If someone doesn’t want a relationship with you, than that’s it. There is nothing you can do but to move on. It sucks, but its life. To ignore that is to ignore someone else’s boundaries and personal autonomy; while also devaluing yourself and you’re own needs. 

In a competent show this would be a set up for Rapunzel to learn something about letting go and taking care of oneself emotionally. 

But this isn’t a competent show. 

But Lobster is for Poor Folk

Food history time!

Lobster, and shellfish in general, have been considered low class food for centuries. Especially around costal areas like Corona. It’s easy to attain, cheap, and not regulated like hunting was in much of Europe. In America, specifically, lobster was fed to prisoners and there’s historical accounts of riots being started over it.  

Heck, less than forty years ago, no one lived on the coast but poor people. That’s why there’s historical communities of black people living on the southeastern islands in the US and why my father grew up in the swamps of Alabama during the 50s and 60s. 

The gentrification of coastal property and seafood, like lobster, is a very recent phenomenon in human history, starting in the late 70s early 80s with the booming tourism industry and increasing globalization.   

So while I understand that the joke here is meant to be reflective of our current understanding of lobster being a status symbol, in universe, it’s the equivalent of Eugene getting excited for chicken nuggets instead of his usual bowl of cereal because the story takes place before the 20th century.  

This means that these kids are so poor that fucking mcdonald’s fast food would be considered a rare treat compared to the slop they usually eat. Yet again what is meant to be a lighthearted joke turns suddenly dark when you stop to think about it for all of two seconds all because the writers are so flippant about their world and characters. 

This Wasn’t Planned Out, So the Timeline Doesn’t Add Up Anymore and Resources are Wasted

Remember the flashback in The Return of Strongbow?

Now I need you to remember that season three is two years later from season one and the movie. Eight years ago then, would be ten years ago now. 

The Eugene and Lance in the bottom picture is suppose to be roughly the same age as the Eugene and Lance in the top picture; give or take a few months. 

I know teenage boys can grow fast, but not that fast. 

Eugene at 16 looks the same as he does at 26. All because the writers were too lazy to preplan things out ahead of time. 

We should have seen the teen models with recasted voices back during that first flashback if they were going to tell this story later. Or the previous plot point should have been less than eight years ago. 

In fact the first flashback no longer makes any sense being so many years ago given Eugene’s engagement and recent breakup with Stalyan, and the later reveal that he was working for the Baron during the original movie. 

Sloppy planning like this not only makes for a confusing timeline but it also wastes limited resources. I like the new models, I like the actors cast for these younger roles, and I do like the concept of seeing more of Eugene’s past. But going through all of that trouble and money for what amounts to one throw away episode is mismanagement of the budget and work schedule.  

Baby Varian Is the Episode’s Only Saving Grace 

I know people are divided on the deign here. Some love it and some hate it, but that’s a personal taste thing. The actual scene itself is golden either way, because it’s such a funny eater egg. Fans on both sides made memes out of this for days. It’s legendary. 

Personally I’m more in the ‘love it’ camp, though I can see the issues people have with the design. My main defense of it is more the fact that we got kid designs for the other OCs in the show and it’s only fair Varian got one as well. The fact that he’s in smaller versions of the S1 clothes doesn’t bother me anymore than when Lance ran around for two seasons in the same outfit, including when he was a kid. 

So if I like it, then why am I talking about it a salt review? 

Cause the most memorable part of an episode shouldn’t be a throw away gag! 

People bring up baby Varian way more than they do about anything else in the episode, and no it’s not just because the character popular. It’s because most would like to forget what comes after this scene. 

Where is Quirin, by the Way?

Why is your six year old son running around the big city unsupervised?

This wouldn’t get talk about as much it wasn’t for the fact that Quirin being neglectful in season one was a motivating factor in his conflict with Varian. A conflict that was suppose to be resolved back in Rapunzel’s Return but we the audience have yet to visually see any difference in behavior since then.  

Quirin’s absence here in the past highlights his absence in the present day and reminds the audience aware that we’ve not been given a satisfying conclusion to one of the most important arcs in the series.  

Lets Talk About Wasted Potential 

Like I said, I like the idea of exploring Eugene’s past. But we should have gotten that back in season two when it was more relevant. Part of why this episode fails is because Eugene has reached the end of his original character development. He’s now on an identity crisis arc which has nothing to do with this episode.  

But you know who still hasn’t finished developing? Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel has lots to still learn and viewing her past through outside eyes could have turned this story into something really special. Especially with the ‘inhabiting another body’ plot point. 

You have no end of options here, 

Have Raps inhabit Cassandra’s body for a day and gain insight into what motivates her. It could have been either before or after they met, both offers up possibilities. 

Have Raps inhabit Eugene’s body and experience what he had to deal with growing up and come to see his point of view. (This could have also worked with the Sabbingtons set up had the writers not been stupid.) 

And my personal favorite, send her back to right after Queen for a Day and have her stuck in either Varian’s or Ruddiger’s bodies. Force her to see what she did to him and have her acknowledge she was wrong. 

And those are just the most obvious choices, there’s other more out of left field things you can do that would still work with good writing. Like exploring Lady Caine’s past, inhabiting Arianna’s body and learning how to be a real queen, get dumped into actual young Gothel and lay out clues to the future Zhan Tiri plot, or possess one of the Brotherhood and experience the final days of the Dark Kingdom; the list just goes on and on and on. 

But I Thought You Didn’t Put Kids in Jail Frederic?

Remember that Raps and Pascal are possessing the Stabbingtons who are still teenagers here. They can’t be much older than Varian. 

This means that Varian isn’t some special case. Teens have received harsh and deadly punishments in the past for non-violent crimes like theft. 

Also teens are called kids still by the majority of the cast. They’re aren’t considered adults with the same rights as someone in say their twenties, yet they can be punished the same as an adult would. Which is horrendous in any time period. 

So in conclusion, Frederic is a fucking liar! 

Tangled the Series can’t decide if it’s in the far past or a reflection of the modern day. As such it winds up supporting the worst of both worlds. Barbaric practices like hanging for minor crimes and prison slave labor are treated as the norm and never called out for the horrific things that they are; treated as a joke even, but we’re suppose to accept that this world also somehow views adolescence through the lens of late 20th century sensibilities even as it forces minors to go through such atrocities. 

Like what are you trying to say show? What is your message on the transition of adolescence to adulthood regarding rights and responsibilities? And don’t tell me ‘it’s not that deep’ because this is suppose to be a coming of age show! That’s the entire premise of the series! 

So How Old Are Stan and Pete Again?

I was always under the impression that Pete was a newbie guard, closer to Cass and Eugene’s age than say Cap or Frederic. That’s why he screws up so much because he’s inexperienced, why he seemed to be the closest thing to a equal colleague Cass had in the guard when she was also just starting out, and why I assumed those braided girls from the movie were his sisters. 

I mean there was nothing on screen previously that would necessarily contradict this reveal, it just doesn’t feel right, that’s all. I guess he could be like 20 here and be 30 in the show. That would make him only a few years older than Eugene, but still doesn’t explain why he’s so useless a decade later. 

I’m fine with Stan being here though. I always thought of him being the older of the two. In fact I headcannon Willow as his mysterious wife that he talked about back in Monty’s episode during season one. (She’s Stan and Pete’s beard, and they’re totally in a open poly relationship. That’s why they’re allowed to stay in the royal guard despite being so incompetent cause they’re technically Ferderic’s in-laws and Rapunzel’s uncles. Just no one ever talks about it cause it’s a minor sandal for a princess to marry lower class and Willow’s hardly ever there.) 

And Why Does Xavier Have All Those Plot McGuffins? 

I know we’ll never get an answer, but at this point Xavier’s exposition fairy powers border upon ridiculousness. It’s just lazy and a waste of character. 

So How Does Time Travel Work In This?

There are three types of time travel stories in fiction. 

First is the ‘Changeable Past, Changeable Future’. You see this in Back to the Future. What you do in the past will change the future, i.e. your present. You may or may not remember that you did it, but be warned you could change things too much and break stuff. Like erasing yourself from existence, or ruining your love life ect. The only way to fix it is to go back in time again and change stuff again. But beware of paradoxes or you may destroy the universe altogether.  

The second is the ‘Alternate Timeline’, where changing things creates new realties and it’s a matter of finding the right reality again. The tv show Sliders is a great example of this. Each new timeline is a different dimension. What you do in one won’t effect your original point of origin, only that particular world. The challenge if often getting home again because the probable diverging timelines are infinite and the changes of getting back are a zillion to one. 

Third is the ‘Closed Time Loop’. No matter what you do nothing will change. The future is inevitable and whatever you do in the past was always meant to happen anyways. Gargoyles handles this really well. You can also have ‘fix points’ where certain important things are set in stone but small things can be changed like in several Doctor Who episodes. Braking a fix point breaks the universe once again, while paradoxes are often the solution rather than the threat. 

So which type of time travel is Tangled dealing with here? 

Scenes like the conversation regarding Pete’s and Stan’s mustache or the ones involving Eugene working on his smolder suggest a closed time loop. Yet the ending to this episode reveals a changed future. Further still the grandfather paradox revolving around the hourglass would make you think an alternate timeline yet, we’ve no indication that anything else changed other then Eugene’s opinions on Cass, and Raps shows no concern about getting back to her original point in time indicating that it actually isn’t another dimension.... so what is it then? 

You don’t have to have a tightly plotted time travel story to have an entertaining piece of media. Endgame is riddled with plot holes and contradicts itself constantly, but what it lacks in coherent plot it makes for with fun characters, emotional story beats, and good pacing that manages to balance the action with the drama while hiding the cracks just enough that you don’t lose immersion. 

Tangled however fails at even this because it gets the character beats so fundamentally wrong.  Like you may dislike where the characters ended up in Endgame, but can’t say that those developments didn’t match the characters’ previous storylines and logical trajectory. Tony finally becomes the selfless hero by committing the ultimate sacrifice, Steve learns self care as a mirror to Tony’s arc as they were always parallels to each other, Bruce learns to accept himself, Thor processes his grief and lets go of the role he was assigned at birth but never truly fit into, and Nat becomes the leader she was destined to be rather than the sidekick.  

What happens to the characters in this episode however makes no sense. 

This is Another Missed Opportunity to Explore Eugene’s Past

The other problem behind the episode is that we don’t actually learn anything new. If you’re going to promise a story focusing on Eugene’s past then I expect to actually glean some new insights. 

We still don’t know why he’s working with Baron or how he fell in/fell out with him, what his relationship with Stalyan is like, how he became so cynical; not just the general basics, like the orphanage, but that point in his life where decided that survival meant giving up his morals and ethics; where did he first learn his better ethics that he originally suppressed (cause it sure as heck wasn’t Rapunzel), and when did he and Lance become separated? 

This are questions that series decides to raise by making allusions to them and building conflicts off of them but never wants to explain the details of where they originated from. It’s super frustrating and wholly unnecessary.  If you didn’t think the story of Eugene’s past worth telling then why did up repeatedly bring it up Chris? 

Why Are You Surprised by This Rapunzel?

Rapunzel you know Eugene’s past. You know what he used to be like. You were literally there in the movie and saw him being an ass before this. You didn’t start to like him until he dropped his guard down in the flooded cave back when you both where about to die. 

You fell in love with him when he showed you his real self and he fell in love with you when you proved that you were accepting of that. You earned each others’ trust. This here; angrily yelling at him and judging him, when you’re already hiding who you really are from him both literally and figuratively, is a breaking of that trust. 

Who the fuck are you any more, Rapunzel? 

Cause you’re not the same character from the movie. You’re not even the same character from season one. But whoever hell you are now, it’s not an improvement I can tell ya that. 

So How Did The Hourglass Go From the Treasury to the Basement Storage, and How Would Raps Know It Was There At This Point and Time?

I’m guessing the implication here is that Crowley put Cass’s stuff in the vault, but like why the fuck would she do that? We’re not talking about a family attic here, but the royal safe. The most heavily guarded room in the castle with the kingdom’s most priceless treasures and antiques. Nothing Cass owned was that valuable.  

Rapunzel Is Full of Shit

Oh let me count the numerous ways in which this whole lecture is stupid. 

Rapunzel left Varian behind. Rapunzel left Varian behind multiple times, including that time he was thrown in jail. She was not a good friend, and no, this is not a case of her learning from her past because not once has she ever admitted that she was wrong to do that. So this scene just makes Raps look like a hypocrite. 

Eugene does not need to relrean a lesson on being a better a person. He did that during the movie and has progressed beyond that point. This ‘lesson’ is a waste of time and a misuse of the characters.

This reframes Rapunzel as being in the right during her argument with older Eugene at the beginning of the episode, even though she’s not. In fact this is such a counterintuitive plot point that it boggles the mind. Who structures a narrative this way? Why so blatantly point out how the main character is wrong if not to have her learn something? Why frame the story to make the person who’s personal conflict isn’t even the episode’s focus, into the one who needs to learn something? Especially if that something is already a lesson that they’ve learned on screen beforehand.

And why, oh good heavens why, would you teach children such a toxic message? Like on the surface it sounds like something you’d hear in a children's show, but the context of it is justifying harmful behavior where you selfishly ignore other people’s wishes and boundaries just to satisfy you’re own personal desires.  

And finally, Eugene and Lance do not work as a parallel to Raps and Cass. Cassandra is an adult who left of own free will. Lance is a teenager who was arrested due to Rapunzel’s own actions. Eugene isn’t the one who is responsible here, its Rapunzel. Who also left them both behind in her carelessness. Secondly, Eugene’s decisions are spurned by years of trauma and a healthy fear of dying, while Rapunzel’s is wrapped up in her own need to always be right and to keep her immature and fanciful outlook of the world intact. As harsh as it seems, what Eugene did was based off a predetermine agreement and presumably Lance would have acted the same way or been pressured to act the same way by Eugene. In short, Eugene’s cynical world view as a teen is not the source of his disagreement with Rapunzel but an adult perspective back by common sense and a respect of others choices. It makes no sense for present day Eugene to ‘learn’ anything from this misadventure that he didn’t already know and for Rapunzel to not learn anything that would actually tie the parallel together. 

Locking Another Teen Inside a Jail Cell With Another Adult as a Joke, Does Not Erase the Inappropriateness of Varian’s Story

The episode tries to add another joke about Shorty sneaking into the prison without the guard knowing, but that still doesn’t excuse the fact someone had to have tossed Lance in there with him on purpose. Otherwise Lance wouldn’t have assumed Shorty was a fellow prisoner if he or the guard that locked him up saw Shorty sneak in before then. 

Furthermore Lance’s nonchalant response suggests this is not an out of the ordinary occurrence. Nor do any of the other guard comment upon the irregularly of teens being jailed with an adult. Now add in the fact that the show fails to clarify that previous ‘cellmate’ line from Rapunzel’s Return and now gives us more confirmation that Varian was underfed and malnourished for a year with that gruel joke and you have a horrifying picture. 

Shorty might be non-threating, but that doesn’t mean Andrew, a known attempted murderer and manipulator, is too. Nor any other adult who previously was housed with a teen before then. This is still very much not okay and no amount of ‘jokes’ will suddenly make it right.  

Raps, Who is an Adult, Just Physically Threatened Two Teenaged Boys and It’s Played as a Joke.... 

How many times do I have to say it? Humor does not fix bad writing. I’m not laughing when a heroine at age 20, threatens a couple of kids for merely annoying her. Especially when said heroine has a history of abusing children; because let me repeat once again, neglect is abuse!

This is a Lie

No you wont. 

Rapunzel never tells Eugene what happens on screen. I suspect that if she ever did, they would no longer be together, because what she wound up doing here was a violation of trust and boundaries in the worst possible way.  

And This is Now a Time Paradox 

A Grandfather Paradox to be specific. How can Rapunzel be here in the past to break the hourglass if the hourglass that sent her here is broken? 

In a competent series this would be the point of a future conflict and not the actual resolution. It’s not a closed time loop because of the paradox and the changes we’ll see in the future. 

So either she’s in an alternate timeline/dimension and just doesn’t gives a shit; leaving the real Eugene, Lance, Cass, ect. to go on without her; or she’s just broke the universe and everything is slowly unraveling around her; galaxies are dying as she whines about being dumped, people in the future are being eased from existence, and God is cursing her name for ruining his creation, all the while she carries on oblivious to the destruction in her wake, as usual. 

That’s it. Those are you’re only two options now. Is everyone from here on a fake copy or is Rapunzel the damned destroyer of worlds? You decide. 

So This Confirms That the Stabbingtons are Indeed “Family”

Another reason why I place this before Return of the King; it explains why Eugene considers the Stabbingtons ‘family’. Though if it was Rapunzel he actually bonded with and not the real Sideburns, then how much of his feelings are real and how much of them were fabricated by her? How much agency did this episode steal from him?

So What Exactly Did We All Change?

Well the dummy no longer has Eugene’s face, but Cass’s painting of the three of them still has him ripped out of the photo, soo... Keeping in mind that Raps painted the dummy anyways and considering that Moonandra tries to kill him later on; I’m going to guess that Cass’s feelings weren’t actually altered. If anything their relationship might actually be worse now, cause Cassandra keeps acting like she’s never had friends and Eugene has taken up Rapunzel’s blind devotion. 

All that development in season one is just, poof, gone. Also it’s quite possible that the first movie as well has now it has been erased from existence as Eugene got his needed character development eight years too early. How the hell that’s suppose to work, I don’t know. 

Outside of the that we get no confirmation how anybody else was effected, even though a more brainwashed Eugene running around would undoubtedly have caused a butterfly effect. Don’t expect that to be explored anytime soon. 

Though, it would explain why he’s suddenly such a doormat in season three, if this was the second episode as theorized. 

No! This is the Wrong Lesson!!!

Let me explain narrative promises. 

Everyone, on some basic fundamental level, understands how stories work. We hear them recounted to us over and over again from the day we're born to the day we die. It’s integral to how we communicate as human beings. Everyone knows innately how to tell a story even if that person couldn’t tell you how stories or structured or what certain literary terms mean, but they do it every day just through speaking. And while most audiences can’t always pin point what upsets them about a story they can for sure notice when things are off and not satisfying to experience. 

Now that doesn’t mean that everyone can write an awarding winning novel, that study of a craft isn’t important, nor that every amateurish critique thrown at any given media is valid. But it does mean that people have come to expect certain storytelling practices and can pick up on narrative cues. We’ve familiarized ourselves with the language of film, novels, comics, ect, into order to comprehend what’s going on. 

Rules of writing are just following that established language so that the audience can keep up. You can break these rules, sure, but unless you know what you’re doing and have a good narrative reason to do so, then you can easily lose you’re audience. And if you’re making money off said audience that’s something you want to avoid. 

A narrative promise is a cue; a set up that lets the audience know that ‘hey this is important, pay attention to this cause it’ll come back into play later’. Now that the audience has been alerted to the plot point they expect fulfillment of the promise. If you break that promise, either through poor set up, lack of follow through, or by breaking an established convention of writing for no other reason then because you just wanted to, your audience is going to walk away unsatisfied. 

The argument at the beginning of the episode was a narrative promise. It was a cue that set up the interpersonal conflict of the main character. For add context, I know that this is a coming of age story. Convention would dictate that the protagonist would resolve this conflict by learning they were wrong. 

That’s not what happened here. 

Convention was subverted. It wasn’t the protagonist who grew and change, it was the person they were in conflict with who did. And it wasn’t subverted because of any greater narrative reason, or future pay off, or even as effort to be shallowly ‘clever’; it was subverted because the author just didn’t want to hold the main character accountable for anything. Because said character has now become his avatar for his wish fulfillment fantasy and having the main character admit fault would be to admit fault in ones own self. Rapunzel doesn’t feel like Rapunzel this season because she’s just Chris in a wig. 

The episode broke a narrative promise to the audience; both within the episode and in the greater premise of the story, because of ego. 

I don’t claim this episode is bad just because of personal taste nor because I find it morally repulsive (even though both those things are true), I call it bad because it exhibits bad writing. Plain and simple. 

Way To Undermine The Entire Point of the Original Movie, Show

Speaking of breaking narrative promises.... 

TTS is suppose to be a squeal to the original movie. It’s even in the title of the show; both of them. In one fell swoop, the series has managed to sabotage it’s very reason for existing, as it erases Eugene’s motivation and the inciting incident that kick started the film. 

 Way to fucking go. 

To further twist the knife, it diminishes the duel protagonist of said film in order to prop up a series original character, who isn't even present in the episode itself. 

I don’t mind Cassandra’s existence. I don’t even mind her being the new deuteragonist and one of the main villains; even though she wouldn’t have been my first pick to fulfill those roles given her lack of set up. But I do fucking mind it if she upstages other characters and/or derails their character arcs in the process. 

This is the Death of New Dream 

I was still in denial when this episode first aired. I honestly believed that this and The Return of the King was build up to a third “betrayal” where Eugene finally became fed up with Rapunzel’s bullshit and joined forces with Zhan Tiri. I thought the end of the series would have Rapunzel apologize to everyone she did wrong, Varian, Cass, and Eugene, in order to break ZT’s hold on them, and that true love’s kiss would reunite the sundrop and the moonstone and that would just tie everything together into a neat little bow and give us a truly daring character study of a Disney hero. 

Oh dear merciful heavens, was I ever wrong.  

How did we go from season one’s challenging and mature storyline, complete with Disney’s first real anti-villian, to this?! 

What the hell happened!? 

Rapunzel not only disrespects Eugene’s opinions, violates his privacy and trust as she manipulates him as a teen, and then brainwashes him to think like her (even if accidentally), but doesn’t even have good grace to tell him. She instead has the audacity to look all happy and self congratulatory because she got want she wanted. She, and the show at large, doesn’t care what evil thing she does to get the desired outcome Rapunzel wants. 

Rapunzel in this show is a spoiled brat. And the image of her and her now lobotomized boyfriend staring dead eyed at a picture of the creator’s previous waifu OC with plastic smiles on their faces, sums up this series perfectly. 

Conclusion 

This isn’t even the worst episode of the series guys. I don’t know if it would even make it onto a bottom five list. That’s how much crap I have to wade through when it comes to this show. This is however the most damaging episode to the franchise as a whole. 

Not even the most hardcore of New Dream fans want to acknowledge the existence of that final scene, and Rapunzel stans won’t defend her beyond, ’well she didn’t mean too, it’s the writing that’s bad.’ Yeah, the writing is bad, that’s why the character can’t and shouldn’t be defended, not here and not in other badly written episodes where she also does bad things and never makes up for it. 

Anyways I’m finally caught up to where I left off, before the move, though sadly I don't think I’ll get this series done by the end of the month like I had originally hoped. But if you would like to help out I have a ko-fi you can drop a tip into if ya want. 

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #Eugene #anti-rapunzel #anti-tangled

[hakasims]

Shitty Luca Movie Recap, Episode 4

Can’t Watch Nina, Even For Luca?

Don’t Worry, Me Neither. Goodbye.

.

..

...

Ok, fine, I’ll talk about the damn thing.

So it’s a warm September night, and I’m in the mood for a Luca Marinelli feature. In my infinite wisdom I choose Nina. “It’s directed by a woman,” I reason, “and women know what’s up.” ‘What’s up’ in this particular case is code for ‘how to frame beautiful men for the female gaze’. Because women can be auteurs, too, and being an auteur means making movies about your own personal wank material.

Turns out, sometimes a woman’s wank material consists less of a gorgeous male form and more of fascist architecture. We’ll discuss the former in due time, but for now, what’s Nina even about? Well, at its core it’s a simple story about a young woman who doesn’t know what she wants, set against the backdrop of the Rome that is almost entirely empty due to most people leaving for the summer. This could have been a fairly straightforward coming-of-age film, but Nina is too indie and up its own ass for that. Literally nothing of note happens in this movie, and it’s all long static wide shots of empty streets, endless stairs, and domineering largeness of Rome’s most famous fascist buildings such as the Palace of Italian Civilization, the Sapienza University of Rome, Palazzo dei Congressi, and, most prominently, the Fountains Hall. (Google what they look like if you don’t know.) Now, I’m guessing those locations weren’t chosen by accident. They could have easily added to the creepiness of the movie — and I’m assuming creepiness was intended; otherwise how do you explain these hoverboarding nuns?

Anyway, the employment of the locations could have been atmospheric and thematic had the shots not been so bland. But they are. Bland, flat, and always looking the same no matter what is happening in the scene. Usually audiences are willing to sit through slow uneventful movies because of interesting visuals or characters worthy of attention, but Nina has neither. The titular character herself is tedious. Even her bad fashion sense is bad in a boring way that doesn’t tell you anything about her. Is she stuck in perpetual adolescence? Is she searching to get in touch with her sensuality? Who knows. The only thing I’m certain of is that she needs to learn to tuck her tops into her bottoms.

Nina spends her days giving singing lessons, going to Chinese calligraphy classes, eating cake, exercising and taking midnight walks in the empty city. She wants to go to China in September — it’s the closest thing to a goal she has — yet she’s done no preparations, and instead of learning Mandarin she’s studying calligraphy. And she’s real bad at it, too.

There are reoccurring visual elements in the movie besides the vast emptiness: stairs, white columns, a jogger, a red dress, animals… You’d think those were very straightforward symbols, but they’re used too sporadically and inconsistently to hold any meaning. For example, animals. Nina is tasked with both helping out in a pet store and house-sitting an apartment with a German shepherd (a good boy named Homer), a guinea pig and a tank full of fish. The instructions she’s given are absurd, like feeding the dog sleeping pills and putting the guinea pig on a diet. And then there’s a supposedly American TV show always playing in and out of diegesis about dogs living in cages and swimming happily in pools, and it looks and sounds like a video off the political section on the dog version of YouTube. It contains timeless classics like “You are a dog born in the age of consumerism” and “Depression is an evil illness now spreading amongst dogs of every breed, dogs belonging to every social class.” The butter commercial from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend could never. And I wish the whole movie was as surreal as this TV program but unfortunately it’s as bland and directionless as Nina herself.

And boy is it directionless. There aren’t any subplots in the movie, no cause and effect, no acts, no structure, no flow; only scenes that happen, and I can’t even find any reasons for the order in which they happen. The scenes also don’t start or end; they just interrupt each other, not leaving any emotional impact. For example, there’s a scene where Nina sees her future self. She’s on one of those midnight walks with the good boy Homer when she sees a couple being romantic. The woman is wearing a long red dress, and the man is in all black. The shot is wide, so it’s impossible to see their faces, but the woman is obviously Nina:

And the man is definitely Luca. I recognized his ass. I’m not joking, guys. It’s his ass:

Also I was later directed to the website of the photographer who took the set photos, and yes, it’s Nina and Luca.

I never forget an ass.

Anyway, Nina, who at this point hasn’t properly met Luca’s character, Fabrizio, sees herself from the future acting romantic with him, and doesn’t react. We don’t even know if she recognizes herself or him or whether it’s even a real scene or a dream. How are we supposed to empathize with a heroine who isn’t allowed to react to her environment?

Whatever, it’s time to talk about Fabrizio. He plays the cello and he’s obnoxious. That’s it. He first appears as a patron of Caffé Palombini, the real-world café Nina frequents (and buys her cakes at). She’s drinking her usual milk shake and reading. At some point, their eyes meet, but neither says anything, and then Nina gets up and runs after the good boy Homer who decided to take a little stroll by himself. She leaves all her things behind: her milk shake, her handbag, at least three books, a whole stack of paper for calligraphy, and her diary. It’s obvious she’s going to come back as soon as she gets the dog. And yet before her feet are even out of frame, Fabrizio gets up, goes to her table and fucking steals her diary!

His next several appearances are random and sporadic, and it looks like he’s stalking Nina, but by the time of his first actual scene she is following him for some reason. Obviously, he can’t let a woman outcreep him, so he ambushes her:

He tells her blankly, “You’re following me,” but I think this scene deserves better dialogue. Thankfully, we have a whole well of predator/maiden media to pull from.

Though I personally believe this is the most appropriate line:

Fabrizio lets Nina know he has her diary in the dickiest way possible: he quotes from it to let her know that he’s read it. He then informs her that he’ll only give it back to her if she continues following him. And it’s not blackmail; “it’s an agreement.” What an asshole! I’m weeping for the dignified cuckoldry of Joseph.

And what was the purpose of that “agreement” plot point if the next time they meet is by chance? Quirky love interest writing, duh. So quirky that the accidental meeting happens when Nina is walking past a phone booth where Fabrizio is… doing a phone prank? I don’t know, I got nothing. Anyway, he’s annoyed their meeting is unintentional on Nina’s part, but he returns her diary, and I guess they start dating? He watches her sing once with what could only be described as a complete absence of emotions:

In the next scene she watches him play the cello after which they go on a date. Nina is wearing the red dress from the vision, but Fabrizio’s shirt is different. I fucking give up.

Their next (second?) date is a romantic dinner on Nina’s roof, and they’re dancing for entirely too long. She then tells him she’s scared of how much she’s enjoying his company, gives him a ridiculously chaste kiss goodnight and… completely ghosts him afterwards. And if you didn’t dislike Fabrizio before, you will now as he starts calling Nina at ungodly hours (including 5:30 am) and leaving her very whiny and increasingly more passive-aggressive, entitled, and accusatory voicemails. At some point he even leaves a voicemail for the fucking dog! He’s like, “Homer, I’m worried, meet me at the café.” Again, quirky love interest writing: extortion, phone pranks and a voicemail for a dog.

Fabrizio then lets Nina know he’ll be leaving town in three days in case she’d like to see him one last time or whatever. And she never fucking does! In any other movie she’d be chasing through the airport, but here she just drops him like he’s a well-tucked shirt! She tells the kid she’s befriended (she hangs out with an eleven-year-old boy the whole movie, don’t worry about it) that she’s afraid to be “like everyone else”, with a job and a boyfriend, so she doesn’t even say goodbye to Fabrizio. At some point she goes for a walk with the good boy Homer, and Fabrizio is also there, and they just miss each other. Even fate isn’t interested in that romance.

And then all the fascist buildings get covered in gigantic paper figurines, and the red-dressed Nina runs into Fabrizio’s arms. Because of course.

Nina is one of those movies where the main theme — a struggle to grow up — is obvious, but the rest of the elements are a mess only the writer-director could decipher. And I don’t really care. Again, I had to read Japanese postmodernists at university. What I do care about is the male form I mentioned at the start. I know I have no one but myself to blame for my expectations of how the director should have framed Luca’s body or face, but it’s one thing to frame him blandly and a completely different thing to isolate him as the only character (or actor) she’s deeply uninterested in filming competently. Everyone else in the movie gets their fair share of close-ups and decent lighting whilst Luca — whose name is literally second in the credits — gets, um, neglected.

This is his introduction:

These are literally all his close-ups:

Should I even count this last one? What’s with the lighting? Like, this is as well-lit as his face gets:

Oh, the shot is too wide and you can’t see his face properly? Well, tough poop:

Are you kidding me with this shit?

Nina may not be objectively the most terrible of the movies Luca’s been in: I’d argue both Mary of Nazareth and L’ultimo terrestre are worse, as is Slam, whose time’s a-coming. Nor is it the movie where Luca appears the least (The Great Beauty’s literal one minute of screen time is saying hi). But it’s the only movie I have no reasons to watch: it’s blandly shot, poorly structured, badly themed — and it’s actively obstructing Luca’s beauty and charisma. So no matter which film you’ll ask me to do next, at least in terms of the visual component of my posts, we have nowhere to go but up.

#luca marinelli #nina #nina 2012 #sh*tty luca movie recap

[stories-by-rie]

Chapter 5 - Heart of Silver

In the present, still in the dead granny’s house, Evelyn and Ariel search the cellar for clues and slowly start to understand the curse better.

words: 2614 || masterlist

The air in the cellar was strangely musky. From all the dust and cobwebs, it was clear that the old granny hadn’t gone down into the cellar for any longer than she had avoided going upstairs. It was hard to breathe, probably due to mold growing on the walls, mold they couldn’t see because none of the lamps were working.

    “This feels like a deliberate attack on my person. That old lady knew I was going to end up here with the uneasiness that creeps over me in the darkness. Disgusting.” Ariel had flipped their phone open but it was only a little light to help them see. Evelyn had turned on the flash-light on her phone, but the battery icon was blinking red already, so it was only of little help for the time being.

    No new notifications.

    With the sparse light of their phones, even combined, it was hard to make anything out in the cramped place. Whatever use the four rooms must have had, they all seemed to be storerooms now. It was impossible to make out every single detail, but the amount of Easter rabbit decorations was concerning, to say the least.

    “Maybe she was really into bunnies. I, personally, would never judge anyone for what they collect.” Ariel put their hand down on a pink rabbit with fake feathers on its neck.

    “As you shouldn’t,” Evelyn replied at the thought of the amount of- well, everything in their flat.

    It wasn’t just tasteless holiday decoration, though. From the little that was recognizable, they could find dysfunctional vacuum cleaners, stacks of old garden magazines and old workout gear.

    “Was that granny ripped?” Ariel asked at the sight of an old ergometer.

    “She was a granny!” Evelyn said and shook her head, both as an answer and as a general reaction to Ariel.

    “Old people can work-out too, Evelyn! Oh, look! A cursed mirror!” they exclaimed and jumped into a corner where a big wall mirror hung. Evelyn could hardly follow their words, least of all their movements in the dark space. 

    So she just reacted and yelled, “Don’t touch it!” -- idiotically, of course. Because Ariel was a curse broker and knew not to touch cursed objects, and also they weren’t a child and Evelyn not their mother. For some reason, despite those three facts, Ariel still touched it.

    “No worries, no worries. This one only activates on full moons. You can see it on the symbol in the corner, see?” They held their phone so that Evelyn could just make out some lines that had to be the symbol Ariel had spoken about. She didn’t understand them, it was not her forte after all, and she was too pumped on stress and anxiety to really care.

    “Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m a bit on edge and-”

    “No need to apologize. Thank you, for looking out for me,” Ariel replied with their soft voice that felt so much more stern than any other. Evelyn couldn’t help but believe them. She smiled, forced but in a way that would have been honest, had her emotional state allowed her as much.

    Ariel’s eyes widened. First horror, then understanding, and then excitement ran over their face, leaving them with a crooked grin.

    “What-” As Evelyn turned around, the white light of her flash-light hit a high figure, a dusty blanket covering it completely. The fabric’s folds gave the hint of a human statue, enough to let Evelyn’s blood run cold. For some reason, she didn’t have to uncover it to know what was beneath it. In the end, it was Ariel who clenched their fist around a drape, hesitating despite their obvious curiosity. With a flick of their hand, the fabric slid off the statue, their lights letting the heavy dust shimmer in the darkness; then reflecting off the silver boy in front of them.

    In contrast to the pictures Evelyn had seen in Ariel’s books, this boy looked nearly calm. Maybe there was some sadness in his eyes that could not compare with the smile on his lips. He looked nearly peaceful.

    “That would explain why she seemed so invested in curses and the supernatural,” Evelyn whispered, not trusting her own voice to speak louder. “I think it might be the ghost I saw in the study before.”

“Seems very likely, I agree,” Ariel said.

 It was hard to bring the chaos in her head to a stop, to grasp a single thought. When she was eventually successful, the only thing she could fathom was the feeling of hope. If this kid had looked content in his death, then maybe it would not hurt after all. If it wasn’t as painful as previous pictures had made it look, then maybe she would manage that part.

    “This child got hit by it quite young. All this time the fork was the curse medium and they did nothing about it? This case never made it to the books, I really wonder why?” Ariel mumbled and as they stepped closer to look at the kid better, Evelyn’s phone battery gave a last warning sound and then died in her hands.

    Ariel gave a huffed sigh of annoyance and held up their old phone closer, even if the light was multiple times worse, not to say completely useless.

    “Maybe it was her son? If she had told the authorities about it, his body would have been taken away, no? With such a high ranking curse, it would have.”

    “No one is allowed to take a cursed body away, even if it’s a high-ranking curse,” Ariel corrected, and then, quieter, added, “Though, of course, just because authorities aren’t allowed doesn’t mean that they don’t do it.”

    “Mother could not bear to part with me,” a thin voice behind them said and as they turned around, the boy from before stood right in front of them again.

    His next words were hard to hear over the loudly pounding heart in Evelyn’s chest, “No curse-broker wanted to take my case, they said it would be hopeless. There were more urgent ones.”

    In the near total darkness, his shape looked much more solid than most ghosts Evelyn had seen before, the faint shimmer of death old, the ash to his feet already thick. Probably subconsciously, Ariel stepped a bit closer to her, took their glasses off.

    “Do you know how to break the curse?” Evelyn had the mind to ask, not that it was really her decision, but at least the question was put out there. Yet, the ghost did not answer.

    “My mother tried so hard to save me. But the curse moved too quickly. I was gone within three days.”

    Evelyn could not gasp or cry. She just stared at the teenager, the hollow thing that was left of him, and listened to the words that promised her doom, to the constant trickle of the ash at his feet. Only distantly, she heard Ariel typing on their phone furiously.

    “What cursed you?” Ariel then asked, looking up from behind their phone.

    “I wish I would have had a few more days. Maybe one day would have made a difference.”

    “Have you gained insight of the curse through your death?” Ariel pressed again while Evelyn could only stare at the flimsy figure.

    “I think I will go soon. Mother has been gone for so many days now. I am all alone.”

    “Why aren’t you answering my questions? What’s wrong with you?” Ariel did not yell, Evelyn was certain they never did. But at this moment they seemed as close to it as possible. Still, the ghost looked completely out of it, staring between their heads at his own silver statue.

    “I am very tired. I think I really want to go now.”

    “It’s fine. You can rest now,” Evelyn said with nearly no voice at all, and carefully put her fingers down to his forehead. A human touch, to remind him of death. Under it, he crumbled. In a matter of seconds, all that was left of him was ghostly ash (not real ash at all), that seemingly fell through the ground – or perhaps became one with it. Soon, she might find out as well.

    “What the fuck, Evelyn?” There was even more anger in Ariel’s voice now, “This was our one chance to get answers to save your life and you just sent him off? He might have said something useful! Now we’re back at nothing!”

    Only then, Evelyn truly realized the extent of her actions. Sorry, however, she was not. 

    “You know that there was no information about the curse we could have gotten from him. He was already way too far gone, I have seen it often enough. If you had continued questioning him, then all we would have achieved is to torture him in this loneliness. It might have driven him even more insane, nothing else.”

    There was just another curse for an answer, and then they turned around and stalked out of the cellar, as well as that was possible. Some items toppled down their stacks, and just as clumsily, Evelyn followed. It was not until they returned to the ground floor, that Ariel stopped.

    “I really dislike darkness. I can’t see when it is completely dark,” they said, as if they needed some sort of explanation to walk out on Evelyn after such a disaster.

    “It’s fine. There was nothing more we could have found down there.”

    “How late is it?” Ariel asked, only to check on their own phone. “Nearly two am,” they muttered and then looked around the floor to the entry door.

    “We can go if you don’t need to look around any further,” Evelyn suggested. Even if the prospect of leaving alone made her anxious. If there were any clues to a cure, wouldn’t it be here? Shouldn’t they stay until they found something – or at least searched everything until they could be certain that there was nothing to be found? If the boy had died within three days, then she only had two more days to live as well. Could a curse even be dealt with so quickly? Even if it was Ariel who worked on it. Really, the best would be if she just would get her affairs in order and-

    She reached for her phone, forgetting that it had died. There wouldn’t be anything new anyway.

    “Well, we still haven’t found out what caused the noises before. Not that I have a great desire to do so. But even if we don’t keep looking for it, we should stay a bit longer.” Ariel turned to her with a look that was impossible for Evelyn to read. It could not be a good look. She wanted to ask about the implications, but her breath came too fast and too shallow to really form words in her mouth. “That’s the point where we tackle more drastic measures. I do have some nolly-powder with me, so if you happen to have some face masks, we could give in and try the powder search to find the medium’s traces?” The longer they talked and stared at Evelyn, though, the more the furrow between their eyebrows increased. “Evelyn? Are you o-” They stopped short.

    Evelyn wanted to reply that she was not really that okay, that it got hard to breathe and, if she really listened to her own body, that she felt like the silver was weighing her down so much that taking another step seemed just impossible.

    But what she eventually said was, “I have face-masks in my car.”

    Ariel eyed her with a suspicious look, but whatever they were thinking did not make it out of their mouth, so Evelyn decided to ignore it.

    Rain dripped down, even if just lightly now, and it still coated Evelyn’s skin in a thin veil. If she turned into a silver statue outside, rain would probably make louder dripping sounds on her body. In winter, the snow and rain would drape her in a layer of ice. Like a true piece of art. 

    With shaking fingers, she got the face-masks out of the glove compartment and walked back inside where Ariel was working on plastic bags with their powders. For a while they worked in silence. She handed them a mask, put her own on too and watched as Ariel committed to the chemistry before them in ways that simply were beyond her. For all the caffeine they ingested at most random times, they had incredibly steady hands. With those steady hands they kept at it until a dark red light glowed up for a few seconds.

    “So, in the worst case, which also might be the best case, this powder will tell us for once and all what the curse medium is. Except for about seven percent of the cases where nolly-powder doesn’t work, then we will be absolutely fucked.”

    “Let’s just do this,” Evelyn muttered and gave them a nod.

    With a sigh they filled the powder in their hands and then simply threw it up into the air. As if out of nowhere, wind twirled it through the whole floor, let the particles dance in their search for something to hold on to. It could have barely been a minute. Short enough for Evelyn to hold her breath and wait with tension in her shoulders.

    Then, all at once, the powder turned, nearly grew in its ferocity, and shot straight at her. Before it could wrap around her completely, though, Ariel gave a sharp order that cut right through it. At once, it dropped down to the ground, mingled with the dust of time and ghosts.

    “Are you okay?” they yelled once they reached her, a hand reaching out for her arm before they thought better of it.

    Evelyn was shaken by sneezes and didn’t even manage a gesture.

    “This horrid sneezing. I am so sorry. It’s really so pesky. People are working on a better powder if that helps? Let’s get you out of here, okay? I will fix you a cup of tea to rinse most of it out-” A sneeze broke them off, and a single touch made them freeze. Evelyn followed their gaze down to where they had reached out for her hand, and only found silver.

    To her great dismay, time did not stand still. Even if she stared at it so still as if a statue already, she could clearly follow the silver spreading. Along with it, her heartbeat increased as panic kicked in. Evelyn looked up as Ariel’s hand travelled up her arm where she could still feel their skin and warmth.

    “I can only imagine how it feels. But I do know that it is not yet too late. Let me fix you.”

    Tears came hot in her eyes, her throat aching once she spoke, “Please. Help me? I really don’t want to die yet.”

    Ariel smirked and pointed towards the door. They sneezed a few times. “Of course I will! I’m really looking forward to being the greatest curse-broker of this century. Nonsense! The greatest curse-broker to have ever been and ever will be. You’ll see how quickly you’ll be rid of this curse. But first I will make you drink copious amounts of nettle tea to- oh shit. I am out of nettle tea.” They sneezed.

    “I have nettle tea at home,” Evelyn pushed out between multiple sneezes.

previous chapter || WIP intro || masterlist || next chapter

    “That’s good. Then your place first. But I am driving.” Ariel held out their hand for the key, and considering how weak Evelyn was in her knees, the matter left no room for protest.

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#writeblr #novella #my writing #original fiction #fantasy #urban fantasy #ghosts #wip; heart of silver #heart of silver chapter 5 #tw death mention #because ghosts #tw body horror #very light cause she's still turning into a silver statue

[petruchio]

i want to try to articulate my own dislike of mal in the grisha trilogy because i want to be clear that it doesn’t stem from a place of me having wanted alina to end up with someone else, nor would i really have been angry if she HAD ended up with mal if it had been written well, but i would like to take a stab at why i feel that it WASN’T. 

1. what was alina’s power meant to represent? this is honestly my main sticking point in the series as a whole. in my opinion, the way the “grisha power” is portrayed in the books is fundamentally antithetical to alina’s choices at the ending of the series. grisha power in the novels is portrayed as something innate, as something which is not separate from the self but merely an extension of the self, and as something which is essential for one’s health and, literally, lifeforce. “does the bird feel the weight of its wings,” etc., it is literally portrayed as something which is an essential part of one’s person. so -- this book is YA. YA, especially YA fantasy, tends to have some lesson to draw out to its young readers, some analog to real life meant to demonstrate something deeper. this begs the question then -- WHAT does alina’s power represent? what are its metaphorical implications? i think it’s crucial that she is initially only able to access her power when she LETS GO of mal and her unhealthy attachment to him. and at that turn in the story, she finds herself happier, freer, and healthier. so.... my question is what on earth are we meant to draw out of this, metaphorically, other than the idea that unhealthy attachment and obsession to others limits us and once we trust in ourselves completely we find our inner power? (i’d be fascinated if anyone disagrees or has different ideas about what the power and her ability to use it is meant to represent. but i have a hard time understanding it as anything else) we can further draw out some of the more literal metaphors -- regarding light and the sun. light which tends to represent joy, which reveals the unseen, which brings forth what is hidden. i think these are all pretty... on the nose metaphors. within her, alina contains this power to reveal what is hidden, to bring into the world joy and safety, and to bring balance to a world plagued by darkness. and her choice is to just... not? i just don’t think it tracks with everything else that grisha power is meant to represent.

2. what was alina’s arc meant to represent? this kind of ties into my larger issue with grisha power, but on a more individual level. you hear people justify alina’s choices by saying “she was a reluctant leader.” to which i say... then what was the point of the entire series? what did she learn? that actually her life was fine and she didn’t want to change it? i mean, power to her, but i again don’t think it follows with the portrayal of her discovery of her power (both her literal sun power and her ~internal~ power and strength) what was the point of having her have to “let go” of her attachment to mal in order to discover her power? what was the point of the line “there’s nothing wrong with being a mouse, unless you’re meant to be a hawk?” i just think these narrative beats don’t map on to her ultimate choice. 

3. the love arc of alina/mal is poorly written. in fact -- there IS no arc. she starts and ends the books in love with him. as a reader, i think this is one of the most uninteresting forms of romance to read. we have no sense of WHY she falls for him, other than the fact that they’re childhood friends which we are exposed to in a few flashbacks and stories about a vague “meadow.” but we don’t actually SEE any of this -- we basically have to take alina’s word for it that mal is amazing and perfect and he is the only person who sees her for who she “truly is” (which as an aside, i still don’t buy because again, if her power is something innate to her, he categorically DOESN’T see her as who she truly is and her whole person.) it’s hard as a reader to fall in love with a character if we don’t see the protagonist fall in love with them as well. plus, like i pointed out in her need to let go of mal -- in the start of the series, her attachment to him is framed as unhealthy and obsessive, as something she has to learn to let go of in order to become her whole self. i just don’t understand this metaphor, then, if the ultimate conclusion is that she was right to begin with.

4. i would like to draw a comparison here to the hunger games, which is a book i feel hits many of the same beats but does it (obviously perfectly) and justifies and explains katniss’ choices within the metaphorical and symbolic meaning and argument of the trilogy as a whole. i propose to break this down into three subsections and draw comparisons:

4a. the love interests. i guess mal is meant to be a sort of peeta like character, one who advocates for peace and sees the protagonist for HER not as a tool or a device. but again -- does he? i think this again ties into the idea of power as innate. none of katniss’ powers are necessarily innate to her. she’s not an amazing archer because she just happens to be so, or because she was just born that way. it’s something she learns and is forced into because of the poverty her and her family face, which again ties back into the larger social commentary of the series. she doesn’t become a symbol for the revolution because of some magical ~thing~ that she has, but because she is used and manipulated by the adults around her. but alina isn’t like that! she doesn’t learn to be a sun summoner because of the society she lives in, she just IS. she is also used as a symbol by the adults around her -- but because of her LITERAL power. so mal’s dislike of that aspect of her doesn’t read like peeta’s distaste for the capitol, it just reads like... he doesn’t like a part of her. then i guess you also have a bit of the gale mapped onto mal, as her childhood best friend. but i again feel that this is a poor analog. again with the distaste for the capitol vs. distaste for her grisha power. gale rejects katniss’ new life because it seems to him to represent the wealth and power of his oppressors. mal rejects it for apparently the same reasons -- but the power is represented as something internal to her. it’s different than wearing fancier clothes or living in a nicer house because of artificial social divisions. sure, the SOCIAL divisions between grisha and non grisha in the book are artificial. but she LITERALLY has a magic power. so again to my point about her power -- it just doesn’t make sense in context of how the power is described. 

4b. the villain. let’s imagine a hunger games where president snow is young and sexy and manipulates katniss by making out with her instead of just threatening those she loves. uhhhhhhhhhh. i just think this confuses the reader too much to be effective. once again, if this had been written a bit better i think it could’ve worked, but like. it wasn’t. there’s a reason people really thought they were going to end up together. in thg is that katniss is just.... some girl. she’s not snow’s only equal in the world, the one destined to balance his power, the only one who can understand his life and reality, his only immortal partner. again with the symbolism just not matching up to what seems to be the intention behind the story. okay, the darkling is evil. alina is good. so the solution is... kill him and stop using her own power? but the rest of the grisha and their powers are all fine? again, WHAT is the implication about power? it just doesn’t make sense.

4c. the choice at the end to live a peaceful life and reject the narrative which society has placed on you. this is where i think tgt really falls flat at trying to achieve and make a similar argument to thg. crucially, katniss’ choice is pretty metaphorically obvious. gale and peeta both hate the capitol, but have different opinions of the solution. peeta represents peace, gale war. (suzanne collins has literally said this.) katniss’ choice at the end of thg to live peacefully with peeta is a broader commentary on the nature of peace and the need to choose peace. but alina’s choice doesn’t read this way -- because in order to choose peace she literally has to deny a part of herself! a part of herself that is clearly an analog to finding herself in the series! 

these are all just some general thoughts about where i think tgt fails to really take on the implications of the power it seeks to portray. i think there are a lot of potential and legitimate criticisms of a lot of my points here, but i think overall it will always come back to the power for me. why was she sickly and sad before she discovered her power? why does she find joy and fun only once she is able to access a part of herself which she had repressed for so long only out of an unhealthy attachment to her childhood? if the power she wields is just too much for the world to handle, and same with the darkling, then why is grisha power portrayed as innate natural and essential? 

the realities of how power is portrayed in the grisha trilogy are why i ultimately believe her choice of mal and her choice to give up her power makes no sense and does not track onto the literal and metaphorical implications of the trilogy. 

#im sure no one will read this #but would be open to thoughts n further discussion #grishaverse #caroline speaks #i didnt even get IN to nikolai...... #long thoughts

[dcrkacademia]

@inunityitrust replied to your post:  This book was written nearly 130 years ago if you except it to be up to date with todays moral values you’re flat out stupid

First of all, this is a fundamentally flawed way of looking at things. Dracula’s very plot upholds sexist and racist views. I’m not saying I dislike it because it has elements of sexism or racism (which would still be valid if I were) but because the entire story is structured to support those views. It is a propaganda book meant to scare the masses about immigrants corrupting their women and those corrupt women in turn corrupting upright men. The plot is intrinsically problematic.

Having said that, while I do hate the book I did not say it was poorly written nor did I say that we should cancel it. We should be aware of its problems and learn from them. If those problems make me dislike the book– that’s okay, and probably a good thing. In fact, we should be having discussions about books like Dracula that are considered classics and shining light on what those books are meant to represent, what they symbolized then and what aspects of history are reflected in it. In Dracula’s case, those are terrible aspects, and it should be spoken about. I am allowed to hate a book for any reason I choose, and I am certainly allowed to point out problematic aspects of a book that so many forget the issues of. 

I love classic literature, it’s my passion, I’m no stranger to books that throw in sexist or racist lines, however, just because terrible things were once more acceptable does not mean we brush them off as unimportant today. Slavery was once considered acceptable by society, today we do not say that slave traders cannot be disliked by today’s standards, that would be ridiculous, clearly those were horrible, racist people. Likewise, Dracula is a sexist, racist book.

In the future, I suggest if you’d like to engage in a discussion about a piece of literature that you refrain from ad hominem as it only goes to show that you lack a better argument than “you’re stupid.”

#replied #racism tw #sexism tw #drama tw