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wanderingsorcerer · 10 months

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The 72 Demons Of The Ars Goetia

This will be multi parts and in each one we will be going over each branch of them "whoop whoop" let's get cracking

Starting off the 72 demons of the ars goetia are the amalgamation of the Occult Writings from the 15th century. Compiled into one text in the 17th that is where we get what is now known as the Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis or simply The Lesser Key Of Solomon. Due to many translations spelling changes depending on region and personal preference for the author.

Let's start the Journey with the KINGs Of Hell

Baal (Bael): is the first king of hell with estates in the east and commander of 66 legions. This King is distinguished by his three heads, One of Toad , One Of Man, and One Of Cat. He teaches the art of invisibility and the power to Garner The Favor of Others. He also rules over Love and Science.

His Symbol

As with most Spirits in the Goetia they prefer people who are clever and intelligent. Someone who is willing to put in the work instead of relying entirely on the power of the deity

Paimon(Paymon): one of the kings of hell with estates in the NorthWest he is the ruler of 200 legions of demons. Paimon is depicted as a man with an effeminate face, wearing a precious Crown, and riding a Dromedary. He is said to roar upon arrival and speak in a loud voice until asked a question from the caster. Paimon teaches all arts, philosophies, and sciences, and secret things; he can reveal all mysteries of the Earth, wind, and water, what the mind is, and where it is, and everything the conjurer wants to know.

His Symbol

To summon him it is common practice to have a Sacrifice prepared, usually one of personal significance to the caster.

Beleth: one of the Truly Mighty and terrible kings of hell he is the ruler of 85 legions of demons. Beleth is depicted riding a war house and is said to have Loud music blaring as he arrives. He is said to look terrifying upon arrival and will attempt to frighten the caster to see if they are brave.

His symbol

When summoning him it would be best to hold a silver ring on your left hand middle finger to your face, as to show him his respect due to his rank in the infernal realm.

Purson: One of the Great Kings of Hell, being served and obeyed by twenty-two legions of demons. Purson is depicted as a man with the face of a Lion, carrying a Viper in his hand, and riding a bear. He is commonly associated with the AntiChrist. His powers include knowing all hidden things, discovering treasures and divination (telling all things from past, present and future). He can take on a human or astral form.

His Symbol

He represents the sun and the moon and symbolism from both is best when beginning his summoning. I.E Silver and Gold Jewelry and coloring

Asmodeus(Asmoday): One of my personal favorites, he's the one I have the strongest relationship with out of all of the demons in the Ars Goetia. Labeled as The Thirty-second Spirit He is a Great King, Strong, and Powerful. He appeareth with Three Heads, whereof the first is like a Bull, the second like a Man, and the third like a Ram; he hath also the tail of a Serpent, and from his mouth issue Flames of Fire. His Feet are webbed like those of a Goose. He sitteth upon an Infernal Dragon, and beareth in his hand a Lance with a Banner. He is first and choicest under the Power of AMAYMON, he goeth before all other. He teaches the Arts of Arithmetic, Astronomy, Geometry, and all handicrafts.

When summoning him be respectful he has a soft spot for academics and is a true wonder of a friend to have on your spiritual journey, just don't wear hats around him.

Vine: is an Earl and also a King of Hell, commanding 36 legions of demons. This demon is portrayed as a Lion holding a snake in his hand and riding a black horse. He can tell present, past, and future, discover witches and hidden things, create storms and make the water rough by means of them, and also bring down walls and build towers.

His Symbol

Acts as an elemental guide unto those who may seek to attack you. Vine is also a divinatory spirit who will also brings initiatory knowledge to Wizards, Witches and hidden aspects. Summon him if you wish to learn more about the Occult.

Balam:is a great and powerful king of Hell who commands over 40 legions of demons. Balam is depicted as being three-headed. One head is the head of a bull, the second of a man, and the third of a ram. He has flaming eyes and the tail of a serpent. He carries a hawk on his fist and rides a strong bear. At other times, he is represented as a naked man riding a bear. He gives perfect answers on things past, present, and to come, and can also make men invisible and witty.

His Symbol

From the Daemonolatry Goetia by S. Connolly

“Invoke Balam to get over social awkwardness or to find the inner reasons for shyness or discomfort. Leave a piece of gold in offering to Balam (And his sigil) on the altar to keep magickal works secret until they manifest the desired results.”

Zagan: A Great King and President of Hell, commanding over 33 legions of demons. Zagan is depicted as a griffin-winged bull that turns into a man after a while. He makes men witty; he can also turn wine into water, water into wine, and blood into wine as well as blood into oil, oil into blood, and a fool into a wise man. Other of his powers is that of turning metals into coins that are made with that metal (i.e., gold into a gold coin, copper into a copper coin, etc.).

His Symbol

Turns things into their opposites. Invoke to help curb addictions and bad habits or make delusional people (or dabblers) to see the truth. Zagam rites are a Daemonolatry Keeper ritual

Belial:He is a King of Hell with 80 legions of demons and 50 legions of spirits under his command. He was created as the first, after Lucifer. He has the power to distribute senatorships and gives excellent familiars. He takes the form of Two Beautiful Angels sitting in a Chariot of Fire.

His Symbol

He must be presented with offerings, sacrifices, and gifts, or else he will not give true answers to demands.

Always when working with these entities show them great respect and take into considerations that the majority of these are gods from other cultures that have had there meanings shifted over the years to be perceived as demonic. Treat them with kindness and respect and for the most part they will treat you the same. Do your research and learn. Learn more everyday and don't forget to have fun. The occult is a wonderful and beautiful thing and I hope to take you on more journeys with me.

We will continue this next time when we go over the Dukes of Hell.

Thank you for being here with me and having tea with me on the other side of the Great divide :)

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#goetia #ars goetia #demonology #demons #witch #witchcraft #witches #witchblr #magus #magi #grand magus #solomon #solomonic #lesser key of solomon #key of solomon #occult #occultist #occultism #WanderingSorcerer

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pinkeoni · 11 months

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WillEl Narrative Mirroring: Presenting Themes of Sexuality

If we consider powers as a means to present themes of sexuality, then looking at Will & El and how they mirror each other in narrative can reveal different angles on this topic and how the two sides of the coin come together to create a balanced whole.

Very very lengthy discussion of sex, sexuality, sexual assault, and child sexual abuse below the cut.

Will and El being different genders is important to their narrative mirroring, because they are displaying the difference between expectations in regards to male and female sexuality. Let's start with El and what her story says about female sexuality.

Layering the subtext behind supernatural elements is both practical and ethical, and I honestly applaud the Duffs for choosing to go this route rather than making it more explicit from the start, and instead sewing in details along the way. It helps keep the story digestible, allowing for a story like this to be shared to a wider audience while also not forcing their incredibly young actors to portray potentially very traumatizing circumstances.

I'm not the first nor will I be the last person to talk about all of the csa coding regarding El, Brenner, and the lab, especially here on tumblr. I was actually sent an anon awhile back linking a blog post back from 2016 that analyzed this exact thing.

"Eleven's interactions with 'Papa' are laden with coercive, coded language, intentionally leading viewers to make sexual abuse connections beneath the surface of the experiments we are shown. Eleven, vulnerable in a thin hospital gown, is told to "go deeper" and to ignore the men watching her perform. She is told the monster wants her, to go farther, "not to turn away from it." This language is intentionally loaded."

Girls are often forced into their sexuality at a young age, usually for the gratification of men

Young El, in hardly a hospital gown, is being forced to utilize her powers for the sake of Papa Brenner and other men in the lab. The sexuality/power connection is being established very early on.

And even once El has escaped the clutches of the lab and seems to find safety—

And before I have fingers pointed at me, no I am not trying to vilify Mike for this moment nor any of the boys for wanting to use El's powers to find Will. It's more complicated than that. The boys were young, their friend was missing and in danger, and they were excited by the prospect of a real life superhero being able to save their friend. I'll also get into how Mike is a victim of this forced heteronormative relationship much later in the post.

But still, even without meaning to, the boys are reinforcing the role that El is expected to fulfill, which is to use her powers and sexuality in service to the men in her life

Something impressive about that blogpost I linked earlier is the rightful calling out of how gross miIeven is way back in 2016, when the two were considered America's cutest couple by the general public.

"Crucially, in the climax, after Eleven's body is once again used for others, Mike promises her a home, and Eleven shows a glimpse of light, is almost comforted. She'll have a family, she'll have safety. Promise? No, Mike says. She'll have their mother, but while she's wearing his sister's dress he explains she won't be a sister, that he wants Eleven to meet his desire for a girlfriend. How could he possibly understand that more boundaries and a boyfriend is the opposite of what she needs?"

Girls oftentimes do not see many options outside of their sexuality

Starting in season 2 El has two modes of thinking: girlfriend or superhero. Her line of thinking isn't helped much by Hopper, who keeps her isolated from outside world. And like the boys, this is a complicated situation. Hopper is keeping El inside for the sake of her safety, lest the government catch her and lock her up again, and either use her or kill her. Still, this isn't good for her personal development.

Whereas Brenner was the sexually abusive dad who forced his daughter into adult roles at a young age, Hopper is playing the role of the overprotective dad who doesn't want to see his little girl grow up, something that continues in season 3. In his eyes, he is keeping El protected from the men of the outside world who are likely to want to take advantage of her, and keeping her locked in is his way of preventing that. But doing so is damaging to El's psyche in ways he may not realize.

So El is kept locked inside with some of her few windows to the outside world being spying on the boy who wanted her to be his girlfriend, and spending the entire day on the couch watching romantic soaps. Her options regarding freedom are skewed.

When El gets her first taste of freedom and leaves the cabin, she's in girlfriend mode. We know this when we see her go to Mike and she misreads and becomes jealous of his interaction with Max. Now I won't deny that El and Mike do have genuine care for each other, but here she ditches a boy that she hasn't seen in almost a year because he seems to have found another girl to fill that girlfriend role.

Having been hung up on in the void and replaced, El changes trajectory: superhero.

I do want to point out and emphasize the importance of El going to see Terry before this moment. El is not a robot that is programmed for sex and powers. She is very much human, and we see her desires for family and the life she could have lived, which is her motivation to seek both Mama and Kali.

Kali, another woman with powers who had been mistreated like her, offers El an alternative— use her powers against the men that have hurt her. When El sees that Kali is seeking her power as a means to use them, El leaves to save her friends and family.

I once again want to reiterate again El's humanity and her heart. El isn't returning to Hawkins simply as a means to become Mike's girlfriend and to become a superhero. She is doing so because she wants to save the people that she loves. Still, El's resolve for the season isn't super ideal given her overall arc. She is effectively fulfilling the roles that have been charted for her since the beginning. She learns that she can be a superhero and a girlfriend! Yay!

With danger out of sight, El seems to be spending her time doing the only other thing she thinks she can do, kissing Mike in her room. An activity which is described by Hopper and the rest of the party as being "unhealthy" and "bullshit."

So what is the solution? Completely remove her sexuality as Hopper aims to do?

We now come to my favorite friendship in the whole show, as well as the most important character in El's arc—

Max doesn't suppress El's sexuality or enforce it onto her, but rather is the first person who allows El to explore what she wants, offering her assistance but allowing El to lead the way. Brenner, Kali, Hopper, and Mike have all wanted to shape El into what they wanted her to be. For Brenner, a weapon. Kali, an avenger. Hopper, the perfect daughter. Mike, the perfect girlfriend. Max wants El to be whatever El wants to be. (God I love the elmax friendship so much)

Like I said before, Max does not aim to strip away El's sexuality like Hopper does. Hell, I wouldn't even say that she wanted to keep El from Mike. Hell, Max was even asking El if Mike was a good kisser after El had dumped him. Max is the one who offers to give El her moms Cosmo magazines. She isn't keeping El in the dark about sex and sexuality, but offering her a road map and actual information in order for El to come to her own conclusion about what she wants from it. El can look at pictures of Ralph Macchio and use her powers to spy but also enjoy shopping, listening to Madonna and reading comics.

When El is pushing her powers to find Billy, something that El choses to do of her own volition, it's the girls in her life (Nancy and Max) who advocate for her to lead the way while Mike is the one who wants to control her. And yes, once again the situation is complicated, Mike isn't doing this to be an asshole but out of concern for her safety, but needless to say he isn't beating the controlling boyfriend allegations. And this displays another facet of female sexuality—

Men often feel insecure when women exhibit ownership over their sexuality

Mike, who previously advocated for El to use her powers if it meant helping someone, is now actively pushing against it when it's El in the driver's seat and not him. And maybe Mike was right and El was pushing herself too far. And maybe he was concerned out of guilt for pushing her the first time, but would it also be too out of left field to say that Mike equates his part of his self worth on how much El needs him?

So maybe now I’ll talk about Mike

Mike really isn’t trying to be this malicious, manipulative guy who is using El for sex. Really, he’s not. Mike instead is a young boy who is going through some rather tough internal struggles of his own, and unfortunately brings El into it with him.

Mike is enforcing the heteronormative relationship onto himself just as much as he is doing it to El

I personally read Mike as gay and that plays into this analysis. Mike found a girl that he cared a lot for and everyone around him assumed that he must have feelings for her, so he played the role of the straight boyfriend. When I see Mike making out with El in her bedroom, I see a gay boy constantly trying to become attracted to his own girlfriend. Maybe if he keeps kissing her, maybe it’ll do something for him.

Keep in mind that Mike believes that that’s what El wants him to be, he’s not forcing onto her something that he doesn’t think she doesn’t want. He may have kissed her first, but then El was the one who tried to kissed him at the Byers house. Mike is mistaking El’s own confused feelings for genuine ones.

Being El’s boyfriend was Mike’s way of giving El what she needed, a way to be useful while simultaneously giving him a way to be normal. But what happens when his true feelings are starting to become harder to ignore?

Remember that Mike wasn’t writing “Love, Mike” when he believed that El was doing okay on her own in Lenora and making new friends. It almost makes me wonder if Mike would have said “I love you” to El if she had told Mike she was in distress.

But then again, we do see El in distress in front of Mike and yet Mike still can’t bring himself to say it. It isn’t until El is quite literally on her deathbed that Mike finally works up the courage.

In season four we have El regressing into her superhero or girlfriend mindset, with a third option added— monster.

A pinkeoni analysis that mentions El’s superhero/monster dichotomy???? SHOCKER!!

When girls are not seen as sexually desirable, they oftentimes feel monstrous as a result

El doesn’t have her powers anymore, and Mike no longer sees her as worthy of being a girlfriend, which means that she must a monster. This is a thought that is reaffirmed through El’s treatment from her classmates, and later El’s intrusive memories regarding the massacre. The only way El knows to escape this monster label is to regain her powers using NINA. This is what El knows, how to become a superhero. This is how she becomes desirable again.

I think that Max’s distance from El is a good contributing factor. Not the only one, but a main one for sure. El no longer has that guiding force, and there isn’t a girl in Lenora that understands her disposition and seems willing to take her under her wing. Sure she has her new mom Joyce, who is usually on the phone. Or her new brother Jonathan, who is usually stoned. And her new brother Will, whom we see try an give El support only for her to shut him down with “friends don’t lie.”

So El goes through NINA, gets her powers back, learns she isn’t the monster after all, oh and her boyfriend can say “I love you” now. And yet, as El realizes at the end, it’s not enough.

I promise this post is also about Will too

Now is the part of the post where we shift gears and finally talk about Will. El has more screen time than him, so there’s more to cover. I also felt like discussing her first laid some important groundwork in regards to how Will mirrors her narrative.

El showcased a lot of facets regarding female sexuality. Will covers aspects of male sexuality, but specifically gay male sexuality, which is an important distinction.

What does Hawkins feel about gay men?

Yeah, it’s not looking good.

Gay men are oftentimes perceived as predatory and dangerous

Will’s sexuality is practically an open secret. Will goes missing, and the town’s first thought is that he was taken by another gay man. Troy doesn’t say it directly, but the implication behind his words is that Will was raped and then killed, thus feeling the need to clarify that the man behind it was “another queer.” Gay men rape little boys and throw them into quarries, or so the town thinks.

The eighties is also such an important set piece for this narrative because the entire show takes place right in the midst of the Reagan Administration and the AIDS epidemic. A young gay boy dies and its suspected that another gay man killed him. The government is eager to sweep under the rug what actually did it. The anniversary of Will's kidnapping is Reagan's 1984 reelection date to the day.

Heterosexual men are treated differently on the basis of their sexuality

Well, duh. But I did want to highlight the differences between gay Will and his evil-straight-name-twin, Billy.

Billy wears his sexuality proud and openly. Based on Max's dialogue in season 3 we know that he has sex with girls often. In his introduction we are immediately shown girls ogling him. He arrives in town and is instantly liked and regarded. He catches the eyes of the hot moms in town and he's liked by the other guys.

Oh, and he's racist, violent, abusive, and overall a total sack of shit.

We see Billy's sudden rise to popularity in the same season that we see Will's incessant bullying and him being branded "Zombie Boy" by what seems to be the entire town. Even Billy who's been in town for like a day is already calling him "the freak." Will is sweet, kind, friendly, wouldn't hurt a fly, but he's the weird homo whereas Billy is the cool straight guy with the nice butt.

Gay men's sexualities are often suppressed

So now we get to the part that exhibits the WillEl mirroring, as well as some “Will has powers” theoretics. I guess your willingness as a reader to continue forward may depend on your feelings toward Will with powers. I may lose some of you, or maybe I may even swing some skeptics with my explanation. As I say in most of my posts: bare with me.

If El's sexuality and powers are being forced upon her, then Will's sexuality and powers are being forcefully snuffed out.

Let's take a look at Lonnie Byers, in many ways similar to Papa Brenner and in many ways his antithesis. Both abusive fathers with silver hair, Brenner is the obsessive parent who wants his fingers all over his daughter while Lonnie is the distant parent who wants nothing to do with his gay son. Joyce's dialogue "Lonnie said he was queer. Called him a fag." indicates that his homophobia probably has something to do with his distancing. Lonnie's verbal abuse of Will was likely a method of trying to snuff out his queerness. And when that didn't work, he left.

(and if you wanna get theoretical you could say that he had connections to the lab, knew about Will's powers and was trying to get rid of them, but that's just speculative)

A big part of season one is the fact that the entire time, Will was in his own house. He was spending his time running and hiding from the monster that was in his own home, the one that wanted to kill him. And the only time he ever expressed himself, the only time he ever used his powers—

—was when his loving and supportive mother encouraged him.

But also keep in mind that almost every time Will tries to speak with his mother through the lights, express more of himself and use more of his powers, it usually attracts the presence of the monster. Will continues his cycle of running and hiding until it doesn't work anymore, and we get what is perhaps the most overt sexual assault imagery in the show that even little fifteen year old Robin Pinkeoni picked up on in 2016.

Season one ends with Will experiencing sexual violence, and in season two we see how this trauma is encroaching on his everyday life, as well as being stalked by the same man that took him and shoved a vine down his throat for the sake of reproduction. He follows Will to the arcade. He follows him while he's trick-or-treating with friends. He finds Will at home. Eventually, he finds Will after hours at school where he's able to reenter his body in the second most overt sexual assault imagery in the show.

Where El's sexuality was suppressed in season 2, Will's sexuality was being forced upon

Will is feeling the effects of this assault for the rest of the season. He's finding it hard to sleep, and constantly feels the presence of the man who attacked him, everywhere.

Vecna is possessing Will because he wants to use him as a vessel to control help control his army, and for whatever other powers Will may have. If El never closed the gate, if Vecna had completely taken over Will's body as he originally planned, what would he have done from that point on? Would he have just discarded Will's body, or was there something special about him that he needed?

Will begins to believe that everything people say about gay men is true about him

Keep in mind that at this point Will's only experience and exposure to gay sex is being assaulted twice, all while his father and the whole town is bullying him and telling him that gay men are predators. Will isn't a predator. He isn't dangerous and we know this about him. And yet Will uses the freak label in a negative way.

So it's no surprise given the internal and external that Will is suppressing his sexuality even further.

In season 3 El begins her journey of self-discovery and likes what she finds. Will knows exactly who he is

and he hates it.

Will fucking hates himself bro. He knows he gay. And he accepts it. But he also accepts all of the labels and restrictions that it comes with. I am gay. My sexual desires are dangerous. I can never express and experience love and sex the way I want to.

And maybe there is a glimmer inside of him that sees that what he is is a wonderful thing, that maybe he does deserve better than all the abuse he's endured just for being who was.

And maybe these feelings were easier to pack away when he was younger. Maybe it was easier to say "I'm not gonna fall in love" when you're fourteen, but as you get older and grow into your teenage years...

...maybe your desires are getting harder to ignore.

What happens when you don't die innocent, and you grow up instead?

So we bring it around to season 5

El is a superhero and a girlfriend again. But it's not enough. Something is missing and she isn't fulfilled. Max is missing, and El is going to have to face and overcome her biggest challenge yet, which is completing her journey of self-discovery that started in season 3. She's going to have to put aside the expectations that many have for her and decide what she wants.

Will Byers is back in town. How has the climate surrounding gay men changed since then?

Oh! It's worse now!

Remember, the town believes that the same sodomizing Satanists are the ones behind the recent murders and earthquake. It's gonna be really bad for Will when he gets back.

So now Will is tasked with a challenge that is harder here in Hawkins than it might have been in Southern California. Maybe Will can't change the minds of these religious townsfolk but maybe he can somehow find a way to shift his own way of thinking. Embrace who he is, embrace his powers, and realize that he deserves more than the hand he's been dealt.

So that was... a lot

Analysis mostly over. Here are some of my concluding thoughts.

I know that this is probably one of my longest posts ever. I know that a lot of it feels like reiterating plot points, but that really felt like the best way for me to articulate all of my thoughts on this. A lot of it needs to be backed up with evidence from the show.

Also, sometimes when I sit down to make a new analysis, sometimes I don't make it because I think I have all of the answers, but I make it as a way to try and find answers. To talk through some of my long and complicated thoughts and open the floor to discussion. Even with the length of this post, there is waaaaaaaaay more that can be discussed regarding this topic (some that has already been discussed).

To wrap everything up, I wanna share this screenshot from Reddit, which low-key inspired this entire thing. For context, this was in response to a question asking if people expected to see a Will coming-out scene in season 5.

So, hopefully with this long ass post, I've proven that maybe the show is about the complex effects of one's sexuality in the 80's, actually.

#WOOF #probably my longest post to date #if you read to the end... i love you forever #wrote this up in kinda one go #maybe its obvious maybe its not #el hopper #stranger things #stranger things analysis #will byers #will byers has powers #byler #tw sa #tw csa #tw child abuse #mike wheeler #lonnie byers #martin brenner #this'll either do numbers or flop hope its the former

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yuri-for-businesswomen · 7 months

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critically analysing gay male culture is really important from a feminist perspective.

because on one hand, gay men reject one of the main pillars of patriarchy: heterosexuality, and thereby the sexual and domestic subjugation of women. and they are being ostracised for it, with homophobia, violence, insults and exclusion from traditional male spheres.

so gay men created their own design of masculinity, and their own culture.

sometimes it contains elements of femininity, like drag queen shows or just presenting femininely with makeup and high heels etc. this is the opposite of traditional masculinity, but at the same time, femininity is a tool of degradation, and by performing it, gay men degrade themselves. they fall into the same trap as liberal feminists who portray overperforming feminity as a rebellion against traditional feminity, which is defined by modesty, without tackling the actual degradation this contains, and creating alternatives that are neither traditional nor degrading. this is just the opposite of traditional gender roles without reflection on what this actually does to empower marginalised groups like gay men and women.*

this can also be seen in gay erotica. gay men will often assume the same degrading poses as women who want to sexually appeal to men. when you see a man on all fours with his ass out, that is usually not to appeal to women. (mainstream) gay porn has similar dehumanising and degrading imagery, language and dynamics as heterosexual porn. in the end, gay men are men. women dont get off on their subject of desire being degraded. thats a male trait.

this also mirrors in subcultures like the leather daddies. bdsm and leather fetishism are not gay by nature, at all. in fact this is a huge overlap to the straight community, as most of the kink community is comprised of straight people. this is an alternative to christian values and mainstream society‘s concept of sex. but all things considered, bdsm reproduces the idea of sex as a power struggle, sex as a tool of degradation, sex fixated on objects rather than an interpersonal experience, etc.

gay men challenge traditional masculinity simply by being men exclusively attracted to men. not all gay men participate in gay culture, or even endorse it. i think its not homophobic and can actually give some insights to examine how the patriarchy is reflected in a subculture that is at its core anti-patriarchal.

*note: self expression is valid and not every aspect of a marginalised groups own culture has to be an act of defiance against oppression. this is just one aspect i chose to focus on.

#mine

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thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai · 1 year

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On Love Eros is a textbook depiction of how a figure skating routine evolves over a season

If you watch figure skating, you might have noticed that skaters grow into their programmes as the season progresses and that sometimes elements (usually jumps) are rearranged or replaced because the skater struggles with them or to increase the base score of the programme. In Yuri On Ice!!!, there is a lot of this, most prominently in Yuuri’s and Yuri’s programmes. In the following, I will break this down for Yuuri’s short programme On Love: Eros as this provides the most comprehensive data on the subject.

Presentation

Figure skating is, to somewhat extent, acting. A programme can require a skater to slip into a role (I’ve heard of skaters who take acting classes for this), but even for a programme that portrays a skater’s feelings basic expression and projection skills are useful. Yuuri skates at his best when he skates true to his feelings and because of this, he gets high programme component scores (PCS), which help him make up for messed-up jumps. But when Viktor assigns On Love: Eros to him, Yuuri has no idea how to skate it. For how shall he express something he hasn’t experienced before?

Yuuri has never thought about love much less had a relationship. He says of himself that he didn’t pay attention to the things happening around him because he focused on skating since laying his eyes on Viktor for the first time. However, Viktor’s demonstration of On Love: Eros has given him an idea of a possible story:

A playboy comes to town and bewitches the women left and right. He decides to pursue the most beautiful woman in town, but she isn’t swayed. As they play the game of love, she finds it difficult to make the right choices and ends up falling for him. Then, he casts her aside as if he’s tired of her and goes off to the next town.

Which pretty much describes the situation in episodes 2&3 as Yuuri perceives it, including a possible scenario that Viktor discards him for coaching Yurio. (It also represents Viktor’s misperception of poor drunk Yuuri at the banquet, but that’s beside the point.)

Yuuri very keenly feels that he’s not at all like the playboy in his story as he considers himself physically unattractive and lacks confidence. Thankfully, Viktor’s old costume inspires him to swap roles and play the woman in his story as her part is closer to “how he feels”. To win, he must change the story and make Viktor stay. It’s unclear whether “how he feels” also refers to his unique notion of sexiness as a queer man, but as queer people are less likely to adhere to cishet stereotypes, it can very well be an additional factor. As a result of his revelation, he asks Minako to teach him to move more femininely. In the show, this is expressed in Yuuri using female pronouns during the first two times he skates Eros (the female Japanese “I” is “atashi”) and his voice being softer compared to when he’s off-ice. To cover up for his inexperience, he thinks of his favourite dish, which he’s only allowed to eat when he wins. Ironically, katsudon is a wrapper for everything Yuuri wants besides eating this food: he wants to win and he wants to eat katsudon with Viktor, representing his wish for Viktor to stay his coach (and maybe other things concerning Viktor he may not yet be able to express).

Yuuri's approach to expressing Eros reminds me of how actors approach the portrayal of an experience they never made themselves or that is hard to conjure. As a writer, I do this a lot too when putting myself in a character’s shoes. Switching the viewpoint character is also super helpful when a scene just doesn’t work the way I want it to (which is kinda what Yuuri does, too).

In episode 5, the story Yuuri wove around his programme has changed. His portrayal of Eros has evolved, but it’s not yet perfected. He still impersonates a woman and a tasty katsudon (“I’m a katsudon fatale that enthrals men” using “atashi”), but now it’s the woman who discards the man and goes off pursuing the next man.

Yuuri predominantly focuses on trying to include Viktor’s advice when he was flirting with Yuuri in the rink coaching him (“dance more like you’re trying to seduce me”). Only close to the end, he remembers the story of his programme: “On the conclusion for the love-crazed couple… how did it go?” which is kinda distanced compared to his thoughts about Viktor flirting with him and might imply that he doesn’t fully identify with the role.

As a sexually experienced person Yuuri’s coach, it’s evident to Viktor that Yuuri is still wrestling with his portrayal of Eros (which must be strange as he remembers how Yuuri was at the banquet lol). However, between episodes 5 and 6, something important happens: Yuuri and Viktor finally get together and thus the nature of their interactions changes (I discussed Japanese dating culture and how this is portrayed in YOI here). Because of this, Viktor instructs Yuuri to seduce him as himself the next time when he skates Eros in competition, which is at the Cup of China. And Yuuri’s reaction says it all.

Yuuri promptly starts using the same pronoun he uses when he refers to himself in his dialogue lines throughout the anime (“boku” is the Japanese standard male pronoun for “I). The programme is no longer a story with a protagonist Yuuri has to impersonate and identify with to some degree, but about him actively seducing Viktor with his own charms. It’s unclear whether he keeps the “female” skating style despite the pronoun change as this exceeds the limits of the animation (skating scenes are super difficult to animate so the pronouns might serve as a proxy for what the creators couldn’t translate into images). However, as Yuri!!! is super queer, I headcanon this style to become less exaggerated as it evolves into a natural expression that is 100% Yuuri as he fully blooms into his unique notion of Eros as part of his queer journey and his deepening relationship with Viktor.

However, it’s beyond doubt that the evolution of Yuuri’s portrayal of Eros is also closely tied to his relationship. Taking Viktor’s pep talk, Yuuri’s inner monologue while skating (“I am the only one who can satisfy Viktor”), and their exchange in the kiss and cry into account, skating seductively isn’t the only thing Yuuri thought of doing to Viktor *cough*, and they both know. As a result, he delivers a stellar performance with a new personal best.

I don’t think I need to elaborate on the off-ice activities the two likely have engaged in between the Cup of China and the Rostelecom Cup. As a result of his deepening relationship with Viktor and the subsequent experiences made, Yuuri scores even higher when he skates Eros in Russia. Being far away in a place where people might resent him for stealing Viktor from the sport, fuels his possessiveness which is one aspect of his Eros and ends in him getting an even higher score. His short programme has reached a stage at which he can hardly improve it any further with its current layout.

Before I’ll talk about the last time we see Yuuri skating Eros, let’s dive into the technical side.

Technical aspects

Eros is a super difficult programme for a skater with lots of stamina. All the jumps are in the second half and every entry into a jump is more difficult than the previous one, starting with a spread-eagle into the 3A and ending with a lunge entry into the 4T+3T combination. The step sequence which covers the better part of the first half looks quite demanding, too, as it has to match the pace of the music. All this makes the programme pretty ruthless, matching the theme. The initial layout includes a 3S as the second jump, which Yuuri decides turns into a quad in an attempt to beat Yuri at the Onsen on Ice because he is that desperate to win. Of course, this doesn’t go as planned, but Yuuri had to take the risk. As a side effect, it makes the entire routine even more daring. (fun fact: many irl skaters struggle with the 4S too)

As said above, Yuuri skates at his best when he skates true to his feelings. This is especially true for jumps as he is prone to flub them when something is on his mind or the programme isn’t working for him for whatever reason. To successfully land a quad jump, everything going into the execution like technique, timing, speed, power of takeoff, the moment of opening the body before landing etc. must be finely tuned. So, it’s no surprise that Yuuri nails only the 4S when he fully settled into the programme in episode 6.

For the Grand Prix Final, Yuuri changes his jump layout of Eros one last time to maximise its base score. Again, it’s a risk he’s willing to take to win. He’s been taking risks all season by changing jumps, most prominently in his free programme when he included the 4F to surprise Viktor, and now he plans to jump the 4F in Eros as the final jump, while the 4S remains in the second jumping pass but is combined with the 3T whereas the 4T is omitted.

For reference: these are the base values of the jumps in question as they appear in Yuri!!!*:

3S: 4.4

4S: 10.5

4T: 10.3

4F: 12.3

The 4F is a jump so far only Viktor could land successfully in competition and so it became his signature move. It symbolises everything Viktor is to Yuuri and expresses his desire to become as good as Viktor or even surpass him, as well as his romantic feelings. Including it in Eros, adds a possessive layer to the many things the 4F represents like showing the world that Viktor is his now, but also Yuuri’s ambition and growth as a person including his newly-discovered confidence. Remember the flashback to the rink between the Rostelecom Cup and the Grand Prix Final when Yuuri had already proposed to Viktor? “You want to see me land a quad flip in the short programme, right?” “I do!” It sounds a lot like a second proposal—all this is ultimately part of Yuuri’s Eros, too.

In the end, Yuuri doesn’t nail the 4F and ends up in fifth place after the short programme as his mind was more occupied with winning than with seducing Viktor. I like to believe that Yuuri succeeds at the next competition and that he continues refining his SP throughout the rest of the figure skating season as his relationship with Viktor deepens and evolves further. But as the anime ends mid-season, this speculation is mostly based on watching irl figure skating and my headcanon.

Closing remarks on queer presentation

What sometimes is referred to as “female” expression in dance sports is a soft and sensual movement style as opposed to the cishet male stereotype (strong, shows little emotion etc). It basically describes a gay stereotype. However, how a queer person presents can apply to a variety of queer labels. Being queer myself, I don’t feel comfortable deriving labels from isolated information for an individual be they real or fictional. I don't want to promote stereotypes, and because of this, you won't find me jumping to conclusions about their unique queerness.

Japanese pronouns

For further reading about Japanese pronouns especially when used by queer people, I recommend this comprehensive article. Having read this, Yuuri’s switch to “atashi” during the first two times he skates Eros, makes even more sense to me.

*these base values were the same in the seasons I checked starting from the 2014/15 season to the 2016/17 season, which encompasses the time Yuri!!! was produced.

If you enjoy my meta posts, please consider giving my blog a follow or checking out my works on AO3(link in bio). You will find the results of my meta musings in there!

#my yoi meta #yuri on ice #yoi #yoi meta #yuri on ice meta #katsuki yuuri #katsudon yuuri #viktor nikirofov #viktuuri #figure skating #On Love: Eros #anime #queer expression #lgbtq #If you like my meta please check my fics on AO3 they're full of this stuff

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mdhwrites · 4 months

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I saw a post a while ago lambasting Amphibia for having its characters 'do the most horrendous shit imaginable' for the sake of comedic plots and get off far too easily for it. In their view, Amphibia took slapstick comedy way 'too far' sometimes. I thought this was quite hyperbolic; the protagonists made serious mistakes, but rarely anything I'd call unforgivable, especially since they'd almost always show a level of remorse. But it did make me think about the way immoral acts are portrayed in comedic shows, and how we, as viewers, can tolerate and forgive things we probably wouldn't in real life because of the way these acts are presented to us.

I mean, think about Hop-Pop using mind control on Anne, Sprig and Polly in Children of the Spore. If anything like that happened to you in real life, chances are you wouldn't react to someone violating your body and mind by shrugging your shoulders and going 'well, guess we pushed you pretty far.' You'd probably beat the shit out of HP and never talk to him again. But that episode is kinda self-aware about the awfulness of it all (which I love). Polly flat-out says the old frog crossed all kinds of ethical and moral lines XD

Going back to the whole 'too far' accusation, though, I'm pretty sure we're smart enough to understand the difference between a silly frog show and real-life crimes. I don't think there needs to be super realistic consequences to everything (as the post I mentioned was suggesting) when your focus is on writing a slice-of-life fantastical comedy. I guess the only real argument you could make is 'but it's teaching kids to forgive absolutely atrocious, unforgivable things!' And...maybe? But I'm pretty sure any kid with their head screwed on straight understands not to replicate or forgive immoral behaviour too easily.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do you think characters doing awful things for the sake of comedy or plot can go too far, in that they can unintentionally make characters far too heinous to sympathize with, or do you think complaints like those of the post I mentioned above are a result of taking something far too seriously? Is there even such a thing as 'too far' when it comes to slapstick comedy?

So let's talk about intent, tone and framing because these things REALLY matter to a story. It's actually part of the problem with fandoms wanting everything to be realistic, darker, etc. because they're really asking for one thing: For them to all be the same. To not be what they are because, you know, the fact that these are comedy cartoons for kids MATTERS.

But first let's actually shift gears AWAY from cartoons for a second to talk about things being genuinely irredeemable for comedy. MANY people are really against prank style reality tv because it preys so completely on human suffering. Because these people are doing terrible things to just normal people. I personally don't like the premise... But I like Impractical Jokers. That show frames it DEMONSTRABLY more about terrible things happening to these four friends, by these four friends, and usually the worst they do to others is leave them a little confused or a bit uncomfortable. One of the big elements to changing this is that all the challenges are effectively dares. Someone either commits to the bit or if it becomes too much, they dip out but they are ALLOWED to dip out, minus the final jokes which are always pretty much purely at the Joker's expense.

Are these four people bad people? No. But part of why we also know that is because it's television and they're doing it to entertain as part of being comedians. Bizarrely enough, a lot of modern cartoon fandoms seem to want to act like fiction IS reality. It's where you get people going "Oh, you're being so cruel to a 14 year old, nuerodivergent girl!" and me going "I'm being critical of a character in a narrative. Can you please stop telling me, an actual human being in the real world, to kill myself because of a fictional character?"

Because shock of all shocks, PEOPLE CAN TELL REALITY FROM FICTION! In fact, even kids can! The fucking video game industry had to go through this hell HARD to prove that killing people in a video game is not the same as having psychopathic tendencies in the real world. Do you know how many kids play CoD? And those kids are fine. At least most of them.

So with all of that preamble out of the way: When can a morality focused show fuck up?

It's actually incredibly rarely in the terrible things the characters do because the show USUALLY addresses these elements as part of the moral of the day.

For the example given of Hop Pop's mind control, it is shown as... Eerie to put it mildly. Even from go, Hop Pop only enjoys it so long as he doesn't have to interact with it. It is never framed as a positive besides a bit selfishness. However, Hop Pop is a good enough person to show genuine remorse and try to fix this. He puts in a lot of effort, is admonished as the lesson of the day is learned to not try to control people and to potentially compromise and then it MOVES. ON. Because they live in a fantasy world where anyone could die at any second. A day of none thoughts is not actually that big of a deal, especially since it wasn't done out of malice or even really on purpose. It's a part of the fun of the setting and of the fantasy genre as a whole that you can just do these weird concepts like this and move on because magic happens sometimes. You might grumble for a day or two but hey, at least it was your neighbor and not the king, am I right!? Hail King Andrias.

A big part of this though, and why so many morality driven shows can have characters do terrible things without imparting the wrong lessons, is because it's addressed. Pretty much explicitly. It is framed as wrong, addressed as wrong and then fixed because it was WRONG. Even if it gives momentary gain, that gain is almost always also included in being wrong.

It's actually a formula that Amphibia purposefully breaks for an episode, carrying it over from directly the one before, because there genuinely was one crime committed that hadn't been addressed and by the time it was, that sin had grown to a point where it was too reasonable to have a character still be mad to ignore it: The music box. Hop Pop hiding it is actually an AWFUL thing to do because it dooms Anne, it means her parents will never get closure, dooms the rest of Anne's friends, etc. etc. Hop Pop has to be okay with Anne never quite being fully happy because of always wanting to go home while also living with this false hope that he implanted into her. A trust he has not earned because of the lie.

So even after they theoretically have their morality episode about the box, Amphibia takes this time for such a PERSONAL attack on Anne to stick with her for another episode during The First Temple. It actually acknowledges that you don't get over everything immediately. That sometimes you need space. I don't even like that episode but the break in formula is actually meant to make the message more powerful, and does so successfully, especially because the crime was different. It wasn't of indifference or something quickly fixed. It was of long term AGONY and a complete breach in trust that would make one question what relationship they can have with another person. There's pretty much zero other crimes in the show like that besides Sasha/Marcy's betrayals, which aren't treated as easy fixes, and Andrias' betrayal is the heel turn that makes him the primary antagonist. These crimes, these personal, genuinely awful things to do to other people that could be replicated, unlike so much of the fantasy violence, are usually seen as something you do have to work on. It's a great, nuanced take on being a morality one off show while also being able to elevate some issues to being dealt with more seriously and consistently.

Also, quick note from someone on my Discord: They NEED to do bad things in order to teach! They are meant to be the bad example so when their actions lead to things going wrong, you understand not to copy that behavior. This is honestly storytelling 101 for most... Plots. Not just morals but plots. If the characters do NOTHING, nothing happens and nothing will be learned.

You want a show that will teach kids bad lessons and then reinforce there are no consequences for those? WELCOME TO THE OWL HOUSE! Specifically: The show that tells you to lie and keep secrets because your fear justifies keeping them!

I know that sounds shitty but like... Luz is the main character. For half of the show, she is portrayed as the second most moral character in the show behind Willow. She admonishes stealing, cheating, etc. as her contrast with Eda. Then after Yesterday's Lie... She literally can't stop lying and never faces consequences for it.

The closest actually comes in Falls and Follies where Amity at least forces a promise out of Luz to be more open with her. This actually though doesn't fix the problem, it just makes it WAY WORSE because one of the main targets of these lies, that kids can easily replicate, especially because Luz is almost always lying about things that might upset others which is the most common thing kids will lie about, is Amity. So now we have both lying and breaking promises. You know, two of the most basic morals any kids show should impart on the audience!

In Reaching Out though, Amity gets a little mad but then it's excused because of her dad! In Thanks to Them, no one gives a shit that Luz has been keeping secrets and lying for months. Camila makes sure Luz DOESN'T tell her friends the truth either about her plans. You know, Luz's MOM who should want her daughter to be an honest person. The show then constantly keeps cutting Luz off from telling anyone anything because it literally can't without revealing how bullshit what she's doing is until by the end of the show... Luz hasn't been punished in any way and the lies just... Drift away.

Completely unaddressed.

This causes a problem because while the lies theoretically hurt Luz... They hurt less than losing her friends. Hurt less than disappointing a parent. Hurt less than making her look bad. And this is the main character. The one kids are supposed to connect with the most. The one who usually most explicitly defines the morality of a show. And she is never punished or stopped from all. Of. Her. Lies.

(As a note: This is also how you get a lot of guys taking the wrong lessons from anime perverts. Sure, this guy gets smacked but he never loses his friends. Never faces real consequences. In return... He gets way more ass than the main character does, doesn't he? *gags violently*)

THAT is how you impart bad morals. It's not surprising to me that the fandom for TOH hides behind excuses so much for their show because their literal main character was justified, in fiction, to have all of the terrible things she did, all the choices she didn't have to make or the people she discarded, because she ALWAYS had an excuse. And so long as you have an excuse, by what TOH says, you can get away with fucking anything.

And mind you, that last part is NOT Luz specific. Have a bad uncle? Don't worry Hunter, the fact that you literally hunt, oppress and potentially kill wild witches can be entirely forgotten and ignored. Have a mean mommy? Don't worry Amity, we literally never have to properly address the literal years of bullying you did to another character or even how attempting to kill Luz was wrong. Collector? COME ON! You just had bad friends/family so now you just need good ones and we can forget all about you oppressing people for fucking months!

This isn't addressing these problems. These are excuses. And excuses can seem REALLY appealing to people. After all, how many hide awful acts or statements behind: "Come on, it was just a joke." Shields are useful for trying to avoid criticism after all. If you never acknowledge you were in the wrong, you don't have to feel bad for having done something mean, let alone terrible.

Just to bring it back to Amphibia: Sasha tries to do this. She believes she knows best so she feels justified in all she does because it will make everyone the happiest, at least in her own eyes. Then in Turning Point, she realizes the folly of her ways, addresses that she was a terrible person and plants her foot down FIRM. No more acting the part of protector while actually being a tyrant. She will risk her very life in order to right these wrongs. And we see it also in Commander Anne where she is taking the change seriously. These are two half episodes, a single episode in full, that lets us know that her actions were inexcusable and that they were wrong and now she is allowed to be a part of the good guys now that she has made sure the audience knows that they can look to her as an example.

One full episode to ADDRESS the fact that what Sasha did was wrong and to not excuse it but to learn from it.

That's why all these terrible things protagonists do in shows is fine. They learn from it. They genuinely regret their actions. They show the audience why they shouldn't have done it. It's never okay to the show that they did. Not that it can't be forgiven, because people should be allowed the chance to grow, but that it still wasn't okay.

For a kid's show, that is pitch perfect. It's why moral of the day storytelling exists and I can't really think of any huge errors in this department on Amphibia's side. It's pretty damn good at smacking someone over the head when they act like a jackass. At bare minimum, there are WAY worse examples out there.

======+++++======

This is absolutely one of those criticisms that has me look at the person making it and go "Just admit you don't like cartoons. Or children's media in general probably." Admittedly, there's actually plenty of adult stuff just as childish, no one stays mad in Family Guy, so it's probably just "You don't like cartoons." It's the sort of bad faith criticism that just reveals you as not having actually wanted the product but whatever you thought the product should be.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#amphibia #toh critical #the owl house criticism

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discoveryesq · 17 days

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Attorney-Client Privilege - Pop Culture

Obviously fictional TV shows won’t get every legal detail correct.

I almost hate to use these 2 shows as an example, because aside from the glaring misrepresentation of establishing an attorney-client relationship and protected communications, these shows actually do a better-than-usual job of portraying law firm life.

However, handing an attorney a dollar or any denomination of money 💰 does absolutely NOTHING in terms of establishing a privileged relationship. It’s not a requirement to establish the relationship and benefit from the privilege.

Think about pro bono clients; aren’t their communications privileged? (Yes when the elements of privilege apply).

Also, establishing an attorney-client relationship does not make every conversation between that attorney and client privileged.

For a communication to be protected by attorney-client privilege, it must be:

-a communication between privileged parties / attorney and client;

-made in confidence (no 3rd parties present or in earshot);

-for the primary purpose of seeking legal advice from the lawyer.

Other discussions not related to legal advice are NOT protected.

I’d also be remiss not to mention the crime-fraud exception — something I’ve never heard Saul mention to a client and I’m an avid fan of the show — communications for the purpose of furthering of a crime or intended crime are NOT protected by #privilege, even if the #attorney wasn’t aware of the advice being sought for improper use.

Since the shows get so much right, I wanted to articulate the important parts that it didn’t.

*Many of you don’t know this but I used to have a pretty successful blog, “prime time crimes” or something along those lines where I wrote about broken laws in fiction tv shows. The writers of some of the shows were big fans & I really miss doing it and regret taking it down.

#better call saul #breaking bad #kim wexler #saul goodman #attorney client privilege #discovery #privilege #law #lawyer

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heloflor · 7 months

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Ok so for about a good two-three months now I had a post in my drafts about how I realized I ship Powser, and long story short I started comparing Bowser to what I think to be how most villains in media interact with their damsel in distress if they express “love” for them. Issue is, I don’t have nearly enough knowledge/examples on this topic to know how truthful this comparison is, but said comparison is also the main thing tying this post together. So when thinking of ways to remove this element while still having all the same info in this post, I kind of came up short. Plus, I like the way the post is structured as is.

In other words, here’s the post as I originally wrote it, but be aware that the comparison is probably very flawed. Maybe there’s some truth to it, probably not. In any case, just focus on the Powser side of it, the villain comparison is just there for the structure. Enjoy! (long post ahead, a bit over 3k words)

So I recently realized that I really like Powser which I did NOT expect given I’m usually much more of a “friends to lovers” type of person, and trying to understand why I like it led me to think about how villains tend to be presented in their relationship with the “damsel in distress”, and it’s actually very interesting when you compare it to Bowser.

TL;DR: Unlike most villains who showcase sexual attraction (I think?), Bowser is shown to be romantically attracted to Peach. And while his actions are still very much shitty and should be seen as such, man is he adorable sometimes ! Plus, the way his feelings are shown to be genuine makes him look better than most villains, whose “love” for their victim is portrayed as """creepy lust""" by their medias.

(Obviously there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with sexual attraction. I’m talking in the context of medias that sometimes tend to vilify it, especially when it comes to the antagonists, hence the language used in this post.)

So the first thing that came in mind while thinking of other villains was Dis//ney’s Alad//din (the 90s/animated one) and how Jaf/ar treats Jasm/ine at the end of the movie, more specifically when he wishes for her to fall in love with him and she ends up pretending to be as a distraction.

Thing is, Jasm/ine doesn’t act like she’s in love with Jaf/ar, she acts like she’s thirsting for him, and the way Jaf/ar reacts shows that this is pretty much what he had in mind when saying he wants her to love him. This isn’t love, it’s lust.

Now, I can’t say I’m someone who watches a lot of movies, especially not live-actions ones, so take what I’m about to say with a huge grain of salt. Basically, I kinda feel like what we see in Alad/din is the norm when it comes to villain/victim relationships? Like you have those antagonists who want the damsel in distress to be horny for them, who don’t see those women as people and don’t give a shit about them, only keeping them to get what they want out of them and having no issue discarding them afterwards if they get bored with those poor girls.

Btw that’s not to say that every single villain who kidnaps someone wants to sleep with them. But when it comes to villains who claim to love their victim, there does seem to be at least some sexual tension here, or at least some uncomfortable touches.

And then there’s Bowser. To give a few examples of what he does:

- In that one 1986 anime movie thing, he gets very soft around Peach, gushing about how he’s in love with her and wants to marry her, trying to cheer her up when she’s sad, and let’s not forget that “it’s more of a bracelet, shows that my love is bigger” line with the ring.

- In the mainline “platformers” games, you have “Mario Sunshine” in which Bowser wants his son to have a mother, and “Mario Odyssey” in which he tries to marry Peach, going around the world gathering all the absolute best things for the wedding. There’s also the New Bros U intro with Bowser gently moving Peach’s chair, making sure she doesn’t get hurt by his attack, showing he doesn’t want to hurt her.

- Not sure exactly if this counts as this could be a form of objectification, but you know that cliché of villains getting that all-powerful thing they wanted and immediately betraying/discarding all the people they worked with and/or claimed to love? Well, in the Galaxy games, Bowser gets the power to create a whole new universe, and yet still takes the time to capture Peach, claiming in the first game that he wants her to rule along with him. Again, this could be a form of objectification, especially when looking at his dialogue in the intro of the second game, but it’s still interesting how Bowser doesn’t really fall on that trope, still having his army and Junior on top of Peach (btw the intro of Galaxy 2 is very funny on that front because Bowser literally has enormous powers and yet still makes a detour for Peach, thus causing Mario to be on his tail. Like, let her go dude, she’s not that into you. You got all the powers of the universe, who cares about that one specific woman when you could have literally anybody else?).

- In the first Paper Mario game, Bowser tells Peach that he would fulfill her wishes if she wants (as long as he likes them) and gushes in his diary about how he hopes Peach likes him. And in Thousand Years Doors, he keeps trying to look for her upon hearing she got kidnapped.

- In Super Paper Mario, he gets overjoyed about the wedding but still immediately shows worry for Peach when Nastasia uses her mind control on her, and in general Bowser spends the game clearly loving being able to call Peach his wife, and joins the team again in 7-2 out of concern for her safety. Same with 8-1 where for all he knows he’s about to die and yet his main concern is her safety, to the point where he's willing to ask Mario to protect her for him. His priority is not being with Peach, instead it's Peach being safe.

- In Color Splash, the first thing he does when first getting back to himself during the fight is ask if Mario brought Peach with him.

- In Origami King, he doesn’t want her to see him as a wet floor sign and later asks Olly if Peach is safe and comfortable, which as I’ve seen pointed out implies that him capturing Peach is mostly a forced vacation/sleepover until Mario arrives and she’s put on the spot for show.

(- In general Paper Bowser is a huge hopeless romantic, at least from what I’ve seen of him.)

- In Superstar Saga he helps Mario and Luigi reach the Bean Kingdom for Peach’s sake. Then in Bowser’s Inside Story his most beloved and protected memories are his memories of Peach + he makes saving her his priority towards the end. And in Dream Team, he hears a rumor that Peach might have gotten kidnaped and immediately flies all the way to Pi’illo Island to find her.

- You cannot convince me that his car in Mario 3D World wasn’t an attempt to impress Peach, given this is one of the only two games (three with Wonder) where you play as her and face against him. /hj

- In that one old comic people kept bringing up after the movie came out, Bowser spends a lot of time gushing about marrying Peach. Also despite Peach being very temperamental in this comic, I don’t think Bowser once tries to hurt her? Obviously you have the Magikoopa brainwashing her at the end which is fucked up but outside of that does Bowser ever get angry or menacing when it comes to her?

- In general, outside of the games where Peach is playable and the intro of Inside Story (which comes off as OOC for Bowser tbh, I get him being pissed off but him trying to burn Peach is just really off), do we ever get to see Bowser raise a hand on her and/or try to physically hurt her? Same for his anger, how often do we get to see him raise his voice on her? And no the sports and party games don’t count since everyone is doing the same thing to everyone else in those, and in the party games it'd be unfair if playing that one character led to Bowser going easy on the player.

Now I might be missing some more moments, especially since I’m far from the most knowledgeable on the sport/party games and some RPGs (slowly making my way through them), but there’s one thing that is very obvious: while most villains express sexual attraction for the damsel in distress, Bowser expresses romantic attraction.

Bowser genuinely cares for Peach. She’s one of his most precious memories. In Super Paper, he snaps out of the joy of getting married when Peach is getting brainwashed, showing how much he values her safety. He absolutely adores her and isn’t afraid to express it, especially Paper Bowser.

Those two instances (Inside story and Super Paper) especially really seem to lean into how much Bowser loves Peach. In Inside Story, the fact that she’s his most well-preserved memory shows just how much he values the little time he spends with her and how important she is to him, not as some pretty face but as a person he genuinely wants to create more memories with. And in Super Paper, Bleck is giving him the one thing he’s always wanted, and yet he still shows some reticence when Nastasia uses her mind control, making it look like Peach being safe and sound is more important to him than them being a couple. Idk, those two moments just really get to me when you think about it this way.

(Btw in Super Paper I adore that Peach hesitates to leave him in 8-1 because, while we know Peach is incredibly kind so of course she’d be worried for a teammate, for once it feels like Bowser actually earned it. He spends the whole game being caring towards Peach, and wouldn’t you know, being nice and respectful to someone actually makes them care for you! I swear the Powser potential from this game is unmatched!)

When most villains say “I want this woman to love me”, they usually mean “I want this woman to obey and submit to my every want”. When Bowser says “I want Peach to love me”, he means “I want to be able to wake up everyday by her side, make her smile and laugh and be happy, see her be a mother to my kid(s), learn more about her and spend as much time with her as I can”. Bowser isn’t trying to marry Peach because he wants to “own” her, he wants to marry her because he quite literally wants to spend the rest of his life by her side.

Now that’s not to say that Bowser doesn’t feel any form of sexual attraction. But since Mario is such a kids-friendly franchise, the focus is much more on his romantic feelings. Also, I'll admit, whether Bowser is in love with Peach or with the idea of Peach is up for debate.

I think that’s the main reason why so many people are quick to call Bowser sweet/adorable when seeing the way he talks about Peach. Because the thing is, Bowser is still being a complete asshole here. He’s constantly kidnapping her, putting her in a cage on several occasions, forced her to marry him like 6 different times, very often disregards her body autonomy by grabbing her (+ the kidnappings), terrorizes and sometimes even tortures/kills her people, and his phone pic in the parental controls video + the picture frames in Nintendo World make him look like a creep. Despite his feelings for her, there’s definitely a level of objectification here that should not be ignored.

Hell, I didn’t mention the 2023 movie on the list because I’d argue he was more obsessed rather than in love. Plus the scene where he proposes to her low-key feels like the very first time they meet, making his previous actions creepier (or at the very least they barely know each other, heck Peach didn’t even know Bowser likes her!). And he’s quick to use blackmail and violence against her, especially in the end. The wedding cake toppers also show he cares more about himself than Peach and sees her as an object rather than a person.

(I actually take back what I said in my movie reaction post about Bowser being like the one from Super Paper. He might be goofy when showing his softer side, which was what I was focused on when comparing the two, but he’s also clearly not as genuine and sweet as Paper Bowser. The way he mistreats his army and especially Kamek in the movie is also different from most games, most notably the RPGs since that’s when we see him interact with his people and he’s a relatively good king to them.)

Compare 2023 Movie Bowser to the 1986 movie in which he tries to get Peach involved in the wedding preparations, tries to cheer her up, never gets angry at her despite how much she’s resisting him and never once raises his hand on her. Even when she outsmarts him by making him shapeshift, he’s amused by her attempt. Literally the worse he does in this movie is grab her against her will on many occasions (and obviously the kidnaping and forced marriage, that goes without saying).

Going back on topic, despite Bowser being very much horrible in the way he approaches Peach, since every other villain out there is lusting after the woman they capture, making them appear creepy/predatory, Bowser comes off as an angel in comparison. He’s one of those rare cases of a villain who is truly sincere about his feelings for the woman he captures, and since we see other occasions of him being a sweetheart (with Junior) and a dumbass (the RPG series), he becomes an incredibly endearing character. So his feelings for Peach come off as adorable despite the bad elements because we’re aware he has a soft side so we know he’s truly sincere. Him being sometimes more of an antihero in the RPGs + his inclusion in sports games and the like probably also help seeing him in that good light.

(Also yes I’m very much aware that there’s a huge issue when it comes to how fandoms perceive female characters, and I will absolutely believe you if you tell me this is one of the reasons why you have people who talk shit about Peach so much all while defending Bowser’s actions, especially since his feelings for Peach are so rooted into his character. Oh and obviously you have the people horny for Bowser who love his softer/romantic side and value the moments where he displays this part of himself, that goes without saying.)

I’m especially surprised by the 1986 movie showing such a characterization of him, considering it came out 1-2 years after the very first Super Mario game (aka Bowser’s first appearance, at least I think?). Like imagine making a movie about those characters and going “hey you know the giant turtle monster we fight in this game? What if he was a huge lovable dork who just wanted some love in his life?”. Tbh I adore that choice.

Overall, it’s just interesting to see how Bowser differs from other villains on that front. It’s very interesting to see a villain who does pretty terrible things to a girl all the while being genuine in his feelings for her, idk it’s a very cool contrast. I also like how “true love” tends to be a motivation for the heroes, seen as something good, so it’s fun to see stories where villains have that very same motivation without it being “““twisted””” with lust. And yes I know that last point applies to many more antagonists than just Bowser, and not just for feelings like love.

And a bit off-topic but I also really like how you can easily explain Bowser’s behavior here (not justifying it tho!!!). In the Yoshi Island games, we see he was raised as a spoiled brat who was always given what he wanted, made worse by him being a monarch. We even still see some of that behavior in his adult self, for example when he gets angry and starts stomping his foot like a kid throwing a tantrum.

As a result of his upbringing, Bowser likely just doesn’t know how to take a no. He’s used to always get what he wants, and take it by force if necessary. So when Peach refuses him, he does just that, incapable of understanding why she doesn’t want him.

The 86 movie is actually an excellent example of this. In two scenes (the one with Peach outsmarting him and the ring dialogue) we see Bowser getting worked up when Peach is upset, showing he genuinely wants her to be happy. But at the same time he’s incapable of realizing that he’s the reason why she’s so upset and the one thing he should do is let her go. The ring scene especially shows it very well. When Peach throws the ring and starts crying because she doesn’t want to get married, Bowser thinks she’s upset due to the ring being too big and immediately tries to soothe her by promising to get a better ring. Again, it’s kinda crazy how this movie was made when Bowser only existed for a single year and yet they already made him genuinely in love with Peach.

I’d also add that Bowser seems to have a pretty high opinion of himself, thinking he’s awesome and shit (or maybe he’s overcompensating, that seems like a possibility). As a result, it’s possible that his mentality on the situation is “Well I’m in love with her so surely she must love me! How could she not?”, making it even harder for him to comprehend why she doesn’t love him.

Again, it doesn’t justify his actions in the slightest but it’s still interesting how you can somewhat understand why he’s like this.

And as to why I ship Powser, honestly I still have no idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think it has to do with the storytelling potential of a unrequited love/it’s complicated/they have history situation in regards to their roles as monarchs, especially in the case of Peach whose character is brimming with untapped potential. I actually like to describe their relationship as “I hate the effect you have on my life but I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it” or “Our kingdoms are enemies for a good reason but if anything happened to you I’d rush in to save you without hesitation”. It's just that idea of them being ex-lovers who had a bad falling out and how Peach still cares about him to an extent and how their lives constantly intertwine with villains trying to take over their kingdoms + Bowser's kidnappings.

And since we’re talking Powser and since wondering whether they know each other or not in the movie got me to question how we can tell they know each other in the games: the best way I could describe their relationship in the games is familiar/”comfortable”, like you have the way Peach tries to convince Bowser to join the group in Super Paper, the way she talks about him in general in the Mario and Luigi games, or stuff like most cutscenes in Odyssey where she never seems afraid of Bowser.

I’ve also seen that Switch Tennis game with the evil racket and how Peach is the one who tries to get through to Bowser when he steals it, straight up saying “listen to me” which makes it seem like she knows she’s the one person who could get him to stop, or you have the first Rabbids game where she comments on how “Junior is sometimes even worse than his father”, plus the way she looks like a mother about to reprimand her child in the cutscene where Jr learns Bowser is coming home (which I find hilarious; lady that’s not your kid, I thought we’d been through this already in Sunshine!). Oh and CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE WAY SHE’S LOOKING AT HIM IN (spoilers in link) THAT CUTSCENE FROM THE NEW RABBIDS 2 DLC!!!

I don’t know how to fully explain but, looking at these kinds of interactions, you can tell that the two of them know each other, and to an extent Peach knows that Bowser won’t hurt her, hence why she’s not afraid to oppose him. It’s pretty funny actually how in the games Peach tends to be exasperated by Bowser more than anything else. Like he’s not a menace, just a weekly annoyance. And again, when you compare it to the movie where there’s only hostility and awkwardness between them, you do get the impression that they’re two complete strangers meeting for the first time. The fact Movie Peach had no idea about his feelings for her doesn’t help either. Then again, about the hostility, Peach in the games is much sweeter so maybe she shows a nicer side to Bowser because that’s just who she is.

#Powser #Bowser X Peach #Princess Peach #Bowser #Super Mario #Flor talks #long post #looking at the ending of that post you can tell this was written shortly after the Rabbids DLC 2 came out #But yeah; as said in the intro I'm really not sure if the comparison to other villains #and what it entails in how Bowser is seen by the general public is actually a good take; I don't think it is #but also I like how this post is overall written #all in all; that post is just an excuse to gush about Powser; so please don't take the 'analysis' part of it too seriously #btw yes I saw the Wonder animation and love it; pretty funny how powser will never be canon yet Nintendo keeps giving us content #(not that I'm complaining; quite the opposite)#also it feeds my hc that Bowser would LOVE a chubby Peach bc big=healthy in Koopa's eyes since turtles have thick limbs #also also it's pretty funny how I'm worried that Peach being less kidnapped=Bowser's crush slowly disappearing #but then Nintendo keeps proving me wrong by showing that; kidnapped or not; his crush isn't going anywhere; and I'm very happy about it #in other news I'm going to star putting the number of words in my longer posts so people know what they're getting into #also might put the read more earlier to make sure the whole post isn't opened when trying to see the rest of the intro

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ilovebeingaturtle · 1 year

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What's your favorite thing, if you have to pick just one thing, about each version of tmnt you've seen?

Oo fun-

Okay I think we’ll be here all day if I cover every version I’ve seen so I’ll just list the ones that pop into my head!

87: I feel like I can keep this one quick given the nature of my blog AHA, but I adore the characters in 87. The entire main cast is just so charming and funny and this is majorly carried thanks to how incredible the voice acting is and how good the chemistry is. It just feels so fun and homey every episode and it’s due to the characters living in it. They’re all wonderful!

90s movies (least the first two): I really adore Donnie in these movies so I think I can easily just rank him as my favourite part AHA, it’s so endearing seeing a version of Donatello that’s free to be silly. I love the emotional beat he provides in secret of the ooze too, the idea that he was hoping they were special/meant for something is such an interesting character moment for a usually logically portrayed character

03: Gosh okay-I think my favourite part of this one is just their dynamics with each other, they’re so good. You can really believe that they’re brothers, their banter and care for one and other is so consistently strong throughout. There’s a lot to love about 03 but yeah, I think the bond between the turtles is the main selling point for me (bonus points for Mikey’s incredible screams though they are a close second for favourite part of the show)

I guess yeah I’m going on release order, so-

07: I could ramble about this movie for a while, but I think my favourite thing is just the concept of it. I love the idea of exploring what they presented, Leo being gone, the turtles trying to move on with their lives, idk a ton of what was going on was really interesting to me. I honestly think the versions turtles are really strong in this, I have a few issues with the movie as a whole but what we’re given is super neat to build from

2012? I guess is next Gosh I don’t even know what my favourite thing about 2012 is. Am I doing really bad at picking just “one” thing I think I am-okay! I think with 2012, some of the the dialogue is great, there’s so many good little moments. The writing for this show is like, a double edged sword LMAO, but when it’s really good it’s really good! I think the 2012 boys in particular have personalities that lend themselves really well to comedy, they’re more exaggerated I think than other versions so jokes feels more natural. They’re also just very versatile little guys. The awesome voice acting and times when they get silly also help! (Again though, double edged sword because sometimes the attempts at humour are my least favourite parts of an episodeJSJ, in fact yeah actually this point might be better as saying I love how? User friendly this version of the turtles are? No that doesn’t make sense okay whatever I like them for the funny they’re good funny guys-)

Again like yeah god if I talked about every version I’ve seen this would be a super long post because I have seen. So much. So I’ll finish with Rise since most people probably want that! My favourite thing about that is definitely how creative they got with it, I love when it’s freely doing it’s own thing. It’s strongest elements are its original ideas/characters and the whole new spins it puts on established lore from last versions

Okay yeah swats myself away from answering about other versions too I need to eat LUNCH I will simply forget to eat if I continue AHA

#did I do good did I answer well my brain is like incoherent from pain/stress PFFHAH

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mean-scarlet-deceiver · 2 years

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What do the colours symbolise to the engines?

@togetherness23 posed this question some while ago. I hope my late response to the conversation can be excused as it took me a while to mull.

I think the tl;dr is that, interestingly, the colour symbolism on the NWR has some overlap, but also some divergence, with the usual associations we make with these colours.

But, as for what those associations are... well, for that you'll have to read.

BLUE: For all these colours, I think we have to take a good look at where they first cropped up on the railway. Because for later arrivals their choice of colour doesn't happen in a vacuum—the connotations have already been shaped.

So, from what we can tell, blue was the railway's original, standard color. Getting painted in it was a mark of favour (you weren't just some loaned engine—you were a North Western engine). It was also likely designed by FC1.

I'm sure for all three of the original blue bois it still holds that significance: acceptance, pride, memories. That said, each of them has their own twist on it.

I do think some of Gordon's snobbery is bound up in the colour. He's probably gotten over it now, but Gordon probably started the idea of "blue is the only color for a really useful engine," given that at first all the exceptions to the standard livery were all engines that he considered in some way to be... well... substandard. (Yes, two of the three of them were also his best friends?? Look, Gordon is weird and complex, all right. I don't know what you want me to say. I think he could consider them friends while also, compartmentalizing, be like "... there but for the grace of Gresley go I. Coming off the rails! Silly little saddletanks of questionable origins! Couldn't be me.") Thomas of course picked up on that idea. Probably he tried to resist it (sharing in a Gordon snobbery) up until the Alliance, but after that all bets were off. Now I'm thinking of it, Thomas getting the notion that blue signified his closest relationships (at that time) and therefore Gordon perhaps being right about the colour could have well be cemented when the three of them were assigned to be the royal visit dream team.

All this said, blue is also, in the books and magazines, the commonest colour for North Western engines. (TVS doesn't portray this at all; that'll be a different story.) Common. I think it speaks well of Gordon, who is so often flanderized as nothing but me! me! meeee! and who does in fact often consider himself a cut above the rest, that he also happily spent a century sporting the standard railway livery, shared by "proper" engines and little shunter tanks alike. There is a solidarity to the colour.

To a greater extent than Gordon (though it's not exactly non-existent with him), I think blue also represents for Thomas and Edward the history and origins of the railway they both helped to build "from the ground up." For all five of the blue engines, actually, blue seems to be associated with tradition and dare I say a sense of loyalty and collective identity. Donald and Douglas have been very explicit that blue represents their own origins on the Caledonian. It also however represents their own acceptance on the North Western, which is something that is very important to them.

This is speculation, but I would add that I think for Edward there is, in addition to the previous paragraphs, an association of blue with water and the sea, which (especially assuming his Furness shed was Barrow, which makes sense if he wound up sort of being shifted over to Sodor bit by bit) has been an important element of his entire life, both pre- and post-Sodor. So there is a parallel here to Donald and Douglas, where blue was not their original livery, but it has associations that resonate with their past even as it shows they are very much living in the present.

However, in TVS we strip Donald and Douglas off team blue and we also lack the assorted background characters who wear the livery. In that case it loses a bit of its association with humility but gains a certain distinction. There are then only three engines who wear it. And, to be sure, they all denote a certain leadership as well as just longevity. I've said it before but it's still true: if I live on North Western rails and I want something big to be done or changed, I probably am best advised to apply to Gordon, Edward, or Thomas. In roughly that order, though of course it depends on exactly what the matter is. And, if I can somehow manage to get the support of all three of them, then the matter's pretty much settled.

Keywords: traditions, collective identity, origins of the railway, loyalty; a slight emphasis on oneself as a company engine; (TVS only) leadership

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GREEN: For Henry and Percy, green represents individuality. It is definitely a soft opposite to the way that blue on this railway represents the collective.

Henry arrived in green, so it represented his origins and all his troubled early history. We saw that he rejected it for a while in his youth in favour of blue—explicitly in order to "be like Edward," and I don't doubt, it was (or became) an attempt to also get in on Gordon's and even Thomas's deal too, as favourites of the Fat Controller. It's interesting how in the books he realized—even before his whole physical rehabilitation thing—that there is no point in trying to be like someone else, no matter how much a sense of friendship or admiration (or envy?) you feel. It's incredibly cool how, even before he'd proven himself, he started being true to himself.

He had to be at least a little annoyed when Percy—cheeky little industrial—arrived in green, and stayed green. Before Percy, Henry appears to have been the only green engine so, like James, it was a special colour, you know. For a special engine. But with both Henry and Percy in green, there's no doubt that other engines pointed out quite explicitly that on the North Western green seemed to represent dubious, non-standard engines of no respectable origin!

It's also worth noting that Henry had to be repainted after his rebuild and so he had another chance to choose, and despite everything (because of everything?) he chose green again. For Henry green represents owning his whole history and being comfortable in his own... erm... paint I guess.

No doubt that Henry also has very positive associations of green with forests and nature. Not only is the colour the same, but in both cases he chose what was not at all an obvious thing for an engine in his position to like and made it his own.

I think for Percy it's all a little less complex, but similar. It represents his origins: "I've always been green!" Like Henry, he's comfortable with who he is. Also, to be frank, he thinks he looks good in it ("Excuse you????? Everyone says I'm handsome!") Let's not lie, he's right; he'd probably look very silly in any other colour. When Henry returned in his new shape and was oohed and aahed over, I reckon it would have cemented the association of green with handsome in Percy's mind.

FWIW it works for Rex too. Perfectly confident guy, nothing to prove.

What about Duck and Oliver? Well, what about them? They don't wear a colour; they wear another railway's livery. Like, I don't think green has quite the same associations for them as it does with Henry and Percy (also, I'm sure it's a different shade of green, so there's that). Interestingly, while for most of the engines I think we can assume the colour they wear is also their personal favourite, I don't think we can assume that for Duck and Oliver at all. My guess is the Duck's favorite is blue (color of the horizon and the sea) and Oliver's is red (or something else kind of badass or Aries or pulp-heroic-esque), but this is pure speculation.

Then there's Daisy and BoCo and Bear. And... it's tough to know whether their green is in the Henry&Percy category or the Duck&Oliver category. I do subscribe to the headcanon that Bear associates his green with Henry's green just because of the literary closure. And for what it's worth, I very much hope the diesels are in the lighter green of Bear's last illustration in EE and Daisy and BoCo's TVs models instead of BR green because they absolutely slay in the former. If so, it would suit, as I think all of them do in fact follow that established symbolism in the Henry&Percy green of individualism and being comfortable with yourself.

Keywords: self-respect, self-esteem, self-confidence; individuality; wholeness; a slight emphasis on a sense of oneself as one's own engine

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RED: I mean, James has been pretty explicit about what red represents to him. Splendid. Admirable. Unique. Un-overlook-able. Beloved. Unique. Special.

I said green represented individuality, which may have occasioned surprise. But I don't think red represents individuality as much as it does aspiration and ambition.

This also holds true for other red characters in TVS, which is nice. Arthur seems worlds apart from James in personality and values, but like James he is ambitious. He wants to shine! A sort of perfectionism in them both, perhaps? James can't abide physical dirt, and Arthur can't abide a spot on his record.

When Rosie goes red, too, it can be seen as a sort of aspiration. She hasn't been taken seriously enough to suit her in the past, so (whether rightly or, as Moonie might argue, wrongly!) tries on red, which on this railway has become the colour of distinction. It's waving a flag: Take notice of me! I'm prepared to show my worth—bring it on!

It maybe works for Mike too?

Green is "i'm comfortable with myself, i don't have anything to prove." Red is "i have plenty to prove, there's something in particular i want to be known and recognised for."

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BROWN: I'm not sure what to make of this one because I feel like Toby might actually be a case similar to Duck and Oliver? Inasmuch as he wears brown because his livery is a callback (if, unlike the Great Western bois, not an exact reproduction) to his old LNER livery?

If Toby has any colour symbolism to go in for, it's probably in the one aspect of his (RWS) paintwork that is new—his sideplates and cowcatchers in the book are painted in blue, in fact what is probably the NWR's signature blue. This would in fact give him the similar associations of the blue boys, and, honestly? It would fit.

But, with both the brown and the blue alike, I think it's worth noting that in RWS we see the Fat Controller decide on Toby's new colours:

It's a useful reminder that sometimes (most times) the engines appear to have chosen their colours, but that other times (and, perhaps, this was true for all of them early on, even if they could change in these times of more liberal management) their colours are chosen for them. And in those latter cases, their colour probably then takes on a significance for the engines because it is also a reminder of the director/controller* who cared enough about them to give it to them.

*or driver? heh. though i'm sure awdry, if asked, would have retconned the end of 'edward and gordon' such that a more likely person made the call about the paint job. though this also goes to the point—relevant also to the paragraph above—that awdry wavered wildly back and forth on how much agency he wanted to give the engines versus how much he wanted to be realistic, and that this probably accounts for the various ways in which they appear to acquire their colours in the books

Okay. But if brown does mean something to Toby because it's brown, and not just his old livery? It would represent his origins, of course, and probably the earth; he's always dealt in produce and farms and now quarries, so the earth is an important theme connecting his pre- and post-Sodor life.

Also... (sorry, Moonie)... I deeply dislike Murdoch's paintwork in TVS. So, let me unveil my personal headcanon, which is that he is in fact painted chocolate (because that would be scrumptious) and then, in this timeline, you'd start to have a vibe on this railway that brown is the colour of engines who are the earthy, strong, silent reliable, reserved type.

(Again, I know you like his paintwork a lot and I do not mean to bash that at all! That said, riddle me this: Would it even be possible to draw a line connecting the values of Murdoch, Nia, and Billy? I ask you.

Also—frankly, I feel we could definitely use more chocolate or umber-coloured engines on this railway! If not Murdoch, then someone—please! *mutters something about how useful and splendid engines can be brown, too*)

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Well, we've already started bleeding into TVS a bit. Let's continue venturing beyond RWS into the rather shakier grounds of TVS canon colour symbolism:

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BLACK: It's often observed that, while Donald and Douglas look better in black, it unfortunately misses the significance of blue representing both their past and present family bonds.

But maybe their TVS black is not devoid of symbolism? In RWS black does consistently seem to mean a sort of deadening corporate-ism; it's the colour of engines who are used but not particularly valued or appreciated. But that is a shame, considering that in real life black often completely slaps on an engine (especially if they are clean and matched with some colourful stock for contrast!)

So it would be nice if in TVS black didn't carry those associations. And indeed, I think you could argue in that continuity that it shifts Donald and Douglas's characters slightly to have presumably chosen that colour but it does them no real disservice. I'd say it represents a certain toughness or scrappiness. They proved their worth on Sodor by doing a job no one else wanted (snow-ploughing) and going at it with a will. The black continues to represent that—although part of the NWR family—they are proud of their role of utility engines, somewhat in contrast to some of the silly showboats that surround them. It also might have a bit of a pirate vibe? It represents them embracing their appearance essentially as it was on arrival, when they spent some time as the bad boys of the Fat Controller's railway. Add to that Donald's slyness and Douglas's outright helping a fugitive escape the braying diesels, and yeah. C'mon. Black represents their indomitable, I-don't-give-a-shit badassery!

Some might observe that Donald and Douglas continue to wear BR Lined Black, not specifically the plainer CR goods livery, and does that make sense considering their history with BR? To which I'd argue it does. Continuing to wear it (and look great in it, tbh) is an act of defiance—which of course is another thing that this colour could be said to symbolise.

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EMERALD GREEN: Emily's colour, I feel, is pretty clear! She is the railway's own Stirling Single, and she has indeed made the dark emerald she wears the sterling colour of high value and of singularity.

It's utterly gorgeous, and it sets her apart while still being practical and in good taste (arguably, a lot of latter TVS liveries—some of which I like!—are rather bizarre designs for railway engines).

But with Emily's singularity does also come a sense of being just... single, too (small or large S). She seems to struggle throughout the show's run with feeling accepted or connecting to others on the level that she wants to. 💚🥺 This is all kinda similar to the red? But there's a distinction here, too, that I'm not sure I'm articulating. James does have a place. He does have friends who are like family. (We don't see as much of Arthur but I see no reason to believe he wouldn't.) James doesn't always get the recognition he wants but he has roots, a role, a clear identity. Emily spends season after season either explicitly or implicitly searching for Her Place.

Anyway, her dark emerald is definitely a very royal colour, which comes with all the burdens as well as the prerogatives thereof.

It doesn't work for Peter Sam; if we must lump the narrow- and standard-gauge together then I'd put Peter Sam in the Henry&Percy green category for colour significance.

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YELLOW: Yes, while Molly's and Rebecca's liveries are rather different in design, I feel comfortable drawing some conclusions about their yellow. What's tougher is the relative paucity of material to work with re: Molly but let's give it a go.

Probably the typical associations of yellow are in play on the NWR, given Rebecca's sunny and optimistic personality. Molly is much shyer and more anxious but it's not at all a stretch to think that either she (or someone else, like TFC) chose yellow for her in that same spirit of hope. Given that they both seem to arrive on Sodor well past mainland dieselisation it's possible that they were both purchased from scrap and also (given Molly's greater age, and given how many seasons apparently pass before Rebecca's arrival) that they would have had to wait a very long time to be restored. So in their yellow colour there would be an element of a fresh start, a new life, and hope fulfilled.

I'd also hazard that (especially in TFC's mind, if he proposed this colour for them) that yellow represents renewal in another way. While to some degree probably all the TVS engines are acquired for their interest to steam enthusiasts, a Claude and a Light Pacific would probably be particular jewels in the NWR collection. I reckon the yellow literally highlights that status. It also gives a sense that, while they very much "fit in" on the Sodor fleet, that they are in some way a fresh, updated version of, say, long-standing stalwarts like Edward and Gordon. (I didn't say updated as in better but, c'mon. Think like you're the NWR promotional team, all right? And don't come after me.)

-------------------------------------------------

PURPLE: Since in the books the non-NWR railways don't, like, really do anything but boring bog-standard liveries I've mostly been ignoring them and I will also be ignoring the Culdee Fell engines.

I think this leaves Charlie and Ryan. They seem very different sorts, but in both cases there is something rather... subordinate about them? They're both quite eager to be liked, and I'd say that this is what the colour symbolises on the NWR. Not the high-flown associations purple has for most of us, but a signifier that the engine in question just wants to be able to vibe and live in harmony. Charlie's idea of having a good time involves a lot of laughs and bonding, and Ryan's idea of having a good time revolves around being a Very Good Boi, but in both cases I really feel that their end goal is as simple as that. The simple life. Happiness.

We don't know a single thing about Ivo Hugh's whole deal but honestly my gut tells me that this works as an element for him too (for the many people who headcanon him as purple in a television-flavoured SR).

#ttte #this is ttte #ttte liveries #ttte analysis #ttte multiple characters #ttte cast dynamics

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fordearlife · 1 year

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Let's talk about Felice in terms of queerness and racism~

I posted this screenshot of Felice with a rainbow key chain earlier, which showed up toward the end of S2, and today saw a tweet speculating about her potentially being a lesbian, and I got thinking–

Wille's speech is going to change social dynamics in Sweden but also at school in a big way because he, as the most high-profile among them, just came out to the world, which will likely inspire others to come out or start to question their sexuality if they weren't already. He added an element of safety for them to do so. Nils seems the most obvious – he said he didn't want to be the first out CEO, but with the crown prince coming out first, it's more likely that he'll just say f*** it and stop hiding that part of his life so intentionally.

The writers haven't shown us Felice questioning her sexuality, but they HAVE shown us a few things: the key chain (imo the scrambled colors of the rainbow could symbolize her confusion or hint at her piecing it together in the future), and now one of her best friends is out (to some extent) to the world and she has at least one other best friend who might feel more comfortable coming out in S3, even if Stella doesn't profess her love for Fredrika for the same reasons she told Sara. Especially because Felice doesn't feel close to her parents, these people would be her support system if she were to start questioning.

But I don't believe she would have her queerness challenged in a *season conflict* way by those around her – I think the conflict she faces will be racism. Madison, one of her other best friends, has shown culturally appropriative tendencies (possible use of sage for the ritual in S1?). I kept that feeling to myself when we only had S1 because I thought the writers were perhaps just misguided in presenting her as the "spiritual, witchy" friend, but S2 has me thinking it was intentional (which I'm stoked about). This always struck me as more of a US issue, but some of her hairstyles in S2 (the one below is from E1) are not ones usually worn by white people, and Madison is from the US or has spent a lot of time there, so we might expect her to know better. I would.

The reason I think this will (/should) be a theme of S3 is because the writers made a point in S2 to show Felice 1) expressing discomfort about the wig she was supposed to wear for the Valentine ball and being dismissed by her friends (including Madison) and then 2) being singled out for having her hair down at a meal while Stella and another girl were not. Everything is on purpose in Young Royals! Paralleled with Vincent looking down on Simon in S2 during the rowing team scenes, it seems like they're planning to bring racism, microagressions, etc. more into focus moving forward.

So, this leaves Felice with a possible significant self-discovery arc in which she questions her sexuality and/or chooses/is forced to address the racism she faces as the only (?) Black woman at the school. The show clearly takes on the responsibility of showing the nuance in many issues that other media tends to portray rather simply, such as mental illness, neurodivergence, queerness, and expectations, and as a setup, this would match that energy given that Madison is otherwise an excellent friend and would likely fully support Felice in coming out but be resistant to anyone questioning her character.

#young royals #felice #wille #simon #lgbtq #racism #analysis #madison

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amaurotine · 9 months

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i feel like there is Hythodaeus (the serene, demure man who likes to affectionately bully his friends and do perform acts of mild mischief), the more polished version of himself that he presents to the public and then there is hythlodaeus, the silly little guy who sometimes wants to avoid responsibilities, frolick, screech, and play with wild abandon (and yes he will bite you if you're his partner) whom he cannot show in public, though little glimpses of him slip out every now and again, especially when he's anxious (he raises his voice in his jp voiceover dialogue in the ktisis hyperboeria trust duty where sounds kinda screechy panicky about the prospect of others relying on him heavily, and i really feel that's some of his real self beneath his autism-masking efforts shining thru. (note: i dont think he raises his voice intentionally or often, i think when he does it's generally a product of autistic volume control and high-stress situations. it's never to the point of Actual Yelling, it's just him becoming a bit on the screechier end/a bit louder than usual.) he'll get embarassed whenever he catches himself doing this, and afterward its like watching a demure victorian lady regain her composure after having had something terrible/scandalous happen. and his regular speaking voice is kind of soft and breathy, but there's also an element of excitability to it imo? like he's still kinda chill but sitting on the edge of his seat ready to watch his friends do smth kool or w/e...

i think he masks VERY HEAVILY partly bc his "real" personality just isn't in line with who he portrays himself to be (a hardworking person devoted to the star) and, being extremely perceptive himself, he's weirdly concious of how others percieve him in turn. he's extremely silly and energetic. a little squeakytoy of a guy, and this is why i don't really vibe with the eng voice for my portrayal; (i mean t.ony r.egbo did a great job, but his work just doesn't rly suit my vision for hyth.)

#❀ — 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓈 .#if hyth stops masking around u it means he trusts u implictly.#and there's actually only 2 muses he's done this with so far (ares and vel's emet)

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lets-talk-spirituality · 2 years

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Let’s talk about: Divination Tools

Divination is a fancy word for convening with divine, or receiving messages from spirit. So, divination tools are exactly that, tools to help you interpret or receive messages from divine. Some of the most popular tools include tarot and oracle decks, pendulums, and magic 8 balls.

Why do people use divination tools?

Divination tools are helpful when reading for other people but can also help provide clarity when you feel that your own insight might be clouded or you aren’t hearing spirit as clearly. These tools can also help you direct and interpret energy when channeling from spirit.

Tarot and oracle decks

Tarot decks are decks that follow the tarot. The tarot consists of the major arcana, which represents major energies in our journey, and the minor arcana or more present energies. Major= big picture and minor=smaller picture. Tarot has four suites—swords (air); pentacles (earth); cups (water); wands (fire). The major arcana range from ace to ten and include four court cards (King, Queen, Page and Knight).

If you noticed this aligns with astrological elements and that the cards seem to mirror a card deck, ding ding ding. You’re correct. One reader I really like actually uses the standard 52 card deck when doing readings sometimes: cups are hearts, diamonds are pentacles, clubs are wands, and spaces are air. Some decks have their own varying names for the suites and face cards but this is sort of the template. The major arcana is sort of set apart from the minor arcana but different major arcana cards can tie to certain elements. All the cards are numbered and can also have elements of numerology, which can add to the understanding of the cards.

Oracle decks are decks made up of cards with messages and usually they are themed, such as a love oracle may have love messages. The thought is that whatever random card comes up is the message for you, since everything has a meaning. You were meant to get that card.

Pendulums

Pendulums are usually some object that hangs from a chain and can be used to ask specific questions. Based on the way the pendulum swings, is your answer.

Magic 8 ball

Basically the same as an oracle. You ask a question and the word that comes up was meant to come up and is your answer from spirit.

Ouija Boards

Ouija boards are also a type of divination tool, however, I don’t mess with them. You could theoretically argue that any of these tools you don’t know exactly what energy is answering you; and yes that’s theoretically true. I will say almost every spiritual person I’ve met in real life has said they don’t mess around with Ouija and have always known not to and also urge others not to. A lot of spiritual people I’ve met also inherently find themselves not wanting to watch horror movies around spiritual themes like ouija, demonic possession, etc. Why? Energy absorption.

The thing about Ouija is a lot of times it plays around with the energy of death and darkness/lower frequencies. Those energies are not necessarily “bad” but they are powerful and can open you up to leeching energy if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s definitely not something to mess with unless you’re pretty advanced and if you are, you wouldn’t need Ouija. I guess in another post I’ll have to talk about different energies, specifically death energy.

Look, when a certain message gets put out there a lot there is a reason. There is a reason a lot of movies and tv portrays Ouija as not safe and dangerous. Certain knowledge about spirituality is put into the collective by works of art. A lot of creativity is just channeling and spirit uses that to share important knowledge. The question is if you are listening. There’s one horror movie I watched on Netflix— Bye Bye Man—that’s a good example of this that I’ll recommend because it sort of shows you how leeching energy works and grows. Watch this in the daytime and be sure to go outside and clean your energy afterwards.

But like what’s palm reading then?

Tools like palm reading and astrology some would consider divination tools but I don’t think that personally. Astrology and palm readings look at energy dynamics that are mapped out from your time of birth and in your flesh, that’s different to me. That’s more like looking at the raw energy an individual is able to have access to in this life and is different from bringing a message from spirit forward. It feels very different energetically to do an astrology reading versus a tarot reading.

I’ve also seen people say automatic writing is a divination tool, but I don’t see it that way because I feel like automatic writing is the same as speaking and channeling. Those aren’t really tools as much as communication methods. You aren’t using automatic writing to get the message as much as to communicate it. I’ve found with automatic writing I’m not interpreting or really asking as much for answers, it’s more information flowing. And I usually can’t remember what I wrote.

Other ways to divinate

- putting Spotify on shuffle

- opening a book to a random page

- using liquids, like water, to show a message

How do you know it’s divination and not coincidence?

Generally I know spirit is connecting with me because there is a very distinct feeling that comes up when it’s not just a random occurrence. It strikes me, it’s hard to explain but I feel it, like this eerie feeling. Almost like hair standing on end but not in a scary way, in a like all the dots connected at once aha moment with a side of like a little spook because you’re dealing with unseen energy.

Other ways I know spirit is communicating with me, scalp tingling (tingling is different from itchiness it’s almost like goosebumps on the scalp or like hair strands are being tugged or moved slightly) ears ringing randomly, feeling the strong urge to automatic write, usually meaning that spirit wants to channel through me. Something I personally experience that I’m not sure is common is what I call my wings tingling. Sometimes the inner sides of my shoulder blades tingle where wings would be. This tingling is not easy to describe. It’s like goosebumps and shivers on my nerve endings. It’s not like pins and needles at all and there’s sort of a pulsing or vibrating to it as well as pressure. If I concentrate on the feeling I can feel it but it comes up naturally a lot when I’m doing spiritual work, especially channeling. Like I’m feeling the echo of it as I describe it right now.

Tips:

- use what divination tool calls to you. None is better than the other, just different

-follow your instinct. You don’t have to follow specific deck layouts or anything if you don’t feel called to. Personally I just pull a bunch of cards and then investigate their meanings and connect them physically how their energy connects. Everyone has their own way of reading and interpreting energy.

- don’t over-use divination tools. They are good for the occasional clarity, but you want to strengthen the natural connection between you and spirit most through direct contact as that helps you integrate your 5D essence more.

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firstcurse-moved · 1 year

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Good morning, I'm never not out of my mind so I wanted to post some thoughts. When my internet is back, I plan to rewatch season four for the AU and I'm thinking of making a server for folks to come in and chat and plot but anyway, not the point of the post, the point of this post was me thinking about the Mindflayer and Henry as usual and a whole bunch of random crap I wanna share with you all, in particular I want to talk about the UD and what I personally think it is and have been portraying it as because the Duffer brothers made this character specifically for me so now you all have to deal with it. So if you paid attention, which most this fandom didn't so I have to do everything myself, there is a heavy suggestion that the entity we know as the Mindflayer or "The Shadow" was present in Henry's childhood, having some type of specific link to the Creel House which I've mentioned a million times before. I'm insanely confident on my take on this because it lines up near perfectly with all the media the Duffer's took inspiration from. Particularly from Derry/IT/The deadlights which is also obvious inspo in the show. The Creel house is a direct homage to the Neibolt house, and idk how people miss that, BUT MOREOVER, I've also mentioned before that another point of inspo for Vecna's creation and obviously for the Mindflayer is Swamp Thing which the Duffer's did confirm. In particular the concept of "The Green" and "The Rot/Black" simultaneously apply, imo.

( Quick recap if you don't know what none of that shit is and you don't wanna read my other long ass info dumps, the Swamp Thing universe deals with the concept of omnipresent cosmic god-like forces who have some type of dominion over an element, these forces are sentient, highly intelligent and they're described as a "hive mind". Moreover, they tend to choose a "human" avatar to represent them and carry out their will which essentially makes said human a demigod. This is what Swamp Thing is, he's an avatar of "The Green", which is essentially life, particularly taking the form of nature and plants. But as I said the "The Green" has an opposite force called "The Black" or "The Rot", and this is basically the force of death, represented by things that rot, such as plants and even humans / animals, which again kind of links it very closely to The Green as kind of... The dark reflection of it. )

There is repeated imagery in the Creel's house of flowers / plants, most obviously the symbolic front door is the stained glass rose, but we also see floral and rose patterns on other things like cushions and such, and we've already had the Mindflayer and its bizarre physical manifestations ( The vines, the spores, the weird bulbs, etc ) related to plants and "flowers" on more than one occasion. What do I think this means ? Well, I can't say for certain but basically I'll just cut right to it: I think the entire upside down is some kind of living thing and thats what I've been going with.

AND I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY. But the other thing that is very noticeable about The Upside Down to me is that it has disturbing digestive properties ( Again talked about this in another big info dump before ) and another major source of inspiration for the thing that the Duffer brothers have made sure to reference in just about every fucking season in some way with multiple homages and even having characters talk about it directly is The Thing. ( Not to mention all the obvious HP. Lovecraft inspiration )

If you're not a massive horror fan or big nerd like me you might not know exactly how that's relevant or might just think yeah haha alien monster BUT NO the significance here is "the thing" is a fragment of a cosmic entity who A) Started out life looking like a spider, and spiders / spider webs are another massively symbol ic thing here, B) is suggested to be part of a larger organism and C) assimilates other organisms into itself creating a type of "hivemind", its body is literally a digestive system that disturbingly doubles as a womb which is how its able to 'replicate' its victims.

So we have that.

Now put that with how the UD "rots" whatever it comes in contact with. Almost like its digesting it. Further put that with how much imagery in the Upside Down calls reference to a living organism. ( The capillary-like growths, which can also appears web-like, the weird saliva like slime, the production of spores, etc ) and how often the UD and the mindflayer have been related to things like infection and bacteria more than once. And how a lot of this relates to things like mould. In fact, just about everything in the UD can resemble some type of mould. It also appears to have sporocarp properties would actually explain the ""eggs"" from season one, which could literally be "fruit" from the fruiting body.

Typically, mould is a living thing, its fungi and for a long time fungi was classified as a type of plant due to its behaviors and characteristics. I don't know where the Duffers are going to go with this exactly BUT PERSONALLY this makes the most sense to me and is where I'm going with it, leaning very heavily into the eldritch horror aesthetic. The Shadow, or the mindflayer, is its nucleus, in a bizarre, metaphysical type of way. Now for the demo-creatures ? They could go two ways here. One being they're the natural defense system of the UD, kind of like a freaky immune system, or the other being they were invading 'pests' that were 'tamed' to be used as a defense system. The reason for the second interpretation is that they seem to be hostile toward Vecna in the VR game but this isn't shown in canon so far and we don't know if the VR game is gonna be considered actual canon. That being said, they could have simply perceived Vecna as a threat in the beginning as a "foreign entity" until they realized he was... "Meant" to be there, so to speak. And this does kind of play a part in my canon because it not only explains how the UD came to mirror Hawkins but it also explains why Vecna himself wasn't present for the first 2-3 seasons. We've already had it explained to us that psychics like Eleven and Henry are like batteries and they can exhaust themselves. The VR game seems to show Vecna "shaping" the UD as Hawkins. If Vecna reshaped an entire dimension, which yeah, I'm sorry but no one else could do that and fandom's Will theory is stupid because do I love Will ? Yes ! But do I believe he has powers anywhere near that caliber ? No ! Further, its pretty obvious Will's powers are his perception of the hivemind, moreover, the UD looked like Hawkins when Will got there after Henry yet it didn't look like Hawkins when Henry got there before Will. Like come on, its obvious who influenced the appearance of the UD. But yeah, anyway, after that Vecna probably needed a rest.

Which would also explain why Vecna literally tells Eleven that basically the reason he's around and could open his own gates is because of her power being absorbed by the mindflayer proxy in season 3, which was apparently transferred to Vecna, restrengthening him or awakening him or whatever you want to say. And this also calls back to Will explaining that mindflayer only "activates" its "victims" when it "needs" them.

PUTTING ALL THAT SLIGHTLY ASIDE THOUGH, I also have something I think about a lot and this is going back to the heavy suggestion the mindflayer entity was always present somehow in the Creel house and somehow connected with Henry. My thoughts are... Was Henry ever actually "flayed" ? In the same way characters like Will and Billy were or is Henry's link merely a subconscious / psychic one ? I've been going with the latter personally, at least until Henry becomes Vecna but its VERY INTERESTING because of the fact that "the source" Eleven encounters in season 3 is identical to Vecna's mindscape.

So lemme explain real quick: In season 3 Eleven goes inside of Billy's mind and finds the fragment of the mindflayer that is "controlling" him. Its represented as a raging storm that encompasses all of Billy's worst / most traumatic memories, seemingly feeding off them. Eleven wanders inside of the storm and comes to its eye, which again, this is an identical place to Vecna's mindscape. Eleven refers to this as "the source", the significance of this "place's" visual appearance seemingly being the place where the victim was first "contacted", so to speak, by the mindflayer. With Billy this is the Brimborn steelworks. With Vecna, again, his mindscape is identical but obviously rather than being the Brimborn steelworks its the inside of the Creel house. The only difference being the Vecna's mindscape is covered with the mindflayer's vines and is also floating around in pieces. For me this is kind of a manifestation of Vecna's unlife, the fact he's been "living with" the mindflayer for longer than anyone else; eg its kind of a representation of the corrosion of time / longer 'corruption' + obviously his 'fractured' mental state. SO THIS LEAVES ME TO WONDER.... Was Henry ever actually flayed ? Like as a child, like Will was, or again is the Creel house just showing up as Vecna's mindscape because its kind of symbolic to when Henry was first "discovered" by the mindflyer. I guess when I think about this Henry's "flaying" was probably different to Will and Billy's just based on the fact he did seemingly already possess some type of psychic ability, which meant the MF had a different avenue into Henry's mind / soul without actually physically possessing or assaulting him to forcefully insert that part of its presence within him as the case was with Will and Billy was. In my canon, child Henry has dreams / nightmares about it frequently, but nothing ever happens in the physical world. But this could change bc Idk if canon is planning in season 5, I just know the Duffers have said we're gonna be seeing a lot more of Henry / Vecna and the lore surrounding him.

Anyways, yeah, thats all the thoughts for today, more surely to come eventually.

#⊰ ° ‧: 🕸️ * ● 𝐈 ° ━◞ Out Of Character ⊱#⊰ ° ‧: 🕸️ * ● 𝐈 ° ━◞ Headcanons ⊱#headcanons #if this format is fucked i apologize i did my best LOL

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dearestones · 2 years

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Forgive me for being so curious about you, I thought I'd send an ask for the writer's game. Of course, you don't have to worry about answering them all if you're not up to it—

4) What is your favorite genre to write for?

14) What is something that you feel weird/uncomfortable writing about?

16) Where do you find inspiration to write?

19) Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

Also, to answer your previous post, I had assumed you may have had feminine pronouns, as most writers tend to be fem, but that's just something silly my mind defaults to. Your writing, to me...is actually somewhat masculine..? If that makes any sense. I hope that's alright of me to say..?

Hey, Devin here!!!

All of these questions make me so happy! :D

4. What is your favorite genre to write for?

My gosh, I really love writing angst, drama, comedy, and romance. If you check my ffnet account, a lot of my old stuff was whimsical, comedic stuff that... probably aged badly, hahah. Some day, I want to try my hand at horror and adventure.

I also like writing character introspection and analyses. However, my long time love is writing interactions between characters that have had little to no canon interactions.

14. What is something that you feel weird/uncomfortable writing about?

I think it depends on context? If we’re talking about this blog where I specifically rely on requests, well... I really don’t like mischaracterizing characters and sometimes I get requests where the scenario depicted goes against my personal understanding of the character.

I remember receiving a request where the male character was supposed to be jealous that his love interest was getting attention from her coworkers, but like—!!! I headcanon that the male character is more than secure in his position to his love interest. Plus, the request made it sound like the love interest didn’t have the agency to say no/was powerless to stop advances even though my headcanons are like... the love interest can and will punch someone’s lights out if they so wished. Whenever that happens, I usually twist the situation where it still follows the spirit of the request, but adding or subtracting elements from the scenario and giving some characters more agency and... character to justify their actions.

Honestly, I put a lot of respect into the characters I write for and it makes me uncomfortable if I try to portray something that demeans them.

As for personal stuff that I do on my own time... NSFW? I wanna try, hehehe, but all I have are my imagined scenarios. One day, though!!!

And... I suppose experiences or processes that I don’t have the background for. In that case, a LOT of research has to be done.

16. Where do you find inspiration to write?

I rely a lot on this blog, but I suppose opening myself to new experiences, reading stories and fanfics, and listening to music helps. Furthermore, I also use writing as a way to cope with my stress and poor mental health, so there’s that.

19. Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

Ooooohhhhhhh! My gosh, do you have a specific story in mind??? I would like to know which one you think is good, hehe. I guess one line that sticks with me, no matter how many years it’s been is a passage from The Winter Traveler which you can find on my ffnet account.

Yooooooo! This and my South Italy centric story I has always been my favorites in terms of some of my more recent works! :DDD

And for your last question:

Hehehe, I don’t mind you using the default on me. Feminine or not, you can’t deny that a lot of people who present as more feminine do write more fanfic and participate more in fandom spaces. (I think the demographics are changing, though, considering that I remember that mindset from the 2010s).

As for masculine writing??? That’s so cool! I actually smiled when you wrote that. Is there a particular reason why you say it’s masculine? I think it’s because I usually default to gender neutral readers and in doing so, I refrain from making mentions to body type, hair, certain features, etc. to make it more inclusive.

Thanks so much, anon! Feel free to ask more questions and I hope that you have a wonderful day! :D

#dearestones #devintrinidad #anon ask #anon #anonymous #anonymous ask #answered #information about Devin

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