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raayllum · 12 days

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hi. i always see your analysis and theories in my dash and they're always so well thought and interesting and conecting a lot of things i personally would never think to conect but actually make so much sense when put like that

so hm, not to be weird online, but how does one learn to like interpret and understand what's going on on a piece of midia, yk, cause only consuming doesn't do it? Anyway

your edits are really nice

FIRST OFF this is soo nice omg thank you <333 also never worry about being weird online i'm always more unhinged, this is an unhinged space

which ironically is kind of the best way to get good at literary analysis tbh! I wrote a post about it here but that was more on how to organize thoughts / write meta > finding the things to write meta about (aka the "this feels gratuitous" draft is still in my drafts as we speak — might be time to clean it and some others up and post it).

In a lot of ways there tends to be like.... two main avenues for analysis? Which is an oversimplification but is making sense to me in the moment, and I'd specify the divide is

Treating characters like people (characterization, relationships) vs treating characters like tools (motifs, symbols, plot structure, dynamics).

Ideally, a narrative merges these two things so completely it's hard to separate, and I think TDP does an extaordinarily good job at it. I'll call this marriage Theme since its the main idea(s) of the Story/Narrative and everything should at its best be working together in service of the Theme if you want something cohesive.

I'll use Callum and Rayla as an example just cause I think they exemplify a Lot of how/why this all works and works as well as it does.

If I want to write about Callum and Rayla's internal psyches, i.e. where does Callum's temper or Rayla's gruffness come from? I'm going to look at them as people. They're going to have consistent triggers, responses, contradictory emotions or emotional reactions, etc. This is like the how you wrap a present, the colour and feel of the paper. Any character in a story can technically have any kind of personality, i.e. an assassin can be sweet and snarky (like Rayla) or stoic and rigid (Runaan). That's not all they are, of course, but the characters' personalities often times affect how and why we ship what we do, or have certain favourites, etc.

For example, Callum's primary Narrative Purpose is to be a human mage. He's there to explore the range of possibilities a human who wants/chases magic in the story can have, and we pretty closely follow his magical journey of feeling powerless, struggling and achieving primal magic, and guilt and desperation that drives him to dark magic. But absolutely none of this means that Callum needed to have a temper.

To see the way a character trait can be married to a motif (repeating symbol) let's look at Rayla. Rayla can be secretive — not telling people everything and being closed off about her emotions — and often leaves to try do things on her own, occasionally flat out disappearing. These are her personality traits (characterization), most of these psychological aspects come back to not feeling like she deserves help or not wanting to hurt people, thereby hurting her relationships. She's a person.

At the same time, these traits help us as the audience understand and grasp how the series treats the Moon and its arcanum. The Moon is a symbol, and it's all about changing faces, secrets, and illusions. We don't know whether the ideas for the Moon arcanum (which seem to be loosely taken from Tarot) or Rayla's personality came first, but it's clear that at some point they merged to reflect each other.

If I want to talk about Rayla as a person, I'll talk about how her personality/choices affect her relationships. If I want to talk about how she reflects her primal or how she choices affect the plot, I'll be talking more about structure. If I want to talk about how both of those things say, in a speculative meta about Callum connecting to the Moon arcanum as he understands Rayla (and himself) better, then I'd be talking about both simultaneously (theme).

But those are all like, examples of how you can break stuff down that you see. How do you go looking for stuff / know what to break down?

1) Pick a piece of media, ideally one you already feel very comfortable and familiar with. Book, show, whatever. This familiarity means you can focus less on the processing the plot and more about other elements of the story. Then watch or read the thing but try to pay attention to like, a few pre-chosen ideas or themes. It could be the theme of power, or — I'm thinking for something like ATLA - how the characters reflect their elements (Aang is evasive and avoidant, and air is light and breezy, etc).

For a TV show in particular, it can mean breaking things down scene by scene in an episode to see what the anchoring idea of it, i.e. 1x06 in TDP is all about Soren, Claudia, and Rayla keeping secrets. Soren and Claudia keep their secrets and isolate themselves, because isolationism in the series is usually Bad; Rayla shares her secret, because working through problems and letting people help you (being collaborative) is Good, etc. These messages are pretty consistent throughout the rest of the show as well.

If applicable, I'd recommend starting out with stories where you already know the ending and/or even better, the story itself is aware you know the ending from the beginning (i.e. in Titanic, you always know the ship is going to sink). This can help you pick up on dramatic irony (everyone emphasizing the ship won't sink) as well as setup (the movie making sure we know there's not enough boats, people making the boat go faster, the moment the ship hits the iceberg literally separating Jack and Rose from each other to set up what happens later, etc).

2) If you wanna learn how to analyze, to a certain degree you have to learn to shut down your feelings and biases. This doesn't mean that feelings can't affect how you analyze, or dictate what you want to analyze (I feel very positively towards TDP and therefore I want to deeply analyze it! same with Rayllum) but it does mean leaving "I want this thing so it has to happen" at the door — or vice versa.

The best example I can give is a hypothetical one. For example, it kind of doesn't matter if I — personally — think that Callum and Rayla have known each other that long to know each other well. (I don't, for the record, but bear with me.) In the Text of the Story, they know each other incredibly well, and more to the point, thematically, their senses of self are so incredibly intertwined that them affirming each other's senses of self is like... the only place we could be going. Rayla is "Rayla saves people," so by saving a possessed Callum she's saving herself, and if she goes to kill him, she's likewise metaphorically going to be killing herself (her own sense of identity), etc.

Or for a non-ship example, my real life feelings about monarchy don't matter. I don't like monarchy, I think most western monarchies are crap... and I'd be silly if I brought those feelings into TDP's discussion of monarchy, because they're using monarchy as a vessel to discuss things like power, responsibility, and growing up, particularly for Ezran and Janai (and how often do we see non-white monarchies in media anyway?). And if I want to engage with those themes, then I have to engage with TDP's discussion of monarchy.

It's kind of like how even if something in a story grosses you out or makes you uncomfortable, you have to be really damn sure that wasn't an Intentional writing choice on Purpose or a chance for self reflection before it's launched as a complaint.

Doing this kind of awareness and predictive work also means you'll get better at predicting where stories might be going and leaving ahead of time if something is going off the rails / not going your way (in a bad way).

3) Growing a list of common themes and symbols that stories tend to have. Birds = freedom, chains = entrapment and coercion, grief, identity (particularly in coming-of-age stories), etc. If you have a loose idea of what to look for, that means you can also start to look at the specifics of how stories use these themes/symbols. For example, Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet both feature a theme of love amongst forbidden lovers, but the first is a comedy (love conquers all, even if it makes people foolish) and the second is a tragedy (love is not always enough to conquer hate/violence/our worst impulses).

For example in TDP, although it was in the background in s1-s3, light and darkness has now become a very overt motif (repeated symbol) in both dialogue and imagery. Tracking what those things represent or how the show complicates their meaning (light isn't always good, etc) can help indicate where certain characters or plot beats are going.

This can also mean trying to notice consistent metaphors (i.e. dark magic is often consumed by the caster for spells / referenced with cannibalistic language; dark magic corruption is increasingly seen as spreading sickness/illness) and then being on the lookout for the next time(s) they show up. So much of media literacy / critical thinking is just being able to explain/figure out why you think what you think (with evidence) and it's always a skill that can be nurtured and improved

End of Blabbing

Very long winded but hopefully helpful, and always feel free to ask more questions and/or DM if you'd like! I always love talking about stuff like this and it's such a treat tbh <3

#thanks for asking #anonymous #writing advice #the english major strikes again #long post #analysis series

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nucrests · 7 months

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Wcif is reliable and Ana hair from please

Hecate Hair by @simstrouble

Aubrey Hair by @serenity-cc *(I added my own hair overlay for the front strands)

#💙#wcif #anonymous #asks #the anon meant Reina and not reliable lol #autocorrect strikes again 😋

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listenupcupcakes · 3 months

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OH GOD SOLLY

THE GEN ALPHA KIDS ARE TAKING OVER

Dear God

WHY DID YOU LEG THIS HAPPEN!?

THESE KIDS DONT KNOW HOW TO DEFEND THEIR COUNTRY! THEY ARE NOT FOT FOR THE TRENCHES! JUST GUVE EM’ A DAY WITH ME AND ILL SET THEM STRAIGHT

#dad solly strikes again #imagine the iPad kids becoming soldiers #terrifying #solly answers #solly speaks #anon ask #anonymous #tf2 askblog #mod: I don’t think soldier even knows what an iPad is #or gen alpha #he just wants to shape these menaces into America loving patriots

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danthropologie · 11 months

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I just went to watch the latest RBR video and looking at the featured video (which has DR narrating) and then the thumbnails of the last 15 or so, its definitely a statement, not even taking into account the views...

that but also...why do they have an entire 'best of daniel' playlist on their home page when they don't have one of those for any other driver 😭

#i mean we know why but 😈#daniel girlie admin strikes again #red bull redux #answered #anonymous

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jovenshires · 8 months

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you 🤝 courtney in yesterday’s live: 🎶 spencer needs to address his sexual preferences 🎶 /j

#straight bi icon spencer agnew strikes again #(obligatory and true /j moment)#spencer #ask #asks #anon #anonymous #also made this meme myself bc this is my favorite image ever #ive been sending it to my brother without context

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swiftfootedachilles · 1 year

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Mickey is 100% autistic and I'm glad there are people who are willing to talking about it and share headcannons about it in a positive way because Mickey absolutely deserves that

I believe he isn't diagnosed and doesn't want to be but Ian helps him figure it out and helps him express himself and slowly unmask especially when he's just at home with Ian

Ian encourages the stims that Mickey is embarrassed about by doing them himself and encouraging Mickey to join in, like dancing with lots of spins and fast movements or slow dancing that's more about rocking and swaying then dancing

Now that he feels allowed to be picky about food he absolutely is picky at home, if the texture, smell or taste isn't good or what it's supposed to be he won't eat it

HIIIIIIII ANON 🫶🫶🫶🫶 THIS BLOG IS A SAFE SPACE FOR EVERYONES SHAMELESS HEADCANONS. MICKEY DESERVES THAT!!!!!

i agree that he isnt professionally diagnosed. he or isn may have said things to a therapist that made them go "🤨 have you or your husband heard of autism spectrum disorder 🧐" but even then they treat it less as a diagnosis and more of a roadmap to help better understand and predict his behavior. mickey is very much a "do" rather than "am" person

he trusts ian SOOO MUCH and there are things he will only do in his presence, and vice versa for ian!

IAN MAKING MICKEY FEEL COMFORTABLE STIMMING BY JOINING HIM OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH

MICKEY FINALLY HAS THE FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL STABILITY TO EAT FOOD HE ACTUALLY LIKES INSTEAD OF EATING TO SURVIVE

#reference to some psychology bullshit 'some people see labels as something they are and others see labels as something they do'#ie mickey and ian are both gay but ian has an attachment to the label and community #whereas being gay is just the word that describes what mickey does #mickey wahhh wahhh i dont like labels milkovich 🙄#asks #anon #anonymous #shameless #AUTISTIC MICKEY FAN CLUB STRIKES AGAIN!!!!!!!!!#sorry i genuinely cannot remember what this one guy said abt identity and i cant find his article or whatever he wrote about it fuck #autistic!mickey #autistic headcanons

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stonelions · 1 year

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Hey I want to ask your answer from here

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/stonelions/711278768124313600

What's Neil interpretation about Ellie you were referring about?

Thank you

i don't see anything specific about Ellie in the linked post, but sure, yeah. i think show Ellie is a wholly different character, basically, one i personally find way less interesting. the creators have repeatedly stated, offscreen and on via other characters as mouthpieces, that hbo Ellie has a violent core. this is nothing like her in-game counterpart, who suffers from terrible survivor’s guilt and is horrified by Joel’s violence (which the show also shies away from to make him more palatable), and i feel like after a point, Druckm was intentionally pushing things further from the original to take full, nuance-free ownership of it, with the intention of aligning the narrative better [??? somehow] with his beloved solo outing TLOU2, [which i wrote criticism of here. spoiler: i think it’s a miserable, self-important slog] the events of which will comprise s2+.

anyway, given what we saw in HBO TLOU, it seems likely to me the now uncredited Bruce Straley had a far larger role shaping the narrative of TLOU than Druckm cares to admit, and i simply do not vibe with Druckm+Cmaz's storytelling: constant efforts to overtly manipulate the audience, rather than focusing on their characters. (i had the same issue with TLOU2. nothing inherently wrong with it, but for me personally i find it annoying when a story keeps grabbing at me, the viewer/reader, like hey check this out. look, look at it LOOK. it's like, i'm already looking. tell me a damn story.)

#where is my mad max this is bait gif lol #anonymous #anyway that's that #all respect to the actors but #i simply did not enjoy the show at all #tlhbou #anti tlou hbo #tlou2 #misc #my negative hyperfixation strikes again

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morttodea · 13 days

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How's the doc been doing. (Skraps!)

They didn't look up from their switch, quiet chimes and whimsical tunes played from it, it sounds like a Zelda game. Skrap, did however, twitched an ear and raised up their leg to wave their peet at you. "Sup, it's been going.~ If you're here for those body augmentation pills they're on the counter. Two a day with food and water, no alcohol. ..." Skrap squints before looking up, "You wanted to be a cat thoy or a dogthoy??"

#GreenMOs{Dr.Skrap}#active roachie #anonymous #fort asshole strikes again!#and yes he's typing on the laptop with their toes~

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gotham--fc · 14 days

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caitlin clark is embarrassing herself actually

12 points 2 assists and 8 turnovers like Jesus Christ especially from a player as hyped as she is

Like 2 steals is pretty good but she’s gotta do more than that

Everyone expected 20 points from her this game and at least expected her to not turn it over 8 fucking times by the 4th quarter AND she herself has preached that when her shot isn’t falling she’s super good at facilitating and getting assists and she has 2 assists like before this game she said I won’t score that much but I know I’ll get my teammates open looks and get assists and get rebounds and it’s like damn

Don’t get me wrong she will fine she will figure out and she’ll still have a good season but I think everyone anticipated way too much they all anticipated that she would make the transition from college super easily and she’s not and that’s okay but looking at what she was like in college yeah it doesn’t translate well like she was on a team with 1 or 2 other players who were actually good and she had to carry the team, she was also up against defences that were not very good bc they were college players, she’ll figure out and make the adjustment but I also think everyone needs to adjust their expectations

#Taylor h*ise effect strikes again #asks #anonymous

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badlydrawndolorosa · 8 months

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Hi there Dolorosa or do you prefer Rosa? How are you doing chatting with all these people from the great beyond?

[Rosa? How cute. You may call me that if you wish. ]

[As for your question, I must admit I have been... Hesitant, to contact them. ]

#the dolorosa #askblog #ask #anonymous #homestuck #the dreaded samsung notes strikes again......

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raayllum · 11 months

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The fact that DPO didn’t show in their social media the “To love is simply know this” part of the poem and it’s revealed by Callum in the trailer while they show a scene with him and Rayla is such a move, they know what they are doing don’t they? I wonder how it will actually play in the show

So here's the thing - one of the traits attributed to the Ocean arcanum forever ago (hi like immediate post-s1 "which primal are you" quiz) cites that the Ocean arcanum is primarily about connection, i.e. "You value friendship, love, and family above all else in life" which isn't that dissimilar from Callum's canon Tales of Xadia bio, citing, "I value those close to me more than anyone or anything" which he's more than demonstrated before about Ezran and Rayla. This also falls in line with Viren's "I have always been ready to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile. In the name of love, you may perform acts so unforgiveable," Claudia's overall everything in regards to her family / her father, and Rayla's "Going to dark places and making hard choices is an act of love".

Furthermore (putting on my English major cap) let's look at the (presumably Tidebound) poem itself:

Do not ask how the ocean’s blue, Or why the tides their time do keep. To love is simply to know this… The tides are true as the ocean is deep.

So the first two lines mention the ocean and tides, making them the connective thread of the poem (i.e. 3/4 lines are about them), specifically to not ask questions regarding appearance and time. You could also extrapolate this further into not asking why people do what they do (how their behaviour appears/manifests) or keeping track of when people do things (love is patient, love is kind, and all that). Either way, it seems either 1) you don't always have to understand someone to love them or 2) to be more focused on the person you love than the physical world around you / to see the people you love in the physical world around you.

Then you have the, as you rightfully pointed out, online that's been omitted from the poem previously: "To love is simply to know this..."

Now love itself isn't simple - platonic, romantic, alterous, and familial forms of love are about as complicated as it can get. However, TDP has taken this stance before with love and knowing what you can understand about it:

To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit. I love you with all of myself, and I always will. (Sarai, 2x09)

Which is to say I think the entire final lines need to be analyzed together, stating:

To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep.

Which means, to me, that to love someone truly and deeply, you must accept that there will be changing and tumultuous times (the tides are in a constant ebb and flow and always will be) but that if your love is deep enough, you can weather any of said changes.

While it undeniably applies to Claudia and Viren (hence them and their Rayllum "reaching motif" "darkness and water" parallel), the fact that it's Callum reading it out loud is meaningful, I think, particularly since this sort of epiphany and it manifesting in his arc would absolutely fit his and Rayla's evolving dynamic this season: still madly in love, still incredibly supportive, and working to find their way toward reconciliation and understanding.

His love for Rayla, and her love for him, have been a defining part of their characters for a while (basically every season since season two) and I don't expect that to change any time soon. Thus, they have to come around and figure out what they are, and reaffirm who they are to each other (a partner, a friend, a best friend, and possibly a romantic partner again) in order for either of them to fully start healing.

Because at the end of the day, all it really comes down to is if they love each other - and well, the answer will always be yes.

Ezran: You still love her, don't you? Callum: I don't even know if she's alive. Ezran: She's alive. And wherever she is, she loves you, too. [...] Ezran: Callum, Rayla, stop [arguing]. Don't you remember who you are?

#a narrative of love #tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #thanks for asking #anonymous #the english major strikes again #rayllum #s5 spoilers #tdp spoilers

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ase-trollplays · 28 days

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Florah, what are three things you're grateful for?

I'm uh... grateful f✿r a l✿t ✿f things, actually.

I'm grateful f✿r all the friends I have wh✿ checked ✿n me and stayed with me after Karima was killed. If n✿t f✿r them, I w✿uldn't still be alive. They gave me the strength t✿ keep living even th✿ugh I l✿st the m✿st imp✿rtant pers✿n and relati✿nship in my life, and I was c✿mpletely shattered and miserable. I ✿we them everything.

I'm grateful f✿r Feriya f✿r giving me an✿ther reas✿n t✿ live. She helps me calm d✿wn when I'm anxi✿us, and she d✿esn't let me is✿late when I'm depressed. M✿st imp✿rtantly, she keeps me c✿mpany. Sure, I have Snelly, but it's n✿t the same, y✿u kn✿w? Heheheh, it's alm✿st like she's a m✿irail.

I'm even grateful f✿r Maer✿n, if y✿u can believe that. She was the first pers✿n t✿ find me when I was still basically catat✿nic and dead ✿n my feet, and she was actually really kind and patient. We hated each ✿ther's guts, but she still helped and t✿✿k care ✿f me until Tuuya, Cac✿ph, and Pr✿xus t✿✿k ✿ver. I d✿n't think I can hate her anym✿re, h✿nestly. I mean, h✿w d✿ I keep hating her after she basically saved my life, s✿me✿ne she d✿esn't even like, f✿r abs✿lutely n✿ benefits? She hasn't used what she did f✿r me t✿ make me indebted t✿ her ✿r s✿mething. She did what she did, then went ab✿ut her business like it was n✿ big deal.

✿h geez, I'm talking way t✿✿ much n✿w. I've been spending t✿✿ much time ar✿und Tant✿r.

>> You don't voice it since it would be more than three things, but you're thankful for Proxus as well. She brings a level of peace that you thought only your moirail could do, maybe more since she understands the rainbow drinker stuff since she's one, too.

#Florah answers #Anonymous #mass ask anon strikes again c: thank

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