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vidavalor · 5 months

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I LOVE your meta where you say that there's more of the flood and that's when you think they kissed. We got another part of 1941 so we could get more of another scene but do you really think they will? I want it to be a long time ago so much.

Yes. I mean, obviously I don't know because I'm neither involved with GO nor psychic lol but if you asked me to put money (or, worse, my book collection) on one predictive thing I've said on here, I'd put all of it on the ancient times vavoom. At minimum, I'd say it was a bonkers amount of time ago but I'm pretty sure for a few reasons that there's more of The Flood coming in S3 and that it was then. A kiss isn't even the only thing we could see from that part of the timeline, actually, which S2 suggests with the Job minisode, and is another reason to think we might revisit The Flood... we're missing the first time that Crowley called Aziraphale "angel."

We all know Crowley's been calling Aziraphale "angel" for awhile and we know that Aziraphale knows it doesn't just refer to his occupation/species but most of the instances we've heard it are in our modern era. If you're looking at how long this has all been going on for though, S2 already knocked the floor out from under us a bit by backdating the romantic "angel" to 2500 B.C. during the Job minisode. So, now, look again at what we've seen of The Flood in S1:

The Flood: "Hello, Aziraphale."

Crowley barely ever calls Aziraphale "Aziraphale" in GO. He refers to him by his name in front of angels and demons constantly. That is the one time he doesn't call Aziraphale "angel". Probably because he is absolute rubbish at not making it sound affectionate lol. In theory, "angel" is a perfect coded way to be loving towards Aziraphale when they could be overheard and, sometimes, Crowley can make it sound like he's just referring to Aziraphale in the less familiar, despised term and not his name, like it's supposed to sound like. Sometimes lol. (See: "you sound jealous, angel" in the Job courtyard. It's *almost* there lol.) It's supposed to sound mildly dismissive but that demon is mush for that angel so he struggles not to make it just sound like "sweetheart" everytime he says it because that's how he means it. When they're in riskier situations around angels and demons, Crowley doesn't even go there because he knows he can't pull it off and so he just uses Aziraphale's actual name.

The only other times he refers to Aziraphale by his first name is something like when he learns about The Book of Life in S2 and grumbles to himself while alone "Aziraphale, what have you gotten yourself into?" Other than that, there's basically the bit when he's drunk in S1 and isn't actually sure he's seeing Discorporated!Aziraphale or not and whispers "Aziraphale" and there's the above bit from Mesopotamia in The Flood scene, when he shows up and greets Aziraphale by using his name. That's it. Every other damn time, it's "angel", right?

So when he shows up and greets Aziraphale with "hello, Aziraphale" during The Flood scene, that hints that "angel" is not yet a thing in Mesopotamia, right?

So, if it comes later than that, when did it start and... well... what prompted it? Generally speaking, you might have a nickname for a friend you've known for a long time or you might use terms of endearment in a general way with people but neither of those things are the way that Crowley calls Aziraphale "angel." I call my closest friend a shortened version of her first name and I call you all on here things like "my loves" and "babe (platonic)" and you know that I don't know you personally and that we aren't in a relationship lol. It's not tonally the same thing as calling your partner a term of endearment with a more intimate meaning and that's what "angel" is in Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. By making it so that "angel" wasn't something Crowley was saying in an "angel (dismissive or attempted dismissive way)" that evolved into "angel (romantic)", they're coming out and saying that "angel (romantic)" is all that's really ever been there, with some attempts at making it sound more dismissive if they could be overheard. If it's all that's ever been there, then it had to start at some point and if it's always been "angel (romantic)", then we could assume that some bit of romance might have prompted it.

So, we're saying you can probably track how long their relationship has had a romantic element to it that they've acknowledged by tracking how long Crowley has been calling Aziraphale "angel" and if you start doing that, well...

It wouldn't make sense for it to be when they both were angels so anything pre-Eden is out (plus, Crowley might not really remember it anyway). While Crowley calls Aziraphale "an angel" on the wall in Eden-- "you're an angel, I don't think you can do the wrong thing"-- it's not the same as the affectionate "angel" he has basically made a substitute for Aziraphale's name in the future. So, it's not in Eden and it's not the next bit that we've seen chronologically, which is what we've seen of The Flood since, as we know, Crowley showed up and said "hello, Aziraphale", indicating that "angel" still isn't a thing by what we've seen of Mesopotamia... but then, the next part we see on the timeline is the Job minisode in S2 and, well...

Job: Four. separate. different. instances. of "angel"...

The first is "you sound jealous, angel" in the courtyard when Aziraphale says that demons can do whatever they want. To date, this is technically the first time we've heard this, chronologically-speaking. Only, it's not the first time Crowley's said it as it's familiar to both of them.

This same scene also results in the birth of "Crowley" in the future. It's why Crowley chose to call himself "Crowley" when he changed his name and what makes "Crowley" the same thing as "angel", just in reverse. What's of note there is that S1 gave us the scene at the crucification of Jesus wherein we see Crowley tell Aziraphale that he changed his name to "Crowley" and we don't really fully understand it in S1. We're happy for him. Seems a healthy thing to change his name when he's been through a lot of things. We're happy to refer to him as "Crowley" from here on out, right, but we don't really know what the meaning of his new name is to him or why it seems to have significance to Aziraphale. They don't tell us that until S2, when they give us the Job minisode and are all 'here is the origin story of what Aziraphale has called Crowley for thousands of years' and what does it do? It makes that scene between them in Golgotha kinda smolder, doesn't it? Because now, that scene you didn't have all the information to understand fully at the time is now something you understand as Crowley telling Aziraphale that he changed his name to something only the two of them will ever really understand. That's some passion at The Passion of the Christ, eh? lol

Following the courtyard instance of "angel" in the Job minisode, there's "are you sure, angel?" when Crowley is lighting everything on fire. This one is playful. This one is a little knowing, like he absolutely knows for sure that Aziraphale gets what he's saying and they're both bemused by it. Aziraphale responds that he's "quite sure" and he isn't disappointed. The "angel" here is coded. It's "sweetheart" in the middle of playacting at being demonic and Crowley knows that Aziraphale gets the joke but also for Aziraphale to get it-- for him to hear Crowley saying it here and in the courtyard prior and for him to get the tone of it... to be that sure, he'd have had to hear it before. The first time Crowley said it in the courtyard, it did not sound like it was new to either of them. This started before Job.

Later, there's "Blasphemy, angel? That doesn't sound like you" after Aziraphale says "oh my God" when they run into God talking to Job. This is the first instance of Crowley using "angel" when they're alone and unlikely to be overheard. It's not even an isolated one because then we have the last scene in the minisode and "I'm not taking you to Hell, angel." The Job story establishes that Crowley's just been calling Aziraphale "angel" in every instance where he can make it work since some time prior to 2500 B.C. and we still haven't seen when that began. We've seen the origin story of "Crowley" but they haven't shown us the first time Crowley called Aziraphale "angel" in that way he does... but they *have* told us via the same minisode in which they also explained the "Crowley" origin story that it first began an absolutely ridiculous amount of time ago lol. They've slapped it right down immediately after what we've seen of Mesopotamia on the timeline. They even make Aziraphale and Crowley establish that timeline for us at the start with Aziraphale saying "haven't seen you since... The Flood?" (with the most 'he knows damn right well when the last time he saw Crowley was' tone ever lol) and Crowley agreeing. This means we're missing more of The Flood, which is also hinted at in the plot of Job, which hinges on the idea that Aziraphale doesn't think that Crowley is murderous, which seems like it needs more than just Crowley being like "wow, this is pretty horrible" in his reaction to God's plan to drown everyone in the scene in The Flood that we've already seen.

So, if it's "hello Aziraphale" in what we've seen of The Flood already but then it's "angel" every other word in the Job minisode that follows it, the origin story for "angel" that we're missing is set between those two stories and if they haven't seen each other in Job since The Flood, then there's a The Flood, Part 2... so, if the first kiss was Mesopotamia and it's also the first "angel"... then we're talking about Aziraphale reacting to that first romantic "angel" in the same part of the story as this whole vavoom-y kiss. Every. single. "angel". in the series. is going to be tied to that kiss if they put them in the same scene. What are we all going to do when the secret language, sleight-of-hand show reveals the vavoom they've been stealthily referencing in every other fucking scene for the entire series? lol

#ineffable husbands #good omens #good omens 2 #crowley #aziraphale #good omens meta #aziracrow #good omens speculation #good omens theory

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sepublic · 5 months

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Do you hate Belos' fans?

If you want my honest, nearly unadulterated thoughts? Well, hopefully this is the last I'll speak on the subject. But in regards to the question; In theory? No. In practice? Well...

They've ignored the actual onscreen characters, dynamics, and themes that the show focused on in favor of building this elaborate fanon and AUs and fics and art of their dead white guys who were never meant to be the focus, hyped themselves up on this entirely offscreen dynamic, and then when the finale didn't deliver on their expectations they gnashed their teeth and turned on the show as a whole because they never cared about the show, just their white favoritism-fueled fanon for it. Because apparently their engagement with TOH hinged entirely on Wittebros, which makes me wonder how they even began watching the actual show to begin with.

These same people viciously turned on the actual protagonists because they never appreciated them as their own characters but as devices to prop up Belos and the Wittebro dynamic, so when they couldn't fulfill that purpose, they were deemed useless and badly written because these people who wrote essays about Belos being left-handed blatantly ignored Luz's explicit onscreen arc and then had the audacity to be baffled by the finale's narrative decisions, and just dismiss Luz as 'badly written' because they refuse to actually engage with Luz for Luz's sake and appreciate her as the main protagonist, who stands more than easily on her own without having to rely on Belos.

These people just genuinely can't seem to comprehend why the show would celebrate this compassionate brown girl over their racist white man, so they went out of their way to disparage Luz, downplay her and her achievements, act like they're spewing some hot takes by claiming Belos is a more interesting character, using whatever convenient excuses they can find; But while the excuse always changes for the situation, in the end it's always because fandom just looooves their bigoted white guys.

So then you have crappy AUs and redemption fics that lightheartedly torture Luz at her expense to explore Belos, or reduce Luz to Belos' sidekick that he secretly cares about, and/or portray Luz's anger towards him as some obstacle towards his ~healing and redemption~ (and you don't need the finale's explicit message to understand why this is so grossly tasteless because fandom hates women and PoC, especially when the two intersect as one character). It's genuinely abhorrent how Belos fans just choose to undermine the entire point of the finale and the show and even Belos himself for the sake of their made-up fanon version.

Like maybe if they actually paid attention to the show and engaged with it on a general level, I might take their complaints a little more seriously; But it's telling how Belos fans just ignored characters who weren't directly relevant/connected to the Wittebanes, until they were. So it's why I can't take it seriously when they disparage the crew for having different priorities because you can just tell they refuse to consider other angles, or go in with the predisposed notion of hating it. The Belos fandom hyped themselves up, and then blamed the crew for leading them on instead of accepting that their speculation on a mysterious character was wrong.

In fact, they're in such refusal to accept this, that some of them even go out of their way to peddle the stupidest behind-the-scenes theories I've ever seen; Particularly, the one arguing that Belos was originally meant to be a sympathetic and tragic villain and was written as such during the first half of the show's run... But when the crew opted to include the Collector in response to TOH being shortened, they just transferred all of Belos' sympathetic qualities to the Collector and left him a pure evil antagonist.

Because obviously, the crew never considered writing two sympathetic villains, right??? It's not as if we don't already have two former members of the Emperor's Coven who unlearn their abuse yet still have different personalities and backstories and dynamics and storylines. No, Belos was supposed to be sympathetic but they deemed that redundant with the Collector, so it's the Collector's fault and it's time to disparage their writing out of jealous resentment.

The criticisms just come across as in bad faith; These people aren't actually interested in critiquing the show. It's all insincere when they discuss how Luz needed to understand how people can become villains (they ignore her dynamic with the Collector and other characters), or how villains need to be humanized because yadda-yadda. It's not because they actually care about these things, it's just a convenient justification for why their white guy deserved better.

Because these viewers are otherwise more than willing to suspend their disbelief and analyze all of the little implications for Belos to understand him, but then refuse to exercise even a little imagination in discussing characters like Luz or the Collector, because it's easier to just dismiss it as inconsistent writing that didn't have any planning behind it. Because they resent these characters for 'taking away' from Belos' spotlight, and with baffling confidence declare any defenses or explanations of the point they're missing as 'stupid takes'.

They talk of how Belos needed to be humanized and have his motives explained, but they were; It's just that these motives weren't framed in a flattering light so that pisses off their sadboi narrative of someone who's afraid of being wrong for the sake of others, rather than only for the sake of his ego (Note that Belos doesn't hallucinate the witches and demons he murdered because he still doesn't care about them). I don't think we can have a meaningful discussion about how Belos was written without first acknowledging a lot of things, such as what is even your stake in trying to argue stuff like how he should've been able to survive, or joking about the protagonists being too dumb to finish Belos off???

I just find it telling how when people criticize how Willow and Gus were handled, or how the Collector went off into space at the end, I can actually understand where they're coming from... But with Belos fans, I'm just utterly baffled to the point where I genuinely wonder how they can think this and if I stepped into some alternate timeline. They claim fandom is guilty of the puritanism that Belos himself displays, but it's not about 'problematic' characters (I'm quite the fan of villains myself), but rather fandom double standards in weeping for Belos while demonizing characters like Lilith as 'getting off easy'.

People understand perfectly that Odalia is meant to be viewed under the lens of a capitalist upper-class suburban white woman who views her family as a status symbol, but then see how Belos is a satire of right-wing conservative white supremacists and the like and just sorta... sweep it under the rug in favor of re-framing Belos as a victim of these mentalities who was brainwashed, rather than someone who gleefully embraced them (regardless of any downsides he may have encountered) because the ideology ultimately benefitted his sense of self.

At first I reasoned that the favoritism towards Belos over Odalia is because one is more fleshed out and whatnot; But after seeing how Belos fans turned on Luz and other characters, I actually do suspect a lot of it is misogyny. It's not as if fandom has ever relied on canon to flesh out faves, these people are proof enough. I remember being baffled by the intense energy there was for Wittebros after Yesterday's Lie aired, wondering where that same energy was for other aspects of the show; At the time I didn't think much of it and figured it just wasn't for me, no judgment, but now? Ugh.

The lack of self-awareness for fandom's obvious habit and tendency with white dudes is just utterly baffling. I'd apply Hanlon's Razor to it, even; Sufficiently advanced ignorance is indistinguishable from malice! These people prove they're more than clever enough to understand and engage with it on a sincere level, but they don't because they don't want to because they're just salty!!!

In the end, it's all just fandom entitlement; Someone else compared Belos fans to those for Kylo Ren and Billy Hargroves and I can't un-see it now. The key difference is that the source material for Belos didn't bend over backwards to coddle and make everything about him; Which means canon didn't feed the beast, and that led to Belos fans not being as obnoxious as the aforementioned groups.

But their portrayal of this guy really is the same as people who put Kyle Ron in flower crowns. It's just this watered-down milquetoast dude they made up in their heads. And without any self-awareness they blame canon and the writers for not adhering to their personal RP headcanons for the character. These are the same people I've seen complain that the show didn't portray Belos' grief over murdering Luz, because it's the whole Oppenheimer effect where if we talk about white people's violence towards minorities, we always gotta make it about the white guy's angst and guilt while brushing past the actual victims and their feelings! Because you know what?

It's clear how much this fandom sleeps on Luz! She's such an incredibly compelling character, the show really is about her, and yet people sleep so much on her depth to talk about others! This is not exclusive to Belos fans, but I find them particularly symptomatic of this problem. Because again, we all know from fandom history (in addition to the explicit onscreen writing) that any claims of Luz not being interesting, or annoying, or flat, is just wrong; And even if it were somehow true, it's not as if that has ever stopped fandom before.

They'll see a female protagonist who is compassionate and say that nice characters are boring, unlike their guy; They'll see a problematic woman and call her an irredeemable bitch, while lamenting how nice characters are underrated and misunderstood as 'basic'. It's all the same. This kind of veers into my complaint about the fandom in general sleeping on Luz despite her being so fascinating, and it's abundantly clear that it's the racism and/or misogyny, maybe even ableism because intersectionality exists!!!

That's why you have people sweeping over Luz's trauma from Belos; They'll obsess over Hunter's because it's more 'intense' or whatever but again, that's never stopped anyone. People deeply understand, Belos fans especially, the psychological layers to Hunter's trauma and how Belos wormed his way inside his nephew's head... But with Luz, they just sorta dumb down their dynamic to whacky enemies on equal footing at times.

There isn't any of that same weight, that same appreciation, for how Luz suffered, and so there's none of the tact, none of the consideration of how they're portraying this, even in jokes or AUs; And that's why people have no problem with making Luz the bad guy for not understanding Belos, even though she did try, and got so terribly hurt for it. And she didn't even need to try to not owe Belos anything. It's why people make cutesy AUs where Belos is Luz's father figure, which is incredibly gross given everything Belos stands for and what he did to her; Because they just don't care about Luz's trauma, nor how gross and creepy Belos was to her. Because they don't care about Luz unless she can prop up Belos.

That's why you have comics taking a scene from Turning Red about a girl of color coming to a new understanding over her immigrant mother's pressures and expectations, and making it about Luz sympathizing with Belos. That's why you have people taking the heartbreaking moment between Camila and Luz in Yesterday's Lie, and making it about Philip and Caleb. It's why you have people insisting more on the parallels than what the two are opposite in, because they're oh so eager to mold Luz into Belos' (and Hunter’s, for that matter) platonic Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and then get angry and lash out at her when she doesn't fit their placid, palatable role; Just like Belos.

Seriously, Belos fans have a fucking victim complex and seem to genuinely think they're being subversive, oppressed underdogs for liking the violent white guy and writing essays about how he's actually femme-coded and neurodivergent and whatnot, and actually in deep pain and misery and needs guidance!!! They think they're oppressed for engaging with darker content and not for fandom racism and white favoritism and just being annoying, so then they come up with things like #BelosFansTakeOver like it's a fucking pride flag. They're Snape fans.

And as I've said before; A part of me was, earlier on, confused about all of the hype and energy. And I think people are drawn to that sort of energy because they see people having fun, and want to participate; So yes, I myself DID end up buying into it, at least a bit. Honestly I think I also had the problem of not fully letting go of my sympathetic Belos speculation, AKA what I personally wanted and not necessarily what fit the narrative the writers were going for; And so I ended up being a bit obtuse in misinterpreting some moments that are obvious in hindsight.

And I think it's partly because, again, the Belos fandom at the time still seemed so reasonable and chill, because they were still hinging on the expectation that their fixation would pay off, and thus had no reason (yet) to resent the show and its focus on Luz and co., and could even be charitable in their interpretation and portrayal of these characters; They liked Luz plenty until they blamed the show for throwing Belos under the bus for her sake, and then proceeded to do the fucking reverse.

And like. I DID actually consider why the finale was written the way it was, and apply that in reorganizing my understanding of Belos; Apologies if I'm patting myself on the back but like. It becomes so much more fun when you work with things. It's baffling because these people are more than willing to put in the thought for wondering why X is a thing with Belos, but it has to be in this way that flatters their blorbo that they demand.

And some of these people certainly seem chill at first, but again I think part of the reason for that is because, like a lot of stuff in regards to fandom racism and misogyny and the like, they don't really seem to register what they're doing as aggravating, so they aren't bothered by it. But even when they are being 'calm' and chill, the way they portray the show through their redemption AUs and whatnot just reveals how they think, because they might not be approaching from some place of intentional malice, but from a willful 'ignorance is bliss' perspective. They haven't been on the receiving end of these constant fandom issues and then wonder why people are getting so heated over something reflective of real-life biases, when fiction was supposed to be a reprieve from all that; So they just act like it’s fandom stans needing to go touch grass.

So these fans come across as soft and comfort-oriented, and then in the same breath express concern over what a terrible person Luz is or whatever without any awareness, because some people are just way too lax about their fandom bigotry. Sorry but if you actually cared about these characters and their themes, you would realize that Camila would rightfully have only murder in mind towards the man who physically and emotionally scarred her daughter, and Masha -whose sole justified takeaway from the Wittebane story was that Philip just fucking sucks- wouldn't tolerate Belos' crap.

And you know what also really fucking sucks? I actually really enjoy Belos as a character and narrative, always have and still do; So it's agonizing to see people get him so wrong, in addition to everything else. In theory, I don't mind the concept of liking Belos, and there are still some people I'm chill with over this! But holy hell I've seen so many Belos fans and Belos fans particularly post all sorts of madness, to the point where I've developed this Pavlovian association between Belos fandom and psychic damage.

If someone likes Wittebros it's pretty much all they post/reblog about. I instinctively brace myself every time I come across such a blog, and I often end up being proven right. It used to be a part of the fandom I could enjoy but now it just feels so hostile towards canon’s themes and celebration, and it’s aggravating when people try to portray the fandom’s callout of this behavior as ‘both sides’ being toxic when what we’re discussing is fandom racism and misogyny, as well as a general refusal to engage with themes that contributes in a negative feedback loop to poor reading comprehension.

I guess I'm so passionate because I've been holding onto these grievances for so long, keeping it bottled for the sake of keeping the peace, but now I'm just tired so why the hell not? It's all reflective of my issues with fandom in general so it's still relevant even if you don't care for TOH. Maybe I should devote my energy into something more useful, I dunno. But as I said, I guess this whole thing is just reflective of societal bigotry and biases, and the lack of reading comprehension as a whole. At least I got the chance to vent!

#the owl house #emperor belos #philip wittebane #vent #rant

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vinntea · 7 months

Text

Bsd Actors au!!!

-NOT a modern au of the characters being actors BUT it's an au where the show is 'live action' and there are physical actors portraying the characters -For convenience the character names are the same as the actors except the actors' names will be shortened versions of the characters to avoid confusion! Name key- Actor names will be either the first 2, 3, or 4 letters of the character depending on the name. If any of the names I pick turn out to be bad things in Japanese let me know and I will change them!! Onto the au!! Chu and Daz off camera are really good friends and do silly goofy shipping bait posts on insta for shits and giggles Atsu and Aku started off a bit awkward with each other since, well, they're both as awkward as their characters but quickly became friends after spending time with the cast Mar and Chu are brothers, Chu heard they were casting for gingers to play a fratboy type asshole character and said "I know a guy". People mistake Junichiro for being their brother so often they've started treating him like a brother as a bit and it is no longer a bit Po and Ran are real life husbands! Po gets really flustered and giggly at the fans simping over him and Ran laughs at him for it Daz and Atsu have the 'Spoils shit on accident' and 'Stops the other from spoiling shit on accident' dynamic during interviews, I'll let you decide who's who (It's both) Fyo is super sweet and it freaks out the rest of the cast Lu, Yosa, Lou, Gi, Kou, and Hig go out drinking together Ladies Night style (Ladies/afabs/fem identifying cus some of em are trans) Aku and Gi are twins! Ang and Od treat Daz like their son off camera Q, Eli, Ken, Ter, Kyo, and Ay have tea parties after final filming days for each season NO ADULTS ALLOWED CUS THEY NASTY in Ter's words Mor goofs off with Chu and Kou all the time on the set Aku gets really apologetic to Hig after filming scenes together cus he feels so bad and Hig is like "It's fine Lmao" Fuk, Mor, and Fran are the oldest and are constantly being taught how to use technology by the younger cast members Kun likes to tease Daz off camera to 'Get him back' and they have fun with it Daz makes goofy faces at Aku while filming to help him relax/be less embarrassed at the fact he has to wear so much green/special affect gear on set Chu has gotten so used to being attached to ropes and wires he's considered trying aerial acrobatics non seriously Kyo and Atsu have a sibling like relationship off camera and have starred in other shows together before Bsd Chu, Daz, Aku, and Atsu hang out and take lots of insta pics together not just for the pr Nik is uncomfortably chill out of character and it gives even Fyo whiplash every time he gets in character Sig is super funny and flirts with Nik and Fyo platonically to relieve tension after filming (Homie has to get STRESSED in all his scenes he NEEDS a way to chill afterwards) Tach and Gi are secretly dating cus yes and the only one who knows is Hiro (they don't know that he knows) oh and obviously Gi told Aku and Tach told Kou (his sister) so really, three people know Kou and Yosa are besties (Yes, they see the shipping but refuse to acknowledge it cus lurking on social media and seeing fans unfiltered is too funny) Kun is like a father figure to Ken, Ken being an oblivious kid and Kun being a concerned adult trying his best to not let this kid do anything stupid on camera Q hides costume pieces from the other actors to mess with them (All their scenes are really sad let them play a little) Sometimes when Daz or Atsu have particularly heavy scenes that hit a little too close to home, they'll take mental breaks together whether that means being on their phones in silence or talking to each other in one of their dressing rooms This ended up not having as much to do with their characters as I thought it would but oh well LMAO. Feel free to use this au if you want! Just make sure to credit me!!

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astrum-aetherium · 10 months

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Do you think Henry and Camilla were actually in love?

the question of all questions has finally found its way into my inbox. i don't know how long this will be, but just know that i could write a novel-length essay supporting my opinion. here's a shortened version.

i've spent a long time entertaining this thought, specifically as someone who is undeniably (and evidently) attracted to henry in more ways than one. when i initially read the book for the first time in 2019, i obviously picked up on the clues donna tartt scarcely dispersed throughout the length of the novel (with the glass shard scene posing a final confirmation of her intentions for the two characters), and i must say, out of my naive and obnoxiously teenaged simplicity of perception, i did accept their (strangely established) love and even root for it; especially during henry's last scene — the actual, outspoken confession and the secret whisper — and camilla's consecutive rejection of richard's proposal with the claim she still loved henry.

however, i have matured now, read the book a few more times, and found reason to change my viewpoint completely. no, i no longer believe they were in love per se — let me elaborate. before i do, however, i have to put a TW for incest on here. it is unavoidable when talking of henry and camilla. therefore, beware. lots of mentions of incest-related trauma and the consequences thereof.

the realization that i disbelieve in their love being romantic struck me upon my first reread, because i somehow suppressed the actual outrage of camilla and charles' incestual relationship. of course, i remembered them to be romantically involved with one another, but having read the book anew at a slightly older age, i started comprehending the sheer extent of the trauma that may originate from something like that. there is an undeniable possibility of it having started as a form of abuse instead of something purely consensual (which incest very, very rarely is), and that has led me to believe that camilla, at least in future years to come, would no longer be attracted to men both romantically as well as sexually. this may very well be a response to her trauma.

here, of course, it can be argued that it was all consensual and would thus not result in trauma, but i wholeheartedly disagree with that. incest, being taboo and socially unacceptable for very plausible reasons, would generate trauma regardless of the degree of willingness the participating parties portray. that is, of course, given the parties are aware of the taboo aspect of it in the first place, which charles and camilla obviously were. however much i believe it did not, in fact, start as something consensual (once again — it very rarely does), i understand where one might be coming from with claims that it did, as this is all fiction and we simply have no possibility of knowing for sure.

to cut this tangent short — i believe camilla would develop into a lesbian based on her incest-related trauma and would therefore simply mistake her "love" for henry for devotion to his authoritative and mystifying charms and leadership skills. she would believe to be in love with him because she would simply be unaware of her sexuality just yet, given she was still participating in incestuous activity with her twin brother, and would instead seek solace in the company of another man who she does not have a familial bond with. after all, even she and francis had a small little thing (a kiss from what i can remember), and he himself is openly queer.

as for henry, this is where things get a little more complex. i sort of deride his attraction to camilla, however real it may have been, as she is, after all, the only girl in their circle. of course, i keep thinking, of course everyone will be going after her. that poor thing — not even safe from her own brother.

from henry's point of view, i think he just projected the conventionally instilled idea of finding a partner to settle down onto the first intelligent woman he came across who matched his quite specific interests. and this is not to say that camilla cannot be loved for any other reason, but i simply, honestly and truthfully, find it hard to believe that henry would ever genuinely love someone. i know that we all like to believe that he has a soft side, but i more often than not don't. he does, after all, portray antisocial and even psychopathic tendencies. and people suffering from personality disorders like that are unlikely to ever perceive authentic emotions. i think his supposed love for camilla is a result of a conventional belief being applied to encountering someone who is so similar to you interest-wise that you initially feel like they are the one. he may have felt subconsciously "forced" to find a life partner, as that is the traditional standard for humanity that even his deviant mindset cannot undo.

this is what i honestly think. trauma-induced, misinterpreted, misplaced feelings for an authoritative figure juxtaposed with a misapplied, subconscious manifestation of a conventional belief. perhaps platonic love, but certainly not romantic; strong — yes, may as well, but not romantic or, for that matter, sexual (once again, due to trauma).

i do hope this communicates my position on the matter well. thank you for asking. i enjoyed gathering my thoughts and phrasing them in conclusive sentences at last.

#astrum asks #henry winter #camilla macaulay #the secret history #donna tartt #dark academia #henry and camilla #camilla and charles #trauma trauma on top of trauma #lesbian camilla believers where are you #she would not want to be in the same room with a man ever again I'm sorry #i take this aspect of tsh very seriously because it IS serious

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changingplumbob · 1 month

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New name incoming

I'd recommend reading at least part 9 if not part 10 of the latest York chapter before reading on because spoilers.

I'm not going to go in depth to her choice in the story but I found a name I think is perfect for my evil bean and want to talk about it. I'll be mentioning the person she'll be named after and in talking about her there will be a mention of sexual assault. Not descriptive or anything, just giving a heads up.

So how does one pick a name worthy of female Kelly? By googling femme fatale characters obviously. I mean she is evil so she's absolutely going to entrap someone with her looks eventually. Funny enough I was already looking these up trying to get a name for her praying mantis. None of the names really gave the vibe I wanted though so had to do some deeper thinking.

I love the movie The Awakening, it's great! I love thrillers in general, give me a movie with some jump scares and minimal gore and I will be delighted. There is a scene where the main character talks about a painting on the wall entitled Judith slaying Holofernes. I'd stick a picture in but... blood. Anyway Judith snuck into the enemy camp and seduced the general. When he was passed out drunk she did the logical thing. She cut off his head which saved her city from his tyranny. Talk about a thing I could see Kelly doing.

Unfortunately I don't like the name Judith for her. I thought I could maybe shorten it to Judy but it still didn't fit her. So I decided to look into who painted the picture and friends that is when inspiration struck! It was painted by a female Italian so talk about perfect, if you haven't noticed by now the Yorks are Italian. The painter was Artemisia Gentileschi. I loved the name, then I googled some info about the painter and I fell in love with the name even more.

Artemisia is apparently one of the best artists of the 17th century. Of course I'd never heard of her before because she was a woman *grumbles at society*. She was apparently painting professionally at 15! Of course another thing that pops up if you google her is that she was sexually assaulted. In the struggle she did do some damage to his "manhood" through, go girl! Eventually her father pressed charges against the jerk for... degrading the honour of his family *sighs*. Artemisia had to undergo the stupid ye olde "virgin test" and had to testify while undergoing minor torture because apparently that was how you proved your accusations were truthful??? Anyway after all that nonsense was done she went on to become extremely successful, even selling works internationally.

My data has mainly been gathered from the wikipedia article on her and a piece in the New Yorker which was really long so admittedly I did not read all of it. I didn't have to because I already liked the name. I also watched this youtube video which told me how to pronounce her name properly.

youtube

So in the next part of the York chapter Kelly will become

Artemisia, shortened to Emi or Emisia (I've been calling her Emi in my head, I just like long names)

youtube

Thought I would explain here rather than in story. Like of course Kelly would like to take the name of a woman who painted several versions of a dude getting beheaded by a woman. Common sense.

Eventually her family may call her shortened versions, they want to try stick to her new name properly at the moment. Problem is Misia and Sia are also Italian words that are not names... so it'll probably be Emi or Emisia eventually, feel free to call her the short version, that's what I've been doing. For now though, she will delight in making others feel bad when they can't say her name properly.

#What's in a name #Youtube

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bagelrites · 3 months

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Have you ever had a fanfiction idea you knew was great but didn't have the time/courage/patience to write ? What would be the backbones of it and what scene in particular would you still like to see written one day ?

So my problem is that when I think of a fan fiction idea even if I have 20 other wips I still somehow think I will do it someday. There is one big fic idea that I had that I have pretty much given up on though, and that's the Squid Game AU. Obviously I thought of it when the DTeam were playing in the Squid Game tournament, and the premise would be that George and Sapnap are contestants who very early on become friends and form an alliance, and Dream is a guard who keeps somehow ending up in situations where he has to talk to George, and they start falling in love. There'd be a lot of complicated feelings, but in the end George escapes with Dream because in that final game he doesn't actually get shot when he loses (I think Dream would have gotten some of the other guards on his side,) but he plays dead until the field is cleared and then Dream comes and whisks him away and they escape on a boat together. George is kind of sad about leaving Sapnap behind, but he has a feeling he's going to win, and he's right of course.

I don't think I'll write more or a shortened version or anything one day. I had so little of it written, in fact, I could actually share everything I wrote here right now, so I'll put it below the cut :)

This was the opening:

George liked the blue hue of his jumper. He’d been told it was turquoise, actually, but it looked a grayish blue to him, cool and muted, like the still face of a lake reflecting the sky. The white stripes could be clouds, perhaps. The numbers over his heart the ripples of a fish flipping from the water, or perhaps the pearly feathers of an egret in flight.

And yes, technically it was a prisoner’s uniform, but George felt it was important to find comforts even—or perhaps especially—in circumstances such as these.

The dormitory was spacious, in its own way. The beds were stacked three layers high, but the mattresses weren’t terribly thin, and there was a wealth of free space opposite the bunks, plenty of room for all two hundred competitors to mingle together, or else find some corner to sulk in alone. The white walls were bright, too, and the ceilings were high.

George supposed if this was the room he was destined to sleep his last night in, at least it was clean and airy. Better than rotting away in a cramped prison cell, right?

He rolled from his side onto his back, staring up at the cross-beams holding up the mattress above him. It had been about an hour or so since they let the competitors into the dorm, and so far there was no word as to when the games would begin. George had been trying to nap in his bunk to wait it out, but everyone else was being far too talkative, and the din of voices kept him awake. Finally, he got antsy enough to get up, deciding to take a stroll around the room and scope out his competitors.

Not that he really thought it would help him win. He didn’t quite plan to do that. Didn't see the point in trying, if he was honest. If he won, he won. If he didn’t…

Then I had a few scenes of dialogue jotted down. First George teasing Dream:

“Why did you say that?”

“Say what?”

“That you trust me.”

“Oh. I don’t know. You’re fun to mess with.”

Dream looked away.

“George, you don’t even know me.”

“You could change that.”

“George—” Dream sputtered, and George giggled. He sounded so cute when he was flustered.

“You’re already talking to me. That’s a step in the right direction.”

Dream froze, and didn’t make any reply. George wished he could see behind his mask, see if he was angry, or scared, or just flushed from embarrassment. He was betting on the latter. “Oh, now you’re all quiet.”

And then here's George seeing Dream's face for the first time:

“Wow, you’re—” George paused, face flushing. “Nothing.”

“I’m nothing?” Dream chuckled.

“No, I mean—I mean you’re, um…” his mind raced for the right word, the least embarrassing word. “Handsome?”

“Oh, I am?” Dream leaned closer, smirking, and George covered his face with his hands.

“No, I meant hot! You’re hot!” he said, muffled into his palms.

Dream just laughed, the sound light and lovely and adoring, and George melted under the warmth of it.

And finally some George + Sapnap dialogue:

“Why do you think you’re gonna win?”

“Because I have to. I have to think it,” Sapnap said. “If I don’t think I can win, then I know I’ll die. You know?”

George hummed.

“I think you might actually do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I just… have this feeling that you’re gonna go all the way,” George said.

“Well, then I want you to go all the way with me.”

George smiled and couldn’t help snickering a little at that.

“What? I mean it.”

“Oh, c’mon. You know what that sounded like.”

#fic wip #my writing #dream team #dnf #answered ask

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mythicalartistx · 6 months

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Endless possibilities for Kairi

Nomura once said the keyblade Riku gives to Kairi and where he gets it will be answered in a future installment.

As he does when he doesn't want to answer something because it will be no point in ever showing it if he just tells people.

He did it when people asked about Demyx's backstory and where he came from. He didn't say anything and he most likely will be in Missing Link and probably 4?

But so much about Kairi is a mystery and at first I thought oh they're not going to do much with her, I don't think in KH4 we'll see much but then I was looking at MOM scenes and KH2 the games where people genuinely think she shines the most.

(personally her in mom doesn't do it for me because she ends up using Sora's form)

Mom is just giving people bread crumbs and it's kinda overpraised. Like you control her for a bit until Sora takes over and then you eventually control Riku. I'll admit the backstory parts were nice. It helped confirm more about the Ansem reports. But it's not really much.

Her entire backstory is so mysterious.

She— a child of Radiant Garden who happens to be one of the princesses with a pure heart was seen by Xehanort and studied on through experiments until she was sent to Destiny Islands through one of the time capsules used in Union x.

Because of Xehanort and the others apprentices were doing unsupervised experiments (not sure if this was before or after they became nobodies), sending her there caused the meteor shower— the same one that happens on destiny islands where Riku makes a promise to Sora to protect him and probably have his signature necklace to him. (Though this is necklace theory it is implied this happens through various scenes in KH and the novels, and manga)

Through this revelation, they can discover and discuss where she came from and how she got to Destiny Islands, by discovering the time capsules they can figure out Union X events. The Wayfinder Trio + Kairi can figure out this information together.

Why the Wayfinders? Because Ven was from the era and it could help get his memories back. Kairi is also going to be training with Aqua after MOM.

But by looking into that stuff they can find out more about her and then come across what happened to experiment X and if she really is Skuld or not (a lot of people think she is Skuld).

And Lea/Axel and Isa/Saïx come in for that part.

But she has so much potential. Like KH is obviously about Sora and Riku's friendship and I think the reason why we seen so little of her is probably because Nomura might just be waiting for a good moment or game to put some backstory for Kairi.

We only got crumbs through the reports, a dialogue here and there, and then the scene in mom. And maybe just maybe we'll get an installment that tells us something extraordinary as KH does.

This is like the fourth analysis post I've done about her. She can be so interesting and so much potential and I'm thinking about another one relating to her. It's involving how the English version of KH makes her worse of a character... You'll see why soon

Post note: before anyone mentions kh3 I discussed in previous posts I didn't like her in that one because she was just training a lot and not really doing much. Then during the battle she eventually dies, well that's the shortened version

#kingdom hearts #kh #kairi #Kairi game #kh kairi #kh analysis #kingdom Hearts analysis #discussion post #kingdom Hearts 2 #Kingdom Hearts 3 #kingdom hearts melody of memory #melody of memory #kh2 #kh1 #kh mom #kairi has potential #I'd love a kairi project

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stickrrpop · 2 years

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neurodivergent lmk headcanons

( please keep in mind that op is autistic/adhd, and has dyscalculia plus dyspraxia. if i dont go into depth about other neurodivergencies, it is because i dont not have them. thank you! )

★ okay let’s start off with pigsy. honestly i see him as a neurotypical who is really knowledgeable about nd stuffs. OR he is autistic and has a special interest in cooking. honestly you could take it either way. but anywhom he ALWAYS carries a small bag with him, obviously for bandaids yeah but he also brings sensory headphones, fidget/stim toys, or small and soft stuffies. sandy definitely helped him with what to bring though.

★ now sandy, he’s either got adhd or is neurotypical like pigsy. like i really just see these two as the good nt friends. but to elaborate on the adhd hc. he on and off hyperfixates on tea. when he does fixate on the drink, he buys SO MUCH TEA. there’s usually two cabinets full in his house when he’s done. if he’s with someone and they’re having a sensory meltdown, he’ll try to scurry them out of where they are as soon as possible.

★ QXT (mk, it’s just the shortened version of qi xiaotian) is autistic/adhd and has dyspraxia. just, really poor balance. and with the combo of both autism AND adhd AND dyspraxia, he ended up really bad at following schedules (As we’ve sorta seen in the show). his special interest is well, monkey king. HE ALSO STIMS BY SNAPPING HIS FINGERS!! he messes with his hands a lot, he’d also jumps from one foot to the other to stim. and he totally does flappy arms, he’s very energetic and so “bigger” stims are usually what he does. OH AND HE HAS DYSCALCULIA. i saw the “and 2 + 2 = 3 ! the third ring!” scene and ran with it.

★ Red Son has tourettes and is very much autistic mhmhm. it’s a known symptom (a small percentage of people with tourettes) to have uncontrollable anger. here’s a great tiktok about it by the way! i dont have tourettes so i dont wanna go into depth with it !! but red son stims by playing with tiny fires, messing with the fabric of his clothes, or making hand gestures while speaking. the list goes on for his symptoms while ill probably make a separate post for. and also he repeats what people say sometimes under his breath.

★ Mei definitely has adhd and is PERHAPS autistic. she vocal stims a LOT. and flappy hands would probably be her most common stim. she really likes technology and so she probably gets hyperfixated on something new based around that every couple of weeks. she also has sensory headphones on her at all times for QXT.

★ sun wukong is definitely autistic and dyslexic. his special interest is peaches and i dont take no for an answer. (/j). he’s also horrible at social cues and understanding what personal space is but he tries his best to understand from past experiences. also NO VOLUME CONTROL. none. zero. he has a small stuffed monkey that QXT gave to him as a gift, it has the same texture as his fur and he usually stims/fidgets with it a lot.

★ macaque is also autistic, very bad at communication skills. he stims by taps his foot against the ground or clanking his teeth together gently. macaque 100% wears sensory headphones, mostly because of how LOUD everything is with his six ears, but also again, for sensory issues. he also really hates bright lights.

★ yin and jin are both autistic and have dyspraxia. you cant tell me they dont. they really like to stim by saying each other’s names.

★ nezha is also autistic. i dont have much reasoning quite yet because so far he only has like four minutes of screen time lmao, but he is! he talks very bluntly and likes to get his point across. he stims by tapping his fingers together and spinning his staff around. (doesnt have to be anything fancy, could just be a simply twirl)

★ TANG IS AUTISTIC. we all saw this one coming. his special interest is history, and also he infodumps a lot. he maybe also has dyspraxia, he has bad balance coordination skills, you can just tell!! he really likes to fidget with his glasses/scarf. he also taps his fingers on any nearby objects a lot.

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transigma · 3 months

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a ramble on Dazai having BPD ☆

This is mostly my own personal interpretation, but it is a very long ramble about me reading into Dazai's borderline personality disorder traits (abandonment, identity, dissociation, self risking behaviors, chronic emptiness, etc) or at least what I interpret as such. I do think ASPD is also a strong contender for Dazai, but I have yet to research that more in depth.

I think fear of abandonment being a trait he fills is best exhibited with Dazai and how he is with Oda. He clearly struggles with the thought overall losing anyone and anything close to him, but it's also a repeated thing by his line where he isn't sad about losing Oda/Ango and what felt like at the time almost everything, because he expects it. He fights hard for Oda to not go fight Mimic because he is afraid to lose one of his greatest friends, and who I think was also a favorite person in a way, but I don't explain that here.

He also fights hard for the agency yes because he cares about them, but I would argue it's also motivated in a similar fashion to not wanting to lose it/the people he cares about.He even puts forth an extreme effort of keeping up a persona as a means to not lose it. He even puts forth an extreme effort of keeping up a persona as a means to not lose it. Constantly joking around and not allowing much personal connection, at least as far as letting his true intentions or his personal thoughts go.

He also shows struggles with stable personal identity. Dazai views himself as something other than human in general. And also connecting to the heavy dehumanization themes around him, especially during his PM days. Dazai put on the persona of a "Demon Prodigy" and fit himself to that in what I would argue is almost a self sabataging way. He exposed himself to the worst to see and possibly feel raw humanity. And possibly gain a purpose or want to live, as well.This also is an example of chronic emptiness for Dazai and his search for a purpose to live.

There are a lot of examples of this for Dazai, obviously his biggest thing is suicide and constantly getting himself into those harmful situations. He also is shown to be a functioning alcoholic.yet being unable to fill the hole, which leads into suicide and Self harming behaviors. There are a lot of examples of this for Dazai, obviously his biggest thing is suicide and constantly getting himself into those harmful situations. He also is shown to be a functioning alcoholic. Physical self harm is really just a speculation, however I think it's a realistic thing to consider, and personally I do believe that.

Probably the biggest example of Dazai and dissociation/depersonalzation and loss of contact with reality is this scene in BSD 15. At least this is how I read it. There are other examples I think, one being the fact that I believe him disconnecting himself from his "humanity" is a form of it.

I also think that Oda is sort of a favorite person for Dazai. This is exemplified by the extreme lengths Dazai tries to go to in order to not lose him (dark era, beast), but also the extreme importance of Oda as a figure for Dazai. Despite never getting very personal, as stated by Oda himself, Dazai still has a strong attachment to him because Oda was arguably the first good influence in his life.

I definitely have a lot more thoughts on this, but this is just a shortened version and small ramble on some of the ways I read Dazai as implied/coded(?) BPD.

#bsd dazai #infodump #allen.textz #allen bsd thoughts #bsd manga #in my heart he is my borderline princess #poe too #ill do him later though #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #dazai bungou stray dogs

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judgeanon · 2 years

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What are your favourite Shiva designs?

Bless you for using plural 'cause I do have a few:

First and foremost, all her 80s designs are incredible, but the dopest one has to be the 1988 Question Annual one. Just...

CHRIST. I also like the Justice League Task Force version, which switched the hair to her Question #1-2 short cut. The Question #28-31 design is great and the hair is even better, but there's not a lot going on underneath her admittedly awesome purple coat.

For modern stuff there's obviously the Birds of Prey coat that everyone's seen and loved, but there's also Kelley Puckett's purple coat from Batgirl #8-9:

... which is very cool in an anime rival kinda way. But for modern designs, my favorite is the Arkham Origins outfit. It feels like an excellent evolution of the BoP costume, taking its basic premise and cranking it up without going overboard.

Hell, I actually kinda like the in-game version a bit more, where they shortened the coat into something that's more like a biker jacket. And I love the idea of Shiva having a bit of biker chick to her.

The game's concept art even confirms that her shirt is sleeveless, so you could have a scene where she takes her jacket off and shows off her arms and the fact that that never happened in Origins means it deserves its 7/10 fame... but anyway.

I know it's a bit prohibitively complex, especially around the waist and chest, but I'd love to see this design transferred to comics someday. Hell, Kevin Wada did a magnificent job with her pinup in the Festival of Heroes special, clearly taking inspiration from it but making it more of a high fashion thing:

Ultimately, I think the best Shiva designs are the ones that look like cool streetwear but also have lots of clear wuxia motifs without falling into anachronism. Something that a normal stylish person would wear, if that person was also the most badass martial artist in the history of the universe.

#Lady Shiva #DC #Comics #Character Design

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 5 months

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POOR THINGS (2023)

Starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael, Margaret Qualley, Kathryn Hunter, Suzy Bemba, Hanna Schygulla, Vicki Pepperdine, Wayne Brett, Tom Stourton, Carminho, Jerskin Fendrix, Jack Barton, Charlie Hiscock, Attila Dobai, Emma Hindle, Anders Grundberg and Kecskeméthy Attila.

Screenplay by Tony McNamara.

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Distributed by Searchlight Pictures. 141 minutes. Rated R.

Sometimes a movie is so willfully different, so determinedly off the wall, that there are pretty much only two ways to react. You can appreciate the fertile imagination which led to the film, or you can just determine that it is just really odd.

Poor Things is beautifully shot. It has some terrific acting. It is often surprisingly funny. The cinematography was intriguing – going from black and white to vibrant color and often shooting scenes through a disorienting fish-eye lens. It was certainly arresting storytelling, at no moment in the film is the viewer not rapt.

Yet, all in all, Poor Things was just too fucking weird for me to say that I actually liked it. Respected it, perhaps. Impressed by the craft? Definitely. But did I enjoy the experience of watching the film? Not so much.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos refers to his film as a fairy tale, and in many ways, it is indeed that – in the dark, violent, original versions of the Grimm fairytales way. Hell, in case you didn’t pick up on the fairytale connection, Emma Stone’s wardrobe, hair and makeup have her looking like a redheaded Alice in Wonderland through most of the film. However, the old-fashioned tale that Poor Things most resembles is a more sexual variation on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

In this telling of Frankenstein, the mad scientists come out almost being sympathetic, while the “normal” men circling the orbit of the creature turn out to be the actual monsters.

The “creature” here is Bella Baxter (played by Stone). She is the creation of a horribly scarred and absolutely insane (and yet, somewhat empathetic) Victorian scientist named Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who actually thinks so much of himself that he shortens his first name to simply God. God was for years the subject of his father’s odd, painful experiments in biology and medicine. Now he has taken over the family “business” – living in a mansion surrounded by many of his strange experiments – ducks with dog’s heads, or cats with the heads of geese, and the like.

God finds the opportunity for his ultimate creation by chance one day when he is lingering under a bridge when a pregnant woman throws herself off of it. He knows he could probably save her life, but obviously if she was trying to commit suicide that may not be what she wants. He could try to save her baby, but then it would be an orphan and possibly not survive. So what God does is much more insidious – he takes the brain of the baby and puts it in the skull of the mother, turning her into an infant in a grown woman’s body.

Without giving up too much, we basically watch her grow into her body, going from a blank slate and becoming a smarter, more empathetic and much more sexual being. (Fair warning for people for whom this is a concern: There is a lot of sex and nudity in Poor Things.)

I must say, Poor Things is often extremely funny, and it is just as often cringeworthy and disturbing. Which, of course, is exactly what it is trying to do. So, mission accomplished, I suppose.

Poor Things is the epitome of “you either get it or you don’t” filmmaking. There was a lot of hearty laughter at the screening I was at, so apparently some people did see where they were going with this. I wish I could say I did.

Jay S. Jacobs

youtube

#Poor Things #2023 #Movie Reviews #Emma Stone #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

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fancysasquatch · 5 months

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Just saw the new Hunger Games movie after obsessively consuming the book over the course of the past few days. 900+ word review below the cut. Spoiler warning for Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, obviously, but spoiler warning for William Friedkin's Bug (2006) too.

The short version of this is going to be that the movie works fine enough on it's own, but is very disappointing as an adaptation to a book I really enjoyed.

Before I start getting into negatives, I'll start with what I liked. The acting was overall fine. Jason Schwartzman was no Stanley Tucci as the tv host but he was still pretty good. Viola Davis knocked it out of the park as the mad scientist Dr. Gaul. Peter Dinklage didn't have much to do outside of one monologue at the end which was ruined by poor direction.

I also really liked the art design of the movie. The brutalist architecture was reminiscent of post-war Europe, particularly the Soviet Union. The military uniforms were sufficiently Nazi-esque without being tasteless. I saw a social realist-style poster in the background in District 12. The technology in the Capitol had a postwar Mid-century Modern aesthetic while in the poorer districts it looked like older technology from the 30s and 40s (including a video chatting device that looked like a candlestick telephone). Altogether it conveyed the idea that this happened decades ago, in relation to the original trilogy, and took place not too long after a major war. Very well done.

Now to get into the parts I didn't like too much. I'm still too much of a philistine to pay much attention to the directing/editing/cinematography side of things during my first viewing of a movie, but there were a few things that stood out to me. As I mentioned, Peter Dinklage has a monologue at the end which could have been very good it it wasn't filmed in flat shot-reverse shot with uninteresting framing, blocking, set design, and lighting. There was also a moment in the middle of the film which where the main characters have their last conversation the night before one will be fighting and possibly dying in the Hunger Games, but most of it is filmed in a profile shot of their faces leaning into towards the bars of her cage. The visual metaphor was a bit too on-the-nose, and the shot itself was framed in an awkwardly claustrophobic way.

That was all preamble though, and the bulk of this review is about the writing, specifically how they condensed a 500 page book into a 150 page screenplay. Obviously a lot had to be cut or shortened, and sometimes they did it well. For instance, the first minute or two covers several different page-long flashbacks which tell you all you really need to know. But some changes really hurt the pacing and even quality of the story.

The first part of the book covers the month leading up to the Hunger Games, but the movie condenses that down into a few days, so everything seems rushed because you have a week's worth of plot development happening in a single busy afternoon. The two main characters fall in love after meeting 5(?) times for a total of about 30 minutes. There was also a scene rewritten for no reason which was completely ruined, where a girl willingly sticks her hand into a cage of snakes she nows will attack her rather than admit to lying about helping on an essay (in the book she's tricked into it as part of a cruel test).

Almost the entirety of the Hunger Games itself was rewritten, although that's something I was fine with because it was different but not worse. The games as written would have been boring, and the version they had was a solid ~30 minute substitute.

The last section of the movie might have been butchered even worse than the beginning. A lot of that section of the book is Snow experiencing a simpler life in District 12, so when he gets a chance to go back to the capital there's a question of whether he chooses that life or his new life, which plays into the books themes of control and freedom. The movie barely shows his new life, so it's more of a question of whether he gets everything he wants in life or some girl he met two weeks ago he sorta likes.

The climax is also heavily bungled. Instead of his paranoia getting the better of him during one of his downward spirals, causing him to turn on Lucy Gray when he thinks she turns on him, she actually just turns on him. It's possible for a movie to capture losing your grip on reality like that, like the climax of Bug where the main duo feed into one another's mania until they burn themselves alive (that movie rules btw), but this movie didn't use any of the moviemaking techniques that . She also pretty unambiguously survives which is worse than the book, where her fate is left up to interpretation like the Wordsworth poem she's named after.

Just in general this movie suffers because it lacks the insight that came from the book being from Snow's point of view. We lose all of his internality, good and bad, so he's much flatter and less consistent. That theme of control vs freedom I mentioned runs throughout the book, but mostly in his internal dialogue, so in the movie we just get a few disjointed "this is what I believe" monologues from various characters that don't work as well.

To end on a positive note, I'll say there was one more change I liked. At the end of the movie, Snow's cousin Tigris very visibly sees Snow for what he is and is reasonably scared of him, which is better than in the book where they're all one big happy family.

#Hunger Games #ballad of songbirds and snakes #movie review

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demadogs · 1 year

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Hi! What's your favorite season of stranger things, and what's your favorite episode overall (from any season)?

my favorite episode by FAR is dear billy. im rewatching the fourth season with my friend rn and we just watched that one today. running up that hill is my favorite st scene ever. max is my favorite character and i really love that shes the center of undeniably the best scene of the entire show. i sobbed my eyes out when i first watched it. their song choice is fucking perfect for what max is going through. “i’d make a deal with god and i’d get him to swap our places” and then max later admitting that she wished she died after billy did?? AAAH!!! and just what they did to that song to make it more epic and orchestral oh my god its so fucking perfect. now im listening to that version because its so good.

the way that entire scene plays out is perfect. the ticking sounds when they go back to the real world where the guys are trying to find the tape, a portal to the real world opening when the song plays, her lifting in the air right at the chorus!!! THE FLASHBACKS!!!!!!!!! her running to a portal as everything is falling on her god ITS SO SO FUCKING GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! that scene alone would be enough for me to call it my favorite episode ever but its not even just that.

theres also the one take shootout in cali which is SO well done and so impressive i love that they did it all in one take its so fun to watch. i love mike and wills talk about mike losing him and wanting to be a team. i love hoppers escape. everything about that episode is so perfect. but obviously running up that hill is the biggest reason its my favorite.

as for my favorite season its really hard for me to decide between 2 and 4. i always said 2 was my favorite before 4 came out. but not for byler reasons, i just thought that was a really good continuation of season one. its hard for a debut season to be that amazing and successful and somehow top it with the second season. i loved the whole lab plot and the demodogs and i love that will is the center of the entire season.

but season 4 hawkins plot is really fucking good. if we’re talking about whats going down in hawkins alone i’d probably say 4 is my favorite but the other plots kinda takes up more time than i wish. like s2 its still kinda divided but its all hawkins. i kinda wish the russian plot was shortened or at least joyce reunited with hopper earlier.

i think im gonna say 4 is my favorite season tho. i love how much more horror the whole season is, i LOVE how they had so many call backs to the first two seasons like showing how will talked through the lights and bringing back past monsters like the og demogorgan and demodogs in russia. i like that el was more independent. i obviously love all byler’s moments, but also lumax!!! i feel like s3 they barely showed them but i love how they wrote them this season. its just a really good season.

also unpopular take but i hate when people say they hate the last episode when they obviously only say that bc of the monologue. like ok DID YOU NOT SEE THE EPIC SYNTH VERSION OF RUNNING UP THAT HILL TO THE MONTAGE OF EVERYONE BATTLING VECNA MILES APART FROM EACH OTHER??????!!!

#this couldve so easily been a one sentence answer lmao #NOT WITH ME #byler #ish #eden answers

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norman891 · 1 year

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“Peter Pan & Wendy” - A Review From a (Captain Hook) Fan of 54 Years

Thoughts on “Peter Pan & Wendy”

I’ve read a great many posts and reviews by people who absolutely despise Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy”. I’m beginning to wonder if the majority of those who decry the film so badly have even bothered to watch more than the original trailer. They remind me so much of the outcry made by fans of the old TV series “Dark Shadows” over Tim Burton’s film version because it wasn’t an exact duplicate of the television show. Most DS sight/pages have banned discussion of the film because most ‘fans’ can’t discuss the topic in a civil manner.

I too had my doubts after seeing the trailer but decided to reserve my final judgement until I’d actually seen the film and tried to keep an open mind about a different take on the Peter Pan story. I am so glad I did. Despite what appears to be an organized/choreographed spate of bad reviews citing everything from Neverland’s appearance to the appearance of Tinkerbelle to the children who make up the Lost Boys (admittedly, it should be Lost Children). To them I say: you are whiny bunch of mewling malcontents who would be satisfied with nothing less than a carbon copy of the 1953 animated film.

“Peter Pan & Wendy” is a truly beautiful film. My hat is off to director David Lowery for having the foresight and spine to NOT make this exactly like the animated film. Yes, he may have deviated from J.M. Barrie’s book somewhat, but so did Walt Disney. The closest and most faithful interpretation of Mr. Barrie’s story is, in my opinion, P.J. Hogan’s 2003 “Peter Pan” which is as closest to the book as I’ve ever seen and my favourite by far due in no small part by Jason Isaacs’ dead-on portrayal of Captain Hook. However, I did not let that take away from this marvelously different take on the classic tale.

*****WARNING: MANY SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!!*******

I must admit that the plot seems a bit rushed, but I have attributed that to the deletion or shortening of several scenes from the 1953 animated film. Wendy has no encounter with the mermaids save for their brief appearance, almost guiding the children towards Neverland. There is no hunt for indians and subsequent capture of the Lost Boys. Tiger Lily is not captured by Captain Hook and taken to Skull Rock where she must either give up the location of Peter’s hideout or drown. Skull Rock, by the way, was an invention by Walt Disney. In Barrie’s book, Tiger Lily is shackled to Marooner’s Rock and given the same choices. There is minimal humiliation of Captain Hook for which I was exceedingly happy; too much of Disney’s animated version hinged not only on Hook’s defeats but completely unnecessary humiliation of the man by ridiculing him using his greatest fear, the crocodile. This infuriated me as a five-year-old; 54 years have not changed my mind. And I do not feel these changes detract from the film in any way.

True, we are introduced to the Darling family in a different manner, but we are introduced to them none the less, by a series of family photographs, the children playing in the nursery, Wendy’s desire to not grow up. I felt the casting of a different actor for her father rather than the standard of the same actor who plays Hook also plays Mr. Darling refreshing, and it also removes the Freudian undertones imbedded in Barrie’s original work. Mr. Darling is not as harsh as he is usually portrayed. He is the quintessential Victorian father; stern but not overly emotional. Firm but not dictatorial. Mrs. Darling is splendidly portrayed as the always loving mother who only wants the best for her children, which includes trying to prepare Wendy for life after childhood, even if Wendy doesn’t want to accept that she must grow up

Many of the film’s detractors opine that both Wendy and Tiger Lily are too strong and formidable characters. They obviously haven’t read the book from the perspective of an adult. Growing up is not fun, but it is inevitable. In truth, “Peter Pan” is not about Peter Pan, Neverland, or pirates; it’s about Wendy’s fear of growing up, of leaving her safe, responsibility free life behind. It is WENDY’S story, not Peter’s story nor about escaping adulthood. Jason Isaacs himself stated this in one interview, though it will take some searching YouTube to find that.This film is also largely what I expected from Spielberg’s “Hook” - that is, I found out things about Captain Hook that I’ve had questions about for decades.

Neverland is a place that is what children imagine it to be, so it is constantly undergoing change, even if Peter states that “This is Neverland, where nothing ever changes”. It doesn’t matter that the ‘Lost Boys” aren’t all boys. Tootles is portrayed by a child with Downs Syndrome; I don’t have a problem with that. Nor do I care that Tinkerbelle is played by Yasmin Shahidi who is of African and Iranian descent. In fact, this is the only incarnation of Tinkerbelle that I have not wanted to douse with a can of Raid wasp & hornet spray. She is not a selfish Tink. She is not an insanely jealous Tink. In fact, she is the one character that watches over all the children and tries to protect them, including Wendy and Peter.

And Tiger Lily is portrayed masterfully; I doubt there will be any cries of racial stereotyping regarding the Natives. They are portrayed respectfully and historically correctly. I do not have a problem with that. I do not understand those who are whining about Disney pandering to racial diversity and inclusivity. Shouldn’t Neverland be a place for all lost children, regardless of their race, sex, or handicap? I am pushing 59 and hold fairly conservative views. I certainly would never accept the moniker of being ‘Woke’, yet I cannot for the life of me understand most people’s objection to “Peter Pan and Wendy”, and yes, that was the original title of the book. Wendy got dropped from the title somewhere along the way.

I think the reason Wendy is portrayed as such a strong, independent character is that she is at the tipping point between childhood and young adulthood. She loves the idea of adventure, the notion of never growing up, of remaining a carefree child – until she sees Peter’s behaviour. Never mind that he almost got Wendy and her brothers blown to smithereens, wasn’t that a great adventure? And Peter believes he saved everyone from Captain Hook, when Wendy can plainly see he did not. In fact, he was the reason John and Michael were in mortal peril to begin with. From his remarks, he thought at the very least Wendy was dead and possibly her brothers. And rescuing them was not an act of altruism but merely an excuse for an adventure for himself. Personally, I wish Wendy had hit him harder.

Bu let me get to the real reason I love this film, and that would be the way Captain Hook is portrayed, and Jude Law’s excellent job of infusing humanity into a hitherto solely evil villain without feelings or regrets (though Jason Isaacs did a damned good job of it as well. Too many of the scenes that would have reflected Hook’s humanity in the 2003 version were cut). Law brought humor and pathos to the role. I loved his tossing the padlock key into the water with an “Ooops”. He showed Hook’s true terror of the crocodile with a softly spoken “Oh God”. And after being flung back onto the rocks, he is paralyzed with fear and reliving his trauma until Smee wrenches him out his horror and tells him to “Run!”. I’m guessing that the crocodile is relegated to living withing Skull Rock or is too large to fit through the passage because once Hook and Smee reach the long boat, they feel safe enough to hang onto the side instead of climbing in. I do have a question as too what is running down/spattered on Hook’s face when he is looking up at Pan. Was it merely dirty sea water? Because some of it looked like blood to me. Oh well, minor detail.

By the time we reach Peter’s hideout, I firmly believe Wendy has made up her mind to return home and grow up. Neverland is not what she was expecting at all. She admits as much to Tiger Lily. Of course, she and Peter quarrel about Neverland being too real (?) and growing up, and she returns to the sleeping children only to find they’ve been captured by the pirates. Again, Jude Law’s facial expressions go straight to my heart. The look when he discovers that Peter has crossed out his name and claimed his old room conveys such hurt and betrayal. And again, when he has slashed Peter through the chest, killing him, Hook is not as exuberant as one might expect. It’s almost as if he’s in a state of disbelief, especially on the boat ride back to the ship. One thing I’m not sure about: the changing color of Hook’s great coat. It is a dark blue up until he walks out of that room looking down at Peter who has fallen, in my best guess, between 150 to 200 feet after declaring that “I don’t think I like this adventure”. From that point, Hook’s coat is crimson red. I don’t know if this is a continuity problem or if I’m missing some hidden meaning, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

Now, to the good stuff. This is where Jude Law’s acting shines as brightly as the gold he surely has in his cabin, along with some more gruesome items. He comes in the morning to speak with Wendy, to ask her about the tune he can’t get out of his head. When he hums what he can to her, it seems to be an almost painful act for him. He wants to know what it is, why it makes him feel so… and he can’t even put the feeling into words. Hook’s demeanor and facial expressions when Wendy says it’s a lullaby her mother sang to her is nothing short of heartbreaking. He can’t even look at Wendy for several moments. And here is where he enlightens Wendy as to the real reason he left Neverland; the part Peter conveniently forgot to mention. That being, Peter banished him from Neverland for the crime of missing his mother. His internal pain is as visible as the scars on his face or the hook on his right arm. And he can barely say the words “I missed my mother”. Long before Peter maimed Hook physically, he shredded James’ soul irreparably. Hook returns to Neverland in hopes of finding his friend and the happiness he once experienced, only to find Pan had turned against him.

“My time for joy is lost. Everything I could have been has been reduced to this” and he handles his hook as though he would like to tear it off, but he can’t. Wendy makes the mistake of telling Hook he grew up wrong, to which he replies, “Show me a child who truly knows the difference between right & wrong, and I’ll show you a man who’s forgotten why it mattered in the first place.” Then he orders all the children be executed. This is where one can tell that Wendy truly has grown up, for she offers herself in sacrifice if only Hook will let the other children live; a completely selfless act that only a grown-up would do. Hook is impressed by her bravery and self-sacrifice and agrees, having her walk the plank.

From this point on the film strays far from any other version, for it is Wendy who saves herself using happy thoughts of her former and future life that saves herself, with a little help from Tinkerbelle I suspect. The whole flipping the ship upside-down was a bit weird in my book. Peter arrives just prior to thin, thanks to Tiger Lily saving his life and making him realize he does need help sometimes. And might I add that Tiger Lily is one bad ass in this movie. Peter and Hook fight one last time, until Peter decides this game too is no longer any fun and apologizes to Hook (and it’s about damned time too!). He tries to save Hook from falling, but the captain cannot find one happy thought in his heart, the cuff holding his hook to his arm slips off and Hook falls presumable to his death (or does he?).

The rest of the film, for the most part, is the standard fare. Peter returns Wendy and her brothers to London where the Lost ‘Boys’ decide to stay and become part of Wendy’s family, leaving Peter alone once more. Interesting plot twist: at one time Peter evidently lived in the same house as the Darling family now does. He states: “My mother scolded me one night and told me to grow up. Instead, I climbed out of the window (rather high up I might point out) and leapt at the garden wall. I never looked back.” Hang on… did Peter just admit to committing suicide?! And if so, what does that make him? I’ll be pondering that one for quite a while. Peter also admits to the same crime as James; missing his mother, and now he’s reduced to being just a story. Again, what does that make this Peter?

As expected, Peter passes on growing up, Wendy realizes that growing up might just be the biggest adventure of all, and Peter returns to Neverland… and that’s all I will reveal. If you haven’t watched “Peter Pan and Wendy” based on bad reviews or that less than enticing trailer, I would implore you to watch it. It is a truly fantastic film and puts me in mind of “Maleficent”, one of my favourite remakes Disney has done. It would truly be a shame to miss out on a damned good movie by listening to the peevish remarks of what I believe is a small but very vocal faction of nitpickers who wouldn’t be satisfied by anything that isn’t a perfect copy of a 70-year-old animated film. Have a look for yourself; you might just be pleasantly surprised, as I was.

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tuiyla · 1 year

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I’m VERY curious about your new midnights gif!! You said you have a lot of thoughts about making it, could you give us a rundown of them?

Oh bless you sweet Anon I'd love to! I was gonna tag rant in the post itself but gifsets often see the tags copied entirely in reblogs so I wanted to save everyone that trouble. I'd love to give a rundown thank you for enabling me lol. Long post ahead but most of it under the cut. Be sure to share any thoughts you have Anon! Or anyone else, talk to me for a potential part two lol.

After seeing the post that I linked to as inspo I know I wanted to do a similar thing for Glee but I'm still just getting into Midnights and wasn't sure about assigning songs to characters. I've made a post or two asking people for their input so I'd like to shout out @sopheadraws for suggesting Sweet Nothing for Brittana on premiere day, @secretlesbianspy for Blaine and Anti-Hero, and for You're On Your Own, Kid @rachelberryy for Rachel and @katyobsesses for Marley. I ended up straight up ignoring a lot of what people have suggested oops haha but I agreed with these pairings. And then it was a matter of choosing 6-7 to actually gif and as I was doing some of them more connections started forming.

So, I start thinking about which Midnights songs to do and immediately I know that Maroon has to be on there because Quinntana doing that is my strongest association. This was fairly straightforward as I had the characters in mind, obviously had a colour set and knew that it would be I Do Quinntana scenes. I briefly thought of other ones but it's always obvious with Quinntana, isn't it?

I liked the imagery of Maroon and lines like "Your roommate's cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that's how" and "I wake with your memory over me // That's a real fucking legacy, legacy (It was maroon)". That latter one made it to the gif though a shortened version because space. I preferred to include the hopeful and less bitter half - well, maybe not hopeful. But the impression that despite the passion and even recklessness of the song it can be something lasting which is what I wish Quinntana was. Taylor songs and Quinntana deserve their own post but I just think the complexities of Maroon fit them well and it has that sort of sexual yet tender quality that's perfect for their two-time (sadly not continued) thing. And as for the gif itself, I'm forever obsessed with shots of them while slow dancing, that contemplation and ease before they throw themselves at each other. But I'm also very glad to have decided at the last minute to include an in-bed shot. I think it adds to the lyric "I wake with your memory over me". Not that they slept that much that night in the first place.

Next was Anti-Hero, which as mentioned I was convinced of for Blaine but long before that I'd already made up my mind that it was a Santana song, too. This a) works well for @secretlesbianspy haha but also b) fits my vision of trying not to make them all solos. That second half worked a little too well because almost all ended up being duets oops but I just think that assigning songs as solos is a little too limiting and duets and group numbers potentially offer more interesting interpretations. And so we have a Blaintana duet that takes place in an interspersed sort of non-diegetic way with both lamenting their lives separately but reaching similar conclusions.

In my mind this would take place at some point in season 4 or 5. I think it mostly fits Blaine in season 4 as he regrets having cheated on Kurt and crumbles under the realization that he can’t be Mister Perfect, maybe leaning into the “oh I’m the bad guy I ruin things” aspect a little too much. Like the dramatic little boy he is. Hence the clip chosen being from Hopelessly Devoted to You. As for Santana, I really like this shot from right before Girl On Fire starts playing because even though that’s ultimately a triumphant moment, it does come after the realization that she has to choose the real world. Over Kentucky, over Lima, over running back to the familiarity of Brittany, she has to choose taking that leap and truly living. And that’s terrifying when she doesn’t believe in herself. That leads us into season 5 which would fit Anti-Hero even more, when her insecurities cause her to go behind Rachel’s back and she doubles down on her bitch persona in the face of Rachel assuming the worst of her. The song fits her better in season 5 when she has that degree of introspection and also guilt about her past behaviour, so I did consider a pre-Be Okay clip where she and Rachel make peace. Ultimately, for aesthetic reasons this worked better but yeah I’m basically thinking New York Santana for this one. Actually you know what here’s a version of this with that alternate clip, as a treat (also different Blaine shot). Not fully coloured and finished so treat it as a discarded draft.

Phew told you this would be long, here comes song number three. As mentioned, You’re On Your Own, Kid read as both a Rachel and Marley song to me so it was an easy decision to use at least Rachel’s clip from their canon duet, New York State of Mind. That gave the whole thing a nice orange colour which worked for the warm to cold colour gradient that was starting to form. Beyond looking good, I chose the Rachel clip as it represents the start of her new life in New York and her stepping into her own. For Marley, a clip from Wrecking Ball fit not only because it had that orange hue but because it was her realizing she couldn’t trust Jake and thus was “on her own.”

The parallels between Rachel and Marley are interesting and less obvious than those between other OGs and their newbie counterparts, but that’s another whole post right there. What makes me think of the two in terms of this song is that vibe of wanting to escape your hometown, feeling insecure there, yearning for a love that will potentially make you stay. Finn and Jake, respectively, neither of whom end up being The One for the girls. And arguably, both Rachel and Marley are better off having had their hearts broken and realizing that they won’t be saved by some popular guy who choose them. “Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss.” It’s a bittersweet realization that they have to rely on themselves but also empowering for both of them when they step out of previous roles and take charge. Rachel makes it in New York and Marley pursues her passion, supported by but not reliant on Jake or anyone else. Everything you lose is a step you take. Romantic heartache built their character.

Next up was Lavender Haze, which ended up less of a character analysis choice and more just what would be fun if they performed it on the show. From the beginning I had Quinn in mind and then Tina was added for some Quinntina fun, and though I debated until the end I ended up including Mercedes because that’d be an awesome trio.

I wasn’t hell bent on including this in the set but at this point I realized these were the first 5 tracks of the album bar one (more on that in a bit) and I just like the idea of the three girls owning this song. Again, this has less profound reasoning and is more vibes based, but I’d like to think that this is their way of establishing their own agency in their respective relationships and in general lives. All three have been stripped of agency one way or another, often relating to relationships, and this is them saying that they just wanna do what they wanna do. All have previously given a damn as to what people say, to varying degrees, but in a sort of #girlboss move they band together and defy that. I was also originally thinking of turning it into a romantic Quinntina AU thing, before I made the choice to include Mercedes. Read it in that way if you’d like. I just like the vibes of this one basically even if I like this gif the least. It could have maybe used more work but to be honest this was one of the ones I wasn’t that invested in.

Now that I’ve realized I had tracks 1-3 and 5 on here, I thought, okay, let’s get Snow On The Beach up on here. Mostly because at this point I knew I wanted The Great War in here so it could be a “the first 5 tracks + 1 extra from 3am” sort of thing. But then Sweet Nothing happened, more on that in its own section.

So, Snow. I went back and forth but upon the 10th or so listen I decided on Samcedes. It was that “falling in love at the same time” message that settled it because I don’t think the same can be said for any other couple. And I like the whole “yeah it’s unlikely but it works and it’s beautiful” vibe plus the chosen lyric really settled it. I look back on Prom Queen as one of my favourite Samcedes moments, their origin story and something that really sells me on this song being the one for them. The chosen lyric reflects Mercedes’ initial insecurity but also how they both felt at some point, yet everything still fell into place and they still worked, for the time that they did. It’s that magical vibe that I associate with their first evening together.

With the first five down I knew I wanted a plus one, that ending up being The Great War for Klaine. I initially thought of Labyrinth but that didn’t feel quite right and looking over the lyrics of The Great War did. Frankly I’m surprised to see sets of Klaine with other songs and not this. I didn’t want to include songs from 3am at first but this fit them and the plus one theme so The Great War it was. Initially in a turquois colour but yellow won out.

More so than any other song on the album, it’s the message of overcoming difficulties and still ending up together that makes it a Klaine one for me. Their struggles and the fact that they overcame them is often stated as a reason why people are drawn to their story and in all its angstiness I think this song describes that. Overall there are a lot of bittersweet songs on this album and ones of heartbreak and lost potential, whereas Klaine are about overcoming, so. And the bg clip is of them getting back together in A Wedding whereas the second one of from the last episode, right before we see them 5 years later as a representation of that overcoming. Once I chose the lyric I also thought of and made an alternate version for the second clip being their wedding kiss and thematically I still like that better but this worked better aesthetically.

So, we have the first five and even the plus one but hold it, I couldn’t just do a Midnights set, potentially my only one without including the association between Sweet Nothing and Brittana. The more I listened to this song the more I liked it for my favourite couple. Did it mess a bit with my original colour scheme, yes, and did I feel a bit weird including Santana three times, maybe. But at the end of the day these are my choices and I’ll choose Santana any day, so. Even though it makes the thematically organized part of my brain mad I had to include this.

This fuchsia colour really makes sense for them imo (even though I also tried it in yellow), the colour I usually associate them with. The wholesome and calm domesticity of the song immediately reminded me of season 6 fluff Brittana. I thought of a season 1 clip as well that I had on stock for, uh, other TS set reasons (coming soon) but I decided on season 6 choices. The hug from 6x06 has such a wholesome vibe to me and is easy to work with, and then choosing their little moment from Home was also easy. As they share this adorable moment they sing “their ain’t nothing that I need” which feels very fitting with Sweet Nothing, and of course the feeling that they’re each other’s home. All of this felt so right to me that despite it throwing off the little theme I planned for the set I couldn’t not include it. Having this Brittana association exist was more important than some arbitrary theme to the set that still sort of exists anyway. Very happy with this song and scenes choice.

Aaaand that is mostly it, though I also have thoughts on Midnight Rain which I almost included as a Finchel song. I know, I know, it’s already full of duets but I think that one really fits them and it’s track six which would continue the theme. I can also see a dark blue colour for it which would mean turning Anti-Hero lighter so Midnight Rain could fit between that and Lavender Haze. In the end though, I decided 7 gifs were enough and also tbh I just don’t think I acre enough about Finchel to give them a gif and a song off Midnights. I have even more thoughts on colours and alternate clips but this is long as is, so, all for now. But as you can probably tell I’d gladly go on some more haha. Please do send thoughts if you made it all the way through!

#anon #projecting taylor onto glee #glee asks #ask and you shall receive haha #i don't think i have a tag for gif explanations so uhm #gif explanaton #there that will do #thank you for enabling this anon #Midnights #please read this it's 2am

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