#this is obviously metaphorical

[inkskinned]

something bad happened to you, and you died, and you came back wrong.

not wrong all the way. the little ways. you forget important dates, stopped going out with friends. it's harder to make you smile. you're apathetic towards things you used to love, afraid of places you used to go to cheer up. quieter. flinching. different.

you came back for love. you're still here for love. what pulled you back was a brightness so loud that even death couldn't outshout it. death heard the call and smiled at you and said okay. go home. somebody is waiting for you.

but you came back different. like lot's wife; you've turned into salt. you used to chirp through life in hops and skips; but now you lose skin just standing up. you have to move slower, skimming across this world without-touching-it. most things feel dull - until they're suddenly all-too-much. life, and being alive just rushes up and over you and you get hopelessly crushed.

you try to explain it to them: it is ugly, but this is what you are, now. the huge golden hoop of your halo now a little bronze ring. you are still watering your plants and wearing the same clothes. after all, you worked hard to come home. this life; so odd and off-color, now that you are wrong.

but they waited for you - it's just that they wanted the "you" that happened before this. the "you" that could sing in the show and hug people tight and look at a blade without breaking down to cry. the you with a smile in pictures. god, holyshit, it's like looking at a completely different person, isn't it. that other-you; the one they actually wanted.

you are the consolation prize. you are the body that forgot the ghost. you are the memory of the bad thing, and the death after; like you are wearing that memory as a banner. you are a fragment, an assembly. simulacrum. you don't make eye contact in mirrors, afraid the light will glance off and your true nature will flash back at you.

you hear them talk about it in their hushed, desperate whispers. sometimes they even admit it to your face; harsh and violent, acid thrown at christmas dinner. god, can you just fucking be normal again. you do not remember what normal is. you had to climb so far to get back here; you are far too exhausted. you want to open the glass door of your heart and show all the gears. can you help resolve whatever got messed up?

you try so, so hard. you came back for them. because you believed they would love you, even when you were so horribly broken. because you believed they would be patient. because you believed unconditional meant "without exception." you cannot do things the same way. you just get tired too quickly these days.

you want to put them on a couch and pour them the tea with hands that shake more than they remember. you want to line them up and draw them a map of where you have had to wander. you want to show every bruise in a backsplash; the little helpless ant of your soul carrying all that weight, over and over. you want to say: yes! it is different! but i did it for love!

you want to say: "i'm not the same, but i'm yours and i'm here. can that be enough?"

#this is very obviously about my battle with #ptsd #but i think it's also like a pretty apt metaphor for a lot of things like setting boundaries or going to therapy or choosing recovery #i was thinking about the 'comes back wrong' trope and i was like. oh no i have feelings about this bc i have mental illness #and once i stopped masking - i was WRONG. i was different #here's the good news: i am now INNUNDATED with love. fucking swimming in it. excelling at it. the people who stayed #learned my new self. my new different body and how i am different but i am trying. they have held me so tightly #and my life no longer feels quiet. it is not based in my suffering. it feels like i have been growing a tree in my chest #and now it is flowering. #it is so lovely to be surrounded by people who have said - oh! you cut off so many branches i was worried you weren't the same. but now... #... this is just a new you. and i love you. and i love that you're different and happy. #(but yeah also im nb so i was absolutely influenced by Trans things)

[uncanny-tranny]

All I want is to go to a trans person's funeral after they lived a full, enriching life. I want to see trans people grow old, I want us to live like the stars. We don't deserve to burn out before everybody else. When we die, I want it to be because we grew old, because we had lived.

#trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #ftm #mtf #nonbinary #death tw #i never want to see another funeral for a trans person whose presence was too bright for this world - who burnt out or *was* burnt out #i understand that this is kind of a pipe dream but i don't care. i love us. #we can make the world better. we can make it better so that we may shine #a star can live for 10 billion years and i'm confident that we will be that immortal #obviously not in the physical sense but in the metaphorical and spiritual sense 👍

[theminecraftbee]

Here is a dream Jimmy has had again and again: he is sitting in a cage.

It is, he thinks, probably not a particularly nice birdcage. No one’s bothered to gild it; maybe he should consider it lucky for the white polymer enameling that means the bars don’t rust, but in some ways, it’s more insulting that no one’s tried to dress up that it’s a cage. There is straw on the bottom, a water dish, a small plate of fruit. There are mirrors and colorful bells and perches hanging from the ceiling. There is a knife on the floor, half-hidden by the straw and so polished that it almost looks like a mirror.

As he starts to pull his hands away from the straw he’s been sat upon, recoiling from the knife for reasons he doesn’t know how to explain, he can see he’s not alone. There’s a bird in here with him, a little yellow canary. (Of course there is.) The bird mostly hops, rather than flying, but its wings aren’t clipped; it could fly if someone let it out of the cage. It has a lovely song, and it sings it over and over, as though it doesn’t know what else to do when it’s locked in.

That’s normally when Jimmy looks for the door, then. There’s a little black digital lock holding the cage shut. It’s on the wrong side of the bars and the bars are too close together for him to reach anyway. The first time he had the dream, he spent the whole time there, trying to figure out how to get at the lock. He couldn’t figure it out, though, not before he suddenly stopped being able to breathe.

The rest of the times he’s had the dream, he’s bothered to look outwards. There, he sees people; many of them are familiar, but most of them are strangers, blurry figures that are only distinctive in that all their eyes are looking at the cage. He yells for their attention, rattles the cage, rages, and sometimes, one of the familiar faces sees him. Tango and Joel at least tried the lock; they didn’t know the passcode any more than he did. Others talk to him, but don’t bother with the lock. Jimmy tries not to be angry. It’s not like it will open without the code.

No one else seems to see him at all, though. They’re too focused on the bird. His words steadily get more and more drowned out by the birdsong, even as the room starts to heat up and smoke starts to coil on the ground. By that point, not even the people who know Jimmy seem to be able to hear him over mesmerizing birdsong, and as he desperately tries to get someone’s attention, vision swimming in and out, desperately tries to reach the lock again, do anything, nothing happens.

And then, one time, they turn to look at him as the bird succumbs before he does to the smoke.

They still don’t get the door open in time.

But the last time Jimmy has the dream, it’s shown him what to do.

He picks up the knife.

And as he exits the mine with blood and yellow feathers on his hands, he does not regret it at all.

#trafficblr #trafficfic #a bee fic #jimmy solidarity #no specific life series for this one #anyway have you ever had a piece of imagery hijack your brain? because that’s what happened here. #animal death #also obviously this is all ~a metaphor~ interpret it however you will.

[bluegiragi]

sometimes ghost just needs to block out everything that isn't johnny.

#so #simon obviously has some issues with intimacy #i think it takes him a long time for him to be okay with showing his belly #metaphorically of course #i just think johnny represents that safe space for him #and the idea of ghost being overwhelmed and dragging johnny into his lap #and just. tucking himself into the crook of his neck. inhaling. #letting the smell of him shudder through him #and a softer #more relaxed exhale #they love each other so much #idk what else to say #ghostsoap #simon ghost riley #simon riley #john soap mactavish #giragi art

[morganmnemonic]

I've seen some people complain about loser, baby featuring Husk comparing his gambling addiction to Angel's sexual abuse. And I feel like this criticism entirely misses the larger context of them bonding over having both sold their souls. Like, maybe slavery isn't quite the right analogy for this situation (it's unclear what power owning someone's soul actually gives you. Alastor and Valentino resort to bribery and manipulation respectively, so whatever power it is doesn't seem to be absolute) but its pretty darn close.

This song is one person who doesn't fully own himself telling another "our lives our fucked beyond repair. Give up your pride, it won't save you anymore. But. We can still make something worwhile out of our lives, if we acknowledge the pain and help each other weather it."

An example ive seen criticiszed a lot is when angel says "it's OK to be a coked up dick suckiny ho?" And husk says "baby that's fine with me"

But in context, husks reply is less '"I see no problem with this and think it's fine" and more "I get it man. I won't abandon you for the things your master makes you do, or the way you cope with them. We're in this together"

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel husk #angel dust #alastor #hazbin hotel valentino #it actually has me very concerned that husk took one look at angel and said #“hes so me coded fr” #like husk #what did alastor do to you #obviously not sex stuff but it seems very probable that Al has dragged him through some sort of metaphorical hell

[theophagie]

#it was funnier in my head but w/e #love how naminé then goes on ''OF COURSE you're happy if you see your Best Friend again. Obviously''. she covered him fr fr #with great power (having had a front row seat to All That) #comes great responsibility (having to metaphorically dive in front of your gay friend like you're shielding him from a bullet when needed) #mytext #soriku #video games #kingdom hearts

[unganseylike]

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“Love Like Ghosts" // The Raven Cycle

When your true love is destined to die, is already dead, or will always be leaving. And other moments of ghostliness. 

#finally this post that has been in the working for so long is up. Not perfect but its up #yes we have now escalated to full songs #a song about ghosts for which i have used no quotes about the canon ghosts #overall goal here was a section for each relationship #which made me realize blue has had a canonical thing with everyone but ronan lol #ignore the fact that i could only get good angsty pynch quotes from greywaren i was struggling to find what i wanted in trc #last part is intentional repetition of different versions of blue kiss me like we have the vision of the first hurt me baby and the actual #obviously huge bias here toward bluesey but thats bc. Well. its all for them <3 #overall happy with this because i feel like it actually encapsulates song and vice versa in terms of the love and ghost metaphor #anyway bluesey car scene said absent presence #lordhuroncycle #perhaps my last lordhuroncycle unless they release new song or i get inspired lol #long post #web weaving

[palossssssand]

Hey there! Are there any other beasts in slug city or is it just the orchid and electric ones?

there are other beasts !! Smooks has one, it's made of paint! Best seen in this image

Delta and Oster and Co. have them too, Delta's is a round-ish beast with many leg and eyes surrounding its entire body with waterfall-like tears. Oster and Co's is one with multiple heads, each representing one of the "main" alters. I would like to heavily rework these both design-wise and concept-wise. Here's old art of them!

#slug city #delta #asks #my art #my ocs #oster #thank you for asking!! #I like the concept of delta's I would just like to redesign it #I like the concept of oster and co's too but I would need to figure out if its. iffy. in terms of depiction of plurality #obviously the beasts are not supposed to literally represent '''the illness''' that each character with a beast has #it IS a manifestation of their problems and issues And societal stigma #which I gotta find out how to make that clearer in the story progression or find a better metaphorical concept for them

[worstloki]

AU where Loki doesn’t interfere with Thor’s banishment at all and it takes Thor years to prove himself worthy and when he returns to Asgard everything is just. The same. Nothing seems to have changed at all and everyone greets him like his absence was a minor obstacle that didn’t fundamentally change Thor and the worst part is Loki stepped down from the place as regent without any delay and Thor can’t help but feel there’s something underlaying the way his brother looks at him now and won’t let him touch him and Thor doesn’t know what he could have missed because he doesn’t think he would have found anything wrong with the things around him and how everyone behaves if he hadn’t spent time on Earth reflecting.

#the warriors 4 not being interested in anything Thor ‘learnt’ at all #and making it clear that Thor was punished unfairly and the AllFather’s decision had been harsh #Loki saying he’s happy for Thor and Thor sees the way the smiles are forced and he sees the way Loki avoids any touch #Thor hating the way Frigga talks about Loki’s short regency and Thor’s absence like it wasn’t two whole decades or something #like she’s so grateful to have her other son back without ever addressing why he was gone #Thor just. growing during his time on earth and being much more aware of the behaviour around him #he learns to be critical and assess why people around him may act a certain way #once he realises that it’s possible for him or anyone else to be fallible and make mistakes it’s over for Asgard for him I think #Thor returns and Loki gives him the throne and everyone expects him to obviously have the throne #and Odin is sleeping and Thor isn’t comfortable with the way everyone accepts him as king regent after the banishment #Loki who either never lashed out against Jotunheim or did and it was brushed away and no one thinks about it as anything #but Loki is still deeply affected and acts the way he always would have but Thor can feel it’s not the same #he knows something is wrong and Loki won’t say anything about it and Thor doesn’t know how to bring it up #Thor sees Loki metaphorically receding into the shadows to become a nonpresence so loud Thor hears it even after returning from decades away #Thor goes to Earth and gets his priorities in order gets a new worldview learns not to take what he has for granted #and finds out he actually despised Asgard #he’s been back a week and he can’t stand it

[knightsickness]

craziest shot in hotd for me still in driftmark immediately after the knife scene where alicent is shown from above as a red head surrounded by valyrian silver hair and silver helmets and criston’s dark head comes to join her. me when the greenie court outsiders theme is theming

#rewatching driftmark. obviously #team green IS them and larys to me i love the hightower targs but they’re sooo they’re so #that scene + larys’ foreign plant that thrives in the crownlands metaphor. you understand #hotd #house of the dragon #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #alicent hightower #criston cole

[aroanthy]

i love how fraught and complicated discourse around various utena characters ‘dying’ is when anthy is literally stabbed to death eternally by a million swords imbued with human hatred. and then utena gets stabbed to death by them also. like. ‘death’ is incredibly interesting in rgu because most of the time it’s this ambiguous figurative thing that has interesting implications re: ohtori as a closed-off world one can escape. we are all trapped in our coffins. mamiya is the only named character with a grave. nemuro memorial hall functions as one all the same. ruka is implied to have died in the hospital— was he dead all along? who was the boy we saw for these two episodes? is this dead boy the same boy, or is this just another coincidence from the shadow girls, cutting like a knife? it’s heavily implied that akio and anthy murder kanae by poisoning her, adding to the previous implication that they were poisoning mr ohtori too, but there are no perceptible consequences of this. kanae’s absence is not felt. she’s fed an apple slice. what happens to the bodies? we know what happened to the 100 boys, but what about everyone else? and so on and so forth. ‘death’ is a tricky thing in utena, i think it’s constantly functioning on figurative and literal levels in very different ways for very different purposes. dios died. dios was dying. dios didn’t die. he grew up. etc etc

#what am i trying to say here? #idk! think about all of the pieces you have #dying is complicated in ohtori in countless different ways #and i find it boring to see so much ‘this character is dead and that’s it’ stuff #when death is used farrrrrrr more figuratively than some ppl give credit for #and i think the movie too does wonderful things with death #and what ‘dying’ really means #being disbelieved. being forgotten. being rejected. haunting despite this #much more interesting to think about wrt commentary on abusive relationships than it is #to think about what?? oh me when my brother died but plot twist he’s alive and can walk on this road all cool. like????? #akio doesn’t have the power to make himself revenant #he THINKS he does and he absolutely has power when he’s alive and he imbues that power with such meaning that it does live on after him #but ANTHY. anthy is the one struggling with herself and her feelings and the impact of trauma and abuse (that power!!) in aou #he’s dead? he died? she brought him back through her memories? or she’s left him (metaphorical death) and he’s haunting her?? #all such interesting interpretations #i haven’t mentioned touga bc i don’t have the energy today. if dead and just illusion of others memories then why active. why awful #like in aou akio is only Obviously scummy when he’s alive. his illusory self is based upon anthy’s love for him #if anime!touga is nothing more than nanami/whoever’s memories of him before he died……. why does he actively choose to suck again and again #like nanami wouldn’t do that. unless it was meant to be a subconscious thing like ooo he’s dead all along but that’s not what her arc is #it’s not ‘he’s been dead all along’ literally or figuratively. it’s ‘he’s unsafe and i don’t want him’ #sigh. once again i am asking people to think about nanami and touga’s dynamic through touga’s eyes #it’s so interesting to me how people forget to consider his motivations or feelings on ANYTHING #like sure his motivations and feelings are scummy but they’re interesting!!!!! they intrigue me!!!! #compel me even #anyway ignore how i said i didn’t have the energy for this and then typed it all out anyway #dais.txt

[newvision]

Every time I drink wine I am will graham looking down at a shot hannibal and we have become each other and he is bleeding out and I am savouring the moment by drinking wine the way he does and I gloat like god often does and he takes the violence the way I did every time he violated me and he almost dies from a distant form of violence but what ultimately really kills him are my hands the way I said I’d do it anyway who wants another glass

#all I’m saying is that this scene was a metaphor for gay sex. hannibal was literally penetrated by the bullet #the details are insane actually #their looks have obviously turned into each other with will all clean shaven and in a button down while Hannibal wears a shirt and informal #blazer #but the way the scene is shot #the angle and the light #wills face being so dark cause we can see the darkness in him #hannibal accepting the pain the way will die when he took a saw to his skull or literallt any other time #they’re turning into each other do you understand they became each other #also most intense eye fucking I’ve ever seen on telly or in real life #also will asking Hannibal if god gloats in Digestivo (or dolce? I forgot) #and then gloating as hannibal is in obvious pain and bleeding out #they should’ve fucked nasty but tbh this was more fun to watch #the way will did* #hannibal #nbc hannibal #hannigram #emmys thoughts on hannibal #mads mikkelsen #Hugh dancy #wrath of the lamb

[mad-aims]

What about when Aziraphale and Crowley kiss in season 3, This happens?

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #wings out 🪽 #it’s a metaphor 🤣 #for something else that ‘pops out’ 🤣🤣🤣 #they obviously made an ‘effort’ 🤣🤣🤣 #mad-aims shower thoughts

[qqueenofhades]

....I feel Some Kinda Way about the capital-Q Queerness of this season thus far, I'll tell you that.

#good omens s2 #i mean it obviously always was a metaphor for queerness and religion #and the damage that religion especially fundamentalist organized religion does to queer people #but that + the maggie/nina subplot #has got me In My Thoughts #this will be very interesting to meta on later i can say that much #(just started ep 3)

[darcyolsson]

panic at the discos three viciously different songwriting formations have accidentally created this really interesting thing in their discography where if youre familiar enough w the band you can easily tell who wrote which songs within the first 30 seconds

#if it's covered in layers upon layers of cynical metaphors and has a general air of humility it's ryan #if it's lyrically fairly straight to the point and about (delusions of) grandeur and/or very obviously written on a piano it's brendon #and dallon is like. idk how (ha ha) to put it into words sometimes its as simple as 'brendon urie does NOT know the word libertine' #but generally it's more like 'the melody on the 3rd line of the prechorus feels distinctly dallon weekes' and then it is him #he has a very specific writing style thats very easy to recognise but only if ur insane enough & have digged through his entire discography #by downloading shady mp3s and listening to youtube lyric videos uploaded in 2008 #personal #p!atd

[beaft]

actually it occurs to me now that you could read "titane" through a transfeminine lens and it would make way more sense than the transmasc interpretation. our protag is a woman who conceals vital parts of herself in an attempt to appear acceptably masculine, despite the severe toll it takes on her. her father insists over and over that she's a boy in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. gradually, he starts to come to terms with the fact that she isn't his son and never has been. at one point he walks in on her wearing a dress and reacts not with anger, but with love and understanding. in the final scene, after being mute for nearly the whole movie, she rejects her male name and asks to be called her female one, and her father complies, showing that he's come to accept her for who she is. like this isn't even me reading into things this is just literally what happens in the movie

#be shh now #titane #transmasc reading is shaky at best and actively offensive at worst #transfem reading? oh baby that's JUICY #like obviously it's metaphorical not literal but it works bizarrely well