#irony or some shit like tht

[keeryd]

Smile today !

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

@onehithero said: also we know theres at least some actual animals besides gadoll liek the scorpion n cows tht show up for a sec in ep 1 so tankers hav tht going for them re: food sources ..SORRY FOR RAMBLING SO MUCH deca dence essay got sleeper agent activated

onehithero said: i rly like what usaid abt kabu from natsumes pov too but i cannot form a half cohernet thought abt tht one

onehithero said: ALSO ALSO i think its interesting how the ep 8 conversation w minato is i think the only time kabu talks abt being jealous of humans being able to choose their own paths

onehithero said: also how minatos convinced hes like a good lil cog in the machine yet hes done 50 things tht wuld get him labeled as a bug but he just ignores all tht. the both of them can be so disconnected w reality

onehithero said: like minato didnt know abt 1)natsume 2) how the system has made kabu so severely depressed n he culdnt put up w it anymore.n minato continues pushing the just go along w the system shit he doesnt understand tht he was contributing to kabus misery.. n bc of tht kabu doesnt trust minato enough to tell him abt natsume for so long but then he goes n asks smth so big of him as go against the system

onehithero said: thinks abt how kabu n minato r obviously so important to each other but minato understands him less n less over time & kabu kinda already knew its risky to confide in minato like minato did know abt pipe which was a long time ago but he didnt know abt natsume til kabu was already sacrifing himself for her sake. n yet kabu then goes n tries to get him on his side anyway cuz he wants tht so badly..

onehithero said: OMG OMG CHEWS THESE WORDS SLOWLY N THROUGHLY SO DELICIOUS THANK U THANK U u get it u understand i love reading n writing essay lengh responses abt deca dence & again u just hit the nail on the head w this

Please let me know if this @ u 8 times and sorry if it did.  I will reply under this readmore but i love this enthusiasm! I like discussing this stuff so if u want keep it coming. I wanna understand deca dence better and i think i will by sharing ideas w other ppl. 

I think kabu and minatos relationship  is as good as it is because theres clearly a lot of mutual love and respect between them even when they don’t understand each other and thats why minato still runs after him when he hears kabu going suicide mission lets go baby. I think its interesting that minato was like ready to lie down and accept getting mass scrapped until he hears kabu go im about to be hilarious and hes like actually living and staying alive sounds great actually forget what i said about it being over.   you are so right about kabu and trust and natsume. I will always cherish episode 5 where kabu gives this big rousing speech about how natsume inspired him and saved his life and minatos there like ..who? ..what?? I think they may not be used to hiding things from each other. Also I think them drifting apart mirrors natsume and feis drifting apart tho I think while feis the instigator on that side kabus more on his side and minato like natsume is like wondering what in da world is going on. I think someone else wrote about this better than I can.

I do think minato does know kabus severely depressed because theres this line in ep 4 where he puts his hand on kabu and says like you’ve toiled enough at that awful job. and also in episode 11 when he and kabu talk and kabu says he was in a similar place as minato now in that he was waiting every day to be scrapped minato has no reaction until kabu says but that bug saved me. I think he knows kabus very depressed but he does not know how to address it cuz the system never gives either of them the tools or options for it. Though also I feel the system discourages meaningful relationships between the cyborgs so I think what minato and kabu have is likely pretty rare. Kabu donetello and turkey also fought together for a long time but turkey turns on donetello in a second even tho they fought together, he was his number two, and they were in prison together, and were pretty much all they got and donetello kills him in turn. I also think minato probably knew because he’s empathetic. Like I’m not sure about compassion but he’s very good at understanding where other ppl are and how to meet them in the middle so both parties get something they want. That’s how he got all the gamers to collect the old deca dence parts. Not by cashing in on ppl doing the right thing but by framing it as the final mission. He gets his lgbt community center coworkers for fight with him one last time by appealing to their sense of duty. He got the system to put kabu in jail instead of getting scrapped when Mikey got scrapped for a lesser offense. The list goes on. A tangent but I think the fact he acknowledges the living conditions of the humans are gonna get worse if nothing’s done even tho he’s apathetic at best towards them shows even when the system tries to mold the cyborgs into the roles it wants, sometimes the traits they have just keep on going despite themselves. I’m gonna stop myself before I go into jill and this theme but I’m gonna talk about it someday. So I think its more likely than not he knew but he didn’t know how to navigate around it also because it’s heavily implied he’s going thru the same thing and I think kabu might genuinely have no idea Bc kabu lacks empathy but his heart... is huge. When he hears minato express his feelings of not knowing what he wants he instantly tries to reach out and explain minatos not alone in what he feels. This is why they’re good foils. while kabu moves past where he was in the start where he states he does not intend to oppose the system and his compliance while also trying to do the bare minimum drives him to suicide, and finds the willpower and a reason to live and rebel against the system through his connection to other people (first natsume , he hangs out w kurenai sometimes too, and then with the jail robots). Meanwhile minato whos stuck in his literal ivory tower (it’s a Metaphor) never makes any of these connections. It’s the irony of kabu working at a armor repair job giving him some ability to connect w others vs minatos higher position isolating him from everyone else. I think kabu living amongst the ppl he harmed drove him to give up on life quicker, while minato being far apart shielded him from rlly having to see the effects of his actions I think he was headed a lil slower in the same direction. I think we’re led to believe minatos okay where he is but I think towards the end it’s clear minato has spent most of the series also in a bad place. I think he views things very similarly to kabu in that he wants to use what power he does have to protect the ppl he cares about similar to how initially kabu tried to just convince natsume to quit several times and he was like whatever at the rest of the humans who are natsumes comrades dying but he chooses to put it all on the line and try for some systemic change when he sees natsumes determination to fight. Also I think minato holds very little loyalty to the system cuz he doesn’t only like breaks 1000 rules for kabu (the hypocrisy) but he also looks the other way a lot. For example, when he overheard the top rankers talk about limiters he’s like I’ll pretend I don’t hear it also turn on private mode next time and he doesn’t berate them for considering cheating. Also donetello has been using an illegal avatar to climb to S rank again (isn’t it interesting that even after the ranked system is abolished something similar took its place). And his avatar looks the same as it did when minato worked with the guy. There’s probably like not that many ppl in s rank. And he calls himself donetello. Minato knows he’s supposed to be in jail but does he tell anyone? He’s like well.. that looks like someone else’s problem if they notice *goes and vapes* it’s so funny how little minato cares but it’s also not funny Bc some of minatos cruelest actions and things he’s complicit in are born not outta malice but apathy to everything. I think it shows (tangent number 4?) how the systems use of excessive force is counter productive cuz neither minato nor kabu are willing to report anything to disrupt the order Bc neither of them think the level of punishment is warranted. I also think that minato is probably the first person kabu really opens up to about why on a personal level he feels the system needs to be destroyed after Ep 7 is really interesting. It really speaks to how deep their [mutual and not platonic relationship I don’t know how to label ] is. I also think that he admits to minato that he envies human is rlly interesting and would like to hear what u have to think! I think it’s interesting that what really sets minato off is kabu saying he wants to choose for himself and also wants other cyborgs to have that freedom and I think it’s one of the few times we see minato get genuinely angry and have it not stem from worry. Tangent 5 I’m really extrapolating here but I think it’s very likely given how high up minato is that he likely knows of several cyborgs that rebelled against the system for similar reasons as kabu and knows how it ends and I think it probably feeds into his defeatist attitude. I think his role in the system must really kill whatever grasp of whatever minato has cuz he constantly has to act like it’s almost the end of the world and he’s strapped for resources all the time for like decades and decades of having to fake that type of desperation to entertain ur player base and cuz ur also on tv to entertain the general populace to distract them from their soul sucking jobs. I think that’s gotta mess with his perception of himself and also his ability to see that struggle as real and genuine. I think that’s also gotta be hard cuz he seems like out of his whole fuck we r under attack persona he seems like he’s a lil closed off but generally chill and somewhat upbeat to ppl who know him and he just wants to be isabella from animal crossing. I got really off track here. I think what really gets me is their relationship is built on knowing each other so well and so long , and how it’s managed to survive and persist through all this tragedy. They really mutually respect and love each other and that’s why kabu let’s minato walk away from his revolution even tho it compromises everything he works for. It’s why minato ultimently accepts kabus willingness to die for a tanker even tho he really doesn’t get it at all and it means it’s goodbye forever. But it’s still not enough to save either of them. Minato can’t save kabu from trying to passively starving himself to death and I’m not sure if kabu even knows where minato is at mentally. Sometimes no matter how close u are to someone there r things u miss and things u can’t help each other with. Even tho the two resolve to fight and then die together cuz this seems like the best choice Bc the system they were born into offers no alternatives, the deca dence doesn’t even activate without the help of other ppl. I think it shows one relationship cant support all that weight. In the end it is through their bonds with other ppl that gets them to an ending where they both survive when they decided alone their only option is death. Also u are so right about the other animals existing I totally forgot ty I cannot believe I forgot about the scorpion which calls to natsumes hairstyle which is a visual gag on how natsumes a bug and how like a scorpion, although unassuming, and fucking kill u, just like how her trying to get her boss to open up eventually leads to the whole thing toppling down. I also have a lot of thoughts about natsume but I’m still thinking of them and thinking hard Bc sometimes she becomes kabus inspiration Pinterest board and I don’t like that. When she shines she really shines but it starts getting sloppy towards the end so I have to think a lil longer about it. Okay I’m done. Also it’s kinda hard for me to look like I’m agreeing to ur points and nodding in this format but I really appreciate ur thoughts and will try to convey this. Maybe by formatting as a response to each of ur replies next time

[serenagaywaterford]

Hi there :) You've made me very curious about Anne Carson but I've never read anything by her, is there anything you'd rec for a first read ?

OH! HI!! Okay... Carson is... Not the most approachable writer in the sense that her prose is, well, whatever the fuck she wants it to be, however she wants it. Sometimes it’s not even words lol. It sometimes can defy a strict definition, and her grammar, syntax, etc. may seem haphazard. And she can be seen as a dense read, mostly due to the deluge of references she makes to all sorts of mythology, classical lit, cultural iconography, etc etc etc. To make comparisons (since hey, THT) to Atwood cos yeah, female Canadian poets unite. Atwood is less abstract and far less reliant on references, more visceral and immediate in her what she evokes. I find myself not often having to sit with Atwood going, “What the FUCK does THAT mean?” While obviously sometimes there are deeper layers to her work (poetry specifically), there’s a sort of strong reaction almost instantaneously because you can just feel it. (I mean, some of her books are more work, cos lbr, THT is prolly not one of her better books (and the Testaments really is not a good book, imo). It’s very basic almost, comparatively, but those are what most people are most familiar with now.) When Atwood speaks of women, feminism, God, or nature, you just know.  Carson is some other sort of being. So you really have to be very prepared to sometimes sit with something because first you must decode the language. Now, not always. Some of her stuff is less obtuse than others but the woman is a philosopher as well as a poet and essayist, so like all philosophers, she’ll layer shit and just not say other shit and ask questions in what look like statements. This isn’t to say Carson isn’t evocative, or isn’t as evocative as Atwood for example, cos she is, mostly. It... sometimes, there’s just a little more thought involved on the part of the reader. Atwood does a lot of the work for us, and I think her assistance there is a lot of why I love her approach cos I want to feel a lot, without having to sit and pick apart each line and word. Now, that said, often delving deeper into Atwood really, really drives things home and you can get way more from it but I don’t think always that is absolutely necessary to enjoy her poetry, and especially not her prose. Carson, you just have to be prepared. Maybe sometimes you won’t. But I’ve found more people turned off by Carson’s style than Atwood’s. BUT this makes it sound like they’re very different and contrasting, but really, it’s not as if Carson is THAT impenetrable. She’s really not. If you like Atwood, Carson will probably be a nice step up, maybe sideways? Cos where Atwood uses a fair amount of religious/Christian and nature symbolism, Carson is almost dependent on mythology (mostly Greek, but she does delve into Judeo-Christian as well) and literature. If you like Atwood in her more The Blind Assassin sort of style, Carson should be accessible enough.  Keep in mind too, Carson, was first and foremost a translator of ancient Greek texts (and Latin, iirc), and she drew. She didn’t write until her 20s and still doesn’t quite seem to consider herself a proper “writer”. So, if you want to sort of get an idea of her influences, her translations of Sappho are one place to start. (Arguably, her translations of Sappho are the most famous ones.) But she has done many Greek texts. If this what you are into, I would recommend Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides. You’ll see quotes from that a lot on Tumblr.  Personally, and I say this completely personally, I’d read a few of her poems and then Autobiography of Red. This is not a novel nor is it a poem. It’s like some mishmash of the two. Again, style. It is probably one of her most famous and most accessible books, and it’s not too long either. You just have to be prepared to read “a novel” in “verse” form. (I put all these things in quotes cos... who knows how to define things anymore.)  BUT if you don’t want that yet...   I personally hear a lot of praise for Eros The Bittersweet (a lot of academics really love it) but I wouldn’t recommend that as a starting point. Unless you really like Classical lit. Personally, I do recommend Autobiography of Red, but if you wanna start with individual poems/”essays” aka “texts”, I would say go first to Glass, Irony and God. It’s really a personal preference and includes one of her most famous/popular poems, “The Glass Essay”. I like “The Truth About God”, also. And I am partial to the “Book of Isaiah” too from the same collection, although that’s not exactly a popular opinion but honestly “The Gender Of Sound” is something really special to me as a feminist, and is much more of an essay than poetry prose--and it is a great exploration of the female voice in literature. After that, I’d move onto Plainwater: Essays and Poetry. (I’d rec "The Anthropology of Water".) This may be her best collection? It really reignites poetry for a lot of people.  Basically, I’d try to stick to her works from the 90s. Her newer stuff? Meh. I mean, I have yet to read Float, tbh. So maybe I’m not being fair. Haven’t read Red Doc > either (which is a “sequel” to Autobiography of Red) but I mean, if you’re gonna pick up anything of hers post-2000, maybe I’d say Decreation, again for the essays?   Here’s just a short article about Carson. It’s a nice overview of Carson, and her place in culture right now, although it’s not really about how to get started reading her.  Just for shits and giggles, cos it’s not a full Carson book, but The Blue of Distance. Mostly cos I also love Rebecca Solnit and her part of the book is great too. But this isn’t really a book you can download.

[ofstvtches]

ROCKY LYNCH,  MASCULINE NB,  HE/HIM & THEY/THEM.  —  looks  like  SAMHAIN SKELLINGTON is  attending  AURORIA  UNIVERSITY  in  auradon.  they're  the  TWENTY  year  old  child  of  JACK & SALLY SKELLINGTON,  which  means  they're  from  THE ISLE.  heard  they're  NURTURING  &  GENTLEMANLY,  but  can  also  be  INFLEXIBLE  &  SELF-PITYING  ;  we  all  have  our  bad  days.  people  normally  associate  them  with  SEWING NEEDLES REPAIRING A BROKEN DOLL , A BAG FULL OF BANDAGES, TRYING SO HARD TO BE TOUGH WHEN YOU’RE SOFT , SOFT HAIR HELD BACK WITH A BAT-SHAPED PIN.

                    ❛  when you saw that little girl , and she was in the sandbox                            and she was crying , and you gave her your toy truck and                            I told you we couldn’t afford to get another one. you said ,                          ‘ she should have it because she’s sad. she’s sad , mommy. ’ ❜                            playlist. pinterest. to listen as you read.

lol u guessed it it’s me , again , by unpopular demand - i am so sorry. third muse already bc i can’t keep myself away from playing absolute CINNAMON ROLLS so that’s what u can expect from sam w/ a pumpkin spice twist. bc nightmare is my absolute favorite movie and ... halloween, motherfuckers. so as usual this will PROBABLY end up long bc i love writing sam so much so yeah , more below ! 

HISTORY 

So as we know , Jack & Sally were sent to the Isle w/ the rest of Halloweentown for trying to steal Christmas ! And unlike Christmas , Samhain was not born in Halloweentown. In fact , he wasn’t even born - he was made. 

Magic wasn’t a huge thing on the Isle - but a resource of science was Dr. Finkelstein , and despite the limited resources and technology on the Isle , the couple begged the mad scientist to create another child for them. And from Sally , it took a lot of convincing , but Jack was able to talk him into it. 

It took even more of an effort to pull off , again considering the state of the Isle. But a good few months into the project and Jack & Sally were greeted with the cries of a tiny ragdoll baby boy. Keeping up with the holiday themed names , he was named Samhain - Sam for short. 

He grew with multiple touch-ups from the doctor to simulate an actual boy growing up - every year , a check-up making him taller , stronger , etc. And in that process he started to look more and more like his mother , with her big eyes and stitched smile and patchwork clothes. But he grew up loved by his brother & parents - though it never quelled the fact he always wanted... more.

He was loved , he was coddled , and as sheltered as a child could be on the Isle. So , much like his mother , he took a habit of sneaking out frequently and trying to fit in with the other Isle kids , even though he knew he didn’t. 

He just wanted to fit in. That was it. And it started off with him wearing large hoods and heavy clothes to hide the stitches on his body as well as masks to cover facial stitches. And while some other Isle kids found him odd and sticking out like a sore thumb , some found him cool. Some found him interesting. But nobody really knew what he was hiding - and it added mystery to someone so NICE , because Sam’s overall sweetness could rival that if sugar’s. 

Curiosity only reached dangerous points though when Sam snuck out on night to camp out with friends - and when everyone else was asleep , one removed his mask , and of COURSE did Samhain immediately wake up. He didn’t stay to see the reaction of the other when revealing his stitches , too afraid that he’d be seen as scary or repulsive for what he was. And he ran. He ran back home , locking himself in his room , and those friends he routinely hung out with . . . well , he didn’t talk to them much after that. Because what if they knew , now ?? What would they think ??

Villain & Auradon kids coming together was a new chance for Sam to try and fit in - be more in his element. He was immediately acquainted with a magic-practicing individual ( could be an AK or a VK - this’ll be a wc ) who struck a deal with him to offer him glamours so he could look less scary. Of course , these glamours would have to be applied and would wear off until the next application , but it’d make him feel more comfortable - even though he WOULD technically be hiding who he is.

While Christmas , the elder sibling , would be sticking around in Auradon Prep , Samhain would prefer to move immediately to Auroria University to try and figure out who exactly he wanted to be , and how he could do that. Currently he’s majoring in Nursing , given he’s always had a rather NURTURING and charitable nature - never turning down someone else’s request to help.

CHARACTER & FACTS 

So lemme get this one thing out of the way bc if I don’t I’ll be itching about it - but all my resources for ( the love of my life ) Rocky were made by me , and while they’re all from multiple eras from both R5 & TDE , I imagine Sam to resemble how Rocky looks around the post-Louder , Heart Made Up On You & Sometime Last Night eras ( basically from like 2013-2015 ). Here , here , & here for some references. I’m nOT DONE GIFFING THOUGH bc frankly I find giffing him therapeutic.

Now I don’t have a drawn reference or anything for this next part so we’re gonna have to use our imagination here but unglamoured , Sam basically looks like his mom in terms of the fact he’s a little ragdoll baby. Putting on a glamour doesn’t change his appearance much save for the fact the stitches disappear and he looks more human. 

The glamour is an enchanted bat charm he wears around his neck that can also be used as a hairtie. And it has to be refreshed every so often , so he has to keep going back to whoever provided him with it so it doesn’t lose its effect.

He still has a backup mask just in case , and he’s been practicing with makeup if need be.

Personality-wise , the best one can describe Sam as is sweet and polite. I included tht Stranger Things quote at the beginning 4 a rEASON bc he’s honestly such a sweet kid and will give anything to anyone.

And also bc I imagine Sally as Joyce mom-wise so yEAH bt I digress.

He knows his manners and treats everyone with the UTMOST amount of respect , which makes it extremely easy to get along with him . He’s also maybe a tad bit too giving for his own good , since it’s incredibly easy to use that to one’s advantage and he’s so inclined to believe people have the best intentions. An optimist , even if it’s to a fault. And then when he gets hurt he just sits to the side feeling sorry for himself like “ :’’’(. ”

Now when I say he’s inflexible , I mean that Sam is a very ORGANIZED person who likes things to be done a certain way - like , he can never do anything without a plan , and if even something slightly goes out of what the plan pertains of , he panics. He’s a goody-goody and he’s afraid to break the rules , which is why he’s still hesitant to even do things with the friends who are more “ bad ” than he is.

Everything has to be done BY THE BOOK and if it isn’t then something is bound to go wrong and Sam’s too worried about that happening.

He’s also incredibly insecure about his appearance but I think I’ve hammered in that fact enOUGH ALREADY

But if he takes his glamour off in front u that’s like. A Major sign of trust. So beware.

Again as I mentioned he tries to hang out with kids with the lesser reputations because :

1.) He wants to give them a chance

2.) He wants to make sure they have a friend to look after them

and 3.) He’s so used to trying to fit in with the other Isle kids that he’s trying to be ‘bad’ himself but it never works out bc he’s so sweet and he can dress in skinny jeans and leather and shit as much as he wants but at the end of the day he’s still Sweet Lil’ Samhain. 

One thing he’s always had a fascination with would be angels - he’s always believed in them , always though he’s had his own guardian angel watching over him somewhere , he’s always loved the idea of them. He has lots of angel decorations around his dorm as well as ornaments and stuff for the holidays. It’s also pure irony that he just so happens to be just as angelic in nature.

He’s also a big holiday person like the rest of his family and loves helping to decorate for events and stuff !!

One of his greatest talents is his ability to play both the piano & violin , and he’ll often do that if there’s a piano in common areas or so on. He’s also a talented singer , but he’s so used to putting that to the side , making him lack confidence in his voice.

i v much encourage u to listen to the song i linked i find his voice so....soothing.

Like his mom he’s also very good at cooking , sewing , etc. !! Often has to stitch himself back together if he gets hurt - you know , Sally style. 

More basic facts are that his final height clocks in at 6′4 , he’s homoromantic homosexual , and identifies as masculine non-binary who doesn’t really care how you address him. He’s very chill. And sometimes he has to walk with a cane of sorts if his stitches are loose or if his legs are feeling especially weak.

but yeah that’s it on that end !!!

WANTED CONNECTIONS

So obviously - the person who provided him with the glamour. Only requirement is that ur character’s good at magic or something of that sort.

AND ALSO - I’d love the person who initially removed his mask !! Sam didn’t stick around to see them react to how he truly looked , so it’s all up to you on how this character feels. But he’s avoided them since that scenario.

Also , his group of friends around the time that scenario happened on the Isle. Maybe they’re a little more rough around the edges than him , but this group was always tight-knit. And then Sam lightning mcghosted bc he wasn’t sure if now they knew what he really was.

Ppl who think his whole sweet thing is fAKE bc we know it isn’t but it’s so easy to THINK it is.

Also would love some folks he routinely cares for maybe in the aspect of like. Bein their shoulder to cry on. Patching up a wound. Just being There for them. 

Folks who in general just wanna know more abt him bc he is kind of a mystery !!

Would lOVE sb who his glamour wears off in front of and he begs them to keep his secret but instead they want him to try n be more comfortable w/ himself and who he is. Bc he’s a cute ragdoll let’s b honest he just. Doesn’t see himself that way. 

Ppl who Sam crushed on at the Isle and deffo broke his heart bc life just b like that sometimes 

Also present day folks who r just ready to break his heart bc again thats so easy to do

also once more i’m open 2 ANYTHINNNNNNG sam is my Baby(tm) and i’d lov any plots thrown his way !! will probs make another wc page for him like i’ve done w/ luke and am in the process of doing w/ trixie !!

[anissapierce]

The origin story of marcie calling patty sir is actually p funny ? 4 some reason patty's teaching younger kids in Sunday school n marcys the lil shit tht keeps calling her sir..like most characters marcy was aged up within like a year to better for the comic

Early peanuts were so silly schroeder was introduced as a baby, at the very beginning the joke was that everyone was in kindergarten and charlie brown was one year older and being bullied by these toddlers

In a funny piece of irony the panels leading up to sally's birth Linus is doing math to decide when the age difference wouldn't make it weird for them to get married (Lucy was aged up of course now she's only like one or two years tops younger than Linus )

[gruby88]

The story clerks is kind of amazing. A lower-middle class kid from suburban New Jersey starts working at a video store, where he mets a guy heavily into movie. He broadens his horizons enough with some Independent Film Fair hangouts, a place where future classics like Linklater’s „Clacker” would appear. The kid, known as Kevin SMith, get so into it he ges to cheap canadian film school to make his own movies.

He drops out mid-semester, because school is boring and boring things are just not interesting. But he assembles a rudimentary crew of rpoducer Scott Mosier and cinematographer Klark, makes some credit card fraud for 30k dollars and starts making his debut movie - Clerks.

Shot over a month at a store Smith worked at - the movie is basically two dudes just having a weird day at work. They talk in a very verbose style, giving this sophistication to the most inane of topics while serving wacky customers and slowly bulding up to a broader lesson the love subplot signifies.

In spite of it’s blue collar setting of a convinience store, the movie appears to be ideologyless. IThe characters, or rather maybe SMith himself, seem to have no real  thoughts about politics. There’s no big boss acting as villain. there’s no goals.  A guy who sells chewing gum starts a riot in the store but that never gets any commentary, it’s just a gag. There’s just empty void of depression. And 90s kinda were like that. Reagan and Tatcher turned the world into a capitalist hellhole, everything seemed meaningless beyond monetary value, with no real way out of the system.

It still does btw.

And thus, the valued commodity of early 90s was realness. The was a market for what we believe to be real. Swearing, being drunk in public, greasy haired rockers were not the world finally manning up to some sick guitar riffs, it was an open craving for somethig real. Something raw. Or at least as raw as we can stomach, there’s a reason why pretty boy Eddie Vedder got famous, and shit-slinging rockers like GG Allin just remained too hot for tv.

And realness wasn’t just to be consumed, it gave us hope that we can too become recognizable for just being ourselves. And it times before reality tv, vlogs, instagram stories and facebook posts - to scratch that itch we had to look for people like us on the big screen. For validation that our averageness is significant in some way.

And Clerks was the perfect movie for the generation of directionless stoners, loners, geeks, nerds, outcasts, mclovins of their time. It was just two dudes being smartasses for 90 minutes.

So how does CLerks hold up in 2020?

Welp.

The movie itself is kinda good. Very funny still. It encapsulates early 90s attitude of not giving a fuck pretty flawlessy with worst attitued played up to maximum. There’s no stakes, characters hardly have an arc to follow, it just kind of is. It meanders with no purpose and that kind of is the point. It’s lack of effort seems to be intentional to signify the lack of effort in the characters. It’s as dull as your life, but also has all the things that make it bearable. The funny friend. The fact that low-paying jobs have the best stories because you mostly deal with other low-income people wh are usually insane from all the stress.

C A P I T A L I S M

One thing that caught my eye was contempt for store customers. You’d think Smith would find compassion for fellow low-classians, but no. I wroked commerce so I know, the best stories are the ones about people you don’t hold too dear to your heart and called names to their face because they just put you past the tipping point. But politics of clerks is basically - look at this dumb motherfuckers interrupting me doing fuck all at my job. There’s no hint of irony or self-awareness. Like, at some point the cool guy, Randall fucking GRAVES, just spits water at a guy point blank for being kinda stupid about tabloids. And is presented as the guy we want to be, the cold calculated friend with instant funny comment about anything.

I guess this is a display of Kev-dawgs immaturity. He is not aware, that what he perceives as cool carries a broader social commentary and a lesson that’s beyond a joke about customers being weird. Which is kinda part of the charm. That Smith doesn’t know, or simply doesn’t care that he shows us the worst people ever, which is why it’s so authentic. It’s brutal when put like that, but it is the voice of the part of america that gets the worst jobs. And this is what they think of you. That you’re assholes for making them work. ANd that speaks to countless generations of kids who would never have a voice in cinema. There was never a cool representation for chubsters with affection for superheroes. They want to believe that their lack of sex skills will result in a girl mistakenly fukcing a corpse in pursuit of them and not just straight rejection.

And it works like that because the movie is pretty consequenceless for our main characters. Randall has no stakes in anything and just spits onelines. He throws some food around which I guess is pretty dramatic, but that’s about his impact on the story.

The story centers around the main character of Dante. A guy who has unexplanedly two women fight for his affection even thouth his bed skills seem to be comparable to rigor mortis. And is just an asshole to both off them. He scolds his girlfriend for having broad sexual past, and then gets mad when he learns that his ex moved on. Lots of room for improvement as a person.

Anyways, his lesson? Ditch the ex who will most likely never recorver and is now useless as you can’t fuck, and go back to your main chick. This is actually the whole arc of the movie. Dante learns that his options are limited, and he should bank on girls that actually can stand him. And it’s not even my interpretation, the movie ends with the director, playing the iconic  SIlnet Bob, explaining the movie to us via a monologue to the main character.

But all of this makes the movie work. Becuase it perfectly captures tht moment in life when you’re kinda too naive to figue out that having good taste in movies does not a good person make, but also old enough to not be dismissed or get in trouble for challanging the status quo.

Even after dogma, where peoles good will towards smith reached its peak and for a second he was about to enter the mainstream legit, not just as an indie wonder funny guy. He was not treated as seriously as after Clerks. And smith ate it up. He played into it. 90s Kevin is way more full of himself than his later laid back slacker persona of the public speaking era. Kevin loves the implication that he is this working class genious, the smartass philosopher of the gen x, taking popular culture and treating it like art. Big words. And he is not wrong, lthout his takes.. usually are.

Kevin is prominently featured as an intro interviewer for Josh petersen, indie distributor that wrote  book about how he performs the most boring aspect of the movie making - selling the thing.

But seeing this movie now, being 10 years older than kevin when he made it. I can feel the excitement of voice emerging, and „that’s beautiful, man”.

[merryfortune]

Hey do you think you could tell me your favorite things about some of your ocs? I haven't made any in a while but I was found that it was fun recently to chose some random songs from my history and make ocs based off of them! How do you normally make ocs? I have a bit of a hard time making them but I want to get better!

I use the song selection method too! That’s how i made the OCs I used for my HSC drama project. It can be very effective. 

I normally just let OCs come to me. I was watching  thunderstorm from a car once and thought, this emotion I’m currently having needs to be captured (nd Dorothy was born from tht) I see a person on the street with a cool shirt and I think, man I could imagine Cressida wearing that or I’m watching something and i’m like: That’s a really cool character flaw or trait.(me about Slav tbh) But you can bet your sweet ass they always come from my insecurity that I don’t have True Friends(tm) ///nervous laughter

I just make characters up on the fly...... i’ve never thought about it much until I realise I have gaping holes that probably don’t need to be filled lol

Favourite things about my OCs

I can explore stuff I would be killed if i tried to do (everything from gentle fisticuffs to the perfect romance to gotdamn murder)

I can make them kiss

I can make them be friends

i am very lonely and isolated nowadays

I cAN MAKE THEM WEAR COOL CLOTHES AND NO ONE CAN BAG THE OUT ON HAVING BAD FASHION BECAUSE THAT IS THE FASHION

I can give them pink, blue, or whatever coloured hair i want because their my characters so I can decided their appearance

I can make them say the sassiest, cleverest shit to each other . The Piper/Cressida exchange over shoes is a stand out. (Cressida: I wasn’t going to say anything but your boots are kinda ratty. Piper: Says the slut in thigh highs)

I can do cool meta stuff with them like personality powers(tm), irony(tm), foils(tm), narrative book ends(tm), stuff like that

[ildivine]

rping has always been cathartic for me, helpin me deal w my own shit indirectly, putn my creativity somewhere relatable, etc.

its an awkward disconnect cuz some of my rp partners dont kno abt my kin life/otherwise ignore it, but thats alright.

ive been writing abt connor switching chassis & him n 900 bein stuck in the same head. takin turns takin control. ive never written anything like tht before but its a fun irony all things considered!

particularly cuz i used to have a similarly terrible alter-ego once upon a time, but i dont think abt that much anymore. writing bodysharing n fighting over control is just FUN(tm)

[serenagaywaterford]

How are you liking mrs America so far? I watched the first episode, liked it. It’s well made, great cast! But while I love Serena Joy, I can’t do it with Phyllis Schlafly. So I am a little unmotivated to continue.

I only have one glaring problem with Mrs. America, and that is how much they seem to have declawed and softened Phyllis imo. She was SO MUCH WORSE. So much. And, I don’t even know who to blame (I’m tempted to blame Blanchett again cos Hollywood just doesn’t seem to grasp this shit and her bubble is particularly impenetrable to reality. But it really could have been anybody and everybody on the production.) If anybody only knows about her from this show, they’ll think she was a lot less awful than she really was. (The only other thing I am not too fond of is the irony of Margaret’s inclusion and her literally talking about tokenism while the show itself is basically doing that too.) I don’t think you should have to like Schlafly at all to like the show itself, esp since so much of it is not actually about her. The good part of the show is the other side. Gloria Steinem, etc etc. I especially don’t think you need to sympathise with Phyllis at all. I mean, I guess, the issue is that she’s just not very deeply developed. Serena Joy started out the same way--and most viewers responded the way you are to Phyllis. She didn’t have A LOT of character development in the first two episodes (although I am going to go out on a limb and make the bold claim that Yvonne Strahovski is 10x the actress Blanchett is, which is partly why Serena resonates so much more. Yeah, yeah, yeah, bring out the pitchforks. Her nuance in portraying Serena is what makes Serena a character worth watching. The other part is how she’s written and developed by Atwood/ the THT team. There needs to be MORE to Schlafly for her to even be interesting as a character. I think in neutering her “evil” (likely to may her more palatable and try to evoke some emotional conflict with viewers (too bad they failed)) they’ve actually made the character less interesting overall. An oddly, less approachable as a character to care about. (One way or another.) Also Serena is an amalgamation of Schlafly and others (like Baker), and she’s fictional, which allows for a lot more leeway in the character, especially once the show exhausted Atwood’s source material and went their own way. Real people are often less interesting than sensationalised and fictional ones. We’ve been spoiled by Serena’s creation/development. Schlafly does have her own issues that will come out a bit more over the course of the episodes. And there are always going to be multiple layers to misogyny and esp the internalized type, and Schlafly is no exception to this. How she copes and resists this is fairly obvious but you know... something to think about. But like I said, to enjoy Mrs. America, I’d just stop looking towards Schlafly/Blanchett for a reason to watch. She is possibly the least interesting character (altho personally I don’t find Betty Freidan that interesting either). She was a bland, nasty person, and when they take away some of her overt nastiness, they’ve made her blandness stand out more. But there are way more things to dig into. Steinem is arguably the center of the show.

[serenagaywaterford]

Omg your tags are everything 🤣 Personally, I like Luke; we don’t see him enough that it feels like he’s a focal point over the women, but I do like checking in with him. As for Lawrence, I just like the actor lmao But yeah, fuck Nick. He’s not attractive, he’s so boring, he doesn’t emote, and he served his purpose so just go away already cause he’s taking up valuable time that could be spent on the ladies

:DDD You cannot imagine my sheer joy seeing your post! It’s quite a thing to just come out and say it in the tags on this hellsite ;) (I’m not that brave!)

Yeah, I do like Luke in the sense that I understand his purpose, and he is a necessary character (at this point still), and that he’s just such a perfect example of how and why “good” men let and continue to let Gilead happen. And his personal story is definitely sidelined enough that you’re totally right, he doesn’t take anything away from the women who the story is really about. (Although I think 1x07 is one of the worst, most pointless episodes of the whole series. And I say that as someone who is constantly complaining that THT isn’t worldbuilding outside Gilead enough, lol. I just don’t think we needed an entire filler episode to show that there’s some people (1 man, 2 men? Honestly I’d don’t remember much lol) who don’t agree with Gilead and there’s some vaguely organised resistance/escape route/“railroad”. [Please don’t make me call it by it’s name! lol])

Lawrence is interesting in the sense that he’s obviously got a purpose to the larger narrative, and he’s gonna play a decent role in the resistance. But my issue is just that I don’t want them to waste like a whole episode or even half-episode giving us flashbacks and background on him? I mean, I don’t think we need that. We know he is a war criminal; I don’t really care how he got there? (I’d honestly be more interested in Fred if we’re going to learn about why powerful men decided that was the route they wanted to go. That said, I don’t care about Fred’s backstory much at all unless it helps to illuminate Serena’s.) To me it seems fairly obvious? (Aunt Lydia and Serena on the other hand, now there are stories to be told that are more relevant to the themes of the show, imo anyway.) Not to mention the actual current plot(s) that need to be developed. The men are effective characters when used to expand and develop the female ones. Like, character props lol. Just on their own merits? Personally, I’m not all that interested. I can watch any other (dystopian) TV show (or the news or history channel lol) for man stories. I know people disagree so this is just my own perspective and interests in terms of THT.

N*ck tho… (Welcome to my world of unnecessary censorship!) Absolutely everything you said, I 1000% agree with. He’s completely redundant at this point in the series. He brings nothing to the show either as a character or actor, unless you’re a N*ck fangirl or one of those crazy N/J shippers that has made the entire show about him (and them, because it’s him). [Yes, I understand the irony of me talking shit about other shippers, when half my THT content is a non-canon problematic af f/f ship, lol.] There are just so many stories to tell about Handmaids, Marthas, Aunts, Econowomen/girls, and I suppose Wives (though those seem fairly obvious lol) that I’d rather not have to sit through 10 minutes per episode wasted on N*ck brooding (if Mingella could act, that is), or N*ck/June making goo-goo eyes at each other with absolutely the bare minimum of chemistry. (Poor Moss, tbh. It must be very difficult to have to carry 100% of every scene with him on her shoulders. She does her best. Honestly, if it wasn’t for her incredible screen presence, that important part of June’s story would have been a complete and utter flop cos he certainly wasn’t selling it.) And I’m not even gonna touch what a douche (or just not great) the character himself is, cos at this point I’ve been bitter enough, lol.

Frankly, I’d rather go to Subway and watch the guy there make me a sandwich. That has about as much entertainment value as uwu N*ck does to me at this point lol. ;) I’d get more out of that. Like, a somewhat appetizing sandwich.

[kai-beanz]

SCREAMING, IM EATING THIS UP

Smile today !