#Anna is actually enjoying this bonding time

[fruitysmellz]

I saw this joke on Facebook and thought it would fit the gremlin energy in our ✨✨✨ Flowers kids ✨✨✨

[aguacerotropical]

ETA Hoffman's Tomcat Murr and Noé Archiviste: A Tale of References Referencing References

(A sculpture of German writer ETA Hoffman (1776-1822) and his cat Murr in Bamberg, Germany that inspired the creation of Noé Archiviste and Murr in The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki.)

So, this is a long post with a lot of quotes. The idea is that Mochijun took the general structure for the manga from this obscure text by otherwise well known writer ETA Hoffman. The pictures speak for themselves, but the introduction to the text recalls a lot of VnC's themes.

This is the text im using: The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr (1820). (link to Anna's Archive).

From Fantasy and Science Fiction:

This complex, truly wild fiction, created in the mid-1800's, is the autobiography of the tomcat Murr, written on the backs of the pages of a manuscript he has clawed to pieces. Interspersed with Murr's musings is the biography of Kappelmester, Johannes Kreisler, Murr's owner. Kreisler was the pseudonym under which ETA Hoffmann published his brilliant critical essays on music, and Murr was the real name of his cat. Through these two entities, he pieced together the fragments of his own shattered psyche and commented on the relationship of art and artists to society

And now I am simply going to cherry-pick some quotes from the book's introduction. I wanted to write a long essay on them, but that is simply not happening any time soon. VnC fandom theorists - knock yourselves out:

On Plagirism and References:

“Murr’s wilful destruction of Kreisler’s book, by which his work becomes a palimpsest, signals the novel’s fascination with reflections and plagiarism. This is also evident in the innumerable quotations from Goethe, Shakespeare, Mozart and many others.

Literature arises through a dialogue with earlier art, being both imitation and aesthetic cannibalism.

On the protagonists:

“The protagonists prove to be opposites, too, Murr (Noé-ish) being the lovable cat, a calm, integrated, vain, self-satisfied and confident bourgeois who enjoys an unproblematic relation to his comrades and the opposite sex. (Alright the opposite sex bit barely applies sexually or romantically, but there is an air of innocence that is familiar.).

Kreisler (Vanitas-like) by contrast, is the neurasthenic, anguished genius, unable to find a niche in society or to satisfy his desires; an artist whose wildly pendular moods swing between radical extremes, from the plainly ridiculous to the loftily sublime.”

On The Shapelss One and Marquis Machina On Master Abraham:

“The novel’s two halves are linked by Master Abraham, Murr’s owner and Kreisler’s mentor."

“The mysterious, Faust-like magus Master Abraham is closely associated with his machines and curiosities, like his ‘marine trumpet’.

On Noé Murr:

"As in a human Bildungsroman, the story relates how the cat repeatedly succumbs to delusion and reawakens to higher knowledge. "

On Humanity:

“Personality seems unstable. The self seems liable to split and confront its doppelgänger, being at the mercy of strange outer forces or inner impulses.

Thus the plot demonstrates the intricate but fragile bond that unifies the human family, a family which seems to be acting out its fate as mechanically as one of Master Abraham’s gadgets.”

On Time and Chronology (and Time Loops).

(small explanation- these are two narratives in one. Murr's is linear, while Kreisler is out of order and circular, which is what these quotes are referencing).

“The structure of the novel plays fickle games with time. The Murr action lasts only a few months and occurs chronologically in the interval between the first and last Kreisler chapters.

Chronologically, the first Kreisler fragment in the novel actually follows the last: at the end, Master Abraham invites Kreisler to the celebrations he describes at the beginning.

(Like come on the end being the start is literally the first chapter of the manga.)

“Linear time belongs to rationality and cannot encompass the ultimate truths the novel seeks to convey"

“The Kreisler narrative is thus entrapped in circularity.”

“When we eventually discover the Kreisler story’s reverse chronology, we ourselves begin to enter time’s infinite loop, approaching the absolute to which Kreisler aspires, where past, present and future merge as one.”

note: if Vanitas (circular time) is a stand-in for Kreisler, Noé (chronologically) for Murr and Abraham (The Shapeless One) tying it all together well...... interesting. Personally I think the references could point to Noé being an unreliable narrator who describes a circular, winding, unstable narrative. He currently speaks with an authority that seems to radiate objectivity and detachment, marked by the scientific sounding main title The Case Study of Vanitas, but the reality of his subjective emotions is given away in the secondary title The Memoires of Vanitas, which is, in itself, an example of a reference to the dual autobiographies in Kreisler's novel.

(Also a theory floating around (not mine) that this "Vanitas" refers to Noé himself after turning into a Blue Moon vampire. I quite like this theory. Or Vanitas lives. Or he writes part of the book before he dies, like Murr did)

On Tone:

“ Humour and irony themselves engage in a dialectic. Irony – the novel’s constant weapon – exposes the negative.

Humour reveals the positive, and entails the acceptance of, and thereby the elevation above, negativity.

On Magic and Worldbuilding (or Babel in Vnc)

“The spiritual realm beyond appearances frequently makes itself felt among the characters. Dreams, strange affinities, correspondences, animal magnetism and electric shocks all point to the existence of an arcane region, beyond empirical fact.

On the Tragic Ending:

Hoffman's cat died before he completed the second volume, and the he died before he completed the third volume. His protagonist was supposed to have a happy ending - but there was no ending instead

“Ironically, Murr’s death means that his well-planned book will remain a fragment. His papers will instead be inserted into the hitherto fragmentary Kreisler tale. In a further irony, it now seems that the Kreisler story is destined for completion.” but wasn't because the author died.

Now I did my job. Go forth and theorize! (and tag me please! I wasted valuable grad school time to write this!)

[imagitory]

All right...for those of you who don't know my thoughts about Wish, yes, I wasn't happy with the finished result, but no, I'm not a hater. I'm mostly just disappointed that this project that had so many good ideas came out so half-baked, and THIS is a perfect example of what I mean.

No, it's not because "Star Boy" appears in it -- at least, not by itself. I do actually like Star's "himbo" personality in this, even if I also completely understand liking the idea of a mute version of the character. (The downside is that the mute Star from the finished film honestly doesn't have much personality outside of just being cute, in contrast to other mute magical Disney characters like Tinker Bell.)

No, the lost potential here is two-fold --

Firstly, I once again felt more emotion watching this storyboarded sequence than I did at any point in the finished film. I smiled hearing the fun banter between Star and Asha, insinuating that they're becoming closer despite their contrasting personalities; I felt some suspense in how Star and Asha were going to get away from evil!Queen Amaya; I even laughed pretty hard at the cat-and-yarn gag! I didn't laugh once while watching the finished movie.

Secondly -- and this point is actually the one I want to focus on more -- is the commentary given about why this scene was cut. I truly think another unspoken reason behind the decision was that this sequence was clearly inspired by the transforming chase scene in Nimona, which Disney of course infamously dropped when they closed Blue Sky Studios and later got picked up by Netflix, only to receive glowing reviews from just about everyone...but one of the core reasons that Head of Story Mark Kennedy cites for why they changed this scene (aside from wanting Star to be mute and not a shapeshifter like other Disney characters, which I'm a bit confused about because yeah, Disney's done cute, mute non-human characters before too -- what about Dopey, Pascal, Maximus, Dumbo, Bambi, Magic Carpet, Sven, and again Tinker Bell?) is that they wanted Asha to be the hero and be able to "solve all her problems" without Star's help.

Up to a point, I understand what Kennedy means -- the theme of the film is supposed to be that we all have the power inside of us to make a difference, and that's great. But by making it so that Asha doesn't need any help from Star, it takes something away from their relationship. No human is an island, and relationships, both in stories and real life, are often built on that fact. Just look at Ariel and Eric in the original Little Mermaid -- Ariel saves Eric from drowning and from Ursula zapping him with Triton's trident, and then Eric saves Ariel from Ursula by skewering her with the broken figurehead of a ship. Even in non-romantic examples, we have Judy and Nick having to help each other solve the case in Zootopia; Buzz and Woody helping each other get back to Andy in Toy Story; the Parr family and Frozone all fighting together against Syndrome's robot with their unique powers in The Incredibles; Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver working together to save themselves and everyone else at the end of Treasure Planet; even Anna helping Elsa learn how to control her magical abilities through an act of authentic, courageous, selfless love that only she can do in Frozen. These characters needing help and deep emotional connections with others is what creates a bond between them, helps the characters grow and change into stronger people, and makes us as an audience enjoy watching the two characters together. We become invested in both the two individual characters and the relationship forged between them. Because they all have their unique strengths and weaknesses, they supplement and complete each other. Even perfect paragon Superman in most DC properties isn't an island -- when he's in the Justice League, there are plenty of times where he needs help from Batman or other team members to save the day. Even Superman is a stronger character when he has people around him who can balance out his flaws.

If Asha never needs help, that runs the risk of the challenges she's facing seeming far less consequential, because no human can handle absolutely everything, all by themselves. Yes, perhaps in the finished film, Asha asks her friends to help her liberate the wishes (a task which ultimately fails, leaving Asha to confront Magnifico alone again and realize exactly what everyone has to do to defeat him on her own anyway)...but just in regards to Star and Asha's relationship -- which even the filmmakers have said is something like a "soulmate" relationship, though not in a romantic sense in the finished product -- these two can't have a meaningful connection if one of them is completely self-sufficient. This is also why quite a few Disney fans didn't like that the Little Mermaid remake changed Ursula's defeat to have it be Ariel who killed her, rather than Eric, because it hurt the "equal" dynamic between the main couple where they both helped and supported each other.

In short, "girl power" shouldn't have to mean never needing to rely on anyone else...and honestly, looking at this scene concept, we don't see Asha relying on Star too much! She's the brains of the outfit -- she's making plans; she's providing Star some much needed common sense; she's using Star's light as a distraction so they can get away...she even escapes Amaya at one point by sliding right under her horse! Asha in this storyboard is a bad-ass!

What we see in this sequence is these two characters having to help each other in order to succeed. And that would've been a great foundation on which to build more dramatic stakes and a relationship with actual pathos, whether romantic or not.

[tangledbea]

Varian and the Seven Kingdoms Consolidation of Info

Requested by anon

This is going to be a consolidation of all the official Vat7K stuff I have on my blog, including copy/pasting of posts Kay Ritter and Anna Lencioni have posted, and to a lesser extent, things I’ve posted with insider knowledge I had before Kay ever released their notes. Alexa Bosy was also involved in the project.*

*Please note that all these asks were sent when Kay was still going by Kait and was still using she/her pronouns. I have edited to reflect their preferred name and pronouns when referencing them, but did not edit the content of the original asks.

The Cast

Via Kay: Here is some higher-res art of that initial, old line-up. These are some of the character page descriptions we gave when we presented “Varian and the Seven Kingdoms!” I had to shut of my asks because I’m just getting slammed every day, so I’m sorry if I don’t get back to any of you!! I appreciate all the enthusiasm, though! ; - ; Please enjoy and keep creating!!! (Also enjoy some Anna sketches- she designed Varian’s cousins and they’re dang cute!)

The Design

Via Kay: Some character design/ costume concept art for a fan project me and Anna dreamed up. It was a little spinoff comic about Varian continuing his adventures in alchemy through the seven kingdoms in order to learn the seven alchemical laws and attain forbidden knowledges. New characters we wanted to play with were Varian’s mom, who design-wise was a in flux, since we only had one reference image to go off of…but we really wanted to match her aesthetic to Varian/ that of a field researcher. We always imagined her as being a lot like Varian! Tried to develop some motifs between the other characters (L-R: Hugo, Donella, and Donella’s muscle-man) to make them look like the evil pack they were. Hugo was a sneaky artificer who conned the wealthy and worked for Donella: Varian’s mother’s former research partner. We also had Yong and Princess Nuru- who were some new friends that Varian would meet on his journey! And of course, Prometheus, a farm donkey Quirin gifted to Varian before he left Corona. (Not quite a Maximus…but, hey!) 

Sample Pages

Rough layout by Anna Line cleanup by Alexa Ink/color by Kay

Beat Boards

Via Kay: Here are some old beat boards Anna and I did when we were making this fan-baby!

The first few explored Varian meeting Yong and making his first friend, completing the first trial of the seven kingdoms. In the nighttime one- Anna had a cool idea that Princess Nuru’s dress was an active star chart and that she could act as the group navigator, using it to guide them. The last few were just some group interactions and Varian coming face to face with his mother.The super short story is: we imagined each of the seven kingdoms would teach one of the seven alchemical stages of transformation and reveal a totem. With all seven totems acquired, Varian would be able to use them to reunite with his long-lost mother (we’d called her Ulla) who was trapped somewhere unreachable by her former partner, Donella, long ago. Donella was after the totems as well to prevent Ulla’s release and sent Hugo to collect them as a double-agent within the group. Hugo would later betray Donella in service of helping Varian reach Ulla. We viewed Hugo and Varian’s relationship evolving from a sort of Pinocchio/ Lampwick situation (literally what that drawing is from) to that of an equal one. In a way, their bond repaired the partnership that frayed between Ulla and Donella.

Notes

Anon Ask: Kait! Appreciate the infodump (I'm the currently-Tumblr-less user w the bombardment of Q's earlier) & I'm stoked that you've given us your blessing to use the concept!:P Got more random Q’s, if you’re up for it! Was the comic outfit Varian’s final, or the other designs would’ve been used too (same w Ulla’s 2 designs)? 7 trials ideas, & 7 kingdoms’ names? How much time after TTS would this be? & finally, was Varian planning on actually RIDING that donkey, or would he pull a caravan(?)thing?xD -GC

Kay’s Answer: The outfits were still in flux- the comic was a representation of our first draft and the other designs came later (including Hugo’s upgrade, Donella, etc.) The red dress Ulla was a flashback type of look whereas the teal one is more like…how Varian would have found her. You know I actually found some screenshots of the ol’ docs we wrote using the 7 alchemical stages to mirror the seven kingdoms. We tried to find an alchemical story component, a magical story component, and a figurative/character story component for each! We never actually named the kingdoms and we also crafted a lot of them before they existed canonically in the show (I think there’s an episode of RTA where Raps competes against princesses from the seven kingdoms and they’re mentioned there)…so just know it’s not accurate to that at all, haha.

But here! These are very note-to-self format…so…apologies lol...

Via Anna: I don’t wanna clutter my main tumblr page but here was the rough outline Kait and I wrote for our fan comic “Varian and the Seven Kingdoms!” Just a reminder that this is totally unofficial, just fan stuff. Would have been fun, wish we could have done it even just recreationally!! Hope you all can use this however you want and continue to enjoy it 🖤

Questions and Answers

Anon Ask: Hello Kait! I would like to know more about Hugo’s past. Your friend mentioned that Hugo is an orphan. Where did Hugo grow up? So, where will he go after betraying Donella?  Does he have a permanent place of residence? 

Kay’s Answer: I’m trying to recall what Anna said, but he definitely grew up an orphan. From what I can remember, the kingdom he grew up in had a very highly divided class system and Hugo was determined to find a way not to live on scraps. And not just that, but to like…get back at, take advantage of as many rich idiots as possible. He’s Robin Hood robbing the rich to feed himself. Someone here called him a champagne-taste kind of guy and that’s exactly right.

He’s manipulative, so he’s probably well ahead of developing technologies and other things for the rich people who invest in him. He’d probably just withhold the best stuff for himself and do what he needed to stay in his patrons’ good graces. And he’d steal whatever they didn’t give him and never get caught.  (I think Anna designed like a motorized bike or something for him once…he’s literally the cool guy with a car. He’d totally keep something like that all for himself.)

Donella and her gang offered protection more than anything…so he offers most of his work to her first. Including his sneakier services. That’s how he ends up being the one to go after Varian. It’s probably also how (in our wildest dreams) we imagined him possibly having pulled a job (and likely conned) Eugene back in his Rider days. Pulled a Rider on a Rider as a sneaky kid.

All of this is also why he’d switch alliances on Donella when it felt right to do so. Hugo has a wild compass but he follows it in service of himself pretty much always. Becoming close to Varian kinda changes that streak in him. He’d probably hang out with Varian whenever everything blew over, maybe settle back down in Corona. Meet this princess everyone keeps talking about. Wait…Rider lives in a CASTLE NOW?!

~*~*~

Anon Ask: Kait! Varian and the seven kingdoms is giving me so much life during quarantine bless your heart for all this :’) I have a question, what kind of life did our sweet boy Yong live? Was he an orphan too? Or did Varian promise his parents/guardian he’d take care of him? After they finish their adventure does Varian take Yong under his wing so he stops blowing stuff up and causing fires? 

Kay’s Answer: I love Yong, I think everyone loves Yong, I think Yong’s parents and family (which I always imagined as being very big) all love Yong. But I think they are all very tired and very grateful that he has made a friend who is willing to take him on as a mentee. I imagine he’s gone through a few. (Very Young Hercules lol.)

~*~*~

Anon Ask: This is a question on the 7 kingdoms au thing. When Ulla was researching in the Dark Kingdom, was this before or after it was abandoned? It was likely before it was abandoned but I'm just not sure. Also, this is probably more of a question for Kritterart, but since she made that post about getting too many asks I decided to ask that question to you. 😅 

My Answer: Yeah, I have absolutely no idea how to answer that. Seeing as how the Dark Kingdom was on the seven kingdoms list in the comic, I have to guess that they hadn’t yet developed in the series that the kingdom had been abandoned, but that’s just my guess. 

Kay’s Reply: (We were thinking it was before…and also where she met Quirin, fell in love with him! Just before they moved to Corona- the place where the final trial/totem were. She paused her research to have a family, that bummed Donella out, Quirin let her go after Varian was born, and she never came back.)

~*~*~

Anon Ask:  If VAT7K ever became canon, would Varian and Hugo been an actual couple? Making Varian bi? 

My Answer: Yes.

Well.

Okay, I don’t know for a fact that they’d have been a couple or endgame, however, I was talking to Kait about it a long time ago and she told me that Vat7K would confirm that Varian is bi (and she was referring to Hugo).

An Important note from Kay

I’m getting way more 7K questions than I have time or any real authority to answer considering there is no ACTUAL CONTENT to reference lol, but I just wanna let you guys know how much I appreciate them all! I’m sorry if I don’t answer your question. I also just don’t want my art tumblr to turn into a huge Q&A, haha.We’ve been loving all the fanart and support and curiosity. It’s amazing! That said- 7K and its dealings, characters are NOT CANON. So if it’s not for you, that’s so totally okay. You’re super valid. We made it for you guys, but it’s yours to take what you like from it and change what you don’t when you use it (or don’t) to tell your own story! We just wanted to help Varian’s story continue, like many of you! So whatever you love or don’t love, don’t be afraid to create based on it!!! We love it all. You guys are the best! Please have fun!!!!

[imightgetbetter]

The Met Gala

hiiiiiiiii. welcome to rory and matty's universe. i'm actually really obsessed with their dynamic and their story and this is just kind of a taste of what they're like together (a publicity nightmare) and how they interact but also how much they love each other. we'll start getting into it closer to the summer (i'm going to start writing the whole story this month!!!!) and i'm really excited to know what you think. please be nice! if you don't like it, that's fine! i will still be writing love it if we made it, so if you like reader insert, you have that too. i am very excited for this, though. i love rory. she's so cool. i hope you enjoy. as always, leave your feedback and tell me what you think!!! love you all!!!!

Under the lights of the hotel vanity, Rory’s eyes are glittering in a metallic golden shine, a complimentary look to the flecks of gold that are embedded and sewn into the sheer overlay that adorns her body, her skin a shade darker after her most recent visit to an island meant to be home away from the gloomy city she lives in, a place to write her next album that Dirty Hit and Jamie were most patiently (rather impatiently, she would argue) awaiting. On her six-week stint in Capri, Rory received a call from none other than Anna Wintour herself, inviting her to the Met Gala for her very first major appearance on a star-studded carpet. Rory never quite liked the idea of The Met; The Grammys, The Brits, The Arias, even, have all seen Rory in her very best, but there was something about celebrities celebrating awful people in designer gowns that rubbed her the wrong way.

Her attitude towards being a celebrity was similar to that of Matty’s, something the two of them bonded over many times, something they shared in their experience being a couple under a microscope of sorts. Her attitude towards this event, and many others, usually leads to a polite decline and nothing more of it but knowing that this call had been approved through her manager first, and therefore was more of a ‘you’re going to do this’ rather than a ‘would you like to do this’ question, her reply was nothing short of a, “I would be delighted! Thank you so much for the invitation. May I bring a guest?”

And that brings everyone to this very moment, where Rory and Matty are dragging themselves kicking and screaming to The Met Gala.

“Do you think if I just ignore every interviewer on the carpet, I won’t have to say anything to anyone?” Rory shouts to Matty from the stool in front of the only window in the hotel room.

“Can you sit still for five seconds?” Kiara grumbles, rolling her eyes as Rory squints her eyes and purposefully moves her head. “You’re so difficult, you know that?”

“You’ve been telling me for ages,” she smiles, pursing her lips and sitting upright, letting her add the finishing touches to the makeup without any further issues. Matty and Jamie are talking in the bathroom, something about behaving and keeping his mouth shut, letting her do all the talking. Rory knows Matty isn’t going to abide by that very well. He’s never been one to keep his opinions to himself. It’s one of the things that she’s most fond of. “Love, how much longer do we have?”

“You’ve got,” Matty shouts back, checking his phone and stepping out into the hallway, his eyes immediately softening at the sight of her, “you’ve got about fifteen minutes, darling. You look stunning. Holy shit. You’ve outdone yourself, Keeks.”

“All in a day’s work,” Kiara smiles, kissing his cheek and setting all of the tools in her kit that’s splayed across the table in the corner. “It’s time for you to get dressed. You have to be downstairs in twelve minutes. Matty is, for once in your career, ready before you, which is actually kind of sad.”

“Hey! I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone getting held up. Jamie will have my head if we’re late for the shuttle over. Not to mention, I need a drink. Quickly.”

“How considerate of you, Matthew.” Rory takes Matty’s outstretched hands and stands from the wooden stool, her tightly curled hair falling over her shoulders. “Out you two, I’m going to get dressed and then we can head downstairs.”

“I see you naked all the time, I should be allowed to stay.”

“Out!” Rory says sternly, pointing towards the door and giving an encouraging nod to her boyfriend whose eyebrows are quirked on his forehead and his mouth is turned down, less than impressed with the demand. “Matty, seriously.”

Matty rolls his eyes, “Fine.” Grabbing his phone and a room key, he and Jamie step outside, the neatly pressed navy-blue suit and textured tie sitting perfectly around his neck, the pearls adhered to the collar of the suit jacket making for the perfect accessory. His hair is neatly combed, and the single grey strand is falling in his face, a detail that Rory will fawn over when they’re alone.

Rory and Kiara tape her chest accordingly, the baby blue textured and tweed suit buttoned seamlessly at the center of her abdomen, the pants sitting at her waist, hugging her sides in the perfect manner. Mattias June, an up-and-coming fashion student from the institute in London, knew exactly what she would want, what would look best on her, and the execution was exactly what they had hoped for. Rory and Matty were on theme without praising or recreating looks, which was what they aspired for and spoke about.

The last thing that Rory wanted was for her attendance to be misconstrued for ignorance.

Grabbing her sunglasses and the designed handbag, Rory stepped out of the hotel room and locked eyes with Matty, a smile spreading across his face at the sight of her. He simply would never get used to it, knowing that she was all his. Many years of secret pining led him to this, a luxury of living.

“Do not make a scene, you two,” Jamie warns as they walk through the hallways and head downstairs, the crowd outside the hotel already beginning to scream and shout with the murmurs of their names being said for the paparazzi outside. “Courteous and professional. Please.”

“I always am, Jamie.”

“I’m not worried about you, Aurora.”

Rory laughs and takes a deep breath, moments like this will never not be surreal. Matty and Jamie talk for a moment longer, but she’s in her head, preparing herself for the interviews that she doesn’t want to give and the answers she’ll have to. Despite her feelings about this, Rory recognizes the privilege and the honor it is to be here, to be able to go, to give someone’s fashion a chance to shine on the carpet. Rory would remember this for a lifetime, a moment that her art is so widely recognized that she’s walking amongst celebrities she’s watched and listened to for years on the same carpet. A one of a kind ‘I Made It’ moment to last forever.

One moment to last forever, mainly because Rory knows that she will never do this again.

“Are you ready, love?” Matty wonders, grabbing her hand and nodding towards the sea of people waiting outside for their debut.

“I’m neither drunk nor high enough for this,” Rory says honestly, shoving the sunglasses into her hair and tilting her head down ever so slightly to whisper into his ear, “I need six shots to make it through this carpet with all these fake pretentious celebrities.”

Matty laughs, “I will get you a shot as soon as we make it off the carpet.”

“Promise?”

“On my life.”

Rory accepts this compromise with a nod of her head, lacing their hands together and waving at Jamie (as he will be taking a separate car to the venue) and taking the first steps towards the walkway. Overwhelming amounts of flashing lights accompany their walk outside the hotel, screaming of their names as they walk to the bus and Matty lends out his hand to assist her inside (walking in heels is not her strong suit), the flashing subsiding when the door is shut behind them. Matty, Rory and the others inside the van make small talk, Rory holding the handbag facing her body to ensure that no one could directly read it right away. Mattias and Rory created what she felt would be a statement to make with this year’s theme, a statement that would surely keep her out of talks for returning events, but she didn’t really mind, as long as what she had to say was said.

Outside The Met, thousands of people are crowded around to see who’s outside, who’s wearing what, and who might come about. All Rory can think about is making it through the interviews, getting through the awkward part of the night and getting to the party, where she can sing and drink and talk with her favorite company. Matty holds out his hand for her when they step out of the van, making sure that she’s stable on her feet before they begin making their way towards the carpet. Calling cards are shouting out their names announcing their arrival, and the number of cameras that are flashing are enough to blind a person, Rory’s sure of it.

“I am too sober for this, right now,” Matty says through a tight-lipped smile, his hand wrapped around Rory’s waist, holding her close to him. He kisses her forehead, smiling at her as she agrees with him.

“Me too.”

Matty is tugged away for photos of himself, and Rory is whisked away to interviews with Vogue and Rolling Stone before she could properly prepare herself. Jamie opted Matty out of interviews – to save everyone the trouble – and Rory knew that she should be professional and diplomatic, but all she really wanted was to be honest.

“Hello! How are you? You look absolutely stunning,” the interviewer says warmly, and Rory can immediately feel the professionalism leave her body. “I love the handbag.”

“Thank you! Mattias June, who designed this whole look, he and I thought it would be a perfect touch,” Rory smiles, the sunglasses perched on her nose, only giving the slightest peak at the glittering makeup underneath. “I don’t really think we should be celebrating and honoring such horrible people, but what do I know? I’m not really a fashion trendsetter myself, you know? I’m doing this all for the plot. All for a good story.” Rory gestures down to the handbag held in front of her, the stitching on the side reading: STOP HONORING BAD PEOPLE.

Matty walks towards Rory, smiling brightly as she continues talking to the interview about what it means to be invited and how wonderful it is to be with the company of her friends at such a prestigious event. By the look on her face, Matty is sure that Rory said something that will get her in trouble tomorrow, but it’s something he admires about her, she’s never been short of determined to speak her mind. Rory steps off the platform and grabs Matty’s hand immediately, squeezing him as their fingers lace together and nodding towards the entrance of the building.

“Are you ready to get absolutely trashed with me? That’s the only way I’ll suffer through this intolerable event.”

“I thought you’d never ask, my darling.”

[blue-chimera]

Breaking Dean Winchester

I've run into some who call "On the Head of a Pin" (S4:E16) "boring" — complaining that Dean seems detached throughout the torture of Alastair — or who dismiss the torture scenes as "gratuitous," a clumsy device to artificially ramp up tension with no other purpose besides distracting from an info-dump about the first seal. I believe these viewers are overlooking or misinterpreting crucial scenes, so I wanted to describe what I see happening in this episode & how it fits in Dean's larger character arc in seasons 4 & 5. [TL;DR at the end]

Start by recalling Dean's confessions in S4:E10 & E11. In E10, a distraught Dean admits that he broke under torture in Hell & started torturing other souls. Then, in E11, we get a separate scene where Dean goes a step further & confesses — with evident self-loathing — that he enjoyed it. He compares himself to the feral children living in the walls of the house in Ep 11 & says that he was worse than them, that decades of torture had warped him into something sadistic — that when he eventually picked up the knife in Hell, he liked torturing others: “All those years, all that pain… Finally getting to deal some out yourself? I didn’t care who they put in front of me.” He describes himself as torturing after that for the “sheer pleasure” of it. And it’s this that makes him feel like he’s unalterably tainted: “No matter how many people I save, I can’t change that.”

So when the angels ask him to torture Alastair, Dean's initial response is a harsh refusal: he's drawn a firm line between the things he did (and who he was) in Hell & who he is now. Nonetheless, we can intuit that he wants revenge on Alastair pretty badly — it’s not a far leap to imagine he’s spent considerable time fantasizing about it. After all, Alastair tortured him for decades, and Dean wasn’t exactly an “I don’t hold a grudge” kind of guy before that.

But Dean is stubborn, and his moral code is stronger than his desire to rip Alastair to pieces. So he says, “No.” And then he says, “No” yet again after being physically snatched from his motel & taken to Alastair. But then he lets Cas talk him into doing it anyway.

Why? Does Cas actually convince Dean that this torture is necessary? Objectively speaking, Cas doesn't make much of a case: he simply reiterates that Heaven says it's necessary & he's been told that Dean needs to be the one to do it. But Dean hasn't found "Heaven says you have to do this" to be a persuasive argument before.

Is it because it's Cas who's asking? While Dean respects Cas and is clearly developing a relationship with him, it's hard to imagine that the strength of that relationship alone would be enough to persuade him to engage in what he sees as dirty work. Cas has not yet aided Dean in circumventing prophecy (using Chuck's archangel protector to drive Lilith away from Sam's motel room), not yet tried to warn him about the angels' plans for him (only to get "dragged off to Bible camp," as Dean puts it), or not yet defied the other angels to free him from the "green room" in an attempt to avert the breaking of the last seal. Their primary bonding moment up until this point was Cas's confession in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester" that he had questions & doubts about his orders, that he didn't know if Dean's choice was the "right" course of action, and that (despite his lack of knowledge) his personal preference regarding the town aligned strongly with Dean's choice.

Their most recent interactions, however, saw Cas trying to kill Anna Milton and, later (in "Death Takes a Holiday"), impersonating Bobby over the phone, which he acknowledges that he does because his own word does not seem to hold much weight with Dean: "Whatever I ask, you seem to do the exact opposite." Dean clearly trusts & respects Castiel more than Uriel, but ultimately, there's little to suggest that Dean would (at this point in their relationship, at least, if ever) substitute Cas's judgment for his own.

So, why does Dean accept Cas's argument here? It doesn't seem far-fetched to imagine that he's deceiving himself about his own motivations — that he tells himself he's doing it for Heaven, or for Cas. Dean asks to speak to Cas alone in part because he doesn't want to show vulnerability discussing such a sensitive subject in front of Uriel. But perhaps it's also because he knows his pride won't let him capitulate in front of Uriel, and he wants to surrender to his desire for revenge. He wants the excuse to do everything he’s dreamed of to Alastair.

How else can you explain it? After all, he fought the angels a lot harder on many other occasions where they argued that it was necessary to do a bad thing so a worse thing wouldn’t happen. In "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester," Dean was prepared to defend his perspective over the Will of Heaven to the death. He told Cas & Uriel that their choices were to do it his way or kill him, but he wasn’t going to let them destroy the town — and he was completely unmoved by Heaven's claim that the destruction was necessary to avoid the risk of Hell on Earth. Why are things different now? He didn't believe then about Samhain. Why does he believe them about Alastair? Well, for one, Dean seems a lot more world-weary now: they’re losing the fight to keep the seals from breaking, he's just buried another friend, & his relationship with Sam is horribly strained. It's possible that he's just tired of battling things out with the angels. But I suspect that the biggest difference is that, deep down, Dean is hungry to get his hands on Alastair. That’s why the famously-intractable Dean Winchester is open to persuasion here. That's why he tells Cas, “You ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out.” Because he’s afraid to become the person he was in Hell, and he knows it's a real risk here, because he knows he can’t be objective doing this. He wants to torture Alastair far too badly for that.

This tracks with the next scene: Alastair guesses immediately that Dean is there to torture him and that he’s afraid of what torturing will awaken in himself, and he’s delighted to reunite Dean with the sadistic streak he discovered in Hell (and suppressed upon his return to Earth). Meanwhile, Dean is trying to convince himself that he can stay detached. Ergo, the following exchange:

Dean: Answer the question.

Alastair: Or what? You’ll work me over? But then, maybe you don’t want to. Maybe you’re a-scared to?

Dean: I’m here, aren’t I?

Alastair: Not entirely. You left part of yourself back in the Pit. Let’s see if we can get the two of you back together again, shall we?

Dean does his best to project cool detachment, telling Alastair that he’s going to be disappointed, to which Alastair replies, “You have not disappointed me so far” and then attempts to provoke him, saying that surely Dean wants revenge for “all the pokes and prods” Alastair inflicted on him in Hell. When that doesn’t seem to penetrate Dean’s composure — this is obviously an expected line of attack — Alastair follows up with, “Well, then. How about for all the things I did to your daddy?” The camera pulls focus back to where Dean raises his head, stung. Alastair has struck the first successful blow.

We cut to Sam talking to Ruby and find out that he's not afraid of Dean becoming the “torture master” he was in Hell. Instead, he simply doesn’t think Dean has the steely nerves that Sam thinks he’d need to break Alastair with traditional methods, so Sam expects he’ll need to come to the rescue with the use of his powers.

Cut to Dean: Dean’s mask is back in place. Alastair is continuing to taunt him. Dean tells Alastair, “You can’t stall forever,” but it’s clear that Dean is the one who’s stalling, arranging the various tools on his cart, taking off & folding his jacket carefully, trying to work himself up to this. Alastair sighs wistfully over the impossibility of breaking John Winchester (even after a hundred years!) and muses that, afterwards, he expected Dean to be just as difficult to break. He gets a sly smile on his face, reminiscing that, instead, “Daddy’s little girl” broke in a fraction of that time. Dean opens a bottle of whiskey and drinks straight from the bottle, clearly lost in dark memories. His head is down and he’s practically radiating shame as Alastair coos, “Just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?”

Dean is good at turning shame into anger, though, and he sets the bottle back down a little harder than is necessary. His hands are moving with intention among his instruments now — no more stalling. Alastair crows, “Now… now we’re getting somewhere!” Then he scoffs at Dean for starting with holy water: “Grasshopper, you’re gonna have to get creative to impress me.”

This gets Dean’s attention. He looks straight at Alastair for the first time since we came back to this scene, his eyes alight, and says, “You know something, Alastair? I could still dream, even in Hell. And, over and over and over, you know what I dreamt?” Cut to Alastair, his face twitching in a nervous reaction. Back to Dean, who says sincerely — fervently — “I dreamt of this moment.” Cut to Alastair: The corners of his mouth are turned down; apprehension lurks in his eyes. Cut to Dean: “And believe me…” his lips curl up into a brief smile as he screws together the pieces of the syringe, voice practically dripping with a lust for cruelty, “I got a few ideas.” 

We cut between the syringe filling with holy water & Alastair’s face. His expression is fully apprehensive now. As excited as he is to lead Dean down an evil path, Alastair is not actually eager to experience his student's mastery of the art from this end. Dean flicks the syringe a couple times and tests the flow, his mouth dropping open slightly as holy water squirts from the tip. We don’t get the sense that he’s stalling now, though. Now, when he takes his time, it’s because he’s savoring the moment. He walks up to Alastair, rakes his eyes up Alastair’s body, and says – with the syringe held high and the ghost of a smile on his face – “Let’s get started.”

Cut to Cas, who looks disturbed at the sounds coming from the room. (Note: Cuts during the torture sequences allow for the passage of time. It could be minutes or hours before we cut back.) When we come back to the makeshift cell, Dean is now — for the first time — the one taunting Alastair: “Let me know if you want some more... There’s plenty left.” Alastair snarls, “Go directly to hell. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.” Dean looks down, chuckling slightly, smiles to himself. It’s clear he’s past just doing a job that needs done and well into indulging in sadism. He's not even asking Alastair questions anymore — the only thing he's thinking about is his desire to cause Alastair pain.

Thus, we see the first 2 steps in breaking Dean Winchester achieved: 1) getting Dean to agree to begin torturing again & 2) provoking him into letting loose & indulging in the sadism of that torture, which he finds to be as bad as (or worse than) the torture itself.

TL;DR Rather than being unemotional, Dean is in fact deeply emotionally-invested in torturing the one who tortured him for decades. He wants to torture Alastair & he derives great pleasure from causing him pain. However, Dean's also deeply ashamed of that pleasure & disgusted by the sadistic streak cultivated in him in Hell. (Prior to season 4, we see him express similar disgust for sadism in others — most notably, Gordon.) This episode pits Dean's morality against his desire for revenge, with the angels tipping the scales against him & giving Dean just enough rope to hang himself with.

Part 1 of 2

[rozetheeuwu]

Finally finished my Cal and Kuro fanchild ref! :>

More info:

Basic info

Gender: Female, afab

Age: 9 months/1 year

Birth Place: Jasper Ward, Reborn City

Current location/residency: Lengile residence (Route 1)

Family: Cal (dad), Kuro (dad), Blake (uncle) (Note, Kuro is afab and Cal is amab, she’s their biological kid)

Eye color: Hazel

Hair color: Light blue

Trainer class (for when she becomes a trainer): Cheerful kid

Other stuff:

Her dress is the same one Shelly has (Not future Shelly obviously)

Black leggings kinda like Victoria’s pants and white shoes similar to Blake’s.

Cal is very soft and loving, he wants her to have the childhood he didn’t have. Kuro is the fun dad, he isn’t irresponsible but allows stuff that he probably shouldn’t.

Kuro enjoys carrying her on his shoulders while Cal prefers to hold her in his arms.

Blake is her favorite uncle. (Technically her only uncle, but she has a lot of found family)

Cal: Can I have my daughter back?

Blake, holding her close: No <3

Victoria is her favorite aunt.

Shelly, Heather, Noel, Anna and Lin are like her older siblings.

Blake, Heather, Elias, Taka, Ace, Victoria and Laura spoil her to death.

Fern claims he is not attached to her and hates babysitting her but if he thinks you even look at her funny he will kick your ass. He is not a good babysitter though he is quite bad with babies.

Fern and Blake constantly fight over who is her favorite uncle. They give Cal a migraine every time.

When it's Hardy's turn to babysit he'll play a lot of music for her trying to turn her into a little rocker.

Kuro: You three are in charge of looking after her, can you handle it?

Heatner, Lin and Anna: Yessir!

Cal: You two are actually in charge.

Shelly and Noel: Of course.

When it's Saphira's turn to babysit she almost never lets Cressilda leave her side. She always holds her and if she isn't holding her she is keeping a close eye on her.

Serra, holding a sleeping Cressilda: So when can I expect grandchildren?

Bennett: MOTHER-

When it's the circus trio's turn to babysit:

Cal, uncomfortably close to Ciel and Samson, a blank expression but radiating a VERY dangerous aura: Under NO circumstances is Terra allowed alone with Cressilda. She's not even allowed to hold her if one of you isn't standing right next to her, understood?

Ciel and Samson: Y-Yes sir.

In the end Alistasia is the one that loses the baby.

Interview with Gardevoir:

Gardevoir: Ma'am, are you aware that you are tiny?

Cressilda: Ga.

Gardevoir: Remarkable.

Elias is so gentle with her… Holds her close, tells her all kinds of stories…

Taka and Ace are the go to babysitters. They will often just offer themselves up so Cal and Kuro can have date nights, ect. They are like a second pair of parents.

Cal’s Magmotar and Medicham are Cressilda's favorite Pokemon. Kuro’s Arceus is also a babysitter in a way.

She once rode around reborn on it, Kuro allowed it while Cal almost had a heart attack after he found out.

Aqua/Magma gang are fun uncles to hang around with, but Kuro makes sure he’s always around and does not leave them alone with the baby.

Shade, surprisingly good babysitter. They don't know what he does but she's always very happy and healthy.

Julia is also not allowed alone with Cressilda. Florinia is a bit awkward and not the best with babies but if ever necessary will gladly look after her.

Thinking of when she’s older she might have a preference for using bunny pokemon. Probably has either a Meditite or Magby as well and an Eevee gifted to her by Kuro.

She’s a very calm child, unfortunately she can cause quite the chaos as she has disappeared on her babysitters on multiple occasions only to return when her parents come to pick her up. Only Saphira and Shade have not experienced it.

Adrienn is usually never picked to be a babysitter because xe is always busy and Cal and Kuro don’t want to bother xem with the troubles of babysitting, but they do invite xem over/visit xem a lot so xe can play with the baby and bond with her!

Arclight is a very laid back and cool uncle. Usually just takes her to a playground and other fun places all day and then plays music for her until she falls asleep. He also has a lot of conversations with her. She cannot speak because she is a baby but it’s good to talk to babies.

Sandy is not allowed alone with the baby either.

Cal often visits Kiki’s grave with Cressilda. Telling Cressilda about Kiki and telling Kiki about Cressilda, even if she isn’t here anymore her legacy lives on.

Fern and Hardy had attempted something fun but dangerous with Cressilda and both hadn’t been seen for a few weeks. They refused to speak about what happened.

Cain and Aya make sure to babysit together. If something happens they don’t have to face the wrath of the dads together.

You’d think two dads means twice the dad jokes? WRONG. My STUPID little brother does not have a single funny bone in him so I’M forced to make the dad jokes for her. -Blake, to someone while Cal is standing right next to him.

[frostluvrs]

Idk but to me Ricky and nini always seemed a little forced. I really appreciate the subtlety of hsmtmts! Like Jets feelings for Kourtney are noticeable when you rewatch and same with Maddox and Ash. Hsmtmts has always thrives on a mix between subtlety and blatantly showing the audience, like the duet with Ej and Gina as Hans and Anna pretty blatantly showed they weren’t gonna work out. It made it hard to find nini and Ricky interesting when everything about them was always shoved in there somehow, like every confessional and every scene they would just describe how they were feeling and what was happening in this very unnatural way that people do not do.

But Ricky and Gina showed off Tims mix of subtlety and showing instead of telling the audience. We don’t hear about Ricky’s feelings THAT much but we can SEE his totally hopeless pining (side note Joshua basset put his whole SOUL into that unrequited longing) and not to be mean (even though it’s totally fair game at this point) it just makes the portwell and rini shippers look not very clever at this point. At the very least they should be able to admit that rina was gonna happen at some point but pretending to not see it AT ALL, makes them look either blind or just petty.

i agree they always seemed forced! i enjoy rina madlyn and jetney for the same reasons you listed. even with redlyn they showed why their relationship worked instead of JUST telling us. for portwell and rini the only time they showed us something about their relationship instead of telling us is showing they didn’t work.

i think a large part of the problem is all of their development was off screen and so was their first relationship besides the s1 flashback. there’s definitely a way to show exes to lover’s relationship and/or a relationship that has history pre show and make it interesting but for rini that just didn’t happen. they just simply tell us they had this loving relationship and that they know each other so well but they don’t show it all. if anything it seemed like they didn’t know each other well. and that’s funny considering they shoehorned in them being childhood best friends. which is still funny to me because they don’t feel like childhood best friends at all. it’s very similar to dawson and joey where they’re telling us they’re best friends and are each others person when the only evidence of them on screen (tho they attempted with dawson and joey but failed in my opinion) is the characters saying it. we don’t actually get to see their bond ☠️☠️. it’s one of my biggest problems with the best friends to lovers trope in general despite me loving it - the fact half the time the ships with it don’t actually feel like they’ve known each other for that long or have history.

with rini it’s funny to me because going with the idea they’re childhood friends to me they just feel like that relationship that only got together because everyone expected them to. like i don’t think we even actually know why ricky and nini liked each other besides ricky holding onto her for comfort 😭😭

i actually said before (here x) that i think one of the reasons some people don’t get rina is because it’s not being told to you it’s being SHOWN to you and they called rina forced in s3 bc their relationship became fully text in s3 instead of subtext (even though s1 and esp s2 was obvious enough but i digress). portwell and rini was in your face from the beginning they started to both of them ending but their stans missed the fact they would eventually break up bc the show was SHOWING you instead of telling you the reasons they would eventually not work out (besides in s2b for rini and s3 for portwell where the underlying reasons their relationships would fail started becoming obvious …. in which then their stans said it’s forced ….)

your second paragraph !!!! i said the same thing here. i just don’t understand how they can see them having no closure and the rina relationship just constantly being put on hold instead of being put to rest and think nothing was ever going to happen or get addressed. sure i started to think rina was never happening but not because it made sense that their story is over. i just thought the writers were bad at writing 😭😭 but like i said in the post they refused to see them as romantic in s1 and then said it was one sided in s2 and that the flashback was closure and ricky never liked her and then one sided on ricky’s end in s3 and now say s3 and their feelings don’t make sense …. they want to talk about bad writing so much but leaving rina open and never closing their book would have been the bad writing.

[firepony67]

Part 3 of scenes from utsukare eternal!! This is less favorite scenes now and just bits that I remember enjoying, so that I can come back and reminisce about the movie in the however-many-months before it comes out on DVD.

I’m very sorry to anyone who wants a more cohesive view of the movie, my brain is too chaotic to do a step by step summary, but @anotherblblog did an actual recap/summary. My posts are more like a diary of my own scattered thoughts, because I’m used to my tumblr posts being basically just me talking to myself.

Once again, SPOILER WARNING

First of all, and I’m not putting this on the list officially, but just Kiyoi’s outfits in general!! Stunning, amazing fashion as usual, he’s just gorgeous and his clothes are amazing. Also Anna’s costumes were also fantastic- the monochrome black, widow-ish looks really suited her!

1. Kiyoi and Anna’s manager being incredibly overworked all the time. That man never stops scrambling around frantically, it’s honestly kinda hilarious but also I feel bad for him. I mean he did have to deal with 2 serious “scandals” in a very short amount of time, including Anna with her boyfriend and then a fake scandal of Anna and Kiyoi dating, plus they don’t seem to have any other staff other than the boss dealing with the two actors (kind of bad planning if you ask me, especially given how famous Anna supposedly is).

2. Kind of part of one of my previous favorite scenes- when Anna and her boyfriend are reuniting, Anna is hiding at first and then Hira or Noguchi (Hira’s cameraman boss) tells the boyfriend something like “there’s someone here who wants to see you/talk with you” and the camera pans dramatically to some tulle curtains beautifully draped over an entranceway. And you think it’s gonna be Anna appearing out of the fabric but then Kiyoi just pokes his head out with the cutest expression. And when I tell you the disappointment and wtf energy on the boyfriend’s face was so strong 😂. But then Kiyoi is just like- oh sorry- and shuffles over awkwardly to stand next to Hira so that Anna could get her proper dramatic entrance. It was so cute.

3. The opening scene. Beautifully pastel scene of Hira and Kiyoi waking up (naked) in their bed, and Hira rolling over to cuddle Kiyoi, complete with kind of hazy/dreamy lighting, calming atmospheric music, and a tulle curtain/veil thing covering both of them to add to the dreamlike feel. Some people in the mydramalist comments didn’t like the veil thing, because it was kind of just functioning as a call back to a scene in the series and didn’t actually serve a purpose or make any sense in the movie 😅. And that’s a valid point, but honestly I’m perfectly fine with doing things purely for the aesthetics. Sometimes, artistic choices aren’t super logical lol. It was a beautiful scene, and frankly it’s not too far fetched to me that Hira and Kiyoi might cover themselves with a pretty curtain like that while sleeping together simply for the vibes 👍

4. Hira and Kiyoi apartment hunting together 😭😭 Although obviously Hira’s house is the best, it was so cute to see them going around together thinking about the things they needed in a home (Kiyoi’s list including a bathtub I think, referencing the earlier bathtub steamy scene 🫢). It was so cute how Hira zooms into the kitchen to test out how cooking for them would feel, acting out looking into the living room area to make sure he would be able to see Kiyoi while making food! The domestic fluff!! I’m so soft 🥺

5. Okay I know that Anna’s obsessive fan turned out to be awful later, but I honestly really liked his and Hira’s introduction. It was painfully awkward, but the way they bonded over their shared fan interests and devotion to their idols was honestly really sweet, and then how they cautiously shook hands afterwards- I was kind hoping Hira would gain a friend with a similar personality to him, but instead he gained an enemy that he would later try to murder for hurting Kiyoi and then subsequently almost be murdered by. So that’s fun 🙃

[goldstarformaiyaparr-six]

Could you please do a short fic about Jane and Anna bonding over some shared activity? In a non romantic - compleatly platonic way.

I know that in the musical they seem like polar opposites, but maybe they kept some traits from their past lives and they are both really good at needlework or something along that way.

Or maybe they could bond over a modern day activity they both enjoy?

Whatever you find easier.

Thanks

so sorry it’s taken me ages to get to this but heres some mush from my notes page :))

hope you like it!!

also hmu if there’s any other ships or dynamics you want me to write xx

seymour, cleves

tumblr ask x

“hey has anyone seen my red yarn!!?”

seymour yelled down the hallway

an inconsistent echo of “nopee“ from 4 of the queens followed.

“hm” jane shrugged and got back to her crochet, she was about to start making a pride flag/blanket for her and her girlfriend, catalina; to take to the pride march in a few weeks.

annoyed, the third queen wandered into her girlfriends room, just to spend some quality time together. Lina was on her phone, distracted and dazed. Jane queried her on the suspicious disappearance of her brand new yarn. “i don’t know mi querida.”, catalina answered without looking away from her phone

“oh well” seymour rapidly sat upright, determined to continue with her day, disregarding her missing wool.

————————————————

Cleves was scared for a second- she hadn’t figured it out in time! she had to return the yarn without jane noticing, anna knew she wouldn’t be mad but it was incredibly misfitting for her to be crocheting. Can you imagine how anne would make her feel? the insults and ‘bullying’ that would follow? (although cathy wouldn’t allow it, there’d still be tension)

the hook wasn’t looping and the yarn was fraying, ‘ugh, how do jane and cathy do this??’ anna thought while she unpaused her youtube tutorial playing on her phone.

————————————————

a few days later

jane had the thought of her wool in the back of her mind - she was reluctant to buy a new set of her wool as the brand that she found best was on the more expensive side - and jane was always one to rather save her money and spend wisely for special occasions.

Laundry basket in hand, she wandered into anna’s room to put her freshly washed clothes onto her bed to be put away.

Jane was often the one doing the laundry for the queens but wasn’t opposed to it as it usually kept her busy.

Cleves was downstairs playing mario kart with kitty and anne, and had seemingly rushed downstairs in a hurry.

Jane spotted something in the corner of her eye. Her red wool! it was hidden under anna’s pillow? - not very well, clearly - jane pulled it out cautiously; she didn’t want to be caught ‘snooping’ by any of her peers.

That was it! Her red wool she had been searching for days, the only question left unanswered was why on earth would anna have it?

her quiery was soon resolved when she saw a metallic crochet hook accompanying the yarn.

The third queen knew that Cleves would be embarrassed if everyone knew she was crocheting, but seymour couldn’t help but smile. Jane texted her in hopes to subtly let her know jane was happy for anna to be crocheting.

“hey i found my wool in your room?? do you want me to teach you?”

“uhh haha sorry bout that, just looked kinda fun lmao please teach me it’s so hard ;-;”

“lol no problem lmk when you’re free i can help!!

just don’t take my stuff without asking next time!”

————————————————

later that week, jane and anna went out to the craft store to pick up a few hooks of various sizes and some yarn.

With a live tutor, Anna seemed to pick up the movements and gist of crochet a lot easier and actually seemed to enjoy the hobby. It only took her a few weeks to be able to make a pink scarf for katherine - which she cherished deeply -

Upon experimenting, Jane and Anna who, prior to this occurance, barely spoke, found themselves crocheting together multiple times a week when they got bored and Anna now had a newfound hobby and a new connection to Jane seymour.

[frodo-with-glasses]

I don't know if I asked for this already? (I can't recall if I actually sent the ask, or chickened out and deleted it.)

But Aragorn and Eomer: 2, 3, 8, 10, 12, and 13.

Aragorn and Eomer are one of my favourites, especially as they feature in one of my favourite scenes in the entire book. :)

You did not chicken out! I received your original ask a while ago, and it was just waiting its turn to be answered. But since you sent in MORE numbers in this ask, I think I’ll answer this one in its place! :-D

2. “My favorite scene of them”

I mean...does the entire battle of Helm's Deep count?? LOL

I may or may not have a romanticized opinion of this battle thanks to the emphasis placed on it in the movies, but something about Aragorn—an outsider—and Eomer—one of the last remaining heroes of his people—working together to defend the last stronghold of Rohan and totally kicking butt at it is just so awesome to me. You just know that they walked away from that battle with an enormous respect for each other that continued through the rest of their lives. Helm's Deep was the pressure can that galvanized Aragorn and Eomer's friendship and I love it.

3. “A random headcanon I have of them”

So I think they have this secret handshake wait no—

In all seriousness: In the long years of peace after the War of the Ring, I think it's only natural that the King of the Horse-People should send, as a token of friendship and symbol of their alliance...well, horses, to the King of Gondor, for the purpose of stocking up the royal stables in Minas Tirith.

Aragorn, being practical and humble and generally no-frills, would only ask for horses descended from Hasufel, since he'd formed a bit of a bond with that beast and it had served him well in the short time they'd been together. Meanwhile, Eomer—never being one for half measures—would insist upon sending Aragorn the best of his stock, an incredible breed that's closely related to Shadowfax.

This then turns into a passive-aggressive polite fight where envoys from Rohan show up in Minas Tirith with a parade of gorgeous equines and a letter from King Eomer that says "oops, welp, I sent those horses all that way, you might as well keep them now" and Aragorn privately scheming for every possible excuse to send as many of them back as possible, which then prompts Eomer to send—after a couple years—even more horses.

The courtiers in both kingdoms find this ritual extremely baffling, but Aragorn and Eomer quite enjoy it.

8. “Who I think is the ‘crazier’ one”

My dude. Look me in the eyes and tell me Eomer—“Launched A Legendarily Fierce Onset Upon the Enemy to Avenge His Sister”, “Death, Ride, Ride to Ruin and the World's Ending”, “Now for Wrath, Now for Ruin and a Red Nightfall”, Eomer—isn't the craziest out of the two. Throughout this read-though, I've been noticing more than ever that Eomer has been nothing but a roiling ball of passion and fury and "I will get this done or die trying" and if that's not crazy then I don't know what is.

......But then again Aragorn is the one who took the Paths of the Dead and hijacked the corsair ships, so. *hiss through my teeth* Ugh, I think you've got me there. If anything, Eomer is Spontaneous Crazy, and Aragorn is Premeditated Crazy.

10. “A song that reminds me of them”

Ooh! I'm gonna have to go with "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons, and/or "Same Blood" by Aloe Blacc.

(*elbows @holbytlanna* Pssst Anna look I found one that fit—)

12. “A word to describe them”

Indomitable, adj: Impossible to subdue or defeat.

13. “What I think would’ve happened if they had never met”

Er...Middle Earth explodes??

Sure, I'm being dramatic, but both Aragorn and Eomer were extremely crucial in the battles of Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields, and if even one of those battles had failed, that's an entire kingdom of Men gone to pot. If Aragorn and Eomer hadn't met, then many, MANY more lives would have been lost; if not all the free peoples in Middle Earth in their entirety.

(But now I’m really curious which is your favorite scene in the book! Care to share with the class?? 😉)

FRIENDSHIP ASK GAME!

[loregoddess]

001 Wrightworth and 002 your girl Anna Pascal from TriStrat!

wrightworth (the most ship duo of all AA):

when I started shipping it if I did: I guess after I watched the first game? No that's not quite right, more like after I finished watching the second game. I was like, "Ah, I understand why this is a popular ship now" after the first and then was like, "Yeah this tracks" after the second.

my thoughts: Wholesome ship, I totally get the appeal (the ship's actually a QPR in my fleet, but I'm not bothered by others shipping romantic wrightworth at all)

What makes me happy about them: I dunno, the dynamic works so well. Phoenix and Edgeworth saved each other, they believe in each other, they're always there for each other--they're just a feel good sort of duo for me.

What makes me sad about them: Nothing really? I mean, sure the entirety of the second game is a low point in their relationship, but it's also so interesting from a writing perspective because like, these two would not have gone into the future games with the bond of trust they eventually come to share w/out the events of the second game so like *gestures wildly*. I know a lot of fans headcanon/theorize that the time between 3 and 4 was also a rougher time (although I have my own set of headcanons/theories about this blank timeframe), but again, there's something about weathering the tough times together and coming out stronger that I enjoy seeing in any sort of fictional relationship arcs.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Hmm, I don't think I have really any other ships for either of them outside of the main one. They have great platonic dynamics with a lot of characters, but nothing that my brain goes "ah, a QPR or romantic relationship!" about

My happily ever after for them: Retired, living together, supporting Trucy's career, tending a nice small house and rewatching Steel Samurai while giving advice to the younger lawyers in their spare time. Probably show up to guest lecture at Themis more often than not, do mock trials for the students there.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: They take turns, but Phoenix likes being the big spoon more often than not.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Binge-watching Steel Samurai, Edgeworth critiquing the spinoffs while Phoenix plays devil's advocate as a joke, although probably they have little mock court battles for the silliest things. I headcanon Phoenix as an ex-theater/vis. arts double major and Edgeworth had a "formal" upbringing, so sometimes they go to galleries or live theater performances too (silly little discussions about the art/shows they see like, ALL the time).

Anna Pascal (my girl...):

How I feel about this character: Love her, love her, lover her. My MVP who was first to hit the lv. 30 cap bc I used her so often in battle, but also just one of my overall favorite characters in the story.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Uhhhh..................actually no one, now that I'm thinking about it? I know Milo x Anna is somewhat popular (as popular as can be in a teeny tiny fandom like TriStrat), but I see them more as enemies to weird coworkers. Although when I realized that both Anna and Avlora were orphaned by the same war, part of my brain wondered what it would be like if they talked/interacted and stuff, and that sort of "what if they talked" question once led to a crackship for a different game, so who knows. If my TriStrat obsession comes back maybe Anna x Avlora will turn from a "wonder what would happen..." to full "welp, guess I have a weird ship now"

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I think Anna has a good relationship with all or most of the House Wolffort people. Obviously her weird familial relationship with Benedict is of endless fascination to me, and I think she has something of a familial relationship with Erador and Archibald as well. I think she gets along very well with Serenoa (and eventually Frederica and Geela) too. Weird coworker with Milo, but the two eventually become weird friends. Accidental mentor figure to Trish and Rudolph and is so confused by this. Accidental parental figure to Decimal. Accidental older familial figure to Quahuag, and he still visits her even after being reunited with his mom. Not entirely sure how she ended up with the giant found family, but isn't complaining.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Honestly I dunno if I have any? Small fandoms sometimes mean there is no "wildly popular" opinions or headcanons to actually go against, because everyone is doing their own thing while also being respectful of their fellow fans, and that's how the TriStrat fandom feels on this site at least.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want to see Anna's conversation with Benedict after her second character story so badly (I still have not played/watched the extra story that got released, so for all I know she does talk with Benedict finally, but until I do play the extra story I'm to sit here and wonder about her weird and wild familial situation in silence).

my OTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

a headcanon: I think Anna is very good with children, and probably helped take care of all the kids Serenoa took in during the war. Wildly popular with all the kids in the Wolffort demense. Acted as something of a babysitter, sort of older sister figure to Serenoa as he was growing up. Is a bit baffled by the fact that even teens who are Going Through It (re: Trish and Ridolph) gravitate towards her and think she's cool. Also, I think she got the scar on her face falling out of a tree when she was a kid, but refuses to tell anyone who doesn't already know about the scar's origin, because she knows it makes her look more intimidating and she wants that edge as the official Wolffort spy. Also, also bc I actually have a lot of headcanons, I also think she gets mistaken as younger than she is like, constantly. Partly because she is Very Short, and partly because she has the "age well" genetics. Milo simply did not believe they were almost the same age when Anna finally told her, and it took everyone who knew Anna when she was a kid to confirm that she is in fact in her early 30s. Trish and Rudolph switched from "oh, we're the same" to "holy shit, teach us your ways" as soon as they figured out Anna was not an older teen or early 20s-adult, which was slightly better than the two of them thinking Anna was also a delinquent since they respect her even more now, but she's still a bit ?? about the development.

[sprooknooky]

Irene and Wall for the character ask?

Thank you for the ask!! Two of my favorite guys ever!! This ended up being really long...

Irene:

favorite thing about them:

Just her <33 She’s like my favorite person. Sorry real life friends, Irene is my best friend and has been since I was twelve years old.

Really though, I actually enjoy her part of the story (ignoring the sequel). I love that she’s a weird old lady who invented dragon slayers and lives in a castle across the ocean from her daughter that she just assumes is dead. Fuckin amazing. She’s flirty. She’s really hot and she knows it. She’s traumatized as hell. Good for her.

least favorite thing about them:

This kinda goes for every woman in Fairy Tail, but I hate that she’s used for fanservice, especially in the sequel, but also how they changed some scenes in the anime to showcase her massive tits. Like really?? She’s better than this. Let her wear clothes. Please.

Also, I really love super overpowered characters, but for a lot of Irene’s attacks, pure plot armor was used to beat her. Like why is she able to summon a meteor? That part is so dumb. Just let her be an enchantress. It just feels weirdly inconsistent to show that she’s powerful. We already know she’s powerful. Whatever. I’m salty.

favorite line:

Irene says some absolutely batshit stuff but I may have to go with this one. I like how sarcastic it is. She’s such an asshole (affectionate).

Also fun fact: they forgot to color the collar of her top in this panel!

brOTP:

Irene and Bloodman!! I know they don’t interact at all in canon but I love that they’re on the same team during the war. It sparked something within me. They’re both super old and have to put up with Zeref’s bullshit and would bond over that. <3

OTP:

Irene x Anna! They’re old and traumatized and totally knew each other 400 years ago. Also, Irene is a lesbian so I like it a lot better than Irene x Zeref or Irene x Acnologia.

nOTP:

Ehhhh Irene x Acnologia gives me bad vibes… I understand the appeal I guess? She created dragon slayers to help the dragons and he became a dragon slayer and killed all of them. But MAN is it toxic. They both deserve better.

random headcanon:

I think I’ve said this one before but she watches so much shitty reality TV. Like the dating shows where people are on an island and have sex and there’s drama for no reason. She loves that stuff. She makes fun of it daily.

unpopular opinion:

She shouldn’t have been back in the sequel…. I love Irene. So much. But she really didn’t add anything meaningful and didn’t need the ending they gave her. It was just really dissatisfying in my opinion. I feel like a lot of people didn’t mind her being back, but it really doesn’t make sense.

song i associate with them:

Never Love an Anchor by the Crane Wives thanks to @pencilofawesomeness ‘s post here (it’s so cool!! I hope you don’t mind the tag)

favorite picture of them:

She is SO PRETTY but also so silly and I’m struggling to pick just one…

But probably this one :)

-

Wall:

favorite thing about them:

I love their silly little personality. I enjoy deranged little guys in general but I like that he has a weird lawyer thing going on. He says “indeed” a lot and stuff like “case dismissed” and it’s so funny. Their title is the adjudicator. Why is he a lawyer??? And the best part is he can rewrite his own personality. So he wrote himself to be this way. That’s amazing. Go little funky robot guy go!!

least favorite thing about them:

I feel like Wall was really doomed by the narrative. He should have had so much more screen time. He just has so much potential. Why introduce a species of robot people as well as alchemy just to kill the guy off? It just makes me sad because they’re so fun.

favorite line:

This is just so badass

brOTP:

Wall and Dimaria are menaces <3 I love that they tease each other in canon and they definitely spar in their free time. Everyone hates it when they’re together because they’ll just gang up on people and make fun of them. It’s great.

OTP:

I don’t think I ship Wall with anyone… they give me aroace vibes.

nOTp:

I think some people ship him with Neinhart? That’s kinda weird in my opinion. Don’t they hate each other? I dunno, it just feels wrong. Besides, Neinhart is too stupid to get any bitches. (Full offense to Neinhart.)

random headcanon:

He was broken out of jail by the empire and that’s why his outfit kinda looks like a prison jumpsuit.

unpopular opinion:

I don’t think I’ve seen enough people complaining about red lightning but it should not have killed Wall. Lightning is lightning regardless of color or strength or whatever. I would have much preferred Wall die by being outsmarted. I also really hate Laxus fighting Wall at all… I think it would have been so much cooler to give the Thunder Legion a better fight against them! Anyway, I don’t know how unpopular that is, but it’s all I have right now.

song i associate with them:

Hmm… I can’t really think of one right now. I’ll update this if I remember anything though.

favorite picture of them:

This one’s pretty rad :D (Or the one I used for his quote)

[ragecndybars]

School had gotten out hours ago, and Anna was busy with physical therapy today, so going to Zodiac wasn’t exactly appealing. If he went home now, though, he’d have to face his brother. So, lacking anything else to do, Tatsuya was now wandering aimlessly around Lotus, hands in his pockets. He’d already gone around the block twice now, and he still couldn’t think of anywhere worth visiting. Satomi Tadashi was boring, Gatten Sushi wasn’t worth the money, the smell in Kaori gave him a headache, and the owner of Time Castle creeped him out. So he was basically high and dry. If he didn’t find some way to amuse himself soon, then he’d have no choice but to bail and head home. Which was absolutely not an option.

Fandom: Persona 2 Characters: Suou Tatsuya, Suou Katsuya Summary: Tatsuya buys his brother a birthday gift, but hesitates to actually give it to him. Word Count: ~2,000 Notes: this fic idea came to me at like 1 AM and then i just cranked out this entire fic in one sitting between 1 AM and 3 AM. adhd is wack. anyway enjoy the Suou Bros trying and failing to bond

[raccooncourt]

Twilight is a stockholm syndrome horror franchise (A Raccoon Court Case)

I wrote this essay as an argument for my podcast (which you can listen to here!). If you want to hear this argument along with my friends picking it apart in our court of law, listen to it on Spotify! Enjoy!

Opening Statement

Hello, my name is Mel, and today I will be defending myself against the charge that i have bad taste for “believing Twilight is a horror franchise about Stockholm Syndrome”.

Before I begin, lets get something straight. I would never, ever come on this podcast, in front of the court and God and Jesus and everyone, and say that Twilight is a bad movie because it’s not. Catherine Hardwicke put her everything into this movie, especially when the 2007-2008 writers strike forced her to improvise the line “hold on tight spider monkey.” This movie has some of the best lighting and editing choices EVER. The soundtrack RIPS! The actors are COMMITTING to the weird shit they were given. Like just watch Emmett walk around with that bag of hard boiled eggs. Look at Alice’s insane haircut during the baseball scene. Watch Anna Kendrick be the most passive aggressive and insecure girl in that school. How do they make Arizona look fucking blue somehow? It’s everything to me.

That being said, I believe that Twilight should not be considered a “romantic fantasy film” as Wikipedia describes it. This movie, and the franchise as a whole, follows a serious episode of Stockholm Syndrome where Bella Swan, after trauma bonding with Edward and his family, becomes convinced that her relationship with Edward is good and healthy and worth leaving everyone she knows and loves behind. While Twilight is my main source for this argument, I will be discussing the less entertaining, more biblically accurate movies in the franchise for some key evidence. Before we jump into them, I would like to note that my praise of Twilight does not unilaterally apply to the rest of these movies. I could feel myself lose years off my life watching Breaking Dawn part 1 with Jess back in June. That being said, Breaking Dawn part 2 revived me and I’m actually happy and healthy and young and vivacious now because of that Alice girlboss moment with the Volturi at the end.

With the current group of Twilight fans in the studio, I am sure we will get distracted and just talk about how good Twilight is, but I will do my best to keep us on track. In the case today, I will give us all an AP Psych background on Stockholm Syndrome. I will then detail all of the weird and creepy things that Edward does in Twilight to trick Bella accidentally into falling in love with him. Finally, I will provide examples from the other movies in the franchise to back up how this unstable and unhealthy relationship fits the telltale signs of a Stockholm Syndrome situation.

Defense case-in-chief

One note before we start. This is a fun podcast for fun. We are in no way trying to trivialize or minimize anyone’s mental health struggles or traumatic experiences. I am just interested in using this lens as a way to understand this dumb fucking franchise.

Now, before we talk about how Edward tricks a teen girl into falling in love with him, let’s quickly go over the basics of Stockholm Syndrome.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response to being held captive. People with Stockholm syndrome form a psychological connection with their captors and begin sympathizing with them. In addition to the original kidnapper-hostage situation, Stockholm syndrome now includes other types of trauma in which there’s a bond between the abuser and the person being abused.” (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22387-stockholm-syndrome)

This syndrome was named after an incident in 1973, where bank robbers in Stockholm, Sweden held hostages for six days in the bank. During that time, some of the hostages started to like the bank robbers, and upon release, they refused to testify against the criminals. Some of these victims even raised money for the robbers court costs.

Again, according to the Cleveland Clinic,

People who have Stockholm syndrome have:

Positive feelings toward the captors or abusers.

Sympathy for their captors’ beliefs and behaviors.

Negative feelings toward police or other authority figures.

Other symptoms are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and include:

Flashbacks.

Feeling distrustful, irritated, jittery or anxious.

Can’t relax or enjoy things that you previously enjoyed.

Trouble concentrating.

(https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22387-stockholm-syndrome)

I would like us all to remember these key symptoms and characteristics of the syndrome. First, a victim is put in a traumatic situation, or multiple traumatic situations over time, with the abuser. Then, as they spend more time with the abuser, they start to empathize and form good feelings towards the abuser. A key part here is that they also form negative feelings towards POLICE like say maybe a certain DILF from Forks, Washington??? Anyway, the other symptoms of flashbacks, feeling irritated and anxious, losing interest in your hobbies, trouble concentrating, and distrust all come into play here. In our next sections, I will be giving you concrete examples of times Bella displays ALL of these symptoms and how we can use that evidence to diagnose her as suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

Now that we have our psychological background information, let’s talk about Twilight!

When we first meet Bella, she is nervous about moving to Forks, and she is a generally shy person, but she is personable. Bella has consistent dinners with her dad and is nice to the townies. She laughs with her mom on the phone. She immediately makes friends with Jacob and finds a group of friends at school on the first day. She smiles a lot considering her character in future movies. She makes jokes when she first meets Mike and Jessica (”aren’t people from Arizona supposed to be like really tan?” “yeah maybe thats why they kicked me out”). I like this weird Bella. She is doing a great job at making friends despite coming in the middle of the year and being shy!

Now, Edward - he is looking ROUGH when we are first introduced. He looks like he’s actually dying a painful death when the rest of the Cullens look like legit immortal and young. Jessica describes him as “totally gorgeous” but as we will see as the movies progress, he won’t reach his hottest until the last few movies. He is not a catch right now. Watching him react to smelling Bella is one of the worst things that I’ve ever seen. I know that it’s just because he is Horny for that Blood, but it is awful to watch. He kinda looks like when a little kid throws up and has to go tell their mom about it in the middle of the night towards the end of the scene.

Anyway, Edward and Bella have now met, which is the beginning of the end that will stretch out over the next 5 movies. But currently, there has been no trauma bonding. There is no psychological damage, except maybe to Bella for thinking she smelled so bad Edward was gonna yak. We are not in Stockholm Syndrome territory yet. Edward comes back to school, apologizes, and becomes Bella’s lab partner again. He’s cuter in this scene somehow, and while it isn’t the same glow up we will see after him and Bella trauma bond, there is something to be said about him tearing her confidence down and then building it back up as the movie makes him look more attractive…

Now, 21 minutes into the movie, Bella is about to get crushed by a car when Edward appears out of nowhere and saves her. He crushes the door of the car, stops it, and then runs away. Here is our first instance of Bella associating Edward as her protector. In the future, this white knight syndrome seems to justify any future danger that Edward puts Bella in. Also, this begins my favorite Edward trait in this movie - this man is a GASLIGHTER. Bella confronts Edward about how he got to her so fast and why his eyes are different colors and he says 1) he was right next to her and 2) “its the fluorescence.” Bella fights back, but he laughs her off. He talks about how she hit her head and is confused. When she keeps fighting, he says “well, no one is gonna believe you,” WHICH IS A CRAZY THING TO SAY!!!!

In the next scene, Bella is having some small flashbacks to the car accident, which could just be PTSD, but as I mentioned earlier, PTSD shares a lot of symptoms with Stockholm Syndrome. Bella is zoning out and not paying attention to Mike while he asks her to prom, but at this point, she is still nice fun Bella. She even puts in a good word for Jessica. However, at the greenhouse, Edward gets mad at Bella for tripping and tells her that she can’t be his friend. It’s a weird back and forth that definitely isn’t helping her psyche. She thinks the guy who saved her life regrets it, which would fuck you up for sure.

This has nothing to do with my argument, but I need to mention that in the next scene, we get both “its la push baby, la push” as well as Edward kicking the apple up into his hands in a way that defies logic and gravity. It’s cinema perfection. To be fair, in this scene, Edward says that Bella would be smart to stay away from him. He may not be trying to force Bella into a Stockholm syndrome situation, but I am sure those bank robbers weren’t either.

Bella is still herself at this point. She goes to the beach with her friends, hangs out with Jacob, and gives the girls advice about the Prom. She asks to go with the girls to prom dress shop all on her own, but she is kinda zoned out and reading a book because she just wants to go to the bookstore. I appreciate that she tried to participate in the girly things her friends wanted to do, but then she is dumb as fuck and walks down the darkest and creepiest alley ever. These gross ass adult men jump her, and Edward comes to the rescue in his teeny tiny little car. Slay! But do you wanna know what’s not slay? Edward was literally stalking her, but Bella feels blessed because he saved her once again. At dinner, Edward, in the creepiest way possible tells her that “he feels very protective of her.” I am obsessed with how quickly Bella accepts that he can read minds. Like what the fuck is wrong with her. But here, we can start to see the change in Bella despite the warning signs - Edward was LITERALLY STALKING HER. GET A GRIP GIRL!!

After Waylan’s death, Bella has flashbacks for a second time! and it makes her start reading the book about vampires. This leads us to an incredible scene of internet sleuthing about vampires and having MORE FLASHBACKS to when Edward saved her. Someone get this girl some help. In the next scene, we get the incredible confrontation between Edward and Bella in the woods. Something I need to bring up here - this girl knows that Edward has stalked her, and she is pretty sure that he is a dangerous vampire. YET!!! She decides to walk out into the forest ALONE with Edward to confront him somewhere no one could see. These two aren’t even together yet, and she has the worst self preservation skills of all time! Then - when she finds out that he has been 17 “for a while” she STAYS AND KEEPS TALKING TO HIM!!!

Now, here is where I truly feel like my evidence really begins. When Edward talks about what vampires eat and how he is dangerous, Bella says “you won’t hurt me.” We are certainly seeing some crazy amounts of trust and sympathy for this man who was literally stalking her and may kill her out in the woods and is also a vampire. Remember how the Cleveland Clinic notes “sympathy for their captor’s behaviors” as one of the key signs of Stockholm Syndrome… She has no reason to believe in him, but she does. Edward drags her through the woods and then forces her up the mountain to reveal how weird and shiny he is. “This is the skin of a killer, Bella” should have really made her turn around and run, like he is literally admitting to being a killer and she says “I don’t believe that.” GIRL!! GET OUT OF THERE!! RUN BITCH!!

I find it interesting that Edward in this scene says that his voice, his face, and his smell are tricking Bella into being drawn in because he is a predator, and it is a trap. He talks about how he was designed to kill and how Bella would never be able to out run him or fight him off, and he is trying to physically demonstrate the threat by throwing shit around. It is a scary display! Edward does a lot in the first few movies to stay away from Bella, but eventually, he does fight to keep her around despite the fact that he KNOWS that he’s 100 years older than her (ew) and he KNOWS that his vampire whiles have tricked Bella’s brain into being attracted to him. Honestly, if he were a good man and not a weird criminal, he would have just moved. Like why do the Cullen kids even need to be in school. Let them pretend to be in their 20s for a while and move away from this poor dumb girl.

As soon as Edward and Bella get together in the woods, she says she is in love with him. Girl, BFFR. We start to see Bella pull away now that she has Edward. Bella ignores all of her friends at school to be with Edward.

Ok, now Charlie is on the hunt for the “animal” killing people. Bella fully knows that its a vampire and that those vampires can kill Charlie and her friends, but she doesn’t say anything because she now has this weird allegiance to the Cullens. She also won’t tell her dad that she’s dating Edward. Mike tells Bella that he doesn’t like Edward dating her because “he looks at you like you’re something to eat.” I know that Mike says that shit because he used to have a thing for Bella, but it says something when your friends are worried about your boyfriend and you brush them off… That’s not a good sign.

That night, Edward just appears in her room while she is on the phone with her mom and ADMITS TO SNEAKING INTO HER ROOM FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS??? TO WATCH HER SLEEP??? Bella thinks its hot. Literally what the fuck girl get a GRIP. Now, when Edward introduces himself to Charlie, he looks hot. My theory, and you can test it as you watch the series, is that Edward gets hotter over time because Bella gets deeper and deeper into her Stockholm syndrome situation. A lot of the other characters are their hottest in this movie, but Edward gets hotter as Bella loses her mind. I think that is saying something.

BASEBALL SCENE!!! BASEBALL SCENE!!! BASEBALL SCENE!!!

Now we are in the first instance where Edward has put Bella in danger - the three rogue vampires find out about her while the Cullens play baseball. This won’t put Bella into danger until later, but it fully is Edward’s fault that she was out in the woods where the vampires could find her. What it does do is force Bella to choose between Edward and Charlie, and this one singular time, she chooses correctly. Bella tells Edward to leave her alone. She isn’t fully sucked into the Cullen trap! JKJK!! It is all a trick to get Charlie to think she is leaving so he doesn’t worry about her! It is absolutely devastating to watch Bella hurt Charlie because Edward says “you have to.” Oh my god it is so hard to watch. DON’T HURT CHARLIE THAT’S MY MANZ!!!

This scene of Bella leaving really solidifies her jump from normal Bella to what we could call captive Bella. She is forced to leave her dad. She is painfully watching her friends have fun while she runs away with the Cullens and a boy she just kissed for the first time after he admitted to sneaking into her room for months. From here on out, we will watch her slowly pull away from everyone until it is just her and Edward. In this scene, Bella admits to being afraid and Edward says “Bella, you are my life now.” Insanity. It’s actually so scary. He also says that when it is over, they are gonna go somewhere alone. Isolating a 17 year old from her home, her friends, and her family is manipulative creep behavior, even if it’s because a scary vampire is trying to get her. Especially when it’s your fault for the vampire even knowing she was a target to begin with.

James tricks Bella into coming to the ballet studio alone and beats the shit out of her before biting her, which nearly kills her. Edward has to suck the poison out because Alice gets horny off Bella’s blood. Bella has to watch a murder happen while Edward just lets her suffer until he decides what to do with her. Edward then takes too much of her blood despite Carlisle telling him when to stop, which is a cool and totally not bad thing to do to your girlfriend when she is on the brink of death. When Bella wakes up, she thanks Edward for saving her, solidifying this savior idea she has about a man who will continue to put her in danger.

Oh god and I totally forgot about the boot to prom. Now, right before the end of the movie, we get one final attempt at a friend trying to save Bella. Jacob gets paid by his dad to tell Bella to break up with Edward. Another adult man informing Bella of what a mistake she is making. She is just like ok whatever bye! Note, she goes to prom with Edward and not any of her friends, even though her friends were so excited about it. She does say hi to her friends, but Edward takes her outside, and they spend the entire prom alone together. It is really fucked that the soundtrack goes so hard in this movie because I start to tear up even knowing that she is going to lose all of her friends and family for Edward.

At the end of this movie, we know a few things about Bella and Edward. Bella starts off as a shy girl with friends who spends time with her dad and calls her mom often. When she meets Edward, she idolizes him after he saves her life a few times. He tries to explain how much of a fucking creep he is by admitting to stalking her, being a murderer, and sneaking into her home for months. She thinks its hot and says that she loves him. Edward, despite being 117 and knowing better than to be into a 17 year old girl, brings her into his family and exposes her to other vampires. Those vampires hunt her for sport and to “protect her,” Edward forces her to lie and leave her friends and family. She now has no one else besides the Cullens. While they do save her, it is their fault for putting her in this situation. However, because they save her from James, she sees them as her savior rather than her captor.

Now, we will complete our analysis by quickly going over the evidence from the other four movies. It is going to be less descriptive because I could not make myself watch this entire series again after watching it literally 2 months ago.

Everyone, buckle up because it is New Moon time. Before we get started, I would love to read the character descriptions from the New Moon entry of Wikipedia:

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who falls into a deep depression after her true love, Edward Cullen, leaves her. Her friendship with Jacob Black is expanded as she realizes that he can mend the hole left open by Edward

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella's vampire boyfriend who abruptly leaves town to protect her.

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases Bella's pain over losing Edward. He reveals to Bella that he is part of a pack of werewolves whose main goal is to protect her from the vampires Laurent and Victoria

Totally off topic, but I went into the talk page for this bc I love Wikipedia editor drama and someone reviewing this page marked it as stable because it doesn’t have an editing war happening in it. I just love Wikipedia editor culture. Anyway -

In the beginning of this movie, Bella gets a paper cut at her birthday party, which is with the Cullens and not her friends, and Jasper tries to kill her. Again, we are so clearly in “the Cullens are the threat” territory but this bitch has her blinders on hard core. Edward freaks out about it ,and his family moves out of Forks to protect her. At this point, you must be saying, “how could she have stockholm syndrome if he left to protect her?” Just you wait. If you remember from before, sometimes Stockholm syndrome manifests as anxiety, being unable to relax or concentrate, and withdrawing. Well, my girl Bella goes through a major depressive episode when Edward leaves and seemingly stays in her room for months just moping around. The only reason Bella reconnects with anyone is because Charlie threatens to send her to Jacksonville to live with her mom. So, Bella goes to see a movie with Jessica. However, instead of just enjoying the movie like a normal person, she goes up to some bikers she sees on the street and gets on a fucking strangers bike so she can see a force ghost of Edward.

This entire movie is about Bella doing dangerous activities so she can see a memory of Edward even though she has a support system she could use to safely get over the breakup. Jacob tries to be a friend but ends up helping Bella do dangerous shit to see force ghost Edward. Unrelated to literally anything, Jacob goes through werewolf puberty and has to ditch Bella too. The distance doesn’t last long thought. Bella is quickly attacked by Laurent, one of the rogue vampires. You remember, the guy who discovered Bella when Edward had her out in the woods to play baseball. Remember the guy who was friends with the guy who literally almost killed Bella like a few months ago. Yes, that Laurent. The werewolves save Bella and that starts a whole other thing for these movies with the pack politics and the werewolf - vampire feud that we won’t get into.

Bella says yolo and does the dumbest shit ever - go cliff jumping alone in Washington to see her ex-boyfriend. I do want to note that Bella and Edward have known each other at this point for 6 months, and they have been apart for 6 months. Literally, they were together for less time than they have been broken up. It’s insane. And I know that I usually like to give teen romances a break because teens have big feelings and love can be all consuming at that time, but this girl is constantly in danger and depressed because of a man she has maybe kissed 3 times and is 117. Also unrelated, but this twilight wiki article on the timeline mentions that when the Cullens move away, they move to Ithaca where Jasper becomes a philosophy student?? Are you talking about the same Jasper who fought for the confederate side?? Ok yeah ok.

Anyway, Alice sees this in her vision, and Edward, thinking Bella is dead, tries to kill himself. I literally don’t care. Alice and Bella fly to Italy to save Edward. They do, and after some negotiating with the Volturi, they get to leave when they promise to eventually turn Bella into a vampire. At the end of the movie, we see Edward make what Stephanie Meyer would call a compromise and I would call a quid-pro-quo. He promises to turn her into a vampire, which is her dream, ONLY if she marries him. Remember, he is 118 at this point and she is freshly 18, but yeah pop off I guess. No weird power dynamic going on here. Definitely no reason to be worried about this relationship at all.

Our next movie is Eclipse. I would like to note that in the Eclipse talk page on Wikipedia, it is listed as a horror as is Breaking Dawn part 1… I’m gonna say that is a point in my favor too.

This movie is really just a way to exploit the love triangle of the series, but I think it illuminates the weird tension and power dynamic that Edward and Bella have together. Now that Edward and Bella have been reunited after Edward tries to (with an Italian accent and the hands 🤌🏻) kill himself, he proposes. Bella doesn’t want to get married at 18. Like thank god she has 2 brain cells in this movie. I have to note that when Edward proposes, they have been back together for 3 months, and together for a total of 10 months at the most. She is really uncertain about the whole thing, partially because she is so young and partially because her parents didn’t stick together.

Something I think is interesting in this movie is the fact that Bella legally has to be turned into a vampire to fulfill her agreement with the Volturi. If she doesn’t get turned, she will be killed by them. Edward refuses to turn Bella into a vampire unless she marries him. In a way, he is forcing Bella to chose between two options she doesn’t want: get married or get murdered by scary Dakota Fanning. She no longer has any agency in her life or her decision to become a vampire - she literally has to pick getting married. Now, because she has been tricked into falling in love with an 118 year old murderer, she thinks it will work out just fine. I just wanted to bring up that plot point because it really is so gross of Edward??

Next in Eclipse, Jacob kisses Bella, and she breaks her hand trying to punch him. At the same time, we get some training montages to prepare for the battle with Victoria, the lover of James, remember James who almost killed Bella. Yeah, well she’s a coming, and she’s bringing some fresh vampires. During the training, Jasper tells Bella about how he hated his life until he met Alice, and that is enough to convince her to marry Edward. I love when a heart to heart with a canonical confederate soldier fixes my relationship problems.

Because of Victoria and the need to force the love triangle, Jacob, Bella, and Edward go on a camping trip. While Bella tries not to die of hypothermia, Jacob gets mad about them being engaged and runs off. Bella then kisses Jacob to keep him from running away because thats how you shut people up in romance movies but also because apparently now she loves him?? Edward is like ¯\(ツ)/¯ because “he knows that she doesn’t love Jacob as much as him” and maybe also because if she chooses Jacob she will literally be murdered by the Italian vampire squad??

There is a fight and like its fine and then the Volturi remind Bella of their deal, so she chooses Edward. Again, it is great to choose your partner under duress, especially when it is entirely your partner’s fault that you are under duress. Wikipedia describes the end of this movie as follows: “Bella and Edward go to their meadow, where she tells him she has decided to do things his way: get married, have sex, then be transformed into a vampire, and that she feels complete in his world. They decide to tell Charlie about their engagement.” I always forget how important Edward’s “old fashioned views” on sex and relationships are in these movies until I rewatch. Nothing reminds me more about this 100 year age gap than Edward not wanting to take her flower before God intended. Ugh, anyway.

On to Breaking Dawn Part 1!! I hate this movie, but boy does it have a lot to discuss.

This movie opens on the wedding. Our sweet lil girl is finally marrying her 118 year old spooky boyfriend so she doesn’t get murdered! How beautiful. But before that, we get Edward admitting to Bella that he used to murder people for sport after he got turned even though Carlisle told him not to. Very cool Ed!! Bella says that its ok because he probably was saving more lives by killing these weirdos, which is another good example of siding with her captor. Side note, but Bella is all in on getting married and never seeing her friends and family again as Edward reaches peak hottie status in the series… Coincidence?

In the scenes leading up to the wedding, we see two Bellas: the one around Edward who is so sure about getting married BECAUSE she is so sure about becoming a vampire and the one around her friends and family who looks nervous and unsure about the wedding. She looks like she’s having a panic attack, especially as Charlie walks her down the aisle. That could just be because she’s shy Bella but I think maybe there is something more going on here.

At the wedding, we hear from some of the speeches from Bella’s friends and family. Emmett gives a horny ass toast. Jessica gives a crazy speech about how she is hotter than Bella. Charlie says “Edward will be a good husband. I know this because I am a cop.” which devolves into him just threatening Edward. Bella’s mom sings a lullaby that goes on for a criminal amount of time. Alice bashes Bella’s fashion sense. Esme gives a harrowing speech about protecting Bella forever.

In one of my favorite scenes of the series, we watch Jacob and Bella reconnect. I am going to include the best part after I talk about this evidence, but here Jacob says “I should be used to saying goodbye to you.” Remember how, since vampires don’t age, Bella is going to have to leave literally every single person she knows and loves to live exclusively with Edward, a man who invites endless danger and also is a creep? Woof it is hard to watch. Then, Jacob gets mad at Bella, rightfully!, for planning on getting dicked down by her vampire husband before she turns vampire.

Before she goes on her honeymoon, Bella has a tearful goodbye with her parents, who she knows she will never see again. It’s really sad?? She can hear the wolves howling and is even more sad. From here on out, Bella will only have the Cullens. She has committed herself forever to this group of people who constantly endanger her, partially because if she didn’t Michael Sheen would kill her.

Now, the rest of this movie is Bella’s pregnancy. Fun fact, she is aware of her pregnancy for less than 14 days before she gives birth. According to the book and a tiktok Twilight historian I follow, they have sex on August 14th. From August 15th to 20th, Bella is having weird dreams and eating raw chicken. On August 21st, they have sex again and 10 days later, she realizes she missed her period. When Jacob sees Bella all gross and pregnant, 7 days have gone by. Renesmee is born on 9/11. It’s WILD.

So now, this poor girl has had sex exactly twice like shes Lane from Gilmore Girls, and she’s pregnant. And guess what? Edward is like fucking EW get rid of that thing rn. This man, who was all about proper godly values, is like abort that creature. She’s like no I wanna keep this baby, and he won’t even try to be understanding. So now, Bella doesn’t even really have her husband as a support system or any of her family to get her through this. She just has the Cullen girlies until Edward can read the baby’s thoughts and he’s like oh sweet the baby means no harm on my wife who I’ve abandoned many times and also forced to leave her entire support system.

Bella dies in the most gruesome childbirth scene of all time, and Edward turns her into a vampire.

FINAL MOVIE!!! BREAKING DAWN PART 2

Most of this movie is irrelevant. However, in the beginning, we get my actual favorite scene in all of twilight [you imprinted on my daughter??]. Edward is SO HOT, peak hot one could argue, in this movie. Now that Bella is fully indoctrinated into the Cullen family, Edward becomes as hot as possible. His total mind takeover is complete.

Anyway, this movie really reminds us of the impact the Cullens have had on isolating Bella. Charlie is desperate to know anything about Bella’s health and where she is, btu the Cullens are like yo - we gotta move and never talk to him again. We gotta pack our bags and move away. Jacob is like thats absolute bullshit so he snitches to Charlie. He doesn’t tell him everything so it seems to be ok? They say that Renesme is adopted and Bella is no longer sick, so its gucci.

The rest of the movie is just about the Volturi bullshit and Alice girlbossing until Bella, Edward, and Renesme get to be a happy family, totally cut off from the outside world.

To recap, people who have Stockholm syndrome have:

Positive feelings toward the captors or abusers aka the Cullens

Sympathy for their captors’ beliefs and behaviors aka Edward being a stalker and a murderer and a pedophile

Negative feelings toward police or other authority figures aka Charlie and the werewolf pack when they warn against being with the Cullens

Other symptoms are similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and include:

Flashbacks like all of the ones she had in Twilight and the force ghost projections in New Moon

Feeling distrustful, irritated, jittery or anxious which only gets worse in Bella as she spends more time with the Cullens.

Can’t relax or enjoy things that you previously enjoyed - this bitch is on edge all the time and everything in her life has become life or death at 18.

Trouble concentrating - you know it, especially in New Moon.

Over time, we watch Edward get hotter as Bella feels more and more tied with the Cullens. When she has no other way of surviving, she marries Edward and then is removed from her community forever. She can’t even share the miracle of her becoming a mother with anyone. It is upsetting to watch, and that’s why I believe this franchise is actually a horror story warning us about Stockholm Syndrome.

Closing Statement

Honorable members of the jury, I am sorry that I put you through this today. I can’t say what compelled me to do this other than grad school procrastination and a recent hyperfixation on Twilight. I hope you can all look at this movie with a clinical eye, as doctors recognized by the court today, and see that yes, Edward put Bella in danger many times and yes, she thought he was hotter every time he revealed something fucking heinous about himself. We should all watch these films not as romances, but as warnings. Don’t fall in love with weird loners who are 117 years old. Don’t join a family with a confederate soldier. It will only cause you irreperable psychological damage and physical pain and also give you a weird baby that your ex-lover imprints on. Please don’t find me guilty of bad taste for believing Twilight is a Stockholm Syndrome horror film.

[ridiasfangirlings]

Fem Fushimi with an interest in 50-60s dresses and styles. She looks absolutely gorgeous but until post Rok she doesn't wear them that much in public. When she does everyone's jaw just drops and maybe she and Anna bond a bit over having specific fashion tastes and swap styles on occasion. [ I just started watching Queens Gambit and thought femshimi would look really nice in the form fitting waist lines with flowly skirts ]

I kinda like the idea of Fem!Fushimi going from probably not giving a shit about her clothes to realizing that she actually likes wearing nice outfits, like it makes her feel more comfortable and confident. Like I always imagine female Fushimi never caring about her clothes when she's younger, she always wears shapeless oversized clothes and cuts her hair short and Yata doesn't even realize she's a girl for ages. When she joins S4 she starts growing her hair out and showing a bit more skin when it comes to her uniform but off duty she's mostly in oversized cardigans and drab clothes, she probably even looks down a lot on girls who like to dress cute because Fushimi sees it as a pointless frivolous thing. It's the despair of the alphabet squad, who would love to see her in miniskirts and cute knee highs (and Munakata, who very much wishes to see Fushimi-kun in a fetching sundress) and even Awashima tries to get her to come shopping on occasion because Awashima knows how fashion can be a woman's strongest weapon and she thinks Fushimi might feel less gloomy and more open if she felt cute in her own clothes.

What gets Fushimi to realize she likes a certain style is say there's some undercover mission where she has to dress in kind of a 50s/60s type style, like the Strain S4 is after enjoys holding parties themed after different decades. Fushimi gets to wear a cute pinafore (with a nice flowy skirt and big hidden pockets for lots of knives) and she has to actually make an attempt to socialize in order to find the target. Fushimi isn't particularly happy about this, complaining when Awashima's doing her hair that she doesn't see the point in dressing like this and why does she have to talk to people and Awashima just smiles and tells her these clothes suit her well. When she enters the party Fushimi's initially hesitant and avoiding everyone but she does eventually have to, like, interact with other humans and Fushimi's surprised to find that it's easier than expected, like she still doesn't enjoy talking to people but she feels really comfortable in these clothes and it's giving her unexpected confidence. After this maybe she occasionally dresses up in secret, like she'll hide in her room all day on a day off playing on her PDA but at least she's doing it in a cute dress.

Post-ROK when she's really trying to overcome some of her issues is when Fushimi starts just wearing what she wants in public. The first time she steps out of her room in this super cute dress that accentuates her thin waist and nice figure all the S4 guys nearly run into walls staring at her and it's almost enough to make her go back into her room, imagine them all quickly trying to reassure her that she looks great (and then Hidaka compliments her boobs and almost gets a knife to the face). Munakata and Awashima are both pleased to see Fushimi starting to become more comfortable in her own type of style and even Homra gets to see how much Fushimi actually looks like a girl now, imagine her stopping by the bar and Chitose hitting on her before she draws a knife and he's like oh shit it's Fushimi (but she's still hot so he asks her on a date anyway and Fushimi's like I'm going to need more knives in this skirt). Anna comes over and tugs on her skirt, telling her that she looks pretty and Fushimi finds herself unexpectedly pleased by the compliment. Maybe Awashima's mentioned to Kusanagi that Fushimi's finding her confidence in dressing how she wants and Kusanagi decides to suggest Fushimi spend some time with Anna, who could use a good female role model, as a way to help them both. This definitely leads to Fushimi at some point ending up in a big frilly dress and being irritated about it, though as Anna gets older maybe she starts enjoying some more aristocrat-type fashion and that Fushimi actually doesn't mind, she can look very intimidating in a waistcoat.