#New Structure

[onsecondthoughtno]

Begin?

[kookingtae]

i will love you til the end of time ♡

[inksandpensblog]

We completely misinterpreted the hug scene

I was going to make this into a nice, well-composed essay, with each section talking about a different aspect of the episode's construction or execution, and about narrative theming and character arcs, and about why so many people thought this scene was enough to ruin the episode for them. I was going to do that, but then it took me eleven hours to try and narrow down what the actual problem with the scene was, when taken into context with the entire rest of the episode and episode 29; and then another three hours to realize what the actual intent of the scene had probably been and why nobody, including myself, seemed to have picked up on it (except for Lui and @k1ttyadventurer apparently-). So instead of the nice essay, you're getting a conceptual overview of my entire thought process, from beginning to end, as I tried to figure out the deeper reasons behind why everyone hated this scene so much, and then why we all had it wrong. You're welcome.

For the sake of internal consistency, I'm invoking author's bypass and using the names my server-mates and I have picked up for these characters. King shall henceforth be known as Mango, his child as Apricot, Purple's dadfigure as Cobalt, and Purple's momfigure as Orchid.

--

What started me on this path, was this thought: We didn't like Mango's reconciliation with Purple, but aside from pacing issues, Mango's arc (thematic, character, narrative, etc.) is pretty solid. So if the problem isn't with Mango's side, it must be with Purple's.

So, what was wrong about the way Purple's arc was written? Was it just that reconciliation scene in episode 30, or was it something from back in episode 29 that didn't show its full implications until now?

But, again, Purple's arc in episode 29 alone is pretty solid. So, the problem was just the reconciliation scene. And, again, for Mango's arc the scene works, it's only for Purple's that it doesn't.

So, what's wrong with it? Does this scene contradict episode 29 in some way? That's how a lot of us felt, at first, I think. Purple learned last episode that he didn't need acceptance from Cobalt, and he follows through on that in this episode, choosing to do what HE thinks is right and not what he thinks will earn him approval, and his reward is...symbolic acceptance from Cobalt? It didn't make sense, and sat wrongly with many of us.

--

But I still couldn't pin down why this didn't work, so I circled back. Maybe it was the relationship dynamics? Was that why many of us didn't like the idea of Mango being Apricot's father instead of their older brother, at first?

--

But then I noticed something amazing: if you watch the episode while viewing Apricot as Mango's sibling, and then watch it while viewing Apricot as Mango's child...nothing about Mango's arc actually changes, on a thematic level. It all still works, no matter which interpretation you go with.

Why, then, is the distinction given so much emphasis? Why is it important that we know that Apricot is canonically Mango's child, if it doesn't change anything about Mango's story either way?

Because what it DOES change, is the implied dynamic between Mango and Purple, and the number of inverse parallels in their stories.

--

I also think that at this juncture it's important to note that Mango seeing Apricot in Purple is something nobody seems to have had a problem with, even people who didn't like the episode. It's literally just Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango that people had issues with. Purple's side of the story, again, is the one that seems to be flawed in either its construction or its execution.

--

Now, while the status of who Apricot is, to Mango, doesn't influence Mango's story much, something about Apricot that does hold heavy sway over Mango's story is Mango seeing Apricot in Purple. And, since this seems to be paralleled by Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango,  we'd naturally expect this element to have an equally weighty effect on Purple's story. But what does Purple seeing Cobalt in Mango actually DO, for Purple's story?

--

@kikoqueenofrats and @luizastarry mentioned how after seeing Mango's backstory, seeing him be likened to Cobalt felt wrong. Specifically, that if Mango was meant to become a new parental figure for Purple, then having him become the new Cobalt, instead of, say, the new Orchid, felt really wrong, given how poorly Cobalt treated Purple (and, in my opinion, given how well Mango appears to have treated Apricot, whom he had recently likened to Purple earlier in the scene).

This is when Lui first brought up the idea that maybe the hug scene wasn't supposed to be a comparison after all, but was actually supposed to show how Mango and Cobalt were different. @iluvylalevu brought up pacing issues again, as a possible reason why the idea wasn't communicated clearly enough to the audience. Then they both discussed how some different body language from Purple in reaction to Cobalt's approach would've gotten this story point if it was indeed the intended point of the scene across to the audience a lot better; made the irreconcilable differences between Cobalt as Purple knew him and Mango as whoever he became over the course of this episode a lot clearer. 

I missed what Lui had already figured out, though, because my eyes caught on the body-language conversation, and it made me remember something: Cobalt, again and again, no matter what, forcing Purple to get up again when he fell.

--

So, I muted the video, and watched the hug scene again, and observed Purple's body language. He doesn't look like he's expecting he'll need to fight, but...in my opinion, it doesn't look like he's expecting a hug, either.

--

...maybe what he was seeing, during that moment in episode 30, hadn't been Cobalt turned around and returning to accept him, like he'd learned to stop yearning for in episode 29. (And really, would it be in-character for Purple to imagine his dad doing that? I think he knew his father better than that.) Maybe he’d seen Cobalt coming to admonish him, again. He had just defied Mango, after all, and then failed to stop him. And Green and the others weren’t here, to accept him regardless of his failure. And Orchid wasn’t here to catch him, all that was left were petals. And when it wasn’t Orchid standing over him to shelter him, it was always Cobalt, looming. But he knows it’ll be worse, if he stays on the ground. So he gets up.

And then the hug closes in, and Cobalt is gone, and it’s Mango.

--

The episode isn’t trying to compare Mango to Cobalt, like some questionable construction and execution choices for the scene led audiences the web over to believe. Instead, it’s contrasting them. Mango isn’t “the better Cobalt,” he isn’t “who Cobalt should’ve been.” He isn’t “the Cobalt Purple needs,” because episode 29 established that what Purple NEEDS is to get out from under the shadow of Cobalt’s expectations. Mango isn’t Cobalt. Mango is Mango. And Mango accepts Purple, not because of anything Purple did, and not even because he saw Apricot in Purple; the only time Mango saw Purple as Apricot was in the wall drawing, never when they were looking directly at each other, never the same way that Purple mistook Mango for Cobalt. Mango accepts Purple, because he’s Purple. Just like Green said his friends would.

Which is much less of a rancid vibe than what we’d all thought we were seeing, when all of us most of us first saw the episode.

--

I'd like to thank my server-mates for letting me figure this out, and for asking me to make sure it's shared.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[kujakumai]

Feel like people underestimate how important Ishizu is. Her job description is "oversee every single archeological excavation in all of Egypt, be responsible for all monument restoration and preservation efforts, manage every archeological museum, fight theft, handle repatriation efforts, and maybe boost those tourism dollars while you're at it." Like she's not just an archeologist she is The Head Archeologist for an entire very archeology-heavy country. As in her boss's boss is literally just the president.

[ugliestteabag]

Sum rhythm heavens re designs

[ratthumbsup]

i know it feels like a minor point in this episode but fuches establishing himself as someone to be respected in prison. not good! all based on the extremely false assumption that he refused to rat barry out, when we all know if he knew where barry was he'd say it the second the guards approached him. but as soon as the other men in prison look at him as someone to listen to, he'll know how to pull the strings. they're all barry! men who have been exposed to and perpetuated violence now in a position with no support like he KNOWS how to manipulate men like that and make them work for him. fuches the cockroach survives again. the cycle of violence and abuse literally keeps cycling.

[darkmacademia]

extremely specific things I've done recently that help my brain pt. 2! (pt. 1)

if this list seems like overkill it's because it is, send help

making extra dinner for the next day's breakfast so I don't get stuck trying to start my day by trying to choose what to eat

having all my options for stuff visually represented, i.e., taking the doors off my cupboards and shelves :')

taking the lid off my pedal-operated trash bin so I actually put rubbish in the bin as it takes less effort

having multiples waste bins in the same room- a bin next to my bed and my desk

having a basket for dirty clothes and another for worn clothes that I have used but are still clean, so I don't just throw my clothes on the floor when changing for bed. second basket also doubles as a pajamas holder when changing out of them in the morning

adopted a formula for all online passwords I use so I don't have to remember individual ones, rather just using a formula that changes depending on the website. annoying to change passwords for everything but so so worth it afterwards

started naming all my digital files in detail with dates so I don't get annoyed sifting through keysmash names later on

using habitica.com like a lifeline, specifically for daily chores or tedious self-care. dragging friends and family into it to defeat quests with you is also very fun

also pokemon smiles app for teeth brushing when I'm genuinely falling apart. visualising potential dental bills also helps lmao

weird one but keeping those floss sticks around the place on my desk and bedside table so when I'm bored or lacking stimulation I can use them and it also helps teeth

having small pouches in all my main handbags and backpacks that include stuff like handsan, masks, bandaids, tiny setting powder, tiny sunscreen, hairties and pins, painkillers, lipbalm, hayfever pills, etc. bc ya girl forgets everything always

putting even the smallest passing thought/task/idea into iphone reminders, and then putting the reminders app on the taskbar thingo on my homescreen

closed all unused applications on my laptop before going to bed and cleaned my desk so I could start the day with a fresh physical and digital space

starting physically bullet journalling again but without all the bells and whistles - just purely jotting down what I need to do every day and not pre-filling out the dates/headings so I can write as much as I need for that day. I used to make it super pretty but rn I am going for bare-bones utility which takes the stress out of it

freedom.to aka the app/website blocker my angel and godsent blessing who I will kiss on the mouth. it's paid but relatively cheap and is a great way to flexibly stop you from distractions

[tomwambsmilk]

It sort of bothers me when people say Succession is “about the Murdochs” because while the Murdochs are certainly one major influence on the show, they most definitely are not the only one. Jesse Armstrong has spoken on more than one occasion about how part of the appeal of writing Succession is being able to construct characters that are NOT just fictional rip-offs of real-life people, but who instead are fully formed characters in their own right who incorporate elements of many different uber-wealthy families.

Tbh it’s not the only case of people trying to draw a direct line of comparison between an element of the show and one real-life situation, and it bothers me because the people and organizations on Succession are deliberately written not to be reminiscent of one very topical moment but to reflect a very long history. I feel like I’m seeing it a lot more coming out of last week’s ep (eg everyone saying the episode is ‘just the 2020 election’ when there are actually three or four different presidential elections Jesse has cited as explicit influences, or everyone calling Mencken ‘succession trump’ when Jesse’s talked about how there are certain ways Mencken was written to NOT be like trump because they didn’t want a character who was just a Trump satire). And I get the impulse to want to say ‘oh just like real life right now!!’ And the influences ARE there, but it bugs me bc I think part of what makes Succession so good is it (usually) avoids the temptation to be topical at the expense of being enduring. The ‘amalgamation�� approach keeps the characters and story from being mired in the here-and-now and instead manages to reflect issues that have existed for a long time and will likely persist into the future

[andy-clutterbuck]

5x12 | Remember

[knowlesian]

ofmd is an alternate history and fractured fairytale at once and i am going FERAL ABOUT IT.

the alternate history part is fairly self-explanatory; things did not go as planned/why and what if it weren’t like that are the guideposts they set in the first episode. ofmd takes place in a world of made up moths, a new name away from being just like the moths in our world, where crown royal bags are shovel covers, people wear crocs and funky little crop tops and pinocchio was available in print in 1717. 

these aren’t mistakes or goofs: these are purposeful narrative choices. they’re not trying to be historically accurate, but rather to create their own alternate world where shit happened when and how the writers want it to.

the fractured fairytale bit needs a moment of explanation, just in case anyone isn’t familiar with the concept.

a fractured fairytale is essentially a deconstruction of a classic fairytale. they’re usually absurdist, they use a narrative structure or story/characters people are familiar with to tell a new story with a lot more nuance and a more modern worldview, and at their best they provide a thoughtful critique of whatever they’re attempting to deconstruct.

in a fractured fairytale, you might have an exterminator named, i don't know. sal, who has a thick brooklyn accent and is fucking sick of getting called out here to deal with this ant problem and not getting paid, lady. he doesn’t say nothing about the weird little graveyard out back or the rotating cast of kids in the oven, but he draws the line at convincing a bunch of singing ants to march their happy asses away from a cottage MADE OF SUGAR for the third time this month. cast a fuckin’ no-munch spell or pay up, & etc.

you get the picture. fractured fairytales, much like their source material, also usually operate on the Rule of Cool. things happen because it makes the story best, not because linear time or real world logic must be factored in. (unless factoring it in for a second would be coolest, like when you want to do some tender brow mopping while a wound heals: then it’s allowed.)

which brings me to the part i like best.

most alternate histories tend to ask ‘what if things were worse’. that’s not the entirety of the genre; some also ask ‘what if things were different’, but there’s not a whole lot of ‘what if things were better’.

especially not for marginalized groups.

i see a lot of utility and catharsis in narratives exploring pain, whether that’s just depicting real life or investigating how things might have gone worse. my issue isn’t with their existence so much as the wildly skewed ratio, and that for where i’m at right now in life i’m painfully aware life can get worse. i know that because over my lifetime, in many ways it has. not all the ways! but enough that political pessimism (never my chosen or instinctive mode) is currently unavoidable if i want to acknowledge reality and fight back instead of sticking my head in the sand.

all that means that i am very interested in art that says: i am not here for straight-up escapism so much as i am a celebration of defiant and sometimes angry hope for better in the face of genuinely shitty odds.

the thing about landing a dart on the proverbial dartboard o’ marginalization is that you move through life knowing the world is not for you. the ways in which that plays out change depending on how many darts any of us land and where we land them, but in some way we are always, always being reminded that we exist outside the mainstream and are allowed in on sufferance and promises of good behavior.

it’s why we can’t say ‘hey, get your fucking boot off my fucking neck, who the fuck raised you’ without getting scandalized pushback for a lack of civility. ‘please, person i know is good and kind and i am not in any way angry with, would you kindly take your foot away from the spot where you have placed it? i can happily wait another five to five hundred years, of course, but i would so like to not be down here’ is how you have to word these things, or you get called angry. or crazy, or stupid, or lying— the point is, people like us so rarely get to win, and we have to be so, so nice about the shittier realities of our lives if we want to be as effective as possible when trying to get people to listen up and knock it off.

ofmd doesn’t deny the more horrifying aspects of colonization and empire exist and hold sway in the world they built. they just refuse center them or make the trauma/tragedy the point, but instead use these glimpses into a harsher reality to craft absurd and emotionally real situations, alongside characters who get to not give a single fuck about how the world thinks they should be acting and are not punished by the narrative for being themselves.

(this does not mean bad things will not happen to beloved and/or authentic characters: it just assures them the eventual win, and means the narrative doesn’t end up enforcing a bleak set of rules that unconsciously assume to push back against the status quo is to be eventually ground down or broken in some fashion.)

this is why lucius could never have been actually dead: it breaks the show, on a fundamental level. and shows a lack of thoughtfulness and intentionality, neither of which really ever seems to be an issue for this team.

this is why nana is great with pronouns but judgey about a lack of murder, and why jackie and jim have a drink instead of fighting it out, or why stede isn’t angry about ed’s pirate face/off plan and ed comes back to knock boots just in time.

it’s about the Rule of Cool, yeah, but it’s about more than that. it’s about looking the realities of a shitty world and shitty behavior in the eye and saying, but why can’t we imagine better? we can so, so easily imagine worse. why is it so hard to think: what if people were kinder and more honest? what if you got to exist in a stacked system where you are the one it’s stacked against and still win?

and then it’s also about deconstructing pirate (and colonizer) narratives and fucking around in the murky waters of identity and finding solidarity and how to live out solidarity in the first place and a million other things silly and serious and on this day, the day of our rainbow capitalism overlords FINALLY GETTING THEIR SHIT TOGETHER

i am very, very glad this show exists. because fuuuuuuck me running, did we need a win right now.

[sunnykeysmash]

alright alright I get it rcg you know

[theborzoiarebackintown]

Today the babies start their very important job of being out in the yard from sunup to sundown rough housing and running around so they can grow big and strong!

[arc-hus]

Energyville KU Leuven, Genk, Belgium - Atelier Kempe Thill

https://atelierkempethill.com/

[alexcabotgf]

LAW & ORDER: SVU — 4.01 Chameleon

[spiribia]

HUGE DAY for people who like sitting in character creators and mashing randomize such as MEEEE. ok now everybody do my gw2 nuzlocke challenge where you randomize a character in creation and play through the story with them and if you Full die your character dies canonically and completely and you have to delete them and randomize a new character and pick up where you left off in the story and come up with lore for how this new adventurer came into this part .