#Water as a Metaphor for Life

[theesotericecho]

A Heartfelt Journey With Water An Elemental Deep Dive by David Sawin

“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo da Vinci Hello, my friends. Today, as we find ourselves nestled in the warmth and comfort of another beautiful morning, I’m drawn to share with you a gentle reflection on a most remarkable companion—Water. Picture us together, seated in a cozy room where the light filters softly through the windows, casting a serene glow on everything it…

[beautifulhigh]

Welcome to the next edition of Jen's meta ramblings

I have watched the movie at least once a day since it came out and I kid you not, I see something new every time. The fact that this is Matthew López's first directoral debut is just... I'm in awe. And you can tell how much he loves the story because of the way things like this are set up and played out

In the novel, Henry and Alex are skinny dipping in the lake at night, and so I absolutely got the change in both time of day and also attire. But let's talk about that little island shall we?

No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea

Every single one of us is not meant to be alone, without connection and without a link to someone else. We are parts of a whole and if we lose that... well. It's not good.

Henry is on that island, our prince who belongs to Britain and Henry Fox who thinks he has to belong to himself. The prince is forced into status and circumstance, of appearances and mindless ribbon cuttings. When he does something that means something - like the trip to the cancer ward - then he doesn't do it with cameras. I'd argue he's not the prince there, he's Henry Fox. The man who lost his father to cancer.

But this is not that meta.

Henry has shut himself off, shut himself away. He doesn't date the people he's interested in, he doesn't live his truth (and for very good and valid reasons). He has decided that while Prince Henry belongs to Britain, Henry Fox is an island.

And look who is swimming up to that island. Look who is coming out to Henry, having realised the night before that oh yeah, I do feel forever about him and so Alex swims out to that island.

And the first thing he does? He makes Henry laugh. He is silly and fun and the complete antithesis of the composed and collected Prince of Wales. And then he joins Henry, on his island.

This gorgeous overhead shot shows us that Alex is putting himself on Henry's right (protocol or his good side?) but he's also in the centre of the island. He's not on the edge of it. In the metaphor of Henry Fox's island, Alex is putting himself at the heart of it all. RIght before he lays out his heart to Henry.

The shot that broke our hearts too, along with Henry's. Because we can see the shore in the background now. We're reminded that islands are not - they cannot be fully independent. People cannot be islands and even though Alex is literally and metaphorically planting himself at Henry's side, Henry knows that this island he's formed for himself in his heart and his sense of self cannot stand if Alex is there. If Alex is with him then he is no longer an island. Henry Fox will not belong to himself and the sense of protection and self-preservation we see coming out in the Storming of Kensington is under threat.

So he bails.

The island is submerged, like the mythical Atlantis, because how do you render land useless? Drown it. How do you deal with water? Drain it away. He abandons his island and flees back to the only other space he has left - Kensington Palace - in an attempt to regroup. He drains his life of Alex and what he brings. He has to return to being the Prince of Wales because Henry Fox got too close. Because Henry Fox realised he was being loved by a man who would literally swim out to where he is.

Moment of appreciation for the shot. Matthew, you have a fucking talent and I cannot wait to see what else you do. Because our #imtaller boy looks so small here. So lost. When else have we seen someone look so small and lost?

Oh. Yeah.

When he's curling in on himself in an almost last-ditch attempt to protect himself and his boundaries from what is coming. You can see that he's no longer dry, that Alex's "shower time" has changed him. Alex brought laughter and love and water onto his island and Henry has just realised what this means. This isn't a visitor's visa. This is immigration.

Which is what makes THIS so much more. Back to our boy, drenched from the storm, plaintively asking Henry to talk to him.

Because yes, the Storming of Kensington happens during an actual storm, but by now you know I overead into everything... so once again we have Alex "swimming" out to Henry. He's dived right in and gone are the jokes, gone is the humour. He is here and he is asking to be let in and daring Henry to send him away.

This is Alex, serious and in love and following Henry to whatever landmass he is setting foot on. Henry is trying to be an island and Alex is out here going, "I'll just build another boat you fucker". A true 'ship if you will. He swam out to an island on a lake, he flew to a tiny island across an ocean. He is standing at Henry's borders and he isn't launching an offensive. He's just saying that if Henry wants to be cut off from everything then he needs to do the cutting himself.

Prince Henry felt like he belonged to Britain, Henry Fox felt like he had to belong to himself, and Alex turned up and went "nope. Mine now". (Insert additional historical quip about the English being colonised for once.) But there is still some truth in that: the Prince is part of England, and we should all belong to ourselves even in relationships. Henry just learns that the different parts of him can co-exist. Bit like how water and land can co-exist without one destroying the other.

Henry is Alex's North Star but he's also his solid ground. Insert quip about Alex colonising Henry and claiming him for his own, planting of flag, your innuendo of choice goes here. Pyramus wished there wasn't a wall - Alex straight up scaled Henry's.

There's a divergence between Prince Henry and Henry Fox, but at the heart of them both there's Henry. And this is the man that Alex sees, this is the man that Alex loves. Alex swims out to the island for Henry Fox, Alex pushes through the rain for Prince Henry. Alex holds steady in the storm of talking with King James/Queen Mary and the public.

And it started with Alex literally making his way out to Henry on an island: be that England for the Royal Wedding, a pontoon island on a lake, or knocking down Henry's walls.

To this moment. Which is very hard to grab a screenshot of, but Alex asks Henry to "take a walk" with him. This time it's Henry going to/with Alex. The fact that he's there is one thing (and a rant rather than a meta) but at this point they have each other. They belong to each other. Where one of them goes, the other one follows. Independent, together, co-existing.

Anyway. I'm sure there will be more bullshit ramblings and metas at some point. Follow me if you want more of that (but be warned: blank and empty blogs are blocked on sight) because we are not islands in this metaphorical storm of life. Let us swim out to one another, dry off with one another, and live a life with broken down borders and walls.

ETA: I now have another name to add to the thanks. Stephen Goldblatt, from the bottom of my soul, thank you

[tennessoui]

You have to have water fic titles because you're drowning in wips, huh?

:0

(On one hand i personally found this very funny and I did do a little huff huff of genuine laughter—)

(On the other hand I did do a little quick calculation, and over the 2 years I’ve been writing in this niche of a fandom, I’ve published 60 fanfictions on ao3 and of that 60, 48 have been completed, which leaves me with 12 work in progress fics on ao3—OUT OF 60!!!!!! 12 fics out of 60 that are works in progress !!!!!

12 !!!!! Out of!!!!! 60!!!!!!!!!!)

[lightspringrain]

"There are some things in life that are true monsters. They drag you down, to the cold dark deep."

Old art that I touched up. I used to paint from greyscale to color all the time.

[ilostyou]

taylor x 5sos parallels - part 7/?

[shoreline-system]

Gentle reminder, particularly to systems and Especially for larger systems or systems with a lot of background noise; you don't need to figure stuff out in your head. Write that shit down. On your phone, in a notebook, on a whiteboard, in a voice note, whatever works - if you can't think clearly, can't figure out what is on your mind, you don't need to be there trying to visualise it. Take that pressure off of yourself.

[warmspice]

Sometimes you're an adult and you need to be torn up into little strips and soaked in water and flour to become a beautiful papier mache piñata

[smute]

i cant believe im sick again this is ridiculous

[g-h-o-s-t-2000]

Under the mystery of the storm

[there-will-be-a-way]

This 👌🏻 close to becoming homeless in the future. Because if I go to the rehab clinic, I'll likely lose my spot in the living group (they don't get money for people who aren't there and I'll be gone for 3 to 4 months so 🤷🏻‍♂️). But I need to go to the clinic in order to get my shit together because if I keep drinking in the living group, they'll kick me out sooner or later. A guy at my ward is in a similar position. It's scary how many people here are homeless. That's where addiction takes you, huh.

I tell myself I won't be one of them, but I also told myself I'd never end up as an alcoholic soooo. Shit. Where to go from here? I genuinely don't know. My life has never been this fucked before.

[thormanick]

Some thoughts on Focalor’s position:

I kinda expected her to be at odds with her element, mostly because of the Oceanide lore. But I thought it was because of her rejection of it (the Hydro element), in other words:

I expected Focalors to fear/hate her element because it would consume her/erase her identity

I didn’t expect her element to (possibly) reject her, making her the odd one out with a possibility of never being a part of whole/grander picture

That sure is a lovely set up for her story, I wonder where it will lead us in the archon quest!

[the-woman-upstairs]

“I’ll take butch/femme dynamics in 2022 horror movie romances for $400, Alex.”

[poppyseed799]

Brother why are there so many roaches we have had TWO full exterminations and BOTH TIMES the roaches came back. The first time there were less of them for a week (still some) but the second time there was absolutely zero difference in the number of roaches even immediately after the extermination. Like man. What am I supposed to do about this

[vaingod]

pretty sure i saw my ex's sister at the concert last night probably from the iconic glare she was shooting at me and my girl (used to be my exs girl before i took her away in the polyamory breakup) and like girlie was standing unmoving during a punk concert with a pit just spending her entire time glaring at us but not moving away or anything and it gave me such a i guess? petty sort of nod at my past self for leaving and taking the best parts of the relationship with me idk i had such a good time and was so unbothered by her and she stood still in anger like a gravestone the whole night

[sleepless-crows]

the storytelling in this album i will die

[krshush]

I will not make a metaphor out of waterbottles. I will not make a metaphor out of, when I broke the water bottle I use for work and told them about it, Delta and my Aunt both got me replacement water bottles, and the one Delta got me is exactly correct for me right down to the sheer size, Bright Pink and multiple cap types, where the one Aunt got me is the same size as the one I broke, to where I'll need to refill it by lunch, and is mostly her signature purple in color and a different cap that I fear could still be cracked.