#don't tell us your character is iconic PROVE IT

[pennyserenade]

what is happening to the genre of historical fiction because of tayl*r jenk*ns re*d is killing me. i don’t know how to describe it really, but it feels like there’s just this influx of books that are so concerned with making the main characters icons that it seems the authors forget to also make them real, relatable people. the authors give them these messy backgrounds and real life troubles that are apt for the time periods, but they just ... they make them talk like non-humans. it just feels like the authors are trying so hard to convince the audience these people are really and truly important and cool and iconic that they completely overlook that the important parts of character development

[mhsdatgo]

Since GOT they’ve been using rape and abuse to humble or break a woman/Girl because they aren’t the “right” kind of woman. They don’t ride a dragon or yield a sword. They don’t fight against their period typical role in life that they were born and raised in. They’re not “A guys girl” or the “I don’t have any girl friends, they’re too much drama” types who prefer the company of men to women, who would rather train with a sword and not learn embroidery. They don’t have dialogue that vaguely sounds more 21st century than Middle Ages.

These women are seen as of less value than our little dragon riding, sword and fist fighting tomboys. So they need to be taught that if you had just been more like this or more like that you wouldn’t have been brutalized and abused. The things that were done to you by other people is all your fault and you deserved it.

This show/franchise is not even in the same room as feminism.

👏👏👏 Nothing more to add anon. No lie was told.

The sad thing is, this is not what I got from the books of asoiaf at all. Women's experience was never told in juxtaposition to others. There is no humbling or brutalizing other women as a "punishment" for not being better, more rebellious, or bolder than others. The books tell stories of suffering and that's it. The way shows and fandoms decide to try and force other characters into another one's story for the sole purpose of comparing them so they prove that stanning one means having a moral high ground over another character's stans is the most idiotic thing to ever have happened among fandoms, to say the least. Especially when the two characters in question don't even know each other.

Just look at the way Sansa and Dany are treated in the fandom. Have a shot for every time Sansa in King's Landing is called a tradwife as if this wasn't a girl in middle school trying to survive they're talking about, or for every time she's called jealous of Dany. Imagine if a stranger girl with three dragons cames knocking on your door demanding that you and all of your people and their mama bend the knee to her and you are the jealous one and the villain because you just... Don't? Also, you deserve to be threatened with death when you pose a reasonable question, and you need to take it and be better and shut up. Then you're a "girls' girl" deserving of respect, etc.

We want strong female characters to think for themselves, except when that "thinking for oneself" isn't the same thing as kissing the ground the fan favourite girl walks on.

If only fandoms paid more mind to what makes a character likeable or unlikeable in their eyes BASED ON THE CHARACTER ITSELF, and not on their perspective on their faves, interacting with them would be way more fun. Books/shows like asoiaf/GOT or F&B/HotD aren't places where you just choose a character you like and that's it, she's an icon she's a legend and she is the moment. If it was, it would either be a story for kids or a hell for Mare Sues' fans. As long as you treat asoiaf characters like deities that can do no wrong and everyone else as villains in need of redemption, you should step back and read something else.

This is something that needs to be accepted even between writers and directors, btw. Just look at what F&B was turned into. Girlboss vs Girlfail. Blacks got the Girlboss, the virtuous rightful heir, good mother fine ruler, Greens' got the Girlfail, the rape enabler, the boy mom, the tradwife, you name it.

No, it doesn't matter that the latter is doing everything she can possibly do. She was a piece of shit the moment she stopped toiling behind the former because everyone is meant to be like or kneel before girlboss with dragon. Only then are your ambitions respectable. If not, fuck you, you're nothing. Everything that happens to you is your fault. I'll be in the front seats cheering for when everything you love is ripped brutally from you.

Even when your grown-up son rapes a maid. Even when girlboss with dragon threatens to put your people to the torch because you won't bend the knee.

TL;DR: There's no need to compare/stone certain female characters for being what they are instead of a completely different type. If all of them were tomboyish with swords or feminine with embroidery, it would be boring. You aren't better than anyone for having preferences. Also, learn how to blame men when they fuck up. It's great for the bowel.

[starlight-bread-blog]

"Katara Just Needed To Heal Zuko's Scar"

I understand why this argument is being made. After all, she offered to heal Zuko, and so she does. So why are the shippers trying to paint it as some romantic moment? It's a reasonable question. But I'm gonna try to answer it.

Zuko and Katara weren't in love in this scene for two reasons: Firstly, it's their first conversation, making any romantic development feel rushed and unnatural. Secondly, as fictional characters, they don't possess hidden feelings, unless the writers have confirmed otherwise.

So what argument is being made? The argument is that this moment is an example of ship baiting and could have served as romantic build up if the writers decided to go down that route, and I'll explain why.

1# Just because an action was necessary, doesn't mean it can't be seen as romantic

I know how this sounds, but hear me out. Let us take a look at another show, where you'd least expect to see a romantic connection, and the action was completely necessary. I want to discuss Rick and Morty's Beth x Beth.

Beth is the last person who'd have tension with Beth, clearly it's disgusting. And she really did have to install that chip. But the thought did cross your mind, they did get together, and this scene was romantic build up, despite not being romantic in-universe.

Now that we've looked at the most extreme example ever, it's time to look at a classic: Aladdin. One of the most iconic moments in the movie is when Aladdin simply offers his hand to Jasmine so she'd get on the flying carpet, asking "Do you trust me"?

Aladdin isn't asking if Jasmine trusts him because they're deeply bonded, he asks that because she's scared to get on the flying carpet. And he isn't reaching for her hand because he wants to hold her hand, he reaches because she'd needhelp getting on it. And yet, it's universally recognized as an incredibly romantic moment.

Very often writers use the mundane necessities like casual touch to set up romantic tension. This narrative approach allows for the gradual planting of the idea in the audience's mind, even in situations where intimacy may not be overtly present, adding nuance and depth to romantic storylines. And in fiction, it's everywhere.

2# The set up wasn't just necessity, it was an intimate moment

In this section I won't try to prove the gesture was romantic, I simply think it's crucial to understand the scene before analyzing it. Katara offering to heal Zuko's scar wasn't a necessity, the touch was the necessity after she already made the offer. This leaves us with a scene that begins with Katara thinking of Zuko as "the face of the enemy", and ends with Katara attempting to heal Zuko's scar.

The moment became intimate the second Katara brought up her mother, and Zuko, who doesn't normally share his emotions, make and effort to connect. Thus, they began to view the other differently, as someone similar to them.

Still, this is their first conversation. And Katara is under no obligation to be even somewhat nice to him. But she decides to use her spirit water on him, and if she had, Aang would have died. That's how important the spirit water is. Saying she "just needed to heal is scar" is quite reductant in my opinion. Choosing to heal him in and of itself is a radical and intimate decision.

Still, non of what I said so far is indicative of romantic build up. Nor is giving other examples from fiction of necessities being romantic indicative of this one being too. So, it's time to finally talk about the touch.

3# The action wasn't actually necessary, to the point where it makes very little sense

Let's remember how Katara did heal using the spirit water:

She bends the water straight on Aang's back and starts bending it. I repeat: She bends the water straight on the injury.

So writers, please do tell me, if Katara wanted to heal Zuko's scar, where is the water?

No water and no healing, becsuse it wouldn't look as intimate/shippy with water. Instead, what we got is two shots highlighting the pysical touch between them with soft violin sounds in the background.

In literature, what isn't in text isn't important and should be disregarded. Here, on paper Katara is healing Zuko's scar, but in practice there is no water and all of the focus is on the touching. Therefore, it's signaling the viewers that even though she just needs to cure him, it isn't important. With Katara's thumb on Zuko's lips, with a close up shot on the contact, the only thing that matters is, apparently, their pysical touch.

Additonally, they were interrupted before Katara could do actually anything anyway. In a universe where this scene wasn't ship teasing, Katara would take out the water, almost lay them on Zuko's scar, and then Aang and Iroh would break them out of the cave. Logically, Katara's hand shouldn't have gone anywhere near Zuko, and if it did, it should have looked incredibly unappealing.

But it didn't. In this already very intimate moment, the show puts all the focus on the pysicality of the healing, rather than the healing, and breaking its own logic to do so. Thus, they made it look a lot less like a simple necessity, but rather an act of pure intimacy, as often done in fiction when portraying romantic tension. And that's why this scene was ship baiting.

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

Rak's Cartier Bracelets - EPISODES 1 TO 5

Hello, Tumblr. Today I hope not to be simply another Tumblrina with opinions but also a neurodivergent Tumblrina with hyperspecific interests and life history that come in handy for this particular purpose.

What interests and what history, you ask? Ah, but, of course! My deep knowledge of the Cartier Love Collection from, obviously, being a HunHan conspirationist in 2014 at the ripe age of 12.

Now, if I've satisfied your curiosity, let us begin.

So I was watching episode 5 today (don't blame me, I wanted to watch it sooner but I was on vacation bc my sister gave me a trip to Sevilla as a birthday gift) and one thing caught my attention during the argument scene.

That bad boy I very carefully (not really) identified for you is one of the most iconic Cartier products ever: A Love Bracelet™.

"Ok. Cool. But why does that matter?"

Well, for once it proves Rak is rich as fuck. Those bracelets go for THOUSANDS of euro. Like... The cheapest bracelet in the Love Collection is the intertwined rings bracelet in gold and rose gold (the white gold one is more expensive)

And it sells rn for 2120€ (2300$).

And that's for sure NOT the version Rak has!

From what I can tell, he's wearing this version:

Which is the classic Love Bracelet design in white gold.

This one is selling rn for 8750€ (9490$).

I think there can be an argument that he's actually wearing either the brushed version (left photo) or the small version (right photo)

which, respectively, are being sold for 8750€ (9490$) and 5650€ (6121$) but I think the version Rak has is

too shiny to be the brushed version;

too thick to be the small version.

Either way, it's a fucking expensive bracelet.

But this is not even why I wanted to point this out, I mean, yeah, of course Rak is rich, we are all well-aware of that.

The point here is that this bracelet is not just famous for being pretty (which, as far as my judgement goes, it really isn't, sorry not sorry). It is famous, more than anything else, bc of its meaning, which I'll let the brand tell you all about:

Which is why it caught my attention that Rak, of all people, is wearing one of these. Like... What the hell does this mean???

So I decided to investigate when did this bracelet first appear in order to have a feel whether or not this could potentially be plot-relevant, a character descriptor or simply a fashion choice. And what I found, my dear friends, is that this bracelet first appeared right at the beginning of ep.4.

Which is very suspicious because ep.3, we all recall, ended with Rak promising Mut that he'd stay on the island for a bit more.

BUT, before we start jumping to conclusions, I decided to check whether this bracelet stands the trial of ep.5 and remains until the very end which, big and revelant surprise, it does NOT.

It gets replaced, in the scene of the day after the fight by this one:

Which, I get it, it might be hard to see and identify but it's actually an old friend. In fact, it's the only other bracelet Rak has ever worn:

This has been on his wrist from the beginning of ep.1 to the end of ep.3 (excluding times when Rak was showering, sleeping or doing other activities where having a metal bracelet in the shape of a sharp nail would be impractical). And, would you look at that, if it isn't indeed: another Cartier bracelet. This time, a Juste Un Clou Collection bracelet.

Now, Juste Un Clou (literally Just a Nail), which is also fucking expensive (9500€ - 10292$ for the model he is wearing) has a bit of a different concept than Love, which is:

So what does it mean?

Well, there are some options but I'll tell you what I think makes the most sense:

Throughout the first episodes we see Rak being this person who's different from everyone else on the island. He's from the city, he's rich, he has a desk job, he even looks different from the people in the island, from what Muk says! (which, I get it, it's colourist and has it own set of issues and I don't love it at all but hey, I don't make canon, I just comment on it, so that's what we got and that's what I'll be doing)

He's also independent, he has his own money, pays for his own stuff, doesn't rely on other people. He wants to do everything alone, without Mut, even when it makes his life harder, when it's impractical, when it would be better to have help.

He also tries to be fearless, put on a front. He argues with Mut, wants to cast a shadow way bigger than himself to assert his place, wants to seem untouchable, like nothing could bring him down. We know, of course, it's not true, both us as the audience and Mut learn that through prolongued contact with Rak and exposure to his weaknesses and traumas but he still tries to uphold that image.

And, of course, he tries to be free in the sense that he tries not to create emotional attachments. ESPECIALLY not to Mut. Because he doesn't believe in love and doesn't think he can fall in love and he tries so, so hard not to let himself want and need people, he likes to act like he has no strings attached, like he can go about the world without thinking of anyone that gives sense to the word "home".

So, by making Rak wear this bracelet, what the show is telling us is essentially who Rak is or who he tries to be. These are the values that Rak upholds. In this sense, the Juste Un Clou bracelet is a character descriptor.

HOWEVER, after the most vulnerable, most beautiful post sex conversation in the history of Thai BL, Rak begins wearing the Love Bracelet. And this indicates a shift.

Now, the shift is not so much a change in Rak's personality (although there is some, he's been slowly changing since ep.1) but rather in what the narrative wants us to know now. Because, by now, we know Rak. We can discern all these characteristics, we don't need the bracelet as an identifier. What we need, rather, is to know that Rak means what he told Mut. Because he feels it.

See, contrary to the Juste Un Clou bracelet which is a bit more remarkable because of its unusual shape, the Love Bracelet seems fairly common, especially if you're not staring at Peat's people's dainty wrists. So you, much like the people around Mut and Rak, could miss the way in which Rak cares for Mut, because that love is unconventional, not bound by those traditional ways in which people demonstrate that sort of feeling (like Mut does, for example). Some could say... Free-spirited. Or, as well, because Rak himself is trying his hardest not to take note of it, burying it away and dismissing it. To no avail, however, because it is still there, as all of us can see (just like the bracelet). And, by the looks of it, will be locked there forever.

"Okay, Dante, but then why does Rak go back to the other bracelet? Is he no longer in love?"

Please have object permanence, darling, not all that exists can be seen at all times. Kkdkddjsjsks /j

Or, in other words: no, that's not it.

What it is, though, is that the narrative, once again, wants us to focus on other stuff.

As Mut tells Rak this episode (ep.5, for those in the future), he's been away, doing other stuff, buried in work... He's been complying to his duties and going back to the bad habits that cast a shadow over Rak's personality and who he really is, what he really wants.

So, that's why, when he chooses to indulge Mut and pay attention to him on his own (unlike what happens earlier in the episode, where Mut has to ask for this attention), he is back to wearing the Juste Un Clou bracelet. He's showing his colours again, of that independent person who's not just another city guy in the city but special in his own way.

It also serves to show us the subtle ways in which Rak is chaging. That free quality, for example, is slowly starting to mean not free from attachments but rather free from the chains of the trauma that is holding Rak back from forming and indulging in those attachments.

And, to top it all off, I have one smaller notice to add which is refering to the colour of the bracelets.

Now, for those who aren't familiar with jewelry metal, white gold is not white, it's silverish. And I say silverish because I mean exactly that: it is NOT silver, it's silverish. It still retains a warmish yellow undertone to it.

But I know, if you have a good eye, you can tell neither of the bracelets I showed you have a warmish yellow undertone to it. Good spot! That is because Cartier's bracelets have something that is actually pretty common: a rhodium-finish. This is what makes them so silver. And precisely why I think the colour matters.

You see... To the average person, who has no idea about Cartier bracelts and whatnot, both the bracelets might seem like a common metal bracelet. Not very valuable. And yet, they are white gold and worth a considerable amount of money.

If we translate that into the meanings I just explained, that would mean that people see Rak, this brat, spoiled, cold man and think him annoying, heartless, not worth their time. Same as I explained with Rak's kind of love: weak, barely even there, not real. Or even, if you want to interpret the Love Bracelet as a representation of Mut himself, then him as well. Judged as a simple person, boring, with nothing to offer but that is actually worth a lot. At least to Rak, who bought both the bracelet and Mut.

SO, what are the conclusions? Well...

Rak is FUCKING LOADED (and if he wants to provide for me as well, I'd gladly accept the offer, thank you);

Rak is an extremely complex character who's secrets are very much fun to uncover;

This series pays a lot of attention to small details and I love it for it!

And that's it.

It was a long post, I know so I'm sorry but I had to share my thoughts sdjkdjdkdjskdj

I'll keep an eye on this for the next episodes and if I have anything to add I'll let you guys know.

Also if you wanna add to this discussion feel free to, I'd love to hear it!!

All the love!! 💜💜💜

[oliveroctavius]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I'm bummed out that the really interesting meta commentary in ATSV on comics lore, what makes Spider-Man a Spider-Man on a meta creation level, etc. had to revolve around the Death of Captain Stacy as THE canon event bc it really ramped up the copaganda to a level where it's intrinsic to the narrative, and for what? Off the top of my head, 'death of a police captain close to Spider-Man who dies heroically saving a child' isn't that common across spider characters or even Peter specifically (it doesn't even really fit TASM), and I know the narrative in BTSV is going to prove that Miguel is wrong that it must happen bc it's obviously not a really a necessary event even if you look beyond Miles, but as it is, it's treated as fact bc not a single character beyond Miles questions it even though most of the spiders wouldn't have that event in their narratives.

I suspect they chose it partly bc the Death of Gwen Stacy would be the expected canon event and they absolutely played with audience expectations there leading up to it, and I get not going with it bc it's tired, misogynistic, and traps Gwen in a 'But is she going to die?' role yet again, but the copaganda is really dragging it down the more I think about it, especially if you, say, project where Hobie's actions are headed if he's going to help Miles save his cop dad, which undermines all the earlier anti-authority stuff against Miguel, etc.

I get why it's specifically useful to raise the stakes for Gwen and Miles, I guess... very well-known cop dads in the comics, so it locks in well with the family/mentor conflicts. It's like, Miguel's position is such an obvious strawman that no matter which plot beat you pick, it will be stupid from a dozen spiderpeople's perspectives. And yet people actually talk like that on twitter all the time.

MY pitch for an alternate canon event would have been—wait no don't look at my icon that will give it away—"your best friend becomes jealous and in trying to become a supervillain meets a horrible end". That covers not just the comics but Raimi, TASM2, AND Gwen's backstory and would be the perfect excuse to expand on Ganke's relationship with Miles. Like obviously Miguel is wrong and Ganke doesn't fill that story role. But might he? What if Ganke had an internship at Alchemax? What if the Spot saw Spider-Man save Ganke and decided he was going to origin story the hell out of this kid that his arch-nemesis obviously cared about? Was becoming Ganke's friend and telling him his secret identity a mistake, vindicating Gwen's closed-off worldview? Huh??? What then???

[aleksanderscult]

Favorite Darkling quotes

I'm gonna write my favorite Darkling quotes 'cause a) I'm bored b) I love him and miss him so much.

Anyways I'm not gonna rate them cause every one of them is fucking iconic (as he is).

Let's get into this!

"Blue sky. Once more. Speak my name once more... Don't let me be alone."

These might be my most favorite quotes of his. His last words. 'Cause with his last breath he showed that he was only human after all. Cruel and damaged, yes. But still human.

There is no safe place. There is no haven. Not for us. There will be, he promised in the darkness, new words written upon his heart. I will make one.

I ADORE these lines. Less than 24 hours ago two Grisha tried to kill him (one of them a supposed friend) and what did he tried to do after that? Create a safe space for his kind in order for them not to go through what they went through. If he's the villain for this then I wish we had this kind of villain in our world.

‌"All men can be made fools."

OKAY OKAY LISTEN. I love this line for two reasons. Firstly, cause it's true. Every person can be made a fool. BUT! Secondly and most importantly, he hints to Mal and Alina (Alina actually cause Mal didn't know he was there) that he was made a fool too because of Alina. He fell in love with her and felt hope for the first time after centuries that this new person would be like him, live with him and spend eternities together. He would no longer be alone. And she seemed that she wanted him too as far as he could tell. And then what happened? She run off, found Mal and turned her back on him and their country. That mostly disappointed him, I think. In a large degree. And he must have thought what a fool he was to trust her and fall for her. Hence that amazing line.

Let me make a mark on this world before I leave it.

And boy did he not make it? Years after his death in R&R and people still talk about him. He made a mark not only on the world but on people too (no pun intended for Genya I swear. I love her😭). He made a huge impact and even antis have to admit that. Actually more than the actual protagonist but anyways *coughthe fact that the villain made bigger impact than the heroes in the storycough*

"Fight me as long as you're able. You will find I have far more practice with eternity."

You fucking iconic legend with your fucking iconic lines. And yes, I believe him. No matter how many decades Alina would fight him, he would be unmovable.

‌"It’s harder when you like them. You mourn them more."

That line is so true. The more you care, the more you get hurt. I'm sorry but a quality that people often overlook about the Darkling is his wisdom. I would sit and listen for hours to him talking about life, love, death and people. After so many centuries he's so knowledgeable.

Also, this line makes me wonder how many people he had loved, lost and mourned. Because obviously he talks from experience. *Sigh* I would die to read a book about his whole life before Alina.

He only wished that it wasn't winter. He wanted to turn his face to the sun and feel it warm him. He'd been a long time in the dark.

Yeah he's cruel and manipulative and the villain and blah, blah, blah. But again this line proves his humanity. He loves the sun (how much are you willing to bet people that his favourite season is Summer😏), he loves the sunlight, its warmth and light (another clue that Alina is his soulmate dc what anyone says). Our baby was resurrected and first things first he wanted his wife beside him and the sun to hit his face (priorities people🥹😍).

"Then I'd be alone too."

(*whispering*don't cry, don't cry, don't cry)

So. Heh. I may have a soft spot for fictional characters that suffer from loneliness. Probably because I have suffered from it too most of my life (🫠). I'm sorry but you can hate him all you want alright? No one can stop you. But people that don't feel an ounce of sympathy or pity for him and what he has gone through are just useless to talk to. Most of all he wants someone to make him company to this endless sea of eternity.

Deep blue like the True Sea. Red like the roofs of the Shu temples. The pure, buttery color of sunlight—not really yellow or gold, what would you call it? All the colors you couldn't see in the dark.

(fuck. lost control of my tears after all)

Baby shadow summoner can control the dark and its blackness and yet he loves all colors that are bright. But most of all the sunlight.

(DARKLINA STANS RISE)

Also, he made the Grisha keftas blue, red and purple because he loved these colors the most, change my mind *sip tea*

‌"Fine. Make me your villain."

Ah, yes. The cult classic one. Honestly, this line makes me feel bad for him. Cause he has tried the peaceful solution so many times (not with just Alina but generally). At this point he's like: "Fuck it. If I have to become a monster then so be it." They leave him no choice and furthermore he's obviously grown tired of trying diplomacy.

"I’ll be certain you hear it when I make her scream."

I froze the first time I read this line but now I laugh every time I do. Here he shows how petty he can be and how much shame he doesn't have (in your face Mal😚).

‌"My Alina. You cannot run from me."

OKAY LISTEN

I know it sounds creepy but "my Alina" and "I'll always find you" MY DARKLINA HEART GUYS

‌"I know what you thought, what you always thought of me. It's so much easier that way, isn't it?"

My strategic baby. But this line is also sad. Cause he knows how Alina views him and, even if he hides it well, deep down I bet it hurts him.

‌"You two have a bad habit of acting like fools and calling it heroic."

Isn't that the truth tho? Our boy spitting facts once again. Also this line can be applied to other characters from different fandoms as well.

‌"I seem to be a victim of my own wishes where you are concerned."

TRANSLATION: I TEND TO FORGET ABOUT THE WORLD-DOMINATION PLAN CAUSE I WANT TO BE WITH YOU, LIVE WITH YOU, LOVE YOU, MARRY YOU, HAVE 7 KIDS WITH YOU AND DRINK SOME TEA ON THE PORCH TOGETHER WHILE THE SUNLIGHT HITS US

TRANSLATION NO2: I GOT MY ASS KICKED CAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY THINKING THAT I WAS KISSING YOU AND WOULD FINALLY HAVE THAT WEDDING THAT I WAS PLANNING BABE

Is this line a kind of love confession or what? 🥺🙃

‌"We all have our secrets."

Mostly I love this line cause it just sounds cool. But after I read the book for a second time I realized that it could tie with the "Demon in the Woods" book. It's a nice little nod. If you get it, you get it😉.

‌Why did you go to her? Because with her he was human again.

A nice (though bittersweet) little way to end this post. 🥹

With Alina he felt human again. That part that was buried deep beneath him and rarely if not ever got out. Do you remember how she made him laugh with her honest remarks on "Shadow and Bone"? How his eyes closed and his breath stopped when she reached to stroke his cheek on R&R? How he broadly smiled when she laughed about how common his name was? That was Aleksander Morozova (especially that last part). The boy that grew up forcefully and was thrown to a cruel world too soon, too violently. They were these 400+ years that made him cruel. It was eternity that broke him. Loneliness and pain that made him withdraw. Until Alina came. And she could bring to the surface that buried, broken boy. And it felt good to him (although inconvenient too). She made him feel vulnerable. And when he was resurrected he seeked her out to feel that way again. Human.

*sigh*

Thanks for coming to my ted talk guys. 😔✌️

Feel free to write in the comments your own favorite quotes of him 😊❤️

[mewmewpercy]

Why Lantern Rite 2024 Was A Trans Allegory

Ever since seeing the entire 2024 Lantern Rite I've been debating making this post because I feel like I was the only one who saw it and maybe it was just me looking too hard at things. It's only because a friend of a friend also agreed that this story was a trans allegory as a fellow trans guy that I'm finally making this post.

This post will be written as chronologically as possible with explanations for why each mentioned part is important.

Let's start with when Gaming first discovers lion dancing. When he first discovers it from watching with his family he instantly knows that that's who and what he is. There's no hesitation and no confusion. How does this apply to being trans? Well a lot of trans people figure out early on in life that they're trans by seeing or hearing about fellow trans people. We find that feeling of belonging and knowing that's who we are and always will be. Suddenly everything makes sense and we grasp onto that knowledge because that's important to our character.

Some time after discovering lion dance Gaming is very open about wanting to go down that career path. His dad is very against it and it causes a rift between them. This is pretty common when coming out as trans. You finally build up the confidence to say that's who you are and then the person or people you think would support you no matter what tell you that you're wrong. They tell you that you don't know for sure so they outright deny what you know is your truth. And obviously that'd cause a rift in relationships.

Later on Gaming gets older. He isn't talking to his dad as much and is still secure in his knowledge that lion dancing is an integral part of his identity. Neither of them budge on their ideas and after a big fight Gaming runs away. As sad as it is that's fairly common for trans people too. You try to give every reason you can as to why and they don't listen. Emotions build up and suddenly you're so exhausted from trying and failing over and over that you just leave.

After that they don't talk much. Gaming becomes a lion dancer and is happy knowing he can do what he's wanted to for years. They continue not speaking to each other for years. Gaming meets somebody(Traveler) and decides to trust them with this story. They go on to tell people they think can help and next thing these two know they're being forced into an awkward conversation where outsider influence tries to prove they're better off now and here's why. As a person who was deeply uncomfortable with this entire situation from a trans and parent issues perspective please don't do this without consent. This could make things arguably worse and whoever confided in you may lose trust. Ask for consent. But that aside this is a method people use that has worked. Getting someone unrelated to the bigger situation to play mediator and help prove that they're doing okay or maybe even better can and has worked.

When this doesn't seem to change much everybody seems to give up. The subtle change that only Zhongli was able to really get from Yip Tak was important because when he finally has the revelation that he was looking at things from a very limited perspective clouded by what he thought was important. That often happens with older people. They don't view the world from any lens besides theirs so it takes getting someone more uninvolved to help them understand and work through the bias that comes from being a different generation.

The final and most important moment is the iconic lion dance scene we all know and love. Yip Tak sees his son free, happy, and comfortable and it's finally set in stone that he truly understands his son. This is by far the most important part of this being an acceptance story. Finally seeing how happy it makes that person when they're allowed to be themselves and then being there for them afterwards is where that bridge starts getting repaired. I think that's why I cried so hard at the hug scene.

No matter if you view the story as a trans allegory or just an unnaccepting parent learning to accept their kid it's still such an emotional moment.

[justtimings]

Jujutsu Kaisen - "The JJK Trio As Your Sibling"

contents: tooth-rotting fluff, crack, them as your siblings

features: idatori yuuji, kugisaki nobara, fushiguro megumi

a/n: this is my very first time doing something like this, so i hope i did well characterizing them.. also, can you tell i was struggling a little w/ megumi? i feel i'm similar to him (i'm also a younger sibling & my sister said i act exactly like him) but it was still challenging. nonetheless, i hope you enjoy!!

Idatori Yuuji ➤

Sweetest older brother on the planet!! Loves to spend quality time with you: he's a family guy

He'a a genuine idiot to the core. Always saying stupid shit that has you cackling on the ground until your stomach burns

Definitely a dog person: convinced y'alls parents to get one, which eventually turned to two, then three

The type of person to make stupid songs out of anything, and you eventually started to join in without hesitation

He loves watching movies, especially horror, and has a tradition of watching them on his birthday

Though he is a great brother, he was a certified menace when you were a little kid: convincing you that you're from the jungle, or that you're an alien

You've designated him as your personal chef; he could pursue culinary if he really wanted to

If being annoying as hell was a job, he'd be a fucking billionaire. He always finds a way to tick you off, intentional or not

Likes to keep notebooks from school (whether it be algebra, biology, etc.) to pass down to you once you take that class

He's the older brother that everyone knows and loves ^_^

Kugisaki Nobara ➤

Also surprisingly gives me older sibling vibes! I don't know what it is about her, but she just radiates cool older sister

Her favorite hobby's shopping, and she forces you to go with her on all her sprees

Loves spoiling you, getting you at least two things on every trip she takes you to

She adores searching for getaways, and she's always finding the perfect places for a family vacation

As much as she loves going out, she's not a fan of nature, and will definitely scream and cuss you out if you jokingly bring a bug near her

Very big on pictures!! She will capture it all, the mundane and the memorable

Super overprotective of you. She does not let anyone play with her little sibling, and she will go to hell and back to prove it

Uses the fact that she's older than you to send you to ask your parents for something she wants

Definitely obsessed with astrology. She knows all of her friends' charts, and full on rambles about what each of the placements mean everytime you forget

She's the iconic older sister that practically raised you, if we're being honest

Fushiguro Megumi ➤

He's a younger sibling, for sure (yes ik he also canonically is, but it's also so obvious when he's with Yuuji & Nobara)

He'll sometimes randomly blurt something out just to see confusion wash over your face; thinks your expressions are the funniest thing in the world

Speaking of which, he also opens your door just to stare at you before closing it, stifling laughter as he walks away

He's secretly competitive. You always catch him huffing and giving you death stares after losing in a round of Uno

Gets second-hand embarrassment from anything you do in public. It would be over the most ordinary thing too, like accidentally dropping a fruit in the grocery store

His curt character paired with his insults can either have you wheezing until you physically can't, or it can be the biggest stab at your ego

Loves going on walks: he enjoys the scenery, and it helps to clear his mind of stress. He'll most likely be out for 30 minutes just aimlessly strolling through the neighborhood

Has a hobby of analyzing music & films and loves to explain it to you. He's very attentive when it comes to literature/symbolism

He's a typical younger sibling, but you wouldn't have it any other way

please give me any feedback on my work! i'm extremely new to writing, so if you have any tips to help with that, i'd deeply appreciate it!

[cleanlenins]

Okay, so Twitter nonsense is bringing more people to Tumblr. I was going to make this post before, but it slipped my mind. So I am making it now.

How and When to Block People on Tumblr

There are a ton of helpful posts floating around about all the little things to make Tumblr more fun, but in my opinion this is the most important. THIS is what stops tumblr from being a rotted cesspool. So, I'm going to tell you how to use it.

There are 2 Types of Blocking people on here. The first is the block button, the second is the filtering.

When you want to block someone, simply go to their page and click the little person icon.

When you click it, it will give you the option to block them.

Click that, and you've blocked them.

However:

Blocking someone doesn't hide their posts from you, it just makes it so they can't see your posts.

If you don't want to see a specific person's, you are going to have to FILTER them.

To get to filters, first you are going to have to go to your page and click the Settings.

When you click the settings, it's going to take you to these options. Click on account settings.

Then, you are going to go down to Content You See. Click on that.

Then, you are going to have the option to filter things. There are two kinds of filters.

The first is filtered tags. This blocks posts that are tagged a certain way. They are great for blocking fandoms you have no interest in, as long as a person tags them.

The second is Filtered Post Content. This looks at the words in the post and filters them out. INCLUDING the person's URL.

I usually overkill it and just put a url in both of the filtering. But it SHOULD work if you just put it in the Filtered Post Content.

Fantastic job! You now know how to block someone! That brings me to the second part of the post.

When should you block someone?

The answer is easy: If you don't like what they post? Block them.

You don't need to moralize it. If you don't like the content they post, and unfollowing them didn’t help because your mutuals reblog their stuff, then block them.

Literally, I have blocked people just because I hated how they formatted their posts. I've blocked people just because I disliked the frequency that they posted. I've blocked people because I just didn't vibe.

No one cares. It's not gonna cause drama. If you don't like them, block them. Your dash is made up of stuff you like. Blocking and filtering someone is just getting them off your dash so you can see the stuff you do like.

Someone makes the dumbest argument about your fave character? Don't start fandom wank, block them.

Someone is acting like a bitch in your ask box? Block them.

Someone likes a ship that you don't like? Block them.

Someone tells you rudely that your fic is ooc? Block them.

Someone uses too much orange when they draw? Block. Them.

There is never a bad reason to block someone.

Heck, I'm sure at least one person will block me if this post gains any traction.

No need to argue and try to prove you are the better person. Shitty people don't listen anyways. And it doesn't have to be that deep. Just block block BLOCK and move on.

You'll be happier that way. Promise.

[madara-fate]

I'm SO tired of the SNS fandom. I really don't care about what they have to say anymore about SasuSaku because i know they are going to have the most biased take ever. Is 2023 already. Naruto ended in 2014. I don't understand how they can hate Sakura so much. They always talk about how much they know Sasuke but the moment you tell them that they are just using their opinions on canon material they suddenly don't care anymore. It makes me mad because Sasuke never had any reaction to any man in the manga. He was disgusted with the accidental kiss. Sasuke knows what romantic love is, and the only person who he saw in romantic light was Sakura. I'm being serious when i say that i really don't like no one from that fandom. They can tell me they are fine with SS, but i know, i know that they are going to show their true colors at the end of the day. It has happened before. They make lies, they call a 12 year old girl pathetic for loving Sasuke. Sasuke is their favorite character but suddenly he is a bad husband and a bad father? I'm sick. I only came back for Sasuke Retsuden. And nothing, nothing has changed since 2014. How can people be this low? Is Sasuke a prize to be won? Is that it? They never gatekeep Naruto the same way they do with Sasuke. They feel so entitled to the media they consume that they don't realize that this is Kishimoto's work. Sasuke is a loving person, everything he does is for people the he loves. Naruto is one of them, but Naruto is never going to be above his wife and child. I don't understand the obsession that people has with sasusaku. They are literally the only couple that Kishimoto bother to write.... I'm sorry for the long post. I really admire you, after all these years and people are still trying to prove you wrong. I really like your blog. Also i'm sorry English is my second language. I hope one day we can get a Sasuke movie. Even if people say that kishimoto writing style is messy, i would still want him to do it because he was the one who gave us one of the most iconic characters in anime after all.

Yeah, there's not much I can add here. The Naruto fandom sucks eggs, but that's old news at this point because as you said, nothing has really changed since 2014. People have come and gone, but the sentiments from each side of the fandom (no matter how nonsensical they are) have largely remained the same. Thank you for the kind words though! And your English is perfect ^_^

[marciabrady]

Hi! How are you doing?

I was just wondering, out of the first four Disney princess movies, which one was your favourite ending? I'm a big fan of the whole 'happily ever after accompanied by the choir singing the main theme' that the OG films had and every time I want a pick me up I always watch the endings of those films. I don't know why Disney doesn't use a choir anymore because I remember the endings of the older movies having a much bigger impact on me.

Like: Snow White being carried by her prince as the animals and dwarfs celebrate (and her kissing them to show her love and gratitude for them), Aurora and Phillip lovingly dancing together as the kingdom and their parents celebrate (accompanied by the iconic blue and pink scene), Cinderella and her prince running down the stairs together on their wedding day and riding along in a carriage and Ariel hugging her father and whispering 'I love you, daddy' before she sails off into the sunset (and King Triton bowing to Prince Eric - a human that he earlier told Ariel to let die in a shipwreck).

Every single one of them captures the whole essence of a fairytale and they all hit my heartstrings just right so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hi there! I love this question- thank you so much! I could never choose anything between the original four because they're all completely different flavors and it depends on the mood I'm in!

Sleeping Beauty's ending, for instance, is literally heaven for a romantic at heart like me. I hate anything tacky and over the top- especially moments that are supposed to be intimate. So, Aurora's slow smile of recognition when Phillip awakens her is more effective than any piece of film I've ever seen. The beautiful presentation and rejoicing of her arrival at court, making her the perfect picture of a princess- before the humanity of Briar Rose returns and she rushes to embrace her parents in the most loving caress. Hubert's humor, and Aurora's charm as she kisses him, before she's whirled off to the dance floor. Earlier in the film, we see her nearly deserted in a wood. She wants love, but how would she even dream of finding it when she'd never met anyone in the world outside of her aunts? It didn't even feel like a possibility of a possibility- and when it happened, it was ripped away so cruelty because her loyalty to the fairies dictated she must return home. And, for her to have her Happy Ending, with everyone there- even her Mother and Father- this incredible feeling of inclusion, that she was able to achieve without comprising her own values, as she drifts off into cotton candy dream clouds of romance while the final rush hits you as the fairies' power surges her dress and renders it blue and then pink, until she's one with the sky! Well, it's just so reassuring to all of us who feel like we have no one and nothing, that one day, all the things you never thought were possible will come to fruition in the most beautiful way.

Or Snow White's- the high it takes you on, after the most intense period of mourning for any character. Snow White, who the heavens themselves cry for and the Dwarfs can't find it in their hearts to bury her- the Dwarfs who keep her company and eternal vigil even in death- proving that the good are truly never forgotten. And then her Prince! Her love, that hasn't given up, and has continued to search for her for months and seasons and continues to be so steadfast and true in his word of the "one love" his "heart keeps singing, of one love only for" Snow White. How you can tell he loves her, just as the Dwarfs and birds do, and she's such a vibrant character that she doesn't feel lost to him, even though it seems as if hope may be. Then, the blinking of her eye before that familiar smile comes about- the overwhelming light and positivity that the world is suddenly sunnied with, as the Dwarfs cartwheel and the animals rejoice, and a chorus goes to sing Snow White's dream back to her. This poor girl who's been abused and neglected and almost murdered, but never gave up- it's so heartwarming.

Ariel's is so touching too, but it's admittedly always made me sad. I honestly cried to the ending a few weeks ago. I decided to rewatch it after I saw the live action, and the tenderness with which she embraces Triton in the animated...even writing it I'm beginning to feel my heart contract. Their relationship in the animated film is so layered and fascinating- she feels unloved by him and is constantly hiding who she is from him, she's afraid, and she lashes out sometimes out of that fear. She has doubt rooted in her about his love for her "maybe he's right. maybe there is something the matter with me." And yet, though he unknowingly is rejecting her and telling her she's wrong, he feels as though he's doing this out of love? But then he gets into this place of rage where he just traumatizes her and ends up pushing her away and closer to the very things he's trying to shield her from. For her to hug him like that in the end...and to whisper "I love you Daddy" OH. It's the subtlety thing I talked about earlier but his expression! You can tell he's ashamed on his face, he can tell he's even felt like she hated him in the past for being a disciplinary figure, when all he ever wanted was that love he never knew was there. But as she pulls back, tears shining in her eyes, this inward peace renews in him- and as Eric bows to him- he still commands and accepts all the glory and respect befitting a King of the Sea and is taken to levels that he hadn't been previously in the film, even in the beginning. His final blessing, of the rainbow, is so beautiful and...I just think it's so unique in, these are two people that love each other (Triton and Ariel) but aren't meant to live together and near one another. Their relationship is best at a distance, and there's something so bitter sweet about that. I continue after the read more, but don't look at it if you're uncomfortable with sensitive topics being discussed!

The ending I used to replay literally every morning to myself over the past maybe five years, as though it were a soundtrack and not a scene in a film, was actually the ending to Cinderella. Again, I could never choose between the original four but...the way that this ending has saved me. I used to watch it every morning on my way to work to even be able to work. By the time I was in my early 20s, and working, I had already had a really difficult beginning to my life- and it had gotten so intense right up from my early childhood into my middle school years up through the end of high school, I didn't feel like anything could ever get worse? So, while I was certainly still affected by things and would sometimes get sad, there was always a knowledge and a security in myself that I knew, for a fact, things would never, ever go back to being as bad at they were in that time period. And then...my second job happened. Don't get me wrong, my first job was awful- to the point where my brain function began to deteriorate at a point due to how depressed I was. I started get frequent panic attacks, I was miserable, and I felt helpless. Then, I accepted a job offer a year later that seemed life changing. I moved away from home into a different state, was going to be making twice my salary, and after taking care of different family members since high school had ended, I'd finally be able to be my own person without worrying about someone watching me or listening to what I was saying or monopolizing my time. I'd be able to discover what made me happy, I'd experience freedom, maybe love. That...was not what happened. At my first job, while things were bad as I previously explained, my performance or character was never up for debate. The mistreatment was more so inappropriate managers, sexual harassment, and being yelled at. However, I was also the most well liked person in the office and I was the top performer. So, when I came to this new company, I was convinced that, if I worked as hard as I possibly could, they'd get to know me and would be able to rely on me in a way that would translate to job security and that my workplace wouldn't be as toxic as the other one had been. I wasn't looking for any other forms of validation, literally just job security. This was the opposite of what happened.

For reasons I won't go into now, I was targeted by nearly everyone at this new workplace, save one or two people- but I can pretty much sum it up by saying it's because I was "different" and I was the only one being treated the way that I was, seemingly without rhyme or reason. They all began to lie about me, even from my first week, and come up with the most egregious things and I felt like I was continually being punished for things I didn't do. If I tried to stick up for myself, I wasn't taking "accountability" for whatever they pulled out of thin air. I felt like I literally had no one and the fear of my job being ripped away from me, just as I moved into this new apartment I could barely afford in a city where I knew no one, literally ate me alive. But more than that it was the attack on my character? I never really experienced that before. Remember how I said I never thought things would be as bad as they were when I was much younger? Well, aspects of my appearance and character were always being attacked then but it was more because I expressed myself differently than people were used to and so...I effectively silenced, stifled, killed those parts of myself in order to assimilate and pass and, while it killed me inside, I was able to make my surroundings less dangerous for myself (not entirely safe, because that's out of my control, but I improved my safety by as much as I humanly could) by continuing to- not change myself- but, again, muting the ways I expressed myself and just hacking away at parts of me so they wouldn't be so visible. However, what was happening at the, then, new job??? Having groups of people say the most disparaging things about you when they had no reason, to walk into a new lie every day, to be victim of an attack that, honestly, felt like they wanted me to not just quit the job but actually make me think that I was a terrible person that wasn't worthy of life? It made me doubt my reality, who I was as a person, everything. It got so intense- the one scene that kept getting me through, apart from the ending, was the scene where the stepsisters gather around Cinderella and collectively scream at her for the mouse in the cup. She walks, condemned for something she didn't even do, to Lady Tremaine's room to continue receiving lashing after lashing of an invention resulting from her enemies' minds of something that had nothing to do with her actual actions. Even earlier in the scene, when she's bringing them breakfast and is being intentionally kind to them, they berate her and treat her as a person with no character. That's the closest it felt to me.

BUT THEN, the ending. The ending gave me so much hope. Just as the Grand Duke is to leave, a voice calls out from the steps. A voice that was previously locked in her room, in the tall tower, with no way out and no one to hear her. As she attempts her way down the steps, it's the dialogue the stepsisters and stepmother say that catches my attention. Like my coworkers, they're trying to taint Cinderella to the outside world. They're trying to ruin her name, to stain it, and effectively kill any human connection she could ever have, effectively ending her life. They aren't just trying to make her look bad- they're trying to make her look insane, diminish the very core of who she is into someone that isn't worthy of anything. Someone that, even if she were locked in a tower, might as well be left there to die.

Lady Tremaine: Oh, pay no attention to her.

Anastasia: It's only Cinderella.

Drizella: Our scullery maid.

Anastasia: From the kitchen.

Drizella: It's ridiculous. Impossible.

Anastasia: She's out of her mind.

Lady Tremaine: Yes, yes. Just an imaginative child.

"It's only Cinderella...She's out of her mind- just an imaginative child." This abused orphan who has nothing, yet still hasn't managed to harden in the face of her hardships, that has overcome all of the adversity she's met with, that's the most productive member of the household and single handedly runs an entire estate by herself...who literally has no one in her corner and was physically assaulted less than 24 hours ago by simply producing a dress to wear to the ball so that she could actually be viewed as an equal, as someone who's a person in the eyes of her society. To reduce her to an "imaginative child." To say it's "only Cinderella." Imagine if that worked- the declaration to the ball specified that only eligible women should attend, which Cinderella hadn't been considered before she had a dress in which to attend. Imagine if the Grand Duke had listened to these women, the only "family" or company that Cinderella's permitted and the only people that "knew her," who have much more pull in society over a tattered orphan servant. Imagine if he did just turn on his heel and left her there. What would it be like in that house, with just the four of them, after they discovered Cinderella escaped from the attic? That she had been the girl from the ball the Prince was still looking for? I don't know, but I shudder to think about it considering we saw how they reacted to her gown the night before. I also can't imagine how difficult it must've been for her to keep going. Knowing the only three people she knew and she lived with belittled her every chance they could get? How they mocked her openly, invaded her personal space, got physical? That would mess with anyone's head. And to continue fighting for your right to go to the ball, to be seen as a person, to be someone that the law applies to and not just an "imaginative child" to be left to the wolves of the world to eat alive. She literally had no one in her corner- no family, no friends, nothing. To keep going by yourself, to be fueled by your own positivity...that's why it makes her so alive and human when she does break down and believe that there isn't anything to her hope and dreams and things will always stay the same. "There's nothing left to believe in." To always do the most you can for other people- she literally fries the mice from death in the traps, feeds and clothes them, and continues to put on a smiling face for her step-family- and to never have anyone ever treat you with a common human decency, let alone actually help you with the dire state of your life???

I know I'm rambling but. I felt the same way- I tried to be the best person I could, to help others around me through acts of kindness and even depleting myself financially from my, already humble, means, and to never have anyone, let alone reciprocate, but be able to help me? It felt so hopeless, like all was lost. To be the best you could and to still be the subject of so much endless sabotage, that felt like it would never end? Then the glass slipper breaks. Even the Grand Duke is beyond consolable. But Cinderella rises above- producing the slipper all on her own. We're rushed to the church and as we see Bruno, a starved bloodhound, and Major, an old horse, leading this royal procession, how can you heart not warm up? To see the mice cheering her on, in their new suits, while Cinderella waves at them. There she is- again, someone who was treated like actual trash, without any parents, someone who was abused and belittled and minimized and on the brink of ending it all- and smiling so gratefully and graciously and happily from the inside of the carriage, looking out at all the people that she supported, that now support her, in the brink of all of that tragedy? It's unparalleled. Looking at Cinderella waving from inside the coach, I never see the Princess- I see the little girl and think of her victory of survival.

[lemonandpie]

New thought for the day: why are the characters who the narrative goes out of its way to prove are bad and needing to be taken down a peg always the ones popular with and related to by marginalized people? Characters like Loki, Charles Xavier, Jason Todd, who the audience need to be reminded are bad (even if being bad is part of their appeal, or they weren't bad at all and the writers have just decided they are suddenly). It feels very similar to that male writers having disdain for their female audience post, because lbr most cishet men aren't getting deeply invested in Noted Queer Icon Loki Laufeyson or Textually Feminine Charles Xavier. So instead when canon decides the audience aren't being Critical Enough, they decide to tell the audience that no, silly, this character is the reason everything's gone wrong. Don't you feel bad for liking him? Foolish girls*, we know you only care because he's hot.

So Loki throws around gendered insults to prove that he is a sexist cis male (c'mon, were you really expecting us to keep him genderfluid? Child, this is Disney!). Charles gets that weird ass speech about how "it's only the women who do the work around here". Daemon Targeryan chokes a woman explicitly because the audience liked him too much and the writers were pissed.

Silly girls, don't you know how much your favorite characters hate you? Don't worry, we'll remind you. Now promise you'll never like insufficiently masculine characters again.

[theamityelf]

Uma’s best moment ?

Oooooh, that's a hard one! It's bad that my initial reaction to that question was like, "Ooh, she looked really pretty in this scene~, but she also looked really pretty in this scene~..."

From the perspective of encapsulating her as a character and rewatchability, I'd say her first scene is iconic, especially "What's My Name". The way she is with her crew, the way she exudes passion for freeing everyone, it's all incredible to rewatch. I think it's probably cheating to call an entire scene a "best moment" though.

If we're talking one little action/snapshot that I think really makes her special to me, I can think of two great ones:

The moment when she observes that Mal is handing over the wand too easily and orders her to test it out. I love that she isn't easily tricked, and it would have been so easy for them to not include that kind of thing. Using Dude's new talking abilities is a good way to tie in that otherwise superfluous plot point, and the way you can see hope grow in Uma's eyes when the wand appears to work on Dude is just superb and tragic.

The moment where she holds the ember hostage and tells Mal to guarantee her that any kid who wants to can leave the Isle. It's a perfect reestablishment of her noble motive and a great indication of how important she considers this and how seriously she takes it. And they don't try to make the moment funny by throwing in some easy "Also give me your wallet" type of joke; she just wants the abandoned children to have a chance at a safer/provided for life.

Okay, actually, I thought of another one:

Her going back to save Harry instead of chasing Mal. They really set that moment up as a possible Moral Event Horizon; it could easily have been the moment where Uma "proves" she prioritizes revenge over friendship, and I remember being kind of tensed for that, when I first watched the movie, but she stopped for him, she saved him, and that's really why she lost, there. She greatly inconvenienced herself to help her friend, and they did not have to let their antagonist do that; I really love it.

I refuse to choose! All three of those are really great.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

The Theon poll was so interesting. I was just curious if you’ve ever seen any of the show? I couldn’t remember if you said you read the books first and then watched the show or if you’ve never seen the show at all. If you have, did you watch the whole thing? Was there anything you liked about it or thought the show portrayed well?

It's kind of you to show interest anon and I don't hold anything against you but oh god this was such a struggle and I ended giving up because I can't talk about the show without wanting to hurt people but also the longer I think about it, the less apologetic I want to be. I want to be allowed to tell everyone how much I despise it but I know I would get in trouble for that and I'm so tired of it. The more I think about it, the more depressed I get and the more hateful I become. I think it makes me depressed because fandom proved I'm not allowed to be hateful and angry, although I know I have the right to be.

"Was there anything you liked about it or thought the show portrayed well?"

I actively forget the show exists until someone mentions it, but I filled two journals with show thoughts (they were abundantly negative), so here are the few things I marked down as positives.

I’ve always been a fan of Ramin Djawadi's work and used to play some of his pieces so that was the highlight of the show for me. “Winds of Winter” and some other themes used for Dany give me goosebumps and so does “Light of the Seven”. There was a time I could play that one on the violin and piano.

“Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief than a thousand lying whores.” (I didn't even have to google that sentence. I heard it once and it became engraved to my brain)

Lena Headey and most of the casting for the Lannisters. I hated what they did to Tyrion's character later on and also how they made Cersei less unhinged but I think both of them had the range to play the characters properly had they been given decent scripts.

There was this thing they did with Sansa's hair that I thought was interesting. Her style changed and assimilated to whoever she was learning from/trying to emulate. A nice and fitting touch.

Up to Season 6 (I think. Not fully sure), I liked most of the costuming for Cersei. The red dress with the golden metal corset shaped armour...gay gay homosexual gay.

Florence + the Machine's adaptation of "Jenny of Oldstones".

The adaptation of "The Rains of Castamere"

Dubrovnik and Peñiscola as two of the most important filming locations were such a smart choice! I had been to both of the cities in the past and it was so fun to spot which places they filmed in. They really made the best out of such small and rather niche places and I applaud how much they played with perspective in order to make us ignore the constant use of the same set spaces.

I really liked Isaac Hempstead Wright's acting during Season 2. It felt very similar to this despair and impotence that ACOK Bran feels and my heart ached for him.

Season 6 episode 10 made absolutely no fucking sense but it was the most entertaining one and I think seeing Cersei blow up the sept was the happiest experience I had with that show. What an icon she was, burning all her enemies to the ground...would have made me even happier if her actions had consequences but I still cherished the moment on itself.

I hated everything related to the Greyjoys and the writing team threw every possible interesting plot and dynamic for them out of the window, but there was a scene somewhere in Season 2, when Theon returns to the Iron Islands in which Balon Greyjoy is given a more deeply and hurtful characterisation. Theon accuses him of "giving him away, like a dog he didn't want anymore" and the camera stays at Balon's expression of pain and desolateness. I really dislike most of the fandom's characterisation for Balon. This however, was interesting.

Michelle Fairley's last scream and her following lifelessness during the red wedding was hunting. I am #anti Robb Stark(/j) and I didn't like Richard Madden as Robb so I didn't feel a lot during that scene until she started to shine. Amazing actress.

Season 1, episode 10 (I think), a scene in which we see Catelyn and Robb react to Ned's death. Michele Fairley does this thing where she starts leaning against trees and breaths heavily in order to not let herself cry and Robb is hacking a tree with his sword before his mother hugs him as he sobs "I'll kill them all". I don't like Richard Madden but I loved that scene. The composition and setting was so atmospheric and the musical score was very emotional, love those strings. I rewatched the scene right now to make sure my thoughts were the same and, yes 15-year-old-me, I full-heartedly agree!

The animated shorts were a hesitant and reluctant source of joy for me. @/hell-heron has made use of them in gifs and I think they are lovely to look at.

That's about it

"I was just curious if you’ve ever seen any of the show? I couldn’t remember if you said you read the books first and then watched the show or if you’ve never seen the show at all. If you have, did you watch the whole thing?"

I watched till half of season 2 after spending three years analysing the books without any show influence or imagery, didn't like it, got called a slur and was told to go back to the plantation by show people because I didn't like the whitewashing, finished watching it in 2019 against my will, really hated it.

The concrete things that made the show a source of anger and sadness instead of allowing it only to be uninteresting for me, asides from Stark goggles and overall me hating show!Theon and show!Dany (two of my favourite characters), listed from most to least personally upsetting:

Missandei of Naath (Sexualization, pseudo-maturity and imposed adulthood of black Girls)

Jeyne-Sansa switcherroo (Not doomed by the narrative, just ditched and other unimportant, unsatisfactory, insufficient girls (Jeyne W, Penny, Kyra, Pretty Pia, etc.))

"Dark" "Dark eyes" "Dark hair" "Dark vs Fair" (Whitewashing under the pretence of ambiguity á la fanon!Rue from the Hunger Games)

The philosophical stance of the narrative (Nihilism vs. Optimistic Existentialism vs. Embracing the absurd & The Myth of Sisyphus; conclusion: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING)

Ableism (Wex Pyke, Ilyn Payne and my other fellow (selective) mutes, constant jokes on the expense of mutilated people that the watchers were meant to laugh at, the dismissal of Tysha, Bran's not-sense-making impotence/infertility and the connotations of lovelessness for disabled people, Tyrion making fun of a supposedly mentally disabled cousin just for the lols)

Renly, Loras, Jon Connington, Satin and "Olyvar" (???) (Home of phobia)

Sansa Stark (Destroying a character to marketise a YA Heroine)

Daenerys Targaryen (Slowburn character assassination)

The even stronger orientalist tropes in Dorne (Girlbossing your way through character massacre)

Robb Stark (Simplifying the text and creating a male oc)

Arya Stark & Brienne of Tarth (Contraproductive and unresolved internalised misogyny)

[mediawhorefics]

Do you have any hot tales about tsn?

tsn hot takes ??? gosh, idk if they're hot takes but i have opinions?

i'm sorry to rpf on main but 'andrew garfield was in love with jesse eisenberg' is a hilll i'm going to die on.

similarly, andrew garfield played eduado as in love with mark and watching the movie through that lens enriches the whole experience. fight me.

tsn deserved to win best picture in 2011. out of all the nominees that year, it's the one that has only gained relevance as time passes and had something to say about our culture, both back then and right now. i think it's almost more relevant now than back then. its social commentary on the way we live our lives on the internet is pretty spot on. i mean 'the internet is written in ink'. give me one line better from another movie that year. we lived on farms then we lived in cities and now we're gonna live on the internet?? damn.

this isnt an opinion, more like an observation? back in 2010, people complained about the harsh depiction of zuck but he's worked so hard to prove the movie not only right but also now it almost reads as mild compared to who that guy actually is. it's fascinating in terms of tsn's cultural legacy. where's that one quote from that article about tsn turning 10 yo? the movie couldn't predict what facebook would turn into (in terms of misinformation and manipulation of information) but it understood that the desire to tear down the establishment is not the same as the wish to build something better in its place? anyways, that.

it has one of the greatest soundtracks ever. i don't think any movie has topped it since. that opening sequence with hand covers bruise? holy shit.

i always wonder if it does enough to condemn the elitist misogynistic culture of those rich harvard guys/those rich tech guys. like... i always joke that it's one of my 'ooops the filmmakers forgot women were people' favourite films (i have a few of those) but at the same time, it feels very pointed and purposeful in its depiction. and we know that fincher has a history of exploring toxic masculinity as a theme without explicitly condemning it and trusting his audience to get the message. which, honey, men are not smart. i mean, we get the iconic erica moment telling us from the start 'it'll be because you're an asshole' and then the movie proceeds to prove that to us. but is that enough? is the movie sexist or is the character? or both? i don't know i kinda go back and forth on this. again not a take, just thoughts.

i read this one letterboxd review like a year ago that said something along the line of: best movie of all time they have him tell us ' i don't want friends' in the first eight minutes and it blew my fucking mind. they literally tell us in the first eight minutes, aaron sorkin i just want to talk.

i love him and would kill for him, but eduardo telling mark 'i was your only friend you had one friend' was not only untrue but kinda manipulative. not that mark didn't deserve it.

high key this is one of the most quotable movies of all time. did you know i sent forty-seven texts???

there are whole worlds of unsaid things in the 'you have no idea what that's going to mean to my father' 'sure i do' i am OBSESSED with their relationship.

eduardo's bitchy 'is he?' when sean says he's wired in before the laptop smash is just as, if not more, iconic than the rest of the speech.

andrew was robbed of both a nomination and an oscar for this performance. i stand by it.

2011 golden globes jesse eisenberg dragging andrew gafield out of his chair top awards moment of all time. you had to be there.

people will bitch about tsn rpf and people writing fic about mark zuckerberg but where would we (tumblr) be as a society without jesse and andrew's 'you didn't know me at 13' 'i really wish i had'. where would your pining web-weaving fandom posts be without mr garfield's embarrassingly public crush on his facebook movie co star? check and mate.

genuinely think it would have solved a lot of their problems if mark and eduardo had fucked. or it would have created other different problems. either way, a win.

we all know it should have ended with mark sending eduardo a friend request. literally the only flaw in this film.

i honestly think the tsn press tour is on like... lotr bts footage level in terms of ~as enjoyable if not more than the original film. and i don't say this lightly. it's one of the highest praise i've got.

i'm a basic bitch but every single scene of mark defending eduardo post-betrayal is like.... [SCREAM]

it IS the greatest divorce movie of our time. marriage story fucking wishes mate.

tsn is 100% a girl movie. like red flag for men green flag for women (& gnc people) kind of stuff.

it's on par with all of shakespeare's best tragedies. for me.

lmao when i read this ask i thought damn i won't have much to say and now i have to stop myself because my food is ready and i'm starting. anyways this is barely scratching the surface. i might come back for a part two?

[sinceileftyoublog]

Olivia Rodrigo Album Review: GUTS

(Geffen)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Olivia Rodrigo had wanted to title her second album "GUTS" since she was making her debut, SOUR, because she was interested in the various colloquial contexts in which we use the word. No, you're not going to find the singer-songwriter's second album on the shelf next to Exhumed's back catalog--referring to entrails is about the only meaning Rodrigo doesn't conjure from the word. She mentions "spill your guts," and the album certainly has the same diaristic quality as her first record. She also brings up the phrase "hate your guts;" lo and behold, at times on GUTS, Rodrigo foregoes the sarcasm and facetiousness of SOUR for full-on diatribes and revenge fantasies. But the connotation that stands out most to me, listening to the record for months after it's now come out, is one of courage. Simply, it takes a lot of guts to make an album like this.

From the start, Rodrigo sets up the unrealistic expectations she's under, physical and behavioral, both as a young woman and as a celebrity. On the Joan Didion-inspired, dynamic and choral "all-american bitch", she sings "I'm grateful all the time / I'm sexy, and I'm kind / I'm pretty when I cry," fully aware that she's encapsulating a caricature more than a real character. Appropriately, she spends the rest of the album contradicting the idea of the ideal feminine. Knowingly regretful, she hooks up with an ex on the stuttering power pop jam "bad idea right?" She's jealous of a "dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate" on the layered and ghostly "lacy", her vocals and producer Dan Nigro's synthesizer skyward before they come crashing to a painful, realized whisper. On piano and strings ballad "the grudge", she posits that while "It takes strength to forgive...I don't feel strong." Rodrigo swims in imperfection.

Rodrigo's deep dive into her own humanity, though, sets her up for longer lasting strength. For every lambast of "bloodsucker" and "fame fucker," iconic as they are, there's a line like on "logical" where she sings, "I know I'm half responsible / And that makes me feel horrible." Synth rock standout "love is embarrassing" is especially impressive, as Rodrigo collates all the cringiest things she's ever done--the type that would keep most people up at night--and turns them into a singular anthem of teenage awkwardness. On "making the bed", she realizes that as much as she's resentful of certain aspects of her life, from the toxicity of the music industry to her penchant for social errors due to homeschooling, she has the ultimate agency to change things. She's stated the song was the hardest on the album to write, and the delicate balance between blame and acceptance is palpable. There are even multiple layers to "get him back!" Sure, Rodrigo wants "to meet his mom and tell her her son sucks," but she also wants to reconnect. Otherwise, why would she care?

Ultimately, GUTS has proved to be one of the most rewarding pop records of the year due to its sheer humanism. You can find solidarity in a song like "pretty isn't pretty", a shimmering dream pop standout instrumentally wedged between "1979" and Alvvays, one that decries the extent to which capitalism promotes unrealistic standards, beauty or otherwise. But it's closer "teenage dream" that ensures the album ends not on a bang, but on a relatable wince. Small moments, like the pseudo "you're not from around here" record scratch after the first chorus, build up the unease to emphasize Rodrigo's final moment of self doubt: "They say it gets better / But what if I don't?" Kudos to Rodrigo for putting to words and music what we're all thinking all the time.