#he's such a hallmark main character sometimes

[kanerallels]

For the Christmas Dabbles-

Kastle (platonic or romantic) and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

You are the first ask I got for this and also the most genius this is the best prompt I've ever read. Thanks so much for the ask!!

“You really believe in all that?” Frank glanced at her sideways. She wore a stunning green dress, her hair shimmering in the moonlight, and he was finding it very hard to stop looking at her.

“Believe in what?”

“You know. The usual Christmas crap. Peace on Earth.”

Karen was silent, staring out at the cold dark city. Frank could smell snow in the air— it was only a matter of time before it started to come down. “Maybe not the way most people do,” she said finally. “I’m hardly an idealist— you know that.”

He did. He’d seen her face too many things not to.

“But,” she continued, and now she looked at him, and he couldn’t take his eyes of hers, blue filling his gaze. “I think there’s goodness in the world. And peace. Maybe it’s just a little harder to find.”

“You think we can find it, then?”

“Yeah,” she said, and he felt her hand catch his, their fingers locking together. “I think we can.”

Christmas fic ask game!

(also I've started posting last year's fics on AO3, here's the link!)

[kalak]

Luke skywalker has so much rage inside him and I want people to recognize that. No he's not a shy baby boy, you know how much grit it takes to keep on doing and remain optimistic at the face of insurmountable evil? That boy is full of emotions. And yet he is kind. That's the key to his character - that he is full of rage but he doesn't let that stop him from hoping.

He definitely has a hair trigger temper - hell, his main character flaw in empire strikes back was his impulsiveness and recklessness - and he's so much like vader, he wants and loves so strongly and he despairs as strongly too. And what does he do with that temper? He fails, he loses, and he blows up and wrecks shit, but also that temper is the flip side of loving, and he embraces that too, he loves with all his heart. Point is, he's a very action and emotion oriented person, and that's what pushes him so close to the dark side; he's fatalistic, he's sometimes ridden with guilt, he's emotional.

But then he learns patience, he learns gentleness - learns to be a jedi. It's all learned; do or do not, yoda says, and he learns to do, to keep hoping. He isn't born as a sunshine boy, it's not his nature that makes him that way - he's naturally emotional, kinda whiny, full of rage; all the hallmarks of a darksider, but he learns to grow beyond that. That's how he can extend such an understanding hand towards sith and dark siders, his father - he knows the dark side. He understands it, he flirts with it, and yet he chooses to do better.

The meaning of luke skywalker in the star wars narrative is hope - hope isn't a magical deus ex machina that solves all your problems. It's not there all the time from the very start. It's something you cultivate, just like luke did throughout the trilogy.

Hope is continued existence. It's optimism that perseveres. You know that line of bravery being doing it in spite of the fear? Well, hope isn't the absence of giving up. Sometimes it's just screaming crying trying to kill your own father, but it's also making the right choice and trusting vader to make the right choice, too. If there's one good thing about the sequel trilogy, it's that - luke may have run away, he might have done some... uncharacteristic things, but that doesn't mean he's lost hope. He returned to fight again after all, didn't he?

Even if you fuck up, you return and fight - with a relentless optimism that being good will be enough, that the world is a better place for this choice. And Luke does that, again and again - still carrying all those emotions within him. He's a fire that burns strong and bright; he's sunshine and tempered death.

[mchib]

‘We need more bipolar characters’ 

YOU COULDBNT EVEN HANDLE HIM

first of all i think this is common knowledge but he exhibits a complex and erratic personality which i think could potentially be interpreted as symptom of bipolar disorder - bipolar is a characterized by extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression) - throughout the series and manga (i think the manga shows this better) mellos behavior fluctuates dramatically displaying periods of intense energy impulsivity and irritability which align with manic episodes,,. - in the manga mellos depicted as ambitious driven and sometimes reckless in his pursuit of catching Kira. he has a chronic case of impulsive decision making such as kidnapping poeple and hijacking a character showcases a lack of regard for consequences which is a hallmark trait of manic behavior - i also think mellos extreme emotional responses ranging from fits of rage to moments of despair mirror the intense mood swings characteristic of bipolar disorder. he also struggles with self esteem and identity also point towards bipolar disorder... individuals with bipolar disorder often experience fluctuations in self esteem oscillating between grandiosity during manic episodes and profound self doubt during depressive episodes - mellos constant comparison to near (who he he and only he sees as his rival) and his need to prove himself could stem from underlying insecurities exacerbated by his mood swings

him developing bipolar could totally be a normal trauma response from literally a lot of abuse that he has faced, most of the main characters from wammys house show no signs of like rebellion or outlandish behavior like he does but that doesnt necessarily mean that nothing happened and i think the author gave characters such as near and the other orphans way too much mental fortitude. bipolar can be developed at any age and its especially common between ages 15-19. not to mention other than it being genetic, theres a huge link between bipolar and childhood trauma. like imagine being groomed your whole childhood into this competitive environment with other 4 year olds to be the smartest toddler so u can substitute this crazy genius when he dies. and think of it like come on theres no chance all of these kids desperately wanted to be detectives when they grew up there was definitely like some sort of foul play. L is an exception obviously since the orphanage became abusive after he came and he was treated like a king basically while the other orphans mental state was completely disregarded because they were only brought in from several corners of the world solely to be his successor. in fact the first generation orphans were literally expected to kill themselves because of the pressure and A killing himself literally was not a shock at all to the orphanage in fact i suspect that a lot of the first generation orphans made to succeed L had a horrible mental state and also killed themselves which if you think about it B (which stood for backup) losing his mind was completely normal even if the way he went about challenging L was not. not to mention how he had to live with shinigami eyes but thats for another post lolol.,,, anyways yeah mello's behavior is actually justified when you think about how much of an abusive household he lived in even if its kind of obvious that the author disregarded coming up with an explanation for the orphans mental wellbeing and how it would have affected their adolescence except from the character of mello and even when they show mello they basically make him seem insane and watari like an angel . reading the la bb murder cases from mello's perspective really opened my eyes to like how it actually was in wammys house u can really understand it from his tone and stuff also with that one page hold on lemme find it

'but what if they could copy him? what if they could make a backup? that was us. L's children, gathered from all corners of the world. children gathered together, never told each other's names. but even for a genuis like watari, creating a fake L was easier said than done. even for near and i, who were said to be the closest to L... the more we tried to be like him, the closer we got, the farther away he was, like chasing a mirage. so i hardly need to tell you what it was like when wammy's house was first founded, when he was still experimenting. the first child, A, was unable to handle the pressure of living up to L and took his own life, and the second child, beyond birthday, was brilliand and deviant. B stood for Backup.'

'L was the goal of everyone in wammys house. everyone one of us wanted to surpass him. to step over him. to step on him. M did, N did and B did. M as a challenger, N as a successor. B as a criminal.'

sorry for my complete lack of spelling punctuation and grammar but i think i got my point across and also big thanks to @monards who helped me finish this draft by giving me the energy to continue and also encouraging my crippling death note addiction by feeding into it with questions and remarks like 'woah!' and 'eureka!'

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 3 MATCH 11

Xyx propaganda:

“He's funny he's depressed he's an adrenaline junkie he has a cat he has the hottest voice on earth”

“Actually basically everyone from this game should be submitted but. He has a cat that he accidentally adopted and stray cat and fails miserably at pretending not to care about it while also talking about it every two seconds. He's just so funny and he makes a discord bot to compliment the two of you and. Idk I'm bad with words but I have a soft spot for him”

“my silly little guy who has some bad times. adopts a cat to basically encourage himself to stay alive because if HE doesnt take care of the cat then who will. also his cat's name is Cat. a real naming genius that one. makes a whole bot for the server called hypebot whos main thing was just hyping himself up but will also compliment/flirt with you. i think hes basically never joined a call in the server and no ones seen what he looks like except for the other LIs and the player on mainly his route but he also appears in another. i love him hes so lame /pos”

Elliott propaganda:

“Just look at him. Pure hunk energy.”

“I will punch anyone who dislikes him. He’s like a fire emblem character in the modern day. He’s so flamboyant and handsome, he can play the piano and he’s best friends with the old fishing man!”

“dramatic writer man with sexy hair”

"Since I like elliott. I will state some reasons why I like him

Imagine if Mr. Darcy didn’t insult your family first time you met him, that’s Elliott. The man who’s basically the hallmark romance love interest. He’s a writer who moves to the small town in the country side to find inspiration for his writing. Then he finds the farmer.

He has a crab living in his pocket

He can play the piano (hopefully it isn’t the river flows in you however)

His fans sometimes hc him as a merman and that’s just a major plus IMO

He genre of the book he writes is dependent on what genre you say you like.

He also sends letters to you if you marry him

Okay and also some things I dislike

His liked gifts, the easiest one is pomegranates, which cost like 6000g to grow a tree if you don’t pick the fruit cave. I AM NOT GETTING SQUID INK IN YEAR ONE FOR YOU.

he might be British /j

The fact he has no kitchen but still likes food like lobster, like he is just a mystery. Lives in a cabin, with no kitchen, no washroom (okay no character has a washroom), but still likes the most fancy food out there and has luscious hair worthy of a L’Oréal ad.

Gifting him on rainy days when you don’t have two hearts"

[copperbadge]

If its not too personal could you talk about what was the inspiration for Michaelis? He's got a lot of depth to him, especially for what could have been a one off character in the background after Fete. Also the way he mourns but carries on really resonates with me in Jes.

Oh sure! I mean, on the one hand it is quite personal but it's a kind of personal I really enjoy sharing. :D Michaelis began life as the Standard Hallmark Parent -- you see them a lot in the movies, the parent who is

1. Kinda grouchy

2. Usually pushing their kid slightly too hard in slightly the wrong direction (with the best of intentions)

3. Often a widow/er

4. Practically a cameo designed to stress out the lead, but easily attractive enough that they could be romantic lead themselves in the sequel.

There are actually several Hallmark films where the over-sixty characters are either the supporting romance in a one-off film or the main romance of a sequel film. (The Wedding Veil films, which despite their flaws are actually very enjoyable, have a Michaelis-like character for the mother of the male lead in the first movie, and she then becomes the major supporting romantic lead in the fourth movie.)

By the time I got to Michaelis talking to Eddie at the end of the script for Fete, I'd grown to really like him. When I adapted the script to a novel, I liked him even more. I thought that I could do a sequel with him getting jolted out of himself a bit -- and I was encouraged by how many people liked him in the initial read through. The main inspirations for the actual plot of Infinite Jes were, one, Gregory jokingly suggesting he do a podcast, and two, Michaelis's defensive dismissal of Gregory's question about what he's done for companionship since Miranda passed.

Over the course of writing Infinite Jes, he came to be a collection of themes I've explored or wanted to explore, sometimes themes I knew I wasn't skilled enough to handle yet. The core of him is based on a professor I worked with as a student; the confidence that occasionally tips into arrogance, the keen intellect that likes to take things apart, the ability to look at some toxic family traits and decide "RIP but I'm different" and be a present, nurturing masculine figure, all come from that professor, who had a huge impact on me.

But I have also been fascinated for decades now by a certain kind of character in fiction, someone who has had a devastating loss and keeps going, even if they aren't driven by something like revenge. Profound grief is difficult and fascinating for me, and I finally felt capable of exploring that fully, perhaps because the pressure on romance novels is a bit lower at times.

And honestly, a lot of him is me, processing the fact that I am aging in fandom. I'm older (44) than the oldest person I knew in fandom (38) when I joined it at the age of 14. I have, for lack of a better word, a position in fandom, a status, that affords me certain perks and requires of me certain obligations. Not to call myself elected king of fandom ("I didn't vote for him!") but the duty I feel to fandom, both as a culture that raised me and a found family, is very similar.

Most of my characters contain some of me, but Michaelis and Jerry contain far more of me than most, perhaps because I'm in a place to do some reflection. Michaelis -- intelligent, experienced, hopefully a mentor, but also lonely and detached at times -- is who I'm coming to grips with being; Jerry, the charming fuckup with power but no real clue how to use it, who is doing his best to grow up a little later than a lot of his peers and figure out how disability fits into his identity, is who I still see myself as.

So yeah -- I find Michaelis incredibly fun and compelling to write for, and I think that's because I had hit a skill level in my work where I could combine a lot of tropes and themes into one character and use him to explore why I enjoy them so much. But he definitely began life as the Hallmark Widowed Dad. :D Well, there are worse origin stories.

[palmtreepalmtree]

Alright my friends - the twinkly lights are up, the house smells like pine, you've got every manner of red-green-and-gold wrapping paper shoved in a corner - without a doubt it's that time of year: Christmas. As you know, I've been disappointed to see so few entries into the Christmas rom-com genre this year from Netflix, so I've started to explore further afield to find something ripe for your enjoyment.

And now, I'm pleased to present...

The Worst Movies on HBO/MAX/Discovery+/HGTV??? (idefk), Right Now!

As it turns out sometime last year Discovery+ teamed up with MarVista to produce some Christmas romance content with random tie-ins to their FoodNetwork/HGTV network stars. This has created some really... oh, let's just call it interesting content.

I mean... you gotta know from the outset that there's no way these will be good. NO fucking WAY.

FIRST, as a whole, I don't think these movies know what their purpose is. Are they supposed to promote the reality shows of their cameo stars? Are they supposed to give their reality stars an opportunity to flex some acting muscle!? Are they supposed to be *GASP* good stories? NOBODY KNOWS!

SECOND, it's possible that the point of these movies is just to promote the reality show format as like... a concept. But the thing is -- NOT TO FORESHADOW OR ANYTHING -- that comes with some very weird baggage. LIKE SUPER WEIRD.

Let's break these down in round-up style.

The first movie that apparently created the mold* was Candy Coated Christmas (2021) - *pun intended. This vehicle cameos Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, who gets about two minutes of screen time which apparently warrants her this kind of promotional one-sheet placement:

...like okay.

A shocking number of these stories involve people who are in financial peril. In this one, a hotel heiress finds herself on the brink of bankruptcy, and, on daddy's orders, she heads to a small town to evict the peppermint farmer tenants at her family's property who are, you guessed it, on the brink of bankruptcy.

In this movie, the spirit of Christmas (or spearmint gum in this case), is a plan to rescue these two financial catastrophes, oh, and they fall in love. Sure. Why not.

This movie is an empty candy-coated shell of a romance that I can best describe as serviceable. But apparently it was enough of a hit that the rest of the movies followed. So we can blame this candy cane for the Christmas rogering that followed in 2022.

Continuing from worst to most egregious...

A Gingerbread Christmas (2022) - This one cameos that Ace of Cakes dude (no idea his name and not interested in looking it up) who is judging a gingerbread competition that the main character desperately needs to win to save her dead mom's foundering bakery - YES another fucking business in peril.

Her love interest is the general contractor/baker/single dad who has taken up daily residence in the bakery where he is apparently simultaneously working on fixing the place up and also doing all of the baking........?

Yeah, it makes little sense, and yet somehow this is not the worst of the four entries this year.

Both of these actors are people you'll recognize and will have you thinking heyyyyy where is she/he from? (Let me help you out: The Good Place/Reacher). They're fine.

This is fine.

It's just... not going to leave you feeling much of anything. And that's the exact opposite of what these movies are supposed to do. You're not killing me, you're just boring me. There's nothing spicy in this gingerbread, baby! ZING! Nailed 'em.

There's a kind of nice subplot about a new immigrant entering the contest as well, but maybe I have a soft spot in my heart for that. This definitely does not seem like it's going for the same audience as some of the Hallmark movies, but it's also only gesturing at substantive things rather than really delivering anything of substance. Hey guys, did you know that immigrant Muslims can celebrate Christmas too!?

MOVING ON.....

One Delicious Christmas (2022) - Alright... where do I even start here??? Continuing on our theme of struggling businesses, this one slightly breaks the pattern by telling us a story of the owner of a boutique inn who needs to find a new chef for her family business so that she can bring on a financial partner to help ease the strain of her sole ownership.

The cameo in this one is Bobby Flay who comes in as a restaurant critic to comment on the food. Sigh. I know. Look I'm just reporting here, don't harm the messenger.

Alright there are three things here that just drove me completely batty: First, and I hate calling this shit out, but I gotta say the lead actress here has some partial vocal fry thing going on with her voice that is just impossible to watch for an hour and a half. I just wanted to shake her and be like BREATHE THROUGH YOUR CHEST. Fucking hell. It's a trial being me sometimes.

Second, obviously the theme here is cooking, but the whole story is based around the fact that the chef is doing new and risky recipes that the inn owner is nervous her people won't like... but like... the recipes are super basic? Like scalloped potatoes instead of mashed? Lobster bisque!? None of the new menu items read as dangerous or cutting edge -- especially if you watch the Food Network -- SO WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT1?!? Argh, okay.

Last, and this is just a weird thing that probably only I noticed, but like all these movies seemed to go out of their way to do mixed racial castings, which is a good thing, but then they also seem to have not made any adjustments for that in terms of story.

In this one, the love interest/chef is played by a Canadian actor of Filipino ancestry -- but his character name is Preston Weaver. Preston. PRESTON. PRESTON. There are also repeated references in the story to cooking for and with his grandmother, but no mention, not even one, that maybe her cooking wasn't American-style food? I mean, it is perfectly possible for a person to have their family immigrant story have happened so long ago, that even their grandparent doesn't make traditional foods from their country of ethnic origin, but it also seems WEIRD. Like some sort of weird white washing??? idk. Jury is still out on this I guess. I just don't think it would have killed them to reference one Filipino recipe or technique, especially since that's a pretty rich food culture. You know, as compared with making a main plot point that the fucking LOBSTER BISQUE keeps selling out.

(Is there a whiter word than bisque? I don't fucking think so).

I HAVE GONE ON TOO LONG. THE NEXT ONE.

Designing Christmas (2022) - Alright, I'm running out of steam and so I'm gonna make this one quick. This one cameos that dark haired lady from Love it or List it not sure her name not looking it up (Hilary???). This one is about a couple who work as a designer/contractor pair on a reality show and in order to save their failing show they decide their last show of the season will be a restoration of her family's old home that she just purchased and SURPRISE TO NO ONE WHO WATCHES THESE SHOWS there's a crack in the foundation blahblahblah WHO CARES!?

NO ONE.

This one really suffers from the fact that the male lead is just boring.

Honestly, that's a theme throughout these movies. The male leads are super weak and boring. Tepid. Just absolutely forgettable characters played by actors who are deciding whether the fuck to fire their agents.

What's weird about this one is the way that the production really styles it after a reality show -- even including those restoration classic before and after reveals. But that is nothing on the last one......

A Christmas Open House (2022) -- Alright the cameos in this one are that Hometown Whatever couple who have been "restoring" houses in their hometown in someplace in the south and by restoring, I mean flipping but under the guise of home restoration.

ANYHOW - the plot is that this big city house stager teams up with a realtor to sell her family home to make sure her mom gets the best purchase price on the sale. It's just like those old Christmas classics that really capture the Christmas spirit - A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life. You know. Really in that anti-capitalist vein.

Deeeeeeeep sigh.

So... I don't even know how to say this. But this movie involves a Christmas miracle.

See, it turns out the house stager accidentally gave the furniture company the wrong credit card number, so the day before the showing ON CHRISTMAS the furniture people came and took back all of the perfectly staged furniture and GASP knocked down the (fake) Christmas tree! WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO1?!? HOW ARE THEY EVER GONNA SELL THE HOUSE ON CHRISTMAS NOW!?$!

BUT IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

The whole town shows up to bring them furniture that they can use to stage the house before the potential buyers arrive. Like... they show up with their odds and ends so that the house can be staged. SO THAT THE HOUSE CAN BE STAGED FOR SALE. Are... are you guys with me here? The miracle that the whole town rallied behind was bringing FURNITURE to STAGE A HOUSE. FOR SALE.

I just... I am walking away.

We are so fucking far from Dickens here we might as well be in a new fucking holiday.

And we are.

Because that's the whole point of all of these movies.

It's not Christmas.

It's American Christmas.

For all the shit that the nostalgic, small-town worshipping Christmas movies get this time of year, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say these movies are more insidious. Instead of blatantly trying to valorize the small town spirit, the support of family and friends, and getting back to your roots, these movies are like the Scooby Doo villain of Christmas movies. Rip off the mask at the end for the big reveal:

IT WAS CAPITALISM ALL ALONG!?!?

Anyhow, I don't know who was supposed to read these scripts before they became movies, but everyone involved will probably be laughing all the way to the bank.

Don't watch these. They're not funny enough to be worth the soul-gutting feeling of realizing what these movies are for.

Nothing.

Empty.

Spiritless.

Candy-coated capitalism.

[cha-melodius]

okay so for the directors cut thing I really wanna have u talk about False Dichotomy bcuz it is no secret how much I luv that one 💚💚💚💚 like everything - the OC's I became ridiculously attached to, the elements from the movie you chose to use vs change, maybe something about the writing experience for that one

but I'm certain someone would have beat me to it - so if that's the case maybe You're the Perfect Gift for Me cuz as a total Hallmark movie watcher I luv'd that one so much - luv the seeing the other side of the 'oh this is the bf they're not gonna end up with cuz they'll never be as good as this person from their past' and that person not being a jerk (cuz sometimes they really are lol)

No one beat you on False Dichotomy but I DID have someone ask for that one after you, so I'm gonna do most of my talking there. But here's a couple bits about the OCs:

Kyle began as an OC in a missing scene ficlet for Please Don't Let Me Be So Understood. One of those tumblr ask games included a challenge to write a scene from another character's POV, and I wrote one from the POV of Kyle who was working the Hot Shots basketball game at Coney Island. He does not actually appear (named) in the body of the fic lmao. But @celeritas2997 in particular took a shine to Kyle so I decided he'd be an OC in FD. The Coney Island job is a bonus one he works in the summer lol.

I think my other main OC in that one was Jaime, the nonbinary manager of Henry's store. It was important to me to make the manager Henry hires queer for a couple of reasons: 1) I wanted to show Henry making good on his promises, and 2) I needed to have someone that Henry could trust with the store if/when he steps back a bit from daily operations work. Originally I thought about having Henry step back entirely and leave the store in Jaime's hands, but ultimately I felt like that store was Henry's baby and he would want to keep being involved in it.

As for You're the Perfect Gift for Me, that was inspired by a tumblr post about how the 'bad guys' in Hallmark Christmas movies are actually nice guys who get dicked over by their fickle girlfriends. Alex as the workaholic lawyer seemed like the natural fit here. Canonically he doesn't really know how to slow down until he meets Henry and they fall in love, so that was the vibe I was going for here. This one was so fun to write and I got the excuse to do all kinds of ridiculous tropes like snowball fights at Christmas tree farms lol.

(Fanfic Writers: Director’s Cut)

[catiuskaa]

Bestie, am taking revenge :D (not really)

Dropping here to make your fist request too! Let's do the same idea and see what happens :3

Bang Chan flirty rivals/crushes to lovers + dancing

Let's see how it works :]

Bring it on babes >:]

Level up: fencing for dummies.

sum. soulmates don’t exist, but why are all these corny memories suddenly in your head, and why is your rival the main character?

wc. 3.7K

cw. soulmate AU (past life kinda deal but it's a mess) mentions of anxiety, swords, swearing, angst if you blink too fast, technical fencing lingo (explained).

[☆☆⚔️☆☆]

Like a punch in the gut, almots and you couldn’t hold back the need to curse.

Shit. That didn't feel good. What did this even mean?

You sighed, getting angry at yourself. Was it already? Would this be the time that, like your pent-up anxiety sometimes whispered, the day you would finally go down in history as the world’s biggest idiot?

Close, but not just yet. Let’s get back to when the disaster initiated.

You shook your head sideways, shoving unwanted thoughts about the person in front of you to someplace far away in your mind, wanting to fight without emotions taking the best of you. You put back on your fencing helmet.

Striking the straightest pose your back could handle, you faced your rival.

Christopher Bang. ‘Chan’ for his mates.

Fencing, top class. Majored in music, again, top class in most of the career’s subjects. At 23, he played more instruments than you could remember, and between his job (one that you hadn’t found out) and fencing, you’ve heard he still produces music on the side with some people.

Yeah. But you didn’t care much. Nope.

You disliked the man. Why? He was rich. Stick-stuck-up-in-his-ass level of rich. And he used it. Not like you could prove it, but you still believed that he, along with the other wealthy members of the old fencing club, were paying for victories to the referees in competitions.

No wonder they were all so nice to him.

You couldn’t complain about it, though. These people had basically sustained the entire club for years, and, surprise surprise, there was no way you could pay for the expenses the club required. The coach could think likewise, but when Chan was named, he would always pick his side and run away before you could even react.

To be honest, Chan wasn’t your favourite person.

You hated his cockiness, how he teased and invaded your personal space, wandering about and spitting whatever thought he could come up with. It was much easier to not pry on why he annoyed you, not wanting to know if he just bothered you because he could, meaning that making him stop would be thrice as tough.

Or worse, that he hated your guts. Unfair from your side, ok, but when you first met, you were stupidly hoping to acquire a solid friendship, someone you could count on to have your back, someone whose skills you admired. It felt like a scene straight out of a Hallmark movie. Banter and teasing lines were thrown, and you could’ve sworn he was flirting with you, but when you saw a pretty girl entering the locker rooms with him that day, your heart cracked a bit.

He made you remember that whatever could happen between you two, he could make it happen in a flash with anybody, anytime. He had all the money and skills anyone could wish for.

And he knew it.

“Scared I might pinch you, buttercup?” He said, his helmet resting on his head and striking more of a suggestive pose than a defensive stance.

“I’d suggest you watch out. I might just stick this sword up your refined ass, Mr Bang,” you snickered, not sounding as playful as he had, the nickname rolling off your tongue before you could rethink it.

Chuckling, he prepared his pose, sword ready for any attack or defence when he nodded to the referee, ready to start.

Seungmin signalled, and the combat started. Sounds of the material of the swords clicking reverberated in the old building, along with the others from the remaining fights other students were having.

You tried looking for weak spots, aiming here and there in hopes of finding something, when instead, he grinned, a Chesire-like smile on his features as the tip of his épée touched your ribs.

Fuck.

Before you could notice, you were already falling behind.

“13-12. Next round,” Seungmin stated, waiting for both of you to return to your positions.

You stood as calmly as you could in fourth position as he came to attack right after signalled, surprising enough for you to be too late.

Or so he thought, because for some reason, through the masks that protected your faces, he felt your stare burn right into him.

Moving turned to a less crucial problem because the criminal violence that was suddenly happening in his body made Chris extremely confused and awkwardly flustered. He could picture those so-called ‘butterflies’ people often talked about being destroyed by some flamethrowers.

That’s the intensity I’m talking about.

With him frozen, you stopped for a second, wondering if he could’ve stepped wrong or if something had happened. You wouldn’t play an unfair fight just for the sake of mere decency. You felt a deep sensation trailing up and down your body, which awakened you enough to counterattack.

“Match point,” the referee managed to add.

Seungmin was perplexed, to say less. He had been a referee on several duels between you two and separately and never had seen such a quick build-up of a mysterious tension that magically appeared out of the blue. It was no secret to you, one of his closest friends in the club, that he was 100% sure you’d end up befriending Chris, but this?

Damn, he was proud of his intuition. Something was happening, and he had first-row seats!

“Hey, you ok?” You murmured low enough for Seungmin to not notice, approaching Chan just for him to realize how close you were and blush right away.

“D-duh.” He mumbled. You frowned.

Seungmin gave Chan a look before starting the following round. You couldn’t miss how his attacks looked weaker, his defence opening in front of you like a walk-in closet, his overall control getting smaller and smaller.

“13-14.”

You were… actually? Scratch that. You couldn’t really word it, but an anxious feeling crept inside you.

You were winning. Against Mr Bang Chan.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? No teasing, no flirty comments? He couldn’t… no, he wouldn’t just let you win, right?

That would be an ugly ass move from his side.

But unbeknownst to you, his side dealt with plenty of other issues.

Sudden flashes of unlived memories with a certain someone popped into his head.

“Your hair is so soft…”

“Can I sit on your lap till you’re done…?”

“You’re so beautiful it's breathtaking.”

“What’s a place like this doing around a pretty boy like you?”

“Shh, you’re safe, my love. You’re strong, plus I’m with you, and I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not a delicate flower, c’monnn…! Kiss me like you mean it.”

“Uh?” His eyes almost watered, equally astonished as scared, because what were those memories? How could they be there?

“Did something happen?” You whispered, baffled as to why he had lost all the cockiness in his manner and tone, sounding defenceless, like a small child.

“N-no? I think I just…”

Chris froze. What was he going to say? ‘Hey, I know you sorta hate my guts, but I suddenly feel like you’re the love of my life…?”

Because that sounded perfect. He almost snickered. What the fuck was going on?

“Guys,” Seungmin interrupted with a warning tone.

He hated to be that guy, but flirting in front of the building owner and the coach wouldn’t look too great on the club’s side.

You and Chan stepped out of the tense bubble that formed around you. Quickly, you took off your protective gear and smiled warmly at the two persons.

Chris’ chest tightened, his heart skipped a beat.

Since when did he find you… so…?

“Cute.” He whispered, before realizing his surroundings and quickly taking off his helmet too.

“Good morning,” Coach greeted kindly, to which you both smiled. “I’m guessing both of you have already met Mrs Delaney.”

“Of course, Mike.” She smiled, small wrinkles appearing in her eyes. “Glad to see you fencing.”

You felt a stone on your stomach when you quickly noticed how she stared at Chris, much different to when she looked at you. You hated that.

Chan smiled awkwardly. The last thing he needed right now was someone who looked at him like a sexy, filled-to-the-brim bank account. Fuck that.

“Is there any reason as to why you’re here?” Seungmin questioned, curious.

Mrs Delaney smiled. “ I was speaking to Mike about organizing a fencing competition as fundraising. It’s getting trickier to maintain this building, plus it could attract more members to the club. And you two are the star athletes, so what do you think?”

You blinked, surprised that she had acknowledged your presence and valued it as much as your opinion. It was evident she was there for the money, but let’s be realistic. You would do something similar in her situation.

“I’m up for it. That sounds fun.” You simply stated, not wanting to annoy the woman with anything else so she wouldn’t stare at your soul meanly again.

Chan gave you a look, then shrugged. “Why not. But I think that the more the merrier, so why not put up an add?”

Mrs Delaney’s eyes sparkled. “Such an inteligent young man. I’ll make one right away.”

Coach and her eventually left, but you felt a shiver run up and down you back when her last words before exiting were “See you next week, good luck!”

“Not to throw anyone under the bus, but I’m not the one explaining that to the rest of the club,” Seungmin flew away.

“Good luck then, Mr Bang!” You laughed teasingly as you left with your friend.

[☆ ☆⚔️☆☆]

“You’re bluffing.”

“I’m telling you, either he stubbed his toe with thin air or his muscles were cut with an invisible thread,” he slurped his noodles, concentrating on his explanation.

Kim Seungmin wouldn’t need to go to military service because he sure served in every scenario in his life.

“Guys like Chan don’t just freeze during a fight, girl. I’m surprised you’re not all ‘panties in a bunch’ about it.”

You deadpanned. “Ok, gross. One more of those, and I’ll puke my fried chicken.”

“But actually, why, though? Do you owe me money?” He grinned.

“You owe me. I’m winning that bet cause there’s no way in hell that Chan and I can get along. But, just look at him.”

Seungmin turned around shamelessly, staring at the dining table Chan’s friend group had picked. He was laughing at some joke you hadn’t caught, allowing you to notice his dimples. Cute.

Another intense shiver gave you chills.

"If that's supposed to be a hate stare, I'm going to start thinking my landlord is in love with me," Kim laughed cruelly.

"What? Shut up! Your landlord is such a bitch, don't even try." You threw bread crumbs at him, giggling. "Besides, me, in love with him?" You couldn't hold back looking at him again, in some way that felt different than before, and perhaps it would be the first time of many because you liked what you saw. The man's beautiful brown eyes focused on you, his brown hair naturally curly for a change, a bit shorter, enough so that exposed the white and sensitive skin of his neck, and although from the angle where you were standing, you couldn't see him fully, you felt amazed.

Shutting down. Rebooting.

"I mean, look at the way he slurps up his soup. What an asshole."

[☆ ☆⚔️☆☆]

The competition had arrived before you could notice. Several members had signed in, and the crowd felt bigger than on its opening day. You sighed, nervous. The semi-finals were today, so of course, several curious people would pop their heads to see what all the noise was for. For even more spice to your mood, your opponent wasn't 'Mr Bang' yet, but someone who was even more unbearable than him.

Lee Soomun.

He had no discernible personality, but if you had to say anything about him, the only thing that made him stand out from the rest of the rich gang is that the stick up his ass would probably be the thickest.

You tightened your fist around your épée, the fencing sword, and stared at it blankly.

"Hey, you are up next," A guy named Felix mentioned, his voice as deep as anyone could imagine. "Go there and make him shut his stupid ass mouth for once."

You high-fived him. "You bet."

Getting out of the locker room, a silhouette suddenly appeared in your way.

You sighed. "Do you mind?"

He smiled sheepishly, showing his stupidly cute dimples. "Mind? In my mind? You, all day, all night."

You weren't sure if that made sense or not. You frowned. "Well, I fucking mind." You almost walked past him when he grabbed your arm in a gentle yet decisive move.

"Don't get your eyes off his grip, Yun."

You were frozen. The fact that your surname had been mentioned by him, who you doubted even cared enough to remember... only his cold tone made you wake up again. You scoffed, shrugging him off in hopes to regain your lost focus.

"I know how to fence, dummy, but thanks for the pro tip."

He stared at your back as you walked away.

"Oh, fresh meat,” your opponent greeted.

Lee Soomun.

You may dislike Chan, but this guy was even worse.

"How many points should I let you have so you get your hopes up?" His snicker could've made you sick. "Seven? Nine? Oh, maybe you've never reached so many points in one fight..." He gave you a condescending look that was so infuriating. "Let's agree on six, then."

Fuck. Breathe in, breathe out.

The referee settled on his place, and you both stood en guarde.

The fight started. You weren’t holding back, you were trying your best right from the start.

But it just wasn’t working.

You were on your second minute-long break, and if the score didn’t change in three minutes…

“10-6”

Then you were going to lose. Game over.

The referee called you back to your spots. You felt pressure on your shoulders, the grip in your épée felt weak, and the mask felt heavy.

“Yun!”

Your body stiffened. You looked towards the source of the sound, confused to see Chris, who was entering his last round for the day.

What? Chan couldn’t just forget that screaming in a fencing fight was considered really rude.

But his raspy voice that said your surname so differently from others had made you aware and catious of your surroundings, his words repeating in your head.

What could he have noticed that was important enough for him to say it?

You shook your head sideways, in hopes of getting out of your anxious state and slowing down your heart rate. The referee called you up again, and you faced your opponent again.

“I told you. No more than six. So be good, yeah?” His tone made you feel repulsively small. You hated it.

You stood en guarde when suddenly you felt a stare piercing into you. It made your entire body shiver, and the rush was so intense you couldn’t even think about the fight anymore.

You felt heat hit you in your face, and the sudden intense emotions made you too dizzy to react before Soomun’s sword was right in front of you.

And just when you thought you had almost seen it touch your chest-

Wait, what?

It… didn’t.

You moved suddenly, facing the scoreboard.

Why did it score?

“But I wasn’t touched,” you whispered.

He laughed, a rather menacing sound coming from him.

And in that moment, something clicked. That’s what Chris was trying to tell you before.

He had a rigged épée.

You see, with electric épée fencing, which was the chosen one for the competition, scoring is done in the following manner: the tip of the épée has a push button on it with wiring that, when combined with the wiring on the body cord and box of the opponent, would form a circuit, which would then signal that a hit has occurred. But what Soomun had probably done was to rig his épée so that he could close the circuit himself. But how…?

"Don't get your eyes off his grip, Yun."

Of course.

He probably had some pressure-related device hidden in the grip of his épée whenever he would appear as though he got close enough to an opponent to register a hit then it would count as a hit.

He was cheating.

“12-6.”

And he was fucking winning.

Anger stroke you through your veins. You couldn’t deal with is. You weren’t going to lose against some cheater, you didn’t care who was going under the bus because of him because it wouldn’t be you.

That was your motto during the fight, but then, weird memories started appearing in your head.

“Mmm... your hands are warm."

"You're such a tease..."

"I'm not flirting... or am I?"

"I really can't get you out of my head."

"Kiss me."

"If you stick your tongue at me again, you might as well be prepared to use it."

"Who did this to you?"

The confusion hit you hard, an impulse making you shiver in a sudden motion.

"12-7."

You had scrunched your eyes in hopes of understanding what was going on in your head. You opened them in a sudden motion.

You had fucking scored? Holy shit. Holy shit!

You smiled, feeling the anxiety's pressure lighten on your shoulders, a piercing stare that could have burned holes in your mask, not even having any sort of effect over it.

"You had one instruction."

You couldn't see his expression because of the mask on his face, but solely his voice made you tremble.

No. It wasn't anxiety now.

That thing you were feeling as soon as the next round started was pure fear.

And it was seconded when not only was he one point away from winning but, when in a dirty move, he made you stumble in your stance, faking another touch.

"15-7."

You felt a sharp pain in your chest, the bitter taste of knowing you had lost because the contrary cheated felt worse than ever. The match had ended.

Game over.

You both had to step out of the competition place together. He took his mask off and smiled gently.

"Does it hurt?" He asked in a mocking tone.

Asshole. He had gotten closer on purpose, which made you stumble in the first place.

"Not as much as how it must hurt your mother to feel your disgusting presence." You murmured, a sentence filled with poison.

He frowned, angry again. "I'll fucking kill you. I'll fucking kill you. I'll fucking murder your face, fuck you."

But suddenly, he took a quick glance behind you to just tsk and smile a cruel, dirty-rotten smile. "Have fun!"

Fuck him. Fuck him.

You walked back to the most hidden corner of the locker room. Everyone was outside, probably celebrating with whoever they believed would be the champion of tomorrow's finals.

Then, the door opened quietly. A silhouette with broad shoulders approached your sulky corner in small steps and silently sat close to you. You hugged your knees close to your chest, tearing up silently, feeling somewhat mocked.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked in the softest, most soothing tone you've heard in a while.

You turned to face him with red, watery eyes that made Chris' heart tighten in his chest.

Instead of doing what his heart was screaming, he had to ask again.

"Do you want me out?"

When there was no response, he sighed and stood, ready to let you cope however you wanted, respecting your decision.

But he hadn't walked even two steps to the door when he felt a hand on his forearm, your sobbing not silent anymore.

"You won't laugh, right?" You whispered in between your cries.

His presence had felt like a sun ray shining through a snowstorm. Just by standing close to you, his sweet tone of voice almost lulling you to sleep, he made everything suck less.

Fuck, since when were you both so screwed?

He held you close, in the warmest embrace you had felt in a long time, so much that it allowed you to break into pieces in his arms, knowing that just by his side, you would be able to reassemble.

"It's ok, you're safe now. I'm so proud of you." Chris didn't know what to say, his hand mechanically running calming strokes through your hair.

After you had calmed down, still in the same position, you mustered your courage to ask what had been on your mind for a while.

"Why did you tell me about his rigged sword? And why be here, with me crying in some old locker room?"

Chan sighed. "I know... we have never been close, but I still worry about you. Maybe I have that because I always have taken care of my sister, but I care about everyone that I love." He shrugged, and you blinked.

God, a fucking sister. Of course. You felt so stupid.

He continued. " I thought you would've done the same if it was me, and I would have wanted to know. No one deserves to be left alone, princess." He explained, the nickname rolling off his tongue before he could rethink it.

You snuggled closer to him in a silent motion. He smiled sheepishly as he kissed the top of your forehead.

He gently swiped away your tears.

"I suck."

"You certainly do not, princess. It's not bad to cry. It proves how strong you have been." He said, tracing soft shapes on the back of your hand until he raised it and kissed your palm. You left it there, cupping his cheek, poking his dimple when he smiled. You smiled too.

"Princess, I think...?"

You interrupted him and gave him a small peck on his lips. You laughed as he stared at you wide-eyed. You grabbed his hand and stood, but he just kept looking at you from below.

"Get up, silly."

He smiled, grateful that you had cheered up.

"Is this kidnapping?" He joked.

"No. Let me grab my stuff and get changed."

"I'm scared."

You giggled. "You should be. I'm taking us both on a date."

"Where?"

"At this time, I would just go to my roommate's dance studio... care to join?"

He smiled, kinda excited. "If you insist..."

[☆ ☆⚔️☆ ☆]

~Kats, who is currently procrastinating five different projects, all due this week.

@iszaranothere because your absolute genius prompt list came right through a block like idek but tysm it made me laugh a lot T-T<3

P.D I KNOW THERE IS NO DANCING BUT YK LETS COUNT THE SWORD FIGHT AS A CHOREO + HC THAT THEY DANCED IN THE DATE LIKE IK IK BUT IT WAS TOO LONG ALREADY I STILL HOPE YOU LIKE IT THO

[balladedutempsjadis]

Ponniyin Selvan (The Book vs. Movie edition)

I've just today finished the five volumes of Kalki Krishnamurthy's epic historical novel Ponniyin Selvan, which was the basis for the two-movie series of the same name which I ADORED after I watched the first movie for the first time a couple of weeks ago. And ... I have some thoughts on the books and on the adaptation of the books. First of all, some general thoughts about the books:

I really wish I could read this in the original Tamil. In my understanding, these books are a beloved modern classic of Tamil literature, and the English translation, though perfectly fine and serviceable in terms of explicating the plot, rarely has memorable language.

Perhaps this is a function of the translation, or a different literary tradition, or the author's style (and I'll never really know which), but there is a lot of stuff that I can best describe as static. Actions and events are often described after they occur so as a reader, I felt distanced from what was going on in several scenes.

There are a LOT of coincidences (the entire Sembian Amuthan plotline is heavily based on coincidences) and repetition.

Even if I didn't know this was serialized, I would have guessed because of the repetition mentioned above, frequent flashbacks, and the padding out of some of the scenes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (it reminds me of Dickens' novels, which I happen to be quite fond of) but it's definitely a hallmark of the novels.

I felt sometimes that Kalki was having a bit of a struggle with the historical characters having to do what they did in history versus his fictional characters like Nandini being able to do what they wanted. So sometimes I felt the characterizations were a bit lacking (and I definitely skipped some of Sembian Mahadevi's musings, SORRY!)

Now for the differences between the books and film versions (SPOILERS FOR THE BOOKS AND BOTH FILMS BELOW).

In general, with one exception I'll talk about later, I think the scriptwriters did an amazing job of adapting this immense series to film. In fact, for a number of things, I think they improved the pacing of the narrative and cut out extraneous stuff that detracted from the momentum of the main story - these were things that may have worked in a serialized novel but would have drowned even a gigantic six hour film series. All that follows is just my opinion, of course!

First of all, a fair number of characters were just cut out of the story, which I thought tightened up the narrative. (For example, Manimeghalai was completely unnecessary IMO for the story to proceed and she really detracted from the scene between Aditha Karikalan and Nandini when Karikalan dies; the intensity of that scene would have suffered from having anyone else observe it.) Poonghuzhali's brother and father (her sister-in-law Rakkamal is still there but not related) are gone in the film version. And that's all fine, I think it would have made things more confusing and I don't even think a tv series would have been able to use ALL these characters. (Also, I think I like that Poonghzhali seems more stable in the movie.)

I also liked that they cut out the astrologer. I thought the book relied way too heavily on the astrologer's predictions and while that may have been an accurate portrayal of 10th century Chola society, it also removed the jeopardy from the characters. If Arulmozhi Varman's sister would be confident that nothing terrible could happen to him because of the lines on his palm, then it was really hard to generate suspense about him within the story. (I mean obviously as readers/moviegoers we might know that he became Rajaraja Chola and therefore survived the assassination attempts, but his contemporaries and the fictional characters in-universe didn't know that he would end up being a great king.)

For me, it was more powerful to see how much the kingdom mourned him and his family mourned him than to have his sister shrug and be like "oh well, the stars don't say he dies so he's probably alive." And the way that they mourned him also helped develop their characters (To be fair, I also can't figure out what Kalki believed re:astrology either, because occasionally the author's voice is very skeptical about the astrologer as well.)

More controversially, I think they were right to cut out the whole Senthan Amuthan storyline about being the real son of Sembian Mahadevi and the previous king etc. etc. The hidden identity heir business was just way too melodramatic for me even in the book, and I don't think it would have worked at all for me in the movies. I mean, SA doesn't really even have much characterization in the book anyway (he's there a lot and helps out when he can but other than the fact that he loves Poonguzhali and has a nice voice, I couldn't tell you much about him.) Plus that would necessitate that Fake!Madhurantaka be Nandini's twin etc. and that would also have not been believable.

Now ... onto the main characters books vs. movie:

Aditha Karikalan: I honestly liked him much more in the movies than in the books. He was the tragic hero of the movie, with a clear arc, and Vikram brought oodles of charisma to his role. But in the books, he was a lot more opaque to me (his love for Nandini is not his focus - so he maybe falls in love with Manimegalai? - and that moment where he chooses to die isn't as crystal clear.) Also, Book!Aditha is a bit of an asshole towards all of his friends, frankly, which movie Aditha is not.

His chief faults in the movie are that he's ruled by his emotions (which is both why he sins against Nandini by beheading an unarmed man - Veera Pandyan - in a fit of rage that Nandini is pleading for his life AND why he tries to atone for that sin by committing suicide, which of course doesn't actually solve anything and in fact embroils innocent people like Vandiyathevan in a horrible situation).I still think he wouldn't have made a good king, not least because he would not listen to ANYONE'S advice, whether that someone was his grandfather, his friend, or his brother or his sister.

Book!Aditha might have made a better King - he actually goes to Kadambur not just to see Nandini, but partly in order to find out and allay the different Chola clans and possibly cement one of their loyalties by marriage to MM, so I thought that made for an interesting contrast. Even in the books, though, Kalki compares how the people mourned Aditha (as a great warrior whose absence threatened their kingdom's survival) and how they mourned Arulmozhi when he was believed to be dead (as a beloved son/brother even if they didn't know him personally.) The book (and movie though to a lesser degree because it's so preoccupied with Nandini/Aditha) has a lot to say about power and responsibility (so there are constant contrasts between not just Aditha and Arulmozhi but between the Pazhuvettarayar brothers and Arulmozhi - for example, over whether the Chola kingdom should supply the army in Elangai or whether they should live off the land. AMV is much more farsighted and knows how important it is to not make a conquered populace feel subjugated because they will rebel.)

Nandini: I feel like she was a lot more fleshed out in the film than Book!Nandini, and as she and Aditha were the emotional focal point of the movies, it makes more sense. Her motivations seemed clearer to me, and I also appreciated that we actually found out what happened to her, and she didn't just disappear off the page. I also liked, as mentioned above, that they didn't bother with the False!Madhuranthakan who was actually Nandini's twin etc. I liked that they fleshed out the love story between her and Aditha and gave Kundavai a role and also showed how it was Aditha's impulsive declaration that she would be THE Chola Queen that directly led to Nandini - who had done nothing wrong - being unceremoniously bundled off to wherever. (Would I also have liked a little more of how Aditha reacted to his family's banishment of Nandini? I think I would. Like we got a little bit of that in PS1 when he blames Kundavai for being jealous but not much more than that?)

Kundavai was very awesome in both book and film, but she had a lot less to do in the second movie. As I mentioned above, I loved that she actually believed her beloved younger brother to be dead so we got to see her reaction compared to Aditha's. (Aditha basically goes into beast mode and is like “I can fight whoever to avenge my little brother” and Kundavai is, as usual, a lot more rational even in the depths of grief.) I also really liked that brief scene the film gave us with all three siblings together which was a nice addition to the story. I felt there were not very many differences between Book! and Movie!Kundavai - although the book definitely played up her influence over her younger brother a bit more. She is the mirror to Nandini and maybe Nandini would have been like Kundavai if she had not had such struggles in her early life? I do like that in both books and movie, the female characters are so strong (I mean, well-characterized) and different from one another.

Vandiyadevan is just a great character! His resemblance to D'Artagnan was even stronger in the books (he had time for even more adventures) and his verbal sparring with Nambi was great and nicely translated to screen, I thought. I did think his presence in Kadambur and his (partial) witnessing of Aditha's death and aftermath was handled with more pace and worked better for me in the film (again, no Manimegalai was a great decision. And the picnic that Nandini goes on with Aditha and Vandiyadevan and MM and others (I think?) It was late at night when I was reading and I was like WTF so I might be misremembering it) dilutes the Aditha/Nandini meeting a lot. Anyway, back to Vandiyadevan - still sooooo charming. I loved Karthi in this role and am going to watch Kaatru Velliyadai (although I understand he's very different in that one!) sometime this week. But I found Book!Vandiyadevan lovely as well. I think his character translated perfectly from book to screen.

Arulmozhi Varman - I thought the books would focus more on him than they did, given that he's the title character. And I was a little surprised that he still wasn't the main focus of the books (though there's more focus on him in the later volumes), but there were some nice little character moments that I wish could have come into the movie. (Though there were a couple of things in the movie that I also really liked which showed his character beautifully.)

I read Kalki's afterword about how the pivotal scene in all of the books is Arulmozhi Varman's sacrifice of his crown, because that is an amazing thing for any ruler to do, to voluntarily give up his own power and step back. The books talk about the Chola ancestor Sibi, who was willing to give up his own life to protect a pigeon from an eagle because the pigeon was under his protection. I believe we are meant to understand Arulmozhi's sacrifice in a similar light. He is all about protecting the realm, even if it means sacrificing his own ambitions and that makes him Sibi's worthy heir. (In the Mahabharata, Arjuna is the peerless warrior prince, but his brother Yudhishtira is the Dharmaraja - the best of all; and I think we are meant to see echoes of Arjuna (and his son Abhimanyu, alone in the midst of his enemies) in Aditha and echoes of Yudhishtira in Arulmozhi.)

The books and the movie handle this immense sacrifice a little differently; in the book, we get a lot more motivation for that action: AMV is steeped in the history of the Singhalese kingdom and horrified by how bloody their succession battles were (he references fathers killing sons and vice versa more than once) and he is super clear that he doesn't want to bring that mess to the Chola kingdom or cause a civil war or anything like that. But there are two more elements as well, that I mostly got from the book: he truly loves Vanathi and she has sworn an oath that she doesn't want to be empress, so he can't have both Vanathi and the throne (but it's also a political decision, since if he's King, and marries Vanathi, then he'll be seen as privileging her clan above all others unless he marries a bunch of other girls as well). I also genuinely think he also wants to go hang out with Vandiyadevan and have adventures (while also doing the necessary jobs of fighting pirates and expanding trade and all that other stuff.)

The movies don't make that explanation as explicit, but there is this golden thread of self-sacrifice that runs through Arulmozhi's scenes in the movies as well: first of all, he refuses to take the throne of Elangai, though it is offered to him by the monks who crowned all the kings of the island. (This happens in both the books and the movie, but the books make this a more political decision - AMV says Elangai is too small for the scope of his vision, and that he doesn't want it to look like he's setting up a parallel second kingdom to the Cholas in opposition to his brother - whereas in the movies, it is clearly a matter of dharma. And the movie really sells that.)

Then Arulmozhi jumps into a stormy sea to swim to a ship full of people who want to kill him, in order to save Vandiyadevan. (I mean also some breathtaking confidence in himself that he and Vandiyadevan by themselves can defeat the Pandya rebels. He definitely does not lack for confidence :)) I cannot believe I actually forgot about this and had to come back and edit this post.I guess I am too used for Arulmozhi being awesome for this even to register on the scale?

The third self-sacrifice is when Arulmozhi is recovering from his life-threatening fever amidst the Buddhist monks at Nagapattinam. In the movie, somehow the Pandya assassins find out he's there and rile up the crowd which threatens to destroy the monastery which they claim is hiding their beloved prince from them. Although AMV is encouraged to slip away to escape the Pandya assassins, he refuses to repay his hosts by allowing their monastery to be destroyed. So he goes out to face the crowd, despite knowing that he's putting his life in danger by doing this. In the movie, he makes a choice to reveal himself and once again we see that Arulmozhi will always privilege the good of the people under his protection (the people of Elangai, Vandiyadevan, the monks, and ultimately the whole populace of the Chola Kingdom) over his own desires, and even his own life if need be. Over and over again, he shows himself to be the true heir of Sibi. (I also thought the elephant-goad plot was REALLY well done in the movie; even knowing obviously that AMV survived this, I was SO tense during that entire sequence. The book version just wasn’t as tense. Anyway …) So in the movie we keep seeing WHY Arulmozhi will be the great king he becomes but also why he will not take the crown at the end - and by not taking it, he makes himself all the more worthy of it.

In the book, in contrast, he leaves the monastery because there's about to be a devastating cyclone and it's not safe there any more. His disguise is revealed against his will by Rakammal hailing him as the prince; he's not given any choice in the matter. And he has very good and valid reasons for not wanting to reveal who he is which are also an excellent lead-up to his giving up the throne. Book!Arulmozhi wants to avoid a civil war over the succession at all possible costs. And he knows the public is fickle and easily swayed (there’s a whole subplot about there are rumors that HE had Vandiyadevan kill Aditha Karikalan so he - AMV - could be crowned, which only one character says in the film and everyone ELSE is like “Arulmozhi would NEVER!” But in the books more people seem like they are could be swayed by that thought - and giving up the throne to his father’s cousin is one spectacular way to give the lie to those rumors. And here’s also me, getting so angry on behalf of a fictional /historical character ;))

I think the movie version and the book version of this event both work really well for their respective media in terms of establishing who this man is, and what his character is, which lead up to his ultimate sacrifice.

The last sacrifice is, of course, that he give up the kingdom that *everyone* wants him to have. I think in both the books and the films, it's clear that the weird succession situation from his great-uncle Gandaraditha's day (where the throne when to the younger brothers of the king, and then to Sundara Chola - AMV's father - Gandarathia's nephew - rather than to Gandaraditha's own son) was bound to create a locus for discontent and coups egged on by the enemies of the Chola Kingdom. And that internecine strife is, from Kundavai's and AMV's perspective, what killed their brother and even put AMV in line to the throne at all. (They don't know all the backstory about Nandini and Aditha's guilt and his essential suicide. Also, I think it’s an interesting contrast between Aditha Karikalan who offers to give up the throne - once to the council of plotters where he says he’d do it if he had an army to go get himself another kingdom, and once when he proposes to Nandini that they just run off together. Arulmozhi had his chance at a kingdom won by force of arms - Elangai - and said no, and when he gives up the throne at the end of the books/movies it’s for love of the country he was expected to rule, not for love of an individual.)

The one thing I wish the movies had done was flesh out the Kundavai/Vandiyadevan and Vanathi/Arulmozhi connections. The actors did a lovely job with what they were given just from facial expressions and eyes (Vandiyadevan looks hopeless in love in the course of a single conversation when he's dressed as Krishna's uncle) and I bought into Vanathi and Arulmozhi's love for each other with nothing more than him reading her message in PS1 and a couple of times they looked at each other (so much love for Jayam Ravi and Shobita Dhulipala's facial expressions which sold the connection), but IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE FOR BOTH THESE COUPLES TO HAVE A CONVERSATION! But I realize I've seen a couple of Mani Ratnam's Hindi films (Dil Se, and Raavan - though I really want to watch the Tamil version of that) and he does doomed romance very adroitly. (Although from reading the plots of his several other films, apparently he also does do happy endings sometimes and I sort of wish we could have shifted the focus from Nandini/Aditha A LITTLE BIT to maybe just get a tiny conversation between these two other couples the I also loved. But at least I got some crumbs in terms of the full videos of the songs of "Veera Raja Veera" (for AMV/Vanathi) and "Aga Naga" (for Kundavai/Vandiyadevan. (FYI, the Veera Raja Veera video song is super hot - Rajaraja Chola is looking at his beloved while she dances as though she is an extremely tasty snack he can't wait to sample :P)

ALSO, if anyone wants to make PS3 with these actors I WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER. In my head, it would be about Vandiyadevan doing wild stuff and flirting with EVERYBODY while Arunmozhi Varman sort of sighs and goes along with him to try and exercise some control over him* because Kundavai will kill him if anything happens to her boo, and they keep getting embroiled in weirder stuff and getting hit on the head (Vandiyadevan) and chilling out looking at Buddhist cave art and talking to elephants (AMV) and Kundavai just sits back and continues to run the kingdom (because she knows that AMV will not let anything happen to her boo). And of course, Nambi would be keeping an eye on both of them as well. Meanwhile, Vanathi is doing lots of dancing and going on some of the art tours with her husband, and also hanging out with Kundavai and rolling their eyes over their husbands. That would be totally fine!

*one of the things I loved in the books was that Vandiyadevan is influenced by Arulmozhi to be more truthful and upstanding, while Arulmozhi gets more devious after he meets Vandiyadevan. I feel this dynamic (along with the real-life bromance of Karthi and Jayam Ravi - every interview I've seen with them is the two of them having a great time!) would be AWESOME.

OK, this is insanely LONG again but I really enjoyed the novels and the movies - each medium enhanced the other for me, and in my head, the version of Ponniyin Selvan is what takes the parts I liked the best in movies and film. So Movie!Aditha and Movie!Nandini, BOTH the Vandiyadevans, Kundavais, Arulmozhi Varmans and Vanathis live in my heart :D

And I've also acquired Anirudh Kanisetti's Lords of the Deccan (which is more about the Cholas' predecessors and opponents like the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas) and Kamini Dandapani's Rajaraja Chola, which is about Ponniyin Selvan (but also about his predecessors and successors.)

[philtstone]

#7, 13, and 22 for the Psych ask game?

7. Favorite Gus moment?

ooooh this one is so hard! burton guster my forevergirl ... he has so many iconic and Big Ticket moments that stand on their own and aren't related to other characters, but the biggest hallmark of gus's character to me will always be how good of a friend he is -- and so all of the scenes that popped into my head are a bit more subtle. it's a tie between the scene in the thornburg virus episode where gus bursts into the hospital room to make sure shawn doesn't confess his feelings to juliet for the wrong reasons, and the scene in "one, maybe two ways out" when gus immediately calls shawn out for being unfair when shawn says its bothering him that juliet is with declan. something about those two scenes really exemplifies why i appreciate gus so much; he's not here to be nice, he's here to be a good and honest friend who values the people he cares about three dimensionally, and sometimes that means not giving them the easy way out. that's not an easy thing to do. for all that gus runs away when the murder and chaos gets too much, he's incredibly brave and forthright when it comes to his personal relationships, more so than any other character on the show. he's the kind of friend i always try to be, and so those moments always stick out to me the most.

an honourable mention to the entire cold open of "office space", though. also the line "goldilocks was a crazy blonde shorty shawn", which makes me fall to pieces laughing every time

13. Favorite secondary character?

who counts as a secondary character??? can i say henry?? can i please say henry??? henrys secondary enough right??? my henry apologia knows no bounds. favorite disaster father in the history of television, no question

22. How did you get into the show?

good question!!! its a very convoluted story lol so i;ll try to speedrun it. also sorry because this is going to get a little bit sentimental and possibly too sincere

i very much subscribe to the "sometimes you encounter a story when you Need It Most" theory and i think my relationship w psych really exemplifies that idea. so once upon a time, years ago, i tried starting it when i was still into brooklyn nine nine -- this was like, 2017 i want to say? and i was kind of immediately put off and never got past episode 1. because i was expecting b99, which psych is absolutely not. its characters are a lot more morally gray and the show's narrative structure isn't a sitcom -- it's a parody of a crime procedural, which i wasn't used to. lucky enough for me, the beloved people in my life made me sit and watch the highlight episodes a few years later, and of course i was charmed, because psych is nothing if not charming and i grew up reading sherlock holmes mysteries as a kid. holmes and watson are kind of inherently a hit. but i think i never really saw it as it was meant to be watched: gradually, and with the breathing room to really understand the characters in the subtle way the show reveals them to you. i also don't think -- and this may sound weird -- i was old enough to appreciate the Point of the show

when i saw it for the first time, the main characters were still Adults to me -- a nebulous concept for sure, because i was just 22 and they technically weren't that much older than me, but it didn't feel that way at all. they looked like grown ups, especially because i was mainly watching later seasons. i was also stuck at home, with my whole family surrounding me, and hadn't really faced the question of "well what the fuck am i supposed to do with my life now?" yet

this last year, i moved really far from home, permanently, for the first time. i am very close with my brother, and for the last 2 years had been lucky enough to be roommates with one of my best friends, who in turn had basically become like a sister to me. in the first few months after moving, i did live with family, but because i was working remotely from a house in the suburbs without a car, i was alone in the house all day. i started putting psych on as background noise because i remembered enjoying it, and it was something the two people i missed most loved ... and i very quickly realized that shawn and gus were 1) basically the same age as me, and 2) one of the few dynamics i'd ever seen on tv that accurately reflected what it felt like for your Person in life to be a sibling.

it was so comforting to have on in the background. it felt like my own siblings were in the room with me, trying their best and making me laugh! and the more i watched, the more i realized that psych, at its core, is a coming of age show .... about what to do when you hit your late twenties, look up, and realize you have no idea what you're supposed to do next. and it takes your hand, and says gently, "well, it's ok. you have time. you don't have to leave what's familiar behind, but you also need to be brave enough to go after something new. it'll be hard, but you'll figure it out with the people you already love, and meet new people you'll love on the way, too."

that oversimplifies it for sure -- but something about that just hit home so unexpectedly. its been so strange moving into this new phase in my life and feeling terrified that i'll be forced to leave the people most important to me behind because Thats Just What Happens When You Grow Up. to encounter this story that was so fun and clever and sincere that showed again and again the opposite of that sentiment was such a balm to my homesickness and truly made moving away a lot easier than i ever expected.

and its just good -- well written and funny and extremely creative, and while it has its imperfections, it sticks the landing at the end, which has always been the most important thing to me, really. so anyway. now im here 5 months later and i think ive dragged like 6 people down with me in the last month, lol. theres probably more to say here but suffice it to say that because of all that, there will always be something very special about this show to me

[soft-persephone]

Jake Johnson Bonus Facts

Girl dad of two twin girls. The inteview playlist will go into details for you.

He was married his whole acting career!

Very sweet.

He built this log cabin during the pandemic and even did some of his zoom interviews in it.

We now know, I don’t remember if it from an interview with another podcast or on his own, he revealed that the photographers asked him if he wanted to put on shoes first before they started and he said no.

They are in his backyard and he’s one minute away from a pair of shoes, and he said no, for no reason at all.

That’s why we love him. (Or me at least. I can’t actually speak for you guys.)

I forgot three movies for part one, but also, tumblr won’t let me add any more photos to part one, so it’s fine. However, So sorry!

Ceremony

One of the first big movies he’s done. I don’t have all the facts on it, but it does have the earliest release date of most of his movies, so it’s safe to assume.

He’s not the main character, but he does have somewhat of a large role to the plot of the movie.

I’d argue it’s still worth watching!

Lee Pace is in it! As well as Uma Thurman!

It’s about this young guy who’s in love with this married woman and somehow he ends up at their wedding retreat and keeps trying to win her back, but she’s kinda leading him on. . . Or maybe she isn’t and he’s delusional.😏

Maybe it’s trying to be deep, maybe it’s not, but Jake Johnson is funny and he does drunk wacky uncle brother so well.

It’s not as intense as I’m making it sound.

It’s actually a joy with sentimental moments.

And also like watching a car wreck level of drama.

No Strings Attacthed

Mid 2000s typical romcom with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman.

Ludacris and Mindy Kaling is also in it!

That’s it. That’s the movie.

Jake Johnson is the wacky guy best friend of the main guy and he doesn’t have a lot of time in it, but it’s not a super long watch and he has a horrible goatee in the first few scenes. So that’s pretty fun to see.

And his character has an odd nice guy side quest romance going on with another girl.

It’s supposed to balance out how assholey the main couple gets to each other sometimes, but not really.

Imagine if hallmark was fancy and had a bigger budget and wasn’t afraid to say fuck and show sex.

Also!

This movie got him Nick Miller on New girl.

I think the writer of new girl was working on this movie and she liked him in this and it played a part in him getting picked for his audition!

Safety Not Guaranteed

A wacky movie about these journalist trying to find a bug story and the woman of the group deciding if local crazy guy actually can time travel or not.

Despite how wild the plot is, it is oddly super romantic and endearing…….or maybe it’s the part of my brain that finds the oddest things romantic because it wasn’t presented in a typical romcom formula.

Jake is a little mean in this one if I remember correctly, but I think that’s something we all like about him. He’s fun to watch when he’s angry or mean or yelling or maybe I’m just telling on myself.

It’s not my favorite, but it was a super fun to watch. It’s well made and if nothing else gets you, the suspense of knowing if the guy is really crazy or not will.

More fun facts!!!

He loves talking business so there’s more in common with him and Doug Renetti than you might think. It’s a bit of his. He does this a lot on his podcast We’re Here to Help.

He loves doing indie movies.

He has love for everything he does and truly won’t take a role if he doesn’t like it in some way or feel like he would enjoy the experience from working on it or working with the other people there.

He lives for collaboration and a group effort and team work. Which he talks all about in some of his interviews.

He likes having a say so on his character and trying to do as much as he can with it, and if you ask me, it shows in everything he does, and it’s a part of why all of his charters have a certain Jake Johnson feel to all of them. However, he is still a good actor and they are very distinct in their roles and purposes for each and every show.

He’s just, very good at his job.

He also talks a lot about his life in certain interviews and I tried to compile them in a playlist that you can find on

This post.

If you are a sports fan, go to YouTube and search Jake Johnson Chicago Bears or Cubs or ..sports…

I’m not sure tbh.

He looks homeless sometimes, especially during the pandemic interviews, but I am used to this and find it endearing. If you’ve never seen him look like this and are weirded out or disgusted, I am sorry and not sorry.

I only watched them because i can listen to him talk about anything. I just like hearing his voice and looking at his face.

It’s amazing background noise when you have to work or study. Some of these sports podcast are so long and go on forever.

If you want help finding access to some of his more hard to find movies, please let me know and I will help as much as I can. Do not hesitate to dm me for any additional information

Thank you for reading, and I really hope these two posts have helped!

[spicyspiders]

I know it’s late but I wanna know if you could write anything Peter Parker x Male Reader on Valentine’s Day

Four days later, but it's the thought that counts! Hope you like it.

“I saw the news, are you alright?” You asked when Peter came in through your window.

When Peter yanked his mask off, you could see his bottom lip trembling, which only increased your worry. 

“They broke your gift,” Peter said in a choked off voice. He pulled open his backpack and dumped out the contents. It was a mix of candy, candles, and a vinyl record. Or you guessed that what it was supposed to be. 

You picked it up from off the floor. It was, in fact, a vinyl record. One from one of your favorite artists. You placed it carefully on your bed before stepping up close to Peter. 

“Hey,” you whispered, “did they hurt you?” You asked. If you could choose a power, it would probably be X-ray vision, or the power to accelerate another person’s healing. You wished you could see through his suit to easily check for any injuries, but you weren’t the super-powered one. 

“I don’t care about that,” Peter responded, all but falling into your chest and burying his head in your neck. 

“Well I do,” you ran a hand through his hair, trying to make him feel better. 

“Those criminals will be picking webs out of their hair for weeks,” he grumbled. 

“Thatta boy,” you ran a hand down his back, trying to find the zipper to get his suit off. 

“Woah, buy a guy dinner first.” 

“That's what the candles are for.”

Peter stepped back to pull off his suit and went and fished around in your dresser for the clothes he had in there, “I know that we agreed that I would bring the candles and you would cook dinner this year, but I wanted to give you more than candles,” he said sadly. 

“I know, Peter,” you stepped up to wrap your hands around his waist and press a kiss to the back of his neck. 

“I am really hungry,” Peter said, breaking the silence after you stood there for a moment simply holding him. 

“Go get the candles,” you said, but you didn’t let him go, only pressed your smile into the back of his neck. 

“Are you sure we can’t just fill up on the candy I brought and watch a shitty Valentine Hallmark movie?” Peter asked. 

You took a moment to think before you moved away, “grab the candy too,” you said. You left out of your room and headed into the living room, Peter trailed after grabbing the candy. 

Sometime later, you sat beside Peter, practically in his lap, feeding each other candy. The vinyl lay on your bed, forgotten by the both of you as you watched the television as the two main characters professed their love to each other.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

3, 4, 7, 9 (outsiders asks)

EEEEE thanks for the ask anon!

3. Favourite character outside the main seven

Tim Shepard! I feel like Hinton threw mentions of him and Curly in there as a sort of foil to Darry and Ponyboy's dynamic but I have SOOOO many headcanons about him (and Curly and Angela too).

PS. The only reason I said Tim and not Angela is because she's not technically mentioned in the book. Angela is my favourite outsiders universe character ever and since theres not enough content for her I've decided I have to make my own lmao

4. Rank the main seven

OOF omg ok this was a hard one

First, Steve. Probably seems really random and unpopular but I feel like theres so much depth to his character that there just wasn't enough book to provide. We know he has a rough background and a soft spot for Sodapop and that Ponyboy's narration of him is biased since he thinks Steve doesn't like him. Tbh tho I think Steve really does care about Ponyboy in his own way, it's just hard for Ponyboy (and probably a lot of younger readers to see). My love of Steve was kind of an evolution but I can firmly say he's my favourite out of the gang atp.

Second, Darry. My man was a 20 y/o whose parent died who had to give up on his dreams to raise two younger brothers who he loved so much the feelings bled off the page. He NEVER should have hit ponyboy and it was such an out of character moment for him- AS IT WAS INTENDED TO BE. I have a LOT of thoughts about him but as someone who has grown that I'm almost the same age as him I cant IMAGINE having gone through what he went through and dealt with it as well as he did. My man needs more recognition.

Third, Ponyboy. He's such a dumbass and a weirdo but so reltable and sarcastic and profound. He's a main character who never gets in the way of other main characters and he's so quintessentially 13 that reading his story when I was that age fundamentally altered my brain chemistry and I haven't been the same since.

Fourth, Johnny. He was the gangs favourite for a reason and such a good friend to Ponyboy. I feel like the fandom infantilizes him sometimes, which is partially due to Ponyboy's narration, but the book makes it clear he's a really tough kid who looks like trouble but isn't. He's such a prime example of how the lottery of birth can fuck up someone's life. He is so tragic to me because he never had a chance.

Fifth, Sodapop. I know he's a fan favourite and I'm not saying I don't like him, but he's just kind of...boring? imo. Like, not much there, and not as much depth as some of the other characters. maybe its because we see a lot more of him in Ponyboy's thoughts but I'm not curious about him the way I am about some of the others.

Sixth, Dally. He's not likeable- but he is, as johnny said, gallant. I know it was by design that he's mysterious but I wish we got more backstory for him. I've just never connected to him the way I connected to other characters.

Seventh, Two-Bit. Again, probably unpopular and I know he's a fandom favourite but to me his issues have always jumped out more than his redeeming qualities. His alcoholism is a hallmark of his character, and i think at one point Ponyboy mentions he's a dead weight on his family's finances. He also has a little sister that's Ponyboy's age thats mentioned like once? I just feel like he's kind of a deadbeat for his family if that makes sense.

7. Favourite non romantic relationships. i could (and probably should atp, whoops this got long) make a whole other post about this but:

darry and ponyboy's relationship

johnny and ponyboy's friendship

steve and sodapop's frienship

johnny and dally's relationship

9. Favourite scene/moment from the book?

When Ponyboy runs directly into Darry's arms as soon as he sees him at the hospital. Gets me right in the feels every time.

Bonus: the moment when that guy tells Ponyboy he shoudn't smoke and he's all confused, like why? theres not a no smoking sign? and the dude is just like uh? but youre a kid? it's just such a stark reminder that while Ponyboy has grown up sheltered in some ways he has absolutely not been in others and his background is really rough and agh it gets me every time its such a clever scene.

ANYWAY this got longer than i meant it to, whoops. Thanks ever so much for the ask :)

[elatedandexasperated]

So there's been some discussion on RWRB actually being a "gay movie"

Most posts I've seen have more or less summarized that the movie is effectively a "straight romance" featuring a mlm coupling, which annoys me a bit. I can't say that this take is entirely wrong per say - I mean, I've called it basically a Hallmark movie, which I still think is true - but it's not devoid of queer experience like a lot of people seem to think it is...

and that "Hallmark" comparison, which I still stand behind, I feel comes more from structure than content.

You can take the film at face value or read deeper into it and still find a case for this argument. Most of this pertains to the movie alone, I'm personally in the camp that if you're going to analyze a piece of media, it should stand on its own. So while the book may have different expressions and levels of inclusion, remember, it's a book, not a 2-hour time boxed movie

Production

Right off the bat we have the movie's production. I'm not going into speculation on TZP or NG's sexuality out of respect, neither have confirmed or denied being part of the community and that's frankly their business and privacy. In a bit I will go into the text of the film regarding the characters, but I don't want to drag the actors into this any further than saying they did an excellent job portraying the characters.

Lopez, though, who is publicly out as gay, as well as McQuistion who is NB, have both put their messaging and perspectives on queer experience into the book and by extension the film and that much is very clear through things like the inclusion of Intimacy Coordinator Robbie Taylor Hunt (another Gay man) as a way of trying to keep the intimate scenes grounded and realistic. So in the production alone there were clear attempts to visually represent authentic queer experiences. I think this is honestly the main reason why the main relationship is so compelling: the actors vibed well with each other (to the point that it was the initial feud that seemed contrived and unrealistic, which is just hilarious to me) and the coordinator worked with everyone collaboratively to keep things grounded, realistic, and to prevent it from going too far into the realm of fetishization from a visual standpoint.

As for the writing, we obviously are going to see most of the relatable queer experiences pop up in the lead roles:

Henry

Henry's character is arguably where the representation of queer experience is most explicit - at least from a level that regular (read straight) viewers would get without a lot of hand holding. At a surface level there's the classic "what will my family think?" questioning and general anxiety of being outed. Most of us in the community can relate to that, but in all honesty this is pretty standard fare and not the meat and potatoes of why I wanted to write this, what I am now realizing, unreasonably long rant breakdown *inhales*

ANYWAY.

At a deeper level though, Henry's struggle isn't so much internal as it is external. Yes there's internal angst still about being able to love openly, but in the film it's pretty clear that a good chunk of his family is aware of his sexuality (the statement that the king had a conversation with him when he was 18, him being open with Bea, etc.); He's also pretty confident in his sexuality already (he fairly easily explains his sexuality to Alex, and has confidence in his sexual experience). I'll go into this when we talk about Alex more, but I think this stems from the characters being aged up, but what this also does is shifts the narrative from simply "coming out" to dealing with abusive relatives and power systems after you've come to terms with who you are as a person, and then finding the strength to actually fight them once you've built up your support network.

And progress isn't linear for anyone on this - we relapse, mourn old relationships with people and family we thought would support us, and sometimes silence ourselves because "it's easier"; we see this happen with Henry pretty explicitly when he runs from the lake house. The reconciliation with Alex isn't flawless either: Henry requests time and patience with things so he can slowly begin his process of actually tackling the issue of how his sexuality and relationship with Alex relates to and impacts his professional duties. Alex, in true found-family style, gives him the support that he both wants and needs at that point in the story.

Alex

Alex's portrayal in the film I think has been the more controversial of the two (Not in terms of actor choice, TZP is a fantastic actor... Also fine as hell but that's beside the point). Most people who read the book criticize his relatively short "Bi-panic" period and how they felt it was more fleshed out in the book. Again, we're dealing with a time boxed movie here, so obviously the book will have more details. That being said, I don't think it was as unrealistic as people make it out to be if you dig a bit. This part gets a bit speculative, but stick with me here.

While I can't relate to a Bi coming out being a gay man and all, I think people should look at some context regarding the character's background: Alex is an incredibly flirtatious, personable, and media-savvy character who is also steeped in left-leaning politics. He knows what bisexuality is and given that he had a few same-sex experiences, has probably come to terms with that before his conversation with Nora in her office. In that scene he even stated that being into guys was something he understood for himself, his main source of "panic" was more the realization that he was specifically into Henry, someone he was actually angry and antagonistic with for several years.

As for why he seemed trepid first telling Henry he was Bi, and this is speaking from experience, there's a huge difference between coming to terms with who you're attracted to and putting a label on it for the first time, even to yourself. I think TZP acted that awkwardness well, especially in the Paris scene where, to shift gears a bit, the driving queer experience is Alex's inexperience with going that far with other guys, something most of us go through at some point. And again, in good, supportive fashion, Henry guides Alex through the process without judgement.

Alex and Henry

Both Alex and Henry are older in the movie than they are in the book, a fact that Lopez confirmed via interview. Even though it's only a few years, there's a huge difference in understanding your identity between your late-teens/early 20s and your mid 20s (generally speaking, people can come out at any age and that's completely fine. Everyone deserves to come out at their own pace and in their own way). With this, I think they did a good Job shifting the narrative from the more internal conflict of "who am I", which is very common in teen-centered dramas, to the more nuanced experience of figuring out how "Who I am" is going to impact your relationships and professional life, which I think is more befitting older characters. With Alex, it's how it will look to voters/impact on his mother's reelection AND how it impacts Henry's professional responsibilities; with Henry, it's his duties to the royal family and appearances.

*PHEW*

There's a lot more too when you dig. A personal... Um, well "favorite" isn't a great word, but you get my point - is how some members of the community will actively sabotage others for personal gain: Miguel outing them for the sake of professional ambitions (and maybe some light petty retribution for Alex dumping him, wherein Alex was justified) is unfortunately a pretty common experience.

I'm sure that there will be more to add for this if there's a sequel, which I hope there is and that they bring McQuiston in for (talk about marketing: she writes the outline based on the movie and the novel based on the first book which releases at the same time as the second movie. People would go nuts I'm sure).

Asides

We as a community spent years reading into media to find scraps of representation because that's all we could get, but I think we're not great at reading into it with more explicit movies that, while maybe building themselves off of "traditional" genre frameworks, still have those queer experiences. I think we set our standards too high sometimes because we are so starved for representation. What we got in this movie is, at least in my opinion, decent representation and authentic experiences for many people in our community, it's just subtle and maybe requires a deeper read of a character or scene. I picked up on some of these points and I hope other people can see some of the arguments I'm making here.

As a complete aside, I think we've been brainwashed a bit to think that "queer experiences = struggle" automatically and we're too quick to disregard queer media as "not gay enough" if there's not a suitable amount of angst or a particular identity isn't represented (This is NOT me minimizing the struggles of the LGBT+ community, just making a statement that maybe we shouldn't hinge our identities and portrayals in media on such negative experiences). Gay stories don't have to be tragic or full of existential crisis as it pertains to our identity. And while maybe unrealistic, some good fluff is healthy to see alongside the angst. As we progress as a culture and we become more accepted, struggle hopefully becomes less and less a unifying aspect of queer identity and we'll be able to see that reflected in our media.

tl;dr

I think the movie has more going for it in terms of queer experience than people give it credit for, it's just not what's typically seen in visual media and is buried in there a bit deeper. Just because it's a "Hallmark movie" structurally and plays into tropes doesn't mean it's not gay.

[mooremars]

Just thinking about how absolutely wild the structure of Camelot's songs are within the context of the show. I am sure people have been saying this for 60 years but I want to talk about it now. Like I do genuinely love it but what were they thinking????

The first scene has 3 songs and a reprise. And depending on the version, different amounts of Guenevere starting us off.

Arthur in fact has two songs in the first scene. At least using 2023 as an estimate for timing, he will not sing again for over 45 minutes. After that, over an hour (including intermission). He is the main character. I know a hallmark of most versions is that he can't sing for shit but still.

The way The Simple Joys of Maidenhood barrels straight into I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight like I don't think you're supposed to stack two songs immediately on top of each other in this way.

Genny also has two songs in the same scene later. And this time no one else is getting one in between. The middle of act 1 is for her.

Really all of act 1 is for her because more than half of the songs in it at least prominently feature her. And no one can catch up in act 2.

It's not even close. She has three full songs basically to herself, another one that's probably like 80%, a reprise that's mostly her, another solo reprise in 2023, except for 2023 another song with just her or with Lance, and one song with Arthur.

Iconic

Arthur has four major songs and then the tiny slices of Camelot reprises while Lance only has two or three. Even I can do this math, Genny wins by a landslide.

Depending on the version, the main couple either doesn't have a song together or has a song but it isn't even a love song. They all just sing about each other. Sometimes in front of each other. But together... nah.

There are no songs with the three leads and in fact there are like twice or three times the number of songs with one or two people singing than songs with more than that. I don't know the normal ratio but I feel like usually there's more ensemble stuff.

And like obviously act 1 ends with a monologue and that is brilliant and the best decision ever but also extremely weird that then the last song before intermission is sad Genny.

I am no musicals expert but literally none of this seems to make sense to me and yet it all somehow works and I'm obsessed with it.

[sage-nebula]

A trend I've noticed cropping up into Pearlina works that has started bugging me a little is the tendency to make Pearl masc/butch while Marina is femme. Which, on the one hand, at least people aren't making Marina butch just because she's Black, which is something a lot of fandoms do to Black women due to racism. But on the other hand, it's still not true at all to Pearl's character and, more to the point, I think it's bugging me because I feel like it's heteronormativity applied to a queer couple.

I mean, these are fictional characters so at the end of the day it's not a big deal. But this is something we (i.e. queer people) face all the time. Like as a lesbian, I've had to have the "well one of you would have to be the man" talk with my father multiple times because although he understands on some level that we're both women, there's a part of him that's like, well, one person still fulfills the Masc Role and one person still fulfills the Femme Role. And it doesn't help that I'm gender nonconforming and always have been (to the point where, even as a child, I would get my older relatives to purchase my clothes from the boys' department because I, an otherwise extremely well-behaved child, would pitch fits if made to wear feminine clothing). So like in his mind I'm the Masc Role, which I mean, true, but that still doesn't make me "the man," I'm still a woman, and a cis woman at that. But this is sort of veering away from the point.

The point is, in a wlw relationship, sure, sometimes one of the women involved is butch and the other is femme. But also, sometimes both women are butches. And sometimes both women are femmes. And being butch or femme isn't always about how you dress anyway. And sometimes people like to change up how they dress depending on the day, and so on and so forth. But I feel like, at least in fandom, sometimes fandoms take queer couples in fiction and they still subconsciously box them into Masc and Femme roles. This happens both with wlw couples and mlm couples. Because we're raised in a very heterocentric society, we'll often subconsciously apply the heteronormative relationship patterns onto these queer couples in our art and fiction without even realizing we're doing it.

And I think it's happening here because Pearl's personality is very rough-and-tumble. Pearl is loud, she's assertive and can be aggressive when she's protecting those she cares about, she's not afraid to fight and get messy, she's reckless and brave and has a stereotypical "masculine" personality. This contrasts with Marina (intentionally), who is sweeter, more gentle, more openly affectionate, more cautious, et cetera, and overall has a more stereotypically "feminine" personality. So people are like, okay, Pearl has the more stereotypical "masculine" personality, so we'll make her the Masc/Butch one, and Marina the Femme one. Which, again, at least they're not going the racist route with Marina. I do appreciate that.

But it's still is a stereotype that doesn't really fit Pearl, and when I look at some of the fanart, it still doesn't square. Of course people can draw what they want, and I have reblogged some of it, and I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad. But I am just saying, Pearl is VERY feminine in her dress and presentation. Yes, Pearl has a brash personality, but actually take a moment to look at her, in both Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3. Here are hallmarks of Pearl's wardrobe and design:

Traditionally feminine colors in pastel shades: pinks, creams, and yellows/golds

Shiny jewelry, such as rings, necklaces, and most notably jewel encrusted crowns

She wears dresses; her main outfit in Splatoon 2 is a dress, she wears her baggy hoodie in OE like a dress, and she has a gold sparkly dress under Marina's her jacket in Side Order

Pearl is princess themed all over (hence her stage name of MC Princess), and it shows! She's very feminine. She loves being pretty. Yes she has short hair, but it's a cute, feminine bob. Yes, she has a rough-and-tumble personality, but that doesn't have anything to do with how she loves to dress up in girly pastel dresses (or hoodies that she can wear in such a way that they look like dresses) to look pretty. This squid contains multitudes. (And if you're like, "But what if she ruined her pretty dresses?" well, she's filthy rich, so what does she care? She'll just buy a new one lmao.)

And yes, I am aware that when Pearl was in her heavy metal phase before meeting Marina, she did dress in a black punk outfit, complete with pants. She is also wearing a black version of her OE hoodie in my icon, which comes from a Famitsu render. (At least I believe it was a Famitsu render.) But as I mentioned before, people can change their styles every now and again, and at least for the past 5+ in-game years, Pearl has not only been doing hip-hop instead of heavy metal, but has also been dressing a lot more feminine and in much brighter colors. Who knows? Maybe meeting Marina brightened up her outlook, and that inspired her to brighten up her wardrobe :)

And none of this is to say that Marina should be depicted as butch, because she absolutely should not! Marina is ALSO very feminine! Yes, Marina likes to wear pants, but pants aren't automatically masc, and she still wears a lot of feminine tops, pumps, et cetera. Both Pearl and Marina are feminine.

Again, I'm not trying to police what anyone can or can't draw or depict, but it just started to bug me a little in a, "This is the same heteronormative pattern I often see" kind of way, and also a, "This is not true to her character" kind of way as well. Especially as a lesbian woman who, again, is GNC and not feminine at all. Trust, I would love more honest representation of women like me, but Pearl is just not that. She's a sparkly, high-femme, rowdy little princess. And I love her just the way she is.