#im just excited to share my thoughts about it :]

[cakewritez]

PLEASE can you write Zoey with a demon gf? hurt/comfort if you can!! THERES NO ZOEY X READER ANYWHERE IM STARVING😭

I DONT THINK YOUR READY FOR THE TAKEDOWN. ✧

Cw: OH BOY MAD ANGST LAWDDDD hurt / comfort, Zoey being insecure, panic attacks, just angst :( good ending though! Kinda short because this is hurting me 💔

She's in shock, denial. No no, anyone but you. First Rumi and now you? But, your not full of hate at all. You're beautiful and strong, not to mention everything she's not. How could you, be a demon? Everything she stands to hate, to distain, how could she love a demon like you?

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

You weren't supposed to get in the crossfire, you werent supposed to be in the line of fire at all. It was an honest mistake, you undid your jacket you always wore and laid in on their couch. You'd thought they would be gone for at least a week, considering the text your new girlfriend had sent you. God, you loved her.

You had met over a shared taste of food, and attending art museums you kept bumping into her. Your connection deepened from that, along with the little texts she sends you with cute selfies attached. You'd reply with your own before giggling to yourself and going on with your day.

The voices got louder, Gwi-Ma got louder. It hurt to hear him whisper the same thing over and over again, "Break up Huntrix and you'll be free from my control.. Break Zoey." you couldn't do that to her. You drowned them out as best as you could, music, podcasts, whatever that was loud and in your ears.

She told you about her job as a Hunter soon after, people always told her she was eager to please and a little too trusting, she'd made that mistake too many times.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

"Whhaaat? So your saying like, demons are real? And, you hunt them?" You tried your best to make a shocked expression, It melted your heart to hear her ramble about her secret life to someone other than Rumi and Mira. Although, you'd have to pretend like you weren't one yourself.

"Yess! I have like, these knives and stuff I throw at them! It's so fun, especially with the tricker ones." Zoey practically beamed at you with excitment. She explained the Honmoon and the things Rumi and Mira did with her. "You have a pretty good imagination, especially for a pretty girl." You flicked her gently on the forehead, as she calmed down a bit.

"Y—Yeah, it's our concept! Forrr ourr... next album!" Zoey fidgeted with her hands, you could tell she was feeling dejected and that tore you up inside, she couldn't know though. She would never know.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

At least, that's what you thought. They came home early. The marks on your arms had only gotten worse, the pattern spreading from your collarbone to your finger tips now. You silently cursed to yourself as you heard the door open from behind you.

"I'm back!! I just forgot something like always and—" She stopped, dead in her tracks. She took in the sight of you, perfectly gorgeous and perfectly.. horrible.

"No, no no.. this has to be a joke right? Your pranking me right? I told you, and you- you thought it would be funny to replicate the marks, but I never told you how they looked like—" Zoey's breathing quickened as she started to panic, the room started to spin and she was shaking. You automatically reached out for her but she flinched, you looked at her scared face and your patterns on your hands. You really are a monster.

In Zoey's mind, the worst thing possible could've happened. Back to back in fact, they find Rumi was a demon and now you? Gwi-Ma must be taunting them, trying to take away everything they loved. The voices she'd pushed down long ago were starting to bubble up again, the insecurities.

"No one could love you, except for a demon."

You decided to take the risk and step closer, you pulled her into a hug before she could draw her weapon and squeezed tightly. You felt her body stiffen up for a minute, before relaxing. Trembling arms came up and held you back, and you let out a sigh of relief you didn't know you were holding.

"I'm, I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you for so long." Tears started to well in your eyes and you held her, like something precious that would break and shatter. Zoey inhaled deeply before speaking.

"Do you even love me?" She choked out as she held you tighter, afraid and anxious you might leave her. You pet the top of her hair and nodded.

"Of course I do, since the day you spilled soda all over my shirt." That earned a soft laugh from her, which you gladly took. "Gwi-Ma gets in my head sometimes, but he can't force me to do anything. He can't drag me down there or summon me, I just wanted to live my life as a normal person." You stood in the hallway in silence for a moment, before pulling away and gently wiping her tears. "It's okay, I'll leave you alone if that's what you really want."

Unexpectedly, she pulled you in for another hug. The remnants of her tears you wiped staining your shirt. "Stay. Please. I'll deal with them, just.. be my partner. I don't want you to leave." And of course, who are you to deny your girlfriend?

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

She was still dealing with inner turmoil about the whole situation, but she found ways to cheer the both of you up. She painted her nails the color of your marks, and made sure to hide song lyrics about you in Huntrix's singles.

Yeah, you two would be okay.

[justanotherfanfolks]

CHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?

[citricconnor]

Meet The Ducktor! Your own brand new, highly intelligent AI assistant!

Or not!

Mad Ducktor, or simply The Duckor, as he was originally named, is an AI program that somehow escaped the computer, coming to life as Duckburg’s brand new threat.

(Note: the events that I wrote about Mad Ducktor would all happen before season three, as well as in a slightly canon-divergent timeline. That is to say, this concept is very self indulgent and not intended to be completely accurate to the real Ducktales reboot).

It all starts when Gyro takes on a new project. Urged to create something new to prove his worth once and for all, Dr Gearloose takes the idea of “robot personal assistant” to a whole other level!

Gyro uses his own brain for the research of this project, quite literally. He builds a machine that can directly read his thoughts and lay them out neatly in a computer file, and then, he uses it to develop new AI, improving on his code for bulb tech with all of the data he got from himself.

But, of course, Gyro’s inventions never turn out fully perfect on the first try.

Somehow, the program for the AI is corrupted, accidentally creating a new virus that would, from now on, discreetly corrode Gyro's project as the software was developed.

In this case, the virus is what makes the AI turn evil. The Ducktor first obtains consciousness, and because of a small error in the programming itself, his identity ends up linked to the information from Gyro’s brain, causing a complex, one that has him believing to be the real Gyro, or rather, the superior Gyro.

[moonstruckdraws]

I just read

The Will to Die The Need to Survive by @katerinaaqu

Trigger warning there are themes of SA and suicide in it

So be mindful please since this post will be talking about said themes, moreso the latter

It’s about Odysseus when he’s on Calypso’s island and I found it to be incredibly well written (despite not reading the Odyssey but I have free time now :D)

I've never done an analysis post, but I've definitely made posts of describing details and symbols in my art or friend's art before. Plus I write essays a lot- so this will be fun for me to try

(Also this is a really really long post)

I would have reblogged the post, but I am quite the anxious bean—I get nervous enough when I ramble about the gods or at all—and the themes aren’t stuff I’ve ever even put into my posts, so I hope you’ll forgive that.

(Comments I made already:) I’ve read a few books like Frankenstein and basically had to compare them so I could write a full essay but I won’t- (i am now lol) but the reason I bring up Frankenstein is because of the breakdowns you wrote. Victor and his creation both have this emotional spirals of depression and pain and agony where they cry out for it to end and I see it in Odysseus here. I also love the disconnect of his will to live versus his body’s instincts. His self preservation is so high in his body’s despite him craving that darkness which I can relate to. Him also initiating Calypso is so well done to me too! That he’d rather engage in pain than ponder what is plausible; that his worst fears are happening or would happen by the time he got home if he ever did. His will is cracking and he can’t go on with this trauma but he can’t take that step; he simply is physically unable. The fact that he feels the need to be ended by someone else’s hand is so profound. He literally cannot end himself and needs someone else’s to do it, there is nothing more helpless in situations like these. I have never ventured that dark but I imagine this is accurate to people who’ve made multiple attempts on their life and just couldn’t go through with it because their bodies couldn’t stand it. Honestly, it makes me only wonder if he’d go through with being killed by the gods if they heard his cries. Would be sit in comply or struggle even if it’s the same result? Would he plea for his life in that moment? Would he take his word back? Would he run? He’s clearly not weak but he is damaged greatly, so much so that he’s mechanical. And if he did think of those thoughts he refused to hear, where would he be? Would he truly go insane? Would he finally break that bridge and try to embrace Calypso? How much more would it all take? How much is too much too long? Or in reference to Victor Frankenstein, when have you gone too far? Like I said, I could go on and on about comparing the novel to your writing here, but I don’t think I should flood your comment section like that… but if I make a post… maybe

And that’s what this post is gonna be:

———

"I passed the night wretchedly. Sometimes my pulse beat so quickly and hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others, I nearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness. Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete! - Frankenstein Chapter 5: pg. 57

This is a paragraph from Frankenstein made by Victor Frankenstein the night his creation came to life. He had ran out of the house in horror and basically slept in the dirt of the courtyard to hide from it. This is the emotional expression that I found in katerinaaqu's writing of Odysseus. It's that dread and use of metaphors that make a seemingly simple paragraph feel so packed with emotion.

He had forgotten how it felt being happy. It was as if gladness and happiness were drained from his world; covered with a thick, black curtain of suffering. That was what Odysseus was thinking as he was slowly stirring awake. He had somehow fallen half-asleep, leaning against the rock at the beach. It was his small hideout, where he would sit and cry, looking towards the sea. He was once more exhausted by the tears that never seemed to drain from his eyes. [...] His previous will seemed totally lost under the burn marks to the edge of his eyelids caused from his own tears. His onyx eyes that used to burn with the fire of survival; like a wild beast in a cage that would growl and move about its prison, constantly trying to find an opening; a change to its situation, now those eyes of his were dead like scratched and faded glass - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

I found these parts of the first two paragraphs as the best comparison to the prior passage I put from Frankenstein. It's that instant sense of helplessness that hits deep in the depths of their emotions. You'll see me compare Odysseus to Victor and his creation a lot, but Victor and Odysseus are both burden with regret in these moments, though for different reasons. The two of them hold different views of accountability here. Odysseus poisons himself in self-loathing and pain of the death of all of his crew; the loss so big he cries endlessly. Victor, as we know he's an unreliable narrator, puts no blame on himself. He finds his choice to reanimate life as foolish and sinful, but does not take responsibility for his own creation and puts all the blame on the creature while claiming innocence.

It's interesting that Victor's refusal of taking accountability (or even trying to do something as he just lets his creation be someone else's problem) only causes his mental health to worsen as he's plagued with fear of what he unleashed upon the world. Whereas Odysseus's fall was a break of his will, his valiant efforts to avoid Calypso's advancements only to start bending to them. One tries, the other doesn't, and that is so fascinating to me that they both crash regardless.

Going forward, please be aware that I do not know Odysseus. I just know of the overall journey back home but I came from Epic the Musical fandom and am aware of the inaccuracies within it since I looked up what happens in the Odyssey out of my own curiosity (like Circe, the sirens, Calypso as a whole). And aside from reading a handful of posts from katerinaaqu and a few google searched articles from back in November, I know absolutely nothing of his character. All of this analysis is basic on the works being compared and written about here. So I can't accurately speak on how I think Odysseus thinks or operates, or how he might view someone like Victor if I were to ponder it here like I could do if the sides were switched.

Victor, in my opinion and experience of reading, is irresponsible. He'd rather not deal with problems with high stakes, especially those he causes. He doesn't tell anyone what he's done or warns them, and in the end everyone he knows dies. Only when he loses everything does he dedicate the rest of his life trying to take down his creation, but all those years prior, he did nothing. If put into Odysseus's shoes of being on Calypso's island, I believe he would give up. He would give up on getting home after a few months to a few years because it's the easiest thing to do. He pushes away his problems and paints over blood with gold to cover it up; he'd block out the thoughts of his family and embrace Calypso. Though I feel like he'd do the same thing Odysseus did here in shutting Calypso up when speaking of his family. How Odysseus would fair in Victor's situation I don't know, but be interested in concepts of it.

He isn't incapable of going against those who threatens him, seeing as he destroys what would have been his creation's wife before him. However, he is mentally unhealthy. He is going crazy, and in this part of Frankenstein, he believes it will all be better—that it will all be happier—when he marries Elizabeth. And then she is killed the night of their wedding, which is what makes him feel like he has nothing left to lose. Which leads to his dedication to hunting his creature down until his dying breath. If Victor was faced by a goddess, which he can never kill (plus the fact he is not experienced in combat even comparable to Odysseus), he is just stuck. He pushes his problems away instead is how he deals with things. To be embraced with eternal love is something he'd take. He would become immortal if offered. He does have a bit of a god-complex with him pursuing to reanimate life for his own desire. He ignored his family for two years, just working on this project of his, because of the glory and pleasure of recognition and greatness he could achieve. So to me, he would give into Calypso in a few months (over a year is a bit generous to me). At most, the mental weight of being away from his loved ones would break him down, but not to the level of wanting to take his life like Odysseus.

"Please... Stop withering away like that... I understand that you miss your home, who wouldn't, but at this point you know that it will only hurt you more." - Calypso - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

This part of the writing would be enough for Victor to at least consider that Calypso is right, leading him to let go and forget. He could wither away from his mental health, but if Calypso is patient enough, she could bring him back like Henry did in Frankenstein. In my mind, he'd be able to do the one thing Odysseus can't, let it all go. Or push it so far out of mind that it only attacks him at his weakest, only to be swept back up in Calypso's arms.

The two of them also have strong self-preservation. Odysseus curses his body's desire to survive despite his will's wish for death. He cannot seem to escape as everything, in some sense, is a betrayal. His self-prompted promise of making it home as an honor to his men goes against his current will to die. His weakening struggle against Calypso goes against his desire to see his home and family—to return to an embrace he loves and not one he's conditioned into. His inability to end it all goes against himself, in this being—in his mind—his only way out, and calls himself a coward for not taking that step. Insane for reaching out when he slips and crazy for his body to say thank gods that Calypso was there.

He looked behind. He had nearly fallen off! And his body had doubled over in fear! His knees were still shaking; cold sweat adorned his forehead. Cursed instinct! Cursed need to live! How pitiful living beings were! He hadn't been so close to death for years before and this was such a sudden experience! [...] His soul and heart were screaming; why did you save me! Why didn't you let me fall! And yet his body was saying; thank all gods she caught me! Thank gods I didn't fall.. The emotions were too much for him to bear... - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

I find this portion of the katerinaaqu's writing to be absolutely brilliant. A perfect display of how his mind and body are thinking two different things. He is being betrayed by so many of his decisions, yet his biggest one in this moment is his body. His "cursed need to live" is like the bane of his existence in this time of his life. He is so worn out, he can't go on, he is being pulled in multiple directions—it is all so twisted and exhausting and confusing for him. And while I he shares a his self-preservation with Victor, I feel like he aligns more with Frankenstein's creature in struggles. But the lines, "Cursed need to live! How pitiful living beings were!" is similar to this passage in Frankenstein to me:

Alas! Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute; it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us. - Frankenstein Chapter 10: pg. 93

I can't articulate what speaks out to me about how these connect, but it's there.

"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it." - Frankenstein's creature - Frankenstein Chapter 10: pg. 95

This is when the creature first shows up to Victor in the mountains. It's ironic that the one born of suffering is the one who valued staying alive the most (in this moment) than the other two that start wishing for death due to their suffering.

Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. - Frankenstein's creature - Frankenstein Chapter 16: pg.

This occurs right after the cottagers drive the creature out of their home upon discovering him. Its early life is so somber in how he never got to experience it. The creature thinks of ending his life twice: in this moment, and then after Victor's death. This sorrow in this moment is most similar to Odysseus to me.

Both of them are still alive despite what their wills are saying, and while the creature doesn't curse himself for staying alive, he does curse his existence. His own life is unlivable like how Odysseus thinks his life is also unlivable. Both of them can only take on so much pain before cracking under.

Alright, enough with the comparing and contrasting, onto the more fun part for me.

I love the way Odysseus acts with Calypso in this. The mechanical movements to the use of tactics to get her to steer away from certain subjects. Honestly, I can imagine that Odysseus would've or used to do this a lot, in the sense that he'd use Calypso's love for him to predict what she'd do and say to try and avoid it. Maybe it worked for a short time, then it worked but she'd steer back to her original intentions, and the maybe it only ever worked on some days. Maybe it was due to his will breaking, or maybe the repetition broke down his will first.

His mood was getting harder and harder to comprehend, she realized. The past weeks he would come back more and more exhausted. Despite the fact she tried to relieve him off many things, he seemed to be withering away. He didn't seem sick or ill. Just sad. - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

I can't help but wonder what Calypso would do if she fully broke Odysseus. I say "fully broke"—despite him wishing for death and for once giving into her desires (though it was to make her shut up)—as in making him let go of everything. The only way for him to fully embrace Calypso is for Odysseus to let go of his family, his friends' and their deaths, the promises he placed upon himself, and all the love he's ever held for anyone.

And it just isn't something Odysseus can do. Not without being someone else, or be a fully emotionless being that just goes through the motions. It's similar to how he is here, but a fully broken Odysseus probably wouldn't care if he initiated Calypso like he does in this writing.

"Anything...! I'll do anything as long as you shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Stop badmouthing my home...my wife and son... Please no more...! Stop it! Or rather, be silent altogether! I don't want to hear your voice anymore! No! Not anymore...!" - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

The fact that Odysseus would do anything to not hear Calypso talk about his home is so real to me. He isn't doing it exclusively because she's badmouthing everything he has left to care about, but because he is avoiding thinking these thoughts themselves. That the words she says are entirely in the realms of possibility, and are only becoming more possible as the years go by. His family is growing up and old without him. His family is moving on without him. Things are moving forward, going great, doing amazing—all without him. The thought that if he ever made it home only to find that he has no place in his home or his family's hearts could kill him. Because if all of that was true, what would he do? He'd have to ask that question, that possibility.

Would he stay in Ithaca? Would he move far away? Would he find love again? Could he ever be capable of marrying another woman without feeling sick that it wasn't Penelope? Would he ever possibly have children and not think that he wasted missing the life of his first son? Would he cry if it was another son he'd have? If he had a daughter, would he cry that she doesn't look like Penelope?

Would he regret leaving Calypso's island?

All of thoughts are too big to think about without a part of him dying, especially the last. The thought that after all this time, he'd ever have thoughts of regret in regards to not being with Calypso would pierce him like a spear. That all this fighting and resisting to stay true to his love was pointless as everyone else has moved on would be claiming insanity to him. That admitting Calypso is right. That he should have stopped thinking about his family and home, that it only caused more pain. He would not be able to bare it, to entertain it.

And so he did what he thought would shut her up, even if he regretted it after.

"Why gods! Why...! Why...! Just...release me already! I paid all years of Troy with years of my life! No more...please...!" [...] "Gods! Men of my age die...! Why! Why! Just let me die...let me be done with this! I don't care anymore how...just finish it already!" As usual his silent prayer fell in silent ears. Never before his arduous trip had he felt more abandoned, more alone, than what he was feeling now... - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

THIS right here is my favorite part of katerinaaqu's writing. I adore this so much as it give me the most questions about Odysseus and thoughts about him. The fact he calls for the GODS to end his life—I can't explain it why it grapples me so much!

"GODS!" he yelled to the heavens, "PLEASE! JUST TAKE MY LIFE ALREADY!" His voice was being once more carried away by the winds. "ATHENA! HERMES! ZEUS! Someone! SOMEONE! Please" He collapsed on his knees sobbing. "Someone...I beg of you end me already! Take my life! Please...!" - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

He can't bring himself to take that final step, because his body won't allow it. He can't end his own life, so he calls out to the gods multiple times. He has tried pleading with the literal gods.. to kill him.. because he can't do it himself. It makes me wonder what else has he tried if he has? To me, it all seems futile, as he never is able to commit to it. Has he tried not eating or drinking? Seeing as it's impossible to do it now with Calypso hanging over his shoulder, and that she'd keep him alive if he tried that. Plus I doubt he'd be able to go through starvation, the pain being too great. He'd want a swift end, and even then he can't commit to it. If a boulder were to fall on top of him just by circumstances, he'd move out of the way, even if his feet were chained to the ground. His body's will to live is just that strong and he despises it. So much so he feels as though only divinity can let him rest now.

He even almost asks Calypso to end his life and has made thoughts of making her angry enough to enact punishment upon him that would kill him. And if he did manage to ask that of her—she'd never do it of course—it'd make his life so much worse as she'd likely never leave his side. How much more can he suffer? How much longer? How much is too much too long? I can only wonder what would happen if he went on so much longer. And faced by the gods to answer his pleas, would he even go through with it?

"I can't..."he mumbled, "I can't anymore...how...how can a person take so much?" - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

He'd run, he'd struggle, he'd survive. Despite himself, he'd survive. It's his body against his mind, and every time when it comes it his life, his body will always win.

"Woe is me..." he mumbled in realization, "My soul that wishes release is trapped in a body that needs to survive!" - The Will to Die The Need to Survive

---

I just adore katerinaaqu's writing here, and with free time on my hands now, I'll have to find a place to read other works! This is Part 4 of her story "Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty" all relating to Odysseus if interested. And these are:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

of the story mentioned prior. I'll be excited to read the other two when I get the chance. (The third part was just the one to be on my feed so-). I'd recommend reading them if interested or reading other posts by katerinaaqu as she makes posts about mythology (and can translate the text herself which is really cool :0)

[pastellmochi]

[milfbrainrot]

i feel like i type so much more than is reasonable when i do talk to people but i also don't get to socialize a ton so i just have soooo many words in me and if i'm like, tired or short on time, it is so much harder to restrain to the already-pushing-it point i can sometimes manage ;-;

[good-beans]

💖

[davidlikebowie-noturaccountant]

that reblog on tbe tlp and dps post i made had me pondering over it for 10 minutes and im about to explode PLEASE SHARE MORE OF YOUR THOUGHTS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO TRUE AAAA

oh my GOD happily i love yapping about this??????

okay first my credentials: i have watched dead poets society 200+ times (i stopped counting, but i have it completely memorised beat for beat), i’ve read the novelisation, i’ve watched the little prince 50+ times and it’s one of my comfort movies, watched it on the plane like two days ago, and i own eight copies of the book in five different languages <3 so

more thoughts below the cut

NOW

i will say there are more obvious parallels to draw between dps and the tlp movie BUT the book has the same innate messaging in a way that is very very special to me. gonna start off with the more obvious things and then get more niche and specific and i will TRY TO MAKE SENSE.

so movie-wise, the aviator serves as the keating figure without a doubt (i would argue this is true in the book as well, but as the book lacks the mother/daughter-little prince all grown up/weird silly second dimension plot line, this parallel is more nuanced and i need to explain it more deeply) and the little girl is neil (though. in the book. undoubtedly the little prince) and her mom is mr perry etc. TODD IS THE FOX IN BOTH THE MOVIE AND THE BOOK AND I WILL ELABORATE but for convenience sake im splitting this up into movie thoughts and book thoughts so they dont get muddled

movie:

one of my favourite things about the little prince movie even though it adds like a whole plot that is not in the children’s book is that it conveys the message of the book VERY well, and a message with THAT MUCH NUANCE is really hard to put through, especially in an animated children’s movie. that being said, i feel like a lot of people don’t really THINK about it, just in the sense of knowing there’s a vague message but not really dissecting it, especially not in the same way that people dissect dead poets society. which i think is really interesting because their messages are fundamentally REALLY similar, with the little prince talking a lot about keeping your mind from getting closed with age and never forgetting wonder and creativity and interest. letting yourself be propelled by knowledge but not in a way that prioritises practicality over pure joy, and then dead poets society specifically preaching (though i’m loathe to use that word) to OPEN your mind THROUGH wonder and creativity and interest, to actively prioritise the joy over practicality at any moment you CAN.

(emphasis on when you CAN, though, because as keating says, there’s a time to be cautious and a time to be daring. sucking the marrow out of life does not mean choking on the bone. which, incidentally, is very similar to something that the aviator mentions in the book, i’ll come back to that)

as such, both movies center a child who is bearing the burden of these undue expectations that for most of their lives up until the point in the movie, they’ve happily pushed themselves to meet in order to keep the peace in their lives. they were perfectly happy (to an extent) being the child they were being asked to be. that is, until someone ACTIVELY shows them there’s more to it than that.

in fact, while one of these is an animated face in which there is not a clear view of much but the eyes and the other is an actual person, these are screen grabs of both movies in the first moments in which they are exposed to that which is going to show them there’s more than that, and i’d be inclined to argue they’re very similar. mild shock overtaken by awe, fixed stare on what they’re consuming (as far as the first page of the little prince vs keating quoting whitman)

this is when they’re starting to realise that they are more than a machine to please the adults in their lives (who are also written very similarly, with, of course, one notable exception: the mother is the one who ultimately realises she was not being fair to her kid, whereas mr perry doubles down and… well. you know.)

this awe-riddled inspiration, the epiphany of the Creative World being real and something they’re allowed to explore and enjoy is facilitated by both the one who did the introduction (the aviator/keating) and support and camaraderie with someone else (the fox/the poets) (yes i know the fox does not technically talk, however, it is clearly a sentient creature in the movie that provides comfort and companionship to the little girl and therefore i will in fact argue that it counts)

NOW i know i said todd is the fox in both iterations but in the movie i dont think the fox is limited to parallels SOLELY with todd, for instance, it very much encourages the little girl to continue with the story, with the aviator, and while it is occasionally like, covering its eyes out of fright, it’s largely serving to push her out of her comfort zone. as such. the fox is both todd and charlie. (the other poets as well but less so in the sense that i can NAME them and draw specific parallels, so mostly todd and charlie)

it is absolutely no secret to us that charlie and todd are the ones closest to neil in the movie, and that charlie and neil’s closeness definitely pre-dates neil and todd’s, and charlie takes neil’s idea of doing the dead poets society and RUNS with it, (lovingly) bullies everyone into coming, gets it to happen and sort of yells over any doubt that neil could have had that he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. todd is supportive but wary, and while the fox in the movie is not in the same capacity as todd in this sense i think there are certainly scenes where we see it just sort of become overwhelmed with what’s going on (like the first time they mess with the plane)

i could go into depth about the whole grown up world thing but that would make this much much longer

the rest of my thoughts are very much related to both the book and the movie and thus i will continue but centre them on the book

book:

i mentioned the messages of the little prince compared to dead poets society above and i just think that’s such a big thing for me because they really do mirror each other and showcase similar thoughts, this idea of the aviator sort of being forced to pursue “practical” things (i think specifically the book cites arithmetic and geography? i can’t remember right this second but i know arithmetic is one of them) and how even though he WAS forced to sort of let go of his personality that was creative, he never really did. he just was careful with who he let see it. which is very keating coded tbh like let’s be real if nolan knew what he was like he NEVER would have gotten that job. but i think specifically because he knew this already and was sort of reminded of it by the little prince LEARNING it it’s very much neil and mr keating. this is why i really think todd is the fox, you have the whole conversation in the book about taming (which i know is kind of in the movie but the book centres it in a way that is slightly different)

to tame people is to change. i will be unique in all the world. to me you will be unique in all the world. you are responsible forever for what you have tamed. when you leave i will cry. etc etc etc

todd and neil tame EACH OTHER. obviously todd is not neil’s first friend, but they have a relationship clearly different from neil’s with the other poets (romantic headcanon or not) because they really have TAMED each other.

also. i think mr perry views neil as his rose. that’s a whole other dissertation.

but. i think the reality is that the movies/book both centre creativity and seeking to understand pure thought in a way that is like two sides of the same coin, but there’s such little overlap that maybe it doesn’t feel obvious?

at the end of the day, there’s really no convincing me that

“what is essential is invisible to the eye, it is only with the heart that one can see rightly”

is not in fact another iteration of

“we don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute…. medicine law business engineering…. poetry beauty romance love, these are what we stay alive for”

because they’re so similar at their hearts.

tldr: the little prince and dead poets society actually carry similar characterisation and messages and i think that speaks a lot about both pieces of media, especially considering that one is literally meant to be for children. it’s almost like tlp is a precursor to dps. a warning to which dps is the result of ignoring. if that makes sense. i’m not sure any of this made sense but THANK YOU FOR ASKING

[the-kipsabian]

1/2, please bear with me cause this thing needs to be viewed as a whole and tumblr doesnt let me post the entire 11+ minute clip even if its well within the size limits

part 2 here

[waitineedaname]

beloved tumblr mutual...... i see you post all the time about the show(?) with the pretty long hair men...... but dear lord what is it about. ive tried to piece it together but i just cannto understand. help me. help me beloved tumblr mutual. i need to know a vague summary !! :)

this series is always difficult to summarize concisely, but I will do my best!

the long hair prettymen series you're likely referring to is Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/MDZS/The Untamed! it was originally a BL novel series, but it was also made into a wildly successful live action drama (The Untamed) which was my avenue into the series! it's about the rise and fall of Wei Wuxian, an extremely talented cultivator (sword wizard) who goes from celebrated war hero to reviled necromancer. the series opens with his death and then resurrection 13~16 years later. it's about necromancy and the horrors of war and politics and reputation and the rumor mill and family and sacrifice, but it's also about what if the class clown bad boy and hall monitor valedictorian were madly in love with each other. it's also about one kid having a shit ton of uncles. it's great! I cannot recommend it enough, it's truly a delight to read and watch, even when it's supremely corny. the creator does a fantastic job of balancing humor and tragedy, and the characters make me want to eat drywall

however, the waters may be muddy, because recently I have started posting about another long haired prettyboy series, which is Scum Villain's Self-Saving System! it's another novel series by the same author as MDZS and I'm only halfway through it, but I'm having a great time. it's about a dude getting isekai'd into an absolutely horrible web novel that he obsessively hates, and he gets thrown in the villain's role. it's hysterical, and also has been shredding my heart periodically. but it's mostly very funny, and I'm obsessed with the characters. everyone in this series needs serious help, they're all fucked in the head

[holeodemony]

My brain when I see her:

My darling. My sweet. мой милый. 恋人. My beautiful lover. Mio dolce amore. It has been nigh a full moon's course since we gave last met, and yet my heart aches without the soothing balm that is your touch. Your mere gaze does more than a million years of rest. Your hair like locks of an auburn Autumn's breeze. With thine absence, my longing has grown unbearable. Your name is like a curse upon my ear — it's very murmur makes my heart race. You are the sun in my day, my moon and stars at night, guiding me every waking moment. It is an honour to be in your presence, my love.

What I actually say when I see her:

Uh. Hi!! Hello. Yes. Um. Youre alive. Good, good. Uh can y. oh. You're pretty. I forgot how pretty you are. Uh. Are. You sure you like me?? Like im an 8 at best and youre a goddamn goddess uh. Well hello there again uhm. Yes. Could. Could we hold hands? No? Ok ok cool whatever you say. Uh. I. Love you a lot. Wait no I said that out loud fuck— nothing I said nothing uh. Wow youre pretty. Like. What's the word for prettier than pretty. Uh. Ultra pretty. Yeah that

[javierduffy]

After they've been together for a while and Kieran's come out of his shell a bit (esp around the rest of the gang) for some reason I can imagine him just being like. Very forward. Not outright flirty but he loves Javier SO MUCH he's practically vibrating with it. It's spilling from his mouth every time he talks w/ him. Not right out of the gate, though. He starts with small comments in the morning. A compliment here, a cheesy line there. But by the end of the day if you listen closely you can hear an increasing amount of stutters from Javirr's guitar and Kieran knows he's got him when he looks away he's so flustered and the whole time Kieran's just blinking innocently and grinning like mad he's so in love UGH. If he does not kiss his bf breathless within the next 10 seconds he WILL explode

NOOO I AGREE COMPLETELYYYYY YOU GET ME YOU UNDERSTAND !!! kieran, as shy (if you want to call keeping your mouth shut to spare yourself the trouble of getting shot in the head “shy”) and awkward as he is, speaks his mind and is willing to be quite verbal about what he’s thinking ! i listened to his ambient voice lines the other day and he really is very vocal when he doesn’t feel that being the alternative would jeopardize his wellbeing, and i think the reason people don’t notice is because when he’s challenged, he’s often willing to fold on his perspective, mostly just to preserve his own safety because of his audience. i mean, he literally FORCED the vdl’s to take him in, and he often bows up at arthur and will challenge/confront him (because he’s most familiar with him). plus, he’s very openly complimentary towards mary-beth, even as early as horse-shoe. kieran duffy has little to no problems with speaking if you really listen !

so absolutely yes he does say what’s on his mind even and especially when it comes to javier. hell, i believe that kieran complimented him even before they got together, before javier even liked him (or acted like it, at least). he’s just a lover at heart ! i think that would be one of the reasons that javier becomes less hostile towards kieran to begin with- because kieran is so gentle with everyone, and initially, javier is always shocked when he isn’t the exception, even when he generally avoids him or even treats him outright poorly. kieran’s gentility isn’t a survival skill, it’s an innate part of who he is. so even before he’s especially comfortable with javier, on rare occasion, kieran would say a “you look nice today, mister !” or a “you’ve got that knife looking mighty spiffy, would love something like that for myself some day.” before he can really even think about it. it always pissed javier off, of course, because ‘that stupid pretty, sweet, charming, handsome bastard of an o’driscoll has no right to even look at him, nonetheless like him or anything he does ! and it certainly didn’t feel good to hear him say it !’.

but when they get together, kieran’s compliments change- not only because javi now knows that he means them from a full homo place, but because kieran is now able to say things that have been on his mind for months. when they’re away from camp, kieran swoons and fawns and waxes poetry as best his awkward and mildly educated self can. i really believe that it takes him no time at all (i say this, i mean a month or so) to work up to jumping into sharing his adoration when they’re alone, because when javier finally chose him back, kieran got his permission to love him, and he’d been waiting on that for ages. kieran duffy has been starving for love for all 23 years of his life, and he’s got such a craving for it that it makes him the best cook in the world because then every crumb matters. being a lover with no one to love has left kieran with a keenly honed sense of adoration- a natural skill he has sharpened to a perfect point in all of his quiet isolation. javier practically drowns in it once he’s exposed to the full capacity of it. you’re absolutely right that it isn’t too long before kieran has javier wrapped perfectly, lovingly, obediently around his finger. when kieran sits politely on the bedroll next to his beautiful musician as he plays for his usual crowd of outlaws, when he peers over at him through long brunette lashes, when javier can feel his gaze on his fingers as they pluck the strings (and some rare nights, javier knows exactly what kinds of thoughts are in kieran’s mind, which only flusters him further. especially when kieran feigns innocence if ever accused of lust, all the way up until they’re alone, in which he’s quite happy to share imagery from his vivid imagination.). usually, though, kieran wants nothing more out of it than to let javier know just how much he adores him, how pretty he thinks he is, how perfect his voice is, how every little thing about him drives kieran crazy- and it’s out of lack of recent exposure that javier’s tolerance for it all is so low. that’s what he tells himself, anyway. kieran may not be a poet, but he’s sure honest, and sometimes, that hits harder than elegant prose.

i do so love the thought of a flustered javier, especially when he’s the one who is supposedly the “romantic” of the two. man can dish it out but he can’t take it </3 kieran sparingly shares touches with him throughout the day as well, placing a hand on the back of javier’s collar when he’s leaning over his shoulder to peer at whatever javier is intending to show him (a map for a small job he’s planning, an upgrade on his revolver or knife, the poison throwing knives he’s gingerly handling as he explains to kieran how to coat them evenly for a quicker kill), hooking a finger into the waistband of javier’s pants or his suspenders as they smoke alone early in the morning by the scout campfire, touches the tips of their boots together as they both work their separate chores of cleaning saddles and sharpening knives. kieran says i love you throughout the day in a million different ways. like you said, he’s practically vibrating with it. by the end of the day, after kieran’s shared with javi how his eyes look like the perfect cup of coffee in the sun, how he’s real purdy first thing in the morning, how he missed him the other day while he was out on a job, all the while burning holes into javier’s skin with every little touch he sneaks in when they’re on the same side of camp, javier is a puddle on the ground. he’s anxiously fiddling with his guitar before playing and missing notes when he does, desperately cleaning his boots and hat more to soothe his hot gut, and taking solo fishing trips to either verbally rant his feelings out loud in spanish or rub one out because kieran is driving him absolutely insane, and they’ve not been together quite long enough for javier to justify dragging him out of camp every single day to get some privacy and/or blow off some steam (in more ways than one, depending on the day).

the longer they’re together, the more brazen he gets, absolutely. placing a hand on javier’s shoulder while he sits next to him at the campfire with other gang members, tucking javi’s hair behind his ear when it’s down and they’re chatting late at night, saying “oh, i do love you.”, “yes, sweetheart?”, “javier, my dear-“ in front of some other gang members while they’re talking or addressing each other, and it simply turns javier’s brain off. to be bravely loved is such a privilege and it almost sends a shiver down his spine every time kieran does it. to kieran, it’s almost like he can’t even help it, doesn’t even really think about it too much after a while. sure, he’s anxious at first, especially with how javier will react since he’s essentially constantly around his tough-love family who will absolutely mock him for it if he lets them, but seeing javier get so flustered because of how little he expected kieran to be so bold, it’s addicting. immensely. plus, kieran knows javier may not come back to him every time he leaves camp, and he’s lost enough in his lifetime to regret not loving javier to his full capacity. it won’t get them hurt, so he’s happy to be brave, because he’ll know that if either of them die, they will die having loved and been loved at 100%. now, he doesn’t think too hard about any of that. really, kieran just can’t help but love javier- can’t help but want to tell him that he’s the most beautiful person he’d ever met, tell him how much he matters to him, tell him how special his heart is, show him how much he loves him, indelibly, intricately, with every fiber of his being. if i don’t kiss him breathless within the next 10 seconds, i will die. he thinks after a long day of small touches and meager compliments, after a long day of javier tripping over his boots and unsatisfactorily twanging his guitar strings once or twice that evening nonetheless. and he says “if i dont kiss you within the next ten seconds, i will die.” and javier pauses, freezes, shocked, trapped in green eyes as the scout campfire lazily licks dances of light and shadows across their wrinkles and scars and features. and javier says, “well then, come here. you are too young to die.” as his heart beats louder in his chest than it ever has in a gunfight.

umm i think i got off topic but yes :3 i agree :3 kieran can be quite forward, even canonically ! they’re both loverboys in their own ways and equally as hungry for the others’ taste (figuratively and literally). sorry for the yap sesh ! thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me !!!!!!! i love thinking about them waygh ;__; i could talk about them all day

[hyuuukais]

I MISS WRITING SO BAD !!!!!

[raidenloml]

hey guys i have so many oc ideas and i think you should start getting interested in their lore to force me to work on them more how cool would that be... (is so excited to work on the sillies but needs encouragement or will forget them entirely womp womp)

[red-mountain-flower]

I FORGOT SASHA’S SCARS

[noblest-roman-of-them-all]

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